by Anna Santos
“Yes, it was terrible. I suffered severe depression, and I was just able to survive, because I had a kid to take care of.”
“Did you love her much?” I asked, biting my lip with anxiety.
“More than my own life.”
“Then—you are replacing her with me,” I mumbled, glancing away, troubled by his words that made no sense. All along, I thought that he had plotted together with Anastasia to kill and get rid of me.
“It’s a different kind of love,” he whispered, turning my face to his and hugging me under my arms. I felt trapped and confused inside his arms. “I’m not replacing her, I’m just opening my heart to love again.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “So you want us to date.”
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“It’s still weird.”
“You are attracted to me. I know you are,” he said. I puckered my lips. “What’s wrong?”
“Anastasia.”
“What about her?”
“She’s your daughter. She probably loved her mom. I don’t think she’ll be okay with our relationship.”
“It’s not her concern.”
“When are you going to tell her about us?” I asked, trying to mask my mischievous smile while pretending to be innocent and sweet.
“Tomorrow. But does this mean that you want to be with me?”
I just nodded. “I fancy you a lot,” I said, trying to be funny. He tilted his head back and chuckled, and I could feel the quivering of his body. “You are really sexy, Sarah,” he whispered, walking with me to the kitchen and sitting me over the table. My body stiffened the moment I sat on that table. Memories of a really memorable sex performance made me shiver and shift uncomfortable over the surface. I hope he wasn’t planning to use the table for his sexual fantasies. It would be awkward. “You smell nice,” he declared, leaning his head down and placing his mouth in the cleavage of my shirt. My nipples were hard against the fabric, but it was because I got wet remembering what had happened on that table with Galvin; I hoped.
“Wait.” I pushed his head back and climbed down from the table. “We should talk more,” I explained, going to the counter and leaning back. I was feeling weird and, suddenly, I understood that I was hungry. My fangs were itching inside my mouth.
“We can talk after,” he declared, getting in front of me and hitting me with his scent.
Ewan smelled really nice, and it made me gulp. My throat got dry and before I could realize, Ewan was between my legs, pushing himself against me, making me understand how aroused he was, and placing kisses along my face and neck. His hands molded my breasts, his lips caressed my skin, and he rubbed his protuberance against my lower stomach, making me involuntarily sway against him.
“Just like that, baby,” he whispered in my ear, and I had no idea of what he was talking about. He was liking something I was doing, but I was barely touching him. My hands were on the counter, grabbing hard to the wood and I was letting him touch me.
He unbuttoned my shirt, placing kisses on my skin, licking my nipples over my bra. Then he flipped open the button of my jeans, unzipping me. I jerked back a bit, feeling my hips move again, looking for contact. Memories of us making love rushed into my mind, making me wetter. We were wild and crazy. Most of the time, we fought and then made up by having savage sex on a table or against the window. It was the wild days. The urgency he was feeling and the hunger hadn’t faded away. I could barely move without the expectation to have his cock ramming inside me.
“I would rather have you in your sexy little black dress, but this will do,” he mumbled against my stomach, rushing to take his belt off and licking my belly button.
His hand plunged inside my panties, and I shrieked in confusion. His touch was so clumsy and rushed that made me freeze and open my eyes. His lips crashed against mine and my nose smelled him deeper. He smelled delicious. My fangs itched again inside my gums. They wanted to grow and bite his lips to taste his blood. That was an insane thought, since he wasn’t a human and only human blood could have that effect on me.
I pulled his hand away, annoyed by the lack of tenderness, and I tried to stop overthinking about what was happening. But I could hear his rapid heartbeat, much faster than a human beat, and I had my eyes on his jugular. The flux of blood in his vein allured me, while I was trying to play with his tongue, and at the same time hide my fangs.
I could appear and feel human, but apparently my craving for blood wasn’t completely cured. My body could process human food, but what was keeping me going was the special blood that Galvin gave me every week. I hadn’t drunk it that week, so that was maybe why I was experiencing withdrawals and having crazy thoughts about drinking vampire blood.
