17. Chapter 17
DiegoandJaxleave me feeling flustered. Fucking assholes, both of them. Pushing off the mattress, I glare at the door. I”ve been lying on the bed for at least ten minutes, staring at the ceiling and hoping that one of them might come back, but neither has.
Stomping into the bathroom, I look at myself in the mirror. I notice I have flushed cheeks, and my eyes look less sunken than they did. My skin is finally getting back to its usual complexion. Stripping off the t-shirt, I let it drop to the floor before stepping into the shower.
I turn on the jets of water and bask under the heat ofthem as it sinks into my tense muscles. After a quick shower, and washing my hair, I wrap myself in the towels I left on the rail and step back in front of the mirror. Opening the soft fabric from around my body, I check myself over.
The wounds from the wolves look much better. The skin is still pink and puckered, but they are nowhere near as red as they were when I first woke up a few days ago. Wait, was it a few days ago? I”ve lost track of time. The blinds in my room have been constantly shut and I”ve been sleeping on and off since I first woke up. I”ve no longer been paying attention to day and night.
Just how many days have I missed at work, and what the fuck is Michael going to be thinking? Rushing back into the bedroom with just a towel wrapped around me, I look around for my bag. It”s sitting next to the side table beside the bed. Moving over to it, I snatch it up and dig around inside, looking for my cell phone.
When I pull it out, my shoulders drop. The screen is fractured, the glass barely staying in place under my screen protector.
”Fuck.” I hit the power button, hoping that maybe even with the damaged screen it might still turn on.
I grasp onto a little hope as the screen lights up, but it soon disappears again. There are black spots all over it, and I can”t see anything through the cracks. Deflated, I drop my bag and phone onto the floor.
I spot something dark on top of the light covers on the bed, another set of clothes. Looking over to the door, I remember the fact that there isn’t a lock on it anymore. Anyone can just walk in.
Pulling the t-shirt over my body, I lift the neck to my nose. Though the smell isn’t strong, I know they aren’t Jax’s. I’ve come to associate damp pine with him, but these have the subtle scent of licorice, rich and sweet. That’s all Diego.
Forgoing the sweatpants, I pull the set of boxers up my legs. I eye the stake on the side table. I”m not sure at what point I stopped feeling the need to pick it up anymore, but I leave it behind and head out of the bedroom.
As I get closer to the open-plan kitchen and lounge, I can hear the television on low. Peeking out around the wall, I check to see who is in the room. Spotting the back of Bane”s head over the top of the couch, I let out a sigh of relief. I”m not sure I want to deal with Diego or Jax right now.
Padding across the wooden floor, my feet hit the plush carpet around the lounge area. Bane”s head tilts a little in my direction. I have no doubt he”s known I”ve been here the whole time, but it”s only now that he”s acknowledging my presence. I appreciate his attempts to be more human.
Rounding the couch, I flop on the opposite end to where he”s sitting. These men are dangerous. As much as I shouldn”t feel comfortable around them, I do. And I keep getting closer and closer. There”s something about all of them that draws me to them.
Pulling a pillow to my chest, I hug it against myself and lift my legs up, curling them underneath me. A hand and remote suddenly appear in front of me, and I look over to Bane. He”s looking at me with those crystal blue eyes, giving me a slight nod. I take the remote from him and flick through a few of the channels.
It”s mostly news and a few older movies, nothing I want to watch. Noticing the Netflix button on the remote, I press it and it takes me straight into the home page. There is a profile set up for each guy. I select Bane’s and it gives me every possible option of movie and TV show.
Clicking through the list, I stop on an action movie and hit select. Placing the remote on the arm of the couch, I look over atBane again. He”s got his booted feet up on the coffee table, and his arms folded across his torso. His t-shirt is tight, and his jeans are molded to his huge body.
Leaning back on the couch, I still hold the pillow across my chest and I turn my attention to the screen, but I”m barely watching it. It seems so mundane that I”m sitting here watching a movie with a vampire who looks like he could kill me with just a look.
”Where”s Diego and Jax?” I blurt out.
”Out,” Bane grunts.
No shit.
”Doing what exactly?” I pick at the corner of the pillow.
”Jax has business to see to and Diego left.”
He really isn”t the talkative type. I”ve noticed that since being here. He seems to talk in short sentences, sometimes not even whole ones, just singular words.
”Not really the talkative type, are you, big guy?” I pick up on the rumble that emits from his chest. Does he like the fact I”ve given him a nickname? ”Any chance I can borrow your phone? I need to call work.”
