Chapter 8
We pulled up in Claud’s stupid expensive car, he’d insisted that he drive us, and walked toward the shack. A man was standing just outside of it, looking to be a completely normal looking guy, with a gray beard, laugh lines, and average clothing. He was going to fix this? What, no juju herbs, books, or candles?
“Thanks for coming on such short notice, Kale,” Claud said, shaking the man’s hand. Kale gave him a light smile.
“Is this the girl?” He tilted his graying head toward me with an amused look on his face.
“Beautiful, right?”
“Very.”
It was weird that they were talking about me like I wasn’t standing smack in front of them.
“Come on,” I said in a groan and walked through the shack’s door. Lawrence was pacing around, looking like he hadn’t slept in a week.
“Iva!” he said like he thought he’d never see me again.
“Hi, I brought someone who can help you.” I ushered toward Kale, who gave Lawrence a kind smile.
“Let’s find a seat, and we’ll get ourselves started. Can you tell me your exact symptoms?”
Lawrence went into full detail of everything that had happened to him since I’d killed him oh so long ago. I looked at Claud skeptically, trailing behind them, but keeping a slight distance. I’d been around witches before, and they always made my skin crawl.
“He’s good, just watch.” Claud and I stood in the entryway of the sitting room as Kale talked to Lawrence for a long time. It felt like hours before Kale stood up and simply gave Lawrence a bottle of some weird looking pills.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Just let him work,” Claud said to me.
Lawrence looked hesitant but then popped two pills in his mouth. An earth shattering scream split his lips, his body convulsed, his arms flailing like he was having a seizure.
“What the hell?” I screamed at Kale. “What did you do to him?”
“Let it work.” Claud touched my arm, as Kale put a finger to his lips. It felt like forever before Lawrence stopped convulsing. He was so still I was afraid this crazy man had up and killed him. Finally, after what felt like forever Lawrence rose to his feet. He was now the man I’d met and fallen in love with oh so long ago.
“Oh my god,” I said in a hushed voice. “What is he now?”
“I had to pick one form for him, and I asked him what his preference was, and he told me human,” Kale informed me. “His life expectancy will be a bit shorter—I’d give him twenty-five years, since the transformation took quite a bit of life from his cells.”
“Lawrence,” I said and ran over to him. It felt odd—seeing him like that again—it brought back a lot of memories.
“I don’t care if I only live for a short time—at least I’ll live like I did when we were together.” His eyes swam with tears. “Thank you, Iva, you gave me my life back.” He pulled me into his arms, and I let him hold me for a moment. I wasn’t in love with him anymore, in fact, I wonder if I ever really was in love since I’d become a vampire. Love was odd. I’d cared about Lawrence, I’d really cared, but somehow I’d screwed up with him and killed him. Love certainly didn’t kill.
“Thank you,” he said again and let me go. He gave me a light kiss on the forehead. “I’m going home.” He walked out of the freaky weird mansion shack. I stared at where he’d been for several heartbeats, feeling happy and depressed all at the same time. I turned to Claud, knowing what was to come.
“Come on, love, time for your end of the bargain.”
“I know,” I said so quietly I wondered if even with vampire hearing he heard me. Kale gave Claud a smile and walked out just shortly after Lawrence did. I followed Claud to his car and climbed inside with a numb feeling spreading like a dark disease. I’d sold my soul to the devil himself.
I could feel Claud’s excitement as he drove us to his mansion full of vampire whores. Drink his blood, what was I thinking? Every part of me was starting to feel sick, my emotions rising like a tidal wave. This had happened to me before—emotions so strong that I couldn’t stop them from overwhelming me. I choked on my tears as Claud drove in silence, gloating, but not saying a word. He knew he’d won this battle, but I still had my sanity. He couldn’t take my entire soul from one drought of my blood. Right?
A few minutes passed by, when we pulled up to his larger than life house, every part of it screaming I’m a dick with money. He opened his door and with a blur of speed opened mine and helped me out.
“This—is what I’ve always dreamed about, Iva. I hope you can finally understand why I love you so much.” He led me up the steps of his giant porch, through the front door, and toward a private bedroom on the second floor. I followed behind him numbly, my mind spinning with confusion and frustration. I could hear the hushes of other vampires and humans that watched us silently glide by. They knew who I was; Claud had pictures of me plastered all over his freaking house. What a sicko.
He opened up the door to his bedroom and led me inside.
“You have no idea how long I’ve desired this.”
“Eighty-three years,” I hissed at him, my numbness starting to ebb away, and in its place loathing.
“Don’t be like that, love, I want you to enjoy it.” He pulled me toward his king size bed, pulling his freshly pressed shirt off, his muscles rippling beneath. Disgusting. Generally when vampires fed off each other it was in the deepest of intimate times—making love. The thought of that made me want to claw my eyes out.
“No sex,” I said to him.
“I didn’t expect that,” he said quietly, and I heard pain in his voice. Sure he didn’t. He pulled me toward him, and I let him. His breath quickened and some strange dark part of me felt something tremble—I had so much power over him. I was the unicorn he could never capture—but kept trying to. I was his bane—his drug—that kept him yearning for more and more. It made me feel odd in that moment as he lay on his bed, spread out before me, bare-chested, his eyes sparking with so much desire it made me feel uncomfortable. If I was going to do this—I might as well. I’d regret my life tomorrow, but maybe, just maybe wielding such power over another vampire would be fun.
I pulled off my shirt. He gasped in response, his fingers pulling me against his chest, his lips curving into the nook of my neck. It felt oddly good—I hadn’t had contact like this in years and years. A gasp of pleasure escaped my lips. What was I doing? I hated this guy! Was it the way he looked at me? Like I was the one thing that kept him alive? I fought to gain control of my raging emotions that began to pump through my blood. Maybe Claud wasn’t the devil—maybe I could be happy with him. My mind felt clouded.
“What are you doing to me?” I said to him, as his kisses grew more intense.
“I knew you desired me, Iva. I just had to get you to see it.”
“What did you do…?” I said, and moaned as his kisses continued, rising a part of me that I didn’t want to rise.
“I never gave up hope in you, love, never,” he whispered in my ear, trailing his lips down my neck. I trembled all over, fighting the desire that he was somehow rousing in my flesh. Maybe a part of me did want this obsessive vampire god.
This…isn’t me…
I suddenly kissed him back, ignoring all reasoning that had held me back from him for eighty-three years. There was something immensely desiring about a man who was that persistent. When I started kissing him, he let out strange little whimpers, his fingers digging into my flesh, pulling at me, wanting more. My mind swirled, wondering what had come over me after all this time. Was this another one of his tricks? Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain travel through my neck and Claud bit into my flesh. I let out a soft gasp as he drank. He’d know. He’d know what I had just felt a moment ago.
“Please…” he whispered as he pulled his mouth back.
I bit into his neck and drank for a moment. An overwhelming amount of pain, emotion, and desire shocked through my system. His desperation—his obsession—his emptiness at not having me in his arms. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as I pulled back from him, shaking, my entire body lit with fire.
“Claud,” I said and my voice sounded strangled. Loneliness hit me, his struggle to fill a need. We stared at each other for several moments, both of us not expecting the emotions that the other felt. How could I have understood his obsession with me?
“I was cursed with loving you,” he said in my ear. “I won’t stop until I have you, Iva.”
I struggled with myself—with my own feelings and emotions. There was something just not right about this man though—even after getting a dose of his desires—I could feel a clawing desperation that I knew I wouldn’t fill. Would I be tossed like the other lovers he’d had in the past?
“I want to fill your needs,” he told me, kissing the place he’d bitten.