“Five!” Daunte called.
“Five. Five.” Mumbling it over and over under my breath, I managed to deliver the pepperoni and olives without any issues, throwing in the towel the second I spotted Stefan and Callie on their phones, speaking rapidly. Probably trying to find willing blood donors, of which I didn’t need nor want. It chafed to be so dependent like that.
I could always call one of those hotline numbers my parents’ had been talking about. Maybe I’ll look one up when I get home. I had to do something—this hunger was driving me mad.
Sneaking out the back, I made it past Daunte’s crazy senses and to my car without incident, leaving him a note taped to his office door like the coward I am, offering to let him fire me for ditching his butt.
Thinking I’d gotten off scot-free, I made it all the way home, slipping out of my car to tip toe up the back of the house. The last thing I needed was one of my parents coming to check on me when I felt like this. I was still terrified I might hurt them; and at times like this, feeling so on edge and restless, this was exactly why.
Right at my back door, keys in hand, I froze as my nostrils flared, growling at the dark figure lurking by the basement door.
“Do not be worried, little neck biter. It is just Byron.” Hands up, the werewolf stepped into the light.
I knew it was him, but couldn’t help the hiss that left my lips. Not to be rude, but he instantly got my hackles up. It was like there was a trigger warning in my body telling me to stay the hell away from him—or maybe all werewolves in general. I didn’t know and wasn’t too keen on finding out. I’d have to ask someone about that some other time. Anyone but Byron.
“Look, if you’re just trying to get the same shit Stefan did, well, you can forget it.” Adjusting my purse over my shoulder, all I wanted was to go inside and lie down, pretend I was a regular old human for ten effing seconds, not a bloodthirsty freak. “I’m not here to suck you off in any way, shape, or form, alright, buddy? You want that you can ask your Alpha Bitch, demon lady, or whatever you call Mary, ‘cause you ain’t gettin’ it from me, wolf guy.” Waggling a finger at him as I grimaced in disgust, I was all attitude and no bullcrap.
Byron burst out laughing, a deep belly chuckle issuing from his throat, his yellow-gold eyes glowing in the dark. “Byron is not here to claim a vampire, silly Normal Gene. My Mary has called Byron. Byron’s demoness has asked her big, strong wolf to feed the little neck biter.”
“I...” Didn’t know what to say to that. “Mary?”
“Yes.”
“Mary? Mary-Mary?” Really?
Byron sounded as if he fully expected this reaction. “Yes. Is that so hard for little Normal Gene to wrap her blood sucker head around?”
“Uhm... You do know what happens sometimes, uh, with feeding, right?”
“Yes, Byron is aware, now come to the big bad wolf, little one, and we will feed now.”
“I don’t think...”
The werewolf plopped down on Mom’s garden bench. “Come.” Patting his knee, a slow, knowing smile spread across his face. “Sit with Byron. We will get comfortable and Normal Gene will eat.” A strange gleam in his eyes, he growled softly—as if to coax me over.
“Oh, uh, no thanks, heh-heh, that’s okay. Uh... You know what, I’m good, seriously. Had a big lunch.” Backing up slowly as I patted my snarling stomach, edging my way towards my car, keys tight in my balled fist, I was just about to turn and run when I whirled around to come nose to chest with a tall, warm body.
Peeling my face off his shirt, inhaling deeply as I went, I peeked up to stare into the face I felt like I hadn’t seen in ages.
“Byron,” Divit greeted coolly, his hands gripping my shoulders to keep me steady as they smoothed over my back. I shivered at his touch, unable to look away.
Transfixed, as if still under the power of some curse or spell, I drank in the sight of him greedily.
Divit’s eyes flashed as his thumbs stroked along my collarbones. “I think we can handle it from here.”
Byron shrugged and made to leave.
Pausing just past the hedge, he rumbled out, “You will feed her?”
Eyes flashing bright red, Divit pulled me tighter to him. “Yes.” The word came out on a soft hiss as his chest rattled viciously.
The heavy, crunching steps of the lumbering werewolf soon faded, leaving us all alone, and Divit’s gaze dipped to meet mine.
