Sweet Cravings (3 page)

I gave him
the
irritated glare, which meant my lips frowned and my eyes squinted. “You’re going too fast.”

“Sorry.”

“I’m twenty-six.”

He grinned. “I totally guessed right! Ha, Lune! I win!”

Lune scowled. “I’ll give you your twenty dollars later,” she muttered.

“Wait a minute! Lune, how old did you wager I was?”

She froze as if she were a dog caught going on the carpet. “I thought you were…” She swallowed hard and moved her gaze upon the floor. “Fifteen.”

Wasn’t that a compliment? It did sting, though, to be thought of as a kid. I mentally penciled a fake smile on my lips.
“Oh, it’s not that bad. It’s okay.” Yeah, right. Fifteen? What made her think that?

“So, Sang,” I said, “how old are you?”

He was slow to reply. “I’m…uh…thr-three…” He counted on his fingers. “Three-hundred and fifty-two!” He sounded so triumphant, like a kid when he completes his first coloring page.

I sighed. “So, Sang, did Darius turn you too, or what’s your relation to the lunatic?”

His smile became faint. “I wasn’t turned by Darius. I was turned by a sadistic witch named Annabelle. I swore my undead life to Darius after he helped me survive death. I also swore that I would put her to rest. For good.”

I nodded. “Sorry I brought up the subject.”

“No, it’s okay,” he said hurriedly. “I’d almost forgotten her twisted face. Oh how I want to—”

Lune interjected, “The same with me, except Sang saved me from dying.”

Sang smirked. “Lune, please do the laundry.”

“All right, but you two better go shopping for clothes for Lily soon.”

“Five mins and we’ll go.” He crossed his arms behind his head and turned my way.

“What?” I queried sharply.

“I can’t stop admiring you. Now I see why Darius chose you.”

“Okay, who is Darius? I know that he’s a pretty boy, and a crazy guy, but what’s so special about him?”

His eyes were unblinking, as if he were in a daze. As if on cue, he shook his head and sucked on his lower lip. “Oh, Darius. I call him Dari. Lily, you do know that you have no pulse now, and you’re really cold and blood makes you warm, and if you don’t drink it every day you’ll die?”

I rubbed my throat, felt the two small holes on the side; they throbbed as I stroked my fingers around them. “No, but thanks for telling me.”
Drink blood every day? How is that possible? Jump a pedestrian on their way to work after they’ve visited their morning joe café?

“Oh, and vampires can drink the blood of other vampires. And yours smells unbelievably, undeniably sweet as sugar on a homemade apple cake.”

“Wow, thanks for the compliment. I have tasty blood, yay.” My voice was completely monotone.

He jerked. “Oh, Dari! You wanna know about him. Well, he’s very rich. He owns a line of wineries and clothes companies. He loves his wine and champagne and alcohol. He also enjoys painting and reading and relaxing, and his house is huge!”

“But why did he choose
me
?”

“That I really don’t know. I mean, you’re good-looking and not too young and feisty. You know, Darius is over two thousand years old, and he’s never turned anyone. No one knows why, not even me.”

I shrugged. “How lovely.”

“Well, let’s go to the mall!” Sang stood up. “Oh, you might wanna get changed first. I have some clothes that Lune left for you.”

“Thank you.” As I started to stand, my knees buckled, and I collapsed. My chest erupted with pain, and my throat was like it was burning inside.

Sang rushed and knelt beside me. “Lily! Lily, what’s wrong?”

My head felt like it was going to burst. “I-I don’t know. It feels like I’m cocooned in heat and pain.” I put my palm to my mouth and muffled a scream.

Sang hugged me and tilted his head. “Bite my neck,” he ordered.

“What?”

He lifted me up and sprawled me across the couch, and then crawled on top of me. “Bite my neck. Now!”

I reached up and pulled him closer to me. I wiped a strand of smooth black hair away and my fangs released. I felt feverish, and so hot, and my eyes fixated on his porcelain throat. I bit into him rough and deep.

He moaned as if in ecstasy, and his eyes fluttered like he was experiencing some great pleasure. Sang’s hands pinned mine atop my head and fisted them tightly as I drank more and more. I couldn’t get enough. This luscious crimson blood was extremely delicious, so decadent. I wanted the coppery, thick sustenance to coat the walls of my mouth, my tongue, my teeth, and flow down my burning throat. It was cool and smooth, and I couldn’t stop myself.

