Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) (10 page)

Lydia sat on the couch, polishing her fingernails.
Her skin was pale, almost ghostly white. The belt on her shorts was on the
tightest notch, but it was still too big.

The Monopoly game the previous weekend
had seemed like a breakthrough. It had felt like things were getting back to
normal, but the following morning Lydia had been just as moody and withdrawn as
she had been before the game. There was a tension between them that Hannah
didn't understand.

The thing that worried Hannah most was
Lydia’s lack of interest in her plants. All around the leaves wilted, as if the
plants were in a state of depression too. Hannah had watered them, sprayed
them, and even talked to them like Lydia did. As crazy as it sounded, they
seemed to miss Lydia.

After taking a deep breath, Hannah
pushed a stack of magazines to the side and sat on the coffee table. “Are you
sure that you don’t want to come with us? You never go out anymore, and I miss
spending time with you.”

Lydia didn't look up from her nails. “Miniature
golf is not exactly my idea of an exciting night on the town.” She finally
looked up at Hannah and rolled her eyes. “Will you please stop giving me that
pouty face?”

Hannah looked down at her hands and took
another deep breath before continuing her plea. She was fighting back tears as
she spoke. “Something is wrong. You spend all of your time alone. I don’t know
how much weight you’ve lost, but it’s too much. You sleep most of the time, and
you look like a walking corpse.”

Lydia’s head snapped up. “Walking
corpse?”

“Yes, you're as pale as a cadaver,” she replied
bluntly. “I know that you really liked Dominic, but you only dated for a week
and that was over a month ago. You can't stop living just because he broke up
with you.”

Lydia's expression was icy. “I’m fine.”

The harshness in Lydia's voice hurt.
Hannah was losing the battle to hold back her tears.

“I’m sorry for whatever I did to make
you angry with me. I miss you.” She stood and started to walk away, because she
just didn’t want to see the cold look in Lydia’s eyes anymore.

Lydia stood up and hugged her. “Sweetie,
I’m not mad at you. I’m so sorry that I made you cry,” Now Lydia was crying too.
“How about if we go shopping and get some lunch together tomorrow?”

Hannah choked down a sob, and nodded. “Promise
me you aren’t taking drugs.”

That question actually made Lydia laugh.
She held Hannah’s hands and spoke as though she were comforting a child. “I
promise that I’m not taking drugs. You know I can’t even drink. Now please
don’t cry anymore.” The doorbell rang, and Lydia used it as an excuse to change
the subject. “That’s probably Noah.”

Hannah dried her eyes, and opened the
door. “Hi, Noah!” She tried hard to smile, but it only succeeded in making her
lips tremble.

Noah looked like he was about to ask her
what was wrong, but Hannah shook her head to stop him.

“Are you two lovely ladies ready to go?”

“I’m ready, but Lydia isn't coming.” She
looked over her shoulder at Lydia.

Noah sat beside Lydia on the couch, and
rested his head on her shoulder. “Say it isn’t true. Are you really ditching
me? I let you win at Monopoly Sunday night so you owe me.”

“I know what you’re trying to do, Noah,
and it won’t work,” Lydia scolded as she pulled away from him. He didn’t sit
up, but let his head slump across her lap.

“What am I trying to do?” he asked,
blinking his eyes innocently at her.

“You’re trying to convince me to go out,
because Hannah wants me to. It’s obvious that you’re taking her side because
she’s dating your brother,” she said.

Noah sat up and laughed. “Damn, she’s
good at this.”

Hannah gave her cousin a scowl. “I know.
There is no way to win an argument with her.”

“Then get a clue, and get out!” Lydia
ordered. She was obviously trying to sound playful, but it came out sounding
impatient. “And I beat the two of you at Monopoly because you suck!”

“You are a cruel woman.” Noah turned
away, headed toward the door, and then turned to give her a playful wink. His
boyish expression made Lydia smile.

“If you change your mind, just call me
and we can meet up,” Hannah said.