Another grunt, but no actual answer. Fine. I”ll be a good girl and watch the movie. When Jax or Diego gets back, I need to see if one of them is a little more willing to lend me a phone. I love my job, and I don”t want to lose it.
I don”t remember what happened during the movie by the time the end credits roll. There were explosions, car chases, good guys killing bad guys, but I zoned out for most of it. Bane and I sit in silence. I”m not sure if he”s watching it either. One movie leads to another and at one point, I get up to go to the kitchen.
Opening the fridge, it”s full of all sorts of food and drink. I still don’t understand why vampires need so much human sustenance, I thought they only needed to drink blood. Eyeing the opaque drawer at the bottom, I can’t stop my curiosity. I slam it shut as quickly as I open it when I realize it”s filled with bags of blood. Bleugh, nope! Grabbing a can of soda, I close the fridge, trying to pretend I haven”t seen those clear bags.
Popping open the can, I take a healthy gulp and glance around the apartment. I still haven’t had much time to look around, keeping mostly to the bedroom that Jax has given to me. It’s safer there, away from the three men that seem to call to me. Even when we aren’t in the same room together, it’s almost like I can feel them. I wonder if it’s an after-effect of the blood they gave me.
Bane is still sitting on the couch. I notice now that there are two hallways. One that leads to the bedroom I”m staying in and another on the other side of the kitchen. The hallway is dark, and I can’t see what lies beyond the shadows.
What’s down there?
I hear the lock on the main door clicking before it opens. The smell of food floods the apartment and my stomach rumbles. Diego pushes inside, his hands filled with bags. Taking my can, I place it on the coffee table and head over to offer him a hand. Diego kicks the door closed behind him. His eyes fall on me before cutting across to Bane.
”Hi.” I squeak, and he throws me that killer smile of his. My insides melt.
Fucking hell, Demi. Get a hold of yourself.
Even fully clothed, he”s sex on legs. His black shirt is open at the front again, showing off those gorgeous tattoos - the ones I got to trace only a few hours earlier. His black jeans hug him in all the right places, and I end up digging my teeth into my lower lip as I remember what lies beneath them.
”You can”t do this to me, Demi. You need more clothes in the communal areas.” Diego looks me up and down, his nostrils flaring.
I grab the edge of the t-shirt, trying to pull it lower down my thighs, but it won”t budge. Diego is in front of me now, his body towering over me as he looks down, those black eyes drinking me in.
My body instinctively leans closer towards him. The smell that I noticed on the t-shirt envelopes me as I get closer. These are definitely Diego”s clothes, which means the first set was Jax”s. Before I can get any closer, Diego is gone, shifting past me to the breakfast bar. He puts the bags down on the countertop and turns to grab a few plates out of one of the many cupboards.
”I got Chinese. Didn”t know what you liked, so I got a bit of everything. My favorite is the chicken chow mein.” He pulls each dish out of the bags, laying them out like a feast.
”You guys actually eat? Other than blood, I mean.” There is a double snort, one from Diego and the other from Bane. ”What? I wondered why there was so much normal food and drink in your fridge.”
”You really don”t know much about vampires, do you, tesoro?”
”You guys drink blood, heal really quick and apparently have heartbeats and feel as warm as any human.” I eye the food, choosing something that looks like beef. I spoon some of it onto my plate before grabbing a fork and taking a bite.
”Of course we eat, and not just pussy.” My eyes widen at Diego”s comment, and I almost choke on the salt and pepper-coated beef I’m chewing on. ”We drink alcohol, fuck better than any human, and if you ask really nicely, I can bite you whilst we fuck. It”ll be the hardest orgasm you”ve ever had.”
”Diego.” Bane grunts. He”s beside me now, reaching for one of the dishes. He takes the whole thing and puts it on a plate, moving off to the dining table and sitting down.
”What? I”m just making sure she knows more about us. Well, me. Your limp dick couldn”t satisfy anyone, not even me.” Diego puffs out his chest as he talks, a cock-sure smile adorning his lips.
Jesus Christ, he really has got a mouth on him.
Wait, Bane can’t even satisfy Diego… what am I missing?
He’s totally wrong, I’ve seen and felt Bane’s cock and I know for a fact that there is nothing limp about the beast between his strong thighs. I can feel my cheeks flushing as I think about Bane with his fist wrapped around his cock, jacking off as he watched me and Diego.
