IMMORTAL BITE

by Long, Andie M.

  “Yes, I can imagine it’s quite something during the daytime.”

  He nodded but it seemed strained. Maybe running a rose business wasn’t all sweetness and light.

  Our walk around the inside of the castle was interesting, but I wasn’t one for furniture and ancient artefacts. I liked the living things outside. Our chat was kept polite with my talk about my new surroundings and about the business while Caleb asked me about my own life.

  While dinner was served, the conversation took a deeper turn.

  “So, our circumstances of meeting are a little, shall we say, unorthodox. However, do you believe in fate, Vivienne?”

  I placed my cutlery on the table. “I do.”

  “So, tell me the truth of why you came here.”

  I took a deep exhale, noting that while I did, my breasts rose in my shirt. Caleb’s gaze dropped down to them. My heart thudded in response. He picked up a napkin and held it over his mouth, as if dabbing a food stain, but none was there. Maybe he was salivating over me? I would be happy to be dessert. My mind wandered, while I thought about the fact he’d not shown me his bedroom. I wondered if he had a decent sized cock. God would have had to be cruel to give him otherwise.

  “Well, you can believe me or not, but I dreamed of here.”

  He lowered the napkin. “Dreamed? What, you’d seen the business in a magazine and then it had entered your night-time thoughts?”

  I shook my head. “No. I dreamed of the rose garden and of a shadowy man in the background. Over and over I dreamed of the roses, painting them when I woke.” Leaning down, I opened my folio, extracting one of my paintings. He got up and walked over to me to look, taking the painting from me and placing it on the end of the table.

  “Are there more?”

  “There are many more, but I brought just five.” I took out the other four paintings and placed them on the table, including one similar to that hung above my bed.

  “I had never seen this place when I did these.” I confessed. “It was on the edge of dreaming and waking that the name Tetburn Manor whispered to me. The next day, I researched Tetburn Manor on the computer and there it was.”

  “You realise how ludicrous this sounds?” His gaze was serious, burning through me. His eyes like coal.

  “You must realise that I’m not a person who cares what I look or sound like. I keep to myself and I paint and I exist, and if I tell you I dreamed of your home, you can believe me or not.” I shrugged, looking over the laid out paintings.

  “I do believe you.”

  My head snapped over to him. “You do? Because I have more to tell you.”

  “As I do you. And when I tell you about myself and Tetburn Manor, you shall realise that I’m not a person who cares what I look or sound like. I keep to myself and I grow roses and if I tell you something about myself it shall be the truth and you can believe me or not.”

  My own words almost, thrown back at me, adapted for his own use. I smirked. “Intriguing.”

  We were interrupted by the cook herself bringing dessert. A rich chocolate mousse. The tension in the room was palpable while she placed it in front of us.

  “I hope you have enjoyed your meal with us this evening, Miss Gladstone. It has been an honour to serve a new guest.”

  “The food has been exquisite, thank you.” I acknowledged the surprisingly slim woman. Should I have made such delightful food, I’d have been the size of a small house.

  “Thank you, Lucinda. That will be all.” Caleb said, dismissing her from the room.

  “Okay, Sir. Just ring the bell should you require anything later.” I noted the quirk to her upper lip as she left us alone.

  Silence reigned while his eyes fixed on my mouth as I savoured the flavours and sucked my spoon clean.

  I wanted him to push me against the door and push himself inside me.

  Caleb sniffed the air and I felt between my brows crease.

  “Do you always scent the air like some kind of wolf?”

  “Not a wolf.” He half-smiled, “but your very essence is intoxicating. Your blood sings to me and your arousal is driving me close to the edge.”

  My eyes widened at his admission.

  He stood and I waited for him to invite me to his bedroom.

  “Let’s go and see the roses.” He said instead.

  I hadn’t expected such an invitation to actually disappoint me when it came.

  Caleb

  She walked into the room and my mind exploded.

  My mate.

  Mine.

  Mine.

  Mine.

  It took all of my vampire strength to stay still as my nose scented her sweet blood that sang in the air. My hearing detected the rhythmic cadence of her heart beating, and my eyes feasted upon her. Guilt swirled with love and lust creating a kaleidoscope of confusion because at that precise moment, that second of time, my past love faded away. Not due to the years that had passed, but because at the side of this woman before me, my love for Rosemary faded to a black and white photograph, while here in front of me was high definition colour.

  Rose tinted cheeks.

  Dilated pupils.

  Breaths getting deeper.

  Heart beating faster.

  I kept myself in check throughout the tour of the house, but during dinner the atmosphere of the room thickened. I couldn’t take my eyes off the one I knew was the other half of me. The one who completed me.

  But there was one huge problem.

  She was human.

  How could a human woman be my fate?

  My mate.

  Because I’d made a vow to myself when my last love was slain and I was turned in such a ferocious manner. That I would sire no one.

  So how did the woman who now walked next to me as we strolled towards the rose garden fit into my life? Was it to be a passionate love affair that ended when she realised she got older and I did not?

  We reached the gate of the garden and I lifted the latch.

