by Alicia White
“I…” She shook her head.
“Technically you’re still alive, but your life is no longer your own. When we saved you, you left your human status behind. You are now part of the paranormal world, a vampire to be more specific. You died. There is a death certificate. Your house in California is being packed up, your life forever changed. You aren’t Erin Holmes. You’re Erin Moreau. You belong to me and my brother, our Eternal Love.” He smiled, actually smiled, as if she would be overjoyed by his news.
Closing her eyes, Erin tried to reel in her anger. She could actually feel the panic building inside her until she thought she might explode. Her body started shaking as her heart kicked into overdrive. He was crazy. It was sad but true. The angel in the cemetery no longer existed, and she needed to get away from him.
“Get out of my way,” she said simply, trying to appear strong, when she was shaking like a leaf.
“I can’t let you leave. It isn’t safe,” he told her, but Erin refused to believe that.
“I can take care of myself.”
“You’re a newly turned vampire,” he continued. “You don’t know how to live in the human world as a paranormal. You have new speed, strength, and power. You’re also hungry, and I’m afraid that if someone moved into your path, you’d feed from them. You don’t get it? You’re not human, not any longer.”
He was becoming angry. She could see it on his face. The perfect porcelain features were cracking, revealing a monster.
“Listen, I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I need to get the hell out of here.” Her body felt sore all of a sudden, her skin itchy. She didn’t just want to leave—she needed to. An undeniable force was pushing her to escape, but Mikael was in her way. Feeling panicked, she screamed, “I have to get out of here!”
He growled, showing her his teeth. The bright white canines grew right before her eyes, turning into sharp points. Backing up, Erin retreated, giving the beast space. She wasn’t crazy enough to go head to head with him. He seemed to relax slightly, but still, she kept her eyes pinned to him as her mind went crazy, searching for an escape route. The French doors were her only option. She didn’t know where she was, but at this point, her concern was getting away from the man in front of her.
“Come and have a seat, my dear.” He strode toward the sitting area and sat in one of the chairs. “We need to talk about all the changes you’re experiencing. You must be starving.”
At those words her stomach gurgled and growled. Her teeth, which had miraculously disappeared only moments before, shot out with a vengeance, causing her to hiss from the pain.
Sitting down on the couch, Mikael exposed his neck. He lifted a finger and the nail grew, becoming a claw. He drew a line along his neck, and blood bubbled at the surface, calling to her. She wanted to run to him. She wanted to lick the blood and drink it.
He’s right. I’m not human.
Not human, played over inside her mind like a broken record. The hunger in her belly grew, and her eyes zeroed in on his vein, pulsing invitingly in his neck. Erin licked her lips. The action scared her. She wanted to sink her teeth into the man’s neck. She wanted to drink his blood. Instead of the image making her ill, it excited her. It was another confirmation that she was no longer herself.
When she hit the French doors, she knew instantly she only had seconds to act. Mikael had already proven how fast he was. Taking a breath, she grabbed onto the velvety material and yanked hard, pulling the rod down in her haste to leave. Erin turned and shoved the French doors wide with a bang, rattling the glass.
She jumped without even realizing she was on the second floor.
“Erin!” Mikael shouted as she fell.
Chapter 9
One second she was inside the bedroom suite, and the next, she was falling to the ground. When she hit the grass below, Erin stood there for a second before she realized that she was fine—no broken bones, no bloody cuts of any kind. Glancing up, she squinted from the bright sun. It burned her eyes, but she still managed to catch sight of Mikael. She could see his intentions clearly and knew that he would be following her.
Turning her back to him, Erin took off, running. She didn’t look back to see if he was gaining on her. Her high heels hit the street as she moved at lightning speed. The scenery around her was blurry at best, causing her to feel dizzy and disoriented, but she didn’t stop. Erin needed to put distance between her and Mikael.
When she finally stopped, she was near the cemetery where she’d lost her friends.
