Sweet Cravings (11 page)

“Do you work for anyone?” Hira questioned in a low voice and quickly averted his eyes.

“I work for the US government as an assassin and watcher of the paranormal society.”

“So, by the paranormal society,” I began, “you mean vampires and shifters and whatnot?”

“Yeah. I was called by Darius and told to rescue you all during that incident a few days ago. Lily, you know Darius gave you his blood and carried you out?”

I was surprised. That stingy, monstrous, creepy man who destroyed my life carried me out? His face flashed in my vision, and I remembered the night before, when I pitied him and slept in the same bed with him. Did I like him? I didn’t know. I had thought that Haru had come back and gotten me, not Darius. That he was
too
busy to come.

He became more of a mystery the more I learned about him.

When we arrived back at Darius’ place, Sang was like a kid on caffeine, and I quote,
bouncing off the walls
. Hira thought Haru added some healing properties to the water we’d used for the tea, and that Fang’s lick might’ve healed him.

The redhead told us that if we ever needed help to call her, and she wanted to become friends. So she gave us her cell number and told me specifically to call her sometime soon. I hoped I’d remember.

It was two in the afternoon when we arrived at Darius’ place. It looked so stunning with the glowing sunlight gleaming off the roof and pillars. I admired it; it reminded me of when I was little and used to flip through magazines when I went to the doctor. One time I had seen a property, similar to Darius’ mansion, lit up like a dazzling gem in the glistening yellow sun.

Hira parked along the curved drive near the entrance, and I got out first, eager to run inside and grab some food. I’d complained to Sang about going out to eat for lunch, but he said that there would be food at Darius’ house. So I’d patiently waited, stomach gurgling and growling, during the whole drive back.

I leaned against the double doors, waiting for Sang to come with the keys. I almost fell when the doors shrieked ajar revealing Darius. He was in a classy brown dress shirt complete with a dark lavender tie and jeans. I noticed he had his fuzzy red slippers on, and I gave him a quizzical stare.

“Come in, my dear,” he purred, voice smooth as satin, and it enveloped me.

“What about them?” I pointed to Sang and Hira, who were arguing over something.

“Leave the doors open, and they’ll come. Step inside and follow me.” The last part was an order, and my body stiffened. I had to follow him; I had no choice. I tried walking to the right, but I couldn’t; my body wouldn’t let me. Was it his power over me? Why was he using it now?

We came into a room with a massive rectangular table filled with sandwiches, hoagies, snacks, and drinks. On the very right sat a towering bowl with a chilled bag of what appeared to be blood. I licked my lips in anticipation.

There were three small chandeliers on the ceiling above the table, and twelve mahogany chairs with cushions tucked underneath. Darius settled into a chair at the very end of the table by the blood, and I wanted to sit away from him, but for some odd reason, I chose to sit in a chair by him.

I said, “Wow. This is nice. Can I please have the blood? Pour me some.” I reached for a small ceramic mug and waved it at him.

He seemed fairly amused and replied, “Just
one
cup.”

As he poured me some blood, Sang and Hira came into the room, and Sang slumped into a chair and rolled his head back.

“Man, am I tired out,” he announced with a grunt and a stretch.

Hira commented dryly, “You’ve been sleeping on and off all day. And when you’re up, you’re all hyper and can’t stop moving.”

“That’s because I have so much energy! And I had to go. I couldn’t leave Lily alone with you,” Sang sneered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing much.”

As they squabbled and fought over the food, I took a sip of blood and instantly craved more. It was mesmerizing. Delicious! The tastiest thing I’d had in a few days, next to Darius’ blood, of course. I gulped the rest down and presented my cup again.

He smiled faintly. “I said one c…” Blood trickled from his mouth onto his shirt and tie. I was so confused and transfixed by the blood at the same time, I froze.

He sighed. “That was one of my favorite shirts, too, and now it’s dirty. Excuse me while I change.”

“Wait!” I snatched his icy-cold hand. “What was that? Blood just came from your mouth. I take it that’s not a good thing, is it?” I was chewing on my nails for the answer.

