Chapter 12 #2
“Go home?” Tomesha sat up and almost spilled her tea. She didn’t want to appear as if were weak and couldn’t handle being a donor. She’d go and speak with Mistress if need be.
Starla must have recognized the panic in her expression. She placed a hand on Tomesha’s knee.
“Don’t worry. Your rest is needed since this was your first time allowing a vampire to feed from you. Believe me when I say that this happens quite often.” Starla patted her on the knee. Her expression was open and honest.
Tomesha relaxed. She was still tired and would like nothing better than to go home to her own bed and get some sleep. Tomesha took a few more sips of the tea.
“Good. Now finish working on the tea. I’ll return shortly.” The healer nodded again, striding to the door. She glanced at Tomesha once more, disappearing though the door.
“Please finish or you’ll make Lamaya upset, and you don’t want to get on her shit list.” Starla smiled. She stood and went over to Tomesha’s closet. “When you’re done, I’ll help you get cleaned up and dressed. By tomorrow you’ll feel like a million bucks.”
Tomesha sighed and sipped the tea. She was almost done. She rested back against the headboard and blew out a deep breath. Now she was able to be a donor, she’d need to pay attention to how much the vampires took from her. She knocked back the rest of the drink and shuddered.
“There. Done.” She flipped the cup upside down to show Starla it was empty. She hoped they were right. She couldn’t show up at her home weak as a babe. Tarek would lose his mind. “Thanks again, Starla.”
Her friend turned around with a pair of leggings and long tunic in her hand. Starla smiled at her.
“Of course. What are friends for?”
* * *
“What happened?” Tarek stormed out of the front door. It slammed behind him. He paused on the porch then made his way toward her.
Tomesha grimaced as she’d hoped to avoid him this morning. She felt a little better but was still weak. All she wanted to do was crawl into her bed and sleep. She’d hoped she’d have had a chance to recover before he came home from work.
Boris had been assigned to drive her home to ensure she made it safely. She held on to the security guard’s arm as they made their way up the path. Tarek stopped in front of her. He glared at Boris, in full protector mode.
“What happened to my sister?” Tarek barked again.
Boris’s glasses hid his eyes, but the way his muscles tensed set off alarms inside her.
“Hello, I’m right here.” She waved a hand at him. She offered an apologetic smile to Boris. Apparently, she hadn’t arrived late enough to avoid a confrontation. She sighed and figured she might as well get this over with. “Thanks for bringing me home, Boris. I’ll see you tonight?”
“Tomorrow. Don’t forget Mistress would like for you to take tonight off,” his deep voice rumbled.
There would be no arguing with him. She was sure Mistress had given him explicit instructions before he’d taken her home to remind her. He placed her hand on Tarek’s waiting one. He eyed her brother, nodding to her. The large vampire turned and headed back to his vehicle.
“You didn’t have to be so rude to him.” She shifted her small cross-body tote to rest on her hip.
Tarek helped her up the few steps to the house. According to Lamaya, she needed a full day’s rest, then she’d feel like herself again.
“Are you going to answer me?” Tarek snapped.
Her eyes cut to him and held his gaze. His expression softened. He guided her to the door and opened it.
“I will, but why are you like this? It’s too early in the morning to be causing all of this ruckus,” she muttered.
They entered the house which smelled of lemons and cleaning solutions. She smiled, knowing their grandmother must have been up late cleaning again.
“What do you mean? I look out the window and see a man almost carry you out of the car—”
“He did not carry me.” She released Tarek’s arm and headed to her bedroom.
Her brother followed her. She sighed and opened the door to her bedroom.
“Why are you moving like you’re ninety?” Tarek leaned against the doorjamb and eyed her.
She switched on the light on her nightstand. She turned to face him, and he grew still. His focus immediately dropped to her neck. The only way she’d have been able to hide the markings and bruises was if she’d worn a turtleneck or a scarf.
“What. The. Fuck.” He pushed off and slowly walked to her.
She swallowed, unsure how she could truly explain to him what had happened. She remained where she was. He came to her and lifted her chin as he examined her neck. A string of curses flew from his mouth.
“You’re not going back there.” He released her and shook his head. “They practically mangled you.”
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she said.
He ran a hand over his face, a stubborn glint in his eyes.
She opened her bag and went over to her bed to pour the coins she’d earned for the week. “See what I brought in? The mistress decided last night that it was time to allow the vampires to feed from me.”
“Vampires? As in more than one?” He didn’t even pay any mind to the bed.
She tucked her dark hair behind her ear.
“No, just one.” It was her turn to shake her head.
She immediately regretted it. The skin of her neck was still tight.
She blew out a deep breath and took her bag off.
She tossed it onto the bed and walked back over to him.
“I promise I’m fine. The bruising will go away.
The vampire was actually nice, and she tipped me with royal coins. ”
“All money isn’t good money, Tomesha. We can figure out a way.” He flicked his gaze over to the pile of coins sitting on her bed. His scowl deepened. “There are a few places I hear that are hiring.”
“And none of them are going to pay me what I’m getting at Madam’s.
” She folded her arms in front of her. Tarek was going to have to understand that she made the decisions for her.
She loved her brother dearly, but he was going to have to let her live her life.
“I promise I’m safe. Boris, who you were rude to, is one of the guards who keep the humans safe at the club.
Nothing gets past them. He’s actually nice. ”
“I’m sure he is.” Tarek glanced down at his watch and cursed. “Shit. I gotta go. Gran is back in bed. She got up around two and started cleaning.”
“I can smell it.” A smile came to her lips. She followed him out of her room and down the hall to the living room.
He grabbed his jacket and bag from the floor then headed to the door. He pulled it open and stepped out onto the porch. She followed him and held the door open.
“I love you, big brother.”
“Yeah, I love you, too.” He jogged down the stairs and threw up a wave.
She shut the door and leaned back against it.
“That could have been worse,” she murmured.
If Tarek didn’t have to go to work, she was sure they’d still be in their heated discussion about her job that they had at least once a week. She ensured the locks were engaged before going to their grandmother’s room.
She gently opened the door and peeked inside. Gran’s soft snores filled the air. Tomesha backed away and closed the door. She slowly ambled to her room. She left her door ajar so she’d hear when Gran came out of her room. She changed into her jammies and climbed into bed.
She reached over and set her alarm clock. She didn’t want to sleep the entire day away, but she’d catch a quick nap. Lamaya had given her instructions to increase the amount of kenaf weed she took to ensure her stores would be high.
Tomesha rolled over onto her back. She tugged the blanket up higher, and the exhaustion returned. She closed her eyes, and the image of Dru came to mind.
Her bright-blue eyes.
Her auburn hair.
Her sharp fangs that had peeked out from underneath her lips and the way her fangs and tongue had taken her to the stars. A smile graced Tomesha’s lips as she succumbed to sleep.
Would she see the vampire general again?