Exposure: Bloodlust Series Book 1

by L. L. Ash

  I sat at the lunch table with Genie and Bobby, who had become attached at the hip, and listened to them flirt as I worried about Clarence. I had given up hope of seeing him as I was walking out of school. The week was turning out freaking fantastic. My 18th birthday was 2 days away, and my vampire boyfriend was MIA. And evidently I was a freak of nature and had a strange marker in my DNA.

  Dragging my feet toward the bus, I heard my name being called. I looked up and there he was.

  Clarence stood at the edge of the lawn, waving and grinning at me. I waved back and jogged up to him. He didn’t move, he just grinned.

  As I got closer, I noticed he wore a thick jacket which was unusual for him since he liked the cold. Rain started to drizzle as I reached him, but it wasn’t Clarence per say. His skin glowed a golden shade, and his eyes shone so bright. He was familiar, and yet so different.

  “Clee?” I asked hesitantly, but he took three steps forward and pressed his body against mine, lips finding lips.

  Dear God... he was warm!

  The kiss opened and he brushed his tongue against mine, heat radiating from his mouth to mine. What was happening?

  “You’re...you’re warm!” I breathed in shock, looking again to the healthy glow of his skin and eyes.

  “I’m human,” he gasped out, tears glistening in his eyes. “Mason had a breakthrough last night. It was your blood, Addie. Your blood made me human again.”

  My jaw dropped and I shoved my face back at his, feeling his warmth again as icy rain breathed down on us.

  “I can’t believe it!” I sighed. “Is this for real?”

  “Feel me!” he grinned, taking my hand to rest on his cheek. “I’m warm. I’m warm for the first time in what feels like eternity! And I’m hungry. I’m hungry Addie, and not for blood!”

  My heart was pumping so fast I could hardly breathe.

  “I’m freezing,” I told him and he grinned back at me, pulling me along toward my house.

  “Then let’s get you warm,” he answered, his look of joy almost overwhelming.

  We jogged back to my house and I told him to come in.

  “I’m feeding you dinner, dammit!” I yelled in excitement.

  Clarence laughed and agreed.

  Dad was already home when we arrived. He was in the kitchen looking for dinner himself.

  “Hey, Addie. You mind making a grocery list for me tonight? Put in all the stuff you want. I’m going to drop by the store on the way home from work tomorrow...”

  That was when he saw Clarence.

  “Oh, hi there. Didn’t see you.”

  “Dad,” I told him. “You remember Clarence? He’s my boyfriend.”

  “Boyfriend?” Dad’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Well it’s good to see you again... I’m surprised it’s the first time I’m hearing about it.”

  “It’s still rather new,” Clarence smiled, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to see you again too, Mr. Harper.”

  “Sure, sure,” Dad nodded and put his head back in the freezer. “Doesn’t look like we have anything here to eat. We’ll have to order in. Are you staying for dinner, Clarence?”

  “If you don’t mind.”

  “Nah, why should I?”

  Dad wasn’t being necessarily welcoming, but he wasn’t being a complete ass either.

  “Well I’ll order a pizza then. Anything you two won’t eat?”

  “No,” we answered together.

  “Well ok then,” Dad picked up the phone.

  “I’m taking Clarence upstairs. Let me know when dinner gets here?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Dad nodded in a none too pleased manner.

  Clarence followed me up the spiral stairs and into my bedroom, with which he was quite familiarized.

  “Your father doesn’t seem too happy for me to come up here with you.”

  “Well, like Dad said a long time ago, he gave up his chance to get a say in my life. I’m just glad he realizes that.”

  Clarence nodded gently.

  “Are you still cold?” he asked me as we settled in our usual spots.

  Clarence on his chair and me on the bed.

  “Yeah, but I bet you are too.”

  “I am, actually,” he grinned. “It’s funny how it’s a different kind of cold then I’m used to. It’s not numbness, but sharpness. I can’t tell you what it’s like to feel again after all these years.”

