Please let him understand how much I need him. “I need you now. Tonight. More than ever. Please, Dev, I need to see you. I need someone to care.”
Heather clicked off the phone, then collapsed onto her bed, sobbing on and off. She cried herself to sleep eventually, succumbing to exhaustion just after midnight.
Heather was roused sometime later by gentle kisses on her face. She opened her eyes to see Devlin lying beside her on her bed. She grabbed him and squeezed herself tight to his broad chest, bursting out in fresh tears as he stroked her hair.
“Shh,” he said, holding her. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”
When she’d calmed down, Heather explained her brother’s injury. “I understand you’re upset,” Devlin said when she’d finished. “But you said he’ll walk again. That’s much better than the alternative.”
“I’m just scared,” Heather said, burrowing close. “He could have died, or been blown to bits.”
“But he’s neither. In point of fact, he’s coming home for good,” Devlin assured. “You should be celebrating, instead of crying, especially as you’re set to graduate soon.”
“How did you know?” Heather asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.
“I’ve paid attention,” he said lightly. “I planned to send you a graduation gift, Bright Eyes.”
“You haven’t seen me in months,” she accused harshly. “Not one call.”
“Not by choice,” Devlin answered, drawing her close. “You were losing yourself in me, Heather. I did what I thought was best for both of us under those circumstances.”
Heather didn’t soften. “You mean you wanted me to stay human because you can’t drink from me if I’m vampire.”
“Technically, I can,” Devlin admitted. “But that’s not half as fun, take it from me.”
“I want you,” Heather whispered, clutching him. “I want us to be how we were.”
“I want that, too,” Devlin said lustfully, pressing his hips tightly to hers. “If you’ll agree to break things off when they progress to the point they did before.”
Heather nodded, then her mouth sought his hungrily.
“No,” Devlin said, drawing back. “When I said celebration, I meant it.” He stood, then offered his hand, helping her up. “Go get dressed to kill, Bright Eyes. I’ll be back with the car in ten for you.” He left, tossing her a last wicked smile over his shoulder. Heather dashed for the closet, already planning the perfect outfit.
* * * *
The dinner at the Hilton hotel restaurant was lavish. While Devlin himself didn’t eat anything, Heather enjoyed dish after dish, ending with a chocolate cheesecake for dessert. Even the sullen stare of the familiar man in black lurking near the front of the restaurant couldn’t take away Heather’s joy. Because every woman that came in was looking at Devlin, and casting looks of envy her way. It was as wonderful as she’d fantasized, being out with him and being the center of his attention.
Better yet, when they left the restaurant, Heather and Devlin left together via his SUV, the man in black driving them. “Where are we going?” she asked curiously. “This isn’t the way back to my dorm.”
“To my home,” Devlin answered generously. “It’s time you saw it.”
A rush of hope rose up within Heather. He did care about her. “Why now?”
“Because you had my cell number for months and didn’t call, because I said not to.” He hugged her close. “I know how much you wanted to, but you trusted me. You didn’t try to push for more than I could give. That means I can trust you.”
They drove through wide gates, then up a long curving driveway. Devlin helped her out of the car, then up to the main front door. A muscular man opened it—some kind of bodyguard, as he was armed—and Devlin guided her up a flight of stairs to his bedroom. It was more a suite than a room, encompassing a large fireplace, several antique velvet chairs and matching couch, and a huge bed, its wooden headboard carved with an ornate oak tree.
“This is beautiful,” she said in awe.
“Thank you,” he said cordially. He closed the door, then took her hand. “Come.”
Devlin undressed Heather slowly before the fire, then lay her down on the rug. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, as he unbuttoned his shirt. “Like a newly hatched butterfly, just spreading its wings for her first flight.”
“Help me to fly,” Heather whispered hungrily, reaching for him.
* * * *
Afterwards, Devlin held her as they watched the crackling flames slowly die.
“Would you have called me?” Heather said finally. “If I hadn’t called you?”
