He thought about it. "No," he answered.
"So why does she matter?"
"Because when she found out what I was, what Marcus and I were, she accused me of…"
"Forcing her." Karyn remembered what she said to him a month ago and how insulted and upset he looked. Feeling horrible about her choice in words, she got up from her desk and stood next to him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him. He seemed to take comfort in her touch and held her close, rubbing the soft skin of her forearm with his hand.
"El isuahuus ol," she said apologizing softly in his ear. Karyn could actually feel his pain. It made her whole body hurt.
"Why did she say that about you?"
He closed his eyes as he felt everything over again.
"I saw them kissing one day." It was the day before a tremendous storm hit the town. It might have been a tornado with all the damage it did. It nearly wiped Love off the map.
It was late in the evening when they went into town for supplies. Julia was closing up her father's shop because he was sick. Very industrious, Julia was, but he and his brother stopped by at the last minute to get some extra supplies for the ranch.
He left Marcus inside while he was loading up some of the things they bought. It couldn't have been more than five minutes. But a lot could be done in five minutes.
When he turned around, he saw them in the storefront window passionately kissing. She never kissed Malcolm that way. Eagerly. Wantonly. Electrically. Exploring and tasting with her tongue. Touching his brother in ways that she normally blushed at.
Malcolm turned back around as their kiss ended and his brother came back a few moments later on cloud nine. He was too spellbound to notice Malcolm's dark mood on the way back home. And then the storm hit the very next day wiping out most of the community. Malcolm's ranch had somehow taken on very little damage, but a huge tree fell on the path that led from his home to the town, blocking the way. They didn't get to see Julia until a few days later when an angry mob came to kill them.
Julia also had a brother, Raymond. He was only eleven years old but he was known to be the biggest snoop in the town. He was hiding in the store when Marcus kissed Julia and heard him tell her about being Vamfir. He told some of his brainless friends, who then told their parents, who all of a sudden could remember each and every thing that he and his brother had ever done differently from the rest of them. The most damning thing was getting supplies to protect their home right before a major storm destroyed all of theirs.
They now weren't just vampires. They were demons. Apparently, God brought the storm as a sign that they should be killed.
Julia was drug out of her home early that morning in nothing but her nightgown. ‘Demons' Whore' they called her. And John Lovegood's store was completely destroyed and burned to the ground. They never bothered to check if he was in it.
They bound Julia's hands and drug her through the woods towards the ranch. Their intention was to murder all three of them together and they tried to ambush the two brothers while they were trying to get past that huge tree in the woods.
Everything was chaos. People who he thought were his friends became enemies. Malcolm rubbed his shoulder were he was hit with a buckshot. Thaddeus Winters held the gun. He used to like Thaddeus. He was a skinny twenty-year-old who just took on a wife, and joked a lot. He was dependable, though, and took care of his blind mother and family, but Marcus killed him. None of the townspeople were prepared for Vamfir fighting tactics.
Vamfir move faster, heal quicker, fight harder. Men were maimed, throats were ripped, and a lot of blood was spilled. The liquids in their saliva were hormonally based. The Angels designed them that way. Aggression could put enough poison in their fangs to kill forty men, if needed.
Julia, bound as she was, had no choice but to watch everything. To listen to the screams and shouts of mercy. She couldn't walk anymore. Her feet had been cut and blistered from walking miles already without any shoes to protect them. When everything was over, both Malcolm and Marcus went to her. He personally cut the ropes from her wrists. But something happened to her inside.
Marcus picked her up, but she demanded to be let down.
"Lalid." Malcolm winced as his brother said it. "You can't walk like this. Let me carry you."
But she was scared. She may have even felt guilty with all that happened, Malcolm could see that now. She had lived a small-town life and hadn't known what being a ‘vampire' meant. Now she had been exposed, and not to the most pleasant side either. The trauma of her ordeal broke her.
"You're monsters," she said backing away from them. Never mind that the real monsters were the human beings who drug her out of bed and destroyed her home.
Malcolm quickly wiped the blood from his face, but his brother who had always been everyone's favorite, could not comprehend the rejection. He had done what he needed to do to in order to protect his life and hers. He thought she would understand.
Yet she continued to back away in fear. Marcus had been too sheltered under Oleqehiis' and Pamiaqeh's care. Julia was his lalid. She should have loved him unconditionally and he reached out for her.
"You're an animal," she spat out at him. "And you forced me," she said turning to Malcolm.
Marcus hadn’t realized that Malcolm had slept with her already and his fangs let down once more, this time out of his own jealousy. He was still a virgin.
"I've never forced myself on a woman, Julia. You came to me." He'd been on his porch late at night and she had snuck out of her father's home to come to him after another one of those compelling dreams.
"No! You were in my head," she cried. "You seduced me. You bit me. You made me a demon's whore!" she continued to scream backing up farther and farther. She tripped and fell, her head hitting a large rock on the ground. Just like that, Julia was dead and neither he nor Marcus were the same again.
