Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

FLYNN

T he way her eyes light up as she lets herself go is something I want to witness for the rest of my existence on this planet. I keep my hand on the small of her back, and I feel her body slightly tremble as my thumb moves up and down. She tries to contain herself so much, but it's obvious what she wants, and I'm going to give it to her—on my terms, obviously. Talulla needs to know she can count on me and let herself go. I'll be there, ready to catch her, venerate her, and fuck her.

God, I tremendously want to reach for her jeans and have my way with her. Her panties are already soaked, and all I've been doing is trying not to rip her clothes off. The shirt she's wearing is an oversized band tee, and it's tucked into a nice pair of high-waisted jeans that are doing very naughty things to my imagination right now. If she were to pay a little more attention to my trousers, it would be very apparent how hard I am. I could press my crotch to her back, and she would feel every inch of it. But I won't. Not yet. Not when I can tell how terrified she is of the feelings she has.

Her father made her think she needed to be a weapon, a warrior, a robot with no emotions. Just death. Nothing else. But the reality is that she craves stability, and I want to give her that. I want her to smile just like she is right now as she looks at this place filled with paintings and historical pieces.

"You're staring," Talulla says as we reach the table.

"I'm enjoying the view, that's all."

"I'm a mess, Flynn. You should've let me change."

"If you really want to take those jeans off, I'm not going to stop you."

"Pig."

There it is. The provocation.

I quickly get behind her and do exactly what I said I wouldn't do. I press my pulsing cock against her ass. One hand grips her hip, and the other goes around her throat, keeping her in place. "Here's a reason to call me a pig. Feel what you're doing to me."

"I—"

I move my hips forward to let her feel exactly how hard I am, and her words die on a choking sound. "Cat got your tongue?"

Then she does something I wasn't expecting. She starts moving, creating a deadly friction against my pants. My grip on her throat tightens, and I see how aroused she's getting as her reflection in the glass covering a painting creates its own kind of artwork. Then, as quickly as I started this, I end it. "Take a seat, little hunter. Food is gonna get cold."

She's still panting as I help her sit, and I get to my seat on the other side of the table. "What are you going to do? Just watch me eat?"

"You worry a little too much about what I do with my spare time."

"Flynn."

"Take the cover off your food, Talulla. I have my own drink right here." I point at a goblet to my right.

I see one of her eyebrows raising. "You drink blood from a glass?"

"Is that so weird?"

"So you really don't feed," she states, as if she needed to confirm that more to herself than anyone else.

"I don't feed from a neck, no."

Tilting her head slightly to the side, she asks, "Why?"

Her neck is exposed now, and usually, I'd feel the need to rip someone to shreds just from seeing their jugular vein so visible. Not with her though. Do I want to taste her blood? Obviously, I want to. The aroma of it is spellbinding. Her essence calls to me like a siren calls to a sailor, and I am a slave to her song.

"I thought we talked about this already."

"It's just so… peculiar."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I say, "Not everything your daddy told you is the truth, Talulla. Not all vampires want this kind of life."

"Why wouldn't you want to be a vampire? You can live forever, and with your daylight ring, you can live a normal life."

I chuckle at her words. "Normal life." The laughter continues. "Now, that's funny."

"You know what I mean…"

"Do you know what happens when a vampire bites a human?"

"The human feels a state of ecstasy until they either die from the loss of blood or just pass out."

"And they also fall completely under the control of the vampire."

"What do you mean?"

"If I bit you, you'd be doing whatever I tell you to. You'd be unconscious even if you were awake. It's… sickening."

Now she's laughing. "You're telling me you wouldn't want a girl in your bed doing exactly what you want?"

"I want the girl to do what I want on her terms. It's different."

"Elaborate."

"I'm a predator that doesn't want to be one. I want the other person to have an escape at all times. And where's the fun if the other person is following my orders because of the high of the bite?"

"I think I actually understand what you mean. I feel like I'm stuck with an image of myself that doesn't accurately represent who I am. People think I'm supposed to be a certain way, but I'm the complete opposite."

"That's right." The corners of my lips lift into a smile. She sees me for who I am and still wants to spend time with me.

"You are a unique vampire, Flynn Lancaster."

"Just like you are a very unique vampire hunter, Talulla Popescu."

She uncovers her food, and her jaw drops as she sees her favorite meal presented to her. Mititei and fries. "What the—How did you know?"

