3.5 The Innocence of White

THE INNOCENCE OF WHITE

Copyright 2012 by Christin M Lovell
***

Cover Copyright:
© konradbak - Fotolia.com

***

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Vamp Chronicles
***

Diary of a Vampeen
Vamp Yourself for War
Hit the Road Jack
The Innocence of White (
short story
)
Vamp Versus Vamp
Darkness Falls –
Coming Winter 2012
The Breaking of Dawn
- Coming Spring 2013

8
 
Above all, love each other deeply,
 
because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 NIV

***

THE INNOCENCE OF WHITE
A Vamp Chronicles Short
Gabi and Jack’s Story

PREFACE
Gabi

I’ve never understood love. Why does it grab your heart tight and never let go? Why does it suffocate you, leaving you no choice but to surrender, regardless of who it’s to?

Love is blind, blind to everything the other person has done in the past. Love is stupid, stupid to reason and common sense. Love is deaf, deaf to words that are yelled in anger. Love is infuriating; it’s frustrating to know you have no control over who your heart desir
es. Love exists without limitations, without stipulations on discriminatory items.
Love is
overwhelming; it rules your world with an iron fist.

When you’re in love, it dominates your life. You’re no longer in control; your world revolves around the person who owns your heart. It’s an imprisoning situation, yet it’s the most exhilarating jail hop one could ever experience.

I thought I’d
known true
love in the past. I thought my heart had been claimed a time or two, yet Kai and Rafi could never compete with the
pitter-patter
dance my
dead
heart does for Jack.
Vampires pride themselves on being an emotionless species, yet we’re not immune to the power of love. And this is one vampire who is in love.

Love captures you, enraptures you on a whirlwind carpet ride, just like every Disney fairytale depicts. What it doesn’t do is brace you for the reality of who you will fall in love with. Not everyone marries a prince, and not everyone lives a happily ever after.

I’d been with Rafi for a lifetime. We met at a vampire soiree. I’d dressed in my best gown: a bright red, figure-hugging number that emphasized my female curves yet diminished all the excess stuffing around those curves.
I’d worn a pair of black high heels that showed off my matching red pedicure. For a full-figured vampire who had more bad body days than good, this was one of my best days.

Our eyes connected across the room. He held a
wine
glass
filled halfway with
blood. His
dark
hair was slicked back, his
tan,
muscular body masked in a classic black suit. His
black
lashes fell to half mask as he watched me danced around the room wi
th my ex-fiancé
Kai’s brother
,
Kalel.
Kalel
was being polite, but I didn’t want polite that night. I wanted to be embraced for the beautiful woman I was. I wanted a vampire who could hold my attention, not offer me his attention out of pity.

“Would you like an introduction?” Kalel asked, pulling me from my reverie.

I cocked my head. “You know him?”

“Rafique
DeSantos. He’s one of our top guards at the
lake
house
compound.”

“Why haven’t I met him before?” I frowned. I’d always pushed for a company meet and
mingle;
yet
I’d
never
been granted
one.
I thought i
t would be
nice to know who was working for
me
and with
me
.

“He’s new. Just out of a ten year contract with the vamp army.”

I chuckled. “I take it he had issues with them too?”

“As do many.”

Lost in conversation over the man himself, I was surprised by his presence.

He politely placed a hand on Kalel’s shoulder, but it was still a brave move considering our
cutthroat
reputation. “May I cut in?”
His voice was de
ep, his baritone rolled over me; it was his Spanish accent though that
sen
t
a shiver down my spine.

“Watch your hands.” Kalel stepped back, passing me over to the intriguing vamp.

He firmly gripped one of my hands, his other arm wrapped around my waist.
“If I may be so bold, you’re stunning.” His dark eyes sparkled as he drank me in. He never missed a step, never lost
his
timing with the music despite
his immediate focus
.

“You may be bold whenever you’d like.”
I was caught up in the scent of him, all male, all vampire. He made my mouth water.

His lips twisted up in the corners, his eyes revealing a devilish gleam. He slowly licked his lips. Had I still owned a beatin
g heart, it would have pounded i
n my chest cavity. My breathing became unsteady as he continued to study me, the blood within my veins pulsing at an above average pace.

