by Lena Moore
“Yeah, actually.”
“Colour? What was the colour?” he demanded.
Aliyah started second guessing the woman’s advice because Draven looked as if he was losing his mind.
“Red, black and white,” she said without hesitation.
Draven’s shoulders slumped, and he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, “It was Kaltemis.”
“Say what?”
“Kaltemis. She is the light Goddess, and if she’s shown herself to you, even a fraction like she did, then you’re important to her. This negative energy you mentioned, I would bet my fangs that it’s Neferity.” Draven paused and he dropped on the bed heavily.
Aliyah kept silent, sensing he wasn’t finished talking.
Draven shook his head and groaned, “Neferity, she is the dark Goddess. You want to avoid her like the plague, I mean it. She’s clearly begun seeking you out. If Kaltemis felt the urge to push you out of the lucid dream you were having then this is more serious than I thought, Snowflake.”
Aliyah needed to sit down. She was apparently a vampire and now there were two Goddess’s after her hide. But why? She didn’t understand any of this. And where the fuck did Draven fit into this clusterfuck? She felt her core tingle at the thought of Draven. Traitorous whore, focus!
“I don’t get this, Shrek. What is happening to me? I’m a vampire, yeah right! And now you’re telling me there is a good and bad goddess? How do you even know half the shit you do about me?” she huffed.
“You are a vampire. How do I know? I can smell you. Vampire blood runs through your veins. Although it’s more than that: you’re transitioning. You’re ripe, and for some reason I crave you. I don’t understand that much more than you do,” he relented.
“Prove it.”
“Prove what?”
“Prove to me that there is such a fucking thing as vampires.” Even after the words left her mouth, Aliyah wanted to take them back because deep down she already knew the answer.
“Fine,” he growled.
Aliyah’s mind pretty much detonated. Her disbelief morphed into realisation as she gravitated toward his elongated canines. They were so fucking long and sharp. Aliyah wanted to touch them. She had the desire to run her fingers over the pointy edges, and somewhere buried deep and twisted, she ached for him to bite her. She clenched her legs and suppressed a moan.
Aliyah should have been screaming and looking for an exit but she wasn’t doing any of that. She stepped closer to Draven. It felt like a compulsion. The moment felt too intimate and she couldn’t stop the gravitation toward him, moving closer and closer.
When she stopped moving, Aliyah stood in front of Draven and felt the current flow between them. Feet rooted to the ground, she met his mismatched beautiful eyes. Aliyah always knew she was different, but a fucking vampire? Never in her life would she have imagined that would be the reason for her eccentricity.
She watched Draven’s body language. His once calm persona was nowhere to be seen and his whole body vibrated. His arms were straight down against his sinewy body with his hands balled into fists.
Aliyah stretched out her arm, angling it toward Draven’s mouth. He flinched but stayed in position. She knew he was struggling. But she also figured that Draven would allow her to do what she was about to, no matter the cost. Aliyah wasn’t sure how she knew, but she did.
Draven closed his eyes and ground out, “Do it. I see the curiosity in your eyes. I sense the unanswered questions within and I feel your desire. What fucks with my self-control, what smashes my resolve into millions of fractured pieces is the fact I can smell your arousal, knowing I can’t touch you.” He swallowed harshly.
Aliyah no longer felt in control of her body. She bit her lower lip and her fingers came into contact with Draven’s fangs. She jerked away at first. His canines were severe, but somehow sexy. Her gaze drifted down him to the evident bulge in his track pants. Aliyah’s gums tingled; it was a sensation she wasn’t used to. She pulled her hand away from Draven’s canines and felt where her own would be. They weren’t elongated and nowhere near as impressive as his.
Aliyah’s world seemed warped. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening to her. What she needed was to get away from Draven. She wouldn’t be able to siphon through all of this with him in close proximity.
“Can you please take me home; I need to process all of this.”
Draven seemed reluctant then he issued a curt nod. “Let’s go then, but we will be exchanging digits, ok?”
