Blood and Lust (The Blood Chronicles Book 1)

by Vicki Cross

  An hour had passed and Jude had fallen asleep at the table. I watched him briefly, wondering about the man he could have been without me. Would he be my same Jude? He stirred and I quickly look away afraid he would wake up to me watching him. I poured myself a glass of moonshine and hummed to myself. A song my mother taught me called, Home at Last. It was a song mainly reserved for funerals, but I didn’t think I would ever attend an actual one. Part of my façade was pretending to be a good church girl, and to popular belief, we never turned in to fire entering a church.

  The thought made me smile, and I hummed louder turning around to walk towards the window and watch the rain. The sound of the rain beating against the window put me at peace.

  “You should get some sleep Shay,” Jude yawned as I stood up from the table. I spun around on my feet so quickly I nearly fell down. My mood had changed, perhaps it was the moonshine or perhaps it was the fact that I hadn’t thought about my duty as a princess for a long time.

  “I’ll keep watch,” he continued as he grabbed his bow.

  “I’m not tired,” I mumbled not sure if he heard me or not so I yell it this time and found myself laughing at it.

  “I think you’ve had too much.”

  I laugh as he takes the glass from my hand and helps me over to the couch I don’t fight it, I only laugh and smile looking at him.

  “What is it?” he questions his toughness seeming to fade, and I can see he is fighting a smile.

  “Jude,” I call out to him fluttering my eyes as I fight to keep them open.

  “Yea,” he replies.

  “What does love feel like?” I question wishing a could sip from my moonshine again.

  He shrugs, but doesn’t say anything. I sit up, and we stare at each other briefly before he sinks his head down to kiss me. The kiss had only lasted a few seconds before he pulled away cursing. But I didn’t let him get up. Instead I pulled him back to me and kissed him. This time, he didn’t fight it. Instead he pulled me closer and every second felt right. The hard throbbing of his cock pressed against my belly, caused a moan to escape my lips. It was the only sign I needed to silence my relentless doubts.

  Chapter 5

  Shay

  I awoke the next morning to Jude siting up against the window watching the sunshine peek out amongst the morning clouds. I almost forgot how little sleep he actually needed. He looked amazing in the morning light. His messy brown hair was unevenly around his head, his brown eyes wide from the night before. Perhaps the moonshine still had a hold on him. Either way he was a calming sight.

  Memories of the night before crossed my mind to let me know it wasn’t a dream. After kissing him on the couch, I had fallen into a deep sleep and we hadn’t gone further. My aching need for him told me that much. It was for the best, I couldn’t imagine our first time together being nothing more than a drunken stupor. We deserved that much.

  “What time is it?” I called out to him as I wiped the sleep from my heavy eyes. Damn, moonshine was still having an effect on me as well. He smiled over at me and took a peak at his phone.

  “Nearly 7:30am” his raspy voice replied.

  I nodded gathering myself and knowing I had to be at home and he needed to be at the station in two hours. I couldn’t guess how long he had been looking out that window. Two maybe three hours? Whatever it was, his face showed something different. Something I had never seen before. Last night, he had laid his heart out on the line for me and asked me to choose him. I had every intention of doing just that.

  Jude walked over to me smiling as he did so. He was incredible. So young and still learning about the differences between his kind and mine. The couch sunk in slightly as it adjusted to the weight of him.

  “You’re thinking too much,” he advised, taking his soft hands in mine. “What is it?”

  I forced a smile. I couldn’t let him know how much it worried me to go against my father and ultimately Sebastian. “Nothing” I assured him. But I could tell by the slight wrinkle in his nose, that he did not believe me.

  “Promise?” he questioned before placing a kiss on my cheek.

  I smiled and pulled him closer. A very real part of me, wanted to stay here forever. Wanted him like this; alone, free, and all mine. But the rising sun let me know we would have to leave soon. If he had any hope of making it to the station on time, I couldn’t let his kisses go any further. I took in his warm smell once more, then met his lips briefly with my own.