He chuckle
d lightly. He bent at the waist placing
his lips near my ear, inches from my erotic
bloodline
. “I would never take advantage of a lady in public. I wish to ravish you in private,
senorita
.”

For the first time in nearly a century, I felt feverish.

Rafi proved his love and adoration of me time over. He was
a
fierce warrior, a strong leader for the security division of the Bladang vamp
guard. He made me laugh. He balanced me in a way no other vamp could. Poor Kai and Kalel, my business partners and
shared
owners of the Bladang vamp guard, tried to manage me, but no one seemed to tame my inner ferocity like Rafi.

When tragedy struck and he was killed in battle, caught in the crossfire of a battle fought to defend my dear vampeen friend, Lexi, and her
soul mate
, Kellan, I thought my lungs would cease to operate. Rafi had been
a staple in my life. It was his face
I looked for and looked forward to seeing each morning. Our connection was strong. I thought our connection was the closest thing to love a vampire could achieve. I reveled in my life with him… until he passed.

Then I ran into Jack again.

Eighty years ago, I’d had a one-night fling with the man of mystery. He fled the second I learned of his true identity.
Eighty
years later, he still caused my gums to ooze, my pulse to triple and my body to ache
in unmentionable places. But he’
s the reason my dear Rafi was murdered. It was because of Jack that I lost a lifetime of memories and happiness in a single shot. And yet, it was because of Jack that I was able to move on.

Like I said, love is
blind, blind to everything the other person has done in the past.
Love is infuriating; it’s frustrating to know you have no control over who your heart desires.
And l
ove is overwhelming; it rules your world with an iron fist
. I wanted to be angry. I wanted to scream obscenities at the man who’d caused my last lover’s death, yet, with one look at the Jack, all my anger dissipated and only
enchantment
existed. My cold heart yearned for him.

Love is stupid, stupid to reason and common sense.
When you’re in love, it dominates your life. You’re no longer in control; your world revolves around the person who owns your heart. It’s an imprisoning situation,
and my anger over Rafi’s demise was trapped in the imprisonment of an uncontrollable pull in another man’s direction. Jack was the last person I wanted to feel for, and the first person to ever truly make me feel.

Chapter 1
Gabi

“Are you sure you want to do this, Gabi?” Lexi checked, her voice rising in pitch over the phone. She was worried, fearing that I was rushing into things. It was logical
, but love was the opposite of rational.

“I don’t know how to explain it so you’ll understand, but I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”

“I’m not saying not to marry him, but don’t you want to wait, possibly give your heart a little time to heal from Rafi?” She broached the subject with ease, yet still rubbed me the wrong way.

“Listen, Lex. I know you’re looking out for me, but I’m not a little girl. I’ve been around for well over a century and have learned a thing or two along the way. I was the vampire who thought marriage was an archaic institution. After Kai shredded my self-esteem along with my heart, I vowed never to consider marriage again. The entire time I was with Rafi, I was content to just be with him. I never had that drive to slap a ring on anyone’s finger. But this is different. Jack is different. You have to understand where I’m coming from because look at you and Kellan. You got engaged like two months after you got together.”

“Yes, but I didn’t loose the man I’d been with for decade
s mere days before deciding
to
accept his proposal
.” I knew she was speaking
out of
concern; she
probably assumed
that Jack was a hot rebound.

“I’m doing it.” I put my foot down, literally stomping my foot
on the hotel’s plush carpet floor
as I spoke. “There’s nothing you nor Kai or Kalel can say or do to stop me. I’m not doing anything fancy. We’re going to the courthouse in Miami before Jack whisks me off on a fabulous honeymoon. And before you ask, Kalel already drew up a pre-nup
, which Jack signed,
just in case I’m off my keister.”

“Are you happy?”

“I was until everyone started berating me over who I’m marrying,” I huffed.
Arguing my decision to everyone was exhausting.

“
I’m sorry, Gab. You know we’re only doing this because we love you. I know Rafi meant a lot to you. We all cared about him in some way. I also know just how hard it is to lose someone you love abruptly. You don’t think straight for a while, or at least I didn’t. I don
’t want you to do anything you’ll regret.