by C. L. Quinn
Tamesine lowered her head and looked at the floor.
“Interesting tile. Fifty years old, I’d guess. Hmmm.”
“You’re stalling.”
Tamesine looked into Eillia’s shiny onyx eyes that held more warmth than the sun. “You’re right. About everything. Let’s rest and I’ll go when it’s dark. I will ask the universe to be gentle.”
Marc, pleasantly exhausted, pulled into his driveway and shut off the bike that was the first one he’d bought when he got back to town. The trust his parents had settled for him had been untouched, and after he reconnected with Pete, Pete convinced him to shake it loose and live a little. The money had been just enough to buy this little house outright, along with ten of the surrounding acres, and pay for all of his equipment for the shop, the renovations, and enough left over for about a year’s rent on the space.
He’d bought a house built on stilts because it was too close to the river. First, the idea of a house on stilts just cracked him up, and second, it just had a sense of adventure about it. The bedroom was on a second story with a balcony that jutted out over the river, and most nights, he left the balcony doors wide open and just let the cool night air roll in.
Dropping his keys and wallet into a basket just inside of the door, he went to the fridge for his first beer of the day, then walked up to his bedroom, opened the rough-hewn doors and walked out to the edge of the balcony to lean on the railing while he slowly downed the beer.
He sighed in contentment. It was peaceful here. His nearest neighbors were down the road about a mile, so at night, all he heard were the insects, the water trickling over stones in the river, and sometimes small animals roaming around the house. It had been a long time since anyplace felt like home. He wasn’t sure this place ever would, but he was content for now.
A chirp announced a call coming through, so he slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and glanced at the face. He smiled and touched a button.
“Hey, babe.”
“Hi. So, can I come over tonight?”
For some weird reason, Marc hesitated. He was really tired, but that wasn’t it. Dropping his head, he admitted to himself, it was because he knew he’d fall asleep easily and he was looking forward to dreaming about the lovely blonde woman. When Gina was beside him, it really did feel like he was cheating. Although, sometimes he woke and wondered which woman that he felt he was cheating on, the real one or the one in his dreams.
“Uh, sure, babe. Just, I’m pretty freaking tired, I’m not going to be much company.”
“That’s okay. I just like to be with you. I’ll see you in about half an hour.”
“All right.”
He closed the phone and pitched it onto a sling-back chair.
Running his fingers through his hair, he killed the beer and headed in for another.
Just as he opened the refrigerator, he heard a quick rap on his front door.
Frowning, he wondered who the hell it could be. It was definitely too soon for Gina, and no one else ever came this far out. Well, Pete, but he actually had a date tonight.
Popping the cap off of the beer, he took a long swig as he opened the door.
“Yeah…”
Marc nearly lost his balance. His eyes lost focus for a few moments. What the fuck?
“Marc, may I come in?” the vision asked.
He stepped back, not to let her in, but to deny that she could possibly be there at all.
But the vision followed him in, turned to close the door, and faced him.
“How…?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to intrude.” Tamesine couldn’t stop staring at him, and he was staring at her, but he looked thunderstruck. “Are you all right?”
“Uh…” Marc upended the bottle of beer and chugged it.
Tamesine watched him close his eyes, rub them, and then open them again.
“Okay, what the fuck is this?”
“I need to speak with you. You don’t know me, but what I have to say is pretty important. May we sit down?”
Marc let out a long breath. “I don’t know you? Right the fuck I don’t. Not really. Because you don’t exist.”
“Um, Marc, I do. I’m standing right here in front of you.”
“I can see that. I don’t know how, though. Unless…”
He turned toward the back of the house, and then back towards her, and snapped his fingers. “That’s gotta be it. I’ve seen you somewhere in town before, and even though I don’t remember it, my sub-conscious libido did.”
Marc watched the beautiful vision of his dream-woman smile and spread her hands as she advanced elegantly into the room.
Damn, she was even more incredible than the dream.
“I don’t understand.”
“Look gorgeous, I don’t think you want me to explain. The things I’ve done to you…I’m sorry, I need to shut up now.”
“The things you’ve done to me? But you don’t know me. Do you?”
“No, I don’t. Just, well, fuck. Look, I’ve had some pretty erotic dreams about you.”
“How? You’ve never seen me before.” He shouldn’t remember her at all.
“I’ll say. I wouldn’t have thought I could ever forget seeing you. But I must have, and for some reason, I must have plugged you into my dreams. I’m sorry, this sounds rude, but, hey, you came to my house. Which begs the question, why?”
“I wanted to talk to you about something, but this puts a new spin on things for me too. You should not remember me at all.”
“I couldn’t forget that face, that body, hell, that voice. I know every inch of you. In the dream, I mean.”
He moved closer. “Although…”
Now, he was within a few inches, and just studied her.
“The detail in my dream is pretty specific. I’m amazed that I even remembered how that one curl on the side always turns the wrong way.” He paused, his eyes burning into hers suddenly. “How do I know that?”
“That’s a good question. You shouldn’t.”
