A Nightly Howl

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  I didn't think she had to worry. Her life was normal; she was married and settled. She didn't have to beg her husband for sex. Nicky didn't think that Nathaniel and I would ever get serious. I just needed to sort him out sooner rather than later. She was disappointed about Loony. We had to end our conversation, because she got a phone call from the nursery. Her little girl charmed another child. Nicky had to leave but promised to call me in a couple of days.

  When I got home, I found that my grandmother had left me a couple of messages, but I was too tired to even think about calling her. She couldn’t possibly expect that I would want to talk to her after what went on in my parents’ house. That night, I finally had a good night’s sleep.

  * * *

  The next day, I didn't have to wake up early because I finally got a later shift. There was no point stressing over Nathaniel. He didn't call, and I was happy to have some space. Monica and Adele were laughing when I arrived at the office on that gloomy Tuesday evening. I spotted an elf by the door who was reading a paper. He smiled as I walked in, so I smiled back. I was in a good mood and I was planning to keep it.

  "This gentleman is here to see you," Monica said when I reached my desk.

  "Me? I'm not expecting anyone today."

  "Well, we did ask him if we could help him, but he asked for you, dear," she whispered back, giving me a wicked smile. "By the way, he smells delicious."

  I sat down at my desk wondering what he wanted from me. The elf folded up the paper and smiled at me again.

  "Hi, my name is Julia Taylor. I believe you wanted to talk to me?"

  I couldn’t quite understand why he was checking me out like he was trying to figure out if I was good enough for him. He was loaded; I noticed his car keys and very expensive designer jacket. He couldn’t possibly be here because he was looking for a job.

  "Hi, I'm Jake," he replied, winking at me.

  I frowned, wondering if I’d missed something. "I'm sorry. I don’t believe we’ve met."

  "Well, Miss Taylor, I must admit that I’ve been seeing you around here for months, but I just never had a chance to talk to you," he explained, cocking his head to the side.

  I had no idea what he was talking about. My two co-workers were staring at us, not even trying to pretend that they weren't listening.

  "Are you looking for work, Jake?" I asked, shifting my weight to the right.

  "I'm sorry I don’t think that I made myself clear." He chuckled. "You caught my eye, Miss Taylor, and I would like to invite you out for dinner."

  I laughed. His expression changed, and he appeared to be insulted, so I stopped laughing. I tried to remember if I’d ever seen him before, but my mind was blank.

  "Um." Yeah, this was the only sound that I was able to make.

  "Is that a yes?" he asked, irritated.

  "I'm afraid that would be a no." I paused. "No, I don’t think that I can go out with you."

  He arched his eyebrows and checked the time, muttering to himself. He shot me a devilish look and then left without another word. I scratched my head in confusion.

  "There must be something in the air," Adele muttered.

  “I've never seen him in my life."

  "You should go out and have some fun, dear," Monica suggested. "His blood probably tastes incredible." Monica was a vampire, so for her the blood of any elf would taste like heaven.

  I decided to just get on with my day and forget about him, but two hours later I had three more admirers.

  "May I ask who sent you here?" I inquired of a tall, muscular elf once we established that a date wasn't on the agenda. I might be pretty, but I'm not Claudia Schiffer. No one could have so many propositions in one day.

  "So, I wasn't the first one?" he asked, looking offended.

  "Of course not. There were three others before you." I waved my hand in frustration.

  "Okay, you’re right. Your grandmother mentioned that you’re still single," he said confidently. "She said that you’re pretty, intelligent and your family has a great reputation."

  "Listen," I began, "Sorry, what was your name again?"

  "Lee."

  "Yeah, Lee, I don’t want to be rude, but I'm not interested."

  "I don’t get it," he said. "Your grandmother mentioned that you’re looking to settle down. I have a large house in the country. Are you sure you don’t want to go out with me?"

  "Positive."

  He shook his head, apologised and left. I was fuming, clenching my fists.