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she’d seen them. Were they looking for her? Wrapping her arms around her chest, she slumped her shoulders and kept her head down as she walked, trying to appear inconspicuous. She felt like her whole world was turned upside down in only a matter of hours. Here she was walking the streets of New Orleans wearing her sexy vampire Halloween costume.
Was it wrong to wish this was a dream or elaborate hallucination?
She didn’t want to die. Erin was relieved that she wouldn’t be facing her end, but at what cost? Mikael was right, she wasn’t human. What human could jump from a second story window and run away without a scratch? What human craved blood? And the worst of it all, part of her wanted to go back to that house, to Mikael.
Shaking her head at her own thoughts, Erin weaved her way through the crowds of tourists.
Her stomach cramped in hunger and Erin hurried her pace. The wonderful scent of copper filled her nose and the steady sound of heartbeats rang out clear as a bell, calling to her. Pulling her lower lip into her mouth, Erin bit down hard. She swallowed her own blood, hoping to ease the ache within.
When she reached the hotel, Erin was finally able to breathe out a sigh of relief. She opened the door and the cool blast of the air conditioning hit her. Walking toward the front desk, she waited in the short line until she was summoned.
“How can I help you this morning?”
“Uh…yeah, I’m a guest here. My name is Erin Holmes. I lost my key last night.”
She clicked away on her computer, her brows furrowing, her lips turning down. “I’m sorry. It looks like you checked out.”
“Where are my belongings?”
“I would assume with you since you checked out.”
“I didn’t check out.” She shook her head vehemently. “What about my friends? I arrived with Dani O’Brien. Is she still here?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t give out guest information.”
“Listen, lady, I’ve had a really shitty morning. I need to find my bags and my friends. Please.”
“I wish there was something I could do,” she said to Erin, before signaling the next guest in line. “I can help you here.”
Her mouth went dry suddenly, and she swallowed reflexively. In an instant the cotton mouth disappeared and her mouth watered. She swallowed again and started breathing through her mouth. Erin’s stomach cramped with hunger. In that moment she realized that Mikael was right.
Erin growled under her breath, “Bullshit.”
“Erin…Erin Holmes…” She looked over her shoulder. A man stood off to the side, and Erin crinkled her brow, trying to figure out if she knew him. “I’m Elijah Moreau.”
He looked similar to Mikael—the same inhumanly good looks, except with dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. He seemed different, almost as if he were kind, which was silly since she knew absolutely nothing about him. But she felt something in her gut, telling her to trust him.
“I have your belongings. Please, come with me.” He held out his hand, and Erin walked toward him, like a moth to a flame.
Her stomach grumbled, the pain causing her to double over. She wrapped an arm around her middle, as her teeth lengthened.
“Let me take care of you. My car’s parked right outside.” Elijah’s voice wrapped around her like a blanket before he held her close to his side and ushered her out of the hotel.
When they reached his car, he opened the door and helped her inside. She sa
t on the passenger seat, tracking his movements as he glided around to the driver’s side. When he was sitting comfortably in his seat, Erin stared at him. His neck called to her, the vein pulsing right at the surface. Licking her lips, she dove on top of him. Erin gripped the collar of his shirt, forcing him to remain still. The scent of his blood flowing through the strong vein made her fangs sharpen further.
With her mouth open, teeth sharp, she punctured his vein.
The first taste on her tongue made her moan in bliss. The thick blood coated her mouth and slid down her throat, rejuvenating and strengthening her. When it hit her stomach, Erin could feel the hunger pains slowly start to disappear. Closing her eyes, she groaned and sucked harder.
* * * *
Her teeth sank into his vein like a warm knife slicing through butter, and Elijah’s cock went instantly hard. On the first pull, he shivered. It felt like her mouth was connected to his hard shaft instead of his neck. As she suckled gently, Elijah slowly lost his mind. Then she began to move her hips, twisting and rubbing against him. Little moans hummed against his skin, driving him crazy, but nothing could compare to her movements. Her pussy was directly against his hard shaft. If they had been naked, the motion would have sunk him inside her to the hilt.
