Bleeding Love

by Ashley Andrews

  * * * * *

  The main ballroom of the hotel changed dramatically. It didn't look like an area for formal occasions anymore, but instead, looked like a night club. It was probably because of the neon lights that created the dark but colorful silhouette and party atmosphere. There was 'Happy 18th Birthday, Sabrina!' ice carvings and free-flowing drinks in different colors in every corner of the room. The ceiling was draped in colorful, bright cloths of hot pink, lime, aqua, tangerine, and lemon yellow. At the very center stood a circular pedestal, around the pedestal was the dance floor. In the connecting room was the never-ending buffet offering a sumptuous selection of different cuisines. This was the least one would expect from someone with the kind of status Sabrina had. Her dad owned a chain of restaurants and five-star hotels all across the country.

  “Humans give so much importance to their birthdays,” Xavier drawled as he entered the ballroom with Adrienne at his side. “It's like they have an annual reminder of their upcoming deaths.”

  The vampire princess rolled her eyes before swatting the arm of her fiancé. “We all know you'll outlive the majority of the people in this room, so there's no need to get up on your high horse and brag. And it's Sabrina's debut,” she further explained, but it wasn't like Xavier would understand the meaning of growing up every year. “It's more special than the other years.”

  In response he shrugged his shoulders. “I still don't understand.”

  Adrienne smirked. “With a brain like yours, I knew you wouldn't,” she answered, grinning from ear-to-ear, and in that moment, she locked eyes with Xavier.

  His cobalt-colored eyes were glinting and smiling. “Did you just call me dumb?”

  “Dumb really doesn’t describe what I think of you.” She tugged on her tight, red mini-dress. “I was going for dumbass, incredibly stupid, brainless, you know?”

  The vampire prince smirked at his princess, and with the way he was looking at her, Adrienne couldn't help but soften towards him. He was tantalizing and deadly, both figuratively and literally. She then turned her gaze away. She was breathing hard. She finally spotted Brianna and Aidan. They were fast approaching Xavier and her.

  “I just saw Ethan staring at you,” was the first thing her best girl friend said, not even a, hi or a hello. “I told you that dress would do miracles.”

  With that said, Adrienne suddenly felt like a specimen being studied under a microscope. She could feel Aidan's, Brianna's, and Xavier's gazes on her, and it made her nervous. It was as if they were expecting and waiting for her to do something wrong or stupid.

  “But you still look like a slut,” Xavier added in finality. It was obvious that he didn't appreciate the idea of a million other guys looking at his mate.

  “Then what do you call everyone else here?”

  Xavier turned around and eyed his surroundings, and it was then he saw the cold, hard truth in Adrienne's rhetorical question. Every girl at the party, Brianna excluded, was covered in a garment that could barely be considered clothing. The debut had a glamorous theme, but for High School students, one could still look sexy and enchanting in short, skimpy outfits. That was the reality of this century.

  “You call us, vampires, animals,” Xavier said, his tone sounding quite stern. “Look who's acting below her level.”

  Adrienne couldn't help but grin. Xavier was too uptight.

  “Vampires are such killjoys,” was Adrienne's answer, and what she said was definitely a stab at Aidan's and Xavier's egos. “Lighten up. Just let the music take you away.”

  “Pshh.” Xavier drawled, his eyes cast down immaturely. “Don't forget you're one of us, too.”

  Pushing her mate's buttons, Adrienne held the end of her dress and tugged the fabric a few inches higher. She looked at Xavier playfully, while he eyed her actions with equal measures of like, and dislike.

  “Pull it down,” he ordered, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

  “Even if I'm, you know, like you,” she said, keeping the 'V' word to herself. “I can confidently say I'm not a party pooper!”

  In return, Xavier opened his mouth and was about to say something, but he was cut off by an enthusiastic Sabrina Baer, running quickly to her group of friends with Max, Tristan, and Ethan following behind.

  “You two are finally here!” she said, her voice going up a number of decibels. “Now the party can really start!” Her tone was mischievous, and everyone caught it.

