Dark Realms (23 page)

More… I wanted more…

I wrapped my legs around his waist, this
time holding him captive as our pelvises moved together in a rhythm
that soon had me whimpering in pleasure.

Suddenly, he stopped and his body tensed
up.

“What?” I asked, staring up at him.

He closed his eyes and his jaw
tightened.

“What did I do?” I whispered, touching his
cheek.

He opened his eyes and they seemed to burn
right into my soul. I stared in awe as a fire ignited around his
irises and grew into flames.

My eyes widened. “Are you okay?”

He touched my cheek with his finger, drawing
circles. “I’m fine… and you’ve done nothing but… make me want you
more than ever,” he whispered. “I just needed a second to regain my
control.”

“Oh.”

“Now, where were we?” he asked as his
fingers moved down my neck and across my chest. Before I could
respond, the front of my dress was ripped open and his mouth was on
my skin.

“Oh,” I moaned as his tongue trailed wet
kisses to my nipples, teasing and driving me insane with
desire.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, cupping
my breasts as his mouth moved upwards. When I realized where he
stopped, I tensed up, wondering what would happen next.

Was he actually going to bite me? And worse,
would I care?

His tongue stroked the skin near my
collarbone and then moved up towards my ear, nibbling and licking.
As I began to relax, his right hand released my breast and his
fingers moved down my ribcage, across my bellybutton to my panties,
stopping right at the edge of the cotton.

“Invite me in,” he whispered against my
neck.

“Yes…” I whispered, my legs trembling.

He ran one of his fingers over the top of
the material and I gasped. “Say it…” he demanded.

“Come in, Ethan…”

Just as his fingers began to slide under the
fabric, the door burst open and he shot up. His face was a mask of
monstrous rage and my heart stopped as I saw his fangs for the
first time. “What is the meaning of this?!” he growled.

Sheriff Caleb stood facing us while I pulled
the blankets over my exposed body. His face was burning red, as
were his homicidal eyes. “Why in the fuck did you bring her
here?!”

Chapter Twenty-Four

They’d locked me in the bedroom but I could
still hear their angry shouts from somewhere in the house. Caleb
said he had to bring me back, but Ethan raged that I belonged with
him. I wanted to go home desperately and prayed that Ethan would
give in and release me.

There was a soft knock at the door and then
it opened. An attractive red-haired girl entered the room, who I
only assumed was Celeste, Caleb’s daughter. This time she wasn’t
wearing glasses and her startling green eyes stared at me with
interest.

“Here,” she said, throwing me a pair of
shorts and T-shirt. “I heard you needed this.”

I stared at her, wondering if she was a
vampire, too.

“Yes,” she said with a sardonic grin. “I am
whatever it is you think I am.”

“What, you can read minds?” I asked.

She laughed. “No, I could tell what you were
thinking by the expression on your face.”

“What are they going to do with me?” I
asked.

“If Ethan had his way, you’d never leave his
side. Caleb doesn’t really trust you, but he has the hots for your
mom and isn’t willing to hurt her.”

I scowled. “How fucking sensitive of
him.”

She laughed. “So, what
do
you
want to
do?” she asked. “Do you care for Ethan?”

“I don’t know,” I said, pulling the T-shirt
over my head, “he stares into my eyes and I want nothing more than
to be with him. But that’s not real, is it? Isn’t that some kind of
power he has to control people?”

She nodded. “True.”

“But, even now…” I said. “He has this effect
on me and he’s not even in the room. I guess I really might feel
something for him. It’s all so confusing.”

“It’s only natural to feel lust towards him,
if that’s all it is. He’s very sexy.”

“That is no lie.”

“Caleb said he caught you with some guy
named Duncan,” she said.

“Yeah,” I answered. “I’ve kind of been
seeing Duncan.”

“Are you in love with this, Duncan?”

“I think I’m confused. I don’t know. Maybe
I’m a little in love with both of them.”

She smiled. “Being in love with one of us is
dangerous. If you decide to stay with Ethan, you can’t live a
normal life.”

I swallowed. “So, are you vampires?”

She grimaced. “I never did like that
word.”

I swallowed. “So… do you suck people’s
blood?”

