I pulled out the small cooler and unzipped it. Inside was the eight ounces of blood type AB. It was rare and expensive, which I could definitely relate to. And thanks to Lucian and his donors, I could enjoy the precious liquid whenever I wanted.
I removed the wineglass from its holder, opened the blood, and poured myself half of the contents. As I was putting the remaining blood back into the cooler, my phone rang.
“Talia. You on board?” asked Lucian in that silky, smooth voice that always make my toes curl.
I smiled. “Of course.”
“Okay. Call me when you get to Dublin.”
“Hold on a second. You owe me big time,” I said, putting the phone against my shoulder.
“What do you mean?”
I took a sip of blood. “Steve.”
He chuckled.
“It’s not funny. I can’t seem to get the taste of him off of my lips. It’s revolting. I don’t think the man showers enough.”
“T.M.I.”
“Bullshit. You need to know how loyal I am to your cause, Lucian.”
“Of course I know, darling,” he said. “And you’ll be rewarded heavily for your part in this.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“Relax, my dear. You of all people should know how troubling it has been for me. Knowing that you’ve had that animal’s paws all over you. When all of this is over, I’m going to enjoy tearing his dick off.”
I sighed. “Ah… you do love me.”
“Of course, I do. Haven’t I told you?”
No. Never.
“Not in so many words. But, knowing that you do makes me miss you that much more, Lucian.”
His voice softened. “We’ll be together soon and I’ll show you in person how much you mean to me.”
“I can’t wait,” I whispered, imaging his lips on my body. His fangs grazing my skin, as he made love to me.
“I have another phone call coming in. Looks like it’s from our boy, Aiden. Probably confirming the meeting tomorrow. Send me a message after you arrive at the castle.”
“Sure. What about Steve? I’m afraid that if I don’t find a way to get rid of him, he’ll try to have sex with me.”
“You have my permission to kill him then.”
“Kill him? That might be a bit premature, don’t you think? What if Aiden finds out? Steve is his friend.”
“Would you rather have sex with Steve or worry about Aiden?”
I sighed. “Neither, actually.”
“Then just brush him off. Tell him you’re menstruating.”
I laughed. “Right.”
“I doubt he knows whether or not you get periods,” he said, a smile in his voice. “It should bide you some time.”
It amused me that Lucian could even say the word, “menstruation” or “period.” Unlike most mortal men, those words didn’t make a vampire flinch. “I’ll figure out something. I just don’t want to kill him in Aiden’s castle. It’s too risky.”
“I know you will figure something out. Aiden’s left a message. I’d better check it out. I will talk to you soon.”
“Wait… one of Aiden’s brothers is also on this plane.”
He was silent for a couple seconds. “Is he going to be a problem?”
“I don’t see why. I doubt he’ll even be at the meeting.”
“Let’s hope not. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. I love you, Lucian,” I said as he hung up.
Sighing, I tossed my cell phone onto the bed and took another sip of blood. I wondered why I hadn’t mentioned that Slade was on the plane. Lucian knew all about our history together. He was the one who’d actually helped me during that dreadful time in my life. A time that had almost broken me. Without Lucian, my life would have been so different than what it was today. I owed him everything.
I smiled as I sat down on the bed, reveling in the irritation that Slade must have felt when he’d found out that I would accompany them on the flight. Slade’s anger still burned hot, its evidence reflected in his eyes. I remembered a time when a different emotion had burned there. An emotion that had made my heart sing with joy. My own love for him had seemed endless, true, and filled with bright hope for our future. A future together. Of course, that was before he slept with my sister and turned her into a vampire.
My sister… Talia.
“WELL, THAT WAS awkward,” I said to Slade after everyone left us but Melody.
“Sorry to drop that bomb,” he said in a low voice. “I really don’t know why I told her that.”
Melody’s face fell. “Oh, my God. You guys aren’t really getting married?”
I stared at her in disbelief. “Seriously? Do you really think I’d marry someone I only met a couple of days ago?”
She looked at Slade and then back to me. “But, I just thought that under the circumstances…”
“That what? We’d fallen madly in love with each other?” he asked, smiling.
“Maybe. I don’t know,” she said, sounding hurt.
“The circumstances do suck, but I wouldn’t resort to marrying someone just because of it,” I said. “And… come on… why would Slade want to get married when he’s…”
“He’s what?” asked Slade, his face darkening. “A vampire?”
“I was going to say a famous rock-star,” I said.
Liam, who’d disappeared into the kitchen, walked back toward us holding two small ham-and-cheese sandwiches. “So, when is the bachelor party?” he asked, smirking.
Slade grunted.
“So, why in the hell did you tell Talia that you two were getting married?” he whispered.
“I don’t know. It just kind of slipped out,” explained Slade.
“That’s kind of a crazy thing to let slip out, don’t you think?” said Liam.
“I know. I just saw the way she was looking at Chelsey, and… it pissed me off.”
“How was she looking at me?” I asked, frowning.
