Sweet Cravings (16 page)

She squeezed my hand. “Really? You care about what happens to me?”

“Yeah!” I yelled. “Why wouldn’t I? We’re friends now, right? Jeez, I can’t stand it when people are like that. You invited us to your house, so we’re friends. Also, I have some questions I wanna ask you.”

Her eyes became wide and teary. “Awww, come here, you!” She embraced me tightly and I her. Haru was such a nice person, and I was happy to be able to call her a friend. Besides, she’d saved me—us.

“So, you work for the government. Do they want the same thing as Darius?”

She was still clinging to me. “Yeah. They hate drugs, especially paranormal-related ones.”

“Okay. Um, Haru, how old are you?”

“I’m twenty,” she answered with confidence. Wow. Younger than I thought.

“How are you so agile and badass if you’re so young?” I asked.

“Don’t tell anyone,” she began and put her mouth to my ear, “but I’m a homunculus. It’s a secret, ’kay?”

I nodded. Okay, now I was confused. She’s an artificial human? What?

“Before I leave for today,” she stood and took my hand into hers, “I want you to have this in case something weird happens. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow!” After curling my hand around a solid object, she skipped to the door, and left. I uncurled my hand, and in it was what I had thought it was.

A gun.

Okay, I might need it. So I made my way upstairs and shoved it in my purse, and then buried my head into a pillow and closed my eyes.

I was so jumbled up right now my head hurt. Did I like Darius? ’Cause I also liked Sang. Haru isn’t human? What?

I was going to take a nap. That would make me feel better.

Hopefully.

There was a quiet knock at the door, and I grumbled, “Come in,” without a second thought. It had woken me up from my brief nap, or at least it seemed brief to me.

The door swung ajar, and in came Sang carrying a plate of food. He grinned when our eyes met, and I looked the other way so he wouldn’t see the heat creeping onto my cheeks.

“Lily, you’ve been sleeping all day. I thought I’d bring you something to eat.”

“All day?” I murmured and glanced at the clock on the wall next to my bed and almost fainted. It was eight at night! So much for a brief nap.

The plate was filled with cream puffs, sponge cakes, whipped cream, and blueberries. Sang handed me a fork from his pocket and plucked a blueberry off the plate and ate it. Cherries, strawberries, and blueberries were my favorite fruits. But of course, Darius knew that, as he knew everything about me.

“Did Darius give you that?” I asked as I munched on some cake. Damn that Darius, and goddamn my enormous sweet tooth!

Sang swallowed another blueberry. “Yeah, but I brought up that I wanted to see you, and he suggested I bring some food.”

“You mean some sugary treats,” I mumbled.

I sat up, and Sang took a seat next to me; the only thing between us was the plate filled with goodies. I swallowed another piece of sponge cake and watched as Sang devoured the blueberries.

“You like blueberries?” I asked.

He nodded vigorously. “Uh-huh. I love them! Your eyes remind me of them.”

I laughed. “Gee, thanks. My eyes are like blueberries. Wow.”

There was a short silence between us before Sang moved the plate away and onto my bed stand, and then inched closer to me.

“Lily,” he began bashfully. “Um, well, I’ve never felt this way before. I mean, I’ve never felt this way about a girl before.”

I asked, “What do you mean? Feel what way?”

He came closer and closer until his face was just barely a hairbreadth away from mine. “This,” he said, and our lips connected in a smooth contact. I pushed against him and entered his mouth, explored it, swiped my tongue over his fangs, and he moaned, and then did the same; he pressed harder, eagerly.

It was so pleasurable, so nice, and I leaned into him, just the two of us in that moment of time. Nothing between us, nothing to stop us. It was so right and so amazing.

And it was so wonderful to finally get these feelings off my chest.

When our lips parted it was like two worlds had been crushed, and I could feel myself blushing everywhere as he did the same.

“Lily,” he uttered, deep crimson eyes gazing into mine. “I think I love you.”

I took his hand and kissed it. “Sang, I love you, too.”

What in hell have I gotten myself into? I’d not only kissed one guy, but now two! And I’d admitted my love to Darius already—but Sang…yes, deep down I loved Sang too. I loved both of them. Equally. Then why did I have such a nagging pressure inside my head?

Uh-oh, Lily.
What exactly have you done?

