The girls pulled me into the guest room Ashley was using, giggling the entire way. We sat on the edge of the bed and talked about all the things girls talk about when they get together: catty girls at work, or at school in Ashley’s case, the current mystery running through our favorite television shows, the most unusual sexual requests, positions and/or places. I kept my mouth shut on that one, thinking that Tracey would not want to know the things my bloodsucker liked doing. While Tracey and Ashley gabbed and changed into their dresses, I started to wonder what my bloodsucker was up to.
I wasn’t sure how he’d spent his day, or how he was feeling now. I wondered if he was also feeling the anxious butterflies that were currently swarming around my stomach. A stomach that was also starting to veto the BLT I’d eaten at the café. Either that or Grande sized hot chocolate I’d just finished tilting back.
As Ash and Tracey adjusted the clingy, blood red fabric of their dresses, I put a hand on my stomach and exhaled slowly and carefully, hoping pure will power could convince my belly that everything was fine. It wasn’t working though. I closed my eyes as my stomach churned. I felt a bead of sweat on my professionally done makeup and bit my lip, knowing that that was the least of my concerns now. Clamping a hand over my mouth, I shot off the bed and ducked out the door, muttering “be right back” as I ran for a bathroom.
Running blindly down the hall, I began to wonder where the bathroom was on this side of this stupidly huge house. I ran into an open door that looked promising, and nearly groaned in frustration when I saw it was just another stupid bedroom. Then I noticed the cracked open bathroom door and exhaled in relief. I would have done the happy dance if I’d have had the time. I didn’t though. The only thing keeping down my lunch was the hand covering my mouth.
Dropping to my knees, I lost it right at the toilet. Knowing I was pretty much ruining my makeup, I couldn’t help a few tears from falling. I hated getting sick. When my body was empty, I sat back on my heels and rested my head on my arms over the seat. I felt myself sniffling, more tears forming, and not wanting to be alone in my discomfort anymore, I suddenly wished Teren was with me, and not out bonding with the boys somewhere.
As if on cue, cool arms soundlessly wrapped around me. I was pulled back into a muscular chest as the arms twisted me into a carrying position. As he stood, I sighed contently and wrapped my arms around his neck, just glad to have him near. He kissed my head and walked me back to the bedroom. I buried my face in his cool shirt, the smell of the outdoors filling me – water, grass, and nature - all with a light hint of his cologne underneath it. He was manly and wonderful, and his mere presence had a calming effect on my queasy stomach.
He laid me down on the bed and came up to lie beside me. I lolled my head over to look at him as he propped up on an elbow to watch over me, almost protectively. I smiled at the look of concern in his face. “You found me,” I whispered.
He half-grinned at me, a finger coming out to wipe off my smudged mascara. “I heard you,” he said softly, his smile shifting to a pout. “Are you alright?”
A small laugh escaped me at how trivial my sickness was, compared with what his had been. “I’m fine, Teren, really.” I shook my head, my smile feeling huge to me. “This is nothing at all.” My arms snuck out to clutch his body and I pulled him into me, like we were two magnets that couldn’t bear to be apart.
A small laugh escaped him as I clung to his body and then he sank down to the pillows and held me just as tight. “Good,” he murmured, his nose sliding along my neck. I shivered at the cool touch and felt him smile as he pressed his lips to a vein there. I had to imagine that vein was pulsing faster than normal. “Why did you run into this guest room anyway? There is a bathroom right by Ashley’s room at the other end of the hall.”
I lightly smacked his shoulder. “Because this house is too damn big, and I have no idea where everything is.” He chuckled and I pulled back to look at him, his pale eyes catching a flash of sunlight streaming through the window next to us. “Why were you in the house? I figured you boys would be off in the wilderness somewhere, hunting vicious trout.”
He laughed at my comment and bit his lip. “I’ve been feeling edgy, anxious. “ He gave me a sheepish grin. “I was scaring the fish away.” I laughed at that while he shrugged at me. “I thought I’d get something to eat, thought maybe that would calm me down.”
