Lover's Kiss (8 page)

"Oh my god," he gasped. He chuckled and climbed to his feet. His legs were shaky while he struggled to pull his pants up. "That doesn't seem fair, I want to get you off too."

Beth grinned. "I knew there was a reason I fell for you."

"You what? You fell—"

Beth put her finger to his lips and leaned forward to kiss him. She was careful to keep her chest from brushing against him. "You knew that in the park," she reminded him. "That hasn't changed. What's changed is my situation. My health. My life. You don't want a girlfriend that works at a strip joint. You're a cop, John!"

He stared at her and shook his head. "Don't you think I should get to decide who I want to date?"

Beth sighed. "John, I'm trouble. Not in trouble, I am trouble. You need to forget about me."

"Not a chance!"

She smiled at him. "I don't want to forget you either, but I'm going to make myself. I'm going to be a bitch to you if you come back again. I'm bad news. Bad for your career. Bad for your friends. Bad for your life."

"I'm a grown man, I can take that chance."

Beth shook her head. "It takes two. You're only one. Go home, John. Remember the good times and pretend that I really did die. Forget about me."

"No," he insisted again. "You haven't given me one good example. You just tell me you're bad news. You're fucking amazing. Confused and confusing, maybe, but even arguing with you makes me want you that much more."

The office door opened before Beth could respond. Penny walked in and stopped after noticing John's shirt was unbuttoned and Beth was topless. Well, not entirely topless, she was wearing something on her chest.

"Penny!" Beth hissed.

Penny stepped beside her and reached down to drag a finger through a drop of the thick liquid running down her right boob. She picked it up and shook her head before slipping her finger between Beth's spread lips. "You really shouldn't let this go to waste. It tells a man that you don't care."

Beth's eyes widened in shock. They only drank blood, not anything else! She glanced around and looked at John. His eyes might have been wider than hers. His gaze shifted as Penny moved. Beth turned to see her leaning in closer.

"And it makes it harder to share it with me. I'm thirsty," Penny breathed before her lips pressed against hers.

John stumbled and fell back into the chair. Beth and Penny ignored him and continued to kiss in front of him. Penny pulled back and turned to face him. Her hand was pressed over Beth's breast, sliding in the mess he'd made on it. "Oh, you're still here? You can go now."

John blinked and opened and shut his mouth a few times. Beth bit her lip and then nodded at him. "Goodbye, John."

He stared a second longer and then cursed under his breath. He furiously buttoned a couple of buttons on his shirt before giving up and standing. He jerked his jacket closed and looked back at the two women. Penny held Beth's breast in her hand, tilting it up towards her as she began to drop her head towards it. Her lips were pursed as if to kiss. He growled and spun away before storming out of the office and stomping down the hall.

Penny lifted her head back up and let her hand drop from Beth's chest. She looked at Beth, her face a neutral mask. "It's late and I'm thirsty," Penny said at last.

"What about his come?" Beth asked. "I thought we had to drink blood"

"We do," Penny said. "You'd need a line of men to get enough to upset your stomach. It is similar to blood, but not enough."

Beth scrunched up her face at the thought of a line of men waiting to get a blow job. "That's nasty!"

Penny nodded. "Go. Hunt. Do what you must. We'll talk later."

"Talk? About what?"

"About him. About you. About what it means to be what we are."

"But—"

"Later. Tomorrow, when we rise," Penny said.

"Penny, don't do this! I'm going to be worried now. I don't want you mad at me!"

"I'm not mad," Penny said. "Just… uncertain. I need to think about what to tell you and how."

"I don't understand," Beth whined.

"I know," Penny smiled. "It will be okay, pet. I promise. I love you."

"I love you too!" Beth whispered.

Penny smiled and walked out of the office. Penny started to follow and made it all the way to the club before she realized she hadn't put her bra back on. Or cleaned up.

"Woah," Candy said when she turned to see her standing there. Penny was nowhere to be seen, she'd used her supernatural speed to escape. "Is that— and he still left in a huff? Damn!"

Beth looked down at herself and groaned. "Don't ask."

Candy clamped her lips together and pulled a pretend zipper across them. "Wash rag's in the back, hon."

Beth rolled her eyes and stormed back down the hall. It was going to be a long night until the sun rose.

Chapter 11

"I know you're awake. Stop pretending," Penny said.

Beth was awake. Barely. She'd barely come to her senses before Penny spoke. She opened her eyes and saw Penny sitting in the chair. Even with the shadows Beth could tell her mentor was nude.

"I don't remember planning a nude cocktail waitress outfit," Beth tried to joke.

"Do you want me?" Penny asked, ignoring her joke.

Beth sat up in the bed, letting the covers fall to her hips. "Excuse me?"

"You've mentioned many times that we haven't consummated our relationship. Would you like to?"

Beth hesitated and then blinked her eyes. "Wow. Points for spontaneity, but, um, the romance is kind of lacking. You're angry."

Penny was silent for a long moment before responding. "I suppose I am. At myself as much as anything."

"Why?" Beth asked. "I haven't disappointed you, have I?"

"No, I've disappointed me. I should have handled things differently. I should have made more time for you."

