by Melody Raven
And Nicolas would feel no guilt about it.
Anna had been afraid that with the eventful night, she would never get to sleep, but exhaustion soon took her over. That was when the dreams started.
Nicolas was in every one of them. Some were recurring nightmares that she’d had over the past fifteen years.
She would look over her shoulder and see Charles standing over her, getting ready to strike the first blow to her back. As he did in every dream, he would lift his arm to strike. In this dream, his face would morph into Nicolas’s staring down at her. The dream would end with Anna opening her mouth to scream and nothing coming out.
Then there were the other dreams that came to her that night. Types of dreams she’d never had before. Some she could’ve sworn were real.
She was in her bed, but when she opened her eyes, he was there. He stood over her, giving her the same intense look he’d given her back in his apartment. She continued to stare at him as he took off his shirt. As his hands went to the button of his pants, Anna tried to study his chest, but she couldn’t seem to focus.
As she tried to narrow her eyes on the fuzzy abs, he suddenly leaned on the bed and crawled over her. As he crawled further up the bed, she realized that at some point, her clothes had disappeared. She gasped at the surprise, and his mouth was on hers.
He took possession of her. Filled her with his tongue while his hands roamed all over her body. Too soon he pulled her thighs apart and wrapped her legs high around his waist.
She wrenched her face away, her hands going up to push him off her. Before she could, he surged inside her and his mouth struck at her neck.
This time she did scream. She found herself screaming in an empty bed. Her long t-shirt and panties were exactly where they were supposed to be. Her bedcovers, on the other hand, were in a horrible mess around her bed.
Anna could only imagine how much twisting she’d been doing to cause them to become that rumpled. She quickly showered, scrubbing all of the remnants of the disturbing dreams off her skin, but the uneasy feelings lingered.
Any man who gave her nightmares like that was one she should be avoiding, but she couldn’t seem to think of anything else. Nicolas was so far out of her league. She had no idea how old he was. He wanted to use her to help him kill some old enemy of his, who she had only seen once fifteen years ago.
Who was also a vampire king. Because killing a normal vampire wasn’t hard enough. It had to be vampire royalty.
Anna didn’t want to get involved in vampire politics. She wanted to find out what had happened to Evie and Charles. She wanted to find Evie holed up in some small town with five kids and find out Charles had died slowly and painfully.
She told a therapist once that she wished Charles was dead. The therapist advised her about the dangers of filling her life with the negativity and hatred involved in that sentiment.
But Anna didn’t hate Charles. She hated what he could do to her. She hadn’t seen him in years, yet she still had nightmares about him. Sometimes she thought he followed her on the streets or watched her in class. She lived in fear he would waltz into her classroom one day. Or that she would come home and find him lying in wait for her.
No, Anna didn’t hate him. She hated that he made her this terrified. He scared her much more than any vampire king ever could.
She’d seen those void black eyes and she’d faced Charles on the same night. If she had the choice, she would have run straight back to Aleksander drinking the last of Evie’s father and beg him to do whatever he wished to her as long as he would keep her away from Charles.
That being said, Anna wouldn’t want to be the one to kill Charles. She just wanted him dead and away from this world so he couldn’t turn anyone else into the terrified mess that she was.
So the opportunity to actually confirm his demise was very tempting. She was just unsure of the price she was willing to pay.
Killing Aleksander wouldn’t morally affect Anna, assuming he was the monster she’d seen that night fifteen years ago, but all she had to base her assumptions on were the two seconds of seeing him when she was a child and Nicolas’s word that he deserved to die.
Anna knew the monster she’d seen wasn’t killing for the first time. He was too experienced. She also could perceive that he deeply enjoyed it. Though, now that she was aware of how fast vampires could move, she was sure he could’ve caught up to her on her bike if he’d wanted. Why hadn’t this monster killed her?
The king could be a vampire Nicolas wanted dead, but not be the one she’d seen. He could be lying to her in order to further his own ends. She wouldn’t put it past him.
She had no idea what type of monster Nicolas was. Obviously he wasn’t exactly a nice guy, but he hadn’t killed her outright. He’d helped her, answered her questions.
Perhaps the scariest part about him was the sexual interest he’d shown in her.
No—that wasn’t the scary part. The scary part was that she responded to him in a way she never had before. Her interactions with men had always been...limited.
Charles hadn’t just made her afraid of running into him on the streets or at school. She’d always carried the fear she might run into a man exactly like him.
Everyone in her small hometown had loved him. He was respected and well liked. No one ever suspected the inner demons that drove him to do horrible things. Anna feared she would be the same as those gullible townsfolk and let a man into her life without seeing his true self until it was too late.
To protect herself, she’d perfected the art of being unnoticeable. Her clothes were all a size too big, her makeup was kept to a minimum so she could be professional yet as plain as possible, and her glasses helped to perfect her nerd image.
