by L. A. Boruff
“Actually, Riley, I wanted to talk to you about that,” he replied and placed a gooey grilled cheese sandwich and a big glass of milk in front of me. “Anthony and I don't need an excessive amount of blood to remain healthy. We’ll feel a bit hungry, but as long as we get a small bit every day, we'll be fine.” He sat beside me. “Eat.” I stuck my tongue out at him before complying. “We only drank a fourth of a bag of blood each this morning and could’ve done a little less. We’re hoping that between the bags we have left, and a little donation from you, we'll be able to make the journey to Peru before we would need a more significant amount of blood.”
“Donate. You want to tap my vein? Bag a little blood?” I teased.
His cheeks blushed bright red.
“Elias, it occurred to me. In the myths, a vampire’s blood volume depends on how much blood they drink. Sort of like the blood they drink is what fills their veins. But you just blushed. Obviously you have actual blood of your own pumping through your veins.”
“We Supay function much the same as humans. We have our own blood supply, and the blood we drink is our food. If we were allowed in the sciences, we could pinpoint exactly what it is about blood that sustains us. We’re hoping the new Junta lead will begin changing the minds of the elders of the Unseen. No Unseen creature is allowed in the sciences; it’s not only the Supay. Anyway, if we're grievously injured, we do need more blood. I think that has something to do with the magic in our bodies. Blood is food for us, most of the time. If we don’t eat, we get weak, like a human would. We can eat some food and drink water and gain some nutrients but not enough to sustain us without any blood.”
“Okay. I understand. Do we have any way to contact Anthony?” I asked.
“He has a burner phone, yes. I can call him. What do you need to tell him?”
“Dial him and let me talk to him, please,” I replied. Elias pulled out a cheap flip phone. He dialed a number before handing me the phone. I put the phone on speaker as it rang.
“Elias?” Anthony’s deep voice rang through the phone line. “What’s wrong, man?”
Elias whispered to me, “He knows I wouldn’t call unless it was important.”
I nodded. “Anthony, it’s me. I need you to pick up a few things for me for the trip.” I pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket.
“Of course, Riley. Anything you need. Let me grab a pen.” I heard him rustling. “Go ahead.”
“Okay, first, do we have any clue how long we'll be gone?” I asked.
Elias answered first. “It’ll take us six to eight days to get to Peru. We have no idea how long we'll search while we're there. Then, if we're alive and successful, we won’t have to hide anymore and can charter a plane to Tennessee before heading to New Zealand to confront the Junta.”
“Okay then, I need to plan on at least a month.” I said. “Anthony, please pick me up a box of tampons and pads. If that makes you uncomfortable, you can let me run in a store somewhere on the way to the Mexican border.”
“I'm not uncomfortable.” Anthony’s laughter echoed out of the phone. “It would take much more to make me uncomfortable. Anything else?”
“Oh, yes, lots more,” I replied. “Grab a big bottle of vitamin B-12, a bottle of iron, and a bottle of folic acid. Also, Vitamin B-6 and Vitamin E. If you can find a multivitamin that has all of those in it, get two bottles. I’ll take extra to be safe. Grab some dried prunes and raisins, some eggs—we can hard boil them—some spinach, ranch dressing, and a big variety of nuts. We’ll need to be able to stop and eat at places that serve things like steak and shellfish.” I paused, consulting my list. “Oh! And several cases of bottled water. I’ll need to stay hydrated.”
Elias stopped me there. “Riley, why do you need these supplements?”
I replied triumphantly, “I did some research after you left me alone at the computer. I’m not comfortable with you two using random people to feed on. If you have to drink from a human, it'll be me for as long as possible.”
I turned my attention to the phone. “Anthony, go by a medical supply store and see if you can get your hands on some supplies to draw blood from my arm. You’ll need to go ahead and use those blood bags before you begin to drink from me or they’re going to go bad. In the days you’re drinking from the bags you can start storing up some blood from me.” The phone was silent. “Anthony? Are you there?” I asked, a little worried.
