In Blood and Worth Loving (23 page)

Brandi woke alone in bed the next morning. Even though the air was fragrant with the smell of freshly brewed coffee, she immediately knew she was alone in the apartment.

A dozen red roses and an expensive box of chocolates adorned the night table on her side of the bed.

She sat up only to slump back against the bed when she realized there was no card with the roses. Nothing had changed. He’d wanted blood and a quick, no holds barred fuck and she’d willingly given him both. Having gotten what he wanted, he’d left.

She sat up again and glanced down at the sheet. The pink stains were unmistakable. He’d secreted blood in her again.

Damn him. So was he going to start doing drive-by fucks again? But maybe he’d call her or come back later that day or night. He did neither. Brandi spent the next six nights tossing and turning for hours before finally drifting to sleep in the early morning hours. Once asleep she had nightmares of watching
Adrian
torture Doug before brutally killing him. Then he raped her and abandoned her—even though he knew she carried his child.

She woke on her birthday, tired, but eager to get out of the city for the weekend.
 
After nearly a week of silence from
Adrian
, she knew she wouldn’t see him again. With her luck, she’d end up pregnant by a vamp who had moved on and no longer wanted anything to do with her.
   

She received four deliveries before she left for work that morning.
 
One was a stunning bouquet from Conner. The accompanying card read: Happy Birthday. Conner. The second was a dozen red carnations. That card read: Happy Birthday. Jayvyn Redwolfe. The last delivery was a five hundred dollar gift certificate to a chic lingerie store from Rayna. Her card read: Buy something sexy to wear for him. Rayna. The fourth was a dozen white roses from Doug. His card read: Looking forward to tonight. Yours, Doug. There was no present or message from
Adrian
.

She rubbed her temples. Even the brother she had never met acknowledged her birthday while
Adrian
ignored it—as if it didn’t matter.

As the day progressed Brandi became more agitated and stressed. She couldn’t stop thinking about
Adrian
and felt weepy one moment and angry the next. She left work at three. At home, she undressed and ran a bath with her favorite salts and oils.

As she lay in the tub, thoughts of
Adrian
plagued her. Too weary to reject them, she closed her eyes and sobbed softly. Although there were no outward signs, she felt certain she was carrying
Adrian
’s child. She touched her breasts. They were a little tender, but then they were often tender days before her period.

“Oh,
Adrian
. How could you ignore my birthday?”

Brandi woke in her bed with no memory of climbing out of the tub and returning to her bedroom. She glanced at her bedside clock. 4:08. She bolted into a sitting position and jumped out of bed. About to reach for her thong and bra, she realized her pussy didn’t feel fresh.

She returned to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dressed slowly. She wore a cream colored silk dress. The v-shaped bodice which gave a glimpse of her cleavage was trimmed with burgundy lace. It was sleeveless with a matching jacket with three quarter sleeves. The full skirt ended mid-calve.

She wore three-inch burgundy heels and carried a matching clutch. Studying her reflection, she added a pair of white diamond and ruby earrings. What would
Adrian
think of her outfit? Had he even given her a thought since he’d slinked off in the middle of the night after yet another meaningless fuck?

She sighed and turned away from her reflection. She picked up her overnight bag and carried it into the living room.

The bag slipped from her fingers. A vase filled with red roses sat on each end table. An oblong jeweler’s box lay on the coffee table. She looked around the room before rushing to check her entrance door. The deadbolt was locked.

She crossed the room to open the jeweler’s box with trembling hands. Inside lay a beautiful diamond solitaire mounted in a gold setting with an 18 carat gold chain. She touched the diamond. It must be at least two carats.

She knew it was from
Adrian
. He hadn’t ignored her birthday. She blinked back tears as she realized he had carried her from the tub to her bed. Why had he left without waking her?

She felt a sudden tingling sensation and quickly looked around the room. She couldn’t see him but she felt him.
 
He was near. “
Adrian
? It’s beautiful.”

“So are you.”
   

She swung around.

