CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Seattle – Present Day

The rest of the week seemed to drag on. Every night Draven called me on his break while working at the hospital, but they didn’t last longer than ten minutes at a time. It sucked.

Thursday night after the sun went down, Martin came over to my apartment to help load the moving truck I’d rented. Since the cat was out of the bag, Athan was going to drive my car to Burn Falls behind Draven and me. Valencia came over too, and while the guys loaded all of my belongings, we drank margaritas since we weren’t going to have Margarita Fridays for a long time.

“Is it bad that we’re making the guys load the truck alone?” V asked from her seat on the floor of my bare dining room.

I knew that it wasn’t strenuous for Athan, and I could tell—now that I knew—that when he and Martin carried something heavy, he was taking most of the weight. “They said they don’t want our help.” I shrugged.

“I can’t believe that you both are leaving me tomorrow.”

“You know he needs to drive my car, and he needs to help Draven unload everything into my storage unit.” My mother had rented a storage unit for me in anticipation of my move back since I was going to be living with her for some time.

“I know. But what am I going to do with my life?”

“You want to move to Burn Falls? We can be roomies.”

“Maybe. Except Athan is going back to Russia after he helps you guys.”

She might think that, but I knew he was hanging around. “Really? I thought he mentioned the other night at Unicorn that he was thinking of moving to Burn Falls?”

“He said he needs to go back to work and see what’s going on before he can make a decision.”

“What does he do anyway?” I had never asked him nor had he’d said.

“He said he owns a nightclub.”

I nodded in understanding. It was a job that would allow him to make his own hours. “You really liked him, huh?”

“Yeah, but I knew it was just a hook-up type of thing. Maybe I’ll see what Chance has been up to.”

“Seems like something you’d do.” I chuckled.

V nudged her shoulder with mine. “Won’t be the same without you.”

“I know.” I sighed.

Tonight was moving night.

Athan and I circled around the airport, waiting for Draven’s plane to arrive.

Landed, sweets.

I smiled as I texted back:

Hurry up already, old man.

It was still weird to think about the fact that Draven was over one-hundred years old. While I’d always dated older men, I never thought I would be dating one who was eighty-six years older than me. Instead of going into baggage claim, we were picking Draven up at the arrival doors.

“How old are you?” I asked Athan as we made another loop. I never thought to ask before since he didn’t look a day over thirty.

He chuckled. “Older than D.”

“How much older?”

“Four years.”

“So, you’re one hundred and eighteen?”

“Yeah. Do I look it?” He smirked.

“No.” I laughed. “How old were you when you were turned?”

“Twenty-eight. I was born in 1900.”

“Holy crap.”

“Lived a long time. Seen a bunch of shit.”

“Maybe one day you can tell me all about it?”

“Would love to.” I slowed as I came up to the arrivals terminal. “Stop. He’s almost here.”

“How do you know?”

“Vampire sense.”

“Ah.” I pulled up to the curb and not a moment later, Draven walked through the automated sliding doors. After throwing the car in park, I rushed out and ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck before leaning my head back so he could kiss me. Our lips pressed together, and after I got over the initial shock of the coldness—something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to—Draven deepened the kiss.

God, I missed him.

“Miss me?” he asked after we finished kissing.

“Can you read my mind too?”

“Nope. Just Athan’s, and the fucker’s making kissing noises to fuck with me.”

I turned my head toward Athan, who was now sitting in the backseat of my car. He was puckering his lips before he burst into laughter. “Thank God we don’t have to deal with him in the cab of the truck,” I said.

“Heard that,” Athan stated as he cracked the door just enough for me to hear.

Fucking vampires and their super hearing.

“Time to head to your place and say our goodbyes so we can get in a few hours of driving.”

“You know,” I started to say, still looking at Athan even though I was talking to Draven. “I can always drive during the day with you in the back of the truck, and we can leave Athan at a hotel.”

“Heard that too.” Athan chuckled at my joke.

“Don’t fucking tempt me.” Draven laughed and grabbed my hand, steering me to the passenger door of my car. Guess he’s driving.

