Chapter 15

I‘m drawn out of my dream to the sound of my phone vibrating on my nightstand. In that state between waking and sleeping, I can still feel the stranger’s hands tracing along my body, his voice in my ear. It’s just a dream, though, and it’s time for me to wake up.

Even though I’m absolutely drained, I still force my eyes open, the movement feeling like it’s in slow motion. I’m still so tired that I can barely even think straight. I wipe the sleep from my eyes and pick up my phone, forcing my tired vision to focus enough to read the caller ID. It’s Elijah. While I need to know that he’s safe, I’m not ready to speak to him just yet after everything that happened last night. I need time to collect myself. And come up with my lie to explain everything that happened.

I let his call go to voicemail before looking at the clock on my phone. Holy shit, I slept for almost twenty-four hours straight . I sit upright in my bed and look out the window, hoping that I just misread the time. Nope. Not a mistake. It’s definitely early morning, just based on the way the sun is beginning to peak.

I look at my phone again, letting out a soft chuckle at the readout of communications I’ve received in the last day. I have 49 missed calls from Elijah, 92 text messages, and 16 Instagram DMs. So he was, like, worried worried. The chuckle grows into a full laugh. He’s insane.

But he definitely would have been right to be worried about the night of the concert. That night, I was lucky to survive. And, although I can remember every second of what happened—down to the feel of Oliver’s hoodie under my fingertips—it feels like a distant memory with sleep separating me from it. I’m alive. I’m safe in my home. I close my eyes and exhale loudly through my nose. I’m free. No more vampires. No more crazy ex-boyfriend trying to kill me. I know what happened to Oliver, even if I don’t know all the details. That doesn’t matter, though. It’s enough to tie my stomach in knots, and that’s enough detail for me. I know enough. I can just leave it at that.

But that means no more Chris. My heart squeezes at the thought. What if he was actually being the hero and trying to protect me? What if he’s not insane like the others?

I shake my head to myself. No. He is still one of them. A monster, just like Oliver, even if he did protect me. I can’t trust him, especially because if he’s the same monster that Oliver is, he probably has serious murderous tendencies too. He was absolutely lethal in the way he handled Oliver outside of the bus crash: the way he made Oliver crumble over in pain, incapacitated with just a wave of his hand. The way he punched a hole through Oliver’s chest. And I saw his face through all of it, that terrifying smile of glee as he crippled Oliver. I shudder. He’s just as vicious as Oliver, if not worse, and even less apologetic for the pain he caused. Remembering his unsettling grin as he destroyed Oliver, I know I’m making the right decision. I don’t know Chris. What’s done is done. I can’t dwell on the decision, just because he made me feel things I never even dreamed about.

I lay my head back on my pillow; memories of the dream my phone woke me from resurfacing. It’s the same dream I always have—me in the cemetery with my mystery man’s tattooed hand wrapped around my throat, his words whispering delicious sins into my ear. Sins I want to taste. Sins I desperately need to feel. His hand slowly reaching down to touch my dripping core, my body pressed against his chest as he slowly dips his fingers into me.

My skin prickles, my nipples pebbling at just the thought. Pleasure is racing through me, settling in my core, as I lie there fantasizing about the tattooed stranger touching me. I slip my hand under the band of my sweatpants, underneath my panties, in the way he touched me, the way he made me feel filling my head. In my dream, I felt like I was alive. Like I was at home with him, safe.

I rub my throbbing clit in fast circles, my back arching with each pass. My breathing is heavy as I envision his arms holding me tight to his hard body, his hand wrapped around my throat as his hard cock rocks against my back. The dream always feels so real, and I wonder if I’ll ever know who he is. My legs tremble, and a loud moan tumbles from my mouth as I find my release, my body seizing as I come on my fingers. My other hand covers my face while I ride out my orgasm, panting as I come down from the quick high of the fleeting pleasure.

