I glanced up at Max, whose eyes now seemed filled with worry, and I nodded. “I remember,” I said.
A smile swept across his rosy lips and he leaned towards me. He went to dab the bloodstained cloth on my chin again, but I stopped him and without complaint he handed the cloth to me.
“You took quite a hit,” he said, as he leaned back a bit and relaxed his posture. “There was blood everywhere.” He gestured to my chest and I glanced down. Almost the whole front of my slate grey shirt was stained burgundy black with blood and even the top of my black track pants was damp with congealing fluid.
I licked my lips as I looked back up at Max, and swallowed another thick mouthful of the spicy, slightly arid, metallic blood still filling the back of my throat. I frowned unhappily at the flavor and immediately tried to swallow again, as if thinking that more bloodied saliva would weaken the taste. My expression contorted and I shook my head at the even stronger tang of blood. I grimaced and looked at Max. “Do you have any water,” I asked, a little desperately.
He grinned and held his index finger up as if to say ‘one moment’. Then his weight left the bed as he stood up and he walked towards the smaller door in the right hand side of the room. He opened the door and disappeared inside. I heard the muffled hush of water pouring from a tap, then nothing and he reappeared at the doorway with a glass in his hand. He strode back over to me, took a seat again on the bed by my hips, and handed me the glass. I sat up a little and put the cold, hard edge to my parched lips and slipped some of the refreshing liquid into my mouth.
As I drank, Max stared down at me curiously and then clasped his hands together in his lap. “You know,” he began suspiciously, “given the amount of blood you lost, you sure seem to be recovering quickly. After all, you did get hit by a vampire.”
I stared at Max’s curious expression and smiled sheepishly with the edge of the glass still pressed to my lips. After a moment, I took another cautious sip and lowered the glass away from my mouth. Then feeling a little under the microscope with Max’s eyes still piercing into mine, I shrugged in proper response to his question and tried to think of a diversion. “I hope you know that I’m still mad at you,” I said matter-of-factly, then cringed internally at how childish the comment sounded.
Max’s eyebrows rose in surprise and the conversation appeared to have been successfully diverted. “Me,” he said, astonished. “After all the events of the evening, I had hoped your anger may have transferred to more deserving participants. By now, I must seem at the very least to be one of the more innocent players involved.”
His sincere expression and absurd expectations made me laugh out loud. Overwhelmed by his audacity, I placed the glass on small chest of drawers beside me and sat up, pushing my back firmly against the bed head. “You can’t be serious,” I said. “How could you actually think that I would consider you innocent, in any form. I doubt that you were innocent even as a baby you were innocent. Mischief and manipulation are part of your very soul—if you have one. This evening was nothing less than proof of that.”
Max’s left hand went to his chest, covering the dark, hollow area that would have held a heart, if he had one. “You wound me,” he replied clearly in mocking sincerity. “How could you think so poorly of me?”
His expression remained grief-stricken for a moment and then suddenly his hand dropped and a pleasurable grin wrapped itself hungrily around his lips. I flinched at the quick change in personality and then chided myself for it.
“Of course,” he said, seductively as his left index finger stroked gently up my thigh, “manipulation has its benefits. Manipulating the conversation, for example, could lead some curious person off the trail for the truth. However, I am not so easily manipulated, Kitty. You should already know that.”
Max leaned in closer to me and I pushed myself further against the hard, wooden bed head. I crossed my arms across my chest defiantly as Max’s hand left the top of my thigh and settled softly on the right side of my neck, just under my jaw.
“So, let’s quit the games, shall we,” he said sweetly. “And why don’t you tell me what’s new with you?” His sickly sweet smile was enough to rot little kids’ teeth as he stared hard into my eyes waiting for an answer. His skin was warm against mine as his hand moved to cup the side of my jaw and his thumb started stroking the loose hair by my ear.
