by Laura Lee
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you’re having will be fine.” He handed me a scotch. “Thanks.”
He took a sip of his drink. “So?”
I drank my liquor slowly, trying to gather my nerves. I finally managed to make eye contact with him. “So……..I don’t really know where to start Leo.”
He moved over to the couch and sat down. “How about the truth Karli?”
“Will you quit calling me Karli?” I whined.
“Why?” He asked. “It’s your name. Unless that has been a lie as well.”
“Dammit Leo, you know that is my real name! You also know that you rarely address me using it!”
“I’m sorry if I offended you, my dear. Is this better?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Leo, please stop trying to placate me. I can feel your pain. Trust me, it’s hitting me right in the fucking face. It’s pretty damn hard to ignore.”
“That’s an interesting choice of words………What do you mean when you say you can feel my pain?”
Oh God. Now what the hell am I going to do? I can’t lie to him again. I sat down next to him and let out a big sigh. “What do you want me to say? I’m at a loss for words here.”
He grabbed my hand. “I want you to trust me with the truth about you. What have I ever done to make you think that you shouldn’t? I would give my life for you. Why can’t you see that?”
I sighed even deeper, raking my hands through my hair. “Leo, it’s not what you’ve done or haven’t done. It’s what you are.”
“You mean, a vampire?” He questioned.
I was suddenly feeling nauseous so I tucked my head in between my knees. “Yes.”
“And why is that relevant?”
I groaned. “It matters because of what I am.”
“And what exactly are you, my sweet?”
I sat up and turned towards him. “If I tell you that, I’d be trusting you with my life. Literally. Can I do that?”
“Again, what have I ever done to make you think otherwise?” He asked.
I closed my eyes, not able to bare his reaction to what I was about to tell him. “Leo, the reason I could feel your emotions is because I am empathic. I also have quite a few more……..uh, abilities. Most of which I haven’t even figured out yet. The reason I have these abilities is because of what I am……..And what I am………is a fairy. A pure blooded fairy.” I braced myself, ready for the consequences of my confession.
He pressed his lips to the inside of my wrist. “I know, my love.”
My eyes popped open. “You what?!?!?!?!?”
He smiled. “I said, I already know that you’re a fairy, my love.”
Chapter 29
*******************
I held my breath for an indeterminate amount of time, until I was able to form a sentence again. “What? How? When?” Okay, maybe not a whole sentence.
“I pieced it together after you told me that Vance was the only person who could help you.” He replied. “Well, actually I suspected it at that point but I didn’t know for sure until the night of your attack.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, don’t take this the wrong way, my sweet but you have an unnatural curiosity about vampires. I could always sense an underlying fear behind your line of questioning whether you realized it or not. That fear, coupled with the timing of your immortality and the fact that Vance is part Fae told me what you are. I must admit, it took me much longer to figure it out than I would have liked. Your rounded ears threw me off for a while, but I knew for sure after ingesting a substantial amount of your blood. Fae blood is legendary among vampires. I couldn’t fully identify the taste that night you hurt your hand in the bar because I had such a small amount. The fairy essence gets stronger as you continue to drink.”
Oh God, I feel like I’m going to puke. “How did you know about Vance?”
“I was once close to someone who knows him very well.” He explained. “Vance does not know his secret has been compromised though and I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t need to give him another reason to dislike me.”
“So you’ve been keeping his secret all this time, even though you can’t stand him?”
“It’s not my secret to tell. Besides, I owe him for a mistake I made a long time ago.”
“What kind of mistake?” I asked.
“Again, my love, it’s not my secret to tell. I’m sorry, I don’t like keeping things from you, but I really have no right to discuss it with anyone.”
“I can’t believe you’ve known all this time Leo. I’m so sorry I’ve been lying to you. I only did what I thought I had to in order to survive.”
He brushed my hair behind my ear. “I understand, my pet. I’m just glad it’s finally out in the open.”
“Why doesn’t my blood affect you like it should?”
“Are you referring to the bloodlust a vampire typically suffers around your kind?”
“Yes.”
“My dear, I wasn’t exaggerating when I said your blood was the most exquisite elixir I have ever known.” His fangs lengthened as he traced his finger down the curve of my neck. “But I’d like to think I have more control than the average vampire. Perhaps the rational part of my brain knows that I could never live with myself if I caused you harm.”
“But you want more of my blood, right?” I asked.
