The Embrace (29 page)

“Gabriel.” I whispered.

I hardly recognised the sound of my own voice. I usually spoke with a quiet confidence but now I had been reduced to 13 year old Louisa again, back to a time before Gabriel had stepped into my life.

He turned around quickly, surprised to see me before him. He had obviously been focusing on his compulson and hadn’t noticed my arrival.

I reached for the light switch. I didn’t know whether I really wanted to turn on the lights and find out who Gabriel was with, but I knew that I had to find out eventually. I felt my hand shaking as I moved but I couldn’t resist. I always had been curious to the point of danger.

Light flooded every corner of the room and now I could clearly make out Gabriel’s striking figure. He looked stressed and I could see that he hadn’t been resting during his “business trip.”

In front of him was a woman. She was tall, for a female, but Gabriel obviously made her seem small. I could only see her from behind but I was instantly drawn to the light bouncing from her striking red hair. It looked sultry and sophisticated, and was certainly her most beautiful feature.

It took a moment for everything to click together, but eventually I realised who this woman was. Gabriel turned her around, making sure to keep contact with her in some way to keep her under his spell. His eyes were bloodshot and I knew that something was seriously wrong with him.

The woman lacked her usual confidence and powerful attitude but she still seemed to have something unique about her that set her apart from other humans.

Standing in my apartment in a torn dress, fully under Gabriel’s compulsion, was the lawyer who had impressed me so much on our first meeting. Gabriel had returned with Dahlia Elton.

Time seemed to slow down and I could barely move. Dahlia was still under his control and completely still, but understandably he wanted to be certain she was subdued. He found some ropes from somewhere in the apartment and used them to tie her to the railings of the large windows. There was no way she’d be able to escape the knots but they weren’t necessary anyway. She seemed to be completely calm, even when Gabriel broke contact with her.

While he completed his task I sat on the sofa, burying my head in my hands. Gabriel had a lot of explaining to do and I could tell the night was going to be a long one.

After he was sure that his victim was secured, he took a seat next to me on the sofa. There was a tension between us that I hadn’t experienced in weeks. If I’d been a human I might have cried, but I couldn’t give in to those weak emotions.

“I know this probably seems strange.” He said. It had been a long pause and I was glad when he finally broke the silence. “I had to bring her here.”

I felt his hand reach out for mine but I stood up before he could touch me. I didn’t want him to sweet talk his way out of this mistake. I couldn’t give in to him without finding the true explanation. I needed a level head for this.

My whole body was screaming but I had to keep calm. I tried to keep my voice level and composed. “I don’t have a clue what could possibly be so important but you’ll have to come up with a damn good explanation for this.”

I was proud of the way I was handling myself. I wasn’t screaming or shouting, and I was keeping my cool for the moment. I couldn’t give in to Gabriel the way I normally did. I was asserting my own independence more than I ever had before.

He nodded. He was listening to my opinion in an argument, which was a first.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s going to sound ridiculous but I swear that a lot has been going on recently. I had to take her.”

“Is this part of the business trips you’ve been going on?” I asked. He didn’t say anything and I felt the pressure inside me building. “I deserve to know what’s going on if you expect me to babysit some human.”

He sighed and I could tell he was frustrated. “I know. Dahlia has been working for me. She’s a good lawyer and she has been my go between with the human world. She helped me to sort out my affairs and manage my money. She’s been invaluable, really. Anyway, one of my human business partners has been entering in to some less than respectable business ventures. Dahlia found out and she threatened to expose him. I had to make sure she couldn’t endanger us.”

It sounded plausible, but I didn’t know whether I could trust him anymore.

“So why didn’t you just kill her? Why did you let her live?” I asked.

It wasn’t like Gabriel to spare a human life without good reason, in fact it wasn’t like any vampire to spare a human. Humans usually mean nothing to us, unless we intend on turning them into vampires too, and I didn’t imagine Gabriel would turn Dahlia without my approval.

“She’s worth too much. I thought she could still be of use to the business if I could erase her memory. I thought we could keep her here, until I’ve figured out how to do it. Until then she could be like a slave, or something. A blood slave.”

I couldn’t help it; I laughed. I tried to hold it back but the whole notion of a blood slave sounded utterly ridiculous. I truly believed Gabriel. His explanation was solid and I had no reason to doubt it, but he should have just killed this woman. She wasn’t worth the hassle.

She was still tied up and fairly calm so I walked up to her, lowering myself to her level. There was something incredibly striking about her even while she was in this catatonic state. I remembered our first meeting: she had seemed fearless, unlike any human I had ever known.

As I watched her shallow breathing I was drawn in. If I hadn’t known her as my lawyer I would have quite happily chosen her as a victim. She was tantalising and I could tell from her sophisticated scent and confident air that she would taste divine. It took all my strength to stop myself from digging my fangs into her neck right then.

I felt Gabriel behind me, waiting for me to say something. I stood again and stroked his hair, showing him that I was ok with his actions. I leaned in to kiss his cheek, and while my lips were still on his skin I murmured my thoughts.

“I forgive you.” The smile that came over my face was completely genuine. I was enthralled.

We didn’t taste her that night, despite my eagerness. I would easily have bitten in to her sweet flesh straight away, but Gabriel seemed dead set on waiting. In the end he used his charm to convince me and so I gave in.

It was probably sensible to wait. I had difficulty controlling my hunger when faced with such enticing victims and if I’d been let free to feast on Dahlia I may have killed her before I had a chance to savour her blood.

That night we slept beside one another once again. It was peaceful and comforting. I loved having near me. He wasn’t just my true love, he was my security blanket. I felt as if my stalking problem fell away whenever my mate was near me, as if he could protect me.

