Bloodlust

Chapter 7

Leona stared down at the phone, willing something to come through. They had returned home from dinner without discussing much more with Sebastian. She had put enough on his plate as it was. Mentally, she was kicking herself for being so bold with him. It hadn’t exactly been the reaction she’d been hoping for. In the past, directly coming on to a man was the way to go, and it had never taken multiple encounters of her practically handing herself over on a silver platter. He was different, and it only ever made her want him more.

“Still waiting?”

Leona looked up at the blonde hovering in the doorway. She shifted from where she was lounging in her nook by the window. “Yes.”

“Leona,” Piper sighed, walking over to her. She perched down on the edge of the windowsill and placed a hand on the redhead’s knee. “I know you fancy Sebastian. He seems nice. But I’m not sure this is the best idea. You’re already getting too attached and you haven’t so much as hugged yet. You know love is a tricky thing for beings like us.”

“You’re such a hypocrite, Piper,” Leona snapped.

“Excuse me?” she scoffed. “What the hell have I done?”

“Who was it that practically threw this phone across the dinner table fawning over Sebastian and me exchanging numbers? Who was it that plotted with those humans to send us both outside to ‘take a tour?’”

Piper pressed her lips together in a thin line, not having a retort. “I want you to be happy, Le, but I don’t know if this is the best way to go about it. I thought, perhaps… but he hasn’t reached out. Maybe you just have to accept that he’s not interested.”

Leona frowned and rested her head against the windowpane, her pale features illuminated by the moonlight. “It’s not fair, Pipe.”

“I know it’s not,” Piper said. She scooted closer to her and gently embraced her. “Humans and our kind just… don’t mix. You know that.”

“Well, our kind and I don’t mix. As long as Gideon?—”

“Don’t.”

“As long as he’s around, I can’t mate with a vampire anyway. He would destroy them. No human stands a chance against him either. I’m doomed to either spend the rest of my existence running away or give in to his abuse and be a slave. I’d rather die than go back to his prison.”

“You will never have to go back,” Piper said seriously. “That’s why you have us. We protect each other. He has kept his distance and Theodore and Damien are ensuring it stays that way for the time being. He won’t stay away forever, but… for now, that’s what we’ve got.”

“Sebastian isn’t like him.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t know that human. He’s a man, they’re all the same. That’s why we stay one step ahead.”

“I told him I wanted to fuck him. He hardly flinched. In fact, he looked frightened by that. Shocked, even.”

Piper barked out a laugh. “No shit. He probably is frightened. Probably thinks you’ll throw him through the bed frame.”

“That was one time?—”

“Still,” she smirked. “Just because he didn’t strip down starkers doesn’t mean he didn’t want to love you and leave you. You know how humans are. They are intrigued, then they get in over their heads, get scared, try to run away, and we have to clean up your mess. I am really trying to keep my track record of killing innocent humans clean. I don’t want to live that way anymore.”

“Neither do I,” Leona said sadly. “I just want to be normal. I want to fall in love and have babies?—”

“Leona.”

“What?!” she cried out, snapping her head over to her. “I know it can’t happen, but I can dream, can’t I? Why shouldn’t I be able to find a man who loves me? Who doesn’t want me for immortality or money. Or to stroke his ego and show off his power. I want a man who’s content to sit here and read a book with me. Or who will give me flowers just because it’s a Tuesday and not because he wants something in return. I want a gentleman. I thought Gideon was a gentleman…” she trailed off quietly, cutting her eyes down. “Sometimes I wonder if I’d be better off dead.”

“Stop thinking that way,” Piper said firmly. “You can’t think that way. He will win if you do. I know you’re sad, but this will pass. It always does. You just need a good, hard shag.”

“Ugh,” Leona grimaced, shaking her head. She thunked her temple next to the glass pane again. “The thought of bedding another random man makes me want to vomit. If I could.”

The phone lying in front of them on the cushion they were atop lit up and Piper picked it up. A small smile spread across her lips and she held it out to Leona. “Maybe you won’t have to.”

The redhead looked down at the phone and instantly sat up straight at the name above the notification. It was one word, one simple Hi. It was enough to make the still heart in her chest skip a beat.

“Get out,” Leona then gasped, nudging her away.

“What?!” Piper laughed, standing up with a slight stumble. “No way. I want to see what he says!”

“No!” Leona snapped. “Get out.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll know if you sneak out tonight, just saying,” she called out as she left the room, the door shutting behind her.

Leona took a deep breath, more for herself than anything, and crossed her legs. She opened the phone and stared down at the thread Sebastian had started. One little grey bubble with one little word. She had to get this right.

Hi.

It’s Sebastian.

I know. I’m glad you reached out. I was just thinking about you.

Good thoughts, I hope.

Extremely. What are you doing?

I’m sitting on my back porch with a beer.

Texting you. Wondering if this is a bad idea.

Let me know when you make a decision. Maybe I can sway you a little bit.

Do you do this a lot?

Do what? Text? This is my first time.

No. Flirt with guys. This whole charade. Do you usually go to so much effort to sleep with someone? Why not just take whatever you want? It’s not like someone could stop you.

That’s not the kind of person I am. Things were different in my time. Not so forward.

I see.

Can I call you?

Leona watched the small bubble filled with three dots pop up, disappear, pop up, then disappear. What did that mean? Why did it go away? Did he not?—

Buzz — Buzz — Buzz.