  When I finally went home at five o’clock I felt like I was ready to punch someone. I took a hot shower, changed, and left my apartment determined to sort my life out. I didn't feel guilty leaving with Roberto, when two undercover officers were sleeping instead of keeping an eye on me. I was pissed off, tired and ready to have a long and intense argument with my "boyfriend" about our so called "relationship."

  Chapter 21

  Paris.

  Roberto was a troll, but he obviously didn't mind being up at whatever time of the night because he was happy to drive me straight to Canary Wharf. The guard in Nathaniel’s building let me in as soon as I mentioned that I was there to visit La Caz. He didn't care that it was five o’clock in the morning and he couldn't take his eyes off his small TV. The lift brought all the memories back; the warm air raising all the tiny hairs on my arms. My breathing was rigid, and my pulse kept racing out of control.

  I tried his door first, but he locked it, so I started slamming my fists against it, attempting to wake him up.

  "What?" he shouted, opening the door with a blanket around his shoulders. My eyes popped out when I noticed his naked chest.

  "We need to talk,” I said, passing him in the hallway. Maybe I was overdramatic and stupid but tonight I’d had enough.

  "Do you know what time it is?"

  “It's a good time to talk," I snapped, pacing around his stylish living room. His naked body was too distracting. Even with his messy hair and confused expression, he melted my insides.

  He yawned and sat on the sofa, staring at me intensely.

  “It's five fifteen in the morning. I was sleeping."

  "I don’t care that you were sleeping, we need to talk," I yelled.

  "Talk about what?"

  "About what?" I shrieked. "Us, of course!"

  “You're acting crazy, Julia, calm down."

  "No, I'm not going to calm down, because according to you, it’s all hunky dory."

  My hands were shaking as I poured out my frustration, but he still acted like he didn't understand what was going on.

  "Come on, come here and tell me; what’s on your mind?"

  "I'm fed up with your seduction games. Just tell me what you want from me, or we’re just going to call it a day."

  "Please, stop acting like you’re mental." He growled, getting up. The blanket slipped away, and he stood in front of me in his boxers. My chest tightened, and my breasts swelled.

  "You see, you’re doing it now!" I yelled, pushing him back on the sofa. "You can’t just turn up in my office, demand to speak to me and then try to fuck me when I have clients in!"

  He looked amused, and I wasn't impressed that he didn't understand why I was so furious.

  He smirked. "You have to admit that what I was doing to you was pretty amazing."

  “That's so not the point," I said. "You left pissed because I told you to get lost."

  "I was just trying to make it more interesting," he said, pulling me to sit by him. "I love when you play hard to get."

  "We’re adults, Nathaniel, not teenagers. You’ve got to stop this."

  I tossed my hair behind my head and got up, ready to leave him alone. He was right to some extent: I was acting crazy. In a split second I was back on the sofa and he was on top of me holding my wrists. His eyes drifted away for a second, then found me again, burning with passion.

  I stopped breathing, staring as he leaned in and whispered, “I'll tell you exactly what I want and you’re going to listen to me very c
arefully. Every time I’m near you, I want to rip your clothes to pieces and claim your body as mine. I want to fuck you hard for hours until you beg me to stop because you can’t take anymore. Your scent drives me absolutely fucking insane. I can smell your blood everywhere you move, and I want to taste it badly."

  I was frozen and too scared to make a move because right now, Nathaniel was just a hungry predator, ready to rip my throat out. Adrenaline rushed through my veins; his fangs were only inches away from my neck.

  "But I respect you, so I hold on to my instincts. Think about my games as long blissful foreplay before I take you to Paris."

  I felt like the air had been sucked out of me and I was falling. Something long and hard was pressed against my stomach. His eyes were like a consuming darkness.

  "Paris?" I asked, choking.

  "Paris," he repeated. “That's where I'm taking you this weekend."

  We were in the same position; his sweet breath on my neck. I wasn't sure if his fangs were still out; he could fight with his attraction, but not with his thirst, so technically I was still in danger.

