Forever Yours (#4) (7 page)

“How did everything go today? Did you talk to your Uncle?” I readjust myself,
so that I can see into his eyes as I reply.

“I talked to him, he wasn’t entirely pleased, but he’ll heal in time.” Dalton
presses his eyebrows together, and he runs his finger along my lower lip. His
eyes narrow and he leans down and runs his tongue along my lip. My eyes close
at his behaviour, and my head starts to pound. Dalton drags his lips away from
me, and stares deep into my eyes –crap is he upset with me?

“You fed today, didn’t you?” His stare is intense, deep and scary. I don’t know
why he is so anxious to know if I fed or not. How else does he expect me to
survive?

“Yeah I did.” He snarls at me and he pushes me away from him. I stare at him
in disbelief. What is wrong with him? “Did I do something wrong?” He snarls
again and then he meets my stare.

“Did you kill anyone?” He snaps.

 

“Of course not.” I snap back. Dalton throws himself back down onto the bed,
and he pulls me close again.

“Then you didn’t do anything wrong.” I sigh –thank God. “So who did you feed
on?” Dalton quizzes. My icy heart starts to do somersaults. He isn’t going to be
happy when I tell him who I fed on. I can hardly breathe as I reply.

“Ryan,” Dalton lunges off the bed and he pulls me with him. He slides his
hands onto my shoulders and he holds me in place. I could easily break free
from him, but I don’t.

“You’re kidding, right?” I shake my head –I can’t force myself to speak.
“That’s insane. You fed on him? What were you thinking?” Dalton shakes me
and I feel myself spinning.

“I was thinking that I was starving and that he wanted me to do it. I didn’t hurt
him, and he wasn’t scared of me. It was my way of saying goodbye.” Dalton
laughs at me.

“Couldn’t you just hug him and say ‘see ya later’?” I laugh at his strong
southern accent. He shakes me again and he forces me out of my laughing fit.

“What do you want me to say? I fed on him; maybe it wasn’t the right thing to
do. But it’s done and I can’t take it back.” Dalton’s eyes soften as he leads me
back over to the bed. He pushes me down onto the surface, and my head falls
onto the feather pillow. He slowly climbs onto the bed and he hovers above me.
His eyes are sinfully gorgeous and his lips are shaking with desire. I have seen
this stare many times before. Warm and lustful, dangerous and playful, it’s his
hungry stare. He stares at me with those red eyes, and he places his hand onto
my neck.

“Will you do something for me?” He asks in low voice.
“Anything,” I say defeated.

“Let me feed on you, whilst you feed on me.” My eyes sting, his offer sounds
amazing, but is that even possible? I thought that we needed human blood, not
vampires? Dalton senses the anguish on my face, so he explains in full detail
why he wants to do this. “When we feed on one another, it’s like a life force
running through us. It bounds us together, it connect us, forever. When we feed,
our souls intertwine and lock in place. The blood connects us, and you’re bound
to that person. You don’t want to live without them, and the blood seals it so
that you can’t. I love you Rose and if you let me do this, then you and I will be
together, for as long as we live. Do you want that?” My heart is racing, and I
want this. I want to give myself fully to him.

“Yes I want that. You’re all that I want. Let’s do this.” Dalton smiles and he
slides further along the bed. He crashes against me, and I grip onto his back. He
places his lips lightly onto mine, and then he moves them onto my neck.

“Grab my hand.” He urges. I do as he says, and I firmly pull his hand towards
my mouth. “Good, now when I bite, you bite. You got that?”

“Yeah,” I say too eagerly. I hold his wrist at my mouth, and I wait for his
daggers to enter my skin. My eyes are stinging, I can hardly contain myself. I
want this. I want to be with him forever. I feel his lips part, so I part mine
against his wrist. Dalton pauses and then he sinks his teeth into my flesh. On
cue, I do the same. His blood tastes stronger than humans, and it’s a lot more
powerful. It’s icy and sends shivers throughout my body. The taste wears off,
and now an overwhelming explosion has filled my entire body. I can feel every
fibre of Dalton’s soul screaming out at me, as he feeds from my neck. My mind
shows me images of how we met, and how we got to where we are now.
Everything is swirling like crazy in my head, and as I taste more of his blood, I
can hear his thoughts. He is speaking to me, telling me how much he loves me
and that now we are fully connected. I can feel his senses and I can share his
pleasure. He adores the taste of my vampire blood, and he wants me. He is
telling me that he can’t live without me, and somehow I feel that he truly can’t.
His energy is colliding with mine, and I know that I could never be apart from
him, ever again. He is now what holds me to the planet, him, Dalton Clark, my
soul mate.