"Penny, stop," Beth said. "You've done amazing things for me. I can't tell you how thankful I am."

"Not thankful enough to listen to me," Penny said.

"What? Why do you say that? I told John to go!"

"Elizabeth, you know better, he—"

"Don't call me that," Beth snapped. "Not when you're talking down to me! I'm not a kid, damn it!"

"You're acting like one," Penny replied before she could stop herself. She clamped her lips together and looked to the side while Beth jerked back as though she'd been slapped. "I'm sorry. But look at it. You know he's a police officer. You know he has to look into things that don't make sense. Look at us. We. Don't. Make. Sense!"

"But, I— he cares about me. I can't just block him out."

Penny tilted her head. "I thought you said you did that last night? Are you planning on seeing him again?"

"I don't know, maybe," Beth admitted. "I haven't thought about it that far. What good is being like we are if we can't enjoy ourselves?"

"If he finds out and tells someone? What then? It will spread. We will be discovered and hunted. Ages ago they would have been content to destroy us. Now? The way the world is they would try to capture and study us. Torture us so they could try to learn and use our gifts for their own purposes."

Beth shook her head. "He loves me! He would never let that happen."

Penny rose and walked to the edge of the bed. She sat down and pulled Beth to her until she could stroke her hair. Beth wrapped her arms around her and took comfort in the embrace. "We changed when we died. I changed and so did you. You have many things to learn and do. Many changes ahead of you. What mattered and made sense as a living being is different now."

Beth shook her head as much as her cheek against Penny's skin would allow. "No, I still feel the same."

"Tell me, pet, would you kill each night without remorse before?"

Beth jerked her head up and stared at Penny. "What? I don— oh! But, uh, they're bad people!"

"You're justifying your behavior."

Beth's mouth opened and closed before she scowled and looked away. "Damn it, Penny! You did this to me. Now you're holding it over my head? That's not cool."

"I'm not holding anything over your head," Penny argued. "I'm trying to force you to see things as they are. To see us as we are. We're killers, sweetie. We hunt people down and kill them, and we enjoy it. Drinking the blood of the living gives us a thrill nothing else can match, not even sex. It's what we are and you know it. Accept it."

Beth rolled out of bed and stood up. She paced across the floor and then stopped and spun around to face her. "So what, you're saying I need to kill John?"

Penny stared at her without flinching. "No, not necessarily."

"What else then?"

"You could make him yours," she offered. "Give him your blood. Four times, then he will be yours until he dies."

"No. I won't make him my slave!"

Penny frowned. She glanced around the room before saying, "I have other places. Other businesses. We could leave for a while. I often head to South America or Australia for the summer. Longer nights that way."

"Just run away?" Beth asked, her voice dripping with scorn. "I'm tired of running from my problems. That's why I came to you. That's why I asked you to take me."

Penny held her hands out in exasperation as she asked, "What would you have us do? You won't deal with him, but you won't run away? What's left? Shall I take care of him for you? Would that make you happy?"

"No!" Beth shouted. "Keep your hands— and teeth— off of him! I'll deal with him."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know! Jesus, give me some time. It's not like we don't have enough of it."

"At times like this, time does matter. Go and feed. When you're sated think about things. Remember what I've said. I haven't survived this long because I've made poor decisions."

Beth's eyes narrowed and then she snorted. "Fine. I'll figure it out," she snapped before heading into the closet and grabbing some clothes. She grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a scarlet sweater that had a low cut neck designed to trap the eyes of eligible bachelors. She pulled the clothes on and slid on some boots before storming back out through the bedroom. She paused at the door when Penny called her name.

"Elizabeth— sweetie," Penny hesitated. "I don't mean to hurt you. We can have amazing lives. We will, I mean. There are just lessons along the way to be learned. Lessons that even I am still learning. The world changes around me and I have to keep up with it too."

Beth nodded. She hesitated, trying to find something to say. Finally she grunted and said, "I'll be back later."

"Be careful," Penny said.

Beth nodded again and then opened the door and hurried through the apartment. She grabbed her long jacket before heading out of the apartment and into the elevator. She walked briskly through the lobby and gave the guard a chop of a wave before throwing the door open and rushing out into the blowing snow of yet another Michigan winter snowstorm.

Beth skidded to a halt in her boots. Her toes slipped on the salted sidewalk but her heels dug in, stopping her. She had to hold up her hand to block the horizontal snow so she could see. Traffic was nearly at a standstill.

Beth spun and started walking. She didn't think she just walked. She needed action and distance. She had to get away from Penny. Not forever, just for a while. Penny was her savior, but now she was trying to control her. Demanding who she could and couldn't like. Hadn't she proved last night that she could control the situation? She'd sent him away!

Beth stopped, her feet sliding a few inches again. She'd sent him away, but not until after they'd played. Until after she'd gotten close to him again. "Fuck," Beth muttered. Penny was right, she had told him too much.

She started walking again and then jerked her head up when a horn honked at her. A car slid forward and twisted, running up on the curb to avoid hitting her. Beth glared at him and swung her hand, hitting the front fender of the BMW and leaving a sizeable dent in it. She turned and kept going, ignoring the shout that followed after her a few moments later. The snow had already blown her tracks away and hidden her from view.

