Solving the Vampire Murders

thirty-seven

A shaky, shadowy plan started to take shape in his mind. A future where Clint was not the coven leader anymore. Faris could challenge him--take his place at the head of the organization. Fighting wasn't something Faris liked, but he had killed a vampire before.

This plan left many things to chance, but it was something he could live with. If properly executed, it offered Mandy and Soraya a chance to live without fear.

Good King Solomon judgement, indeed. If Faris was willing to lose everything, to act out of love, the swift cut was not warranted. For the first time in a month, Faris felt the dueling sides--the grief and the love--lay down their weapons. He could do this.

Mandy was in his arms, his face still cradled in her hands. His heart on fire. Burning hot with the most basic human emotion. Love.

Faris's breath was heavy as he pulled Mandy closer. His fingers bunching loose cotton. She wore a look of satisfied surprise at his forwardness. The press of her body to his sent him into near delirium.

Mandy's palms slid behind his neck. Their noses brushing. He hadn't allowed himself to be this lost in her since the night he sired her. Every single somatic cell inside him was calling her name.

Mandy. Amanda.

It didn't matter. He loved her.

Mandy slid her lips over his--not a kiss--just the barest touch of silky skin over skin. Then she pressed the briefest kiss to his lower lip. The chaste touch sending an electric pulse down his spine. A hint of mischievous pleasure turning the timid green of her eyes into emerald passion.

Faris ran his tongue over the place where her lips had been. Tasting her sweetness, which was far more intoxicating than the seventy-three-year-old wine.

"Why are you so hard to resist?"

Mandy knotted her fingers in his hair. "Shut up and kiss me."

Faris wrapped her in his arms and lifted her off the ground. The press of his lips smothering her demand.

Analytical thoughts were shoved in a corner as wanton thoughts surfaced. There was no science in the feeing that took him. No rationale. This was divine bliss.

Faris let out a throaty moan as he deepened their kiss, his tongue gently brushing over her lips. Eager hands sliding down her thighs. He cupped the space behind her knees and Mandy's body fell around him. Entwining him in her desire.

Practitioners could keep their magic. He'd take Mandy over any spell.

Before he knew what he was doing, Faris' carefully organized lab was torn apart. A lab table was hasitly cleared. Glass shattered. Faris set Mandy down on the black epoxy resin countertop. Ripping buttons and raking nails. Every nerve in his body on edge.

Faris had Mandy's shirt over her head and the frayed ball cap set gently on a stool beside them. Her alabaster skin covered by black lace trimmed in satin. His finger painted a line along her collar bone, and he allowed himself a moment to look at her, to really see her. That pain in Faris' chest returned, the feeling that his lungs were waiting for some breath that might never come.

But he wasn't just seeing her outwardly--no. He was seeing her heart. She wanted to fight his fight. Mandy wanted him.

Before his lips had the opportunity to find hers again, Faris gently took her hands in his. Placing them atop his chest, just beside his beatless heart. Frantically, he searched for the right words to express how truly sorry he was for every missed opportunity. For every night he left her alone. For his inexcusable nonchalance. For denying her the gift of love and kindness she always showed him.

His mind was not made for such words, though. Science demanded little of him in the way of flowery language. So, he chose a familiar verse.

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is wing'd cupid painted blind."

A smile curved up Mandy's lips. The Shakespearean sentiment wasn't enough, not even one half percent of the words he wanted to tell her, but Faris could spend an eternity trying. Mandy pulled her fingers from his grip, a coy look playing on her face. She lifted her fingertips to the top of his brows, tracing a line down to his cheekbones. He closed his eyes at her touch.

"Is that you're cryptic way of saying sorry?"

"No," Faris said quietly. He opened his eyes and took Mandy's face between his palms. "You deserve so much more than just my apologies. My behavior has been inexcusable. But, I promise to do better." Faris brushed a stray hair from Mandy's face then gently tilted her neck, placing a feather-light kiss to the hollow behind her ear. "Because I am yours. If you'll have me."

Mandy giggled softly. "Oh, no. You're not getting off the hook that easy."

Her teasing tone coaxed a smile. Faris pressed another kiss to her neck. "What penance do you require of me?"

"Less talking," Mandy said in a breathy sigh. "More kissing."

His mouth was to her throat, with no greater intent than bringing her pleasure. Feather-light kisses intensifying until his tongue and teeth and lips tasted every inch of her exposed skin. The memory of the night he turned her on repeat in his mind. Faris remembered in vivid detail everything she had liked.

All the penance he would gladly do to earn her forgiveness. His free hand trailed down her curves, fingers slipping past lace and satin. All the while, Mandy was loosening the buckle of his leather belt. Her heels fastened around his thighs, drawing him closer. In this moment of absolute bliss, when her body was the only thing on his mind, he caught a familiar scent. Distinctly not Mandy's.

Faris froze. His mouth stopped moving against the sensitive skin at her neck. Protectively, Faris drew her to him, pulling Mandy off the table. The click of a security lock and the smash of metal followed.

Clint was clapping dramatically as he entered the lab. Alonzo and Celine at his heel.

"I'd like to say that I'm surprised, but I'm really not." Clint folded his arms across his chest. A manic smile twisting his boyish face. Mandy tensed in his arms, a low warning growl tearing between fangs.

Faris' analytical mind calculated the odds of this fight. Could he best all three? The calculated margin of their harmless victory too slim for his liking. Mandy growled again, her reckless hope and love on display, as if she she was commanding him to damn the numbers. To fight. For her. For Soraya. For their future.

And for that, he would certainly do his worst.