“Wow that would be amazing, thank you so much!” I could hardly get the words out fast enough.
“Will Ms. Martha be working on Monday?” Julian asked.
“Yes, she will, so that’ll give us some time alone while she runs the place,” she told me. “Martha Winters is one of Spring City’s oldest residents. She volunteers when she feels up to it and helps me out when I need a break or need to do some work around the store without being interrupted by customers.”
“I can’t wait to meet her and talk more with you about the position,” I said, excited about the opportunity.
Julian picked out a few baked goods to take back to the house for snacks later and I stuck them in my bag. He went on to close up the donor van and take care of the things he needed to do in the hospital, while I went on to the dollar store across the street.
They weren’t high class, by any means, but I had a little bit of a high after meeting Suzan and then purchasing some items for myself from the dollar store. I picked out a new purse, obviously not designer, but practical and exactly what I needed. I got a hair dryer and a straightener, in addition to some hair ties and bobby pins. I hadn’t thought about things like that in my grand plan. I also put some bubble bath and a few small lavender candles in the buggy, and then I laughed at myself for remembering Julian called it a “buggy.” I grabbed some socks, a pair of slippers and a few more toiletries before checking out.
I was pleased that the large bag I carried out cost less than a hundred dollars total. Julian had just pulled up outside of the store when I was exiting.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Julian asked, checking out the haul that I put in the backseat before getting in the Audi.
“For now, I did! I like your little town! I got all this for less than a hundred bucks!”
He laughed at me. “Gotta love the dollar store! You ready to go get some dinner?”
“I’m starving, actually!” I told him, realizing we hadn’t eaten much all day.
“I wanna take you to a little place I’ve loved ever since I was a kid,” Julian said and drove a few streets over to an ice cream and burger joint called Double Dippin’.
“This place is darling!” I said, noticing all the retro decor and interesting menu.
“Chocolate cherry milkshakes are my favorite,” he said and ordered himself one along with a mini-burger combo. I ordered a grilled cheese with bacon, onion rings and a chocolate peanut butter milkshake for myself too.
We sat down in the corner booth next to the window and enjoyed each other's company.
“Thanks for introducing me to Suzan, that was really sweet of you to do that,” I told him. “I promise not to disappoint.”
“Of course you won’t disappoint! I told you, I have feelings about people, and my feelings about you are good, so don’t you worry about disappointing me.”
And just like that, I truly cared about being sure not to disappoint Julian. He really put his faith in me and I hadn’t felt that happen in a long time. I suddenly wanted his trust and approval. He had put a spell on me.
7
Double Dippin’ was all it was cracked up to be and more. I had been to two places in Spring City for dinner and I officially loved them both.
Julian and I took our time with supper; I noticed Julian grazed on his meal as well, but killed his milkshake. Maybe the guy only liked drinks? I hadn’t put my finger on his weird eating habits yet, but I noticed we couldn’t seem to stop touching each other. It felt like the beginnings of a new relationship. The way you find excuses to touch one another, just to get that physical high. I was experiencing all this with him and I couldn’t help but think about the past. In the very beginning, Vinny wasn’t all bad. There was a reason I fell in love with him and he turned out to be, well… awful. I had to be leery and keep my guard up. Though I truly didn’t think Julian was a danger to me, I just had to protect my heart and my own safety for a change.
We went home and I unpacked my dollar store finds. There was a small linen closet in the bathroom attached to my room and it was practically empty. I had never seen such a clean and decluttered house. After his parents were gone, I imagined that Julian overhauled the entire place. That’s probably what I would have done if I were in his same situation. I was curious about his previous housemates and was thrilled to know I was the first and hopefully last that would sleep in this guest bedroom. It felt like mine already.
I put my pajamas on and went into the living room, like I had the previous night, just to see what his plans were for the evening. He was already in his silk pajama pants again; tonight’s were blood red, however: a nice change from the black pair he had worn before. I had a feeling walking into the room with him not wearing a shirt would take away my breath every time. I hoped that didn’t get old. It was a sight to see.
“Bourbon, tonight?” He asked. “Or would you prefer something else?”
“I wouldn’t mind a sweet tea with a little bourbon, maybe a lemon slice?” I suggested.
“Oh, she likes mixed drinks!” Julian said taking the bourbon bottle to the kitchen. I sat on the counter watching him brewed some strong tea, sweeten it and immediately pour it over ice. He cut up one of the lemons we purchased from the grocery store and made us both a drink. He splashed a little more bourbon in his than in mine, though.
We retired back to the couch, where I confessed, I was curious to see the Florida news again and he graciously complied, helping me search for news on his tablet. The more news we read, the closer we got together on the couch until I was eventually leaning over on his chest and his arm was wrapped around me.
“You’re so cool,” I told him as I grazed his stomach muscles wanting to run my hands up and down him.
“I do have excellent sunglasses if you're referring to that sort of cool…” He had such a way of making me smile.
“Well you’re that cool too, but you’re cool to the touch, like I just want to…” he cut me off when he pulled my hand away from his chest and bent down crashing his mouth to mine. He was like a breath of fresh air in so many different ways. And he kissed like he had been educated by French kissers in France themselves. It took everything I had to let him pull away from me.
