“Ah, so you liked Griffin, did you?” Lyric winked and smiled knowingly.
Storm crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her blue eyes. “You better call me as soon as you get home. I will be waiting impatiently for details. I have a million questions for you already.”
Lyric laughed and gave Storm a quick hug. “I’ll introduce you to him in a quieter setting, and yes, I promise to call you first thing.”
By the time she’d returned to Jade, he was waiting anxiously. He seemed incredibly eager to leave the noisy din of the nightclub. Taking her bag, he offered her his free arm. She accepted it with a smile as her heart did flip-flops in her chest.
“I didn’t expect you,” she said when they were out on the street. The sudden change in noise level was drastic but welcome. “Not that I mind, of course.”
“I couldn’t resist.” Jade gave her hand a warm squeeze. “I’m glad I arrived when I did. That son of a bitch is lucky to be alive right now.”
Being this close to Jade, touching him, Lyric was able to sense his undead energy. It felt much stronger than usual. He had an edge that struck her as feisty. Much more predatory than when she’d been with him last night. The power that coursed through him was lively, and a slight tingle began where their hands joined.
“Always riding to my rescue.” She beamed up at him. “My hero.”
Jade’s demeanor seemed to darken, but his grip on her hand tightened possessively. “The sad part is, I’m the one you should be protected from.”
“What’s up with you, Jade? I don’t like the weird vibe I’m getting from you.” Pulling her hand gently from his, she rubbed her bare arms and slipped her sweater on. “The negativity is driving me crazy.”
He walked along beside her in silence for some time before answering. Lyric was getting the feeling that something was eating at him. It wasn’t hard to figure out what that might be. She waited patiently for him to talk, hoping he would confide in her.
“I want to show you something. I want to take you to Cry. It’s an abandoned building on the edge of town that’s been taken over by vampires. You need to see what goes on there, Lyric. Don’t be too quick to get involved with me. Not until you see what it really means to be what I am.”
A lump formed in her throat, and a sense of panic gripped her. His words were more than a little cryptic. She wasn’t afraid to go to the creepy nightclub. She was afraid of the vibe she was getting from Jade.
“Sure,” she said, careful to keep her voice even and controlled. “I’ll go wherever you want. I trust you, and nothing you show me is going to change that.”
Jade made a noise, a sound of disbelief. If only he would show a little faith in her. She knew he was a killer. She’d seen it herself, that first night they’d met. She didn’t care. If it was part of being with him, it was something she could live with.
The ride to Cry was quiet. They talked, but it wasn’t as easy-going as Jade made it out to be. Lyric went along with it, certain that whatever it was he intended to show her, it wouldn’t be enough to chase her away. Was that what he wanted? To chase her away?
She couldn’t shake the thought, so she bit the bullet and spit it out. “Is there a reason for this? Your tension and this trip to some vampire hangout? I mean, are you trying to scare me off?”
Jade’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. He kept his eyes steady on the road. “I might be. But, it’s not what you’re thinking. I can’t get you out of my head, Lyric. This is something I have to do.” He looked at her then, a storm brewing in his eyes.
“I think I understand.” Lyric could see it in him. He was asking himself the very same questions that she had been. Were they both just two fools that were bound to end up regretting this entire thing?
She gave her head a shake. No, she had already made up her mind. Jade’s insecurities were his own. She couldn’t allow them to sway her. “I’ve been anxious, too. It’s only been a matter of days, and yet I feel like I can never again know my life without you in it.”
Fearing that she would come apart, Lyric looked out the window at those out and about in the city. She didn’t think she’d ever been in love before. Sure, she’d had relationships, even a couple of serious ones. But, she had never looked at anyone and felt that she needed him without question. It was different with Jade; she was drawn to him on a deeper level.
Being psychic, Lyric hadn’t always had the easiest time relating to other people, especially those who thought her visions were made up or just total insanity. Jade was from that world even more so than she was.
