Tainted Heart (The Tainted Series Book 2)

by Marie, Tarisa

I yawn and pat the open bed beside me. He comes over and takes a seat. “Lay down,” I demand.

  He laughs but follows my direction.

  “If I kiss you…will you attack me again?” I ask him, humor in my voice. He doesn’t think it’s funny. Even in the dark I can see his glare.

  “No,” he says finally. “I’m sorry about that. I did warn you though.”

  “It was my fault,” I admit, recalling the other night vividly.

  “No, it wasn’t, you’re not the first woman unable to resist these abs,” he says cockily and I hear him remove his shirt and throw it across the room.

  His bare chest is warm, thank god because I’m freezing. I curl up against him and listen for his heart beat. Only, I don’t hear it.

  “Do you not have a heart beat?” I wonder out loud.

  “Nope, you’re cuddling a zombie,” he jokes.

  “That’s so weird,” I answer and attempt to find it again.

  “What’s weird is that your father hasn’t killed me yet.”

  I shrug and close my eyes.

  “Did I wake you when I came in?” he asks.

  “No, I had a bad dream,” I correct him and open my eyes when it begins to come back to me. “I don’t want you to go,” I whine.

  “I know but I have to,” he answers and I feel his palm meet my cold cheek.

  “You don’t have to. You could just say you’re not going. What happens if you all die and I’m left here to fight an apocalypse by myself?” I insist. I know it’s selfish to not want to be alone but I can’t help it. I’m scared. I’m terrified.

  “Ariella, I know, and I hate that it’s come to this but I have to do what’s right. I have to do this. I know you know that,” he answers in a rough voice and holds me tighter.

  I feel a hot tear slide down my cheek and fall onto his chest. I hate to be the selfish brat but I really don’t want to be left alone. I’m absolutely terrified. These could be my last few days of life and D’s too. The realization of what awaits us in our futures is completely terrifying.

  “I’m scared,” I admit embarrassed.

  We are quiet for some time as I cry.

  Eventually he sighs. “Look, I will suggest this to the others, me staying with you to protect you.”

  “I mean, I don’t want to sound like a baby but I’m scared. I know it’s selfish. I know it’s stupid of me but I don’t want to be here on this stupid planet all by myself as it goes to hell when you guys aren’t successful,” I sob into his chest.

  “I promise that I’ll talk to them,” he promises and leans his head against mine. “Don’t cry, Ariella, I hate it when you’re upset.”

  “It’s funny how a couple weeks ago our biggest problem was the white witches trying to find and kill us and now everything is ten times worse,” I whine some more. I try to pull myself together. I try to tell myself that I’ve done enough moping around.

  “It’s witches on steroids out to get us now…or soon they will be anyway, once they hear we’re after them,” he says through a small chuckle. I don’t think this is very funny.

  “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it,” I agree. Then silence comes between us again.

  After a few long minutes I feel him playing with a strand of my hair. It doesn’t bother me, in fact, I enjoy it. I enjoy having him here as I worry and try to fall back asleep. I reposition myself so I’m closer to his lips. I give him a short peck on the lips followed by a hushed, “good night”.

  I feel him tense slightly as I lay back down and his hips thrust ever so slightly into me. This has my heart quicken pace. I try to ignore it but I can’t, I’m wide awake now. Did he really just do that?

  I move my hand from my side to the waistband of his jeans and leave it there as if I’ve done it by accident. Then I move closer into him as though I’m asleep and cuddling up to him. He groans quietly as if he hasn’t meant for me to hear.

  Apparently I’m not very sneaky in my actions because he mumbles, “You’re driving me nuts, do you know that?”

  “Hmm?” I murmur as if I have no clue what he’s talking about.

  “Look at me,” he insists and I groan as if it’s a hassle and look up at him.

  His eyes glow a bright red like they do when his bloodlust is overwhelming him.

  “Are you hungry?” I ask him cautiously. Although Marco’s curse is gone I know that he is still a vampire and he’s had my blood before. He could very well be having difficulty lying next to me.

