Blood Ties (24 page)

Was this what it was going to be like? Constantly craving other people’s blood? There had to be another way for me to avoid feeding. Hell, I’d drink that damn sheep’s blood for the rest of my life if I had to.

Still, that blood smelled so good.

I had to get it off me right away. I promptly propped a chair under the doorknob. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the other witches; I just couldn’t take any more surprises. I went to the bathroom and flipped the light switch.

The overhead bulb exploded due to the still-pulsating, residual energy of Aunt Evelyn’s spell and the little man’s rapidly deteriorating noumenon traveling through the wires. Luckily for me the dull light over the medicine cabinet still worked. I looked up, still hearing the other witches cleaning— that dreadful noise. I turned on shower, hoping the water would drown it out.

I started to remove my clothing and realized I was covered in more blood than I’d thought. In fact my clothes were stuck to me. I practically had to peel my shirt off my skin due to the massive amount of dried blood. I shucked off my pants and undergarments too, and stood there looking like a mottled piece of peppermint candy.

My stomach churned at the sight of death covering me. Even though the little man was scum, he was a human being— a person who had died because of me. I might as well have eaten him myself. I prayed a shower would wash away the squishy blob of guilt encapsulating me. I stepped in, and the glow of my flickering eyes reflected on the tiles. I turned my head. I so hated seeing myself that way.

The water heated up quickly, but it wasn’t scorching enough for me. I desired self-punishment, some atonement for what had happened to the dead man. I turned the knob to its hottest setting—basically scalding. Like lava the water rolled off my hair and down my body. However, the dried, crusted blood would not let go of me that easily. It stayed plastered on like superglue. I grabbed a leftover sliver of soap and swabbed my skin with hard strokes. The scant amount of foamy bubbles failed to liquefy the blood.

Frustrated, I sank to the floor and wept bloody tears. The water finally loosened the tiny, solid pieces of the man’s blood, allowing the flecks and my sanguine teardrops to intermix and swirl down the drain.

I don’t know how long I huddled in that shower, but it must’ve been a long time. My soles and palms had wrinkled into plump, red raisins, while the rest of my skin was ruddy from the constant hammering of the super-heated water. I contemplated staying in the safe confines of the cave-like sauna for eternity…until I heard a ruckus coming from the bedroom. I scrambled up to turn off the water and listen more closely.

The bedroom door’s knob rattled and shook, then the propped-up chair hit the floor. I popped out of the shower like a spring had boinged under me. There was no way I was going to get caught unaware—basically ass out.

I grabbed my bleach-splotched pink robe off a hook and steeled myself. Cringing, little by little I opened the door. I didn’t see anyone in the room, but when the fuck did that ever mean anything? Like a fencer I lunged out, totally forgetting the en garde.

Without warning the attic fan kicked on, causing the bathroom door to slam shut behind me. I looked back and saw James standing there. He was freshly showered and hadn’t dried off all the way; his thin shirt was slightly sticky on his skin. I didn’t appreciate his sneaking around; quite frankly it scared me a little. However, the night’s events did not diminish the strangely charged bond between us. We were still hopelessly attached by a tight and tense invisible wire that was always pulling us closer together.

“What are you now? A fucking creeper?” I said. “You should’ve given a heads-up that you were going to get all cannibal on me.”

James drew closer to me, but I kept my distance.

“Grace, I have a confession,” he said. “We used you. Your fear actually amped up the spell. We regret doing that, but some actions are necessary.”

I know I should’ve been angry as hell, but his sparklingblue eyes penetrated me. Whatever misgivings I had melted away. Maybe it was my desperate need for comfort, but I felt myself succumbing to him.

“James, I saw you kill and eat a man. I’ll never be able to erase that from my mind. Things are too heavy for me right now…just moving too fast. Just when I accept the situation, something
more
bizarre happens and throws everything off kilter again. I want to be light and content. I want to be happy. Can you make me happy again, even if it’s just for a little while? Even if the happiness isn’t real? Please.”

I needed to disappear into James, and fell into his arms in an attempt to become one with him. We both knew there was only one way for us to merge body and soul.

He rocked me while kissing the top of my head. “Alright, baby, alright.”

My body relaxed into safety again as he lifted my face and kissed me deeper, with his own sense of desperation. Normally this would have been the point where he’d back off—before things got too heated. But now he swooped me up like a bride on our wedding night and carried me to the bed. With unbroken eye contact, he gently laid me down. He untied my robe and slipped it off. He let out a satisfied gasp.

“You are so beautiful.”

I sat up and began the process of undressing him. Both of our eyes glowed with pure love and anguished arousal. But it was I who pulled back this time. I started thinking this was really the
worst
and
weirdest
time for our first lovemaking session.