“I’m so sorry, that was very forward of me,” he said and moved back putting space between us. “We aren’t supposed to do this… you just got out of a very rocky relationship and I am quite complicated myself.”
“But, what if I want you to do it again? You’ve made me feel normal again, like someone who is actually cared for and not just a rag doll.”
“I don’t have to kiss you to appreciate you, Vale,” he told me and the tension between us at that moment was so thick I could barely stand it. “But I want to… I really want to. I’m not sure why I’m drawn to you like I am, but I’m seriously having trouble leaving you alone.”
“Then don’t leave me alone.”
“Oh love,” he said and kissed my cheek. “Words get in the way sometimes, but sometimes they have to be said first. I don’t do this. What you and I are doing isn’t a normal thing for me. I’ve never had a roommate before…”
I cut him off, “Housemate.”
“I’ve never had a housemate before, or even a roommate in college, I always stuck to myself. And when you scuttled into town, you turned my world upside down.”
“You have definitely been a surprise to me too, Julian. I was certainly not expecting to find you on this journey.”
“And see, I don’t want to be a rebound for you either, and there are so many things you don’t know about me.” Julian’s mixed emotions made me realize I needed to halt what we had going on for the night in order to salvage this friendship, or relationship, or whatever we had going so far before it got messed up.
“I’m not like other men, Vale. There’s a reason you’re so attracted to me and I’ve never allowed it to happen before, so I wasn’t expecting it to be this intense.”
“What are you talking about Julia
n? That you’re charming? That you’ve got confidence and swagger? I bet you charm the pants out of the patients in the hospital,” I didn’t know whether to argue with him or kiss him again.
“I’ve never told anyone my secret, and the fact that I want to tell someone I just met is concerning me.” He pulled back and got up and poured himself another a glass of bourbon, quickly downing it on one swallow, then outing another.
“Are you an alcoholic?” I blurted out.
“No, my tolerance level is much higher than a human.”
“Well, I know I’m a lightweight, but there are other humans out there that can drink me under the table,” I said, trying to clarify his statement.
There was a long pause as he drank the rest of the liquid in his glass before sitting on the bar top.
“Wait, what?” My head was fuzzy. I started to wonder if maybe he drugged me or the bourbon was too strong as I tried to process what he said.
“I’ve dropped subtle hints today and I wondered if you’d pick up on it, but it just occurred to me that what I am is not something that happens in everyday situations, so of course you haven’t figured me out yet. And I’m putting both of us at risk just by even thinking about telling you.”
He was pacing around the living room as he spoke to me.
“I’m going to tell you something Vale, and if you want nothing to do with me after that, I promise that we’ll deal with it and I won’t hurt you.”
“Why would you even think you’d hurt me?” I swear my eyebrows were turned sideways I was so confused.
“Because I’m a monster, Vale!”
He came back over and sat beside me.
“Please don’t be scared of me, I promise I won’t hurt you.”
“After what I’ve been through with Vinny, I can’t imagine anything you’re going to say or do will hurt me like I’ve been hurt before, Julian. And you’re not a monster. You’re not green with bolts sticking out of your neck.”
“No, I’m not that kind of monster. I’m the kind of monster that,” he stopped and put his head in his hands.
“Julian, you’re making me nervous. Just spit it out already. You’ll feel better when all the cards are on the table. Heck, after my history, I promise you that it can’t be that bad.”
“When I was in college, I went to this party, or well, I guess it was like a rave of some sort. There was a lot of drinking and drugs and sex. Most everybody there was wasted. I had too much to drink myself, but I was never one for recreational drug use. I was with this girl and we got hot and heavy and she seemed to be into biting. She bit me a couple times, hard enough to draw blood and wanted me to do the same to her. It must have been a different kind of high, I thought. After I passed out that night, I can’t remember how I got from the party to my dorm room at NYU. But I woke up to what I thought were extreme chills and fever, sweating and an insatiable thirst. Living alone, I suffered it out for what I thought must have been days, but that girl, who I don’t even know her name, came by with a care package for me, knocked and left it at my doorstep.”
I didn’t have a word to get in edgewise. I was listening to Julian’s story and unable to take my eyes off of him. He looked so burdened.
“The note simply said, ‘I’m sorry it got out of hand and I ruined your life. Drink if you want to stay alive.’”
“What was in the box, Julian?” I couldn't handle his silence.
“Blood bags.”
“Like from the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“I couldn’t drink them fast enough. I have never craved anything like that before. And when I finished, I wanted more.”
“Oh…” I tried not to panic.
“I won’t say that I’m proud of what I did the day that I was turned, but I survived.”
“Are you telling me that you’re…?” I could hardly speak the word. In fact, he didn’t even let me finish.
“A vampire?”
“Yes, I suppose that is what I am asking.”
“I’ve never been diagnosed if that’s what you’re asking, and I’ve never met another being like me, because I searched and searched for that girl and could never find her. But I experience a lot of the signs.”
“Like?” I couldn’t believe I was still sitting on his couch.
