Drop Dead Gorgeous (4 page)

At the time, he’d wondered how loyal Terence was to her. They’d all seemed loyal in Derek’s eyes, but he was still learning.

“What if my will had left my house to someone else?” he asked Terence.

“But, you don’t have anyone. That’s one of the reasons she chose you.”

He waited, wondering if he was making a mistake, trusting Terence.

“Is there someone?”

“Yes.”

Terence was perfectly still. Derek wondered which way this would go.

“Madeline hasn’t asked about your assets. I gave her a dollar number that she liked, but she doesn’t know the particulars yet. I could do a new will. If she finds out though, we’ll both be punished.”

“I understand. And thank you.”

“I’ll take care of it, but you can’t go to the woman.”

“I won’t.”

Maybe Derek had an ally in Terence, and maybe all the brothers weren’t as loyal as he’d thought.

Derek turned off the TV and closed his eyes. He could feel the brothers scattering for the night. He grabbed his jacket and headed out himself. He needed to see Clara again.

CHAPTER SIX

Walking to Clara’s, Derek thought of how he would use his magic on her. The brothers had let him try it once on a man they’d captured and drained for Billy. He was also the only other human Derek had bitten.

Derek came downstairs one night and found Terence and Raymond in the kitchen. The air was filled with the scent of blood and unwashed human. A filthy man was lying on his back across the kitchen table, unconscious with a tube attached to his arm. His blood was draining into a little plastic sack that sat on the chair beside him. Both wrists were covered with bondage cuffs attached to chains on the table legs.

“What’s going on?”Derek asked.

Terence had his head inside the refrigerator. Raymond was sitting in a chair beside the table.

“We’re getting some blood for Billy. And for you. Are you hungry?” Raymond answered as Terence closed the refrigerator and came over to check the progress of the draining.

“No, I had some blood last night.”

He didn’t seem to need blood more than a couple of times a week now. The brothers needed even less. Billy still needed it every night.

“Have you bitten anyone yet?” Raymond asked.

“No.”

He looked at the man on the table – probably homeless, judging from his clothes and condition, and couldn’t imagine wanting to bite him.

Raymond got up and wet a paper towel. He went to the homeless man and took the arm without a tube in it and unbuckled the leather bondage cuff, pushing the shirt sleeve up. The cuff fell to the floor, still attached to the chain. After wiping off the man’s wrist, Raymond held it out for Derek.

“Go ahead.”

Derek took the man’s wrist and smelled it. It smelled like salt.

“Don’t worry, you can’t catch anything from him. You’re dead,” Raymond added.

Derek looked closely at the man’s wrist and found the tiny raised blue vein, and felt his fangs extend.

“Don’t be tentative,” Raymond said. “Just do what feels natural.”

Derek bit into the flesh, and the blood was warm and delicious. It was so much better than the cold blood in Madeline’s veins or even the human blood she’d served him in a glass. He felt a rush of sensation that seemed to fill his entire body and it was accompanied by an urgent sexual desire. He wished Madeline were there because he definitely didn’t want to fuck the man on the table – or Terence or Raymond, for that matter, but he did feel an overwhelming urge to fuck.

He swallowed the blood several times and the rush surged through his body with each swallow. The man moaned and Derek pulled his fangs out and dropped the wrist, stepping away from the body. He licked his lips to catch the remaining blood on his mouth.

“Fuck, he’s waking up,” Derek said.

“Try your magic,” Terence prodded.

Derek stepped closer to the man’s face and watched as his eyes fluttered open. He first looked confused and then terrified. Derek focused his energy on the man and thought soothing thoughts.

“You’re fine. This isn’t real. You won’t remember.” Derek spoke softly and watched the man’s face relax. Then the man’s eyes closed again and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Derek looked over to Terence and then Raymond.

“That was good,” Raymond said, and Terence nodded.

“You know, Madeline’s in her house with Billy. I’m sure she’d be happy to have sex with you. It’s normal to want that when you feed,” Terence added.

“Good to know,” Derek said and went upstairs for some privacy.

Even though the impersonal encounter with the man on the kitchen table was memorable, biting Clara had felt overwhelmingly better in every respect. He had lost control – he’d even come in his pants. It worried him that with that kind of loss of control, he could accidentally kill someone. He didn’t want to kill anyone, and he would rather kill himself than harm Clara. He wondered if his impulses could be controlled with time and practice, but he wouldn’t practice on Clara. He was determined to not bite her again, but only use his magic to clear her memory and then leave her alone.

As he approached her apartment building, he could see her lights on. He stopped outside her front door and listened for voices, but heard nothing. Assuming she was home and alone, he focused on the lock and the chain and heard them both engage before he turned the knob and opened the door.

Clara stood in the center of the living room, facing the door. She looked pale and scared, holding a sharp wooden stake in one hand and a little net bag full of garlic in the other. Both hands were shaking.

Derek closed the door behind him and stood still. He knew if he approached her, he would only scare her more.

They stood staring at each other in silence for a moment. Derek deeply regretted hurting her and frightening her. He wished he could tell her everything that had happened to him, but knew it was impossible. He knew he needed to clear her mind with his magic, but he also wished he could have just one more moment holding her in his arms. The regret tightened his throat and his eyes stung.

Suddenly, Clara dropped the stake and bag of garlic and opened her trembling arms to him. Tears ran down her cheeks and a soft sob escaped her lips.

He was in her embrace in a flash and they both cried, clinging to each other. He kissed her hair, her neck, and said, “I’m so sorry,” over and over. He was sorry for hurting her and for leaving her when he died. He wished he could go back in time and they could start over. She just wept in his arms.

