by Sandy Lynn
Still standing there, he wondered if he should approach her. What would her reaction be if he did? She was so upset when she left…so distraught when she found out what I am… Maybe I should just leave her alone…
As he watched Willow, her spine stiffened. The smile left her face and she acted as though someone had just thrown ice water on her, ruining her fun. It was as though she could feel him watching her. It made his decision for him. I’ll just leave her alone in peace. Willow has made it clear that she does not wish to be with me any longer. Now all I can do is hope she doesn’t reveal my secret.
His shoulders sagging, Seth walked over to the darkened corner where he typically sat and ordered a drink while waiting for Jason to arrive.
Unable to take comfort in the music, he gulped down the alcohol before the waitress could even set it on the table and ordered another to be brought to him.
He was on his second drink when he spotted Jason. As Seth watched, Jason approached Willow and squatted beside her. Instead of pushing Jason away, she spoke to him. Thanks to the Night Crawlers, there was too much noise for Seth to hear what they were saying.
Seth’s teeth lengthened and the beast that had raged inside of him the last week roared to life. No man would touch his sweet Willow while he simply sat around and watched. His grip tightened on the table until he heard the first telltale creaks warning it was about to break.
No, his rational side tried to reason. She left you. It isn’t as if you can run over there, beat Jason until he’s black-and-blue then throw her over your shoulder. You can’t just stake your claim on her like you could’ve in the Middle Ages!
Why not? the beast inside asked, its voice guttural. Doesn’t she at least owe me something? A chance to apologize, maybe a small sip from her? My hunger has not been sated since she left. Am I supposed to simply starve until I can no longer remember her taste?
He sat there, battling with himself to gain control of the beast within. Finally, Jason stood and walked over to join him.
“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long,” Jason said as he sat.
Instead of answering, Seth simply growled into his drink. He wasn’t sure if it was directed to his friend or himself. His eyes narrowed as he caught a faint trace of Willow’s scent coming from the other man.
“I can see you are in another good mood,” Jason said sarcastically before ordering a soda from the waitress. “I didn’t know the Night Crawlers were playing tonight…”
Seth grunted in response and tossed back the drink the woman had just placed in front of him in one long swallow. He didn’t care what the band did. It didn’t matter if there were a dozen people or more than a hundred in the room. He was only aware of one woman. But she refused to be near him.
As another song began, the too familiar ache spread through his stomach again. He’d been careful to drink before he entered the bar, but yet again the blood had not satisfied his thirst. No one tasted as sweet as Willow did. No one else had been able to ease his thirst, no matter how much he drank. He’d come damn close to draining the last few people from whom he’d drunk.
“Seth, you have got to get over this. Whatever happened between you and that girl is over, you need to stop…”
He wasn’t sure how he looked, or why Jason had stopped speaking. He didn’t care. Willow was walking toward him.
“May I join you?” she asked.
He couldn’t help feeling a tingle of excitement. Would she sit on his lap again if he said yes? “Of course.” His tingle froze as she sat on one of the unused chairs. Fighting back another wave of pain, Seth tried to smile. “Would you like something to drink?” He was amazed to hear his voice sound so calm, as the waitress brought Jason his soda.
“No, thanks. I won’t be staying long.”
Trying to appear relaxed, he leaned back in his chair, drinking in the sight of her. She looked as if she felt the same way he had since she left, as though she’d been living in the same hell. There were dark purple circles under her eyes even her make-up could not completely conceal. Was that why I have been unable to find her? Has she been refusing to sleep? For her to attempt such a feat proved how strong a will she had. It made him want to wrap his arms around her and protect and comfort her more than ever. He wanted to promise he would keep her safe and know that she believed him, that she trusted him.
Despite her apparent exhaustion, she was easily more beautiful than any other woman in the room.
“Um, I need to ask Seth a few questions…” She spoke hesitantly.
“I’ll just go get a refill from the bar,” Jason said, getting up from his chair and, taking his still full glass, walked across the room.
“What would you like to know?” Seth couldn’t seem to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upwards, into a small smile. This was similar to their first meeting. What else would mimic that first meeting? And by the old gods, she smelled delicious. His body couldn’t help remembering her passionate response to his caresses and stirred to life. His teeth ached as he though about her physical response to his bites.
“What did you do to me? Was that dream real?” she demanded.
“Yes, it was.” Leaning forward, Seth decided he would be completely honest since he didn’t know if he’d ever have a second chance. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I simply wished to apologize for frightening you earlier. You did not stay long enough for me to do so in person,” he explained.
