by J. E Hanson
Without a second thought, I close my eyes. “They’re closed.”
I never feel him enter the bed. The only thing I can feel is his touch. His hands are rubbing my thighs. To distract him, I notice that he has a large mirror above his bed. “What’s with the mirror?”
I try to keep my fangs from descending.
“The mirrors are there for entertainment purposes,” he answers, surprisingly. Christian leans over me, and I can feel that he wants. There’s a sheet between us, but it’s doing very little to rectify the situation. I gawk at the mirror, and all I can see his back with my face. That’s all it takes, for me to lose control. They click and he can hear them.
His mischievous grin says it all. “I want you, Jeannie. I want you more than you will ever know. You are extremely appetizing this evening, and I will not pass up this opportunity, to tease you a little more.”
The teasing turns into heavy petting. My nightgown magically splits in half, and it’s in pieces across his floor. My legs tightly clench his hips and he moans a little. I kiss his hands and place one of them on my ass for him. The other remains entangled with my hair. My hands clench his hair tightly.
After I flick my tongue over his fangs, he mumbles something unrecognizable. “You are about to lose your chaste, Princess. We need to stop, before we both do something we may regret.”
“You are cruelly torturing me!” I accuse him.
He moves off me, and he gives me one last kiss. “You need your sleep, because tomorrow is an incredibly long day.”
“I can still make love to you though,” I protest.
He jerks the shared blanket over us. “I want your first time to be meaningful. Your first time needs to be magical and great. We also need to have a few more dates.”
“The only thing magical right now, would be what’s between your thighs, and I need it desperately.”
He laughs and throws a pillow at me. “I will wake you up in a few hours, go to sleep.”
I found that perfect spot and wedge myself underneath his arm. The sleep overtakes me. I dream of nothing, but darkness.
~~~***~~~
I feel like I barely fell asleep, when he wakes me up for our next training session. My clothes wait for me in his bathroom. He’s lounging in one of his chairs, sipping blood, and he waits patiently for me to shower.
The shower takes me a good ten minutes to figure out. His showerheads shoot from different directions. I’m fine until I remember his calendar shoot. I remember the calendar, and the picture of him standing naked against the wall with water pouring over his face. The memory drives me insane. This creates my non-reclusive fangs to descend. There has to be a better way, to come to grips with his photo shoot. I start to daydream a million different sex positions. The bond between us causes me to see only fantasy half the time. I fight for control over my mind. I try to make it believe that he’s not really standing in front of me naked right now. I hate our blood bond in those regards, but love it when he has to answer my questions. After my shower, I step out. The thing that freaks me out is that his floors can automatically sense that I’m wet. The warm air starts to dry my body, but it startles me as I walk across the bathroom floor. I don’t bother wearing any makeup, because I’m about to be tortured by Mr. August.
Walking in the bedroom, he hands me a glass of warm blood. Mr. August chose to wear a pair of ivory basketball shorts with a cobalt tank this time. We left his bedroom, and walk into the dining hall. The breakfast is the same as it always is; one egg and two slices of bacon. For fruit, I have one banana, or a large grapefruit. There’s hardly any fat on me now. The Enforcers still haven’t weighed me in a long time. I finish eating my breakfast in record time. We walk to the track, and he makes sure that I keep up with him. We even run ten laps together. Christian stops me, to do his obstacle course. But, all it takes is for him, to turn his head away for a few seconds. When he turns his head, I notice a familiar woman in the distance. This woman looks exactly like Ava. I recognize that hair anywhere. I blink a few times just to make sure it’s Ava.
“Ava is that you?” I yell at the woman.
The woman turns around smiling, and she starts to run away from me. I’m in a chase after her. “AVA, PLEASE STOP!”
My loud scream catches his attention. “What are you doing, Jeannie?”
“AVA, STOP RUNNING!” I cried out to her. I instantly shot off like a rocket, and run after her with intense speed. So far, I’m able to keep up with her.
I can feel someone tackle me hard to the ground. “Jeannie, what are you doing?”