When he pulled back and looked into her eyes, she smiled through her tears and wiped his tears from his cheeks. He did the same for her and then tenderly kissed her lips. His fangs extended, but he was determined to ignore his impulses.

When he broke the kiss, he pulled her to the sofa and they sat down together, still holding hands. He faced her with his body and touched the two tiny band-aids on her neck.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded and wiped her eyes. “I’m not dreaming. This is real.”

“Yes, it’s real.”

“Last night, I thought I was losing my mind.”

He glanced at the bag of garlic and homemade stake on the floor. “But today you went shopping in case you’re weren’t crazy?”

She laughed and then her smile faded as she touched his face.

“You’re so pale. And your eyes – they look…different. Lighter.” She touched his mouth. “May I see?”

He parted his lips and watched her eyes as they lingered on his fangs. His erection reminded him what he was, but he ignored the signals his body gave him.

“God, I’ve missed you,” he said. “I shouldn’t be here, but I couldn’t stay away.”

“I’ve missed you so much. I mourned you. I thought you were dead.”

“I am,” he said soberly and watched her eyes glisten with fresh tears.

She shook her head as if to clear it. “But you’re here.”

“Yes, I’m here.”

She kissed his lips lightly and hugged him to her again.

“But, I can’t stay,” he said.    

She pushed him away and looked at him questioningly.

He’d had a last embrace, a final moment with her, and he knew that was more than he should have had. It was time to end this, to let her go. He focused his thoughts and looked deeply into her eyes.

“You won’t remember. You won’t be afraid.”

“What do you mean?”

He was startled by her response and it broke his concentration.  He was obviously doing something wrong. He brushed her hair back from her face and focused again, drawing all his energy into his thoughts.

“I wasn’t here.”

“When?”

He was spooked and stood up.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Nothing. Nothing.” He sat back down and took her hand in his again. Giving his focus a little test, he aimed his thoughts at the TV behind Clara. It came on.

She turned her head and he turned it off just as quickly.

“Did you do that?” she asked.

“It’s okay. Just relax.”

“Did you turn that on and off?”

“Yes. Just forget that now. Relax.” He kissed the back of her hand and began to focus his energy again, looking into her eyes. “You won’t remember.”

“You keep saying that. What won’t I remember?”

“Fuck.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. I’m sorry. Something’s wrong.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing for you to worry about.” He kissed her softly. “I should go.”

“But you just got here. You can’t leave.”

“I have to do laundry.”

“What?”

“I need to go. It was a mistake to come here.”
And I can’t seem to use my magic on you. Something’s fucked up.

“No, don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m glad I came. I had to see you – to hold you one more time.”

“Say you’ll come back.” Her eyes teared and his undead heart melted.

“I can’t.”

He stood to leave and she followed him to the door. He kissed her again and they held each other and rocked gently back and forth.

“There’s something I should tell you,” she said and he pulled back to look at her. “If you don’t ever come back – I didn’t tell you before and I’ve regretted it. I never thought I’d get another chance…I love you.”

He felt a jolt to his heart, and said, “I love you, too,” before kissing her one last time. Then he turned and left without looking back, silently vowing never to return.

Derek wasn’t certain just how far he could trust Terence or Raymond, but he needed information and they seemed the logical source. He felt certain he shouldn’t trust Madeline.

When he got back to the nest, he found Raymond painting by the firelight – a dark portrait of Derek based on a photo he’d taken and a subsequent pencil sketch. Terence sat at the table behind the sofa, working on his laptop. Derek noticed chains on the floor attached to the legs of the table and tried not to think about why they were there. He’d never asked about the fate of the homeless man chained to the kitchen table – the only person his magic had worked on.

“How exactly does our magic work on people?” Derek asked as he sat on the sofa.

“Like anything else, our energy can change things,” Raymond answered.

“We don’t know exactly how it works. That’s why we use words like magic. It can’t really be explained,” Terence added without looking up from the computer.

“Is there ever a reason it wouldn’t work on a person?”

Both men stopped what they were doing and exchanged a look. There was a long silence.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” Terence said quickly. “No, any questions you have aren’t wrong. I just keep forgetting how little you know. It’s been decades since I had to teach someone new.”

“It should work on everyone,” Raymond said. “Are you having any trouble?”

“No,” he lied. “I was just wondering….”

“It won’t work on someone who loves you,” Raymond added.

Terence glanced at the portrait over the mantle and looked back down at his computer screen.

Raymond continued, “That’s why Madeline chooses us so carefully. She only selects men who have no family. We were all single and alone when we were taken. If we went back to our parents or wives afterwards, it would make things messy. Dangerous, even. So, no family – no wives.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I mean, how it could complicate things. I was just curious, that’s all.”

Derek left his roommates to their business and went upstairs to retrieve his laundry basket from the closet, then headed downstairs past the kitchen to the laundry room. There were two full baskets already on the floor, deposited earlier by Raymond and Terence. Derek dumped the contents out onto the large folding table, and started to sort the clothes into piles, pulling out the items with blood stains that would need some extra attention.

As he worked into the night, he was grateful for the menial task, as it gave him time to consider what had happened, and time to solidify his decision to stay away from Clara. This was his life now, and he needed to accept that. Like it or not, he was a vampire. Yes, he had a lot to learn, but he’d also have plenty of time to learn it. And the lesson he needed to focus on at the moment was that he was no longer fit for human relationships. He had to stay away from Clara, forget about her, and move on.