His fangs were fully extended now. “Of course I do,” he replied. “But not for the reason you’re thinking. I want more, for the intimacy of it. No one could ever be closer to you than if they were pulling from your vein while simultaneously pushing inside of you.”
Okay, that little mental image just made my whole body ache with need. I’m guessing he picked up on that because he was giving off some very carnal vibes all of a sudden. I pushed his hand away. “Leo, please stop distracting me. I need to talk to you about this.”
“Am I distracting you?” He grinned.
“You know you are, so please knock it off. You’re not the only one who can sense emotions, remember?”
He held up his hands in surrender and laughed. “Please go on, my sweet.”
“Okay, so I get that your feelings for me prevent you from succumbing to bloodlust, but what about Vance?”
“What about him?”
“Well, he told me that if a vampire knew I was a fairy, they would seek me out just to experience the high of drinking my blood.”
“That’s very likely.” He agreed. “And?”
“So, why wouldn’t you have gone after him?” I asked.
“Two reasons.” He replied. “First of all, I have never taken blood from a male host since the experience is so sexual. I know that a lot of vampires don’t have a preference when it comes to partners, but mine has always been strictly female. Besides, he is only partly Fae. I doubt his blood would even have the same effect. Regardless, I’ve already caused him enough harm to last a lifetime. I wouldn’t go after him even if his blood did carry the right scent. I do not wish to add more guilt to my conscience if I can control it.”
“What kind of harm?”
“My dear, you know that it is not---”
“Yeah, yeah,” I interrupted. “Not your secret to tell. I get it.” I threw myself back into the couch and sighed. “This totally fucks with my game plan you know.”
“How so?” He asked.
“Because the more time I spend with you, the more confused I get. I’ve hidden my identity and lived in fear of vampires my entire life. Now I find myself unable to stay away from one who apparently knows what I am.” I turned towards him and grabbed his hand. “Leo, I know that you would never hurt me. I can feel it in my bones. I just don’t know what to think about all of this.”
He started petting my hair. “Don’t think, my love. Feel.” He moved in slowly, giving me a chance to back away. He gently pulled me towards him until our lips met. He remained still, waiting for me to respond. When my lips parted to receive him, he took his time, savoring the mo
ment. His tongue traced the perimeter before exploring my mouth. We tangoed to a rhythm rooted in sensuality and adoration. A half hour had passed and we did nothing but kiss, just enjoying being close to one another.
I somehow managed to break away from him and cleared my throat. “Well, um, I should probably be heading home now.”
“Please stay, my sweet.” He stood up and offered his hand to me.
I took his hand and rose from the couch. “Leo, I can’t. We both know what that would lead to and I’m not ready for that. I need to clear my head and being alone helps me do that.” I raised my heels to kiss him on the cheek. “I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I hope you know that. I’m so glad I don’t have to hide this from you anymore.”
“I am too.” He walked me to the door and pushed the elevator call button. When the doors opened he added, “Καληνύχτα όμορφη νεράιδα μου .”
“That was beautiful. What does it mean?”
He smiled. “It’s Greek. It translates to, good night my beautiful fairy.”
I returned his smile as the doors closed.
Chapter 30
*************************
I spent the following morning asking myself questions that I couldn’t answer. What am I going to do about Vance? Or Leo for that matter? What other powers do I have? How do I use them? How did my life become so complicated in such a short amount of time? My brain was running a marathon in my head with no finish line in sight. Around eleven, my buzzer rang.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Hey Kar. It’s me Roxy. Is now a good time for me to come look around for my phone?”
I totally forgot about that. “Yeah, sure Roxy. C’mon up.”
She knocked on my door a couple of minutes later. “Hey Kar, I’m here.” She called.
I opened the door and noticed that no one was stationed out front. “Where’s Dex?” I asked.
“The big blonde guy?”
“Yeah.” I replied.
“Oh, he said he needed to run down to his car for something. He said he’d be right back.”
“Oh, okay.” I stepped aside. “Come in.”
Roxy walked through the door and looked around. “Wow!” She said. “Looks like you’ve been doing some remodeling. How the hell did you accomplish so much in one day?”
Shit! I didn’t even think about that when I told her she could come over. “Um…..I’ve been working on some new transformation spells. Pretty nice, huh?”
“I’ll say! Nice doesn’t cut it. You wanna come over and do my place next?” She winked.
“Yeah, sure.” I lied. “So, um….I haven’t really had the chance to look for your phone. With all the renovations I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“That’s okay Kar. I’m sure it’s around here somewhere.” She started looking around the living room, and then back down the hall. “Are you here by yourself?” She asked. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything like Erica did yesterday morning.”
