Sweet Cravings (10 page)

“You’re so lovely when you’re mad and confused,” he mused.

I bathed another strawberry in chocolate and shoved it in my mouth. Darius grinned, and I could see the raw desire in his face.

He wanted me.

I became persnickety. “So, Darius, you got to see my ass in the shower. It’s only fair I get to see yours.”

He took a sip of red wine and chuckled faintly. “You want to see my—what’s that word—ass?”

“Yes.” I stood my ground.

“All right.” He stood up and turned; his robe dropped to the floor, and I got a full view of his delicious backside. He was pale, yes, but not ghost white. There was a tinge of a tan creeping onto his skin. I gazed at his ass and laughed inside. It was firm and looked so yummy.

“That’s enough,” I said, and he pulled his robe back on.

“I do not understand humans and their culture these days,” he confessed.

An idea clicked in my head, and I rushed a question. “Why did you change me? Why couldn’t you have left me as a human?”

“What?”

“Why did you change
me
?”

“There were certain circumstances involved, and you needed a way to protect yourself…and I wanted to protect you.”

“From what?”

“From everything; from the evils of this cruel world.” His voice was full of conviction, and by the look in his eyes, I could tell he had been through a lot of misery.

I bounced onto the bed and offered him a piece of shortcake. He slowly shook his head. He glanced up, and I saw the sadness in his eyes, and then in an instant, he pushed me onto the bed and pinned my hands above my head.

Darius’ eyes were swirling a rich scarlet and amber color, and he smiled as he gazed down at me, his voluptuous waves of hair like a curtain around our faces. His knees were straddling mine, and he pressed on my hands, held them tight, and raked his hungry gaze over me like a predator with its prey.

I squirmed and wiggled, but his hold was too strong.

“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this?” His voice was low and thick with desire. “How I’ve waited thousands of years to have you with me? To have you beside me? To hear you breathe, and speak, and sleep?”

I confessed bluntly, “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. I think you have the wrong person.”

“No,” he uttered. “I have waited so long, so, so long for Lily to be here, to be with me, and now here you are, alive and here, here on this earth.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, annoyed.

“I cannot tell you now. Not yet. I will say that I love you, even if you don’t love me; you’ve always been here in my heart, a part of my soul.”

“I don’t know how to respond to that,” I whispered. “I think I love you, too.”

I mean, I liked him. I liked him a lot. At first I’d hated him for what he’d done to me, but after knowing him more and being in his house, he’d grown on me. Darius was so mysterious, and I wanted to unlock all of his secrets. And I’d resolved to do just that. Loving him, though? Yeah, I loved him all right in a weird, crazy kind of way.

He smiled and said, “Now, it’s been past three days, my dear. You must drink from me, Lily.”

I was so puzzled, but at the same time, when he said I was
overdue
, something clicked on inside me, and the thirst raged through me like an erupting volcano. My fangs shot out, and I grabbed his hair and pulled him into me. He didn’t struggle, just let me do as I needed.

“Yes, now bite into me,” he whispered. I tilted his head back, sank into his neck, and gulped the blood down like a glutton. His lips moved silently as I drank from him, and his hands fisted the blankets and then he moaned in ecstasy and delight.

I didn’t know why, but when I was full, I yanked free, and he shuddered in pleasure. He lay next to me on the bed, and I mopped the blood from my mouth with a blanket.

“You…” I started. “Do you like pain?”

He breathed long and hard, and then turned to me, blood dribbling down his neck. “Yes, my dear, I enjoy pain.”

“Del most certainly didn’t,” I said. “Why, though? I never thought you to be like this.”

“Everyone is different,” he simply replied, cleansing the blood from his skin with a handkerchief he’d retrieved from the nightstand beside the bed.

I stood and ate one more slice of cake. “Well, I’ll be going now. I’m gonna see Sang in the morning. Thanks for the blood.”

He sat upright, hair cascading over the pillows like a cataract. “Wait! Please don’t go. Stay with me, at least tonight. I need you now. Please, Lily.” His words were urgent and pleading, laced with desperation and need.

His despondency wasn’t at all like the Darius I thought I knew.

I sighed. “All right. One night.” I walked back to the bed and lay down beside him under the blankets. When I accidentally touched him, his skin was ice cold, but mine should be too. He was behind me and nuzzled his face into the hollow of my neck.

