by B. N. Toler
Daniel pulls one last draw off of his cigarette before flicking it on the ground. He moves towards Derrick, a look of hunger and rage across his face, and my heart swan dives to my stomach.
I turn to Eileen who sits still, an expression of surprise across her face. “Eileen!” I whisper loudly, shaking her. Oddly enough, she shivers like I’ve just unfrozen her. Her movements are jerky, like she’s on the defense, then her eyes go wide when she looks around and sees what’s happening.
“Oh fudge,” she whispers.
“What’s happening?”
“I just set him off.” She hops off of her stool, sprints across the room, and lunges at Derrick, knocking his body to the ground.
Derrick hits the ground with a loud thud, rousing him and he grunts in pain.
Why the hell did she knock over Derrick and not Daniel?
Eileen kicks Flynn who does the same shiver thing she did and he jumps up on alert.
Daniel’s gaze meets mine and I see a gray fury boiling in his eyes. His lips are peeled back exposing his fangs and I feel mine elongate at the sight of his. Something stirs in me, like hot water just before it reaches the point of boiling, and I don’t like it. There’s a connection between us as we stare at each other. Lust? I’m stunned by this feeling, and the fact that everyone in the bar is frozen in time, but I move as Daniel turns back towards Derrick and bends down.
“Daniel, don’t! It was a joke,” Eileen begs as she grabs his shoulders.
He hisses at her and she immediately backs away. Flynn grabs her and pushes her behind him. “Daniel, man. It’s us. This is all a misunderstanding. He doesn’t even know her,” Flynn tries to reason with Daniel, but it’s too late.
Daniel seizes Derrick’s throat and Eileen darts her panicked, green eyes to me. “Talk to him.”
“What do I say?” Panic is evident in my voice. Like he’d listen to me if he won’t listen to them.
“Tell him you would never let that guy touch you,” she orders.
“You think he’s flipped out because that guy said he wanted to taste me?” I question in disbelief.
“Just do it!” Flynn roars.
“Okay,” I hold my hands up in mock surrender. “but I don’t think he’ll listen to me.” Bending down beside Daniel, I realize I have to stop him. Derrick’s energy is dropping fast. He’ll die within the next few minutes at this rate. Daniel’s body is tensed, his muscles flexed under his shirt. The faintest sheen of sweat covers his neck. This is what the hunger for blood does to us.
“Daniel. Stop,” I say softly. When Daniel doesn’t move I touch his shoulder and he flinches. “Daniel, come back. I would never let him touch me.” I still get no response. I glance up at Eileen with an I told you so expression. I can’t believe they think I can stop Daniel if they can’t, but Eileen motions her hands at me, encouraging me to keep trying.
Derrick’s energy surges down and my brain is in overdrive trying to think of what to do. I have to stop him, but how? After I complete a series of scenarios all ending in Derrick’s death, I can only come up with one idea that might work. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try.
Pushing down my fear, I say, “Don’t drink from him. I want you to drink from me.” My voice is shaky as I speak the words and I swallow hard, wondering if my offer will entice him. Daniel immediately releases Derrick, letting his limp body fall to the floor with a thud in front of him.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I crawl over to Daniel. His face is covered in Derrick’s blood and my mouth waters at the sight of it. I have to fight the urge to lick it right off of his face. “Here. Drink from me.” I tilt my head to the side and pull my hair back exposing my neck for him.
“Aldo, are you—” Eileen is interrupted by Flynn shushing her.
My heart is beating like a drum as Daniel crawls closer to me and Flynn drags Derrick’s body away, and starts to heal him. Daniel and I stare at one another and I realize this isn’t really Daniel I’m looking at. This is someone else made up of nothing but anger and rage. This is a savage. I have no idea what’s about to happen. Rhett never even bit me or drank my blood. My only experience with being bitten is the night of my initiation, when Daniel bit me. But he didn’t feed from me. What I don’t know doesn’t matter, because what I do know is Daniel has saved me, twice now, when I was attacked. Daniel saved me from a life of not understanding why I felt bigger than I was. Daniel is saving me from a life where I lived afraid. Now it’s my turn to save Daniel and bring him back.