Karyn realized what it was that he was telling her. He had spent his whole life trying to be like his brother and when that didn't work, he tried to be human. He never felt accepted. He never felt loved. And linked to her or not, he didn't want to tell her the meaning of what he was because he thought she would see him as Julia had. He thought she would never love him.
"You're not a monster, Malcolm. And I do love you." she said trying to ease his pain.
She brought her lips to his. "I really do love you Melkonyeh...Ilyan...Viaironyoseh...Asiit...Xariadnit," she whispered between kisses.
When had she learned to speak his true name? He kissed her back, grateful for the lusciousness of her lips. Loving the slight sweet taste of her mouth. Sugar, he thought briefly. His lalid was as sweet as sugar, and he couldn't get enough of her. He pulled her closer to him and she settled between his outstretched legs, her breasts pressed up against his chest, his erection trapped against her belly.
His hands wandered over her exquisite body attempting once more to savor the feel of her. The buttons of her blouse were removed and he peeled away both sides of her shirt. She was held by was red lace this time, the pattern a nice bright tattoo against her brown skin. It made his blood boil even hotter and he nearly destroyed it as he roughly took it off of her. He put his mouth against her nipple and began to lick and suck.
Karyn arched into his mouth as she felt the cord of passion tighten everything from the tip of her tit straight down to her clitoris. A savage pull where every time his tongue circled against her, she could feel herself pulse and her hips jump.
She needed him, she thought, as she managed to find the buttons on his pants and the zipper. She couldn't take it any more, she needed him so badly.
Karyn reached in and pulled his length free. The head of him was silken and smooth and slightly wet at the tip. He needed her too.
"Karyn, I love you," he said to her. Malcolm trembled as she touched him. "Oldi lunez lalid. I need to show you."
"No," she replied huskily.
"No?"
"No." She did not want to lie down. She pushed his head
away from her breast. She pushed him back flat against her desk. She hoped the desk would hold as she crawled on top of him. It wasn't as big as the one in his office. She could hear the cheap metal creak as she straddled him and pulled her skirt up. Dammit though, she forgot about her goddamn drawers.
No problem. Malcolm tore them off with his large hands and pulled her closer to his heat. She savored it for a moment. He felt so delicious against her hand, but absolutely exquisite against the slick folds of her pussy as she rubbed herself against his shaft.
And then she positioned herself. She put her hands against his chest while he grabbed her hips. Her skirt fell back down as she impaled herself on his dick.
She looked just like she did at the Jewell House, Malcolm thought. Her topless breasts pointed straight up as she arched her back. Her head hung back in pleasure. She had that look of pure bliss that he always loved to see on her. He was proud he could give her that look, he thought, while her body greedily squeezed the life out of his cock.
Ride it, he said. Ride it all you want, lalid. It's yours.
He thrust upwards, deeper into the swallow of her cunt. She thrust back accepting more and more of him, until the bottom of her ass nestled against his balls.
This woman was everything to him. She was his Heaven. She was his Earth. She was his home.
"I need more of you. Please...I want more."
He thrust harder inside giving her everything she wanted. He thrust faster giving her everything she needed. Showing her how much he loved her. She started to quake around him as her body continued to slam against his with her lust.
I want all of you, Malcolm. I WANT ALL OF YOU.
The force of her thoughts snaked through him wrapping around his heart and his groin. Tightening everything just so until he had to lose control.
He grabbed her wrist and bit her. His fangs pushed inside her body, flooding her blood with hormones while his penis flooded her snatch with his seed.
She found her release as well crying out into the dark. The storm that had continued to rage outside had caused the lights to disappear. Karyn collapsed on top of Malcolm, her mind going comfortably black. He licked the wound that he made as he held her until his world went black too.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Marcus opened his eyes first.
Karyn was still lying next to him in his bed. He loved the way she slept with her arm covering his huge chest and her leg tucked between his thighs. She loved him and he felt absolutely fantastic.
While they were making love in her training room, the storm outside had grown wilder. They decided to come to his apartment because her house was too far to drive to in the heavy rain. Heathens they may be, but daredevils they were not, and Sparkman was notorious for its share of car accidents. Bad luck to tempt fate.
Malcolm had helped her with her clothing fastening her bra, her blouse, and her coat before they left the building and came back home. His answering machine flashed with a few messages, but he decided not to check them. They weren't important to him. Nothing was more important to him than getting his lalid back in bed. It didn't take much to convince her that it was the best place to ride out the storm.
But his phone rang and he looked at the clock. It wasn't late yet but who in hell was calling right now? Not very many people had his number. Only a few people at work and Alistair. He tried to give the number to his sister but she was too pigheaded to take it.
"You should answer that," Karyn said sleepily.
"I don't want to." He turned over to her. He didn't feel like being bothered with the world outside anymore. "All I want to do is lay here with you next to me."
She would have made love to him again right there, but the phone continued to ring jarring her senses. No one waited this long for an answer if it wasn't urgent. She picked his cell phone up for him, and flipped it open.
"It's Veronique," she said studying the name.
Malcolm let out an annoyed sigh as he took it from her.
She wondered briefly who Veronique was and then realized it was his sister. She should learn to control her jealousy, she thought. She should learn to trust him.