“Sure, whatever,” she replied, her answer vague in manner.
Aliyah didn’t recall the walk to Draven’s car or the drive back to Pines Village. How is this happening to me? Is he right? What if he’s right, what if I am adopted? Fuck, why is this shit happening to me?” She didn’t want to believe that eighteen years of her life could be a big fat fallacy.
She was pulled from her inner turmoil by Draven’s deep, dark, accented voice. She shivered as the syllables left his full lips.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that tattoo on your wrist. Did it just appear? Or did you have it inked on?” Aliyah had a feeling Draven already knew the answer to his question.
She feigned nonchalance. “Does it matter?”
“Uh, yeah, it kind of does, Snowflake.”
Providing the circumstances, that damn nickname shouldn’t make her pussy weep.
She released a heavy breath. “It appeared on my eighteenth. My mother absolutely freaked! She couldn’t believe I had marked myself with a tattoo.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Well, let me put it this way, what I didn’t tell her was I just woke up with this tattoo on my wrist.” She flicked her arm back and forward at him.
She thought she caught a slight smirk but didn’t query it. He was a fucking vampire? Were those fangs real? Wait, is this some stupid reality TV show?
“Stop thinking, Snowflake. You’re hurting my head. We’re here.”
Aliyah stepped out of the car ready to make a dash for it until she heard Draven’s car door creak.
“What do you think you’re doing, Shrek?”
Draven stalked toward her and cocked his head to the side. “I’m walking you to your door, what’s it fucking look like?”
Aliyah didn’t have time for this. She flipped him off before walking up the steps to the front door. Gasping, she cupped her hands over her mouth and staggered back into Draven’s arms.
The door was ajar and Aliyah knew she’d locked the house up before she left. Draven shoved her behind him and crept forward.
“Stay close, Snowflake.”
Her body began to shake. Was there really someone in her house?
Draven kept one hand on her. Nudging the door open with his other, he stepped forward.
“Fuck. You’re coming with me. You aren’t safe here anymore,” he cursed.
“Wha–what do you mean?”
“Take a look, princess.”
Aliyah looked around his burly arms and gaped. What the fuck? The whole living area was turned upside down. It looked like someone had set off fireworks in her lounge area.
Draven turned her around to face him, his amazing eyes intent on hers. “Grab some clothes, chargers, whatever you need. You’re staying with me. Don’t worry, I have a spare room. Now move.”
He didn’t give her a chance to respond as he slapped her ass when she walked through the door. Aliyah wasn’t sure if she was numb or slightly aroused by the motion.
She moved around her house on autopilot collecting the things she thought she would need. Surely this was only an interim solution, right? The thought of being locked away with Draven not only scared the shit out of her, it exhilarated her.
Twenty minutes later and three suitcases filled, both of them climbed into his car. Draven turned the ignition and it rumbled to life. Aliyah caught his reflection in the window. He was watching her with what looked like a mixture of worry, doubt and what she now knew as lust. She shook her
head slightly, looked into the inky starry sky, and muttered to herself, “I am so fucked.”
Chapter Eight
~ Draven ~
Draven was taken back at how Aliyah was dealing with all of this. It was a shit load better than he anticipated. The whole drive back to the quarter he thought about the mess left in her house. There was something sinister living in the shadows there. He intended on finding his way to the bottom of that cesspool. Neferity was definitely involved and he didn’t like that at all. It meant that Snowflake was important, and that she had something that Neferity wanted.
It’d been so long since Kaltemis revealed herself to Draven. This couldn’t be a coincidence and he wasn’t about to fool himself into believing it either. The Goddess always chided Draven for not believing in her and perhaps that’s why it’s been over a hundred years since he’d seen her. He didn’t even want to reminisce on the other shit that transpired.
Draven watched Aliyah from the corner of his eye, not that he needed to. He felt her fears, her anxieties, her worry, her questions, and even the lust bubbling beneath the surface. He’d never felt someone so intensely or so clearly. Draven knew they were connected in some way. He just didn’t understand or know how yet.