“I’m not sure,” Devlin answered. “But you want to know if I wanted to, and the answer to that is yes.”
Heather didn’t reply.
“You keep taking my absence for not having feelings for you,” Devlin continued, irked. “When it’s the opposite that is true. I am and remain concerned for you. I didn’t want you to get sick, Heather.”
“I don’t care,” Heather said, turning in Devlin’s arms. “The truth is I was going to ask you to turn me, if that meant we could be together more often.”
Devlin let out a long irritated breath. “I told you, once you turn, what we have is done. Permanently.”
Did he only want her for her blood? She couldn’t bring herself to ask him. “I just want you in my life,” Heather elaborated. “Why not see one another as long as we can, then turn me?”
“You want to be a vampire nurse?” Devlin said, sarcastic.
“You’re a vampire,” Heather said right back. “There must be ways to hold a job and still—”
There was a crash from downstairs, then a series of shots. A loud siren began to sound.
Devlin jumped out of bed, pulling on his clothes. “Get dressed. Hurry!”
Heather complied. “What is it? A fire?”
“Worse,” Devlin said hatefully. “Vampire hunters.”
If not for the depth of hate in his tone, she would have laughed. Instead, Heather hurried to dress. Devlin finished and turned to her, grabbing her arm. He sat her on the bed. “Stay here and don’t make any noise,” he urged. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Wait!” Heather cried. “You shouldn’t go out there! What if they catch you and...stake you?”
Devlin snorted, standing. “I’m in no danger, Heather. But I need to know why they attacked now.” He left, shutting the door behind him.
Heather waited what seemed like an eternity. An hour later, she went to the door and opened it tentatively. No one was about. But there was an ominous feeling in the air, as if something evil was lurking in the shadows, holding its breath.
“You can come out,” a female voice said in contempt. “If you’re done quivering, that is.”
Heather looked up and saw a tall woman with long brown hair walking toward her. She was dressed in a simple back dress. There was something odd about it, but Heather couldn’t think what. Then she realized the hem was indistinct, as if the woman was not garbed in cloth, but with shadows.
“Where’s Devlin?” Heather ventured.
“Interrogating the prisoners,” the woman said casually. “He told me to see you got home. If you come with me, I’ll have someone drive you home.”
“Is he alright?” Heather persisted.
“Once he drains the two hunters, I’m sure his mood will improve,” the woman said darkly. “Come now.”
Drain? As in kill? Heather followed the woman downstairs to the garage. “Why did they attack?”
“I think it’s a test of hunterhood,” the woman said with a smirk, gesturing to the SUV. “If you can assail the vampire king’s house and live to tell the tale, there’s a lot of respect to be gained. Almost no one does.” The SUV suddenly started up, startling Heather. A man was already behind the wheel. “Take her home, Vince.”
“Vampire king?” Heather said blankly, turning to face the woman.
“Didn’t you know who you were fucking?” the woman said
in contempt. “Didn’t you even ask Dev who he was before you bared your neck?” She shook her head. “Women like you are the reason males continue to rule this world.”
“Ease off, Leri,” Vince said gruffly, shifting nervously. “I have no problems taking your orders.”
“Because you know I’ll turn you into a castrated duck if you don’t,” the woman said sweetly with icy eyes. She turned back to Heather. “Goodbye,” she said with an arrogant sniff, then turned and walked elegantly away.
Heather was silent the whole trip back. Devlin was a king. If he turned her...if she could make him love her...she could be his queen.
* * * *
In the months that followed, Heather resumed her affair with Devlin. But she was careful this time to hide her desire for him. She made it a point to cancel one of her bi-monthly visits with him that summer, citing her busy intern schedule. The scheme seemed to work. Her bimonthly visits took place every other Friday evening at his home instead of at a hotel.
But one thing still bothered Heather. Devlin refused to talk of turning her. He also wouldn’t let her spend entire Saturdays with him, insisting he needed to rest. Heather did what he asked, hoping that by conceding to his wishes she would earn more of his trust. That was the only way into his life permanently, so he couldn’t ever shut her out again.