“I’m here, my Coya. I’m speechless. You’ve shown incredible strength over the past several days. You’re offering yourself up to keep us healthy so that we don’t have to take blood from an unsuspecting stranger. I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier. You impress me.” My eyes filled with tears as he continued. “You’re beautiful. I was undecided how far I was willing to go with this search, but now I’m sure. You are my Coya, and I will follow you until the end, be it our deaths or our long lives. Go gather your things and rest now, I’ll get these items. Goodbye.”
I closed the phone with trembling hands. “What did he call me?”
“Coya means Queen in Quechua. He called you his queen.”
I was shocked. Why would he give me such a pet name? I followed Elias up the stairs.
“Why would he call me his queen? We met only a few days ago! And sure, the sex was great—fucking phenomenal—but it was only sex.” I grabbed Eli’s arm so he’d turn and look at me.
“I thought we’d been pretty clear, Riley. You must know I care about you—we’ve been friends for years. Anthony has watched over you for the same amount of time. He’s grown to care deeply for you. When we say we care about you, it means we think you’re an incredible, smart, strong woman. And that doesn’t even begin to describe how beautiful you are.”
I stepped away from Elias in shock. I could get behind strong. No one went through what I had without believing they were a little tough. I drew the line at beautiful.
In the early days of my relationship with Michael, I was shocked at his attraction to me. When we started dating, I was a size eighteen—too chunky to have much faith in myself. Eventually, I gave in to his persistent chasing and went on a date with him. I’d done some internet research and discovered an entire world out there of men who are only attracted to big women. I figured Michael was one of those men and grew comfortable with his admiration of my body, even though I never understood it.
My face had always been pretty but only pretty. Beautiful, I wasn't. I was okay with my level of prettiness, I knew my playing field. One oddball man falling in love with me I could believe. But Elias and Anthony too? Nah.
“Elias, why are you fucking with me like this? You two couldn’t feel that way about me.” Sure, I’d lost some weight and toned up a little, but my body was still pretty crazy looking. Being kick-ass and being beautiful were not always the same thing, and I was definitely kick-ass.
Elias grabbed my cheeks and pulled me into a kiss. The kiss, oh, the kiss. The kiss was show stopping; the kind they wrote movies about.
At first, his lips pressed hard against mine. Then he pulled back a little to breathe. I opened my mouth to suck in air, and he used that opportunity to caress the inside of my mouth. His lips massaged, making slow, passionate love to mine. His mouth stoked a fire in my belly that made my knees weak. I sagged against Elias's body while my brain turned the consistency of pureed baby food. All I could see or hear or feel was the caress of Eli’s lips.
Then he brought his tongue into play. He teased me by running the tip of it along my swollen lips. I opened them, craving more. He tasted me with his tongue, licking the inside of my mouth like I was his favorite flavor of lollipop. Blood flavored? I giggled into his mouth.
Elias looked at me in amusement. “Did I tickle your tonsils or something?” he asked. “I was going for sexy, not funny.”
“I wondered if they make blood flavored popsicles for vampires.” I said, my expression dead serious. Elias burst out laughing and turned away.
“No, really! I mean, surely some Supay entrepreneur ha
s figured out how to make blood flavored candy!” I teased Elias, following him into the bedroom we’d shared the night before.
Once I entered the room, Elias turned to me and scooped me into his arms. I went flying through the air, squealing before bouncing on the bed and scrambling to the top, laughing. “You think it’s that easy to get me into bed, Elias Tipton?”
He stalked toward the bed like a predator. A chill ran up my spine as I saw the raw power in his eyes. He could kill me and drain my body of blood. He could snap my neck and leave me anywhere. He reached the end of the bed and the look on his face became more lustful, less predatory. My spine tingled again, this time in anticipation.
I got to my knees and crawled to the edge of the bed, then looked up at him and smiled. “I guess it is that easy.” Slut! My fingers trailed the collar of his Black Sabbath t-shirt. Eh. Who cares at this point? “May I please take this off?” I asked, sweet as syrup.
