by Jade White
Kim laughed. “Of course. Who doesn’t like Italy?” She paused. “Why do you ask?”
“I have family there,” he said casually.
Family? Kim tried to imagine a vampire family reunion. Would they have a punch bowl filled with blood? Would they hunt animals together instead of race in potato sacks?
Luke seemed to know her train of thought. “We don’t get together and perform rituals or anything,” he said with a wry smile. “It’s very tame. No fistfights, either.”
Kim blushed and put her hands over her face. “I’m sorry.”
When Luke spoke again, there was no sarcasm. “It’s okay. I know you probably don’t meet a lot of vampires in your spare time.” He moved toward her and pulled her hands from her face; Kim’s skin tingled even when he pulled his own hands back. “I brought you something.”
Luke fished in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, grinning triumphantly when Kim looked at him in astonishment.
“He let you pick it up?”
Luke’s smile faltered a little. “Well. I kind of...had to persuade him.” His eyes widened at the look of alarm on her face, and he rushed to explain. “Nothing violent! It wasn’t even technically illegal.”
“Technically?” Kim squeaked. Her stomach started to knot together again.
“I just...used a little of my influence,” Luke said hesitantly. “That light magic we vampires have. I convinced him this car was actually mine...and that I’d already paid for it.” He seemed to be withering under Kim’s glare. “All vampires do it. It’s harmless, as long as the humans don’t get hurt.”
He looked so unsure of himself that the anger that had been mounting immediately receded. “It’s okay,” she said finally. Kim held her hand out for the keys. “I guess I have some stuff to get used to if we’re going to make this work. Sit down, will you?”
Luke took a seat on the couch, still looking around. The top button on his black dress shirt was undone, revealing a stretch of pale, creamy skin that Kim knew was as smooth as it looked. He took his hands out of his crisply pressed jean pockets. “Where’s the baby?”
Kim sat next to him feeling incredibly under-dressed. “With Daisy, my sister-in-law.”
Luke looked surprised. “She’s looking after him by herself?”
“Well, not exactly. She runs a daycare, and she has two assistants. Her daycare has a few vampire children, so I knew she could handle them.”
“I hope she can,” Luke said darkly. “Baby vampires can be a handful, even little ones. They don’t know how to control their influence magic, so they can get into trouble – making their caretakers give them things they’re not supposed to have, convincing them to let them out of the house…” He trailed off, apparently too overwhelmed by the remaining possibilities to continue listing.
A sliver of unease threaded its way through Kim’s brain. “She’s been looking after vampire babies for a few years now,” she said. “Do you think that’s enough?”
Luke frowned. “Probably. I mean, it’s really likely – I guess I’m just being a little cautious because….”
“Because it’s your child,” Kim finished for him. She moved toward him on the couch, not stopping until their legs were touching. It would have seemed overly-intimate with anyone else, but their bond seemed to be quickly making all affectionate acts feel like second nature.
Luke’s eyes were shining, and his voice was slightly unsteady when he spoke. “Yeah,” he said. “Wow. I have a kid.” He turned to her and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close enough that she could feel his breath on her ear. “We have a kid.”
Kim smiled, but there was something stirring in the back of her mind that wouldn’t let her fully accept her fuzzy new reality. It was lurking behind her thoughts, persistent but always just out of reach, like a gnat buzzing around a kitchen. It took her a full minute to realize the problem: Suzanna’s words were rolling around her head, knocking into all of her good, warm feelings.
Most vampires jump at the chance to get involved with humans.
But what if that was just a stereotype? Kim resisted putting stock in stereotypes, and the act had definitely made her life better, for the most part. She had a diverse group of friends, an eclectic taste in food and music, and more than a handful of memorable stories that never failed to keep people hanging on her every word. Part of the practice was her trademark stubbornness, and the other had come from her upbringing.
