The Purity of Blood: Volume I (40 page)

“Well, hello,” I
smiled as I strode up to him.
 
“What are
you doing here?”

His face was
still as unyielding a stone.

“Where have you
been?” he demanded impatiently.

“Why? Did we
have plans?”
 

I knew we hadn’t
so I didn’t understand his hostility.

“I asked where
you’ve been all morning,” he repeated in the same tone.

“I went to
church with Tabitha and Mike.
 
Then we
went to lunch with Ben and I’m just getting back now.”

“You really need
to tell me when you’re going out like that.
 
When I stopped by there was no sign of you and your car was still here,
I was worried.
 
I was about to start a
man hunt when I caught your scent in the wind … What were you doing with
him
?”
 

There was still
an uncomfortable vehemence in his tone.

“Who?
 
Ben?”

“Yes, him,” he
snapped.

“Nothing, we
just walked back together.
 
It was too
nice a day to ride.”

“Well, I don’t
like it.
 
I’d appreciate it if you’d stay
away from him.”

My hands went to
my hips as I glared up at him.
 
Honestly,
I was stupefied.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard
me.
 
There’s something off about that guy,
and that’s beside the fact that he wants you – as more than a friend.”

“Are you
jealous?” I asked, completely in shock.
 
It seemed almost incomprehensible that Daniel would be jealous of
anyone, let alone over me.

He paused,
considering my question.

“I suppose maybe
I am.
 
I’m sorry if I sound harsh, but
when you weren’t here my mind automatically assumed the worst case scenario,
that your hunter returned and you’re
laying
dead in
some ditch somewhere – and then you come strolling up laughing with Mr.
Handsome and his wonder hair.”
 
He rolled
his eyes.
 

It was true, Ben
did have wonderful hair.

I was at a loss
as to how to respond and just stared at him for a minute.
 
Then turning on my heel, I started for the
back door without a word.
 
Better to say
nothing than something I’d only regret later on.

“I’m sorry,” I
heard from behind.
 
And then from in
front as he magically appeared out of thin air a few feet in front of me.
 
He really could move amazingly fast.
 
I’d never seen it before in the daylight.

“Why?” I asked,
but continued to walk right past him to the stairs.
 

Again he sped
past me and now stood at the base of the stairs.

“Because I
should have trusted you.”
 
I stopped in
front of him.
 
“In all fairness it’s him
I don’t trust, and you know how worried I get about your safety when I don’t
know where you are.”

I looked at him
and considered his words.

“Okay, yes, I
should have texted you what I was doing.
 
Not because I have to report my every movement to you, but because I
didn’t want you to worry.
 
For that I’m
sorry.
 
But you were a little hostile
back there and I don’t appreciate that.”
 
I paused for second, then continued.
 

“Look, I don’t
exactly know what this is,” and I waved at the air between us.
 
“But whatever it is, I don’t think it gives
you the right to go all ballistic because I decide to take a walk with
Ben.”
 

I was yelling a
little now.
 
I wasn’t even sure why I was
mad except that I thought I probably should be.
 
I should be mad as hell at him, shouldn’t I?

“But … I thought
we were in love,” he replied in just above a whisper.
 
“I thought you were my girl.”
 

All traces of
anger gone, his eyes were now filled with anguish.
 

Oh, God!
 
I’d hurt his feelings.

I took a deep
breath and ran my fingers through my hair in exasperation.

“We are.” I took
a deep breath and sighed before adding “And yes, I … I guess I’m your girl.”

He looked up at
me, a trace of a smile hiding in his eyes and lips.

“You’re my
girl?” he asked shyly.

Did I ever have
a chance when he gave me his lost little boy look?
 
I nodded yes and his smile widened, but only
fractionally.

“Look, I’m
sorry.
 
Being what I am means I have to
deal with some pretty intense emotions sometimes.
 
I’ll try harder to control it next time, but
honestly, I’ve never had to deal with – this before.”
 
Just as I had, he motioned his hands to
indicate the space between us.
 
Then he
smiled his devastating smile at me. “It’s a very powerful emotion.
 
I guess I need to work on that. – Can you
forgive me?”
 

He looked down
at me with his smoldering blue eyes.
 
