by Various
I sighed and sat down on a sheet-covered couch. A cloud of dust engulfed me as I did.
Poor Veronica, I thought.
She had no one, didn’t know who to trust in a world that was a lie to her. Now I had told her to take a hike. I really knew how to make things right.
I don’t know how long I sat there, but I finally decided to lie down and the next thing I knew someone tapped me on the shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw Veronica smiling down at me. I smiled back and got up slowly. This time as I moved the sharp pains from the wounds she gave me ran up my back. I cried out, holding my back.
“Are you all right?”
That question again. My gaze hardened. I didn’t need to hear that at the moment, but I didn’t want her going anywhere either. “No, I need to get this damn corset off.”
“I thought you would have had it off by now.”
“Yeah, well, I went looking for you after you left the room, and you were nowhere to be found. Just the empty house. I came down here to wait, but I guess I fell asleep.”
“Here, I’ll help you. Stand up.”
I did as I was told, the mesh material of my skirt scraping against my legs. Veronica’s arms came around me, as she began to unbuckle the front. It was too tight, so she had to move to the back and undo the lacings. She had a hard time undoing the knot. Each time she pulled on it, it drew me closer to her body until I was only inches from her. As each string came looser more oxygen rushed to my brain. Finally she was done, but I lost my balance and fell back into her. She caught me, her arms coming up under mine. Her fingers brushed against the sides of my breasts.
My nipples hardened as she removed her hands from my chest. I caught her hand and held it over my breast, so she could feel the nipple underneath it. Her fingers lingered a moment too long, and then she backed away.
I turned to her, wondering what she was doing. She could read my emotions, just as well as I could read hers. She knew how much I yearned to be with her.
“Don’t tease me,” she said, her voice husky with hunger of some kind.
I took a step forward. She didn’t know if she could trust me. She assumed I was manipulating her just as Devon had. As the space grew between us, some of the walls she had torn down were thrown back up around her mind. She didn’t want to be hurt again. I wasn’t going to hurt her. I wanted to show her how sorry I was, wanted to indulge in the desires which had been rising between us, and for the first time give myself to someone without having to worry about what they thought of me. She knew who I was, what I was.
I crossed the few feet between us. I raised my hand and traced the line of her jaw. I leaned in, touching my lips to hers, feeling the softness of them as if they were silk. I kissed her, but she didn’t respond. She was as a statue next to me, and I couldn’t seem to raise her passion. I separated my lips from hers, cupping her face in my hand, all as she looked at me with a dead stare. The thing on the outside was just an automaton as she assumed I would take my pleasure out on her body while she retreated inside her mind. I didn’t want that.
Trust me, please, I whispered inside her mind.
I poured my feelings into the plea as I let it reach all throughout her thoughts. I let her see my pain and regret for pushing her away earlier that night. I only wanted to be alone for a little while to sort things out in my head, to recharge. I needed her.
She stirred, blinking, seeing me in front of her instead of being the robot she had been before. Applying pressure to her breast, I massaged it in a circle through the vinyl. I pressed my lips to hers and this time she reacted. Her other hand came around my back, pushing me into her, until my skin stuck to the vinyl. My tongue snaked in between her lips as my hands moved at the back of her dress trying to find the zipper. Heat rose in me as I found myself getting wet, dripping. My tongue traced the outline of her teeth. They were like mine and then my tongue wrapped around her canines as they extended. I pressed my mouth harder against hers as they descended, only to show her I wasn’t afraid. With this I heard the stays in the corset rip and it fell down around me feet. I disengaged myself from Veronica and looked at her. Her hand had become a talon and shredded the laces.
“Oops,” I giggled.
She laughed and caught the underside of my chin with one of her claws, tracing the side of my face as her finger went from bone to flesh in a matter of milliseconds. The sensation of her morphing skin against mine was peculiar, more like a moth’s wing against my cheek. She moved down my chin and then traced the neckline of my shirt, teasing, before slipping her hand underneath the garment and cupping my breast. The nipple firmed immediately, growing harder than it ever had before as she tweaked it between her thumb and index finger. I closed my eyes, moaning, growing wetter with each simple caress.
I pushed against her, finding her slender neck and began nipping at the skin, bringing it between my teeth. Biting and sucking, I traced small circles on Veronica’s skin with my tongue. My heartbeat quickened until it was in tune with hers. I lingered at her throat a moment as my hands found her zipper and unzipped her dress, and then I found her flesh, her bare ass now exposed. My hand moved over her cheeks, feeling the firmness of the tissue. Her fingers were now at the waistband of my skirt, and as one hand worked my nipples, the other found my moist, warm clit. The coolness of her fingers caused me to jump, moving against her. And then she had me, massaging my clit in a circle while all I could do was hold onto her ass, clenching the firm flesh as I waited for release. That did not come, as she worked me to the point of orgasm and let me go. I licked at her neck, working up to her mouth once more, letting my tongue caress her fangs. Her lips were waiting to be used. I wanted them used on me. I yearned to feel her fangs cutting into me, anywhere. I wanted her to go down on me, licking and nipping at me. I desired pain and pleasure all rolled into one. I craved sheer abandon and loss of self, and she could give it to me. All I had to do was give myself over to her.
