The Comanche Vampire

by The Comanche Vampire [Evernight] (mobi)

  “Okay,” she said. “Are you mad about what Andrew asked?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m just overloaded with everything. It’s been a long time since I was around so many people for any occasion, honey. I need some fresh air and a few minutes alone. I’ll be back before you have time to miss me.”

  “I doubt that.”

  He tried to ignore the hurt in her eyes as he kissed her, but Ned needed space and time too much to stay. He’d make it up to her later, he vowed, somehow. And tomorrow they’d go home where he belonged. Maybe everything would return to the groove they’d had before. Damn, he hoped so.

  Chapter Thirteen

  By the time he returned from a long drive over the back roads around Rusk, the house loomed dark. Ned figured they’d all gone to bed and cussed because the doors were probably locked. He stepped up on the porch and tried the front door, afraid the security system would erupt into noise but it opened at his touch. Anne sat on the bottom stair, waiting for him and his heart twinged. He’d enjoyed his time apart, but remorse he’d stayed away so long gnawed at him. Her eyes were puffy and he could tell she’d been crying. “Hey, honey.”

  Anne stood. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t come back.”

  Ned opened his arms and she walked into them. He held her without words, unwilling to apologize but reluctant to fight. Her body against his radiated warmth. After a minute or more, she said, “David headed home after supper so you don’t have to share the guest room.”

  If he’d known, he would’ve come back sooner. “Good. I don’t guess you can share it with me, though.”

  She raised her head from his chest and nodded. “I’m planning on it. To hell with what they all think. I’m an adult.”

  Something had happened in his absence but right now, he didn’t want to know. “All right, honey. I could use a little lovin’.”

  Anne laid her hand against his cheek. “So could I, Ned.”

  Her long flannel nightgown concealed her body, but he’d bet she wore nothing beneath it. Ned snaked his hand down it and found flesh. Anne shivered. “Your hands are cold,” she said but she didn’t sound like she was complaining.

  Beneath his touch, her body radiated heat. “Then warm me up,” he said. He’d never done it before, but on impulse he scooped her into his arms and carried her, Rhett Butler style, up the stairs. Ned paused at the foot of the attic steps then toted her up the rest of the way. By the time he deposited her on the worn floorboards, heat crackled between them with the intensity of summer lightning. The short abstinence fueled his desire and without another word, he stripped out of his clothing. By the time his jeans landed, Anne stood bare and beautiful beside him.

  He intended to go slow, take his time and tantalize Anne. Ned planned to savor every erotic moment, tasting and touching with purpose. But his need increased until a powerful lust took hold and fueled his want. The fresh blood he’d taken from a stray jogger while he’d been out provided additional launch power. He grasped her arms hard and held her in place as he ground his mouth onto hers with hunger. Anne’s lips yielded to his. Her hands joined behind his head as she clung tight, her mouth hot and sweet. Ned used one hand to stroke her body and caress her nipples. Then he parted her legs and rubbed her cunt, hard and fast. She moaned and thrust her hips at his hand. Ned’s finger probed until he found her center and then he worked her clit with furious motions. Anne almost toppled over as she whimpered.

  “Please,” she whimpered. “Oh, god. Please, Ned…now.”

  Ned needed no encouragement. He grasped her and flung her down on the bed then came down on top of her with wild force. His dick slipped into her slit and fit, tighter than a fist. He rocked in and out, back and forth without remorse. The friction increased his need. He sought release so much his cock hurt as it grew. He enjoyed the wet warmth of her pussy walls as they pulsated around his shaft. Anne clawed at his back in between caresses. The sounds brought his passion to a bursting point and so he rode her with swift, harsh motions until he came in an explosive burst of pleasure. Anne convulsed beneath Ned and shrieked with such noise he brought his mouth down to silence her outcry before her daddy stormed up the stairs to save his little girl. As his lips met hers, Anne plunged her tongue deep into his mouth and they came, linked in two places. Ned shuddered and trembled until spent, then rolled over to lie beside her.

  Neither said anything for a few minutes. Anne turned onto her side and her fingers played across his chest, light and teasing. She exhaled a long, slow sigh and he echoed with a contented one of his own.