“Drink,” I whisper before closing my eyes and leaning towards him. He doesn’t move at first and I think maybe he won’t do it.
Suddenly his lips are on my neck. He smells me before licking and then his fangs plunge into my flesh. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulls me into him, pressing my body against his, his hold strong, pinning me against his chest.
My initial thoughts—it hurts like hell to get bit on the neck, but then something else happens. My body begins to relax in his hold. My eyes flutter open and I see Eileen and Flynn are standing with their backs to us. That’s odd, but I close my eyes as the feeling of Daniel’s pulls from my neck draw me back. There is something very erotic about this moment and I don’t know why. By all accounts, I should be freaked out and disgusted. We’re sitting on a dirty bar floor and the strongest hybrid in existence—as far as I know—is feeding from me while on a blood bender. Still, my body molds to his, needing him closer. Reason and rationality escape me while in his arms, his warm mouth against my neck, my blood feeding him, nourishing him. I feel powerful giving Daniel what he needs. But that powerful feeling begins to fade as I begin to feel weak, but I don’t question it. I know Daniel won’t drain me. Wrapping my arm around his neck to hold myself up, his grip strengthens as if he’s encouraged by my movement. Another minute passes and I open my eyes. The room is spinning and that’s when it hits me. Maybe Daniel is out of control. Maybe he will drain me.
“Flynn,” I yell, but it barely sounds like a whimper.
Flynn and Eileen jerk around and panic washes their faces.
“Daniel, let her go.” Flynn grabs Daniel’s shoulders, but his grip only tightens around me making it hard to breathe. “Daniel, stop.” This time Flynn jerks Daniel hard and he sprawls back releasing me. I hit the ground, my head smacking against the hardwood floor.
“Oh shit,” I hear Daniel gasp before everything goes black.
In my subconscious, Rhett appears. We’re at the lake by the Willow tree. He faces the water and doesn’t turn to meet me. At the water’s edge, I stand beside him.
“Come home to me.” He still doesn’t look at me as he speaks the words.
I gaze up and see his gorgeous face, the tight cut lines of his jaw and face. My subconscious knows this man well. He looks as perfect here as he does in real life. Just to be sure it’s not really him I force him to dissolve and then let him re-materialize. I don’t take chances anymore. I’ve been fooled too many times.
“Why did you lie to me Rhett?”
He shoves his hands in the pockets of his linen pants. “I was protecting you.”
“I know you hid what I am from me because you thought you were protecting me, but you took my choice away. It’s my choice if I want to be protected or not.”
“You’re so naïve. You think you can run off and destroy an entire nest of vampires?”
“I can’t sit back waiting and hoping they won’t find me while so many are being killed.”
“Come home. Let me protect you.” He turns to me this time and his green eyes slice through me. I feel like I’m bleeding in front of him; one giant open wound of oozing guilt. He loves me and I love him. But isn’t love supposed to make you stronger? Shouldn’t he want me to be more? There lies another question; am I making Rhett stronger by being with him? If he’s protecting me, how can he be helping other healers that are under the threat of being taken? Then it occurs to me, he would still do that. Even if we were together he would play his part all while keep
ing me on the sidelines, ‘protected.’ It’s so infuriating to be angry with him while appreciating his motives. In the end though, I love him. I will always love him, but his love weakens me.
“No, Rhett.”
He swallows and vanishes before my eyes. I guess goodbye is never easy. Even if it’s in your dreams.
I wake up in a room and bed I don’t recognize. My head is foggy as I scan the room trying to figure out where I am. I’m wearing a white T-shirt that doesn’t belong to me, the same lacy black underwear I had on last night, and no bra. The sounds of a shower running emerge from a closed door to my right and I tense momentarily wondering if I slept with someone last night. After I passed out in the bar, I have no memory.
