4. Willow

Chapter 4

Bruce Bloodworth stands with the refrigerator door opened, as if storing bags of blood in the fridge is completely normal. "This is Korn synthetic blood."

I exhale, happy to hear it's not his own blood, or someone else's. For a moment, I thought his wounds were more serious than I'd first assumed.

"I am concerned," he continues, "that if I do not drink this blood I will behave inappropriately. And it is important that you come to me with full consent. It is against our laws to lock another into a frenzy against their will."

I look him up and down, because for some reason it's only now hitting me hard that this man isn't human. "So you have to drink all this blood in order to stay away from me?"

"I have this blood as an antidote. This supply was left behind by the military, as standard procedure. I didn't think I'd have reason to use it, but now that I've met you it's been essential. I don't know if I'll have enough. I've already drank two bags during the time since you've been nearby, this is the only reason why I am behaving reasonably. It helps to decrease the need."

I love it when he repeats his "need" for me. "This is you behaving reasonably?"

"Yes."

"Drinking this blood means we can stay together for a while and get to know each other better?"

"I think you should go into a bedroom upstairs right now and lock the door because at some point I will run out of blood. This is when I will not be able to control my lust."

Ooh. And why does that sound fabulous? I bite my lip again to stop from smiling because now I see his wine rack holds my favorite type of Viognier. "I could do that," I agree, "or… we can eat dinner together." I put a hand on my stomach and hold up a bottle of wine. "Because I'm hungry and we could talk and spend time together."

"Willow, are you listening to me? I will get progressively worse. If I run out of blood, even though our joining would be illegal, I will be trying to talk you into having sex with me and allowing me to mark you with my fangs."

I shrug, looking for nice wine glasses because drinking out of plastic cups while hanging out in this luxury kitchen is depressing. "That doesn't sound so bad to me."

He groans and shakes his head. "I have done my best to stop this between us and to keep you safe."

"You have," I agree. "And yes, maybe another woman would be running in the opposite direction right now. But for some reason all I want is to get closer. And it breaks my heart that you think it's illegal for us to be together. How could your own people have decided you couldn't ever have a wife, girlfriend or kids because you're scarred or simply wounded? I don't know the whole story but I can tell you already there has to be a work-around for that nonsense. I need to get to the bottom of this. Can you explain to me better what blood frenzy means? All I've heard is that it's a bonding."

"I will sink my fangs in your neck and drink your blood."

I place a hand against my neck. "Oh, is it going to hurt?"

"No, it will not. When I sink my fangs in your skin it releases a painkiller."

"Oh good."

Is he staring at my neck?

"And when does this happen? Is it during some sort of ceremony…?"

"While we are having sex, when I am inside of you, I will sink my fangs into your neck and ingest your blood and at that moment there will be a heightened response to both of our orgasms."

I stare at him in wonder and shift on my feet again to decrease the heat between my thighs. I know already that his species does not need to drink blood daily to survive. They only share blood between each other to solidify contracts or for special ceremonies. And now I know they also do this during sex.

It seems like a good time to change the subject. "How about I make dinner now? You can relax and sit while I get food ready for us."

He nods and takes a seat at the nearest kitchen island.

"I know you get groceries. Do you have anything to eat?"

"I received more supplies this morning. You can check to see if there's anything you like."

I open white cabinets that I think might hold some food and that's when I discover he has the exact same spaghetti sauce I purchase. Not only that, the exact same pasta. I look over at him and give him a big smile. "Ooh, you've got the exact same type of sauce and pasta that I purchase. Have you tried this?"

Is he flushing with embarrassment?

"No, not yet."

And I look in his cupboards further and find a pot to boil water. He has a very nice set of pots and pans. And I find pasta dishes to plate the spaghetti exactly how I like, flat almost like a plate but with a rim around the edge. "Is it okay if I keep looking? If I open up more cupboards, the fridge and everything?"

"Please feel comfortable. Use this kitchen as if it were yours."

"I wish," I whisper, gazing longingly at the shiny marble counters, the top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances and not one, but two kitchen islands.

And that's when I notice the pink box I brought is in the trash, because it's empty. "Did you already eat all six of the treats?"

"I was waiting a very long time for you to depart and they were tasty."

"Oh, well that's good. Which one did you like the best?"

"I still enjoyed the items you call donuts. The other one, with the green spread on the top was good too."

"Hmm…sounds like you're still a fan of the Old-Fashioned donuts and you like the pistachio and…" I open the fridge and let out a screech because I'm startled all over again by the bags of blood.

Bruce stands as if readying to come to my rescue.