“I never change my mind.” She caught
sight of Hannah’s hurt expression and groaned. “If I change my mind, I promise
to call.”

Not more than five minutes after Noah
and Hannah left there was a soft knock on the door. Lydia rushed to open the
door and smiled seductively at Dominic.

“I thought that they would never leave,”
he said as he pushed her farther in, and kicked the door shut.

She looked down and sighed. “I hate
lying to Hannah about us. I have to avoid talking to her to keep up the lie,
and she’s really hurt by all of this. I’m not sure how much longer I can do
this.”

He knelt before her to kiss her
bellybutton. “Nathaniel doesn’t want us to be together. We must keep this a
secret, or I will have to move away from here.”

“Stop that!” She giggled, and tried to
pull away as his tongue moved into her bellybutton.

He stood and brushed his lips softly
against hers. “How long do we have?”

“Hannah should be gone for a few hours,”
she replied breathlessly as he removed her shirt.

“It is arousing to have a secret love
affair, don’t you agree?”

Dominic always tried to make their
relationship sound exciting. At first it had been, but that feeling quickly
faded. Now she felt guilty for lying to Hannah and her friends. She was sure it
was why she felt sick most of the time. Countless times she told herself that
she was just going to end things with Dominic. It would be for the best. Then
she would see him, and he would touch her. Dominic was an addiction.

“Why do you frown so?” Dominic asked,
sensing her distraction. “I know how to make you feel better.”

He unfastened her bra strap with his
left hand, pulled the shoulder straps down, and then let her bra fall to the
floor. His mouth covered her nipple and he sucked hard. He pulled back, blew
lightly on her nipple and then moved his attention to the other one.

Her head tilted back and she moaned. All
thoughts of Hannah and her friends faded into the back of her mind.

When he stood again, she took one of the
buttons on his shirt between her teeth, bit it off, and spit it across the
room. She then continued to do the same to the rest of his buttons until his
chest was completely exposed. Her hands ran up his chest and over his
shoulders, pushing his shirt off.

Dominic pulled her into his arms, and
kissed her roughly. He hastily undid her belt and yanked her shorts and panties
down over her hips. The shorts were so big that he didn’t even need to unfasten
them to slide them down. Then he knelt before her and kissed her thigh.

Lydia arched her back in ecstasy as he
supported her weight with one arm, and then he bit her. “Ouch!”

She pushed him onto the ground, and
straddled him as he licked the blood from his lips. “You kinky bastard!” She
pretended to pin his arms to the ground. “How am I supposed to hide our
relationship from Hannah if you keep leaving teeth marks on me?”

With one swift move Dominic rolled her
onto her back and pinned her down. She struggled playfully.

“How can I resist your sweetness?” he
whispered, and then gently nibbled on her earlobe.

“Stop!” she nearly shrieked.

“What did I do wrong?” he asked.

“Your belt is stabbing me.”

He sat on the couch, smiling seductively.
“I’m sorry.” He reached to unfasten his belt.

Lydia knelt between his legs and moved
his hands away from the buckle.

“Allow me,” she cooed.

With her teeth, she unfastened his belt
buckle, and then undid the button and zipper on his pants. “I can use my teeth
too.”

He guided her down to the floor between
the couch and the coffee table. With one arm, he knocked the coffee table over,
spilling magazines across the floor.

As their bodies joined, her fingernails
dug into his back. The ecstasy was overwhelming, and like none she had ever
known. Every sensation seemed heightened until finally she climaxed violently.
Only Dominic had ever given her this kind of pleasure.

After he found his own release, Dominic
continued to lie on top of her. They were both out of breath and trembling.
Lydia felt the familiar sensation of heaviness come over her body. She never
understood how sex with him could take so much out of her.

“You are the most fantastic lover I have
ever had,” he said enthusiastically. “I will never give you up.”

“The feeling is totally mutual,” she
said weakly.

Dominic stood and began to dress. “I
should go home,” he said nonchalantly as he gathered Lydia’s clothing and
handed it to her.