It was the following spring when the illness came. At first, Heather just thought it was a spring cold, a holdover from the fast fading winter. But as she grew more and more lethargic, the symptoms became harder to push away...and impossible to hide.
“You’ve lost weight,” Devlin said one night gently, after making love. “Are you sleeping alright?”
“When I’m here, I sleep fine,” Heather answered weakly.
“Tell me the truth,” Devlin said, an edge to his words. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m tired more often,” Heather admitted. “Sunlight makes me feel sick. So does food sometimes...” she trailed off.
“Except rare meat?” Devlin supplied, his tone distant.
“I’m vegetarian,” Heather said evasively.
“Not for much longer,” Devlin said hollowly, sitting up. “Unless we take another hiatus.”
Fear blossomed in Heather. She couldn’t go through another half a year without Dev. “Turn me.”
Devlin stared at her, then shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re asking, Heather.” He got up from the bed. “Maybe our break this time should be permanent.”
Something told Heather it was now or never. She had only the next few moments to change his mind. “How can you say that to me like it’s nothing? Like I’m nothing?”
“Could you be more of an idiot?” Devlin said harshly, his eyes bleeding to red.
Heather, shocked by his casual cruelty, begun hastily gathering her clothes and dressing. All she could feel was hurt, and his next words fell on deaf ears
“It’s because I’m fond of you that I don’t want to screw up your life. We had good times together, Heather. But we’re nearing the end of our story. And unless you want this to be a tragedy instead of a good memory, you and I have to end our relationship.” He handed her purse to her. “I’ll have my man drive you home.”
Heather didn’t answer him. When she was in the backseat heading down the long gravel driveway, she burst into tears.
She arrived home to her small apartment, exhausted. Falling into bed, she fell asleep fully dressed. Near midnight, she woke in fear, a hand over her mouth.
“Quiet,” a raspy voice said, “Or we’ll gag you.” Heather kept still as another person began to bind her hands and feet. She watched in fear as several more shadowy figures came into her bedroom, wincing as the light was turned on. There were five people: two women, and three men, the oldest appearing to be the leader.
“This is her?” he stated.
One of the women nodded. “We tracked her coming and going from Hayden three times now. And she’s been seen out in the vampire’s company more than once in the past year.”
“You don’t have to bother,” Heather murmured. “He’s breaking up with me. For good.”
The leader grabbed her by the hair, pulling it back sharply so Heather cried out. “Because you’re getting sick. Devlin doesn’t turn his thralls anymore, not since we began killing his discards.”
Heather blinked back tears. “Please don’t hurt me. Please.”
“Take her to the cabin and set the trap,” the leader said. “Then send the note to Devlin to tell him to come alone.”
* * * *
Dawn came, but Heather didn’t see it. She remained blindfolded in a room as the hours passed. She dozed intermittently, wondering if they would kill her before Devlin could rescue her. But would he? He’d always come across as an honorable person, even with his cruel words at their last meeting. He said she’d never be alone again. Now that he was done with her, was any of that still true?
The door opened. A man entered, cursing, then sat beside her on the bed. Heather waited for her blindfold to be removed. Instead, there came a sharp stabbing pain as a blade cut across her left wrist. Heather struggled, blood trickling out steadily to dampen the mattress beneath her.
The door opened. “You do her? He should be here in a few moments.”
“Yes,” the man said in disgust, getting up. “We could have let her go. We didn’t need to kill her.”
“She’s contaminated. Plus he’ll smell the blood and go for her. It’s an advantage we need. Now come on.”
The man left, the door closing.
Heather struggled to sit up, woozy. With maneuvering, she put pressure on the wound as best she could, pressing down with her other wrist to staunch the blood.
Shots sounded, then a shriek of rage. There was a male scream, then silence.
Heather felt herself drifting. She sagged down on the bed.
