by Rose Haven
THE END
Vampire Romance
Crimson and Cold
Secret Blood Gate World Series Book Two
Natalia Hunter
Vampire Romance: Crimson and Cold
Chapter One
When Levi pulled Eliza’s car into her apartment complex, her pulse moved so quickly that her veins seemed to hum. Lately, her heart had been beating like that quite a bit. Levi had that effect on her. Although since she was now part vampire—her heart was actually beating slower. But it didn’t feel that way. Levi made her feel more alive, even though technically—she was more dead.
As if he could sense her nerves, he turned up Mamie Smith’s Crazy Blues on the radio, and Eliza closed her eyes and tried to let the melody calm her. Levi shared Eliza’s passion for vintage blues and jazz, but unlike Eliza, he had a perfectly good reason for liking older music. He was old enough to have actually heard some of the greats play. But at three hundred years old, he didn’t look a day over thirty.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?” Levi asked.
“I really don’t see how that would help. What would I say? ‘Hey sis, I know I disappeared from the hospital and called you and told you I was in trouble and then didn’t show up again for two days…and this is the guy I was banging while you worried.’”
After he pulled into a parking spot he reached over and tucked a piece of Eliza’s frizzy hair behind her ear. She hadn’t put on make-up or straightened her hair in days. How could he look at her with such adoration? On the other hand, he looked perfect at all times. Vampires had less pigment than the living and his hair and skin were both light, but his hazel eyes made up for the otherwise cold appearance. Undead or not, his eyes overflowed with life and warmth.
She smiled back at him, biting her lip as she tried to keep herself from crawling on top of him again as they sat in the parking lot. She was a grown woman with desires, but they had never been this insatiable. Before Levi, sex had consisted of a few moments of pleasure but was mostly just sweaty and awkward. She spent most of her time wondering how much longer it would take and about all the things she would have to do afterward.
With Levi it had been nearly the opposite. She had been so engrossed in the present that she had forgotten things far more important than the petty things she used to worry about during sex. It went from, “I wonder what I’ll make for breakfast tomorrow?” and “Did I forget to turn in lab notes?” to forgetting to call her sister and father for two days—two days mostly spent naked with her legs wrapped around Levi.
“I just need to get it over with,” Eliza said. “Maybe she’ll understand. She falls in love with a new guy every weekend and usually ditches me to go home with him, so she should understand. Really, considering this is the only time I’ve done it to her, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“I’m sorry,” Levi said. “I should have reminded you to call home. I just…wasn’t thinking about that.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
Levi leaned in and kissed her, holding her jaw gently in his strong hand. Their lips fit so perfectly together that kissing was as easy as breathing…probably easier than breathing, at least when she was around him. He sucked her bottom lip gently before pulling back and Eliza felt a little rush in her abdomen. She’d made Rachelle wait this long, what were a few more minutes? She could lean his seat back down and crawl on top of him. Then only a few layers of clothes would stand between him and her. She could have him inside her within thirty seconds if she was determined.
No! Pull yourself together, Eliza.
Eliza let out a long breath. Her cheeks burned hot and she adjusted her bra against her alert nipples. She put her hand on the door handle and then paused.
“I know it sounds silly,” she said. “But I’m still a little worried that you’re some kind of brain damage delusion. If I go back into the real world…what if I can’t find you again? Maybe I wandered into the Gate World by accident and I won’t be able to find by way back?”
“I doubt that,” he said, leaning close enough that a tingle went up her ear. “But if you can’t find me…I’ll find you.”
“That’s sweet.”
“I know your scent, so I can track you.”
“And…now it’s creepy,” she said nudging him with her elbow playfully. “Okay. Okay. Okay. I really am leaving now. I’ll see you soon.”
She wanted to kiss him one more time but didn’t trust herself to get out of the car if she did. So instead she gave his cold hand one final squeeze and jumped out of the car without looking back.
