Craving: The Willow Creek Vampires Series

by Stephanie Summers

  She absolutely believed Remy would lie to her, but she also wholeheartedly believed he wouldn’t let anything or anyone hurt her. He couldn’t control that. She knew now he was compelled to keep her safe. But how could she trust what he told her about Josh? I’m probably jumping to conclusions about Josh’s intentions. He probably doesn’t really want to get to know me. He just wants in my pants. It’s not like we could have a future.

  The space around her began to distort. Waves of nothing began to swirl just above her. The air was charged. Am I getting a migraine now? What the fuck? She blinked her eyes and rolled to her side. There he was, lying in her bed face to face with her.

  “How did you do that!?”

  “Another perk of being a vampire.” Remy cocked one corner of his mouth up in a seductive smirk. “Why? Not happy to see me?”

  “Well you scared me half to death.” She rolled her eyes and turned away from him. “How come you haven’t done that before?”

  “You want me to start magically appearing in your bed more often?” No response from Sabine. “Okay. I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He scooted against her, his front melded to her back. His hand slid over her belly as he spoke. “It takes too much power and energy to teleport all the time. Leaves me-” His voice lowered to a whisper. His cool breath grazed her ear and sent shivers down her back. “-vulnerable.”

  Her body wanted to cry out to his; wanted him to touch her all over, wanted to be as close to him as she could get, but, her brain, wanted no part of it. “Please, don’t do that. I don’t like it.”

  “Oh, but I think you do. Nonetheless, I don’t want an unwilling partner. Takes the fun out of it.” He scooted away from her and lay beside her in the bed.

  “Seriously?” she asked incredulously and sat up to face him. “You like a person to be terrified when you feed on them because their blood supposedly tastes so much better, but you want me to believe you’re not into an unwilling sexual partner? You confuse the hell out of me.”

  “I don’t see why it’s so hard to understand. Shagging is an act that requires at least two partners interacting with one another for it to be enjoyable. When I feed, I don’t need my prey to do anything but stay still. I don’t want a lover who just lays there and does nothing.”

  “Why are you here?” She had no desire to continue that discussion, and a subject change was sorely needed.

  “Boredom.”

  “Okay…Then go have fun somewhere else. I’m trying to go to sleep.” She yawned and lay on her back.

  “There is nowhere else that’s fun in this fucking town.”

  “Oh, so you think I’m fun then? Good to know.”

  “No. You’re just the least dull thing around. I like taking the piss out of you. It’s one of the only pastimes I’ve had since I got sentenced to the next however many years with you.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? Taking my piss? That’s gross!”

  “Bloody hell, love. You really haven’t had much exposure to the world, have you? It means I like bothering you. But to be nice, I left you alone for a good long while. You know, until you tried to run away. So anyway, I am catching up on all the time I missed out on. Since I’m stuck here, I might as well try and entertain myself.”

  “I’m never going to be good enough, am I?”

  “I haven’t had your blood. I suppose there is a chance you’ll be extra tasty.”

  “That’s not what I meant. Nevermind.” She waved him off.

  “For what it’s worth, you’re not a bad kisser. I’m up for a good slap and tickle anytime you’d like.”

  “There you go again…”

  “What? What did I do now?”

  “Using your weird words when you could’ve just said you’d kiss me, or whatever you meant, anytime I wanted.”

  “Sorry, love. I’ll try and remember to change the way I’ve spoken for centuries next time we converse.”

  “I’m curious about something. It’s been bugging me for the last couple of years. What’s your last name?”

  “Don’t have one.” He laced his fingers and placed his hands on his stomach.

  “I see. You’re Remy, like ‘Cher’ or ‘Madonna’.”

  “You mean ‘Cher’, like Remy….She’s a witch, you know.”

  “Get out of here! I don’t believe you.”

  “How do you think she manages to stay so fabulous after all these years?”

  “Madonna, too?”