“I can’t do this,” I complained, pushing him back and gasping for air.
“What can’t you do?” He asked, voice laced with lust. His eyes were shining with sexual yearning, and even if I was feeling the yearning myself and the wish to give in to the lust, I couldn’t go forward with that.
“I can’t sleep with you,” I explained, feeling troubled. It was the thought of Galvin that made me stop. I couldn’t do that to him. I would hurt him deeply. I knew it would. My lust and giving in to old memories of me and Ewan together weren’t enough to want to break Galvin’s heart.
“Are you a virgin or something?” He asked and I frowned at him. Was he serious? But I could work with that.
“No, I’m not ready to sleep with you. You’re rushing things,” I explained, and I noticed how troubled we became.
“I’m sorry, I thought you were as aroused as I am.”
“I want our first time to be special.” I kept manipulating, and tried to find plausible excuses to turn him down. Playing hard to get was always a nice tactic to leave a man crazy.
“I want our first time to be special, too. But—Sarah, I’m so horny right now. Baby, please,” he whispered, trying pull me back to his arms so he could change my mind. “There are other things we can do to—ease the heat,” he reasoned, and I felt like to vomit on him. I wasn’t exaggerating, his words actually made my stomach spin and the nauseas to rush into my mouth.
“I’m not feeling so good,” I muttered, straightening up and escaping his hold.
“What am I supposed to do now?” He asked, frustration in his voice. It only angered me and made me understand that I had made the right call. God, he was self-centered!
“Do you know what could help? A cold shower,” I suggested, walking towards the living room and fixing my clothes. “Now, I have to go and meet a friend,” I explained, grabbing my purse from the couch and turning around to see his baffled expression. “Could you close the door on your way out? Thanks,” I happily said, going out of my own apartment to escape an almost fatal mistake.
Then it hit me. I had no clue where to go. But I wasn’t planning to stay there and face Ewan’s horny state again. I needed to clear my mind and think about what I was going to do next. I was tense and on the edge. I needed to do something to ease my mind and relax. Besides having sex, the other thing that helped me relax was fighting, so I used my powers to open a portal, which led me to my headquarters, more specifically the training area. It had been a while since I’ve practiced. I had all my material in my locker, and I could always see my fellow hunters’ companions and ask how things were going.
Chapter Twenty-One
A serious conversation
THE TRAINING FACILITY was empty. It was still early in America compared to Europe, consequently, the hunters were still sleeping after a long night of patrolling.
I was still feeling a tad sick and, because my apartment was not a safe place to be, I decided to go to the women’s locker-room to wash my face and drink some water. I sat for a moment, watching my reflection on the mirror. I looked tired and sick just like any human girl. That was confusing, but I was betting it was because of all the side effects that Galvin kept reminding me that would happen with the final transformation. If the excruciating pain that I ha
d to endure wasn’t enough, every time I had to submit to the blood treatment, now I had to experience nausea, headaches, and bad skin.
I needed something to eat. Something with sugar or chocolate. Chocolate would be nice. There was a vending machine somewhere. We have humans and werewolves training with us, they need to eat. Now, only if I had American currency with me, it would be super. Then I remembered that I might have some coins in my locker.
Armed with two dollars, I strolled down the corridor, looking for the vending machine, but then I halted because I heard voices. I was not as alone as I thought. I sharpened my senses, trying to figure out where the others were. I followed the voices to the men’s locker room. It was on the opposite side of the corridor, and I was going to completely ignore it and move on with my life, when I heard Galvin’s name being mentioned.
“Galvin is old and rusty,” a guy’s voice said in a mocking tone. “Or maybe he is just too busy thinking about Violet.”
“If you want to keep your teeth, you better not talk about her,” Galvin menaced.
