Transfusion (Transfusion Saga #1)

Chapter 18

Text me a Torment

“Okay, so explain to me again why it is we have a bodyguard outside our door,”

Wendy said after handing me a much-needed glass of wine before she joined me on her couch.

Her apartment was also in Twickenham as she’d moved closer to me a few years ago.

As, in her words, she was sick of catching one taxi, one bus and then the underground just to get back to her old apartment after seeing me and to be honest, I had felt the same.

At one point, we had even talked about moving in together, but she couldn’t yet get a mortgage for her half of the flat we would buy, so she was saving up for a deposit.

I told her I didn’t mind but she refused, saying she needed to pay her own way and as I already owned my flat, we decided to wait. Unless of course one of us just so happened to get married first, but two years on from this discussion and that was still yet to happen.

So instead, she found herself a cute one bed place that we had lovingly painted and scrubbed within an inch of its plasterboard thanks to the previous tenant having an attachment to weed.

It wasn’t only the smell that gave this away but mainly the big cannabis leaf that was painted on one wall in what would be Wendy’s bedroom.

I remember her showing it to me for the first time and we both just stood in the doorway staring at it.

I said the first thing that came to mind,

‘Now, I am not an expert here, but I am guessing that would be a big mood killer in the bedroom?’ Of course, I wasn’t just referring to the homage to the plant but more the slogan that had been written beneath it in spray paint, which read…

‘Me Biatches be getting high’

‘I know right, I mean you would have thought he would have at least spelled bitches right, the dumbass!’ Wendy had replied making me say,

‘What do you expect, this fine fellow and obviously upstanding pillar of society was too busy getting himself and his ‘biatches’ high…give him a break would yah.’ We both burst out laughing and spent the rest of the day feeling sorry for the poor people that used cannabis for actual medicinal uses, spoiling it for everyone else.

But now there wasn’t a gang sign, drug sign or biatch in sight and the only rude words were in the many erotic romance novels that were sat on her shelf.

No, instead her flat was as bright and as girly as you could get.

It was true to say that Wendy liked bold colours and her favorite theme was 70’s pin-up girl.

Her walls were mainly cream, with one painted hot pink and all the skirting boards, covings and door frames were painted turquoise blue.

Then on the pink wall she had a huge canvas of a black and white pin-up girl lay back on a piano sipping on a cocktail and looking seductive.

On the opposite wall above her black and white patterned couch she had twenty plus pin-up pictures all in different frames and different sizes.

A fluffy white rug and pink painted coffee table I had helped her carry back from some overpriced high street shop sat at the centre.

The rest of the theme carried on in her entire flat and I swear there was so much pink that if a guy ever did want to come in for a nightcap, he would take one look at the place and his balls would probably shrivel up to the size of raisins before dropping off…yes, it was that feminine.

“I mean not that I mind, because bloody Nora, but could that guy be any hotter?!”

Wendy said fanning herself as she sipped her wine, stopping it from overflowing.

She was, of course, referring to the ‘bodyguard’ that Lucius had assigned to watch me for the evening, making sure the assholes that trashed my flat didn’t come back.

I had only found this out the second Lucius took my hand and lowered me into the car.

But then my mind had still been spinning from his goodbye, as he was leaning down between the open door resting all his weight on the frame as he kissed my cheek.

Then he said,

“It’s been fun, Sweet but do me a favour and try to stay out of trouble.”

I had been about to say something witty in return when he whispered against my skin this time what sounded like a promise,

“Until next time.”

After this he shut the door but not before giving a nod to someone I’d only just noticed was sat in the car with me.

His name was Dante, to which Wendy had blurted out the question after I introduced them,

‘Like the inferno?’ making him clear his throat once as it was clear he didn’t know how to respond to that.

Thankfully, I saved him by nudging her inside before the drooling commenced, which I had to agree, was definitely not an overreaction.

It turned out that Dante was a seriously good-looking guy, that was if you were into the Jason Statham look and swapped the British accent for a southern American one.

And if I hadn’t been so obsessed with Lucius, then I would have added that he was totally dreamy and sexy as hell to that list.

