Transfusion (Transfusion Saga #1)

Chapter 11

The Great Muffin Loss

The second the door closed in front of Lucius, I turned around and let my body slide down it.

I then let my head fall back and closed my eyes, placing a hand over my pounding heart in the hope that it would eventually calm down.

What had that man done to me once again? I needed to get a grip and move the hell on and in doing so, as far away as I could get.

Because the reality of my problem was a simple one, Lucius was far too dangerous to be around, and it had nothing to do with being a Vampire, but everything to do with the fragile heart he owned.

I couldn’t fall for him again…I just couldn’t.

Oh, who was I kidding, of course I was falling for him again.

Hell, the bastard had been the one to push me!

The sound of my phone ringing jolted me from my thoughts and I answered it without looking, already knowing who it would be.

“Hello, Kirky.”

“Oh my God! Tell me everything, you lying hussy, you!”

Wendy squealed down the phone in her excitement.

“You know, he could have still been here, in which case your phone call would have been most inconvenient,”

I told her, only wishing this had been the case.

She snorted and said,

“Whatever, Emmie.

Look, Ben already told me that he’s left, so just get on with the juicy gossip already.”

I frowned at the floor and said,

“And how did Ben know when to look out for me and my…?”

“Date? Yeah, kept that one quiet didn’t you...?”

she quipped.

“Kirky!”

I said her name for her to get on with it, which thankfully she got the hint that I wasn’t in the mood.

“I told him of course,”

she informed me in a way that was just short of the ‘duh’ at the end.

I rolled my eyes at no one and let my head bang back against the door in exasperation.

“Why would you do that, now he will want to know…?”

The sudden sound of someone at the door knocking had me yelping in surprise.

“Who’s that?”

she asked and again I rolled my eyes out of habit.

“Who do you think, you called him after all?”

I said then I opened the door, speaking as I did so,

“Ben what are you…doing here?”

My voice suddenly trailed off into a barely heard whisper the second I saw that it wasn’t Ben after all…

It was Lucius.

My heart once more started to hammer in my chest, and I swear it was so loud to my own ears, he must have been able to hear it too.

In fact, I was so shocked that I let the phone slip from my hand and it would have crashed down on the floor had Lucius not saved it with his lightening quick reflex.

“So, not Ben then?”

I heard Wendy say in a small voice from down in his palm.

Lucius simply raised the phone to his ear and replied in a cool, deep voice,

“No, not Ben.

Goodnight Wendy.”

Then he pressed the red phone icon and ended the call.

“Wh…what are you…?”

The broken start of my question ended by Lucius cutting me off with a pissed off growl.

“What do you think…?”

he said taking what would seem to anyone else was a threatening step towards me.

“I…I…um.”

I mumbled having no idea until he decided to growl his reason at me.

“I am waiting for you to lock your fucking door!”

he snapped making me frown in confusion and mumble some more.

“I…I…”

Lucius’ eyes flashed crimson once, emphasising the first word of his next sentence as well as the snarl that joined it.

“You need to be more careful and you can start by locking your door the second you’re inside and not opening it again to any fucker that could be on the other side, without looking,”

he said nodding behind me, so I turned to see that he was indicating towards the peephole that any smart person would have used.

But I was still questioning why he was so angry?

“But it’s a secure building and I…well, the door is…”

At this he once again cut me off with only a single look and it was deadly.

“The code to your door is 2277.”

“Uh, how do you know that?”

“Because it is a simple four-digit code that anyone could remember after only walking past the second someone was trying to get inside,”

he told me as if he had already accomplished this and it was as easy as eating pie.

“But the chances are…”

He quickly cut me off by taking another step closer to me and carried on with his point in an even more intimidating manner.

“You have twenty-four people occupying this building which gives anyone who wants to get inside twenty fucking four opportunities to get inside, knock on this door, be fucking welcomed in the second you open it and then rob you, rape you and potentially kill you, all because…”

he paused to lean in close and snarl his next words in my face…

“You wouldn’t first take a fucking second to look to see who it was!”

Oh boy, yep he was angry.

In fact, scrap angry, he was bloody furious! So definitely not how I saw the night ending, as in…At. All.