  “I couldn’t imagine,” I told him honestly.

  Taking off my hoodie which was wet across the shoulders, I suggested he did the same.

  “Your jacket probably absorbed most of the rain,” I told him as I hung my jacket up on the back of the door.

  He shrugged off his coat and handed it to me. I was a little distracted by the slim t-shirt he was wearing and dropped the coat the first time before I managed to get it on the hook.

  “I forgot how strong the hormones could be,” he said in a deep, resonating voice as he came up behind me, hands pressed splayed across my lower stomach.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s just one of the things that suffers with the virus,” he answered in my ear. “But right now… I can’t keep my hands off you. I’m physically incapable of it.”

  My heart started to pound and my legs quivered as blood surged to the apex of my thighs.

  “Oh to be 20 again,” he almost groaned into my neck, pressing kisses there as his hands brushed up, the backs of his thumbs pressing into the lower side of my foam bra through my tank top.

  He’d never touched me like this before, and it was thrilling, but also frightening. I hadn’t prepared for this.

  His lips continued to roam my neck and collarbone as one hand slid back down my stomach, and his other arm wrapped further around me and across my ribs, brushing up to gently cup the underside of one breast as his other fingers slowly moved down past my pelvic bone.

  Knock-Knock-Knock

  “Addie!” Dad called through the door.

  Clarence’s hands shot off me and he plopped himself onto the bed looking extremely guilty while my entire body felt like my skin was slowly roasting off.

  I spun and opened the door, knowing I looked completely flushed.

  “Yeah Dad?” I asked.

  His face sobered. He knew what was going on.

  “Your mother just tried calling. I guess she tried calling you but it went straight to voicemail.”

  “Oh,” I breathed, digging out my phone from my pocket.

  “Maybe you’d like to join me downstairs, Clarence,” Dad invited, though his invitation didn’t leave room for arguing.

  “That’s a great idea,” Clarence shot to his feet. “I’m sure Addie would appreciate some privacy to talk to her mother.”

  Dad motioned him out of the room and followed him down the stairs.

  I sat down on the bed and blew out a breath after plugging my phone in. The battery was dead, but those few minutes gave me some time to breathe after what had just happened. Evidently he was only master of his lust as a vampire. The young adult version instead of the old gentleman Clarence was impulsive and greedy just like any other young man. The idea was heartening after feeling like a sex addict around him.

  Maybe, just maybe he would consummate our relationship now. One could hope!

  My phone lit up and vibrated on the homescreen so I picked it up and scrolled through missed calls til I found Mom’s number.

  “Well it’s about time you called your sick mother back,” Mom joked as she answered her phone.

  “My phone was dead! Give me a break!” I laughed, feeling giddy after those moments with Clarence.

  “Sure it was. That’s a more pleasant thought than you ignoring my call to make out with your boyfriend.”

  “What makes you think I was making out with my boyfriend?” I giggled.

  “Your father said you and a boy went up to your room alone. If you’re my daughter at all, you were making out.”

  “We were not!” I said in mock outrage. “We had
n’t reached that point yet.”

  Mom laughed a strong, belly laugh.

  “Well good! It’s about time you had a relationship with a boy, Addie. I just hope he cares about you and respects you the way you deserve.”

  “Oh, he cares about and respects me in abundance.”

  “You make it sound like a bad thing!”

  “Because he’s...he doesn’t want to take my V-card.”

  Mom sighed happily.

  “Sounds like a winner you got there, Sweetie.”

  “He is. But it’s frustrating. We’re so attracted to each other, and I’ll be 18 in just a couple days. I’m not a baby and if I want to get rid of that stupid V-card then I should be able to! It should be my choice, right?”

  “Yes and no. It’s a big responsibility for the man too, Sweetheart.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you’ve never had sex before, but it’s a lot more than just the physical. There’s the emotional and the mental and the physical and the spiritual. I like that he understands that and he’s not just taking your virginity and waving it around town. I’m sure when you reach the right point in your relationship that it’ll happen. Don’t force it. You’ll just make him nervous and he’ll pull away more.”

