Lyric's Gift

by Lee, Trina M.

  Guilt and dismay brought hot, anguished tears to his eyes, and he struggled to keep them from falling. He could still hear the way she’d cried out his name that night as he fled the apartment, leaving her inside with a corpse.

  “Jade?”

  The way that one word wavered almost brought Jade to his knees. Looking at her as she stood there reaching for him, it struck home on a deep level that he was truly loved. For the first time in his entire existence, he felt genuinely cared for. It was starting to make sense now. It wasn’t about whether or not he deserved her; it was about loving her and being loved.

  He crossed the space between them, sweeping her into his arms in an embrace that lifted her off her feet. Their lips met, and Jade kissed her as if it were their first time all over again. Her skin was like marble, cold but smooth and soft. The strength that emanated from her was strange and new. Jade was surprised at the way she gripped him tightly, holding him to her as if she’d never let go.

  He kissed her with a renewed passion, vowing never to let her out of his sight again. He had almost allowed a human to drive them apart. Never again. He would have loved her had she still been mortal, but now, part of him reveled in the strong and predatory feel of her in his arms. Nothing would take her from him now.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered against her lips. “I never should have left you.”

  Blood red tears overflowed from Jade’s shining green eyes to streak twin paths down his cheeks. Staring into her vampire eyes, he found himself entranced. He wanted to ask her how she was feeling, if she was ok, but he didn’t want to rush her. This had to be so new and strange for her.

  A small smile graced her lips, and she reached to catch a crimson tear on the end of her finger. Bringing it close to her face, her tongue darted out to capture it. “But, you came back.” She peered into him as if seeing right to his soul, and Jade felt exposed. He would give anything for this woman.

  His skin began to tingle where she touched him, and when he focused, he could easily feel her fledgling hunger. It was nothing short of miraculous that she still had control of herself. If there had been a human in the vicinity, it would have been a different story.

  “You need to feed. Let me take you out.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, pausing to close his eyes and absorb the new feel of her. She still smelled like apples and spice. The scent brought a smile to Jade’s face. How had it possibly come to be that a cold-blooded killer such as himself had been gifted with someone so extraordinary?

  With a timid batting of her long, luscious eyelashes, Lyric gazed up at him with fear in her hypnotizing eyes. “I’m scared. It hurts, and everything is so confusing.”

  His own bloodlust flared up like a flame licking at his insides. Together they would hunt. It was only right that he ease her into her new life. A pang of shame struck Jade like a blow to the guts. If it weren’t for him, she would never have been at Cry alone.

  Taking her small hands within his own larger ones, he stroked a thumb along the back of her fingers. “I’ll help you through this. I promise you. Lyric? Do you trust me?”

  Jade was terror stricken, waiting for her response. He didn’t blame her if she had no faith left in him. He had little himself.

  She reached to stroke the side of his face and instinctively he leaned into her touch. “With my whole heart and soul.” Staring up at him with an expression of awe, she looked at him as if just taking him in for the first time.

  He knew what it was like to look at the world with the eyes of the undead. Though Jade had long since gotten used to the difference, it was astounding in the beginning. He’d felt as if he’d never truly experienced his senses before. Everything was brand new.

  Entwining their fingers together, he clasped her hand tightly in his and brought it to his lips. Jade placed a gentle kiss on the back of her knuckles, allowing his lips to linger as he breathed deeply of her scent. Just the very essence of her was causing a tightening in his chest and a throb in his groin.

  He wanted so badly to take her right there but restrained the urge, knowing how desperate her hunger must be. With great difficulty, Jade released her. “Let’s go hunt.”

  After she’d changed into blue jeans and one of his t-shirts, she returned to him with a shadowed look and an eerie sparkle in her eyes. An excited thrill shot through Jade, and he was suddenly eager to get moving. The hunger scratched at him like a caged animal waiting to be unleashed.

