8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Daisy

M y life has been a risk. Why wouldn’t I take this one?

Micah is beautiful. His muscles are generous but not overly so. His brown hair is falling over his mesmerizing light eyes locked on my every move. Tattoos are a weakness of mine, whether on my body or an attractive man’s. He covers his skin, and I want to touch them.

I feather my fingertips over his waist, just above the waistband of his jeans, and he sucks in a breath. I love that my touch affects him. All he has to do is look at me, and my body warms. Waking to find him watching me turns me on. I like that he kept me safe as I slept. Sleep was difficult in the pack house. I could never let my guard down, and I didn’t feel comfortable sleeping through the night.

I scoot closer and lean in between his thighs, tracing the design of a pocket watch on his ribs.

“What does this mean to you?” I ask. I know every tattoo can mean numerous things, depending on the person.

He looks at where my hand rests. “The passage of time,” he whispers. “Being a vampire, time passes slowly, yet fast. It reminds me to live every minute how I want to.”

I nod. “I can’t imagine the things you have seen.” I rub my palms over his pecks.

“I wouldn’t want you to,” he says, his voice filled with experience.

“How about this?” I touch my fingertip to a red moon.

“This is a dangerous game,” he grits out.

“Why?” I look up quickly.

“You might not like the answers you get.”

“Tell me,” I demand. He looks at me and then at my finger.

“There was a red moon the night I killed a man,” he says.

“Why did you kill him?”

“I was hungry,” he states calmly, but his body tensed. I am aware he hasn’t been a saint.

“Do you regret it?”

“I was learning my limits. I failed to recognize his.”

“You remember him years later,” I guess.

“Yes,” he admits softly. “It’s a reminder to remember.”

“That’s admirable.” I shrug as he looks at me, shocked. “We all have things we regret.” Micah is my mate, and I will accept him, even the questionable parts.

“You need to stop,” he says through clenched teeth.

“Why?” I caress back down his chest.

“If you don’t, I’m going to drink your blood,” he rasps.

“If you do, does it turn me?”

“No. I can control my venom.”“Did you drink from a bag while I was sleeping?” I fold my hands over his stomach.

“I did.”

“But you are still thirsty?” The thought of feeding him is tempting and causes an ache deep inside.

“It didn’t satisfy me. When a vampire is mated, the mate will be the only one they drink from. Your blood is all I can smell.” He closes his eyes, breathing deep, his voice carnal. “I have never smelled anything like it. When you agree to be mine, I will turn you, and you will feed on me.”

“I want you to,” I decide, and his eyes snap open. I want to supply him with nutrients, knowing my blood is the only thing he wants. It would kill me if he drank from another woman and I dislike the idea of him drinking from an unknown donor.

“You have to be sure,” he hisses. “There is always a chance I won’t be able to stop, and then I would have to turn you.”

“I trust you,” I say. I do not trust easily, but every part of me desires to feed him.

“Once I taste you, I won’t want to go back,” he warns.

“Good,” I whisper. I want to be the one who provides for him. His fangs descend, and I am fascinated.

“Be sure,” he growls.

“Feed,” I insist. His arm strikes out, banding around my waist, pulling me onto his lap, and I straddle him. He lifted me as if I weighed nothing, making me want him more.

“I won’t drink much,” he murmurs, more for his benefit than mine.

“Take what you need,” I encourage, and he cups the back of my neck.

“Shit,” he says a second before he yanks me forward.

His fangs are long, and I can feel them sliding into my skin. The sensation is powerful, like the man pulling blood from my body. The euphoric feeling coursing through me causes my hips to move, needing him to relieve the pressure in my stomach.

I run my fingers through his hair, my nails scraping his scalp, holding him to my neck. I groan and bite my lip. I want this every day.

“Please,” I whimper. His hand moves to my ass and squeezes. “Micah.” I close my eyes and lean into him. Satisfaction bleeds through me; this powerful vampire needs my blood. He craves it.

I continue to roll my hips, chasing my need to come. With every suck, the need gets higher and higher. My body is heavy, every part begging for his touch, and only his. I cry out as he pulls his fangs from my body, leaning back, my blood dripping from his mouth.

I want more.

His eyes are glowing. He looks from my neck to my moving hips and thrusts his hand down my pants. The minute his fingers are inside me, I come. My head falls back, and I ride out the orgasm as it goes on and on. The waves ebb, and I drop to his chest. A rumble deep inside of him vibrates from his body to mine.

“Delicious,” he says, his voice deep and gravelly.

“Can we do it again?” I ask eagerly, and he laughs abruptly.

