I am Jade

by Victoria Danes

  He smiled. “I have the ability to calm aggression and nerves. I don’t use it often though. Some of us have special abilities.”

  “Why did you use it on me?”

  “Because you needed it before you would have done something that you would have regretted.”

  “Thank you. I guess.” I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand before turning back toward him. I didn’t realize I was crying. “I don’t want this,” I whispered.

  “None of us do.” Adrian admitted.

  “How can I control a bloodthirsty beast if I can’t even control my own temper?” I asked.

  “I can try to help you,” he said, softly.

  “I won’t let you chain me in your basement.”

  He laughed. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Jade,” he said after a moment. “I meant you can come and stay with me until your first full moon when you will shift.”

  I was quiet and let that thought hang in the air.

  “I could try to teach you how to control it. Control the anger that raises the beast. Control the hunger that drives it, the fear that excites it…”

  “Live with you until the change?” I asked in a voice higher than usual.

  I felt heat creep up into my chest, up my neck, and spill onto my cheeks. Was he serious? We barely knew each other. How could we live together?

  “It was only a suggestion. I was just trying to help. I’m sorry. I’m sorry about tonight.” Adrian spoke in a low voice.

  “You were only doing your job.” I unfastened my seatbelt and reached for the door as he parked the car.

  “I meant what I suggested.”

  I bit my lower lip and nodded. “I’d be lying if I said I don’t have anymore questions about all this. Would I be out of line to ask you upstairs?”

  He gave me a smile. “I’d be happy to answer your questions, Jade.”

  ***

  My apartment is in a brick building in a private development in the middle of the woods. I like my privacy. There are ten tenants in the building. Most of them keep to themselves as much as I do.

  “It’s very nice in here.” Adrian commented after walking in behind me. “Your apartment is very nice.”

  “Thank you.” I offered while lighting some lamps as I walked by them. “You can have a seat.”

  “Okay.” Adrian sat on the brown suede couch with his hands on his lap.

  I took off my coat and hung it and my purse on a coat tree near the front door, then slipped off my shoes. I was going to ask for his jacket, but I wasn’t sure yet if he wanted to stay or not. He seemed to be debating and his nervous energy tainted the air.

  “How long have you lived here?” he asked.

  “About three years.”

  He nodded and took a quick look around before his eyes came to a stop on the coffee table where pictures of the missing girls spilled out of the envelope and onto the tabletop.

  Instinctively, I reached out to clean them up.

  “Those are the girls?” He sat up straighter and eyed them closer.

  “Yes.” I sighed.

  He picked up a couple of photos, studying them closer before his voice hardened a bit with anger. “Damn, they are so young.”

  “They are.” I agreed. “Which is why it’s so important to find them as soon as possible.”

  “Still no closer to solving this thing, eh?” He questioned as he set down the pictures.

  “Not really. Our only lead is dead and…”

  He looked up at me. “And?” He prompted.

  “My power seems useless in this case. I cannot see anything. I can’t get a feel for them using these pictures. But maybe tomorrow when I meet with their families, I might be able to connect with them using personal items. I’m hoping.”

  “This is really important to you isn’t it? Finding these girls?”

  “It is,” I answered.

  “So how did they all happen to go missing? Are there any similarities? Consistencies?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing like that. Their backgrounds, races, and physical features are all different. The only thing they have in common as far as I know is that they are all virgins.”

  “And you confirmed this?”

  “To the best of our knowledge, yes.”

  “You think it might be a sex trafficking thing?” Adrian quizzed.

  “No, it’s a vampire thing. We know vampires took them. Virginity is expensive as far as I know. Men are willing to pay quite a bit of money for young virgins, but I don’t know what vampires are willing to pay for them.”

  “And you’ve looked into that…into the vampire sex trafficking possibility?”

  “Faust has I’m sure.”

  Adrian took a deep breath. “And the guy I shot the first night we met, you think he’s involved?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. He told me some nonsense about knowing my father and nothing about the girls.”

  “You think he was lying?”

  I didn’t know and because of Adrian, I didn’t get to find out.

  “No, I don’t think he was lying. But I don’t know if he knew my father or knows my father.”

  “How long has your father been missing?”

  “Ten years. My mother was institutionalized a year later. She is at Reginald Mental Health Clinic.”

  “Is she physically sick also?” he asked.

  “No. She is catatonic.”

  “So you were on your own when you were…?”

  “Twelve,” I answered. “I was in and out of the system. Different homes, different families, some good, some not. People can be very vicious and cruel.” I didn’t want to elaborate on the abuse I had endured in these homes as a child. “Things got better when I met Stephan and Seth. They made it easier. More tolerable. Then I met Ellie and she took me in.”

  “Detective Bates?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “I heard about her. I’m sorry.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “Tell me about Seth.” He urged.

  I smiled at the memory of meeting Seth. “I met him soon after Stephan and I became friends. I hit him in the sensitive area during a heated soccer game.” I laughed and Adrian laughed with me. I felt at ease with him. Calm. But I didn’t want to talk about Seth. It was too painful.

  “What about you, officer.” I changed the subject before the memory of Seth overwhelmed me. “What’s your story?”

