Waiting (10 page)
Authors: Kiahana
"Wasn't ignoring you, I was enjoying myself for once instead of worrying about you or trying to save your ass. That alright?"
Parker's eyes turned back to black as soon as Francis came into view, the trickle of purple immediately fading.
"Enjoy yourself in the morning. You brought me Quinn, what was your original plan?"
Francis winked at me before turning his gaze back to Parker in all seriousness.
"Quit flirting with her!" Parker's arm tightened around my side, pulling me closer to him. "My plan was to have him drink from your prisoner you told me you had, then use the law against him. But you had to ruin it by bringing Piper here. You continue to risk her life as if it means nothing, but I assure you it means everything." His tone was deadly, actually making me feel bad for Francis before I remembered the fear of being chained
to his bed
.
"I'm sorry about that, Piper. You know I had no intention of doing so but you played along nicely. One little nip from you and we've got him. I might be in the clear sooner than I thought, then you two can be on your merry way, me just an afterthought."
His tone was light but I could see the hurt in his eyes.
"Never an afterthought,
" Parker spoke immediately before seeming to regret it. "You're my brother. Once we're done with this I'll make you take a blood oath to never kill another human again unless it's life or death for you, then we can pu
t the past behind us." Francis'
eyes showed he thought Parker was lying. "I'm serious. We can be together again, as long as you're done with your old life."
I felt like I was intruding on a very serious family moment and tried to take a step back, as if to disappear altogether, but Parker's arm held me firmly in place.
"I'm done being a Pulpa. I never really was good at being one since I seem to still have feelings deep down inside me, but I know I did horrible, unforgiveable things and I'm going to spend the rest of my years trying to make it right with you." His face brightened again, as if he'd never been having that serious conversation. "Karma is a powerful being and I for one am seriously unbalanced as of today. What do you say we clear things up with Quinn then I'll do something nice for you two, you know, to up my Karma?"
He winked again but this time Parker just rolled his eyes as we followed him back into the main area.
I couldn't help but smile, picturing the two of them rough housing, barbequing, doing anything together that didn't involve fighting.
SEVEN
"Like I said before, you don't need to worry about us or Quinn."
We were standing on the roof of my bui
lding again, Parker
trying to convince me there was nothing I could do and nothing more they needed to do, to be safe.
"Under our laws, as messed up as they might be, if you drink from someone else's property without permission, or
against
their permission, they have the right to kill you."
That made sense. I guess. Don't touch anyone's property. Wait, property?
"I'm property?" I didn't have the strength to be angry with the
derogatory
term used to describe me, but I was still curious.
"In a sense, yes, and no matter if you hate me, I'll use it to keep you safe."
My lips twitched, happy to just be in his
presence
, but even happier that
he
wanted to be with
me
.
He leaned down to kiss me
and w
hen I opened my eyes we were
standing outside my door. Damn, he really could move lightning fast. Good thing I didn't get motion sickness.
"Do you need an invitation every time?"
"No. But if you rescind the invitation, I can't reenter until you invite me again."
That
might be useful against other v
ampires.
"So, do you want to come in, or do you have to go?"
I felt my heart sink at the thought of him leaving, but kept a smile on my face, or so I thought.
"You don't have to look so sad,” he said with a wide grin. “
It's two in the morning and you have work in a few hours, but if you want me to stay, I can." His lips curved into a smile as he tucked my hair behind my ear,
goose-bumps
rising from his contact.
"I'd like you to stay, but you don't have to. I mean, you can go home and sleep."
Why was I babbling? I turned and entered my hallway, took off my shoes while holding onto the door handle, then turned back to find him gone.
Of course he'd leave. I was a babbling idiot and he was probably just happy to be rid of me for the night.
I shut the door and threw my purse on the side table, my keys right beside it before heading straight for the bathroom to wash my face. After relieving myself and removing my dress, I brushed my teeth then walked down the hall to my bedroom, push
ing open the door and almost having
a heart
-
attack seeing Parker laying across my bed, staring up at the ceiling as if deep in thought.
“
Took you long enough."
He smiled wide while I clutched at my heart, making sure it kept beating.
"You gave me a heart-attack!
I thought you left."
I silently thanked whatever God’s above that I didn’t have to take a number two. And that he hadn’t heard it.
That would've been horrifying.
"Why would I leave when my dream woman told me she wanted me to
stay?
"
Dream woman? Yeah right. But he was most
definitely
my dream man.
"Well I'm glad you stayed. I was sad when I thought you left, and without even really saying good bye."
I forgot I was practically naked before feeling his eyes roam over my entire body
,
making me shiver.
I walked to my dresser and pulled out
a long, red silk nightie
, pulled it over my head before removing my bra, then climbed in next to him. He stayed on top of the covers, laying on his side facing me while I did the same.
"Ask me anything. I don't want any secrets between us." He knew me too well.