I didn’t realise but at the sight of his anger I had unconsciously been trying to get away from the terrifying sight of Lucius beyond pissed off and in doing so I had been taking small frightened steps back inside my flat.

He also followed me a step inside and without taking his eyes off me he issued me one last demand,

“Now lock your fucking door!”

Then he slammed the door shut so that it rattled on its hinges and the second it was closed I ran to it and clicked both the latch and added the chain that was eye level so that he could hear me doing this.

I swear I even heard the great sigh of frustration he let out before I heard the sound of his steps walking away.

However, I only stopped shaking seconds later after those steps were making their way firmly down the stairs.

I continued to listen until there was silence only then releasing a whoosh of air through my trembling lips, asking myself what had just happened?

I had seen Lucius angry before, but furious beyond all composure was a new one for me because usually, no matter how turbulent or powerful Lucius’ emotions were, he was renowned for his deadly calm and imperturbable exterior.

An incredibly powerful being that kept a level head no matter whether that was in battle or scaring the living shit out of someone before torturing them.

One fact always remained…Lucius always kept his cool.

So, what had that been about?

I suddenly heard something vibrating and I jumped, not realising that he must have dropped my phone on a small sideboard by the door that I usually kept my keys and mail on.

I picked it up and didn’t recognise the number but knew who it was from the second I read the last order…

‘Walk away from the door and go to bed, Princess.’

“AAHHH!”

I growled out loud, cursing myself for only being able to do it now when the big overbearing ass wasn’t here to hear it! I don’t know who he thought he was or what right he had to boss me around, but it irked me to the point that I suddenly needed a drink.

So, I walked into my small, compact kitchen and grabbed the open bottle of rosé that still had a good two glasses worth in there.

Then I poured myself a large one and toasted the door and said,

“To overbearing assholes that I clearly piss off!”

Then I took a big gulp of my wine, nearly choking in the process and this was what Wendy heard when she rang me for the second time.

“Christ, I’m not sure I want to know what you’re choking on?!”

I cleared my throat the best I could and told her,

“That’s disgusting!”

Which in turn made her laugh.

“So, I guess the mysterious man came back, who, it has to be said, officially has the sexiest voice I had ever heard.”

I rolled my eyes as I slumped down on my cute little shabby sofa that was a miss match of chintzy cushions that I had lovingly made, thanks to the old ones having holes and stains adorning them.

I had picked it up for free, but only if I arranged to get it out of his house as soon as possible, acting like the whole thing had been condemned or something.

Well, I just hoped no one had died on it or anything because, other than it being old and smelling a bit musty, it was in great condition.

So, the dated brown velvet fabric was well beyond being called retro or even classic but the shape of it was great.

It was one of those that had the sides held up in place with a tasseled curtain tie wrapped around two wooden posts.

The great thing about it was that if you unraveled the red tasseled rope then the sides went flat and the whole thing became a long thin bed, one Wendy had passed out on many a time.

The back section had been tricky to cover in the cream fabric I found on good old eBay, but with some help from Wendy, and her industrial strength staple gun, we managed it.

I had decided to re-cover each of the three bottom cushions in a different chintzy pattern, two of which were flowers and the center one was light pink and dark pink pin stripes reminding me of a candy cane at the fair.

It was by far my favorite piece, which was why whenever I was near it with any food or drink, I covered the bottom with a light grey throw that was usually folded over the back just so that I couldn’t spill anything on it.

I’d learned the hard way when I realized that nothing gets Chicken Tikka out of a cream rug or the Sag Aloo that quickly followed as a result of my surprise.

The rest of my flat was done in a girly yet country style that mirrored my bedroom back home.

But this was me we were talking about, so it also had its geeky side.

Like the Star Trek framed posters I’d had signed by the wonderful Leonard Nimoy.

Or my precious shelf that was dedicated to all things Sci Fi, complete with toy movie figures, some still in their original packaging.

Other things in my flat included a whitewashed and shabby chic coffee table that had chunky fat legs.

A new rug, that was swirls of cream and pinks underneath the table, which had replaced the old one and its ugly splotches of toxic looking orange and yellow.

Then there was a small window and next to that, opposite the sofa, was a cute armchair with a low back that was in a scalloped arch shape.