Beth kept going, reliving the night before in her head and even drifting back to when she and John made love in the park. It had been magical, her last night alive with him in her arms. And between her legs. And— she stopped and stared up into the swirling sky. She couldn't have him. Not ever again. But he knew where she worked and lived. He knew about Penny. He knew too much.

"Damn it!" Beth growled. Why couldn't she have it all? Some goddess she was turning out to be.

She tucked her head down and kept walking through the storm. When she looked up she had to squint to see through the blizzard. She was standing in front of a tall factory that had seen better years. The windows and doors were boarded up but in many places the boards were broken or pulled back.

Beth's eyes narrowed. She was thirsty and she could almost taste what waited inside for her. She ran her tongue over her teeth and nearly poked herself as her fangs grew. John could wait, right now she needed something else. Someone else.

Beth walked up to a boarded window and reached out to pull the gaping boards back. She pulled harder than she intended and broke the sheet of brittle plywood off. Beth glanced at it and shrugged before ducking into the dark interior of the building.

She stood and looked around the room filled with rubble and trash. She sneered, exposing her long right canine. The squatters and homeless lived in squalor. It was disgusting and, she suspected, it probably stank to the stars. She was thankful that she didn't have to breathe.

She moved ahead, walking out of the room and into the main part of the factory. Several rooms, offices or something else she couldn't guess, lined the wall towards the back of the factory. On the far side of the building there were other rooms built. Rubble and trash were collected in the middle, as well as a few rusted barrels that flickered with fire in their depths. Several figures, men and women both, surrounded them.

Beth froze and willed the squatters to ignore her. After several seconds of nobody turning to look at her she tilted her head. Why weren't they looking? She'd made noise breaking the board on the outside of the building. Was this the trick Penny used to get people to ignore her?

Beth pushed the thought from her head. Whether it worked or not, she couldn't expect them to ignore her while she fed on them one after another. She turned and walked along the wall of open offices, looking into each long enough to check for the warm glow of life. It took her three doorways before she found something larger than a rat.

Beth glanced over her shoulder at the crowd surrounding the burning barrel. They remained oblivious. She turned back and slipped into the room. A man in a torn winter jacket and puffy sweatpants sat in the corner of the room. His chin was against his chest and his head lolled back and forth. In front of him a dog that was little more than fur over skin and bones picked his head up and looked at her.

The dog's lip curled up in a growl. Beth's eyes narrowed. The dog shuffled its paws and rose up on them to a sitting position. His hackles rose as he growled again. Beth returned the snarl while lifting her own lips. The dog shrank back, it's menacing rumble turning to a whimper.

"What's a matter, Buddy?" the man slurred. He lifted his head and looked back and forth, then reached for the mangy animal. His hand fell short and he seemed forget what he was doing in the first place. His head dropped to his chest again.

Beth stared at the dog and then at the man. Insulin needles littered the floor. Beth smiled, exposing both fangs. She waved her hand at the dog, "Shoo, Buddy," she said, her words lisping around her teeth.

The dog whimpered again and scooted out the door, his tail between his legs. She watched him go and made sure he wasn't coming back before she turned back to the addict. She hesitated a moment, part of her mind marveling at how the animal had obeyed her, and then fell on her prey.

The addict grunted as she landed on him and forced his head up and back. She sank her teeth into his throat and felt the spurt of salty liquid across her tongue. It had a taint to it that gave it a nutty flavor. She sealed her lips to his furry neck and sucked from the fountain of immortality.

Beth's heart thumped in her chest in tune with the addicts. He squirmed at first and then stiffened beneath her. Not his entire body, just his penis inside the multiple layers of sweatpants her wore. She noted and ignored it, then noticed again when his blood pressure dropped to the point where he fell flaccid again.

Beth continued to slurp as the flow of blood lessened. At first it was a challenge to swallow fast enough, a challenge she enjoyed. Now, as his heart began to flutter and his breaths grew shallow, she savored each spurt and let the steaming soup pool on her tongue before she sent it racing down her throat to her stomach. Much too soon the flow came to a stop and no amount of sucking or teasing the wound would make any more come out.

Beth backed away and looked down at the still body in front of her. She clenched her heart rhythmically, sending the captured blood through her body. As the warmth spread so did a tingle that left behind a pleasant numbing sensation in her body. She smiled and leaned back. "You took a lot," she whispered and then giggled.

Beth shook her head. "Get a hold of yourself," she admonished herself. She looked around the room and then back at her victim. Getting him out wasn't an option, but that meant she'd have get help from Penny. That wasn't an option. Penny would be disappointed in her. Again. She couldn't let that happen, but she couldn't let the body be found. Tearing off his head wouldn't work, she'd be back in the same trouble. How else could she hide the damage?

Beth laughed and had to put her hand in front of her mouth to muffle herself. She rose and staggered to the door of the room. She grabbed onto the rusty metal frame to hold herself up and saw the stray dog sitting outside the room. He saw her and lowered himself until he was lying on the cold cement floor.