I blushed. “No, um, it’s just the two of us.”
She came back and sat on the couch. “I smell coffee. Do you have any left? I had a long night.”
“Sure.” I went into the kitchen to pour her a cup. “Do you take cream and sugar?”
“Yes, that’d be great.” She answered.
I walked into the living room and handed her a steaming mug of java. “So, do you want me to try calling your phone? Maybe we can find it that way.”
“No, that’s okay. It would have been out in the open if it were here. Do you mind if I just enjoy my coffee before taking off?”
“Of course not.” I joined her on the couch.
“So, we haven’t been able to talk much lately.” She said. “What’s the deal with you and Tanner? He was totally bummed when you left so abruptly the other night. He said he thought you two had a connection.”
Oh God. I blushed in embarrassment. “Um, Tanner was a mistake. He seemed really nice but I have enough guy drama on my plate at the moment. I don’t need to add any more.”
“Guy drama? With Leo?”
“Jesus, does everyone know about me and Leo?” I whined.
She patted me on the arm as she set her mug on the table. “It’s okay sweetie. The gals at work are all pretty envious. Well, except for Kendra who’s just flat out pissed. He’s quite a catch.”
“How do they even know? Did Erica say something?”
“No, not at all.” She replied. “It’s obvious, that’s all. It’s pretty hard to miss the way you two look at each other.”
“The way we look at each other?” I shrieked. “How do we look at each other?”
She chuckled. “You seriously don’t know? You two are constantly either eye fucking each other or you’re just plain ole googly-eyed.”
I hid my face with my hands. “Oh God, I’m so embarrassed.”
“You shouldn’t be. There’s nothing wrong with---”A loud scream from someone down the hall interrupted her sentence.
I jumped out of my seat and looked towards the door. “What the hell was that?”
“Oh shit.” She pouted. “I had hoped we’d have more time.”
I gave her a confused look. “Huh? Time for what?”
She stood up and started walking towards me. “Time to talk. Since this is the last chance we’ll get and all. It really is a shame Karli, because I do like you. Unfortunately, it sounds like one of your neighbors just found your dead bodyguard in the stairwell so we’ll need to get on with it.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about Roxy?”
She was backing me into a corner. “You see Karli, this is all your fault really. You just couldn’t be satisfied with the sexy vampire or even the detective, could you? You had to go after my man instead.”
“Roxy, I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I screamed. What the hell was going on here?
“Don’t play dumb with me you little slut!” I saw a blur of knuckles before pain shot through my jaw.
“Aaaaah God, what was that for?” I rubbed my stinging cheek.
“You shouldn’t have led Chad to believe that there was hope for a second chance between the two of you.” She explained. “He was finally starting to focus his attention on me until he saw you in Leo’s club that night. From that point on, you’re all he could talk about. All he could think about. He even had the nerve to call out your name in bed the other night! That’s when I knew that he and I would never be happy until you were removed from the picture.”
Oh fuck, Roxy’s the killer! Oh damn! Shit! Fuck! My phone started ringing, making me jump. Roxy picked it up and looked at the display before she continued. “I let you get away from me once, Kar. I made the mistake of underestimating your connection to Leo. Speaking of which, look who’s calling.” She held up the phone so I could see his name on the caller ID. “You must realize I cannot allow that to happen again, hence the daylight timing of my little visit here.” She threw the phone against the wall, silencing the ringer. “Now I’m going to go against tradition, and kill you in my human form so you can see the face of the woman Chad will enjoy fucking from now on.”
Oh shit, I have to stall her until I can figure out a way out of here. “Hold on Roxy. I just want to know one thing.”
She smirked. “Oh this should be interesting……What would you like to know?”
“How did you mask your essence? Leo and his men should have been able to sense your presence, and the cops could never pick up anything incriminating at any of the crime scenes.”
She laughed and pulled out an amethyst pendant hanging from a silver chain under her shirt. “It was so simple that it almost took the fun out of it. Just your everyday cloaking amulet. It also makes me invisible anytime I want, which comes in handy when I’m keeping an eye on Chad…..or for watching a little after hours soft core in the bar.”
I gasped. “Oh my God, you were in the bar that night!”
“Yes, I was.” She adm
itted. “And I must say, I was a little disappointed when you two stopped. I was so turned on that I couldn’t stop touching myself while I was watching you. I came so hard that I lost my balance. You heard me stumble because my panties were around my ankles.”