A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) (31 page)

“
Okay, if I thought I’d
experienced bloodlust before – I was wrong! That was bloodlust.
That was,
if I don’t get blood soon I will
have to go out there and get some
! I am not
a fan of that feeling.” Link breathed in deeply through his nose.
“You don’t smell quite so delicious now, Charity,” he
smiled.

“
I’m gonna take that as a
good thing,” I weakly smiled back. “Now can we all agree that our
once a week schedule, that we
were
observing before, needs to be put back into
place?” I stressed my concerns.

“
No Charity, I’m sorry, but
we can’t. We need to push Lincoln to his upper most thresholds.
Maybe you don’t like that idea, but it is the only way he will be
able to build up a resistance to these urges. I spoke to
Christopher on the phone about this. Lulach was in favor of our
plan. It took him several years to get to a ten day gap. Link has
done it in a few weeks. Since Link isn’t a full Dark One, he should
be able to go for longer periods of time.”

“
Oh sure! You discussed
this with Lulach and his chauffer, slash personal assistant,
Christopher - but not with me. This story gets better by the
minute,” I spewed heavy sarcasm to cover my distress. “You saw him
James. You saw the panic in his face when you got here!”

“
I’m doing pretty good,
Charity. I’ve been pushing it one day further each time. I made it
two extra days this time.” Link put his mouth back on the straw and
gave a thumbs up.

“
Well, I give you a thumbs
down. You barely made it two extra days. I can’t believe you made
it ten days. I want you to drink some more right before we leave on
our trip. It is less than a week away. We will be in Vegas for a
week, and I want you to recharge the moment we get back. Got it?
I’ll go
bridezilla
on you for this one. Do not mess with me!” I pointed my index
finger at both of them – to show them I was serious.

“
Charity is making a valid
point,” James agreed. “I won’t have access to a blood bank in
Nevada, and we shouldn’t take any chances with the wedding coming
up so soon.”

“
I agree,” Link nodded as
he drained the second bag. “I wouldn’t do anything that would put a
strain on this trip. I promise nothing once we return. Come on
Charity, you gotta see the logic in this.”

I did see the logic. It made perfect sense
for him to discover his limitations. It was completely rational to
build up a higher tolerance for less blood in his system. That way
he could wean himself down, and discover the lowest possible dose
of human blood required to keep his body functioning at optimum
capacity. I saw it clearly. I just didn’t want to think about the
toll that it might take on Lincoln.

“
When we get back, you are
free to experiment, with my full support. I promise.” I narrowed my
eyes as I answered - to let them know that I still wasn’t
completely happy about it.

“
Right,” James stood up.
“Well, on that note, I am headed back to the medical center. It’s
been an interesting lunch break.”

He walked toward the door of Link’s
bedroom.

“
Thank you for saving the
day.” Link gave James a gracious smile.

“
I need to do something
about keeping a small supply of blood here at the house for you,
Lincoln. I’ll figure something out,” James concluded.

He exited the room and soon the house.
Moments later, I heard the engine of his vehicle start up and the
crunch of his tires on the snow, as he pulled out of the driveway
and onto the road.

“
You worry me too much,” I
frowned.

“
I don’t want to worry you.
I am so sorry. I should have approached this differently. We
are
in this
together.”

“
Together,” I agreed. “Now
go rinse your mouth out with some water, please,” I
smiled

Link immediately walked
into the bathroom to do so. He knew the whole
other people’s blood
thing was not my
favorite. Actually it was just the thought of kissing him after
he’d consumed blood.

“
Can we get back to where
we were before that pesky bloodlust came over you?” I asked, as he
walked back over to where I stood. “I was thoroughly enjoying the
feel of your lips right here,” I pointed to my neck, “and right
here,” I pointed to my lips.

“
Oh, I think there was a
considerable amount of good old fashioned lust involved in that
kiss as well,” he smiled and pulled me closer.

His lips were instantly on mine. It was a
completely different kind of craving, one that came from both of
our bodies. The bond that we shared synced our pulses. I could feel
the blood rushing through his veins with every beat of my heart. I
closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around his neck, and deepened the
kiss.

His hands, which were resting on my hips,
moved slightly lower and back. His thumbs slipped through the
belt-loops of my jeans, and his fingers tucked themselves into my
back pockets. I let go of his neck, let my hands wander down his
sides, and then sneak up the back of his shirt. I stroked his back
and grabbed onto his flesh, pulling him even closer to me.

Link trailed his lips down to my neck again
and lowered the strap to my tank top. I dropped my head back as I
felt his tongue and his lips caress the top of my shoulder. A
warmth spread over me. I could feel my skin heat up as the blood
rushed even faster through my veins.

“
It’s just a week away,
right?” I whispered, my eyes closed, enraptured by the feeling of
his mouth on my skin.

