“Hey Caroline, can I talk to you for a minute?” His deep voice echoed in the quiet space, and Caroline glanced around nervously. Nothing Taven could possibly want to talk to her about was something she’d want anyone else to hear.
She nodded and got up, walking to the end of the long hall, hopefully far enough away that they could talk without anyone overhearing. Taven followed her. “What’s up, Taven?”
“I wanted to check on you and make sure everything was okay.”
Caroline didn’t realize how tense her face was until it melted a little at Taven’s concern. Of the two brothers, she definitely would’ve considered Roric the more thoughtful one, but lately, Taven had been a lot more considerate of her than Roric had.
“Thanks, Taven. We’re waiting for Houston to get a volunteer. They’re really busy tonight.”
Taven looked over her shoulder at the full waiting room. People had come and gone, but the size of the crowd had stayed about the same.
“You don’t have to stay with him, you know. They’ll assign him a mentor and he’ll be fine. He doesn’t look like he’ll be any trouble.”
They both glanced at Houston who was flipping through a Good Housekeeping magazine. Taven looked way more dangerous than he did. But Caroline shook her head.
“They don’t have any available mentors. They said they’d have to put him on a waiting list, and it might be a few weeks.”
Taven scowled and adjusted his holster. In the bright, florescent light, she could see traces of blood on his stake. “Shit, I didn’t know we were that tight on mentors.”
“Me neither. I signed up to become a mentor. I’m going to look after him.”
Taven’s eyes bulged, and he jerked his head back then crossed his thick arms over his chest. “Caroline, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I know I’m young and I haven’t been a vampire for very long, but I can watch out for him, at least. Make sure he doesn’t get out of control. I feel responsible for him.” Caroline’s voice dropped to the quietest whisper possible. They were 20 feet away from the nearest person, but vampires had really good hearing.
Even being this far away from him made Caroline a little nervous because she knew he was getting hungrier by the minute. She glanced at him again to make sure he hadn’t moved.
Taven rolled his eyes. “I’m not saying you won’t be a good mentor. I’m saying Roric will be pissed. You’re a beautiful woman, and any guy would be interested in you.”
He glanced around to make sure nobody was paying attention to them then dropped his deep voice to a low rumble. “But you fed this guy, you turned him, which means he’s tasted your blood and he’s feeling attached to you. He’s gonna have a real hard time being around you and not sinking his teeth into you. And vice versa.”
Caroline gulped and stared at Taven. His words reiterated one of her biggest fears about her relationship with Roric. Was it all just impulses caused by feeding from each other and the fact that he’d been the one to turn her? Was there anything real about their relationship?
Her feelings for Roric had never made sense. He was the opposite of everything she ever wanted. She was drawn to him in a way she couldn’t explain, but could their relationship survive when they were so different from each other? She had no way to know for sure.
Maybe it was for the best if she got some separation from Roric so she could figure out how she really felt about him, without the distracting bloodlust she felt every time he was near. Maybe being around a different guy would help clear her head a little.
“I’m not attracted to him, and I’m not going to let him drink from me, I’ve just going to keep an eye on him. I can’t let him go off on his own, Taven. But let me tell Roric, okay?”
“It’s your funeral. I swear, I’ll never understand women.” Taven gritted his teeth, moving his sharp jaw back and forth.
“Are you and Ivy having problems?” She jumped on the chance to change the subject.
Taven threw up his hands then propped his fists on his hips and started pacing back and forth in the narrow hallway. “You tell me. You probably know more than I do. Girls talk about shit with each other, but all they give us guys is mixed signals. She’s acting weird, and tonight she made plans with someone else and wouldn’t tell me who. You know anything about that?”
Maybe it wasn’t her place to say anything, but she couldn’t resist giving Taven some help since he seemed to be totally clueless. “No, she didn’t say anything about that, but I know she’s feeling a little jealous because Roric asked me to move in with him.”
Taven frowned. “But she practically lives there already. She sleeps over all the time.”
“You mean, you don’t kick her out after sex.”
Taven stared at her like he had no clue what she was talking about. Caroline rolled her eyes. Guys could be such boneheads sometimes.
“She doesn’t just want to be your regular booty call. She wants you to show her that you’re committed to her.”
Roric had done that for her, but yet, she still wasn’t sure if his feelings for her were real. Or was it just her own feelings that she doubted?
“So, she wants me to make a commitment to her, but yet, she went out with some other guy tonight.” Taven’s voice raised, and he clenched his fists and flared his nostrils.
Caroline looked around nervously, hoping he wouldn’t make a scene. She needed to bring him down a notch. She lowered her own voice and put a hand on his tight bicep, trying to get him to relax.
“I really doubt she’s with another guy. She loves you. She’s probably out with some friends.”
She and Ivy didn’t talk that much, but based on their last conversation, she was pretty sure that Ivy wasn’t interested in anyone but Taven. She’d come right out and said she wanted to mate with him. But as far as Caroline knew, Ivy didn’t have any close friends, either. She certainly wasn’t going to mention that to Taven, though.
“She’s probably complaining about me,” Taven grumbled, but he seemed calmer.
