Immortal Night

by Emily Goodwin

  She’s different than other humans—magic aside—and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. I’m still thinking about it when we pull onto the highway. I’ve been stealing glances at her the whole time, and the whole time I’ve been trying to ignore this weird feeling inside my chest I get whenever I lay eyes on hers.

  She looks relaxed, probably thanks to the alcohol, but it’s more…and when it finally hits me, it hits me hard.

  Callie is sitting in the car with me, leaning back against the seat. Yeah, she has powers, but at the root of it all, she’s human. And she’s not staring me down with fear or awe. She’s not going on and on about how cool it is to be going home with a vampire, texting her friends to brag about it.

  If anything, it would be the opposite for Callie.

  She knows I’m a vampire and completely accepts it.

  I’ve never been around a human with that sort of mindset before. It’s unsettling…but kind of nice.

  “I guess you don’t really need a seatbelt, do you?” She asks, looking over at me as she absent-mindely runs her fingers up and down the strap across her chest. Her fingers sweep over her breasts and the tip of my cock tingles with desire. Dammit.

  “Nope.” I set my eyes on the road ahead. I’m not letting this fucking witch get under my skin. I’m drawn to her because she doesn’t want me, which is the first in, well…ever. But that’s it. There’s nothing more. She’s my forbidden fruit and we always desire what’s out of our reach.

  “So,” she starts again, “you own a lot of property in Chicago?”

  “Not just Chicago.”

  “Oh, cool, cool. You’re like an undead investor?”

  “Something like that.”

  “What was your stance on vampires coming out?”

  “I didn’t care either way. I’ve always done what I’ve wanted regardless,” I admit.

  She bites her lip and nods. “Oh, and me?” Her eyes are on me, waiting to see if I’m going to ask her what she thought. Taking my eyes off the road, I look at her, really look at her, and feel that same warmth spreading through me again.

  “What did I think about vampires coming out?” she asks herself out loud. “It didn’t really change anything for us witches. We’ve always known, which made it kind of funny to watch the nons freak out about having a vampire in the neighborhood. But it’s like, hello, they’ve been there all along. At least you know about it now.”

  “Nons?” I ask.

  “Non-magical people.”

  Humans are predictable. Easy to ready. Easy to please. And easy to manipulate into doing whatever I want them to do without having to hold them spell bound. But Callie…I can’t figure her out. She came to the bar for a reason, and the fact that she won’t shut up but wouldn’t go into detail about why she came to the bar is telling.

  She messes with her phone and then rests her head back, eyes fluttering shut. We only make it another mile and a half before she falls asleep. Her breathing is slow and rhythmic and her heart rate drops just a little as her body relaxes.

  Ever since I was turned, I’ve found the sound to be comforting, though at the same time, each heartbeat reminds me that the human is one heartbeat closer to death.

  Chapter 4

  We crossed the Indiana border several miles ago, and Callie is still asleep. I let off the gas, slowing the car down to turn into a gas station. This muscle car needs to be refilled already, and I don’t know Callie’s address.

  Her purse is on the ground by her feet, and her ID with her address will be in her wallet. I could wake her up and ask her, but she looks so peaceful I don’t want to disturb her…and that simple fact disturbs me.

  Why the fuck do I care?

  She’s a witch.

  I pull into the gas station and put the car in park. Callie’s hair fell in her face on the drive, and I gently push it back over her shoulder. My fingers grace the soft skin on her cheek, soaking up the heat of her skin. Something about her just feels right…which makes no fucking sense.

  I snatch my hand back and go for her purse.

  “What the hell?” she snaps, sitting up and taking her purse from me. “You’re trying to rob me?”

  “No, I’m trying to get your driver’s license for your address so I can take you home.”

  “Oh. I, uh, guess that makes sense. Where are we?” She looks outside, taking in our surroundings, yet still doesn’t look panicked. She’s either overly confident in her powers or is stupid. “Never mind. I recognize this place. We’re about twenty minutes from my house.”