She stepped closer to me and touched my
cheek as I held my breath. “We take nourishment wherever we can get
it. Some are willing to give us our nourishment, some don’t have
much say in the matter.”

I backed up. “So, you are willing to kill
people if you have to?”

She smiled darkly. “Survival of the
fittest.”

“Is Caleb turning my mother into one of
you?”

“I believe that he has chosen your mother to
be his mate.”

Oh, hell.

“Is Caleb your real father?” I asked,
continuing with my questions. If she was willing to answer, I
wasn’t going to stop.

“Yes,” she said. “My father became a…
vampire first. He then turned me into one to save my life.”

My eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”

“
I had Typhoid.”

“Wow, when was that?”

“Eighteen ninety-one,” she said.

I stared at her in shock. “That would make
you…”

“Much older than you,” she answered.

Caleb stormed into the bedroom and waved at
me. “Let’s go. We have to get you out of here before your brother
and Duncan show up. I guess they know about this place from
Susan.”

“Are you taking me home?” I asked, backing
away from him.

His eyes narrowed. “You weren’t hurt, and
when I walked in on you and Ethan, you looked to be enjoying
yourself. You aren’t planning on pressing any charges against
Ethan, are you?”

I looked past Caleb to where Ethan was
standing with his arms crossed, looking furious. “No,” I said.

“You aren’t going to make any trouble for
us, are you? Not that anyone would believe you anyway,” said
Caleb.

“If you leave my mother alone,” I said.
“I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Caleb’s face turned dark. “I can’t do
that.”

“Yes you can! Do you think I want my mom
turning into a vampire? I’ve seen her neck!” I yelled, surprising
myself.

He sighed. “There are things you don’t
understand. Your mother… I have feelings for her and I’d do
anything for her.”

“So you’d turn her into one of you?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “How do I
say this?” he stepped closer. “Your mother has cancer and I’m
giving her a second chance.”

I snorted. “You seriously expect me to
believe that?”

“She has breast cancer,” he said, his face
grim. “Hell, she doesn’t even know about it yet.”

I felt sick to my stomach. “What, you can
sense that?”

He nodded. “Yes and if she becomes one of
us, she’ll survive. If she doesn’t, she may die.”

“But you didn’t even consider giving her a
chance?”

“I was afraid she’d say no,” he said.
“You’re right, though, I didn’t give her a choice. She may hate me
when she finds out, but at least she’ll be alive.”

“Do you consider yourself alive?”

Ethan stepped past Caleb and put his hands
on my shoulders. “Do I look dead to you? What you felt earlier, was
that really so bad?”

I stepped back. “Ethan, you’re trying to
control me again. I don’t know how I feel about you because it
isn’t real. You use your powers to make me feel things that I’m not
even sure about.”

“I only did it the first night we met,” he
said. “And I’m…. sorry. But I haven’t manipulated you at all since
that night. Every feeling, every emotion you’ve had since then, has
been real.”

There was a sharp knock at the door and
someone stepped into the room. “We have to do something, now!”
hollered one of the guys I’d seen Ethan with in the diner the other
night. “Someone’s here. I think it’s her damn brother.”

“Fuck,” groaned Caleb.

“Wait,” said Celeste.
“Let
me
take care
of him.”

“Don’t you dare hurt my brother,” I
snapped.

She smiled. “Believe me, when I’m done with
him, he’ll be begging me to hurt him. But in a good way.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but Caleb
nodded and said, “Celeste won’t hurt him or she’ll answer to
me.”

She gave him a pouty face as she stepped out
of the room.

Caleb nodded towards the door. “You’re free
to leave,” he said to me.

I looked at Ethan, who was obviously upset.
“I…”

“I told you before that you were free to
go,” he said. “I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

I’m sure he still thought I was Miranda and
wanted me to become a vampire like he was. But the very idea of
doing that was frightening beyond belief. I still wasn’t exactly
sure how I felt about him, but I knew without a doubt that I didn’t
belong to that world.

I looked down and stepped past him to the
door.

“Nikki.”

I turned to him. “What, Ethan?”

“You haven’t seen the last of me.”

