Sweet Cravings (4 page)

I turned my head and watched him with hazy vision. I couldn’t see over his hips, but I heard him pour a liquid again and light another candle. He walked to me, rested beside me again, and sat me up gently, slowly, and I clung to his heat, his presence. It radiated like the sun in a black ice tomb.

Steam hit my face and recognized he was offering me tea. He tilted the small cup, and I drank. My face flushed hot. The warmness trickled down my throat, and it felt so good. I did it again, and my whole body was tingly and rushed with heat.

He cradled my head in his hands and stroked my bangs caringly, and then touched my forehead with his. Did his hair get longer? I’d never touched his hair, but it felt wavy and luscious and…long. He breathed onto my cheek, and I became so snug, as if this moment were bound to happen.

“S-S-Sang?” I asked weakly.

He touched the tip of his index finger to my lips. “Sshhh,” he said. “It’s almost time.”

Almost time? Almost time for what?

Just as the thought left my mind, my body pulsated with an extreme heat, a fiery engulfment. I hugged him and dug my nails into him and screamed as I was overwhelmed with an aching, throbbing pain—an immense pressure pressing down on me.

My eyes were still blurry, and I asked, “Sang? Sang, what’s happening?”

He shook his head and my vision came into focus, my hearing cleared, but the pain swelled inside me. I noticed then that it wasn’t Sang this whole time with me—it was Darius.

Fear engulfed me like a heavy shroud, and an immeasurable anger started to boil inside my heart.

Him? Why is he taking care of me? He’s the whole reason I’m “sick.”

I moaned, and he held me tighter, his soft spill of wavy chocolate hair pressing against me, tickling my neck. I wanted to shove him away and let my rage overtake him, but somehow, the more these thoughts occurred, the more I felt at peace and relaxed, but then the pain abruptly came back and rushed throughout me in a wave.

Darius sat up and started slipping off his lavender tie, dress jacket, and long-sleeved shirt. As he unbuttoned his shirt, I was amazed at how he could be so muscled, yet also be so elegant and hold just a hint of femininity. I remembered his skin being a pale ivory, but today it was nice and tanned. His full and beautiful hair cascaded beyond his hips and lie on the bed around him.

“How are you warm and tanned now?” I asked.

He replied casually, “I drank the blood of a human not long ago.”

I was about to ask something else when another round of pain surged through me, and I screamed. In one quick motion, Darius had one arm supporting my back and the other gingerly hovering above my lips.

“Lily.” He sounded serious. “I am your master, and you are my servant. Do you understand?”

I cast my eyes down and whispered, “No, and I’m
not
your servant.”

He chuckled. “You have only been awake for a day, my dear. I’m assuming that my Sang and Lune didn’t mention some parts to you.”

I wanted so badly to kick and bite him, but I was so wrought with pain I could barely move.

Darius said in his sweet melodious voice, “My dear, I shall explain everything at a later time. At this moment, it’s very important you drink from your sire.”

“Sire?” I snickered. “What are you, a horse?”

“Lily.” His face was stern. “If you do not drink now, you will die.”

“No! I’m not drinking from you of all peop—vampires!”

He used his free hand and pressed my face against the expanse of his neck.

“I’d rather drink Sang’s blood than yours,” I hissed.

“Drink. Now,” he commanded. I forgot that I was subject to his will, and my eyes began to burn. Everything washed red. My canines extended into fangs, and I bit into him as if he were a ripe peach and sucked at his blood. He didn’t cringe or budge an inch when I punctured his neck. He sat perfectly still, as if he were a doll, as I drew more and more of his divine nectar. Warmness spread within me, and power flooded my being.

I savored the thick coppery fluid. Darius moaned in what I could only imagine as pleasure.

“Yes, my dear, it is pleasurable to be bitten on our line.”

“Did you just speak in my head?”

“Yes. Now, a vampire’s bite can either be painful, pleasurable, mimic the effects of a narcotic, or orgasmic. Each vampire can only acquire one of these four. Our line has them all, and we can interchange as we please. Yours, right now is very, very pleasurable, I’d even go so far to say orgasmic.”

“You just spoke to me in my mind
.”

“All vampires can reach this capability. The older we become, the more able we are to do such things.”

“Oh.”