  “Where are you going?” I ask as she unbuckles her seat belt. Maybe she’s not so stupid after all.

  “I have to pee.”

  “Humans are so needy.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She waves her hand at me and gets out of the car. I watch her walk into the gas station, admiring her tight ass before getting out and gassing up the Chevelle. The tank is full and Callie still hasn’t come back out. How long does it take humans to pee?

  I go around the car and lean against it, looking into the gas station. Callie is in there, with her back turned to me. A man in dirty jeans and muddy boots stands in front of her, brows furrowed.

  Something is wrong.

  Tipping my head, I listen for Callie’s heart. Picking out a specific heartbeat amongst a group of humans is skill nearly all vampires are able to do, but only after they’ve spent a significant amount of time with said human.

  I don’t know Callie, and yet I can pick up on her heartbeat and her’s alone. She’s scared, and her pulse has increased along with her fear. If that hillbilly asshole so much as laid a finger on her, I’m going to rip his fucking throat out.

  Speeding forward, I burst into the gas station and over to Callie. I shove the man away from Callie.

  “The fuck?” she spits. “Why’d you do that?”

  “I could hear your heart racing. You’re scared.”

  “Not of him.” She looks at the man on the floor and her heart beats faster than ever. She blinks and her lips part, as if she’s staring at a ghost.

  “Then what the hell is—”

  “Wait,” she says and holds out her hand. She narrows her eyes and tips her head, like she’s thinking hard about something. Letting out a sign, she reaches into her purse and pulls out money, setting it on the counter. “Keep the change,” she tells the cashier, and grabs a water bottle. “Let’s go.”

  She starts toward the door, and I turn, drawing my fangs and stare down the man on the floor. I’m not convinced he didn’t do something to Callie. He slinks back and I whirl around, going outside and getting to the car before Callie. I open the door for her and she gets in, heavily sinking onto the seat.

  She looks tired and closes her eyes as soon as she sits down. I speed around and get into the driver’s side, firing up the engine.

  “What happened in there?”

  “Nothing.” She twists the cap off the water and takes a big drink.

  “Nothing terrified you?”

  “Yeah, it did. I just, uh, drank too much and am not seeing straight.” It’s a lie, and it’s only making me more curious. She recaps her water and points to the road. “Take a left once you pull out.”

  I follow her directions and pass a sign welcoming us into town.

  “Thorne Hill,” I read. “Interesting name for a town.”

  “The woods used to be filled with thorn bushes,” she explains. “Hence the name.”

  “What about the hill?”

  She gives me a pointed look. “We’re in Indiana. There aren’t many hills here at all.” Her lips pull up into a smile. “Keep going through town.”

  The main street in Thorne Hill runs through the downtown. It’s a stereotypical small town, looking like something set in one of those fucking lame Lifetime movies Eliza likes to watch.

  “I live on the outskirts of town,” she tells me, eyes falling shut again in a long blink. “We got another ten minutes or so.” Leaning back again, Callie looks like
she’s going to fall asleep again.

  “That road,” she grumbles a few miles later. “Keep going until you see a brick house with a gravel driveway. Pull all the way in.”

  “All the way?” I look at her with raised eyebrows and she response with making a face. I park in front of her house and get out, going around to her door.

  “Shall I walk you in?” I hold out my hand for her to take.

  “In? Don’t you mean to my door?”

  “Ah, so you’re not as drunk as I thought,” I say with a grin.

  “Pathetic. Trying to take advantage of a drunk girl.”

  “Trust me. I never have to take advantage of anyone. They give in to me willingly. More than once…if they’re lucky.”

  “Please,” she retorts. It’s fun pushing her buttons, and I’ve only just gotten started.

  “Lovely little house you have.” Her heels catch on loose gravel as she stumbles up to the front porch. The house is old, a century at least, and is an Italianate style. I remember when this type of house came into fashion. Eliza and I had one built up north and lived in it for fifty years before moving out west.