He reached over not even registering what he was doing and squeezed her thigh. Aliyah drew in a quick breath before releasing it and removing his hand.
“Please don’t. I can barely think as it fucking is.”
Draven smiled to himself. He was relieved she admitted that the attraction wasn’t one-sided; well, that’s how he was interpreting it. Part of him hated himself for thinking it, but the other part roared loudly, like a raging lion with a hard-on, which he inevitably had.
“Sorry, Snowflake. Just know I am here if you need to talk.”
They drove in silence until they arrived at the back of Jadis’s shop.
“Tomorrow you’ll meet my best friend. I’m hoping she can shine a light on what is happening between us, and who trashed your place. For now, let’s get back to my place. You’ll be safe there because it’s cloaked by magic, and no one will be able to find you. Don’t run, because I’m all out of patience, Aliyah,” he said gruffly.
She kicked the gravel, sending some of the pebbles skittering across the cement in a reckless manner. “I don’t even have any energy to fight or run. You’re safe, for the moment.”
Draven swore he saw a flicker of a grin on her perfect heart shaped face, and he smiled. She would be his if it was the last thing he ever did.
He made the spare room up for her after he had cheekily offered his bed and his arms around her for the night if she’d like. Draven revelled in the pink hue her face turned when he’d asked because he knew she’d entertained the idea. Even if it was only for a split second, it was enough to make his cock harder, if that was possible. He showed her where her bathroom was and the kitchen. Draven told her to help herself to whatever. He’d turned to leave the bedroom when she called out.
“Shrek, I thought vampires didn’t eat food.”
He rolled his eyes all the way to the other side of the universe. This old chestnut. “Snowflake, it’s a myth. We can eat normal food. I actually enjoy cooking believe it or not. Anything else?”
She worried her lip and drew her knees up to her chest. “No, not now. Just please leave a light on so I know where I am when I wake.” Aliyah turned away from him.
Draven walked back to her and with his index finger and thumb he cupped her chin, bringing her focus onto him. “Stop thinking. Stop wondering if you’re going to sleep in a coffin. Stop wondering if what I am telling you is true, but most of all,” he paused, sighed, then said, “stop fighting what you already know is true.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss to her raven hair. She smelled divine and Draven knew he would be whacking off before he went to sleep. I am one twisted mother fucker.
“Goodnight, Snowflake. You know where I am if you need me.”
With that he turned away and left the room before he changed his mind and fucked her into oblivion.
That night, he slept restless as hell. Draven rolled over on to his back with his erection pointing toward the ceiling. It was four in the morning. He didn’t wear clothes when he slept and occasionally woke up with a raging hard-on, though not usually to the point of being painful. He groaned and palmed his heavy cock. A hiss escaped his mouth. Draven could smell Aliyah’s sweet aroma wafting through the house. He tilted his head further back and slowly dragged his hand roughly up his length and back down, gritting his teeth. He edged himself like this for ten minutes, praying that Aliyah wouldn’t hear his small grunts from her room. He was seriously blue balling for this woman. It was in that moment he realised for the first time in a week his veins weren’t pumping fire through them and it had been almost two days since he’d fed.
The familiar tingle travelled down his spine. He released the grip before his balls drew tight. Fuck. He closed his eyes once more and breathed in her scent. Draven’s eyes flew open and his fingers wrapped around his cock again. Aliyah was aroused. He honed in all of his senses and focused all his energy on her intoxicating scent. Then he saw her. What the fuck?
Draven hadn’t left his room but somehow he was watching Aliyah through his own goddamn eyes. A recognizable burn etched his right thigh and he knew that searing feeling anywhere. He’d been branded. Only looking at the tattoo would determine whether Kaltemis or Neferity had gifted it to him. Draven didn’t sense any negative energy, so it had to be Kaltemis. He wasn’t even going to entertain looking at the ink when Aliyah was somehow in front of him, playing with herself.