Though both of her parents worked all their lives, Kim and her family had remained solidly lower class. Kim herself had barely reached the middle class bracket, and a lifetime of being treated like she was going to end up barefoot, pregnant, and without a high school diploma had instilled a need to constantly throw a middle finger toward anyone’s expectations and break every single mold they tried to place around her. Mama didn’t raise a fool, she thought.
But her stubbornness had undoubtedly landed her in a few spots of trouble. Her first visit to New York saw her $200 poorer the first night, because she refused to take the main streets to her friend’s house; she rushed into a relationship that predictably ended in heartbreak for her and a night in a jail cell for him; and, most tellingly, she’d gotten pregnant from a one-night stand because she’d forgone a condom, refusing to believe the rumors of “super fertile” vampires, even when it appeared on a National Geographic Special.
Luke cocked his head, some of his black hair spilling over one eye. “Hey. Are you okay? You seem distracted.” He held out a hand and made to touch her forehead, but stopped a few inches away from her skin. Kim shivered even though he hadn’t touched her, feeling as though he’d run a fingernail down her spine.
“Your aura feels a little upset,” he said.
Kim’s mouth dropped open. “You can read my moods? That’s not fair!” And it’s a little intrusive.
Luke chuckled. “You can read mine, too, with practice.” He paused, looking at her carefully. “But that’s for later. What’s bothering you? Is it about me?”
Kim hesitated. I don’t want to upset him, especially if this is just me and Suzanna being jumpy. He can’t read my mind, can he?
She decided to lie. “Remember that bruise I got yesterday?”
Luke nodded, looking slightly confused.
Kim pushed the sleeve of her robe up and showed him her forearm. “It disappeared. After only a couple of hours.”
Luke’s eyes widened so quickly Kim thought they would pop out of his head. “What the fuck?” He seized her arm and brought it close to his face, eyes scanning her skin for any trace of the blemish.
Wow, she thought nervously. That’s not the reaction I expected.
“You didn’t put anything on it?” He demanded. “Creams, lotions, a heating pad? Anything?”
“No,” Kim said. She pulled her arm back, regarding him warily. “I don’t get why you’re so freaked out. This is just a side effect of the bond, right?”
Luke pressed his lips together tightly. “Probably,” he allowed. “But it’s still weird. Just like the strength of the bond itself. Neither of these things happen before at least one bite.”
Luke’s face was painted with worry. Kim wasn’t sure if she was happy lying; it certainly threw him off the scent of what had really been bothering her, but now she was worried about two things.
She forced herself to smile. “We’ll chalk it up to a mystery. I’m sure it’s not a big deal.”
Luke bit his lip. “I don’t know. Maybe it was fluke this time. Maybe it just looked worse than it actually was. Maybe it won’t-- where are you going?”
Kim had stood and began to walk toward her kitchen. “Those are a lot of maybes. Let’s do an experiment, shall we?”
She pulled open her cutlery drawer and took out a steak knife. She heard Luke’s footsteps move into the kitchen at the same time the blade bit into the skin of her forearm.
“Kim!”
Luke’s blinding speed wasn’t fast enough to stop her. Kim had made one qui
ck slice on top of her arm in the time it took him to cross her kitchen. She watched the blood well up in the space of the four-inch cut, forming a neat line for a moment before slowly oozing toward her elbow.
“Why?” Luke asked angrily. He grabbed a roll of paper towels and tore some off, holding them to her cut a little harder than was necessary. Kim was surprised to see that he was livid – his hands shook somewhat as he pressed the paper towels to her skin, meaning a few drops splashed to the floor. She was even more surprised to find that she could feel his anger on him, like a heat wave rolling off his body. That must be his aura, she realized. I can read it.
“I think it’s going to be okay,” Kim said slowly. “It’s not that deep. Besides, now we can see how fast it heals.” She looked at him closely. “You know. Like an experiment.”
Luke’s nostrils were flaring, and he was looking away from her. He didn’t respond.