How
could I resist him and why would I ever want to.

“Of course,” I
said as he reached out for me.
 
Without
hesitation, I walked willingly into his arms only to feel them close behind me.

“What would you
like to do now?
 
Now that we’ve had our
first fight,” he whispered in my ear.
 
Leaning back, I saw my shy boy had returned.
 
He looked relieved.

“To be honest,
I’d like to put my feet up for a while.
 
These probably weren’t the best shoes for a long walk.”
 

At that he
reached down and scooped me up in his arms as if I weighed only a few pounds
and charged up the stairs before I could utter a word of protest.
 
He set me down at the top so I could fish out
my keys, and taking them, he opened the door.
 

Smiling
unconditionally as I waited, I grabbed the railing and looked out on the
beautiful sunny day.
 
Somehow I felt as
if God were smiling down on me.
 
I don’t
know, does he smile down on vampires as well?
 
I hope so.

Under my hand I
felt a bump in the iron railing, and lifting my hand I saw the imprints of
fingers, two sets of hands about three feet apart.
 
They were deep impressions in the iron made
only days ago by the very hands that had just carried me up the stairs.
 
Except they belonged to a voice that ordered
“Get inside” in a husky, animalistic tone.
 
Now it almost purred “After you” in a soft, silken one.

I smiled and
walked in the door, fully aware that these two voices resided in the same
creature that followed behind me up the stairs.
 
It was a dangerous, heady combination that both attracted and repulsed
me at the same time.
 

So ironic, so
very me.
 

THE BLOOD HUNTER

She
was a stupid, foolish little girl, not dissimilar to the rest
of them.
 

Humans … a
useless lot.

But unlike the
others, her blood called to me like the sweetest, most seductive song I’d ever
heard.
 
Just the faintest scent of her
carried from far off on a breeze was enough to make my mouth drool in
anticipation.
 
It wouldn’t be long
now.
 

She was staying
in this evening, or so it appeared.
 
I
preferred it this way, so much easier to watch her, to study her.
 

What would be
most enjoyable?
 
Would a long drawn out
chase be best?
 
She often strayed into
the woods on walks and the occasional evening run.
 
I could chase her into the forest and claim
my prize there.
 
It would be so easy to
drag her deep into the woods where her screams would go unheard by all except
me.
 
I wasn’t sure if she was a screamer
yet, but God I hoped she was.
 
We’d have
fun, this one and I.

Perhaps here in
her room.
 
I’d prefer that, but there was
too much chance of being discovered.
 
The
walls were too thin.
 
And she
would
scream, I’d make sure of it.
 

She spent an
exorbitant amount of time in the library and the deserted back stairwell she
used was always empty.
 
This could be a
good place as well.
 
I closed my eyes and
allowed myself to imagine how well her screams would echo in the empty
stairwell.
 
How well her bright red blood
would look splattered against its stark white walls.
 
Not that I’d let much splatter.
 
What a waste that would be.

The library was
also where she seemed to feel most at home, and so would be the most shocked to
find she’d meet her death there.
 
I
wanted it to be perfect.
 
I wanted to see
the terror in her eyes, to watch the life slowly – oh, so slowly drain away
from them as it flowed into me.
 
Her eyes
… they fascinated me for some strange reason.
 
To watch the light fade and vanish from her brown eyes as I sucked the
last drop of blood from her pale flesh.
 
That,
would be ecstasy.

The thought had
occurred to me to somehow restrain her so I could remove all her clothes while
she was still conscious.
 
It would allow
me to watch as much of that soft pink flesh fade to white as it was drained of
blood.
 
I wanted to feel the heat leave
her naked body and turn cold in my hands.

As I watched her
recline back on her bed, I decided to start at her neck and suck the largest
amount of blood from there.
 
It could be
messy; you had to hit the jugular just right.
 
But I was too practiced at it now to worry much about that.
 
Then I’d switch to her legs and wrists to
make sure I got every last drop of the blood out of her extremities.
 
Of course some of the choicest blood gets
caught in the internal organs, and I’d savor the moment I ripped her chest
open.
 
It wouldn’t be long before I’d be
holding her heart in my hands, sucking it dry as I squeezed it in my palm.
 