But in the end, I hadn’t needed to for Wendy happily did this for me after only getting a quick glimpse of the guy through a crack opening in her door.

However, there was a little more to Dante that meets the eye, or should I say, a lot of something.

Because there was something Wendy didn’t know and that was that the dreamy, hot guy wasn’t human.

Dante was what was known as a Drude, which was known as a malevolent, nocturnal demon whose specialty was the creation of nightmares.

They had a strong influence over a person’s dreams when their victims were asleep, and they could tap into that lucid state and take control.

Of course, the nice ones would often prevent nightmares too and favour a more sexual experience from their ‘feeding’.

You see most Demons and Angels fed from the emotions of others and it wasn’t just as clear cut that all Angels were good and all Demons were bad.

Not like a library full of history books would have you believe anyway. And Drudes were no exception for they fed from the emotions invoked by dreams, but more often than not a sexual high was just as strong as a fear induced one, or so I was told.

Which made me wonder what type of Drude Dante was?

They were also known as expert hunters and could smell the presence of witchcraft from ten miles away, which was another reason I suspected Dante had been a good choice as a protector, seeing as we knew someone was casting Hexes.

Dante was as tall as Lucius and built like a brick shithouse, although to be honest, I am not entirely sure where that phrase originated from considering there was nothing shit about the man.

He had a deep yet surprising softly spoken voice for such a large man.

It was in a smooth sexy way that said, ‘I can lure you to sleep with a single story’ and added to that, my southern charm.

I had heard that this had been like all Drudes as it was part of their gift.

To be able to send people to sleep, even other supernatural beings, with just a few whispered words.

Dante was also bald with a full black beard cut close to his face and his thick neck joined even thicker muscles.

But his main feature were his eyes and like most handsome men, they were startling.

Although granted, they weren’t as mesmerizing as Lucius’ were, but they were certainly ones that would cause you to look twice.

They were a light olive green colour with a burst of hazel around the pupil that sometimes, when he spoke to you and smiled, looked like flecks of illuminating honey.

And smile was something he did often as I had only been with him in the car for about fifteen minutes and he had made easy conversation and when he did this, he did so smiling.

But I wasn’t as fooled as another may be around him, as for one, I knew what he was and two, he worked for Lucius so he was bound to be a badass and no doubt one of the most powerful of his kind.

You see, Lucius was known as somewhat of a collector of powerful beings.

Asking them to join him by offering Lucius their complete loyalty in return for, well… kind of an upgrade.

He would turn them into Vampires creating hybrids of sorts that would mean their original powers would be increased fifty times over.

But in doing so, you were also tying yourself to Lucius as not only your King but also your soul’s master.

He had complete control over these beings and let’s just say, after over two thousand years of collecting, he didn’t just have an army, he had his own kingdom!

This was what made Lucius such a badass King and one most definitely to be feared because he was one that once you accepted his blood, then you were in essence binding your life to his and paying for that upgrade of power with your very soul.

For he owned you and your soul for the rest of your eternity…or his.

Because it was said that if he ever died, then so did a whole nation of Vampire hybrids…

My mother included.

Which also no doubt meant that Dante was the same.

A ‘Blood convert’ as it was often referred to in supernatural slang.

I had heard the term growing up, but it took me a while to find someone who would actually tell me what it meant.

See, considering I had grown up surrounded by some of the most powerful angels and demons the world had ever known, I had led a surprisingly sheltered life, thanks no doubt to my overbearingly overprotective father.

Which meant that it had taken me years of digging to gain all this information and thus became the reason for my love of books.

My one source of knowledge and let’s just say that Afterlife had one hell of a big ass library!

“Yes, he’s hot,”

I replied after she obviously wanted me to confirm this.

“So, like I said, you are so going to have to explain this to me again, because I am seriously at a loss here… which is crazy given that my imagination is coming up with everything from Mob Boss’ daughter, to someone in witness protection program and your real name is Betty Miller from Jacksonville!”

I laughed and asked,

“And what do you know about Jacksonville, North Carolina, um?”