Damn it. “Luke, I’m sorry. I guess I’m impulsive sometimes.” She pressed her hand on top of his and fought to make eye contact. “I’m going to be fine, though. I’m sorry if I freaked you out.”
His silence started to chip at her confidence, but instead of feeling fear, she started to feel anger, too. “Talk to me. Answer me. Don’t act like a fucking baby, okay? I already have one of those.”
Luke finally raised his gaze to hers. “I know you’re going to be fine. I’m a vampire, Kim. You spill blood around me it’s going to get uncomfortable. I’m sorry that I don’t have time to explain this, but I’m focusing pretty hard on not shoving my tongue into that wound.”
She felt like she’d been plunged into a pool full of ice. “I....I’m sorry. I didn’t think.” And it was true – she’d almost forgotten vampires drank blood at all, because they tended to do it in the privacy of their own homes, or from discrete stainless steel flasks and water bottles when they were in public. Shame rushed in to mingle with her shock. Stupid, rash, impulsive idiot.
Kim pulled her arm away from him and walked back into the living room, trying not to let the prickle of tears build any more. She sat on the couch and stared at the floor, carefully avoiding eye contact as Luke came back into the room.
“You can go,” she said softly. “Thank you for bringing my car.”
Luke stood still, watching her for what seemed like half an hour. Then he sighed and walked toward the door, every step feeling like a punch in Kim’s gut.
Why does he make me feel this way? Why do I feel everything so intensely?”
She felt weight drop next to her on the couch. She looked to the left to find Luke beside her, grey eyes swimming with regret.
“I’m...not myself around you,” he began. “When I came here, I was planning on being more detached… and then I actually saw you, and it was like some wall started to crumble inside me. It’s scary and uncomfortable...and it’s uncomfortable partly because it’s not as scary as it should be.”
Kim frowned. “What?”
Luke laughed and put his hands over his eyes, his voice a little manic. “God. What I mean is this: there’s fear, but there’s also exhilaration and affection and desire. Those are all looming a lot larger in my mind. They’re more important.”
He turned to her, voice full of contention. “I was angry at first because of the blood thing. For the first two seconds, that’s all I was thinking about. Then I touched you, and everything shifted inside me. I still wanted you. Needed you, even. But it has nothing to do with your blood.”
His grey eyes were teeming with emotion, and the weight of his gaze sent a slow shiver down her spine.
“I was angry because this has never happened to me before. I’ve bonded before – with humans and a vampire--but it was never like this. I don’t ever feel like this, for anyone, especially when I also want blood. Vampires are still primal in that way...food first, everything else second. But…” he grappled for words, “this isn’t me. Not the me I’m used to.” He looked at her, more lost than she’d ever seen him. “Why am I this way?”
Kim’s heart was racing, and the answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t dare speak it. This is love. This is a love bond, idiot. You’re in love with me. That’s what you’re feeling.
She couldn’t bring herself to say it – maybe because of the same fear he was having. “Maybe it has something to do with the baby,” she said finally. “It all started with the baby, didn’t it?”
Luke looked a little suspicious as he spoke. “I guess,” he said slowly.
Wow, can he read dishonesty in my aura? Does dishonesty have a flavor, or a sensation?
“Look,” she said, not wanting to add to his stress. “I’m having a lot of the same issues. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, either. And I’m not the type to pursue anyone, for any reason, let alone romantic ones. You know how out of character it was for me to demand you give this a chance?”
Luke chuckled. “Really? You seem pretty accustomed to strong-arming people. My friends thought so, too. Especially Anton. He’s a tough bastard, you know.” He paused. “Awfully nice, of course. But he had a point; you were a little abrasive when he first met you.”
