“I’m sorry. I think everything just caught up with me. I have been busier than ever at work, and I’m dating this beautiful woman whom I stay up late messaging sometimes.”
Iro smiled and hoped it registered in her tone.
“That woman was very worried about you today.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m normally staring at my phone all day, but we were in a conference room, and I was staring at a TV on the wall as people presented things to me. I’m one of those people who like to give someone my full, undivided attention, so I usually don’t look at my phone in those situations. You just caught me on a bad day, but I’m okay, and I want to see you, beautiful Arwen.”
“Okay. I’ll be there around eight-thirty. Is that all right? I need to get dressed first. I already put my pajamas on.”
“The same shorts from last night?”
“Uh… No. Those are… dirty.”
“Shame,” Iro replied, remembering the smell of her and closing her eyes as she reached between her thighs. “They did look good on you.”
“Oh, yeah?” Arwen asked.
“Yes. I’d like to see you in them again soon.”
“I have other shorts, Iro.”
“Yes. Bring some with you tonight and stay.”
She stroked her clit softly, working herself up as she listened to Arwen’s breathing.
“Stay the night?”
“Yes,” she repeated and bit on her bottom lip.
“I’ll pack an overnight bag,” Arwen replied.
“Please,” she said, not referring to the bag as she found her growing wetness and stroked a little faster.
“I’ll see you soon.”
“Goodbye, sweet Arwen.”
Seconds after she hung up, Iro came at her own hand. Then, she stood and dressed so that she could hit the corner market to pick up food and get some time under the moonlight as well, needing its energy to help her get through the night. As she walked there, she checked her phone for other messages, making sure to respond to any urgent work needs after her emergency day out of the office. Later, while in line to check out, holding a basket of food in her other hand, she scrolled through the news. There was an article about a cat who could play the piano, as well as yet another piece about New York City’s missing persons problem, which was just like Cassia to leave a trail that the news people talked about for weeks. Finally, it was her turn to check out with her purchases, go back home to eat something herself before Arwen arrived for their date, and hopefully, she would be able to get a good night’s sleep with blackout curtains and Arwen in bed beside her.
CHAPTER 19
Zara
Iro headed down the stairs of her brownstone, and Zara followed her all the way to the corner market and back, staying on the other side of the street and behind her so that she wouldn’t be noticed. When Iro stopped for a second to check her surroundings, Zara hid behind a car so as not to be seen, but then, she continued her task when Iro resumed walking because Cassia had asked her to check in on the woman tonight, wanting to know what Iro was up to and if whatever it was would be involving Arwen. Zara herself had gotten a text from Arwen earlier that day asking if she wanted to do something that night, and she’d declined, which likely meant that Arwen would be doing something with Iro.
Pretty soon, she found out that she’d been right about that because when Iro arrived at her front door, Arwen was walking down the street, probably from the nearest train station. She was all smiles and looked almost giddy, from what Zara could tell. Iro turned and smiled when she saw her, and her smile looked giddy, too. Zara already wanted to throw up, but she had to watch Iro walk back down the stairs and kiss Arwen, and her stomach roiled.Shewanted to be the one to kiss Arwen. Her fangs began to emerge, and she bit into her bottom lip, tasting her own blood. Finding that that calmed her enough, she let the fangs retreat and felt her bottom lip heal almost instantly.
Their kiss ended quickly, thankfully, but then, Arwen leaned back in, and that kiss, right in the middle of the sidewalk, lasted much longer. Iro put down the bag she was holding and wrapped her arms around Arwen’s waist. Arwen had hers around Iro’s shoulders. They stood like that, locked in a full-body embrace for a few minutes before they finally separated, and Arwen laughed while she continued to hold on to Iro and Iro to her.
Zara watched them for a moment longer, and the vision she had had for her life started to slowly disappear, along with Iro and Arwen, who went inside the house. It really started to seem like Arwen would never be hers at this point, and Zara was immortal now. She would never age. She’d never get sick again. She’d yet to feel tired, and so far, she’d been having the best sex of her life and had been fed well, thanks to Cassia. Of course, Zara also had a responsibility now. Her name was Amy, and she was thirty-five years old. She would now alwaysstaythirty-five years old because of her. Zara hadn’t meant to kill her. She had stopped when Cassia had told her to, or so she’d thought, but Cassia had said that she’d waited until the second command to stop feeding, and when Amy had only had so much blood left, those extra few seconds could make a difference.
Zara hadn’t been able to reconcile the fact that she had killed someone at first, so Cassia had had to remind her that she hadn’t killed Amy; Amy had been reborn. In the hours since she had woken, she had already begun to adjust to her new reality, but sadly, she wasn’t into women. Or, at least, as Cassia had said, not yet.
“All vampires become moreopen-mindedat some point in their long lives,” Cassia had noted while they had watched Amy feed for the first time. “Now, I need you to go check on my Iro and your Arwen.”
Zara had followed Cassia’s command without a second thought, and she hadn’t even been concerned about that fact. She had wanted to know what Iro would be up to that night as well and whether or not it would include Arwen. Now that she’d confirmed her suspicions, and they were probably inside for the night, Zara leaned back against the post behind her and thought about what the two of them would be doing. She pictured them in Iro’s probably overly expensive home, with lavish furnishings, if it were anything like Cassia’s place. She thought about how they had no problem making out in the middle of the street, so they’d probably just carry on with that in the house. The grocery bag Iro had carried would be on the floor, and Arwen would be on the couch or maybe even on a kitchen counter. Their clothes would be off by now, and Iro would be inside her…
Zara growled at that thought because she didn’t want anyone else to touch the womansheloved. Some guy walked down the street toward her, and her fangs reemerged again, indicating that she was hungry or angry. She didn’t think she was hungry, but as Cassia had explained, she would probably always be hungry now. She was angry without a doubt, but she still wasn’t over what she had done to Amy, and she also couldn’t just leave an accidental dead body on the street, especially right outside Iro’s house, so she walked past the guy and found her car.