“Okay, so I heard Ryan Adams sing about it in some of his songs once, but that is so beside the point here.”

I laughed at her before taking a much-needed sip of my wine.

“Come on Emmie, you have to give me something here,”

she pleaded, and she was right, as much as there was that I couldn’t say, there was also equal amounts that I could.

“Alright, so you met my dad.”

“Mr Hottie of the Year, yeah kinda hard to miss that one,”

she responded sarcastically, laughing when I scrunched my nose up.

“You know it’s gross to know that you fancy my dad, right?”

I told her making her shrug her shoulders and drink back her wine.

“Okay, so let’s just say that he’s influential, rich and has a business in just about everything.”

“And he’s married you say?”

Wendy asked with a raised brow, making me throw a spotty cushion at her the second she put down her wine glass.

“Kidding, kidding…and yes I know you have said before, madly in love with your mother, the love of his life…Jeez, touchy much.”

I rolled my eyes and said,

“Anyway, that day my dad came to visit me he brought me something to look at, an artifact,”

I told her.

“Oooh, and here comes the juicy bit,”

she commented, making me groan as she was forever the journalist.

“So, it turned out that some people want it.”

“What type of people?”

she asked with her beautiful big eyes growing even bigger.

“Bad people, Kirky, very bad people,”

I replied, hoping now that she would take it seriously.

“Jesus, so what, they turned up at your flat trying to find it?”

“Well, yeah, but after they turned up at my work first,”

I told her, no doubt already saying too much.

Now her beautiful green eyes bulged slightly, and she reached for my arm.

“Oh my god, Emmie, are you okay, did they hurt you? Jesus, but this is serious shit here…have you called the police?”

“Wendy, calm down, it’s fine and I am fine,”

I told her quickly before her mind could run away with her.

“I mean look at me, don’t I look fine?”

I asked, now making her give me a sceptical eye.

“Yeah, actually you look great, but how is that possible after everything you have been through today?”

she asked, frowning.

“Well…I kind of had help and well, he’s…”

“He? Oh my god, it’s him isn’t it? Mr Mystery sexy voice himself?”

My blush and coy look said it all.

“It so is! Oh, please tell me that he flew in and saved the day like some kick ass action hero we drool over.

Oooh, like that Thor guy we fancy,”

she said making me smirk, thinking oh just you wait, as Thor has nothing on Lucius.

For one he didn’t need a big hammer when he had hands that could do just as much damage, if not more.

But, then again, I had no idea what he was packing in the downstairs department as that could have been classed as his ‘big hammer’, I thought with a smirk.

“Oh lordy, he’s even hotter isn’t he? I can tell by that look that you think he is.

Jesus, why can’t some drug lord come after me when Mr Inferno is outside my door to save me?”

Wendy said, making me chuckle as she had a habit of calling all men a ‘Mr’ nickname and I had a feeling that Mr Inferno was going to stick.

“Oh, you have it bad for him, don’t you?”

I questioned as she gazed at the front door in that dreamy way.

Her head snapped back up and she blushed, something Wendy hardly ever did.

“Maybe,”

she confessed in a coy tone.

“Then why don’t we invite him in?”

I asked, making her suddenly look panicked.

“We can’t do that!”

I laughed, never seeing her like this about a guy because she usually had this, ‘I could eat that man for dinner’ type of attitude whenever she was hit on.

Although, in her defense, she was never approached by the big muscly types that she was attracted to.

She was a sucker for a big guy who could throw her curvy frame over his shoulder without breaking a sweat.

Well, Dante certainly fit the bill on that one.

“Why not?”

I asked, chuckling.

“Well, for one, he is working,”

she argued, which again was unlike her and the second I saw her ringing her hands on her skirt I knew it was because she was nervous.

“Yes, and I would say keeping us safe was just as easy to do in the same room as us than it would with a door in between.”

I made the obvious point, making her smirk.

“Alright, but first things first, pits, hair and makeup,”

she said grabbing my hand and pulling me up, making me nearly spill my drink.

I quickly placed my glass down before she pulled me to the bathroom which looked like a place you would go to pay homage to being a girl.