  He shakes his head. “Not for what you’re thinking. When I’m severely turned on my bloodlust becomes stronger. It’s in my nature to feed on a woman while I’m with them. I can’t help it.”

  “So it’d be bad if I kissed you again?” I tease him.

  “Very,” he says roughly and his eyes seem to flare with color.

  I roll onto my stomach and peer up at him. I take him in and smile with affection. I’ve missed this D more than he can imagine.

  “Looking at me like that isn’t helping,” he says with a small smile.

  “I’m not sure if I should feel flattered that you want to eat me or not…” I joke lightly with a tiny laugh.

  He scoffs. “I don’t just want to eat you, Ariella, I want so much more than that.”

  I look at him as if asking him to continue.

  He laughs deeply and then leans down and kisses my lips softly. What I think was meant as a short kiss turns into him pulling me on top of him and I hope this isn’t about to be a repeat of last time. One hand grabs the small of my back and the other the back of my head as he presses me to him. I can’t help watching the way his eyes flicker and flare with each kiss.

  I use my lips to kiss a trail from his lips to his neck and then I nibble on his throat playfully reenacting the night before but only in reverse. He moans. He enjoys this. I keep doing it and I hear his breathing pick up pace. He really enjoys this.

  A throaty chuckle escapes his lips, and he rolls us over so that he’s on top of me. He kisses my lips and then my neck. Each time he’s done this, it’s ended badly and so I tense up a little without meaning to.

  “Are you scared, Ariella?” he mumbles into my neck.

  “A little,” I blurt seriously.

  “Good,” he answers, sounding amused.

  His teeth or fangs or whatever scratch my neck and I feel a rush of air on my neck as he breathes in my scent. I tense, waiting for him to give into his instincts but he pulls away.

  When I look at him now his eyes are a raging crimson. He removes my shirt in one swift move as if he’s done this a million times and I’m suddenly wondering if that’s exactly right and he has done this a million times. He unbuttons his pants but doesn’t remove them and then does the same with mine as he kisses me more intensely than ever before. It’s not hard to tell what he wants.

  I slide off my pants and pull down on his, he kicks them off. He rests himself on me again while he kisses my lips, my neck, my breasts, and down to my panty line. Just as I think he’s about to remove them, he’s back at my lips. I feel how hard he is beneath me and it threatens to drive me mad. A moan escapes my lips as he unclasps my bra and tosses it off of the bed. He sucks at my nipples until they begin to become sore and then he stops completely, rolls off of me, and onto his back.

  “That’s not nice!” I whisper harshly, out of breath.

  “What are you going to do about it?” he asks as though it’s a challenge. I take him up on it and roll onto him again. I immediately go back to his neck as he seems to enjoy this. My assumption is proven correct when I hear a sharp intake of breath from him. I wonder if this has something to do with his being a vampire and not him being some sort neck fetish guy.

  He reaches and grabs my pant waistband. Before doing anything else he asks, “Is this okay?”

  “Yes,” I murmur back automatically as my body begs for his.

  “Are you sure, Ariella?” he asks seriously.

  “Yes,” I repeat.

  Then my underwear is flung
somewhere in the room and his seem to magically disappear as well.

  My body screams for more and I pull him down onto me for more kisses. He gladly follows my lead. He nicks my lip with one of his fangs. It doesn’t hurt, it actually feels good when he begins sucking on it, drawing my blood into his mouth.

  We moan in synchronization and he pulls away for an instant. “Is this okay?” he wonders, referring to him sucking my lip. “If I’m in control I can use venom to make it feel good.”

  I’m not sure I hear him right, all I want is more so I pull him back down to my lips. I guess that’s enough answer for him. It doesn’t just feel good it feels amazing. It’s the complete opposite of last time.

  My hands glide down his stomach, feeling its ripples and then down to his manliness where I make sure that he’s put on some sort of protection. I trust him to have but it never hurts to make sure. When my assumptions are corrected I push myself impossibly closer to him and he groans removes himself from my lip. He thrusts into me slowly and I to my surprise I feel no pain, only immense pleasure. Every nerve ending in my body feels like it’s on fire.