“Hello, Norma Gene,” the vampire said quietly, as if we were being all polite and crap at some fancy dinner party.
Lips parting, the first thing that came out of my mouth was not what I’d intended. “Why haven’t you called me, you asshole?! I’ve been waiting and-” Voice gone guttural, it was the only thing to register before my brain shut off as I inhaled deeply and his scent filled my nostrils, drugging me senseless.
My fingers tightened on his forearms as I sucked in another deep, chest expanding breath. Mouth watering, my gums started throbbing.
“You never called and- God... I can’t think.” My nails dug in until I thought I might draw blood and I licked my lips hungrily. “Mmm. You smell fucking good.”
Divit stared down at me for a long moment, his face a carefully blanked mask as he studied me so intently. “I was going to call...” he said finally. The but at the end of that kind of hung in the air.
“But? But you didn’t want to, or otherwise you would have.”
He didn’t say anything and I snarled up into his face. Hurt, I pushed away from him and marched towards my house. “Damn it! Screw you, pal!”
Divit didn’t charge after me, call for me to stop, didn’t make a single sound, and I felt a hard knot of anger filling my stomach, a brick sized lump forming that kept growing. My guts churned violently as I came to a slow boil.
“I leave you food, why haven’t you been feeding?”
“What?” Turning to face him, I marched back. “What food? You know we can’t eat. What are you on about?”
Motioning for me to stay put while he went to his car, the vampire walked back moments later with a throwaway to-go cup from the local gas station. Holding it out to me, he waited until I took it. Cautiously lifting the small flap, I sniffed the swill dubiously. Eyes widening when the familiar scent hit me, it slammed into me like a freight train.
Fangs dropping instantly, I found myself panting, sharp pangs twisting my intestines. “You mean all those stupid cups I kept finding littered about everywhere were actually blood?”
Scowling down at me hard, so hard I thought he might pop a blood vessel, I scowled right back.
“They have your name on them,” he gritted out impatiently. “Didn’t you even bother to see what was inside? Or read them? Smell them?”
“No. Are you freaking serious? Why would I? Who drinks random cups left lying around outside? Really, dude? Ew. And, you know, there’s the fact I remember, and am reminded almost constantly, that I don’t need to eat or drink, so why would I? It’s kind of pointless. Smell them? Come on. Blech, no. I threw them away.”
Divit let off a frustrated noise. “Here, then. Read it now.” Turning the cup in my hands, written in freakishly neat handwriting in black ink, plain as day, it read, For my sweetheart, across the lip.
Blinking, my eyes widened and my gaze darted to his as my lips parted.
Glaring at it meaningfully, Divit tapped the cup again. “Read the rest.”
My eyes slid back to the cup, fingers smoothing over the words, and I cleared my throat. Further down towards the bottom, I found more. I’m sorry. Love, your glittery asshole.
Dry sniffling, head whipping to stare up at him, I clutched the cup to my chest tight. “You-you-you-”
“Yes.” Nodding, rocking back on his heels, he shoved his hands in his pockets to glare down at our feet.
“You mean... you-”
“Yes, damn it, woman. And to whatever else you’re going to ask, I’m almost certain that will be yes, too.” Yanking me towards him, wrapping me up in his arms,
he pressed a sweet kiss to my temple, my cheeks, the corner of my mouth, my parted lips.
“You... you...”
“Yes. Me. Me. Me.” Pulling back enough to meet my gaze, he admitted, “I want you. You’re my mate, Norma Gene. You’re mine and I’m yours. If I can get away with saying this so soon without you castrating me, I believe you have grown on me, you may even say, and I have strong, heartfelt feelings for you. Ones, I fear, will only keep growing.”
“You fear?” I found myself mumbling, staring up at him searchingly as he imparted all this as if it was some dreadful, deep, dark secret.
Expression grave, he nodded, though he fought off a quirk of the lips. “Yes, I’m afraid so. And from the looks of it, it will only get worse.”
Letting out a short laugh, my lips tipped up. “How so? And is there no cure for your poor affliction? What’s the matter, can’t hack me off like a wart?”
