Cherry Blossom (Vampire Cherry Book 2) (11 page)

Constantine, Alex, and I spent the next few hours patrolling the neighborhood, while pretending to enjoy a leisurely stroll. We meandered around my hometown in not-so-companionable silence, which I occasionally broke by pointing out a landmark or something I’d associated with my childhood.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Alex murmured, when we reached Santa Agape. “The whole town, I mean. A place to raise a family.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Constantine picking up his pace, allowing us some semblance of privacy.

“Alex,” I said, “I’m sorry.”

He gave me a questioning look. “For what?”

“You will never have the family you dreamed off.” I had to be blunt. Our vague discussions about the future hadn’t seemed to sink in, and after seeing my father cry for what had been done to him, I was in no mood for subtlety.

“You don’t know that.” He shrugged. “There are other ways.”

“No, Alex.” I stepped up in front of him and held his gaze. “You can
never
have a family. You’re no longer human. Children deserve to be kept away from our darkness.”

“But with your grandmother’s brew—”

“We’ll still be vampires, even if we walk in the sun. The darkness is inside us. What will you tell your son or daughter, the first time they see your fangs pop out? They’ll scrape a knee, have a nosebleed, and you’ll vamp out instead of being there for them.”

“Cherry—”

“
Never.
” I hated being that harsh, and seeing the hurt and disappointment on his face, but there was no gentler way to break reality to him. I needed him to realize there was no maybe, no grey area, about this. “You’re a vampire now. Not a human with a taste for blood. You don’t get to live like them.”

Constantine had tried to tell me that, repeatedly, and I’d shut him off, refusing to acknowledge the truth in his words. I’d been so wrong.

On many things.

Alex nodded and kissed my temple. “You’re right. I just need more time to adjust to this change. Need to relearn how to think. How to be. You know?”

“I know.” I found his lips with mine and kissed him gently.

“Maybe some tender loving can help speed up the process?” He nibbled on my lower lip.

“Not out here. When we go home. But you’ll have to be quiet.”

“Quiet as a vampire.”

I laughed half-heartedly, and swatted his ass. “Let’s go. We have another ten blocks to cover.”

I spotted Constantine by the creek. He was squatting next to a huddled figure. The wind blew the other way, and Constantine’s face was averted, so I couldn’t make out what he said, but the figure nodded. Constantine turned to us, and the moon shone on his face, revealing blood-smeared lips.

Alex tensed, his nostrils flaring. The human—had to be—stood and walked away.

Constantine used a handkerchief he pulled out of his pocket to wipe his mouth, and met us on the side of the road. “I promised him a bite for information,” he said.

One of the bite junkies Constantine told us about.

“And? What did he say?” Alex sounded impatient, but I was sure the sight of blood had unsettled him. Feeding only from me was bound to become a problem sooner or later.

“He heard a girl was found nearby this morning. She was alive and lacking any physical signs of an assault, but appeared disoriented, and her blood-cell count was remarkably low.”

“And he found all that out, how?” I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t see the guy being into investigative journalism.

“His cousin is an EMT. He was first at the scene and followed the case.”

“So we’re sure her attacker was a vampire?” I asked.

“I’m certain it was Willoughby,” Constantine replied.

“How?” Alex asked.

Constantine kept his gaze on me. “The girl was a redhead with bangs.”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “That’s not exactly proof.” Even if it felt like a punch to the stomach.

“Forgive me, if I don’t require more evidence. We obviously have to stay vigilant—maybe even sleep in shifts once Ruby’s potion takes hold, in case he has humans helping him.”

Alex nodded. “Cee’s right. We can’t risk it.”

I shrugged. There was no use disagreeing with the both of them, especially when I was still reeling at the thought of Willoughby attacking someone just because she had the same hair color as me.

“At least she’s alive.” Alex’s voice was laced with relief.

“Maybe we should go by the hospital? See if she remembers anything?” I asked.

Alex shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. For all he knows, she’s dead. If he’s following us, and we lead her to him, he may decide to finish the job.”

“She was really quite lucky. Willoughby isn’t known to leave his victims breathing,” Constantine said to him. His eyes were narrowed in speculation.

“Maybe she has a message for me?” I asked.

“As Alex said, we cannot risk leading Willoughby to her, if that’s not the case. Let us wait until the potion takes effect. Then we can visit her during the day.”

