Cherry Blossom (Vampire Cherry Book 2)

by Sotia Lazu

  Since my breakup with Constantine, I hadn’t allowed myself to consider getting back together with him. And now I was with Alex, I would never think of returning to Constantine. Despite knowing the end of our relationship had been choreographed by his maker.

  That changed nothing.

  Neither did the realization Constantine truly loved me, and always had, even when he’d cheated on me. He actually believed what I thought was a cheap excuse—that eternity is too long to spend it monogamously, and sex has nothing to do with feelings.

  It wasn’t an entirely crazy theory. Who knew how I’d feel if I’d been around as long as he had?

  Nope. I wasn’t going there.

  I was in love with Alex.

  But my assurances obviously didn’t suffice. He became more possessive by the day, gradually losing the gentleness and stability I’d come to love. Jealousy shouldn’t have been enough for him to start attacking women out of the blue, though. Not enough for him to be so rough with me—and the more I thought about it, the more his roughness seemed a display of power, and not a manifestation of his uncontrollable lust for me.

  If I was to keep my sanity, I had to believe there was more there. I had to believe Willoughby was somehow involved. That Alex’s Mr. Hyde wasn’t coming to play. I needed someone to tell me whether vampires could control each other’s mind. I couldn’t be sure Constantine would have let on, if he knew anything more than the rumor he mentioned, but he’d have taken advantage of it a lot sooner. Possibly to convince me to forgive his betrayal. Pity my grandma was in Europe. Judging by the filter she’d concocted, she knew things your garden-variety vampire didn’t.

  A door slamming shut brought me back to reality. Moments later, my mom was there, arms laden with groceries.

  “Hey!” I stood to greet her, wondering what store was open in town in the middle of the night. Oh, wait! I was up in the middle of the day. In a sunlit room.

  I stole a moment to bask in the glow, and promised myself I’d be going on that picnic with Alex as soon as we’d figured things out.

  “Are the boys home?” Mom asked. “Any news on Willoughby?”

  There was no reason to worry her. There were enough of us losing sleep over the whole situation. “They’re both back, but we got nothing on Willoughby. Alex was out till now. He decided to test the potion.” I spread my arms in the sunlight. “As you can see, it works.” I forced a smile as I took most of the bags from her, and then waited for her to open the door to the kitchen. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of facing the men in there, but I wouldn’t be a refugee in my childhood home.

  Mom arched both eyebrows. “He was out till now? It’s past noon. Next time he decides to check if something works, maybe he should do so in less lethal conditions.” She spoke loudly on purpose, to make sure Alex picked up the admonition.

  “You’re absolutely right, Kathleen. I was too excited, and didn’t think.” Alex sounded contrite, but I didn’t buy it.

  “All’s well that ends well.” She rinsed her hands in the kitchen sink, wiped them on a dishtowel, and set the electric pot on, before ducking out again.

  Fixing my faux smile in place, I ignored the conversation behind me, made a beeline for the fridge, and began unloading cans and bottles.

  Mom’s process was one of the things that had mercifully remained unchanged by time. She put on the kettle for tea, and left to change into house clothes and shoes, before starting on lunch. This was my chance to talk to her alone.

  “Whatcha making?” I asked in my cutest voice, as soon as she was back, in her yoga pants and extra large T-shirt. Alex and Constantine had been eerily silent, and I wanted them out of the kitchen and to a place where they could safely stop repressing their grievances, before they exploded.

  “I was thinking of pasta with fresh tomato and basil sauce. Did you have something else in mind?”

  I shook my head, studying Alex’s stony expression and Constantine’s stiff posture out the corner of my eye. “I can help. For old times’ sake. Maybe start with peeling the tomatoes?”

  Mom grinned, and the years slid off her, until she was the thirty year old who tucked me in when I was a little girl. “I’ve missed that,” she said, and tilted her head toward the tomatoes neatly piled in the top shelf of the kitchen trolley. “You better get started, if you want actual lunch today.”

  “And maybe the guys could spend that time sparring?” Somewhere far, far away from mortals, if possible.