  “Thanks. I mean, what do you care?”

  “I don’t, not really, but you’ve piqued my interest.” I zoom around her, blocking her way up the stairs so I can look at her. She throws out her hand, hitting me with a shock of magic. It hurts, but the pain subsides quickly. Just the simple fact that she’s able to cause me pain so easily intrigues me even more.

  “Will you stop it with the super speed? It’s annoying.”

  I laugh and look down at the burn on my shoulder. It’s healing already. “That hurts. I like it.”

  “You’re messed up.”

  Fuck, is she purposely driving me crazy? I want to lay her down and fuck her right here on the porch steps. She has to feel amazing and taste even better. There’s a certain vulnerability that comes with sex, not so much for me, but for everyone else.

  But with Callie…she could conjure up a bright string of magic while I’m balls deep inside of her and not see it coming.

  “I’ve been told.”

  She crosses her arms over her chest. “And stop looking at me like that. Like you’re thinking about what I’d taste like.”

  “I was thinking about how your nipple would feel against my tongue but now…now I do wonder what you’d taste like. And I’m not talking about your blood.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  “Am I?” Her words don’t match her body language, and more importantly, they don’t match the reaction I’m getting from her body. “Don’t tell me you don’t think about it.” I lean in, only inches from her face.

  She takes a deep breath, breasts rising and almost crushing against my chest.

  “I just so happen to know what I taste like. I’m not talking about my blood either.”

  Fuck. Me. I don’t even know what to say to that because all I can think about right now is burying my cock inside her sweet pussy. I’d make her scream, make her come so many times she won’t be able to see straight. Give it to her so good she’ll be screaming my name and begging for more. It’ll ruin sex for her, never being satisfied with anyone else but me ever again.

  Callie is holding my gaze, and I can smell the lust she’s trying to deny. I smile and she leans forward without realizing it. She wants me too, even though she knows she shouldn’t. Fuck, I’m getting hard thinking about.

  But then her phone vibrates with a text message, breaking whatever lust-drunk moment we were sharing.

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” she mutters and shoves her phone angrily into her purse. Then she snatches it up again and glares at the phone.

  “Do I want to ask?” I look down at the phone, seeing a name on the screen. “Scott? Is he an ex-lover?”

  “Gross. No.” She unlocks the phone and reads the text. “Fucking asswipe.”

  “So, I’m guessing now’s not a good time for you to invite me in.”

  Her heart is beating faster and faster again and her eyes darken for a second. Then she looks up. “You know what? Why the hell not?”

  Chapter 5

  “You’re sure about that?” I raise an eyebrow and look at her. I can’t fucking believe I’m giving her an out, dammit. But that split second of darkness I saw in her eyes was familiar. And if it’s anything like the darkness I feel inside of me—no, I can’t go there.

  “Yeah, so…I invite you—wait. I need to establish a few ground rules.”

  “Certainly, my lady.”

  She waves her hand over the lock on the door and at first I don’t know what she’s doing. Then I realize she’s using magic to unlock it, and I’m impressed all over again. She wavers on her feet again, and I hope she loses her balance and falls just so I have an excuse to feel her warm skin against mine again.

  Opening the door, she steps inside and turns around, knowing that I can’t step a foot inside until she invites me in. I can’t even reach in and grab her. If she was a normal human, I could hold her spellbound and command her to invite me in, but witches are immune to my powers.

  She holds onto the doorframe, needing the support to keep her balance.

  “Don’t attack me I don’t feel like cleaning up the ashy mess of your remains if you do.”

  “You think you could stop me?” I almost laugh again. She’s drunk and can hardly stand.

  “I know I can stop you.”

  I grin. “Fair enough. I can control myself.”

  She’s not amused. “And the most important rule. Do. Not. Fuck. With. My. Cats.”