It was covered in the lightest creamy pink tones and was decorated with a small cushion that was a pink Star Trek Starfleet badge framed by bright pink piping.

It had also been a house warming gift from my aunty Pip, along with a Trailing Rat Tail cactus named George. Or so aunty Pip had lovingly informed me.

Unfortunately though, George had died due to unforeseen circumstances and was no longer with us.

But I assured my aunt that he went to a better place and not just at the bottom of a bin bag after he shriveled up and died thanks to forgetting about him needing sunlight for half a year.

But hey, he looked pretty in my bathroom for that time.

However, me and plants were a no go.

I don’t know why but I just couldn’t seem to keep the things alive! Okay, so that’s not strictly true as I knew why and as Wendy was always telling me, ‘just think, if it’s living then it needs shit to grow’ and her version of that shit, had been your usual water and sunlight. She even went as far as buying me another plant and testing me to see if I could keep it alive for longer than six months. I had thought I had done pretty well, that was up until I noticed it was getting a bit dusty and on closer examination realised the reason I had done so well was that it had been artificial.

Wendy didn’t know what she found funnier, the fact that I had occasionally been watering this thing, and I had been really happy it was still alive and proud of myself, or that I hadn’t even noticed it had been fake.

Needless to say, it was the first thing to get cut up one Halloween when I was without a costume.

It was when I decided to go as Poison Ivy, just because I had a horrible green dress I stupidly bought on sale and a plant I was permanently pissed off with.

The costume had looked great though and was still in a bag at the bottom of my wardrobe.

But getting back to my little flat, now I know what you’re thinking, I am a girly girl who loves pink and killing plants…right? Well, the truth is that I just wanted a feminine space to call my own and was as far away from the Gothic antique look as you could get and well, pink and flowers just seemed like the easiest way to achieve that.

Hence all the pink.

Now, if you asked me if I owned a single item of pink clothing then other than maybe a sneaky pair of panties that had been part of a set, then yeah on the panties but every day wearing clothes that people could see…then that was a big, firm no.

“I guess his voice is kinda nice,”

I admitted getting back to my call and making her scoff,

“Kinda nice…kinda nice? I am seriously worried about your hearing if you think that a man’s voice that deep and sexy is just ‘kinda nice’…he sounded fucking gorgeous, so please…oh please, oh please put me out of my misery and tell me he’s just as sexy in real life as I have made him out to be in my head.”

I sighed and was forced to admit,

“I can pretty much guarantee it’s better.”

She released a groan as if she was eating chocolate and was in her own private heaven.

“So, come on, dish up the good stuff, how did you meet him, was it at the gala…did you fall in love over a thousand-year-old dead body…come on your killin’ me here.”

I laughed before telling her,

“Gods woman, your imagination is worse than mine!”

“I swear if you don’t start talking, Smock, then I am going to get a cab over there in my Hello Kitty PJ’s!”

The funny thing was I knew this wasn’t an idle threat as knowing her she most likely would.

Oh, and she also had a thing for Hello Kitty, but she assured me ‘not in a weird way’…her words, not mine.

“Don’t get too excited as he’s just a family friend my dad asked to show up in his place…it seems it was my day for being date dumped,”

I said drily making her laugh.

Then of course, she asked the million-dollar question…

“So, family friend or not, do you like him?”

I decided to play dumb at first,

“Uh yeah, I mean he’s alright.”

This of course, sooo didn’t work.

“Oh, come on, you know what I mean, do you fancy the pants off him and want to have his babies?”

she then asked after first making a dramatic exasperated sound.

Stupidly, at the time she asked this, I was taking a much-needed sip of my wine, which I ended up spluttering out and nearly choking on,

“What? No! Geez, look there’s nothing in it okay, we are just friends…well kind of, I mean he’s friends with my dad…well, maybe not my dad per se, maybe more my mum’s, but not really…oh I don’t know, just no okay!”

I said and at every turn did it all sound so wrong I got so frustrated that I ended up nearly begging her,

“Can we just change the subject please?”

“Okay, okay but can I just ask one thing…?”

I released a deep sigh, held the top of my nose with my thumb and finger before fanning out my fingers and motioning for her to ask, even though she couldn’t see me, therefore I muttered halfheartedly,

“What is it, Kirky?”