With a sigh, I draw my hand from beneath my sweatpants. This has become almost routine for me. Whenever I wake up from that dream, I’m consumed with overwhelming desire, and have to touch myself to make the feeling stop. It’s gotten to the point where I honestly look forward to that dream every night before I go to sleep. It’s the only thing I can say that I’ve looked forward to, that makes me feel something good in the last two years, but it is intangible. Something I can’t really understand. Is the man of my dreams even real, or is he actually just a dream? Someone my brain made up that’s so perfect, he’s unobtainable. I shiver at the thought; a therapist would undoubtedly have a field day with that one. Either way, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want a relationship anyway. Oliver quickly reaffirmed that fact for me during our reunion.

I stare at the ceiling before grabbing my phone from where I dropped it to call Elijah back.

He picks up almost immediately. “Excuse me, miss ma’am, where the hell have you been? Dodging all my calls and texts. Consider me very offended.”

I giggle at his over-the-top tone. I missed him, and after everything, I just really need my best friend right now. “Hey, Eli. I’m so sorry for going ghost! I got really drunk at the party, so Chris took me home, and I just fucking crashed. I only just woke up. You know how I get sometimes.” Please believe me, please.

Elijah lets out an extremely loud, very exaggerated sigh. So dramatic. “So, you’re gonna tell me that you had no idea that Oliver was back? Let me repeat that again in case you didn’t hear me too well. OLIVER IS BACK!” he shouts in my ear, so loudly that I have to pull the phone away to escape his high-pitched screech. Jesus. “There are literally videos all over the damn internet of you and him at the party, girl. Everyone was recording that shit, and let me just say, he was such a prick! I hope you tore into his ass and let him have it. Or… did he sweep you away for lots of passionate makeup sex? I don’t judge either way. I just hope you made the right decision.”

Shit. There’s a video? Well, this is going to be more complicated than I thought. “There’s really videos going around of me seeing him? Oh my god. Eli, this is crazy.” The phone is practically falling out of my hand from how hard my fingers tremble. This is so bad.

“Yeah, babe. It’s everywhere. So are you gonna tell me what happened or not? I can come over, we don’t have to go anywhere. I need to know everything.” He pauses, and when he speaks again, his voice is more serious. “I need to know you’re okay, Dani.”

Fuck. So not fucking good. It will be even harder to lie to his face. What do I even say? He can’t know the truth, and not just because he’ll be the co-sponsor of the Institutionalize Dani Now! support group. Honestly, Elijah knowing the truth just puts him in more danger than he’s in right now, just being best friends with me. “NO. I mean, no. Eli, I’m fine. I’m actually not home. I’m with him. Now. Right now.” I’m rambling, stammering over my words. There’s no way he buys this story. “We just talked. Talked a lot. He’s back, can you believe it!” I’m feigning joy like Oliver walking back into my life isn’t the biggest shit show in the world. I let out a nervous laugh. Time to stop talking, Dani. You’re being weird.

“Why are you being so awkward?”

Goddammit. Why does my best friend have to know me so well?

“Are you okay? Do I need to come get you? ’Cause, I swear to god, I will fuck him up if he hurt you. You can tell me, sweet cheeks.” His voice softens, and despite his fighting words, I can hear his concern. He’s worried.

I can’t let him panic and come over here, as much as I want to share everything I just found out. He needs to stay safe. Great, time to lie some more. “Elijah, everything is fine. Oli and I are just working some things out. I promise I’ll tell you every single glorious detail when I can. This is just going to… take some time. That’s all. I’m not ready to talk about it yet.” I’m not ready to talk about it ever, but that’s a conversation for another day.

“Okay. Fine, I won’t prod. You keep your secrets, even though I am dying to know what happened. Are you happy?”

My mouth tightens, and I bite my lower lip to keep it from quivering. No, I am as far from happy as I can possibly be. I’m fucking destroyed. Terrified. Confused. Lying to my best friend. And, to top it all off, obsessing over another vampire rock star with a life-changing electric touch. So no. I’m very not happy. Somehow, I don’t feel like that answer is going to work for Elijah, though. “Sort of. It’s just… It’s all very complicated. I promise I’ll call you soon and tell you everything. I love you.”

He lets out a sigh. “I love you too.”

