by S. E. Lund
I sat for a moment, my eyes never leaving hers. Finally, I went back to the door. When I reached it, opening it without another word, she spoke.
“Wait,” she said.
I turned slowly, wondering if she'd had a change of heart.
“You can lie with me for a while,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion, “but I’m a virgin and I don’t want anything to happen.”
“Of course,” I said and shook my head. “Calla, I would never…” I went to the side of the bed and stood beside it. “I’m just so cold. Nothing else will work. I won’t feed on you. I won’t touch you. Just let me lie with my body against yours so your heat will warm me.”
She nodded and pulled back the covers. She wore a tiny gown, her legs and arms bare.
On my part, I removed most of my clothes, watching her face as I did..
“Wait,” she said, holding up her hand. “You’re not going to get naked or anything, right?”
I smiled in spite of myself. “I’d like to, but I won’t. I’ll keep my undershirt and boxers on.”
“Okay,” she said and eyed me suspiciously while I continued to undress. Once undressed, I sat on the side of the bed and removed my socks.
Then, I stood at the side of the bed and held out my arms. “See? Boxers and undershirt.”
She glanced at my body, her eyes wide. I wondered if she had ever seen a man half-naked before.
“May I?” I asked and pointed to the bed beside her.
She nodded. “Yes, but no funny business,” she said, her brows furrowed.
“Funny business?” I crept into the bed beside me. “Whatever could you mean by that?” I tried not to smile.
“You know what I mean,” she said, creeping back under the covers, her back turned to me.
“I don’t have a clue what you mean, Miss Calla,” I said. “I’m a perfect gentleman and I can assure you that we do not engage in funny business.”
I snuggled close to her, my arm slipping around her waist and my feet touching hers.
“Oh, my God, your feet are like blocks of ice,” she said, giggling.
“I’m like a giant block of ice. I need you to melt me, sweet Calla.”
“You better not get too hot,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
I squeezed her but then did nothing more, my body nestled against hers, my face at the back of her head.
“Your hair smells nice,” I said, inhaling slowly. “Like jasmine and oranges.”
“It’s my shampoo.”
We lay together like that for some time, and I was uncomfortably aroused but tried to hold myself in check. Her warmth took away some of my pain, and soon, I was more comfortable.
“You breathe,” she said, sounding shocked.
“I do,” I replied, smiling to myself. “If I didn’t, I couldn’t speak.”
“Do you need to breathe? As in you need air?”
“Yes, my little scientist. I need air.”
She said nothing for a moment. “I thought you were dead. I mean, undead.”
“Undead is not the proper term," I replied. "It should be undying. Vampires are immortal. We won’t die of old age. We need blood to function and food to fuel our bodies, and air for our blood. If we don’t get a blood feed every day, we become weak and cold. The longer we go without blood, the weaker we get. Eventually, we’ll dry up like an old piece of leather. Only blood revives us.”
She nodded, but said nothing in reply. Finally, she spoke once more.
“Where did vampires come from? Is it a mutation?”
“Curious Calla,” I said, holding back a chuckle. “I don’t know what we are or where vampirism comes from. I suspect it’s a disease that makes you immortal and in need of blood. Vampires have been around for a very long time, and our history is as old as human’s. That’s all I know. Now, you should really go to sleep.”
She yawned audibly. “Did you just compel me to go to sleep?”
“Shhh,” I said and kissed her shoulder. “I didn’t compel you, but I will if you don’t go to sleep, Calla…”
“Okay,” she said, and shifted in the bed beside me.
Finally silent, we lay that way, bodies pressed together, the covers over top of us, and I listened to her breathe.
She was awake, and I was sure she was afraid for her pulse was rapid and it took quite some time for her to calm down. I knew that she was uncertain whether I would try to take advantage of her, but I wouldn’t.
I may have been a monster, but I wasn't a beast.
It took more than an hour for her to finally sleep, but I lay awake beside her, soaking up her warmth, planning my next move.
Calla
I woke up when it was still dark. I was lying on my back facing Kier, whose own eyes were open and staring into mine in a very intense way.
His arm lay across my waist, cradling my body. I blinked as my body instantly responded to the look in his eyes and the feel of his body warm against mine. He was wide awake and instead of feeling cold, he felt very warm.
“You’re awake?” I said, exquisitely aware of how close he was to me, how it would be only a few inches and he could lean down and kiss me.
“I don’t sleep at night,” he said, his voice deep.
I nodded but said nothing more for a moment, wondering what time it was.
“Did I snore?” I said and waited for his answer. My eyes flew open and I saw his grin.
“No, you didn’t snore,” he said with a laugh. “Not that I’d tell you if you did. I have some sense.”
Then he leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine, smiling the whole time. Before I knew it, he kissed me, his mouth pressed against mine, softly at first. Just a light press of our lips together. More affectionate than sexual.
I didn’t fight it nor did I pull away but my heart rate increased as soon as his lips touched mine. That familiar ache in my groin returned, and I felt a little breathless. Instead of pulling away as I should have done, I kissed him back, pressing up slightly, my mouth opening under his.