  “Ned, I love you.”

  He caught her hand and kissed it. “Good to know since I love you, too, honey.” He rolled over to face her and she scooted so she could lay her head against his shoulder. Her breath wafted warm against his skin and his dick twitched. It wouldn’t take much to go again. He considered it until he realized she’d drifted into light sleep.

  Ned managed to pull a cover over Anne without waking or dislodging her, then settled down to wait through the night so they could head home. He never slept, but he watched Anne and found it restful enough.

  In the morning he wanted to make an early start but when Anne woke, she erupted into a flurry of activity. She showered and dressed with speed. Afterward, she headed to the kitchen to start the coffee. He found her talking with her mom in low whispers at the kitchen table when he joined them but they fell silent when he entered the room. He caught low vibrations in the air, strained tension, but Ned didn’t ask. Some things were best left alone. Although he’d offered to stop for breakfast on the road, Anne decided to stay for what turned into a two-hour long morning feast. He endured the meal as long as he could, then he went outside to smoke. When he returned, Anne went upstairs to finish packing and he followed to carry the suitcases down.

  While he carried their luggage out to the truck, Anne joined in a hugging frenzy. She clung to her mother the longest, gave her dad a brief embrace, but he saw the way Bob held back, almost unwilling. Ned waited with little patience while she hugged her siblings, her grandmother, her niece and nephew although he noted the hug she gave Andrew was briefest of all. He shook hands with a few of them and Rose kissed his cheek. Once she’d hugged her folks, he figured they’d be able to leave, but some of her aunts and uncles dropped by to say their farewells and it was almost ten-thirty before they hit the two-lane highway heading out of town. He wanted to push the truck far past the speed limit to get out of town, but he restrained the impulse.

  Ned’s spirits lifted the farther west he drove, but Anne said little although she sat close to him, her hand resting on his leg. Back in Rusk, she’d been chatty, but she became taciturn by the time they rolled through Dallas-Fort Worth. In the hectic traffic he focused on driving but on the outskirts of town, he turned to her. “You’re awful quiet. Is something bothering you?”

  She nodded. “We can talk about it later, Ned.”

  Damn it to hell. He preferred to face problems head-on. “When?”

  “I don’t know, maybe when we’re home.”

  Her voice didn’t sound mad, just sad so he decided not to stir up trouble. “Okay. Do you want to stop to eat somewhere?”

  Anne wrinkled up her nose. “I don’t care. I suppose we should.”

  “Aren’t you hungry?” he asked.

  She offered him a watery smile and he saw tears in her eyes. Something was up and he doubted it would turn out to be positive. She shook her head. “Not really,” Anne told him. “Are you?”

  He wasn’t, of course. “I could eat.”

  “Whatever.”

  Her lack of interest in conversation or food bothered him. At Decatur, Ned headed down into the heart of the small town. He noticed a park on the way and after he picked up a couple of burgers, Ned headed back to it. He parked out of the way and handed her a sandwich. “Now, tell me what’s got you upset, honey,” he told her. “Something happened after I left Christmas, didn’t it?”

  Anne nodded. “Yes. After Andr
ew asked you that ridiculous question word got around and it wasn’t long until half the relatives were talking. Some whispered maybe you were one, most said there’s no such thing as vampires, and the rest just gossiped about you. Grandma said you should cut off your braid, Daddy bitched about you working at a casino, and one of my uncles wondered if I’d go native if I kept going out with you. They wouldn’t stop and I got mad. I gave them a piece of my mind and told them you’re not their business, just mine.”

  The curiosity and talk failed to surprise him. Ned had expected it. Her defense made him proud even though he knew what the main issue probably was for Anne. “Thanks,” he said. “What bothered you the most?”

  “Oh, their bigotry upset me, but I hate that old vampire talk. It’s ridiculous to even speculate. If they’d known about….” Her voice trailed away but he knew she referenced the half-empty pint of blood she’d found in his truck. She retreated from it. “Oh, never mind.”