My body relaxed at his touch, even though most of me didn’t want to and I tried hard not to listen to the suggestive thoughts being pelted at me by my evil half. I swallowed as my brain started trying to focus on an answer, and then I realized something interesting. “You’re warm,” I said, quietly and a little more to myself than to him. “You’re never warm.”
Max’s thumb stopped stroking my ear and with his hand firmly around the side of my head, he pulled my face closer to his. “Kitty,” he said, sounding disappointed. “What did I just say? You can’t distract me. Just tell me what I want to hear.”
With the help of my evil side’s more violent imagination than my own, my mind started to come up with possible reasons for why Max was now unusually warmer than normal. All of them involved him doing something I wouldn’t want him doing.
“Why are you warm,” I asked, not only trying to be irritating and wanting to change the direction of the conversation, but also because I wanted to put my overly active imagination to rest.
“Kitty,” Max said, more firmly. “Tell me what I want to know.”
I looked deep into his demanding amber eyes and shook my head. “You first,” I said. “You give me my answer and I’ll give you yours. Do we have a deal?”
Max raised an eyebrow and frowned, clearly annoyed at me. Then a small smile crept over his lips and he leaned a tiny bit closer, his nose almost touching mine. “But, Kitty love, my answer is of little importance and will only result in your unhappiness, whereas your answer will give me a reason for the mysterious change in your nature. Surely, you can see how neither of us could benefit from my answer and both of us would benefit from yours.”
I glared at him for a moment, then grinned slyly and moved the last little inch. I touched my nose to his and gave him a slow, caressing Eskimo kiss, and then put my lips close to his. “Max, darling,” I said, saucily. “Your answer is worth as much to me as mine is to you. Tell me what you did to get warm and I’ll tell you how I’ve changed.”
I pulled my face away from his a little, but was stopped by the firm hand he had around the side of my face. Without another word, he pulled me back to him and forced his lips on mine. They were soft, but aggressive as they tried to devour my mouth and my mind couldn’t help but give in to the passionate desperation of his kiss. My tense limbs relaxed and my body yearned for more, while my evil side fought urgently to gain some control. As my will weakened, she grew stronger and it wasn’t long before my arms, crossed like a barricade across my chest, came falling down and wrapped instinctively around Max’s neck. Fire ripped through my veins and a tingling shockwave trembled through my body. My mind no longer contained the strength to command my body and she was now in control.
My body moved without me and I slid up onto my knees, while returning Max’s kiss with more vigor. At my movement, Max’s hand left my face and his arms wrapped tightly behind my back pulling me closer against him. His tongue licked enticingly at my lips and I opened to him, my tongue playfully seducing his as he pulled me hard against his chest. I could feel my heart beat racing with excitement and anticipation, while her thoughts for a happy ending invaded my mind. She lifted my legs and straddled Max’s thighs, then released her arms from around his neck, firmly grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back onto the bed. Max’s body and lips left mine for an instant as he fell, but I’d followed him closely and was just about to reconnect when I saw his face.
The smug look of satisfaction filled his bright amber eyes and his winning white grin, like the cat that got the cream, was enough to make me pause. I felt a look of confusion cross my face and then it was me, not her�
�my other, stronger half—that discovered our mistake. He’d got his answer, without me having to say a word, and my evil side was stunned. Max’s smile grew larger as the shock of our mistake crossed our face and I felt her retreat deeper inside me, relinquishing all the control back to me. When my body was once more mine, I wiped the shock from my face and glared daggers at Max from where I sat above him.
“Ah,” he grinned happily, “there she is. Back again are we. What happened to the other side? I thought she and I were just getting started.”
I pursed my lips, then gave him a look of sarcastic amusement and slapped him hard across the side of the face with my right hand. Without another hesitation and in the split second while he seemed to recover, I climbed off him more quickly than I should have been able to, and I hopped off the bed. I ran for the large double doors, my mind focused only on escape, but then found Max standing protectively in front of them. I skidded to a stop, while surprise and disbelief made my head turn automatically back to the empty bed and then return to Max and my only exit. My hands curled into fists as fury and frustration began boiling inside of me.
