Feral: Book One (13 page)

"However," she drawled, "instinct is the strongest force within a vampire. If you were to make any sudden movements, his distracted brain would see it as a threat. Because you are his mate, he cannot directly hurt you. Unfortunately, that does not mean that he cannot hurt himself and pull the house down around our ears."

I glanced at Simon, still frozen like a statue. "So he can see us and hear us?"

"Yes," Grace replied. "They're protective measures. If we lost all our senses during shock, we’d be vulnerable to attack."

"What triggered it?"

“You,” Maymuna answered bluntly. “His instincts have been building and building, then after you were attacked… You are not the only one this situation is overwhelming for, Sofia. Despite actually being a vampire and being a leader of a clan, Simon has never really experienced life as a vampire.”

She shrugged. “All night he was fretting about how you will handle this entire situation, and that has pretty much been the only reason he has not gone into shock in the past twenty-four hours. I can only surmise the stress of telling you, the attack, and your state of mind has put so much stress on his systems they were ready to overload. And I can tell you that while he knows you are safe with us, he still was not entirely comfortable with the decision to leave you in order to hunt.

“I surmise seeing you relaxed and unharmed was a trigger in his mind that you are okay. In knowing you are both physically and emotionally okay, for the largest part at least, his mind gave his body permission to shut itself down to compute all of the sensations he has had to deal with this past day."

I let my eyes drift back to Simon, who had obviously dressed before coming downstairs. The black slacks hung low on his hips and a perfectly tailored, periwinkle, button-down shirt hugged his chest and mouth-wateringly broad shoulders. I thanked every god and goddess I had ever read about that the sleeves were rolled up, revealing his powerful forearms.

God, he was gorgeous. Then again, given what he was, I guess it came with the territory.

I resisted the temptation to look up into his eyes, because I felt a bit guilty sitting here discussing him, not to mention ogling him, especially knowing he could see us and hear every single word. Not that it would’ve really mattered, I guess. There probably was no place in the house we could go and not be heard. "It’s probably rude to talk about him when he's like this."

"Probably," Maymuna commented with no small amount of glee. "But it is not as if we can go anywhere if we do not want him to destroy this part of the mansion. Of course, even if we could leave, we can hear for a good mile or two. And what were we supposed to do, Sofia? Not tell you what is happening and let you sit there and panic?"

I sighed. "Good point. But, well, it's got to be uncomfortable, don't you think? I mean—" I barely waved my hand in his direction "—look at him! He can see and hear everything we do. It's got to be awkward."

"I know! It is quite hilarious, is it not?" she chuckled.

I looked to Grace for support, but her lips were quivering with a suppressed smile. "Grace!"

"Oh, c'mon, Sofia! It's funny, you’ve gotta admit,” she said with a wink. “He's stuck there. He can't move. We could tell the most embarrassing stories we know about him, and he can't do anything about it." She laughed before cutting the sound short, throwing a bemusedly apologetic glance up to my mate. "I'm sorry, Simon, but it
is
kind of funny."

"Oh my God!" I stared at them both, trying desperately to keep my expression under control. "You two are horrible!"

Maymuna looked at me knowingly. "Then why are your lips twitching?" When I mumbled ‘are not’, she burst out laughing. "You know that you want to laugh, Sofia!"

I could feel my face turning bright red. I felt bad, really I did, but they
were
right…kind of. However, I couldn’t let my mate see me laughing, so I dropped my head into my hands as my lips curled into a grin.

"I know you are not laughing at my expense,
cara mia,"
he whispered in my ear.

I let out a blood-curdling scream and jumped from the stool, nearly losing my footing when my feet touched the slippery wood floor. I glared at the two succubi who practically rolled with laughter and wadded up my napkin, throwing it at Grace as she was the closest. "That was
not
funny.”

EIGHT

It wasn’t until after I finished my breakfast, when Simon went to kiss me, that I realized something very important. I had come straight down to breakfast without taking a shower or even brushing my teeth, so when he leaned in to kiss my lips, I smirked and kept them tightly pressed together, ignoring his arched eyebrow.

He seemed thoroughly baffled for a moment, but when I continued to grin, my lips firmly shut, he shook his head at me with a heavy chuckle.
"Gioia mia,
my joy, certainly you are not denying your mate the pleasure of your divine lips simply because you are worried about a little morning breath?"

My eyes went wide, probably comically so from one of the other’s perspectives, at his humorous words and I struggled to control my smile. I lifted my hand to shoo him away, but he only shook his head. I rolled my eyes, deciding to rectify my mistake, and slid off my stool only to find the doorway blocked. I growled as menacingly as a human possibly could at him, and he growled right back, grinning the entire time.

I stared at him for a few moments, before coming up with an idea.

With a bright smile, I turned on my heel and took two steps toward the dining room entrance, watching him blur by to block me from leaving. I instantly spun and dashed for the main entryway, only to be caught firmly around the waist.

I shrieked in protest as I went soaring through the air in his grasp and huffed when his lips came down on my mine, parting them with ease. I noticed as I held his gaze, his eyes twinkling with the laughter that vibrated in his chest, that he was very careful how close he pressed his face close to mine. I figured he was being careful not to touch the bruising, and was grateful.

“Wow,” I murmured, stepping back and taking a few moments to catch my breath when he released me. “I, uh, would you mind if I used your bathroom to, um, wash and clean up.” A thought struck me, and I cursed. “I don’t have any other clothes.”

His kissed my forehead, reaching up to stroke my upper arms. “Well, if you can assure me your father will not be home and you are not entirely opposed to breaking and entering, I can have Maymuna go to your home and retrieve some of your clothes.”

