Cherry Stem (Vampire Cherry Book 1)

by Sotia Lazu

  Alex’s features hardened, his deduction as to the caller’s identity so obvious, I might as well have heard it click into place.

  I put my phone back and did my best seductive prowl up the bed, but he seemed preoccupied. When I straddled him and lowered my face to his, he said, “I’ve been thinking...”

  Shit. Nothing good ever followed that line. Sitting back on his thighs, I looked at him with a pout. “If this is about Constantine, I told you—”

  “Nothing to do with him.” Yeah, right. That was why he spat out him like the word was drenched in lemon juice. “We’ve been going about this all wrong.”

  “Huh? Like how?” I scowled hard enough to almost put my eyebrows in my line of sight. How could we have been doing the sex wrong?

  “We’ve been looking for clues, when we don’t have a theory.” So it really had nothing to do with Constantine. “We have to take this from the start.”

  Did I mention I was straddling him naked? And he wanted to talk shop?

  I slid off his body and covered myself with the sheet. “So let’s.” Suppressing my sulking took some effort, but being upset that he could disregard my blatant pass at him was stupid when he wanted to discuss something about the case.

  “First off, you were turned—we assume by accident—and left for dead. A vampire who happened to be your fan happened to come by and spot you. Right so far?”

  “Right.” Where was he going with it? We knew Willoughby and Ted had been working together.

  “Okay, so the question is why? Turning you, dumping you, and supposedly discovering you was too big a mess. Why would they do that? What did they hope to accomplish?” He might have been directing the questions to himself, his voice was so low.

  “A law against turning people was established?”

  Alex arched an eyebrow, his look saying what his mouth wouldn’t dare to—I was an idiot to believe that. “I doubt that was what they were after, since they’re still turning people.”

  I crossed my arms, trapping the sheet against my breasts. I wished the cloth could protect more than my nonexistent modesty and warm more than my skin. The ice-cold fingers gripping my still heart showed no intention of melting, however. That I was warm and safe mere moments ago compounded my sense of dread. Things were so fucking volatile. “We don’t know that,” I said in a small voice.

  Whether he sensed my need for reassurance or because he too needed the contact, he placed his palm between my shoulder blades. I leaned into his touch. “You’re right. We don’t know that. Yet that’s not all they managed, is it?”

  I curled in on myself and hugged my legs. Laying my cheek on my knee, I focused on enjoying his caress. “No, it’s not. The old council was overthrown, and a new one replaced it.” They were the ones to benefit the most from my turning. Nobody controlled or even questioned them.

  “If your turning was indeed prearranged, they had to be involved. They were supposed to get Willoughby executed and didn’t. The same people you went to for help.” His tone held no accusation, yet guilt was added to the cluster of negative feelings that made a home in my belly. Alex had warned me not to trust them, but I’d insisted they were the good guys. Now they knew we were on to something.

  They probably knew about Alex too, which put him in even greater danger. It was one thing for a single rogue vampire to be after us, and another altogether for the enemy to be the council itself.

  “The council wouldn’t need to outlaw turnings if they planned on continuing them. They could have found another way to go about overturning their predecessors. This must all be a coincidence.” Unless they had another agenda.

  He tugged at a strand of my hair. “You said yourself we don’t know they’re turning the girls. If they are, maybe not all council members are in on it. Probably not all of them are in on it, or they’d have killed you when you went to meet them. Still, even one of them is enough of a threat.”

  They knew where to find us. The lack of a new attack might have been meant to lull us into a false sense of safety.

  “There’s something else your theory doesn’t explain,” I said. “Assuming they’re taking the girls, why are they doing it?” And what could we do?

  “We’ll look into that. First we have to find a safe place. Maybe my apartment.”

  I scrunched my nose. “Which floor is it on?”

  “What does that matter?”

  “If it’s not an underground one, you obviously wanna see me go up in flames.”

  A vibration made me jump. This time there was no procrastination. I elbowed Alex in the ribs trying to answer it. The call would act as a distraction from the scariness, regardless of who was on the other end of the line.