“My dear,” he began, “this is a curse I agreed to in exchange for Sang’s freedom. In return for Sang’s liberty from that witch I offered a good sum of money and to have this curse inflicted upon me. Once a month, I become unable to function properly for three days, in which I am most vulnerable. I am lucky no one has taken this opportunity yet to kill me, but glad all the same.”

He coughed again, and the blood streamed down his face. He took the towel and rigorously rubbed his lips and shirt. “It is not a pleasant—” He coughed up blood.

“That’s it. You’re lying down. I don’t care what you say,” I stated as I stood.

“I am fine.” He coughed some more, and blood smothered his hands and shirt. He bowed his head in surrender and went with me to his bedroom on the second floor. Sang followed us with a worried face.

Darius got onto his bed and pulled the covers onto himself. He coughed some more into his hands, which dripped with crimson. The smell of it was intoxicating, and I wanted to lick it off or bite his neck, but I knew this was not the time to be a bloodsucking fiend. I grabbed a towel from his bathroom, and then gave it to him, and he wiped the blood away.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick now?” I huffed, rather disappointed at his silent gratitude.

“You can call it sick if you desire,” he said, sinking farther under the blankets. “I will be sick for three days. Experience the price I paid for Sang.”

Just then, I noticed Sang’s presence in the corner of the room. He was sitting on the floor, legs crossed, and head bent low, tears leaking from his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Dari. I’m so sorry. You should’ve never done this for me…” He sulked with a sniffle.

“Sang,” the elder vampire said. “You’ve been with me for a hundred years. You know I loathe it when you do this.”

Sang glanced up at Darius, his eyes watery like rippling scarlet wells. “I know…”

“Now, you two, I need you both right now.” He turned to me with a slight grin. “I’m sorry, my dear, but I will need to drink from you.”

I knew there had to be a reason he gave me that cup of blood. That sneaky bastard!

“No,” I replied curtly.
He was not getting my blood right now as a snack for lunch. “Nuh-uh! I am not giving in to him.

He stroked my cheek with his fingers, and they were like satin. The touch sent electric jolts all through my body. I ground my teeth and gave in. I didn’t want him to touch me.

“All right,” I begrudgingly hissed. “But what about the next three days?”

“Your blood once will sustain me, and Sang will finish the rest, as payment for freeing him. After I drink your blood, you drink from Sang, understand?”

I nodded. “Fine, but you have to treat us out to dinner sometime soon.”

Darius chuckled. “I relish the moments when you’re so critical about trivial matters.”

I ignored him, sat on the bed next to his head, and then leaned back so he could sink his teeth into my neck. Without any warning, he struck my throat with quick precision and began to feed on my blood. It felt so different than usual. What should’ve hurt was like a blooming wonderland of pleasure, a dreamlike fantasy I fell into.

It was then I found I couldn’t move, and my face was making weird movements because of the extremely sensual state I was in, lost in a heavenly indulgence. When Darius finished, he gingerly came free and caressed my hair.

I let myself drift off on a cloud of bliss.

Later that night, I left Darius’ house and drove over to my place. It was such a relief to finally be back in my own apartment, with my own stuff and possessions. When I woke up in the morning, I had fallen asleep at the foot of Darius’ bed and was curled up like a cat. It was embarrassing, but I can’t remember anything that happened after Darius fed off me. There were no memories at all. Sang had been sleeping next to Darius, and he snored peacefully. I quietly slid off of the bed, tiptoed out of the room, and then found my phone and keys in my room on the dresser. I tried my hardest to be silent as I got into a baby-blue sweater and peacoat with jeans, shoved my cell and keys into a cross-shoulder purse, and left the mansion. Lawrence, Darius’ butler, who I’d only seen once, drove me home. I was so thrilled to finally be back after three weeks.

When I entered, the living room was freezing cold, and I switched on the lights immediately. It was so…clean. Cleaner than it had ever been. The white carpet was pure white, the furniture was polished, and there was no dirt or trash anywhere.

I checked my phone and there were tons of messages from my friend Dana. They were about my close relative dying, and if I was okay since I flew to California. Wait? Flew to California?

