Called by the Vampire - Part 3

by V. Vaughn

  Sebastian asks, "How are you feeling?"

  My euphoria has worn off, but I feel as if I'm in top condition. "Like I could go run a marathon."

  "You could, and in less than a half hour."

  I glance down at my arm and flex as I recall the way Sebastian leapt off the pier and landed on a surface at least twelve feel below with ease. "Am I stronger too?"

  "Yes." Sebastian smiles. "I think you're going to like your new body."

  I remember my reflection in the mirror of the small boat bathroom, but it was too dark to make out much. I wonder if my eyes and skin now look similar to Sebastian and Liam's. Liam. I scowl as anger bubbles in me. He tried-- No. He killed me. Yet Sebastian said he prefers sustainable eating, which I take to mean he doesn't kill his food sources. I ask, "Why did Liam kill me? Is that what most vampires do?"

  "Some still do, and there are definitely accidents, but for those of us that want to remain in one place for a significant amount of time, we learn to control our feeding to keep people alive."

  For a moment, I wonder if Sebastian sent Liam to kill me so I would stop asking questions about what happened at Matt's. But I look at the man who has taken me in and been so kind, and I don't believe it. I ask, "What happens now?"

  Sebastian gets up and walks over to sit next to me. He reaches for my hand, and I let him take it. He squeezes my fingers as he says, "We make you disappear."

  12

  Lyndsey

  "We need to invent a personal crisis for you, so you can pack up your belongings to move in here and leave the human world you know without raising questions," says Sebastian.

  "Oh." I think about never seeing my friends again, and sadness fills me. I get up from the couch where I was sitting and walk over to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The spine of a book is rough under my finger as I trace the embossed title. I recall laughing with Becky and Jenna this morning, and the way surfing with Aiden and the guys always puts me in a good mood. I try to imagine never seeing them again. At least not while they're still young. My throat thickens with my sadness, because I'm afraid there is going to be so much more I'll miss that I haven't thought of yet. I turn to look at Sebastian and say, "This is hard."

  "I know. But if you killed someone you love by accident, it would be much harder."

  I nod and push away my emotions for later. I've always been a rip-off-the-bandage kind of person in difficult situations. "Okay."

  Sebastian stands up and says, "I'll take you to your apartment, and we can think of something while I help you pack up." I nod and follow him out of the room as he says, "We'll take your car. If anyone notices us, it will fit with the story of you disappearing overnight."

  I drive my hatchback, and while it could be my new super-aware state, I can't help but notice the little things as we go through town. I glance in the window of the coffee shop and see the mismatched chairs that make some customers shake their heads, while little kids love picking out their favorite one. When I picture Aiden smiling at me with a strand of his sun-bleached hair in his blue eyes, my heart aches. I've been suppressing a crush on the guy for a couple years now, waiting for him to get his act together and be relationship-ready. I guess that doesn't matter now. A twinge of sexual desire zings through me, and I sigh, wishing I'd hooked up with him at least once.

  It hits me that my dating pool just got significantly smaller. I can't imagine there are many vampire and human relationships, considering one of the participants would constantly be tempted to consume the other's blood.

  My small apartment is close to the center of town and over the real estate office that deals with my rental. Sebastian and I pull into the empty parking lot, and I think about how I'll need to break the lease, which means I lose about three months of rent money. I have some savings, but it will go quickly if I haven't got an income. As our footsteps echo off the walls of the stairway, I ask, "How am I supposed to afford things if I can't work?"

  "How are you with social media?"

  "I'm a millennial." I chuckle. "Next question?"

  "Then you'll work for me."

  The lock of my door clicks as I turn the key, and we enter my apartment. Sebastian definitely takes the creator role seriously if he plans to provide for me in every way. My space is small, and I don't have more than can fit in my car since I move every six months. I say, "All the kitchen stuff can go in boxes I have under my bed. I'll get them."

  Sebastian says, "You don't need anything in your kitchen unless it has sentimental value."

  I remember I don't eat food now. "Right. We can leave it then." I get into my room and say, "That makes this easier. The furniture came with the place, and I have my snowboard equipment stored at a friend's in Vermont, so I only have toiletries, clothes, and my surfboard."

  Sebastian grabs my surfboard and says, "I hear the waves in Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa, are totally happenin'. I think that's where you went."

  I chuckle at his slang as a dresser drawer scrapes when I open it, and I grab bungie cords to attach my board to the roof of my car. "You watched Endless Summer?"

  Sebastian grins at me. "Who didn't?"

  The man is one surprise after another, because I never expected this guy in a suit to be into surfing. "Here," I say as I toss the cords to him. I go to the door to open it, and I watch as he hoists it up easily to carry down the stairs. As he descends, I wonder what Sebastian's back muscles flexing would look like without his shirt on, and my insides heat up with sexual desire for him. Whoa. Where did that thought come from?

