Without his essence, his body was completely white. I had once compared him to the alabaster sculpture of David. Without life, he looked even more like a statue then ever before. But if I reached out and touched him, his skin wouldn't be hard like marble—only cold.Even his normally beautiful dark curls had no color. And yet I couldn't stop thinking that he was just as handsome as any living man was with his full lips and perfect Cupid's bow. His nose was strong and not narrow or pinched, the bridge broad. He was beautiful, and if I wasn't being watched so closely, I could have stared at him for hours. I suddenly remembered that while the essence of Alexis wasn't in that body, it was still in the room—he was still in the room.I looked over at him—the Alexis who stared at me from Ran's body. It broke whatever spell I was in, and I turned to the real Ran."Are you sure that you want to return to Vampire form and leave behind the human body?" I had been thinking about this for a while
Ran ended his feeding long before he was probably ready, but it was obvious that he was in complete control.I focused my attention on Alexis. I sat on the bed next to him as he fed from a second donor, watching him slowly regain color and waiting for his eyes to open. By the time the third donor was in place, Alexis was warm, and a golden flush of color had returned to his skin.Monica was every bit the doting wife, making sure that the donors were properly in place and that Alexis was comfortable. I had to bite back my jealousy at their domestic show. When he finished feeding from the final donor, Monica removed her silk blouse leaving her dressed in a nude bra. She turned to Alexis and offered her throat.I watched the feeding, but a short time later Alexis reached up and gripped her hair. He pushed her away, and a surprised Monica stumbled backwards and then pressed her fingers against her neck in order to seal the wound that he had failed to heal. Blood splattered onto her twee
I turned to him and saw that he was watching me closely."What is this about? Because…" I sighed and swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. I decided to shut my mouth, because if I said another word, the emotions would come out and if they did—well, I just don't know what would happen next.He turned and closed the door. I watched him pause with his back to me before he finally turned. His face held a neutral expression, which I found completely unreadable."Come. Let's talk." He gestured toward the comfortable sofa, and I was grateful that he didn't touch me again. I sat next to the armrest with my body turned toward him, realizing exactly what I was doing when I picked up the pillow and set it on my lap.He sat down but not close enough to touch me as he turned his body to face me. "I did not mean for this to hurt you. None of my actions were meant to bring you pain."I studied his eyes, trying to see the truth or a lie in those words. "So you're saying creating a bon
He thought that I was warm, but I thought that he was growing warmer as well. He was remembering what it was to be human."You have my heart so solidly in your hands and you still doubt it," I said. "Alexis, you have infinite power. And yet you can get down on the floor and play with a toddler. You fight for me, and you sacrifice for your principles. You are fearless and you are strong. Those are only a few of the things that I love about you. You're right, our bond didn't cause me to fall in love with you. You made that happen."Alexis inhaled, and it filled his chest and made him seem taller and broader. Then he smiled. "Thank you for that."I walked over and cupped his face. "I love you," I whispered. "But I'm committed to Paul."Alexis pulled me against him and I felt like melting in his arms. My body warmed at his touch. It wasn't the Succubus—she was far away from this place. It was only my love for Alexis that made even the simple act of hugging him feel as if I had lost my
Before I could finish the thought, we were back in the darkened room and Alexis was removing his fangs from my neck. The drastic change from light to dark caused my surroundings to seem unreal. The sound of the ocean was instantly gone and the quiet was almost abnormal.I stood, pressing my fingers to my neck. I looked down at Alexis. His mouth was closed, still painted with the blood of his recent feedings. His eyes were black orbs as they watched me. Gone were his golden brown human eyes. Gone was the sun-kissed bronzed skin. He was white but glowing, and although he was now animated, he could never pass for human in this condition."Alexis." My heart felt as if it had moved to my throat. I didn't know what to say, but I had to say something. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry, that I knew that it was hard for him, too. I wanted to kiss him and be wrapped again in his arms. I had to say something! "Are—are you still hungry?" I stuttered. Ugh, am I stupid?"I am sated. But I m
My eyes were wide when I brushed past my husband and got right in her face. "Listen to me, Monica. Listen to me and hear me once and for all. I don't love you. I won't ever love you. If there is even the smallest amount of the real Monica still left inside of you, then you would understand why. You have no human capacity left inside of you. The real Monica would know that the worst thing you can do is try to be me, to sleep with the men that I still hold in my heart, to keep fucking pushing for something that I don't want. I don't want you, Monica, and this is going to end right now!" Spit flew from my mouth as I lost it and blew up at her."I don't love you," I continued. "I don't like you and I don't want your creepy ass anywhere around me!"Paul tried to take hold of me to calm me, but I shook him loose."Do you get it?" I asked. "Do you finally get it?! If it didn't mean my own death sentence, I'd kill you! That's how much even being around you disgusts me!"Monica looked down.
Paul and I pulled up into the driveway, and before he could turn off the motorcycle, he covered my hands, which were still embracing his torso. I felt him sigh."I'm worried, Kim.""She can't hurt me," I whispered while placing my cheek against his broad back."There's just so much that I can't control…"I nodded. It's why he had done everything, why he turned into a Werewolf, why he created the agreement with the Neratomay. It was to have some form of control over anything that could hurt me. Monica was the exception to that."Who's babysitting tonight?" He asked."Sam."Sam slept over often now that Paul was away with the Wolfpack. It worked best since she was over at the house every single day as my assistant anyway, and someone had to be alive in the house in order to keep tabs on BJ.Hand in hand, we walked to the door, his hand dwarfing mine with a strong but gentle grip. It was the second time tonight that a man had held my hand as we walked together, and I felt disjoint
On Thursday we had a Council meeting that I hoped would be cancelled since Alexis would not be able to attend as our Elder. But no, it didn't work like that.Ferris was sent to fill in for Alexis. Ferris and Alexis were the closest things to friends as Elders could become, so none of us got amped up at the prospect of being in the presence of someone who hated us the way Malarias had. Ferris wore the customary white robe, which was the attire of the Elders convening over a Council meeting, although they had their own individual designs. Ferris' design had intricate gold stitching around the neckline. He was blonde and attractive despite the black eyes and corpse-like skin.It was nice to attend the weekly meeting without having to look at Monica or to see Alexis. And with Malarias off somewhere being punished for sabotaging his own Council, it was a downright good time.Ran was already there. For the most part the meetings were only supposed to be attended by the Council members and