Oh, this must be what Darius hypnotized everyone to think when I was told he took care of things. Figures. I had no close relatives in California. I had no close relatives at all.

I replied to Dana’s texts that I was fine and coming back tomorrow. Her last text said to look on the kitchen table. I set my purse on a chair and went into the small kitchen. I had given her a spare set of keys in case I lost mine, which I did pretty often.

My heart instantly sank when I turned and scrutinized the table.

Sitting on the table was a medium-size bowl of water and floating on its tiny back, was a dead goldfish.

No, no, no. This little fishy was not dead! It was a gift from my best friend; no way in hell was it dead! I rushed to the corpse and scooped it out with my hands. Without thinking anything through, I sliced my arm with my fingernails and gently shoved the blood droplets into its mouth.

The goldfish convulsed and shook uncontrollably, and then, miraculously, started floundering in my hands, gasping for the water. I dropped it into the bowl, and it began to swim around energetically.

It was alive! It lived! The dead goldfish was alive—yes. But what was it? It wasn’t a vampire because I didn’t drink its blood. What the hell was it?

It opened and closed its mouth hungrily, and I was at a loss of what to feed it. I’d read in several paranormal romance books there were these things called ghouls, which were like zombies but they ate raw meat instead of living people and could think on their own. Even though Sang had explained to me that most of the things I’d heard in the media weren’t true, it was worth a shot. I had to at least try and see if it would even work. So, I opened the fridge and there was spoiled hamburger in it. It stank so much I covered my nose with my palm.

Disgusted, I pinched a chunk of meat with my fingers and threw it in the goldfish bowl.

The fish ate it up like a piranha. The water turned a faded red.

It worked! It worked! It actually worked! My goldfish was now a ghoul, or whatever, and he was eating and alive—well, almost alive.

I thought I’d call him Mr. G.

When Mr. G seemed content, I went into my room and dived onto the bed. It sure wasn’t as comfortable as the bed I had at Darius’ place, but it served its purpose well. I missed the smell of my own lavender laundry detergent, and the smell of my own clothes and things. I changed into my pink butterfly pajama top and pants, and then buried my face into my pillow and blankets.

I was just nodding off into sleep when I got a buzz from a text on my cell phone. I clicked it on, and it was a message from Dana, asking if I wanted to go to the movies with her on Friday. Today was Wednesday, and it sounded like a nice, relaxing getaway from all this paranormal crazy shit I’d been through lately. I texted her back in agreement and turned the phone off. I said to meet me at the theater and to text me the time.

I went to turn my head and winced at a sudden jolt of pain. Darius’ bite had been deep, and after he bit me, my memories were blank. I just remember feeling this rush of ecstasy and happiness, and then nothing. His bite was something to be reckoned with. I wondered if I could do that to someone.

As I lay alone in my bed, I somehow missed everyone. We’d only known each other for a short amount of time, but it was like it was longer, years longer. I always got this strange stirring in my gut when I saw Darius, and I couldn’t help but want him beside me as I attempted to go to sleep again. Having him embrace me wasn’t that bad, was it? Having him next to me, safe from the world, made me feel so nice. Although every time I saw him, rage began to prance inside me like a pissed-off lioness stalking her prey. It’s like I hated him for what he did for me, but I had this inner feeling he did it for a greater purpose. Some purpose I didn’t yet understand. And yet, at the same time, I loved him for some strange reason. I loved the way he spoke and the way he dressed and the way his eyes would shine whenever he gazed at me.

Then I thought of Sang and how he made me smile and laugh. I really liked him; he was so cute. My stomach fluttered with butterflies thinking about him. Being in his arms, staring at his beautiful, crimson eyes. My skin rippled with goose bumps—good goose bumps—thinking about him.

Being alone was what I was used to. All my life, alone, no sisters or brothers. My mom died in a car accident when I was five, so I can’t even conjure her face in my head. My dad had been a drunken wreck ever since, so when I graduated from high school, I immediately went to college and got my degree in literature.

Look what good it got me.

I was so happy; I had new friends and people in my life. I also craved my old life as a human, too, but being a vampire pretty much rocked all the same. I just wish people weren’t after my goddamn blood. Get your own blood, sheesh.