‘Look, I know it’s tempting. But trust me, you don’t want to spend the first night of the rest of your immortal life with vampire blood on your hands.’
Hmm, Lucy is awfully chatty now that she’s not under Alexander’s thrall. But I suppose it makes sense. And I need to figure out how to get back to Sadie, who’s probably worried sick about me.
I sigh and edge away from the wooden bucket, which, although clean, still emits the faint aroma of poo. My vampire nose is extra sensitive, something that surprises me. Even more, I can see in the dark, which is pretty cool. Lucy is standing before me surrounded by a purple light that picks out the shadows in her sunken cheeks.
‘Plus I want to get back to my house and see if my cat is still alive. I’ve been stuck here for weeks,’ she adds.
I relent and sweep my arm towards the door. ‘Fine. Lead the way.’
‘Gladly,’ shesays.
‘What about your friends?’ I ask, remembering it’s not just us here. ‘Should we rescue them too?’
She shakes her head sadly. ‘Alexander keeps them all on a tight leash upstairs. There’s no way we can break his enthrallment to get them out, not without endangering ourselves.’
Lucy opens the dungeon door with one finger as if it’s as light as a feather, and we step through into a stone corridor bordered by a set of steps at one end. ‘I’m confused,’ I whisper. ‘How did you become a vampire? Didn’t Alexander turn you?’
‘No, he didn’t,’ she whispers back. ‘There’s no time to explain. Let’s get out of here first before he suspects anything’s up. He’s going to be furious when he discovers we’re both missing, along with these ...’ She pats the pocket of her skirt, which clinks softly, but I don’t ask questions. For now, I want to be outside these castle walls, safe from danger, and revel in my new-found vampiric state. It’s a goddamn miracle!
***
Lucy leads the way up the short flight of stairs, and we wind along a narrow corridor, which slopes upwards. At the end of this, she opens a studded wooden door. It creaks slightly;and we tense, poised, her eyes raised to the stone ceiling above, listening for any movement. When none comes, she places a finger to her lips and motions for me to slip through the gap. It’s such a relief to be out of that gloomy dungeon, and I’m so eager to escape that I hardly take any notice of my surroundings. Except for the fact that we’re in a kitchen and the fittings are surprisingly modern. And there’s a sign on the wall that says ‘Home Sweet Home’, which makes me want to laugh. I’m starting to think this is a Scottish retreat that Alexander has booked on Airbnb. I’ll have to pump Lucy for more information once we’re outside.
Speaking of pumping, I’m also very aware that my cock is hard and quite interested in following closely behind Lucy, even though she isn’t wearing the saucy French maid’s outfit anymore, but jeans and a top. I’m going to have to be on my guard as she’s a new vampire too, and no doubt she’s feeling as intensely horny as I am. I have nothing against undead sex per se, but I don’t want to do it with her. I want my first time as a vampire to be with Sadie, the woman I—
‘This way, Elliott,’ Lucy whispers. Before I can react, she forcibly pulls me through a side door, and we pop out into cold fragrant night air peppered with the scent of pine. It’s been raining, and I can smell wet earth and the herby scent of grass. Above us, a cluster of silver stars twinkles in theblack velvet sky, and I detect the sharp metallic scent of ozone.
A door clangs somewhere inside the castle, and we freeze. Lucy gently closes the kitchen door and locks it silently with an iron key.
‘Run!’ she hisses and sprints off into the nearby undergrowth. The castle appears to be surrounded by dense forest on one side, which is an excellent hiding spot. Alexander will never find us in here.
Resisting the urge to whoop, I bound off after Lucy, easily keeping her in sight as she whips through the violet trees, my footfalls deadened by leaf litter. This is fun! I wish Sadie were here so we could run through the forest like fawns together. But knowing her, she’d complain heartily if she was wearing stilettos.
Lucy skids to a stop in front of a wide tree with a wizened, twisted trunk, and I almost barrel into her.
‘Wha ...?’
‘Shhh, can you hear that?’
I listen and detect the faint sound of something crashing through the undergrowth. It sounds quite far away, though. ‘Alexander?’ I whisper.
She shakes her head. ‘Wrong direction. Unless he’s circled around us.’
‘We should keep moving away from that sound then. Try andfind a road ... or a village.’
Lucy gives me a slight smirk, a fang skimming her lower lip.
‘Perhaps we should feed before we go gatecrashing a village?’
As soon as she says that, underneath the adrenaline flooding my system, I become aware of a persistent gnawing ache to satiate my thirst too. Lucy inches closer to me, and I swallow, closing my eyes. Thinking only of Sadie. And her beautiful pale throat. She’s mine. I want to claim her with a fierceness that shakes my unholy body to its core.
Lucy reaches for my throat, her fangs bared, and I instinctively hold up my wrist for her to latch on to. ‘Sorry, you’ll have to make do with this instead.’
She pouts, but her feeding from my neck feels too intimate. We hardly know each other, and I’m not giving up my vampire virginity to her willingly.
However, that doesn’t stop Lucy from trying to grab my cock while she feeds from my wrist.
‘Stop that,’ I say sternly, whisking my hips to the right and left like I’m inDirty Dancingso she can’t get hold of it.
