by Amanda Kay
“Understandable, what did you do?” He needed this conversation but he didn’t want to have it. He wanted to take five steps back and explain everything to her like he almost did yesterday before he chickened out and decided it was too soon.
“I gave her space. But I made her promise to not leave without a full explanation and a proper goodbye.” Raiden felt his dad’s hand squeeze his shoulder.
“That girl went through a lot with her ex?” Raiden nodded confirming his dad’s question. “She’s tough though, give her time and don’t give up on her so easily. If she chooses goodbye. Fight like hell before you let her leave.” Raiden nodded and for the first time since his mom died he felt tears fall from his eyes. Not so tough, when your heart is about to walk away.
Tai
“Hi, baby girl, how’s life?” She loved her dad and after getting over her state of shock she knew she needed his advice.
“Not good, Jordan was just here.” The tears heavy in her eyes.
“How?”
“Someone from here called mom with information on Raiden. She sent Jordan to get me.” She waited for the inevitable question.
“What sort of information?” his fatherly concern on high alert now.
“He’s a vampire prince.” As the words tumbled from her mouth, more tears poured from her eyes how was she going to get through this? How could she leave him? How could she stay?
“Baby girl, how does he treat you?” This was not the question she expected.
“Like a princess,” she answered honestly no idea where her father was going with his advice.
“I know you, Tai, there are two questions circling in your head. How do you leave? And. How do you stay?” She had to give him credit he did know her, but their relationship had always been like that.
“Yes,” she choked out.
“Answer me this, my baby girl, which one pops up first?” A simple straight forward question was the answer that easy.
“How do I leave him?” she answered.
“I thought so. This is so much more complicated and it isn’t that simple, baby girl, but that’s your starting point.”
“So what now?” she whispered.
“You go write in that journal of yours, pros and cons, my baby girl. And you’ll determine what you need to do. You’ll figure out what you can handle and what you can’t. You’re a helluva a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for Tai.”
“Thanks dad, love you.” She felt her spirits lift a little because her dad was right she had a starting point. Now she just had to wade through the jumbled mess in her head.
“Love you, too, baby girl. It’ll be okay.” She nodded as the phone clicked. ‘It’ll be okay.’
To the world,
So I learned some news today and I’m not sure about it. Raiden is a prince but that was the part you knew. The part I learned today is that he is a vampire prince. Not sure what to do, but dad suggested I write to figure it out so that’s what I’m doing.
First thing his touch is gentle. I feel safe in his arms, I feel loved. Second his kiss is passionate. When he kisses me I feel my whole body surge with flames. He sets me on fire in the best of ways. Third he loves me hard. From the moment we met he made sure I knew I was special. Maybe it’s why I fell in love so quick. But never once in this last month did not feel cherished. Even when he had our fight about the six month window to be engaged. He just loves me. He wants to give me the world. There is just one problem, he bites. Wow that was a cheesy line but, I mean he’s a vampire and I’m human isn’t there some code against that? It seems silly looking at it on paper never in the last month did I think that was his secret.
His touch is gentle...
His kiss passionate...
He loves me hard...
Only one problem he bites.
~Tai
She stared at her journal entry and what popped out at her instantly was there was only one con, he was a vampire. Everything else was a pro. The shock of this revelation was wearing off and what she was left with was she had a man who loved her with every fiber of her being. She owed him the explanation he wanted to give her before she made any choices. And there were only two…. stay or leave.
Raiden
His bedroom door was pushed open and he looked up seeing Tai. He waved her in not sure of what to say quite yet. His breath caught in his throat when she wheeled her suitcase behind her. This was it. She had come for the full explanation and then she was leaving. His heart shattered.
“You packed,” he stated quietly.
“I did,” she responded.
“So an explanation and then goodbye.” He felt a tear hit his cheek.
“I haven’t made that decision.” He snapped his eyes up from the bed where he had kept them locked.
She crawled on the bed towards him. Close but not close enough she crossed her legs and stared at him. What he saw was mixture of emotions, too many to make sense of.
“I don’t want you to be scared of me,” he whispered with a bated breath.
“Playboy, I’m not scared of you.” He gave her a weak smile. She reached for his hands, “Raiden, I’m not scared of you. I’m confused. So I need you to talk to me now.” He nodded.
“I’m a vampire. I was going to tell you soon, in fact I chickened out about a dozen times yesterday. I didn’t want you to find out another way.” Her fingers began stroking the top of his hands.
“Playboy, Jordan came to take me home at my mother’s request. He’ll be back, I know him so I need to make a choice. This means I need you to keep talking.” Her words made sense but he didn’t know what to say.
“I think Kai was involved. You heard our conversation a few weeks ago. You know he knows about you and I told you his family would stop at nothing.” She nodded. “I love you, Tai.”
“I know that, and I love you too.” He relaxed only slightly at those words. They had to be okay, he couldn’t lose her. He would fight like hell to keep her. “You want to know what terrifies me, Raiden?” Did he? Yes, of course he did. If he knew then maybe he could come up with some answers.
