Read The Vampire Pendant Online
Authors: Sheri Whitefeather
The Vampire Pendant (8 page)
She paced her book-cluttered living room, then looked out the peephole again. It was a dark night, barely a moon in the sky.
Why couldn’t she have remained pretty? Why did it have to turn out this way?
Because life wasn’t a fairy tale, she told herself, even if genies, vampires, and spell-casting fairies existed.
Go
, her heart said.
Be with the man you love
. Her soul was telling her the same thing. But her damaged face said otherwise.
Screw her stupid face. Fuck the fire. Tessa needed to live, to be whole again, and Anthony was offering to teach her.
A gen-vamp gone mortal.
She smiled. He’d become human for her. That was a wish neither of them had considered. But a fairy had considered it. Tessa thanked the anonymous little sprite.
She unlocked the door and opened it a smidge. The creaking sound caught Anthony’s attention. He stood up and turned in her direction. Her heart blasted her chest. She could barely see him, which meant he could only vaguely see her, too.
She opened the door all the way and stepped outside. He reached for her and took her in his arms. They kissed like long-lost lovers.
After an excruciating amount of time, she invited him inside. The lights in her living room were low, but not low enough. His appearance had become visible, a reminder that she could be seen, as well.
He looked the same. In a sense, she supposed that she did too, because he’d always been able to see her genuine appearance.
No magic. No pretend prettiness. No lies. What was between them now was reality. Still, she wanted to turn the disfigured side of her face away from him.
But she didn’t. This was her first step in embracing life. He kissed her again, and she led him to her bedroom, where a golden-hued nightlight shimmered.
They made love in sensual positions, caressing and kissing, putting their mouths on each other’s bodies. She could feel the changes in him, his warmer skin and the beat of his pulse. His fangs had disappeared, too, and his eyes would remain forever brown. He was, for all intents and purposes, a thirty-eight-year-old human male.
“I’m going to like being mortal,” he said.
“And someday I’m going to like being me,” she replied.
“Someday soon,” he assured her.
She hoped so.
“Are you going to marry me?”
“Absolutely.” She longed to be his bride. “But I need time to prepare, to center my emotions. I want to be strong at the ceremony, not hiding beneath a veil.”
“I’ll wait for as long you need me to.”
“How did I get so lucky to have a man like you?”
“I’m the lucky one.”
Once again, they kissed and caressed. She climaxed in bursts of erotic joy, her inner muscles clutching his cock. Her orgasm triggered his, and he came, too, bathing her with white-hot seed.
Breathing in unison, they fell back on the sheet-tousled bed, holding hands and keeping the connection.
After a bout of sweet silence, she asked, “Do Simone and Nicholas know that you’re mortal?”
“Yes, I was able to tell them. Darrin brought them out of their jewelry so we could talk. Nicholas is happy for me. Simone is, too, but mostly because I’m one less gen-vamp that Mathieu can use to fuel his kingdom.”
“Speaking of which, how is Mathieu taking this?”
“He’s outraged about the spell, but there isn’t anything he can do to reverse it. He’s especially pissed that the same spell was enacted on Nicholas’s and Simone’s jewelry.”
She couldn’t imagine Mathieu allowing Anthony’s brother, much less the beautiful and temperamental Simone, a chance to be free. “Is he going to relocate them into other jewelry?”
He can’t. Once gen-vamps are placed inside their crosses, they remain there for all eternity.”
“Unless they become mortal.”
“I think I’m the first one who’s ever become mortal.”
“I hope Nicholas and Simone find true love.”
“Nicholas is hopeful, but Simone isn’t. She doesn’t give a fig about love. But who knows if it will happen for either of them or how long it will take? It took me decades to find you.” He lifted his hand to the scarred side of her face.
She winced and closed her eyes. Habit. A bad one. She opened her eyes. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You’re being brave. And you’re only going to get braver.”
“And live up to my badges of honor?”
He smiled. “Most definitely.”
They tumbled into each other’s arms again and relished the moment, steeped in the magic of love.
Sheri Whitefeather is an award-winning, national bestselling author. Visit her website at:
http://www.sheriwhitefeather.com