  “This is going to rock, Sab.” Adrienne was telling the truth, and she was laughing while talking. “And damn, hun! I'd probably go lesbian for you! The leather just brings out the best of your assets!”

  Tristan, Brianna, Ethan, and Max laughed, their heads nodding in agreement.

  “How about a threesome?” was Max's teasing reply as he wrapped a protective arm around his girlfriend's waist.

  “Let's just make it a foursome,” Ethan hinted, looking dashing in a pair of dark-washed jeans and a polo shirt. “What do you guys say?”

  “Gross mental image, E,” Brianna teased, chuckling. “Oh, by the way! This is Xavier and Aidan! I don't think you guys have met.”

  In that moment, Xavier took hold of Adrienne's hand. He'd never admit it to anyone except for Aidan, but he didn't like the way the humans were staring at him. It was as if they were surveying him from head-to-toe, judging whether or not he was good enough to hang out with them.

  Despite his being annoying most of the time, Adrienne understood Xavier's anxiety and held a tighter to his hand. The action caused Ethan's anger to rise.

  “Why are you hanging out with these geeks?” asked Adrienne's ex, and in that instant, Max Winters stepped in.

  He knew what could happen if he just let Ethan spout off.

  “It's Sab's birthday.” Max looked at Sabrina before eyeing Ethan once again. “So don't you fucking dare ruin it, man.”

  His tone was cold, angry, and demanding, and it was safe to say that Ethan got the message. He simply stepped away from them all before shaking his head and walking off to join some of the guys in the football team. That was the best thing for him to do tonight—to stay away from Aidan and Xavier, which also meant staying away from Adrienne.

  “Forget about him.” That was Tristan, Adrienne's ever-loyal guy friend. “Just enjoy the party.” He then turned to look at his best friend and noticed her appealing scarlet dress. “Dance with me, Adie.”

  It wasn't an offer but a command.

  “We can't bring the house down yet, Tryst, too early.”

  The remark was teasing.

  “We just have to get the party started now.” Tristan turned to look at Sabrina. “Am I not right?”

  “Hell yeah!”

  “You know how I am,” said Adrienne mischievously, and it was then that she let go of Xavier's hand. “Once I start, there's no stopping me.”

  Without any hesitation, Tristan grabbed hold of Adrienne's hand and pulled her away from Xavier, Brianna, Aidan, Sabrina, and Max as they made their way to the bar to down a few shots before going to the very center of the room. After a few drinks, Tristan and Adrienne stepped onto the circular stage and started dancing, and the innocence with which they swayed their hips quickly turned into grinding. All of a sudden, she felt lust with the way she bumped hips with Tristan. She read his mind, and he was thinking and wanting the exact same thing.

  “Tonight might be your lucky night,” she drawled softly and seductively against his ear, and in response, he shivered. The feeling of her warm breath against his skin was just too much to handle and control.

  “Why not start now, Adie?”

  He was smiling. He couldn't hide the happiness he felt.

  “No, not tonight.” She suddenly changed her mind, and she blamed it on her drunken state. She didn't know how much she'd drunk, but it must have been a lot if she wasn't making sense anymore. “Let's do something fun.”

  She giggled, her cheeks reddening with the heat around the dance floor, while Tristan held her hips and pulled her closer to hi
m.

  “You're always fun,” Tristan replied. “You don't need to plan that kind of thing—having fun. It comes to you when it comes to you.”

  “I never knew you that you were so smart Tristan,” she said in between squeaky giggles, as she continued grinding against him. “So, so smar—”

  “I need to talk to you, Adrienne.”

  With that, she was pulled away, losing her balance with every step she took. She then turned to take a look at who had captured her and saw the face of a cherubim—delicate and handsome—the face of a vampire. It was Xavier, and he looked quite disappointed. When they were outside of the ballroom, he stopped and took a deep breath before he started pulling Adrienne again. When they reached the hotel's oriental garden, his steps slowed as he turned around to finally take a look at Adrienne's drunken condition.

  “He likes you.”

  Adrienne merely giggled.

  “Of course, stupid!” She was getting redder with every second. “He's my best friend!”

  “He loves you, Adrienne,” he tried, his voice sounding more forceful than before.