The door burst open. Heather felt herself being pulled upwards into a sitting position, the blindfold lifted. To her disappointment, it was not Devlin, but instead the man in black, his expression bitter.
“Can you walk?” he asked, his inflection muddled with an odd hiss.
Heather swayed, then fell backward. The man in black caught her, then lifted her in his arms. Muttering, he carried her quickly from the room as she lapsed into unconsciousness.
* * * *
“Just turn her,” a hissing voice said.
“We’ll drop her off at the hospital,” a dispassionate voice said. “They’ll give her a transfusion.” It was Devlin’s voice. But it was so cold. Heather opened her eyes. She was sitting in the front seat of a SUV. Her slashed wrist had been bandaged, but it was still bleeding slightly.
“Turn her,” the man in black said, facing Devlin with a scowl. “She’s one of those that’s just going to be a pain in the ass until you do.”
Devlin’s gaze flicked to Heather. “Leave us alone for a few moments, Lash.”
The man in black walked away a short distance, muttering under his breath. Then came the touch of Devlin’s cool hand in hers as he leaned down beside her. “Where do you want to go?” he asked gently.
“Why don’t you want me?” Heather murmured. “I’ve tried to give you everything you wanted. You’ve got to know I love you, that I want to be with you. I’d do anything for you.”
“You naïve girl,” Devlin said with sadness. “I don’t want you because I don’t want anyone.” His expression was bitter. “You see me only from your point of view, that I must have suffered all the loneliness and hurt of the past two centuries only to be waiting for you to come solve all my woes with your love. But that’s fantasy, Heather. It always was.”
“Don’t you want to be happy?” Heather managed, tears trickling down both cheeks.
“I exist for my own reasons,” Devlin said coolly. “I don’t want your pity. You say you love me, but you have no idea of what I really am, or what horrors I’m capable of. You think forever is a romantic holiday we could spend together if you were a va
mpire, too. The reality is that this is what you’d have to look forward to: being hunted, alone, and often injured. And that’s besides having a liquid diet that never varies.”
“Why didn’t you let me die?” Heather whispered.
“Because those hunters hurt you because of me. Now do you want to go to the hospital or not?”
“Will I die if I don’t?” Heather asked. “Or will I turn?”
“You’ll die,” Devlin said tiredly. “But I’m done trying to be persuasive. Lash is right about that being of no further use. You want to turn, I’ll do it next week.” His voice turned cool. “If you want to die, I’ll help with that, too, here and now.”
His words had a chilling effect, shocking her into awareness. “Hospital,” Heather said.
* * * *
Then had come tonight, a week later. With several transfusions, Heather had felt almost as good as new. But after so many delays, she half expected Devlin to back out, or not show. But the vampire was waiting for her, clapping as she sat down at her table.
“Did you change your mind?” he said abruptly.
“No.”
“Very well,” Devlin said, offering his hand. “Come.”
* * * *
The next evening, Heather’s eyes popped open. At once, the vivid colors of her surroundings dazzled her. Then she worried that someone was in the room with her, only realizing some moments later that the person she was hearing was out in the hallway. Her hearing and sight had amplified. What else had changed?
She stood, checked the time, then headed to the bathroom. When she finished, she washed up and got dressed. Emerging, she checked the clock again and did a double take. She’d done everything in less than a minute flat. Her speed had also increased.
What else?
Lifting the bed was easy, as if it were a bag of groceries. As she set it down, Devlin came in. “How are you feeling?”
Heather rushed to him, hugging him. “I feel fantastic! You didn’t tell me how wonderful, how powerful I’d be.”
“Because that is relative to humans,” Devlin said with contempt. “And you must always be aware of that, because it’s going to be very easy to crack bones if you shake someone’s hand too hard, or hug a friend. But older vampires like myself will also be much more powerful, Heather. Don’t let the power go to your head. You have become a very small fish in a wide and deep ocean.”
Promise Me Anthology Page 8