Adrian
, dressed in all black stood in her living room, staring at her. He looked handsome, but dangerous. “You’re dressed to go out, Brandi.”

Her heart raced with joy and fear. She swallowed slowly. “Today’s my birthday.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“I’m celebrating tonight.”

“With who?”

“A friend.”

He glanced at her suitcase. “Male? One who is foolish enough to expect you to spend the night in his bed?”

There was no mistaking the venom in his voice. Brandi moistened her lips. “Why are you here?”

He took the box from her, slipped behind her, and fastened the necklace around her neck.

The diamond settled between her breasts.

He bent to kiss her neck before he moved around to stand in front of her. He stroked a finger between her breasts. “It’s almost as lovely as you are.”

She shrugged.

He caressed her cheek. “I was hoping you’d be happy to see me.”

She stepped away from him. “I might have been if you’d stop treating me like your personal whore.”

“I’ve never treated you like a whore!”

“The last time we saw each other, you fucked and ran, as usual. I’m tired of never seeing you unless you want to fuck me and feed on me! You never show any concern for my feelings and what I might need from you. Everything is always about what you want. You wouldn’t give a damn if I dropped dead—as long as you got a last fuck first!”

He stared at her. “You can’t believe that.”

She didn’t, but she was angry and hurt. He’d probably come for another drive-by fuck and to ruin her weekend with Doug before he slithered away into the night while she slept.

“What I believe is that you’re a selfish bastard. You’ve never taken me out or even called me to see if I were still alive. All you want is to fuck me—whether I want you to or not. Once you get what you want, you leave.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I know I should have left a message or awakened you before I left you, but—”

“But what?”

He shook his head.

“What do you want,
Adrian
?”

“What I’ve wanted from the moment we met—you.”

Her throat tightened. “Why?”

He slipped his arm around her waist, drawing her against him. He brushed his lips against her forehead. “I’m sorry.”

Finally the apology she'd waited two weeks to hear. To her dismay, she realized it wasn't enough. A single
I'm sorry
, no matter how heartfelt, couldn't erase all the pain she'd experienced since meeting him.

He touched her cheek. “There's been a few good times too. Hasn't there?”

About to disagree with him, she paused. He had been tender on occasion. He'd also shown some restraint when he’d wanted sex and she hadn’t. There was no denying the pleasure they'd shared. Or how having him cook for her touched her. How many men would have taken the time to make fresh squeezed orange juice? How many men could actually pick her up? How many men had displayed the level and depth of passion for her that he had? How many men had been capable of fulfilling her wildest fantasy as he had?

Maybe the scales weren’t as unbalanced as she’d first thought, but she needed more than a good lover. She wanted to be romanced by a man who didn’t make her feel as if she were just a place to come when he wanted an easy lay.

“I don’t think you’re an easy lay, Brandi.”

Commonsense shot down her hunger to believe him.

He rubbed a thumb against her bottom lip. “I know my behavior has left a lot to be desired, but—”

She pushed his hand away from her mouth. “That’s being overly generous,
Adrian
. You’ve been the blind date from hell almost since we met.”

His jaw clenched.

She waited for him to bare his incisors and unleash an angry retort.

Instead he shook his head and held his hands apart in a helpless gesture. “I’m sorry.”

“Saying you’re sorry isn’t enough, Adrian.”

He met her gaze.

Was there remorse in his eyes? Or did she just want it so much she imagined it?

“If you want to be romanced, I’ll romance you.”

“If? Why the hell wouldn’t I want to be romanced,
Adrian
?”

“Then I’ll romance you. I’ll take you out. Buy you anything you want. Send you flowers.”

She pushed against his shoulders. “I don’t want any more flowers from you unless they come with a card that has a very sappy message,
Adrian
. What’s the point of sending me red roses if they don’t mean anything to you?”

 
He tightened his arms around her, pressing his lips against her ear. “Forgive me. Forgive me.”

The knot of misery she’d felt since she’d awakened alone last Saturday unraveled. She gripped his leather jacket, her lips trembling. “Where have you been?” She pulled back to look up at him. “Who have you been with?”