Chapter 5
A s I fed, I kept picturing a red-haired, green-eyed singer. Her lips were inviting, the black lipstick something women seemed to like in this time, with large silver hoop earrings. She’d had a slight scattering of freckles across her face. Her green shirt showed the curve of her breasts, and black jeans hugged her hips. I’d memorised everything about her and longed to taste her.
The blue-haired woman currently pressed against me was drunk on the effects of my venom. I moved from her throat, lifting her skirt. Dropping to my knees, I bit into her inner thigh. She trembled, a loud moan filling the alley around us, the scent of her arousal overpowering. I closed my eyes, biting back my own growl, the taste of her blood divine. Laced with alcohol, the sweet flavour of her desire only made my own lust soar. She smelled of jasmine and wine. I was already hard, and the urge to take her body right there against the wall surged. I stood, wrapping my arms around her.
“Do you want more?” I whispered, pressing myself against her so she could feel what I meant. Careful to not pull her under my sway, I lifted her chin to look at me. This had to be her decision. I may be what humans would call a monster, but I wasn’t that kind of a monster.
“More,” she whispered, throwing her head back and dropping one hand to lift her skirt.
She was inviting me to bite her again, and to have her. I lowered my mouth to her throat and withdrew before fangs entered flesh. A delicious scent pulled at me. One that called to the feral beast in me to hunt. Fear. I turned my head towards the entrance of the alley, a low growl rumbling from me.
“Don’t stop,” she pleaded.
Her eyes met mine again, and she was unable to look away as I did pull her into my power this time, to compel her.
“Forget me. Sleep.” My voice was soft, and she gave in to my command, slumping in my arms.
I lowered her to the ground. Anyone who came across her would think she was drunk. My fang marks would heal soon enough.
Tempted by the tantalising scent of fear, I paused at the end of the alley ready to attack. The strong odour of urine right next to me and a dark patch on the ground irritated me. Yet somehow, I’m the feral. I moved away from it. Nearby, someone had vomited, the sick smell worse than the urine.
A man advanced on a woman, his intention clear in his face; enough to bring another growl from me. I recognised the woman as the singer from earlier, her enchanting voice echoing in my mind. Two natures battled in me. One that reacted to fear, bringing out the urge to give chase. The other; a protectiveness I had never known other than with my clan. Not with humans.
Forcing down the rising growl, I stepped in to help. Quinn had intrigued me from our first meeting, not just her voice but everything about her drawing me in. Normally, I was the one who drew human women in, but she’d been irresistible, and already I wanted her in my arms, head back, throat exposed, inviting me to drink. Now, she stared at me wide-eyed, and I knew her attacker would not live to see the sun rise.
What I hadn’t counted on was for her to see my eyes as anger and protectiveness swept through me. She fled, leaving behind her instrument. I let her go, keeping my grip on her attacker to stop from going after her. I dragged him into the alley, and a knife came out of nowhere. I let out a hiss of pain as his blade punched into my gut. Bleeding, fury rose up and I bit into his throat to feed as I healed. His blood wasn’t anywhere as sweet as the woman I’d fed from who lay unconscious nearby, wrapped in a pleasure dream.
My bite didn’t give him the same effect it had given that woman. I made sure of that. He screamed in agony. Yet he refused to give up, the human nature to fight for life strong as he stabbed me again and again. Everything became a red haze, and I tore out his throat. His knife clattered to the ground, and his body an instant after. I spat his throat at him.
“Merda!” I lifted my tee-shirt, dark blood seeping from four wounds, which closed quickly. But my tee-shirt was ruined. Hunger turned to bloodlust as I returned to the blue-haired woman, lifting her with my hand around her neck, pressing her against the wall. “Sorry, " I murmured. “But I need more.” Her eyes opened a slit, a smile on her face. “Dream of me.”
Her eyes closed again. I struck fast, biting into the untouched side of her throat. Despite being unconscious, she moaned. Each swallow of her blood took me closer to bliss. I detached from her throat with difficulty, licking her from my lips and letting her go.
The mugger had bled out on the ground, his clothes soaked in blood, the tang of it making my mouth water.
“You stink,” I muttered, kicking his body as I stepped past him. Both his bladder and bowels had emptied upon his death. “It’s only fitting that you die on the ground the same way you would have left her.” I returned to the street.
Unable to resist, I picked up Quinn’s case and slowly followed her scent to an apartment building not far away. I stood in an alley at the foot of the building, separating her heartbeat from those of the rest of the humans around her. I could smell her out on the balcony, and I listened to the scratching of pen on paper, as well as a low hum that seemed to resonate deep within me. My hunger for her washed over me, blazing.
“Wherever you are, Matteo, thank you.” Her voice drew my smile. “Sorry you had to rescue someone as hysterical as me.” She was questioning what she’d seen, as they often did.
When the door slid shut, I leapt into the air, between balconies until I found hers. In the darkest corner of her balcony, I watched her as she watched the news, talking to her friends. Their voices were those of the other women I’d seen her with at the bar. As she stared at the screen, I caught sight of the woman I’d fed from. Dead. I frowned, sure I’d left her alive. How can she be dead? Did I lose control again? Perhaps I’d needed more blood than I thought. I regretted ripping out the mugger’s throat. I should have fed from him and made him suffer.