“As much as you want, pet,” he says. I slowly sit up and see a drop of blood on the corner of his mouth, but his teeth are back to normal. I touch my finger to it and hold it in front of his mouth. His eyes droop as he sucks my finger and hums. His hand is still in my pants. He begins to slide his fingers through my swollen pussy, and the heat starts to simmer. “My sexy mate,” he says, releasing my digit. “Do you want to come again?”

“Yes,” I groan. I start to move when the ringing begins.

“Your phone,” he says, pausing.

“Ignore it,” I say. He takes me at my word until it rings again.

“My needy mate,” he smiles.

“Fuck.” I glare at my phone I left on the bed. I don’t get calls, and I realize it must be important. Lace’s face flashes in my head. “It might be Lace,” I mutter. I whimper when he takes his hand from me but I slowly leave his lap. I regret the act when I watch him lick the fingers that were inside me. I stomp to the bed, ready to kill whoever called. My fingers barely touch it when it rings again.

“Lace?” I ask as I answer.

“Where are you?” she demands, panic coloring her voice.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Please tell me you aren’t at the pack house,” she pleads.

“No.” I look at Micah. “I’m safe. What’s going on?” Micah stands, listening, hearing the strain in my friend's voice.

“Turner was here. I tried to stop him. He never comes here, but he was angry.”

“Did he hurt you?” I ask urgently. I hold my phone with my shoulder and sit down to put on my shoes.

“I tried to stop him,” she whispers again. “He hit me.”

I’ll kill him. “Are you still at the store?” I watch Micah put his shirt and boots on.

“Yes,” she says shakily.

“Don’t move. I’m coming.” I hang up and shove my phone in my pocket.

“Who is she?” he asks.

“My friend.” I hesitate. “She’s a witch.” Many don’t trust witches.

“Is she your friend?” He puts his hand over the healing bite marks he left on my neck.

“Yes,” I say.

“Let's go,” he says.

“Thank you.”

He grabs my hand.

“Tell me where we are going.”

I fight back the tears at his trust. I will gladly follow this man anywhere. I will feed him. Mate him. And kill for him.

But first, we have to kill Turner.

“I’m going to rip his dick off and shove it down his throat,” I hiss, using my shaky hand to apply ointment to Lace’s cheek.

“It doesn’t hurt much,” she whispers.

We arrived at her bookstore to see the books all over the floor, the shelves tipped over, and my friend huddled in the corner. She was holding a bat, staring at the broken door with blood dripping down her face.

Lace is tiny, with big blue eyes and black hair down past her ass. We met when I stumbled into her charming little bookstore and bonded over discussing book boyfriends. I learned she does tattoos on the side. She has a section in the back where customers come for appointments. She confessed she was a witch but, in her way of being reassuring, told me she has little power. She thought I would run away. I stayed and came back at least once a week. We spend several hours a week together, usually here because it’s peaceful. It was peaceful.

“What did he say?” I step back and put the lid on the container. I glance up when she doesn’t answer and find her staring over my shoulder. Micah hasn’t said anything, allowing me to guide the conversation.

“That’s a vampire,” Lace states.

“Yes.” I shake my head when her stare doesn’t waver. “Sexy, huh?” Her eyes shoot to mine, and Micah chuckles.

“Why are you with a vampire?”

“He’s my mate.”

Her big eyes blink. “No shit?” I tilt my head and raise my brows.

“What did Turner say?” I ask again. We can have a long conversation later about my mate.

“I came to open the store and noticed the door caved in. I stupidly came inside and found Turner throwing shit everywhere. Daisy, he was in a rage. He ran at me, demanding to know where you were.” She crosses her arms over her stomach. “He wasn’t afraid of me, so he must have known I don’t have the power most witches do.”

“Or he was desperate,” Micah offers.

Lace looks at him and then away quickly. “Maybe. He grabbed my arms, shaking me, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He repeated it over and over. I didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about,” she cries.

“I do,” I say. “Shit.” I pace away. I wanted privacy when I confessed to Micah about the coin and its location.

“Oh,” Lace mutters, realization dawning. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“What is it?” Micah asks.

“Did he say anything else?” I ask her, brushing over his question.

“He was yelling and in a panic. He said he was going to kill you and get back what belonged to him. He backhanded me and stormed out.” Lace flutters her fingers over her cheek and cringes. “I wish I could turn him into a frog.”

“Frogs are too cute,” I inform her.

“True,” she sighs, her shoulders drooping.

“I don’t want you to be alone.” I frown and chew on my lip.

“Do you think he’ll come back?” she asks, cupping her elbows.

“He knows where you live,” I remind her. “If he’s determined that you know something, he’ll search there.”

