And I did just that. A broken bottle to the heart here, a little holy water to the face there, and all the bad guys go poof. After dealing with the ancient power of the assassin army, these low-level vamps were a cake walk.
I had to get back to Gavin. We couldn’t stay here much longer if every vampire on the continent decided they wanted a piece of me.
Sorry, honey, but I need you to wake up.
Less than two minutes later, I burst through the door to the apartment building, and on the way upstairs, I passed the landlord, Jerry, who reminded me of Seth Rogan with his curly hair and glasses. He typically worked nights around here. He nodded in greeting, but I didn’t stop to chat as I swung myself up the stairwell and ran straight to Gavin’s side. Seeing him calmed my nerves, but I was already reaching for one of my knives to tap a vein.
The image of the young vampire I encountered tonight came back to me and I hesitated. I didn’t think it would hurt him, but I had to talk to him to be sure. He knew a lot more about the dynamics of vampire blood than I did, and I wouldn’t risk his life on a chance.
Now, the question was, how the hell was I going to fall asleep when I had days worth of energy coursing through me?
Think, Lucy, think.
Doing the exact opposite of thinking, I ended up standing in front of the regularly stocked fridge, staring at bags full of every type of blood a vampire could want. Although this was a ‘human’ apartment, the rogue assassins had it stocked with blood before I arrived. After our truce, they had put me up here indefinitely to give me time to cope with Gavin’s assumed death and to figure out my next move.
As I reached for provisions, my hand stopped midway. What was I doing? If I drank more blood, I’d be able to stay awake longer. The one thing that wore me down the fastest was fighting, but that wasn’t an option anymore.
I wasn’t going to underestimate other vampires’ hatred for me again. They would come for me, sooner rather than later. We had to move.
I almost slammed the refrigerator door shut in frustration when I spotted a bottle on top of it. I froze in place. A tiny spark of hope flared.
When I was half human, one thing that knocked me out pretty effectively was the one and only time I got drunk. It took an inordinate amount of alcohol to do the job, but it worked. As a vampire, my body would simply reject anything foreign immediately, but if I mixed it with enough blood, I could trick my body into absorbing it. It would still burn through the alcohol quickly, but if I could drink enough, it might work.
I rummaged through every nook and cranny of the tiny kitchen and came to a small cabinet above the sink. Tucked away in the very back were three more bottles of liquor in varying shades of amber. It would have to do in a pinch.
I set to work mixing my drinks and choked everything down in under ten minutes, which was quite a feat, considering the nasty taste that burned through my throat. Feeling instantly lighter, I bounced into the bedroom and hopped on the bed, jarring Gavin’s still form.
“So darling, will you be holding my hair back later? I’m sure you’re in there screaming at me right now.” I tapped his head. “I know, I know, it wasn’t my most brilliant idea, but I have to talk to you.”
I leaned over him as I twisted onto my side. When my eyes fell on him, they landed on those lips. Uh oh.
“I really, really need to talk to you.” Somehow, his lips came closer to me. How the hell did those get there?
The next thing I knew, those lips were pressed against mine. Mmm, they felt so perfect. I missed this. His dream kisses were amazing, but they were nowhere close to the real thing.
I sank fully into him and surrendered to my longing. My hand came up to his chest and my leg wrapped around one of his. I was halfway on top of him and still couldn’t get enough. His delicious scent wrapped around me in a comforting embrace.
My absentminded hand made the trek up and down his solid planes. When my fingers found the hem of his shirt and brushed against the smooth skin of his oblique V region, I sucked in a breath.
What the hell are you doing, Lucy?
This went beyond creeper status.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted, feeling guilty for how this would be affecting him.
“I guess if you want me to stop, you’re going to have to wake up and do something about it,” I whispered against his chest.
When did my head land there?
Peripheral sounds and smells that I could normally tune out bombarded me in inconsistent waves. Honking and bar chatter, along with grease and rotten food were among the most offensive stimuli. I burrowed my face further into Gavin’s chest and focused with all my energy on his faltered heart rhythm and clean, spicy scent.
I used to despise getting help from anyone, but I never realized how much I would come to depend on this man’s protection. Even now, in the smallest of ways, he was there for me. True loneliness was something I could only fully grasp after true loss. I would have been a wreck right now if Gavin had died that night.
With Gavin’s lulling effects, I sank deeper into my alcohol induced lethargy. I think I might have whispered something like, “Stay with me forever,” but everything became a bit fuzzy around that time.
The next thing I remembered, with startling clarity, was being shoved up against a built in bookshelf, rather roughly. “You think I’d ever want you to stop what you were doing?” he growled. “The problem is not being able to stop.”
His mouth stopped any response I might have had. This kiss was so full of desire and desperation, my knees buckled. So much for that no touching rule.
He lifted me up so my legs wound around his waist. His hands traveled up my legs and planted themselves firmly on my backside as his forearms braced my thighs, locking them tightly to his torso.
I had no problems with this whatsoever. I plastered myself to him and devoured his hungry kisses with my own. At some point, my brain began working again, just enough for me to remember why I started drinking in the first place.