“I’m doing you guys a favor. I can stay here and—”

“You’d miss me too much,” Draven teased right back and shut the passenger side door. He rounded the hood and then slid into the driver’s seat after tossing his bag in the backseat. “Let’s do this.”

Tears were shed as we said our goodbyes.

Valencia promised to come visit during the summer, and while I told her I couldn’t wait, I had to still talk to Draven about what he did during those months. If he went back to Seattle, I’d have to figure something out. I’d probably need to spend every weekend there or work remotely if that was possible. I wasn’t sure given my father had worked ten hour days, five or six days a week for as long as I could remember.

We headed north on Interstate 5.

“How far do you think we’ll make it tonight?”

“Williams Lake. It’s about seven hours, give or take. This truck can only go so fast, but we’ll be there before sunrise.”

“Do you think in about an hour we can get me something to eat?”

“Right, you need food.”

“Speaking of, I’ve seen you eat real food.”

Draven cracked a smile. “It’s all for show, but the blood from the steak is always the best part.”

Thinking of it, the only thing I’d seen him eat was steak, and both times it was rare. “Do you—you know, go to the bathroom?”

“No. We have no waste. Our bodies absorb the blood and the food we have to occasionally consume for show.”

A few moments later I asked, “Will you tell me about the night you were turned?”

Draven looked over at me for a brief second and then back to the road. “Not yet, sweets. You’re not ready to hear it.”

“I’m not?” My forehead scrunched in confusion. While at work the last few days, I’d Googled all there was to know about vampires. Granted all of it was based on the fictional creatures, and there was never evidence that a vampire was or wasn’t real, but I wanted to know all about them. Wanted to know who Draven really was.

“It’s not a pretty story.”

“Of course not. You were killed that night.”

“Okay. When you’re ready, I’ll be ready.” Even though Draven had said that I wasn’t ready, I figured there was something that made him not ready. I could only imagine what it was like to be turned into a vampire when he didn’t know they were real. Or to give up sunlight, food, breathing.

Just before Marysville, Draven pulled into a McDonald’s for dinner. It was the first place we found after my stomach growled. “What are we doing here?” Athan asked, getting out of my car after parking next to our truck.

“Calla’s hungry.”

“Ah. Food.” Athan nodded. “I could go for some.”

“No,” Draven stated.

“No?”

“We don’t have time for you to find someone and go behind the building.”

“I’ll just go get my food,” I said, motioning toward the restaurant.

“I’ll go with you,” Draven said.

“I think I can get my own food, McNaughty.”

“McNaughty?” Athan roared with laughter.

“Fuck you.” Draven advanced on him, and Athan held up his hands. My face flamed with embarrassment, but I kept walking. “I have bags for you.”

“That shit’s cold,” Athan whined.

I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation because I stepped inside the warm building. After ordering a ten piece nugget, BBQ sauce, and a large fry with a large sweet tea, I went back outside to see Draven and Athan leaning against the trunk of my car.

“Everything good?” I asked.

“We’re ready to go,” Draven stated.

My gaze dropped down to his crotch, and I noticed his erection. I licked my lips, and then my traitorous eyes moved over to see Athan had one too. They’d obviously fed, and now they were showing it.

“Let’s get back on the road then.”

“There’s only one bed,” I teased, walking into the room of the hotel.

After I ate my fried goodness, I fell asleep, only to wake when Draven pulled up to where we were staying for the day. I wasn’t even sure how we’d crossed the border into Canada. But knowing what Draven was capable of, I was sure it didn’t matter that I was in dreamland.

Draven shut the door and threw our bags on the floor. He picked me up, and then fell backward onto the bed with me on top of him. “We can build a pillow wall if that makes you feel any better.”

I leaned down and pressed my lips to his. “No pillow wall needed. This will be the first time we share a bed and we both sleep.”

“That it will be.” He smirked and rolled us so he was on top. “But if you wake before the sunsets, you know you can’t open the curtains, right?”

“I know that.” I looked over to the coffeepot near the sink adjacent to the bathroom. “What about breakfast—or I guess it will be lunch when I wake up? Should I just go get something?”