“Did you guys have sex or what?”

Oh, by the Gods… it was going to be a long night.

The next day I found myself sat on the bus with the box wrapped up once more and tucked away in my oversized handbag, barely able to function.

I could put this down to a combination of things.

Firstly, I had finished the rest of the wine last night, swiftly finding myself unsatisfied, so therefore ended up opening a bottle of prosecco.

One I had been saving for when this exhibition was finished as a way to congratulate myself on a job well done.

Alright, so I hadn’t finished the bottle at least, but I was definitely swaying as I made my way into the bathroom before bed.

I had also woken up this morning looking like a girl panda that was ready for a night on the town wearing a wig that had been back brushed.

To say that going to sleep, or more like passing out, without taking your makeup off and taking the pins out your hair hadn’t been one of my better moments was an understatement.

The next disaster to happen had been to find I had run out of toilet roll, forgetting them on my last shop and only realizing my mistake when I found no replacements in my cupboard, so therefore being forced to pee in the shower with my legs wide open like a cowboy missing his horse! Not one of my finer moments I had to admit.

Needless to say, that after that my lady garden got a good watering after that golden rain shower…eeew.

Then, after that I stubbed my toe before realising my milk was off so couldn’t have a cup of tea and on the way out the door realised my traitorous bitch of a bra was trying to stab me in the heart with the underwire.

Hence, why I ended up running for the bus and smacking my hand on the doors just as they were starting to close.

And who did I blame for all this…

Lucius.

Lucius, that damn sexy Vampire who had made me lose all sensible thought process so that I could function like a normal human being in society.

Okay, so he couldn’t exactly be blamed for most of it, but he could most definitely be blamed for my hangover and driving me to drink my thoughts of him away.

He was like a plague on my mind, for all I could think about was him, replaying every second of the night before.

The way he had looked at me in my tight revealing dress, as though seeing me for the very first time.

But it had been the way his intense eyes had stayed on me during the whole time I was giving my tour.

Both shamefully and admittedly, even though I had been there to put on a show for those rich people and essentially get them ready to open up their wallets for the next big archeological discovery, what I had really been doing was putting on a show just for him.

I didn't know at the time whether he could tell this or not, as I let my passion and knowledge merge into one, whether he could hear it in my voice or not.

But as the private tour had come to an end I had been unsure as to why he was still there.

Had my father asked him to watch over me for the whole night? I put it down to this being the case as there was no other reason, but then I thought back to how it had ended.

Starting with the rollercoaster ride of emotions he had summoned from me.

But it wasn’t just his actions at the museum that confused me but more like his action afterwards.

Like how had he known it had been Wendy on the phone, unless of course he had been listening to my conversation from behind the door, as he had been impatiently waiting for me to flip the locks.

But more importantly, why had he cared so much? Why had he got so angry at the idea that I could get hurt just opening the door to anyone? I couldn’t understand it and the whole thing left me frustrated at being left in the dark.

However, stranger still had been when I sent my dad a drunken text message after first saving Lucius’ number in my phone as ‘The Overbearing Asshole’.

It had been a simple question,

‘Dad, why did you tell Lucius where I lived?’

His reply however, had been far less simple even though it was only two words…

‘I didn’t.’

Which meant Lucius had lied to me when I asked him how he knew where I lived.

So, the even bigger question after that had been not why he lied but more importantly, how did he know where I lived? Had he been keeping tabs on me? I suppose it was possible that he would do this for my father, whenever Lucius found himself in London of course, but then if that was the case why not just say so…why lie about it?

I didn’t have any of the answers, but whatever it was he was keeping it from me for a reason and that reason was one that I intended to find out.

Now, all I had to do was put this not ‘even a second thinking it out’ plan of mine into action and I was good to go. [sh6]

I arrived at the museum out of breath after the ten-minute walk of lugging this box around in my bag, annoyed at myself that I had taken it home for nothing.

Well, I hadn’t exactly expected a big brooding Vampire to turn up and demand that I work on a Saturday, also thinking that I would have the weekend to examine the box in more detail.