“
Less than a week,” he
whispered back.

“
We can wait that long,
right?”

“
Yes, we can,” he said as
his hands snaked up the back of my shirt as well.

“
You’re not making it very
easy.”

“
It’s never been easy for
me. Why should I make it any easier for you?” he said with a smile.
“Do you know how many times I have had to walk away from you
wanting more?”

“
Yes, I know. I really,
really know,” I sighed.

“
You
are
delicious, you know. The feel of
your skin, the taste of your lips, the smell of your hair... I
can’t get enough of you.”

“
Lincoln,” I
breathed.

“
Charity, I love you so
much.”

“
I love you
too.”

“
One week?”

“
Less than a week,” I
assured us both.

“
I’m fine.” “He’s fine.” We
both called out at the same time. “Marcus,” we each said, and
sighed.

Eve’s permanent fiancé Marcus (Eve said she
simply likes the way the word fiancé rolls off her tongue – but
make no mistake, their commitment to each other is unwavering) had
popped into our heads to ask how Link was doing. His “brain phone
thingy,” as I liked to call it, was his current favorite power. It
had only been a little over a month since he’d acquired the power,
and he was becoming more skilled at using it, with each passing
day. I wished it were a two way calling system sometimes. Marcus
was able to transmit messages into a person’s head. You could hear
him as clear as if he were speaking right next to you. But we had
to answer him out loud, and that meant using our lips for something
other than their current occupation.

Can we come
up
? was the next question he
broadcasted.

“
Yes,” we shouted in
unison.

“
I guess we could use the
distraction,” I muttered.

Link bent his head down to my shoulder again
and placed a single kiss there. “One week,” he smiled.

“
I can’t believe you didn’t
tell me he was pushing himself this way,” I accused, as Marcus and
Eve walked into Link’s room.

“
I have to turn it on,
Charity. You know that. It is a purposeful memory scan, not a
constant stream of information. I make it a point not to pry,
unless I feel it is warranted.” Eve waved her hand at
me.

“
Well it is warranted,” I
answered.

“
If you want me to spy, you
have to ask me to spy,” Eve responded.

“
Seriously, just like that,
you’d spy on me?” Link asked.

“
If she asked, and I
thought it was needed, I’d take a quick look,” Eve
shrugged.

“
There are no secrets from
Eve,” I reminded Link.

“
That kinda sucks,” Link
shot back.

“
Tell me about it,” Marcus
laughed. “She doesn’t exactly have to turn it on. Do you love?”
Marcus turned to Eve.

“
Well...” Eve
started.

“
When she’s got skin
contact she can’t totally control the stream of information. Things
do just come through. I’ve never been able keep a secret from her.
It was her first power. Gift giving is quite a challenge,” Marcus
jumped in.

“
You could always keep your
hands, and your lips, to yourself,” Eve offered.

“
Never gonna happen,” he
readily admitted.

“
Then don’t
complain!”

“
I’m just letting the boy
know the whole truth. I will never complain about skin contact,”
Marcus said with a smile.

“
The boy... I hate that,”
Link muttered.

“
When you have a few more
years under your belt, you can be relieved of your ‘boy’ status,”
Marcus smiled.

“
In the mortal world,
twenty-two is not considered a boy,” Link proclaimed.

“
Yes, but, you’re living in
a whole other world now,” Eve reminded him.

“
I hate to admit it, but
Catherine and I have called you a boy as well,” I gave a guilty
sigh.

“
Great. Wonderful. Got it.
I’m a boy!”

“
You’re a wonder boy, with
awesome powers. Don’t forget,” I smiled at him.

“
We can get you some super
hero tights and a cape, my friend. Is it a bird? Is it a plane?”
Marcus stifled a laugh.

“
Oh, Oh, and a black mask
that just covers your eyes,” Eve added with a giggle as she made
circles with her fingers and brought them up to her eyes, to mimic
a super hero mask.

“
And a utility belt to hold
all your cool gadgets,” Catherine shouted out from her
room.

She had obviously heard our conversation and
couldn’t keep herself from joining in.

I lost it! “That’s not where I was going
with that statement, but that’s too funny,” I stumbled over the
words, as the giggles had caught me as well.

“
I surrender,” Link’s
brilliant smile appeared, and a chuckle escaped his
lips.

My eyes started to water as
I gave in to the laughter that was taking over my body. I think it
was sweet relief from the tension that had ruled just minutes
before. A good laugh helped set things right again and made me put
everything in perspective. We would get through this. We would
learn how to deal with the changes in Link’s body, just as the rest
of our group had learned to deal with our own unique qualities. It
was just another,
something
new
.

*****

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Thank you so much for downloading A Chance
for Charity!

S.L. Baum