The next day I was preparing to go home and feed Mr. G when I noticed Caen standing in the doorway with his sword at his side. I stopped slipping my black boot on and said awkwardly, “Come in.”

He stepped into my room, heavy boots thudding, his face an expression of wonder. His long blond hair was tied in a ponytail, but it still managed to reach his midback. He was dressed in regular clothes for once, and I figured he’d borrowed from Sang, because I recognized the black band T-shirt and jeans. He stopped a few feet from the bed where I was sitting and glanced quickly at the clock.

“Lily,” he said almost shyly. “I wanted to talk to you about Sang. I see the way he looks at you and the way his smile is genuine when with you.”

I put my boot on all the way and tapped it on the floor. “Okay, say whatever you want.”

“I only wish for him to be happy, and to do that, he has to completely forget about Annabelle. So I want you to never mention her around him, all right? Darius was successful at erasing most of his past memories of her and his own past, but his resentment still lingers in his heart. I know that you can vanquish that resentment and free him of it for good. I just know.”

I stared into his lovely, mismatched eyes and said sincerely, “Okay. I promise. Actually, last night I think I got him to forget her completely.”
Don’t you dare blush, Lily!

Caen made the faintest of smiles. “Good. I am glad.”

He stood there then, glaring at the floor, when I noticed a dark purple aura floating over his own orange one. I didn’t say anything. I’d never seen two auras together before.

I took the opportunity to ask Caen about my goldfish since I’d forgotten to ask earlier. I knew I had successfully turned Mr. G into a ghoul, but would it last? Would he be okay? Couldn’t hurt to ask. “Hey, Caen, um, if you give a dead thing your blood, what will it become?”

He shifted his weight and replied, “A ghoul. If a vampire gives an already deceased organism their blood, it becomes a ghoul. Ghouls are very easy to take care of. The Court has a few. They can survive for weeks without food, and when they do eat, they can only consume uncooked flesh. Why do you ask?”

“Um, well, I kinda turned my goldfish into a ghoul.” My voice squeaked.

He laughed. “Your goldfish? Wow, that’s…different. I see now why Sang has taken such a liking to you.”

“Thanks for the explanation,” I said.

“Thank you for the promise,” he replied. He turned to leave the room when I saw the purple aura above him descend rapidly onto his. The orange light that circled around him like a corona faded into a dark blue.

I called his name worriedly. “Caen?”

He turned around so fast that I didn’t know what happened until I was slammed against the wall, the breath knocked out of me.

Caen chuckled, and then I knew it wasn’t him anymore. He grabbed my right arm and pulled me to my feet.

“So we meet again, Lily,” Del said with an air of angered mockery. No. His true name wasn’t Del. The feelings came over me like a cascade. The name
Vex
came into my mind. And he was here in Caen’s body.

“Vex,” I said.

“How could you see my true name?” he asked while kicking me in the stomach. I kicked him with both legs, and he stumbled but didn’t fall.

This was bad. I was on the floor and he was still standing. “That’s right, Vex, I know your real name. Does it frighten you?” I said, gathering my confidence.

“A power very befitting of you, Lily. Unfortunately, I’m running a bit late today, so would you please be kind and give in to me?”

“I don’t know what you mean by that, and the answer is obviously no. Now get out of Caen’s body, you prick!” I kicked him between the legs, but he didn’t falter at all.

“What? I hurt you where it counts.”

He grinned and said, “I haven’t taken over Caen completely this time.” In that moment he grasped both my arms and pinned me to the floor, and then stomped on my back with a knee.

“I’m asking you to die, for your own sake and mine,” he hissed, and wrapped Caen’s icy fingers around my neck. Behind Caen’s blue and red eyes I could see the dark, dark brown of Vex, swirling with anger and hatred. I started to choke and slashed at him with my nails, but it didn’t work.

“Why…” I asked weakly. My body tried to fight back against him but lost. I thrashed, but his hands were tight on my throat, and he wouldn’t let go even when I bit into them. I thought about what I’d done to Ty at the movie theater and seriously considered trying when it dawned on me I couldn’t do that at all because it would ultimately hurt Caen. Damn it! What could I do? How could I escape before he strangled me to death—permanent death?

“Lily!” I heard Sang shout, and he rammed into Caen’s back with such force that the other man let go of me and tumbled with Sang onto the floor.

“Sang!” I yelled hoarsely and broke into a fit of coughing.