“Insatiable thirst for blood? I only eat when I’m trying to fit in or be with humans. I drink coffee and alcohol because it makes me feel normal. I’m sensitive to the sun, as in it makes my eyes hurt and dulls my abilities, but it doesn’t turn me to ash. Silver definitely burns my skin; I haven’t tried a stake through the heart…”
“How… do you, err… feed yourself?” I was afraid to ask that question, even more afraid to find out the answer.
“Since she turned me, the first morning I fed was the only time I have ever had blood straight from a human. I do work in a hospital, you know, and with my charming swagger, as you said earlier, I can get just about anything I want without question.”
“So today’s blood drive…”
“Today’s blood drive stocked the blood bank at the hospital. I make a sizeable donation and skim off the top with the donations that are in excess.”
I sighed and he continued to tell me more about his lifestyle.
“I do have to be invited in. As this house was my parents' home and it was passed on to me, I am still technically the owner on paper, but I dare say I am only able to enter here because it is truly not owned by a human. Crosses burn me, and it probably makes more sense now to you why I won't be attending church on Sunday…” His words kept coming. I felt like he was getting a major release and I was surprised that I wasn't frightened. “It also appears that I do not age. Technically, I turned when I was younger than you are now. But I've learned to dress older and I try to act more mature. I guess I'll have to figure something else out when I'm supposed to be old and gray so the townspeople don't think I've found the fountain of youth.”
“Am I the first person you’ve told, Julian?”
“You are the only person that I have told and I’m a little bit nervous that I don’t know what to do from here.”
“What else is unique about your situation?” Since I wasn’t afraid, I was curious at this point and didn’t see any harm in asking.
“I am extremely strong and very fast, I just don’t let on around people. I’ve lifted some people at the hospital by myself and had to play it off as adrenaline and working out,” he laughed.
“Do you have fangs?”
“My incisors are very sharp, but do not appear to be. When I am hunting, they are more prominent. I suppose retractable is the appropriate description.”
“Do you want to bite me right now?”
“I want you right now; I want to taste you, yes, but I want to fuck you more than anything. I can see your veins throbbing with your pulse and that your heart rate just went up. My senses are very keen. I fed this afternoon, so you’re not driving me insane, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What do we do? I like you, but you just told me you’re a frigging vampire! I’m not sure how we proceed.”
“Are you okay with the information I just told you? I’m scared part of you is still sitting here because the way that I attract you,” he confessed.
“How would I know if I was under your spell? Or how would you know?”
“Do something that hurts me and see if you still feel the same attraction toward me…” he looked around the room.
“In here,” he pointed. “Grab this silver teapot of my mother's and hold it against me, see if it does anything or has any effect.” I followed his instructions, not knowing if I was doing it because I wanted to or if I was under his spell.
I pushed the silver against his chest and it made a sizzling sound. He grimaced and I pulled back not wanting to hurt him.
“No, hurt me, see how it makes you feel when my control is lessened,” he protested, pulling my arms toward him and the silver
against his chest once more. This whole scenario was playing through my mind like a scary movie. “Hold it there and look at me, talk to me, see how you feel toward me.”
I pushed and could tell from his facial expressions he was being wounded. I felt a calm wash over me, like my mind was clearer than it had been since I met him earlier that morning.
“Julian?” I said wanting him. His eyes locked with mine and I knew the feelings I had for him were real. They were most certainly heightened, but what I was feeling for him, the attraction was most definitely real. And I did not like the pain I was putting him through trying to rationalize whether or not he was someone I wanted in my life.
I pulled the silver off of him and saw the crimson marks where the metal touched his chest. He laid on the couch, breathing heavily, as I stood over him our eyes still locked together.
“Make me a promise?” I said standing there holding back with all the will in my body.
“Anything,” he whispered.
“Promise you won’t ever leave me, Julian. I don’t think I could bear it.”
“Love, I’ll stay with you all of your days if you’ll have me. But this is not fair to you. I should have never told you. You deserve better than me. I’m just a bad egg, Vale. A rotten, stinking, bad egg and you shouldn’t be with me.”
“You’re wrong about that,” I kneeled on the couch and straddled my legs over his torso. “You’re not a bad egg; you were just dealt a shitty hand. So as long as you don’t intend to snack on me, I want you.”
“Did you feel anything different a minute ago?”
“Yes, it was very clear that the feelings I have for you are real, love at first sight boloney, which I never believed in until now,” and just like that we were done talking.
Julian ripped the silk camisole and couldn't get the tiny shorts off fast enough. He scooped me into his arms and swiftly carried me into the guest room. His satin pajama bottoms hit the floor and he was on top of me kissing every inch of my body. He was ferocious with me, nipping and teasing and I couldn't hold back. I wanted every inch of this man. He was in his prime and would remain that way for the rest of his days. Sexy, hard as a rock, and he was hitting all the right spots. After what felt like hours of lovemaking, two very sated, naked people crashed into the down comforter, wrapped in each other's arms.
A Paranormal Easter: 14 Paranormal & Fantasy Romance Novellas Page 5