(Dalton)

Her blood is unique, delightful and my greatest desire. I love her and I never
want to stop feeding on her. She is my whole world, and I have waited all my
life for Rose Peterson. As I feed on her vampire blood, I can feel everything that
she feels. She is telling me how much she loves me, and how lucky she was to
meet me. Every sense in her body is tingling; she doesn’t want me to stop. I sink
my teeth further into her skin and I suck firmer. I drain her blood, and I lust for
the bitter taste as it flows down my throat. Rose isn’t holding back how she
feels about me, and it’s only fair that I do the same. My mind clears, and I
decide to let her into the darkest part of me. I have never fully told her how we
met. Our first meeting wasn’t at the Wal-Mart where she works. I first met Rose
when she was six years old. I open my mind, and I let her in. My memories
flash back to that day when I first saw her.

“Hey there little lady,” I say as I approach the little girl that’s sitting alone on
the swings. She has long brown hair and deep eyes that are kind, warm and sad.
She looks up at me and her eyes lock into my soul. I can hear her tiny heart
pumping blood through her veins. Her scent sticks in the back of my dry throat,
as the icy wind blows it in my direction. I can feel my eyes starting to burn, and
my desire is slowly creeping up on me. But as the little girl continues to stare at
me, I hold back my burning hunger. The park is quiet, and I am surprised that a
small child like her is here alone. I move closer to her, and I see that the swing
next to her is empty. “May I sit down next you?” I say in a smooth tone. The
small girl looks at me, and she shakes her head.

“My Mommy said that I’m not allowed to talk to strangers.” I laugh at her
reply, and her cute smile melts my icy heart. I ignore her words, and I insist on
sitting down next to her. The air is cold and I can hear the little girl shiver. So I
take off my sweater, and I offer it to her. The little girl lunges off the swing, and
she snaps the sweater from my hands. I laugh at her forwardness. She is a feisty
little thing. The child pushes the sweater over her head, and then she jumps
back onto the swing. Her eyes fix on mine, and my mind erupts. Her little face is
cute as she plays with her hair. I smile at her and she smiles back at me. She
has perfect pale skin and large rosy lips. She doesn’t look real, I am really
confused. My heart is pulling me towards her, and I feel drawn to this child. I
have never felt this way about a human before –what is wrong with me?

“Are you here alone?” I ask. I am worried about this kid.

“No my Mommy’s over there.” The little girl points over at a dark haired
woman. I focus my ears, and I hear that she is discussing some play that she
and her husband are going to see. My mind spins and I focus back on the child.

“What’s your name?”
“Rose,” I smile –what a beautiful name. “What’s your name?” She asks with a
wide-eyed grin.
“My name is Dalton and it’s very nice to meet you, Miss Rose.”