She shouldn't compare him to others. Malcolm was unique. Not just in being a vampire but also in how he treated her. He acted as if she was special. He acted as if her happiness was more important than his own. His needs were always there, but he truly never accepted pleasure from her without giving her what she wanted first.
But curse her mind because it brought up the fact that, like Julia, she didn't know anything about what being Vamfir meant.
She didn't know anything about his culture. She knew very little about his family. She didn't even know anything basic like his biology.
What if he ever got sick? Could she even help him? Certainly, she wouldn't be able to take him to a doctor because no one could ever know that he was different. A life full of secrets. She loved Malcolm, but she didn't like these secrets.
She lay down and watched him as he spoke on the phone with his sister. She wondered what they were saying to each other. They spoke Vamrhys so fast that it was difficult to discern what they were saying. She only had a basic understanding in her mind. She could only pick out bits and pieces of it. Something to do with their brother. Marcus. Run away. Help?
"Okay. I'm coming, Ronnie." Malcolm closed his phone and let out another long sigh.
"What's wrong with your brother?" she asked. He was so tense his muscles were bunching up. Not a good sign.
"I told you he was sick," he said.
"Yes," she nodded. "With ARS."
Frankly, she wished he hadn't told her. She knew Marcus' ability to sort right from wrong was being shut down by the virus. It wasn't his fault. Still, she didn't like knowing how close she came to being around someone so dangerous. And no one could know. More secrets. How could she live with them all?
"He escaped from the house again. I have to go find him."
"Well now, didn't I tell you everything would be alright?" said Alistair. "Your brother is coming. We'll find Marcus. Everything is going to be okay."
Nothing he said made Veronique feel better. Once again, he was talking down to her. Patronizing her.
She knew she was a total failure. She was supposed to keep Marcus safe. But what did she do instead? She nearly let that daca, Alistair, in her pants.
She looked at him. What was she thinking? Okay, so he was handsome. But curly brown hair and piercing blue eyes were nothing to lose her dignity over.
It must be the weather, she thought. The lightning flashes, the howling wind, the steady thumping of rainfall making her heart beat furiously fast, well, it was all too dramatic. That must be the reason why she let him kiss her. Caught up in the drama of it all.
Had she checked on Marcus like she intended, he would have never broken the door down. She knew letting Alistair in her house was an omen for trouble.
He must have heard that last thought...and resented it.
"What's done is done," he growled. Then he put his voice back into check. "And it was just a mistake. My girl will understand."
"Who?"
"My girlfriend." He actually had the nerve to smile. "Good thing she's not the jealous type. When I tell her about this she'll probably think it was funny how I was so horny for her I almost did it with you. We don't even like each other, now do we?"
''No," said Veronique. It was the truth because right now not only did she not like him, she was considering killing him.
Karyn wanted to stay with Malcolm but he said it was too dangerous. The storm was much worse than it had been earlier and his brother was too deranged. He could never forgive himself if anything happened to her. He wanted her to be safe so he took her home.
"If it's so dangerous, why can't you just call the police or something? Wouldn't they be better at finding your brother?” But Karyn knew as soon as she said it that it was impossible.
Malcolm had told her about the disease, the ARS. He described it as a sort of v
irus that worked in reverse. With a normal illness if a person got sick he or she would get weaker. But with this disease, even though there were some side effects like light sensitivity and continuous pain, the sick person actually became stronger. It was because the disease rewrote DNA, specifically in the person's nerves, muscles and hormonal glands. Everything was enhanced.
Super-strength. Not a bad deal for most people. "So what's the problem?" she had asked him.
The problem was that in the disease's final stages, it rewired the brain as well. Creating new synapses while destroying the old. All the new ones were hardwired to the more reptilian parts of the brain, while there were dead links, and in some places literally holes, in the parts that controlled logic. He had the ability to get angry enough to kill and so he did.
But despite what he had done, if Marcus went to jail then everyone would know about the Vamfir. They'd be hunted to no end and treated like animals. It was best to find him as quickly as possible, and put him someplace where he could never hurt another soul.
"Promise me you'll be okay." She kissed him once again as he got her inside her house. "I love you."
"I love you, too" he said going back out into the rain.
Karyn headed toward the kitchen. Fear and worry made her stomach growl. She hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday either. She went into her pantry and found a huge bag of Krunch-ems. She tore it open, pulled out a few chips, and put them in her mouth.
The thunderstorm was getting louder and the lightning outside was a blur against the windows. She would go into her den in a minute, just to be safe. Sparkman storms tended to have worse bark than bite, but it was early in the morning and the tornadoes in this part of the country tended to be attracted to early mornings. She didn't want to be surprised. Her whole week had been full of surprises and she didn't think she could take anymore.
The phone rang all of a sudden startling her. She was too paranoid, she told herself picking it up.
"Karyn, sweetie, I've been calling you all night. Are you alright?"
Karyn let out a long breath. "I'm fine, Tracey." She took a few moments to put another chip in her mouth. "What are you doing calling me? It's late."
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