by Sarah Bailey
She took two steps away from the intercom. She watched it for a moment, but the buzzer didn’t go off again. She sighed with relief. Just as she turned to return to the vampire, she heard something clatter against the window. She strode over to it, looking down. Aaron was there, his arms stretched out staring up at her. She unlatched the window and pulled it up, sticking her head out.
“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do, I’m half crazy, all for the love of you,” he sang at the top of his voice.
She winced. He could not sing for shit and was going to wake up the whole street at this rate.
“Aaron, shut up! I told you to go away.”
“It won’t be a stylish marriage, I can’t afford a carriage, but you’ll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle made for two.”
“Seriously? You’re going to wake my neighbours. Just fucking shut up and leave me alone!”
“I love you. I need you.”
“Shut the hell up creep before I call the police,” someone shouted from their window above her.
Daisy wanted the ground to swallow her up.
“Go home, Aaron.”
She pulled her head back and slammed the window shut. When she turned, Gavin was standing next to her, staring down at Aaron. She almost jumped out of her skin.
“Holy shit! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“Who is that?”
“No one important.”
He gave her a disbelieving look. She flushed.
“I guess you could say he’s my ex, but it was never serious.”
“He seems pretty serious or is his declaration of love a joke to you?”
“Do I look like I’m laughing? He shouldn’t even be here. He should be at home with his wife.”
She slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to tell him she’d had an affair with a married man.
“His wife?”
She looked away, dropping her hand to her side.
“I didn’t know he was married when we met. Look, can we not do this? It’s hard enough him being here.”
She felt tears welling in her eyes. Aaron had done a number on her, but she wasn’t going to cry in front of Gavin. He was a vampire for crying out loud. She didn’t want to subject him to her silly human emotions.
She felt his hand on her cheek. He turned her face towards him. When she took in his expression, she was a little taken aback. There was sympathy in his eyes.
“Do you want me to get rid of him for you?”
“What? No. This is my problem.”
“You’ve clearly done a great job of getting him to leave.”
“All right, Mr Sarcasm, no need to rub it in.”
She checked outside the window again. Aaron was still there. He called up to her when he saw she was looking at him. She opened the window.
“Daisy, please. I need you.”
“Aaron, for the last time. Go home to your wife.”
“Are you with someone up there?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
She turned her head. Gavin was standing right next to her in full view of Aaron. This was not helping the situation.
“Who is that? Have you been screwing someone else? How could you?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re married or have you conveniently forgotten you were fucking me behind her back?”
He had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to deal with him?” Gavin asked.
She moved her head back inside and looked up at him.
“I’m sure.”
“I can be quite persuasive.”
He started to make a move towards her front door, but she caught his arm. She curled herself around him, pressing her lips to his. It’d been the only thing she could think of to stop him from going downstairs to deal with Aaron.
When he didn’t pull away, she put her hands on his chest, directing him towards the sofa, away from the window. He let her push him down on it before she sat on his lap, knees either side of his thighs. Her mouth was on his again, kissing him for all she was worth. Heat coiled inside her.
His hands darted under her t-shirt, brushing against her bare skin. She shifted, grinding herself against his hardening arousal. His hands gripped her hips, encouraging her. She let go of his mouth only to trail her lips down his jaw and lower, to his neck. She let her teeth graze over his skin.
“Daisy,” he hissed, gripping her hips harder.
“I don’t think you like it when you’re not in control,” she whispered.
He grunted when she ground against him. She kissed him again, savouring the metallic taste of his tongue as it melded with hers. Her hands had found their way under his shirt, her fingertips trailing over the taut muscle of his abs.
A voice filtered up through the open window. It stabbed at her senses, breaking through her lust filled haze.
“What are you doing here, Aaron?”
She jerked away from him, her eyes going to the window, but he wasn’t having any of it. He gripped her face, pulling her back as he devoured her mouth again. She struggled against him, pushing at his chest.
“What?” he snapped, irritation filling his eyes.
His tone almost made her baulk.
“Lucy is home. She can’t know you’re here.”
“And why not?”
“She isn’t a part of this world. I want to keep it that way.”
He stared at her, his face impassive.
“Please, Gavin. I… I want you to stay, but she can’t see you.”
When he still said nothing, she sighed.
“Look, I’ll make it up to you. I swear. I’ll even agree to your proposition if that will make you happy.”
“I want you to want it. Agreeing to it to make me do what you ask is not acceptable.”
She bit her lip. She could hear Lucy’s footfall on the stairs. It was time she was honest with herself.
“I do want it. I want you.”
He watched her for a moment before he moved her off him, seating her back on the sofa. He stood and before she could blink, he was gone. Her bedroom door closed behind him. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when she heard Lucy’s key in the door.
“So, I ran into Aaron outside,” Lucy said.