Then I thought about the bottom line: James and I had been brought together to destroy evil. And that responsibility did not include leisurely walks on the beach, Whitman’s Samplers of assorted chocolates, or mushy rose petals on the bed. Our life together was ordained to be quite the opposite. No cotton-candy romance here.

“What’s wrong?” James asked, wondering why I had slowed up. I was mulling over a question: when would there ever be a good time for us to make love? The answer: never. But a temporary opportunity for escapism existed now. And I was going to take it.

James guided my body back down toward the bed. He stroked the side of my face and said, “I’m in love with you, Grace. I’ve loved you for a very long time. Before I even met you.”

I don’t know what it was about hearing those words. I had heard something similar to them in the past, and it had been a lie. However, since they were sincere this time, my insides hummed with two feelings: perfect love and sexual desire so great it physically hurt.

James took his time getting to know every inch of me. Starting at my head, he kissed his way down my stomach, following the thin line of downy hair going from my navel to my pubes.

“You have hair on your belly.” He grinned.

I playfully ran my fingers through his hair. “I am human, you know.”

“Well, half human.”

I felt his erection growing thicker and longer against my leg. He rose up on his knees, making my mouth water at the sight of his huge member. I wanted to taste it, run my tongue all over it. I sat up and engulfed him with my mouth. James was way too long to take in at one time; I didn’t want to induce my gag reflex. So I licked the bulging vein on the side and made a special effort to tickle the sensitive spot under the head. My tongue made a trip down the shaft and feathered his testicles. I went all the way down until I reached the G-spot behind them, simultaneously stroking his shaft.

James, being all man, pushed my head back. It was evident he liked to be in charge, and opted to take over. And I liked that. Full of vigor, he put me back down and sucked my nipples as his middle finger found my clitoris. With light pressure he stroked it up and down, then sideways. My lips made an O as I slowly pushed air out of my mouth in response.

“Don’t stop,” I begged as the pressure built inside me.

James was like a drummer—brilliantly able to perform two actions at once. He stimulated my nipples, which had engorged so much I thought they’d crack. And down below his finger worked physical magic, nearly taking me to the brink. I grabbed his hand.

“Stop. I want you inside me,” I said, panting.

James had an intense look on his face, so extreme in its focus on me. He spread my legs and came down on top of me. He slid into me hard as steel, and I took him all in.

With every controlled thrust of his hips, we moaned and moved with each other in harmony—perfectly synchronized. The pace was purposefully measured, at some points rockstar fast. Then, when we were about to reach the verge, James pulled back, making me ride a wave of ecstasy. When I could no longer hold back, he brought me to climax and then let himself release.

James stayed on top of me for a while. He just stared at me and stroked my sweaty brow. Though this was post-orgasm, my heart wasn’t beating fast. It was soft and easy. I was free, flying like a bird.

Finally, some peace.

“What in the hell?”

I was definitely not a morning person, and did not appreciate being awakened by an irritating, fast knocking at the door.

James wrapped a sheet around his waist and answered. It was Aunt Evelyn. Her mouth dropped with disappointment when she saw his morning-after glow. She looked over at me, surprised I’d had the audacity to sully her sheets. However, the prude in Aunt Evelyn knew she had no room to talk—not after I had seen her chomping down on a man the night before. She quickly regrouped, but was ruffled by something else.

“Amari is here.”

All the color drained from James’s face. “When did he get here?”

“Just now. You and Grace need to get down there immediately. You know he hates to wait,” Aunt Evelyn said, already halfway to the staircase.

James was flustered, and ghosted over to his clothes. “Get dressed.”

I followed his anxious lead and bounded over to the laundry basket. “Who is Amari?”

James wasn’t paying much attention to me; his mind was on Amari. He absentmindedly put his left shoe on his right foot. “Uh, he’s the second-most respected witch on the council, right below Maximus. Think of them as the president and his vice.”

I got excited. “You mean Maximus, my grandfather, actually sent help for me?”

James put his shoe on the correct foot. “I doubt it’s that simple. He’s not that altruistic.”

I searched the basket, which was full of freshly washed clothes, for a pair of panties. I still didn’t understand what the problem was. It sounded like good news to me that my estranged grandfather was concerned about me. “Dude, chill. Why are you buggin’ out?”

“Because if Maximus sent Amari, something is really… terribly…wrong.”

I thought,
There’s more! Super!

James was now fully dressed, and I still had just one leg in my underwear. But the way he was acting, he was the one with his panties in a bunch.

James did a quick double-check of himself in the hall mirror.

“Vanity, thy name is James,” I said.

“This has nothing to do with vanity. When meeting with one of the royal court, you must present yourself in a respectable manner.”

“What about me? How do I look?” Until then I’d felt alright in my skinny jeans and clunky, black boots. James looked me up and down. As he made his critical assessment, my foot turned inward like an insecure schoolgirl.