I wanted him to kiss me.
I wanted him to touch me, to lie on top of me.
When he opened his mouth against mine, his tongue exploring my mouth to find mine, I moaned, and that seemed to encourage him so that he lay on top of me. To my surprise, my thighs parted and he lay between them without hesitation. We kissed deeply, our bodies pressed together, and I became lost in the sensations of his mouth and tongue, our breathing loud in the stillness of the room. I could feel his hardness against my thigh and I shamelessly ground myself against it, surprising myself that I was that bold, but I was so aroused I ached to feel anything against me.
His hand slipped down from my cheek to my shoulder and then down my body to my breast, cupping it over the fabric of my nightgown, squeezing gently and tweaking my nipple between his finger and thumb. At that, I groaned against his mouth and thrust my breast up into his hand.
When his hand moved down even lower, finding my hip and then slipping over towards my groin, I shivered, my flesh throbbing with desire despite the warning bells going off in my head.
His hand slipped down between my legs and that shocked me back into the present. I gasped and he moved back, his face dark, his eyes bloodshot.
“Calla, I’m so sorry,” he said and moved away. “This can’t happen.”
I wasn’t sorry, but I knew instinctively that it would be dangerous for us to do more.
He rolled off the bed and quickly dressed, pulling on his clothes, and then his jacket. On my part, I lay recovering, my body still throbbing with lust, my heart rate fast, my breathing shallow.
I wanted it. I wanted him to keep touching me.
“I don’t want you to leave,” I whispered.
He shook his head and sat back down on the bed. “No,” he said and cupped my cheek. “In my current state, I don’t think I could stop. I couldn’t hold back and I’d bite you.”
Then he leaned down and kissed my forehead and I wanted to pull
him down on top of me and have him kiss me on the mouth once more but he was right.
“Go to sleep,” he said and stroked my forehead.
Then he was gone and I lay alone in my cold empty bed.
I woke up some time later to the sound of noise outside the house in the driveway.
Startled awake, I sat up in bed and glanced out the window. It was still dark, so I checked my clock radio. I’d been asleep for only an hour.
Then I heard a shout and the sound of vehicles in the driveway screeching to a halt. My heart rate increased, my pulse hammering as adrenaline coursed through me. Was it Kier’s brother already here to take him back? It seemed far too soon but they were wealthy. Perhaps they had a private jet?
Evan couldn’t have got here from Montreal so fast…
Then I realized it must be his enemies and so I crept out of the bed, tiptoed to the window and pulled aside the venetian blind to see the yard. Three big black SUVs had driven up and several men dressed in what looked like SWAT gear stood in a semi-circle, their weapons drawn.
I hunched down and went to my bedroom door, opening it a crack to see if Chelsea was up, but the hallway was empty and her light was still off. I tiptoed to her room, and opened the door.
“Chelsea,” I said in a hoarse whisper. “Chelsea, get up.”
She didn’t move a muscle. I crept to her bed and shook her shoulder, but she still didn’t wake up. Kier must have compelled her to stay asleep until dawn.
Damn him…
How could he know I’d need to wake her up early?
Desperate, I went back to my bedroom and peered out the window once more only to see men dragging Kier out of the guesthouse. He was wearing one of my grandfather’s beach robes and his boxer shorts and must have had a bath, for his hair was wet. Then I saw there were three holes in his chest, and streaks of blood running down his abdomen.
I gasped when someone struck him with the butt of their gun, knocking his head to the side with a sickening crack. A guard turned towards the house and I pulled back, but the blinds swayed from the motion. I crouched by the window, a hand over my mouth. Had the guard seen me? Did they know someone was inside the house watching?
I could only wait and see.
Fearing that I’d be discovered too easily, I slid under the bed and lay on my side, clapping a hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound.
The front door banged open as someone kicked it in. Heavy footsteps sounded on the floor. Doors to the bedrooms slammed open one by one. They must have found Chelsea for I heard someone trying to wake her.
“She’s compelled to stay asleep,” I heard Kier say. “Leave her. She’s of no use to you.”
“There’s another one,” someone said. “I can smell her. She’s sweet.”
Footsteps approached my room down the hallway. I could see them through the open door—three sets of black leather boots and one of Kier’s bare feet.
“Where is she?” said a gruff male voice.
“She must have run out the back door,” Kier said, and it was then I knew he was trying to protect me, preventing them from finding me. “Really, let the poor girls be. They’re not involved in any of this.”
Then one set of boots came to the side of the bed and in a second, the bed was flipped over against the wall, box spring, mattress and frame in one swift movement, exposing me where I lay cowering on my side.
“Grab her,” one of the men said who was holding Kier.
“Don’t touch her,” Kier said, his voice almost a growl. “She’s my pet.”
“All the more reason to bring her along and ensure you behave,” the guard said.
I screamed when the soldier grabbed me and pulled me up by the arm. I hit at him, trying to struggle free, but his hand was like a vise grip on my arm. He pulled me up and threw me over his shoulder as if I was nothing more than a bag of feathers.
“Let’s go,” he said. Kier caught my eye and shook his head, an expression of horror on his face, which was blood-spattered.
