Unafraid

by Cat Miller

  She smiled broadly and he knew she was shocked he had answered her question at length. She had expected the opposite. “Can you make me like you?”

  She looked so hopeful. Griffin felt sick. He pulled her close again wrapping his arms tightly around her petite body. She was so small and frail. Of course, she would bring all of his hidden wishes and fears out into the open. He had indeed caught himself often thinking of turning her so he could keep her by his side, but the risks were high and Griffin had many other problems to deal with before he could make that kind of commitment. He didn’t release her, opting not to see the defeat he knew she would feel.

  “It is possible to turn a human but there is a tremendous risk. It usually isn’t done unless the human is going to die. It’s usually a last ditch effort to save a loved one,” he admitted.

  “Why? What risks?” she asked against his chest.

  “Less than half of humans that have undergone the transformation have survived. I’m no scientist but my understanding is that as the human blood is consumed by the vampire blood and the human body fights it like a virus. The human gets a raging fever and endures untold pain. The human body fights for survival. More often than not the human dies in the battle,” he quietly explained.

  “Oh,” she replied.

  “It’s not at all common for a vampire to enter a long-term relationship with a human. The human will grow old long before the vamp or they take the chance of losing them to the change. After a human is changed they can no longer conceive and there are no known cases of a human surviving a vampire birth.”

  The intercom from the front desk buzzed to announce the arrival of their meal. He stood with Tessa in his arms and stood her on her feet, glad the conversation was over for the moment. He had ordered dinner from a great little Italian joint that usually didn’t deliver. But the Vaughn name was important in more than just vampire society and he had no problem getting what he wanted.

  Griffin opened the door to allow the manager of the restaurant to enter. The man froze in his tracks and stared at Tessa. She glared back at the man. These two obviously knew each other. The insanely possessive beast that had claimed Tessa as his own long before Griffin had seen the truth reared his head. Griffin didn’t believe the pudgy man was a threat to their relationship like that slick human who’d spent time in Tessa’s bed had been. The thought of the darkly handsome son of a bitch still made Griffin’s blood boil.

  This human looked at Tessa’s worn shoes, nondescript shirt, and jeans with distain. He looked around the well-appointed living area. He inspected Griffin in his designer apparel and turned back to Tessa. The beast in him realized the human male found Griffin’s female lacking. A growl built in his chest that he didn’t realize had escaped until both Tessa and the man looked at him with frightened eyes.

  “Do you have a problem?” he growled at the manager of the restaurant.

  “N-no Mr. Vaughn, I was just surprised to see my employee when she hasn’t reported to work for weeks,” he stuttered.

  “Your employee?” Tessa snapped, “I was fired for not allowing a customer to grope me or assume it was acceptable to offer me money and demand sex. I am not your employee, Sal!”

  Sal looked perplexed, standing between a hissing Tessa and Griffin who was finding it difficult not to strangle him. Taking deep breaths to calm himself before his eyes shifted to black, Griffin snatched the bag of food and sat it on the entry table before digging out his wallet. He could feel his fangs beginning to press into his lower lip. The sooner this asshole was gone the better.

  “Sebastian assured me that your dismissal was a mistake. Even though I believe you deserved to be let go for taunting a customer and then assaulting him when he took you up on the offer,” Sal whispered in a tone too low for anyone but Tessa to hear.

  * * *

  Oh shit!

  Griffin was fishing through his wallet when Sal issued his insult. She didn’t think he could possibly have heard the whispered slur, but it was obvious that he had when his head whipped around and eyes black as coal burned a hole through the back of Sal’s head. Griffin’s fangs were biting into his lip and he seemed to grow. Pure rage pumped into the air like a wave. Even Sal seemed to feel it and shrunk in on himself like a terrified child.

  Tessa had to get Sal out of the apartment before Griffin did something he would regret. They were having enough trouble dealing with their differences. Griffin had strict ideas about the proper behavior with humans that Tessa understood were ingrained in his people in order to protect them from discovery. He had already crossed a major line in his relationship with her. If he injured a human because of her, Tessa feared it would only compound the issue when he calmed down.

  Sal hadn’t seen Griffin’s eyes or fangs, but a very real sense of menace made the air thick. He began to slink toward the door and freedom. Tessa would help him go. She shoved Sal, getting him moving faster and blocked Griffin’s path to the man when they passed. Thankfully, Griffin seemed frozen with rage.

  “Take the money for the food out of my check. You haven’t paid me for the last week I worked.” She nudged Sal harder.

  “Shall I inform Sebastian that you will not be returning? He hasn’t allowed me to fill the position because he insists you will be returning any day.” Sal just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Griffin was growling again and moving toward them. Sal tried to peer around her to look for the source of the noise.

  “Tell him I will call him very soon. I have to get back to work. I have rent to pay.” She reached around Sal to open one of the large cherry wood double doors, but froze at the all too calm sound of Griffin’s voice.

  “Stay where you are, Sal.” A chill ran down her spine. This was bad. She tried to push Sal out of the door but he didn’t budge.

