Blood Reaction A Vampire Novel (16 page)

“And so what did this detective want?” His voice was still low and controlled, but I could detect a bit of concern.

“He wanted to know who my ‘boyfriend’ was and where you were now, of course,” I explained. “I had to look at photos of poor Ms. McElhaney and see your handiwork. I even had to lie and tell him that you’re not a murderer.” Staring up into his face when I was done, his face was like a beautiful mask, cold, hard, and emotionless.

“I thought you were more careful. I thought you tried to avoid the police. Of course, they’re not looking for a vampire, but they will be looking for someone who fits your description.  I have no doubt that the detective will probably stake out my house, making this all the more difficult,” I added, sweeping my hands up to take in us and the house. Still not having learned to keep my mouth shut, I had probably said too much as the anger returned to his face.

“I am usually very careful. Maybe consorting with humans is a bad idea after all. You seem to bring out the recklessness in me,” he growled back at me.

Sitting up now, he moved to lean back against the headrest leaving me lying beside him in the bed. The embers of lust were dying away, and so rolling over, I moved to join him stretching my legs out in front of me.

“It’s not consorting with humans that’s the bad idea. It’s the killing them that’s the problem. Your logic is flawed,” I noted into the darkness of the room, since I had not bothered to turn the lights on again.

“My logic tells me to kill this detective after obtaining the name of the passerby who called in this report and then kill them too.” His voice became even harder as he said the words.

Throwing my hands up in exasperation, I retorted back, “NO, NO, NO! Killing them will solve nothing. That’s insane. The reports have already been filed so killing the detective will only raise more suspicion. Logically, you should just lay low or move on.” I was practically shouting, but his logic was flawed so I reiterated again, “Killing more people is not the answer.”

I stared at him incredulously as it was hard to imagine anyone, even him, couldn’t see the absolute craziness of his plan. He had clearly lost all of his former human perspective.

“Why did you try to protect me? Why not tell the detective that I would be back tonight and let them try to catch me? Or did you not want them to catch me?” His voice was huskier again and I knew his mind was leading in another direction again. He had lost all interest in the detective and whatever potential threat he considered him.

After having my life threatened for several days, I guess I was losing my fear and out of that numbness, I was forgetting my condition. Laughing out loud at the absurdity of his question, I answered back, “Don’t flatter yourself. We had an agreement and I protected you only to protect my daughter.”

“Your precious daughter. How could I forget?” His voice was cold, but his eyes were hot. His pupils dilated even wider than I had thought possible and he lowered his lips to mine again, nicking my bottom lip with his fangs. Feeling the blood bead lightly on my lip as he pulled away momentarily, I watched as he lowered his head and kissed me slowly, pulling my lip into his mouth and sucking lightly.

I wondered to myself if it tasted different, as he lifted his head from mine. I could see my blood as it stood out against his bright lips. The color was good, I noticed.

Rolling over onto my back, I welcomed him to me, pulling his mouth to me. Sucking in my breath as I felt his fangs glide through the skin of my neck, I marveled at the fact there was no pain whatsoever. Instead, it felt as if the pain receptors in my skin had been replaced by those for pleasure, or perhaps simply my pain tolerance was increasing.

Feeling him drink deeply, I responded by arching my hips up and grinding them into him. Within seconds, my clothes were off along with his before he stretched himself out beside me again and kissed me one more time before reaching down to pull my legs up to where they were bent. With him stroking my thigh, I couldn’t help but let them fall apart.

One strong hand began tracing small patterns around my inner thighs. Nearly dying from anticipation, I gasped when he inserted two fingers into me while continuing to stroke me with his thumb. My changing skin was so much more sensitive and I came quickly with his touch, but he didn’t stop. He continued until I had come several more times. I was like jello in his hands and I didn’t resist when he lowered his head between my thighs.

Biting through my femoral vein while he continued to stroke me, I could feel my mind beginning to grow hazy as his chemicals moved through my bloodstream, slower than before because of my lower heartbeat, but still effective.

Moving his head lower, I caught my breath as his fangs grazed my most sensitive area. I had to remind myself to breathe as his tongue replaced the stroking his fingers had begun. Coming again and again, I remained awake through it all. Giddy and hazy, but awake.

I lost track of how many times I had come, but he finally stopped and came to lie beside me again. I’m not sure why he was so eager to satisfy me, but whatever the reason, I wasn’t going to complain. If I did die, I would die sexually satisfied at last. But the question remained, why was he doing this to me?

His voice broke into my reverie. “I wonder about you, Annalice, if you and I…” Stopping in mid-sentence, his expression became softer and somewhat conflicted but soon hardened. Smiling provocatively at me, he whispered, “Please me, Annalice.” 

With him still lying on his side next to me, I reached down and took him in my hands. Cool to the touch but swollen with desire, I was hesitant. It had been quite a while since I had done anything like this, but I knew exactly what I had to do and why, so I didn’t hesitate for long. Stroking him until he was firmer, I leaned down and took him in my mouth, causing him to take a deep breath of air whether he needed it or not.

Lying back, I continued to orally assault him until, without warning, he flung me down and shoved inside me with great force. It was incredible and I wrapped my legs around him to get as much fluid as possible. Luckily, he still didn’t realize what I was doing and so didn’t try to stop me.

Finally relaxing my legs from around him, he rolled away and I lay in the afterglow of good sex, thinking about the future. He lay there as well, but I’m not sure if he had an afterglow or not. After a few minutes of rest, I turned towards him. He appeared to be absentmindedly twisting the ring he wore on his right hand. Now I could clearly see the faint remnants of an old vine design as it twined its way around the band. With my human eyes, I probably wouldn’t have seen it, as it was so deeply worn. I was curious where he had gotten it. Had it belonged to one of his victims? I’m sure he plundered whatever they had.