Her eyes widened as she saw his name pop up big on the screen. She slowly slid the button across and put the phone up to her ear. “Hello.”

“Hi again.”

“For a second I thought you weren’t going to respond.”

“I hate waiting for other people to call me, so I decided to take the initiative after your question. I’ll admit this is much easier than texting.”

“I agree. But we can continue our conversation. Did you decide whether this is a good idea or not?”

“Jury’s still out. But maybe telling me more about what ‘your time’ was like will help me make a decision.”

Leona smiled. “What do you want to know, Sebastian?”

“What year were you born again?”

“Sixteen-eighty-four.”

“When did you become a vampire?”

“I already told you all this.”

“Tell me again. I can make notes now.”

“You’re writing this down?”

“Trying to. If you’d answer the question, I could start.”

Leona smiled. “I was turned when I was twenty. Just before my wedding.”

“You were going to be married?”

“Yes. But then I wasn’t. He wasn’t what I thought he was. I was young, naive, and stupid. I was in love with the idea of love. I wanted the things everyone talked about with that dreamy look in their eyes. Gideon noticed that and pounced. My family was all too eager to have this nice, posh bachelor set his sights on me. My father was happy to let him take me away. I was, too. He courted me for two and a half years before he proposed. We planned the wedding for a year and a half. For nothing, I might add. I still wonder why he was so patient, but… that amount of time is a mere blink for an immortal. I suppose it was all just amusement for him.”

“So… Gideon is your creator?”

“Yes.”

“And… where is he now?”

“As far away as possible, I hope. He has an estate in England, in the country. He likes his privacy. I assume he’s there or just wandering somewhere else in the world, finding people to prey on.”

“What happened that made you hate him so much?”

“He’s a monster, Sebastian,” Leona simply said, letting those words marinate between them.

After an age, Sebastian broke the silence. “I’m sorry.”

Leona laughed quietly on the other end. “Thank you. It’s not an enjoyable story to tell. But if you want to hear it, I’ll continue.”

“Maybe you can tell me when we’re face-to-face. Doesn’t seem like the kind of story fit for a phone call. Or maybe a really long text.”

She giggled, a smile permanently fixed on her face. “Hearing that I have some scary, powerful, ancient vampire ex-boyfriend doesn’t intimidate you even a little bit?”

“Well… how tall is he?”

“Probably close to seven feet.”

“Shit.”

Leona laughed harder, covering her mouth. “He has red eyes, too.”

“Shitter shit.”

“Short hair.”

“Abs?”

“We all have abs.”

“There’s a selling point,” he teased.

“Shut up. I’m sure you already have abs.”

“Only one way to find out.”

If she could blush, she would have. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re flirting with me, Sebastian Beliveau.”

“Good thing you don’t know better. Maybe your brain is rotting with age. Along with everything else.”

“Asshole,” she said, with no malice in her tone. But she heard him laughing on the other end. “When do I get to see you again?”

“I’m trying to play hard to get. I’ve heard girls love that.”

“I’m more of an instant gratification girl myself.”

“Spoiled. The word for that is spoiled. Spoiled brat, by extension.”

“And the word for you, again, is asshole.”

“Thank you,” he cooed.

Leona’s smile widened and it took everything in her not to kick her feet with excitement. She stood up and began to pace. “You never answered my question. When do I get to see you again?”

“People will start to talk…”

“Let them,” Leona groaned. “Sebastian!”

“I have a few photoshoots tomorrow. One is at sunset. We can meet afterward. Is that dark enough?”

“Yes,” she said, relief flooding through her. “Tomorrow after sunset. Where?”

“By the river?” he suggested. “Across from the Cathedral.”

“It’s a date.”

“Is it?”

Leona paused. “Can it be?”

Now it was Sebastian’s turn to pause. She was about to scrap everything and laugh it off when his deep voice rumbled from the other line, “A first date with you calls for much more than a walk along the river. I promise you, if you and I go on a date, you’ll know about it.”

Leona released a short breath. How lovely. Nobody had ever said anything so gentle and sweet to her before, which made her rather sad. Were her standards really so low?

“That sounds perfect, Sebastian. I’m excited to see you.”

“Likewise,” he said. “I should let you get to sleep.”

“Did I tell you I was immortal? I was sure it had come up…”

“You don’t sleep? What about coffins?”

Leona made a face to herself. “Ghastly.”

Sebastian chuckled to himself. “No sleep at all?”

“We can sleep, but it’s not a true sleep. More just resting our eyes. We’re always awake. It’s difficult to explain.”

“What the hell do you do all day and night then?”

“Read. Things got much easier when the telly was invented. And now there’s the Internet.”

“Lots of porn, huh?”

“Sebastian,” she hissed. “I may be immortal and lonely, but I am still a woman of integrity. Don’t be so crass.”

“Sorry, m’lady,” he teased. She could hear his smirk. “Fine. I’ll go to sleep. I actually need it. This isn’t natural beauty, you know.”

“You are beautiful, Sebastian. Inside and out.”

That caught Sebastian off guard. He stayed quiet for several moments, then he shifted in his seat. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Leona.”

“Goodnight, Sebastian.”

“Goodnight.”

Leona pressed the red button to end the call, then she held the phone against her chest. She felt like crying. She settled back into her reading nook and looked out into the night scenery, taking it all in. She had learned to fall in love with the dark. But she did miss the light.

For the first time in a few centuries, she felt happy.