Even if she’d gotten close to the bedroom with a man, she would have to eventually show him the scars that covered her back. She shuddered at the thought of that conversation:
“Oh, well that was my crazy, evil father. He hit me till I blacked out. The good news was that after I woke up, he’d disappeared and I never saw him again. But don’t worry. I didn’t catch the evil or the crazy part.”
Good grief. She couldn’t imagine the embarrassment of sharing that.
Now that she’d successfully avoided men all this time, she had another embarrassing conversation about how she’d gone so long without sex. Her colleagues and students all acted as if it was the greatest thing, but she never felt as though she missed out on anything.
Maybe someday she would have mind-blowing sex and change her mind. Until then, she was fine with being a spinster and never having to worry about a man turning monster on her.
Anna had told Nicolas to give her a day to think, but she had no idea what she could do over the course of twenty-four hours that would help her to make this decision. She briefly debated flipping a coin, but laughed silently at the absurdity of the thought.
She gave up for the moment. She decided to see whether any students had called. The lightness of her bag reminded her that she’d never gotten her gun back from Nicolas. She cursed her foolishness and made a mental note to ask him for it when she saw him again. If she saw him again.
She grabbed her phone. Two messages: one from a number she didn’t have in her phone, which meant it was probably a student, and one from Abigail.
She winced at the reminder that she hadn’t called her aunt in three days. It had been past due, and then the past two nights had been insane and vampire filled. She couldn’t explain that to the closest thing to a mother she had ever had without freaking Abigail out.
Abigail was the calmest factor in Anna’s life. When city life was so hectic and her thoughts and fears were so torturous, Abigail was always there for support.
She was in her mid-seventies now and still lived in the charming and eclectic house Anna had finished out her teenage years in. She was in good health for her age, doing lots of yard work every day and keeping active. She’d also recently rescued a younger dog that kept her on her toes.
That calmness was exactly what Anna needed. She could get round-trip bus tickets, and be back home by late evening.
By about twelve in the afternoon, her bus pulled into the station, and Abigail was waiting for her. As soon as she was off the bus, Anna wrapped Abigail in a tight embrace. Anna hadn’t realized how much she missed her surrogate mother.
Abigail offered to take her out to lunch, but Anna couldn’t think of anything she would rather do than sit in Abigail’s house and immerse herself in the safest environment she’d ever known.
When she walked into the house, the warm memories surrounded her. She took a deep breath of the familiar air. Before she could exhale, a large dog ran up to greet her and Anna bent down to pet Sam, short for Samantha.
She was a short-haired dog with lots of muscle. When someone came over, she would get so excited she would practically vibrate. Anna made sure to rub her back and scratch her floppy ears.
Abigail laughed at the dog's reaction. “You would think she gets no attention until you come over,” she said cheerfully.
Anna smiled at her. She’d never been too fond of dogs before she had moved in with her aunt. Charles had hated them, so she hadn’t had much exposure. When she came here, she’d been surrounded with three dogs of various shapes and sizes.
She’d been such a somber child that it had been a strange experience to be in a house filled with so much happiness. Anna reluctantly stood and followed Abigail to her little dining area next to a bay window that overlooked the backyard.
When Anna had lived here, the yard had been rather plain, but since Abigail retired, the yard was now covered with beautiful gardens.
“Wow, it looks great,” said Anna. This launched Abigail into a twenty-minute long, flower-by-flower breakdown of everything she’d been doing in her gardens.
Now that Anna was officially a city girl, the topic didn’t hold much interest for her, but she loved to see Abigail so happy. By the time Abigail finished her gardening stories, they’d cut up some melon and were relaxing in the living room. “So tell me, why is it that you decided to run down here today?”
She bit her lip. Anna forced herself to carefully consider her answer. Abigail knew she believed in vampires and that she’d been looking for proof of their existence. Though she’d listened patiently, Abigail never showed any sign she actually believed Anna’s theories.
If Anna told her she was planning to take a small trip with a vampire in order to kill another one, Abigail would probably be calling the police on Nicolas.
“Well, I have some good news. I might have a lead on what happened to Charles.”
Abigail raised a brow. “Oh, what did they say when they called?”
Anna realized she assumed the police had found something. “Well, nothing yet. I found a private, um, consultant who might be able to help me.”
“What makes him different than the other investigators we’ve hired? Did he know Charles?”
Anna hated lying to the woman she loved most. “He can help me find someone who I think saw Charles before he disappeared.” There. No lies necessary.
“Do you think you’ll find the answers you’re looking for?” Abigail’s worry was etched on her face.
“I have high hopes. More than that, I’m excited,” she admitted. “This is the closest I’ve been to finding out anything about his disappearance.”
“And who is this man who you think saw Charles?”
I’m going off to see the vampire I think killed Charles, and ask him why he decided to do the world that favor. Oh, and then me and another vampire are going to kill him. “You know I talked to a lot of his friends and associates. I’ve found out some information regarding the last day he was seen.” More crafty omission.
Anna could tell Abigail knew something wasn’t quite right. “You never answered my original question.”
“What was that?”