“Sleep well, my dear,” he whispered

“You too,” I said, and he planted a kiss on the back of my neck before we both fell asleep, or at least I did.

Sang’s room was dark and veiled from the sun with black gauze curtains. His checkered blanket was a crumpled mess around his feet, and he had the sheet wrapped around him like a cloak. As I walked into the room, Caen was leaning against the wall, sitting in a chair, drool escaping his mouth as he snored lightly. There was a tiny apricot toy poodle lying around Sang’s feet, which I guessed was the shape-shifter, Hira.

It was like a hospital; the smell of antiseptics and blood filled the air. Sang was asleep with a ball of hot pink yarn on his lap, right hand curled around a needle and thread, the beginning to what looked like a scarf draped over the side of the bed.

As I silently stepped to his bedside, Sang’s stunning crimson eyes slowly peeled open, and he grinned when I placed my hand on his. He was in a soft black robe, and his dark hair was scruffy, poking in every direction, bangs falling over his eyes and nose. I was still slightly warm from last night, and I pressed on his hand and tried to give him more heat.

“I’ve been dead for over three hundred years, Lil. I’m fine with the cold,” he said weakly and sneezed.

I flicked my eyes to his neck and back to his eyes. He had a large, square bandage taped to the side of his neck and an identical one to the left cheek. He had more bandages tied around his arms and chest. “I didn’t know vampires could get sick.”

“Yeah, well I’m one of them,” he retorted teasingly.

I glanced curiously at the beginnings of the pink scarf, and Sang’s whole face flushed red and he quickly shoved it under the covers.

“What’s that?” I asked in a singsong voice.

“Nothing,” he replied, glowering.

I let the subject go and focused on his wounds. Why was he so sick that he was bedridden? I had been sleeping for four days while he—he had been in pain and suffering.

“Why aren’t you healing as fast as we do?” I asked.

The color on his face drained from pink to the usual pallor of his skin. “I lost too much blood. If you lose too much blood, you get sick. At least in my bloodline.” He sniffled.

I grabbed a tissue from the nearby box and handed it to him. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” His voice was sure and calm but somewhat high, as if he was embarrassed. I didn’t blame him. I’d be embarrassed too. Like four days ago, during that incident…

“Sang,” I began, hot tears welling in my eyes. “I’m so sorry for almost killing Caen.” I pointed to the sleeping vampire.

“Lily, Lily.” He clicked his tongue. “You don’t have to be sorry. It was a dire situation. Hey, we got out, and it’s all right, everything’s good. Now, let me sleep.” He yawned and stretched his arms high before plopping onto the bed and burying his head in the pillows. “Stay with me?” He gave me puppy-dog eyes.

I knelt beside him and brought his hand, his cold, cold hand, to my cheek. “Yeah, Sang, I’ll stay with you.”

* * * *

Ever since I’d first laid eyes on her, I’d been extra curious about who the redhead was and why she’d helped us in our time of need. She was swift, efficient, and knew what the hell was going on. She told us her name was Haru and invited us to her home for tea.

That was it.

I thought it was funny how close her name sounded to Hira, and I’d guessed that Hira was some short of odd shifter name. What was Haru? Was she a vampire like us or a shifter? Maybe a werewolf? I didn’t know, so I was eager to tag along with Sang and Hira when Darius had told me about the redhead’s invitation.

Wow. She and Hira both had red hair, too.

It was weird to be going to a stranger’s house, but we were going to meet her for real—then she wouldn’t be a stranger anymore. I was excited to find out who she really was.

Was she a vampire who worked as an FBI agent, or maybe some kind of wereanimal who’d smelled the fear and awkwardness going on? I wanted to thank her again, because without her I really don’t know what would’ve happened.

I looked out the window at the chilly fall weather and was happy that it was all bright and sunny with puffy clouds, which reminded me of cotton candy. The sky was a light, powdery blue. Almost all the leaves had fallen off the trees, leaving the branches naked and subservient to the will of the wind. All the cornfields were neatly trimmed and the grass was pale with a plethora of dead leaves.

Sang was lying in the backseat with me, his head resting on my lap. He was a lot better, but was still a little weak from the huge blood loss. He was dressed in a black sweater, jean vest, ripped jeans, and high-top sneakers. A white plaid trapper hat was snug on his head and a matching scarf wound around his neck.