It annoyed me that my dad had turned up with this thing and then called Lucius in anyway, without giving me any time to even try and get the thing opened.

And I don’t know why but I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I wasn’t being told everything here.

Well, there was only one way to find out I thought, going straight to the cafeteria once inside and rectifying the biggest problem I had faced this morning…no tea and no breakfast.

I was one of those people who could barely function as a human being in the morning if I hadn’t had my breakfast and a cup of tea, and this morning I had been without both.

So, I grabbed a cup to go after making small talk with the usual ladies behind the counter and after waiting in a queue for what seemed like forever.

I couldn’t believe how busy it could get, especially on a weekend.

But that would teach me for getting here an hour after it had opened.

I also grabbed a blueberry muffin and a bag of chips, or how they said it over here in England, a bag of crisps.

It was strange when I first came here because even though I had been brought up in the states, I already knew a lot of English slang and terminology thanks to my mum and her Northern ways.

Which also meant that the human side of my family was also mainly English, along with my Aunty Libby. My cousin Ella and her dad, my Uncle Frank, however were American.

I grew up with my Cousin Ella as she was only a few years older than me and we even spent time at the same school at one point.

We were really close, still are in fact and video call each other often.

But unfortunately, we don’t get as much time to see each other these days, considering her job keeps her busy where she lives in Canada.

It was clear at a young age her passion for animals, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when she went into animal conservation.

But her story was a whole can of supernatural worms I wasn’t going to get into.

Especially when it looked like my own was about to unfold and today was possibly the start of that.

I stuffed my bag of chips in my bag for later before grabbing my cup and muffin bag.

I was just glad I was wearing my sturdy tan suede boots that were laced up to my calf and were thick soled.

They also had a cream brushed wool lining that kept my feet warm, which was something I was always complaining about.

The rest of my outfit was stretchy navy-blue jeans that tucked into my boots and a dark grey sweater with the silhouette of a few blackbirds flying across my chest that were knitted into the design in a black glittery wool.

Underneath this I had a light blue shirt and you could see the collar, cuffs and bottom peeking out under the grey.

I thought it was one of my cuter outfits, one that was ruined however by the practical navy-blue parker jacket I wore over it, thanks to it raining outside.

At least the large faux fur [sh7]rimmed hood had kept my high pony tail dry and also kept my daily make-up from dripping down my face.

I didn’t wear much to be honest, not like I had last night.

But just a bit of foundation, sweep of powder and blusher so that I didn’t look like death warmed up, pale pink lip balm that made my lips nice and soft thanks to aloe vera, or Hello Vera, as Wendy calls it.

A light dusting of pale pink eyeshadow and I was done because thankfully, I had been blessed with thick black lashes that curled up on their own.

Which meant that I didn’t really need mascara or more like an extra reason to make a fool out of myself in the rain, as it usually turned to black tears streaming down my face that I wouldn’t notice I had until faced with someone kind enough to mention it…this, needless to say, had happened twice before.

Therefore, as a general rule, I left out the extra hassle and saved mascara for nights out, ones that included regular trips to the toilet just to be sure.

I swiped my card in the security panel and entered in the code that I knew we were going to have to get changed as it was clear that if Wendy knew it, then it was time to get another one.

Then I skillfully (for clumsy me anyway) held on to my tea, tucked my muffin bag under my chin and dropped the card back in my bag with the keys I had found on my kitchen counter.

Something in itself that had been a conundrum, considering I was so sure that I had locked up and put the keys in my purse last night.

The door buzzed open and I slipped inside making sure not to drop my breakfast.

Then I dropped my bag on the table I knew was nearby so that I could fumble for the lights.

Then the second I switched them on I turned around to face the room, screaming in fright the second I did.

And I did this because I was not as alone as I thought I was going to be.

Also, in the process I dropped both my tea and my muffin making me curse out loud the second I did.

“Son of a bitch!”

The three men dressed in black and basically looking like every other thug you would have seen in any action movie, all looked at me as though they were dealing with someone crazy.

And who knows, maybe they were right.

As I am sure the right response to have when facing three thugs was to grab my bag and scream for help as I high tailed it outta there.

But instead I just looked down at my precious goods on the floor and said…

“Oh damn it, there goes my breakfast.”