Of Witches and Warlocks: The Demon Kiss (5 page)

I turned to walk across the hall from him,
leaning against the wall and folding my arms over my stomach,
trying to keep all the quivering emotions in there and out of my
voice.

“So what do you want me to do, Vance?” I
stared at his back. “If you really want me to be completely out of
your life, then just say so. I’ll leave and never come back. I
don’t want to do that, but I love you. I’ll do whatever you need me
to do.”

I felt like my heart was being shredded by my
own words, and I held my breath waiting for him to answer, hoping
against hope that he would tell me everything was fine and we would
be okay.

There was a very long pause before he spoke.
I could feel him trying to shutter his emotions from me as he
struggled over them.

“Please. Just leave, Portia,” he said in a
tight voice, never turning to look at me. “We are no good together
anymore. Things have changed, and the feelings we’ve had for each
other are being affected differently now. I think this would be the
best thing for us to do.”

I felt my insides grow cold at his words, as
if they were turning to ice then breaking into a million pieces. I
had to search hard for my voice.

“Fine,” I said, pushing away from the wall,
trying to maintain my composure. I walked over, reaching into my
jacket pocket to pull out the box which held the ring my grandma
had sent to him, placing it on the floor next to his feet, and then
I turned and walked down the hall toward the door. Over my shoulder
I said, “By the way, please keep in contact with the coven at
least. They’re waiting to hear from you so they can come help you
with your father. They sent that to you.” I gestured toward the
box. “Don’t be stupid and try to do it alone.”

He didn’t look at me or even say anything
more as I left the building and walked out into the bright
sunshine.

I passed Brad and Shelly, who were standing
outside the door, and walked over to get into the Mustang. They
exchanged puzzled glances before they joined me.

“What’s going on?” Shelly asked with a
worried look.

“Let’s go back to the hotel,” I replied and
leaned back against the seat, closing my eyes to signal the end of
the conversation. They climbed into the car after me.

I managed to keep things together until we
reached our room.

“Do you two mind if I have a minute alone?” I
asked them, trying to control the slight tremor in my voice.

“Not at all,” Shelly said, eyeing me with
another concerned gaze. “We’ll go down to the restaurant and get
some tea. Can we get you anything?”

I shook my head.

They whispered together as they went down the
hall, while I fumbled with opening the door. I walked inside and
went over to the desk to place the room keycard on it.

I peered at my stricken face in the mirror.
It was pale and tight. My whole body started shaking, and I turned,
stumbled over to the bed and fell onto it.

“He left me!” I cried out, the sobs racking
my entire being. “He left me!”

I grabbed a pillow, burying my face into it
and cried. My grief took complete hold of me. My body convulsed,
and tears streamed down my face.

I didn’t want to live. There was no way I
could go on. I wished for death right there on the spot. I wished
he had killed me. Death had to be easier than this.

I had no idea how long I lay there, but I
didn’t move when Shelly and Brad came back to the room. Shelly took
one look at me and rushed to my side.

“Tell me,” she demanded. She sat next to me
and lifted my head, putting it in her lap.

“He left me!” was all I could say, and the
fresh sobs came even harder.

I cried for hours, Shelly holding me,
stroking my hair into the darkness of the night. I hoped numbness
would finally overtake me, but it never came. I couldn’t stop.

Brad sat in one of the chairs, occasionally
jumping up to pace the room back and forth.

“Sit down!” Shelly finally snapped at him.
“You’re just making her more nervous!”

“I can’t,” he said and grabbed for his jacket
and put it on. “I’m going to go out to find that jerk, and then I
am going to beat the crap out of him!”

“Don’t go!” I pleaded with him, sitting up a
little. “He made it very clear that he needs me out of his
life.”

“Well, then after I kill him, he’ll have his
wish,” Brad said through clenched teeth, his hand on the
doorknob.