Daisy was still staring at her closed bedroom door.
“He said some rather interesting things.”
She turned her face towards Lucy.
“You did tell him he needed to leave, right?” she asked.
“Dur. It’s 2 am.”
She hadn’t realised it was quite that late.
“He said you had someone up here with you.”
“Well, as you can see, I’m alone.”
She rose and shut the window. It was too cold to have it open.
“Hmm, and I’m the pope.”
She turned, facing Lucy again.
“Is it your Tinder date?”
Knowing full well the vampire in her bedroom could hear every word, she sighed.
“Um, yeah. Okay, you got me.”
“You’re such a little liar. You had sex with him last night, didn’t you?”
She shook her head in frustration. Why did Lucy always seem to stick her nose in where it wasn’t wanted?
“No, I didn’t. We just talked.”
“Nuh-uh. What’s gotten into you? You’re usually forthcoming with who you’re seeing.”
“Nothing is going on.”
“Seriously? This isn’t like you. You’re being all secretive. I know you slept with him. It’s written all over your face. What happened to your two month rule?”
She cringed. She hated that Lucy could see right through her. And now she was going to have to face Gavin knowing he’d heard every word.
“Look, just drop it, please. I don’t want to discuss this right now.”
Lucy stared at her, disbelief written all over her features.
&nbs
p; “If you’ll excuse me, I have a guest I’m neglecting. Night.”
She pushed passed Lucy, ignoring her shocked expression and strode into her bedroom. She shut the door behind her, leaning back against it, closing her eyes.
When she opened them, he was standing in front of her, his green eyes as captivating as ever. She didn’t want to talk any more. She took a step towards him. His hand came up, cupping her cheek before he brought his mouth down on hers as if he’d sensed her intentions. She moaned into his mouth. He pressed her back into the door, his hands pinning hers. She didn’t even try to stop him when he bit down on her bottom lip, fangs piercing the skin.
“I want to taste you.”
She knew what he was asking. He let go of her hands so he could tug her t-shirt off. She raised her arms to help him. She turned her face away, baring her neck to him. He growled before his tongue slid across the sensitive skin.
“I promise I won’t make it hurt.”
She believed him. His hand came up, holding her face, his thumb tracing her bottom lip. She felt the sharp prick when his fangs dug into her skin. She whimpered, trembling all over. His other hand cupped her sex, rubbing her most sensitive spot as he sucked on her neck. It didn’t hurt any longer. Instead, she felt almost euphoric. Her hands gripped his shoulders. She whimpered again.
She didn’t know how he was able to make this feel so good, but she didn’t care. She ground against his fingers, needing to feel the sweet release she knew was coming. His tongue flickered down her clavicle, catching the escaping droplets of blood. He resumed sucking on the puncture marks on her neck.
She cried out as her climax rocked through her, fingers digging into his shoulders. He licked the two small wounds, which had stopped bleeding, by the time she floated back down to earth.
She slumped against the door, feeling a little drained from the experience. He stared down at her with black eyes before he brought his own finger to his mouth. His fangs pierced the skin. He lowered his hand, pressing down on it. Blood flowed sluggishly. Before she could ask him what the hell he was doing, he ran his bloody finger over the marks he’d made on her neck. She watched the small wound he’d made on his finger disappear before her eyes.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“Look in the mirror.”
He backed away from her, giving her room to move. She walked towards her full-length mirror in the corner of the room, a little unsteady on her feet. He followed her. She looked at herself in her bra and leggings. There was blood on her neck. He was behind her, his hands curled around her waist, pressing himself into her back. He leant down and licked her neck, cleaning the blood away. When he straightened, her skin was clear. There were no marks.
“How?”
“My blood. I didn’t think you’d want anyone asking questions.”
“Your blood healed me?”
He nodded.
“You didn’t tell me you could do that.”
“Vampires don’t like their secrets getting out.”
She turned in his arms, looking up into his eyes, their colour back to their usual bright green.
“Then why are you telling me?”
“You’re my human.”
“What?”
“You agreed to be mine. Didn’t I make that clear?”
“I never said you could own me.”
His face remained impassive. She hated it when he betrayed nothing.
“I’m not a piece of property,” she pressed.
“You’re not property to me.”
“Then what do you see me as?”
She could only stare up at him in confusion. His thumb brushed against her bottom lip.
“You are mine. No one else can touch you or feed from you. I have claimed you.”
“And what if I don’t want that?”
“Do you want another vampire to bite you?”
“Of course not. I barely even know why I let you do it.”
“Then accept that you are mine.”
“Make me understand why the hell I should!”
Chapter Nine
“My patience with you is wearing thin.”
She tried to back away from him, but his grip tightened, painfully.
“Stop it! That hurts.”
