UnGuarded (38 page)

31

I WRAPPED MY BODY IN SHADOWS, then fell in
step behind the vampire in the alley. His boots thudded against the
asphalt with each heavy, swift step. His body was covered by a
full-length black trench coat, its hood shielding his head. His
hands were buried inside the pockets, and there was a hunch to his
back suggesting that he was cold. But I knew better. Vampires
didn’t get cold like humans did. And this vampire was acting like a
human—to blend in better, and, more than likely, to score his next
meal. But I wasn’t here to stop him from doing that. I was only
following him to see if he could sense me. Yes, I’m a glutton for
punishment, I know.

Cole rounded the corner and I picked up my
pace, staying hot on his tail. I got as close as I dared, afraid to
fully leave the safety of the shadows. Sadly, my old boyfriend
never seemed to notice my presence. But I just wasn’t ready to give
up on him yet.

There was movement not too far ahead of us;
a quick glance showed it was a couple of people, and as we neared
them, their foul, musky scents told me they were either homeless,
drug addicts, or both. Cole’s steps quickened, and then in a blur
he was standing right behind them. Both were turned away, their
backs facing my former boyfriend. “Hello, gentlemen.” Cole’s voice
floated in the air like a song, and it made my heart skip a
beat.

Slowly, the man in a torn gray blazer turned
around. The way the light from the full moon shone on his face
revealed a lot of wrinkles, and his half smile exposed missing
teeth. His graying dark hair was a mess, some of it sticking to his
forehead. “Hey buddy, where the heck did you just come from?” he
asked with a surprised tone.

The other person didn’t turn around, but did
turn his head enough to show it was a man. He was a lot younger,
with a smoother face and lighter, short hair. He wore a burgundy
sweatshirt with some kind of collared shirt underneath that didn’t
really match. He considered Cole for a moment, then turned away,
seemingly disinterested.

“I need a favor from you,” Cole explained to
the older man still gazing at him.

“Look around, buddy. There ain’t much I can
do for ya.”

“Please,” Cole begged. “I will pay you for
your trouble.”

The older man’s eyes widened, and that got
the attention of the other guy too. “Well, what’s the favor?”—asked
with anticipation. And it made me reconsider this guy being on
drugs. His responses were too alert and his voice wasn’t
dragging.

“I need you to put this through my heart.”
From the pocket of his trench coat, Cole pulled out a dagger the
size of his wrist to his elbow.

My breath caught in stunned surprise, and my
heart started hammering. Why would Cole want a dagger jammed in his
heart? Just the thought alone brought tears to my eyes, but I
choked them back.

The older man let out a gasping whistle. “I
don’t know, man, I ain’t never killed anyone before.”

The younger guy grabbed his buddy’s arm.
“Wait just a second…how much money?”

“One thousand dollars. Cash.” Cole brought
his hand out from the other pocket, holding a wad of money.
Presumably the thousand dollars.

The two men considered it for a moment, a
hushed bickering passing between them. All the while, I was sinking
deeper in a sea of dread, desperately praying the guys would
politely decline and walk away. If only I could appear to Cole and
talk to him. Surely, then, everything would be okay. But if I did
that, I’d be risking his life in a whole other way, and he’d
eventually find the same fate. I brushed the few tears that had
managed to escape my eyelids, feeling a sharp tightness in my
stomach—twisting, turning, and stabbing. Yet regardless of my
silent pleas, no solutions presented themselves. Then, at last, the
older man stepped forward. “Sorry, buddy. As much as we need the
cash, we’re just not willing to murder you for it.”

A deep sigh rushed off my lips. Thank God
Cole picked
these
guys. Most other people roaming the alleys
would’ve done his favor without thinking twice. But my relief was
short-lived when I realized that both men were locked in a
vampire’s trance. Cole had rolled their minds in a matter of
seconds, and he was most likely instructing them to move forward
with his demands.
Crap, crap, crap! What should I do? What can I
do?
Tears rained down the sides of my face as the older man
took the dagger from Cole.
I can stop this. I can stop this
right now. This is madness. I can’t watch Cole die the true
death.
Vampires are extremely hard to kill. You can’t do it by
stabbing them through the heart alone. You have to twist the blade
while it’s inside the heart, rupturing it, and then the process of
death will begin. That’s why when I killed them, I pulled their
hearts straight out of their chests. No waiting that way. But what
my old lover was asking these humans to do would surely be a slow,
painful death. One he definitely did not deserve.