Chapter Two
Rachelle opened the door before Eliza could even reach for her keys. Although one hundred percent human, it seemed like Rachelle could smell her too. As twins, they’d had a “sixth sense” about each other for their whole lives. Even still, Eliza doubted that Rachelle had “sensed” anything about where she had been the past few days. No human could ever guess that.
Before Eliza could say anything, Rachelle flung herself at her and wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug. Eliza winced. As a half-dead, her bones healed quickly, but she had still been in a major car accident and survived multiple vampire attacks. Her poor ribs had already been broken and healed a few too many times.
Rachelle sobbed into Eliza’s ear, which made her feel even guiltier than she already did.
“Thank you, God. Thank you, God,” Rachelle repeated.
Rachelle finally released Eliza so she could examine her, but they continued to clasp forearms. In comparison to Levi’s whitest of white skin, the transformation hadn’t been as noticeable, but now she could see how much she had changed. With their arms pressed together, Eliza could see how much darker Rachelle’s skin was than hers. They had shared the same café au lait skin tone before the accident, but now a heaping dose of extra milk had been added to Eliza’s. Even vampires with dark skin looked lighter than their human counterparts.
Fortunately, Rachelle didn’t seem to notice the strange transformation, or if she did she attributed it to the mystery illness that had made her sister lose her mind. Rachelle seemed to be examining every inch of Eliza’s skin, or at least it felt that way to the nervous Eliza. Rachelle even brushed Eliza’s hair off her neck revealing the skin that had been ripped apart by a vampire only days ago. Her half-dead powers of healing had saved her from bleeding to death, and had turned the gaping wound into nothing but a thin pink scar.
“What happened to you?” Rachelle asked in a breathy tone. “I thought you were dead.” Her voice cracked on the last word and she brought her hands to her mouth to catch a sob.
Well, you’re half right.
“I’m so sorry,” Eliza said, meaning every syllable. “I shouldn’t have made you worry.”
“I don’t understand. Where were you?”
Rachelle took her hand and pulled her inside. Eliza suddenly felt oddly empty handed and she remembered that she was still wearing the change of clothes her sister had brought her at the hospital. She hadn’t seen her toiletry bag or even a change in underwear for days. Fortunately, she hadn’t been wearing her underwear much lately, so it didn’t really matter…
Eliza sat down on the couch and Rachelle sat with her, still holding her hand. Rachelle’s hand felt so warm compared to Levi’s, and Eliza knew that her skin was cold too. Would Rachelle notice? And if she did notice, what the hell would she say? All Eliza knew was that she didn’t want to go back to the hospital.
“Where were you, Lizzie?” she asked again.
“Well, I told you how I got lost, and that guy was helping me. I’ve been with him.”
Rachelle gaped at her as if waiting for more explanation.
“His name is Levi,” Eliza added…as if that would help.
“What do you mean? Do you understand that it’s been two days since we talked? Did he drug you or something?”
“No.”
“Did you dye your hair?” Rachelle frowned and cocked her head at her, as was she consi
dering this strangest of developments. She dropped Eliza’s hand and reached toward her hairband, presumably to release the frizz explosion.
Eliza swatted her hand away gently, but Rachelle didn’t appreciate the gesture. She scrunched her nose up at her. And Eliza understood why.
Just this morning, Eliza had been lamenting the loss of her hair color. She had her mother’s African hair mixed with her father’s Irish red. It was unique and multi-dimensional, and she loved it. Her and Rachelle were not identical twins, but they did share the same coloring. Or they used to…
“So…let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Rachelle said, shifting away from her. “You spent the last two days just hanging out in some random stranger’s house. But somewhere along the way, you found the time to stop at the salon and get highlights? Seriously, what the fuck, Liz?”
