CHAPTER 16
I felt a sting, as his fangs pierced my skin. Then a warm sensation spread downward until I felt it all the way to my toes. I was also very aware that Alex was aroused. I could feel the hard length of him pressed against my thigh. I could feel his erection throbbing and he started grinding against me. My hips arched upwards, trying to increase the contact. It felt right, being under Alex and mimicking a primitive, wild act. I began to feel the now familiar electrical currents race along my nerve endings. I was losing myself in a mounting tide of desire. I forced myself to concentrate on other things than the feel of Alexs body on top of mine and his mouth on my neck. I forced my mind to my parents. Magnolia and Jay Sherman. Mom with her sweet smiles and laugh lines around her eyes. I thought back to a day in third grade when some kids were teasing me and Mom had heard as she came to pick me up. She took hold of my hand and said in a serious voice, "Olivia, those girls are patooty heads. Plus, Im pretty sure that they have cooties." And she scooped me up hugged me and took me for ice cream.
These thoughts kept me grounded and able to control my raging emotions as Alex moaned and thrust against me. He went still and began to lick my neck methodically I asked, "Mmmm, what are you doing? It feels nice."
His breathing was a little ragged, "I am making sure the blood flow stops by using an anticoagulant agent in my saliva."
"Ewwww, too much information, big guy."
He looked up and to my surprise hugged me hard. "Olivia, you saved my life tonight. You are an amazing woman. Your blood is so sweet."
"Whoa there. Did you have something to drink tonight?"
123 "No, its your blood. Its so pure. Its sooo, shit!" he sat back down on the bed hard.
"Excuse me. Did you say my blood was shit?"
"Yeah, NO! Olivia, I need to tell you something. When a vampire takes blood, we are usually very careful. If we take blood from someone who is sick we may feel some of the effects of that sickness for a while. The same goes for someone who is taking drugs or has had a lot of alcohol. We may feel high for a little while."
I was confused. "I didnt drink anything tonight."
"No, but your blood does carry the genetic material that causes you to have your Sensay abilities."
"Are you saying that you now have my Sensay abilities?"
"For a little while, I suppose. I really dont know. You are so rare that I never heard of any vampire taking the blood of a Sensay. Did Roberto take your blood while you were together?" he asked nonchalantly.
"No, of course not. He never asked to. I dont think I would have unless it was an emergency like it was with you." I cast my eyes downward. "Though, it wasnt unpleasant." I felt I had to admit to the lust I had felt for him.
"You showed great control baby. More than I had." He looked down at his pants. You couldnt help but notice the stain on the front of his jeans.
I felt my face start to burn with my embarrassment and stood to put some distance between us but Alex stopped me. "Baby, dont ever be embarrassed because of an act that is natural."
"But how can I feel such passion for you when I have feelings for Roberto?" I asked.
His sexy green eyes clouded, with what I could swear was pain, for a brief moment before he spoke. "That, sweetheart is a question asked through the ages. Look, I know you have ,,feelings for Roberto. I want to be straight
124 with you. I have feelings for you Olivia but Roberto has asked me to back off. Since he is an elder, I am supposed to follow his orders. But I want you to know that I dont give a damn about his antiquated orders. What I do give a damn about, is you. You have just been thrown into a strange new world and have discovered things about yourself you never knew. I want to give you time."
During his speech, he had come closer and closer to me until I found myself backed against a wall. He put his hands on the wall with me in the middle and leaned down until he was a breath away and said in a husky voice, "But be warned baby, I am NOT giving up on us. I want you. My body wants you so badly just the sight of you makes my blood boil and my cock hard. My hands want to reach out of their own accord and touch your wild hair and run the length of your satin skin. My tongue wants to tease and taste your slickness until you explode. I have no doubt that I and only I can take you on an erotic journey the likes of which youve never imagined. But most of all, my heart leaps in my chest the moment your eyes touch mine and it swells with pride when I see them light with your strength and determination." He brushed his lips softly against mine and his whole body shuddered before he stepped away from me. "I will not add to your confusion Olivia. I am willing to wait for you."
I was trembling with the emotions that his words provoked. Lust filled images of Alex and I naked and clawing at each other came into my mind with such clarity that my legs almost gave out from under me.
"I am so confused. When Im with Roberto I know that Im falling in love with him." The look of pain once again flashed across Alexs face. I continued, "But when Im with you, I have a hard time picturing his face. God, this is a mess. I cant deal with this now. I need to concentrate on getting back to my family!"
