Chapter 15
Fifteen
Blake
“I’ll be back soon,” Marlon promised again, and as soon as the sun was beneath the foothills in the west he was gone. Like a shot in the dark, he moved so fast I didn’t see him move. He was there, then he was gone.
“Do you think he’ll come back?” Aaron asked, bringing my thoughts back to him and away from the feeling in my chest that told me he was farther away from me than I wanted him to be.
“He’ll always come back,” I murmured, repeating what Marlon had said earlier. “Did you want to go get a pizza?” There was a bar in town that served it, and they didn’t deliver, so if we were having it, one of us was going to get it, or we were going there to eat.
“Let’s go there. I’d rather not be here when he returns if I can avoid it,” Aaron said with a shiver.
“He would never hurt you,” I said, but the look he gave me said he didn’t believe me. “Come on, let’s go eat.”
“Do you really trust him?” he asked again.
“Yes, he can’t lie to me.” At least I didn’t think he could, but I wasn’t willing to admit that to Aaron. We walked out to my truck, and climbed in. I couldn’t stop myself from looking toward the old farm.
“How do you know?”
Explaining that he was my mate was an option, but I knew Aaron wouldn’t believe or understand, so I didn’t.
I didn’t understand it completely. I just knew he was, and I knew I would do whatever it took to protect him.
Even knowing he didn’t need my protection.
“He told me, and I trust him. He’s given me no reason not to. ”
“Blake, he’s a vampire. You can’t trust anything he says. His entire goal is to make you believe what he wants you to believe so he can get what he wants.”
“What do you think he wants? He didn’t ask for anything, and he offered to give us the gold that he’s hidden. I don’t understand why you don’t trust him,” I said and glanced across the cab at him.
“Because he’s a fucking vampire. They drink blood and kill you. That’s literally all they do,” he shouted.
“Aaron,” I warned. “You’re my friend, but he’s—” I stopped myself, because I knew once again, he would never understand and would most likely be horrified that I was a vampire’s mate. “If he wanted to kill us, he already would have.”
“Your own ancestor buried him. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
I was quiet until I pulled to a stop in front of the bar and turned off the engine.
“There are many things you don’t understand, and I’m not willing to explain them to you yet.
I have my reasons for keeping some information to myself.
If you can’t respect that, then maybe we shouldn’t talk about Marlon at all,” I said and hoped that shut him down, but I knew it wouldn’t.
“What is going on between you and him?”
I considered not telling him, but I knew Aaron, and I knew he wouldn’t let up. “We’re mates. I don’t know why it happened, and I don’t fully understand it, but it’s true.” He turned to look at me, his eyes wide with shock and fright.
“Blake, that can’t be good. How do you know? And what does that mean?”
“When we went to the farm, he still wasn’t looking much better. I offered him more blood because he’d only taken such a small amount. He didn’t want to, but I insisted. This time he drank from my neck.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, even more concerned than he’d been a moment before.
“I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me. I offered him blood, and he could have easily killed me, but he didn’t. That’s what I’m trying to tell you; he doesn’t want to hurt me.”
“I still don’t believe it,” Aaron said.
“I’ll be careful, but our bond is very strong. It’s hard to be away from each other. That’s how I knew the person he thought was his mate wasn’t. He wouldn’t have been able to betray him or help someone else trap him.”
“Your grandfather made it sound like they trapped him almost as a joke. I always thought it was strange they’d be able to do that,” Aaron said.
“He trusted the man he thought was his mate, and he betrayed him. But like I said, there is no way they were mates. Marlon was in love, and my great-uncle”—great-great?
great-great-great? —“used Marlon’s feelings to get rich.
Someone else came here with stories of riches and a deed for a gold mine he’d stolen,” I said, telling him what Marlon had told me.
“But how can you really know for sure?” he asked.
“When he fed from me, I had visions of his life before.”
“What did you see?”
“More like flashes of his life, and how he saw my ancestor. He trusted him.”
“So, what now?” Aaron asked.
“Now, we go eat. I really am starving,” I said and was relieved to hear him laugh. Both of us got out of the truck and walked into the bar, and after putting in our order, we found a table.
“So, you and Marlon?” he asked, but this time there was no heat to his words.
“Yes. The connection I have with him I’ve never had with another person.”
“What happens now? I mean, is he just going to live here?”
I burst out laughing. It was all such a strange situation. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about that. I think he wanted to leave, but once he knew we were mates—well, things changed.”
“What will he do during the day?” Aaron whispered across the table.
“Today he watched Twilight,” I said. His eyes widened before he laughed so hard everyone in the place turned and looked.
“Sorry, but of all the movies.”
“I said the same thing. He said he liked it, so who am I to judge?” I shrugged and glanced at the counter, hoping the pizza was ready soon.
“He’s so strange,” Aaron said.
I thought of what we’d done earlier and how not strange he was and how I couldn’t wait to see him and do it all over again.
They called Aaron’s name, and we both walked over to the counter to get the pizza and beer we’d ordered.
He was a good friend, and I really hoped he understood about Marlon, because I didn’t want to choose between the two of them, and I shouldn’t have to.
After we ate, I drove back to the house, and Aaron went home.
He had to work tomorrow too, and after eating we were both ready for an early night.
As soon as I walked into the house, I was slammed back against the door.
Hard enough to rattle my bones, but with enough care to ensure I wasn’t harmed. “Marlon,” I murmured.
“Mate,” he growled, making me grow hard.
“Did you miss me?” I asked, knowing how badly I’d missed him, even if it was only a couple of hours. He glided the tip of his nose up my neck while he inhaled and continued to release a low growl.
“Being apart from you is a horror I do not enjoy,” he said and kissed me. His tongue pressed into my mouth as he ground his hard cock against mine.
“I’m glad to see you’re safe,” I said.
“You know nothing can hurt me,” he murmured against my lips.
“That’s what you thought before, and they trapped you. I’ll always worry when you’re away.” It was true, and all common sense was thrown out the door when it came to him.
“It won’t ever happen again,” he said. “I have something for you.” He took my hand and led me into the kitchen. “This is for you to do with as you desire.”
Two small canvas bags tied with a strip of old dry leather sat on the counter. “What is it?” I asked even though I knew it was the gold. He rolled his eyes and plopped one of them in my hand. It was deceptively heavy for the size of the bag.
“You know what it is. I don’t know how much this is worth, but it should help you with some of your responsibilities, and if you want to share it with your id—your friend, I won’t be opposed to that.”
“I don’t want your gold,” I whispered and set it back down as I pressed him against the counter. “It’s you I want.”
“My love,” he whispered back. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought.
I loved him, and even without the bond, it was more than something I couldn’t control.
“Then it’s me you shall have. Always.” He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me so tight, I couldn’t imagine anything else more perfect.
All at once, Marlon’s head snapped up as he inhaled and shoved me behind him. “What is it?”
“Another vampire,” he said, and growled low and deep as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end in anticipation and terror of what happened next.