“Yes, sweetheart.” Then he waited.
“I’m human, Raiden, you’re not.” Was that it? She was worried about that.
“You don’t have to change, sweetheart.” She nodded.
“Tell me how everything fits together. The six-month window, Kai, the fact that you seem very human. How does it all fit, playboy?”
“When my dad and mom took control of the country and of Aishan, of it all, they made a choice to allow the humans living here to stay. They made a choice to live amongst them. Kai and his family made the same choice and both of our families were cursed, if you want to call it that. We have all been living very human lives because of it. We don’t regret the choice we made, but Kai and his family do. They’ve been trying to make amends for their choice ever since, but the only way they can is an extermination project of all humans and half-breeds that live in the country.” He paused and she scooted closer so he legs were now pressed against his. “They haven’t been able to do that because they aren’t the ones in power, we are. And not a day goes by that we regret our choice, even when we lost mom. My dad and I and my mom, when she was alive, are proud of the integrated society we built one. One where vampires can choose how they want to live.” He needed a break he needed her to say something so he could gauge where she was at.
“The humans that live amongst you, don’t know do they?” He shook his head. “They even really don’t know you’re a prince and run this whole country do they?”
“Some do, not all” she nodded at his response.
“Kai and his family’s list you and your dad are on top of it aren’t you?” He just nodded. “I called my dad and told him.”
“Does he want you back now, too?”
“Only if it’s my choice, I want to show you something. You have to promise me something, playboy.” God did she not know he would promise her the world if she stayed. “Don�
��t laugh at the last line.”
“I won’t, I promise sweetheart.” She took her journal out and pointed to the bottom of a passage and he began to read a little above a whisper. “His touch is gentle...his kiss passionate...he loves me hard...only one problem he bites.” He looked to her waiting for an explanation.
“My dad told me to come up with pros and cons to help me make a choice. I came up with only one con, and while it’s a big one, I still find myself thinking the pros outweigh it.” She turned and crawled off the bed and went to her suitcase. Wait, what was she doing? She had given him hope. She couldn’t leave now.
“Tai, don’t go,” he begged as he jumped off the bed.
She put her hand to his chest to hold him back. No, no, no he wasn’t letting her leave he could help her work through this.
“Please, Tai, my feelings haven’t changed and they won’t let me help you work through it. If you love me like you say you still do, stay, let me help you work through it. Please, I still want forever with you.” She laughed lightly and shook her head. What the hell was funny? She had her hand on her suitcase she was leaving, his heart was dying. Then she did something odd she laid the suitcase on the floor and started to unzip it.
It was cute and heart breaking, watching him beg her not to leave. She knew he had forgotten something, he had only asked her yesterday morning. She could feel his confusion when she began to unzip her suitcase. “Sweetheart?” She looked up at him from the floor. “What are you doing?”
“Playboy, you asked me to move in here yesterday.” He fell to his knees and reached for her and she wanted him close she let him pull her to him.
“Thank goodness. You’re not leaving?” he asked she could feel his tears against her cheek. He had been so worried. This would break them and she thought at one point it would her, too. She still had questions like being able to stay human. She didn’t know how that was possible. But in the end that would work itself out, because all that mattered was Raiden loved her something fierce and she felt the same way.
“Told you before, playboy, you’re stuck with me.” She felt him laugh against her.
“When did you make the choice to stay?”
“When I decided to let you read what I wrote, hearing you say those words on the page confirmed for me something I already knew. You love me.”
“So much, Tai.” She couldn’t handle the sadness in his voice anymore. It was as if he was waiting for the ground to open up and swallow him up.
She pulled back from their embrace a little to stare into his dark eyes swimming with every emotion possible. “Not going anywhere, playboy, now are you going to help me unpack or am I going back to the other room?” She smiled at him and hoped it had the coy seductive edge she wanted it to.
When he grabbed her up in his arms and stood she knew it had. He gently set her on the bed. “We’ll unpack your sexy ass in a little bit.” She bit her lip at the seductive promised laced in his voice. Hell yes. This man was a dream come true, Prince or not, vampire or not, all that mattered was he was her Prince Charming.
Raiden
As he crawled over her body still clothed, he wondered how he had gotten so lucky. He wanted her so badly; he needed to show her that she was his life. His mouth came down on his hard and she gasped and when her mouth parted, he took the opportunity to place his tongue in her mouth. Her felt her tongue retract and he pulled back, breaking their kiss. He studied her. Her eyes were locked tightly closed. Much like that first time, but this was different he knew she wasn’t scared of the actual sex this time, as much as he knew she loved him, she was scared of him.
“Tai, look at me?” Her eyes fluttered opened and confirmed his thoughts. He rolled off of her, “You’re scared of me,” he whispered. She started fiercely shaking her head but she didn’t speak. He rolled her to her side so she was facing him. “You are, Tai, and sweetheart, I understand. Just let me take care of you like always. Nothing has changed, sweetheart. I’m always going to take care of you, Tai.” She expelled a breath.
“Sorry, Raiden, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, you haven’t changed. I don’t know why I’m scared,” she spit the words out quickly as if she was afraid he would be mad.