“Probably.” Caroline chuckled, thinking she could really use some girl talk right about then.
The door opened, and Caroline did a double take when Piper walked in. Her heart squeezed, and tears threatened to fall at the sight of her own confidante.
Chapter 9
Ivy closed the door a little harder than necessary, rattling the doorframe, taking out her frustration with Taven and the whole situation. Maybe even a little with herself.
She never expected him to show up tonight. It threw her off her game. Of course, she did usually come over to his place on her nights off, so maybe she should’ve expected to hear from him. She probably should’ve texted him or something, let him know she wasn’t coming, but she wanted to show him that she wasn’t at his beck and call just because he’d turned her. If he wanted a commitment from her, he needed to make one himself. Until then, she was free to do what she wanted, when she wanted, with whoever she chose.
She stalked away from the door and paced around the small living room, waiting for her company to show up. If Taven knew who was coming over and what she planned to do, he’d shit a brick. But even this dump cost money, and she hadn’t been working much lately since she’d been so preoccupied with Taven. One quick trick would earn her enough to pay the rent that was due.
She looked around at the bare, dingy, beige walls, the stained, matted carpet, the ugly, brown, thrift store couch and the beat-up coffee table. Her attempts to spruce it up with a red, cable knit throw and a couple matching throw pillows that she’d picked up from an after-Christmas sale last year seemed pathetic compared to the fancy mansion that Taven lived in.
For one, bright second she thought he was going to ask her to move in with him, but no, he suggested she get one of those nice apartments on Lexington. Did he think she wanted to live in this slum? Of course she would get a nicer place if she could! Didn’t he know she was barely scraping by?
No, he probably didn’t, because h
e really didn’t know anything about her. She was a quick suck he used to hook up with in the alley behind his favorite bar. He never meant to turn her into a vampire, never meant to have a long term relationship with her. He’d just lost control one night and let the euphoria of sex and feeding take over.
But he’d come here, missing her, and obviously jealous that she had plans with someone else. And he’d offered to take her on a real date, so maybe he did want a relationship with her, he just wasn’t ready to go so far as living together. And Taven wasn’t the kind of guy who was going to be pushed into anything. The question was, could she be satisfied with what he was willing to offer, or should she walk away?
There was a knock on her door before she had a chance to think any more about it. She sucked in a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. Her visitor wouldn’t want to hear about her relationship troubles.
She pushed out her chest, pulled down her tank top a little, then opened the door. The man on the other side had dark hair and intense eyes like Taven, but the similarities stopped there. He was shorter, thinner, and his face, not that attractive to begin with, was twisted with need. His ratty jeans and tee shirt hung on him like he hadn’t been eating recently.
“Hey, Ivy. How you doing? You look good, real good.” His voice and body jangled with restless energy. He looked her up and down hungrily, licking his lips.
“Hey Steve, come on in.” She opened the door, and he slunk in. He didn’t look like the kind of person a pretty, young girl would want to invite in, but she knew him well enough she trusted him, and besides, she was a vampire now, and she could defend herself if she needed to.
She’d let him drink from her every couple weeks in the bathroom at Benders when she was human — a quick hundred bucks for ten minutes of work. But she’d been so preoccupied with Taven, she hadn’t been at their favorite bar much lately. But Steve had begged her to let him drink from her again and promised her twice as much if they could make an evening of it.
He barely glanced at her apartment before reaching for her, his shaking hands grabbing her hips and his mouth heading for her neck. He had his fangs in her in moments. The sharp pain only lasted for a second, and then the pleasure took over, coursing through her like electricity, till her whole body tingled. When he slid his fingers under her tank top, she felt like one of those plasma globes, bolts of lightning shooting out from her center and crackling under his touch. Every nerve ending cried out for more. He sucked hard, pulling deep from her veins, like he was starving for her. She gasped and went limp in his arms.
“Whoa, baby.” He grabbed her waist and held her up then pulled her over to the sofa. She dropped down onto it like a rag doll. He landed next to her.
“Sorry, I got a little excited. It’s just been so long. I guess I can slow down. We’ve got all night, right?” He draped his body over hers, pressing into her, then stroked her hair and the column of her neck.
“Yeah,” she whispered, suddenly wondering if this was such a good idea. Having him on top of her like this, in her home with no one else around, felt a little too much like a date. She knew it wasn’t, but did Steve?
“Haven’t you been drinking from anyone else?”
“No, the Agency is really cracking down on it. I didn’t want to risk it with anyone new. You never know, they might have undercover agents trying to lure in vamps. Besides, you’re my girl.” He gave her a big smile, and she forced a small one in response.
She wasn’t Steve’s girl, she was Taven’s. Even if they weren’t mated, they were still in a relationship, of sorts.
Steve’s mouth found her neck again, and he started sucking more gently, making small noises, almost like he was nursing. One hand kneaded her breast, like a cat pressing on its mother’s belly, while the other one stroked gently down her side. A groan slipped out of her mouth. His leg was between hers, and it took all her willpower to keep from rubbing her center up against it.
Being fed on had always been erotic, but quick sucks in the bathroom didn’t feel this intimate. In her mind, this was just business, but her body didn’t get the memo.
