Tempting The Gorgon: A Gorgon / Vampire Romance

Chapter 10

“Are you really not telling me where we’re headed?” she asked me again.

“And where is the fun in that?” I asked back, trying not to reach out and grip the generous globes of her thick and tasty ass as she climbed into Drew’s Jeep he was letting me borrow for the day.

One day I’d be able to show my love of her body freely, but I had to woo her first. I had to impress my mate with my knowledge of her and how well I knew her. How I could show her a good time. How I could take care of her. I had to show her the best date of all the dates in the history of dating. And I was about to deliver since I succeeded at nearly everything. I closed her door then rushed to my own, refusing to leave her alone with her thoughts for too long and letting her find a way to escape me.

“I’m being serious,” she said, her tone changed slightly now that we were sitting in the vehicle. I looked at her and saw the serious look on her face.

I relented with a pared-down version to hopefully ease her mind.

“We’re going to run an errand to a part of the island I don’t think you’ve been to yet, then we’re going to come back to town and go to dinner at Drew’s restaurant.” It wasn’t that glamorous, and the fun part was really where we were going, not so much about the traveling there.

Her shoulders dropped slightly as if she were able to relax, and I started to feel bad.

I turned to her, speaking clearly, hoping she understood my intent. “I wasn’t trying to keep you from anything specific. I only wanted to plan something for you since you’ve had to be the one making decisions at all times with the club’s opening. Sorry if I gave you any anxiety about our plans.”

I meant every word. I never wanted to make her existence harder.

She met my gaze, and I saw her understanding in them. She nodded.

“Sometimes I struggle with people telling me where to go or what to do with little details.”

I wanted to ask a million questions about that statement, but instead, started up the Jeep so we could start on our journey.

“Do you feel comfortable telling me why that is so I know the context to keep in mind going forward?”

I’d have to remember that sentence to tell Guillermo at our next session. That’s some therapist-level communication if I’d ever heard it.

“Okay, Dr. Luna.” Vinni snorted. “I guess I should tell you. Since even that night?—”

“Please don’t mention that night, I don’t want to go another two months not speaking to avoid my embarrassment.”

“Your embarrassment??” She sounded like I was making a joke she didn’t understand. “You aren’t the one who ran away in the middle of the forest for stupid reasons.”

Despite the snow, the roads were okay because of some warming magick Grom had worked with Cliona on the rougher trails outside of the town. They tried to conserve their magick for only vital uses, and traveling to and from the docks was something even winter couldn’t take away from running the town.

I took one hand off the wheel and gripped her cold fingers in my own. I was glad she let me. “First, if your instincts tell you to run away, that is exactly what the fuck you should do. Obviously, you didn’t have to run from me, and you never will because I’d rather get your permission and have you enjoy the pain I’d give you. Preferably only after I had you begging me for it.” I winked to hopefully lighten the mood. “And second, yes, my embarrassment. I obviously was too drunk on your delicious cunt to notice how uncomfortable you had gotten. Safe words are there for a reason, but I’ve never tried or wanted one of my partners to actually feel the need to use one. I consider myself a better Dom than that.”

To my surprise, Vinni nodded and squeezed my hand, not pulling away, which brought a smile to my lips.

Do not let her next words cause you anger, vampire. A masculine voice sounded in my head. I kept my cool, recognizing it as Snake Daddy from when he bit me the night before.

She has not shared this with most, so don’t ruin it. Titi spoke next.

“I know you are aware I was held captive before coming to Haven Pass,” she started.

I did know this, only because she had to share something in alpha group, and she’d done so reluctantly when she first showed up. I soaked up every minute detail Vinni has shared about her past and never forgot a word of it. I hadn’t been able to think too long on what brought her to the island for fear of breaking some laws to find out what happened and hunt down whoever was responsible.

“What I haven’t talked about much is that I wasn’t only in captivity. I was held under a blood curse by a coven of vampires.”

I managed to keep my face neutral, or I hoped as much anyway. I squeezed her hand to let her know I heard her. I couldn’t have stopped the tightening of my hand on the steering wheel if I tried. I hoped she didn’t see my knuckles whiten or hear the slight groan of the handle in my grip.

“So that night, it wasn’t you or anything you did. It was just.” She paused again, gathering her words. “It was a vampire over me that triggered it. Nothing you did or did not sense in me. And he never—” She paused to take a deep breath.

The relief I might have felt at her telling me it wasn’t anything I’d done was short-lived at the idea of her being not only held against her will but being held by a curse by a vampire coven, no less.

“He never forced me into his bed because I took precautions against it. I wasn’t sure how long I would have been able to hold him off, which is why I’m thankful I got out when I did.”

“I want a name, temptress.” I tried to keep my tone light, but I knew my rage was evident. How could it not be? A vampire, someone of my own kind, had caused such harm to my own mate?