I pulled away, and once his lips left mine, they moved down my jaw to my neck. “Gavin,” I breathed. “Stop for a second. Please.”
Hearing the plea in my voice, he stilled. When those ice blue eyes met mine, there was concern overriding the desire, but I could tell it would be fleeting if I didn’t get on with it.
“Did I hurt you?” he choked, like he was disgusted by the idea.
“No! No, you didn’t, but we need to talk while we have time.” Understanding dawned and those liquid pools cooled.
“Lucy, did you really drink yourself into oblivion to argue more about this?”
“Can my blood kill you?”
“What?”
“Can my blood burn you like it does to other vampires? You know, if you ever drank it?”
“No, mine can mix with either type. Why are you asking me this?” His voice had grown weary. He knew where this was headed.
“I just have to be sure. I didn’t want to take any chances. I’m bringing you back.”
He sighed in defeat.
Finally!
“I know you will. And I get that I need to come back to you as soon as possible.”
“But what?” I asked.
He grinned. “How did you know there was a but?”
I glared pointedly.
“Okay, point taken. I just…” he struggled for words. “We’ve been getting pretty heated every time we dream walk, and you know what it’s like when I get close and hold back.”
I did. The last time he lost control, we had to stop things before they went too far, and when we did stop, he demolished a forest before regaining control of himself. A vampire’s urges tended to get blurred, where one became another in the blink of an eye if not checked. Lust became rage, or thirst, or whatever would give it the outlet it needed.
“So you’re saying it’s going to be like waking a hibernating bear in the middle of winter?”
“Or like playing too roughly with a nuclear warhead, but you get the idea. My min
d has been freely enjoying your company, but my purpose driven blood hasn’t gotten anything out of it except a week’s worth of pent up energy to exert. And you’re about to unleash me on an entire city. Lucy, I won’t be in control of myself. If I do anything… if I hurt anyone, I don’t think—”
“Hey, I won’t let that happen. I promise.”
“Lucy, you don’t know the things I’ve—”
Three loud raps on the door and someone calling my name yanked me from the dream so fast I think my head actually spun a little when I jerked out of bed.
Damn hangovers. I was never drinking again.
The knocking grew more insistent, followed by Jerry’s voice. “Um, Lucy, there’s an army of vampires outside who say they’re going to kill me if you don’t come out. So…”
Shit. I ripped my sleeve up and forced my fangs to descend. I knew Gavin worried about losing control, and I knew there was more he wasn’t telling me, but I meant what I said. I wouldn’t let anything bad happen.
“Bottoms up, Mr. West.”
I sank my fangs into my wrist and forced his mouth open. I pressed my torn skin over his lips and prayed this worked. Poised over him, my palm fell to his chest to hold my balance. After several seconds, I felt it.
His heart kicked wildly and began thrashing at a riotous pace. I ripped my arm away, noticing it had already healed. When I turned my head toward the banging at the door, I was yanked backward.
Startled, I was most definitely not prepared for our reunion, particularly one where Gavin pinned me to a bed to bite me. At least not like this.
His eyes were pitch black orbs while his fangs were on full display. That was all I registered before the piercing pain in my neck. He latched onto me and took long pulls. I grew heavier with exhaustion after each one.
“Gavin!” I shrieked. “You have to stop.”
But Gavin wasn’t home anymore.
His large body held me down. I wiggled and used my waning strength to flip us both, putting me on top of him. I grabbed his neck and squeezed. He choked up my blood and inched away. He shoved me off the bed and jumped up after me. His eyes narrowed as he lunged for me, but I propelled him into the far wall. When he looked ready to charge again, the vampires taunted me from the front doorway.
“Oh, Lucy, come out and play with us. Or are you too scared?” I rolled my eyes.
“We have your friend, and we’re about to make him our dinner. You have five seconds to show yourself.”
I bolted toward the door, but Gavin, all hopped up on my super girl blood, beat me to it. He ripped open the front door, detaching it from the frame, oh so gracefully.
Not.
It crashed into the dining table and left a few holes in the drywall where it landed.
Jerry was the first face I saw. His eyes widened in horror at the sight of Gavin towering over him. I moved to peer around Gavin and saw an entire host of vampires crowding the hall. The sight of them packed in like sardines made me laugh gleefully. This was going to be fun, especially when I got a good look at their shocked faces after they realized Gavin wasn’t as immobile as they expected. They collectively shrank back until their butts hit the wall behind them.
“So glad you could make the party boys and girls. It was just getting started.”
At that, Gavin yanked Jerry by the arm, and I readied myself to defend him from my rather unstable boyfriend. Thankfully, Gavin recognized the real fun and pulled Jerry into the apartment to get him out of his way. He landed about as gracefully as the door. Crap.
“Are you okay?”
I heard his grunt of pain and hoped nothing was broken. “I’m good. I think.”
“Stay here and try not to move too much. And don’t leave this apartment until all the vampires are cleared.”
“No arguments here,” he replied as he limped toward the couch.
When I turned my attention back to the fight, Gavin was nowhere to be seen. I stuck my head into the hall, only to be dragged out by my hair into the opening they created for me.