“It really doesn’t matter. Look, I’m sorry I said it. Can you just play along for the rest of the trip?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, concerned again. Slade’s eyes were bloodshot and he was frighteningly pale.
He laid his head back and closed his eyes. “Thanks.”
“You gonna make it?” asked Liam.
“Don’t worry about me,” said Slade, opening one eye. I just need to rest.”
“We should probably take our seats, considering that we’re leaving soon,” said Melody. “Um, Slade, maybe you should sit with Chelsey, now that you’re supposed to be engaged? I’ll just sit next to Liam.”
I bit back a smile. “You’d really do that for us?” I asked with a hint of sarcasm.
“Of course,” she said, her eyes wide. “Is that okay, Liam?”
“No problem.” He took a bite of one of the sandwiches and began to chew. “As long as you don’t mind watching me eat,” he said with his mouth full.
“We’re all watching you eat,” said Slade dryly. “It isn’t pretty.”
He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”
“Actually, I’m hungry, too,” said Melody, reaching over to the veggie tray. She picked up a carrot and dipped it into the ranch dip. “Are you done with this tray?”
I nodded. “Yeah. You can actually take them both with you if you want. I’ve had enough.”
She shoved the carrot into her mouth and picked both of them up. “Okay. Thanks. Have fun.”
I winked at her. “You, too.”
With her eyes twinkling, she turned around and followed Liam.
I turned back to look at Slade, who had both eyes closed again. “You going to stay here or get buckled into your chair?”
“Actually, it might be better if we sat separately,” he whispered. “Just in case. I’m just too…”
“Hungry?”
He nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. I understand. If there’s anything I can get you, just ask.”
He didn�
��t reply.
Sighing, I went and sat down in the place I’d sat earlier with Melody. After buckling up, I looked out the window, hoping I’d do better on the flight to Dublin.
THIRTY MINUTES AFTER Steve left the bedroom, we were in the sky. Knowing that Josh would be soon paying me a visit, I washed out the glass and put everything away, eager for fresh blood. There wasn’t anything finer. Not even chilled AB.
As I waited, my thoughts turned back to Slade. He was still as handsome as ever, although it was obvious from his gauntness that he needed to feed. For him, the flight to Dublin would be long and uncomfortable. I wondered if he used the little redhead for his meals or if she was just for his bed.
Fiancée.
Please…
Now that was a joke. I’d seen the shock in her eyes when he’d proclaimed their engagement. Obviously he was as deceitful as ever, which made me realize that cutting him out of my life had been the right choice.
Closing my eyes, I thought back to when I’d learned of his affair with Talia. How she’d spilled everything to me one afternoon, before I’d finished locking up the schoolhouse.
“Talia. What a surprise. I thought you’d left town?”
She’d shown up in town, out of the blue, three weeks earlier. It had been a few years since we’d spoken. I hadn’t even told Slade about her and had planned to keep it that way. I knew he had money and she was dangerous around it. She’d already told me that she’d lost two husbands, two rich husbands, both to weak hearts. It convinced me that introducing my sister to Slade was a very bad idea. Little did I know they’d already met.
“I didn’t leave,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.
“What is it?” I asked, feeling a sudden sense of doom. Somehow I knew that whatever she was about to tell me was going to be very bad.
“I don’t know how to say this,” she started, dabbing her tears with a handkerchief.
“Say what? Is it about one of the children?”
She shook her head. “No. Thank goodness.”
I heaved a sigh of relief. “Good.”
“It’s… Slade.”
My heart stopped. “What do you know of him?”
“More than you, apparently.”
It was then that she’d admitted to running into him a couple of weeks before. How he’d mistaken her for me.
“I knew that something was off about him, the moment he kissed me.”
“He kissed you?”
“He thought it was you, obviously.”
Even I could understand that. “Okay. Well, what do you mean, something was off?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“That he’s a vampire.”
I laughed. “A vampire?”
She nodded vehemently. “Vanessa, he is a vampire. He drinks blood and has this amazing strength…”
My eyes widened. “Are you mad? A vampire?”
“I have proof.”
I laughed angrily. “What kind of proof?”
She pulled the knit orange scarf away from her neck. “Look at this.”
I took a step closer. “What is that?” I asked, staring at the two tiny, inflamed holes on her neck. To me, they looked like spider bites.
“That’s where he bit me.”
I stared at her in horror. “He bit you?”
She nodded and wrapped the scarf back around her neck. “Yes. While we made love.”
I gasped. I felt like I was going to faint. “What are you saying?” I cried. “Are you saying that you slept with Slade?”
“Yes, but I did it for you.”
I clenched my fists. “Explain yourself, Talia,” I snapped, like she was one of my older students. That’s when she told me everything. How she’d originally tricked Slade into believing that she was me. To save me from him and to prove a point, she’d said. To prove that he was a vampire as well as indifferent to which sister he slept with. That he knew about her, now, and wanted us both. But, I knew that it was much more than that. At least for her.
“Not only is he a vampire, but he has no morals. When I told him we were sisters, he was delighted. He’s a scoundrel, Vanessa!”