“I want to explain,” Eliza said, and so she did. Ever since they had been kids, Rachelle and Eliza shared everything. When it came to romance, Rachelle had a lot more to share, but Eliza shared her infrequent conquests as well. Every crush. Every kiss. She loved her sister in a deep, enduring way that she doubted any man would ever top. And now she had just met the most amazing man she had ever known, and had experiences that made the rest of her life seem dull and colorless. Not telling her sister every detail went against every instinct she had.
“I guess I fell in love,” Eliza said. “Well, it might be too soon to say love. But I definitely fell for him. Hard.”
“What are you saying?”
Eliza thought she was being pretty clear. “It was…you know…love at first sight.” She wasn’t explaining this well enough. How could she? “So I just stayed with him. I was so engrossed that I didn’t realize how much time had passed. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
“I thought you were dead,” Rachelle said again, but this time her voice didn’t break on “dead”. Instead her tone became hard and the word “dead” hit Eliza like a punch to the gut. “And your excuse is that you fell in love? Is he the one who convinced you to ruin your hair?”
Even though Eliza didn’t appreciate the involuntary lightening either, she had to admit that stung.
“This isn’t like you,” Rachelle continued. “It sounds more like something I would do. But you know what…I wouldn’t. I might become infatuated too fast and run off with guys, but I don’t pull stunts like this. No matter what guys come along, this is the most important thing.” When she said “this” she gestured back and forth between the two of them. “How could you do this to me? Oh my God, and Dad! I have to call Dad.”
Yes, she became infatuated with a guy and forgot to call. Yes, she was insensitive. Yes, she majorly screwed up. But there were also vampires staked out around the house ready to strike as soon as she walked out the door. She had been brutally attacked and would be dead if she had still been full human. Eliza’s eyes burned with tears, while Rachelle seemed to grow colder. She kept shifting away from Eliza more and more, and the look of hurt and disgust on her face was painful.
“I love you, Rachelle. This is the most important thing. You and Dad. It’s just…complicated. And weird. I don’t even know how to explain. I really want to tell you everything.”
Rachelle stood up and threw her hands in the air. The gesture reminded Eliza of their mother even though she hadn’t seen her in a long time. Eliza had vague memories of her mother throwing her hands up like that when the girls were being bad.
“I still don’t get it, Eliza. If you want to tell me everything, then tell me everything! That’s what sisters do. Honestly, I would love to hear something that makes this whole stupid thing make sense. Please explain it to me.”
Eliza rubbed the tears off her cheek and swallowed. How was her face so wet but her throat so dry? “Okay,” Eliza said. “I’ll tell you.”
Rachelle’s green eyes looked like they were about to shoot flames as she waited for Eliza to continue.
“There is no good way to explain this…so I’ll just start talking. After the accident, I changed. My senses became heightened, and I can heal faster. I can also see things that other people can’t. There is this whole other world right on top of our own. They call it the Gate World. The empty fields by the side of the highway are actually filled with houses and people. You just can’t see them.” Wow. This explanation was not sounding very sane. “The only way to gain access to the Gate World is to taste vampire blood. I don’t know when or how that happened, but it must have, because I was infected. I’m not a vampire…it’s called being a half-dead. It means I’m infected with vampirism but I didn’t become a full vampire because I never actually died. Levi is a full vampire.”
Eliza probably should have stopped talking several sentences ago, or she should have kept her mouth shut all together. Rachelle’s eyebrows were raised, but her expression was hard to read. Finally, her face crumpled into sobs again.
“Oh sweetie,” Rachelle said, and she wrapped her arms around Eliza again. The acceptance of her sister was a huge relief…but Eliza sensed that there was a catch coming. “It’s going to be okay. I don’t know what’s wrong, but we’ll get you fixed up. Let’s just go back to the hospital…or maybe I should call an ambulance. If you’re bleeding in the brain, this is probably more of an emergency.” The last few sentences sounded more like her trying to work out her plan with herself, and not directed at Eliza. But Eliza didn’t like the sound of any of it.