“Tell me what you’re here for,” he suddenly demanded, his eyes concerned now.
“All right. But please, may we sit?”
“Sure.”
He led Tamesine to a wide soft couch that faced a glass doorway. Motioning for her to sit, he waited until she did before he sat on the coffee table and faced her.
Tamesine smiled, the memory of the last time he’d done that brought moisture to her eyes and another place that had been dry too long.
“Okay, let me in on the secret. I assume there’s a secret.”
“There is. A big one. Marc, we’ve met before. You’re having erotic dreams because we’ve made love. You’ve been inside of me.”
She didn’t think he could have looked more shocked if she’d struck him.
He spoke slowly with a sly smile. “No, I would never have forgotten that.”
“Not if it had been your choice. It wasn’t. I erased the memory of me from your mind. At least, I should have.”
Tamesine’s eyes sparkled. “You have a powerful mind.”
“I feel as if there’s another shoe yet to drop.”
“I’m preparing you, yes. Before I return your memories, I need you to understand that I did this for you so that you could return to your life, to a normal one with no craziness. But something has happened and I need to tell you, to let you make a choice.”
“I’m not getting any younger, gorgeous.”
“Okay, then, look into my eyes.”
Marc scooted closer. She could feel his breath on her lips and his knees almost touched hers. Respiration for both of them was very elevated.
“God, those are beautiful eyes,” Marc said.
“I release you from the compulsion I issued a month ago in Los Angeles. Marc, remember me, remember all of it.”
Marc’s eyes widened and he felt dizzier than he’d ever felt in his life. Tamesine reached for him, and pulled him into her arms.
In his confusion, Marc though
t how familiar she felt. But it was just because of the dreams, wasn’t it?
Moments later, he stared at her without blinking for long seconds. The memory hit with surprising force.
“Tam,” Marc said on a breath.
Still staring into his eyes, she pulled away. “Yes.”
“What the…where have you been?”
He stood, and looked around the room, then turned back and faced her. “You wiped my memory. Damn’t, Tam, you fucked with me!”
Suddenly, he dropped back down onto the table and leaned in to take her face in his hands. Her eyes were wet.
“You made me forget you. No matter what I did for the rest of my life, I never wanted to forget you. If you didn’t want me, I still wanted you, I still wanted to remember you! What the fuck, baby?”
“I gave you back the life I thought you wanted. You were happy, Marc, I saw you. Gina…”
“Gina’s a good girl. Yeah, we might have been happy. But only because you made me forget that I was falling in love with you.”
“I didn’t want to interfere. I haven’t the right. But Eillia thought I should ask you. So, I’m asking. You’re back with Gina. You’ve made love with her. It’s okay, don’t deny it, I know you have, I saw you kiss yesterday.”
That surprised him. “Okay, sure, we’re good together, but…”
Tamesine cut him off.
“You have your business, everything is normal, and sane, and the kind of world you’re used to, that you were born into. You’re home, Marc. With me, you would have to give up all of your friends, your family, everything you have ever known. I would have to convert you, so you would be something incredibly different than you are. Being vampire is spectacular, but it’s a completely different life, and it takes a great deal of adjustment. No more sunny days, for instance. You already know we have dangers in our lives that are much worse than anything you would face here in Wisconsin. It isn’t always a peaceful life.”
Now, blue eyes to gray, serious, Tamesine took his hands from her face and held them.
“I just want you to understand what you have here. You’re right, it’s good. So, having said that, I want you to know that, if you choose to be with me, it would make me happier than I ever expected to be. I love you, I’ve missed you, and I would make you vampire and my mate if that is something that you would want to do.”
Marc sat stone still, his breath held.
Releasing his hands, Tamesine moved back away from him to give him space. She knew this was momentous and impossibly difficult.
“Don’t answer me now, this is important and it is forever, so you need to take the time to consider…”
Marc launched at her and lifted Tamesine into his arms to carry her upstairs to his bed. He laid her carefully in the center and crawled in beside of her.
“I’ve made love to you in this bed, in my dreams, almost every night since I returned. You have never been more than a few winks from me since you left. I thought I was going crazy at first. Then, I looked forward to our dream-dates. Then, I needed them. And when Gina came back into my life, I felt as if I was cheating on her because I wanted to roll over, away from her, and find you in my sleep instead of hold her at night. Does that answer your question?”
He kissed her, slowly at first, as if letting the memory return, or making a new one, or reminding himself how perfect they were together here, in the real world. His tongue slipped against hers and knew he’d had no choice at all.
He lifted his head, and in the dim light of the room, his eyes glistening, he said, “Now, I’m home.”
Outside, sitting in their ‘borrowed’ car, Eillia finished her phone call, checking in with the villa, a little paranoid these days, just to be sure all was well. When she returned, they planned to take the children to Zambia to Ahmose’s village, hidden by first blood magics from the world. Lamont couldn’t touch them there because he would never even know the village existed.
She glanced up at the strange little wooden house that looked like it belonged in a fairy tale, perched up on long poles. It was odd, and she liked it. Tamesine had been in there for nearly an hour.