  "France, but it’s—"

  "We’re done talking now." He growled, then bit my neck. My muscles tensed as adrenaline pumped through me, but he wasn't tasting my blood, he was kissing me. I shucked off the hesitation. Desire had replaced the fear, heat rolled in waves, shuttering my body.

  "What are you doing?" I asked in a low whisper hoping to buy some time, but he had no intention of letting me go.

  "Catching up. We wasted so much time talking when we could have done much more wonderful things," he whispered, pressing himself to me. His mouth was one with mine, and if this was one of his tricks I swore that I would kill him.

  He stopped, so he could lift me up. Once we reached his bedroom, he was on top of me again. His lips found mine in a matter of seconds, but his fierce kiss was like a fireworks display on my lips. I cried out, moaning, allowing him to possess me.

  "I don’t—"

  "Stop talking and open your legs," he ordered. I obeyed, losing my mind with the intensity of his scent. Shamelessly, I pushed my hips forward against his hardness, parting my legs. I stopped thinking and kissed him back. We didn't have to talk; it was just the passion that that had been building up for weeks. He pulled my T-shirt away from me and got rid of my trousers.

  "Firecracker, this is the end of my foreplay," he said, lowering himself and unhooking my bra. My palms were damp with sweat and the ache between my legs throbbed. "Beautiful and all mine."

  His lips began the journey down my body, throwing off the mistrust, igniting a fire. His mouth bit my neck then licked my hard nipples. I arched back as he sucked, nibbled and corrupted my body. His head moved downwards and stopped between my legs. A spark of heavenly energy pulled away, slicing through the pores of my neck. His tongue licked me once and fire blazed deep inside my core.

  Then we both heard a loud bang and Nathaniel lifted his head.

  "What’s going on?" I asked.

  "I'm going to fucking kill whoever is on the other side of the door," He growled and got up.

  He put his robe on and rushed to the door, clenching his fists. I bit my lip, hoping that he was going to be back shortly. I heard voices and lay back on the bed, taking in a sharp breath and clenching my fists in frustration. Chewing my bottom lip, I got up and put my clothes back on. In the mirror, I smoothed my sex hair and went into the living room.

  My stomach flipped when I saw my dad talking to Nathaniel. Behind him there were two undercover officers giving me the look of death. Nathaniel’s guard was also there waving towards me with a smile.

  "As you can see, she’s here and alive," Nathaniel said, pointing at me. Dad looked at his naked chest and pursed his lips, automatically laying his eyes on my neck.

  Thank God, I didn't leave the bedroom naked.

  "Hi, Dad, what’s going on?" I asked, flushed redder than a tomato. The two police officers didn't look happy at all, staring at me, standing behind Dad.

  "You were gone. We all thought that something happened to you. Your spell was weak," he shouted, throwing his hand up in the air, going purple.

  "Yeah, they were sleeping in the car and I left the flat in a bit of a hurry," I mumbled as Nathaniel brought me back to his chest.

  "Mr. Taylor, I think it would be better if we do this inside. I'm sure that my neighbours don’t appreciate such an alarm at five o’clock in the morning."

  "Next time, just wake us up," the taller Elf snapped.

  "Next time, you better not sleep when you’re supposed to be working!" Dad yelled. "All right, I'm off. I told you, hon, stop being so reckless and let us know when you’re going somewhere in the middle of the night!"

  "Sorry," I muttered, feeling Nathaniel’s heartbeat.

  "Mr. Taylor, I'm taking Julia to Paris tomorrow. I might as well let you know now." Nathaniel announced unexpectedly.

  "Paris?" Dad repeated.

  "Yeah, he kind of told me a moment ago," I admitted.

  "As long as I know what’s going on," he muttered. "Good day to you, La Caz."

  He declined the cup of coffee Nathaniel offered and went on his way, shouting at his subordinates. I was hoping that we could carry on where we left off, but then Nathaniel’s mobile went off when we went back inside. I waited until he was finished with his conversation, yawning loudly.