Her hands moved up and came under my shirt, lifting it off of me. The chill of the room hit me as I stood half naked. She moved behind me, her nails scratching along my flesh as she did, sending shivers racing along my already heated skin. Her hands traced my shoulder blades, lightly pinching the skin as she massaged my muscles and bones, easing the tension out of them, moving down each vertebra until there were no knots left to speak of. Her tongue tickled the back of my neck as she traveled along the ridge of my shoulder blade, working down as her hands pushed down my skirt. Her hands came around me, gripping my breasts. She squeezed them hard enough to leave bruises, enough to elicit a moan out of me as I pressed my ass into her cunt. She was as wet as I was.
Her hands sought entrance as she applied pressure for me to spread my legs. One hand found my hard node. The other grew longer, but retained its fleshiness and moved inside of me. First one finger slid in, and then two until she had three fingers inside of me. She nipped at my shoulders and the base of my neck while all I could do was hold on for the ride as she took me to release, to a point where everything flooded over me and I didn’t know where the world began or ended. Sensations like crashing waves pulled me under and drenched my brain. It was only she and I, her cold hands inside of my warm, wet walls. I lost myself to the pleasure of moaning and writhing within her grasp, but even as this happened I felt incomplete. I needed more of her.
She worked me for a few more moments and then let me go. I turned around, gazing at her breathlessly. My body glistened with sweat, and I only craved to bring her the same kind of pleasure she had brought me.
She released me and I knelt down, parting her with my hands, finding her clit with my tongue, licking and suckling on her like a kitten, tasting her salty juices, using my tongue to work her. She bucked against me as my fingers pressed the walls inside of her. They began to contract around me, as she came, and I kept her there. Waves of ecstasy moved from her into me as my mind was open to her feelings. It doubled the pleasure as well as the fun because I tapped into her emotions. The echoes of her pleasu
re rode my mind, but still an emptiness remained inside of her. I didn’t know what it was.
“Brenna. Enough. Please,” she groaned.
I didn’t stop. I kept her going. Redoubling my efforts my tongue flicked faster over her hood. Her fingers wrapped in my hair, keeping my head locked to her until finally she pushed me away. I landed hard as my tailbone connected with the floor. I looked up at her. Not a drop of sweat was on her body, but her eyes showed how much she had enjoyed my manipulations. She slumped to the floor, and just stayed there, the coolness of the wood having no effect on her. Her hair hung over her face and hid her expression. I crawled to her, wondering what profound sadness still lived in her as my mind caught the emotion.
I moved the hair out of her eyes and saw thin red tear streaks on her cheeks. I wiped one away and brought her into my arms. She sobbed, wetting my shoulder.
“You’re crying, love. Why are your tears red?” I whispered.
“Because I’m a vampire who sacrificed her soul. My kind is tainted. And you’re so pure.” Veronica touched the side of my cheek and smiled. I saw the pain in her eyes and the hope. This had been the first time she’d given herself to a partner. I was the one who had shown her that love didn’t come from a man ramming a dick into her cunt. I nodded and let her cry until she looked up at me and smiled.
I leaned in, kissing her soft mouth, cupping her face in my hands again. In that moment, I wanted her to know how much she meant to me. The feeling couldn’t be expressed in words, even with me touching her mind. Veronica needed something to warm her from the inside out, the ultimate thing she could get from anyone.
“Take blood from me,” I whispered.
Her eyes grew round at my suggestion. “No.”
Tracing her neck, I felt her almost non-existent heartbeat underneath. “I’m not afraid.”
“You should be. I could rip you apart if I chose to.”
“You won’t. Besides, it’ll show you how much I care for you, making this a more memorable evening.”
“What we just did? Fucking each other to release anxiety! I mean, it was great, but I’m not going bite you because you want to experience the thrill.”
She got up from the floor. I followed.
“Is that what we were just doing? Rutting like animals? I thought it was something more than that. I thought it might be more enjoyable if you had your fangs buried in my neck. I’m not looking for some fucking thrill. If that were the case, I would have stayed with Devon and let him rape me, using me over and over again until I didn’t know the difference between surrender and love. Does that sound familiar, Veronica?”
I couldn’t believe she thought I was some groupie just wanting to have my blood drawn like it was some big thing. I suggested it only because I wanted to make her happy. She clutched her head and screamed in frustration. She turned and came to slap me, her fingers turned into talons. Veronica stopped inches from my face. I didn’t flinch as she came at me.
“Go ahead, Veronica. Become just what Devon wants you to be, a killer without a conscience, a thing unable to feel love or pain. Go ahead. I won’t blame you or haunt you as the memory of your sister does. If you do, remember one thing. I’m not like Devon. I never put any demands on you. All I wanted to do was to help. And if you kill me, you’ll kill the only semblance of salvation you have within yourself. So go ahead.” I turned my neck so her talons could have a clean shot. I waited. Nothing happened.
Instead, I found myself in her embrace. Her fingers returned to normal as she stroked my flesh as if she truly cherished me, or like I was an object she had not seen in many years.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s okay. I’d never hurt you intentionally. You know that.”