She struggled to sit up, and slowly
dressed herself. “I’m not sure I can get up off of the floor.”

“I will help you to your bed.” He
reached out to help Lydia to her feet.

“No, I want to rest on the couch for a
while.” She tried unsuccessfully to pull herself up.

Dominic lifted her onto the couch, and
knelt beside her. “You should go to bed, so you can regain your strength.”

“No, I need to pick up all of the
buttons and magazines.” Her voice was no more than a whisper, and her body was
limp.

“Just rest and I will pick up the room,”
he assured her. “I should start bringing a new shirt to wear home. It is hard
to explain the missing buttons after our visits.”

“Sorry.” She tried to smile, but it
required too much effort.

“I don’t mind.” He stood and did his
best to get the room in order. When he felt satisfied that everything was back
in place, he leaned down to kiss Lydia once more. “I will see you soon, my
lovely Lydia. Rest and regain your strength.” He ran a hand along her flat
stomach, up to her ribs which now stood out. He frowned at her. “You should eat
more.”

“Okay,” she said as she fought against
the exhaustion that was pulling her into unconsciousness. Her eyelids became
heavy and she could no longer resist the unimaginable fatigue.

Dominic took a moment to watch her
sleep. He traced her face with his index finger just to feel the weak hum of
energy emanating from her. It made him shiver. Reluctantly he moved away from
her, and quietly slipped out the door.

The sound of Hannah's key in the lock
woke Lydia several hours later.

It surprised Hannah to see Lydia still
up. “Were you waiting up for me?”

“I dozed off on the couch.” She
struggled to sit up, still feeling very weak. “Did Noah like Trish?”

Hannah groaned. “It was a big mistake
trying to set Noah up with Trish.”

Curiosity gave Lydia a little more
energy. “What happened?”

“Caitlin convinced Trish to drink.”

Lydia let out a raspy giggle. “Trish
doesn’t drink. She’s gropey and mean when she drinks.”

“She rested her boobs on his head at one
point. Noah is never going to forgive me for this.” She sat on the chair by the
couch, and buried her face in her hands.

“I doubt he minded having boobs rest on
his head, especially Trish’s boobs.”

Hannah’s mouth opened slightly in
disbelief. “Noah isn’t the kind of guy who wants to be molested in public by
someone he barely knows.”

Lydia yawned. She was exhausted, but she
wanted to hear this. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“At one point Caitlin convinced Trish to
try to grab Noah’s . . .” Hannah gestured wildly.

“Cock?” Lydia offered then laughed at
Hannah’s shocked expression. “It was just a little innocent flirting.”

“It gets worse.”

Lydia looked intrigued. “How much worse?
Please tell me you took pictures.”

“Oh, you are so funny,” Hannah said
dryly. “Trish thought Caitlin was flirting with Noah, and she tried to hit
Caitlin.”

“See!” Lydia said triumphantly. “That’s
the mean part. I know Trish gets a lot of attention from guys, but she doesn’t
date much. Noah’s pretty hot, so she was probably nervous. I’m sure he didn’t mind
the attention that much.”

Hannah had started to pace. “I nearly
lost it when Trish tried to kiss him.”

“Oh my God!” Lydia’s eyes lit up
suddenly. “You
like
Noah, don’t you?”

This statement caused Hannah to stop in
her tracks. “What? Well, of course I like Noah, he’s my friend.”

“He’s a little more than your friend.
You want Noah and you can’t stand the idea of him with Trish, even if it was
your idea.” This discovery made Lydia feel more than a little satisfied.

“I like Noah as a friend.” Hannah was speaking
slowly to make sure Lydia understood her. “I am with Nathaniel.”

“My mistake,” Lydia murmured as she
struggled to stand up. “If you ask me, you and Noah are a little too friendly,
but what do I know.” She walked to her bedroom, and turned at the doorway. “I
think Noah is a much better man than Nathaniel. Maybe you do too, even if you
don’t want to admit it.” She closed the bedroom door before Hannah could
respond.