  “Duh.” was her once again lame response. “He's my best friend!”

  “You're drunk, aren't you?”

  Xavier decided to take a look at the creature he'd be spending his entire life with. She was beautiful—pale cheeks, long, wavy hair, a toned and tan body and a few more characteristics that somehow managed to marry her human and vampire side, perfectly. With all her attributes, he couldn't help but feel drawn to her. She was exciting, definitely not a killjoy, and that was what differentiated her from Yvonne, Valerie, Tatiana, and the many other female vampires who may have been prettier than she was, but they didn’t have her life. She had personality. She had spunk.

  Adrienne moved into his arms, and Xavier enfolded her to him. She felt so right. He was too busy thinking about Adrienne finally being where he wanted her that he didn’t realize that she was going to bite his neck, until it was done.

  And then nothing could have made him stop her. He could feel his blood heat, his body flash into instant awareness of the woman in his arms. His. Mate. Mine.

  She could feel the surge of energy quickly lifting up her already-high spirits. Adrienne didn't realize that her actions had altered her for all time. Taking Xavier’s blood would completely erase the numbing hold of the spell that had been put on her centuries ago. Her body and her mind awakened. She felt more passion, more intense feelings, and with every drop of blood that entered her body, she was unconsciously starting to recognize the pull of her mate. Hers. Mine.

  Chapter 8: Rural and Urban Escapades

  The rays of the sun started to seep through the windows of Adrienne's bedroom. Sunday mornings were always like this—bright, alive, and so annoying.

  Groaning, she lazily shifted to her side, opened her eyes, and checked the time. It was only nine in the morning, and she had nothing important to do, and so, throwing the comforter over her body, she went back sleep. However, she was awakened an hour later by the smell of sausages, omelets, and bacon coming from downstairs. Her vampire instincts intensified with the scent of the food. She then started getting out of her bed but quickly drew back when her head spun. The hangover was such a bitch.

  “F the world,” was the first thing that escaped her mouth.

  Adrienne threw her pillows carelessly off the bed, and then kicked her blanket off her, and sighing heavily, she let her feet dangle off the edge of her bed, before she got up. It took her fifteen minutes to just get to the kitchen, and when she got there, Adrienne was greeted by an arrogant smirk from Xavier and a genuine smile from her father.

  “I expected you to still be asleep,” she said to Xavier, who was drinking fruit punch.

  She reached for his glass and took a big gulp of what she thought was juice. She gulped and choked, loosing her breath. Xavier and her father were drinking blood. With that one taste she couldn’t really tell if it was from animals or humans. But she knew it wasn’t vampire blood.

  Weird. She remembered the many times she’d been hurt and sucked on her blood. It had had tasted salty and, well, like nothing. This wasn’t—nothing. She sighed. She’d almost rather her fiancé and her father were drinking beer so early in the morning rather than opting for blood.

  “Not everything you watch on TV is true,” said her father. “There are a lot of misconceptions about vampires.”

  Adrienne rolled her eyes, like she didn't know that already. She looked back at Xavier, so hot, and the sight of him was really bothering her today. “Just,” Adrienne started, and then groaned. “Why can't you leave my sight for even a second? I see you everywhere, really, and it's starting to bug me.” She bit her lip. “I don't know why though.” She didn't know what unknown force had pushed her to say those words, but she felt relieved when she did. It was like a heavy weight was lifted off her.

  For Xavier, it felt like a bomb had been dropped on him. “If you don't want me here, just tell me.” The smirk instantly vanished, his lips forming a thin line. He wasn't feeling well, and it was because of Adrienne. He felt weak both physically and mentally. Not only was it because of the blood and energy she had drained out of him last night at Sabrina's party, but because of her dismissive attitude. He didn't feel like talking to her. Worse, the sun bothered him today. He needed to feed. And human food just wasn’t going to cut it today.

  “Whoa. Chill.” Adrienne was shocked to say the least. “Who died? You suddenly look so drained.”