  He took in a deep breath and relaxed into the couch. “I’ve lived here my whole life. I have an older brother Zachary. Our mom raised us alone after Dad took off.”

  “That’s it?”

  He smiled. “What more do you want?”

  “Come on, there has to be more to you.”

  He licked his lips and thought briefly. “I’m a Virgo.” He chuckled. “I love pizza and playing pool.”

  “Very funny,” I said. “No girlfriend?”

  His eyes hardened a little bit. I must have hit a sore subject. “I was engaged a while back.”

  “But?”

  “But…she fell in love with Zachary. They married two years ago and now have a baby on the way.”

  I lowered my head. “Oh.”

  He nodded. “Oh, is right.”

  “Did she know about “you”?” I asked using my fingers as air quotes.

  “Not at first. But then I told her and…”

  “Do you think that pushed her away?” I questioned.

  He shrugged but didn’t answer.

  “Was it bad? The bite?” I quizzed.

  “Bad enough, but I survived, and I didn’t think I would turn furry later that month, but I did.”

  “Did it hurt?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  I didn’t know what else to say. Fear took a hold of me then as I thought about the impending full moon and my own first transition.

  “Don’t be afraid, Jade,” he whispered. “If you let me, I will help you the best I can.”

  I gave him a smile.

&nb
sp; “How long have you been a…clairvoyant?” he asked.

  “My whole life,” I answered. “But I didn’t know it. I’m actually a power absorber.”

  “That’s a thing?” He quizzed.

  I laughed. “Yes, that’s a thing.”

  “So what does it mean exactly?”

  “Well, I can absorb power from other people by touching them. They can surrender it to me, or I can take it by force if I really want it.”

  “Have you ever wanted something that bad? When did you discover it?” He sighed. “Am I asking too many questions?”

  I bit my bottom lip. “No. You’re not. I have yet to come across something I want bad enough to take it by force. I accidentally took the empath power from one of the foster parents I was staying with. She fell and hurt herself. I tried to help, but when I did, somehow my power flared to life and took whatever she had to offer.”

  “Did it hurt?” he asked.

  “Not really. I mean it didn’t hurt me. I don’t know about her. It scared her. I do know that. She got rid of me the next day. I figured something was up when I kept feeling sick every time I’d pass a hospital or would get angry or sad for no reason.”

  “You were so young.”

  I nodded.

  “And…alone.” His voice was pleasant.

  “Yes. Madam Stella helped me figure it all out. She has been mentoring me for a long time.”

  “She’s good company.” He offered. “I met her right after I was bitten. She found me naked in the alley behind her place. She put a blanket on me and offered me a cup of coffee.”

  “Ahh…the coffee…” I said.

  He laughed. “Yes, the coffee. How does she do it anyway?”

  “I’m not sure, but I know it has something to do with the way the coffee stains the cup after you drink it.” I yawned. Fatigue was setting in.

  “I should go,” he said as he got up and stretched. “It’s getting late.”

  “Thank you for the ride,” I said.

  Adrian nodded as he turned and started for the door.

  “Adrian, wait,” I said softly. So softly that I wasn’t sure he heard me. Slowly, he turned around. I sat on the edge of the couch with my hands on my lap.

  “Stay.” I urged maybe too quietly.

  He gave me quizzical eyes and stood very still.

  I felt my cheeks burn bright. “I mean, if we are even going to entertain the idea of living together for a few weeks, shouldn’t we get better acquainted?”

  “I suppose we should.” He agreed.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Unexpected

  Adrian hesitated a minute and then walked back toward the couch. He found a seat far from me and sat down with his jacket on his lap.

  “I’m not the one that bites in this relationship, Adrian.” I smirked.

  His face relaxed, and he laughed. A full-throated laugh that was all masculine and dangerously infectious. I laughed too and then I found a comfortable position on the couch and curled up in my favorite fleece blanket.

  Maybe I didn’t know Adrian well enough to invite him to stay, but I felt the atmosphere become tense when he walked away. As if he would walk out that door, he would take my sanity with him.

  “How about a movie?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Okay. I see you have a thing for classic movies.” He pointed to my movie collection on the shelves by the television.

  I nodded and pulled the blanket around me tighter. “Yes. They make more sense to me. It’s not the same predictable plot over and over again like in modern movies.”

  Adrian made a sound of agreement in his throat and then relaxed further into the couch. “Do you have one in mind you want me to watch with you?”

  “I’ll let you pick,” I said with a yawn.

  “I don’t think I could get up again,” Adrian said, truthfully. “I’m really tired.”

  I looked at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…I mean, you can leave if you don’t want to stay.”

  Adrian studied my face. His green eyes melted into my soul. It was almost as though I felt him brush the inside of my heart with that one gaze.

  “It’s all right, Jade,” he said, slowly. “I want to stay.”

  I blushed and reached for the remote control. “How about we just see if there is something on TV instead?”

  Adrian smiled in agreement and leaned his head on the back of the couch. “Sounds good.” He mumbled with a deep yawn.

  We had time to hear the voices on the channels that I scrolled through, but then the noise drifted away and so did we.