“While it will be daylight, I don’t want you going out in a strange town. If something were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to protect you.” He stood and my arms reached for him to not go. He smiled. “Better we get you something before the sun rises.” Draven dug his phone out of his pocket, and after hitting a few buttons, he held it to his ear. “Calla needs lunch for tomorrow while the sun’s still out.” He tilted the receiver away from his mouth. “What do you want, sweets?”

I shrugged and looked around the room, only to see a mini fridge but no microwave. “I don’t know. A turkey sandwich or something that doesn’t need to be heated up.”

“You got that?” Draven asked back into the phone. “Get some chips and water too. What kind of chips,” Draven asked me.

“Any.” I wasn’t picky when it came to carbs.

“Anything else?”

“We can stop tonight and get some stuff for the next few days.”

“Right. Yeah.” Draven pressed a button on the phone and then tossed it on the dresser behind him where the TV sat. “So where were we?”

I sat up. “I really need to shower before we do anything.”

“Remember what happened last time we showered together?”

“I do.” I bit my lip.

Our clothes went flying, and before I knew it, our mouths were pressed together in a searing kiss that lasted many minutes. Draven spun me around, my back against the doorjamb of the bathroom as he reached with his free hand and turned on the water. Just as he was about to pick me up and put me in the tub, there was a knock on the door.

“Fuck,” Draven groaned and dashed to the door—naked. “Thanks,” I heard him mutter. The door slammed and then he was back, lifting me and putting me in the water.

I squealed as the lukewarm water hit my back. “I’m going to need to get used to your speed—and strength.”

“Sorry, sweets. While I can’t fuck you without feeding first, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to eat you.”

“How did Athan get back so soon?”

“Store is just down the street.”

“And he can run fast.”

“And he can run fast.” He smiled.

Without any more talking, Draven knelt and just like before, he did wicked things between my legs.

He took his bag into the bathroom as I lay naked on the bed, waiting for him to return. When Draven stepped around the corner in all his glory—his dick at attention—he was wiping his mouth. I took a deep breath to get the image of him drinking blood out of my head and instead, looked down at his impressive cock.

Just thinking about the weekend before was enough to turn me on. Granted, when we had sex, I didn’t know Draven was a vampire. Now I would know what was cold between my legs. I would know why he was ravenous as he pounded into me—even while I was on top. I would know that I was fucking someone that was—

“What are you thinking about?” Draven asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Everything.”

“Are you okay with this?” He stepped closer.

“Of course I am.”

“We can go slow.” The end of the bed dipped as Draven crawled up the foot of the mattress in between my parted legs.

“Can we?” Given the other times, I wasn’t sure if he was capable of going slow, especially since it had been four nights since I’d seen him.

He smirked and nipped my earlobe. “I’ll try.”

Draven’s hand went between my legs, and the moment his cold fingers met my hot skin, I sucked in a breath.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Keep going.”

His lips met mine, and while our tongues twirled around each other, his fingers pumped in and out of my center. How could something that wasn’t breathing be this skillful? His fingers worked between my legs, causing me to get wetter and wetter and closer and closer. His fingers were fast—like lightning speed, and before I knew it, I shattered. My back arched, my body quaked, and I moaned—loud.

“Trying to sleep here!” Athan banged on the other side of the wall.

“Should have known we needed rooms on different floors of the hotel.” Draven rolled his eyes and then pressed his forehead against mine.

“Creepy fucker would probably still hear us,” I teased.

“I’m not a creepy fucker!” Athan boomed.

“Just ignore him.”

Draven rose and slid me closer to him, bending my knees to my chest. He tilted my hips back a little and then entered me inch by delicious inch. His strokes started off slow, going in and then almost pulling out of me completely before pushing deeply back in. My hands cupped each of my breasts as I kneaded them, pinching each nipple that sent waves of pleasure to my core.

“Fuck, sweets. Keep doing that.”

My gaze met his, and I bit my lip. “You like when I play with myself?”

“Yeah, sweetheart, I do.”