His eyes bored into mine as he lifted his arms for me to draw his shirt over his head. Once his chest was bare he took my hands and lifted them above my head. Once he’d removed my shirt, he stared at my bare breasts. I shifted, picturing the toll breastfeeding two children took on my once pert breasts. They didn’t exactly sag, but they were definitely not the breasts of my youth. I swallowed my insecurities and focused on the planes of his torso instead.
I flattened my hand on his chest, giving a slight massage so I could feel the power in the muscles there. Before, when life was good and I felt frisky, I’d signal Michael by rubbing his chest with a firm hand.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I guilt overwhelmed me. Michael was truly, officially dead, and I hadn’t even waited three days after receiving the news before jumping into bed with another man. Two other men. Two.
I used my hands on his chest to push Elias away. “I can’t. Michael popped into my head, and I feel like the worst person in the world for sleeping with someone else. I only just found out he was dead.” I snatched my shirt up and jerked it on. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to tease.”
“You didn’t tease me. I can handle being turned on. You’re grieving, and there is no right or wrong way to do that. One thing I can promise you is that Michael wouldn't be upset at the thought of you being comforted, even if it’s through sex—especially if Anthony or I were the ones doing the comforting.”
My butt bounced off the bed as I sat back. “Why especially you or Anthony? Wouldn’t Michael view that as more of a betrayal?”
“In the Supay culture, it’s quite common for more than one man to share the love of a single woman. As long as I can remember, it's been a regular way of life. I’m sure it began with the rarity of Supay women, since we're forbidden from falling in love with humans. It gives us a way to have a long term relationship with a woman.”
Elias sat beside me on the bed and drew me onto his lap. “We’ve been talking about marrying the same woman for over sixty years. That was always our plan. Once we were grown we were going to set out to meet and woo the Supay women of the world, until we found our mate. But then, Michael found you and disappeared. We spent the years afterward sort of, well, whoring around with human women.”
Why does that make me jealous? My gut clenched, and I made sure my feelings didn’t show on my face.
“Once we decided to start to look for someone Anthony and I could build a life with, without Michael, he was killed and the children were taken. We’ve secretly looked after you ever since, and in doing so, discovered the woman we want to love.” Elias buried his face in my neck and nuzzled my hair.
My head rested on his shoulder as I contemplated the staggering information he’d given me. Michael had wanted to share a wife with his best friends. What in the world did he see in me to be willing to sacrifice his family and friends, his plans, to hide and spend only a part of his life with me? I couldn’t be enough to pull a man away from his entire world.
“This is cozy.” Anthony’s voice made me squeak and jump so hard I fell onto the bed, out of Elias's lap. I laughed at Anthony’s confused face and collapsed flat.
“It’s been an emotional morning, Anthony,” I said. “So, are you in love with me?” He looked startled for a moment then glared at Elias.
“I care enough to commit my life to yours, and that must mean some aspect of love.” He contemplated his words. “I’d be devastated if you died, and I can picture us together over the coming centuries. I believe I have the beginnings of love for you, yes.”
I sat up and turned to Elias. “And you, do you love me?”
Elias replied instantly and with abandon. “More than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life. I would follow you to hell and do everything in my power to protect you.” He grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to my palm. “I’ll be loyal to you until you die, and I’ll never leave you willingly. You’d have to convince me that you never wanted to lay eyes on me again—and then I’d still watch over you, but you wouldn't see me.”
He couldn’t have surprised me more if he’d revealed he was actually a vampire. Ha! Been there, done that, and still reeling. I knew he cared, but that—that was the sort of declaration little girls dream about.
Anthony sat on the end of the bed. “My Coya, we didn't want to bombard you with our feelings. When we decided it was time for you to meet me, we wanted to make you think I was investigating Michael’s disappearance so we could tell you he was dead. We wanted to watch over you and know you, but slowly, with the least pain possible.” He grabbed my other hand in both of his and stroked it. “But, you see how that went. And here we are. We care for and love you. Until you are ready to process that, we need not speak of it again.”