“Let me go,” I growled at him, unable to keep the slight hint of fear out of my voice.
His disappointed frown became a small cynical grin and his left hand came up to his cheek. He rubbed it as though it still hurt and then shook his head at me, while his smile grew larger. “I never thought you’d be the stronger one,” he said sardonically, as he took as step towards me. “My intuition is usually right on the money.”
He frowned, feigning further disappointment and then took another step towards me. I mirrored his steps, but in a slow conspicuous retreat, constantly wary of his unpredictable, lightning-quick movements. His dark amber eyes watched my back steps amusedly, but refused to give away his plans. “I shouldn’t be disappointed really,” he said. “I am always eager for a challenge and with you I have finally got my chance.”
He took a step and I followed and felt something soft give way behind my legs. I glanced around and saw the heavy scarlet satin of the bed sheets directly behind me. I had backed myself into a corner and apart from climbing over the bed, I didn’t have much chance of escape. Not that I had much of a chance anyway considering I was up against a vampire with strong skills in speed. When I turned my attention back to Max, he was a couple of steps closer than before and gaining.
I had no intention of trying to jump over the bed, so that was out of the question and I didn’t see a safe way for me to make it to the double doors without Max grabbing me first. Therefore, it seemed as though my only option would be to lock myself further inside the room, but further away from Max. I tried hard not to let any snippet of my plan pass over my face, and as Max stepped closer, I used my unusually quick speed to run to his left. Luckily, I managed to dodge him, as I had hoped, and I continued to pretend for a second, running towards the main double doors. After his grab for me had failed, Max disappeared from sight, running faster than I could see, hopefully in the direction I wanted him to. Then, after a step or two towards the doors, I changed direction and ran at full speed with every shred of power I could capture towards the smaller door at the other side of the room.
I reached for the door handle, twisted it, pulling the door towards me and then I ducked inside the room. But as I was trying to pull the door closed, Max’s fingers wrapped around the edge and his grip threatened to pull it open again.
“Hiding in the bathroom won’t save you,” Max said, gruffly from the other side of the door.
“No,” I said angrily, as I tried to yank the door free of him. “But it will keep me away from you for a while.”
“Oh,” he cried playfully, as his grip on the door seemed to strengthen. “You don’t really mean that. How could you desire to be away from me? I am after all, your destiny, just ask your evil twin. She and I are meant to be and there is nothing you can do about it.”
In one swift pull, Max yanked the door back towards him and out of my grasp. It swung open with such force that it slammed loudly against the outside wall and bounced back towards him. He struck an arm out and stopped the door from forming a wall between us, grabbing it angrily in his hand, and then he took a furious step towards me. “Stop fighting me, Kitty,” he said more sincerely as he stalked towards me. “You belong to me. You are everything I have wanted in life and more, and I have waited a long time for you to be ready for me.”
I backed further into the bathroom, trying to stay out of his grasp, but I knew that I was running out of room and that very soon he’d reach me.
“What makes you think I even want to be yours,” I demanded. “What have you done to deserve me? Helping your father turn my mum into a vampire is hardly likely to get you in my good book.”
A look of surprise washed over Max’s face for a second, before it was replaced once more with firm righteous arrogance.
“What, you thought I wouldn’t realize,” I asked him angrily. “It was pretty damn obvious. There are only so many ways for a vampire’s blood to grow warm. Drinking someone else’s blood is kind of high on the list and since my mum the vampire seemed to be so into ‘family’, it seemed only right to suspect that it had been a family affair in turning her.” I crossed my arms over my chest and held my head high as I glared furiously at him and waited for a reply or acknowledgement.
Max’s smug expression increased in confidence and he took another steady step towards me. “You’re only half right, love,” he said, grinning a gleaming white grin. “I did drink a little from your mother earlier in the evening, but I owe my continued warmth all to you.”