  “No. Madonna is just a hag. I never cared for her the times I was around her, the twat.”

  She sat up in her bed again, looking straight down at him as if she could bore a hole through him. “Are you going to hurt me? When you bite me?”

  “No. I won’t do that to you.”

  Relief washed over her, but there was still a trace of fear. “I’m so worried about everything.”

  “No need to worry about that.”

  “It’s not just that. It’s everything.”

  “What’s bothering you? Tell me.”

  “I worry about the things I’ll miss out on. I worry that I’m never going to travel like I’ve always wanted. I’m worried that I’ll never be loved. I worry that you’ll always hate me. I worry that-”

  “Shhh.” She hadn’t noticed him move to just in front of her until his finger touched her lips. “I don’t hate you. I might not like being stuck here, but that’s not your fault. I blame Bastian and the nitwit who made this arrangement in the first place, not you. Let me do something for you.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Let me take one of your worries away.”

  “Oh, no…I don’t want you making me forget or some shit like that.”

  “No. I promise this is something I want you to remember.”

  Curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn’t make herself blindly decline him when she didn’t know what it was he was offering. “What do you mean then?”

  “Let me show you what it will feel like to be bitten by me.”

  “I don’t want you to bite me.” She held back the tears. She looked down at her hands, busy fidgeting with a string on her quilt, for distraction.

  “I will not bite you until you’re ready for that to happen, but I can show you what it will feel like when I do. I can use the same power now that I will use in the future. How you feel does not come from the bite itself, unless, of course, no power is used, then you do feel the bite.”

  “I don’t know.” She searched his face, looking for any sign of deceit.

  “Trust me.” He took her hands into his and brought them close to his chest.

  She nodded in agreement. Keeping hold of one of her hands, he slid his other hand around to the back of her neck and pulled her close to him. Warmth spread throughout her body as he bent his head to her. The comforting warmth soon turned to arousal as his lips neared her throat. She wanted to panic, but she was physically unable. He was in complete and absolute control of her. The sensation of his power drowned out all of her flight instincts and everything else but the two of them. His face brushed against hers, cheek to cheek. When their skin touched, pleasure rippled all through her body. He kissed her neck softly before scraping his teeth against the sensitive flesh of her throat. The sensation consumed her. All she could think about was fucking him. If she could move, she would have been all over him. Her own voice in the back of her mind tried to tell her this wasn’t reality, but she shoved it even further back and ignored it.

  He pulled back from her slowly, the euphoria following him. As he did, she wanted to grab him and pull him to her again. No, he couldn’t leave her high on him. Just as quickly as the sensation had taken her, it was gone. She blinked and widened her eyes. Her breathing was heavy as she fought to get air to her lungs. She felt like she’d taken a lethal dose of ecstasy when he exerted his power over her. She was addicted.

  “Do it again. Please?” She begged. Her body needed more of him, and her mind begged for that beautiful release from realit
y.

  He ran his tongue over his still extended fangs as he looked sleepily at her. “I think that’s enough for now. You are no longer worried?”

  “Fuck, no! Not about that. Is that what it will be like every time?”

  “Pretty much. It could be more intense.”

  “More intense? How is that even possible?”

  “Just add sex.” He stood, ready to leave.

  “Don’t go.”

  “I’m not doing that again tonight.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  He moved to the side of her bed, guiding her to lie down as he pulled the quilt up over her and brushed the hair from her eyes. “Good night, Beanie.”

  “My mother calls me that.”

  “I know.” He moved effortlessly to the window.

  “Remy?” He stopped, and tilted his head toward her. “Why were you really here tonight?”

  “Stay away from Josh. He is a vampire, whether you want to believe me or not. I’ve seen him at Bastian’s. He’s staying there.”

  ***

  Remy slipped out of the window and landed on the ground with barely a sound. He looked back up to her bedroom window once more before leaving. The restraint he held in the last few minutes stunned him. He wanted to bite her. Needed to bite her and only her. The thirst wasn’t with him now that he’d left and his mind had a moment to clear. When he was that close to her and that close to biting her, he was thirstier than he had ever been in his entire immortal life.