  They found Griffin outside, leaning against his car, as Jade had him blocked in. Pulling away from him, Lyric went to Griffin with slow but sure steps. A small smile turned her lips up at the corners, and she reached to take his hand.

  With a quick glance at Jade, Griffin surrendered his hand to the petite vampiress. Jade hung back, watching with curiosity. Lyric squeezed Griffin’s hand and stared up into his gold eyes.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice scarcely above a whisper. “I am forever in debt to you for what you did. I know your love for Jade drove your decision, but please know that I’m eternally grateful. You reunited us. If there is ever anything I can do for you, anything at all, don’t hesitate to mention it.”

  Griffin brushed a strand of hair away from her face, a gesture that was natural despite how little they really knew of one another. Jade understood their shared intimacy. They were bound by blood, like family. It was nothing for him to be threatened by, and he wasn’t. He trusted Griffin. His friend had gone to great lengths for him and Lyric. They were both indebted to him.

  “Take care of Jade. That’s all I can ask of you right now,” Griffin replied with an uncharacteristic gentleness to his tone. “He needs you.”

  Lyric nodded her dark head once. “I will. But, I mean what I said. Anything you need from me.”

  Pressing a quick but chaste kiss to her temple, Griffin released her and met Jade’s eyes over her head. The two men shared a look, and the unspoken bond they’d formed centuries ago was strengthened. Jade couldn’t help but wonder if Griffin would ever allow himself to find the joy and love that Jade had found with Lyric. The ruthless vampire had abandoned notions of love long ago. Jade hoped it wouldn’t always be so. One should never live out their existence loveless and alone. He knew that now more so than ever.

  Jade glided to Lyric’s side, unable to keep his hands off her. It continued to amaze him just how mind-blowing she was; her beauty overwhelmed his senses. With a few brief parting words to Griffin, Jade led his undead ladylove into the night.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tangy blood, hot and intoxicating splashed over her tongue. The moment that Lyric had sunk her fangs into her victim, the rest of the world had faded away. Nothing else remained but her and the two pimps they’d found making money by selling underage girls.

  If Jade hadn’t been with her, she would have killed the first thing she’d come across with a beating heart. The hunger had been the most horrid pain. Now that the blood washed down her throat to quench the undying ache, a heavenly satisfaction filled the hollow void within her.

  It was all instinct. The bloodlust guided Lyric even as it drove her. There had been no fear or hesitance on her part when it came time to bite into the pulsing artery in her victim’s throat. Something dark and hungry inside her took over, and she’d been shocked to discover how good it felt.

  The heady rush was euphoric, almost orgasmic in nature. The pleasure that filled her from head to toe was beyond anything she’d ever known in life. She was ravenous, sucking hard at the pumping wound. She couldn’t get enough. As Lyric drank down the life of the struggling man in her insanely powerful arms, the immense strength inside her flourished and grew.

  As her victim’s heart slowed to a stop, she released him and turned to Jade with wild eyes. Her heightened senses required serious concentration on her part. Not only could she clearly hear voices several blocks away, she could easily make out every word spoken if she listened carefully.

  The city smells would take some getting used to. The pungent
odor of garbage and human bodies had her wrinkling her nose in distaste. The fact that she didn’t actually have to breathe now was something she couldn’t entirely wrap her mind around. The downtown core was far worse than the lush green neighborhood that Jade lived in. She couldn’t wait to breathe in the delicious scent of roses and rain on his back porch.

  Taking in the sight of Jade standing a short distance away, she was taken aback by the emotion in the depths of his bright eyes. She’d found him to be handsome before but now, seeing him through new eyes, she just stared. He was angelic in his beauty. Never had Lyric felt as blessed as she did then, knowing he was hers.

  He watched her with a strange look on his face, as if he couldn’t believe that he was seeing her as he was. Lyric kept waiting for the dream to end. She was afraid to accept this new reality, fearing that the moment she did, it would all come crashing down.

  Once he touched her, slipping his arms around her and holding her close, she collapsed against him with the action of one who longed for comfort and rest.