  He kisses me on the lips, lingers there for a moment breathing in my breath before his lips move to my neck once again. He seems to find the pulse in my neck and then he bites down hard. It hurts at first but then more pleasure than I’ve ever felt in my life skyrockets within me. He pulls my blood into his mouth and moans deeply.

  Chapter 9

  When I wake up the next morning not covered in blood, part of me questions whether I dreamt everything up. That is until D joyfully says, “Good morning, beautiful,” from beside me.

  I rollover and immediately notice how vibrant his smile and facial expression are. He kisses me tenderly before helping me out of bed.

  “Why are you smiling on such a terrible day like today?” I shake my head at him.

  “Because last night was the best night of my life,” he grunts while stretching and then wrapping his arms around me tightly.

  “Surely, that was far from the first time you’ve been laid,” I reply coolly hoping I don’t sound too harsh.

  “First time with someone I’ve cared so much about,” he says seriously and kisses me again.

  “You were married once,” I remind him.

  He shrugs. “It was a different time, and I was a different person. I wouldn’t say it was true love.”

  “But you’d say this is true love?” I motion between the two of us with my hand signifying ‘us’.

  He nods. “I would, wouldn’t you?”

  I debate my answer for a moment. Apparently for a moment too long because his smile falters.

  “I would,” I agree completely serious but feeling guilty for not answering sooner. He’s told me that he loves me multiple times and I have yet to say it back once.

  “Do you love me, Ariella?” he asks while throwing my shirt on over my head.

  “Yes,” I answer confidently and it feels better than I expect it to.

  “Can I have one last kiss before I take off to war or what?” he asks lightly but I don’t take it so lightly. My heart falls to my stomach. So he’s going with them now? He changed his mind?

  I lean into him and kiss him. Then I hug him tightly.

  “Alright, Ari, time to go say goodbye to everyone else. Let’s go,” D insists and grasps my wrists.

  “Don’t call me Ari. My dad calls me Ari,” I plead.

  “You call me ‘D’, that just sounds stupid,” he argues.

  “You don’t like it?” I ask him curiously, I’ve always called him D and he’s never mentioned it before.

  “Jacob continues to call me D because he knows it gets on my nerves,” he answers with a smile. “You have no idea how entertaining him and your father find it that you call me that.”

  “You never told me it bugged you!”

  He shrugs and laughs a little. “Plus, ‘D’ sounds girly and it kind of makes me sound like a gangsta or a hip-hop artist. I’m a badass vampire-warlock, not some hippy,” he teases.

  “Fine, I won’t call you that anymore, Daymon,” I try out. It feels a little strange and will take some getting used to but I think it’s something that I could get used to.

  “Don’t fret over it, it’s not that big of a deal.” He smiles and pulls me towards the door. “You can call me whatever you want, pretty lady,” he teases with a wink.

  I reluctantly follow him out the door. Just before we enter the kitchen where everyone is sitting, he drops my wrist.

  “Look who finally got out of bed,” he says with a wicked smirk and points to me with his thumb.

  I hit him on the shoulder and scowl at him playfully. What a jerk.

  “Where were you all night, Daymon?” my father asks while pouring syrup over some pancakes and sliding them across the counter to me.

  “I was just hanging around upstairs. Found some reading material that I couldn’t put down,” he lies. My mom and Corra quite obviously don’t buy this and suddenly I’m wondering if anyone with super hearing could hear us last night. I sure pray not. The house is large but I’m not sure if it’s large enough.

  I feel heat enter my cheeks and Tyler begins cackling hysterically while looking between D and I. Everyone turns their gaze to him and he pretends he’s laughing at something on his phone, I know this is not the case. He knows exactly what happened last night and for whatever reason he thinks it’s hilarious. I wonder if his room is near where mine was. I suddenly realize we should’ve been more careful. What if my dad would’ve heard?

