NYC Vamps: Vampire Romance

by Sky Winters

  “Oh, I didn’t know you were back!” Janet told her. “I’ve been taking very good care of Siniy.”

  “Yes, you have and she appreciates it very much,” Matt replied from behind Tabitha.

  Tabitha smiled and winked at Janet, who looked around her to see Matt and then smiled happily back at her.

  “Janet, this is Matt. We’re headed out and will be gone again for a few days, so please continue taking care of her until we get back,” Tabitha told her.

  “I will!” Janet said happily. “Do you mind if I stay a while and play with her now?”

  “Not at all,” Tabitha told her, letting her in as she and Matt stepped out the door. As an afterthought, she stepped back inside and whispered softly to her. “Do me a favor when you leave. Take that wedding dress with you and do whatever you’d like with it. I won’t be needing it anymore.”

  “You got it,” Janet told her with a broad smile, watching them as they stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

  They made their way across town to the small chapel where they had made arrangements to be married. It was a simple ceremony with only them, the officiant and the witness he provided for them. It was a far cry from the elaborate wedding she had planned not so long ago and yet, it was more magical than she could have ever imagined.

  “Well, Mrs. Helford? Are you ready to begin your new life?” he asked.

  “Absolutely, Mr. Helford,” she said with a smile.

  The two of them headed to the airport for a quick trip to Hawaii, where they spent several days just basking in the open air and splashing playfully along the beaches on their honeymoon. Tabitha had no regrets or doubts about their whirlwind romance. It felt like she was finally in the right place with the right person and that was worth more than any amount of time spent getting to know the wrong person might be. Matt felt right and that was all that mattered.

  “Isn’t this place incredible?” she said, looking out the window of their bungalow later that evening.

  “Wherever you are is beautiful,” he said, walking over to kiss her, his arms wrapping around her waist so that his hand was resting on her growing belly.

  “How can you possibly be so sweet all the time?” she asked.

  “I’m not sweet all the time,” he replied, brushing her hair to one side and kissing her neck.

  “Yes, you are.”

  “Yeah? How about this? Does this feel like sweetness?” he asked, biting her shoulder.

  “Mmmm, no. You’re right. That’s not sweet at all. It’s incredibly harsh.”

  “You like it when I’m harsh too.”

  “I like a mixture of the two.”

  “Yeah? So, you like it when I kiss you and then bite your breasts?”

  “I more than like it. It feels like ecstasy to me.”

  “Ecstasy, huh? Let’s just see how that sounds,” he said, reaching between her legs and slipping his fingers inside of her.

  She moaned as he explored her wet folds, looking down at her with a wicked grin. She noted how his blue-green eyes seemed to get even darker when he was excited. It was a turn on, just like everything else about him. If there had ever been a perfect man, he was certainly that man. Every day she only found that she fell in love with him a bit more. Her thoughts were interrupted by her own passion, a gasp escaping her lips.

  “That’s my girl. Let me feel you drip across my fingers,” he said, slipping in and out of her softly with two digits until she was nothing more than weak putty in his hands. It was the effect he always had on her, which was perfectly fine with her.

  Stripping her of her clothes, he removed his own before laying her across the bed. Leaning over her, he held her wrists down with his hands, taking his time to kiss his way up one side of her neck and then down the other before letting go of her arms and moving downward to kiss her legs from toe to thigh. She drew in her breath as his lips found their way to her center, lapping softly at her pink folds as she tangled her fingers in his hair.

  He took his time with her, touring her body slowly and gently. His kisses were soft and warm as he planted them on her thighs, teasing her clit and pussy as he passed from one leg to the other. Then he focused on her core, dipping his tongue inside of her, sucking at her clit and probing her with his tongue. Her hips arched upward towards him, aching for more of him as he teased her.

  “Please, I want you. Make love to me, Matt,” she begged.

  “Not yet. I want to make you squirm. I love watching what you let me do to you,” he breathed against her skin.

  “I love the way you make me yours over and over, each and every time,” she moaned, barely able to get the words out as he stroked her clit with his thumb.

  “You are mine. Just like I am yours,” he told her, stroking her pussy in all the right places until she couldn’t hold back. Her body contorted as her need built up inside her, her legs shaking wildly as she exploded against his tongue. He lapped at her swollen folds, the effects of her pregnancy already showing in subtle ways.

  “Please, Matt. I want you so much. Please,” she begged.

  Moving upward, Matt came face to face with her, looking deeply into her eyes. His fingers traced across her lips, her own scent floating behind them. It was intoxicating.

  “I love you, Tabitha. You are everything in this world I have ever wanted,” he told her.

  “I love you too,” she replied, feeling like the luckiest woman alive.

  Burying his hands in her hair, he leaned in to kiss her, his mouth hungry against hers. She moaned as he entered her, his cock throbbing heavily against her aching folds. Wrapping her legs around his back, she met each thrust with reckless abandon, pulling him further and further into her with each stroke. Their bodies bounced back and forth against one another in the throes of passion.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he said, driving into her until he couldn’t hold back anymore.

