I nod respectfully to him, offering a smirk.
Dracula, the biggest caricature my kind has ever experienced.
But that’s fine.
There’s only me now and I’ve never been the type to get offended when it comes to things like that. Let the mortals think what they want about us.
There’s only one mortal I’m interested in, anyway.
I drive across the city with my window cracked an inch, waiting for the familiar, intoxicating scent of Tammy to drift into the car and fill me with violent longing.
I find myself wishing that my heart was beating hard right now, that my palms were flooded with sweat, that my body was responding like a mortal man’s would. I never knew how I’d feel if I ever found the woman who could turn me into a mortal, but now that I have, the idea floods me with excitement.
To live again.
To eat.
To drink.
To feel the human closeness of her against me, and to cradle a child in my arms, our child.
I grind my teeth together, my fangs retracted.
And then I catch her scent in the air, wafting over to me, but there’s a worrying undertone to it.
Fear.
I’m driving across the bridge and, the closer I get, the more potent her fear becomes.
I pull up on the side of the road and climb the barrier of the bridge, leaning out as far as I can get without toppling into the water below, the waves crashing far softer than the waves that used to speed me to battle upon battle.
I tilt my head and listen, penetrating the thickening sounds of the city, searching for her voice.
And there.
I find it.
“Please, just leave me alone,” she whimpers, her words ghostly and shifting as I listen through the autumn wind. “I just want to go home, okay?”
“Ooh, you’re a real spunky one, ain’t ya?”
“Please,” she says, firmer now. Anger flares in her voice and fierce pride pounds in my chest. “If you don’t leave me the fuck alone, I promise, there’ll be serious consequences.”
“Oh, really?”
Laughter.
There’s more than one.
“Y-yeah,” Tammy says, fear in her voice and swirling in her scent.
I glance back at my car, and then down the bridge and across the section of the city that would take me to her.
No.
It will take far too long.
So instead I leap off the bridge and dive into the water below, crashing into the icy depths and swimming against the current.
For her.
My woman.
My mortal queen.
CHAPTER SIX
Tammy
So taking Chipper out for a walk in this area was probably a really stupid mistake.
But even a little dog like Chipper needs to stretch his legs every now and then, and anyway, I needed the time to think as well. I went to work today fully expecting Angelica to tell me I no longer had a job, but it was business as usual, even if she did chew me out for leaving the stock mid-take.
All last night and today, I’ve been trying to convince myself that I dreamt what happened.
He wants me.
He’s a vampire.
As crazy as it seems, both of those facts seem as equally difficult to believe.
Last night I had a dream in which Torsten and I were clasped together tightly, my body pressed right up against his, and he was burning with the heat of his desire.
In the dream, I could believe in his desire.
I didn’t have to be the self-conscious girl always questioning if I was being secretly laughed at.
And so when Torsten’s driver dropped us home as he has for the past week, I put Chipper in his harness and took him for what was supposed to be a quick walk around the block.
But my thoughts strayed to Torsten again and again, to the genuine – or genuine-seeming – pride in his voice when he complimented my singing yesterday. I thought about the way he’d flitted around the room, again trying to figure out just how the heck he pulled that off.
And again.
Nothing.
I just have no clue how the hell he managed something like that.
I was so lost in thought I didn’t even realize when the gang of nine men started following me until a low growl sounded in Chipper’s throat.
Now, I’m backed up against the wall of a grimy alleyway, Chipper clasped to my chest as I look over his growling head at their leader. All of the men are large, but this man is even taller than Torsten. He wears a baggy sports jersey and baggy pants, his eyes gleaming with a menacing look under the brim on his cap.
“Come on, doll,” he says. “We’d give you a good price.”
“I already told you,” I hiss. “My dog isn’t for sale. Why can’t you get that through your thick skull?”
“Damn, you’re feisty,” the man chuckles, glancing at his friends. Every single one of them laughs lowly. “Listen, sweetheart. I don’t wanna have to hurt you. But see, I’m a dog-loving man, and the last thing I like to see is a lady who’s clearly unfit for such a beautiful animal. So just hand him over and that’ll be the end of it.”
“You’re living in a dreamland if you think I’m going to do that,” I snap, trying to force my voice to sound fiercer than I feel.
Fears stabs into me at the thought of these men stealing Chipper. But I have no idea what to do. There’s pepper spray in my handbag, but that would involve slackening my grip on Chipper, and there’s no doubt in my mind that these men are behind the spree of dog thefts that have struck this area.
Freaking hell, why did I have to take him for a walk?
A violent reflex spasms in me at the thought.
How is it fair that my dog should have to go without exercise just because there’s scum like this lurking in the city?
“Well,” the man says after a pause, “I’ve got no problem being called a dreamer. Alright, darling, we’ve danced long enough now. Give him here before I cut you open.”
With a flash of his hand, he produces a knife that glints in the eerie street light.
I suck in a shimmering breath, my shield of sassiness falling away to reveal the fear beneath.
He takes a step forward and gestures with the knife casually.