  Only, when the music kicked in, I realized it wasn’t my phone. My ringtone wasn’t “Paparazzi.”

  With a fleeting thought at how our provider rocked for allowing for reception in the basement, I looked at the tiny slip of a cell phone inching its way toward the edge of the coffee table we used as a nightstand. The screen flashed an innocent white light.

  Alex stared at it too, but he stopped me when I climbed over him to get it. “What if it’s him?” He wasn’t worried. He was asking if I had a plan.

  I knew what course of action would appeal the most to me. “I tell him to give me Dotty, unharmed, or I dust him?” I asked with fake cheer.

  Alex reached out and picked it up. After one glance at the display, he shook his head. “Out-of-area.” We were both whispering.

  “Let it go to voicemail.”

  We remained silent until the cell stopped ringing. We could have waited for an alerting text, but Alex was no more patient than I was. He narrowed his eyes and pressed 1. The phone looked fragile in his massive palm. When his index pushed down on it, I was sure he’d break it. He didn’t, and he managed to turn the speaker on too. I silently prayed Sheena didn’t have a PIN for accessing her messages.

  Alex pressed 1 once more, drew me so I lay on his chest, and held the phone between our ears.

  “I want a blonde tomorrow night. The swimsuit model, if she really is no older than twenty-three. Tell her to meet me in the VIP section of the Dark Sun at eleven. Ask for Mr. Erebus’s booth. If she doesn’t show, I’ll come for you.” The voice was flat. Emotionless. Willoughby’s.

  I shivered, and Alex tightened his grip on me. He waited for a heartbeat, then tossed the phone back on the table, and cradled me. “We’ll get him.” He kissed my forehead. “We’ll get him, and he’ll pay.”

  “How?” The human justice system wasn’t capable of containing or handling a vampire, and more innocent blood would be shed when he escaped.

  “Same way his friend did.”

  I was happy I couldn’t see his eyes. Judging by his tone, the darkness in his expression would scare me more than the notion of one or more council members being after us.

  “So we’re going to the Dark Sun tomorrow?” I brushed my lips along his collarbone.

  He nodded.

  “And until then?”

  “We’re staying here.”

  I looked up at him, shocked. “What about finding a safe place?”

  “Even if the leak’s fixed, my apartment is on the seventh floor and facing east. Windows with gauzelike curtains all around. Yours?”

  “We don’t need an invitation to enter another vamp’s place. Dead people have no threshold to keep the supernatural away.” I averted my face when he tried to capture my lips. “We don’t have to hide together. You could stay at your place, and I’ll stay at mine.” Not my idea of fun, but I didn’t want to risk Alex’s life more than I already had. He was strong and trained to fight, but he was still human.

  He cupped my chin and turned me to him, our faces so close I went cross-eyed trying to look at him.

  “We hide together, we fight together, and—if we have to—we run together,” he said. “Only Willoughby can get in here without an invitation. If he does, we can take him.”

  He sounded so certain, I allowed
myself to relax and get lost inside the cocoon his words and presence built around us.

  The semblance of safety and comfort only lasted until he said, “I think we should look through the folder Barbara gave us.”

  With a groan, I let him get up and bring the blasted thing over so we could flip through the pages. There were ten more entries that only held pictures and numbers. Ten more young women who’d been selected for vampire snacks—or worse. And those were only the ones Sheena’s Models had lined up for Willoughby. Nothing assured us my former agent was his only supplier.

  “This blonde has the proportions of a swimsuit model.” I pointed at a young woman’s picture. Her measurements were jotted hastily next to the photo.

  “I didn’t know models came in different categories.”

  So he thought I was in the same league as Gisele? Could he be more awesome? I felt bad for having to correct him. “They do. Runway models as a rule are really tall but less curvy. Swimsuit models are curvier and often more athletic.” And catalog models, like once-upon-a-time me, can be shorter than runway and more girl-next-doorish.