  "Sorry, that was one of my assistants. I need to go to work," he said, walking back to the kitchen.

  "Oh well, I guess I should be going, too."

  "I kind of want to tell my assistant that I'm busy so we can finish what we started," he said, closing the gap between us.

  "No, don’t worry. I just finished work, so I need to get my beauty sleep," I said, yanking away from him.

  "Your father was right: you shouldn't just walk away." He kissed my forehead. "But aside from that, I wish I could stay here and make sweet, tender love to you."

  "Paris, baby, I can’t wait. I don’t mind waiting until we’re there," I sang. "Hey, did you know that my grandmother sent four elves to the office, so they could ask me out?"

  "That woman is determined to get you out of my hands."

  "I couldn't believe it."

  "I think I’ve met my match."

  Roberto was waiting for me outside his apartment, and so were the two officers that I blew off earlier. Surely, if they were supposed to look after me, they had to up their game. I was so excited about Paris that I’d already forgotten about Nathaniel’s mind games. He was finally showing me the right signals. I was also dying to sleep with him, and now we were going to make love in the most romantic city in the world. I was very excited.

  The girls were mega thrilled too when I told them that I was going to Paris for the weekend, although, good old Kate kept reminding me that I needed to be careful with vampires. She was worried, and kept reminding me that only a month ago, I’d sworn that I would never get back together with him.

  When I told Mum, I couldn't get her off the phone for the rest of the evening. She kept saying that Nathaniel was taking me to Paris to propose. She didn't want to believe that we weren't going to be engaged anytime soon. We barely knew each other, and I knew that Nathaniel wasn't the marrying type. My grandmother had no idea what was going on and I could only hope that Mum would keep it a secret.

  Nathaniel arrived in the early afternoon to pick me up. He gave Roberto the weekend off. He let me into his Aston Martin; I could barely contain my excitement, wondering what he had planned for us.

  "How are you feeling?" he asked, pulling me into his arms.

  "Eager to get to the airport." I chuckled.

  "We will stay in the hotel today and then we’ll go visit my sister and her husband," he explained, driving off. The two officers followed us; they weren't ready to leave me until I was safe on the plane.

  "I didn't realise that you had any other family. You’ve never mentioned your sister to me before."

  "My father turned her a couple of years a
fter he became a vampire," he said. "So, if you’re wondering—no, she isn’t my biological sister, but I always treated her like one."

  “What's her name?"

  "Charlotte."

  “It's a pretty name," I muttered. "Are you two close?"

  "We’re very close, although we don’t see each other that often. Charlotte was dying when my father turned her. Now she’s married and settled."

  "So, they aren’t ageing like you."

  "No, they don’t, but Charlotte accepted me like her brother. She enjoys being a vampire."

  "I can’t wait to meet them," I said, thinking about a cover charm. "I'm excited, I’ve always wanted to see Paris"

  "I'm more excited having all weekend to fuck your brains out," he whispered.

  Ever since my father had interrupted our small rendezvous, I couldn't concentrate on anything else. We were going to make love tonight, and no one was going to disturb us this time around. We were flying from Heathrow in Nathaniel’s private plane. The flight was short, and by seven, I was stepping on French soil, feeling positively nervous. I was so happy that I was away from all of the problems. I deserved a break from all the drama that I had in my life. Nothing was going to stop me from having a good time today.

  A limousine waited for us at the airport. I couldn't quite believe it when we were passing by the Eiffel Tower. Nathaniel told me a little about his sister and her husband; they lived twenty minutes from Paris.

  "The management doesn't employ any humans at this hotel. Parisian paranormals like to keep away from the ordinary world," he explained when we stopped in front of a tall Victorian building.

  "How is that even possible? What about human guests?"

  "Magic," he said, smiling. "I don’t actually know, they just don’t. The reservation can be done online if you have a special quote, which can only be obtained by a paranormal. They are booked all year around."

  "Impressive."

  "And useful," he muttered. "We have the entire top floor reserved only for us."