Craved (21 page)

I formed a white orb of magic in my
hand and sent it to the side of Aiden’s face, throwing him six feet
across the living room. He quickly regained his footing and
snarled.

“Who the hell is that?” I yelled,
pointing to the woman in question. Aiden shot a look at the nude
woman as if it were a perfectly normal to have naked women in his
house. Had Aiden’s claim on me meant something entirely different
than what I had thought? It didn’t fit; I knew Aiden loved me as
sure as I knew that if he didn’t explain the woman’s presence, I’d
fire another shot of magic at him.

“Dinner,” Aiden said, his voice
sounding confused as he looked between the woman and me.

“You are some kind of asshole, you
know that? And to think, I was ashamed of kissing Micah when all
the while you were playing me like a fiddle. Kudos, you really had
me fooled.” I shook my head as if trying to dislodge the
information I just learned from my memory but I wasn’t that lucky.
The thoughts that I’d been betrayed by the man I just realized I
loved, swirled around my brain like a hailstorm. His half-dressed
appearance and the drop of blood on his lip all explained
themselves to me now…What a night this had turned out to
be.

“You kissed Micah?” he asked in a tone
as cold and sharp as an icicle. I felt stupid and wanted to ball up
in my sheets and cry until the whole mess worked itself out, but in
my experience, disasters didn’t clean up after themselves. Aiden’s
hand stopped me from walking through his door and just as I was
about to throw another orb at him, he caught my hand. It was hard
to catch a vampire off guard. The only reason I was able to earlier
was because Aiden’s focus was on more carnal needs. His eyes seemed
to be at war with his thoughts as he looked at me, but those
gorgeous blue pools wouldn’t fool me again.

“Aren’t you coming back upstairs?” the
naked woman whined. Aiden kept hold of my hand but turned to face
the bimbo and said, “Get out.” The woman’s fear was evident as she
scrambled upstairs only to rush back down with a pile of clothes in
her hands. She pushed past me and I cringed when one of her fake
boobs brushed against my arm, I wanted to vomit!

“Let go of me!” I snarled and fought
to break free but my attempts were about as effective as trying to
tip the Statue of Liberty over. Aiden’s grip didn’t budge as I
pulled away from him.

“Calm down,” he said.

I laughed bitterly. “Calm down? I just
caught you with a naked woman!” I kicked my leg out, landing a blow
between Aiden’s legs, which rewarded me with a snarl and being
pinned to the floor. He held my hands to the cold tile while his
hips pinned my legs. Fear rushed through me when Aiden’s fangs fell
from his gums and his eyes turned as black as his heart. Tears I
couldn’t stop, fell from my eyes as I wondered if this would be the
end of me.

“I’m having a very hard time
controlling myself, so unless you want to end up drained, you
should calm down,” Aiden hissed. I stopped fighting against him and
closed my eyes, taking deep breaths to calm myself, per Aiden’s
instructions. When I opened my eyes, Aiden’s head was hung as he
himself took deep breaths.

“I can hear it calling to me,” he
said.

“Hear what?” I whispered, fearing the
answer.

“Your magic. Your blood. Your body. I
crave it like nothing else.”

My heart didn’t care that I was
trying to remain calm; it began to speed up and thump rapidly
against my chest as fear-induced adrenaline raced through my body.
Aiden’s name in black ink instantly flashed into my subconscious as
I remembered the client list we found at the warehouse. Aiden
wasn’t acting like himself. He was acting like an
addict.

Aiden had climbed off me and allowed
me to get up but still held onto my arm so that I couldn’t throw
anymore magic or try to leave. A silence settled over the house as
I tried to think of how to deal with a vampire Jonesing for what
ran through my veins. I wanted nothing more than to flee from his
house and never look back, but I’d have to play willing captive if
I had any hopes of escaping.

“How did this happen?” I asked,
avoiding eye contact. If I looked at him, the tears would resurface
and I needed a clear head.

“Remember my friend from Chicago that
was sending the sample?” I nodded my head. “Well,” Aiden continued,
“he brought it down here himself and insisted I try it for myself.
I don’t know if he was suspicious or just excited to have me try
something so fantastic, and it was, the most fantastic thing I’ve
ever tasted, Gwen.” Aiden’s eyes had gone distant as he thought
about the brew he sampled.

“I thought only younger vamps could be
affected by it.” Of course, that little tidbit of information was
only hearsay; in truth, we didn’t know what the hell the effects of
witches’ blood did to vampires.

“No, it can affect any vampire. For
the younger ones, it causes a high much like speed and ecstasy
mixed. For the older vampires, such as myself, the magic gets
absorbed in the blood and…” Aiden stopped, unsure if he should tell
me what our blood could do.

“Tell me,” I urged.

He took a deep breath. “If we drink
enough of it, we can use the magic in the blood. Perform magic. I
don’t know how it’s possible, but it’s the most incredible thing
I’ve ever experienced.”

I frowned at his excitement while my
insides remained frozen in fear. Witches, like every other species,
have authorities we have to answer to, should they use their magic
for harm instead of good. If vampires could somehow absorb the
magic in our blood, then they could use it for whatever they wanted
without having to answer to the NAWC (North American Witches
Council). Vampires had their own politics and answer to certain
kings and queens; if the NAWC got wind that vampires were stealing
our magic, all hell would break loose. Not only would the witches
be fighting against the vampires, but our two governments would be
in combat as well.

Finding out that Aiden had been
drinking brew was like a sucker punch to my gut. The man I had only
recently decided I possibly loved, was involved in the case Micah
and I were fighting to end.