  “Are we ready to take off? We’re wasting daylight here,” Tyler mumbles through a mouthful of pancake, changing the subject. He actually looks excited for this.

  “I think so,” my dad agrees and sends me a reassuring smile. He approaches me and gives me a hug. “I love you, Ariella.”

  I know he’s thinking that this could be the last time we see each other. It dawns on me then that these could be the last moments that I see any or all of these people again. I only just met my brother Tyler and found my mother again yesterday, I’ve only begun to know Corra, and what will I do if my father, Jacob, or D…I mean Daymon don’t return? The three people that I care about most. I can’t believe that D’s decided to go with them after he told me wasn’t going to last night.

  “I was thinking,” Daymon begins. “If none of us come back, Ariella is going to be alone and basically defenseless. Maybe I should stay back with her.”

  “You’re chickening out, D?” Jacob teases. “That’s not much like you. You must know we’re going to lose this time or maybe being a vampire has ruined your sense of adventure, selflessness, courage, and bravery.”

  “Low blow, man, you’re the one who wants to leave your sister defenseless and alone while you go commit suicide,” Daymon shoots back.

  “I thought about this last night as well, I must admit,” my mother voices her opinion. “If she wasn’t so young I wouldn’t have a problem with leaving her alone but she is both unexperienced in our world and young. I think Daymon should stay with her, if anyone, as he is her trigger and seems to be willing to stay here.”

  I hate how she speaks about me being young and not being able to manage staying here by myself when my twin brother is going out to join the battle. I know it’s because they need him to actually kill the Tario and because he has his Tario power already but it still hurts a little.

  Everyone seems to agree to this plan and they begin discussing strategy. I zone out while they do this because it only makes the situation feel more real.

  “Ariella, Daymon, if we’re not back in a week, something has gone wrong. Daymon, if you feel the protection spell on this home disappear, something has happened to Ali and you must get Ariella and yourself out of here. There’s too many powerful objects in this house’s walls to not attract the Tario without a protection spell stronger than anything you could create,” Corra instructs us before turning and following my father to the living room.

  “I know I on
ly just met you, Ariella, but good luck. Stay safe. I hope you’re able to live a good life,” Tyler says and from this I understand that he doesn’t expect to survive this. I give him a hug before he turns and heads to the living room.

  “Stay strong, you two,” Jacob says with a nod and follows Tyler.

  “Yes, stay strong. I’m so glad I got to meet you again, Ariella,” my mother says before also going to the living room. I’m not sure what I expected my mother to say but it wasn’t that. I don’t know, maybe I was half expecting tears and hugs.

  I can’t be too upset though because D…I mean Daymon…god that’s hard to get used to…is staying with me which makes me feel so much better. More so than I imagined.

  The group in the living room exchanges good lucks and a few hugs before disappearing.

  “Your dad is so shocked by your mother being alive that I don’t even think he’s though much about me being a vampire, you know,” D whispers in my ear quietly.

  I’ve been so worked up in my own worries that I completely forgot about how the woman my father loved basically returned from the dead after fourteen years. I wonder if they make it out of this if they’ll get back together. Somehow I doubt it. They don’t seem too ‘lovey dovey’, not like I remember them being when I was young.

  “I can’t believe they actually let me stay without guilting me into going.”

  “It was technically your choice from the beginning,” I remind him.

  “Yeah, I guess. I just feel so…selfish not going. I should be helping them,” he admits truthfully and sighs while grabbing a pancake from the counter and tossing it into his mouth.

  This makes me feel even more selfish for practically making him stay with me. I know how bad he wanted to go. I know how much he enjoys fighting and yet I still asked him to stay with me.

  “I’m sorry,” I apologize. If someone gets hurt, which I have no doubt that someone will, he will blame himself for not going and saving the day. He’s just like that. Now I’m worried for his mental wellbeing.

  “Don’t be sorry. I’d rather be here with you, it’s just tough. Anyways, what would you like to do today?”