I clear my thoughts and I can feel her brain trying to process what I have just
told her. Rose can’t believe that we met so long ago, and she is desperately
trying to remember our first meeting. A faint image of that day enters her head,
and she excels with excitement. I can feel her happiness, as I continue to drink
from her neck. The taste of her blood is toxic and from that very first meeting, I
knew that I was destined to be in her life. In the days that followed our meeting,
I watched her house. I saw her playing by the fire with her parents, and I heard
their voices as they read bedtime stories together. She was so happy, and her
family adored her. I was there the night that they were killed. I watched from
the window as her uncle came to collect her. I could feel the confusion in her
eyes, and I could hear as she sobbed her little heart out. I have loved Rose from
that very night, and I watched her grow up into the wonderful woman that she
is. I was always there in the shadows, looking out for her and watching as she
lived her life. I saw her the night of her first date with Ryan, and I watched as he
kissed her. I didn’t feel jealous of him, because I knew that we were destined to
meet. From the very first moment that I saw her, we had some electric
connection that I couldn’t explain. It was as if I was brought to look after her,
until she was ready to excel as a vampire. I left for a while, but somehow I
always found myself coming back to her. I had planned our first meeting, but
that day at Wal-Mart wasn’t planned. I had literally just moved back to
Portland. On my way to our new house, I decided to stop for coffee. I parked in
the lot, and I couldn’t believe my eyes, when I saw her lying face down in a
puddle. I saw that as my opportunity, and I grabbed it with both hands. I helped
her off the ground and when I touched her, I felt a jolt of electricity crusading
through me. I needed her, I wanted her, but I was scared of what she would
think of me. I told her that I wasn’t capable of love, because I was frightened
that I wouldn’t be enough for her. I didn’t want to admit my feelings for her, so
I made her believe that I didn’t care. But inside, I was screaming. I wanted to
shout how much I loved her from the roof tops. I wanted to be with her, but I
was scared to show her the real me. I feared that she would reject me, but she
didn’t. She accepted me for who I was, and that made me love her even more.
She welcomed me into her life, and I still don’t know what she sees in me. I felt
guilty when I fed on her, because I knew that she was thinking I just saw her as
an easy feed. I didn’t correct her; instead I let her believe that a good meal was
all that she meant to me. I know that I was cruel for the way I treated her, but I
didn’t want to admit my feelings. I knew that if I told her how I felt, then she
would want to be a vampire. I could never be selfish with her, she means
everything to me, and I wanted the best for her. I wanted her to be free to make
her own choices. I didn’t want her to choose vampirism, because she loved me.
I wanted her to grow up, and have a family of her own. But she defied me. She
went to my brother, and he made her into the immortal that she is. I have had
my differences with Nicholas, but I will always thank him for giving me the gift
of love. I love Rose, she is my everything and I will love her for an eternity.

Seven

My mind is rushing. I can’t believe what Dalton has showed me. We met when
I was six? How is that possible? Why don’t I remember meeting him? My
thoughts are pulsating through his mind. I am worried, excited and scared by his
revelation. He was there throughout my entire life. He saw me the night my
parents died, and he watched as I sobbed for them. He felt my pain, and he
cared deeply for me. My mind is exploding with all this new information.
Dalton’s daggers are still lodged into my neck, and I am still feeding from his
wrist. I feel weak, and ready to stop. Dalton hears my wish, and he pulls his
teeth out of my neck. He gasps as he wipes the excess blood away from his lips.
I push his wrist away from my mouth, and I lick my lips as the blood flow
stops. The after taste of his blood is intoxicating. It fills me with deep pleasure,
and I feel powerful. My mind is strong and my feelings are clear. I love Dalton
more than ever. Dalton falls down onto the bed next me, and he wraps his arm
around me. I pull my body close to his, and I rest my head on his chest. I feel
connected to him. I never want to be apart from him, I need him. I run my
fingers along the fabric of his black t-shirt, and it somehow reminds me of the
first time we met. I can remember the sweater he gave me. My heart freezes –I
still have it. I try to process my thoughts, and I mentally scan my entire room.
My mind clears, and I remember were the sweater is. I can remember the soft
feeling and the strong scent that soaked into my skin. I remember wearing it,
other than that day. For about a month after he gave it to me, I wore it all the
time. I used to sleep in it. It made me feel secure, and special. I can’t remember
seeing Dalton; I just have a vague image of him sitting on the swings with me.
But my first meeting with Dalton is documented. The sweater is in an old shoe
box under my bed. I put it there for safe keeping. I didn’t want anyone to touch
it, especially not Rachel. I don’t know what made me keep it all those years, but
there was something about the scent that spoke to me. Whenever I was scared or
sad, I would put on the sweater and climb into my bed. I would fall asleep and
have images of a beautiful man buzzing through my head. My eyes widen, the
beautiful man was Dalton.

“I still have the sweater.” I say as I lock my eyes on his. He smiles at me, and he
runs his finger along my chin. His eyes are soft, and I feel bad that he had to
hide his feelings from me. He told me how much he loved me, and that he kept
me in the dark about how he truly felt, because he was scared of losing me. I
felt his love for me, and I also felt the way he was scared when he told me that
he was a vampire.