Yep, it was that girly and it was clear that Kirky had a consumer addiction when it came to beauty products.

I sat down on her toilet (after putting the fluffy pink lid down) and picked up one of her many creams from the shelf behind.

“What the hell does this do anyway?”

“I don’t know, what’s it called?”

she asked raising her arm and giving her armpit a swipe with her roll on anti-perspirant.

“Vitamin C Glow Boost,”

I read out.

“I think it’s supposed to make you look ten years younger or some shit like that,”

she said with a wave of her hand.

“So, you want to look fifteen again?”

I asked smirking, seeing as she was only twenty-five, a little factor she was clearly forgetting.

“Oh, hell no! Are you kidding me, who would want that…no Jesus, going back to being a spotty teenager with braces on my teeth…no thank you,”

she said, making me laugh.

Which is when she turned to me and noticed something,

“Hey, you’re not wearing your glasses today, any reason for that?”

she asked making me suck in my lips and shake my head before saying an unconvincing,

“Nope”

She gave me a pointed look and I added,

“What? I just fancied the change, okay.”

“I think thou protesteth too much,”

she said chuckling and hitting a nerve because the truth was, I doubted that Lucius even knew that I did wear glasses, seeing as every time he had seen me I had been wearing contacts.

A pair I might add, that I had stupidly slept in last night.

But hey, a few drops of solution and they seemed good for another day.

“So, whilst I try and make myself look naturally irresistible, you can tell me everything that has happened, and you can start from the very second you found yourself with a hot date last night, who thankfully for you, wasn’t your dad,”

Wendy said, making me release a big sigh before I took another deep breath and told her all that I could.

Not surprisingly, it took up all the time she was getting ready.

After about an hour of watching Wendy getting ready and spending half of it trying to convince her that a swing, polka dot dress wasn’t classed as at home casual.

And she couldn’t exactly class it as the ‘just slipped into something more comfortable’ category, she finally changed into something else.

She now wore a pair of three-quarter length jeans with a thick red belt and a T shirt that was horizontal black and white stripes that also had an anchor on the front entwined with roses.

She had the longer part of her pixie cut pinned back on one side with a red bow attached.

She looked so pretty and cute all at the same time and her red glossy lips were ones that could tempt any man to kiss them.

Which was a shame that when we opened the door and I invited Dante in, his answer had been a stern,

“No.”

I frowned up at him and then asked,

“Why not?”

“I’m sorry, little Miss, but I have my orders,”

he replied in a less grumpy way this time and I wasn’t sure I was feeling the ‘little Miss’ nickname.

Meanwhile, I shot a look to Wendy behind the door who was looking very disappointed.

I smiled at him and said,

“Okay, leave it with me,”

making him frown in confusion before I closed the door again.

“Well, that was a waste of my good perfume,”

she said in a deflated tone.

“The night’s not over yet, my friend,”

I said going to my bag and retrieving my phone.

Then I brought up the number for Lucius and typed out a text message, holding my breath when I clicked send.

It simply said,

‘Hello’

I thought I would start off simple to see whether or not he took the bait.

For starters, I wasn’t even sure I was allowed to text him, so I thought it best to test the waters first.

Then I waited, thankfully not having long before my phone buzzed.

“Is that him?”

Wendy asked now coming to sit down next to where I was curled up on the couch feeling like a bloody teenager and this was a crush I had at school who was messaging me for the first time.

Well, to be fair, I had never felt like that because it wasn’t as though I had dated much in school.

Not with my dad being the scariest most intimidating man in town that was for damn sure! I think most of the people in the small town I grew up in had thought my mum had sold her soul to the Devil when they heard the two of them were together.

It had been big news and the main source of gossip for years later.

Of course, with one look at Wendy and her eager expression, then I would have to say that this was her own bit of juicy gossip.

I couldn’t really blame her as she had known me for years and in all that time nothing exciting had ever really happened to me.

Except, of course, clumsy falls and trips to the Emergency room, like the ‘tailbone’ nail painting disaster.

‘Hello, Princess, how may I be of assistance this evening?’ was his reply, making me both want to growl and smirk at the same time…damn sexy Vampire.