  I sighed. I guess there’s no explaining that my boyfriend who was 300 years old wasn’t afraid of the emotional, so much as he’s just got old-fashioned manners ingrained into him.

  “So, what are you doing with him for your birthday?” she asked, sounding absolutely girlfriend-esque.

  “I’m not sure. He hadn’t mentioned anything. Maybe we’ll get to go on a date.”

  “It’s your 18th, Sweetie. You should go out and do something fun! Maybe go to the city? I wish I could be with you so I could throw you a huge bash!”

  I laughed.

  “I’ll bring it up with Clarence. I wish you could be here too Mom. I miss you. How are you doing?”

  “I miss you too, Baby Girl. And I’m doing alright. I’m between treatments right now so I’m eating again, thank God.”

  “Have a giant juicy hamburger and cupcake in honor of my birthday then,” I told her with a giggle.

  “You’ve got a friggin’ deal!” Mom agreed. “So I heard Clarence is here for dinner? Is it serious with you two then? Do you see a future with him?”

  “At first it was kind of hard to see,” I admitted. “But now, I can see my entire life with him, and I don’t think I’d be bored one second of it.”

  Mom hummed emotionally.

  “My little girl is growing up… You had better bring him for Thanksgiving break,” she demanded. “I’ll pay for you to rent a car and drive down here. I want to meet this boy if he’s going to be my son-in-law I want to know him BEFORE the wedding.”

  I laughed nervously.

  “I’m not joking!” she said in a sing-song voice. “I expect to meet him in a month and a half. You understand?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “Meanwhile. Just don’t make any babies!”

  “No babies,” I laughed.

  “Ok. Love you. Call me when you know your plans. I want to be there in spirit!”

  “Ok I will! Love you too!”

  Hanging up the phone, I grinned to myself over the conversation. Nothing ever seemed like such a big deal after talking to her. I wasn’t sure what I would ever do without her.

  Dinner was nice. Clarence ate almost an entire pizza by himself, smothering his groans of pleasure as we ate in the dining room, while Dad was just over in the living room with his plate.

  “I can’t believe how far the culinary world has come in 300 years,” Clarence whispered at me with sausage breath.

  It made me giggle.

  “It’s one of the joys of being human. Welcome back.”

  He grinned, taking another bite.

  After the pizza was gone and night was falling, Clarence headed out the front door after I’d retrieved his jacket.

  “I wanted to ask you,” he stopped me before I could close the door. “Have you any plans for your birthday?”

  “Not really,” my heart hammered in anticipation. “I was kind of waiting for you to ask.”

  He grinned.

  “May I take you out? On a real date?”

  “Of course you can!” I grinned. “Mom suggested I go to the city and have a fun time.”

  “I haven’t been to the city in...” he thought for a second then shrugged. “A long time. Will you trust me with plans for the evening?”

  “After you haven’t been to the city in a long time?” I asked; he rolled his eyes. “Of course I trust you.”

  “Good,” he nodded and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. “Sweet dreams, Darling. Dream of me.”

  “Only wet dreams.”

  He laughed.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” I breathed back and he gave me a single kiss on the lips before he jogged down the steps, shrugging his arms into his thick jacket.

  For the first time I worried about him walking home alone. He didn’t have his speed or strength, but there were still werewolves out there.

  Closing and locking the door, my phone rang.

  “Hey Chica,” Genie said over the line. “A little birdie named Clarence told me it’s your birthday this weekend. PARTY!”

  “We’re going to be going to Seattle for my birthday,” I told her with a laugh.

  “Dammit!” she pouted. “Fine, we’ll party Tomorrow night. Beach party, bonfire and booze if we can swing it. Be there or I’ll be forced to bang Bobby all night. And nobody wants that but Bobby.”

  I giggled like a child.

  “Ok.”

  “Bring Clarence?”

  “I’ll ask.”