  “Tell me that I’m not dreaming, that you’re really here with me.” Lyric threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in Jade’s thick hair. It had seemed like a lifetime they’d been apart.

  Death hadn’t come easy. Giving in to it had been easier after Griffin’s blood passed her lips, but it was Jade that had kept her going. Her will to cross through death and come out the other side had been fueled by her burning need for him. She never would have been at peace without him.

  Lyric knew that if death hadn’t been there to take her from him forever, she likely would never have made the choice to become one of the undead. Then again, perhaps it was inevitable. Her death would have separated them eventually.

  “If this is a dream, then I refuse to wake up.” Jade’s voice rumbled low in his chest, and she snuggled in closer against him. “It was a nightmare without you. I don’t know what I was thinking, but it wasn’t intelligent in any way. I didn’t even know where I was going.”

  “You were trying to save me … from you. And, I love you even more for your selflessness.” Lyric allowed him to lead her away from the dead pimp’s body. “But, don’t ever try to be the nice guy by leaving me again. I will find you.”

  His chuckle warmed her. The tension he’d been carrying since they’d come across the pimp eased. Though she doubted he would admit it, Jade had been anxious about her hunting. Now that she was free of the bloodlust, she was feeling a little anxious about it herself and grateful it was over. Had she really killed a man?

  She shuddered, prompting Jade to ask if she was alright. With a nod, Lyric focused on putting one foot in front of the other. It was too late to come apart. This wasn’t going to be easy, but if Jade could face this existence and still go on to laugh and love, then so could she.

  With the lively human blood running through her, Lyric felt rejuvenated and as strong as at least ten men. Holding a man so that he could barely move had taken no exertion. She couldn’t wait to see what she could really do. The realization of how she had changed was still sinking in, and she knew the shock would wear off with time. She grinned, enjoying the strange sensation of her fangs beneath her lips and the power humming throughout her.

  When they returned to his house just an hour before dawn, Lyric was struck with fear. The rising sun had never been an enemy before. She could feel it’s slow but sure approach as if there were an internal clock inside her mind, warning her to make haste before it broke over the horizon.

  That final moment of absolute dark before the dawn seemed to be stripped away in layers before her eyes. Colors were brighter amid the fading rays of the moon. She couldn’t resist pausing to admire the roses near the front door, seeing them as she never had. Their scent was almost too sweet, and they seemed to smile with scarlet petals that reached for her. The life flowing through the rosebush was vibrant and vital. Moreover, humans would never see it the way she saw it now, feeling the energy and allure of nature.

  Jade moved to pick one, and she caught his arm mid-motion. It had been reaction without thought, and again she was amazed at the change in her.

  “Don’t.” Their eyes met, and a flurry of questions assailed Lyric. “How is it that it takes passing through death to be able to feel the life all around us? Even in the earth at my feet. How? Why is this something humans can never be so aware of?”

  She searched Jade’s golden-rimmed eyes, needing an answer. It didn’t seem fair. Would the world continue to suffer at the hands of its inhabitants if they knew, if they could feel what she was feeling?

  Pride shone in Jade’s eyes when he tipped her head up with a hand beneath her chin. He kissed the tip of her nose before saying, “Oh, some of them are. Those that seek nature rather than industry, technology or Wall Street. That’s the sad reality with humans, Lyric. Most of them are nothing like you. They don’t have your heart or your warmth. They are monsters in their own right.”

  Lyric flashed back to the night in Taylor’s apartment as she followed Jade inside the house. She didn’t know anything about the man other than his first name and what he had shouted about Jade. In those moments, Taylor had been nothing less than a monster, one that had been self-made by his own choices. And, now he was dead.

  That sad and angry mortal man had been every bit the monster that Dexter was. The lines blurred between human and vampire, each being just as capable of evil as the other. Her thoughts went back to the two dead pimps Jade and she had left in the alley. She didn’t question the right or wrong of the action anymore.