“Get off me! That’s my sister!”
“She is not there, Jeannie!”
“She was right there, and I know that’s my sister! You have to believe me! She’s alive!”
“That might not be her!”
“Let me go, Chris! I know my sister! That’s her, and I have to find her!”
“This might be a trap! You need to use your head! Let me send out the Enforcers!”
“Christian, please, I know it’s her!”
He picks me up kicking and screaming, back inside the castle. The Enforcers run to the foyer, to see what all the commotion is about now.
“Leo, you must check all the security cameras, NOW!” Christian yells at him.
I try to dart for the door, but Ian stops me. “Hey, listen to me. I have no idea, what the fuck is going on here, but whatever it is—it isn’t right!”
“Jeannie believes that she saw Ava in the forest.” Christian informs the rest of the Enforcers.
I moan for them to let me go, but Ian holds me firmly. “Jeannie, you need to listen to us! That probably wasn’t your sister, and if that was your sister—it could be a trap. You need to use your head and think!”
“I want you, to think clear. Listen to me! Reno wants to kill you, and he knows that you would do anything for your sister. If that was your sister, she’s a very lucky girl, or she’s one of us now. If she’s one of us, then she’s under Reno's wing. If he turned your sister, then she has no choice, but to do what her maker commands. Your sister probably wants you dead now. I can promise you that no good will come from this,” Erik calms me even further. They allow me, to stand up after ten minutes, but I listen to Erik’s words.
Leo returns a few seconds later. “I have a blonde girl running through the forest on the security tape. To me, this girl looks like a vampire, but it’s hard to tell. She clearly wanted Jeannie to follow her.”
Leo shows us a grainy image of a girl running through the forest. I couldn’t definitively see, if she’s my sister—or not. Charlie, Alexander, and Christian left to see if they could find the girl. For now, they have to move into a safe area of the castle with Zane, Ian, and Louie. They want to make sure that I remain protected. The Enforcers load their guns, and they are ready—just in case Reno shows up. They watch the security cameras intently. We watch Erik kneel to the ground and he grabs leaf by leaf.
“Erik is tracking the scents. Some vampires are better at tracking than others are. I can track, but he has the most experience, from all of us,” Zane explains to me, what Erik is doing.
“The shitty part is the rain. Erik has to fight against the rain. The rain will wash away the scents for us, and it makes it even harder to track,” Ian explains even further.
Christian and Alexander are tracking in opposite directions. You can see where the scent eludes them. I pace the floor, and demand to find my sister. I still believe that the woman in the forest is my sister. The Enforcers finish surveying the area. Brennan and Brannon shake their heads, to inform me that they were unable to find anything—or her. Christian and Alexander return empty-handed also.
“I know I saw her, and I’m not crazy either!”
Christian holds me in his arms. “We found nothing, but we did find a faint scent; however; with the rain, it made it hard for us, to detect where the scent is coming from. I should have let you sleep in a little while longer. I will see to it that you receive plenty o
f sleep tonight. I blame myself for your fatigue.”
“I know what I saw, Chris! This is not from lack of sleep. I have no reason, to lie to you either. This is serious, and I would never make this up. I feel in my heart that she’s out there. She might still be out there right now, and what if she’s hurt? Why won’t you believe me?”
“I believe you, but babe, you are exhausted. We will continue our search tomorrow. Obviously, we captured someone in the forest. I do not believe that it was your sister.”
“The shield will be ready next week. We are still waiting on one more part,” Leo explains our current situation.
~~~***~~~
I’m still not happy with my boyfriend right now. I chose to ignore him for the next few days. Vampires don’t like it, when you ignore them.
“Will you please, stop ignoring me?” Christian broke through, and he knows I can’t keep ignoring him.
“Why don’t you believe me?” I snap at him.
“Like I have said before, Reno might have set this up. You have to realize that he will do everything in his power, to get you alone. If you die, it will effect and hurt everyone. You can be stubborn all you want to be, but I will gladly keep you alive.”