“No, you didn’t have sex with anyone.” I jerk and find Eileen sitting on the bed behind me.
“That’s a relief,” I sigh. “Where am I?”
“Daniel’s room.” She rolls her eyes. “He refused to let us put you in your own room. He wanted to keep an eye on you.”
Reaching up, I touch my neck where Daniel bit me, but don’t feel any puncture wounds.
“All healed, babe.”
“What the hell did he do? How’d he freeze all of those people?”
“It’s a form of telekinesis. It’s a gift he obtained in age.”
Wow. Daniel’s gifts are really stacking up now. Not only is he some super healer that can draw energy from all life forms, he can freeze things too.
“So he wasn’t born with it?”
“No. It just started happening in the last fifty years.”
“Is Derrick—”
“Alive and well,” she interrupts me.
“All those other people?”
“They’re fine too. Don’t even know it happened.”
“How’s Flynn?” I quirk a brow at her. “Did he punish you good and proper?”
Eileen rolls her bright green eyes. “No. Once we came home and he changed his underwear he was pretty much done.”
“Changed his underwear?” I question.
“Yeah, cause he crapped his pants when Daniel pulled that stunt last night. Wasn’t exactly an aphrodisiac for either of us.”
I burst out laughing and Eileen joins me as tears stream down my face I’m laughing so hard. I have no idea if she’s serious or not, but I don’t care. It’s too funny.
When I finally calm down, I add, “That was crazy.” I stretch. “Why did Daniel do that?”
“That’s a good question, Aldo. I think you know the answer.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re wrong,” I lie. I know I’m feeling something, maybe it’s just lust for Daniel, but it’s something. I’m not sure what Daniel is feeling, but whatever happened last night was something. But I’m not ready to admit this to myself yet, let alone Eileen.
“Oh he only froze the entire bar and almost killed a guy for saying he wanted to taste you. Yeah, I’m so wrong.” She lies down beside me and we stare up at the ceiling together. “Who’s Rhett?” she asks casually and my heart jumps in my throat.
“Wh-what?” I stutter.
“You kept mumbling ‘no, Rhett’ in your sleep.”
Shit! “Just someone I used to know.” I steady my voice to hide any emotion.
“Did he hurt you?” she asks.
“No. Why?”
“The way you were saying it. It just sounded like a pleading for him to stop…”
“No. He never hurt me,” I clarify. I would never let anyone think that about Rhett.
“Okay. Daniel was worried.” Oh great. Daniel heard me saying Rhett’s name, too.
“I wanted to talk to you about the feeding Daniel your blood thing.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Oh, you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just—”
“Eileen!” Cassia shouts from the living room, interrupting Eileen.
“Coming!” she shouts back. “We’re making lunch. You need to eat. And drink blood.” She stands and heads to the doorway.
“Hey, can you not do anything like you did last night ever again?” I ask, practically begging.
“Okay, so Daniel almost killed a guy and you fed him your blood. Other than that, it was a pretty good night,” she jokes.
“You forgot Flynn shit his pants,” I add fighting laughter.
“Oh, yeah.” She twists her mouth as she makes a thoughtful expression. “Guess the night was a bit of a downer, huh?”
I laugh. “You know I think I’ve pegged you all wrong. Here I thought you were this sweet and innocent woman and you’re really nothing but mischief.”
“Moi?” She places her hand on her chest and I roll my eyes at her as she descends out of the bedroom closing the door behind her. She never did finish what she was saying about Daniel drinking my blood.
Rolling over, I try to push myself up, but can’t seem to muster up the energy. I collapse back on the bed.
God, I feel like shit.
“Easy,” a husky voice startles me and I snap my head in its direction.
Daniel emerges from the bathroom wearing a pair of jeans that are unbuttoned revealing his perfect muscular V. It’s the first time I’ve seen him without his shirt on. His body is divine. He’s all muscle and abs. Several scars cover his chest adding rugged character to his body.