“Tai, you’re right I haven’t changed, but in your eyes, I have a little or a lot, but just trust me. I won’t do anything dumb or stupid. You’ll remain as you are. I know how to be careful.” She nodded. And he went to her neck and started sucking ever so gently but she tensed up so he stopped and trailed kisses across her cheek till he reached her mouth.
He gently moved his lips against hers, but she remained still he played with the seam of her mouth and she finally moaned giving him access. This time her tongue began to move slowly against his he kept her rhythm letting her guide their kiss so she knew he wouldn’t push. She was in control. If all they did was kiss for now, he could live with that he just wanted her relaxed with him again in this way. He got it though, he really did. He couldn’t make a mistake and push her too fast she was worried about the fact that he was a vampire but loved him enough to stay and figure it out however painstakingly slow they might have to move.
Tai
He broke their kiss for a second time and she stared at him. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to take that step again for now. She was scared, but what was the biggest issue was him questioning if she was scared of him. She wasn’t honestly, but she was scared of what could accidently happen if things got too intense. Although things had been fairly intense the past month and nothing had happened. He was right about one thing he knew how to be careful.
“I’m sorry, playboy; I’m killing what should be a beautiful moment for us.” She sighed as she rolled to her back.
She felt him lean over her his mouth so close to hers yet so far away. His breath hot against her lips, “Tai, no apologies. I’m just thankful you’re still here.”
A knock came to the door; he rolled off her, “Yes,” he called and the door slowly opened to reveal Lee.
“Everything okay?” he asked looking to between both her and Raiden.
“Getting there, dad, what’s going on?” Raiden responded. Yeah things were getting there she was now just ruining their intimate moments.
“A Mr. Jordan Chase is here for Tai.” Shit. Raiden nodded.
“We’ll go talk with him,” Raiden responded again. Tai seemed to have lost her voice.
“Come on, Tai.” She just nodded as he helped her off the bed.
They walked hand and hand towards the entrance of the house. Jordan’s eyes drifted from Tai to her and Raiden’s hands interlaced together.
“You’re staying,” he stated in a low voice.
“Yes, I am. Tell my mom I’m safe. Really, Jordan, I am.” He nodded.
“Dude, I promise I’ll take care of her.” Raiden was surprisingly calm by the sight of Jordan and that made her feel better. Considering how he jumped down Jordan’s throat in her honor only a few weeks ago, she was afraid she would have to hold him back.
“Better than I ever did,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, Tai.” She actually believed his words for the first time.
“I know, Jordan,” she responded because he at least deserved to know it was the past now.
“You two mind if I hang out in town for a few days?” Tai looked to Raiden and he shook his head.
“No, Jordan, of course not.” He smiled but it was traced with a frown.
“Take care, Tai,” he said as he turned and left Raiden’s house.
“Thank you, playboy,” she said as she laced her arms around his waist and rested her head against his hard stomach.
“For what, sweetheart?” She looked up and smiled.
“For not beating him up. He’s not a bad person, I just wasn’t the one. I want him to find happiness one day.”
“He will.” And with that note, he took Tai completely in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom.
He got her back to the bedroom but before setting her down, he needed
to know if she was okay with this step. If she wasn’t, he would wait until she fully processed everything that allowed her to feel comfortable with their intimacy again. “Tai...” he whispered as he set her to her feet. She didn’t say anything instead her lips crashed into his which took him back and his mouth parted. Her tongue began a graceful dance with his and her hands traveled up his shirt pressing in this chest.
She finally pulled back and took a second to catch her breath so he did the same.
“I need you, playboy.” She said and a twinkle that had been missing in her eyes earlier was back.
He cupped her cheeks with his hands, “Going to take special care of my girl.”
She smiled, “You’ve been taking special care of me for the past month. I was being stupid earlier, Raiden, and I’m sorry.”
“No more talking, Tai.” The playboy she loved was taking over right now.
He crashed his lips back onto hers pushing her towards the bed. She was in a button down shirt ‘thank goodness’. Kissing her, fiercely entwining his tongue with hers and slowly unbuttoned her shirt. Moans were escaping her mouth as his hands brushed her skin as he took extra care unbuttoning her blouse. Once he had it unbuttoned he pushed it down her arms. She broke their kiss as the shirt hit the floor and pressed her head against his chest gasping for air.
“Shit, playboy,” she muttered.
He laughed, lifting her head from his chest following her shirt with his own. He bent down and found her lips again unclasping her bra and throwing it with their shirts. The back of her legs were pressed up against the bed. He pressed one hand to her stomach and the other to her back as he guided her down. When she hit the bed she crawled up to the head of it. He followed quickly finding the button and zipper on her jeans as he pulled her jeans off he followed them downward with his lips and tongue gently sucking on her skin. She gasped and he kissed up the other leg stopping at the top of her thigh. Her hand went across her eyes as she let out a whimper the moment his tongue found its goal, her pussy. He braced himself on the bed his thumbs brushing against her skin every time he took another lick with his tongue.