  Maybe the time had come. It wasn’t going to be easy no matter when or how he broke the news. He put down his untouched hamburger and turned to Anne. “Honey, I know you don’t like the topic, but maybe we should talk about it.”

  Her fingers fumbled with the sandwich wrapper. “I don’t see that there’s anything else to say, Ned. We both know you’re not a vampire. I’m so sorry Andrew said such a thing and started this up again. I’d almost forgotten about it.”

  Ned didn’t believe her. If so, she wouldn’t have warned him on the way to her parents not to talk about it. The vampire issue loomed huge between them and he realized if they didn’t deal with it, it would destroy what they had.

  “Anne, it’s time to tell you the truth. I know you don’t want to hear it but you need to listen.” He watched her freeze, still as death. Then she began to tremble.

  “Ned, don’t say it again,” she said in a broken voice. “Please don’t. If you’re about to say what I think, don’t.”

  He ignored her plea. “I am a vampire,” he said in a quiet voice. “It’s nothing like what you probably think. Those movies, the books, and all that shit, don’t tell it the way it is. I didn’t want to become one, but I’d like to tell you how it happened and what it’s like.”

  A ragged sob burst from her mouth, harsh and loud. Anne covered her face with both hands and wept. “Ned, I can’t listen to this. I can’t. I won’t. I love you, but this is too much. Vampires do not exist and if you think this is funny, it’s not.”

  Memories of his meager, lonely existence over the past century and more crammed his head full. “I don’t,” he said with tragic dignity. “It’s the way it is, honey.” A revelation struck and he understood why the mention of vampires upset Anne so much. “You see it, don’t you?” he asked, his voice hoarse with emotion. “And you don’t want to so you try to shut it out.”

  She raised her tear-stained face. “Oh, Ned, it’s not like that, not at all. I’m worried about you. No one thinks they’re a vampire. I think you’ve identified with the old time Comanche so much you’ve convinced yourself you are one. Since no one can survive for more than a hundred years, I think you’ve dreamed up this vampire angle because they’re supposed to be immortal. That’s the only explanation I see unless you’re mental and I don’t think you are. But you have to let go of the notion, Ned. I can help you if you want.”

  “I wish it was that easy,” Ned said. He put one hand on her back to offer comfort and her body tensed. “Honey, I am Pea’hocso. He’s not my ancestor … he’s me. That’s why I look like the picture you saw. I’ve looked like this since 1875 and I’m not likely to change.”

  “Stop it!” she cried out. “Oh, Ned, please. Don’t say anything else. Just take me home, please. I can’t deal with this. After the holiday trip home and all the emotional baggage, it’s too much.”

  He couldn’t leave it like this so he tried. “Anne, listen.”

  “Take me home,” she screeched and buried her face in her hands. She sobbed and after a moment when he decided any effort he made would be rejected, Ned threw his untouched burger through the window. He started the truck and they drove back toward Lawton in silence.

  Anne’s furious sobs lasted for thirty minutes or so. After that, she let out an occasional sob and wiped tears from her cheeks with the same handful of tissues. She made no attempt to talk, and neither did he. When they were close to Wichita Falls, he put a CD into the stereo and let the old rhythms of some of his favorite Native American chants soothe him. He hoped they’d help Anne, too.

  By the time they rolled into Lawton, his fuel gauge flirted with empty so he cleared his throat. “Anne, I need to get gas for the truck. Do you want me to drop you off first or what?”

  She mumbled but he couldn’t hear her. After a moment, she spoke up louder. “You can get fuel first if you want. I’m not in any big hurry.”

  Uncertain how to interpret her reply, Ned stopped at the first convenience store on Cache Road. He filled the tank, and when he returned from paying the cashier, he noticed Anne had managed to mop up her tears. Although he didn’t think she’d applied make-up that morning, she’d put on fresh lipstick. More nervous than if he’d walked into a hostile enemy camp, Ned said, “So do you want to go home or what?”

  “I thought maybe we could get a steak at that place you took me once,” she said. “Then if you don’t mind, I’d like to drop my bags off at my apartment, grab some fresh clothes and spend the rest of the semester break with you.”

