Chapter Eleven #2
“Bad boy,” agreed Elliot. “Taking advantage of poor innocent Verity.”
“Innocent?” Theo laughed, but Ed interrupted.
“Wait. Harper?”
“Yeeess…” Her eyes darted to Theo’s and he mirrored her concern. Fuck. The last few weeks had gone so well she had almost forgotten about being blacklisted. No doubt some vampires would take great exception to what she had written.
“From Stonehaven? I knew I’d seen your face,” Ed said.
“You two know each other?” Charlie asked.
“Verity wrote that article. The one about the factory’s in Stonehaven covering up human deaths,” Ed explained.
“Really?” Elliot asked, frowning. “I heard about that. That was you?” Verity chewed on her lip and nodded, waiting for the vampire to damn her.
Instead, he spat, “fucking disgusting. Treating humans like that. Just because we aren’t human anymore doesn’t mean we lost our humanity.
” He raised his glass. “Thank Phoenar someone had the balls to call them out!”
To her shock everyone murmured their agreement, Ed and Charlie both leaning forward to clink glasses.
Of course, they agreed with her. These vampires who chose to be with humans, who loved humans. Of course it mattered to them too.
Theo leaned back in his seat, chin high, beaming at her.
Elliot elbowed him. “Marcy’s right, she’s too good for you.”
“I know,” he replied. “Waiting for her to realise.”
A knock at the door, and Charlie jumped up with a clap.
“You hungry, Verity?” he asked, opening the door to two men who carried in platters of cheese and meat, fruit and pastries.
They set the trays down on a coffee table in the middle, asking if they needed anything else to which Elliot asked for more champagne.
“I’m starving,” cried Marcy, scooting from her seat to sit on the floor in front of the feast.
Charlie joined her, preparing a plate of artistic looking snacks. “Just like Valesons,” he said, passing the plate to Ed before starting on his own.
Valesons, a café on the high street, opened while Verity was working in Stonehaven. Cora cursed them regularly, blaming their fancy sandwiches and frothy coffees for the loss of many of her regulars.
“Would you like something else, hun?” Marcy asked, and Verity realised she was frowning.
“No, of course not. Looks lovely,” she said, moving to sit beside Marcy and grabbing a pastry.
Charlie arched an eyebrow.
“Lie?” Marcy asked, and Charlie nodded.
Verity snorted. “Not fair. I tell Theo off for that.”
Theo agreed.
Charlie still watched her though, waiting for her to elaborate so she rolled her eyes and said, “My best friend has a café not far from Valesons. They took a lot of her customers.”
“Oh,” Charlie paused. “Which one?”
“Corner Café. It isn’t fancy, but she does good food. If you wanna go you need to make it quick though, she might have to shut shop soon.”
“Oh, no,” Ed said. “I think I know that one. It’s so hard for independent businesses these days.”
A murmur of agreement spread but Verity didn’t want to bring the mood down, so she asked, “How did you and Charlie meet?”
They both grinned and Charlie launched into the story. He was a lawyer and Ed was an assistant to the opposition. Charlie won both Ed and the case.
More champagne arrived and they ate and drank and talked for what felt like hours. Ed and Marcy told Verity tales of near misses, of almost being caught with their vampire other halves, Charlie defending himself while making little canapés for whoever would eat them.
The early days of Marcy and Elliot’s courting sounded quite eventful. Elliot saw her one day, just walking down the street, and fell for the “temptress” on the spot. Marcy took some convincing but thirty years later, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
Thirty years? The woman sat beside Verity, laughing and chatting, didn’t look a day over forty. Maybe she had one of those expensive skin routines. Or… maybe she drank Elliot’s blood? She looked the picture of health either way, and Verity wasn’t sure how to frame such a question.
She looked to Theo, finding him deep in conversation with Elliot. From what she could hear Elliot was apologising for not being a better friend, and Theo was having none of it. As the apologies turned to memories and the two started to relax Verity felt the last bit of tension melt away.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Marcy whispered in her ear. “Funny, isn’t it? He could drink a hundred bottles of champers, and it wouldn’t do a thing, but he still needs a glass to open up to a friend.”
Verity nodded. “Isn’t that all men?”
Marcy received a kick from Charlie and Verity realised that he hadn’t argued because he had his teeth in Ed’s wrist. They were sitting on the couch together, vampire holding his human in a loving embrace as he fed.
The sight should have shocked her. Havenshire taught them such things were private, to be kept behind closed doors, but once the initial surprise passed all Verity saw was a couple who cared deeply for each other, sharing a meal. Wasn’t that what Theo said the club was for?
Marcy met her eye, assessing her, waiting for a reaction, but when Verity smiled Marcy gave her arm a squeeze and stood.
“Elliot, stop stealing Theo away from his girl,” she demanded, heading over and nudging Theo to move.
His eyes met her then. Dark. Hungry.
The moment he stood Marcy slid into his seat and Elliot wrapped his arms round her, pulling her back against him and nuzzling her neck. But Verity watched Theo as he stalked towards her, ready to devour his meal.
Her heart thrummed, breath catching, as he sank down beside her on the floor, wrapping an arm around her as they leaned against the couch. He held her so close. So precious.
He pulled her in and whispered, “You don’t have to?”
Her wrist raised to him in answer and he took it, laying a soft kiss to the tender spot peppered with bite marks before looking at her. Lips so close she could kiss them, he grazed his fangs over the spot and her body tensed.
Music drifted through the room, a male voice singing a slow passionate melody and under it, growls. Not just Theo, but Charlie and Elliot too. A room of predators, feeding on their prey.
Then he bit, his gaze holding hers. Blood touched his tongue and his nose twitched. The fire in her veins connected them, one being pouring life into another as his cheek hollowed and he sucked, far harder than normal.
Her hand found his shirt, eyes rolling at the exquisite pain and she stifled a moan. The rumbling in his chest travelled through her fingers and he sucked again.
Don’t moan. Don’t moan! She told herself, lip trembling with need. Oh gods!
As if it was bad enough that Theo knew, every vampire in the room would know exactly how turned on she was too. The want in her core. The desperation in her heart. But she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
These were their people. They would accept her, accept them. They understood.
The tranquillity that brought was almost overwhelming and in that moment she understood.
This wasn’t just about feeding, about blood and sex, it was belonging.
Stigma didn't exist in that room. They weren’t humans and vampires, prey and predator, they were just people, doing as nature intended.
How could anyone feel ashamed of such a thing?
They stayed like that, curled in a life-giving embrace until Theo was satisfied. Carefully, he healed her with licks and kisses until peace filled her veins and she was languid in his arms.