He loosened his hold a little. She took a breath, trying to calm her raging temper. He was pissing her off with this ownership business.
“I just want to understand.”
She reached up, her fingers brushing against his jaw. He released her, taking a step back. Her hand dropped.
She felt a little light headed. She stumbled towards the bed, sitting down as the room began to spin. The adrenaline pumping through her veins from her climactic high must’ve subsided.
“Fuck, how much did you take from me?”
She put her head in her hands, trying to make it stop. She barely heard the click of the door as it opened and closed. Where the hell was he going?
She felt the bed dip moments later and something shoved under her nose. She dropped her hands. He was holding a glass of orange juice out for her.
“Drink that.”
She took it, her hands shaking, but she made sure not to let it slip through her fingers. She took several large gulps before he took it from her.
“Lie down.”
She did as he said, shuffling backwards and curling up on her side. In seconds, he was next to her, his hand resting on her head, fingers entangled in her dark hair. The room was quiet, the only sound was her jagged breath. When it finally returned to normal, he spoke.
“Vampires have been around as long as there have been humans. Many of the older ones see humans as things. Claiming a human simply means other vampires are forbidden to touch them. I see you as a person, Daisy, not a thing.”
“So, you’re claiming me for my own protection?”
“In a sense.”
“But you barely know me.”
“Does that matter to you?”
“Maybe a little. I thought this was casual, not a relationship where you literally own me.”
She looked up at him.
“To other vampires, you are mine.”
“And to you?”
“I want to break you down until you give everything to me. I want you to submit willingly.”
“Everything?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
She was silent at that. She knew he wanted to dominate her. But everything? Was he talking about her heart? Her soul? She couldn’t think about that now. All the events of the evening were beginning to feel very overwhelming.
She shifted. Her bra was digging into her skin. She sat up, planting her feet on the ground. Unclasping her bra, she dropped it on the floor before she stood up, shimmed out of her leggings. She pulled back the covers and crawled into them, feeling very tired.
“Will you stay until I fall asleep, please?”
She was a little afraid of the answer. He stroked her hair but didn’t respond. After a few minutes, when she was sure he wasn’t going anywhere, she reached out and rested her hand on his thigh. She didn’t look up at him before she closed her eyes.
She drifted off with his fingers tangled in her hair. Knowing underneath that hard shell, she had the privilege of glimpsing his softer side.
§
When he was sure she was asleep, Gavin carefully placed her hand under the covers, making sure he tucked her in. He watched her for a moment. She looked so peaceful, but he was well aware of her tendency to explode at any given moment.
Daisy was a girl full of contradictions. She needed to be in control of everything, yet she gave it all over to him when he’d demanded it of her. She spoke her mind, yet she was guarded. Worst of all, she was driving him crazy. She was a whirlwind and he was caught up in her storm.
He shouldn’t still be here. He had work to do, but there had been a plea in her voice when she’d asked him to stay. It was almost as if she thought his presence was comforting, which couldn’t be the c
ase. He was a predator, not a source of comfort.
He stood and did a quick sweep of her flat to make sure her doors and windows were secure. He watched her for a moment more before he melted into the shadows. He was back within the walls of Fright Night in a short space of time, stepping out of the shadows into the office.
“Hello, boss.”
Neave lounged in the manager’s chair. She was the owner of the bar now Raquel was out of the picture. He had no interest in running the place, but it was useful for conducting business.
He was considering making Neave his second. He wanted to see if she was up to the task first.
“How goes it with our blonde friend?”
“Jack hasn’t managed to get much. Samson is a slippery bastard.”
She threw something at him which he caught deftly. He opened his hand, looking down at the two bloody fangs nestled in his palm.
“What has he found out?”
He dropped the fangs on the desk.
“Samson said his master only communicates with him via burner phones. They’ve never met, so he couldn’t tell us who it is even if he wanted to.”
“And you’re sure about that?”
“Jack is the best at what he does.”
“Cut him loose and have someone tail him. I want to see what he does next.”
“He won’t be in a fit state to go anywhere for a while.”
He almost rolled his eyes. Jack had a thing for inflicting as much pain as possible.
“Fine, find a donor who’s willing to feed him first. Just enough to get him on his feet.”
Neave raised an eyebrow.
“How is our little human friend?”
“She’s fine.”
“Fine, huh? You were there an awfully long time and you look a little pinker. Didn’t you say she was out of bounds?”
His fists curled. He didn’t make a move towards Neave. He disliked her ability to read him, but he had a soft spot for the fun-loving vampire.
“Don’t be getting any smart ideas about what you think is going on.”
She laughed, grinning at him.
“Tsk, you need to lighten up. I’m sure you stopped by a donor on the way.”
He didn’t dignify her comment with a response. He melted back into the shadows. He re-materialised in the soundproofed room they used when the need for secrecy arose.