  He’d expected more tears. For miles, Ned steeled himself to handle her rejection. He’d figured she’d likely break off their relationship, so Anne’s words stunned him. “That’s fine if it’s what you want,” he said. “We really should talk, though.”

  Her brown eyes met his. “Yes, I agree. I’ve got some things I want to say, Ned, and I will, over dinner.”

  At the steakhouse they shared a booth and steaks. After he’d given the order to the server, Ned braced himself. He had no idea what to expect. It could be tears or temper or both. This might be an end or a beginning. “Okay, honey. You wanted to talk and I’m listening.”

  Anne reached out across the table and grasped his hands tight. “Oh, Ned,” she sighed. “I’ve tried to put together the words to say what I want for miles. I love you. I’ve never felt this way, not like this, with any man. I want to spend my free time with you and I feel connected to you, like family but deeper somehow. But the vampire talk scares the hell out of me and I don’t know what to think. I don’t think you’re crazy, but I can’t believe you drink blood or that you’re very old.” She paused and her forehead wrinkled. “How old would you be if this was true, anyway?”

  “Less than two hundred,” he said. He forced the words up from his dry throat. “I’d have to sit down and figure it out, honey. It’s not something that I think about much.”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter,” Anne said. “But you do. I thought about this for miles, staring out at the plains and the sky riding down the highway. You probably thought I was mad, but I wasn’t, just thinking.”

  “And?” He couldn’t bear the suspense much longer. Whatever she had to say, he needed to hear it.

  Anne’s grip on his hands tightened. “I came to the conclusion that I should consider the possibility. It’s insane and impossible. I must be crazy to even give it a second thought, but I don’t want our relationship to end. I want to be together for a long time, maybe forever. So I want to stay with you until the new semester starts. It’s still a couple of weeks away. I’ll pay attention and keep an open mind as much as I can. By the time school starts, I figure I’ll either know what to do to help you get back on track or I’ll succumb to your fantasy. What do you think?”

  “It’s fair,” Ned said. And it was more than he’d expected or hoped. “Thanks for not walking out on me, Anne. I love you, too, honey … in ways I never even dreamed were possible. It’s been a lonely existence for so long. If you went away, it’d be hard for me to go back to the way it was.”

  “I
don’t want that,” she said. “So let’s forget about legends and creatures and blood for now. Let’s go on like we’ve been. We’re home and I’m glad to be here.”

  She’d blindsided him by cracking her disbelief a fraction. No, she didn’t believe but she sounded willing to consider the possibility and she hadn’t ended their relationship. “So am I,” he said. “What made you change your mind?”

  Anne tilted her head in a way that always made him think of a pretty bird perched on a limb. “I didn’t like what Andrew said or the way my family talked it to death. And you know how I’ve felt about the vampire thing. I don’t like it and it scares me. But I remembered the blood drive, what happened then, what you said. I thought about the way you get so pale, sometimes, and I realized it’s mostly when you’re outside, under a bright light, or if the sun is shining. So I realized maybe I should examine it with a logical eye. I decided it’d be better to consider the possibility than reject the idea, along with you.”

  He’d never been one to believe in miracles, but this might be his first. Whether or not she’d accept the truth was something he didn’t know. And if she did, she might run from him screaming. Ned decided the chance was worth the risk. If she accepted the truth, he had no clue how they’d handle it from there. If things remained the same, Anne would age and he wouldn’t. He’d never run across any way to restore his mortality or humanity either. No matter what, though, he’d have a few weeks with Anne. If it turned out to be the last, he’d still had more than he ever expected. Ned searched his heart and head but found nothing else to say for now. He glanced up to see their server heading in their direction with a loaded tray.

  “Then let’s eat,” he told Anne. “Our food’s on the way and I’m hungry.” For once, he craved food because it’d become something he shared with her. The tender steaks filled his mouth with taste and the tension in his body eased as they shared the meal. They dropped the volatile subject and talked instead of her family. They laughed about some of the holiday moments, Anne griped about others, and when they left the steakhouse, he thought they were in harmony as much as they’d ever been. Maybe more, he mused, since they touched on his dark truth and Anne remained.