Cole opened his arms wide, exposing his
bare, sculpted chest. His perfect creamy skin glimmered in the
brilliant light of the moon. With a dazed look on his face and
glossed-over eyes, the younger guy moved back a few steps. That’s
when the older guy struck Cole with the dagger, shoving it deep
inside his heart. But before he could twist the blade, I thrust a
wave of my power straight at him. It blasted into the homeless men,
throwing them through the air several feet before they crashed into
a concrete wall. My lasered gaze was back on Cole, just in time to
see him stagger to the side, his hands gripped firmly around the
base of the blade. His body swayed a few times, then fell. In a
rush of wind, I was there, holding him up with the energy of my
diaphanous body. I opened all my senses to him, pushing my power
through him like invisible electrical waves. I couldn’t heal him,
but I was doing my best to comfort him. A gargled noise came out of
his mouth, deep from in his throat. Just hearing his pain cued more
tears out of my eyes. I closed them, squeezing them shut, willing
all my power to gently remove the blade from his heart so his body
would begin regenerating. Once the dagger was free of his chest, I
cast it to the side. It skidded across the asphalt, its clinking
making eerie echoes inside the alley. I waited impatiently, the
tension pressing against me like a boulder crashing on top of me.
The seconds dragged by, and there weren’t any signs that Cole was
recovering. Hesitantly, I opened myself further to him, advancing
dangerously close to the limit I was forbidden to show him. Yet, as
I did that, something horrible was revealed to me. Cole wasn’t
healing…he was dying.

Suddenly I materialized and summoned the
dagger, bringing it on invisible waves of energy to my awaiting
hand. I moved swiftly, without thinking, my mind just focused on
one thing: saving Cole. Nothing else mattered. I couldn’t bear to
watch him die. I sliced my wrist, vaguely noticing that I’d cut
right through the ankh. There were instant rivers of crimson
streaming from the wound as I urgently placed it over Cole’s mouth.
I wriggled his lips apart, pressing more firmly against his teeth.
Tears choked out; I could barely catch my breath as I begged Cole
to drink from me. But his body was limp, his lips unmoving. No
suction, no licking—nothing. Anguish gnawed inside me. What if it
was too late? What if vampires really did die quickly, unlike what
I’d thought before?

“Drink, damn it! Drink my blood!” I
screamed, my voice breaking with each word. “Cole, please!
Drink!”

When nothing happened, I screamed again,
this time wordless wailing that echoed throughout the night air. I
bellowed louder, crying out to God. When He didn’t respond, I
called for Darius, willing my power to summon him. But Darius
didn’t come, nor did God ever answer me. I was alone with my dying
former boyfriend, and there was nothing I could do.

It wasn’t long before I could feel my wound
stitching itself back together. I cried out again, raising my wrist
and slicing the blade through the existing cut. Fresh blood
instantly bubbled at the surface, and I pressed my wrist back
against Cole’s mouth in a panicked, shaky movement. My teeth ground
together as I grabbed his chin with my other hand, forcing his
mouth to open as I pressed my fingers deep into his skin and
tendons. Then, I clenched the fist of my wounded arm, tightening my
grip, then releasing it, creating a pulsating movement. In a steady
stream blood dripped inside Cole’s lips, like a trickling
waterfall, splashing on his fangs and teeth, then seeping into the
depths of his mouth. I let it flow for several thundering
heartbeats, then I turned my wrist over and the blood pooled at the
edge of the cut before I was able to move it over his heart, then
twist it back over so my blood would flow on his stab wound too.
Another several heartbeats passed, maybe more since I wasn’t paying
any attention to that, or anything else except helping Cole. My cut
was starting to heal again, even as I pulsed my tightened fist. In
blind desperation I raised it up to slice it again, but Cole
coughed, and I froze, blade suspended midair.