I wave a hand at him. "That's all right," I laugh. "Sorry, about that. I promise I'm becoming used to it." I reach around behind the blood and find the wrapped block of the exact Parmesan that I like to use. "How did you know this is what I purchase? You even have the same grater I use."

"They told me when I questioned them at the grocery store."

I open the freezer and find a package of frozen baguettes. He's even got frozen croissants, ciabatta, sourdough and English muffins. "You even get fresh, artisan bread delivered and all you have to do is bake it?"

"I like it. Human food is very good. I foresee that the various foods from your species around this world will become your number one export. Your agricultural products and the creative meals are unlike anything on my planet or anywhere else in the four sectors. I think you'll be famous for your agriculture. And your donuts."

I turn on the oven to preheat. "Is that a smile? Are you telling a joke?"

He looks away.

"Hmm. And what do we get in response for sharing our fabulous food products?"

"High tech, especially medical technology which can save or improve millions of lives."

"Oh, that's wonderful." I fill up the pot with water and get it on the stove to start the boil. The oven is already heated to the right temperature, so I toss the cold baguette inside directly on the middle rack. "You know this kitchen is beautiful and huge. I love the island in the middle and in fact the two islands. This stove is fancy and it's the type of appliance that normally I would never even see in real life. My commercial kitchen is nice, but the kitchen at my home is just an apartment. This is my dream kitchen."

He shrugs. "It was like this when I arrived. I find it acceptable."

"Why did you decide to move to this exact home?"

"The space of this human domicile is comparable to the family home where I was raised. The terrain is also comparable to the area where I lived on my own planet. I was raised in a warmer mountain climate than most of the rest of my species."

I pull out a smaller pot to heat the spaghetti sauce and don't even bother to add hamburger meat because I want the pure sauce. I glance over my shoulder and give him a smile. "You know this house looks a little spooky on the outside."

"Spooky?" His brow furrows.

"Scary, intimidating."

"Why?"

"It's considered mysterious because not that many people have ever been invited up here and all the people who lived here in the past also lived alone, like you do. The outside is a bit dark. I think all it needs is a lighter coat of paint and a lot of bushes trimmed or taken out. Just an updating. Right now, it looks on the outside a little bit dilapidated. Which doesn't match the inside, because it's beautiful in here. I'm surprised, in fact, just how nice it is in here. It's also sparkling clean."

"The upper floors and the two towers were dusty and moldy when I arrived. I hired some local humans to do some of the major remodeling of the bedrooms upstairs that needed updating. But I've imported cleaning bots and repair bots and they did most of the work. I brought them with me. I was surprised to discover that Justice and Hale had not brought any. I thought this would be a good technology humans would appreciate."

I turn down the heat on both the pots so I can walk away for a second. "Oh, I want to see."

He opens a large utility closet in the hallway behind the kitchen.

I walk inside and see a whole wall of "bots" charging in standby.

"They clean the bathrooms, can do the dishes and make beds. They put away clothes and the repair bots can also fix appliances or anything that tears or breaks down in the house." Bruce turns one of them on and releases it and it whirrs to life and starts to work, busy cleaning the kitchen floor.

The cleaning bot is small and adorable. The repair bots are taller and more substantial. They are not intimidating at all and instead are almost like having the most expensive floor cleaner, on remote, if it was also like a pet at the same time. "Oh, these will be very popular."

I feel a vibration from my phone and take it out of my pocket. My mom has already sent me five different texts. "Just a sec, I have to respond to my mom real quick or I'll never have a moment's peace."

I wander down the hall, back to the kitchen and give her a quick update, letting her know that I can't get towed until tomorrow, and Bruce is taking me in for the night.

I'm coming to get you.

No, you're not. You can't drive at night and the rain is making these roads dangerous. This isn't an emergency. I'm safe. Stay home.

I'm sending someone else to get you.

No. Leave this alone. I'm staying here tonight and that's my final decision.

You're staying the night in that Korn's mansion? Just the two of you?

Yes.

If he hurts you he's as good as dead.

I roll my eyes. Mom, stop. It's fine. I'll text you tomorrow morning when the tow truck arrives.

Grr. She sends a mad face emoji.

I turn off my phone and tuck it in my pocket. Then I glance up and see that Bruce was gazing at my ass.

"I need another bag of backup blood." He announces. In moments he opens the fridge and grabs a bag. He flips open the built-in straw at the top.

"Wait, are you going to drink that right in front of me?"

He pauses. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

I blow out a breath. "No, no problem. Carry on." I need to get used to this. I feel more for him than a simple crush. In fact I could already be seriously falling in love with him, which started the moment we stood together in from of the pasta section. And if I follow through with this and basically marry this guy, our children would most likely drink blood on special occasions too. I cannot be grossed out by this.