“I’m not going back to the hospital,” Eliza said, standing again. Being in a hospital is bad enough for a human, but it’s worse when you have heightened senses. She had to hear every single heartbeat in the wing—including the heartbeats that struggled and then stopped. She had to smell every smell wafting through the halls. And with her unusually low heart rate and body temperature, they would never release her. They wouldn’t know what was wrong with her, but they’d keep her there all the same, waiting forever for her to regain life that she had lost. At least, she assumed it was gone for good. She really didn’t know how this whole thing worked.
Perhaps the desperation and fear triggered the sudden vampire instincts, but she suddenly became very aware of Rachelle’s blood. Yes, she could get her life back. She just had to take it. A life very much like her own thrummed through the body right in front of her. Her mouth watered and she could almost taste the blood on her lips. However, in her vampire senses, it wasn’t the nasty, metallic taste of blood. Now blood seemed like it would taste like warm honey. Eliza licked her teeth unconsciously. No fangs anyway.
Rachelle had her phone now.
“Don’t call 9-1-1,” Eliza said.
“I’m calling Dad,” she said. “I just hope you don’t need any more of our blood. Dad would be happy to give all of his to you, and he’s too old for that. For a second, I thought I might lose him too, he was so weak.”
“Blood?” Eliza asked. Her ears had perked up at the word, like a dog who heard the word “bacon.”
“Dad,” Rachelle said, ignoring Eliza. “She’s here…I know…but before you get too excited, you need to know that I’m taking her back to the hospital…meet me there…yes, the same one.”
“Did I get a blood transfusion?” Eliza asked.
Rachelle took Eliza’s hand again. “Come on,” she said sweetly, ignoring her again. Eliza felt like she was being treated like she was a one hundred year old woman who might fall and break a hip or wander away from home any moment. Of course, given her recent behavior, that seemed like a reasonable concern.
“Blood,” Eliza said again. “I got blood?”
“Yes, of course. You were in a serious accident, Lizzie. You lost a lot of blood. I’m not sure how many pints you got, but both Dad and I donated.”
“Did I get blood from anyone else?”
“Yeah, I mean, the blood bank stuff.”
“That’s it,” Eliza said. “That explains it. There must have been some vampire blood mixed in.”
“Okay, honey,” she said patronizingly. Rachelle pulled on he
r arm a bit harder now.
Eliza knew she wasn’t going to be able to talk her way out of this. The truth certainly hadn’t worked, and she should have never expected it to. Eliza racked her brain, but couldn’t formulate any lie good enough to explain everything that had happened. The only good lie was the one Rachelle already believed—that Eliza had brain damage.
Rachelle tugged on her arm again and Eliza felt cornered. Without even thinking, she sunk her nails into Rachelle’s forearm in defense. It was far too easy to draw blood. Her modest little nails quickly sliced into the skin as if maiming someone was as easy and natural as scratching and itch. Rachelle screamed and Eliza screamed too, horrified at what she had done.
Even as she hated herself, she couldn’t take her eyes off the sweet, bright red blood dripping down her sister’s arm. It reminded her of a shiny candle apple at the carnival. Ripe and decadent.
It was so hard to resist sinking in for a long, deep drink that Eliza felt dizzy. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I can live without it. According to what Levi had told her, this was true. Her vampire tendencies might lead her to crave blood, but since she’s not a full vampire, she doesn’t need blood to sustain herself. She can still survive on human food. Of course, she could also survive on nothing but bread and water, but she didn’t want to. She wanted that red candy apple.
Eliza could only focus on one thing, getting her mouth as far away from her sister’s arm as she could. She held her breath so she couldn’t smell the delicious nectar and ran for the door. With her extra burst of vampire speed, she was out the door and down the steps before she had realized what happened.
Chapter Three
Eliza thought she could still hear Rachelle’s heart beating as she ran down the apartment complex steps. And she could still smell the blood. The smell had seeped into her nostrils and wouldn’t leave. She took a deep breath of refinery-scented air. Her face burned and she could feel her blood coursing through her body.