  For the first time since I entered the kitchen, I turned to them. Alex still appeared impassive, while Constantine gave me a speculative look.

  “If Willoughby is planning an attack, we all need to be at our best,” I said. “He’s older than all of us. I know I can’t win in a fair fight with him, but you both could improve your chances with some training. You could use the back yard.”

  Constantine nodded. “I wouldn’t mind some playtime in the sun. Alex, are you up for it?”

  Alex stood, all but kicking his chair back. “Going to wipe the floor with you, old man.” The words were playful, but his tone wasn’t.

  “Have some more of the potion first?” Mom glanced at me as she spoke to them. I gave a tiny shrug. Surprisingly, she said nothing until we were alone.

  Until the very moment we were alone.

  The door was still ajar when she mouthed, “What was that?”

  I held a palm up, and waited until I heard heavy footsteps tread down the porch steps, before telling her of the suspicions Constantine and I shared.

  She sank in a chair, waved me to the one next to her, and listened in rapt fascination, while I detailed the instances on which Alex allowed me glimpses of a man I barely recognized.

  “So you’re saying something may be driving him literally mad with jealousy?” she asked when I was done.

  “But in a weird, exaggerated way. If you could see his eyes… I can literally see him transform into someone else.”

  “You think it’s something paranormal.” It wasn’t a question.

  “It’s either that, or he’s always been this way and just didn’t have time to show it before. I don’t want to believe it, Mom. You don’t know how kind he is.”

  “He’s been nothing but a perfect gentleman to me and your father. To you too, as far as I know.” She studied my face. I hadn’t told her about the rough sex—of course—or the attack, and had to try to keep my gaze steady. “If he’s laid a hand on you, I’ll be really disappointed in him.” Her gaze was so hard, she might as well have said she’d shower him with acid. For a moment I could believe she’d kick his ass if she believed he’d hurt me. She certainly looked as ferocious as a momma bear whose cub was facing a threat.

  “He hasn’t. He wouldn’t. I’ll tell you if he does.” I winked, hoping it reassured her.

  “Good. Now what are you going to do about it? How can you find out for sure what’s causing this? And are you still waiting for Willoughby to come to you, or are you going after him?”

  I shrugged. “We still don’t have a plan, and can’t come up with one until we know we can count on Alex not to flip sides. I guess Constantine and I could try going after Willoughby without Alex, but I’d rather keep a close eye on him at all times.”

  “And you won’t know what he’ll do until you figure out what’s happening to him.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I wanted to ask you if Ruby ever said something about vampires practicing mind control?”

  Mom looked at me questioningly. “I thought you already knew. Don’t they teach newbies anything these days?”

  I felt a tingle of hope before I realized she’d misunderstood. “I mean controlling other vampires, not humans.”

  She furrowed her brow. Beside her, the pile of unpeeled tomatoes mocked us. If we didn’t get started soon, we wouldn’t be on time.

  Which seemed to apply to everything as of late.

  “Nothing?” I asked her. “Does she have some sort of diary? Notes? Something on the PC maybe.” Light-bulb m
oment. “Where did she write the recipe for the daylight potion?”

  Mom shook her head. “She doesn’t trust anyone with the recipe. Once she perfected it, she destroyed all her notes on it. She has no files on this computer—only her laptop, and that’s with her.”

  No luck there, then. “Damn it. I was hoping for precedence of vampires being controlled in their sleep. Guess it was a long shot.”

  “Oh, wait!” Mom jumped up, and my unbeating heart leapt in my chest. “I remember Ruby saying she had the weirdest dream, soon after we moved to the States. Constantine came to her, to check if we were okay. She told him he couldn’t really be there, and he said he’d tasted her blood, so all he had to do was go to sleep focusing on her. It was all very surreal for her. I didn’t think of it sooner, because she had no doubt her imagination had made the whole thing up. But maybe…”

  My eyes felt about to bug out of my head. If that was the case, could Constantine visit the dreams of anyone whose blood he’d tasted? Would they know if he did?

  Would I know?