I wish I could have pretended that those
words didn’t affect me, but they did. He must have noticed my
reaction, because he licked his lips and gave me a slow sexy
smile.

“Goodbye, Ethan,” I said, walking away.

Chapter Twenty-Five

They lived in a large old colonial that was
very well furnished. I’m not sure why I was so surprised; if they
were vampires and could live for centuries, they had time to save
for such luxuries.

“Nikki!” hollered my brother from the front
door. “Are you okay?”

I was walking down a long spiral staircase
that faced the front door where Nathan and Duncan stood. They were
being held back by two other guys from the diner, who I assumed
were also vampires. Celeste was also with them.

“I’m fine,” I said.

Duncan looked pissed and was glaring at the
vampires. “Get out of our way so we can make sure she’s not
hurt!”

“Now, now,” said Celeste. “She’s doing fine.
She came here on her own free will, and isn’t hurt in the
least.”

“Who are you?” asked Duncan.

She smiled. “I’m a friend of Nikki’s and
Anne’s. I’m Caleb’s daughter, Celeste.”

“She’s fine,” confirmed Caleb, trying to
ease the tension in the room. “And she’s not pressing charges
because she came on her own free will.”

I walked to the front door and Duncan put
his arms around me. “Are you okay?” he asked, searching my
face.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Duncan frowned and looked at Caleb. “I
should press charges against that asshole, Ethan, wherever he
is.”

“I’m right here,” said Ethan, coming down
from the top of the stairs.

“Okay, do you want to press charges?” asked
Caleb.

Duncan glared at Ethan, who was smiling
malevolently. “I just want him to leave Nikki alone,” he said.

“Nikki and I are friends,” replied Ethan,
his eyes undressing me again. Even now I wanted to be underneath
him, his mouth and hands everywhere. Especially when he looked at
me that way – like I was his possession and he knew it.

“Right,” snapped Duncan.

“I remember you now,” said Celeste to
Nathan. “You’re the cute guy from the grocery store the other
night.”

Nathan’s eyes appeared to dilate as he
stared at the beautiful vampire. A lopsided grin spread across his
face. “I was wondering what happened to you. It’s nice to see you
again.”

“And it’s
very
nice to see you,”
she replied, twirling a red curl around her finger.

Duncan frowned. “Nathan, she’s with them.
Don’t fall for this shit.”

Nathan ignored him, staring at her as if she
was a buffet of food and he was dying of starvation. “So, Celeste,
what are you doing with these jackasses?”

“I rode over here with my dad,” she
answered. “I’m friends with Ethan and wanted to find out what was
happening.” She looked at Duncan and smiled. “You must be
Duncan?”

Duncan sighed. “Yeah.”

“I’ve heard all about you,” she said,
putting her hands on her hips. “Nikki’s quite fond of you.”

He looked at me and I smiled.

Celeste yawned. “Guys, I’m
getting
really
tired and I think everyone should go home now, it’s very
late. Isn’t that right, Duncan?”

Duncan’s eyes dilated as their eyes met.
“Yes, it’s getting late. We should all go home.”

“Good thinking,” she said with an amused
expression. She turned to Caleb who looked satisfied at the change
of events. “Daddy, I’m starving. Can we stop somewhere for a late
snack on the way home?”

From the look in her eyes,
I knew her snack wasn’t the type I’d enjoy. I quickly grabbed
Duncan’s and Nathan’s hands. “We have to leave.
Now
.”

“Goodbye, Nikki,” called Ethan. “I’m sure
I’ll be seeing you very soon.”

Duncan somehow snapped out of his trance. He
stared at Ethan with hate. “Stay the fuck away from her!”

“Only if she wants me to,” he replied, his
eyes still focused on me.

That had nothing to do with what I wanted
from him. In fact, I knew that if we didn’t get out of the house
soon, I’d never be able to leave. “Let’s go,” I said, pulling them
through the door.

When we got into Nathan’s Mustang, his mind
seemed to clear from whatever spell Celeste had put him under.
“What in the hell just happened?”

“I don’t know,” said Duncan, who was sitting
in the backseat, tapping his fingers nervously on the door. “What I
do know is that I should have had Ethan arrested for trying to kill
me earlier.”