The cover jumped up and down as she thrust her hips into her hand. Little whimpers and moans left her sinful full lips. Draven sensed the anticipation and knew she was close to orgasm. He pumped his hand forcefully up and down his veiny length whilst the other squeezed his balls. Aliyah’s eyes scrunched tightly together, her body bowed off the bed, she whispered his name, and then shuddered from her climax. Hearing his name fall from her lips sent Draven over the edge. His body grew rigid as the pressure increased. Draven’s cock grew thicker in his hand and he was unable to stop the barrelling orgasm as he emptied out a hot sticky mess onto his convulsing abdomen.
He stood up, breathless, grabbed one of his shirts from the floor and wiped the semen off. Reaching for the light switch, he flicked it on. Peering down at his thigh he spied the new ink and breathed a sigh of relief. The intricate design was stunning and outlined in red. Kaltemis. Draven lay down on the bed with his arms entwined behind his head. It’d been a century since he’d been branded by Kaltemis. Could Jadis be right? Has she forgiven him for his indiscretion? The branding, was it somehow linked to Aliyah? Or was he able to foresee anyone in which he concentrated? Questions played in his mind like a damn carousel.
Draven’s ears picked up some ruffling outside of his room, he didn’t move. He knew it was Aliyah storming over to his room and he wanted her to get a glimpse of his hard body. And his still semi-erect cock.
The door almost flew off the hinges when she slammed it open, ranting. Her voice trailed off as her eyes roamed over his body before she spun around, putting her back to him. Her scent was masked again. Interesting.
“For fuck sakes, cover yourself up. I can’t have this conversation with your wang hanging out.”
“Did you just say wang?” Draven busted out laughing.
“Don’t test me, Shrek. Fucking put some clothes on or at least place the blanket over you.
Draven pulled the blanket over. But only enough to cover his cock, or his wang as she dubbed it.
“Done. Now what’s up, Snowflake? It’s not even five in the morning.”
Slowly Aliyah brought herself to face Draven. He may not have been able to smell her arousal but her eyes revealed exactly what she was thinking. Girl couldn’t hide a damn thing; her expressions are her downfall, he thought.
“I think you know what’s up! How did you do it?”
“Do what?”
Her face took on a rosy colour. “Don’t make me say it.”
Draven’s brow crinkled. He felt a pang of guilt. There was no way she could have seen him during her climax.
“Dare I ask what?”
“Don’t fucking play coy, it’s unbecoming of you! I sensed you, and then–and then I saw you!”
Draven sat up. “Wait, saw me? What did you see exactly?”
She was no longer turned on. Aliyah’s face only revealed how mortified she was feeling.
“It was like I was right here, in your room. I watched you, you know. Ok? Don’t make me spell it out. Did you see me too?” she blurted.
Draven raked his hand down his face, and sighed. “Yeah, I did. Humour me though. Did you feel a burning feeling at all tonight?”
Her eyes widen in what looked like disbelief. “Yes,” she answered cautiously.
“Where?”
“On my thigh.”
“Show me.”
“Haven’t you seen enough tonight, asshole!”
“Show. Me. Right. Now. Aliyah,” he growled.
“You’re a bossy cunt, you know that?”
“Yeah, and you’re jumping on my last nerve, little girl.” The last words were dripping with sarcasm.
“Arrgghh! I fucking hate you! Fine. Here have a look you perve!” She ripped her small shorts down. Draven tried not to focus on the barely there panties she wore and instead spied the identical red outlined tattoo like his own.
“Shit.”
“What?” Aliyah looked down. “Oh fuck not another one! What is happening to me, Draven?” She dragged her shorts back up.
“I have the same tattoo. Look.” He removed the blanket a smidgen so Aliyah could see the ink.
“How is this possible? What does it mean?”
“It’s a gift from Kaltemis. It’s like the one on your wrist. I’m assuming that’s how you were able to mask your scent from me in the Quarter the other night. It’s rare for Kaltemis to brand anyone when they come of age. You must be special to her.”