“Oh, great, and it only would’ve taken a few more minutes, and she’d been dead,” Vex sighed, and then he and Sang exchanged a flurry of punches. Sang’s fist landed on his right cheek and sent him crashing into the wall.

“Sang, that was Caen!” I scolded.

“He’ll thank me later for it,” he said while wiping a smidgen of blood from the corner of his mouth.

Vex laughed and stood up on wobbly legs, face swollen and bleeding. “Well, I had so much fun with you two, but it seems I failed what I came for. I can’t possibly kill Lily now with the big bad Sang here, especially when Caen is crying out to leave you two alone. I do have a warning though. If you do seek to destroy NEXUS, you will be dealing with me. I’m the one who created it.” As the last words escaped his lips, Vex’s purple aura loosened its hold on Caen and then wafted away until there was nothing but air.

Caen collapsed onto the bed, and Sang and I rushed over to see if he was all right. I brushed my hand through his soft golden hair and knew that he would be okay. The sight of him sleeping peacefully proved that to me.

Sang turned to me, and his fingers gently touched around my neck. It must’ve been red, but that would soon vanish as my body healed itself with incredible speed. Caen was also beginning to heal, and I felt so relieved that we were all okay.

“How did you find out Vex…I mean, Del—well, his name is Vex—was here and in my room?” I asked Sang. “And how did you know he was in Caen’s body?”

“I just sensed that you were in danger, and then I heard you in my mind concerned about Caen.” Sang shrugged and embraced me. “I don’t know how or why, Lily, but since last night, I feel that we’ve formed a strong, unbreakable bond.”

I said in a scratchy voice, “Me too.”

We hugged some more and sat there, the two of us, on the bed beside Caen. I finally let go and squeezed Sang’s hand.

He smiled, and it was so bright I swear it could’ve blinded me. His skin may have been cold, but his heart was hotter than anyone else’s. He ran a hand through his black locks. “So, Lily, where are you going?”

“Home, my home, so I can feed Mr. G.”

He raised a brow. “Mr. G?”

“My pet goldfish who is now a ghoul. I have to feed him some hamburger meat and I’ll be done.”

“Can I come along?” He gave me puppy-dog eyes.

“Sure.” I hopped off the bed and grabbed my purse. “Let’s go.”

“Before we do, I have to tell Darius about what happened.”

I exhaled sharply in annoyance. “Okay, but be quick.”

When he was done, I drove us to my place.

He’d made fun of my car the whole drive, but my car wasn’t anything like his Alice or the other sports cars I’d heard he owned. Mine was just an old clunker I used to get from point A to point B, and that was that.

Sang was like a kid in a candy store when I let him in my apartment. He looked around at everything with wonder and mischievous eyes. I sat at the kitchen table the whole time drinking a cup of vanilla cappuccino as he rummaged through my home.

He observed me as I fed my goldfish raw hamburger and chuckled as it swam around the bowl to catch the food in its tiny mouth.

I took a seat at the kitchen table again and turned my head to see Sang scurry into my bedroom before I could stop him. Seconds later, I heard a loud exclamation of, “Wow, Lily! I didn’t know you loved unicorns so much! It’s a gold mine of them in here! Oh, neat, look at all your stuffed unicorns! There’s a pile in this corner! I’m gonna flop on it!”

I shut my eyes as I heard him fall onto my heap of unicorn plushies and linked my fingers together so I wouldn’t punch the table in embarrassment. Oh, great, I’d never hear the end of this. He wasn’t supposed to go in my room. I was gonna have him sleep on the couch and never see the lights of my bedroom, but I guess my original plan was ruined now. Sigh.

He came out of my room, and a huge smile graced his lips. I noticed he was carrying something in his left hand, and then focused to see the unicorn I always kept on my bed. Her name was Lacy.

“I bet this one is extra special to you, right?” he jeered, holding Lacy up. She was all pink with a white mane and tail and a rainbow horn. I became frustrated and tried to grab her, but he was too quick.

“Yeah, she is. Her name is Lacy,” I grumbled, still swatting at Sang’s hand, trying to steal her back from him.

He was way too fast and laughed at my futile attempts to get my stuffed unicorn back. “You’re so cute with your unicorns,” he said teasingly. “Here you go, one Lacy and all in one piece.” He set my unicorn gingerly on the table and gave me such an innocent look that I forgave him instantly for all of the last minute’s trouble.