That made sense. We went on with our search, but found no sign of my maker in the surrounding area. I suggested we go looking downtown; San Luis Obispo has a rather lively nightlife, and nothing makes for better hunting grounds than nightclubs full of college students.

“He let the girl live. That has to be significant.” Constantine tapped his chin with one finger. “He’s not killing. He wants our attention, and he will have to stick close by to ensure his success.”

I had to agree with that.

My thoughts veered back to the young redhead I’d never met. Whoever she was, she’d been incredibly lucky. Willoughby hadn’t been all that gentle with me or with Alex; neither of us had survived his attack. His latest victim had been found in the daylight and had apparently been responsive, if disoriented, so she was still human. Still alive. If she’d been turned within three hours of sunrise, she’d have remained dead until the next sunset, and if it had happened earlier in the night, she’d be up and around by morning, but the sun would have fried her.

Yup, very lucky indeed.

We were almost home, when Constantine’s phone rang. Without breaking stride, he swept his forefinger across the screen and brought it to his ear. “Gheorghios, I did not expect you to call me back so soon.”

I closed my hand into a fist with the thumb and pinkie extended, and shook it by my ear, waggling my eyebrows. The weird gesture was meant to ask for permission to listen in on the conversation. Constantine wouldn’t be able to tell if I did, but I’d been brought up with manners.

He nodded, and I expanded my hearing just as Gheorghios was saying, “—if there’s any truth in it.”

“Tell me what you heard, and we’ll look into it.” Constantine came to a halt.

Alex and I stopped walking too, and I widened my eyes at Constantine. I wasn’t sure letting Gheorghios know we were together was a good idea.

“We?” Gheorghios asked.

Constantine snorted. “You have been a council member longer than I, Gheorghios. You know we each have our people.” Good save.

“Of course.”

“So, if you please…?”

“Yes, yes. As I told you, all I know is a legend that some of the oldest among us believe to be about her. I cannot vouch for its validity. ”

He paused, but Constantine remained silent.

“According to legend, Ádísa was a Valkyrie who fell for a mortal,” Gheorghios said. “She was supposed to collect his soul, but the man promised her his love, and she let him live. Odin, the father of the Norse gods, made her human as punishment. She would only be allowed back in Valhalla, if she brought with her the man’s soul, but he had to give it to her willingly. Ádísa said she did not care about immortality; she would live out her human years with her lover. When she went to him, however, the man told her he was in love with another woman. He’d lied to Ádísa on the battlefield.

“Ádísa was enraged, but she no longer had the power to harvest his soul and take it to Odin. She begged Odin to take her back and reinstate her powers, and he said he would do so only if she managed to gain the man’s love. Despite her pleas and promises, the man showed her nothing but scorn. He even gloated over having fooled a Valkyrie.

“The thought of growing old and dying alone terrified Ádísa. Crazy with loss and sorrow, she found a vampire to turn her immortal again, and killed the man who had betrayed her. When she offered his still beating heart to Odin, the father of gods finally took pity on her. He said there was a way for her to return to his side. She had to win the heart and soul of a man pledged to a descendant of the woman the human chose over her.”

I caught Constantine’s gaze. He frowned. “So am I to believe in Old Norse mythology?” he asked Gheorghios. “I lived those times. I don’t remember any Valkyries around for my death.”

“Believe what you will. I only told you what I have heard. I know of no one who asked the lady herself and survived to share her answer.”

“I see. Thank you, Gheorghios.”

“Just remember your promise.”

What promise?

“I do.”

“When time comes, I shall call on you,” Gheorghios said, and Constantine terminated the call.

“What promise?” Alex asked before I could.

“Nothing significant. Vampire politics.” Constantine waved him off.

“You were a Viking,” I said. That he was actually ancient never ceased to amaze me. “Ever hear of that legend before?”

“Not that I recall. What do you two make of it?”

I didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t even sure what I’d heard. Was all this possible? “If we believe what Gheorghios said—and that’s a big ‘if’—I guess my great-great-great-several-times-back-grandma could have been the other woman. It would explain why Ádísa seemed to have been obsessed with my family for years, and especially her hatred for me. I was turned before I had any kids, and she didn’t know Ruby isn’t dead, so I was her last chance. The last of our bloodline. She needed to seduce a man who loved me, to get her place back. But seriously, do we even believe this story? I mean…gods and Valkyries?”

Constantine’s face fell. “Improbable though it seems, it would explain a lot.”