  When she begged him to do it again, he almost gave into her. Fulfilling all of her wishes and dreams consumed him in that moment. He wanted to give her everything she was worried she’d never have or experience. He wanted to show her the world. He wanted to love her.

  Having her writhe in pleasure beneath him had almost driven him over the edge. He was so close to throwing her back and ripping her clothes off. His mouth yearned to taste her again. His cock ached to be deep inside her. He wouldn’t take her like that, though. She had to want him of her own volition, not because of the control he had over her in that moment. Until she made it clear that she wanted him, he wouldn’t touch her. He hadn’t felt that kind of emotion since the first time he fell in love, over four centuries before. How has she done this to me? Why does she have this pull over me?

  Chapter 13

  Remy crashed into his bed as soon as he returned home. The only place other than her bed he wanted to be was in his own bed. Teleporting to her had taken a lot of energy, and he really overdid it when he made her feel his power without taking her blood. Blood was the ultimate energy shot for a vampire. Instead of hunting in the woods for some subpar blood, he opted to sleep it off.

  Before he closed his eyes, he thought about his actions. Why had he insisted on teleporting? Josh was nowhere to be found, and he certainly had not been anywhere near her. He could have just as easily ran and been there only a couple minutes later.

  He better stay away from her. I will beat him within an inch of his undead life if he tries to hurt her. I don’t trust the little shit. And just who is this friend of Bastian’s he claims to know? I need to speak to Bastian again and get more information, but not tonight. Tonight, I must sleep.

  *

  A knock came at the front door. She cautiously approached, wondering if it would be Remy. After their encounter three nights before, she hadn’t had any interaction with him, though she knew he was probably lurking in the shadows at some point. He was not far from her mind either. The urge to go to him or seek him out had been unbearably strong. She desperately needed a distraction. She opened the door, only to see Josh smiling back at her. Hello, distraction.

  “I hope it was okay to stop by. I hate to bother you, but I wanted to see if you might want to hang out for a while.”

  “Yeah, sure. What do you want to do?” There was no other way to determine if he really was a vampire as Remy claimed. She had to figure it out for herself.

  “Do you want to go to the park and maybe go for a walk or just talk?”

  “Let me tell my mom where I’m going, then I’ll be out. Okay?”

  “I’ll be here.” He beamed at her. He can’t be a vampire. He’s too nice.

  They made small talk while they walked to Cleary Park. As they passed the bench she was sitting on when she met Remy for the first time, she pictured herself sitting there looking up at the stars. She thought of how sexy he looked, even though he scared the hell out of her. His voice, so velvety, echoed in her ears. I could have you dead before you took your next breath, and you’d be none the wiser. Would you like me to show you? How could she be so drawn to someone who could kill her in less than a blink of an eye and had no qualms over making it known?

  “Sabine? Are you okay?” Josh touched her shoulder lightly.

  “Sorry. I zoned out for a second. What were you saying?”

  “I asked you if we could maybe go to dinner later, but if I bore you so much you have to zone out, maybe we shouldn’t.” He playfully crossed his arms and threw his head back.

  “I’m sorry! It wasn’t you at all. I was just…It was déjà vu.”

  “So weird when that happens. What do you think you were reliving?”

  She didn’t want to admit that it wasn’t so much a déjà vu moment as it was an actual memory. She smiled and chuckled. “I don’t know. It just felt weird. So, anyway, where did you want to have dinner?”

  “Wherever you want. Maybe we could over to Morgantown. There are a lot of good places to eat there. That’s only an hour or so from here, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah that’s about right…I don’t know. We should probably stay in town.”

  “Of course. I understand. Might be kind of weird to go too far with a guy you don’t know that well. Smart girl.”