My tears were blinding. “How could you sleep with him, Talia?! You’re my sister!”
She grabbed my shoulders and her eyes burned into mine. “Aren’t you listening to me? He’s a vampire! He’s deceived you by keeping that very important point to himself. He can’t be trusted.”
“You will never change,” I whispered hoarsely.
She stepped away from me. “How can you say that? I took risks to learn the truth! To save you from that bastard! He could have killed me, but… because I love you, I risked my life to find out what in the hell he really is. And now you know, too.”
I glared at her. “The real truth is that I can’t trust either of you.”
Her eyes widened. “Vanessa!”
I turned and ran out of the schoolhouse, the pain ripping a hole in my heart. She claimed that she’d done it out of love for me, but I knew she was lying and it only made me angrier. Like everything else in life, when she saw something she wanted, she took it, regardless of the consequences. It was why we’d drifted apart in the orphanage. She’d been a thief, even back then. I’d been blamed too many times for her actions. The things she’d stolen – books, clothing, and eventually, money. Although nobody could prove it, she’d taken so many things. And now she’d done it again. Only this time, she’d come up with some cockamamie story about Slade being a vampire. It was ludicrous!
That night, I’d walked around for hours, thinking about her deception and lies. When I finally found the courage to confront Slade, who lived on the other side of town, my heart was heavy. As I stepped onto the porch of his home, which I’d only been to a handful of times, I heard the sound of laughter coming from the backyard.
Talia!
Furious, I stormed around the house to confront her, but froze when I saw the silhouette of Slade holding her in his arms.
“Why did you make me do this?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“So that we can be together, Slade. Forever.”
“We could have still been together without it.”
“No. We need to share everything. Including this.”
He put his forehead against hers. “This is a curse. This thing that you call a gift. It was forced upon me.”
“Don’t you dare feel guilty. I wanted this,” she said. “Just like I wanted you to make love to me. Face it – you really had no choice in the matter. I can be very persuasive when I want to be.”
“You can say that again. I’ve fallen under your spell.”
Smiling, she opened up her mouth and under the moonlight, I caught sight of her fangs. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him toward her. I watched in horror as she sank her teeth into his neck and blood began to spill.
Vampires!
I backed away, unable to breathe. The horror of seeing them together and knowing that my sister was telling the truth cut me to the core.
Fortunately, I was able to slip away. I quickly headed home and began to pack my things. I needed to escape. Get away from them. As far away as I could. As I latched up my suitcase and turned to leave, Talia appeared.
Her eyes flew to my suitcase. “Vanessa, what are you doing?”
“I’m leaving,” I cried. “I saw you. Both of you. I know what you are!”
She sighed. “I know that you saw us.”
“Where is he?” I asked, frightened.
“I left him,” she said, wiping the corner of her mouth with her finger. She looked at the spot of blood on it and licked it . “You have no idea how heavenly it makes you feel, Vanessa.”
“You’re a monster,” I spat.
“You always were overly dramatic,” she answered, crossing her arms under her chest.
I picked up my suitcase. “I’m leaving. I can’t stay here anymore. Not when I know about the two
of you.”
“You’re not leaving. Put the suitcase down.”
“You can’t stop me,” I snapped.
“Put it down. We need to talk.”
“It’s too late for that.”
She took a step toward me, smiling. “We’re sisters. It’s never too late for us.”
“No. Not anymore. We are definitely not sisters. For God’s sake … you’re a… a… vampire.”
“Vanessa…”
“Don’t you dare come near me!”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
What happened next was a bit hazy. I tripped backwards and hit my head against the nightstand. Everything went black. When I woke up, I found Talia leaning over me, her lips red with blood.
My blood.
“It’s okay,” she whispered, touching my cheek. “You’re going to be fine now.”
“What… what are you talking about?” I murmured, trying to get up. As I moved, I noticed two things throbbing – the top of my head and my neck. I looked at her. “What did you do?”
“I saved you from yourself.”
“What are you talking about?” I mumbled, standing up. The room seemed to be spinning.
“You hit your head pretty hard. There was a lot of blood, Vanessa. I had to make it stop.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, touching the top of my head. When I looked at my fingers, there was indeed blood.
She grabbed my hand. “It’s okay, Vanessa. I’ve taken care of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going to live forever. With me. Sisters forever. Isn’t it divine?”
“I don’t want to live forever!” I gasped, trying to pull my hand away. But, she held it in a vice-like grip. “Let go of me.”
“You need to relax,” she said, bringing my hand to her mouth. Before I could react, she sank her fangs into my wrist and began to drink from it.
“No!” I screamed, trying to get away. She held firm and drank for several seconds while I tried to struggle. But it was useless. She was as strong as an ox. Feeling helpless, I sunk to my knees, crying until Talia finally released me.
“Soon you’re going to be thanking me,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “For this extraordinary gift. I’ve never felt better in my life, Vanessa. You have no idea. But… you will. It will make you stronger. Faster. Hell, I’ve heard we can even fly.”
Slade (Venom Series) Book Two Page 14