  “Yes sir, Mr. Vaughn,” Sal replied tonelessly. Tessa looked up to find Sal looking completely absent. He stared straight ahead as if examining something off in the distance. Griffin must have put the vampire whammy on Sal. He approached slowly, clenching and unclenching his fists as he crossed the room. He gently moved Tessa out of his way.

  “Sal, you will tell your employer he will never see Tessa again. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Mr. Vaughn,” he replied with no expression.

  What the hell? Griffin had no right to make that decision for her. “Sal, you will do no such thing!” She turned her anger on Griffin. “Let’s get one thing straight right now. You have no right to decide who I can speak to.” He growled and stepped toward her, but she didn’t back down, even if he did look like the human nightmare version of a vampire. This had to be where some of the myths about vampires originated. It was as she said; there is always some kernel of truth.

  “I need a job, Griffin! I have to pay rent and feed myself.”

  “Sebastian paid your rent until the end of your lease,” Sal piped up.

  “What?” Griffin nearly shouted the question at a dazed Sal.

  “Yes. He worried she’d be displaced if she had no income so he had me pay the rent up until the end of her lease. Why he bothers with her I don’t know. She’s pretty enough, but he can do so much better. The fool is infatuated with a good-for-nothing waitress. The place is a shit hole. I hated going in there,” Sal deadpanned. Griffin lunged at Sal and pinned him to the door with a big hand wrapped around his throat.

  “Griffin, stop it now! You can’t hurt a human! You know you don’t want to do that,” Tessa pleaded. She knew he would regret anything he did in rage. Sal’s thoughts of her meant nothing to Tessa. Griffin released the offensive asshole with effort.

  “He insulted you, repeatedly,” Griffin hissed.

  “Yes, he did and I’m sure that’s not the last time. I’ve been looked down upon most of my life. I don’t care what he thinks of me. Please send him away now.” She used her best ‘soothe the wild beast’ voice. Griffin stood there glaring at Sal and taking deep, calming breaths. He dug in his pocket for several hundred dollar bills and stuffed them in S
al’s shirt pocket.

  “Leave,” he said through gritted teeth. Sal promptly turned and exited the condo.

  Griffin stood with his back to Tessa, his chest heaving. He was so angry Tessa couldn’t stand to be in the room with him. The seething rage pouring off of him was stifling. She didn’t know why he was so angry. Sal was a jerk. Now he was gone so she didn’t get his overreaction. She was the one that should be angry at his highhanded behavior. It had been a bad idea to go to his place. Grabbing her coat and her purse from the entry hall, she went to the door. He still hadn’t turned around.

  “I’m going to head home now. I’ll catch a cab. Good night, Griffin.”

  “Don’t even think about opening that door,” he threatened.

  “Excuse me? Look, I don’t know where you suddenly got the idea that you’re in charge, but you aren’t. If I want to go, I will,” she scoffed. She didn’t give a damn if he was vampire or the president. She had been on her own for too long to have somebody stroll in and try to take away her choices. She was going out that damn door.

  She turned the knob but before she could pull the door open, she was slammed against it and trapped by a very large, very menacing vampire between her legs. His hot breath rushed over her face and his fangs glistened under the dim hall light. His hands held her tightly but not painfully. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage while she watched Griffin struggle with some emotion she didn’t understand. He was looking at her with a mixture of anger, need, and reverence.

  “You are mine. Do you understand me? You are mine to defend and mine to love.” He kissed her deeply and his fangs cut into her lip, causing an intense stinging sensation.

  Tessa’s mind was reeling from his declaration of love. At least she thought it was a declaration of love. She tasted her blood but she didn’t stop kissing him or pull away. He was devouring her mouth and pressing tight against her body. Griffin groaned and lapped at the blood on her lips. This was what she needed. This was where there was peace for them. When he loved her body nothing else mattered. There were no vampires or humans, no rich or poor. They didn’t think about their differences or the difficult road ahead of them. There was just Griffin and Tessa. That was enough. That was everything.

  He pulled back to rip open her shirt and bare her breasts to his hungry gaze. The chilled air tightened her nipples. She’d purposely not worn a bra. He seemed to enjoy the slight sway of her breasts when she went without one. He took one taught bud into his mouth and suckled, unintentionally grazing her with his extended fangs. He licked and sucked both breasts, but didn’t linger long before he was tugging at the clasp of her jeans.

  “I will teach you that you are mine, Tessa. No other man touches this skin. No other man tastes my kisses.” He took her mouth in a punishing kiss. “This is my mouth, my kisses,” he snarled.

  “Griffin, I told you I’m not seeing anyone else anymore,” she tried to explain but he was busy wedging her against the door and ripping off her shoes and jeans.

  “That bastard had no right to pay your way. No one provides for mine but me.” He grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his black eyes while he circled his hips, grinding his impressive length into her softening heat. The rasp of the material covering his erection against her skin had her nearly ready to lose it. She said nothing and that seemed to anger him further. His rage still hadn’t cooled. The room vibrated with it.

