“I’m mad at you.” She lifted her nose but continued to move closer.
“When are you not mad at me for something?” I joked with a straight face. Teasing her had been my second favorite thing to do with her. Basking in her spark was the first.
“But I want you.” Her body warmed, and the cherry blossom scent of her wafted into the air. My fangs dropped in response, and I fought the urge to take her.
“I have that effect,” I said.
“I don’t know what to do, I’m not myself anymore.” She stopped her advance with a foot between us. I knew what her body wanted—blood and to fuck. But that didn’t mean that’s what she needed right now.
“I’m going to help you adjust to being a vampire,” I declared, trying to give her space to find her own person again. I had taken her choice away, and I didn’t regret it. Kat was an independent woman who valued being in control of her life. I could try to give her that for now.
“Then?” she breathed, and her scent made my cock rise against my pants.
“Temptress,” I whispered, and vanished to the other side of the room. I relieved the slight pressure of the zipper by standing but Kat moved with vampire speed and stood before me, her hand against my cock.
“Kat.” I growled a warning, then blinked and she was on the bed like she hadn’t woken up.
“Tatsou, are you okay?” Hiromi asked from the corner chair behind me. I sat next to the bed, instead of standing against the wall. Quickly, I glanced at Hiromi, and she stared at me like I had lost my mind. Kat mumbled in her sleep, and I shifted my attention back to her. Was it all a dream? Vampire’s don’t dream.
Her eyelids fluttered and then she slowly opened them. Her irises weren’t glowing, and she didn’t scream like before.
“Kat, oh thank fuck you’re okay.” Hiromi rushed to her, and Kat winced. Her hand moved to her throat. New vampires could control their thirst if they wanted. They just usually didn’t care to. In whatever dream I had or mindfuck that occurred, Kat had been angry. Angry vampires were prone to bloody mistakes.
“I’m still a vampire, right?” Her voice had a raspy tinge to it.
“Yeah, you still look hot, though,” her sister answered from the corner, unsure whether she should approach Kat or not.
“At least I got that going for me. Do my eyes do the swirly, glowing thing yours do?” She sat up and faced me completely. My beautiful flower, my beauty in nightmares. As the notion hit my thoughts, so did another. My jaw slacked and Kat noticed.
“What?”
“You have influence over the mind. That’s what that was. You can make people live a beautiful dream or a nightmare in their heads. A rare gift, for a rare flower.” Fuck, she manipulated my thoughts to show me what I wanted. I wanted her to wake up and not hate me. Her actions were not conscious but with training, they could be.
“So the shadow thing is a Tatsou only thing. Now I have a superpower, too?”
“Yes,” I confirmed, and she surprised me with a smile.
“Cool. Maybe being a vampire won’t be so bad after all. Hard to die, I can smell someone cooking chicken in the apartment a few floors down, and I have a superpower of nightmares. Take that, Bella Cullen!”
I fucking loved this woman.
Chapter Thirty- Nine
Katsumi
My emotions jumped around so fast, I grew tired with each passing moment. Part of me was pissed at Tatsou for changing me, but after witnessing firsthand how psycho my ex-father lived, I couldn’t exactly blame him. Should the vamp have talked to me, yes. Then it would have been my choice. However, Romi lived because of my vampire strength to get her out. I survived because I was close to an original vampire. Tatsou loved me, and I loved him.
“Are you going to forgive him?” my sister asked, and I shrugged. Being around her made my fangs involuntarily drop, but Tatsou had taken me out and taught me how to feed. I didn’t glut myself because vampire or not, I wouldn’t take someone’s life. I hated drinking blood from people, but this was the life I lived now.
“He saved our lives by changing you,” she added, not willing to give up on the subject. Losing Takeo demolished her heart. She now cared only about me and her anger. I prayed that one day she would find joy again. Suddenly, Tatsou walked into the building with bags of groceries, quickly put them away, then left the apartment. He’d given me space, and I appreciated it but didn’t know if I really needed it anymore.
“Would I be too soft or a doormat if I forgave him? He’s done terrible things and changing me is at the top of the list.” Truthfully, I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for his original plan to kill my family, except the more I thought of it, my father would have eventually brought me into the criminal business, then sold me off to be a bride. Tatsou only expedited the process.
“I don’t think so. He hasn’t been pressuring you to be with him or forgive him. You also fell in love with him knowing who and what he is. Asshole and all. From what you’ve told me, he even warned you he is a monster, and he won’t change. However, despite that, he has changed. He saved me, did something horrible for you, and will obliterate the world to protect you. You gave him meaning in this new life of his.”
“I think this whole shitstorm has taught me one thing. Life really is short. Be with the ones you love before death grabs them. Find something to give you meaning no matter the circumstances. You’re a vampire. No going back now. Make the most of life, Kitty Kat. You can still make dresses for a while, then when you need to, be an anonymous new designer that never shows her face. If you want a wedding, I’m willing to bet a thousand yen Tatsou would do it for you. If you want kids, then adopt. Your life isn’t over. This is just a new chapter.” A tiny lift of her lips blossomed love in my slowly beating heart.
“What would I do without you?” I reached over to hug her, grateful I could be around her without killing her. So many vampire books I’d read made new vampires look like savages for blood. There was a lust for sure, but it was manageable. Tatsou said the originals didn’t know what happened to them so giving in to the urge felt like the natural thing to do. The diluted vampires I’d come in contact with were just assholes and greedy.