“How could you find me like that?” Willow wore a bewildered expression, a look of concern slowly mixing in with it.
Seth shifted his gaze to her neck then back to her face in response.
Immediately she lifted her fingers to brush the spot where she had carried his mark. The move created havoc on his senses. Underneath the make-up, there was still a faint trace of it on her skin. Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.
“So because of…” Her fingers brushed against her neck again as she hesitated. “You can enter my dreams anytime you want?”
“Yes,” he told her truthfully.
“Damn.” She swore under her breath. “Wow, I feel like I should move to Elm Street.” He looked at her, eyes narrowing in confusion. “Like the movie,” she explained slowly. “A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Kruger…”
Shaking his head, he admitted he didn’t understand the reference she was trying to make.
“Boy, you really don’t watch much television. In the movie,” she sighed, “there’s a little rhyme. I won’t go through all of it, but at the end it goes ‘nine, ten, never sleep again’.”
“I’m not sure I understand where you are going with this.”
“The point is, I guess, I’ll never be able to sleep again. I don’t want to worry if there is going to be an uninvited guest inside my head, or my dreams.” She leaned her head back, her eyes closing.
She stayed that way for several minutes, causing Seth to wonder if she had fallen asleep. Pleasure filled him at the thought of feeling her in his arms again as he carried her out of the bar, even if it was to simply put her in her friend’s car.
“Sweetheart?” He called to her softly, not wanting to disturb her if she had fallen asleep.
“Don’t call me that,” she said, still not moving from her position. “Now back to the other question. What exactly did you do to me?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“When you…drank, did you do anything else?” She opened her eyes and looked at him. She appeared so exhausted that his heart broke.
Cocking an eyebrow, he waited for her to explain. “You’re not good for my ego. I’d have thought you’d remember exactly what else I did to you.” He’d never forget her reactions—any of them. He’d dreamt of each minute detail every night since she left.
“I mean anything else.” She blushed. “You know, something I didn’t know you were doing.” He was amazed at how much he missed seeing her blush. The gesture warmed his heart, until he thought about what she’d said.
Shaking his head, his voice was rough at her accusation. “I wouldn’t do that. Not to you.” He had to add the last part, even if she didn’t believe him.
“Fine. Thank you for answering my questions. I guess I should get back to my friends now.” Despite her words, she didn’t move.
Seizing the opportunity, Seth tried to apologize again. “Willow, I am sorry that things ended the way they did…”
“Don’t do this. I don’t want to hear how sorry you are. I don’t want to hear how you would change things if you could do them over again. I’ve heard the lines. And that’s all they are. Just lip service to allow you to feel better about what happened. It’s not as if…” Willow was interrupted by a loud growl from Seth’s stomach. Unfortunately his stomach had chosen the precise moment that the Night Crawlers walked off the stage for a break to make its protest. Without the music blaring and people attempting to talk over each over, Seth knew it was too much to hope that Willow hadn’t heard the embarrassing sound.
This time, it was his face heating up as it turned a dark shade of red.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” he said unconvincingly.
“Was that your stomach?” She looked at him skeptically.
“No,” he lied again.
“Yes it was. Why would your stomach be growling? I thought vamp…I thought you preferred a liquid diet?”
“I do.”
“Then why… Haven’t you been eating?” He tried to ignore the concern in her voice, convinced he was simply imagining it.
“Is eating the right word?”
“Drinking or feeding would probably be more accurate,” he replied automatically. His hands covered his stomach protectively, trying to prevent any more sounds from escaping.
“You haven’t been drinking? Why?” she demanded.
“I have,” Seth insisted. Trying to stand, his body wouldn’t cooperate and he swayed dangerously. He gripped the edge of the table in an obvious attempt to prevent himself from falling.
“Where is that friend of yours when you need him? Or does he only come around when he can interrupt something?” Willow’s anger emanated from her as she jumped from her seat and wrapped her arm around his waist to help steady him. She no longer seemed tired to the point of exhaustion.
He would have laughed if his stomach didn’t feel so tight. She’d gone from being frightened of him, to concerned for him, to wanting to pummel Jason in just a few minutes. Willow looked adorable when she was furious. Especially when she was furious on his behalf. He wondered if she realized what she was doing but decided that at the moment it was enough just to feel her against his body. He wouldn’t question the reason. Unfortunately her nearness intensified the hunger.
“Finally,” she huffed as Seth saw Jason hurrying back over to the table.