Eillia smiled. Something must be going right.
The sound of an engine behind her made Eillia get out of the car. In the darkness, the car was harder to see, but she knew who it was.
When the car pulled up next to hers, Gina got out, slowly, and looked over Eillia’s car. Walking around the back of her car, Eillia approached Gina with a smile.
“Hi,” she said.
Gina was hesitant, then said, questioningly, “Hi?”
“I’m Eillia. Gina, look at me, please.”
When Gina did so, Eillia moved closer. “You will go back to your home, get in bed, have a nice long rest, and waken refreshed and ready to enjoy your day tomorrow morning. You will remember none of this, not even coming out here tonight.”
With no expression or question, Gina got into her car and drove back down the lane that led to Marc’s isolated strange little house. Eillia sighed.
“There. If you’re not out in ten minutes, I’ll assume you’re staying, my friend.”
Inside the river house, now undressed, Tamesine lay beneath Marc, also naked, as he moved, slowly, sensuously, on top of her. Friction built quickly, and he leaned down to let his tongue linger on one nipple and then the other, while continuing the motion that had her writhing beneath him.
Yes, she was staying.
TWENTY-FOUR
He was in a basement, lots of concrete, with very nice, high quality restraints. Tamesine finished talking with Koen and turned back to him.
“Marc, baby, are you ready?”
He lifted his arms out to his side, rattling the heavy chains attached to his wrists. “Is anybody ever?”
“Touché. Okay, we’ve gone over this, but words could never convey what this is going to feel like. Just…know it will be okay and it will be over in about a week. Every part of your body will undergo this change, and it’s, well, just know I love you, and there is no other way.”
“Got it. I love you, too, and I know it’s worth it. Let’s do it, Tam.”
“All right. Go ahead and sit down. Lean against the wall, that’s where you’ll be for the next few days anyway.”
Marc dropped down, and did exactly as she asked.
Sitting beside of him, Tamesine used a sleek silver dagger to slice her wrist, which she threw across the room out of Marc’s reach.
“Here we go. Drink, baby.”
THREE WEEKS LATER
“Surf’s up,” Bas told Marc. “Awesome boarding, if you’re inclined.”
“I don’t surf,” Marc told him.
“Try it. Believe me, you’re a biker, you like speed and danger and the wind in your face, you’ll love this.”
“I’ll wipe out and I’m not that strong of a swimmer.”
Koen tilted his head and grinned.
“You get that that is not a problem anymore.”
Marc nodded slowly. “I forget that. Yeah, yeah, fuck it, let’s go!”
Eillia and Tamesine relaxed on plush cushions placed on carved beach couches in front of a fire-pit where they’d lit a glowing fire that illuminated the area and provided unnecessary warmth. But it was the atmosphere that they enjoyed, so Eillia kept it stoked.
“You’re really showing now,” Eillia mentioned as she took a sip of hot chocolate, in keeping with the theme of the night.
“I know. Marc noticed last night, although he was tactful. Told me I had the cutest little belly in the world. He doesn’t realize that’s never a problem with vampires. I’m going to tell him tonight.”
“It’s time. I agree, waiting to let him adjust to his conversion before hitting him with fatherhood was probably a good call. The boy is going to be overwhelmed.” Eillia snorted on a laugh. “Boy. I call him that because he’s such a young vampire, I can’t believe he’s actually slightly bigger than Koen. That was unexpected. You have some seriously powerful magics, Tamesine.
”
Alisa had just arrived from the villa with a tray filled with ice cold drinks. “I know. Koen told me that made vampires are never as big as a first blood. He’s pretty surprised himself.”
“What can I say, my mate had some awesome DNA.”
Laughing, Alisa handed out two of the drinks and picked up a third. “I guess that explains your twins.”
Tamesine had taken to massaging small circles into her curved belly. “I think the universe had a hand in it too.”
Later that night, an hour before sunrise, after preparing for bed and pulling the shutters to secure the room from daylight, Marc walked from the bathroom to the bed, where Tamesine was propped up against a wall of tufted pillows.
“Damn that was sweet. Tam, I had no idea surfing was that incredible. It’s my new favorite thing.” He smiled. “Next to you.”
She couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. Eillia was right, he made a superb vampire. He’d converted easily, and was actually bigger than Koen, and Koen was huge. Every feature that she’d loved about him when he was human was so enhanced, she herself was still a little startled.
His cock had filled just walking across the room towards her, fully erect now, and because it was so much bigger, and he was pleased with it, he was running his hand along its length as he sprawled across the bed.
“Playtime. If everyone knew how intense vampire sex is, they’d all demand conversion at once.”
“There is nothing else like it on earth. But first, baby, I have something to tell you.”
She was serious for the first time since he’d left the conversion cells beneath the house.
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. Incredibly so. Marc, I told you about first blood babies last week, how rare they are, and how only very few vampires or humans create or carry a first blood baby.”
“Yeah, although, even if you hadn’t told me how rare they are, Park and Eillia’s kids would have. Caedmon and Cairine blow me away.”