I decided on a similar style, which consisted of a cherry-blossom pink sweater and soft faux fur vest, complete with a knitted hat, blue jeans, and brown lace-up boots. Hira drove and wore only a gray T-shirt, jeans, and gray boots. His coppery hair glistened in the light from the sunroof. I think the car was Hira’s—I forgot.

We finally went through a small, wooded area, and then pulled into the stone driveway of what I could only describe as a medium-size log cabin. It had a wide lawn overrun by potted purple and pink mums.

As Hira parked the car, I saw a pair of carmine eyes staring from the shadows of a window curtain. It certainly wasn’t Haru, was it?

We began to get out of the car, and I helped Sang to his feet and tightened his scarf. We all walked to the door, which was decorated with a set of bells and dried corn. Right before Hira knocked, Haru opened the door, and the bells jingled.

Her expression was delighted, and she joyfully greeted us. “Hello, everyone! Come in, come in. Sit down where you want. I made tea.”

We lined into the house, and I spotted a couch which looked really soft, so I tugged on Sang’s hand and gestured toward it. He gave me a grin, and we both sat on the velvet purple couch together. Hira decided on a matching recliner beside us which was right across from a rectangular glass coffee table. On the other side there was a recliner that matched the other.

“So.” Haru set down a fresh pot of water in the center of the table and said, “I’ll tell you guys about me, since I haven’t really introduced myself yet.” There were five teacups spread on the table, each on a cute little lace doily, and ten different kinds of tea around the pot.

“What do you want?” I asked Sang, reaching for the pot.

“Earl Grey,” he replied tiredly.

“I love Earl Grey too, and with three packs of sugar,” I said as I prepared our tea. Hira served himself and offered to serve Haru, who gratefully accepted. I glanced at Sang, and he was already sleeping in the corner of the couch.

“Before I introduce myself, everyone, I’d like you to meet my baby girl, Fang.”

There was a low growl from behind her chair and out bounded one of the strangest creatures I’d ever seen.

It was like a huge dog, but the size of a pony; the closest breed I could come up with to compare it to was a German shepherd.

Her sleek obsidian fur bristled straight up on her back, fangs extending past the black lining of her lips. A dark maroon line like a dorsal stripe went from the tip of a shaggy tail to the muzzle. Her eyes were a fierce intimidating red, and in between her tall ears were two twisted horns, like a ram’s. She was growling ferociously at us from beside Haru.

“Fang! Cut it out, they’re friends!” Haru shouted. “She’s actually a big sweetie.”

The dog-creature, Fang, bent her ears to her head and snarled, and then became quiet and trotted to me. I was so frightened she would bite me, or attack me, and my whole body became stiff with trepidation.

Sang slurred, “Jus’ pet ’er, Lil, she’s ’ut.” He reached out his palm; Fang sniffed it, and then licked him. He laughed and stroked her chin and back, and then as fast as he’d awakened, he went back to sleep.

I held my hand out, and Fang licked it, her tongue warm and scratchy like a cat’s. She rubbed against my legs, and then lay on the floor by my feet.

“What is she doing? What the hell is she?” I was still rather wary.

“She’s a hellhound,” Haru answered and threw the creature a dog treat, which she snatched in her powerful jaws.

I loosened up a bit. “She’s kinda cute.” I smiled and scratched her head, and she smiled back.

“So, there’s Fang, my baby girl. She’s five years old and pregnant.”

Hira’s eyes widened. “I couldn’t even tell.”

“Yup, she’s gonna have one pup. Hellhounds can only have one pup, and she’s due in three months.”

“She sure doesn’t look pregnant. How old can a hellhound get? I didn’t know they even existed,” I commented.

Haru sipped her tea, and then poured herself some more. “They can live to be two thousand.”

Sang almost spit out his tea. “Wow.”

“I rescued her a year ago from being experimented on by another country’s government. I can’t say which.”

I nodded. “I understand. So, tell us about yourself. I’m Lily, and I’m a new vampire, and I’m being forced to live with Darius and drink blood, and that whole vampire life thing.”

Haru chuckled. “I’m not a paranormal being, but I am tough as a nut. I’m a trained assassin and have superhuman qualities from when I was young. The rest is hazy…um…I’m strong, yeah.”