12. Gage
Twelve
Gage
G age couldn’t believe that he asked Willow to dinner. It went against everything he had been saying: he wasn’t the dating type. But he felt like a man possessed as he watched her stand next to him awkwardly like a teenager on her first date. He couldn’t think in the moment—all he knew was that he wanted to see her again, and not behind the counter at her coffee house. So he asked her on a date.
Curse that fucking dress.
He didn’t curse the fact that he had to play hero, though. There was something satisfying about breaking stereotypical ideals of vampires, and the fact that he’d saved a pretty girl fulfilled his age-old desire of being a knight in shining armor. Only he preferred black leather, and to ride in on a bike.
The next few nights dragged on, with Sunday feeling like it was a lifetime away. He wanted to join his boys at the Coffee House Bunny, but he also wasn’t sure if he could face her in front of them. He felt that they would be able to tell that something was up, and the last thing he wanted was their harassment over his love life.
By the third night he felt like he was going to go insane.
He decided to go hunting in hopes that a fresh kill would ease whatever the hell was stirring in him. Gage pulled into Cass Corridor, a neighborhood well-known for how dangerous it was. This was the boys’ prime hunting place since most of it was filled with registered sex-offenders, abusive substance users, and sex workers willing to sell some blood. The sad reality was that the police did not care what happened here.
He parked his bike under a maple tree that was slowly dying outside of a burned-down home. He tried to see if there were any people staying inside the boarded-up brick building, but only found the remains of a fast food dinner and used needles. He proceeded to walk the streets, hoping to find one desperate junkie out looking for a fix.
He ignored the part of him that was begging to turn around and go home. No matter how long he had been hunting humans, there was still that small voice inside that berated him. People with addictions were just like him, looking for the next high to calm that drive within them just as he was looking for fresh blood to quench his thirst.
“Motherfucker,” he sighed, and kicked a rock that was on the sidewalk.
That voice was going to win tonight. It wasn’t often that he let it win, but tonight it had the advantage with his emotions roiling over Willow. He could go a few more nights without blood.
Gage paused his stroll and turned to a bush where the sound of crying was quietly emanating from it. He came around the other side to reveal a small girl, only about five years old, huddled up among the dirt and leaves. His stomach dropped. It was odd to see a young child out this late at night.
“You good, little one? ”
Without responding, she tucked her head in between her knees which were pulled up against her chest, trying her best to turn invisible.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asked again.
Slowly, the girl lifted up her head, but still didn’t respond.
“If you need help or something, I can get that for you.”
“My sissy… I don’t want daddy to hurt her no more,” the girl mumbled.
“Where is she?”
The girl pointed behind her to a two-story house that was dark except for one glowing window upstairs. Gage stood up and decided to take a peek around the house to see if he could find where the little girl had escaped from. The back door was unlocked, and he found it easy to slip inside as there were no dogs to alert the homeowner of his presence. He heard groaning and muffled crying coming down the stairs into the living room.
He slithered up the stairs, being careful to avoid any creaking steps, and paused at the top. He quickly slipped around the corner when he heard the groaning stop, and then heavy footsteps made their way to the bathroom. The shower turned on and he risked a peak around the corner to find the hallway dark and empty.
On the way to the bathroom, he passed the room the groaning had been coming from and saw a teenage girl curled up on her bed, crying softer now than she had been.
His adrenaline began pulsing through his veins as he approached the bathroom door.
He loved this part of the hunt.
He heard some faint whistling, like the monster was proud of what he did. An evil smile curled Gage’s lips as he let his inner monster out.
He swiftly closed the bathroom door behind him and felt the humidity of the running shower begin to dampen his clothes. His mouth began to water and his teeth ached as he stepped closer to the shower, anticipating the metallic blood that would soon be running down his chin. The best part was that the monster didn’t even know there was a bigger, badder monster on the other side of the thin shower curtain.
The shock made the blood so much sweeter. Gage made sure to cover the man’s mouth with his hand when he ripped open the curtain to reveal his naked prize. The man’s scream was muffled as Gage sank his teeth into his hairy shoulder. He ripped off a piece of the man’s flesh and watched as bright-red blood began to pour down his back.
“You should really learn to lock your doors, you never know what might creep in at night,” Gage whispered.
The man shifted his eyes to look at the creature that had a death grip on him. Gage thought about prolonging the kill, but decided a quick ending was better. He didn’t want to make too much noise to scare the already traumatized girls. He bit into the man’s neck this time, creating a large gash he could easily drink from. Within a matter of minutes, the man was dead and Gage was satisfied.
He propped the man so it looked like he had died from a slip in the shower. He knew the ripped skin and lack of blood would be suspicious to the police, but he highly doubted they would look any further into it. Especially once the man’s daughter told them what he had been doing to her. It helped that some on the force were vampires themselves and followed the rules of hunting set by Clay.
After feeding, Gage always felt a high of excitement. It was times like these when he realized that killing wasn’t so bad, as long as he killed the right ones. He could easily continue living his life, destroying one sack of shit at a time.
??? ?