I blushed and the room spun all around me. Darius gently took me from his neck and settled my head on a mound of pillows. “You drank well.” He spoke aloud. “I had to actually
try
to not orgasm when you bit me, it was so magnificent.”

I was embarrassed and disgusted I had drunk this awful perso—vampire’s blood. But it was the sweetest, most decadent I’d had, and it beat Sang’s by a long shot.

As the pain drained away, I checked to see if I still wore the same clothes I’d left in.

No.

I was dressed in a white silk nightgown bordered with lacy designs that fit me all right.

“You,” I began, “you undressed and then dressed me like some toy?”

Darius weaved a hand in mine and touched his chest, which was gradually becoming colder and colder. “You can pick my wear tomorrow, my cute flower.” He winked.

I skimmed my hand down and fingered his naked stomach and abs. They were hard and cool but were still like a human’s. Oh, how I wanted to devour him right then and there.

Devour him? What the hell was I thinking?

He stifled a laugh and flung less blankets on me, his hand gliding from mine to my chin. “You have such a stunning face,” he uttered. “Tomorrow we will be going out to a party, so I will prepare some clothing for you.”

I took the chance and asked, “Why am I here? Why me? Darius, who are you?”

His amber eyes softened, and he replied curtly, “I shall tell you soon enough.” He made no sound or messing of the sheets when he got out of the bed and opened the door. The candles stopped burning when he glanced their way. He said to me before shutting the door and leaving, “May you have beautiful dreams, my flower. Sleep well, my love.”

I lay, puzzled.
My love? More like, my doll.

I was high on top of a skyscraper. When I reached my arm out, I could almost grab the sun from the sky. I glanced below at the corner and saw an infinite darkness, swirling and flowing like a flood of pitch-black lava. Above me, floating in irregular, shapeless containers were clouds of actual red water. I rubbed my eyes, opened them wider, and turned around in awe at the bizarre surroundings. Pink, swirly chocolate beads the size of elephants were strewn everywhere and small furry animals bounced in the sky and on the powder-blue skyscraper

I was happy and joyous in this place and chased the adorable animals around. I was still in my white nightgown, but I felt wonderful. There were squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, cats, dogs, butterflies, micro pigs, Silkie chickens, guinea hens, deer, and ponies. The grass was a light emerald green encompassed by various colorful flowers and fungi. It was like being in one of my fantastical children’s books I handwrote when I was seven.

“Do not give in,” said a deep, mesmerizing voice.

Then, an obsidian cloud obscured the sky, and I was the only one left standing beneath it as all the animals had hidden themselves. My teeth clattered as a cold breeze flowed in. Long tendrils of smoky hands reached down and wrapped around me, lifted me into the air.

The voice screamed, “Don’t let it take you!”

I kicked and swore, but the hands multiplied and smothered my mouth, ears, and eyes. I thrashed and wriggled, but the hands’ grips tightened, and I was thrown into a tunnel of roaring fire that coiled around me and encased my entire body.

I was startled when I woke up and flung the covers off me. I was okay. Nothing was wrong. Just a dream. A very, very awkward dream.

Dammit, I have the weirdest dreams, I swear.

The soft, but dreamy and melodious sound of a piano wafted into my room, and I was especially intrigued. I wondered who was playing and which song they were using. I had a feeling I hadn’t met all the people who lived here—wherever this was.

I swung to the side of the bed, and my feet touched the hardwood floor. It was cool, but I stroked my own skin, and I was like ice. Sitting next to the nightstand was a pair of fuzzy pink slippers. I tried them on, and they fit well.

Did he go and buy these for me? Where was Sang?

I followed the sound of the piano and was eventually led to a wide arched door. I was about to knock when the door swayed ajar for me. I stepped inside a spacious room where each wall was decorated with a portrait of someone, or a canvas with a piece of art. The floor was cherrywood, but most of the antique furniture—the couch, the chairs, the tables, the stands, and lamps—were all precious mahogany. The door shut by itself, and I walked inside. As thin as my nightgown was, I did not feel as chilly as I thought I should’ve.

The piano hit the climax of the song, powerful and extremely emotional, tuned down and continued some more, and then slowly stopped. I recognized the hair of the man sitting at the instrument.