I put two and two together. “Was this why Ádísa had me turned? Why she told you to make me fall in love with you?” It wasn’t the most appropriate conversation to be had in front of Alex, but propriety wasn’t my main concern right now.

“Possibly.”

“She had to know you’d fall for Cherry too,” Alex said. “It wouldn’t have worked otherwise. She had to steal you from her.”

She had stolen him, hadn’t she? I’d found Constantine fucking her on the bed he shared with me. Her face shone with triumph, as she’d looked up at me. “She thought she’d won,” I whispered.

But she hadn’t. Because Constantine’s heart had remained mine.

It still was, if I were to believe him, despite the three young vampires spicing up his nights lately.

I don’t know if Alex caught the longing in Constantine’s gaze. It only flickered there for a second, but that was enough for a knot to form in my stomach. Constantine and I had been Ádísa’s puppets for years, our relationship constructed and shattered by her hand. I saw him clench both palms into fists and then relax them.

“Once again, glad you killed her, man.” Alex patted Constantine’s back. I couldn’t tell if he was oblivious to my ex’s discomfort, or was trying to alleviate the tension.

Constantine’s reply was too low even for my vampire hearing to pick up. He didn’t speak again till we were home. Neither did Alex and I. My parents were asleep, but there was a platter of sandwiches and three cupcakes waiting for us in the kitchen. We grabbed a bite, and drunk our fill of Ruby’s magic potion—Constantine and I with blood, Alex with more tea.

Alex tried to boost our spirits by suggesting daytime trips once the ability to walk in the sun kicked in. Where he found the strength to remain upbeat was beyond me, but it was equal parts endearing and annoying. I can’t speak for Constantine, but my mood wasn’t improved.

Sex was the furthest thing from my mind, when I finally stretched my body on the mattress. My lack of sleep caught up with me, and all I wanted was to close my eyes and wake up in a week.

I couldn’t blame Alex for not sharing my vision. He was better rested than me. Better fed too, since I had packaged blood as sustenance, while he drank straight from the source—also known as me.

“Are you too tired?” he asked, raising the hem of my t-shirt, and rubbing circles on my back.

“Mm-hmm, but what you’re doing feels nice.”

He kissed me behind the ear. “I can let you sleep, if you want.”

My mind said yes, I’d truly appreciate that, but my body already responded to his touch. “I’m up for some gentle lovin’,” I said, and smiled into my pillow when Alex blew cool air down my spine.

“What my lady wants, my lady gets.” Slowly, almost lazily, he ghosted his fingertips down the length of my body, lighting my skin on fire with feather-light caresses. “I love touching you,” he whispered in my ear, his breath warm with my blood.

I rolled on my side, facing away from him, and pushed my body into the curve of his. The planes of his chest and abs felt like living marble against my back, as he ran his open palm from my throat to my breasts, and then down my stomach. His fingers were rough, callused with years on the force, but his touch was as soft and tender as the kiss he laid on my shoulder.

I spread my thighs in invitation, and draped a leg backward over his thigh, opening myself to his exploration. He briefly cupped my mound over my panties before he returned his attention to my breasts, slowly kneading each in turn.

“I want you,” I said. “Gently, but now.”

He chuckled in my hair. “You’re the personification of patience.”

I growled. “In me. Now.”

He pulled my underwear to the side and slid inside me slowly, filling me up until his pelvis was flush with my ass. Then he began the exquisite torture of gliding in and out of me one inch at a time, stoking the fire inside. I rocked against him languidly, both incredibly turned on, and slowly lulled by the swaying rhythm of his strokes.

There was no moaning, no panting, just a steady, quiet climb to pleasure.

He slipped two fingers between my folds, and started circling my clit in tandem with his thrusts. I could stay like that forever, my entire body tingling with sensation, and Alex pumping slowly inside me.

My orgasm had a different idea. It sneaked up on me, and the waves rocking me suddenly sent me crashing over the edge, the assault on my pleasure sensors so immense, my vision blurred. My limbs went rigid with the effort to contain the feeling of utter bliss.

It couldn’t be contained.

Among the craziness and chaos that was my life, this connection with Alex—this perfect synchronicity of our bodies—kept me in check. Because of him, I could be happy.

“I love you,” I said.

He spilled inside me as, tears sprung from my eyes. This man was perfect for me, and I was so lucky to have found him at a time when everything around me was collapsing. So lucky his turning hadn’t taken away everything that made me love him.

“I love you too,” he said. “So very much.”