Shaking off those thoughts, I add some noodles to my plate along with the beef and move to sit next to Bane. My eyes fall onto the dining table. The blood is still there and I squeeze my eyes shut. There’s no way I’m sitting here. I turn and head for the couch instead. Bane stops eating as he notices my change of direction. Without a comment, he stands and grabs his food. Making his way over to sit beside me, our thighs brush together as he takes a seat.
Diego follows and sits down on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. He’s directly opposite me and places some prawn crackers down between the three of us. I grab a handful and smile as I drop them on my plate. Scooping a little of the beef and noodles onto the edge of the prawn cracker, I take a bite, chewing slowly before swallowing.
We eat in companionable silence, with just the sounds of us chewing and forks scraping across the plates. A door slams down the hallway I was curious about earlier, and Jax appears from the darkness.
He looks a little frazzled. His shirt is untucked, and half the buttons are undone. His golden blonde hair is tangled in places, the waves in disarray from what looks like him running his fingers through it repeatedly. His emerald eyes look around the room wildly until they settle on me. As they do, I see the tension release its hold on him, his entire posture relaxing.
I want to ask him if he”s okay, but knowing Jax, he”ll just be an asshole all over again, making me hate him even more than I already do. Diego stops with his fork close to his mouth and looks Jax”s way.
”Everything okay, boss man?”
”Everything”s fine, Diego.” Jax sniffs the air. ”I see you”ve been keeping your hands to yourself.”
Jax looks over at me at the same time that Diego does, and I shrink back in my seat. A hand on my thigh is the only thing stopping me from bolting. I look over to Bane and he smiles at me. It”s weirdly comforting. Balancing my plate on my lap, I reach my hand for his and lace our fingers together. He gives them a squeeze, calming my nerves.
”I did. I know how to follow rules… sometimes, anyway.” Diego jokes.
”Good.” Jax moves to the counter and dishes up some food for himself. He grabs one of the chairs from the dining table and brings it over to where the rest of us are gathered, placing it down on the other side of the coffee table next to Diego.
As if by some sort of unspoken cue, Jax starts eating, and everyone goes back to their own food. I pick a little at mine, the thought that the asshole clearly doesn”t want Diego touching me really bothers me. What has it got to do with him, anyway? It’s not like he”s saving me for himself. I was there ready for him and instead he stormed out of the bedroom and left me wanting.
These three have a weird relationship. I don”t know much about them other than that Jax owns Dark Desires, Bane works the doors, and Diego is the bartender, but they all seem comfortable around each other. Aside from Diego disappearing earlier, every single one of them has been in or around the building. I can only assume they each have a room in the apartment, as they’ve changed clothes more than once already.
I look between all three men; Jax is the prim and proper one, with a severe case of dickhead syndrome. The majority of his actions so far have led me to believe he”s still a douchebag. A very good-looking one, but a douchebag, no matter what. I think he”s more pissed by the fact I brought wolves to his front door and now he has some helpless little human crowding his space. As much as I know things are tense between the two of us, it doesn’t stop me wanting to feel his lips on my skin and have him thrusting his cock into all my holes.
Diego is hotness personified. He oozes sex. Everything about him makes me want me to strip him naked, sink down on his metal-adorned cock, and ride him till I collapse. Then let him fuck me some more till I fallinto oblivion. Just having his eyes on me makes me hot and flustered. I was so close to having his cock inside me; I need him to fill me and finish what he started.
Bane is, well, Bane. He”s huge and should terrify me, but he doesn”t scare me one bit, not anymore. The first time I saw him on the door, and he flashed his fangs, I nearly bolted. But he’s really not all that bad, at least to me anyway. Bane’s more like an enormous teddy bear. He’s gentle with me, like he”s worried I might break, but he still makes me horny as hell. His kisses scorch me from the inside out, and I bet his cock would do the same. I want him to pin me below his huge body as he quenches my lust.
As much as I want each one of them to fuck me. Most of all, I want them to fuck me together, just like in my dream. I”ve never had a threesome, never mind an orgy. I once asked an ex if he”d be up for a threesome with another guy after we watched a steamy porno where the girl was fucked by multiple men at the same time. I wanted to experience it just the once, but he was so straight-laced, he shut me down straight away and told me he didn”t want to share.
I”m like a wolf in heat; wanting, no, needing sex to satisfy the desires taking over my body. As soon as I think of wolves, those glowing amber eyes appear in my mind. Claws and fangs dripping with blood, and muffled whimpers. It”s enough to push any thoughts of sex with the three hot vampires straight out of my head.