The question quietly burned its way through my mind as I realized for the first time that Asa would probably take whatever he wanted from my house as well, including my mother’s wedding ring, which I had always intended to give to Ellie. Mom had given it to me after Dad had died.

“Who’s ring?” I asked trying to keep the tone in my voice nonchalant. “Who did you take it from?”

Watching him for his response, his right hand paused in its twisting motion and slowly he turned his head in my direction. A single solitary muscle flexed in his jaw, his deep green eyes became slits as he stared at me with well controlled rage again. My track record for not provoking him was suffering tonight.

“Foolish girl, I could snap your neck in the span of one of your heartbeats and yet you still provoke me.” His voice was calm and as he spoke, he reached out placing his left hand behind my neck and applying enough pressure that I couldn’t help but cringe.

I should have been terrified as he held my cervical spine in his hand and I was, but my heart rate never budged and I knew immediately that he realized it when his eyes moved momentarily down to my chest. His hand relaxed its hold as his eyebrows raised in a look of perplexity.

“What is wrong with you? Your heartbeat is abnormally low for a frightened human female.” His tone was questioning but still angry.

The fact that he had noticed did finally get a slight rise out of my pulse, but only minimally. Was he finally realizing what was happening to me? That would prove fatal, I was certain.

“I’m dying. What did you think was going to happen to me, Asa? Humans aren’t built for this kind of stress. I probably won’t last the week.” I wasn’t lying. If I didn’t complete the conversion, I would die either from cardiovascular collapse or at his hands.

“I am not done with you yet.” The words were clipped and, unexpectedly, I realized they were slightly tinged with what I thought was regret.

Laughing out loud at the absurdity of his response, I answered back, “I would have thought a man who was murdered and turned into a vampire would understand that fate is fickle. She doesn’t care if you’re done with me or not. You may not have a choice.”

Laughing some more, I rolled away from him to hide the slightly smug look on my face. Managing so far to keep my secret from him, I didn’t need to give it away by gloating.

“Fate dealt me a very cruel hand once but she has no control over me now. I am a vampire and now I AM fate. You will die or will not die when I decide,” he answered behind me; his voice resolute.

Laying there beside him, thinking about his words, it took a few moments for them to sink in. What was he trying to say? Was he having second thoughts about killing me? Was there any chance that he would let me go?

Turning over to look at his face, I searched for a clue or sign of the true intent of his words, but could find none on his stony face. He wasn’t looking at me, instead he was twisting his ring again, staring at it as if it held some deep secret.

Searching it again with my eyes, I could find nothing in its vague pattern that gave it such great interest to him. Lifting my eyes from the ring when he suddenly stopped, I found his eyes on me.

“It was my mother’s.” His voice held the remnant of some great emotion.

Tempted to ask more about her, I was brought up short by the sound of a car slowly pulling up into the most distant part of my drive. Listening intently, but trying to conceal the fact, I searched Asa’s face to see if he had paid attention to the sounds of the car and the implications. But he had gone back to twisting his ring and seemed to be lost in his thoughts again so I returned to listening.

Realizing then that it was a truck and not a car, I heard it pull off the drive and through the gap of cleared land that ran between my fence and the edge of the national forest.

Cutting its wheels hard, I could hear the whine of the axles as the truck backed into the forest, pushing over a few small fledgling trees and underbrush, before the engine was cut off. They were clearly trying to remain concealed and although I didn’t recognize the sound of the truck, I was pretty certain who would be sitting in it.

The sounds of the vehicle had finally caught Asa’s attention as well and he was on alert. Stock still at my side, his ring forgotten, he now sprung lightly to a crouched position, balanced on the balls of his feet and looking like a statue.

Trying to cover up my knowledge of what he was listening to, I raised my voice loudly and asked, “What is it?”

“Sssssh,” was his only reply as he shot me an irritated look. Now that I looked like a stupid human, I let myself go still as well and listened intently, trying to catch any sound the occupant of the truck was making.

Struggling for the first couple of minutes, I was finally able to suppress the hundreds of other sounds that were emanating from the space between myself and the vehicle and listen for the uneasy breathing of a human.

I was certain he was sitting on leather seats that I could hear rub beneath him as he adjusted his position, probably trying to get a better look at the house. No sounds of a phone or the radio made their way back to me; he just seemed to be sitting. And watching, I was sure he was watching.

Feeling Asa’s eyes on me, I turned to look at him. “A human male, likely the same one that was here today, is hiding in the woods in a vehicle.” He gestured with his head to the north of the house as he spoke. “If you have betrayed me, you and he will die and so will the lovely Ellie, especially Ellie, and I will take my time with her.” His voice was low and held nothing but hate and mistrust.

“I told you that he would be back. He didn’t believe my story. You should never have killed that old lady.” Anger laced my voice. Waiting in the dark for his equally angry answer, there was only silence.

“You are right, of course. I almost never kill when I am going to court a human for a few days. It is too dangerous to stay in the area. But I couldn’t have her coming down here to check on you during the day when I was away, so I had to dispose of her. I did the logical thing,” he responded; his words clipped and short.

 “Well you could have at least made it look more natural.” The words were out of my mouth without thinking about them and they startled me and ashamed me at the same time. Was I becoming more like him than I realized? Physically changing, of course, but mentally morphing as well into the creature beside me. No, that couldn’t be it. Common sense simply said that the way he had killed Ms. McElhaney was illogical.

“I got irate with her, which tends to make me more violent than normal. I do not make a habit of wasting blood, but when I drank, she tasted putrid and I tore her apart without thinking. She was dying anyhow.” He didn’t sound the least bit contrite.