  ***

  Somewhere between Cary Grant’s smiles and Adrian’s labored breathing, I had fallen asleep.

  I woke once to check if Adrian was still there, and he was. His jacket was still on his lap. His hands were behind his head for support.

  Why had I asked him to stay?

  More than one reason. But maybe – mainly – because I felt he was a tortured soul to keep mine company.

  The other reason I had asked him to stay was because I wanted to know – needed to know – that if we were to actually live together for a month, could he control himself while alone with me.

  He looked peaceful as he slept. His face was relaxed and untouched by his earlier discomfort. His lips were almost turned into a smile. After checking my watch, I snuggled against the blanket again. It was one-thirty in the morning. Stephan would come by at two-thirty to check on me, and I didn’t want to see his disapproving face when he entered the apartment and found Adrian on the couch.

  I woke to heat a short time later with beads of sweat between my breasts. I was hot. Too hot.

  It was like fire licking my veins and waking my blood. My eyes flew open and my beast immediately scanned the room to find a threat. But there wasn’t one. I looked down, and Adrian’s head was on my lap. His hands were wrapped around my thighs using them like a pillow. His face was flushed, his lips slightly parted. He must have been dreaming. When and how did he end up on my lap? He squeezed my thigh and the heat flared, over my chest, through it and back out. It breathed along my face and burned my eyes. I couldn’t take it. I was melting from the inside out.

  Gently, I tried to maneuver out from under him.

  He stirred.

  I stopped.

  I could sense how much he ached to touch me.

  To feel me.

  That desire was enough to awaken my beast and she took over me in a blur.

  Adrian’s eyes flew open and locked on mine. They were like two green flames. Wild and hungry.

  I stopped breathing. I didn’t know what the look meant or if it was even Adrian looking at me through those flickering eyes, but I sat up and then in an instant, I was on his lap, straddling him.

  The fire was everywhere, scorching his veins and mine, sizzling in my blood. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. My mouth crushed down on his and my lips were frantic against his. My hands moved through his hair, around his neck.

  Should I fight the urges sweeping over me? Could I? Could he? He wanted me. I felt it. Felt it like honey on my tongue. He craved my touch the way dehydrated veins thirst for blood. My hair had come undone, and it was falling around me in waves. I wanted him, wanted a taste of what he had to offer.

  “Jade…” He groaned into my mouth. I silenced him with my tongue. He gripped my arms and gently moved me away from his face. Confusion painted his wild eyes. “Jade, wait…” Adrian said with a gulp of my essence on his tongue. “We can’t…I can’t…”

  I fought his grip and found his mouth again. “Just take me, Adrian…” I whispered, and his control crumbled at my feet.

  He moved his mouth with mine now.

  Whatever happens…happens.

  He parted his lips to give my tongue entry into his mouth. I didn’t disappoint. My tongue found his and caressed it with smooth motions.

  I kissed him with a promise of pleasure. Kissed him like I would devour his soul and claim him.

  The tas
te of him was so very sweet and addicting. Adrian wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me tighter against him. My insides were awakening and becoming alert now. I pressed myself against his rigid muscle and began to dance on his lap – slow circular motions like an expert seductress. Adrian groaned and moved to match my rhythm. I bit at his lips and then moved my mouth to his jaw, his neck…it was there I lingered. Over the pulse in his throat, I nibbled and licked and sucked. I moved back just enough to lift my shirt over my head and fling it across the room. I then went back to the sore skin on his throat. I was sure it was tender now, but Adrian didn’t complain. He brought his hands over my black lace bra and caressed my mounds of flesh through the garment. He wanted a taste – needed a taste. I could feel his need rise.

  As he reached behind me to unhook my bra, my hands moved faster and ripped the garment down the middle – tearing the fabric effortlessly. Placing my hands on Adrian’s shirt, I rubbed my hands down his chest. Gripping the material, I shredded it to pieces. Fabric and buttons and pins flew across the room. Adrian’s badge was somewhere on the floor. I licked across his chest and kissed him with a fiery mouth.

  Adrian pulled me to him. Tight against the desire that throbbed and ached for my attention. My hands were on his belt. I yanked it off and flung it. Adrian’s pants were next but keys jiggled outside the door and then footsteps approached.

  Seconds later, something shattered on the floor.

  I stopped mid-motion.

  My head snapped back toward the noise.

  “I am so glad you didn’t come home with someone that would take advantage of you.” Stephan spat sarcastically.

  He was standing in between the living room and kitchen. At his feet was a coffee mug – or what had once been a coffee mug. His khaki pants were stained with the dark liquid.

  I turned my head back slowly toward Adrian. My hair was in my face, and I knew the color of my eyes changed because they were burning, stinging. A low steady growl was coming out of my throat and then spilled from my mouth.

  I leaped off Adrian in a backflip and landed on the balls of my feet on the coffee table. I was crouching, ready for an attack.

  Stephan was distracting me from what I wanted. What I needed. He interrupted me, and the she-wolf inside me was less than pleased with his intrusion. I lunged for him, and Adrian was in front of Stephan before my body slammed into him.