Gage sat in his darkened truck, wearing sunglasses even though the sun was setting and he had the darkest tint possible covering his windows. He usually didn’t leave his house until the sun was fully set, but he wanted to see Willow before she left for work. And now he knew where she lived.
He was parked in a gas station’s parking lot, nestled up against the building so anyone passing by would assume it was the clerk’s car. He was at the perfect angle to watch the TV flicker inside her apartment next door.
It took some trial and error for him to find the right balcony since he had not been inside to find where exactly her apartment was located. He shuddered at the memory of the naked old woman he’d accidentally spied on earlier. He was not certain why she was sitting in her living room butt-ass naked, but he was not about to continue watching to find out.
He was a little disappointed to find Willow was the complete opposite. She was fully clothed in pajama shorts and a t-shirt with a blanket partially covering her legs.
He wasn’t being a total creep. Clay had requested he check in on her since Waldo had been officially spotted in their territory last night. He just didn’t clarify if he was supposed to check in on her at home or work.
Waldo had come into the casino and played a few rounds of blackjack for no other apparent reason than to taunt them. By the time Clay had arrived, he was long gone with no hint as to where he went other than telling the dealer he was heading north. But north could be anywhere from Georgia to Canada.
No one was sure why Waldo kept appearing on their territory, and it had everyone on edge. Even Uncle Al, who was the head of the Daytona territory, felt uneasy. Not only was he concerned because he and Clay brothers, but any time a neighboring territory was under attack, the closest leaders were expected to help out. It helped keep local families on good terms with each other, and most vampires had abided by that unwritten rule for centuries.
Gage watched as Willow went to the kitchen and returned with a bowl of popcorn. She flopped down on her couch in the most unattractive way possible, with her feet propped on her coffee table, her knees wide apart, and the bowl resting on her scrunched stomach.
She made it look adorable.
He paused at her knees, wondering what it would be like to be in between them. Or what it would be like to bite her during sex and taste her blood, which smelled so sweet. Venice sometimes would let him do that right as they were climaxing. There was nothing better than her blood gushing into his mouth at the same time his cock was gushing into her.
His thoughts were pulled from his fantasies when Willow stood up and walked onto her balcony. She was looking out into the distance, and he grew nervous that she would recognize his truck from the few times he’d driven it to the café.
Luck was on his side as she stretched her arms above her head, her breasts moving in a way that made him realize she was not wearing a bra. She bent over and let her arms hang loosely from her shoulders. He knew in the way she was positioned those little shorts would not be covering much.
She slowly bent back up in a fluid movement. She wasn’t doing anything overly sexual, but the way she was moving had him transfixed. She was slow and methodical, probably paying attention to every muscle in her body. He wanted her on top of him, moving that way as she rode him.
As soon as he started to get hard, she turned around and went back inside her apartment. He was about to leave, but she reappeared before he could start the truck’s engine. She rolled out a thin mat and bent over again into the only yoga position he knew—downward dog. This time, he could see the side profile of her round ass cheeks.
Gage slid down in his seat, debating if he wanted to pull out his dick to start stroking it. The only thing holding him back was that he was in a public parking lot and the last thing he wanted was a cop to come knocking on his window. He could handle the ticket, but wouldn’t be able to live with the humiliation his boys would surely bring him if they found out he was put on a registry. So he kept his dick in his pants even though it was straining against the zipper.
But Willow certainly wasn’t making this easy for him. She slid her body to the ground sensually and arched her back so her stomach was lying flush to the wood and her face was pointing to the sky. He imagined her bare back from the night on the beach and running his hand down her soft skin. Then he imagined himself grabbing those plump cheeks and smashing his face between them, knowing that her arousal would taste as sweet as her blood.
She lifted herself off the ground and folded her knees under herself, placing her forehead against the mat. Gage bit his finger, drawing blood, hoping that the metallic flavor would distract him from the uncomfortable pressure in his jeans. It worked for a second, until she was on her hands and knees squirming her body like she was a cat in heat. She arched her back, then wiggled her ass as she slowly curved her stomach to the ground. She did this a few times in a row, almost like she was putting on a show for someone.
By now, Gage’s whole body was throbbing. He took the risk and slipped his cock out of his pants to run his hands up and down the firm structure as she continued her writhing. He spit in his hand, wishing more than anything that it was her own saliva he was using to slicken his length. His pace matched her fluid contortions and he tightened his grip.
He felt the tension build in himself as she returned to that sexy downward dog position, this time lifting up a leg to reveal her sex to the sky. Her shorts covered her slit, but exposed her lips and he came as he envisioned himself coming up behind her and slamming himself into her warm folds.
He was breathing heavy as she toppled over onto her side. They both laughed at the same time, but Gage was quick to quiet his. He felt a warmth come over him after his orgasm, instead of the normal satisfied, yet cold, feeling he normally felt.
He groaned as he accidentally wiped his hand through the cum on his steering wheel. There was no way in hell he would be able to walk into the café tonight and make eye contact with her after what he just did. He texted Matteo and Horatio to have them check in on her and pick him up a coffee.