“That’s good. I just want you to be happy but careful. These men are very good at their job but still extremely dangerous.” He had to put his two cents in. “But that’s not why I asked you to talk with me.”
“It’s not?” I questioned, not looking forward to his answer.
He shook his head and began again. “I wanted to know about the dream.”
Geez, I definitely could not tell him about Damon in my dreams but I figured he needed to know.
“Well, I’ve had two, each with Damon in them. At first I thought I was just having nightmares from the experience but now I’m not sure. They feel so real. In the last dream I was watching myself, we were in a jail cell. He was torturing me and I had to stand and watch it.” I didn’t want to go into too much detail. It was embarrassing enough explaining my dreams to this stranger.
“Do you feel like you are being hurt in your dreams?” he asked seriously.
“No, he didn’t even realize I was there in the last dream. So maybe it is just nerves.” I looked down at my phone. It was eight o’clock. Kimmy would be pissed that I was late.
“Um, Robert, I really have somewhere to be. Can we finish this later?” I begged.
“Who is your date with?” His curiosity surprised me.
“Kimmy, we’re having a chick flick night,” I answered.
He seemed to let out a deep breath and looked relieved at my answer. “That’s great, maybe you should stay in a room with her for the time being. I don’t feel like you are in danger, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Also, Gavin told me about the gym thing earlier, so you are feeling stronger lately also?” he asked, forgetting about my needing to leave.
“I had a broken treadmill. I’m thankful I survived,” I said sarcastically. “I feel fine. I really have to go but I promise I’ll let you know if anything creepy happens to me again. And I’ll think about staying with Kimmy,” I answered and rushed out. I ran down the halls, trying to find the stupid theater. Guess I should have asked for directions earlier.
I finally spotted Kimmy down a hall, tapping her foot.
I ran to her. “Sorry Kimmy, long story, but I can’t wait to tell you all about it,” I said as I gave her a hug.
“Damn, girl, hope you aren’t trying to impress me with that get up. You know I bat for the other team. You know the one with penises,” she joked.
I told her about everything that had happened. She cracked up so hard when I told her that Damon had kidnapped Vicky instead of her that she started crying.
“What a douche bag. I’m actually mad that he would compare me to that cow,” she said after she stopped laughing. I told her about the girl in Ezra’s room and the fight between Ezra and Axle.
“Axle has my vote, if that means anything. They are both sexy as hell but Axle looks like he could rip you apart in bed, not just bite you,” she stated as I finished.
“Ew. Kimmy, that’s so vulgar.” I laughed. We watched Pride and Prejudice and spoke in British accents for an hour, laughing at the things we would do to ‘poor Mr. Darcy’ if we had the chance. During our date, we had gone through an entire gallon of Blue Bell chocolate ice-cream and a can of whipped cream. We also had a few margaritas so we were feeling good.
It was two am before we both decided to hit the sack. We said our good byes and started back to our rooms.
Ezra popped out of his room as we headed back, and Kimmy did a one finger salute to say good bye. Even Ezra could not ruin the awesome time I had.
“Can I speak with you?” he asked.
“Why, but of course, my dear sir,” I said in my British accent. He gave me questionable look and sniffed me as I walked in.
“Did you just sniff me?” I called him out.
“You reek of dairy products, limes and alcohol,” he replied.
“That’s the way real men turn women on, bravo!” I giggled. I was still slightly buzzed. I grabbed his shirt as he closed the door.
“Don’t worry, lover, it’s working,” I whispered into his ear. I grabbed his head and pulled his lips to mine. He carried me to the bed as we kissed. I pushed away.
“Ezra, will you please bite me?” I begged.
He smiled and looked away. “Emma, you really don’t know what you are asking.”
“Then tell me what I’m asking.” I wasn’t really sure what I meant by that, but he understood.
“Em, I could really hurt you. It’s impossible to stop a blood thirst vampire. I could kill you,” he explained.
It was a letdown. I was waiting for an elaborate explanation, some sort of secret from the vampire community, but nada. Everything he told me I already figured.