It wouldn’t stand.

I would even use the resources my family had to get to the bottom of it when the time came. There is nowhere that a vampire could hide that my father wouldn’t be able to find.

“No.”

“I’m trying not to be an overbearing asshole right now, Lavinia.” I said her full name to let her know how serious I was about this.

“Don’t do that.” She surprised me with the gentleness in her tone.

“Don’t?” I asked, hoping to keep the rage at her pain away from how I spoke to her.

“You call me Vinni. Don’t call me Lavinia.”

I paused in shock again.

“Wait, are you trying to distract me by surprising me even more about one of the only times I haven’t used the nickname you claim to hate?”

I chanced a glance to her side of the Jeep where she was staring straight ahead but had a slight smirk on her lips.

“Vinni, I need you to know you can trust me with the coven’s name. I only want to make sure they won’t do it to anyone else ever again.”

She didn’t say anything, and I saw her continue staring out the window at the snowy background.

“It’s really beautiful out here.”

I sighed heavily but decided to let her keep her secrets for now.

Smart move, vampire, Luxor agreed.

She’ll tell you eventually, I’m sure, Titi offered, but I had a feeling she wasn’t sure herself.

I sure as fuck hoped she would.

We arrivedat the marina a couple hours later. It wasn’t normally a long drive, but with the fresh snow, even with the magick and the precious cargo, I had taken a leisurely pace. It was a small marina, only housing a few boats that various residents docked, along with some larger ships the ó Cuinn family owned for shipping goods from the mainland. This time of year wasn’t used for sea travel much and flying shifters were leveraged mostly for goods that weren’t able to be stockpiled in the warmer seasons.

Generally speaking, the island was self-sufficient. We had crops and food covered, along with lumber and other renewable resources we could maintain. Cliona being a green witch helped the most with produce, while Grom as the Earth Council chair was able to manage the other infrastructure needs like water, sewer, and electricity.

It took the whole island working together to make it livable, along with the magick gifted from Cliona’s ancestors that founded it as a refuge. It was a truly magickal island, and what most knew but didn’t think about too often if they lived in Haven Pass was that the whole island was a refuge.

Yes, Haven Pass was the main town and where most of the population lived, but the folks that needed refuge weren’t always land dwellers, just like they weren’t all suited to be around the heavy or dense populations the town provided. There were small villages and settlements around the entire island, and most of them were happy to be left alone or only sent a delegate into town for the council meetings that might affect them.

“Where are we exactly?” Vinni asked as I helped her out of the car.

“We’re at the Glas Isle Marina.”

“Glas Isle?”

“That’s the name of the island.”

“I thought it was called Haven Pass?” It was a valid question, and one I was happy to answer. I was hoping this first date would spurn conversation and I could answer any questions she had about this place. This island was my home, and although some used it as a stop on their healing journey or only a momentary space to rest, I’d hoped to convince Vinni to accept me as her mate and Glas Isle as her new home.

“The town is called Haven Pass, but the whole island is called Glas Isle, which means Green Island in Irish. Cliona’s grandparents named it when they created it with their magick, but since most people are transported right into Haven Pass, they don’t venture out unless they are feeling curious.”

I led us toward one of the docks that branched off into smaller docks leading to different boats. I climbed into one of the midsize fishing boats and reached back for her hand. She looked at it with hesitation.

“I promise you will enjoy this. And I also promise we aren’t going far.”

She gulped, and her normally tanned skin was paler than normal. “I’ve never been on a boat before.”

“What?” I asked.

“I said what I said.” She composed herself and grabbed my hand. I loved the contact more than I tried to let on. She had to feel the spark of our skin as it touched. I sat her in the chair next to the captain’s seat behind the boat’s wheel. It was a smaller speed boat, but still big enough it didn’t feel cramped. I wrapped her in two blankets and leaned down to kiss her forehead before I paused.

“Can I kiss your forehead?” I asked. Consent was important, and although I had kind of forced her into this date, or at the very least didn’t give her an opportunity to back out, I also know Vinni was the type to let me know real quick if I did anything out of line.

She looked up at me through her thick eyelashes, the blue irises flashing a bright green before nodding her head.

“I need your words, temptress,” I growled softly only for her ears.

“Yes.”

I kissed her forehead and pet each of the snakes in hopes of wooing them too before situating myself in the captain’s chair.

“Can you tell me where we are going now, vampire?” she asked. I noticed when I got too close she reverted to calling me vampire or bloodsucker or some other non-name designation.

I wonder if she’d call me Daddy again unprompted?

As long as she calls you Daddy instead of me, Luxor said into my mind. I really needed to learn how to block them out, but even then, I didn’t want to keep anything between Vinni and me, which included the eight little bastards attached to her head.

I barked a laugh and turned the ignition.

“We’re going to meet some friends of mine.”