  Cats? Is she for real? I look her right in the eye. “You don’t want me to fuck with your pussy?”

  “Pussies,” she snaps. She is for real. “I have three cats. Do not touch them. Hell, don’t even look at them. They probably won’t like you.”

  I laugh. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a crazy cat lady. At least you’re hot.”

  She just shakes her head but doesn’t hesitate. “Then, Lucas, I invite you into my home.” I hear her heart flutter as soon as the words leave her lips. She’s not stupid, not at all, and she’s well aware that I could speed inside, press her up against the wall, and sink my fangs into her neck before she can say a spell.

  I step in and close the door behind me, then take a second to look around. The foyer is in the center of the house, and the stairs come down right in front of the door. There’s a small office off to one side, with cluttered desk and full bookshelves lining one wall, and a living room to the other side.

  Callie kicks off her heels and goes through the foyer and into the kitchen, not stopping until she’s at her fridge. She opens a middle drawer on her fridge and pulls out a bottle of wine.

  She’s already drunk. What is she trying to forget?

  “Haven’t you had enough?” I take the bottle from her hands. “I admit it’s been a millennia or two since I’ve had anything other than blood to drink, but judging by your size, you’ve had more than enough tonight.”

  “Oh please.” She grabs the bottle out of my hands. Her face is set, but her eyes can’t lie. The darkness is storming inside of her, threatening to swallow her hole. My insides clench—a feeling I haven’t felt in years—and I want nothing more than to reach out and comfort her.

  But…why?

  “I can drink as much as I like. Why, are you worried I’ll overdo it and die or something?”

  I study her face, hoping for another clue. She gives me nothing but a hardened expression. “Not worried, though I do think you’ve already overdone it.”

  She twists the top of the bottle of wine as if it were capped before realizing there’s a cork in it. Setting the bottle of wine on the counter, she holds her hand over it and magically brings the cork out of the bottle. I don’t drink anything but blood, but that little party trick was impressive as well.

  “Why are you set on drinking yourself to death?” I pick up the bottle again before she can pour herself a glass.

  “I�
�m not.”

  “Really? You have enough alcohol in you to make me feel drunk if I were to drink your blood.” I can’t let myself think about it too hard or I’ll get, well…hard.

  “I didn’t realize it worked like that.”

  “It doesn’t affect me as much as it affects you, but what you eat or drink does make its way to your bloodstream.”

  “Hmm. Good to know.”

  “Really, Callie,” I start and lean in. She meets my eyes only to look away, and then back again. “What are you running from?”

  Her eyes fall shut, long lashes coming together. Her shoulders hunch forward as she lets go of the facade she’s putting on. She’s no longer badass witch Callie.

  She’s just Callie.

  And I still think she’s pretty fucking badass.

  “There’s an emptiness inside me.” Her voice is thin and hollow and each word speaks to me on a level I didn’t know possible. “And no matter what I do or how hard I try to ignore it, it never goes away. The emptiness will always be there, slowly eating away, seeping deeper and deeper into my bones until it becomes a part of me.”

  If my heart could beat it would be hammering away in my chest right now. I feel the emptiness too. It’s a void inside of me. It’s consumed me over the years and I’ve let it. I fell so far into the dark I can’t see any light above me.

  I am the dark, and I never thought anyone would ever understand. Let alone someone who’s still alive.

  “And I’m mentally preparing myself for possibly considering going to my niece’s birthday party in like a week,” she adds.

  Just when I think I might have figured her out… “You’re drinking now for a party that’s a week away?”

  “It’s a long story, and no, I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I believe you,” I tell her. She doesn’t want attention. Doesn’t want me to poke and prod at her until she relents. The emptiness inside hurts her, much like it hurts me.

  I don’t want to talk about it either.

  I just want something to fill it…to let me feel something other than the numb hollowness inside of me. Our gazes meet, suddenly I realize that it’s not something that will save me from the darkness, but someone.