  None of the girls in the pics were among the missing ones, and Sheena had said there weren’t supposed to be more, so who were they? Alternatives? Had she been presenting Willoughby with a buffet? I couldn’t think of what to do about it. We couldn’t start calling them and warning them off a potential supernatural kidnapper or killer.

  “Maybe you should take this to your guys?” I said. “They can do more to protect them than we can.”

  “My guys are the ones who told us about Sheena’s Models. Roebuck has probably gone by the agency by now and has a copy of this in his hands. I was hoping there’d only be a couple more possible victims so you and I could follow them.” That last sentence was uttered under his breath, like he was talking to himself. He closed the folder and dropped it to the floor by the bed.

  “So Roebuck knows we’ve been by asking questions too.”

  “Yup.” The single word sounded like a whip cracking.

  “Uh-oh?”

  “Uh-oh.”

  How long would it take Barbie to tell them Sheena had called in? How soon would they trace that call to Sheena’s house? I hoped Sheena had the good sense to follow my advice and leave town. If not, she’d have some explaining to do. The kind that results in people being locked up in loony bins.

  It was the least appropriate time for sex. Someone I cared about was missing, people I trusted had betrayed me, and Alex and I were in grave danger.

  But I needed something to keep my body and mind occupied, and I needed that to be Alex. Whatever came next, even if we were both going to die soon, I needed to feel him inside me again. I needed to cling to what we had, before someone took it away or I had to give it up.

  Nuzzling his wide sternum, I slyly tugged at the sheet between us with my toes. Even if we did nothing, I wanted to be touching all of him.

  He untangled my hair with his fingers, brushing it to one side in the process. “Cherry, that’s not a good idea right now,” he said, caressing my back.

  “Dunno what you’re talking about,” I muttered against his skin and flicked my tongue over his nipple. Lifting my hips, I pulled at the covers.

  When I lowered again and started rubbing against him, he grasped my shoulders. “Stop it. This isn’t what you want.”

  I stopped, but not because he said so. Well, actually, I did stop because of what he said, but not because I agreed with him. “Says who?”

  “I do.” He folded his arms around me and rested his chin on top of my head. “You’re not doing this because you want to. You’re doing it because you’re scared and worried.”

  “Now you’re telling me how I’m feeling?” I rolled off him, taking the sheet with me.

  “Don’t be like that.” He turned on his side and reached for me, but I shook his hand off.

  “I’m not being like anything. This is how I am, which you wouldn’t know since you’ve known me for all of five seconds.” I was being unreasonable, but I was scared and worried, and I’d been alone for too long to feel comfortable admitting it to another person. Sharing my fears didn’t come naturally. I needed action. I wanted sex to keep my mind off all the badness.

  “Okay then.” He grabbed my forearm and drew me to him, rolling onto his back at the same time. “Hop on.” There was no hint of lust in his words.

  “Wha—huh?”

  He patted his thigh. “Changed my mind. We’re doing it after all.” Taking advantage of my surprise, he coiled an arm around me and lifted me onto his lap.

  “Ah, now you’re doing me a favor?” I batted at his arm. “Lemme go.” I could have been free in a blink of an eye and across the room in one more, but that would have defeated the purpose of my winning the argument.

  He raised his eyebrows, giving me the distinct notion he was mocking me. “Isn’t that what you want?”

  “Not like this.” I’d been upset when he’d declined sex, but my mood now galloped toward livid. What was wrong with him?

  He didn’t let go, stroking my breast with his free hand. “How, then? Do you wanna maybe give me instructions? Write them down, so I don’t forget? Since I’ve known you for all of five seconds.”

  Narrowing my eyes, I wagged my index finger in front of his face. “Maybe I should. Maybe then you’d get it right for a change.” It was a stupid, petty, mean thing to say, and a lie to boot. When it came to sex, Alex was nothing but toe-curlingly praiseworthy.

  I expected him to start yelling right about then. Maybe call me names.

  He didn’t.

  He snatched my finger, which had been left to hover in front of his nose, and bit it.

  It didn’t hurt, but it shocked me into stillness. I don’t know how stupid the astonishment on my face looked, but it had to be very, because Alex laughed.