I raised my eyebrows at him, happy that he was feeling what I was feeling, but wanting to tease him some. “Oh, nervous?”
He smiled and shook his head. “No, excited.” He bit his lip and then leaned over to kiss me.
I relaxed into the feeling of that cool mouth on me, that glorious tongue sliding against mine, and let myself indulge in this man I was going to marry, just a few hours from now. My hands threaded up into his hair as he shifted his weight over my body. My fingers slid up his cool t-shirt as his hands palmed me through the outside of my button-up. I groaned and rocked against him as his lips moved down to my neck, that course stubble sending tiny waves of pleasure through me. As his tongue found the spot in the crook of my neck that he preferred, I pulled his hips directly over mine.
He groaned a little as he instinctually pressed against me. “You know cold cow’s blood won’t satisfy you right now,” I whispered in his ear. He growled low in his chest and pressed against me again in answer. I suppressed a moan, quickly inhaling my breath instead. He was ready for more than just a love bite, and I sort of was too. Breathily, I added, “You can snack on me, if you like?”
“I always like…” He rumbled a low growl again and the lips pressing heated kisses into my skin turned into the pinpricks of fangs, ready to plunge deep inside me. I gasped at the thought, but pushed him back.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
He blinked, his eyes full of passion and hunger, his fangs extended to drinking length, and his brows furrowed in puzzlement. “You said…”
I rolled my eyes and smacked his shoulder. “I’m getting married in a matter of hours.” I pointed to the glaringly obvious vein in my neck that he’d been about to puncture. “I don’t need to go down the aisle with a hickey.” Or circular fang wounds.
He looked down, embarrassed. “Oh, right.” He peered back up at me with just his eyes. “Then, where?”
The look of clear desire still on his face, made me feel supernaturally sexy, and with a quick glance to make sure the door was closed, I gently pushed him to the side of me and began slowly unbuttoning my white long-sleeved blouse. His breathing stopped as he lasciviously watched my fingers exposing my skin, button by slow button. When the shirt was completely opened, his breathing started again, heavier than before. With my newly perfect, French manicured nails, I drew a line straight down the middle of my chest. Stopping just above my bra, I grabbed a section of the cup and pulled it back, exposing the creamy skin on the top part of my breast, the part my bra and dress would easily cover.
“Here,” I whispered, my other hand reaching up to his neck and pulling him to me.
He exhaled a cool breath across my skin, his eyes closing just before contact, and then he sunk his teeth in, gently, tenderly, and yet at the same time, commandingly. I gasped at the tremor of pain, followed by the warm heat of my blood being pulled from me. His cool lips desensitized the skin around the area, and the cool brush of his tongue soothed me, just as surely as it ignited me too. He made a purring noise, his hands clenching and unclenching my hips as he drank from me. I smiled. This was the last time he’d do this from his girlfriend. The next time, I’d be his wife.
I was in a euphoric, connected, peaceful state of mind, when everything suddenly took a drastic turn. Somewhere in my haze, I registered the one sound Teren and I really couldn’t afford to hear right now. The sound of a door rapidly swinging open.
“Teren, you in here?”
Hot Ben stepped into the room, closing the door softly behind him, just as Teren and I both shifted to look. Teren’s super abilities hadn’t registered
that Ben was opening the door, until it was too late; he did sometimes get caught up in the moment when we were like this. And we’d definitely just been caught. My mouth dropped a mile wide and my whole body tensed, as Teren lifted his head to stare at Ben, his mouth also wide open in startlement. In the brightly lit room, the blood on Teren’s tongue and dripping down his chin was startling. As were the all too apparent fangs.
Ben, at first, didn’t notice. “Oh, hey, sorry guys. Trace said she saw Teren go in here, but I didn’t…know you…were both…” His voice trailed off as what he was seeing started clicking together in his mind. I could almost hear the gorgeous boy’s thoughts out loud – Oh, I caught them almost screwing, cool. Wait, why is there blood on Emma’s chest? Wait, why is there blood on Teren’s mouth…and holy shit, are those… fangs?