He drinks the whole container of blood, gulping it down. Afterwards he wipes a small drop of blood off his lips and then goes and washes his hands in the luxurious sink. I can immediately tell that he feels better. There's more color in his cheeks and a smile on his face.

He sits again on his preferred bench at the edge of the nearest kitchen island and watches me cook.

I turn on the heat for the pots again. In moments the water is boiling and I put a whole package of spaghetti into the water without breaking it in half. I let the dry part stick out of the boiling water for a moment and monitor when I can use a tool to dent the softened bottom and push it all inside, under the roiling water.

"You look more relaxed," I tell him.

"This is deceptive because I'm still on the prowl."

"Like an animal?"

"I will be doing my best to try and talk you into it saying yes."

I pour the jar of sauce into the other warm pot and cover it with a lid. "What's wrong with that?"

"I might be so good at talking you into it, the next morning you could be left feeling that you didn't really agree. Because how could any female Korn or human or from any other species want to meet and have offspring with a male who is dishonored? I think you don't truly understand that I am a male that is considered the lowest of the low. No female would choose me. I can't trick you by not making sure you're not aware of that. You couldn't be giving your proper consent because you didn't know all the details."

"This is like purchasing a used car. You could end up getting a lemon because you don't know all the details of the car's history."

He must feel comfortable because next thing I know he's telling me some long story which I suspect he hasn't really told that many people. "I am a wounded war veteran. But I am dishonored."

"How could you be dishonored?"

"I was wounded in the middle of a battle and amongst the Korn this is the worst kind of dishonor. The whole time I was on the ship for a month coming here I was mainly isolated in my cabin because none of the crew wanted anything to do with me."

"That's terrible."

He shrugs. "If the roles are reversed, I would have done the same. I understand. The moment I was defeated in battle I knew there would be the scars of dishonor. I took this position originally because I needed to get away from my home planet and start fresh. After what happened in the war I am scarred for life. There are wounds on my chest and the knee of my left leg is not perfectly stable. None of these can be fixed because they weren't given in battle by another Korn at the height the battle juices flow in our veins that cause scarring to become permanent. When skin is torn the wound will never permanently heal I know that I received these weapons because my opponent cheated. But I cannot claim this because then I'm just a whiner supposed to remain stuck. I'm not entirely an outcast. I was chosen for this position after all. My life as a soldier has gone. Females literally avoid me because they consider it terrible the thought of accidentally thrown into a blood frenzy with someone like me."

"This is all so shocking for someone like me to hear. You said they've made it illegal for you to ever marry or have children?"

"It is illegal for me to breed because I've been designated as having "Bad Blood." I have been taken off the mating database. I cannot have offspring."

"Why? Is it something physical? An injury, something you were born with?"

"No, although I do have injuries. I'm considered not worthy for my genes to be carried on."

I take a deep breath. I see again that he is wearing long sleeves and a turtleneck. I thought it was simply a t shirt he was wearing but it isn't.

"I'm scarred for life. Because of this, in the battle, I am dishonored for life." He frowns. "I was not allowed a med lab to fully heal my leg wound. Nor am I allowed a replacement leg."

I put my hands on my hips. "There are replacement legs on your planet and you weren't given one?"

"Normally I could choose between organic or robotic. But in my circumstance, I am allowed neither. My scars would also normally have been repaired."

"Okay, so the reason you aren't allowed to mate isn't something physically wrong with your... It's not something where you can't…"

He bears his fangs. "No, I can perform."

"You want to, but it is illegal. Is it illegal on Korn but also here on Earth?"

"All Korn must follow the law even though they are off planet. If I were to commit to a blood frenzy with a human and mark her as mine and breed, for it to be accepted by the Korn, I would need to be given a special dispensation."

"Who can do that?"

"The King."

I pause because the pasta is ready. I take the pot off the stove and dump the entire contents into a strainer I've placed in the sink. Then I return the pot. "Can we get that dispensation from him?"

"It has never been done, well once a millennium ago."

"Hmm." I put out two different pasta dishes and start to plate our meal. "Never in all this time has someone who has been designated as "Bad Blood" ever wanted to mate outside of their species and been given a special dispensation?"

"Asking for this is also considered dishonorable but isn't illegal. I do not know."

"Maybe we can find out by asking your coworkers?"

He shakes his head.

I pull the bread out of the oven and use a long, serrated knife to cut it into warm slices. "Dinner's ready."

And then the lights flicker and the room is plunged into darkness.