Sang looked me in the eyes, and his face was flustered with desire, with pure elation. “Mmm, Lily, your eyes are glowing a wonderful red. I think it’s time to stop.”

I licked my lips and was ready to plunge into him again when he sat up and pulled my head onto his lap. It was like I was intoxicated; the room swirled and blurred, and an unknown surge of energy and bliss coursed throughout my body. Sang caressed my hair gingerly before slowly standing up.

“There, your eyes are back to blue. Now, you get ready in these clothes.” He snatched a long, pink sweater and leggings, and then set them on top of me. “Now I have to go change too. You got blood smears on my T-shirt.”

As I walked out of the apartment and into the midday air, I realized just how damn freezing I was. It was fall, and it was getting cold, but I was freezing my ass off. Lune had given me a baby pink sweater dress with a hood to wear with my heels I’d worn to the pub a few days before. My outfit also came with a rabbit fur, hot pink scarf and warm, thick fuchsia leggings.

Sang had put on a black T-shirt with a checkered hoodie, skinny black jeans, and matching high-top sneakers. He also wore sunglasses, even though the sun was hidden by thick autumn clouds and colorful foliage.

“Aren’t you cold?” I examined him. He was slender, but a nice slender.

And a sweet ass.

“Huh? Oh, no, I’m fine. You’ll get used to being cold soon. Vampires are naturally cold because we don’t have a pulse. So, you’ll feel fine in shorts and a tank top in winter.”

“Oh.” I followed him like a puppy to the garage. “So, what kinda ride you got?”

He grinned from ear to ear. “It’s a secret.” Sang clicked the button on his keys to slide the garage door up, and we heard the sound of a vehicle beeping twice, and I saw the headlights flash. As I walked to the car, I couldn’t help but feel envy toward Sang. I had a fifteen-year-old silver Civic—which I sometimes had to pray to turn on—and
he
had a brand-new red Corvette Stingray.

“Well, I have four other cars, but they’re at Darius’ place.” He rested his arm on the sleek hood. It was sharp and molded in all the right places. “Oh, by the way, her name is Alice.” He hugged the front of the car and whispered as if he spoke to a baby. “Isn’t that right, my little Alice, poo-poo? Daddy’s here to take you out and treat you well.”

I’m not that good with cars, but I imagined there had to be
something
special about this one.

“Okay, let’s go,” I announced loudly, getting annoyed as he coddled the damn car. I opened the door and sat on the ebony seat. The whole interior was real leather, and you could smell it. The stereo system was like a tower in the middle and it had a cappuccino machine! What did this guy
do
for a living?

I had to know. “Hey, um, what’s your job, if you have a job?”

I could see his crimson eyes flash in the corner of his shades. “I’m a writer. I also get money from Darius too.”

“Oh.”
Spoiled!
I toyed with a strand of hair. In the bright light, it was like honey, and it had a nice sheen I hadn’t noticed before.

“Where do you live, Lily?” He sounded concerned.

“I share a leased house with my one friend, Tonia. Do you live with Lune, by the way?”

He paused. “Yeah, mostly because I’m her sire.”

“Can I ask you about how that happened some other time?”

“Sure.”

“So…” I fingered the cherrywood dashboard. “Why’d you ask me where I live? I don’t want any of you
vampires
to know.”

“Lily.” He chuckled, patting me on the back. “You make it sound like you’re
human
. And I’ll tell you later about the home situation.”

Realization hit me hard, like a baseball bat to the head. He was right. How could I be so stupid? I wasn’t
human
anymore. I wasn’t me anymore. I was something else. Someone else.

I was a
vampire
.

Dammit, how could this happen? It was
his
fault. Yes, all
his
fault.

And
he
would pay, the snarky bastard.

I pulled my hood over my eyes, tied the pom-pom strings tight, and sulked silently.

Sang started, “Hey, Lily, I just wanna tell you some things.”

“About what?”

“About being a vampire.”

“Okay.”

“So, we’re not those weak things that the TV and books might portray us to be. We’re not gonna burn in the sunlight, as you already found out, and I happen to love garlic, so that does nothing. Crosses don’t do anything. Um…holy water does shit. We also have superhuman strength and can see in the dark. Oh! And we each have our own distinct aura. Mine is red, and Darius’ is brown and black, and Lune’s is purple. It’s like our life energy. I can’t see yours yet because you’re really new to being a vampire, but one of these days your aura will awaken and you’ll be able to see it.”