Steve lifted his head and looked at her. His eyes were glassy with lust, and hers probably were, too. “You know, you could drink from me, too, if you want. That would make this even better. I wouldn’t charge ya.” He grinned at her. Then he turned his neck towards her and rubbed his hand across his jugular till the vein stood out, thick and pulsing.
The thought sent flares of desire through her body. Drinking from him at the same time would double the intensity. But Taven had told her before that drinking from other vampires was like sleeping around. She didn’t want to cheat on Taven, even if she was irritated that he hadn’t committed to her. He would freak out if he knew she was doing this much.
She waved him away. “No, I’m good. I drank a blood bag already. Besides, you’re low, anyway.”
“I’m fine. You’re filling me up real good. And I’m sure you could take a little more.” He wriggled his eyebrows at her in a move that was probably supposed to be suggestive but just looked creepy.
“No, thanks.” She tried to be casual about it, but his lip curled in a snarl, and he pulled himself off of her and flopped over onto the couch, yanking his wallet out of his pants.
“That’s how it’s gonna be, huh? How much do you want? Another hundred?” He pulled three crisp hundred-dollar bills out of his wallet and tossed them on the coffee table.
Her heartbeat thudded in her ears as she glanced at the money. She could do a lot with an extra hundred, and Taven would never have to know. The bite marks would be healed in an hour. She glanced back at Steve. She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out.
He sighed and shook his head then dug into his wallet. “Tell you what, sweetheart. I’ve got one more bill in here and another itch that needs scratching. You give me what I need, and it’s all yours.”
He pulled out another hundred and dropped it next to the other three. Four hundred dollars. That would pay rent for two weeks.
It wasn’t like she’d never had sex for money before. She’d done it all the time before she learned that she could make more money selling her blood to vampires who had a taste for the vein and didn’t want to go to the clinic and drink from an official volunteer.
She’d never given it much thought before, but now that she was a vampire herself and knew more about how the clinic worked, she wondered, why would a vampire pay for something that he could get for free?
Well, not exactly free. You had to use credits that you earned by donating your own blood, but that was no big deal. The only reason she could think of was if the vampire didn’t have any credits and couldn’t get any because they weren’t registered and didn’t want to be.
Was Steve a rogue vamp who didn’t want his name in the system? She really didn’t know anything about him. Maybe she should take this opportunity to get some information out of him, try to find out why so many vampires were going rogue. The Agency might have a better chance of catching them if they understood them better. If she gave Steve what he wanted, he’d probably tell her anything she wanted to know.
She tore her eyes away from the cash to look at him. She wanted the money so bad, but she couldn’t do that to Taven. She felt guilty enough about what she’d already done. But could she find a way to get Steve talking, instead?
Steve must’ve taken the curiosity in her eyes for interest, because he smirked and lunged for her, pushing her shirt up, yanking down her bra cup, and wrapping his hot, wet mouth around her breast. His other hand unbuttoned his pants and pulled down the zipper.
Ivy squirmed and pushed against his chest. “No, Steve. I’m not having sex with you!”
He lifted his head and looked at her with desperation. “Come on, Ivy. I need you, baby.”
“You can drink all you want, but that’s as far as I go. I have a boyfriend.”
He huffed and pulled himself off of her. “Shit, Ivy. That’s messed up. I know I pay you f
or it, but you’re the only girl I drink from. I thought we had something here.”
She blanched. Even her john had better morals than her. Had she given him the idea that they were an item? “Sorry, Steve, I really like you, but…”
He ran a hand through his hair and smirked at her. “I guess I shouldn’t known better. You’re way out of my league. I suppose you got a lot of other guys. Does your boyfriend know you’re letting other vamps suck from you?”
She shook her head, staring at her lap to hide her red cheeks. “No, but I need the money.”
“If he’s any kind of man, he should be taking care of you.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. Too bad Taven didn’t see it that way. Maybe she should dump him for Steve.
“Look, I really like you, Ivy, but I don’t want to piss on another vamp’s territory, you know what I mean? Maybe this better be our last date.” He stood up and picked up the extra two bills.
Ivy grimaced. Steve was a good customer, and now she’d have to replace him. It was always risky trying someone new. And now she’d lost the chance to press him for information.
“Where will you get blood, the clinic?” Ivy followed him as Steve walked towards the door.
“I suppose I could. But the kind of girls that volunteer at the clinic aren’t like you, you know what I mean? That boyfriend of yours is damn lucky. You ought to tell him to appreciate you more. I’m sure you could have any guy you wanted.” He pinched her chin then leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek before slipping out the door.
So maybe Steve wasn’t a rogue. He just liked her. She almost wished she had feelings for him. At least he was willing to make a commitment to her.
She thought about going over to Taven’s since it was still early, but she decided not to. Maybe he’d get more serious if he thought he might lose her. No, let him think she was out having fun with someone else. In fact, maybe she ought to go find somebody else to have fun with. At least for the night. She grabbed her keys and headed out for her favorite bar.
Obsessed with the Vampire: A Paranormal Romance (Vampire Enforcement Agency Book 2) Page 6