  That was a question for another day. “Could there be more you don’t remember? Maybe if I…um…hypnotized you?”

  “No, I’m not forgetting anything. Now that I recalled the conversation, it’s as clear as if we had it yesterday. You should ask Constantine for details. If he was really there, he’ll know.”

  I didn’t want to ask him. I’d have to ask why he didn’t say anything sooner, and that would only lead to badness.

  “I think I’ll try it myself,” I told Mom. “See how that goes. Can you please not mention anything for now?”

  She nodded. “But honey, if you need help, you can ask him. I trust him completely.”

  So did I, which was scary, because he wasn’t a paragon of honesty. If he didn’t lie, he withheld the truth. The end result was the same.

  The men returned for lunch, and then disappeared again. Not that I minded. It gave me more time to figure out how to emulate what my mother said Constantine could do.

  From what Mom said, Constantine had just focused on Ruby at the right moment. I’d fallen asleep thinking of Alex more than once, and had never landed in his dream, so I guessed it worked the same way flying did. We had to believe we could do it, and will ourselves to follow through.

  That night I didn’t feel like sleeping next to Alex. My skin prickled at the thought of him touching me, making love to me, when he felt like a complete stranger. I lay there and stared at the ceiling as he came out of the shower, trying to keep my gaze from diverting to what the towel around his hips left uncovered. Namely, most of his amazing body. Not looking straight at him didn’t help. Even if his wide shoulders didn’t butt into my peripheral vision, I knew by heart every inch of his hard pecs and cut stomach, sprinkled with a dusting of dark hair.

  I was generally happy my hormones hadn’t died when I did, but that moment, they mainly pissed me off.

  Luckily, Alex passed out the moment he hit the mattress. Constantine had worn him out thoroughly. Or maybe it was the excitement of the day, and he’d wake up rested and back to himself in the morning. If wishes were horses…

  I needed my beauty sleep, but my body wasn’t yet used to my return to a human time schedule, despite my exhaustion.

  Also, trying to find a way to spy on my lover, in case my maker had him under a spell, wasn’t really conducive to relaxing enough to fall asleep.

  Fun.

  Not.

  If I didn’t fall asleep I couldn’t enter Alex’s dreamland—assuming I’d even manage to if I did sleep.

  I got comfy on my back, and threw one arm over my eyes, trying to focus on all that was good and kind about Alex. All that I loved about him. I needed to remember these things anyway, whether my plan worked or not. For my sake.

  Our first night together. He’d initially thought I was a prostitute, and had invited me home for a lecture, instead of the naughty times I had in mind. The naughty times were had after all, and what had enraged me at the time was now our private joke.

  He was always so open. So willing to talk about his feelings. So ready to trust me. To love me. To make me his priority. My chest expanded with the love I felt for him.

  He’d stuck with me after he’d seen me sprout fangs. After he’d found out my true nature. He loved me despite losing his life as punishment for being my lover.

  He introduced me to his mother.

  He—

  He sat on the same log, in the same clearing. In front of me.

  I was asleep.

  And inside Alex’s dream.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The sensation of peace is all-encompassing. No. All-pervasive.

  It’s an unnatural peace. Forced.

  Alex sits in the sun, only a handful of feet away. I could reach him in a human heartbeat, but my feet are cemented in place. My inability to move doesn’t scare me. It somehow matches the tranquility of the forest.

  Utter tranquility. Utter.

  No wind rustling the leaves. No birds chirping. No wildlife whatsoever. It’s like nature is in a coma. Makes sense Alex doesn’t spend time recreating forest sounds in his sleep, but everything else seems a perfect copy of reality.

  He raises his gaze, and I suck in a breath when he looks straight at me.

  “You came.” The smile on his lips is the exact same I saw when I followed him to this very clearing in real life.

  What? He expected me?

  Before I can ask, a female voice comes from right behind me. “How could I not? You know how I feel about you.”

  I know this voice. Where do I know this voice from?

  I try to turn and see who spoke, but I’m still rooted in place. Worse, I have absolutely no control over my body.