“Or you can borrow some of mine,” Grace supplied. “From your footfall, it sounds like you’re about my weight, give or take a couple of pounds. I can tell from your gait that your legs are about an inch shorter than mine, and I have an idea of how long your arms are from their movement. From there, I can take a fairly good guess at the length of your torso.” She nodded, her eyes darting to mine, but never focusing on them. “You sound about my size.”

She was right.

Living life as a sighted-person, I’d never imagined someone could measure another simply from sounds, but for someone like Grace whose main sense of input was aural, it made sense. I found it amazing.

I thanked the red-head, and before disappearing from the kitchen, she assured me she’d have something appropriate for me in the bathroom by the time I reached it. I caught Simon’s self-satisfied look and muttered
'compiaciuto bastardo'
underneath my breath, knowing full well he’d hear me call him a smug bastard before making my way up to the en suite.

I stood there for a few moments, taking in the utter opulence of the bathroom, something I hadn’t been able to appreciate the night before.

The floor was made of eggshell-white porcelain tiles and the walls were a pale, mint cream color. A large, glass walk-in shower was in the far right corner, and along the back wall was a shelf covered in the fluffiest towels I’d ever seen in my life. To my surprise, a flat-screen television was mounted between the far left corners. I could not, for the life of me, figure out why a television was in the bathroom. I mean, I knew several humans who did the same thing, but humans regularly took baths and showers.

Did vampires need to take a shower? Clearly, they had the plumbing, which to me indicated they indeed utilized it, and I could only assume the presence of the t.v. meant Simon at least indulged in bathing. I supposed on the occasions they supplemented feeding from humans with animals, they likely got dirty and would need to clean off, but I couldn’t imagine any other reason they would
need
to shower. I mean, given their cool body temperature, I doubted they’d sweat or anything. Of course, like many humans, they could just enjoy the sensation for the pure pleasure of it. Why not? I did quite regularly.

The actual tub was a Jacuzzi that I swore could fit four people, at least. It was surrounded with white and matching mint-colored marble—or at least it was on three sides. I was sure there had to be at least one false panel in case something malfunctioned and it needed repair.

There were small steps leading up to it, and four white pillars, with ivy and wisteria curling around them, stretched from the floor to the high ceiling. The ivy and wisteria, one of my favorite flowers, amused me. It was beautiful, of course, but I knew for a fact it had not been there previously, and I couldn’t imagine Simon allowing his bathroom to be decorated with vines and flowers under normal circumstances.

I made my way to the sink and was surprised to see a toothbrush with a note attached to it.

Don’t worry. The toothbrush is brand new, and if you look in the wooden cabinet to your left, you’ll find some clothes on the top shelf and a basket of shampoo and stuff on the bottom. (I didn’t think you’d wanna walk around smelling like man spice.) The wisteria is from my bathroom. I wasn’t sure if you’d like it or not, but I thought it would be a nice touch for you, since Simon’s bathroom is so damn boring. I hope you like it. Relax and enjoy! ~Grace

I smiled, touched by the gesture, but really… how did she manage to write such a small note without sight? I shrugged it off with a glance at the small clock above the sink to check the time, and decided I’d definitely be putting her thoughtfulness to good use.

I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my hair in the shower before filling up the massive tub and starting the jets. As I relaxed, I turned on the television and searched through the satellite listings for a music station. I smiled when the soft sounds of acoustic guitars filled the air, and closed my eyes, letting the bubbling jets lull me into a lovely little trance.

Simon was an incubus, and so were Cole and Mr. O’Cleirigh. I vaguely wondered who else I knew might be a vampire, but decided I was being silly as the situation I found myself had to be one of those one-in-a-billion things. Like the odds of people winning the Georgia Lottery, it just
didn’t
happen.

I frowned when a knock at the door broke through my blissful reverie. I was not entirely sure how long I’d been relaxing, but I realized it had to have been quite awhile given the now-lukewarm temperature of the water. "Simon, if that’s you, I don’t have classes on Saturday," I slurred unhappily to whoever disturbed me.

His laugh made my lips curl. It was impossible to stay upset with him. “You have been in there for a rather long time,
cara.
I simply wanted to ensure that you had not become a little prune.”

“Give me a few minutes to get out and get dressed!” I called out, adding with a mutter, “I’ve got more questions for you anyway.”

“Well, if you were brave,” he returned loudly, “you could always allow me in, and we could discuss any questions you have in comfort.”

“I’d be careful what you suggest, Doctor Treviso,” I retorted while I clambered to my feet. “I might call your bluff!”

“Do you believe I am bluffing?”

“Well, bluff or not, it’s a little too late, I’m afraid!” I shouted back.

“Yes, I can hear the towel.”

I wasn’t completely sure what I found more shocking, his actual words—given how Grace had described my body type, it left no doubt in my mind Simon could easily piece together a mental image of my wet form in a towel—or the tone he said those words in. Either way, I could feel warmth in my face that couldn’t be solely attributed to the heat of my bath.

I pushed the thoughts and feelings he stirred in me aside as I hastily dried off and tied my wet hair in a messy bun, my mind dancing all the while with too many questions and never being able to latch onto one for too long. I had only learned of vampires in the past twenty-four hours, and my head was still swimming with the recently acquired knowledge.

I looked in the mirror, trying my best to ignore the purple patch that stretched under my eye and down my cheek, and was once again reminded that this was Cole’s fault. The cute teenage boy I had loved was gone, disappearing under the bitterness of an abusive monster.

I shook my head of the negative thoughts, determined to not let it get to me and to move on with whatever strange curveballs fate would throw at me next. I began by locating the clothes Grace had left for me, thrilled that they were jeans and a simple tee-shirt rather than a pressed pantsuit.