“Do you really want to make this difficult, sweetheart?” he growls.
“Drop the knife.”
The voice comes from the deeper darkness of the alleyway, off to the left.
Several of the men turn to find the source of the voice, but there’s nothing there, just the dark.
Torsten.
I can’t help but smile.
If Torsten was tricking me, how would he be here, and why?
A nasty thought occurs to me.
What if he arranged for these thugs to attack me so that he could save me?
But no, that’s ridiculous.
He didn’t know I was going to take a walk this evening and, anyway, I just know that isn’t true. I feel it deep inside of me, a chorus of trust that sings loudly and confidently even if it doesn’t make any sense.
I don’t care.
I trust him.
And I’m done fighting that.
“Drop.”
From above now, from the surrounding roofs, his voice comes firmly.
“The.”
Now from the right, from the direction of the street.
“Knife.”
Torsten appears between me and the man, his clothes dripping with wetness and his hair an even deeper shade of iron as he clenches his fists and gazes at the men.
“What the fuck?” the leader snaps, eyes narrowed.
He looks at Torsten the same way I probably did last night in the stockroom, as though he’s trying to work out exactly how Torsten just performed this trick.
His expression shifts and he glances to his goons on either side, standing up straighter.
“Fancy little trick,” he says, hiding the fear in his voice. “But it doesn’
t change the fact that unless you get the fuck out of my way, I’m going to slice a new smile into your face.”
“It’s been hundreds of years since I smiled, asshole,” Torsten snarls. “I’ve got no desire to put you in the hospital. It’s not a fair fight. I killed the last person who could offer me a fair fight.”
“Ooh, freaky,” the man says, going for sarcastic but sounding unsure. “What, am I supposed to be impressed?”
“I don’t care,” Torsten sighs. “All I care about right now is the woman you’re threatening, which is a big fucking mistake on your part. Walk away and that will be the end of it.”
I clutch Chipper close to me, whispering in his ear, telling him everything is going to be okay. I can feel the anxiety running through him. He’s gone from growling to whimpering quietly now.
“Alright, fuck this,” the man snarls. “I’ve had enough.”
Torsten sighs again, though it sounds different to a regular sigh, hollow, like a wind blowing through the inside of a catacomb.
The man leaps with the knife, slashing with a speed that seems vicious and unstoppable.
But then – so quickly I hardly even have time to register it – the knife is on the floor and the man is lying on his back, gasping up at the night sky, making a choking noise that sounds like he’s on the verge of passing out.
Torsten blinks into existence in front of me, facing down the other men.
“Well?” he snarls.
Several of them let out guttural cries and leap at him.
Blink, blink, blink.
They all end up on the asphalt, clutching their injuries, whirrs of movement so quickly I’d need a special slow-motion camera to see how they got there.
I’m stunned to see that five of the nine men are lying on the ground, with the remaining four slowly creeping away, their mouths agape.
One man was smoking and his cigarette falls to the ground and extinguishes with an oddly loud hiss as he stares.
“Are we done?” Torsten says, sounding bored and utterly in control.
The men turn at the same time and sprint away, their heads ducked as they pump their arms so quickly it’s like they’re trying to dislocate them.
Torsten kneels down next to the leader and grips the back of his neck. He holds him with his thumb and forefinger, but the way the man squirms tells me everything I need know about the power in Torsten’s grip.
If this is a trick, it’s the most well-orchestrated trick in the world, and if that’s the case, how the heck did Torsten know I’d take this particular route? Surely there’d be equipment to fake his speed? Surely there’d be prep?
I feel a swelling inside of me.
It’s true.
Jesus Christ.
Torsten really is a vampire.
“Apologizes,” he snarls. “Now.”
“S-sorry,” the man whimpers. “I’m so sorry. Jesus. Please. Don’t kill me.”
Torsten glances up at me, a glinting question in his eyes.
“It’s fine,” I say quickly. “Let him lie in the dirt where he belongs.”
“Hmm,” Torsten growls, and then stands up with the grace of a jungle cat. He places a hand on Chipper’s head. “Calm, boy. Be calm. You’re safe. You’re protected.”
I feel Chipper’s body relax, his heartbeat no longer pounding as though it’s trying to bust out of his chest.
“Did you …”
“No,” he says. “I wouldn’t use a charm without your permission.”
When we walk out onto the street, into the greater light of the street lamps, I can see that steam is rising from Torsten’s skin. It whirls into the air and then dissipates like smoke.
“I swam here,” he says. “And now, well, just being close to you is burning me up, Tammy.”
“Can I …”
Am I really going to say this?
“Can I feel?”
He nods and, feeling like I’m in some kind of dream, I reach across and place my palm against his neck. I gasp as the heat shoots up my arm and all through my body, infusing me, causing my sex to tighten and heat and my nipples to tingle with longing.
“Jesus,” I whisper.
“Do you believe me yet?” he asks with a wry twist of his mouth.