“Lyric,” Jade’s voice was thick with tightly bound emotion. “I have been asking myself why I am so crazy for you, what makes you so different from anyone else I have ever encountered. And, I cannot find the answer to that question. All I know is that I feel like I must never let you get away now that I have found you.”
She wasn’t worried anymore. He could do all of the worrying if he felt so inclined to do so. They both felt it, and that was good enough for her. When they pulled up to the menacing building that loomed like a horror movie prop, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the Mustang. Meeting him in front of the car, she reached for him and pulled him close for a tender press of her lips to his.
It was just a small, soft kiss on the lips, but it said so much. He held her there for a moment, pressed against his hard body. She was instantly aware of his physical reaction to her. Her breath caught at the unmistakable sensation of his erection pressed against her. Did they really have to waste their evening in this dive?
“Show me whatever it is that you want me to see. I just want to be alone with you.”
She brushed back a lock of his hair, letting it trail a silken path between her fingers. Capturing her hand in his, he kissed the tips of her fingers, lingering to draw her pinky into his mouth. The warm heat of his tongue shocked Lyric’s insides. Her breasts swelled inside the restrictive bustier, and she ached to get out of it for more than one reason.
“I hope you still feel that way when we’re on our way out.”
Following him inside, Lyric couldn’t help but glance around warily. Many sets of eyes fell upon them, taking note of Jade and the juicy morsel at his side. Lyric couldn’t help but feel more on display than the last time she’d been here. Expecting him to lead her to the bar or a table, she was surprised when instead he weaved through the crowd to a heavy security door at the back.
A scary-looking vampire stood with arms crossed in front of the door. He was big, bald and wore a glower that would have scared the pants off her, had she been wearing any.
When Jade approached, the big vamp moved aside with a slight nod. His eyes went to Lyric next, and she gasped upon noticing that they were completely black, not even the whites showed. Her heel caught as she stared, and she stumbled. Jade reached to steady her, and she grabbed his arm in a white-knuckled grip.
The heavy, metal security door opened, and they began to descend a set of concrete stairs into the basement. Lyric’s stomach dropped heavily, and a wave of nausea crashed through her when the door slammed shut behind them. Apprehension filled her, and she clung to Jade, fearing a fall down the deadly stairs.
His arm went around her waist protectively. The staircase was enveloped in darkness. A pale glow at the bottom guided their way. Lyric had an uneasy feeling that she didn’t want to see what lay below. The closer they drew, the harder her pulse thrummed in her veins. Jade leaned close so that his hair brushed her face.
“Try to calm down, love. You’re safe with me here, but you’re starting to smell a little too good. Deep breaths … no fear.”
Lyric was fully aware that, whatever she was descending into, it was crawling with vampires. Their unnatural energy picked at her senses, and she knew fear would draw their attention. That was not something she wanted. She trusted Jade, but could he really protect her from a swarm of them?
Taking a deep breath, she willed her heart to slow to a normal pace. By the time t
hey reached the bottom, her eyes were slowly adjusting to the dim lighting. It took a few moments for her to make out the shapes ahead of them in the dark.
One candle burned in a sconce on the wall. It cast a fair amount of light considering how absolutely black it would be without it. The moving shapes sprawled all around them were unidentifiable at first. It was quiet, but Lyric could easily identify many of the sounds surrounding them. There was a hush of murmurs, many voices low in whisper. Love making noises reached them as well as the occasional pained cry. What in the hell?
All at once, Lyric’s brain began to make sense of what she was seeing. A virtual orgy of vampires and humans were sprawled all over at random. From sofas to beds and even mountains of pillows, there were so many bodies that she feared stepping on someone. Jade’s eyesight was much better than hers, and he easily led her through.
As they stepped around the individual groups locked in their wicked embraces, Lyric’s eyes grew wider. Nobody paid them any attention, yet she got the unmistakable feeling that they were acutely aware of their presence. Her hand grew slick with perspiration in Jade’s hand. She tried to pull it away, but he refused to let go.