  His body convulsed as he exploded inside of her before collapsing atop her, his cock still filling her as their passion faded into peaceful silence.

  Later, Tabitha lay in the darkness with her head on Matt’s chest, listening to him breath quietly as he slept. Soon, they would return stateside to finish packing her things and have them shipped to their new home in the heart of India, where they would continue what was now their collective mission. Matt would work to protect the tigers as he always had and she would begin a series of freelance exposés that would show the world just how serious the dangers to both tigers and those who chose to stand by them really were. It was the natural order of things and she had nothing but high hopes for the future of both them, their unborn children, and the tigers.

  Epilogue

  “Matt, we have to go,” Tabitha said.

  “Go where?” he asked, not really looking up from the map he had been studying.

  Over the course of the past few months, the two of them had been steadfastly growing closer to exposing the network of rangers, local officials, and poachers that worked in tandem to kill off a great number of tigers.

  “To the hospital,” she said.

  “They’re coming?” Matt was up like a shot from his chair and by her side in a matter of seconds.

  “Yes, tiger, to the hospital,” she replied softly.

  “Okay, princess. Let’s go,” he said, scooping her up and carrying her out to the car as if she was an invalid even as she protested.

  “You forgot my suitcase,” she said as he jumped behind the wheel.

  “Right!” he said excitedly. “Don’t move!”

  “Where am I going to go?” She laughed as he ran back into the house and emerged a few moments later with the bag she had packed for her visit to the hospital.

  “Okay. Let’s go!” he said enthusiastically.

  At 4:10 p.m. that afternoon, two seemingly normal boys were born to Mr. and Mrs. Matt Helford. The history books would not know their names, but they would be legends among a certain segment of the population that knew them to be great l
eaders. Their parents would be known as pioneers in the push to protect tigers around the world and long after they were gone, their name would be carried throughout forests and along river beds where it was revered as the mark of a friend and savior.

  Alice in Shifterland

  Chapter One

  “Alice! Wait!”

  “Wait for what? For you to finish?”

  Enrique quickly yanked up his pants and chased her toward the door, but she was already out of it and halfway across the landing as it slammed in his face. Her heart raced as she ran down the three flights of steps that led away from their London flat. She couldn’t believe she’d just walked in on him with another woman. In her house! In her bed!

  “Alice, come back. Let’s talk about this!” he shouted across the railing above, still shirtless and trying to pull on his pants.

  She turned and looked up at where he stood leaning over the landing outside their place, ignoring his pleas and continuing down the sidewalk. She had no idea where she was going, but she needed to be out of there. She needed to breathe. Quickly a half mile away, she sat down on a bench and stared out across the city. London had once been the most beautiful place in the world to her, but now it was quickly becoming a bad memory. After she had calmed a bit, she fished her phone out of her purse, calling her best friend back in Scotland.

  “Honestly, Alice? Do you need any more incentive to leave the loser?”

  “No, but I don’t know what to do. We have a place together. I have a job here.”

  “So what? People leave things behind all the time. Walk away. Turn in your notice at work, get your shit packed up and come home!”

  “The truth is that it doesn’t even hurt anymore. I just feel numb. Our life together is a completely one-sided situation. I do all the work while he stays at home and dedicates himself to those sculptures he seems to think are so spectacular, but they are hideous. I can’t imagine anyone will ever celebrate him as the artist he thinks he is. Meanwhile, I’m the bad one for always nagging him to take out the trash, pick up after himself, blah blah blah.”

  “Well, I guess that now you know why he can’t get anything done. He’s working with the wrong chisel.”

  “Very funny, Margaret.”

  “I try. Seriously though, come home, Alice. Even if just for a while. Take a break from that nonsense and get your head clear.”

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but you’re right. I need a change of scenery. I’ll see what arrangements I can make.”

  Back at her apartment, Alice packed while Enrique followed her around, begging her to forgive him and stay, but she felt nothing but cold inside now. She finally saw him for what he was, a mooch and a liar, a cheater and a complete fuckwit. How sad that it had been necessary to have it forced in her face for her to see the truth.

  “You’re wasting your breath, Enrique. I’ve called the landlord and told him that I have to leave right away. He’s agreed to let me out of my agreement if I can be out in a week, because he has some friends who want the place and need to move in then.”

  “So, I have a week to find a place to live?”

  “No. I have that long to turn the apartment over in rentable condition. You need to pack your shit and get out tonight. I don’t want you here.”

  “You are being unreasonable! I have my studio here, my sculptures! I can’t just pack them up and take them to a hotel or something.”

  “Here’s an idea, just toss them in the trash like the shit they are. Really, Enrique . . . grow up and get a job like a real man. Stop pretending you’re some fabulous artist who is just waiting to be discovered. Most of all, whatever you do, just fuck off and leave me alone!”

  The argument continued for most of the evening, as he sulked and slammed around, trying to get his things together and yet still trying to talk her into staying, but there was no use. It was over. It had been over. She was merely calling the time of death. The following morning, she went to her office and packed her desk, telling her boss that she quit with a huge smile that she knew was horribly out of place.

