“The vampire,” he whispered.
“Marlon can’t hurt me,” I said without even thinking but knowing it was true. Aaron narrowed his eyes, looking for answers I wasn’t willing to give.
“He’s a vampire. It’s what they do,” he said.
“Not him, and not me. He won’t hurt me.”
After another moment, I picked up the wrench and got back to work while Aaron made himself comfortable and leaned against the workbench.
“How can you know that, and did he mention anything else about gold or treasure, or anything?” Aaron asked.
“Like I said before, there is no treasure. Not like what Grandpa talked about. He said there is some gold and he’ll show me where it’s at, but there isn’t much. Not like the stories.” I didn’t have to look at him to know he didn’t believe me.
“What happened when you went to the farm with him?”
“Not much other than he admitted there was no treasure hidden there,” I said again.
“Why did they tell us that stupid story then?” Aaron asked.
“Well, the vampire part was true. They were probably trying to justify why they buried him alive.”
“He’s not alive,” Aaron whispered.
I wanted to scream in his face that Marlon was mine, and no matter how much he hated it, there wasn’t a fucking thing he could do about it. But I took a deep breath and focused on the engine in front of me. “Look,this needs to be finished today. I’ll call you when I get home.” He met my eyes again before he nodded and left. Leaving me wondering if Marlon was doing okay or if I should call him.
Fourteen
Marlon
Isat on the couch in the basement and looked around at everything that was in it. Lots of rubbish and things that were well past their usefulness were shoved onto shelves or packed into boxes. In the time I’d been buried, so much had changed, making the hate in me burn even brighter, and if I were to find the men alive who had trapped me, I’d destroy both of them without a thought. Then it hit me.
“He cannot be my mate.” When Blake said it earlier, I had to control my anger, but at some level I knew it was true, and he was right. The bond with Blake was strong. So strong it made it hard to be away from him, but we could learn to deal with that. We’d have to. Blake was human, and he had a life that didn’t include me no matter how much that angered me. I could read some of his thoughts and even more of his emotions, something that had only happened a few times as I’d drank from a victim. But not the way it had with Blake.
I looked at the television and picked up the device Blake had given me to choose what I wanted to watch. Pressing the button made the screen jump to something else. There were so many choices. Every time I pressed the button, something new appeared. I finally settled on a story about two teenagers and their families. Soon I was drawn into their story when it was revealed the boy was a hundred-year-old vampire and was afraid to fall in love with the sixteen-year-old human for more reasons than one. I was so engrossed that when the second movie started with the same couple, I watched it too.
“Marlon?” Blake yelled down the stairs. I hadn’t even heard him arrive.
“Down here,” I said, even though he knew where he’d find me. He jogged down the stairs and into my arms as I stood to greet him.
“I missed you. Did you find something to keep you—is thatTwilight?” he asked and pointed at the television.
“New Moon. I have to see how they resolve the problem of him being a vampire and her being human. She’s a very foolish human,” I said, and glanced at the television.
“Yeah. I guess,” he said and again looked from the television to me. “There are much better vampire movies if you want to watch one.”
“I like this,” I said and pulled him into my arms. “It makes me feel calm worrying about their problems instead of my own.” Pulling back enough to cradle his face in my hands, I kissed him. My lips lingered untilhis tongue brushed against my lips, and one taste of him ignited the fire in me, same as it had every time he was near. “I like this too.”
He swayed us back and forth as we continued to kiss. The smell of oil and other things from his job lingered on his skin, but through it all I could smell his distinctive scent I would know anywhere and be able to smell from miles away. My mate. I broke off the kiss and ran the tip of my nose up his neck and inhaled his scent, so tempted to bite him but knowing it would be out of greed for his sweet blood and not need.
“Do it,” he whispered, and a shiver ran down his body. He wanted it. He wanted me to drink from him.
“It’s not necessary, love.” Unable to control myself, I lapped at his neck just below his ear, tasting the salt of his sweat and feeling the pulse of the blood in his veins.
“I know.” He shoved his neck at me, and without thinking I sank my teeth into him. He released a deep sigh and instantly relaxed against me. I took one draw of his blood before swiping my tongue against his skin, sealing the wound and saving his precious blood. “I want you, Marlon.”
“You need to eat. Every time I feed from you, it weakens you. I need to make sure you’re taken care of too,” I said, and was surprised to hear words of concern come from my mouth. I was never one to worry about anyone, not even the human I once believed was my mate.
“I will.” We were both hard, and I took a deep unnecessary breath to force the need to claim him down. He leaned heavier on me as I moved us to sit on the couch.