“I know.”
I held her and in that instant she was not the vampire I knew, strong and proud, she was the frightened girl who had been seduced by a fiend so many years ago. She was the girl who had been thwarted out of a loving marriage by a monster and had given up her life in blood and pain. In that moment, she and I would never be separated, no matter what happened to me. If I died tomorrow she would be at my side. She would protect me, always. It would be she and I until I drew my last breath.
Her hand came up and held the other side of my neck, pushing it to the side, so she could have a better angle. I held my breath and waited for the pain, but it wasn’t bad. She took great care in making sure her entrance was swift and painless. I drew in my breath through my teeth and then I felt her suckling, heard the sucking sounds as she drew in my life. My hands traveled down to her nether region and began to work her once again as she bled me. Each of us began to move in time, our breath quickening along with one another. At the moment of her release, I was lightheaded and growing slightly cold, but it was then as she withdrew from me that we came in each other’s arms.
Chapter Twenty-Three
My name is Veronica.
The smell of blood drew me into consciousness. Shock hit me when I opened my eyes. The once stark white sheet that used to cover the couch was now stained red. The smell of familiar blood wafted into my nose. I’d tasted it before. It was Brenna’s. Droplets of it had dribbled on the floor as if a child had run rampant with a bucket of paint. My jaw hardened. My teeth sharpened all at once, leaving me with a furrow of fangs. The edges shredded my gums, and blood welled up inside my mouth. Unconsciously, I licked my lips as the thick liquid slid down my throat.
My fingernails hardened into black talons until they were six inches long, the full extent of their length. I got up slowly from my resting place listening, for any sound of Brenna, but I was met with utter silence. Nothing breathed inside the house, except the ghosts, which lingered within my mind, but even those past whispers were silent now. I scanned the room with all my senses for any sign of Brenna but found none. I looked down at the dribbles. I touched the tip of my tongue. I tasted Brenna and caught a whiff of her fear mixed in with the crimson liquid.
An image flashed in my mind as the blood hit my system, and I experienced things from Brenna’s perspective. Something grabbed me around the throat so I couldn’t scream. I looked up into Devon’s deep eyes, my will paralyzed as he clamped down on my throat. His grin was wicked as he picked me up and brought me to his lips. Twin surges of fire erupted in my neck. I flailed against him, kicking him. He continued to drain me, and as I struggled against him his talons raked across my arms and he snarled, digging further into my throat, taking in my life. I was cold and blackness descended.
I caught Brenna’s fleeting thoughts of me, but there was nothing she could do to wake me, even though I was feet away, because I was wrapped in the sleep of death.
I growled low in my throat, allowing my vocal cords to constrict so I became more beast than human. I blamed myself for not protecting her, not even with my strength could I save her. Edmund had been right. Devon knew where I was, and now he had the one I cherished more than my own life. My form shifted, able to support me on all fours as I ran through the house. I was neither wolf nor large hunting cat. I was something in between, something that only could be compared to a hellhound. I ran into the kitchen, following the trail of blood. It stopped at the edge of the counter. I flicked my now forked tongue out, catching a drop. Devon had only been here within minutes of me waking, probably just stirring from his own death trance a half an hour or so before mine.
On the counter was an object. Momentarily I reverted back to a standing position and saw a knife dripping with blood stabbed through a tarot card. I gave the knife a yank, but it wouldn’t budge. I tugged again and the blade broke. The other half stayed embedded in the wooden countertop. I looked down at the thing it had pinned. It was a tarot card from Edmund’s deck, which I had shuffled a week before. Through the blood I saw the image underneath. It was not just any card. It was the Death Card.
I growled again at the thought of Devon touching Brenna. I looked at the card once again and knew where he had taken her. I didn’t know how he had a
chieved it, but the one place I thought she would be safe from him had become her crypt when it had once been her haven. I tossed the remnants of the knife aside and ran out of the house, not bothering to open the door. Rather, I crashed through it. I didn’t feel the two-inch oak splinters that embedded in my skin, nor did I care that the four-inch thick wooden door would have to be replaced. I raced up Beacon Street, past all of the college dorms and Boston Garden, and then across Charles Street, uncaring of the honking horns, or of the metal contraption I hit. I later learned I’d dented the side of a garbage truck. None of these things could stop me as I made my way toward Winter Street, toward Brenna. I shook off the daze the impact had given me and moved quicker than I cared to think about, growling at unwary humans as they crossed my path. I splashed through the Frog Pond in the middle of the Boston Common and came to Park Street Station.
I stopped at the edge of Tremont Street as I heard the screams of those passengers just coming or going down from the subway. Baring my teeth at them, I knew they’d never seen the likes of me except in their nightmares. I caught the scents of all of them: one had just had sex, one was close to death, and another young redhead had her period. All of their perfumes mixed in my nose, but I didn’t care.
I looked both ways, noticing there was no traffic, and leapt across the road in one fluid movement. Landing on the brick lined street, I kept on going, running though the already broken glass doors and toward the elevator. Then I stopped.