  From behind the countertop where she was eating an omelet and bacon, Adrienne eyed Xavier. His back was facing her, but he turned his head to stare right at her. However, the female's eyes trailed down from his cobalt eyes, to his nose, his mouth, and finally to his neck. An odd feeling crept inside Adrienne's body when she saw two small wounds on his neck. They looked like bite marks.

  She took a deep breath. Her first thought was that they’d better be hers. Suddenly, she didn't know what was happening, or why it was happening. But she felt different towards Xavier. As if her heart were pushing her towards him. The blood in her veins throbbed to his heart beat.

  “You don't remember what happened last night?”

  “Stupid hangover,” she muttered darkly to herself. “No, I don't.”

  “You gave me a hickey.” With that, Xavier had Adrienne's attention a hundred percent, but neither of the two was looking at one another. They were too embarrassed to read the emotions in each other's eyes.

  Meanwhile, in the background, Carter Stahl was quietly enjoying the little scandal his daughter and his son-in-law-to-be were embroiled in. Though it was unprincipled of Adrienne to do what she had done, he wasn't going to reprimand her for those actions. Newly-turned vampires often lost their cool. Adrienne hadn't been recently turned, but she hadn’t had her powers or the hungers of a vampire, until now. She was just still getting used to her new life.

  “What's so bad with getting one?” Adrienne was astounded with the innocence of vampires. “It's not like you have a girlfriend who's going to kill me, and I'm unattached so no one's going to kill you. It’s not a big deal.”

  Xavier rolled his eyes. “Wow.” His face remained passive. “I feel relieved.”

  Adrienne, in return, raised an eyebrow up at him. Xavier had confused her for the entire morning. He had been smirking when she first came into the kitchen. Then that changed, and he started getting all-sentimental and moody, and now, the sarcasm. Trying to keep up with the many moods of Xavier was becoming exhausting.

  “You didn't just give him a hickey, kiddo.” It was so weird for Adrienne to hear the word 'hickey' come out of her father's mouth. “You bit him. It was the first time you’ve taken blood, and it was vampire blood. We aren’t sure of the results. It could have done a number of things, including increasing your attraction to Xavier.”

  Adrienne's eyes turned into a more piercing and threatening color. Her father didn't have to say that in front of Xavier, she thought, the two guys were both embarrassin
g her, and the hangover was making it difficult for her to think. Why didn’t they just leave her alone?

  “Dad, I'm not attracted to him,” she said defensively, and to her annoyance, her father bent his head down. His eyes were looking right at her.

  “I understand if you are,” said Xavier. “Attracted, I mean.”

  Arrogant much?

  ”You were wasted last night, and you drank my blood. Period. End of story. I don't care.”

  Adrienne blinked continuously at her mate who was looking anywhere but at her. She wasn't expecting the cold shoulder from Xavier since he had always been the one to annoy the hell out of her with his smartass remarks. What died and had crawled up his ass that he looked like he was irritated at the world? “I was drunk, okay?” Adrienne bit out. “I'm not the smartest person when that happens.”

  “I'm going to go up and sleep.” Xavier stood up from his seat, even ignoring what she said. “I’m tired.”

  “Weird.” Adrienne didn't mean to say her thoughts out loud. The word just slipped. “I thought vampires didn't need to sleep?”

  “I want to,” and with that, he left, not bothering to wait for her approval.

  When Xavier was gone, Adrienne turned to face her father. He had a serious look on his face which slightly frightened her. He looked so grim at such an early hour, that it made her feel uncertain of herself.

  “Did you almost drain him?”

  That was such an embarrassing question. What could have happened if she did? He would have died, Adrienne thought, answering her own question. “Why didn't he just stop me? He could have just pushed me off him, you know?”

  Carter Stahl smiled mysteriously. Xavier's mind was closed to Adrienne, and she wouldn’t have understood if she could read it. Unlike male humans who possessed shallow and one-tracked brains, Xavier was different. He had lived during the Romantic Period, and this above all affected how he thought. He was a traditionalist. Like the older vampires, Xavier took love seriously. They had come of age during the times when romanticism and free expression flourished. They lived during the eras when courting was still the trend and when sex was a sacred act. Vampire love was different from the human love of the twenty-first century. It was eternal.