  I turned to her. “Here we are, but I’m guessing you already know what grows here?”

  “A little. The dreams blur a lot of what is here. They show me one rose mainly. It calls to me to come to it. To touch it.”

  “Show me.”

  She wandered on the path but as she turned, I already knew where she was going. It was like fate was thoroughly in control and I could not know why, but could only let it take me with it, like a fallen leaf blowing amongst the soil.

  The parched ground of the path crunched beneath my feet as she reached the rose of her dreams.

  It was called Rosemary’s legacy. The first rose I had bred; a tribute to my lost love.

  And Vivienne had said it called to her in dreams.

  Vivienne leaned down to it and sniffed the air. “Its fragrance is exactly like in my dreams.” She smiled up at me.

  “And it asks you to touch it? Why?”

  She stood again and sucked in her top lip, bringing her hands back to her sides. “When I touch it, something happens, and then my fate is set. My dreams tell me my present life will end.”

  “What?” I gasped. “Step away from it. At once.” I yelled.

  She took a few steps backwards in shock at the vehemence in my voice.

  Then her green eyes met mine, amused. “I think it just means figuratively, like a new life starts for me here. How could a rose actually kill me, Caleb?”

  “It is not impossible, though improbable. A scratch could get infected and cause sepsis. Sepsis causes organ failure.”

  “It doesn’t scratch me. That’s not what happens.”

  “Then how?”

  She lifts up her hand and stares at her thumb.

  “A thorn enters my skin, creating a bead of blood. When it drops to the earth that’s it. My future is set.”

  And then I realise the truth. That her blood spilled upon the ground would be too much for my vampire nature. My mate’s blood would be no match for my true self. It would command me, and I would become the sava
ge beast I kept in check, claiming my mate with lust and violence.

  It was not happening today.

  “Let us leave now, and I suggest that for the time being, until I can think upon it more, you don’t touch the rose bush.”

  Her head tilted up towards mine. “You believe me. I’ve just made the most outlandish claims that sound like I’ve lost my mind, but you believe me. Why?”

  “There’s more to this world than most know about. But I think enough has been shared for this evening.”

  “You said you would tell me about yourself and about Tetburn Manor.” Her tone was somewhere between a demand and desperation.

  “And I will. But not now. Now I want to show you the rest of the gardens and talk about why I brought you here.”

  Her eyes clouded with disappointment, but she followed me out of the garden with a last look back at Rosemary’s Legacy.

  “You saw the inside of the manor. It is filled with portrait artwork that to be honest I had given little thought to before. Until I saw you painting. Now the manor feels like it doesn’t fit me. There’s something disconcerting about the whole thing. It’s as if you arrived like a tremor, causing movement to the landscape. I feel awake for the first time in years.” I turned and set my eyes upon hers.

  “You speak like you are a hundred; not a man of, say, his thirties?”

  I smiled. “Is it not rude to speak of someone’s age?”

  She laughed and it served to unsettle me once again. My tight hold on my emotions was wavering.

  “And so you want me to do some paintings for the manor?”

  “Yes. I have spoken to Nicholas, the gentleman who actually owns this place and he is happy for the current artwork to be collected and stored and for me to decorate however I choose.”

  “Ah, so you are a guardian of the manor as opposed to the lord?”

  “I am a caretaker of both the manor and of the roses I grow here.”

  “That you and your family grew here, yes? How long have the Millers been caretakers?”

  “Basically since the nineteen-twenties. But we can talk of my history another time. For now, let’s talk of what you can create for the manor. It would need to be in keeping with its date.”

  “I can create printed tapestries maybe, complete with millefleur. I shall sketch some examples and show you.”

  “Yes, that would be an idea since I know very little about art. I would also like you to sketch some illustrations for the new rose catalogue if you would. Now, the manor has many rooms, so it is entirely up to you. You can travel here daily, or you may stay here and take a room.”

  I heard her swallow. Her pause in answering seemed to last hours, not a few seconds. “I’ll have to give it some thought. We have only just met after all. Do you not want references? You have seen me camping in your grounds and sneaking out to sketch and paint. I could be a thief or a lunatic.”

  “And deny our connection?”

  Again, I heard her swallow.

  “For you dream of here, and I can believe nothing other than this is where you are meant to be. Because my heart beats for you, Vivienne. A sound so loud it threatens to overpower everything I’ve ever known.”

  I could resist it no longer. I held her hand and steered her towards a tree near the manor house. She didn’t protest. In the shadows, I pushed her back against the bark, and I trailed my fingers from her temple down her cheek. She shivered.

  “You’re so cold.”

  “Warm me.” I almost growled.

  With fervour, I leant down and captured her lips with my own. The warmth from them seemed to seep inside me, heating me where I’d been frozen for so long, melting and thawing my cold, undead heart. Her tongue entered my mouth and I fisted my hands in her hair.

  My cock hardened in my pants and I ground myself against her, letting her know just how much of an effect she was having on me.

  God, it had been a long, long time since I had felt such emotion, such… passion.

  It was only when Vivienne’s hand trailed down between us and she stroked my hardness that I jumped back. I could feel my canines descending.