Crazy how big of a reaction I get by giving her ground meat rolls. I wonder what her reaction would be if she got another kind of roll… "I might have made a phone call."

"This is perfect." She digs in in no time, and then her jaw drops once again as she sees the sauce I am presenting to her. "And you got me mayo?"

"Cassandra and Asmodeus were very specific about the mayo and no ketchup thing."

"Ketchup ruins everything. Mayo though… Mayo makes everything better."

I smile as she does a little happy dance in her seat before dipping a fry in mayo and bringing it to her mouth. "Noted," I simply reply as I pour myself a generous amount of blood in my glass.

We continue to eat in silence, and then we start exploring the museum. "I can't believe you get to do this."

"Visit a museum with the most beautiful woman I've ever seen? Honestly, I can't believe it either."

She rolls her eyes at me, and fuck, it's the most exquisite view of her. I want her to do that while I'm so deep inside of her she sees stars. "I meant that you can just pay to have this place to yourself. And stop that."

"Stop what?"

"The compliments, I—It's a lot."

"It's the truth."

She shakes her head profusely. "I'm not that at all."

"I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about. I know what I've witnessed in my long life, and you are the most beautiful thing that has ever caught my eye."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"How did you get… turned?"

My body goes rigid. I've never told this story to anyone, and it still feels as fresh as if it was yesterday.

"You don't have to tell me. It's okay," she adds as she realizes I've been silent for a little too long.

"I was twenty-five when it happened."

"So young."

"It was during the first war. I was recruited, and I needed money to care for my family. You see—"

"You were married."

"Yes, I was. Does that bother you?"

"How can it bother me? You've been alive for so long. I wasn't expecting you to be a virgin, Flynn."

"I wanted my wife to have the life she deserved, so I went to battle, and as I was ready to call it quits, I got wounded—very badly."

"Oh my god." Talulla's hand covers her open mouth.

"That's when an unknown man came to visit me. It was the middle of the night. I was in a tent, ready to let myself go, and this man took my arm and bit me. Then he fed me his blood, and the last thing I remember is the sound of my neck breaking."

"Holy shit," she exclaims as her hand covers her mouth. "Did you ever see the vampire again?"

"Vladimir wanted a friend. I learned to forgive him with time, even if I would have preferred to have a choice in how my existence went."

"Is he still in your life?"

"No, he hasn't been for a while."

"And your wife?"

"My wife passed away peacefully with her new husband a while back. She lived a long, happy life—a life she deserved to have."

"That's so wonderful to hear."

"Is it?"

"Yes, even if you weren't there, you were still able to give her what she needed. I think it's beautiful." Talulla's acceptance is remarkable.

I see her true interest in my past, and all I want to do is kiss her. I don't even realize I've moved until my hands end up on her cheeks and I'm lowering myself to her. My lips touch hers so gently, so softly. Then her arms go around my neck, and the kiss intensifies. She's so full of fire―a fire she needs to let out. "I've never looked at it that way. Thank you for letting me see a new side of it."

"You're welcome, Flynn. You suffered a lot, but you still found a way to be a good person."

I chuckle at her words. "That, I certainly am not."

"In your own way."

"Talulla, just like you kill vampires, I have killed many beings. In front of you as well."

"You don't want to though."

"That doesn't make me a good person."

"It makes you human."

"Is it human the fact that I wanted to rip out Eric's throat earlier?" And yesterday, I kind of planned exactly how I could take him out without anyone even noticing.

"You didn't though."

"You need to get your red flag detector checked because that's what I am, Talulla. I'm vicious."

"I kill your kind. Aren't you the one who is supposed to have his red flag detector checked?"

"Maybe I like pain," I reply with a devilish smirk on my face.

"Maybe I like pain as well. Ever thought of that?"

Oh, fuck me. She did not just say exactly what I wanted to hear her say.

"We'll see about that," I whisper in her ear as we continue our walk around the museum.

"Are you gonna take me home at some point?"

"So impatient. I thought you liked talking about these things," I say, gesturing to all the artifacts around us.

"I do. I just don't want to bore you."

"Is that what you call your soaked panties?"

"They are not!"

"You forget one thing, little hunter," I say from behind her. "My sense of smell is very, very good."

"Asshole."

"I might have to punish you for that."

"I'd like to see you try," she replies, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let me take you back home then."

The smile that appears on her face is rather demonic. It's too bad she will learn really quickly what I want from her. And it's all of her, all the time.