Kim ignored the blush she felt coloring her cheeks and continued. “Well, yeah. I don’t like when people tell me what to do. Or when I'm kept in the dark. Or when I don't seem to have a say in something...but it really comes down to wanting to control everything, and destroying things when I can't. That’s why relationships don’t work for me,” she admitted, a bitter taste in her mouth. “Each one lasted no more than eight months, and half of them ended because of disasters I set in motion. Because I got flustered and tired of trying. The entire concept of a relationship is ridiculous. Getting to know people is often so painful and messy that it hardly seems worth it.” She realized something at the same moment she said it. “It’s why I do one night stands – not because I’m some enlightened next-generation woman in charge of her sexuality. It’s because things are hard, and people are dangerous.”
Luke’s expression had changed. “But not vampires?”
Kim smiled. “Well, not all vampires. But I don’t think I had a choice this time. Neither of us did.”
He was still gazing at her with an odd mix of emotions. “I feel happy that you convinced me to give this a chance. But is it the bond? Am I enjoying this, or is it all a side effect?”
Kim shook her head as he spoke. “No philosophy,” she warned. “You woke me up from a deep sleep, and I’m still not sure I’m all here. Let’s just deal with the present.” Kim snuggled closer to him and was pleased to find that his aura had relaxed; it was still warm, but not scorching – a bubble bath instead of a fire.
Luke slipped an arm around her, his eyes finally shining with happiness again. “Okay. Let’s put that away for now.”
Kim pressed her face into the curve of his neck and kissed him gently. “Mmhmm.”
It seemed that the more she touched him, the more relaxed her body became; she couldn’t even bring herself to protest as he tilted her chin upward and pressed his lips to hers. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t brushed her teeth or combed her hair or showered yet – all Kim cared about was running her hands over his body and wrapping her legs around his waist as he made love to her.
Luke unbelted her robe and pulled it from her shoulders, planting soft kisses on her collarbone as he pulled it off her body completely. Kim threw her head back as he shifted the fabric of her tank top and lowered his mouth to her nipple, sending bolts of pleasure racing through her body as he teased her erect nipple with the tip of his tongue. His other hand pushed her to recline on the couch, and Kim shimmied out of her shorts before spreading her legs for him.
Luke knelt between her legs, eyes burning with desire as he unbuckled his own belt and pushed his jeans down. His cock sprang free, already hardened and slick with precum, and he tore off his t-shirt almost as an afterthought. Kim shivered as his eyes moved over her nude body, and she realized for the first time that none of the insecurities that normally
preoccupied her mattered to her right then; she didn’t care that her thighs were thick, or that one breast was slightly bigger than the other, or even that her stomach wasn’t perfectly flat. She was used to being compared to others and coming up unfavorably-- sometimes in real life, sometimes in her own mind. Because she had the habit of dating the wrong men, she was also used to being used and thrown away like trash. Luke’s expression told her that none of this mattered to him. His eyes told her that she was a treasure--one that he’d gladly give up anything else for.
Is it the bond? Does it make me more appealing to him?
Before her mind could form an answer, Luke lowered himself over her body and pressed the head of his cock against her dripping opening.
Kim didn’t wait for him to make the first move. She wrapped her thighs around his waist and tilted her pelvis up, pulling him inside her in one swift motion.
“Oh!” Luke sighed against her neck. “Oh, my God.”
Kim slowly ground her hips against him, savoring his thickness as it pulsed inside her. His hips started to rock in rhythm with hers, sliding out a little further each time, until he was pulling almost all the way out and rushing back inside her slick walls. He watched her face as he stroked, the gold sparkling in his grey eyes as they moved over her features.
“How did you get more beautiful than yesterday?” he asked softly. The words should have sounded forced and cheesy, but they were raw and genuine as he spoke them. He ran a thumb over her bottom lip and pushed himself inside her a little harder to punctuate his sentence. “Maybe you do have a little magic in you, hm?”
Kim couldn’t find the words to answer him, so she responded by opening her mouth to draw his thumb inside; she was delighted to feel him shiver in response to the sensation of her tongue rolling around his finger. Her hips were moving in sync with his as he dove so deeply into her that he brushed lightly against her cervix, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her body.
Luke’s skin was almost glowing, it seemed. Is it the bond? Am I glowing, too?
