“Can you drive? Have you taken drivers education?” I buckled myself up and Tatsou pulled us onto the road. He accelerated and drove the care like he had stolen it. Okay, so he knew how to drive, and probably better than I did.
“I learned last night,” he offered an answer, and I rubbed my queasy stomach. I turned the music on the radio to a low hum and closed my eyes. Sights of Tatsou killing those vampires would haunt me.
“I should not have brought you there.”
My eyes shot open, and I looked at him. Could he be feeling remorse?
“I wish you didn’t.”
“The vampires you saw are water-downed versions of a true vampire. Stronger than a human, faster, but that is all.” He seemed to be talking to me but also to himself, revealing more of his vampire side than he had before. I wanted to know more, so I grabbed the water placed in the cup holder and swished down the taste of vomit.
“Will you tell me more?”
Chapter Eighteen
Tatsou
“Another time.”
Two words that had been running through my mind since I uttered them yesterday. I drove Katsumi’s car back to her studio and helped her inside. She wanted a bath and to draw her dress pictures for the rest of the day. She didn’t speak to me, nor did she mutter to herself like normal. I’d assumed the violence at the club had broken her for good, but when it was time for her to sleep, she asked something I’d never expect her to.
“Will you be in the room with me while I sleep?” she asked, knowing I was in the other room and could hear her.
“Why?” I’d quickly moved to her side, gaze probing her for ill motivations. Her cheeks blushed but then she snuggled into her pillow.
“You are scarier than any of the vampires we saw today. If they try to come after me for revenge, they will have to go through you first.” She closed her eyes and my heart beat a little faster than before. She’d asked me to stay and guard her while she slept, fearing the other vampires over me, the one who created the carnage. I’d brought her into that place and she could have gotten hurt . . . a fact that didn’t feel right in my mind.
Nonetheless, I’d stayed in her room for four hours then ran back to Osaka. She had a point of them coming after her for revenge. Any of the vampires could trace her via scent or modern technology. So I went back to the club and killed all who had been there. They had indeed been plotting ways to get revenge on me, so Katsumi’s fears had been validated. They lived off the heightened power over humans, but really they were no better than a fox in a small forest, feasting and taking as they pleased until a bigger predator came and shredded them apart. They were easy to kill, and I tried to quickly clear the room without a bloodbath. The city was cleansed of about fifty vampires by the morning sun. I broke a few of the blacked-out windows and let the light do its thing. Not all vampires could resist the sun’s rays. Only the originals or those bitten by an original could.
I watched their bodies burn to ash and ran back to the studio before Katsumi woke up. I changed into a shirt without rips in the sleeves from vampire nails, then slipped into her room. She rested calmly, and I wondered how she could be so calm and trusting with a monster like me in the house. After about twenty minutes, she grew restless and slowly opened her eyes.
“No other vampires with revenge plots in the house, right?” She closed her eyes and smiled after tucking the blanket under her chin. Her choice of words earned her a smirk.
“Only one.”
“That’s good. One is plenty.”
She opened her eyes again and stared at me. I didn’t sense fear; instead, she looked just happy to wake up, something I think most humans forget to be grateful for. She yawned and stretched her arms, and I couldn’t resist thinking about her mouth.
Her chat with Rei bothered me, and I wanted to know why she had refused him. Most of the women I’d known chose to be with the man for status or the men wanted them. Rarely did you find couples who married for love. Katsumi wouldn’t settle for less than that rare love. It surprised me, as did many things about the girl. When I had seen her sitting in her dress clothes in the water, I demanded to understand her. She wanted the spark . . . to feel something other than flesh and meek attraction. I, however, did not see another reason to be with someone. She had no choice but to kiss me after I compelled her to. My magic could only go so far, but when her arms wrapped around me, her body adhering to mine, and her wicked lips seduced me, I understood. The rush beat my heart like the taste of blood. I greedily wanted to consume more of her spark. Had it not been for my fang nipping her, I wondered how far I would have let that feeling direct me. While all vampires’ fangs descend when aroused or hungry, only the older vampires could command them at will. I was hungry for Katsumi, but not for her blood. Something shot through me with her kiss that hummed beneath my skin, and only her touch would soothe it.
“Do I have drool on my face?”
I’d been staring at her mouth long enough for her to notice.
“No, I am thinking about kissing you again,” I said and watched as she pulled the blanket up to cover her face. Normally, this would piss me off, but I heard a tiny chuckle. After a minute, she peeled the blanket from her face and fashioned a serious expression.
“Are you still planning to use me and kill my sister and me?” I could see where her words would take us. If I wanted to explore her spark, then I couldn’t kill her or her sister. Interesting to see how little she cared about her father or mother. She’d die for her sister’s happiness, a familiar trait I unfortunately admired.
“Yes.” Spark or no, I needed to claim my honor by destroying the Sakura family that butchered my people, the only true family I knew after becoming a vampire.
“Then no kissing for you.” She shrugged and I mirrored the action. No amount of her lip magic would change my mind. I stood and stretched as she had, arms up high. Her gazed dipped to my lower abdomen where my shirt rose. I snorted at her perusal and wondered how hard her resolve to not kiss me was. Would she give in despite the threat against her family? Probably not, but Katsumi was prone to clumsy mistakes. Along with plotting against her family, I could play the game to test her power of will. No time like the present. I moved over her and her eyes widened that I’d gone from the window to a mere breath’s distance away.
“I could make you kiss me.” I leaned in, and her mouth gaped at the closeness. Her body trembled and I smiled. Who would have thought I’d enjoy teasing this little kitten so much? Who also would have thought her spark would closely compare to the thrill of drinking blood?
“You could, but we know I’d keep the majority of myself from you if you did,” she countered and dared to lean closer, the heat from her lips rolled through me like a shot of electricity. Dangerous woman. I’d had enough for now. She wasn’t giving in, and I didn’t feel like forcing her again. I flew off her and stood by the slider to the living room.
“I refuse to do organized crime business today. I need to work on these outfits if I’m gonna have them ready by next week.” She jumped out of bed and wagged her finger back and forth at me.