“How much have you drunk?” My voice
came out shaky, matching my trembling hands. The beautiful man that
I’d known for two years, who I’d come to love, was quickly turning
into one of the bad guys. A strand of his dark hair escaped and
hung over one of his aqua-blue eyes. I yearned to brush it back and
continue where we left off, before the bimbo made her appearance
known. Aiden’s head snapped up and he inhaled the air as if he
smelled something, his eyes closing and a sigh escaping his
perfectly kissable lips.

He pulled me on top of him and claimed
my mouth with a ferocity that only caused me fear. I pushed against
him but he held onto my hips so that my panty-less center was
perfectly atop his erection. His eyes were black when he looked up
the length of me and his fangs had emerged again. My hands were
pressed against his chest, to keep that fang-filled mouth as far
away from me as possible. I knew if he wanted to bite me, my hands
on his chest wouldn’t stop him.

“I can smell your desire for me, my
Gwen.” Without warning, his fingers slipped inside me and moved
back and forth, causing a conflict of emotions to erupt within me.
I was fighting the lust that he ignited with every thrust of his
long delicate fingers, and losing.

“Do you like that?” he asked, his
voice thick with desire. I nodded my head because I wasn’t able to
speak; my mouth was too busy moaning. I heard a zip and then felt
the warmth of skin against my leg. When I looked down, Aiden had
freed his rock hard erection and it was sitting happily against my
leg, like a dog waiting to be petted.

“Stop it!” I objected, falling
backwards off his lap, in my attempt to get away from him. I had
just learned a plethora of bad news and he was trying to get his
rocks off! I ran toward the door, only to slam into the hardness of
Aiden’s chest. I bounced back and before I could slam into the
ceramic tiled floor, Aiden caught me.

“Don’t run from me, Gwen. I couldn’t
handle it if you feared me.” He trailed a finger down the side of
my face and I could smell my scent on his hands. I pushed against
him but once again, but it was useless.

“What do you want from me, Aiden? Your
next fix?”

“Don’t be absurd, I’d never hurt you.
I want you to understand what is happening to me and … help
me.”

I stopped my struggle as I heard that
he wanted help in fighting this addiction that was consuming him. I
nodded my head and his grip on me loosened. Although I feared this
side of Aiden, I wouldn’t let it turn him into a monster. I’d help
him in any way I could.

“First off, what the hell was the
bimbo doing here? Why should I help you if all you are is a
cheating bastard?” If my heart kept up at its rapid pace, I would
have a heart attack but the whole situation was gut wrenching. I
worked on calming myself but my whole body shook with anger, hurt,
and fear. My eyes were puffy from crying and they weren’t done yet,
tears lazily fell against my cheeks as I waited for Aiden’s
answer.

“She was a gift, from Louis,” he
said.

“Gift?”

“She’s a low level witch that sells
her blood to vampires.”

“That doesn’t explain why she was butt
ass naked and you’re shirtless. I thought…” I paused to catch my
breath which seemed to be sucked from my lungs with each new piece
of information Aiden gave me. “…I thought you and I were an item.
Obviously I was wrong.” I hugged my arms across my chest as if to
hold my heart from literally bursting through my ribcage. Aiden
watched me with remorse and longing, which did nothing but piss me
off. It was too late to apologize for something as extreme as
sleeping with another woman.

“Her other vampire clients use her for
sex while feeding, it heightens the experience, so she thought I’d
want to also. When she arrived, I had just gotten out of the shower
and hadn’t put a shirt on yet. When I went upstairs to feed, she
was naked on my bed. Nothing happened, except feeding, I promise,
Gwen. I know this looks bad, but I would never hurt you
purposely.”

I pursed my lips as I considered his
words. I wasn’t gullible, by any means, so instead of taking his
word for it, I cast a truth spell on him. I sent my magic out
toward him and watched as wiry waves of light blue, invisible to
him, swirled around his head.

“Are you telling me the
truth?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t have sex with the
bimbo?”

“No.”

“Did you touch her in any sexual
way?

“No.”

“How much witches’ blood have you
drunk?”

“Twice.” His voice had a robotic tone
as my magic worked on him. Deciding that I was happy with the
information, I pulled my magic back to me and dissolved the spell.
It was tempting to question him about his feelings toward me, but I
decided that if he were to say he loved me, I’d want to hear it
without the influence of magic.

He blinked and looked at me as if
wondering what had just happened. I gave him a small smile,
feigning indifference.

“So brew
is
a fast acting
addiction?”

Aiden nodded his head. “It is. I’ve
only tasted low level witches, but your magic calls to me like a
bar to a wino, it’s stronger than I’ve tasted.” Aiden’s eyes were
fixated on my neck as he spoke.

I snapped my fingers in front of his
face and said, “Pay attention.”

His eyes met mine apologetically. “You
interrupted my feeding and I’m finding it difficult just to be
around you.” Well, that was just fucking dandy! Not only had Aiden
not drank enough, but the magic in my blood was so strong that he
couldn’t concentrate on anything other than my jugular.

“You have any bagged
blood?”

“No, I don’t drink that stuff and even
if I did, it doesn’t taste right without the magic in
it.”

“I’m not okay with you drinking
witches’ blood, Aiden.”

“I know. I’m just…so…hungry.” His eyes
had turned black the more we talked about blood and his fangs were
exposed. I knew it was dangerous to be around a starving vampire. I
didn’t know what to do, he wouldn’t drink regular blood and I
wouldn’t put a fellow witch in the path of Aiden’s
fangs.