“I don’t care. I just really want you. Plus, you already ate today so this could just be a midnight snack,” I begged into his ear. I looked down and noticed my tactics were working. He was certainly excited. I started teasing him by taking off my shirt and bra. I didn’t have to go too far, because he pulled me back into him.
He was still wearing a shirt and it was getting in the way. There was nothing I wanted more than to rub my naked breasts on his naked chest. He yanked his shirt off, releasing my mouth from his own. As soon as he had his shirt off, we continued making out. He held me so close I thought I would pop. I moved my hair and held my neck out for him. I wanted to feel what he had given that girl earlier. I didn’t care what it meant. I was so jealous, I had to know. He grazed me with his teeth. I was so close to screaming.
“Are you sure you want this?” he asked.
“Oh my God, if you don’t bite me, I will stake you,” I warned. My libido was on steroids and I needed something to relieve it. He kissed my neck and then licked it. I felt his teeth finally press against my skin. It was painful but in a sensual way. He pressed harder. I winced but he didn’t give in, he pushed harder. I wasn’t expecting this much pain, be careful what you ask for and all that jazz. Suddenly I felt his teeth penetrate my skin and for a second I cried out in pain before I started moaning. I grabbed a fist full of his hair, pulling his teeth in farther into my neck. I felt him pull from my blood, and it felt like I had just had the best sex of my life. I immediately started having orgasm after orgasm. I could feel his hard shaft through his pants, begging to be released.
He pulled away from my neck and moaned but I grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him back. He bit into my neck again and the same reaction happened all over. The ecstasy continued. I didn’t realize a body could do that. After I lost count of how many times my body had reached its peak, he released my neck and let out a deep moan. He was panting as he put his head on my shoulder. It had been the best sex ever without even having sex. He looked up at me and I was almost scared of what stared back. His eyes were blood red and he had my blood dripping off his chin. I don’t know why I wouldn’t expect something like that. It’s not like it’s a clean thing to drink blood from a neck. I’m sure I would make quite a mess as well. He looked down, ashamed.
Chapter Twenty
“Hey, don’t do that. It just caught me off guard. Ezra, that was amazing,” I exclaimed.
He wiped his mouth with his arm. He glanced at my bare chest. I had a few blood trails over my left breast. He bent down and scooped me up, then licked the remaining blood off of my body. Even after the multiple, multiple orgasms, I was still so severely turned on. He finished at my neck. He pulled away and licked his lips. He still had blood on his face.
“You are so beautiful,” I said as I looked into his bright red eyes. Blood splattered everywhere, his eyes red and he still took my breath away. His teeth were still out but he smiled at my comment. He tackled me down on the bed.
“And you are beautiful and quite amazing,” he replied.
“Is this how it always is?” I asked, thinking about what had happened earlier with his dinner.
“Hell, no. I never get excited when feeding, and I have never enjoyed it as much as I did just now,” he answered.
I couldn’t tell if he was lying but who cares, I felt like I was on cloud n
ine. I looked around us and saw that his sheets were ruined.
“Sorry about the mess.” I giggled. I went to kiss him but he pulled away. His eyes cleared back to blue and his teeth retracted.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“Baby, I can’t kiss you with blood all over me, looking like this.” He had a point. He looked like something out of a horror movie.
“Good point, we both probably need to clean up. Um, would you mind if I stayed with you tonight? I don’t really want to be alone.”
“Of course you can. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Would you care to join me in the shower?” he asked.
I looked down at myself. There was no way I could get in the shower with him, not after my shower dream. I could just clean the blood from my neck and chest. He noticed I was taking longer than expected to answer what should have been a simple question.
“Emma, what’s the matter? Did I do something wrong?” he asked. I was surprised he didn’t know already. We’ve been so busy fighting lately I didn’t even have a chance to tell him everything that was happening to me.
“It’s nothing. I’ve just got a lot going on. We can talk about it tomorrow.”