Teren inhaled sharply as the realization of what had just happened struck him. His teeth immediately retracted with his breath. Ben’s eyes widened and he scrambled to open the door. “How did you…? Oh my god.” He managed to open it in his fumbling, but it was quickly slammed shut by Teren, who was instantly standing at Ben’s side holding shut the door.
Hot Ben stepped away from him, like he had the plague. “How did you…?” he said again, clearly confused by Teren’s speedy abilities. “Stay back,” he muttered as he bumped into a dresser.
I sat up, pulling my shirt tight to my body, knowing that my white bra and shirt were now bloodstained; Teren hadn’t had time to close the wounds. “Its okay, Ben.”
Ben looked at me, nearly frantic. “Run, Emma, I’ll hold him off.”
I smiled softly, warmed that Hot Ben was willing to take on a vampire for me, and shook my head again. Teren answered Ben before I could start to. Walking toward him with a hand outstretched, like Ben was a terrified dog who might bite him, Teren calmly said, “I can explain. Please…calm down.”
Ben tittered, sounding on the verge of a panic attack as he nervously laughed. “Explain? You can explain your teeth…what the hell was that, Teren?” His eyes shifted to mine. “What the hell were you doing to her?”
Teren cocked his head, looking flustered and embarrassed, not to mention scared that he’d just lost the closest thing to a friend that he had. While he floundered for something to say, I said, “He was hungry, I told him he could bite me.” Still clutching my shirt, I walked over to Teren’s side, putting my other hand on his arm. Teren looked back at me, sadness in his pale eyes.
Ben looked between the two of us, like we were both mad. His eyes darted to the door behind us and I could nearly see him calculating the odds of getting around both of us lunatics. I sighed and wondered when the screaming would start. Ben opened his mouth a few times, running a hand through his blonde highlights. “Bite you? Hungry? He’s what…? A…a…”
“Vampire,” Teren calmly stated, raising his chin a little.
Ben snorted, looked at us disbelieving, and then swallowed nervously. “You guys are nuts. I’m gone.” He moved then, edging around me to get to the door, but Teren moved to block it. Ben pushed him out of the way. Well, he tried to. I could see that he put a lot of strength into the move, but if Teren didn’t want to move, no human could make him.
“Let me go,” he said through clenched teeth, looking like he was torn between cowering, and peeing in his pants, or fighting back, and using some of his kickboxing skills on Teren. I didn’t know how to tell him that neither response would help him escape.
“He’s not going to hurt you, Ben,” I said quietly behind him.
Ben flicked a glance back at me, panic and fear only making him more attractive. “Then tell him to let me go.” He twisted to me, grabbing my arms painfully in his fright. “Don’t let him kill me.” I heard Teren sigh behind him, and start to say his name, but my shirt had fallen open when Ben jarred my hands free and my blood-soaked bra elicited a harsh reaction from an already freaked out Ben. He inhaled in sharp pulls and his tight-to-begin-with fingers, dug in even tighter. I cried out and hunched over as the pain shot through both my arms.
That was all Teren needed.
He shoved Ben off of me. And when Teren wanted a human to move, that human moved. Ben flew to the other side of the room, smacking into a wall and sinking down into a slump. He slowly raised his head and Teren was instantly standing right in front of him, bent into an aggressive crouch, a low growl coming from his chest. Ben shied away from him and I hurriedly ran over to the pair, putting a hand on Teren’s back.
I knew the reason for Teren’s overreaction, but poor Hot Ben would never understand. Teren had helplessly watched me be brutally attacked before, and had vowed to never let that happen again. While Ben wasn’t exactly harming me like our maniac captor had, the instinct to defend me was still the same. Teren would never let anyone harm me again, even a friend.