Draven’s gaze stayed locked on my hands as I caressed my tits. After several seconds of long, slow, deep thrusts he picked up his pace and drove into me hard. The bed squeaked as his hips pounded into me. He started to groan as I began to moan, feeling my orgasm building again. I could no longer feel the coldness of his skin, but more the hardness as he pumped into me, rubbing along all the nerves inside of me. We weren’t moving slowly any longer, and I didn’t care. What mattered was that we were in sync with each other.

He pumped some more, and then he roared as he came and quickly I was following him, my body quivering once more as the orgasm rushed through me from my pussy to my heart and down to my feet.

After my breathing evened out, he rolled us so I was on top and he was still inside of me. “Again?” I asked.

“I can keep going until the blood wears off, but I also know that you’re super sensitive between your legs. Three orgasms is a lot for one—morning.”

“Three orgasms is a record for me.”

Draven leaned up and pressed his lips to mine. “We’ll work on doubling that then.”

As soon as the sun went down that night, we were back on the road.

“How far do you think we’ll get tonight?”

“Since we left right at nightfall, I’d say Tatogga.”

“Will we make it to Burn Falls tomorrow night?”

“No. Even though we’re gaining more nighttime hours, we still have two more nights of driving.”

“Oh. I thought we’d make it in three.”

“Blame the sun, sweets.”

My cell rang in my purse, and I pulled it out. “It’s my mother.” I pressed the answer button and held the phone to my ear. “Hey, Mom.”

“Just checking to see where you are for the night.”

My eyes widened. How do I tell her we only travel at night? And she had no idea Draven and Athan were with me. “Um …”

“Hand me the phone,” Draven stated.

I balked and then whispered, “You want to talk to my mother?”

“Yes.” I handed him the phone. “Shauna, it’s Drav—Dr. Young.” There was a brief pause. “Yes, I’m with Calla.” Another pause. “I actually ran into her in Seattle,” his gaze flicked to mine and he smiled, “and she told me that she was going to have to drive all the way to Burn Falls, so I offered to drive with her. A buddy of mine is driving her car behind us.” There was another pause.

“Remember the last night you were at the hospital and we spoke?” I was finally going to find out what he’d told her to be nice to me. “Yes, and I meant it. She’s special, and I won’t let anything happen to her.” He winked at me. “You’re welcome. Here’s Calla.”

I took the phone from him and held it up to my ear. “So, yeah … I’m with Dr. Young again.” It felt weird lying about his name since learning everything.

“He’s a lovely young man.” I almost laughed at her words since Draven was anything but young—or a man. “And I’m glad he’s keeping you safe. I’ve been worried about you driving all this way by yourself.”

“We’re fine, but given he’s used to working nights, we’re driving during those hours.”

“Understandable, sunshine.”

“How are you doing?” I asked.

“Ted and Andie are still coming over every evening. We’ve been playing cards and having a lovely time.”

“Good.” I smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

After I hung up with my mother, I asked, “You compelled my mom?”

“I had to. I couldn’t hear or watch her belittle you.”

“How can she be compelled and I can’t?”

Draven shrugged. “Don’t know. I haven’t been around many vampires. Maybe another vampire knows, but we don’t. Athan has made some calls to a few vamps that he’s met over the years, but no one has heard of humans not being able to be compelled.”

“What did you tell her?”

“Just that you’re a beautiful person inside and out and she needs to be a loving mother.”

“I don’t think she didn’t love me before. I think she just expected a lot from me.”

“Because you’re the oldest?”

“I guess.” I shrugged. “My sister is skinny, and all I hear from my mother is about my weight and how no man will love me for being fat. She wants grandkids, and Betha and Alastair are still in college.”

Draven grabbed my hand and laced our fingers. “You’re more than just what’s on the outside, sweets. And while Betha may be skinnier, she doesn’t hold a candle to the woman you’ve become. Your mother will now realize that too, and when you’re ready, you can have kids.”

“But you compelled her to think that. She doesn’t truly believe it.”

“I compelled her to be nice. I didn’t specify about what.”

“Oh.” I thought for a moment. “Can vampires have children?”

Draven looked over at me with a tight smile and a shake of his head. “No.”