I muttered, “Thanks.” Auras? How peculiar.

“We’re here!” Sang proclaimed. “The mall.”

I groaned in response.

* * * *

I hated—I mean, really hated—enclosed spaces. The shops in the mall were horrendously small, and those god-awful fluorescent lights made it all seem like a cube closing in on me.

I turned to Sang, who was carrying all the bags, as we strode through the middle of the mall and asked what I’d been wondering all day, “Hey, Sang, why don’t you—we—burn up in the sun?”

He put his hand to his chin and peered at me through dark, tinted sunglasses. “Um…well, we just don’t? I have a pretty fair complexion, though. Darius does, too. I don’t know. Some vamps have really, really pale skin, and others are black as night. Comes with the line, really.”

“The bloodline?”

“Yeah.”

“Sang,” I continued. “Where’s my purse and wallet? Who’s paying for this?”

He stammered, “U-um, well, u-um, I think Darius has it all, and he’s paying for this.”

I burst out, “I don’t even know the guy!”

“Well, he knows you…somehow.” He buried his face behind a white paper bag.

I muttered, irritated, “I kinda knew that already, but I don’t know how!”

“I don’t know either,” he replied shyly.

“Stop hiding behind the bags, sheesh!” I slapped him on the back and grabbed three of the bags from his hands.

Sang’s expression softened. “Thank you.”

I ran a hand through my hair and rubbed my forehead. I was beginning to get extremely chilly for some reason. My teeth started clattering, and I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Lily! Is something wrong?” he asked, all innocent looking.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” I lied through gritted teeth.

“Okay then, let’s get outta here.”

In the sunlight, cascading from the windowed roof of the mall, Sang’s dark hair had a tint of red in it. It was so gorgeous. I wondered if mine was shining on top like his. Ice gripped me tightly, and I sneezed really loud.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked again.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I hefted the bags over my shoulders and proceeded to march out of the mall.

“Hey! Wait for me!” the male vampire protested.

Just as I passed through the glass doors and reached outside, I felt as if I were frozen in a block of ice, cold, so cold. Before I knew it, I fell to my side and lay asleep on the concrete steps like some drunken idiot.

I jerked awake, and my very bones were frozen. My vision was hazy and misted over, blurry, as if I had tears in my eyes with static at the same time. As a woman swept past me I gripped her ankle and jutted my fangs out. She shrieked and shook me off, bloody scratch marks left on her fragile skin. I groaned and shivered uncontrollably, and I felt my body become stiff and numb.

I heard Sang’s voice calling, “Lily! Lily! Dammit, come here. I didn’t know this would happen so soon. Let’s get you out of here. This is no place for you at this moment. I bet everyone looks like a snack, don’t they?” He laughed halfheartedly, and I almost formed my lips into a smile.

He scooped me up bridal-style and sat me in the Corvette, and then threw the bags in the back. I trembled from the chill that coursed through me. My skin felt like it was frosted over. I screamed and kicked and writhed to create some kind of heat, but it was no use. I was cold, so, so incredibly cold, and even though Sang yanked his hoodie onto me, I was still chilled everywhere. Inside my body was like a snowy torrent.

I blinked my eyes but couldn’t keep them open. They were heavy and too much trouble to keep open. Sang sped from the mall, and I fell asleep again, huddled in a ball.

* * * *

I was freezing, yet my body was smothered in sweat. I was the kind of sick when you just want to lie in bed under a mountain of covers and stay there until you feel normal again. I quivered and stared at the ceiling. I was on my back in the softest bed I’d ever been in, with warm, fuzzy blankets tucked around my sides. The coldness tightened its grasp, and I screamed. I was numb all over, and I couldn’t move. It was like I had terrible frostbite.

It was then I noticed the shadows of the candle flames wavering on the wall. I peered through the arched window and saw it was night outside.

Where am I?

I managed to choke, “S-Sang…” He came and sat beside me on the bed, the sudden weight making my arms slide a bit.

“C-cold,” I uttered hoarsely, teeth chattering. He silently hugged me as if I would die if he let go.

I fought to keep my eyes open, and he stood, stepped away, and piled more blankets on top of me. I heard a sipping sound and saw his legs as he walked back to me and paused. “It’ll be all right,” he whispered while brushing my hair from my eyes. His voice was distorted and low, and his hand looked like a chaotic jumble of motion. I closed my eyes under his touch—which was surprisingly warm compared to myself—and nuzzled my chin into his palm.