“What’s going on? What happened?” Jason sounded like he was about to start panicking. “What’d you do to him?” he demanded, glaring at Willow.
“No, really, I don’t need any help steadying him. It isn’t like he weighs a ton or anything…” she barked at Jason sarcastically as the man stood there staring at her instead of helping stabilize his friend. Thankfully he took the hint and went to Seth’s other side.
“Let’s take him to the back office.”
Together they helped Seth get to the back of the bar, heading for the manager’s office. As soon as the door was opened, and Willow saw the dust and cobwebs, she shook her head emphatically.
“No. How far is his place from here?” She directed the question to Jason as she struggled to help keep him straight.
“A few minutes, why?”
“We’ll take him there.”
“Really? Do you know how to drive a motorcycle? Can you drive one and balance him at the same time?”
“No, genius. I figured we’d take your car. You did drive here, didn’t you?” The edge to her voice caused Jason to blush.
“Oh, right… I’m parked this way,” he said as they shuffled Seth through a back door that led almost directly to the man’s car.
“You would have a two-seater, wouldn’t you? Jeez, compensating much?” She gave her best condescending look as she looked over at him, not trying to hide her glance to his crotch. “Let’s see, our options are, you drive and I sit on Seth’s lap, or I drive and you sit on his lap. But since I don’t know where he lives I guess you have to drive.”
They got him into the car and Jason walked over to the driver’s side. “I thought you didn’t want to be with him anymore,” Jason commented as he fastened his seat belt while she was still trying to get herself situated inside the small car.
“Just because I don’t want to be with him anymore doesn’t mean I take any pleasure from his pain.” She squirmed on his lap until Seth put his hand on her stomach, stopping her and pulling her back against him.
Chapter Eight
“Number one, I’m right here, I can hear every word you’re saying. I’m weak, not deaf. Number two, sweet…Willow, if you keep moving, I will not be held responsible for what happens.” Seth chuckled deeply as Willow instantly froze.
He was thankful they were able to get to his place so quickly. His cock was growing hard against her delectable ass, and he was sure she wouldn’t appreciate that.
As soon as the car stopped, she opened the door and flew off his lap as though she were on fire. But no matter what her opinion of him was, she stepped closer to help him out of the car. Thankfully she moved backward, out of his way when Seth shook his head.
They were in the elevator when another growl came from his stomach and a cramp doubled him over, bringing him to his knees.
By the time the elevator doors opened, he was barely able to stand. Willow and Jason propped him up, helping him to slowly make his way through the apartment. He could smell the duo sweating by the time they reached the bedroom.
Seth collapsed onto the bed as though he were a rag doll, feeling as weak as a newborn babe. For the past few days his hunger had gotten worse. But this was the first time his stomach had ever growled like a human’s.
Is this what humans feel when they are deprived of food?
In all of his life, he couldn’t remember ever hearing of such a thing happening to a vampire. The stories said his people simply grew mindless, so wrapped up in their desire for blood that nothing else mattered until their thirst was sated. Those were the stories told to vampire children to keep them from starving themselves as humans did.
“What can we do for him? Does he keep any blood around here for emergencies?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Go check,” Willow ordered as she began removing his shoes. When Jason was out of the room she spoke to him. “Don’t get excited, I’m only taking off your shoes and socks. Nothing else.”
Willow worked as she spoke. Feeling her hands on him, even in such a very non-erotic fashion, threatened his tenuous control. If not for all the pain he was in, he’d have pulled her beneath him that moment.
“There isn’t any blood in the fridge,” Jason said a moment later as he walked back into the room.
“Has he been drinking?”
“Yeah. I think he had three Scotches at the bar.”
“Not drinking, drinking.” With a sigh, she said, “Feeding.”
“He said he has. But it’s not like I’m actually there.”
“Well, give me your wrist.” Willow held her hand out.
“Why?” Jason looked at her warily.
“He needs to eat…drink…feed. Whatever. So give me your wrist.” She held her hand a little closer to him.
“Why my wrist? Why not your wrist?” Jason’s voice was higher than usual.
“Because you’re his friend,” she tried to reason, rolling her eyes.
“Well, he’s already taken your blood before,” he countered.
“Your friend is a vampire and you’re telling me he’s never taken a little…nibble?” She looked at him disbelievingly.
&
nbsp; “Exactly. Ours is a business relationship. And he’s like family. He’s known all of my family. For generations. And never once has he drank from any of us.”
“You know, you people have serious problems. Fine.” Willow held her wrist up to Seth’s mouth. “But this is absolutely the last time. I mean it.”