  She laughed playfully again. “Thanks for the compliment, but I kind of have to stick close to Willow Creek for reasons I’d rather not get into right now.”

  He nodded to show her he wouldn’t push for details, but she could see the curiosity on his face. “So where then? And when? Do you want to maybe go tonight?”

  “We could go to the steak place over on Robertson Road. It’s pretty good, and they have a chocolate peanut butter pie that is to die for. I should be able to go tonight. I just have to check and make sure my parents don’t have any plans for us already.”

  “Do you want to head back now? Should I meet you there, or at your house later?”

  “Come to my house around 8.”

  *

  Please don’t show up. If he ruins my plans tonight I am going to kill him… I don’t want to hear about how stupid I am for going against him and seeing Josh. He’s not a vampire, but even if he is, who cares? My whole life I will be surrounded by vamps, what’s one more? Maybe he’ll be someone I can really talk to or connect with. Remy isn’t going to be that for me. At best, I can feel good when he bites me, but there will never be any emotional connection. He’s made that pretty clear. And why would Josh take me to dinner if he is a vamp? They don’t eat food. It will be a dead giveaway if he chows down or not.

  She paced the porch, waiting for Josh to meet her. She nervously scanned the yard and the street and strained to hear any movement. Remy must be somewhere close, but she hoped maybe something came up and he wasn’t there. She could only be so lucky.

  Headlights illuminated the street. A dark blue Chevy Cavalier pulled into her driveway. Josh got out of the car, and the sight of him in the light from the garage made her gasp. His hair was perfectly disheveled, and this was the first time she really noticed his body. He’d worn loose t-shirts and baggy jeans with old beat up Vans when she saw him before, but tonight he wore a more form-fitting hunter green Henley with just tight enough dark jeans and black leather boots. He was positively mouth-watering. Remy who?

  “Ready to go?”

  She nodded nervously. It was like he was a completely different person that she had never met. “Yep. I was just waiting for you. Let’s go.”

  He took he
r hand in his as they descended the five steps to the ground. Warm. Definitely not a vampire. He opened the door for her and waited until she was seated inside before closing her in. The restaurant was only a short ten minute drive from her house. They arrived and got seated quickly, which wasn’t unusual for a Wednesday night.

  Sabine nibbled on some bread while they waited for their food to arrive. She ordered a T-bone steak with a baked sweet potato and a salad. He ordered a medium rare sirloin steak with fries; another clue that he wasn’t a vampire. Wouldn’t he have some kind of excuse to not eat if he was one? Ordering his steak medium rare on the inside and charred on the outside was kind of strange. Her Aunt Donna was the only person she ever saw order a steak like that, and she certainly wasn’t a vampire. She always called it “Pittsburgh style”, so maybe it wasn’t too weird after all.

  He had no issues with being in the sun, which didn’t really mean anything other than he was old enough it didn’t affect him too much if he was, but he also had a tan. Pretty sure vampires don’t tan. All the ones she had ever seen were ghostly pale.

  “Are you having dessert?” Josh asked as he flipped through the dessert menu that had been left on the table.

  “If I don’t stuff myself, I will.”

  “We could get it to go and eat it later, if you want. You don’t have to rush home when we’re done, do you?”

  “That sounds like a good idea to me. Where do you want to go?”

  “Not to sound presumptuous, but we could hang out at my place. Could watch a movie or something. I swear I’m not trying to get you in bed. There just doesn’t seem to be too many places to go around here.”

  The corners of her mouth turned up. “Sounds like fun.”

  “How long have you lived in Willow Creek?”

  “Born and raised….and destined to die here.”

  “Way to be morbid.” He threw two thumbs up and laughed.

  “It’s true. I will never leave this place.”

  “Don’t say that. You can do anything you want in life. You don’t have to be trapped here. Why? Because your parents are here?”

  The words were on the tip of her tongue. They were on the verge of spilling out of her mouth and polluting their lovely evening together. But, where could this possibly go if she didn’t tell him?