Mahina’s eyes narrowed and she raised a hand. “Waiting and watching are not your strengths. But there’s no other way, you handsome, spoiled child.”
I did wait. And only ten years later, my scribe came to me.
Meghan…
James left me alone for a few days, but he always came back. This time, it was with the pale, sweaty girl that I was sure was an addict.
Currently…
And oh, god, it hurt so much. As much as the first time when he’d viciously latched on to my neck. This time he’d chosen my inner thigh, the thin skin splitting easily under the pressure of his teeth and worse, his whiskered cheek was rubbing against my clit.
It hurt too much for me to feel any pleasure from that, but as my flailing hand tried to push his head away, it brushed over my center and I was shocked to feel a hot pulse of … something there.
Fortunately, I passed out from the agony of his feeding before I could question it again.
James was in bed with me as I was forced back into consciousness. This time, his cool fingertips were stroking over the skin on my back in wide, sweeping motions and I shuddered, trying to move away.
“Don’t move, doll.” His voice was irritated, almost angry as if I’d interrupted a big meeting or an important phone call.
Cautiously moving my leg, fingertips tracing down I felt smooth, unbroken skin again, just like last time. How could he tear me apart so easily but nothing remained as proof? My back was itchy, tingling as his fingers traced my shoulder blades, my spine. I twitched, unable to hold it back.
“Please stop.”
There was a smile as James rolled me over onto my back, his plush lips still red from feeding on me. “Just touching your skin can’t be as personal, as invasive as my teeth inside you. Sucking you.”
My eyes narrowed. I fucking hated this … guy. I still couldn’t quite use the “V” word in casual conversation. The mere concept seemed so impossible, like I’d be admitting I was as insane as he was.
“You don’t have to make it hurt, do you? The others, they don’t feel any pain.”
James was wearing some thin sleep pants and nothing else aside from the elaborate scrollwork of tattoos covering his left arm. The tattoos were words twining into each other, it was a language I didn’t recognize. Maybe Cyrillic?
“It doesn’t have to hurt, my sweet little doll. You can just say…” he leaned close, breathing in my horror, “...fuck. And I’ll take good care of you.”
“You’ll drain me dry first, you sick bastard,” I blurted, but he only laughed at me.
After forcing me to drink a bottle of water and then some juice, he rolled me over onto my side again and slid in behind me, enveloping me completely. “Sleep, doll.”
I woke abruptly, still halfway into the terrors of my dream, gasping. The heavily muscled arm slung over my hip was like lead, heavy, utterly still. There was no soft inhale/exhale to make that massive chest pressed against my back move. The feeling that a corpse was cradling me became too overwhelming and I put a hand on James’ arm, trying to push him away. Something rose on his skin under my fingertips and it stopped me.
Tiny, perfectly shaped letters in an old-style font. Precise and clear.
“Romania. The Romanescu. Seventeen hundred and thirty-one. The first son.” My mouth shaped the words silently as my fingers moved, watching the delicate letters appear and disappear. The markings raised on his arm were blood red, vivid on his dusky skin. Tentatively, I ran my index finger higher to his bicep.
“Strigoi,”I whispered.
“What does it say?”
His voice was loud in my ear and I yelped a little. Yanking my hand away, mindlessly shaking my head. “Nothing. I just thought it was a … a birthmark.”
“Liar.”
I slid off the bed, landing on my ass and tried pushing myself backward, away from him but James prowled after me on all fours, head lowered like a wolf.
“It was nothing, it’s just … gibberish.” He’d crawled over me by now, caging me with his thick arms and legs. His face was inches from mine, making me shudder.
“Do you know what happens to bad girls who lie?” His mouth was a thin slash, pupils expanding to create the black, bottomless gaze that always terrified me. “Liars get punished.” James lazily nuzzled me in contrast to his cruel words. “But you know I could never punish you, doll. So…” he sighed heavily, sitting up. “I’ll have to bring in someone else to punish.”
“No!” I sat up too, hands mindlessly reaching out. “Don’t- not another one, please don’t do that!”