That night, we did make it to Tatogga. We ended up renting a cabin for the night, and as Draven and I lay in bed waiting for the sun to go down, I couldn’t help but wonder what it must have been like the night he was turned.

“I’ve really enjoyed spending these last two days together,” I said, trailing my finger along Draven’s chest as I propped my head in my hand.

“Me too, sweets. Me too.”

“It’s still surreal to think of you as a vampire though.”

He grinned. “I can imagine.”

“How many people have you turned?”

“None.”

“Oh, right. You mentioned that the night I found out, but why haven’t you? Isn’t that what vampires do?”

“I’ve vowed to never turn a human.”

“What if they want to be turned?”

Draven sat up and leaned against the headboard. “Are you asking me to turn you?”

I shook my head slightly. “No, not at all. I’m just curious.”

“Humans may think they want to be turned, but would you want to give up daylight and the taste of food?”

I’d already thought about that. “I think I’d only want to be turned if that meant I could spend eternity with my one true love.”

“So, love is better than daylight and the taste of food?”

I sat up and turned toward him, sitting cross-legged. “Of course it is. I wouldn’t want to be immortal and lonely.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I was falling in love with him. Or maybe I was in love with him? I knew I didn’t want whatever we had to end.

“Most of us don’t have the luxury of getting to choose to turn or not.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“You really want to know?” he asked.

“I’m assuming you have since you’re over 100. That’s a lot of time to not feel love.”

“I haven’t felt love for almost ninety years.”

I tilted my head a little, confused because I could have sworn that was how long Draven had been a vampire. “Ninety years?”

“Well, it’s been more like eighty-eight years.”

“So since you’ve been a vampire?”

“No. It took me awhile to get over her.”

“Who was she?”

Draven stared into my eyes. “Again, you really want to know?”

“I want to know everything about you, McNaughty. That’s what relationships are all about.”

“Okay.” He grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. “When I was twenty-four, I was dating a woman named Mary. We’d been dating for almost a year, but back then dating was different from what it is now. We had to sneak around, but I loved her, and she loved me. I thought we’d spend the rest of our lives together because she was the one person who understood poker was in my blood.”

“Poker?” I asked.

“That was how I made my money. It was during the Great Depression in the back of speakeasies or in underground casinos. I was good. Really good. Most nights you could find me at a table. My family didn’t approve since gambling was illegal, but like I said, it was in my blood. Mary would sometimes come and distract the guys while we played so I could get a beat on their tells. It was harder for them to bluff if they weren’t paying attention. Anyway, the night I was turned, she told me she thought she was carrying my child.”

“You’re a father?”

Draven turned his head toward the curtain-covered window. “No. While I was running a table, Renzo, my sire, killed her.”

I gasped.

“When I left the club, they snatched me too. I’ll save you all the details, but he turned me, and I fed from her lifeless body.”

I sucked in a breath. “No …”

“Over the years, I’ve obviously controlled my hunger, but I still have nightmares about that night. And the night he made me kill my family.”

“He made you kill your family?” I whispered.

Draven gave me a tight smile. “Yeah, a month after I was turned to prove he was in control.”

“Draven …” I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t even imagine.”

“Like I told you before, there are monsters in this world. And I’m one of them.”

I pulled back and straddled his hips. Grabbing his face, I said, “You’re not a monster. You’re anything but. You don’t kill. You don’t feed from humans—”

“I feed from humans.”

I blinked. “You do?”

“It’s not a habit of mine, but yes, I feed before I fuck.”

“Oh.” We didn’t say anything as I processed everything he was telling me. “Are you still?”

“Still what?”

“Feeding before you fuck?”

“You know I do.”

“I mean not with me.”

“Oh. No. While we haven’t talked about being exclusive or whatever the kids are calling it these days, I wouldn’t do that to you. Plus, I haven’t had time. I work and then keep an eye on you.”

“Do …” I hesitated. “Do you want to be exclusive?”

His dark eyes stared back at me, and he reached up to cup my cheek. “There’s something about you that’s addicting and makes it hard for me to stay away, sweets.”

I pressed my lips to his. “Good.”