Another single cough, and then he started
hacking as if he were choking on the blood. My breath caught with
excitement and I lowered my hand to the ground, releasing the
dagger. Then I gently grazed my fingers across his forehead. “It’s
okay. You’re okay,” I reassured both him and myself. “Everything is
going to be just fine.”

The seconds ticked by and his coughing
finally eased up. His eyes fluttered, and then he slowly opened
them. A tender warmth vibrated through my insides, relaxing the
tension, as our eyes locked together for the first time since he
watched me attempt suicide. A mixture of emotions danced within his
twin sapphire orbs, swirling with doubt and disbelief. He pulled
away, his head bumping against the asphalt, then he swung an
anxious gaze at his surroundings. “No, it can’t be…” His words
broken in a whisper as he scooted away on his elbows and heels.

I sniffled, my eyes filling with tears. “I’m
sorry.” I shook my head, the reality of the situation sinking in.
“You were dying! I couldn’t just sit back and watch. I love you too
much for that. But now…” My shoulders slumped and I stared at the
ground. “Now you may end up with the same fate regardless. Cole”—I
raised my face and met his gaze levelly—“I have no words except I’m
sorry.” I paused a moment, then added, “And I love you.”

He furrowed his brows. “Selene?”—spoken with
doubt. “But you were cast to a demon. I watched you plunge the
knife through your chest.”

It was pointless to hold anything back now
since I knew I’d already gone too far by revealing myself. “I am
not fallen, Cole. I’ve been spared because of my sacrifice. This is
what I am now…something I’m not even sure what to call it. I’m a
defender of balance between good and evil.” I held out the wrist
with the tattoo, and noticed it was completely healed as if I’d
never sliced it. “This is what I am.”

His eyes widened in disbelief.

“And by revealing all of this to you,” I
went on in a rush, “I have brought death upon you.” My gaze
narrowed. “Though it seems you were already working on that.” Those
last words seething with anger.

Pink moisture glistened in Cole’s eyes. Then
he was on me, the weight of his body knocking me over and crushing
my back against the ground. His arms were stretched around my neck
like thick, muscular snakes, and when his lips locked onto mine, my
whole world began to spin. My body shuddered with delight as warm
waves flushed my face. Our kisses grew urgent, needy, hungry, and I
panted for air between each one. He moved inside my mouth, sucking
on the tip of my tongue then pushing deeper, slurping and sliding,
taking all of me inside him. His arms released just enough for his
hands to find my hair, pulling and tugging. My hands were on his
cheeks, my fingers digging into the soft, silky flesh, directing
his movements as we kissed. “I missed you so much,” he growled,
then his mouth was crushing mine all over again. His body pressed
harder against me as his right hand trailed down my side, coming to
a stop at my waist. Then he gently moved under the hemline of my
tank, his touch softly grazing along my skin until he reached the
button of my pants. With a flick of his wrist, the button released;
the zipper was down a split-second after that. My body tensed with
anticipation. I’d never been more ready to give myself fully to the
man I loved. And now that I was no longer an angel, I didn’t feel
those restrictions. So instead of stopping him—like I had all the
times before—I tore off his coat, seeing that though his chest was
smeared with blood the knife wound had completely healed, and got
busy unfastening his jeans. As if I wasn’t moving fast enough, Cole
intervened and ripped them off, tearing the rest of my clothes away
too. And for the first time, we lay together with the heat of my
flesh burning into the coolness of his. Our kisses were slow and
sensual, filled with more tenderness than I’d ever felt. He slowly
traced the lines of my body with the tips of his fingers, leaving
gooseflesh in the wake of his touch. I released a deep breath, and
locked my eyes on his. They swirled with mysterious hunger, burning
with the intensity of his need. I nodded with silent agreement and
closed my eyes, tilting my head to the side. A moan tore from my
throat as his fangs sunk into my neck, sending waves of pleasure
throughout my body. Then I lost all sense of reality as we made
love there in the alley, under the light of the full moon.