I stomp out of the room and left him, to read more books from his library. With the thought of my sister running loose, I can’t find a book that piques my interest. A few minutes later, I left the library, to check my weight. With a few quick strides, I return to the gym, and I’m back on the scale. I step on it, and took a deep breath. The beeping stops and I peek at my new weight. My weight makes it down, to one hundred and twenty pounds. All of my flab turns to solid muscles. I’m healthy and physically fit for a change. The person who I was, to the person standing here today, are two completely different people. The reflection in the mirror highlights my new body. An idea comes to me, yet this might be another dumb one. The teenager inside of me comes out of hiding for once. It is time to celebrate my hefty weight loss.
My clothes are in Chris's room. Chris is a very neat vampire, and he has everything in its place. If I lay a sweater on one of his chairs, it’s hanging in his closet. I’m a clean freak too, but Sophia vacuums every single day. The fringes on his rugs are perfectly straight. She even makes his bed the next morning. I always try, or attempt to keep a clean bedroom, but there were times that I’ve left it unmade.
I wait until he leaves the castle. As soon as I feel that he’s no longer here, I return to his bedroom, and punch in his security numbers. I walk inside his closet, and found my clothes. There’s a cute charcoal miniskirt hanging up in his closet. My clothes are a small portion in his closet. I chose to wear a blood-red camisole with an off the shoulder charcoal sweater over it. I always choose the slate strap heels with the straps around my ankles.
There’s a great chance that Christian will throw a fit over my outfit. I reapply my makeup, and the girls are working in overtime. I know what I’m about to get myself into. I’m extremely happy that there’s an emergency meeting he has to attend. Willow couldn’t even control this meeting.
I leisurely descend the stairs with the gold trim on each step and Greek symbols. Leo is standing in the foyer and his jaw drops. “Chris, will have a fucking fit, kid! I’m warning you, to change right now, kid!” Leo yells at me, but I deliberately ignore him.
I laugh and continue, to walk towards the library. The person, who I demand to see, is sitting in the library. He shouldn’t have any meetings today, and I know he will cave. The elders are in a meeting with Papa. Leo and the younger vampires are in charge of babysitting me. I knowingly walk over to Ian. Brennan and Brannon do a double take, dropping their jaws at me.
I tap Ian on the shoulder. He looks up, and stares at me in disbelief. “You better get your ass back upstairs—and change! Your man will go ape shit on you—if you don’t!”
My eyelashes bat at him innocently. “I need an extremely huge favor from you.” I seductively sit in the chair next to him, and cross my legs right in front of them.
Ian shakes his head at me. “You’re going to wind up making me meet my final death! What do you want?”
I found a paper and a pen. I quickly wrote something down, “I want a belly button ring.”
I hand Ian the small piece of paper. He angrily shakes his head no. “CHICK! He will go fucking crazy! No, Christian WILL kill me!”
“But… I’m an adult, Ian,” I pucker my lips out at him.
“Oh shit! You want to do porn! He will go off then!” Brennan accuses.
Ian stands up, and he scratches his head. “If she wants to do porn, then I would put my foot up her ass, but no, this is something else.”
Brannon studies me suspiciously. “What is it then?” I hand him the paper, and he laughs. “That is going to hurt, like a bitch! She has a point though, Ian. She’s an adult now. If she wants this done—she can have it done.
I give Ian another puppy dog look. He throws his hands behind his head. “You’re going to make me meet my final death for this; however; I still owe you, for pinch-hitting as my assistant over a month ago! DAMN YOU!”
Ian points at Brennan and Brannon. “Neither one of you, say one damn word to Chris—or the others! I had nothing to do with this, okay?”
They laugh and strike a deal with Ian.
Ian turns around. “I suppose you want to do this right now?”
My head nods yes.
Ian flips his shades down. “I swear… you’re going to be the fucking death of me! SHIT! You had better never tell him anything about this! You want this for yourself! Remember that!”
I hug Ian tightly, and he groans. He pulls out a set of keys, and we walk through the basement together. I thought he would take the Hummer, but he takes another car instead. My mouth gapes open, to see that he bought a brand new car.