The scent of blood hung so heavy on the air that Lyric could smell it herself. It turned her stomach. She wondered if it was enticing to Jade. He led her further in, away from the staircase that was now lost in the darkness behind them.
Her eyes landed on a young, nude woman in the clutches of a vampire that sucked and licked at a bloody wound in her wrist. The woman wore a strange expression, one of utter bliss. Opening her eyes, she looked straight at Lyric. It appeared as if her lips formed into a smile, but Lyric couldn’t be sure. Lyric quickly turned away and pressed closer to Jade, though that was hardly possible.
“Why did you bring me here?” She hissed, low and breathless. He’d better have a damn good reason. It was an orgy of sex and blood. She had little desire to know anymore.
“I want you to see for yourself what it means to be a vampire.” Jade stopped and turned to her, taking her face gently in his hands. “What it is that I live with every night. I need you to look at the horror and the sickness and tell me if you can accept it.”
“Are you out of your mind?” She cast a frantic glance around. This was not how she envisioned Jade. These creatures were beyond vile. “Don’t tell me you come here.”
To her surprise, he chuckled. “No. I don’t. But, this is the lowest of the low: vampires and human blood-rush junkies living in the slums and feeding off one another.”
“What does this have to do with you?”
A scream echoed around them, causing Lyric to jump. Jade pulled her closer, his eyes narrowing in on something in the dark that she could not see. He moved toward the source of the sound, pulling her along but sheltering her behind his body. At first, it appeared to be nothing more than a large, black shape writhing and squirming in the corner.
An icy chill crashed over Lyric when she realized that the shape was actually several vampires encircling the body of a woman. They all feasted on her naked flesh, biting and sucking from her neck to her ankles. Though the woman moaned and cried out, she made no attempt to get away. Her movements grew weak, and Lyric shuddered, feeling the woman’s life energy slip away. They were killing her.
“Please,” she whispered, tugging on Jade’s arm. “I don’t want to be here.”
* * * *
The scent of fear emanated from Lyric. She was terrified, and so she should be. Jade made no attempt to change her mind. He’d seen more than enough, too. Guiding her back towards the staircase, he grimaced upon spying the corpse of a man shoved off to the side, as if awaiting proper disposal. The scent of death mingled with blood and sex to make an aroma that pleased his senses and caused his arousal to grow.
He wasn’t entirely sure why he brought Lyric here. Having her look at him like some dark hero was something that he felt he had to bring to a stop. The vampires crawling the basement floor of Cry were among the worst kind. Yet, he’d wanted her to see how bad and pathetic it could get.
Vampires were monsters that came in many forms. These members of the undead were little more than parasites, drawing willing victims in like insects to a light bulb. Yet, Jade still believed himself to be worse. He did not hide in dark spaces, waiting for a feast. He sought it out, took it without asking and didn’t look back.
When they were back outside, heading toward his car, Lyric whirled to face him angrily. The heat of her fury slapped him, the energy forceful and aggressive.
“Why? Tell me why you took me in there. What is it that you want me to know about you? And, why do I have to be subjected to that disgusting and total madness?” Her dark blue eyes blazed with anger. Lyric crossed her arms over her heaving chest, and Jade unsuccessfully fought the urge to let his gaze wander to her sensational cleavage.
She looked positively furious, and Jade wanted nothing more than to kiss that glare right off of her face. Eyeing the petite dancer before him, he was impressed by her ferocity. It brought a smile to his lips, which he quickly squelched before it could really piss her off.
“I don’t know, Lyric.” Her name felt so right rolling off his tongue. “I wanted you to see how bad it can get. The world that you are exposing yourself to every moment that you’re with me.”