  A week later, Alice was on a plane to Inverness, where she would catch a bus to the small town of Cromarty, situated on the shores of the North Sea at the edge of the Highlands. It was a quaint place and her home, where her family had resided for generations. More importantly, it had been far too long since she’d been there. Instead, she had lost herself in someone who was busy losing himself in others. She had to admit that it felt good to be free to start over.

  “Alice! It’s so good to have you home!”

  Margaret had arrived at the train station to pick her up and drive her to the old cottage that had been left to her when her parents had died. It was one of the reasons she had accepted the corporate job in London, to get away from the pain of her losses and start fresh. Now, here she was again, headed back to the place her grandmother had left her parents and her parents had left her. It felt almost surreal.

  “It’s good to be home and fantastic to see you, Margaret! Thank you so much for fetching me.”

  “Of course I did. Let’s get your stuff and get you home. I stopped in yesterday to check on it for you and blew out some of the cobwebs. Still needs a bit of cleaning and I dare say, a bit of work.”

  “Good. I’ll have something to do then.”

  The two young women chatted enthusiastically on the way. Margaret helped her get her bags out of the car and followed her inside.

  “I hate to drop you and run, but I have to get back to the shop. I closed it for a bit and you know how people get when they run out of sweets.”

  “I do,” Alice replied. The bakery that Margaret owned was one of the liveliest places in the small town, selling more bread and sweet, sticky treats than all the other shops combined. “Thank you again. It means so much that you took the time to pick me up and bring me home.”

  “Anytime, love. I’ll see you again soon.”

  “Yes, we’ll see each other quite a bit, I hope.”

  Margaret winked at her and headed out, leaving Alice to unpack and roam the grounds. She found that she was starving and instantly regretted not having asked Margaret to stop somewhere to buy a few things to stock the kitchen. However, when she walked into the kitchen, she found that Margaret had already left some provisions in the fridge and pantry. It was nice to have someone think of her for a change, even if just a friend. Grabbing a quick sandwich, she made her way up to the bedroom to unpack, selecting the master bedroom that had been her parents’ room instead of her smaller childhood room. It was just as it had been left when she went to London and in much need of dusting.

  Alice found herself drawn to the antique dressing table that sat in one corner of the room. The old brushes and mirrors that still lay there had been her grandmother’s. Her mother had left them there for sentimental reasons. Alice had no doubt that she often imagined her mother sitting there has she had probably done for years before her passing. Draped across the mirror was a necklace Alice had placed there before she had left. It had been left to her by her grandmother and it had seemed only right that she leave it with her other things when she had left the cottage behind.

  Now, Alice pulled it down, admiring the way it felt and looked in her hands. She had no idea how old it was, but her grandmother had gotten it from her own mother and perhaps it went further back than that. Delicate scroll work outlined the small brass compass housed in the beautiful pendant. Her grandmother had told her it would help her to “find her way to love.” Perhaps she might have done better had she taken it to London with her instead of having followed her inner compass to the wrong man, she mused to herself.

  Slipping it around her neck, she walked out of the room and outside to the gardens. They were ill tended in her absence. A man had been paid to keep the place from becoming completely overgrown, but she had not considered what sort of shape just not having the lawn clipped would leave the garden in. She had her work cut out for her to get it back up to par. Despite this, there
were still flowers growing between the weeds as the once-majestic garden struggled to maintain its pride.

  “I sure hope your compass will also help me lead this garden back to glory,” she said aloud as if talking to her grandmother. Alice lifted the small compass and opened it, surprised to find that the arrows on the compass were still operable and moving as she spun around in the garden. Then they stopped, pointing in a singular direction. On a lark, Alice decided to head off in the direction they indicated, making her way along the overgrown path that led toward the woods just beyond the garden.

  At the edge of the woods, she paused; it was getting dark out and she definitely didn’t want to be lost in the woods. Just as she started to forget the compass and return to the cottage, a fleeting movement caught her eye. She couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it was just ahead and she found that she wanted to at least see what it was. A few short steps later, she stumbled and tried to right herself, thinking she had tripped over one of the rocks or vines that encumbered her passage. Instead, she kept falling and falling, down into a dark hole as the light disappeared over her head.

  Alice screamed as her body spiraled downward. She anticipated the thud at the bottom as her body landed in some old well that had been covered over or sink hole that had formed, but she seemed to be falling in slow motion. Unable to process what was happening to her, she passed out, unaware of how much time passed before she finally awoke with a start, still falling. Just as she opened her eyes, the floating stopped and she landed with a thud in the middle of a forest.

  Chapter Two

  “Where am I?” she whispered to the trees around her, as if they might answer. She was trembling all over, whether from the chill in the damp woods or fear, she couldn’t be sure. In the distance, the sound of horses could be heard, along with loud, angry voices. It took a moment to regain her senses and realize that they were traveling the path on which she lay. She scurried to her feet and ran behind a bank of vine-covered trees, unsure if she should ask for help or flee from them. She had the eerie feeling that the vines were humming. It only unnerved her more.