Chapter[T1] 9
Suddenly my mind sharpened and I pulled back from him, sitting up. His pain still circled through me—it probably would for the next few weeks. Why couldn’t I just give in? It’d be so much easier than fighting him off. Dad. A soft sob rose to my throat and escaped. I wrapped my arms around myself, looking down, feeling shamed. I don’t love you, Claud. I never will. You’re everything my dad hated in a man. Obsessive, possessive, controlling. No!
“You had your fill, I’m leaving.” I swiped up my shirt, staring at his tortured face.
“Please, Iva!” He trembled on the bed, aching for me.
“This isn’t me.” I pulled my shirt over my head, touching the wound on my neck. I’d take a lot longer to heal than a mortal wound. Immortal bites could last for weeks—reminding me of this moment.
“I’ll do whatever you want!”
“Leave me the hell alone then. Move on with your immortality. I just want to be a sweet shop owner, walk my dog, and have fun with my human friends. I’m not in love with you, Claud, and I never will be. You’re everything my father hated. And I love him too much to give into your dark desires. I’m not a whore you can seduce with your charm. So, stop bothering me.” With those words, I left his mansion, still feeling the aftermath of his blood in my system. His obsession was enough to drive anyone insane—maybe he was a bit insane after all these years. He’d never have me. Never.
I lay in bed that night, thinking about the blood exchange, and the effects that were still going through me. He must have thought that would make me give in—finally. It almost had again. But, something much stronger was always inside of me—my dad’s wisdom—his laugh—his heart that always told me to follow what was right. Claud wasn’t right. He never would be. I rolled over on my side, and Kitty put her nose in my face and sniffed.
“I’m okay,” I said, though tears were already trailing down my cheeks. I was hungry too—which didn’t help my turmoil of emotions. I did have backup blood bags for such occasions as these, but I wanted warm blood. Fresh. I shouldn’t hunt when I was in this state of mind—but what choice did I have here? I needed to eat something before I turned into a blubbering mess.
“Be back soon,” I told Kitty and ran out the door, heading toward the part of the city that was easy to find wandering people. I came upon a man who was walking alone and tapped into his neck for a moment, drinking more than normal; I let my emotions get the best of me. He hit the pavement, and I swore under my breath. Claud had gotten under my skin. I looked at the human, who was barely breathing, and swore again. I healed up the wound, swept him up in my arms, and carried him home. He’d been pretty filling, so that the hunger was contained for now.
When I got to my house, I put him on the couch, watching the rise and fall of his chest. Kitty walked over and bit his arm lightly.
“No, Kitty,” I said, and she walked away. He’d lost a lot of blood, and I wondered if he’d actually make it. I fished for his wallet and saw that his name was Ben Macky, age twenty-nine, and lived a few blocks over from me. Because I didn’t know what else to do, I Googled him. He had a decent job, was single, and looked like a fun guy from what I could tell by Facebook.
“Sorry, Ben,” I mumbled. “You caught me in a crappy mood.” After another hour of doing absolutely nothing, I heard Ben cough, trying to sit up. He moaned, eyes fluttering open to look at me. He jumped, startled by my appearance.
“Who are you?”
“Umm…Iva,” I said.
“Where am I? What’s going on?” He turned his head back and forth and cringed in pain. “Why do I feel like a truck hit me?”
“I bit you,” I said with a guilty smile.
“You bit me?” His eyes grew wide. I wasn’t sure why I said that to him; maybe because I was just feeling so weird that I had to say it. He reached up and touched his neck. “Gah…what the hell?” He pulled his hand away, blood coming away.
“It’s fine, that’s old blood. I healed you up.”
“You’re telling me that you bit me, then healed me? What…is…going…on?” He clearly struggled for words.
“Yeah—it’s a thing.” I came to his side and looked at his neck. There was a thin scar, but I’d forgotten to wash off the old blood. “You look like a nice guy.” I turned my head, checking him out. He looked like he thought he was in the middle of a nightmare. “Don’t worry you won’t remember any of this in the morning.”
“Are you telling me that you’re a…” He gulped the word vampire back down then stared at me again with horror-filled eyes.
“Vampire?” I supplied for him with a light laugh. “Yeah, you caught me at a bad time.” Claud’s little field day was still dancing around in my brain, making me feel extra moody. Normally I can shake off the doom and gloom of my brain—I liked to have a good time. “I tell you what, do you want to party, Ben? I’ll show you partying—vampire style.” I licked my lips, my fangs still part way showing.
“You’re a…vampire…” he stuttered.
“And you’re a genius, didn’t we already cover this?” I let out a huff, crossing the room, and bending down to look him in the eye. “If you want to have the best night of your mortal life just nod your pathetic little head.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
I wasn’t sure why that was relevant, but obviously to this guy it was.
“I’ll be your vampire girlfriend—but don’t tell anyone.” I put a finger to my lips. What was wrong with my head? I felt like a ho. It must be Claud’s desires mixing with my own. I decided to roll with it, until it exhausted itself from my system.
“I…I…I…don’t know.” His eyes kept growing wider, but I could see that he could be fun if he stopped being afraid of me.
“Listen, I’m not going to eat you. Relax, Prince Charming. If I would have wanted to, I’d killed you already. I just like partying.” I slumped onto the couch beside him and leaned into his chest. He bucked against the couch, like my skin was a burning ball of fire. What a boring human.
“I tell you what; we’ll call the gang, that’ll put your pretty boy mind at ease.”
“Gang?” he said in a hoarse voice. “Can I go home now?”
“Nah,” I said. I’d have to at least erase his memories. I picked up my cell phone and punched in a group text to all my buddies. I didn’t even know what time it was at this point. After I hit send, I saw that it was nearing on one o’clock. “Now these humans know how to have a good time.” I got an instant reply back with some Yahs! I took a quick picture of Ben and sent that too. “Come on, Ben, live a little. It’s not every day you can party with a vampire.”
I could see that Ben was warming up to the idea.
“Okay…I guess…” He touched his neck again then looked at me really oddly. “Where are we going?”
“Ah, you know, the party bar.” Everyone in our little city knew which bar that was. It was the only bar that was open twenty-four hours a day. He gave me a numb nod and I picked him up off the couch, leading him toward the bathroom.
“You may wanna wash up first; you look like someone snacked on you.” I laughed at my own lame joke. He stumbled into the bathroom and started to wash the blood off his neck as best as possible. I couldn’t help but watch, part of me felt really, really odd—like someone was messing with my brain activity. Claud, the little dick. He knew my mind would get as warped as his.
After Ben washed up, he came out with a little bit more confidence than before.
“I was going to jump off the bridge tonight.”
That was some personal information that was definitely a downer for a party.
“Keep that shit to yourself, brother.” I slapped him on the back and threw him a smile over my shoulder.
“I…” He stared at me for far too long. “You’re really a vampire?” He narrowed his eyes like he was trying to make sure that I wasn’t lying about the fangs that he’d clearly seen earlier.
“God, you’re a bit slow.” I let my fangs emerge, dripping with venom, my eyes crackling with red.
“Ah!” He jumped back from me, hitting the couch, and falling over top of it. That just made me burst out laughing.
“Come on, Ben, I got a fun night for you.”
[T1]Stopped here