  We packed our things in silence, both thinking about the road ahead I’m sure. I would have to prove to my father that he was a worthy partner to me and together we would have to figure out a way to save both our kinds.

  The ride back was silent as well. He held my hand the entire time and when he pulled up to my parents’ home, he placed another kiss on the top of my head.

  “I’ll be at the station if you need anything from me, just give me a call,” he reminded me.

  I smiled and leaned against the seat. “I know.”

  He nodded and tucked a loose curly behind my ear.

  “We will talk to your family together. They’ll have to understand”

  “I hope so,” I replied. He tipped my chin up to look at me and said, “They will.”

  He had more hope than me. I knew my family, but most importantly I knew my father and what it could mean to go against him. He wouldn’t have agreed to my marriage to Sebastian without thinking it was the only way.

  “Be safe,” I told him as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

  He tilted his hat to me and I couldn’t help but giggle. Slamming the truck door, I moved my way to the bed of the truck to grab my hunting bag and slung it over my shoulders. The engine from his old truck roared as he put it into reverse and I headed towards the house.

  “Mother?” I called out to her as I entered the house and kicking off my boots as I did so. The sound of Jude’s truck roaring in the distance still carried a sound into my expert hearing. When Jude’s truck gave way to the sounds of the house, I could hear low voices coming from the living room. I sensed my mother’s and Aunt Sheila’s presence immediately. But theirs’s were weak in comparison to the strong energy I felt. Someone much stronger was there. I could feel their pull

  The energy hit me like a wave crashing against me in high tide. Something was different about the other person in the room. It was commanding, threatening, and magnetic. The closer I stepped towards them, the more the energy pulled me in. It was unlike anything I had ever felt. My mind didn’t want to close the distance between myself and who every stood in that room, but my body gave way and there was no choice. Whomever it was, they had taken a hold of me, and they were intentionally pulling me towards them. I wasn’t going to win this battle.

  The sound of my aunt’s laughter brought me back into reality. She had a roaring laugh, that shook the house. I could never tell if it was real or a show she put on because she thought it was human-like.

  The room fell silent as I entered. My mother sat on the couch her usually bright smile nonexistent. While Aunt Sheila sat next to her wearing one of her lavish pink hats like a southern belle heading to the Kentucky derby.

  Neither one of them looked at me as I entered. Both were focused on the person before them. It was my aunt who spoke first.

  “Darling, you have a visitor,” she beamed. “Prince Sebastian has traveled here to see you.”

  “Sebastian,” I gasped allowing my hunting bag to slide out of the once tight grip of my fingers. The sounds of the bow and arrows crashing against the wooden floors filled the room.

  A very small smile broke the barrier of his lips as he pushed a hand through his deep black wavy hair. His presence was dominating, his yellow eyes; a trait known to his clan, surveyed every inch of my body. Was he pleased? I couldn’t help but wonder.

  Sebastian was wearing all black, with a long black overcoat to match and unlikely match against his almost pale skin. I could feel his power. It was unraveling me inside.

  “My daughter
is a vigorous hunter.” My mother declared as if she was trying to please him. Why were they acting as if he was some sort of God?

  “Princess,” his deep husky voice spoke. He rose to his feet and quickly closed the distance between us in two large strides. Peering into my eyes he smiled. “May we have the room?” he spoke the words never taking his eyes off me.

  “Why of course,” Aunt Sheila squeaked. They would never leave me alone with him, I assured myself. Not with a monster like him.

  However, the quick shuffling of feet told me they had obliged him. I was a statue under his stare. It unnerved me to see how well he had me fixated on him. It was as if I was under some sort of spell. A spell that only he could break.

  He reached for me, and I instinctively pulled away. I didn’t want him to touch me, not in the same way Jude had done earlier. His touch was soft, warm and I could only think the opposite of the man before me. A small chuckle escaped him as he made his way back to the armchair.