I drifted off still linked to him. Still happy.

My dreams wouldn’t let my happiness last. In them, Alex finished his declaration of love with another woman’s name.

Ádísa.

I snapped awake, feeling an eerie cold. It was a weird sensation, to say the least; due to our low body temperature, vampires are way more sensitive to heat than cold. “Alex?” I whispered.

Nothing.

I turned to look at him, but his side of the bed was empty.

“Alex?” I said again, as if calling his name could conjure him out of thin air. He was probably taking a shower. But I heard no sound of running water. Inexplicable dread dug talons in me.

I got out of bed and pulled on my jeans, not bothering to change my top or wear a bra. My cell phone lay on the floor by the bed. I picked it up and checked the time. Almost seven in the evening. The sun was low, but not down yet.

Careful not to make a sound and wake up Constantine, I left the room and climbed up the stairs. At the ground floor landing, I sucked in a useless breath. Now we’d see if Ruby’s potion really worked.

Scrunching my nose in anticipation of scorching pain, I held my hand out to a patch of light.

Nothing.

A beam of bright afternoon sun sliced my palm in two. Painlessly. I turned my hand, fingers up, and waved it through the light. Gentle warmth caressed me. I didn’t need more proof. Ruby had done the impossible; she’d given us back the day. Now I was going to make sure Alex didn’t do anything that would stop him from sharing it with me.

I was out the door in no time, despite Mom’s warnings that the potion’s results were short term at first.

At the end of the driveway, I sniffed the air. Bad choice. I hadn’t been out in daylight in a long while, and even the scent of freshly cut grass was different than it was at night. It was disorienting, until I decided to tone down my sense of smell and try another way. A quick glance around revealed no onlookers, but I’m not sure the existence of witnesses
would have stopped me from taking off.

Maintaining a high enough altitude that I would look like a large bird to anyone happening to look upward, I scanned the surrounding area. There he was, entering the woods. I made as inconspicuous a landing as I could, and hurried after him. It wasn’t hard keeping track of him; he was walking at zombie pace and seemed more asleep than awake. I thought of calling out to him, but something held me back. I wanted to see how it all played out.

I waded through the trees after him, scrunching my nose every time I stepped on a dry twig or my movements sent a bird or little animal scurrying. I needn’t have worried. Alex was oblivious to my following him. Gradually, my steps became bolder, until I was only a couple feet behind him by the time the trees began giving their place to tall shrubs.

We’d reached the edge of a small clearing, strewn with grass that seemed to have been stepped on once too often, the green blades no longer making an effort to stand. The place seemed as good a picnic spot as any, complete with a handful of logs that came up to my knee and could be used at seats. We were lucky there were no families around, in case the sleepwalking vampire in front of me woke up feeling grouchy. Alex sat on one of the logs, his moves deliberate. I rounded the clearing until I was almost facing him, trusting the foliage to conceal me.

Had he come here before? When? When I’d gone flying by myself? I’d have seen him. Before I could figure that out, he spoke. “Are you there?”

I thought he was talking to me, and took a step forward, before I realized his eyes were closed. I’d been right. He was sleepwalking.

Someone apparently responded in his dream, because Alex smiled and turned his face upwards. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Nobody knows. It’s our secret.” He nodded.

He seemed so absorbed by whatever reply he got, for a moment I was convinced someone was speaking to him. I looked more intently, trying to make out a shape. Nothing. The forest had gone quiet around us too. I rubbed my arms. Despite the mild weather, I was feeling chilled to the bone, and getting more creeped out by the minute.

Alex opened his eyes, and I thought he finally woke up, but his gaze was unfocused. “Cherry loves me.” He said something else, but it was too low even for my vampire hearing. Little more than a breath.

I heard a hiss and looked around, but the sound had come from Alex. He was smoldering. Like, literally. The potion was apparently wearing off, and plumes of smoke were wafting off him. No longer mindful to stay hidden, I ran to him, calling out his name. He just sat there, smiling, so I threw him over my shoulder and flew us home as fast as I could, trying to keep his face shaded and praying nobody saw us.

When I returned Alex to safety, Constantine was up, prowling the limited space of the basement like a caged animal. “Is it true? Did you really walk in the sun?” He sounded like a little boy asking if Santa was coming. “I wanted to see for myself, but the older we are, the more brutal the sun.”

I couldn’t help a fleeting smile. “Yes. But it wore off fast, and Alex is burned.”