“I suppose I can rent a hotel room for a few days,” she says.

“You can stay in my building,” Micah offers.

“Uh…” She looks between us. “You are newly mated?”

“We met yesterday,” he replies, nodding.

“I don’t want to impose.”

“The safest place you can be is with us and next to another building full of vampires,” he says. “You’ll have an apartment to yourself.”

“Daisy?” she asks, looking to me for reassurance.

“He’s right. I don’t want Turner to hurt you. The next time, it could be worse.” I wave toward her cheek.

“I’ll have to get some furniture. I didn’t bother to furnish any of the other apartments.” He pulls out his phone.

“I can sleep on the floor,” Lace says quickly but falls silent when Micah glares.

“You are family to my mate; don’t be ridiculous,” he spits.

“Okay,” she squeaks and raises her eyebrows at me.

“We can take your car to your place if you need to pack a bag,” I say.

“No,” Micah says, causing us to look at him. “I’ll send someone to get it. You don’t need to be caught going there. He may be watching and waiting for the opportunity to question you more after he calmed down.” He puts his phone to his ear. “Bash,” he says.

“Are we going to torture?” Bash answers calmly.

“Not yet. I need you and Marie to do me a favor,” he says. I tune out the conversation and step close to my friend as Micah paces away.

“I haven’t told him yet,” I whisper, taking the opportunity to speak to her when Micah is occupied. “I want to explain when we are alone.”

“I understand,” she replies just as softly. “Daisy…” She looks around me briefly. “Your mate is a vampire.”

“Shocking, isn’t it?”

“A little.” She lowers her voice even more. “He’s gorgeous.”

“I know. I’m very lucky.” I wiggle my eyebrows.

“Thank you, love,” Micah says, and we both jump and turn guiltily. “Bash and Marie are coming. They will go to your apartment. Make a list of everything you can’t live without. I ordered a bed. It will be delivered in a couple of hours, along with a couch, chair, kitchen necessities, and shit for the bathroom. You can order food anywhere on my accounts today; tomorrow, I will have groceries delivered.” We stare in shock. “Daisy, I also bought more furniture for our place. I didn’t bother to buy anything when I was alone.”

“How long were you on the phone?” Did we enter a time warp? To us, only a few minutes passed.

“I did it while I was on the phone with Bash. I put him on speaker when you both were whispering to each other.” He tilts his head. “My hearing is better than you think. I am not a human man; I can multitask.” He walks to me and closes my mouth with his finger. “Don’t underestimate me, pet. I can give you everything you need.”

“Okay,” I whisper, once again dazed by my mate. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lace waving her hands at her red cheeks.

“Those poor books,” I hear a soft voice say from behind Micah. He taps his knuckle against my chin and then turns.

“Holy shit,” Lace breathes as she takes in the sight of Bash. “Who? What…” she trails off.

“Lace, this is my friend, Bash,” Micah says. “Daisy, this is Marie, Bash’s mate.” Marie is beautiful. She has blonde hair and a slim build. Her skin is decorated with tattoos she shows off proudly in a tank. She rushes over to us, and I cringe, waiting for her reaction.

“So nice to meet you, Daisy,” she says. I freeze when she hugs me briefly. “Lace, you, too.” She smiles sweetly at Lace and then glides back to her mate. “What asshole did this to books?”

“Your face,” Bash hisses.

“I’m fine?” Lace’s voice rises in question. I squeeze her hand reassuringly.

“Do you have a list of what you need?” Bash asks.

“Uh…” She looks at me helplessly.

“She likes dresses,” I tell them. “Get a wide variety of them. She has a ton of stuffed animals on her bed; get those, too.”

“Daisy,” she whispers furiously, tugging at her skirt with nervous fingers.

“You should have your things,” I whisper back.

“I love stuffed animals,” Marie says. “You should buy me some,” she instructs Bash.

“I will,” he says easily.

“Don’t worry,” Marie tells Lace. “I will pack your clothes and bathroom stuff.”

“Thanks,” Lace says weakly. Marie waves before they disappear. “Holy crap.”

“You have a car?” Micah asks. She nods. “Out front?” She nods again. “We will walk you to it. I will send someone to secure the building. Love, we can ride with her.”

We both nod obediently, and Lace leads us outside to her car.

My heart flutters when Micah opens the passenger side door for me and buckles my seatbelt. Lace watches him with awe, and I have to clear my throat when she stares a bit too long. I love her, but I don’t like the adoring look in her eyes.

“Lace,” I growl.

“Sorry.” She shakes her head and starts the car.

I’m already very possessive of my deadly vampire.