  “Ok. 8 o’cock. Bring booze if you can find it. We’ll be roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and starburst til our teeth fall out.”

  “You’re the best friend ever, Genie.”

  “Yeah, I know. BE THERE!”

  I laughed as I hung up, suddenly feeling a great deal of excitement over my impending birthday.

  “You coming to the party, pretty boy?” Genie asked as Clarence approached us at the bus stop.

  “What party?”

  “Have you not told him yet?” she scolded me.

  “He doesn’t have a cell phone! Blame him not me!”

  Now Genie was blown away.

  “What person over the age of 12 doesn’t have a cell phone?”

  “I’ve never had a need for it,” Clarence waved his hand. “Now tell me about this party.”

  “Only the bash of the year!” Genie boasted. “Bonfire and food and booze. Bobby’s brother is bringing us a keg!”

  “So underage drinking and fire? Sounds like a real ball.”

  Clarence sounded sceptical.

  “We’re going to have hot dogs and marshmallows and starburst.”

  “Marshmallows?” Clarence sounded interested now.

  “Plus, we're going to celebrate your girlfriend’s birthday, so you kind of have to be there. Either that or she’ll get snatched up right from under you.”

  “I’ll come by your house to pick you up,” Clarence told me with a nod of finality.

  “Good! I’d hate to see your girlfriend picked up by a deadbeat dude to rebound from you.”

  “We will see you there,” Clarence told her, effectively shutting her up.

  After school I took the bus home and Clarence found his own way home until about 7:45. He knocked on the door promptly and Dad got there first.

  “Another date, I see,” Dad said coolly.

  “Yeah. I wouldn’t wait up for us. Genie and some kids from school are throwing a party down at the beach.” Pausing, I turned to Dad to face him as I added. “And Clarence is taking me to Seattle for my birthday tomorrow. I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone. I talked to Mom about it and she is fine with it.”

  Dad chewed on his lip but eventually nodded.

  “We’ll be back Sunday aft
ernoon,” Clarence added.

  “Overnight?” Dad sounded choked up.

  “I’m 18 Dad.”

  “Yeah, sure,” he nodded, his eyes looking suspiciously watery. “I’ll have to give you your birthday present when you get back from your trip then.”

  “I don’t need anything...”

  “I have one from your Mom too. She mailed it to me a couple months ago in preparation for your trip here. Wanted me to save it to give to you on your birthday.”

  My jaw dropped.

  “But you go have fun. I’ll see you Sunday afternoon, I guess.”

  I nodded and took Clarence’s hand, letting him pull me away from the house.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked me, effectively taking my mind off Dad.

  “Yeah. I haven’t done anything like this before. I don’t go to high school parties.”

  “Neither have I,” he answered with a grin.

  Together we walked through the brush toward the beach which was only a few minutes away.

  It was easy to spot the bonfire, it being the only light beside the moon against the ocean. Loud voices and music came from the large pile of wood aflame on the pebbly sand up ahead. Genie noticed us first, Bobby predictably by her side.

  “You came!” Genie grinned, already sounding a little tipsy.

  “Of course we came!” I laughed at her, throwing my arms around her.

  We hugged and danced a little then looked around.

  “Everyone came early,” Genie giggled. “We were all excited to get things going. There’s dancing over there next to Greg’s car, and the booze is over there in the tree line. Didn’t want to attract too much attention to ourselves...”

  Her giggle cut off the rest of her words.

  “Where are the marshmallows,” Clarence demanded in a playful voice. “You promised me marshmallows.”

  “By the fire, Pretty Boy!”

  “Would you like to come with me?” he asked me, his eyes hopeful.

  “I could eat,” I agreed and waved my fingers at Genie before Clarence took my hand again and we went to the fire.

  When we got to the table, legs buried a few inches into the sand, Clarence looked at the feast and his eyes lit up.

  “Of all the things, I missed food the most,” he whispered as he picked up a fluffy marshmallow and shoved it in his mouth whole.