”Demi.” A soft voice pulls me from my thoughts. Fingers flicking in front of my eyes to get my attention. I blink rapidly, trying to pull myself back to the present and to Diego.
”Huh? Sorry. What did you say?”
”I asked if you”re finished. You”ve been playing with your food for the last five minutes.”
”Oh shit, I was a million miles away. Yeah, I”m done.” I put my fork back on the plate and hand it to Diego.
At some point, Bane and Jax must have left, their spaces now empty. I was so inside my own mind; I didn”t even notice Bane letting go of my hand and leaving.
Way to keep alert, Demi.
Diego gathers up the rest of the dishes and takes them over to the sink, dropping them down into the soapy water. Jax and Bane both reappear at the end of the other hallway.
”I have informed Achilles of what happened, and we’ve dealt with the situation in the basement.” Bane gives Jax a curt nod before looking my way, a goofy smile adorning his lips.
Bane walks behind where I’m sitting on the couch, his hand trailing across the skin on the back of my neck as he does. He heads for the door and turns, giving me a small wave, which I return before he walks out of the apartment door.
”Demetria. Bane mentioned you needed a phone.” My ears perk up and I nod enthusiastically. ”Here, use mine.” He passes me a sleek-looking iPhone. It looks like one of the newer models.
”I need to call work. I don’t even know what day it is at this point, but I’ve got to have missed at least one shift.” He nods as Ibegin to dial the number.
”Understandable, and it’s Sunday, if you’d like to know.” My fingers pause on the screen as Jaxsays the day and I glance up at him. Shit so much time has passed already.
“Fuck, Michael is going to be so pissed with me. Someone will have already told himI missed my shift yesterday.”
“Please inform this Michael that you have a virus and don”t want to risk patients.” I hate the fact he wants me to lie, but it’s for the best. I can’t exactly tell the truth.
”Okay.” I hit the call button. It”s only a few rings before Michael answers. ”Hi, Michael, it”s me.”
”Demi, where have you been? Why aren’t you answering your phone? Whose number is this?” Michael rapid fires the questions at me. I open my mouth, but he doesn’t give me a chance to respond. “You missed two shifts. Angela rang me in a panic when you didn’t turn up yesterday morning, and now I’m at the hospital trying to find someone to cover for you. I was about to send a search party.”
”I am so sorry. I got hit by a virus or something. I”ve spent the last two days throwing up.” I look at Jax, hoping my answer is adequate for him. ”And would you believe I broke my phone on Thursday night when I went out? I”ve been waiting for a new one to arrive in the mail.”
”Wow, be careful Demi. You know what they say. Bad luck comes in threes.” He chuckles down the phone.
”I will. Thanks, Michael. I”m expecting I”ll be out for maybe a week.” I don”t want to push it too much.
”Sure thing, Demi. Take care of yourself. And don”t forget...”
I cut him off. ”Fluids and rest, I know.” I let out a soft laugh. ”Bye, Michael.”
”That”s my girl.” I hang up and hand the phone back to Jax, who”s looking at me with a peculiar look on his face.
When his hands curl around the phone, his fingers brush against mine and I feel a jolt, like an electric shock, through my fingers. He flinches. Barely, but I notice it, he must have felt it too. He snatches his hand away and pushes his phone back into the front pocket of his slacks.
”Seems as if you will be here for a while.” A look of what I assume is disgust flickers over Jax”s features. ”Bane is taking you back to your apartment in the morning. Grab clothing and anything else you”ll need for a prolonged stay.”
With that, he spins on his heel and stomps back down the hallway to whatever the hell lies down there. I look over at Diego, who is washing the dishes we used at the sink. He looks over at me and shrugs.
”Captain Asshole is back in the building then.” My words cause Diego to snort, laughter shakinghis shoulders as he works.
Tiredness sweeps through my body. I”ve done nothing all day but watch movies with Bane, yet somehow I”m still exhausted and a yawn creeps through my lips.
”Get some sleep, Demi. I”ll be working at the club tonight, but Jax will be in his office down the hall.” He points in the direction that Jax went, water and soap suds dripping from his hand.
Standing, I grab my half finished soda and head back to the room that is currently mine. The door handle is still broken, so I just push it to. Scrambling under the covers, I pull them up to my chin but leave the light on. I close my eyes and let sleep take me.