With a heavy, put-upon sigh, my vampire lover sifted his fingers through my hair as I rested my head against his chest. “Afraid not, no. It will grow to be much more, I know—my affection, you dolt, not the wart—” he muttered at the look on my face, “and we’ll continue to drive each other insane—yet still appreciate the fact we haven’t murdered each other... yet, and it will eventually blossom into love, as these monstrous things usually do, and I’m sorry to say you’re stuck with me.”
“L-l-love?” I stammered.
“Eternally.” Meeting my eyes as I tipped my chin, staring up at him as he took a short step back to separate us, he grinned. Fingers caressing my cheek, he bent down to brush his lips with mine. “Say something, sweetheart. You look stunned.”
Lips trembling, my cup sloshing as I launched myself at him, I crushed it between us.
“You’re my glittery asshole!” Blood spilling everywhere, the sharp, metallic tang filled the air as the quickly cooling crimson liquid dripped down our middles.
“Uhm...”
Scaling the man like a deranged monkey woman, ankles hooking around his lean waist, locking my hands around his neck, I peppered kisses across his surprised face. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
“Yes, what? Yes, you’re my mate?” Snorting, he captured my lips with his in a hot, sexy smooch that had my toes curling. “You don’t have a choice. You’re mine, woman. Mine.” Another kiss worth shutting up for. “Yes, you love me? Of course you do. I expect nothing less.”
The arrogance of this man had me snort-laughing.
“I’m perfection,” he continued. “As you and Callie are so fond of saying: appreciate.”
“Divit... I don’t even...”
“Yes, you’ll live with me?” he got out between panty wetting, drugging kisses, his big hands roaming freely about my person.
About to say more, I didn’t give him a chance to finish.
Pressing a finger to his lips, I interrupted, “I’m your mate when I say I’m your mate.” With an arch look, I smirked. “Earn it, baby, and ask me nicely. And I’ll love you when you’ve good and earned it, sir, not when you think so, you cocky, decrepit bastard.”
Worrying his earlobe with my teeth, his hands tightened around me and he groaned. How I’ve missed that sound—missed him.
“Perfection? Your ass is perfection.” I gave that lovely bit a nudge with my heel, forcing his hips to push forward... riiggght there.
We both grunted, while I squirmed in place. It’s only been a week and a half, but a week and a half way too damn long.
“Everything else, as is life, is a work in progress, much like myself. There is always, and I mean always, room for improvement, spandy pants.” Eyes narrowing to vicious little slits, I gave his cheek a nice little tap between words as I told him, “Don’t kid yourself.”
The vamp wisely chose not to comment.
“Now, live with you? In your castle of white domesticity and touch-nothingness? Hell no, but we’ll figure something out.” Working my way down his jaw, licking and sucking a path along his neck as he started grumbling his feelings on the matter, I nibbled on the sensitive skin. I kept it up, nipping and biting until his head dipped and he was nipping and biting back.
“Missed you. Want you.” Fangs nipping a bit too hard, nicking the skin at my neck, he lapped at the small wound.
The smell of blood permeated the air, fresh blood mixing with old. I gripped his shoulders while my lips sucked at his nape, ready to dig in, but he spoke.
“Chased that stupid clunker all the way to the freeway. Would have caught up to it too if it weren’t for that speeding bus. And not once did you have that mental case stop and turn around.”
This was all news to me. Not even my crazy bloodthirst was going to stop me from hearing it. Pausing, I pulled back to stare at him. “You... you chased the car to the freeway? You were hit by a bus?”
“Yes, or were you too busy schmoozing it up with Duncan to notice?”
Was that a note of jealousy I detected? “Divit...?”
My vampire lover, it seemed, felt he was on a roll, licking the last remnants of my blood from his lips. “What kind of heartless mate are you? Hit a man where it counts and steal away his dignity, why don’t you.”
“Divit.”
“You left me, you mean little... you little... pit viper! Come into my life, turn everything upside down, then rush off again, and I’m supposed to come crawling back?”
“Glitter buns.” He’s kind of cute when he’s all riled.