  “Did you hear me?” he asked and gripped her ass to hoist her up high on the door.

  “Griffin, I don’t know what you want from me. I’ve told you I don’t want anyone else and you still completely exclude me from your life. I know nothing about you or where you come from. And I’m not even talking about the vampire stuff. I don’t know what you do for a living. Do you have siblings? I don’t know why it took you so long to bring me to your home.” He blinked and an odd emotion that could have been guilt crossed his face but quickly disappeared.

  “I only know your last name because Sal said it in front of me just now. You give me nothing to work with at all. You can’t give me nothing and expect everything in return. I love you, Griffin, but I won’t bow to the wishes of a man because he demands it. You have to learn how to love me back.”

  There. She’d said it out loud. She told him she loved him. He may think it was too soon for love but there was no taking the words back now. If she wanted him to give himself completely, she had to do the same. The ball was in his court now. He looked surprised to hear the truth of her feelings for him put so bluntly.

  “I do love you.” He kissed her while he shoved his pants down his thighs. “And you will learn to obey my wishes.” Tessa was pressed tightly to door when he positioned himself at her entrance and parted her heat with one long, forceful stroke.

  Tessa wanted to argue his ridiculous dictate, but he had stolen her breath and every thought from her head that didn’t involve intense pleasure coursing through her body. She clutched his broad shoulders and held on while he took her hard against the door. She couldn’t move at all. She could only take what he gave her and hold on for the ride. His thick arousal filled her to near pain that quickly transformed into blinding pleasure.

  “Tell me you belong to me, Tessa,” he demanded, and their first night together came rushing back to her. She had given him what he wanted that night with limits. From now on Griffin would only get what he was willing to give.

  “I love you,” she confessed again. He pumped harder and scraped his fangs across her neck. Tessa cried out his name.

  “Are you mine, Tessa?”

  “My heart is yours, Griffin. I love you.” She hoped he would understand that she wouldn’t be his until he belonged to her. Griffin roared in frustration and lifted her higher, changing the angle of his penetration and hitting that perfect spot over and over. She was so close when he sank his fangs into her. It surprised her and the shock of adrenaline followed by the intense ecstasy his bite always brought made her scream her release to the ceiling. A few more short digs and Griffin followed her into the blinding pleasure of climax.

  They collapsed to the floor and he held her to his chest, her legs still wrapped around his waist. He kissed her neck where he had bitten her and told her again.

  “I will show you, Tessa. You belong only to me.”

  SIX

  Tessa tried to go home every night but Griffin always found a way that usually involved the most interesting parts of his anatomy to get her to stay. She’d given up the thought of putting some space between them days ago. She felt uncomfortable in his home, especially during the day when he went to work and she had nothing to do, but she didn’t really want to leave him. What she wanted was to feel like a real part of his life. It was obvious he was keeping his relationship with her a secret but he wouldn’t admit it.

  He had shortly answered her questions about his family by explaining that he had a sister but she died some years ago, making him an only child. The loss of his sister had changed his parents. They were in politics so they buried themselves in their work after her death instead of dealing with the pain of losing a child. Tessa imagined that had to have made things even harder for Griffin. He’d lost his big sister and his parents weren’t available to help him get through it. So he had basically been on his own since he was in his teens. Other than giving her the basic Vampire 101, Griffin avoided her questions and distracted her with sex every time she wanted to talk.

  She told him everything there was to know about her life, her family, and what few friends she had in hopes he would open up but he never did. She didn’t know where he went when he left for work or even what kind of work he did. When he was home he got frequent calls that he either ignored or took in his study. Tessa was beginning to see the hopelessness of their relationship.

  * * *

  It was early. The first light of day was just beginning to lighten the sky when his phone rang. Griffin detangled himself from his usual sleeping position wrapped around her to snatch the phone off the nightst
and with a sleepy grumble of agitation at being disturbed so early in the morning. She knew it was important because he quickly climbed out of bed and left the room naked. She heard him answer the phone in the hall and ask the caller to hold while he went to his study and shut the door. He rushed down the hall and came back to the bedroom heading straight for his closet just a moment later. He dressed and kissed her deeply before giving her instructions to stay inside. He ran out the door with a hurried excuse about an emergency at the office.

  Tessa wasn’t sure if he didn’t understand or just refused to acknowledge that his secretive behavior was hurting her. Maybe he thought she was stupid and didn’t realize that he was obviously still very much ashamed of being with her in spite of his declaration of love the day he first brought her to his home. He had never said the words again. It was almost as if he was embarrassed by the emotion. Or maybe he’d only said it because she had and he didn’t know what else to say.

  One thing was for sure, things were never going to change if she allowed this shit to continue. It was time to go home. She would need to call Sebastian and get her job back. As much as she hated returning to the restaurant, she would go back at least until she could pay back the money Sebastian spent on her rent fees. There was just no way she could remain indebted like that to anyone. It was nice of him to hold her job, but Tessa was not looking forward to going back to Bella Notte and dealing with Sal’s insults. Her life was in a rut and she needed to get going, but she had to clean up a few messes first.