  The moment the door closed behind them, she was all over Jade. She pulled at his clothing with an aggressiveness that was both new and welcome. Lyric’s mind was on overload as she tried to process every change she’d undergone. She didn’t want to think or question anymore. She just wanted to feel Jade’s hard, naked body pressed to hers. The need could not go ignored.

  “Jade.” She kissed him with a hungry passion, delving into his mouth with her tongue. He tasted like blood, and she wanted more. “Make love to me, right now. I can’t wait another minute.”

  Unable to keep her hands off him, Lyric licked and bit at his lips while shedding her own clothing. When it lay pooled on the floor at her feet, she brought his hand to the warm place between her legs. He didn’t need any further encouragement. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her to the safe sanctity of the bedroom.

  Lyric was frozen in place when Jade merely gazed longingly into her eyes for a long, drawn out moment. Love had always seemed so elusive, and here it was, eternal and staring her right in the face. Jade was a dream come true, a gift from the heavens themselves. She couldn’t believe otherwise.

  “I love you.” Jade’s words were breathy, barely a whisper. He hovered over her, looking down at her with such emotion in the depths of his stare. “You have saved me from myself, whether you know it or not. I didn’t believe myself to be worthy of love, and you make me feel like that isn’t so. If everything I have faced in my existence so far has been so that I could be here with you now, it was all worth it.”

  The rush of emotion brought tears to Lyric’s eyes. She blinked back the blurry red tears and wondered again what she had done to deserve such a gift as Jade. “I would die again if that’s what it took to be with you.”

  Jade groaned, low and needy. Crushing his lips to hers in a bruising kiss, he awakened a dark desperation within her. She had to have him inside her now, completing the union of their souls. Running her hands down his perfectly muscled back, she gripped his ass tightly, urging him to claim her.

  Finding her wet and ready, Jade didn’t need further encouragement. His eyes never left hers as he pressed his throbbing erection against her opening, sliding deep inside with one solid thrust. Every sensation seemed to be brand new, as if she’d never held him inside her before.

  An explosion of pleasure had her seeing stars. Lyric was over stimulated as her mind tried to make sense of the rampant feelings and sensations that rocked h
er body. As Jade moved inside her, pulling out just to thrust deep again, they ceased to feel like two separate bodies. They fell into a natural rhythmic pattern, moving as if instinct guided them.

  Lyric began to feel as if she and Jade shared the same body, the same soul. Her heart ached with the immense love she felt for him. Though she battled the crimson blood tears, they won as they spilled down her cheeks. With extreme tenderness, Jade kissed each one away. Every blood red drop was a symbol of joy and surrender. She dove head first into his world, without time for thought or hesitation. And, as long as Jade continued to love her like only he could, she would never regret that hasty decision made when standing on the brink of death.

  Jade. It had all been about Jade since that first moment. Death had held no claim over her since the second he chose to step into her life in order to save it.

  Holding him tightly, she pressed her face to soft hollow in his collarbone. Nothing else mattered but the two of them. Lyric cried out when he brought her to climax and again when the intensity of his every thrust grew until he was moaning her name against her ear. Another orgasmic wave began to build until it crashed over them as one.

  As the sun climbed above the horizon to announce its arrival, the vampire lovers lay entwined in the safety of the darkened room.

  * * * *

  Before she’d even slid the key into the lock, Lyric could scent Storm inside. Relief flooded her as she turned the key and opened the door to her apartment. She’d been worried about Frisk, fearing he’d been left alone and uncared for in her absence.

  The sound of the television greeted her, quickly followed by Storm who appeared in the doorway to the living room. Her face lit up at the sight of Lyric though her expression was guarded.

  Lyric was suddenly thankful that Jade had insisted she hunt before returning to her apartment for Frisk and her things. It wasn’t realistic for her to continue to stay there due to the lack of daytime safety. Storm’s scent was delicious, stirring the bloodlust to life despite her recent feed. Lyric did her best to ignore the nagging ache. This was her best friend, the sister she’d never had.