I wish Eli didn’t know about Oliver. About me confronting him at that stupid after-party. I wanted—no, I needed— him to come over and just hold me like old times. Everyone knowing that Oliver is back (and not only back but already seen with his long-time girlfriend; I can just see the headlines now) makes things very complicated for me. “And Eli?”

“Yeah, sweet cheeks?”

“If you see anything else online, you know, about Oliver, will you send it to me? I’m just curious to see what the world is saying. That’s all. But I gotta go. We’ll talk soon, okay?”

“Sure, yeah, I can do that. I’ll call you in a few hours if I don’t hear from you, just to check on you.”

His complete willingness to do whatever I ask almost makes me cry. He is way too good to me. I don’t deserve his friendship. “Okay, that’s fine. Bye, Eli.”

“Bye, Dani. Be safe.” He hangs up the phone.

This is all so messed up. How am I going to dig myself out of this hole? I had to lie to him. It’s the right thing to do on every level. I can’t tell him the truth. He won’t understand. No one will. I don’t even fully understand it all myself.

After a moment of silence for the lies I’ve told Elijah, I throw the covers off of me and get out of bed. I wish I could stay in bed and sleep for another day because my mind and body feel like a void, but I have to move and do something. I go to my vanity and peek at myself in the mirror, wincing when I see that I look like utter hell.

I sit in the vanity chair and let my hair down. Grabbing my brush, I tackle my knots. I’m halfway through the first round of brushing when, from my periphery, I see movement outside of my window. I freeze, my arm stuck mid-stroke and turn my head slowly, trying not to give away that I’m looking. It’s hard to tell what it is. Fuck. Is it Oliver?

I drop the brush without finishing the stroke and set it down swiftly before getting up from the chair slowly and making my way to the window. My eyes narrow when I see what is actually in my freaking tree. It’s Chris. Sitting in the tree outside my bedroom, lounging on a thick branch like it’s a couch. I unlatch the lock on my window and throw it open, glaring at him the entire time.

Chris is leaning against the tree, one leg bent up on the branch he’s resting on, the other leg dangling down casually like he’s not chilling two stories off the ground. He’s texting on his phone, but the minute I throw open the window, he looks up at me with a feral grin. “Hey, little kitten.” His voice is deeper than it was a few nights ago, and his eyes are lusty on mine.

“What the fuck? Why are you in my tree? Wait, why the fuck are you even here? In my tree! Are you stalking me now?” I’m completely thrown by the look he’s giving me, my skin tingling. I push back against my horny mind. I knew he couldn’t be trusted. That’s what I need to focus on. The fact that he’s in my goddamn tree, not the fact that I want to curl up in his lap, like the kitten he accuses me of being, and lick him fucking everywhere.

“Is that really what you want to focus on, naughty kitten?” His grin widens.

I pause, remembering what I just did. Oh my god. “How long have you been sitting there?”

“Long enough to hear my naughty kitten fucking purr.” His voice is intense, and I know that I will compare every voice I ever hear again to that throaty rumble.

My thoughts finally come back to me, and I feel myself go pale. Oh my god. He heard everything—my conversation with Elijah. Me pleasuring myself to my dream. Me moaning. My cheeks flush as my stomach curls in on itself. “What, could you hear me then? With your super mystical vampire hearing?” I mock him, trying to gain back some ground.

He lowers his gaze to my chest, tongue swiping across his lower lip as both of us realize that I’m not actually wearing a bra underneath my tank top. His gaze darkens, and my nipples peak against the white material. I fold my arms across my chest, but the damage from the cold air, and his piercing stare, is already done. He’s already seen just how amped up he makes me.

His eyes flick back to my face, and he bites his lip. “Yeah, kitten, I heard everything with my ‘super mystical vampire hearing.’” His chuckle skates down my back, making me shiver. “You make such pretty noises when you come, Dani.”

Jesus Christ, I can’t handle his voice rolling my name, while he’s clearly imagining what it might sound like for him to be the one making me come. I firm up my knees, which are threatening to give out on me, tell my vagina to take a damn chill pill, and stick my nose up at him. “You’re fucking sick. A pervert! Listening to my very private… conversation with Elijah.” Okay, so it’s a little bit of a lie that I was moaning during that call with Elijah, but I’m okay with that. It lets me save face at least a little bit.