  The last thing I should be doing is hooking up with the vampire who's giving me a place to live. I shake off my sexual urges and work on packing my clothes into a suitcase. Sebastian makes two more trips for me before I bring down the final load. I write a note for my landlord, and I put it, along with my keys, in the night drop box.

  When we get back in my car, I glance at Sebastian, and I notice his mouth. His lips look soft, and I want to taste them. My god! What is wrong with me? I shake my head and let out a rush of air.

  "It's okay to cry," Sebastian says. "I can drive."

  "No." I start my car, and the engine hums as I set my jaw. "I'll be fine." I'm not so sure I will be, though. But if I fall apart now, I might not be able to face my new reality. This time when we go through town, I don't look at the coffee shop. I keep my eyes focused straight ahead, because I'm leaving behind a life I can never have again. I push my shoulders back with determination. "What's next?"

  "Let's get you settled in and figure that out. I'm sure you'd like some time alone."

  "No." My blinker ticks as I slow to turn into the Hart mansion driveway. "I'd rather keep busy."

  "Very well," says Sebastian. "Then you shall."

  Once I park, we each grab a load to carry inside, and when we enter, I'm startled by a man standing in the entryway. He is clearly another vampire, and possibly Sebastian's brother, judging by the same jet-black hair and green eyes he has. My insides melt instantly, because he's even sexier than Sebastian.

  "What the hell did you do?" he spits out at Sebastian. He glances at me, and I see fire in his eyes that I think is his vampire struggling to maintain control. I am too, because every ounce of me is on fire with desire for the hot vampire before me. "And where is Maggie?" he asks.

  Sebastian remains calm and sets down the bags he's carrying with a soft thud. He says, "Alexander Hart, meet Lyndsey."

  My sexual urges take over, and just like with my bloodlust, I have no control over my actions. I don't wait for a reply before I launch myself at Alexander. I grab his arms with my new strength that would crush a normal man’s bones and kiss him. He stumbles back, and when I grab at his shirt, it's not to keep him from falling. Fabric tears as I rip it from his body. He latches onto my wrists with an iron grip and yells, "Stop!"

  Before I have a chance to plan a new attack, Alexander twists my arm around my back, and I'm facing Sebastian, who sighs. "I had hoped we'd have more time before you reached this phase, Lyndsey
."

  My chest is heaving, and I struggle in Alexander's grip. "What is wrong with me? Am I a succubus now?"

  I let out a scream of frustration, and Alexander says, "I can guess which one of us you think should deal with this."

  Sebastian answers, "She is your type, brother. You always did like them on the wild side."

  "I would never hurt Maggie like that, and you know it."

  I've stopped struggling with the hope I can trick him, but Alexander has done this before, because he doesn't loosen his grip.

  "Yes," says Sebastian. "I do, and that's all the more reason it should be you.”

  Alexander wrenches my arm up a little higher, and I let out a groan as he pushes me toward the stairs. "Time for a cold shower."

  "What?" I stumble over a step as I climb. "Does that actually work?"

  "No. But it's one of the few places I can chain you while I get your room ready."

  Once we get on the next floor, Alexander takes me down a hall, and we enter a bedroom I assume is for guests. I discover he wasn't kidding about the chains when we get into the bathroom, and metal clangs as he attaches cuffs to my ankles and wrists. Icy water blasts from the shower when he turns it on, and the door to the stall slams shut before I hear the click of a lock. Who the hell has a shower door with a lock and metal restraints?

  I let out another scream as I turn to adjust the heat of the spray. Once the water is a more comfortable temperature, I discover there is just enough play in the chains for me to tear off my clothes. I peel the strips of my wet jeans from my legs, and tears fill my eyes. As each item of my clothing gets ripped from my body, I come a little more undone, until I'm sobbing uncontrollably.

  A few days ago, Sebastian Hart fed on me. I wish I'd just walked away instead of trying to find out what happened, because if I had, I'd have never met Liam and become a vampire. Now I have to learn to fight my bloodlust and apparently my uncontrollable sexual appetite. I've never felt emotions so strongly or been more repulsed by who I am. This might be worse than hell. I let out a wail as water mixes with my tears, and I watch it all swirl down the drain until I'm so exhausted I've cried myself out.

  The two water taps squeak as I turn them off. The silence is soothing to my ears, and my body is weak, as if I'm depleted of all energy. I drop to my knees. The tile is hard under my shins, and I slump down further as I wonder what happens next.

  Lyndsey adjusts to her new life while Maggie stumbles into trouble for more than herself. Called by the Vampire Part 4

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  About the Author

  V. Vaughn lives on an island in Maine with her three Portuguese Water dogs.

  V. Vaughn also writes Contemporary Romance as Violet Vaughn and Cozy Mysteries with her bestie as Lucy Quinn.

  www.violetvaughn.com

  violetvaughnauthor@gmail.com