“Why did you come here? You could’ve called me about that. You might be talking to a man who might have seen Charles, who might know why he disappeared. That doesn’t merit a two-hour long bus trip.”
Anna winced at the valid assessment. “I don’t know why I came. I guess I just needed this place.”
Abigail put her hand on Anna’s. “What’s wrong? What has you running home?”
Anna laughed inwardly. This morning, coming home hadn’t seemed like running at all. Looking at it in the bright, revealing light of day, she realized that running was exactly what she was doing.
“I’m so scared, Abby. I’m scared of everything. I’m scared of this man I’m searching for being the wrong one, and I’m scared of actually finding Charles.”
Abigail squeezed her hand sympathetically. Anna met Abigail’s eyes. “That isn’t the strangest part. This consultant I found. He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. If I’m doing this, I will be in close quarters with him for a few days. I don’t know if I can do that.”
“What is his name?” asked Abigail.
“Nicolas.” It was the first time Anna said his name out loud. She almost wanted to look over her shoulder to make sure saying his name didn’t conjure him from thin air, but she tamped down the urge.
“So, this Nicolas... Does he scare you?”
Anna considered it for a moment. Scare her? Scare was much too light of a word for what he made her feel. He terrified, horrified, petrified her. “Yes. He scares me.”
“Does he scare you like your father did?”
Anna was startled at the unexpected question. The main reason it was so startling was because of how easy it was to answer. There was no way Nicolas scared her like her father had. “No. He doesn’t scare me like that.”
The traitorous, treacherous woman then asked, “Do you think he scares you because you like him?”
She almost hated Abigail’s insight at that moment. Did she like him? Not really. However, her body seemed to absolutely adore him, and he seemed rather fond of hers as well. Who knew what would happen if they were together for any extended period of time? “Well, I don’t hate him.” Abigail smiled knowingly and Anna continued, “I won’t be in control of this situation.”
“Well then, you only have two choices. You can let go of this. You might not find Charles, but you’ll be ‘safe.’ The other option is you take control of the situation.”
“How can I take control?” She couldn’t imagine Nicolas ever letting her take the lead in looking for Aleksander.
“You’re scared about all of the ways this could end badly. You have to lower the number of possible outcomes.”
Anna was skeptical. “How do I do that?”
Abigail shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Anna laughed at the simple but wise advice. She needed to have a bit more control over the situation before she could agree to help Nicolas. It might hurt to refuse the opportunity to find Aleksander, but she couldn’t let herself be at the mercy of someone else again. They would need to come to an understanding.
Anna was very proud when she held back her scream at finding Nicolas waiting right next to the door to her apartment. He didn’t look too pleased with her either.
“Where were you?”
She raised her eyebrows at his angry tone. She was tired from the long day and night she had. Even though she’d been bracing herself for this confrontation during the two-hour trip from Abigail’s, she wasn’t prepared to see him at her door.
“I was wherever I want to be.” She tried to move past him to unlock her door, but he stood stubbornly in her way. At the moment, she really wished she had her gun. “I’ve only known you for one day, and yet I’m already very sick of you. Now move,” she ordered, trying to muster up as much authority in her tone as possible.
She wasn’t surprised when he didn’t budge. Instead of making some futile effort to move him, she wrangled her hand around his back and tried to locate the keyhole. This pressed her front directly into his, and the strangest sensation hit her torso.
In surprise, she lifted her
free hand to his chest. Warm solid muscle pressed against her. There was also a steady heartbeat. “You’re not dead?”
He shot her a cocky grin. “You have no idea how alive I am.” His voice wrapped around her and echoed in her head. He gave a pointed look to an area low on his body.
Anna followed his gaze and found herself staring at his crotch. She pushed away from him. He bumped back against the door.
“Seriously?” she asked. He couldn’t seem to stop grinning at her shocked reaction.
This time she pushed him away from the door. He must have allowed himself to be moved, because she knew that there was no way he would’ve budged if he didn’t want to.
She crossed into her apartment and laid her bag on the loveseat. There was no room for a sofa, so the loveseat was the largest piece of seating. Nicolas remained in the doorway.
“What?” she asked when she noticed he was staring at her.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Anna couldn’t stop her smug smirk from forming. “Really? You need to be invited in?”
He just shrugged.
“Um, I don’t really know if I want you to have an open invitation,” she said honestly to him after her smirk faded.
He didn’t seem too offended. “Then come with me back to my place.” He said the words casually, but she doubted how casual they actually were. She didn’t want to be in a small enclosed space with him at all.
But that didn’t mean they were completely out of options. “Coffee! Let’s do coffee.”
His face filled with disgust. “That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
“No. In fact, it’s a great idea. It will be much harder for you to intimidate me when we are surrounded by people.”
“You think I’m trying to intimidate you?”
Anna walked closer to the doorway, feeling very happy there was at least one thing about him she could control. “I have no idea what you’re trying to do to me. But intimidation is definitely something I always seem to feel around you. So I’d really appreciate you agreeing to meet me somewhere public.”