  “Where have you been?” he demanded.

  “Hunting,” I quickly answered as if my words weren’t my own. My lips moved without thinking and I answered him without the slightest hesitation.

  “And you brought back nothing,” he concluded, peering behind me as if he would find a bin full of dead animals drained of their blood. “Doesn’t look as though you proved successful.” He gave me a sinister smile which left a cold chill running along my spine. Something inside me told me to run.

  “W-why have you come?” I bit out harsher than I intended.

  He ignored my question with his own. “With who?” he snapped.

  My first instinct was to lie. But lying to a vampire as powerful as him would be foolish. I knew he could read me. Jude’s smell lingered on my body, still vibrant from the night before.

  “A friend” I bit my lower lip. I wouldn’t give him a name. He wasn’t owed any explanation of my whereabouts. He may have access to read my emotions, but we weren’t bound by blood, which meant he had no access to my mind.

  He grunted in frustration with me. “A human” he sneered back. His disgust was evident by the way he shuffled around me.

  His hate for them was pure and that I didn’t have to read his emotions to know. His clan was use to humans being nothing more than food and opportunity. They used them, for however they wanted. Many raped their women and disposed of the men, however they saw fit. It was hard to believe that they were willing to give up this way of life. But I knew my own clan was increasing hunting them, and destroying their way of life. The thought of them being killed off one by one gave me pleasure and I did everything I could to not let that show on my face.

  I felt his scrutiny as he circled himself around me ever so carefully. He was indeed judging me on my suitability for him, as if I had asked to be his. Anyone could take my place, I wouldn’t care. He wasn’t who I wanted, and he would never have me.

  After a few moments of silence, he stopped behind me and I could feel the heat of his body against my back. He trailed his hand along my arm and stopped just short of the nape of my neck. His fingers traced my collarbone and I gasped at his touch. It was warmer than I thought, and it awaken something in me, I was too afraid to push further. Again, I was spellbound and I couldn’t move, nor did my body want me to.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered and I could feel his lips brushing against my ear. He was satisfied with me, and that somehow pleased me. I bit my lip in repulsion and frustration with myself. How had I let him get so close? His fingers again traced my collarbone as he made his way towards my throat. I swallowed hard once his fingers took a soft grasp of my throat, unsure of what his next move was.

  “You have never tasted real blood…-vampire blood,” he whispered in my ear as he tilted my head slowly to the left. My ear was just below his lips as he continued to draw me in closer.

  “I could give you a taste,” he teased. “Would you like to that, Princess?” he tempted.

  Again I swallowed hard, unable to answer him. Unless a vampire was wounded, only lovers shared blood. It was against the law for a royal vampire to share blood with any other than their spouse. On many occasions I’ve witnessed my parents drinking each other’s blood. Sharing blood with another vampire was like giving them a key into your thoughts and desires. They would have access to you, know where you were at all times. There was no hiding and it was an act never to take lightly.

  “No,” I protested finally finding my voice.

  He chuckled against my ear as his hands released me and he stepped away breaking the spell. I suddenly felt free to move again and I took all advantage to do so. A few steps back, I spun on my heels to face him. His large frame towered over me, and it was if he commanded my attention.

  “Why are you here?” I snapped.

  He placed a finger to his chin nodding as he did so. “I wanted to see what is mine?” he smirked. His bluntness took my breath away.

  “I’m not yours!” I declared stepping back as if he was going to take hold of me again.

  Sebastian let out deep round of laughter and I shuttered at the sound of it. It was if he knew something I didn’t. Like he could see into both our futures, and the answer was given just to him. I may have been promised to him, but I would never be his.

  “No,” he agreed. “Not yet. But soon, Princess. Very soon.”

  His arrogance annoyed me and seethed at the thought of him touching me again. He thought he had all the power, but I am determined to prove him otherwise.