I was still crying when he opened the door to
step out. I blinked my swollen eyes in confusion for a moment
before I realized my brain wasn’t playing tricks on me, and Vance
was actually standing on the other side of the door.

Brad’s reflexes acted quickly: He cocked his
arm back and threw his punch.

Vance was quicker. He grabbed Brad’s fist in
mid air with his hand, stopping it completely.

“I need to talk to Portia,” he said, with a
deadly look. “Alone.”

“Don’t you think she’s had enough already?”
Brad yelled at Vance and yanked his fist away from him. “She can’t
take anymore!” he added angrily. He stood square in the doorway,
trying to block the entrance.

“Let him in,” I said softly. Crying hiccups
overtook me.

Brad glared back and forth between the two of
us before he stepped out of the way and allowed Vance to enter the
room.

“Come on, Shelly,” Brad said, nodding his
head toward the door, not acting too happy about the situation.

Shelly turned to me, her face full of
concern.

“Are you sure you want me to go?” she asked
gently.

I nodded.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, swallowing the large
lump in the middle of my throat, feeling thankful to have friends
who cared about my well being so much.

Shelly grabbed her coat on the way out and
paused in front of Vance.

“Don’t you dare hurt her anymore,” she
commanded, staring him in the eye. “Do you understand me?” she
added when he didn’t respond.

Vance still said nothing, flatly returning
her gaze, not acknowledging he had heard her in any way.

Finally, she just pushed past him and out the
door.

When they were gone, Vance locked the
deadbolt and the latch behind them. He stood there for a moment,
staring at the door before he turned around and walked over to sit
on the other bed in the room, across from me.

I didn’t say anything to him, watching him as
he rubbed his palms together, moving them back and forth
slowly.

He didn’t look at me, appearing to be lost in
thought, just staring at his hands, and I sat patiently, waiting
for him to speak to me when he was ready.

We sat there in silence for several long
moments, only the sound of my hiccups filling the air, and I was
beginning to think he wasn’t ever going to say anything when he
finally lifted his head and gazed intently at me.

“Portia,” was the only thing he said, and he
shook his head slightly from side to side, giving a deep sigh.

He thrust a hand through his hair, before
standing up suddenly and shrugging out of his leather jacket. He
placed the jacket on the bed and sat back down.

I watched his muscles rippling under the
tight t-shirt which did little to hide the muscular physique
beneath. My physical reaction to him would never change, I realized
as I felt my pulse leap up in tempo.

“I can’t do it,” he said, looking into my
eyes.

“Do what?” I asked, trying to follow.

“Leave you,” he answered. “It’s tearing me up
inside, and it’s obviously doing the same thing to you.”

“Listen, Vance,” I said pushing myself up to
sit cross-legged on the bed. I moved my disheveled hair back from
my tearstained face. “I can’t do this anymore. You have some
decisions to make right now. I will not play this game with you. Do
you understand me?”

“I’ll do anything you want. Just tell me what
to do,” he replied with a dejected sigh.

I looked at him hard, trying to gauge his
emotions, knowing he had never been one to handle ultimatums well
in the past.

“You have to make a choice right now, this
minute,” I continued. “You either commit to me here and now, or you
leave. I know you’re in pain, but I need to know I can trust
you.”

“I understand,” he said, his gaze not moving
from my face.

I paused for a second, feeling more than a
little melodramatic at the moment, along with also experiencing a
need to let him know how badly I had really felt about all
this.

“And if you think you can’t abide by that and
you need to leave me, then I have one request,” I added.

“Which is what?” he asked, confusion lighting
his face.

“I would rather that you just kill me next
time, if you decide to go. Drink every single drop of my blood
please and let me die, because this hurts too badly.” I pointed to
my chest and my eyes welled up with tears again.

He was instantly over to my bed and kneeling
on the floor in front of me, softly placing his head in my lap.

“Portia, stop. Don’t talk like this. I don’t
want to hurt you, ever,” he said, reaching his arms around me.

