Kiss Hide Bite: A Vampire Romantic Thriller

by Anna Rainn

  Inside, I was sprawled on a large leather recliner with a hot chocolate mug in hand and a small blanket on my legs. Nick’s apartment was one part a man cave, full of leathers and woods, and one part a chic urban hideout. In the past months, I have managed to add cozy touches here and there to warm up the manly aesthetic of the place. Cinnamon and woody candles burned, strategically placed across the spacious apartment. In front of the leather recliner, a small shaggy rug rested, currently topped with my furry slippers. Unlike Nick, I felt the cold. Beside the huge television in front of me, a Christmas tree stood tall and proud, the ornaments twinkling with the dancing flame of the candles and the few fairy lights I hung up here and there. It wasn’t Christmas yet, but I always like to hang up my holiday decorations early.

  I inhaled the scent of the warm candles in, took a big sip of the marshmallow-topped hot drink, and then opened Caleb’s text message tab.

  All good? I typed.

  Caleb was overseeing business at Black and Foam alone today, just as he had been doing every Sunday in the past few months. With the business surge we have seen, a drive-through addition, and more personnel, I could finally get away with having one day off every week.

  Stop worrying. The answer came seconds later.

  How are the lines? I pushed.

  The Bianca latte is drawing even more Instagram people in. Caleb complained, then quickly followed up with another text. You only get Sundays with your boyfriend. Enjoy your day off, Marissa. I’m on top of things.

  Fine, I answered.

  I wasn’t in the habit of naming drinks after people at Black and Foam, but the Bianca Latte was one of a kind: a limited-time seasonal with a sweet and nutty flavor, and a touch of mint. I wanted to do that little something to remember Bianca by.

  Britney was part of the new staff additions to Black and Foam; I couldn’t let her go back to her old job and work side by side with Osmond after everything. She saved me, and it was my turn to help her.

  My hands glided over the touch screen, moving to another messages tab.

  Marissa, you haven’t answered my last message, the words read. On top of the screen was a dear three-letter word: mom. My eyes glanced over the message in question. Mom was asking me when I’d be home for the holidays. It had been too long since I last saw them. Last Christmas was the first Christmas I spent away from home. I couldn’t afford to leave Black and Foam back then. My coffee shop was doing better now, but this Christmas, I had another reason to stay here. A small framed picture looked at me from the shelves across the room: Nick and I smiling, him in a simple blue T-shirt that made his eyes look insane, and me in a summer dress and an ice cream cone in my hand. It was taken last summer, soon after the final attack on Black and Foam.

  That night we went back to my place right after our ice cream date, and we had argued.

  “You know we can’t be like this forever, that life can’t always be a romantic movie,” Nick had said as I sat watching a movie.

  “I know. Neither does it have to be a horror movie. We can be something else, something…” I wanted to say normal, but the word didn’t apply to us. “Something in between,” I finished.

  “I can do in between,” he murmured, his hand playing with the hair strands on my shoulders. His thumb was gently peeling the fabric of my top. I brushed his hand away and turned back to the TV.

  “I want to finish the movie first.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, can you get me a coke? And I put some raw beef in the fridge if you want.” I gave him my sweetest smile. That’s what he gets for deceiving me the past weeks, I thought, still angry with the events that had transpired.

  “I don’t eat raw beef,” Nick hissed. “What do you think I am? A dog?”

  I shrugged. “Suck the cow’s blood out of it or something so you don’t bite me.”

  He chuckled, then with an effort, stopped himself from laughing. “Okay, I get it, you don’t want me to bite you.”

  “I don’t think I can trust your mouth on my soft parts anymore.” I stole a look at his face from the corner of my eyes. He looked positively pissed off. But he was lost for words. Good. There was nothing he could say to defend himself, and I liked having him there at the time.

  “No mouth, then…” Nick finally said. I gave him points for keeping the anger out of his voice.

  “Yes, and no ass play for a while too. I don’t want you getting too wild.”

  This time, he failed to keep his voice level. “I am not an animal,” he said, sounding like an angry animal.

  “These are my conditions. Take it or leave it.” I focused on the movie in front of me, seeing nothing and hearing nothing, secretly praying he wouldn’t turn and walk out of the house. I couldn’t bear to lose him again. But I had to protect myself; this was the only way this would work, the only way we would have any chance of figuring this out.

  Nick didn’t answer. I hear his footsteps walking away. Then his voice came.“Do you want some popcorn, too?” He asked, opening the fridge door, retrieving a coke, then closing it again.

  “Yes, please,” A smile split my face, too wide I feared I looked crazy.

  By the time Nick came back with a hot bag of microwave popcorn, a bowl, and a diet coke, I had managed to shrink my smile to a normal size.

  He pushed me with his body slipping next to me. He smelled so good, a smell I now knew was a vampire’s way of drawing prey in. I leaned into him and inhaled him in anyway. His body was hot and ripped, safe and dangerous, liquid sex and utter satisfaction. The heart below the hard chest wasn’t beating, but I knew it had me somewhere in there.

  I looked up at Nick. He was watching me with a small smile on his mouth, his blue eyes so transparent I couldn’t look away. He had fed before coming, I realized, to keep me safe. A thick arm wrapped around me, pulling me closer. I curled on his chest and positioned the bowl of popcorn between us.

  He popped a hot buttery kernel in my mouth. I bit his finger gently.

  “Now, don’t give me ideas,” he warned. I glared at him, and he just stuffed two more popcorns in my mouth, quickly withdrawing his fingers.

  “What’s this movie called?” he asked.

  “The Notebook. It’s my favorite.”

  “I like it.”

  On screen, Noah’s face was shining, his words spilling out into Allie’s heart and mine.

  “So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, every day. You and me... every day.”

  I stole a glance at the warm, strong figure holding me. His eyes were glued to the screen, his hand stroking my shoulder as he watched.

  Months later, here, now, with hot chocolate on my mouth and rich leather under me, I remember this very moment when the TV lights lit up his face as we sat there watching a simple movie together. I think this is going to work out, I had thought before exhaling happily and settling in with Nick.

  Sitting here now, in Nick’s candlelit apartment waiting for him to come back home so we could start our weekend together, I knew exactly where I had to be for the holidays.

  I’m coming home, mom, I typed. But make room for a guest. I pressed send. The exact arrangement we’ll have to figure out, but we will make this work.

  The End

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  Also by the author:

  Blood Seduction: A Vampire Romance

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