The glare on her beautiful face didn’t waver. In fact, it seemed to darken. “In case you didn’t notice, Jade, the world that I live in is just as bad as that. It was a human that would have killed me if you hadn’t been there that night. A human.” She kicked a rock near her feet, wincing when it bounced off the side of his car. “Vampires may feed from the blood of the living, but we are all feeding off each other in some deranged way or another. You don’t have to go out of your way to prove to me that you are a monster. Serial killers are monsters, but their mothers still love them. What you are is not always who you are, Jade.”
She was right. He was going out of his way to ensure that she knew what he was. Yet, he was not doing enough to show her who he was. Did he even know himself anymore?
“What if I don’t know who I am anymore, Lyric?” The words tumbled out on their own, but they came naturally. “I only know that I never started to care again until I met you. And now, I’m afraid that you will see beyond the man that saved you to the vampire that wants to bleed you, and you will run.”
Jade couldn’t deny that a part of him wanted her to flee him, to tell him that she never wanted to see him again. Then he wouldn’t be able to hurt her. The fear that he would uncontrollably kill her plagued him like a disease, unrelenting in its intensity.
Her expression changed to one of curiosity, and Jade tensed, knowing what was coming next. He knew that he couldn’t continue to hide the cause of all his fear.
“What is it that you’re really worried about?” She reached to take his hand. The warmth of her touch on his cool skin made him long for more. “Tell me the truth, please.”
He desired to feel all of her again, warm and soft against him. If he confessed his secret to her, that might never happen. That was a chance he’d have to take. Lying to her was just not an option.
“I murdered my wife.” The words felt strange as he spoke them. Other than Griffin, nobody knew this secret. “I was newly turned, and I returned home and drained her dry. That about sums it up. And, I will face hell a hundred times over before I let myself do that to you.”
He waited then, allowing her to absorb this information. A series of emotions crossed Lyric’s face, and Jade watched them all in tense silence. Her eyes fell to their joined hands. He expected her to pull away, but she didn’t. People went in and out of the building behind them, but neither of them seemed to notice.
When at last Lyric reacted, it was to step away from him, towards the Shelby. “You’ve had hundreds of years to deal with that, Jade. I care about who you are now, not who you used to be.” A protest formed on his lips, and she held a hand up, as if expecting it. The next words out of her mouth shoc
ked him to the core. “The way I see it, you have two choices. You can continue to live in fear of yourself and rob us both of a potentially beautiful thing. Or, you can take me home and make love to me the way I know you want to.”
Jade stared at her, watching her saunter over to his car. What was it with this woman? She was constantly surprising him with her boldness. But, she was right. He had a choice to make: run from himself forever or learn to love again.
He didn’t have to be told twice. Pulling the car keys from his pocket, he unlocked the doors with a beep. “Alright. Let’s go to my place.”
Chapter Eleven
A hiss greeted Jade as he stepped into the apartment. Frisk made it clear that he had nothing nice to say. Lyric suppressed a giggle when Jade attempted to pet the fluffy cat only to promptly be smacked with a paw complete with extended claws.
“I’m sorry,” she laughed, shooing the cat down the hall. “I didn’t think he would be so unaccommodating. I promise to make up for it myself.”
“Is that so?” Jade raised an eyebrow and grinned. The small action sent a thrill through her, and she flushed. He held a brown paper bag awkwardly in one arm. “Is there somewhere I can put this?”
“On the kitchen table is fine.” Motioning to the small apartment kitchen, she asked, “What do you have in there?”
He peeked in the bag and then back at her. “Just a few things.” As he pulled out a pile of steaming food containers, she watched him quizzically.
“You don’t even eat, Jade. Smells good, though.”
“Good. Dig in. I brought it for you. Obviously.”
The tantalizing aroma of Chinese food caused Lyric’s stomach to growl. He’d clearly gone out of his way. Along with the Chinese food was a salad, a few tacos and a vegetarian sandwich. “You do know I will never be able to eat all of that.”
Jade gave her a boyish smile, and she had the feeling that he would have blushed had vampires been able to do so. “I didn’t know what you would like so I wanted to bring some kind of selection.”
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