Even if the first rude comment coming from the guy’s mouth had annoyed me, Galvin’s reply had put a smile on my lips. So I leaned against the wall and decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Someone is in a bad mood today,” another guy’s voice was heard. That one was familiar to me, it was Cyan. He was one of the high ranking commanders and a jerk, I might add. He thought he could have any girl in the world. “Is the honeymoon period over?”
“Things are great between Violet and I. Now just get dressed guys. We are on patrol tonight.”
“Well, I shouldn’t be here,” Cyan complained. “I had to entertain Anastasia last night, and she was in a really bad mood.”
I frowned at his puzzling words, but kept listening.
“Apparently, her brother is falling for a gold-digger, and he was planning to declare his love to her, last night. I’m guessing that Violet was really persuasive in tricking that idiot and making him believe she’s someone else.”
“Yes, Violet always knows what she’s doing,” Galvin mumbled. However, I could comprehend that he was annoyed by Cyan bringing up the subject.
“I don’t know what you are complaining about, Cyan! You always say that Anastasia gives you the most amazing blowjobs when she is stressing.”
“She does. The chick is fucking crazy and paranoid, and she has a really crazy obsession with her so-called brother, but, man, does she know how to use her tongue and lips!”
“Maybe her daddy taught her that,” the other guy joked, and they both chuckled.
“Or maybe it was her mommy,” Cyan teased back.
All I heard then was a smacking sound of a fist against someone’s skull, and a body slammed against the wall.
“Galvin! He was joking, he wasn’t even talking about Violet,” the guy urged Galvin to calm down.
I could only guess that Galvin had punched Cyan and was choking him against the wall.
“I was talking about her real mom. Anastasia said that her real mom was a whore,” Cyan explained, in a strangled voice. “What the fuck! Can’t anyone tell a joke around here? I know Violet has you whipped, but dude, she is probably right now on her knees sucking his dick, so if you want to punch someone, punch the right guy,” Cyan said, cranky voice and probably already freed from Galvin’s hold to act cocky like that.
“Dude, do you have a death wish?” The other guy asked.
“You caught me off guard the first time, sorcerer. But I can handle you if you don’t use one of your tricks,” Cyan declared. “But face it, she’s a whore.”
By the time they were exchanging their pleasantries, I had already entered their locker room. I wanted them to know that I was there, just to see the look on Cyan’s face, and because I had to stop Galvin before he killed the douchebag.
“You will watch your mouth! You won’t talk about Violet in such a way!” Galvin was pissed, and the other guy was having a hard time holding him back. “First, because she’s your superior around here. Second, because she’s stronger, smarter, and faster than you. She can kick your ass, in fact, she has already done that. Third, because she is mine, and if you ever say that again about her, I will incinerate you to ashes, and I really don’t care if your daddy gets annoyed about it. But I promise you that it’s the last fucking thing that comes out of your dirty mouth.”
Cyan was frozen in place, staring at the big, bad sorcerer that was threatening his life. He was probably pissing in his pants.
“Now, apologize,” Galvin ordered.
I cleared my throat to signal my presence. Galvin glared back, rage still burning inside his eyes. The other unknown guy released him and looked at me, rubbing his hands on his jeans. While Cyan simply turned his gaze to me, and he backed up into the wall, because he realized I was there, and I had heard his comments about me.
“Hi!” I smiled at them, using a relaxed tone. Galvin’s eyes softened over mine. He was breathtaking and such a gentleman. He was a perfect gentleman, defending my honor. It was almost amusing, but not quite. Cyan’s sexist comments about me pissed me off. But it was nice to have Galvin so protective of me.
“What are you doing here?” Galvin asked, trailing his way to my side.
“I was bored,” I explained with a shrug taking a seat on a bench and staring at Cyan. “So I’m a whore, huh?” I asked the douchebag. “And what are you? The King of the man-whores? For what I know,” I continued, relaxing on the bench and holding my hands on the sides, “whores are paid for their trouble and can’t pick who they want to fuck. And last time I checked, I just sleep with guys that I feel like. Or are you just pissed because I rejected you?” I sneered, pointing at him from head to toes with disdain. It wasn’t that Cyan wasn’t good-looking, he was. But he was also despicable and a womanizer. Besides, he thought he was irresistible to any woman.