“That was a bitch move, guys. Poor form.” I swung on the hair puller, knocking his head to the side with a spray of blood that followed, and I back kicked the guy behind me. He plowed into four more vamps behind him, taking them down like bowling pins.
Strike!
A commotion behind me made me turn, and when I did, I saw Gavin in a cloud of ashes shoving his hand through one of the vampires’ chests. There were about twenty of them when we started, but now there were five. He ripped the head off the other one closest to him in a sickening wet sound, and I heard the heavy footfalls of the others behind me fleeing toward the exit.
One pair of brave footsteps stopped and backtracked. I twisted to the side and reached a hand behind my head to stop his incoming blade. Grabbing ahold of the vampire’s wrist, I turned to face him and rotated his arm until there was a loud pop and he screamed for mercy.
He wasn’t getting it from me. I was tired of vampires attempting to stab me in the back. His cries filled the hallway when I kept moving his arm in an unnatural direction, until they died off after his own stake was planted firmly in his chest.
I turned back and stared at Gavin, waiting for his next move. He looked feral, ready to plow through me and chase the others. His fangs still dripped with my blood and his eyes were black as night. His not so white t-shirt was now tattered and torn from the fight, and his dark pants hung low on his hips without his belt. He was still barefoot.
“Gavin,” I whispered.
His eyes snapped to mine, but instead of running for the stairs, he swerved into the apartment and dashed toward the window. Glass shattered upon impact and he jumped effortlessly to the ground below.
I followed.
3
Hitting the ground, I sprinted after him as shrieks of surprise and honking car horns faded behind me. He never slowed his pace, and when I caught up with him, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and clung to him like a static filled sweater. He reached up to pry my arms apart and flung me into a brick building. The crumbling debris sounded like rain against a window.
I stood up and shook myself clean of the bigger chunks and rushed to catch up to Gavin’s retreating form. I pushed myself as fast as I could go, but the severe blood loss was kicking my ass. Gaining distance, I came within a few yards of him and leapt. Catching him by the forearm, I yanked backward with my dwindling strength.
The sudden change in direction knocked us both off balance and we slammed into a building. Cries for help rang out behind us, but the speed we were going only left a blur of motion for the naked human eye to decipher.
“Let go,” Gavin growled.
“Not happening.”
I held firm to his arm and grabbed the other so we were facing each other in a strange, cataclysmic dance. I think we both wanted to strangle each other, but in a loving way. He tried swatting me away, but I wouldn’t let go. We bounced off of another wall. I took the impact this time but swung him around as we hit the next line of apartment buildings. This went on for a few more blocks with more gasps and screams following.
We ended up smashing into a car that was once parallel parked. It was now a bit more perpendicular and misshapen.
Oops.
People passing by on sidewalks stopped in their tracks to either stare in utter fascination or shout for help. Neither Gavin nor I lessoned our hold on one another, and we pushed off the mangled car to continue our dance.
The farther we went, the more congested the streets became, and when Gavin saw an opening, he released his grip on my arm and shoved me. It packed so much force I sailed across the street into a crowd of bar hoppers.
Landing sideways, on top of a man twice my size, I winced when I heard something pop. He cried out in pain. Others caught in the aftermath were picking themselves off the ground. Some were freaked out and some were pissed off, but they all looked relatively unharmed.
“Sorry,” I said, turning to the man behind me. He was cradling his arm
and moaning pitifully, but he would be fine.
That was when I smelled it. A small beading of blood seeped from a gash on the side of his head where it slammed against the brick wall. I sucked in a deep breath, but that only made it worse. I felt my fangs descending.
Oh no.
My eyes zeroed in on the stream of blood now visible outside his hairline. I was so thirsty. Weak and exhausted, my body rejoiced at the first sign of sustenance.
Just when I leaned toward the delicious aroma, a wave of vertigo hit me, followed by cravings equally as potent. Anger and violence warred with hunger, but it wasn’t my anger. Through our connection, I could sense Gavin.
That was enough to snap me out of my trance. I pushed through the crowd and sprinted in the direction I felt him moving. I was completely unprepared for what I’d find.
Crouching low in the shadows, under a fire escape in a back alleyway, Gavin pointed a broken bottle at a kneeling man’s face. The scent of blood was strong in the air. I quit breathing entirely.
When I narrowed my vision, I got my second surprise. The man in front of Gavin, pleading for his life, was none other than the mugger I faced earlier tonight.
“Now, you’re going to stay very quiet if you want to keep the rest of your fingers,” Gavin threatened.
The man cut off his sobs immediately and nodded.
Wait, the rest of his…
“What the hell!” I shouted.
Without turning, because he already knew I was there, Gavin spoke to me. “You know, I could smell you on him.”
Creepy.
Was it as creepy as feeling up an unconscious person, Lucy?
Debatable. I pleaded the fifth.
“I found him harassing some kids outside of a theater.” Must have been the guy’s routine. Gavin continued, “I can only imagine what he was up to when you found him, so I took matters into my own hands.”
Beautiful Eternity (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 3) Page 3