“Then you don’t want to take a shower with me?” He looked hurt. I finally gave in and told him about the dream. It was seriously embarrassing to admit I’d had dreamed of Damon touching me. He looked extremely angry for a slight second then smiled.
“Well, that’s ok. You can stay here and watch,” he said as he started stripping. He was not one bit uncomfortable being naked in front of me. His naked body was a work of freaking art. This man was built perfectly. He walked over to the shower, got in and turned on the water. I couldn’t understand how someone would not have to check the temperature first. Guess it was a vampire thing. He washed the blood off his face and out of his mouth. He grabbed a tooth brush in the shower and brushed his teeth. I had a strange fascination about him brushing his teeth. I wanted to know if he had to brush the long teeth too, or if vampires get cavities. He had six shower heads, three on each side, so the water was beating over his entire body. I didn’t want to stop staring, even though it felt impolite. Once he was done he grabbed a towel and tied it around his waist.
“Emily, you have almost completely blocked me out all day,” he announced, sounding proud of my discovery.
“Well, I wish I knew how I was doing it.” It would make our relationship that much better if I didn’t have him pulling my deepest darkest thoughts out of my head constantly. The man was incredible in more ways than one, and hopefully now, all mine.
I took the sheets off the bed as he dried off. He came over to help me finish. As soon as the sheets were off, Ezra walked over to a dresser and pulled out a new fitted sheet and blanket. We made the bed together and crawled in. His bed was like sleeping on a cloud. I cuddled into him and took a deep breath. He smelled amazing.
“Emily, I’ve never been much of a lady’s man,” he stated out of the blue.
“You could have fooled me.” I laughed.
“What I mean to say is I’m not sure if I am boyfriend material,” he replied.
I sat up and look him in the eyes. “Are you serious? I thought we just had an amazing time. Do you not like me anymore or something?” I asked. I was sure that wasn’t what he was getting at but he was scaring me. I wish I could read his mind.
“I’m just saying that you are the first girl I have felt this strongly about, and I’ve lived along time. Love has a different meaning to my kind than to yours. As you already know, I’m a pretty possessive and jealous guy when it comes to you. I don’t want to hurt you so I was hoping we could take this slow.”
I gave a nervous laugh. “Ezra, I think we just slapped that bitch out of the water.”
He gave me a curious glance, I forget some people don’t understand my sayings. “What I mean is, taking it slow to most people means dating before doing anything sexual,” I explained.
He smiled. “No, that’s not exactly what I meant. I mean slow in a sense that right now we shouldn’t tell people about us being together. I don’t want you to see other people and I only want you, but I just want to keep us quiet for a while. At least until Damon is gone.”
I thought about it for a minute. It’s not like he was asking too much from me. I had stated before that I didn’t want a man in my life until Damon was found and destroyed.
“I think we are pretty much already doing that, so why stop now?” I stated. He seemed relieved at my answer, so I had to ask, “This request, you wouldn’t be asking because you are afraid of a certain person, say Robert, finding out about us?”
He gave me a look that confirmed.
“Say no more. I won’t tell him, as long as he doesn’t hocus pocus it out of me.” I kissed his lips. I was so worn out from the day and especially the night. I laid my head on his chest and heard silence. It was an interesting thing to not hear a heartbeat. I wasn’t freaked out like I thought I would be. I was in heaven. I was sleeping with the sexiest man alive, er, well sexiest man around. I finally drifted off with a smile on my face.
I woke up with a major headache. I was alone in the bed and almost didn’t realize where I was.
“Ezra?” I called out. No response.
Maybe he went out for a midday snack. I had to stop being so negative. I would kill him if I ever saw him with that bimbo again. We didn’t discuss that part but later we would have to have another talk about my requests on the subject, and I knew exactly what I would say.
Emily. I heard a whisper calling my name.
“Ezra?” I called again. No response.
“Seriously, Ezra, don’t mess with me,” I threatened. I could hear raspy breathing but the room was so dark. I turned on the lamp beside the bed. The room was empty except for me. The fire in the fireplace crackling was the only other sound I could hear except for my rapid beating heart and deep breathing.