  “God. You’d say anything to pick a fight, wouldn’t you?”

  Hiding my relief that he didn’t take my words seriously, I retrieved my finger and tucked my hand under my armpit. “I wasn’t trying to pick anything. You just pissed me off.” I halfheartedly tried to slide off him, but gave up when he stroked my hip with his thumb.

  “Yes, you were. You’re freaking out and wanted to get me to either fuck you or fight with you.” He saw right through me. He was all kinds of wonderful, and I was an idiot for being such a bitch.

  In lieu of an apology, I muttered, “I’m a little stressed. I didn’t mean what I said.”

  “I know.” He gave a smug smile. “I knew from the start.”

  Men. “Well, then, why didn’t you play along and let me have my fight?”

  “I promise to do so in the future, once in a while. Sometimes I may even put out.”

  “Hey.” I slapped his chest, but there was no feeling in it. With what he’d said, I no longer needed sex or an argument to forget my fears. He’d mentioned a future and had done so in such a natural way that while I was in his arms, I could imagine us having one together. My bubble was firmly back in place. “Could you put out now because I want you to, because you’re very, very hot?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Are you still hoping to take advantage of me? Wouldn’t you rather just talk?”

  I grabbed my pillow and smacked him in the face. My victory was short lived. He dug his fingers into my ribs and tickled me mercilessly. Attempting to flee his attack without using the unfair advantage my vampiric powers afforded me, I didn’t notice him pull his pillow from behind his head until it hit me sideways.

  “Oh, now you’ve done it.” I twisted my body so I faced away from him and began tickling him on the soles of his feet and behind his knees, keeping him in place with my thighs. That got me a slap on the butt.

  I turned to glare at him, when I made out another sound among his chuckles. “Was that your stomach rumbling?”

  He shrugged. “It’s long past breakfast time.”

  “Long past lunchtime too.” I pushed at his outstretched form. “Go get somethin
g to eat. I don’t want you going all scrawny on me.” Not that I could fathom the possibility.

  He sat up and gave me a quick kiss before getting out of bed. “What about you?”

  “It’s still sunny outside. I’ll be here, waiting for you. In the nude.” Like I’d give up on early afternoon frolicking so easy.

  “Aren’t you hungry?”

  I was but didn’t want to drink from Alex all the time. I’d stick with packaged meals as my regular diet and only feed from him on occasion. “We’ll go by my place before the Dark Sun, so I can change. I’ll have a microwave dinner then.”

  “You can drink from me. Always. I mean, unless you don’t want to. Don’t know if it’s a same-meal-different-day thing for you.” He said it in a low, unsure voice, and it once again dawned on me that I wasn’t the only one with insecurities.

  “Blood isn’t just sustenance,” I said. “It’s an experience. Some see it differently, but for most it’s sexual to a degree.” I tried to find the perfect simile, failed, and settled for a close second. “I remember thinking chocolate soufflé was heaven when I was human. For me taking someone’s blood is like eating chocolate soufflé off his naked body, only better. It fills my stomach, but it also turns me on and rejuvenates me. I could never get bored with licking chocolate soufflé off your naked body.”

  I paused to make sure he was with me. “I want to take only from you, but it may hurt you. I may hurt you. If this is a regular thing, it may weaken you, or you may become addicted to the endorphins released in your body when I bite you.” I was talking as if we could go on the way we were, but I didn’t feel like I was deceiving him. Was it possible I was deceiving myself, by thinking I’d walk away after we found Dotty? Not what I ought to be thinking. “Do you get what I’m saying?”

  Alex nodded again, yet I saw the but forming in his eyes before it reached his lips. “But you don’t take more than a pint at a time. That much is replenished within twenty-four hours. And if I was to get hooked on your bite, wouldn’t it have happened already? Wouldn’t we have seen it?”

  The handbook had a section about addiction. It said addicted humans could go through depression or even experience physical pain if they weren’t bitten regularly. It also said the craving would show after the first bite. “I guess.”