“Darius,” I muttered, and he strode toward me. “You woke me up with your piano.”

He lifted a hand to stroke my hair, and I slapped him away. “No, my dear,” he said. “I didn’t wake you. It was your horrible dream.”

I tried to recall. “Horrible dream?”
Wait…yes! I did have a nightmare last night.

“I did, but…but how did you know?”

He chuckled when he saw my pink slippers. “They fit you well.”

“Thank you, now answer the stupid question.”

“My dear, I have the ability as a dream-walker. I can enter and leave a dream however I wish, and because you are of my bloodline, it’s so much simpler to enter your subconscious mind.”

“You fucking hacked my mind?”

“In a sense, yes.”

I was disgusted and was about to turn and leave when Darius grabbed my arm and purred in a low voice, “My dear, it is almost time to eat. Come to my quarters with me.”

I snorted. “Oh, I forgot to ask, but where the hell are we?”

“Sang did not mention? He took you to my home closest to you and did not tell you?”

“Well, I was kinda sick and passed out.”

“True.” He chuckled.

His house was a mansion. It had interconnected corridors, and I counted more than thirty-five rooms. His “quarters” were at the end of one of the halls, and the door was adorned with a silver dragon and unicorn. The door was ajar when we arrived, and he ushered me inside, his silky waves of hair brushing against my bare arms.

His room was stunning. The bed was a king with a canopy and large enough to fit six people. A midnight-blue satin blanket was draped across the bed with a matching heap of pillows. The wooden poles holding the crimson canopy were intricately crafted into leaves, flowers, horses, and wolves. The floor was a deep blue carpet, and the walls were black and painted with white and red roses. He had an old wine cabinet in one corner of the room, three gorgeous antique dressers, a closet, three round lamps, and a metal chest at the foot of the bed. The walls also had about six or eight paintings of flowers and horses, and there was a grandmaster clock nestled in a corner by the long closet.

Darius shut the door and came beside me. “You need breakfast,” he said, and then teased, “The most important meal of the day, may I add.”

I was so jealous of everything he had. I finally got the guts to ask, “What do you have to eat? Where’s your
dining hall
?”

“My flower, my dear, dear flower,
this
morning you must drink. We will not be attending the dining hall. You are still a fairly new vampire and are not quite stable yet.”

“I think I know that. I almost bit a woman at the mall the other day.”

“Sang failed to mention that, too.” He paused. “Back to you, my dear. Do you like the nightgown?”

I couldn’t help but let the little girl in me twirl once and let the full skirt fan out. I fingered the silk material and replied, “Yeah.”

“Good. I’m happy it suits your tastes.” He was still in his robe from last night, and I saw that he had purple silk pajama pants on. I laughed as I imagined him going to the store and heading toward the women’s section.

“These are custom-made,” he said.

Darius being able to read my thoughts was going to drive me insane, I just knew it.

He sat on his bed, took off his robe, folded it, and placed it on a pillow. He seemed tired and leaned his head against a post.

“Come here, my dear.”

I really didn’t want to go near him again. I still despised him for that night, for separating me from my friend and stealing my humanity. Wait, friend? What about Dana?

“She is fine.” He closed his golden amber eyes. “I am able to glamour others, so I told her that you felt sick and went home and was planning a vacation for a few weeks.”

“You’re good,” I told him as my feet moved on their own, and I sat next to him. I was like a puppy learning to obey its master.

“Drink,” he said. “From my shoulder.”

“I-I can’t. I’m not going to drink blood like some animal.”

“We’re all animals, my dear.” His left hand pushed my back so I was staring straight down at his exposed shoulder. It was milky in color, and my mouth watered as I remembered how his blood had tasted so exquisite last night, so delicious.

“Drink,” he ordered. My teeth sharpened into fangs, and I grabbed his other side with one arm and held his left arm still as I sank into his flesh like a serpent, and then drew his blood as if I were a starving stray cat. He moaned and threw his head back, thick waves of chocolate hair bouncing. He shuddered and lashed at the wall, writhed and whimpered in pleasure. His eyes became such a dark, rich amber color they shone, radiated, and glistened beautifully. I sucked hard, and his eyes fluttered in delight. He had unusually long eyelashes, and he was so gorgeous it was as if an angel had sculpted him.