Of course, this was another little factor I had wisely left out.

‘I thought I told you not to call me that’ was my reply, but his was even more shocking.

To the point once again by habit, my mouth actually dropped open.

“What? What is it?”

Wendy asked as my face must have said it all.

“He sent back a winky face!”

Wendy burst out laughing and then said,

“So?”

“Well, let’s just say that Lucius is not the emoji using type of guy,”

I replied making her say over the rim of her glass,

“Well, clearly he is.”

Then my phone buzzed again, and I swear my heart felt like it was going to beat its way out of my chest.

I felt bloody giddy!

‘Ask your question, Sweet’ [sh12]The second I read it I swear that I could almost hear his voice asking me right by my ear and making me shiver.

“Oh my god, you have got it so bad!”

Wendy said making me shoot her a look.

“What makes you say that?”

I asked, trying to play dumb and innocent all at the same time.

“Uh, because you have read that same one line four times now…oh, and the sappy loved up grin on your face is kinda screaming it to the world.”

“A little over dramatic, but yes I will admit, I might like him a little more than I originally let on.”

Wendy laughed at my reply and said,

“Oh, you think?! Anyway, you’re acting skills are utter shit so it’s not like I’m shocked here.”

My phone buzzed again, and I jumped, nearly dropping it and making Wendy mutter into her drink,

“Yep, totally smitten.”

I rolled my eyes before unlocking my phone to read yet another message.

‘I am still waiting’ was his silent warning.

So, I typed back,

‘Does Dante have a girlfriend?’ I asked making Wendy screech,

“You can’t send that?! Are you crazy?”

“Why not?”

I asked, frowning.

“Because he will get the wrong idea.

Just ask if he can come in because you have a single friend, but for the love of God, don’t just send that on its own without explaining.”

I could see her point, but then again, Lucius wasn’t interested in me in that way…was he?

Well, that was the million-dollar question wasn’t it, one of many I seemed to be asking myself lately.

But Wendy was right, that was a little too blunt even for me to blurt out.

So, I started to try and delete it but ended up tapping the wrong button.

“Ooops,”

I muttered before the true horror of my mistake set in.

“Oh no, what did you do?”

“I might have accidently sent it,”

I replied with a grimace, then I winced the second I felt it buzz again.

“Oh dear…what was his reply?”

This was when I looked down and read,

‘That depends’ he sent back, making me frown.

‘On what?’ was my reply, just because I was curious.

Of course, what I received back made my heartbeat work double time.

‘On if you want his death on your hands?’ My mouth unsurprisingly this time really dropped as I re-read it over and over again.

Did this mean Lucius was jealous? No, surely not.

“What did he say?”

Wendy asked getting excited and before I could stop her she grabbed the phone off me.

Then she read it and released a dreamy sigh,

“Oh boy, looks like you’re not the only one who has it bad,”

she told me.

“No…surely not? Do you think?”

I asked trying not to get carried away here.

But she just popped her gum and said,

“Oh yeah,”

in an over exaggerated way before taking a sip of her drink.

So, before I could ruin it or get poor Dante a one-way ticket down to Hell, I texted back.

‘It’s not for me! It’s for my friend, she thinks he’s hot’ was my response in hopes he hadn’t already been trying to find me a replacement.

‘Is this friend of yours suicidal?’ I laughed, and this time held my phone to my chest to stop her from grabbing it out of my hand.

“Oi, no fair!”

she complained before getting up to refill our glasses.

I stuck my tongue out at her and went back to replying.

‘Not suicidal but perhaps a little crazy’

‘She would have to be, Dante is dangerous’ he replied, making me roll my eyes before wondering if I shouldn’t be a little daring in my reply here? In the end I typed out my reply four times before closing my eyes and tapping send so that there was no way of going back.

‘Some women like a bad boy’ Then I swear I was on tenterhooks as I waited for his reply.

And then when it finally came, there was only one way for me to take it as it was as clear as day.

It was a warning.

A warning for me to stay away…

‘And those who do usually end up getting hurt’