“I’m so sorry, Calla,” he said as they pulled him behind me. “I wanted to spare you any danger…”
“Shut the fuck up, MacLaughlan,” the man holding him growled and struck Kier again, knocking Kier’s head aside with a terrible sound. Kier’s eyes remained closed and he slumped for a moment but then seemed to regain his composure. He was able to walk and together, the five of us went past Chelsea’s bedroom.
“I’m taking this one as booty,” one of the men said from inside her bedroom. He hauled Chelsea out of the bed and threw her over his shoulder as well.
“No,” I called out. “Please, leave her!”
“Shut up, bitch,” the man holding me said and shook me hard.
“Leave the girls,” Kier said once more, this time his voice sounding conspiratorial. “My brother knows I’m here and it’s only a matter of time that he figures out who has me captive and comes for me. We can work out some kind of financial arrangement. Whatever your master is paying you, I’ll pay you more.”
The man holding him laughed out loud. “Who the fuck do you think hired us?”
Kier was silent for a moment. It was then I figured out what the man meant. Kier’s brother hired them.
“Then why are you using force?” Kier said, for he hadn’t figured it out.
“Your dear brother was the one who put you away in the first place,” the man said. “He’s now the big cheese in your family business and prince of the city. Guess he wanted you out of the way so he could take over while your father slept. Take the business in the direction he wanted it to go.”
I felt a stab of fear in my gut at that revelation. Whoever these men were, they meant Kier harm. Although I had only known him for a few days, and although he was a vampire who could kill me easily, I felt afraid for him. I felt afraid for Chelsea.
I felt afraid for myself.
Before we left, one of the guards took Kier into the guesthouse where he dressed in his clothing. I did as well, pulling on my sundress and sandals. They took Chelsea as she was, in her babydoll pajamas. Kier wanted her to stay asleep and so he didn’t awaken her. He argued with the guards but they finally agreed that it might make the trip easier without another mortal to control.
We were forced into the SUV and the guards threw a black hood over Kier’s head and fastened his arms with zip ties.
The trip took several hours, during which time I sat on the floor in the back of a van and felt every bump in the road. Although blindfolded, I could feel Chelsea lying on the floor beside me. She was still asleep and I thought she was the lucky one, unaware of what was happening. They blindfolded me and then I was unaware of where we went for the rest of the trip.
I figured that some kind of commando squad came for us and captured us – like something I would see in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Did Kier’s brother arrange to have him captured? For what purpose?
The drive seemed to take hours, but finally, the truck stopped and I heard the crunch of someone’s boots on gravel and the side door to the van slid open. Cool air brushed my face and it was a relief after being in the cramped and hot back of the van for several hours.
Someone grabbed me under my arms, which were handcuffed behind me and pulled me unceremoniously out of the van. I stumbled and almost fell to my knees, but strong arms held me up.
“Watch it,” a gruff voice said and I stood there, unable to see anything but darkness. I felt completely upended, and helpless. The men spoke about taking Chelsea inside and someone took my arm and walked me slowly up some steps, and inside a building.
The cool air of shade was a relief. Cement floors were smooth under my feet. Were we in some kind of warehouse?
Finally, I entered a bright room and was plunked down onto a chair.
“Sit there and don’t move,” a gruff voice commanded.
Where the heck am I going to go?
“Where are we?”
“Shut up,” the voice said. “No talking.”
I heard a chair scrape across the floor and I felt as if the man was sitting across from me.
Someone pulled the blindfold off my head and I blinked in the brightness, my eyes not yet used to the light.
Across from me sat a very handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes. By his pale skin, I could see he was a vampire. His hair was shorn almost to his skull on the sides but longer on top. His square jaw and muscles suggested he was a fighter or soldier. Kier lay on a couch beside me and I couldn’t see Chelsea anywhere.
“Hello, beautiful,” the man said and I jerked my head back to look in his eyes. He smiled slowly. “So you’re Kier’s pet?”
“I’m no one’s pet,” I said, my voice shaking from nerves.
“My boys tell me that Kier claimed you as his pet. If you aren’t, it means any one of us can claim you,” he said, waving at the other men standing in the room, staring at me. “I kind of like your scent. You’re sweet. I’d like you for myself. If you say you’re not Kier’s…”
I frowned. “I’m not anyone’s—.”
“She’s mine,” Kier said from the couch, the black hood still over his head. “She’s new and doesn’t understand our ways. Leave her alone.”
His voice sounded strained, as if he was in pain, and of course I remembered the blows that landed on him during the fight and the sound of gunfire.
“Fair enough,” the man said. “I’ll respect the rules, but I don’t know how you’ll care for her since you’re going back into hibernation. You have to pay me if you want to keep her alive and out of someone else’s clutches. Do you have any funds to transfer?”
“I just got out of hibernation,” Kier said, his voice sounding frustrated. “Give me some time. I’ll pay you handsomely, if you return her to her cottage and compel her to forget.”
“No,” I said, looking at the vampire’s eyes. “I don’t want to forget. Compel me to silence, but don’t make me forget.”