A cold feeling of dread filled my stomach and fear chilled my blood. I bit my lip and without moving, I began trying to focus on every part of my body individually to see if I could feel something sore or something wrong. I lost all sense of Max and the bathroom as I focused harder and harder on my body and any tender limbs or muscles. My face and nose still felt a little tense after being punched by Louis, but I could sense that everything felt almost healed and normal. Then, I felt a twinge low on the right hand side of my stomach, in the fleshy piece of skin just above my hip-bone.
To my left I saw the glint of a mirror and completely ignoring the danger I was in from the vampire standing in front of me, I turned and stepped up to it. The bright, white fluorescent light above it made my skin look deathly pale against the remaining splashes of dried crimson blood on my chin, neck and chest. My gaze dropped down to the bloodied right hand corner of my slate grey shirt and my ashen hand lifted the damp material up. I gasped silently when I saw the rosy pink of healing skin in a large circular tooth mark pattern just above my hip. The skin around it had been wiped clean of blood and only a few small diluted pink droplets from the congealed fluid on my shirt remained.
A shadowy figure stepped behind me in the mirror, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the nearly healed wound. Shock had overwhelmed me and I felt suddenly empty of emotion. I knew I should feel violated, angry and vengeful, yet I was almost totally numb. My evil half, on the other hand, was completely overwhelmed and seemed to see the wound as an inevitable event, a mark of ownership and a reason to give in and give up. The ferocious strength I had felt from her so many times now felt ruined and broken.
The shadowy shape came closer and I felt Max’s warm breath by my neck. His firm chest slid up against the back of my body as his right hand cupped mine and lifted my shirt higher. “It seems to be healing quite nicely, if you ask me,” he whispered close to my ear.
I bit my bottom lip fiercely to stop it from trembling and I fought back yet another urge to cry. My emotions were completely muddled and all I wanted to do was go to sleep and never wake up. My life and everything I’d known and cared about was changing, and not for the better. I didn’t know what to do.
I sniffled back a heartbreaking whimper and felt my body shiver as Max’s hand left mine and slid seductively up to my throat. He wiped my blood-tinged burgundy black hair from the right side of my neck and
let it fall gently over my left shoulder. I closed my eyes as his lips met my neck and his left hand wrapped securely around my left arm. I fought hard not to cry even though everything in me was telling me to just give in, to end it. My heart felt like it was splitting in two and the world around me was dying. I wanted to give in, I needed to, I yearned for death and the peace it would bring with it. Yet as I thought it something snapped in me. Max’s teeth grazed against my bare neck as he pulled me harder against him and I opened my eyes.
“Your blood,” he whispered to me, “tastes like heaven, and if I was a believer I’d worship you and drown myself in the sweet blood of your life.”
His words echoed in my head, but seemed to come from miles and miles away. I stared at myself in the mirror, ignoring the dark shadow wrapping itself around me, and I felt different. My dark side, my evil half, had become numb to the situation around her. She was not strong enough or clear-headed enough to deal with Max on her own and I could feel that she’d finally realized that. She loved him, I could feel how much she did and until now, her love for him seemed to have given her the strength to keep going. But now he’d finally broken her, by tricking her, betraying her and violating her. It was her thought that had made me want to end it all and just give in to the peace of death. And I was surprised to find that my evil half, the bad side, wasn’t so evil or bad after all.
My eyes drifted from my own reflection and I focused on the shadowy reflection of Max. His lips were still pressed to my neck and his teeth were playfully nipping at my pulse.
As I stared at him, a thought came to me, a question I had wanted answered since the first day I’d met him and I knew that now was as good a time as any to ask. I straightened my neck and stared hard at his reflection in the mirror. “You said you knew me the first time we met,” I said firmly, but inquisitively. “That we’d met a long time before and that’s why I didn’t remember you.”
Innocently Evil (A Kitty Bloom Novel) Page 19