A strong climax tingled at the base of his spine and he knew without a doubt he wouldn’t be able to prevent himself from coming. When she moaned against his throat, his hips jerked upward and he came, shooting inside his dress pants like a teenaged boy. Panting, Elijah grabbed her shoulders.
He needed to stop her from taking too much blood. She was starving. It was obvious in her mannerisms as she had climbed onto his lap, preventing him from pushing her away.
“Erin.” He wrapped a hand around her throat, applying a small amount of pressure. “It’s time to stop, love.” Elijah tried to coax her gently, but when Erin wouldn’t remove her fangs, he tightened his grip. “Stop!”
Leaning back, she licked her lips. A stray drop of blood slipped down her chin and he wiped it away with his thumb. Her eyes were blazing, the blue shining bright, exciting him. He wanted to rip her fishnet stockings and panties off and sink his shaft deep inside her warmth. Graphic pictures flashed through his mind, pushing him to stake a claim to this woman on his lap. Reaching for his belt, he planned to follow through.
At that moment, the fuzz seemed to clear from Erin’s mind. She blinked, shook her head, and gasped.
“Oh my god,” she whispered, her voice stricken. “I’m sorry.” Lifting a shaky hand, she covered the bite mark on his neck. “It’s bleeding. You’re bleeding. Oh god! I did that. What have I done?”
“Shhh.” He wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her. “Lick the mark, love. It’s okay. Your saliva will heal me.” A warm tongue touched his neck and slowly licked the wound closed. He shivered. Everything the woman did drove him mad with lust.
When he’d received a call from Mikael that Erin had left the coven, Elijah had been concerned. Mikael could be a hard man at times, and Elijah knew his older brother wouldn’t be able to change overnight, even for his Eternal Love. He could only hope that Mikael hadn’t ruined things beyond repair. Technically it wouldn’t matter. Erin would always crave the two of them, even if she wanted to kill Mikael at times. She wouldn’t be able to walk away, not with his and Mikael’s blood running through her veins.
Erin slowly eased off his lap, sitting on the leather bucket seat next to him. She pulled the seatbelt, clicking it into place without saying a word. Elijah studied her features. She appeared to be embarrassed, refusing to even look his way. Pulling away from the curb, he eased his sports car into traffic, heading back toward the coven home in the Garden District.
“I really am a vampire, aren’t I? He was telling the truth,” she finally whispered after several minutes.
“Yes, you’re a vampire,” he said bluntly, being completely honest.
“Okay,” she nodded, seeming to accept his answer without too much difficulty. “Mikael told me so much, but I wasn’t really listening. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around everything. How exactly did I become a vampire?”
“My brother, Mikael, found you in the cemetery. You were close to death when he brought you to our home. We didn’t want to watch you die so we saved you by having our blood transfused into your body.”
From his peripheral vision, he watched as Erin pulled her lower lip into her mouth and bit down. She seemed to be digesting the information.
“Is it true that I can’t go home?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. Going home would raise a lot of suspicions. You’ve gone through quite a few physical changes, and people would notice the drastic difference in your health as well as your appearance. But more than that, you’ll need to feed from me and Mikael. If you don’t, you’ll start to starve to death. It can be an incredibly painful way to die.”
“My parents are dead. I live in my childhood home alone and I have a job I hate. There isn’t a whole hell of a lot for me to return to. That’s fine,” she said, and Elijah couldn’t describe the amount of relief he felt. “But…” she started, and he groaned internally. Damn it, it wasn’t going to be that easy. “I can’t leave my friends. I can’t just disappear and let them think I’m dead somewhere. They’re my family.”
“We’ll figure it out.” He nodded.