My lips smacked as I imagined myself licking
my fingers when I’d finished with it.

It was a shame she was so young.
 
Her daughters would be just like her, I was
sure of it.
 
But I couldn’t leave it to
chance that she’d live long enough to procreate.
 
In my opinion it was amazing she’d survived
as long as she already had.
 
If I was
this tempted, others with my predilections wouldn’t hesitate as I had so
far.
 
No, it was best to just take her
now.
 
The mother was almost as pure as
this one anyway.
 
She’d be next.
 
Then again, maybe I should have the mother
first, sort of like an appetizer.

I was prolonging the end, vainly
trying to delay my gratification in the knowledge that, odds were, I’d never
come across another like her for as long as I walked the face of this earth.

She was laughing
now with the worthless female who resided with her.
 
Even from this distant view through her
window, I desired her like no other.
 
She
was perfect.
 
She would be my
masterpiece, and of her I would
not
be
denied even if it meant my death.

Over the past
weeks, I’d found myself fantasizing about what it will be like when I’d possess
her fully.
 
When my lips finally found
the soft skin of her neck, and after taking a moment to enjoy the unabashed
terror in her eyes, I’d sink my teeth in, slowly, so slowly.
 
After all, I could do it only once.
 
Then I’d suck that ruby red deliciousness
from her veins, pulling it from every inch of her delectably pure body.
 

I’d had my share
of pures, felt their power coursing through my body many times before.
 
It could be overwhelming, cathartic after
days or weeks of stalking, foreplay really leading up to the inevitable
end.
 

To think it was
possible I might have missed this one.
 
It perplexed me how she lived inside a claimed territory.
 
She was even spending time in the company of
two of us.
 
Strange ones they were,
useless weaklings who lived among this rich feeding ground.
 
Living
with
them, not
on
them.
 

I was too
consumed with the red head to give them much thought.
 
Soon, very soon, her blood would be on my
lips, surging down my throat.
 

What would I do
to her body?
 
I knew I’d tear it to shreds
to get every last drop of blood out.
 
I
would leave nothing behind, not of
that
blood,
never.
 
She would be mine, all of her
body and soul.
 
And yet, I’d have to
dispose of what would remain of her body somehow.

Soon, very soon,
I was going to take her for my own; take her right out from under their weak
noses.
 
For surely they were too weak to
take her as they should.
 
Strange.
 
Yes, very strange indeed.

It had taken
every ounce of strength within me to draw out my long seduction of her blood,
the anticipation pulsed within me, driving me into a frenzy, but I pushed it
down hard.
 
It wasn’t time yet.
 
Not tonight.

A squirrel
stirred in the next tree and I instantly pounced on it.
 
Jumping back to my perch in front of her
windows, I watched as she rolled over in her bed, curled up with a leather
bound book and sunk my teeth into the quivering animal.
 
Eyes fixed on her pulsating jugular, I sucked
deeply.
 
My arousal was intense, all-consuming
and only tempered by the unsatisfied feeling of the squirrels blood in my
mouth.

I’d stalked her
longer than any other, well over a month now.
 
But as my greatest prize she deserved nothing less.
 
I’d only waited this long because I knew I’d
miss this, miss this siren’s call of hers. Sadly, I knew every pure for the
rest of my life would be a
let down
because they
weren’t her.
 

I froze as he
approached.
 
She jumped at his knock and
embraced him as he entered.
 
Then his
mouth went to her jugular.
 

NO!
I screamed in my head.
 
But he only kissed my spot and after a lingering
moment, the fool stepped back.
 
I stared
open mouthed at him.
 
How could he do
that?
 
He had to smell her as I did.
 
How could he not take her?
 
He baffled me, this weakling.
 
His loss would be my gain.
 

Yes, guard my
prize, you fool.
 
Enjoy her kisses for
the short time left to her.
 
For the last
lips she’ll feel on her milky white flesh would be mine.

I dropped from
the tree and ran off into the shadows.
 
I’d be back soon, returning after I’d fasted, cleansed myself to fill up
on nothing but the pureness in her veins.
 
This would be the last time I’d stalk my prey.
 
Next time, I’d be the one to kiss her
neck.
 
Only I’d kiss with my teeth, not
my lips.