“Little kitten, those moans I kept hearing weren’t for Elijah. Nobody heard your little show except for me.” He tilts his head back, extending the length of his neck just before he lets out a soft groan and adjusts his position on the limb, giving me a fleeting glance of his lap and what looks like a very hard vampire. No, bad, Dani! Stop looking at the hot vampire’s crotch! “Call me whatever you want, but I was just out here minding my own business, making sure you were safe while you slept. By the way, you slept a very long time. It’s unnatural to sleep that long.”

“So, what, you planning on making a habit of following me around then, little puppy? Aren’t you supposed to be off touring or something?” I let out an annoyed huff. “Oliver never even came for me, so I think I’m fine. So you can kindly get out of my tree now. And, P.S., it’s none of your damn business how long I choose to sleep. Oh, and P.P.S. It’s a bit rich for the vampire to be telling the human what’s unnatural, don’t you think?”

His stupid dimple makes an appearance as his smile returns, and my knees tremble. Focus .

He shrugs. “I canceled the next few shows since I’m not going to leave you alone to fend for yourself. And, side note, I’m not stalking you. Not exactly. Just making sure that we’re in the same general vicinity so I can keep you safe.” Sitting up straight on the limb, he swings his leg over so both are dangling and the full force of his attention, and body, are facing me straight on.

My mouth goes dry at the sight of him completely focused on me. “That is literally the definition of stalking, you know that, right? Also, don’t mind me, but I’m really stuck on the fact that you canceled shows to sit outside of my house and keep me safe from somebody who doesn’t want any part of me. There is something seriously wrong with you. I’m fine!”

“I don’t give a fuck about canceling the shows. I’m not letting something happen to you when I can stop it.” His eyes darken as he looks at me. His expression is feral. Dangerous. Completely locked on me. And, while I know I should be scared to have that level of attention targeted on me, all I feel is aroused and overwhelmed.

“Why? Why do you even care? We barely know each other.” Also, aren’t vampires like deathly allergic to the sun? Currently, the sun is high in the sky, and he seems to be okay. “How are you in the sun right now, Mr. Vampire?” I lift my brows at him, sure that I’ve caught him on some line of bullshit.

He laughs at me. Hard. “I’m in the sun because of my sire line. Anyone who shares blood with the Goddess Aeliana can walk in the sun.”

My brows furrow in confusion, but it drags me out of whatever attention deficit horniness I seem to suffer from around him. “I, uh, I have no idea what that even means, and, more importantly, I don’t care. Now, please get the fuck out of my tree, and don’t hit your ass on the way down. Or do. I don’t give a shit either way.”

“Are you sure you’re not dying to know ancient vampire lore? I’ll tell you anything you wanna know. Plus, I’ve been bored as shit sitting out here, waiting for her Highness to wake up.”

I let out a gasp. “Okay, first off, that was extremely rude. My sleep schedule does not concern you, bat-boy-wannabe. Second off, I don’t want to be bored to death listening to your narcissism gone wild.” I flip my hair. “In the meantime, if you don’t leave, then, by all means, go ahead and freeze out there. ” I smirk at him.

“Is it cold? I can’t tell. Being a bat-boy-wannabe and all, the temperature doesn’t phase me. But I’m sure I can make some room on the tree for you and warm you up, if you want to join me.” He wiggles his brows at me like this is funny to him.

“Seriously, you’re delusional. Something is really wrong with you. And I’m done playing this game. Goodbye, puppy. Hope you can find something to do out there all alone.” I look at my vanity and notice the box of tissues, and a devious thought pops into my head. I grab the tissue box and toss it out the window at Chris. I wink at him, slamming the window closed and locking it with a quick gesture.

Chris just shakes his head at me with a smile on his face and readjusts his position on the tree so he can lean back against the trunk.

Sighing, I pull my curtains shut over the window, ignoring his frown just before he loses sight of me. I guess he isn’t going to leave. So much for trying to move on and forget everything that happened the other night.