“I guess I’m still trying to fit it all into my head,” I whisper as we walk back toward my apartment building. “So you were a Viking?”
He nods.
“And you’re like a thousand years old?”
He nods again.
“And you’ve chosen me? Your magic amulet thingy, it’s chosen me?”
“I chose you, yes,” he growls. “I’ve never scented anyone like you before. It’s like there’s something deep inside of you calling to me, Tammy. I can’t explain it. All I can say is that the amulet confirms it. You’re the woman from my prophecy. You’re the only woman I’ve ever felt like this about. You’re mine. You fucking belong to me. That’s what I’m telling you.”
“Jeez,” I whisper, licking my lips. “I guess that should freak me out, right?”
“I don’t know,” he growls. “Does it?”
“I don’t know,” I giggle softly. “Probably … not as much as it should?”
“Why do you ask that like a question?”
“Because being sure about anything right now is pretty freaking difficult.”
He nods and we walk in silence. But I can feel the heat radiating from him as we walk, and then getting cooler and cooler until he seems just like any other person.
“What the heck is that?” I ask as we walk up the graffiti-strewn stairs to my apartment.
“The only way to control what I feel for you is to bring an icy coldness over myself,” he explains. “It’s a technique I learned a long time ago to tame the blood-lust.”
“And I make you feel like that? Filled with lust?”
A shiver moves through me.
I can hardly believe we’re having this conversation.
“Yes,” he growls. “You did the second I saw you. No, even before that. The moment I scented you in the air, you filled me with this fierce desire.”
I open the door to my apartment, my hands shaking, everything tense and taut and tightly wound.
“So here we are,” I say, nodding to the small space. I keep it clean, but it’s really just a kitchen-living room with a bedroom and bathroom off to the side. “Home sweet freaking home.”
“Does Chipper have his own private area?” Torsten asks, walking into the living room and turning to me, his suit dry from the heat of his body.
“Y-yes,” I say, his look searing into me, spiraling through me.
I can’t believe this is happening.
“Send him there, if he’d be so gracious.”
I giggle even as primal need surges through me.
“Oh, Chipper is probably the most gracious dog you’ll ever meet. Bed, boy. Go to bed.”
I place him down and the little wiener dog is only all too glad to pad to the corner of the living room and wriggle under the mound of blankets he calls home.
And then, in a flash of movement, Torsten’s arms are wrapped around me and I’m floating into my bedroom.
The door closes quietly behind us and he places me down, spinning me so that I’m facing him.
His heat erupts and burns into my skin, so hot it’s like being inside a sauna.
He pushes me up against the wall and leans down, his fangs glinting in the light from the open window, his blue eyes searing into me.
“I can’t wait anymore,” he says fiercely. “I need to taste you.”
“Oh, jeez,” I whisper as he pushes his lips against mine.
I gasp and wrap my arms around him, clutching onto his solid back and closing my eyes. His lips are as fire-hot as the rest of him, tingly warmth dances over my lips and into my mouth, deep inside of me, down to my womb and my sex and every single sultry inch of my body.
Our tongues clash together and mine briefly moves over his canines, sharper than
I ever would’ve believed, huge carnal teeth that proclaim his dominance over the assholes who lurk in the dark.
I moan and push even closer to him, wanting to throw myself wildly into this moment, wanting to not have to worry about where this is going to go.
About not being able to satisfy him.
Over a thousand years old.
All other craziness aside, that’s a freaking ridiculous amount of experience.
How the heck am I supposed to be able to live up to that?
He might not feel the same about me when he knows the truth.
“W-wait,” I gasp, placing my hand on his chest.
“What is it?” he asks, holding himself close to me, a barely-contained inferno.
“I need to tell you something,” I blurt.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Torsten
I step back because if I don’t this exploding star in my chest will tear through me, and make not devouring every inch of her impossible.
She turns and paces to the window, probably a silhouette to a mortal eye, but brightly lit with the street lamps outside to me.
I find myself longing for human eyes, to be her human man, to be able to pump my seed into her and share the mundane moments that make up a regular, spectacular life.
A thousand years is long enough to be a god.
Now I just want to be with her, to claim her, and to live a life to make our offspring proud.
I won’t let anything stand in the way of that.
“Tammy?” I mutter.
“I’m a virgin, Torsten,” she whispers.
My manhood gives a throb and my fangs light up like the Fourth of fucking July. A red pulse moves through me, shimmering across the ceiling until I take a slow breathless breath and force a mutated version of calm to wash over me.
“Good,” I growl.
She turns to me, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, come on …”
“I mean it,” I say passionately.
She offers me a pout that goes straight to my soul if I’ve still got one after so many lifeless years.
“All the stuff you must’ve experienced, all the women, the freaking … I don’t know, the paramours, the concubines, whatever. How the heck am I supposed to compare to that, huh?”
I laugh with a growling note at the back of my throat, making it sound carnal and timeless, like the roaring sound of the earth as it shifts over generations.
Her Vampire: An Instalove Possessive Vampire Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 207) Page 4