Constantine was all-business in no time. “What do you need of me? Blood?” He reached for Alex’s prone form.

I shook my head. “I’ve got this. I’ll need to run something by you after I feed him, though, so maybe don’t go too far.”

“Or I could stay here and help you.”

I wasn’t very comfortable with him watching as Alex drank my blood, but I needed to pick his brain about the one-sided conversation I’d just witnessed. I sat on the pullout Constantine used as a bed, and my ex helped me lay Alex down so I cradled his head on my lap. I popped a vein in my forearm with my fangs, and held the wound against Alex’s lips. He remained motionless, but I could see his throat working, so he was swallowing at least some of it.

“It will not be enough,” Constantine said. “Our bodies do not work the same way human bodies do, and our circulation is much slower. He needs to suck to keep the blood flowing, or you’ll heal before he feeds.”

“He will. Give him a minute.”

A couple of seconds passed, before Alex’s mouth turned firm against my skin, and soon his fangs extended. In as much pain as he had to be, with patches of skin on his face and arms burned almost to a crisp, he was surprisingly gentle reopening the wounds I’d made, and sucking my blood.

“You are too calm for someone whose lover was minutes from turning into charcoal,” Constantine said. His tone was glib, but his gaze searched my face.

“Once I got him inside the house, I knew he’d heal.” I was right. Blackened ashy flakes peeled away, and tissue rejuvenated in front of my eyes.

“He was lucky you were there, although I cannot fathom why the two of you decided on a midday stroll all of a sudden.” Constantine arched a mocking eyebrow, but dark violet swirled in his blue eyes. The way they changed color, betraying his emotions always mesmerized me. From past experience, I knew violet came with a primitive lust, completely inappropriate for our current situation.

Another thing for me to lock away deep inside, and pretend not to have noticed.

I turned back to Alex’s face, and gently removed my wrist from his mouth. His face looked tired, but the flesh was now intact. Perfectly smooth.

“We didn’t go for a walk,” I told Constantine, gazing at him again. “Alex was sleepwalking, and I followed him.”

“Sleepwalking?” Constantine’s eyes were their normal clear blue now, his focus on the information I provided.

“Yes. It was weird. He was walking like he was a puppet on a string, but purposefully at the same time. More robot than zombie, if you know what I mean.” Constantine nodded, and I went on. “He stopped in the middle of the forest, sat on a log, and began talking to someone I couldn’t see.” I shivered—which I rarely ever do since I died.

“That
is
weird, as you so eloquently put it.
Freaky
, even, as Sally would say. Did you make anything out? What did he say?”

“He said nobody knew…something. I don’t know what he was talking about, but I think it was a secret. Could be about his turning?” And he’d said I loved him, but there was no reason to bring it up.

“Has he done this before? Does he have nightmares in general?”

“Yes to the nightmares, no to the sleepwalking. At least, I think it’s a no. We’d have noticed if he’d walked out of the mansion in the middle of the day, right?”

“Maybe we should ask him?” Constantine indicated Alex with a tilt of his head, and I saw Alex’s eyes were open.

“You’re awake.” I ran my fingers through his hair. “You scared me. I’ll start locking the doors when we sleep.”

“What? Why?”

“You up and left, with the sun still high in the sky.” Constantine tutted.

“I did?”

“It was in your sleep. Do you remember what you were dreaming of?” I whispered.

He sat up abruptly. “No. You, I think. And Willoughby. It’s all a blur.”

“Do you remember the secret?” Constantine asked.

Alex’s expression went from alert to slack and back again in the blink of an eye. “Secret? What are you talking about?”

I glared at Constantine. Alex was in shock; we shouldn’t be grilling him until he got his bearings. “You mentioned a secret when you were mumbling,” I told Alex. “It was probably nothing. Dreams don’t always make sense.” I leaned over and touched my lips to his.

“Yes. I remember now. It was… It was the vampire council, and they were asking who knew I was a vampire. I told them it was a secret and nobody knew. I was terrified.”

No. He’d been smiling at the time. Conspiratorially. Had he just lied to me in my face, or did he actually remember wrong? Something in my chest tightened, liquefying my insides. My gut was telling me not to trust him.

He took both my hands in his, and drew circles with his thumbs on my knuckles. His touch sent an unpleasant tingle spreading up my arms. “I’m sorry I worried you. I guess my subconscious made me want to distance myself from you, to protect you.”