Gabriel hadn’t elaborated on when he planned to taste Dahlia. He’d been adamant about leaving her for the day but he hadn’t given me any more guidance. I was almost as much in the dark as our victim was.

He had certainly taken a gamble bringing her here. Although I trusted his reasoning I was unsure whether Dahlia would be a liability or an asset in the long term. She could break from her hypnotic state at any second and let out a scream that would bring the whole building to our door. If that happened then our nest would be shattered, and we would be forced to flee our comfortable home.

I didn’t want to uproot my whole life just because of one foolish mistake. The way we handled Dahlia had to be perfect. There was no room for mistakes.

When I woke, Gabriel was already up and waiting for me. He had dressed but he was lying on the bed next to me, watching me until I woke up. I smiled the second I saw him, elated to feel him in his rightful place by my side.

“Good night, my dear.” He said, stroking my skin.

I kissed him lightly on the lips. “What are we doing today?” I asked.

It didn’t really matter to me. As long as we were safe and together, that was all I cared about.

Then I saw the teasing smile grown on his face. He had worn that smile during my very first night of hunting. It meant that he had returned to the role of a teacher, witholding information from his submissive student. After all my progress, he still had the upper hand.

“We’re going to test drive the new addition.” The smile on his face grew wider and I was filled with an intense excitement. Dahlia had a strange effect on me and I longed to taste her blood.

It wasn’t long before I had my chance. As we weren’t leaving the apartment, I didn’t feel the need to dress and so I padded through to the living room in my night gown, with Gabriel dressed up in a full suit and tie. I almost laughed at our mismatched styles but I had more important things to think about.

It felt like Christmas day. Dahlia was a present I had been waiting to open for weeks and now here she was, displayed in front of me. I was almost shaking with anticipation, desperate for Gabriel to begin the feeding.

She was still under his control but she was simply groggy rather than completely compelled as she had been the previous night. If Gabriel wasn’t careful then I feared sge would quickly become alert again.

We sat before her, both surveying the once powerful human in front of us. She was a mess, a shadow of her former self. Her dress, obviously a piece she had chosen for work, was torn and muddy from the struggle with Gabriel. Her red hair was still in place but it seemed more unkempt than usual, no longer the tamed beast it had once been.

Gabriel nudged me and I tore my gaze away from the wonderful morsel in front of me. He kissed me with surprising vigour.

“You can go first. Taste her for me.” He whispered to me.

I was surprised. Gabriel had found Dahlia and subdued her. He was the one who had realised the potential she held and had brought her all the way to our apartment. I would have gladly allowed Gabriel to be the first to sink his teeth in to our newest victim.

Instead he was offering her up to me first, and that touched me. I took it as a sign of my importance, as if he was flying a symbolical white flag. I wasn’t just his student anymore, I was his partner and his equal.

There was no way I would turn down Gabriel’s offer. I nodded and leaned over to Dahlia. I kissed the soft skin on her jugular and breathed in her scent. I had never experienced a victim with such a unique and complex smell. There were so many layers to it and each time I conquered one another popped up in it’s place. She was perfect.

My fangs were already protruding. There was no way I could contain them with a scent like that before me. Her heart beat was slow, probably kept at a steady pace by Gabriel’s efforts the previous night.

I placed my hand on her arm. I no longer needed to speak out loud to control a human, particularly not one who was already so well subdued, and so within moments I knew she wouldn’t cry out when I bit into her.

Gabriel touched my lower back and rubbed in circles like a comforting father. He was proud of my achievements and my renewed thirst. In a strange way Dahlia had brought us closer together as a couple, despite my initial anger.

I focused my mind on Dahlia’s amazing scent and my primal urges. As my thirst overpowered me, I bit in to her neck like a hungry child. My teeth punctured the skin and I felt the rush of blood hit the back of my throat.

It was stronger than I had ever imagined, like an aphrodisiac or an exotic delicacy. I had never tasted anything so powerful and completely intoxicating. I put my hand up to the other side of Dahlia’s neck, pressing her closer to me. I wanted to take in every part of her. The blood wasn’t enough any more, I needed to drink in the energy itself.

I could hear the soft, tuneful sound of Gabriel laughing behind me. He was probably impressed by my infatuation with his little find, and my hunger for her blood. I hadn’t shown such vigour for a victim in a very long time.

As I let her blood work it’s magic on me, I felt her grow weaker. Her body was getting limp and her breathing had shallowed. I needed Gabriel to stop me or I would lose all control, as I had with Jared. I would drain her dry in a heartbeat if I could.

Luckily he realised what I needed. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled me backwards as if I was a reckless dog terrorising the neighbours. My first reaction was intense hatred: he had torn me away from Dahlia’s blood and brought me back to earth with an unpleasant crash. Then my sanity returned and I realised how thankful I should be. Without him Dahlia would be dead and I would have lost her blood for eternity.

He kissed me and licked the blood from my fangs. I could see his pupils dilate when the tiny drop of Dahlia’s blood hit his tongue but he managed to contain his desires.

I lay on the tile floor, pressing my head against the ground. I felt as if my skin had been lit on fire. I was exhausted, completely satisfied yet wiped out by my intense desire. Gabriel hadn’t even tasted her but he lay down with me, cradling me in his arms.

“I take it she tasted good then.” He said with a remarkably straight face.

I looked up at him and, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t hold back my giggles. He joined me and our laughter mingled in the air. We were almost hysterical as I lay on the floor and savoured this new victim’s exquisite taste.

I knew then that for as long as I lived, which may be the rest of eternity, I would never forget the night I first tasted Dahlia Elton.