I pulled my hands away and placed them in my lap, twisting them nervously. “You’re right, I’m not ready to process that. I’m still trying to come to terms with Michael, that he’s…” I couldn’t say it. I looked at Elias. “But I want you to understand that I do care about you a great deal, and I appreciate your help more than I could ever find words to say.”
Turning to Anthony I continued. “I’m beginning to care for you as well. Time will tell if that will grow.”
Anthony leaned over and collapsed on top of me in a hug, knocking me into Elias, who wrapped his arms around both of us. I giggled in between them. “I won’t say no to more out of this world sex again. Though, maybe not right now. We need to get this show on the road, and it’s too much to handle yet.”
I’m not sure if I’m ready for you to love me, but you sure can fuck me any time,. Sheesh, Riley. You’re really pouring the gasoline on those hell-panties.
Anthony let me push him off so we could get busy packing. He explained that the SUV had hidden compartments so we could hide the guns and blood to get across the border. I made them stick me and draw my blood. Apparently, like all Supay, the guys had gone through basic phlebotomy after math class.
I’d discovered in my research that the human body would replenish up to 450mL of blood every twenty four hours. Until they ran out of bagged blood, I would let them draw from me daily to sustain as much of a supply as we could.
While blood dripped into a bag beside me, the guys gathered supplies, as well as the cash and weapons. Our clothes were still packed from the trip down, and in a little over an hour, we were ready to go.
Chapter 8
We traveled south from the house in Alice, Texas and soon found ourselves in Pharr, just north of the Mexican border. Conversation was sparse with all of us wrapped up in our own thoughts. I sat behind the two gorgeous men and studied their profiles. They were beautiful men, and I was struck again with a series of “Why me?” questions. I hoped one day I’d be able to get past my insecurities.
We stopped for a bathroom break and to get coffees. It amused me to watch my two big, strong vampires order mocha frappes.
Back in the SUV, I sipped my sweet drink, enjoying the French vanilla creamer I’d added. Elias produced three sets of fake IDs and papers as we approached the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. He
re was our first test of the journey—getting out of the country. Every lane was open, so we only waited about twenty minutes before it was our turn.
A trim man greeted us with a warm smile. “Hola, and welcome to Mexico! What’s the purpose of your trip?”
Anthony smiled at the man, and my forehead gave a small pinch. He was sending his calming sorcery to the smiling man. “Hola, sir. We’re on vacation. We’ll be making our leisurely way to Panama.”
The border agent raised an eyebrow. “That’s a dangerous trip, young man. Are you sure that's wise? Not many are equipped to handle the travel through the jungles.” The pain in my forehead intensified, telling me Anthony was laying it on thick. The man smiled and continued, “I’m sure you’re filming a documentary or something, eh? Well, good luck, cabrón.”
I whispered to Anthony. “Did he just call you a dumbass?”
“Yup,” Anthony said teeth clenched into a smile.
The man gave each of us papers to fill out. He told us what information to bring when making the return trip home, and then we were safely across the border.
“Riley, I swear, you’re bad luck for my calming ability. He was hard to soothe. And he thought we were stupid for making this trip,” Anthony complained as we entered Mexico.
“You made my head hurt trying to do it. Do you think my possible Unseen ancestry could be helping me block you?” I asked.
“The thought has crossed my mind. Its something for us to explore when we're safe,” Elias interjected.
I pressed my nose to the window, taking in the sights. Since we weren’t sure which cities along the way were safe and which were dangerous, we decided to drive straight through to Mexico City. We opted not to take the most direct route down to Panama, in case someone figured out where we were trying to go.
It took us seventeen hours to get to Mexico City. The guys wouldn't let me drive, so I mostly slept, aggravated that I wasn’t allowed to pitch in with the driving. Halfway to our destination, when we rolled through a tiny town and encountered some problems, I suddenly became grateful I didn’t have to drive.