Elijah didn’t really think she would be able to abandon her life all together. That was asking a little too much. The least he could do was make sure Erin spoke to her friends. They would have to think of a back story without exposing paranormals.
She touched his arm and Elijah looked at her, “promise?”
“I promise.”
“Thank you. I’m really worried about my friends. We got separated in the cemetery. If I ended up with Mikael…what happened to them? Who else was in that cemetery?”
“Let’s go ask Mikael. He should be able to answer that question.” His words seemed to ease her worry as she faced forward, staring out the windshield once more.
After a few moments of silence, Erin asked, “What’s an Eternal Love? It’s not a pet name, is it?”
“No.” Elijah shook his head wondering why Mikael hadn’t taken the time to answer her questions. “As paranormals we are given one Eternal Love—a perfect companion that will remain at our sides for eternity.”
Elijah had been blessed with an Eternal Love many years ago. He’d lost her in a freak accident. There was a gas leak, followed by an explosion. The coven lost a lot of friends, family, and lovers that day. Losing an Eternal Love had been a pain he never thought he’d overcome. Most days, he still had a hard time moving forward with his life when he’d rather die so he could be with his love. Elijah changed, his heart disappearing. He only lived for his siblings, Mikael and Sarah, and their coven. His life changed drastically once more with the appearance of Erin.
“I’m your brothers…Eternal Love?” she asked, her voice a mere whisper.
“Yes.” He paused for a moment before finally finishing his thought. “You belong to both of us.”
Erin turned her body toward him so that she was facing him. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally asked, “Both of you?”
Chapter 10
Erin was completely caught off guard by Elijah’s response. So far, she’d felt as though she was handling the information with a calm head, but now, she wasn’t sure how to respond.
She had passed out in Mikael’s arms, close to death, and woke up in a strange house, completely healed. Except now, she was a vampire. It was hard to wrap her mind around everything, but the proof was unmistakable. She’d already sunk her teeth into Elijah’s neck and drank his blood. The thought alone would normally gross her out, except she liked it…a lot.
She loved the way he tasted. The memory alone was enough to make her gums tingle with delight. Looking over at Elijah, she stared at his profile. Her eyes dropped down to the vein pulsing in his neck and she couldn’t help but lick her lips. God,
she wanted another taste of the man. She wanted to sink her teeth into his soft flesh and drink. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she immediately jerked her head forward and vanquished the thoughts.
Her whole life had changed so drastically in such a short period of time, and now she was eternally bound to two men. Eternally. How the hell was this supposed to work?
Leaning her head back against the headrest, Erin stared at the ceiling, tracing the pattern of the material with her eyes. She still wasn’t used to the fact that her senses were all out of whack either.
“My senses aren’t normal anymore. It’s almost as if each one received a dose of steroids.”
Elijah chuckled lightly. “I can understand. Your body has gone through quite a change. Were you sick a long time?”
“I had bad headaches for a long time and found out it was a brain tumor.”
“Jesus,” he whispered.
“The doctors removed the tumor, but the pain wouldn’t go away. I was sick all the time. When I went back to the doctor, I found out I had cancer and it spread. Coming to New Orleans with my friends—” she paused for a moment, thinking about her friends. “I came here to see them one last time. This was going to be a good-bye.”
“You don’t have to say good-bye to your friends, not anymore.”
“I know.” She sighed. After feeling like hell for so long, she couldn’t believe it was finally over. “Healed.”
“You don’t sound that thrilled. Most people in the same situation would be jumping for joy.”
“It’s just…I don’t know…a blood transfusion healed me. No more pain. No more debilitating headaches. All of that is just a thing of the past.”
“Ah.” He made a noise as if he understood exactly what she was feeling. “It’s anticlimactic.”
“Huh?”
“You closed your eyes prepared to die and woke up whole and healthy.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s it.” Erin didn’t mention the fire that ran through her veins before waking up or the intense debilitating pain. That was done with now, and there was no sense in discussing it with Elijah.