“You need blood.” He plops down on the bed beside me. His eyes hold an odd look. I’d say regret or remorse, but that’s not his style.
“I’m okay.”
“You need to drink, kitten.”
“Do you know how much I absolutely loathe you calling me that?” I groan.
“Are we a bit cranky in the morning?”
“Only after being fed on.”
“I’m sorry about that.” He clears his throat.
“Say what?” I can’t hide my astonishment. “Was that actually an apology?”
“I lost control last night. I’m sorry I fed from you.” He looks away from me, shame in his voice. Sorry he fed and took too much or sorry he fed from me, period?
I don’t know why I feel compelled to comfort him, but I do. I place my hand on his where it rests on his thigh. “I asked you to. You took nothing that I didn’t offer.”
He snorts and stands, walking over to his dresser. His back is covered in tattoos. Thin lines track down his back from the top of his shoulders to his lower back. The tattoo looks like one large barcode, but the lines are made up of the tiniest symbols or letters. He’s too far away for me to make it out. “What are those tattoos on your back?”
“Initials.” He pulls a shirt out from a drawer and slams it closed.
“Whose initials?”
As he turns, his gaze meets mine and I’m stunned by the intensity in his eyes. “The initials of every healer, blood healer, and hybrid that have fought for our cause and died. It’s how I make sure they’re never forgotten.”
I almost choke with his words. Up until now I never believed he was as passionate about destroying the nests of vampires. “May I…” I want to ask to touch them, but perhaps that’s too…intimate?
“Yes,” he answers without me finishing my question. He sits down on the bed beside me and I force myself up so that I’m on my knees facing his back. The initials are tiny, but there are thousands.
“How many are there?” I ask.
“These are only the ones I’ve known personally, but a little over a hundred thousand.” He leans down and rests his elbows on his knees, allowing me to take my time and look. Holy shit! He has to have lived a very long time to have known that many.
I place one palm to his back and he flinches. “Sorry,” I whisper as I pull my hand away.
“No. Don’t stop.” I scoot closer on my knees to the point he’s almost sitting between my legs. I don’t care how inappropriate this is right now, I’m too lost in awe of his memorial to our fallen people. I gently rub my palms across his back as I look at the initials. These were people who died in a cruel war. These were my people. These were hea
lers, blood healers, and hybrids; all a part of me. I swallow back the emotion and before I can stop myself I lean down and kiss Daniel’s back.
“Beautiful,” I whisper and though the word barely escapes my mouth it hangs heavy with awe.
He moves so fast I don’t know it’s happened until he’s sitting on the bed and I’m straddling him. My eyes widen when I become acutely aware of how intimate this position is. We stare at each other, and I hate myself for it, but I want to kiss him. I lick my lips and he looks away, squeezing his eyes shut. I would think I had just been rejected if it wasn’t for the large bulge under his pants pressing into my thigh. Did he put me on him this way because he wanted to kiss me?
He tilts his head to the side, exposing his neck for me. “It’s only fair for you to drink from me.”
I don’t know why, but I feel rejected. He seems like he doesn’t want me to drink from him but feels obligated to let me. Like he thinks letting me drink from him makes us even. I push off of him and realize how shaky my legs are when he grabs me and holds me steady.
“You need to drink. You’re weak.”
“I’ll get a bag of blood from Nick.”
“My blood is stronger. You let me drink from you. You can drink from me.”
“Daniel, you don’t owe me anything, okay? Thanks for bringing me home last night. Sorry the night got so twisted.”
“Why won’t you drink from me?”
“Because you don’t want me to.”
His brow furrows as if confused. “I’m offering it to you. Would I do that if I didn’t want to?”
“I mean, you don’t really want me to.” As the words leave my mouth I’m mortified by how ridiculous they sound.
He runs a hand through his hair before closing the small gap between us. “Do you want me to really want you to?” He asks it as if the thought is so foreign to him.
My pride has all but evaporated from the room. I’ve been this girl too many times, throwing myself at a man who is rejecting me. I will not do this to myself again.