"You can go in the sun, obviously, but t
ell me about everything. There are
so many versions of vampires that contradict with
a lot
that you can do. You can alter minds, fly, you
’
r
e
incredibly fast and strong, beautiful, but you can go out in the sun. What about garlic, church, or stakes, not that I'm trying to kill you." He chuckled at my ramblings.
"Garlic smells terrible, too strong, but it doesn't hurt us. Church is a public building and we can enter as we please
like anyone else
. Stakes hurt, but don't kill, more like tickle after the initial contact. If we don't get the stake out then long term damage can hold, but once it's out, we heal pretty quickly. You saw what just a drop of my blood did to your ankle, and to Brian's forehead."
We sat in silence for a bit, me trying to come up with more questions without being annoying.
"Why di
d you never get close to anyone? You let me right in
when others have tried and tried and you turn them away without so much as a second glance." I thought he knew everything about me, but I guess not.
I
buried
my head against his chest, too
embarrassed
to actually reveal the reason out loud. "Please. I'll answer all your questions honestly, and would like you to do the same."
Like
I
even had the strength to try and lie to him.
"No one ever compared to you. It was frustrating. I'd try to let guys kiss me, even made the first move sometimes, but they didn't have anything on you. It's pathetic, I know." My head remained
buried
against his chest, too afraid to see his reaction.
"I'm glad, though it pained me over the years to see you sad. I'd told myself that if you did find someone, then I'd be happy for you. I even let Brian keep his feelings for you, rather than make him think otherwise, in hopes tha
t maybe he could make you happy
if I didn't return to you in time."
My head shot up, searching his eyes to see if he was joking. He wasn't.
"You've always been mysterious. I made it my mission, the night of our last part
y at Brian's house, to kiss you. A
nd even though it went horribly wrong, I still can't regret it. You opened my eyes and showed me what I could of had, and ultimately what I didn't want to live without. No one's been able to compete on even a minute scale."
Why was I still talking? I'd answered his question, now it's my turn.
"You said yo
u've been watching me for years. W
here were you last week when Francis said he saved my life?"
"The Pulpa
s made a grand entrance a few cities over and I was meeting with a friend to get information. There have been some disappearances
among
some of my friends and I wanted to find out what I could, in h
opes to end the questions.
P
ulpa
s are behind it, and I have to have proof before I take it to the
Council
. They are more powerful than any, and their word is law. To question them is instant death.
Even the Pulpa
s fear them."
It just kept getting
weirder
.
"How many make up the
Council
? Do you have a president?"
"The Counc
il acts like the president, making a decision as one. There's ten total. They get more done, but we are also a more violent species."
I turned to lay on my back, trying to figure out which question to ask next.
"How exactly are you planning on using Quinn to save Francis? I know you said 'the law', but does that mean Quinn will keep his mouth shut and
keep
Francis from being hunted, so that he doesn't get killed himself?"
"Mostly," h
e nodded. "Francis will give him the option to live under circumstances, and under a blood oath. Quinn is second in command to the largest Pulpa group and with his word, Francis can be considered dead and a non-threat, effectively clearing his name and leaving him un-harmed.
Un
wanted
.
" His eyes darkened again. "But if he does the blood oath and turns b
ack on his word, he dies anyway
, a slow painful death, brought on by himself. If he manages to escape before the blood oath is
made, then we'll have a problem. E
ven bigger than just Francis."
My lips twitc
hed. He could say all he wanted
but he really did love his brother and it showed, no matter what he said.
"Francis said you were both created, turned, or whatever by the same woman and that you're really brothers. How did this all happen?" I turned back on my side and found myself eager for his answers. This was a pretty important question and I can't believe it took me this long to ask it.
"We were born from the same mum and turned by the same mum. She was turned without any warning and disappeared for a few months, leaving us to beg and fend for ourselves. She showed back up when I
was twenty two and Francis was t
wenty four, had her friends creep us out of the town into the forest where she changed us both. No one ever entered the forest at night, too afraid of the noises, and that night I finally understood what some of them were. Victims changing over, or just plain being eaten."
I shivered and he wrapped his arm around me, flipping me with one smooth move so we were now spooning. I could feel his heat through the blankets, though I knew his body was cold.
"I did
a lot
of horrible things the first decade or so of my life, not really knowing I had a choice otherwise. I hate myself for what I've done, the pain I've caused others unintentionally, even when I thought I was helping. I'll never be able to forgive myself, and like Francis says he'll do, I live everyday trying to make up for it."
I didn't press him further, not wanting to keep his thoughts dwelling on his past. The past was past, we all had to live with it. For instance, my decision to be prude and inexperienced was kicking me in the face now. I'd had sex twice before, well once really, since my first time was a
disaster, but those were spaced about three years apart, the last time over four
years ago.
Neither
time was something to brag about. I didn't want to be lame for him, but also wasn't even sure what vampires could do with humans.