Emily. The whispering voice called out again, sounding like it was coming from the opposite side of the room. I was scared shitless.
“This isn’t funny, you bastard,” I called out to whoever was playing with me. I stood up and took a step away from the bed.
“It really is not.” The voice came in loud and clear from behind me. I turned quickly and lost my balance. I fell to the floor, landing on my back and hip. The pain radiated down my legs. I scooted until I felt a wall on my back. Damon was standing a few feet in front of me. He was wearing a red tee shirt and black jeans. I heard whimpering and realized it was coming from me. He was suddenly bent down directly in front of me, and I let out a squeal. He took a chunk of my hair in his hands and smelled it. This teenage vampire was really getting on my nerves.
“Leave me alone, Damon, I am not even a witch.”
He laughed in response and pulled my hair, it hurt.
“You’re not real, this is just a dream,” I whimpered, hoping I would just wake up already. It didn’t help before, but I was praying for a miracle. He took my hand in his and inspected my arm. He ran his hand up and down my forearm.
“Oh, dear God. Ezra, wake me up already,” I begged as I looked at the ceiling. I couldn’t watch what he was doing.
Damon tilted his head to the side and looked at me with big red eyes. “One day, Emily, no one will be able to save you,” he warned before he bit down into my forearm. I could feel the pain and then nothing.
I looked down and saw blood coming out of my arm with two bite marks. I looked up and was surprised to see Ezra staring back, with blood on his lips. I broke down and tried to crawl into the wall. I didn’t want Damon to look like Ezra.
“Shh, Emily. Please, it’s me. Wake up, baby,” Ezra begged. I looked into his eyes. There was no way he could be faking this. I grabbed his neck and pulled him into a hug. I could still feel the tears running down my face. I looked up to see Axle, Gavin and Robert staring down with concern on their faces. It was obvious these dreams weren’t just a response to my stress.
“So mu
ch for keeping this quiet,” I whispered to Ezra.
Chapter Twenty-One
After I told my story at least five times and got a hug from everyone, including Robert, everyone finally left Ezra’s room.
“So you bit me to wake me up?” I asked again.
“I’m sorry, babe. It was actually Gavin’s idea, if you can believe that,” he replied.
Nelly had brought in a change of clothes for me, a big cup of Joe, and fresh blueberry muffins. It was ten in the morning, according to the clock on the mantle. I changed into my clothes and settled on to Ezra’s couch.
“Wow, Gavin. That’s a shocker,” I replied into my cup. The coffee was prepared exactly how I like it, steaming hot with heaps of sugar and creamer.
Ezra explained that I sat up in bed and was calling for him. I replayed the entire dream in real life.
“It’s just so weird that he would bite me in my dream at the exact time you would in real life. It’s hard to know which was real and who caused the pain,” I said and took a sip. I grabbed a muffin but wasn’t feeling much of an appetite so I just picked a blueberry out, ate it and put the muffin back.
“Baby, he can’t hurt you. It was only a dream,” he replied, trying to calm my mind, but it wasn’t working. Something felt wrong.
“Ezra, it hurt when I fell, and when he pulled my hair. That can’t be right. I’ve never had dreams like this. I could feel his touch on my arm,” I exclaimed.
He shook his head. He thought the same thing, he just didn’t want to admit it. That would mean Damon was able to get to me without even knowing where I was.
“Robert will put a protection spell on you. He won’t be able to get to you anymore,” he replied, looking helpless. I felt so bad for Ezra. It must be hard to watch someone go through this and not be able to do anything about it.
“We’re meeting in a little while. Why don’t you go see Kimmy while I’m away?” he proposed.
It sounded like a great idea. Hopefully she was awake by now. I felt like seeing Kimmy would make it all better, but I really needed to see my mom first. I was such a bad daughter. She had been stuck in this house for days, and I had yet to visit her or even call.
Dare to Bleed (Emily Sullivan Series) Page 13