  “I’m sorry.” I turned away from her. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  I heard the rustle of material and in my peripheral vision could see her smooth down her clothes.

  “Shouldn’t you? Are we not destined, Caleb? Do you not feel it? Deny yourself if you will. For now. We both have a lot to consider. I’m going to call for a cab and return home; but I’ll be back tomorrow, you can bet on that. Tomorrow I will be here again and this time I shall sit amongst the roses of the garden and see whether the whispers of my dreams become screams in reality.”

  “Until tomorrow.” I replied, still turned away from her, and then I walked away, because if I did anything else she would see my true nature and I wasn’t ready to reveal myself just yet.

  Vivienne

  I slumped upon my bed, my mind whirling as it replayed our conversations and recounted every minute of my evening spent at Tetburn Manor. Was it the roses that called me, or was it their mysterious breeder? I had wanted him, craved him between my thighs and now I was unsatisfied.

  Nearly a whole bottle of wine later, I felt no better and the cravings started again. I pulled my robe tighter about myself and rocked on the sofa.

  No. No. NO.

  I will not answer your call.

  But then I was on my feet as if someone else had stood me there and I walked into the bathroom, opened the cabinet and took out a fresh blade.

  I stared at it and closed my eyes.

  Imagine it’s the scratch of a rose bush.

  As the garden of Tetburn Manor flashed vividly in my mind, I threw the blade into the bin under the sink. Climbing into bed with a pad and pencils, I sketched over and over until my mind quieted and I fell into a fitful sleep.

  Touch me.

  Love me.

  Feel me.

  Let me.

  I dreamed of calling voices and of razorblades slashing across my throat. I saw myself lying on the floor in a pool of red, my eyes wide open and staring. I gasped one word.

  ‘Caleb’.

  The next morning it took four cups of coffee and an almost cold shower before I felt anywhere near in a state to travel. I dressed as I felt in a black t-shirt and black jeans. I felt a day of charcoal ahead of me and almost took the coloured paints from my backpack, only to leave them in there at the last minute.

  The sun shone down on Tetburn Manor and the closer I got, the more my mood improved. It was strange to be walking once again down the West Bridge.

  A man met me, introducing himself as Jenson. Tall and burly, he said he mainly did security for the manor, but that Caleb had asked him to pass me a wicker basket.

  I smiled as this macho man looked ridiculous holding a wicker basket with a yellow gingham ribbon on it.

  “Thank you. Am I okay to go through to the garden? I’ll be working there.”

  “Yes, Miss Gladstone. If you need to come inside to use the facilities, then please press the buzzer as there are not many people around this morning. I’ll make sure one of the security team lets you in and shows you the way.”

  “That’s okay, I saw where they were last night.”

  His eyes burned into mine. “We’ll still need to escort you.”

  I shrugged. Whatever made this guy feel superior.

  “So where’s Caleb?” I asked him.

  “If Mr Miller wished for you to know his current business, you’d already know it.” He said curtly. “As I said, please buzz if you need anything.” With that he turned and walked away.

  “Okay then.” I mumbled to myself and I went to the garden.

  I decided that today I would just sit on the bench outside of it as I had in my dreams and I would sketch it from there. Setting up my easel, I wondered where Caleb was. I was disappointed he hadn’t come to say hello, seeing as I was here on his personal invite. I remembered the hamper I’d put down earlier and I reached
down flipping open the lids. Inside I found croissants, jam, a knife; a small bottle of orange juice and one of water. A can of cold coffee. An apple, an orange, and a slice of what appeared to be Madeira cake. A note inside said:

  Sorry, I can’t be there to deliver this myself.

  I will be around at four should you still be here.

  Caleb.

  I sighed. I wasn’t sure I still would be around. The sun was scorching and even with breaks in the shade, if I wasn’t able to even piss without security then I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to sit in the drawing room for a rest. Maybe I should take the room Caleb offered? Just for a few days until my preliminary sketches were drawn.

  Yeah, that’s why you want to stay. You tell yourself that.

  The next day I deliberately didn’t turn up to sketch until two o’clock in the afternoon. Once more I stayed outside of the garden, adding more depth to the work I did the day before. As it passed four pm, I started to glance at the house waiting for Caleb to appear, feeling my body tense when he didn’t.

  And then Jenson was there again in front of me.

  “Mr Miller wishes to know if you’d like to join him for refreshments and to discuss the sketches you have made so far?”

  I nodded and walking past Jenson’s stern and watchful face, I made my way back into the manor house.

  Daria greeted me, a firm smile on her face. “He’s in the drawing room today, first door on your left.” I followed where her outstretched fingers were pointing.

  The room I walked into took my breath away. It was light and airy, with cream walls. Pale-blue heavy drapes hung at the windows, their exact shade matched with the two sofas in the room. Cream carpets had me leaving my shoes at the doorway. Air conditioning whirred in the background and it had the smell of not having been switched on for a while. I wrinkled my nose and walked over to the windows feeling the depth of the luxury pile around my feet. “Why not let some fresh air in?”