“You already have,” I replied, and ran my
fingers lightly through his hair, unable to help myself. “I just
want you to understand if you need me so badly that you’re willing
to leave me for my protection, then I’m offering myself up as a
gift to you. I’ll even be with you physically if it’s what you
truly desire, and I’ll give you every drop of blood that I have.
Just please let me know that it’s the end so I can savor each and
every moment I have left with you. The choice is yours. Whenever
you want it, all you have to do is ask. I will give it to you
freely; just don’t leave me behind again.” I knew I sounded crazy,
almost hysterical.

“Portia, stop it!” he said, and grabbed me by
the arms, shaking me slightly. “I’m not going to take your
virginity and then drink you dry.”

He was exasperated with me now. I could feel
it coursing through him before he released me. He rose to his feet
and paced the room.

My eyes never left him.

“I wouldn’t have come here tonight if I
thought I wouldn’t be able to control myself. When you walked out
the door, and out of my life, I thought I was going to die. I could
feel the pain that I’d caused you, and I felt horrible.” He sat
back down on the edge of the bed. “I realized then that your life
and your happiness mean more to me than anything else. I thought I
was doing the right thing by sending you away. Don’t get me wrong.
I second-guessed myself a lot. I’ve had to do quite a bit of soul
searching over the last few hours, and it was brutal. All I could
hear was your crying.”

“You were still listening?” I was surprised
to hear this.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself. Your
grief was overwhelming me,” he said, looking at me with sad
eyes.

“Why did you wait so long to come to me?” I
asked, thinking of the torment he had put me through.

“I had to be sure. I had to know it was the
right thing for me to do, the right thing for you.” He looked away
from me then for a moment, took in a slow breath, and moved his
gaze back to me. “I’m being totally selfish here. You’d be much
better off without me.”

“Vance. That is not possible.” I lifted my
hands to the sides of his face. “I’ll take you any way I can. Even
if it means you become a raving demon lunatic. I just have to be
with you.”

He stood up then and walked around the bed so
he could crawl up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist,
pulling me up against him, while leaning back on the pillows behind
us.

We laid there in silence for several moments,
and I reveled in the feel of being back in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into my ear.

“I love you,” I said, rolling from my back to
my stomach so I could look at him closer.

“I love you, too,” he replied, reaching out
to run his fingers through my hair.

“Then kiss me.”

I knew I was tempting fate with this request,
but I had to know how he would react.

He hesitated for a moment before he finally
pulled me to him and kissed me gently.

I didn’t close my eyes. I wanted to see his
reaction, and I found he didn’t close his eyes either, instead
choosing to look deep into my mine.

He rolled me over suddenly, so I was on my
back and he was leaning over me. He just looked at me for a minute,
stroking my hair, and then he brought his mouth down to mine and
kissed me like he was starving to death.

I felt the passion between us heat up
quickly, but still I didn’t take my eyes off him. I saw the red
color flash through his irises, signaling that his desires could be
getting out of control.

He didn’t move from me, though, continuing to
kiss me. As his fervor began to grow his eyes became redder
still.

I watched him, until he left my face to trail
his kisses down my throat to the purple mark that was so clearly
visible on my neck. I closed my eyes and let him nibble slightly at
the spot before he moved back up to my lips.

I reopened my eyes to stare into his flaming
ones.

“You’re playing with fire you know,” he
commented casually, brushing his lips against mine.

“Yes, I know.” I stared up at him.

“Why tempt fate? Or me for that matter?” He
pulled back a little bit from me so he could look at me.

“Because, if you were going to lose it and do
something awful to me, you’d have done it by now. You have more
control over yourself than you think.”

“So you’re testing me then?”

“Yes.”

He started kissing me again. This time a
little more roughly, passionately. His hands tangled in my hair,
occasionally leaving to run up and down my arms, stroking them.

I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him
down against me tightly, kissing him back with everything I
had.