I rubbed soothing circles into Teren’s back, urging him to calm down. He looked at me, his fangs extended and a mean sneer still on his face. Seeing my concerned face, his entire body relaxed. Closing his eyes, he sighed and lightly shook his head. When he opened them again, he was calm again, his fangs hidden away. With a sheepish face, he turned to Ben and extended a hand. “Sorry, man. I get a little…protective of her. I didn’t mean to do that.” I squeezed Teren’s arm while he extended his hand farther to Ben. “I really wish you hadn’t walked in here.”
Ben stared at his hand, like it might ram through his chest at any second. Looking terrified, he whimpered, “Are you going to eat me now?”
Teren retracted his hand when it was obvious Hot Ben wasn’t going to touch him. Rolling his eyes, a small laugh escaped him. “Yeah, Ben, I’m gonna drain you dry.”
His tone was incredibly sarcastic, but I elbowed him in the ribs anyway. Ben didn’t catch the teasing note in Teren’s voice and looked about to be sick. “Oh god…”
I sighed and squatted in front of him, putting my hands on his shoulders. “He’s joking, Ben. He’s not going to kill you.” I rolled my eyes and threw a glare at Teren over my shoulder.
Teren sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m still the same person, Ben. I’m still the same smartass that goes fishing with you, and jokes with you about Tracey’s shoe fetish.” His hands patted his chest as his brows scrunched in hopelessness. “I’m still me. This is just a part of…me, but it doesn’t change my character. I’m still the same guy that you know. Am I a killer?”
Ben grudgingly looked over my shoulder at him. Inhaling a calming breath, he kept his gaze locked on Teren’s. I could practically see the courage building in him, as he considered all the times that Teren could have killed him, if he’d really wanted to. He obviously hadn’t, Ben was still a breathing human being, so maybe he was piecing it together that being a vampire, didn’t automatically make you bad.
With a shake of his head and a much clearer voice he said, “You’re…a vampire.”
Teren extended his hand to Ben again, his face nearly begging Ben to take it. “Yes…and I’d never kill you.”
Ben eyed him for long moments as I moved away from the two friends. Finally, Ben nodded and took his hand. Ben stared at that hand while Teren effortlessly pulled him up. “I really am sorry about flinging you into a wall,” Teren said sheepishly.
Ben didn’t respond to that, just kept staring at Teren’s hand after they separated. Finally he pointed at it. “Is that why you’re always so cold?” Teren shrugged and nodded. Ben ran a hand down his face as he slowly shook his head back and forth. “I can’t believe this.” He looked over at me, slowly buttoning back up my shirt. “And you’ve known about this?”
I bit my lip and then nodded. “From nearly day one.” I walked over to Teren and grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together and gazing up at him adoringly. He looked back at me, adoration clear on his face too, although, I could see the worry in there. He’d really loved his time with Hot Ben. I looked back to Ben, my voice as confident as my gaze. “Believe me, when I say that you don’t have to worry about him hurting you…or me…or
any human.” I shrugged as Ben’s mouth dropped open a little. “He doesn’t eat people.”
Ben’s still startled face shifted to take in the embarrassing stain right over my breast. Damn, I’d really liked this shirt too. Teren followed his gaze and coughed once, a little embarrassed. “Um, that wasn’t really eating…” He looked back at Ben, a devilish half-smile on his face. “That was more…foreplay.”
Ben’s eyes widened again and then he shook his head, running both hands down his face and then back through his hair. He seemed a little confused as to how drawing blood could possibly be erotic. Oh, if he only knew…
Teren put a hand on Ben’s shoulder and Ben looked up at him, his beautiful face an odd combination of horror and wonder. As I thought of his panicked reaction, I started remembering my own initial reaction. Teren had always said I was rare. As I watched Ben’s eyes slightly widen as they focused on where Teren was touching him, and I remembered Teren telling me that nearly every other girl he’d ever told, had had much the same reaction as Ben, I came to appreciate just how rare and odd my initial reaction had been. And what a relief that must have been to Teren. I squeezed his hand tighter.
Conversion Book Two: Bloodlines Page 14