“That’s because you would rather play with boys than real men,” he retorted, rather than be offended by my words.
“Baby, I was playing with men long before you even wore diapers,” I reminded him. Then, I looked at Galvin, who was focused on me, and I smiled, rubbing my foot against his leg to calm him down. “And shut up, before I turn you into a frog,” I warned Cyan, glaring at him when he was about to open his mouth. He shut it rather fast, and I got up, motioning Galvin to follow me. He did, and left Cyan to his embarrassment while the other guy burst into laughter.
“Shut up, or I’ll smack you,” Cyan threatened.
“Dude, you are so out of your league. She is too hot and too smart for you,” the guy mocked him and all I heard next was a locker being slammed. Then, I ignored the rest.
“Who is the new guy?”
“Nathan, Jeremy’s son.”
“He’s a good kid. He stopped you from killing Cyan.”
“He’s strong,” Galvin agreed. “Is everything okay with you? You look pale.”
“So, I’m yours.” I reminded him, ignoring his question and postponing the answer.
He stopped walking and ruffled his hair. I turned to watch him.
“You will be,” he said.
I smiled. “I like your confidence,” I whispered, and turned around to keep strolling down the corridor.
“So, what are you really doing here?” He asked, following me, a bit more relaxed.
“I was feeling nauseous, and I didn’t know where else to go and—well I’m hungry and I’m looking for the vending machine,” I explained, leaving out a crucial fact, but I was going to tell him when we were alone and away from prying ears.
“Nauseous,” he whispered, holding me by my shoulder and making me stop. “What kind of nauseous?”
“The kind that makes me want to throw up.”
“We should see the doctor. Come with me,” he requested with a stern face.
“Calm down. I’m not dying, and I’m already feeling better. I just need to eat.”
“Then, after you eat, you will see the doctor,” he stated, as if I had n
o other option. He moved closer and hugged me by the waist, making me lean back on his arms to stare at his face. His stern face was replaced by his I-love-you-so-much face. I gulped. He looked extremely attractive when he did that. But I didn’t let him kiss me like he intended. Instead, I hugged him and placed my face against his chest, feeling the safety of his hug and feeling like the biggest idiot in the world. “What’s wrong, Vi?”
“We need to have a serious conversation,” I mumbled against his scented chest, and felt really bad when I felt him stiff against me, worried, no doubt, about what I could possibly want to tell him. He probably had an idea about what was the subject of the conversation.
“You want to break up with me,” he muttered, voice laced with emotion. I felt my heart beating uncontrollably as I stared up at him, sucking my lower lip with watering eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cuddling and ice-cream
THERE’S NOTHING BETTER to recover from a really bad day than laying down in bed, eating ice cream and watching romantic silly movies with your boyfriend. I was learning that rather quickly, since I had never eaten ice cream before, and I was fairly enjoying having an indulging and caring lover like Galvin.
My hormones were over the roof. First nauseous, then crying. Now, I was finding myself needy and perfectly happy with just curling up in bed, laying my head on Galvin’s chest, and watching TV, while sucking my spoon with ice cream. Too bad the bed belonged to the clinic facilities, which was attached to the training facilities. But after the doctor had taken my blood, we were left alone to cuddle.
“Are you going to tell me why you started crying?” Galvin interrupted the silence, voice laced with concern. He kept cuddling my hair and I knew that I couldn’t keep ignoring the reason I was so sad and troubled. I just nestled my nose against his chest and growled, upset. He smelled nice and fresh, his heartbeat was regular, and I just wanted to fall asleep there, to only wake up when all hurt was gone. “I know you, Vi. There is something wrong with you.”