Ian pushes the buttons, to disarm the security alarm, and he unlocks the car door. Ian hands me a dark hoodie. “Cover up, and keep your head down. I don’t want your boyfriend, to kill me today.”
I quickly do what he asks, and sit inside his new sports car. Ian bought a brand new 2012 Chevy Camaro. His new car is neon-blue just like his Mohawk, with slate racing stripes. This reminds me of my Mustang.
“You need to buckle up! I have to warn you that I’m kind of a reckless driver,” Ian reminds me. He makes sure I buckle in, before we take off. But, his seat belt remains off. The car starts, and he drives out the front gates. Ian's stereo has Usher echoing through the speakers, and his stereo system is set on high. I watch him tap the volume down from his steering wheel. “I’m such a dead vampire. You better answer your cell phone, if he calls!”
“I’m sorry, and I will make it up to you.”
“What made you decide this? Why do you want this?”
“I always wanted one, but never had the body. I have no idea… I just want one.”
“You better hide it for a long fucking time! That’s all I’m going to say, chick!”
“I couldn’t have picked a better time, and I have other piercings.”
Ian gazes at me incredulously. “Your ears are much different than an actual body piercing, chick. This will hurt, like a bitch.”
Ian flips the radio stations from his steering wheel. He quickly changes it to Alternative Rock with Jane's Addiction playing over the speakers.
“I would think being a hybrid; it wouldn’t hurt as bad.”
“You’re still a mortal, and it will hurt you, more than me. They have to put things in my piercings, to keep mine open, otherwise I will constantly have, to return for the same piercings.”
“I haven’t noticed.”
“I know it’s a lot, but I love them.”
“How do you keep your tattoos?”
Ian rolls up his sleeves, to show a few dragon tattoos. “They rub a sealant over my tattoos. All of us with the exception of Charlie, Erik, Sam, and Tommy have at least one tattoo. Joey is the one, who makes it possible for all of us to have tattoos. He’s the guy, who is a fairy, and he’
s also Chris’s best friend.”
“How long have they’ve been friends? How old are all the Enforcers in mortal years? What do the tattoos mean on Christian's forearms?”
“Didn’t you already ask him?”
I shrug my shoulders.
“They will kill me, for revealing their mortal ages. Alexander and Christian are both thirty-eight years old in actual mortal years. Erik is thirty-nine years old. Charlie is forty years old. Tommy is the oldest at forty-two years old. Leo and Sam are both twenty-eight years old. The Hayes brothers are both twenty-six years old. Louie is twenty-four years old. Zane is twenty-six years old. I’m still the youngest at twenty. Now, there’s another sort of Brotherhood going on, but it only involves Alexander, Christian, Gabriel, Gadriel, Mitch, Zalir, Ransom, and Joey. Those eight dudes all have matching forearms. If you ever meet them in the future, you will see the matching tattoos. They chose to party one night, and well… the rest is history. It stands for a special Brotherhood with eternal life, for lasting so damn long. They all have been mutual friends for over 2k.”
I gape open after he informs of their ages. A look of bewilderment creeps in. “Over 2k… what does 2k mean?”
“They have been friends for over two thousand years. They have seen it all, and done it all.”
“Oh… now I feel dumb. Thanks for clarifying what 2K is. Are they the same age? I already knew about Chris and Alexander, but I didn’t know about the rest of those guys.”
“They are about—or close to that age. Let me explain some things about Joey. He went through some crazy shit over a woman. The bitch ditched his ass at the altar, and hung him out to dry. He wasn’t the only one, left at the altar either. Gabriel got his ass ditched too. In the last decade, they have finally got over those broads. They are moving on with their existences. They have lost a shit load of money, from those expensive weddings that they planned. It sucks dick, when shit like that happens. They were majorly in love with those broads too. That’s why Chris and Alex never commit to any woman. It scares the shit out of them. Chris has, to have seen something in you, in order for him, to throw his cares out the window.”