The next photo on the screen was that of the mugger. Quinn’s heart pounded, and the delicious spike of fear made my canines ache.
“Yes, I killed him for what he was about to do to you,” I whispered.
I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to her heartbeat, taking in her scent. She’d sat out here, on the chair next to me. She started to watch a movie, singing along. Her voice once again drew me in. I wanted to speak with her. I whispered to her, luring her out to me, coaxing away any fear. She moved as if in a dream and would probably think this to be one later. At the glass, she stared at me.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “How did you get out there?”
“Open the door.” I knew the effect my voice would have on her, and she would do as I asked. As soon as the door opened, I lifted my hand, inviting her to take it. She didn’t fight me as I pulled her body to mine.
“How are you on my balcony?” she frowned. “We’re twenty storeys up.”
While she didn’t resist my control, she still had enough awareness to question me .
My fingers brushed her throat, and I wished to press my lips against the softness of her neck. To sink my fangs in, to mark her. “You’re safe,” I told her. “You have no reason to fear me.”
She was deep under my sway. “I’m not afraid.”
I wanted to kiss her. The yearning to do so was so strong I could almost taste her lips. I longed to devour her, to taste her blood. I’d seen her before, two months ago. We’d passed each other in the street, and I’d never given it another thought until I saw her on the stage tonight. I released her from my compulsion and stepped back.
She gazed up at me.
“Please let me kiss you,” I murmured. “Even if it’s only once, I will have tasted you, and I’ll leave you in peace.”
It was more than her lips I wanted. The desire to claim her as mine took me by surprise. I’d never claimed a human before, and it would only end one way for her. I didn’t hate what I was; in fact, I took great pleasure in being a vampire. The feralness in me was a nature most vampires didn’t have, my lack of control my only struggle. I’d been turned unwillingly; I wouldn’t do that to her. Why would I want to claim someone I’d only just met?
“One kiss?” she asked.
“One kiss.” I lifted her chin. “Then you’ll never see me again.” This human woman confused me. I’d already killed for her, and I would do so again. I couldn’t blame my inner beast, either; this was all me.
She turned her face away from me, towards the city. I could appreciate that my presence on her balcony would be confusing.
A shiver passed through her, and I reached out, rubbing her arms. “You’re cold.”
“No shit,” she laughed. “It’s winter.”
She frowned at my bare arms. I saw no need to wear jackets; the cold didn’t affect me as it did humans. Perhaps I should, so I didn’t draw attention.
“One kiss,” she made up her mind. “Then you should go.”
I pulled her to me, and I softly caressed her cheek with my fingers. Her lips parted, and I leaned in. There was nothing gentle, our kiss ferocious and full of a deep yearning. From her as well as from me. She let in my tongue and pressed herself hard against me, her hands on both sides of my face.
The beat of her heart pounded against my chest. I didn’t expect my own heart to race, nor the familiarity of having her in my arms. I wanted everything about her. Not just her lips, but her body, her blood. Her. The feral in me awoke. My hunger for her surged, and I dropped my mouth, running my tongue over her throat, fangs lengthening, ready to bite into her. I shuddered as I fought against the rising red haze. She moaned, just as she would with my fangs in her.
Claim her. Turn her.
“Go inside,” I compelled her before I gave in to my desires. “Go to sleep. This was nothing but a dream.”
She didn’t resist, simply returned to her apartment, a smile on her face. This woman had as much sway over me as I had over her. I closed the door behind her as she sat down on the chair, her head back. The musical continued to play, but she fell into a deep sleep.
The guitar case at my feet would be a surprise when she awoke. I caught sight of a notebook and pen on the chair. She’d written words of her desire, and my name. The words ‘Dark Eyes of a Stranger’ were scrawled across the top. My smile widened as I glanced back at her asleep inside.
“Are you writing about me, little cantante ?” I murmured to myself.
Her scrawled handwriting revealed her innermost thoughts: She wanted me as much as I yearned for her. I closed the notebook into her guitar case and pushed it up against the glass. Rain was a common occurrence in this city, so this would keep them dry at least. I gazed back one more time at her sleeping form before dropping from the balcony.
I landed below, absorbing the impact that would have killed a human. No one saw or heard my drop from above. I glanced up once more before walking away, listening to the city around me, the presence of drunk humans hard to ignore. Cities were hard to live in these days with the amount of smog and noise. I didn’t know how humans did it. Not one single member of my clan lived in the city, with good reason.
A steady rain started, hissing as it hit the ground, soaking me in seconds. People ran to get out of the rain, laughing, their footsteps hurried. Someone dared push past me, and I fought the urge to growl. He had stale beer on his breath, the wool of his jacket brushing my arm. This was usually a feeding ground for me, but I’d already had my fill, and my hunger for a red-haired seductress called to me over all else. I needed to leave the city, to return to my home by the sea before I found myself back on her balcony.