  “I will talk to my father and- “

  “Please do.” He interjected. “When you do so, let him know that I am pleased with his offer.” He invoked.

  I chewed my bottom lip again frustrated with his arrogance.

  “Mother,” I called out. My mother was beside me within moments and without looking at her I spoke directly towards Sebastian, “Please let out guest out. He certainly outstayed his welcome.”

  Before my mother could say a word Sebastian had turned into a black cloud of smoke and was gone.

  Tears stung my eyes as a bit back my anger. How dare he come here and treat me like his possession.

  “Shay,” my mother called grabbing a hold of my hand. “My daughter, do not fear. We would never put you in harm’s way,” she assured me. I pulled away from her and shook my head in anger.

  “Then you would never match me that monster,” I cried.

  I left her standing there the guilt clear on her face. When my father did return, he would hear me and understand how I felt. I would make him.

  Chapter 6

  Jude

  “You’re late,” Deputy Wilson greeted me as I entered the station. Pearl’s police station was small in comparison to any major city. We had very few officers, but in a town as small as this one, you didn’t really need much. If the shit should hit the fan, we could rely on the officers in the next town over.

  Crime was pretty much non-existent in Pearl. Every now and then, you’d catch a few teenagers climbing up the local water tower, vandalizing a few buildings with their ridiculous graffiti, and a few underage drinking. But hell, that was life in a small town. Nothing happened in here and it was exactly the way I liked it. The men were under my protection, and I wanted them to go home the same way they got here every morning. In one piece.

  “Not late just not on time,” I smirked bringing my warm cup of dark roast coffee to my lips. After dropping Shay off back home, I decided to shower quick and stop at the local coffee shop for a quick cup of coffee. The ladies there always gave us officers a free cup whenever we’d stop by, and it was much needed on this particular morning.

  Deputy Wilson followed close behind me as I made my way to my office. There were a few reports to be done, nothing too major but it would keep me busy, and keep Shay off my mind as much as possible. I had to focus on today, last night had been something I never expected.

  “Well,” he began as he rubbed his round belly. “I heard you and ole Sue Reed had ya’ll selves a pretty good time at
the bar last night,” he smirked giving me a fatherly look.

  Deputy Wilson was a man in his early 60’s and had served the town of Pearl, for nearly twenty-five years. Long enough to see the end of my father’s career and the beginning of mine. His hair was receding and he wore a thick gray mustache that he rarely groomed. In many ways he was like a father to me. He knew the type of man my father was, and was always around to make sure I didn’t end up like him. My mother respected him, and against my father’s wishes made him my God-Father. She too knew the type of man my father was, and had figured it out early on that he wouldn’t be the type of father I needed.

  My father wasn’t much of a husband either. He spent most of his days at the station and his nights down at Reed’s getting drunk with the rest of the forgotten people, Pearl had spit out.

  I took off my hat and placed it on the desk beside my cup of coffee. “It wasn’t like that,” I assured him.

  His wrinkles pulled against his face as his smile widened. “That’s not what I heard. Few of the men from the bar said they saw you and Sue go into her office and later on you returned looking a little messy.” He smirked.

  I ran a hand through my still damp hair and wiped the heavy night out of my eyes. I was exhausted, and didn’t sleep much last night. My mind was filled too much with Shay and that damn Sebastian character thinking he was going to take her from me.

  “Bob,” I began resorting to calling him by his first name in an attempt for him to see that I was serious. “Nothing happened with Sue and I. Whatever the fellas at the bar thought they saw, they’re mistaken.”

  He nodded losing his smile and seeming to understand that I was serious. His now faded smile turned into a look of concern and worry.

  “What’s gotten into you? You don’t look like you’ve slept much last night.

  Could never get anything past him. It was a blessing and a curse. “I didn’t,” I agreed.

  He nodded and must have figured not to push me any further because he quickly changed the subject. “Well, you didn’t miss much. I conducted the morning meeting and sent a few guys out to patrol, same as usual.”