“Barely at my nest going on an hour and you call someone to come rescue you!” Shaking his head, he started stomping across the lawn, headed right for my back door as he berated me angrily. “You didn’t- I didn’t- Damn it! I’m new to all this too, you know. Never turned anyone, never had a mate before, never wanted to!”
“Never wanted to... until me?” Eyes burning, touching my forehead to his, I closed them.
“Yes, of course, you foul creature. Why the hell else would I saddle myself with you? I told you, you ungrateful woman. I don’t know how you’ve managed it, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to try and figure it out, but I want you. I’ve missed your absurd ramblings and nonsensical babblings, your incessant questions that make completely no sense whatsoever, except maybe somewhere in your crooked mind. I miss your pitiful fits and kittenish attempts to beat me, you vicious beast. I miss threatening to disembowel you at every turn when you annoy me, though you know I wouldn’t dream of it. I miss your disgusted looks when I tell you too much, or too little. I miss pretending I’m not interested in what you say, when I hang on every blasted word—but if you tell anyone that they’ll never find your body—but most of all I think I love you.”
“Think?” I interrupted, smiling impishly, a teasing lilt to my voice.
“Shut up,” he barked at me, a thunderous look on his face before it softened. Stealing my lips in a kiss, he growled softly. “I see you, Norma Gene, who has absolutely nothing normal about her, and I care for you. Now, shut up and let’s go inside. You’re dripping blood all over me from that stupid cup I labored to get you. Of which, I might add, you’ve just wasted. I feel like you’ve just wet yourself all over me. It’s warm, squishy, and distinctly uncomfortable.”
Lips pulling up into a grin, laughing, I cooed sarcastically, “I love you too, baby.”
Grunting, he nicked my keys from my hand as he took the steps two at a time. “Yes, well,” plucking at my keys for the right one, he pecked my lips, “you can get naked, feed me, and show me in a minute. I haven’t eaten in a week and a half and this crazy bird I’ve been trying to woo, bleeding myself for her regularly, thought the damned cups rubbish. The bat shit woman has been tossing them in the bin.”
“Bat shit? You chased a car to the freeway, but didn’t think to follow us in your own car? You leave me drinks in to-go cups, but don’t bother picking up the phone to call and tell me, or texting me to say as much? And I’m bat shit?”
The man had the decency to look abashed for all of a minute as he set me on my feet.
“Guano, my
friend. From the sounds of it your head is full of it, and I think it’s comin’ out your ears.” Peeling my ruined work shirt off while he unlocked the door, I balled the wet fabric up to smack it to his chest.
Divit took it from my hands, tossing it over his shoulder, and reached out for me. “I bound you to me when I turned you. My blood runs through your veins, and I feel you. You’re a part of me I could, admittedly, quite possibly live without, maybe...” His look grew pensive as I hissed in his face. “Should I not go mad in the process of actually trying.” Smirking at my reaction, he winked and finished, “But I don’t want to. It’s weird, it’s sudden, and it’s strange. It doesn’t always have to make sense, though I’m beginning to discover in regards to us that the lack of it makes perfect sense, and that is quite enough for me.”
“Well said, uhm, I think. That,” I mumbled, “or I’m as nutty as you are.”
“Zip it, corpse bride, I’m still talking.”
Trying to arch a brow at his tit for tat corpse remark, I burst out laughing instead, motioning that he should go on.
Inclining his head, expression growing tight, he nodded curtly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I couldn’t help but cut in.
At his dark look I pinched my lips shut.
“Ahem. Right. Now, where was I...? Oh. Not-so-normal Norma Gene, will you be my mate?”
Biting my lips, I hummed in the back of my throat. “Hmm... well...” Squinting up at him, as if I had to think long and hard about it, I gave him a minute to glare down at me before I dropped the act and shrugged. “Eh, sure, why not, but only if-”
“No.” Crushing me to his chest as he picked me up to carry me inside, Divit kicked the door shut with his foot behind him. “No but only. You said yes-”
“I said, eh, sure, why-”
“Close enough. You agreed to an eternity with me.”
Lips pursed, mulish expression firmly in place, I clucked my tongue. “I don’t know about an eternity, bub. That sounds like an awfully long time.”
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