Torment & Struggle (A Blood & Lust Novel)

Chapter One

    Seeing his familiar, ocean blue eyes, the luscious black hair, the alabaster pale skin covering his chiseled face, and the lopsided grin would’ve been enough for me to pass out. Especially looking into the eyes of my boyfriend—and vampire—Draco Feliciano.

    I heaved the window open, allowing him to climb in, and into my arms.

    “How was your day?” he asked, his strong arms wrapped around me, bringing me closer to him.

    “It’s better, now that you’re here.” I murmured, my face buried in his chest. “What about you?”

    I looked up at him, his grin still in place.

    “I guess you could say it was okay,” his grin suddenly turned bigger, “but now it’s better.”

    He began tracing the planes of my face, from my forehead, all the way down to the nape of my neck with his fingertips. The feel of his cool skin against mine, quickly, and almost instantaneously became warm, and when he pressed his lips to mine, there were no words to describe the feeling I’d feel every time he’d kiss me.

     I could feel my body temperature rising, sweat beading on my forehead and neck as our lips continued to mingle—a side effect that I’m still trying to get accustomed to. I’d easily forgotten about the unnaturally freezing cold weather as the subzero wind blew into the room, killing the euphoric mood I was in.

    We look at each other before I pulled away to close the window, not wanting to lose the warmth of his touch. I could feel my breathing coming out in short, shallow pants, and my head spinning. It wasn’t until I began staggering back toward him that he became a little wary.

    “Why don’t we sit down?” he suggested, grabbing my hand, and leading me toward my bed.

    “Will I ever get used to this—the warm feeling whenever we touch?” I asked, my face flushing slightly for speaking it aloud as I carefully took my seat on the bed.

    His grin got bigger when he rightfully took his seat right next to me, and I could swear that my heart began thumping louder than normally. “Sometimes I’d often wonder the same thing.” He murmured, his voice soft like velvet.

    “Sometimes I’d still don’t believe that you’re even real, that everything about us—our pasts—is real.” I admitted sheepishly, my head leaning against his shoulder, with his arm around my shoulder.

    His soft chuckle filled the room.

    “Must I always try to convince you otherwise?” he teased.

    I tried to laugh, but it sounded strangled.

    Then, when he spoke, his tone was firm, serious.

    “Do you know how much I love you?” he asked. I tried to answer with the obvious, but he quickly cut me off. “Whenever we meet, I constantly wonder if being with you is the right thing. And at the same time, I wonder what would happen if Xavier and Ophelia found out…”

    I hold up my hand, stopping him. “Wait, who are they? Xavier and Ophelia?” I asked, totally confused.

    I’d never heard those names before. More or less never heard Draco mention them in the time I’ve known him.

    “Xavier and Ophelia are, kind of like the king and queen of the secret world of vampires. They only keep the peace, and punish those who’d threaten to reveal the secret.” He said. Then, his voice began to turn grave. “Which means, if Lilith and the others try to do something that would attract unwanted attention, especially from the human populace, they’d take care of it.”