  A burst of cold spreads through me, from my chest outward, tying my stomach into a knot, making my throat clench, and numbing my fingers. It’s gone as suddenly as it appeared, and I’m left looking at the back of a blonde head. The figure in front of me gradually comes into better focus and assumes shape as it nears Alex, adding to the distance between us.

  A thick blonde braid draped over one shoulder. An almost bare back, pale and smooth. Voluptuous hips, swathed in barely-there strips of see-through gauze.

  Ádísa! This figure can’t belong to anyone else.

  Why is Alex dreaming of her? He only saw her that one night, when she tried to kill all three of us. Constantine ripped her head off and turned her to dust, but she apparently had plenty of time to make an impression on Alex by then.

  We certainly talked about her a lot lately. Alex’s subconscious is probably messing with him.

  I realize she must have passed through me. Was that the cold I felt all the way to my core?

  If this is Alex’s dream, how can the image of Ádísa bring forth a physical reaction in me?

  She reaches him, and sinks down to her knees by his side. “I’ll always come to you. Always put you first.” She trails a hand up his…calf? I can’t really see from where I stand.

  “Can you say the same for Cherry?” she asks.

  Sick to my stomach, I wait to hear his response.

  “Cherry loves me.”

  Is this some weird déjà vu? A replay of whatever he was dreaming when he sleepwalked? This is the time to check if I’m doing this right. Ruby was able to see Constantine when he shared her dream.

  “Yes, Alex”—I smile—“I do love you. I’m here. Can you hear me?”

  He doesn’t bat an eyelash or look at me. His face is turned to hers, but from what I can make out, he’s still smiling.

  The clarity of the dream strikes me. I’ve never dreamed in such detail. My gaze is drawn to the blue sapphire gleaming on the cleft of my arch enemy’s throat.

  Details. Not as important as what Ádísa is busying herself with. And she’s undoing Alex’s pants. She makes herself comfortable between his thighs, and pushes her hand inside the opening of his jeans.

  I gag. “Alex, I’m here. Stop her. Send her away.”
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br />   Still no sign he hears me. His eyes drift shut, and his head rolls back.

  The bitch meets my gaze, and the look she gives me is the same as when I caught Constantine and her in bed together.

  Triumphant.

  She feels triumphant. In Alex’s dream.

  Something is even more wrong than I suspected.

  I sense another presence, and again try to look behind me, but can’t move. This one isn’t threatening—I don’t think it is, at least. It’s just there.

  Always looking at me, Ádísa licks her lips. “Does she appreciate you like I do, Alex?” She raises his shirt and kisses his navel. Alex moans. “Would she put you above everyone else?” Her sharp nails leave red lines on his side. “Even Constantine?”

  “Cherry loves me.” Alex stills her moves, and I silently squeal in delight. Then I realize he hasn’t removed her hands from his body.

  It’s a dream. Just a dream. I can’t be jealous of a dream. Even if it’s of the woman who destroyed my life and was the reason Alex lost his.

  “But does she love you enough?” Ádísa asks. “I would love you enough. You could fix it, if you did what I told you. Then you could have it all.”

  What? What did she tell him to do? It feels important.

  So many things are important, but I can’t tell why—like that Ádísa is less real than Alex. Less substantial. She’s still more solid than I am.

  Alex moans. It sounds like he’s enjoying himself, and I’m glad Ádísa’s hair now hides whatever she’s doing to him.

  And shit! Is she…?

  I can’t just stand here, while she has imaginary oral sex with my boyfriend. I can’t leave him here.

  Focusing on my love for him, I shout, “Alex, wake up.”

  Yeah, that doesn’t work. No sound makes it out of my lips.

  “Alex!” Nothing again.

  I close my eyes and scream in my head. “Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.”

  Nope.

  I have to wake up. Now. Eyes, open, damn it!

  Alex lay on top of me, legs tangled with mine. He was hard against my core.

  Hard for her.

  I grabbed his shoulders, and shook him harshly until he opened his eyes. It wouldn’t be fair of me to knee him in the balls over something that ultimately wasn’t his fault.