Alex sighed, "Youre right. We need to get you
125 home and then somewhere safe. Has Roberto told you where he will re-locate you and your parents?"
"No. He didnt say anything about a re-location. Do you really think that will be necessary?"
He looked me straight in the eye. "Yeah I do. And Im sure Roberto has begun all of the arrangements already. I know him well and he is like a general when he is planning a defense"
"But he didnt mention anything to me about it. He would have mentioned something if he had made any arrangements already."
Alex shrugged, "Maybe he didnt have time."
"Bullshit. He could have taken one minute to tell me something this important."
Alex put up his hands, "Well, maybe Im wrong. He might not have had the time. I just know he had most everything arranged before you left the penthouse. He had already made the plans for Janel to go to his brother. And, oh yeah, speaking of Janel, thanks a lot for leaving her in my hands. I swear that womans libido does double time."
Janel and Alex? The thought made my stomach turn. How could he sleep with her and then say the things he just said to me.
I tried to keep the hurt out of my voice. "Janel is a beautiful woman and most guys seem to enjoy her libido."
"I agree Janel is beautiful, and its obvious that she has a great passion for life."
I couldnt help myself, "Well, I bet the two of you look great together. Your both blond and know how to have fun. Youre perfect for each other. I hope youll be happy."
I was jealous! I recognized this immediately. Why in Gods name was I jealous of Janel and Alex? A vision of them came to my mind of Alex biting Janel the way he bit me, and I had to hold myself back from hitting him.
"Whoa, baby, I dont want to be with Janel. Shes nice and all but I wasnt joking when I said I had feelings
126 for you."
"You mean you didnt sleep with her?"
Alex smiled, "No I didnt sleep with her. Why would you think that?"
"Well you said she was beautiful."
Now I felt like a fool. And Alex had the nerve to actually laugh. "She is beautiful, but she is not you. One day you will understand that how I feel about you is real, and even if you love Roberto with all of your heart and soul, I will not change the way I feel about you."
I stared at him. I probably should not believe him, but I did. I wont lie and say it didnt feel good to have a handsome sexy man like Alex saying he wanted you with such force. It made me feel like I was cherished and that was really, really nice.
I took his hands in mine. "Alex, you make me feel more special than anyone has ever made me feel in my entire life. Thank you for that. Its a really big boost after having my ex-husband tell me what a loser I was."
Alexs raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You were married?"
Embarrassed I answered, "Yes and he left me for his secretary because he said I didnt satisfy his needs."
Alex laughed. Alex laughed really hard. It was the kind of laughter that you heard and even though you dont know whats so funny, you have to start laughing too. I couldnt help but laugh with him.
"Whats so funny?"
"Oh baby, if he only knew you were about to come into your Sensay powers. You are the hottest, most desirable woman on this planet. And he will never get a taste of it."
Ahhh, the irony of the fact made me burst into a new fit of laughter and it felt so good after all of the tense situations of the last few days.
When I finally stopped laughing, I heard my
127 stomach growl. "I better see if I can find us something to eat. I think I saw a gas station next door when we pulled in. I hope its open all night." I looked at the bedside clock radio; it was just after three am.
I started for the door when Alex stopped me. "I know that Ive asked a lot of you tonight. But I need to ask your help with one more thing tonight."
Without any hesitation I said, "Sure, what do you need?"
"I need you to cut me open and extract the bullet in my chest." He said matter of factly.
"What!? I cant operate on you." I said in a rather shrill panicked voice.
"Listen I wouldnt ask this of you if I had any other choice. But the bullet is lodged in my chest and hurts like hell. I think it may be against my breastbone."
"But the wound is closed. You healed. I would need a scalpel, and equipment and I have never operated on anyone. Im a physical therapist, maybe if I worked in the operating room I might be able to do this but I cant Alex!"
"Olivia, I will help you through this. Ive done this before." That thought scared me. "Youve removed bullets from your body before? Do you get shot often?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Thus is the life of a vampire. I was born in 1834. I came to the United States from Sweden in the early 1900s. A lot of Swedes re- located to Minnesota, me included. I served in both World War I and World War II, so yeah Ive been shot, a lot," he chuckled.
"Do you move around a lot then?"
"Yeah, vampires and other species as a whole tend to move around quite a bit. It has to do with the long life you live. I moved back to Sweden in the 1950s. I lived in London for a period in the 60s and Las Vegas in the 1970s. I found I liked the casino industry and when New Jersey started building casinos beside the ocean I knew I
128 had to build a place there. That was one thing I always missed being away from Sweden, was the sea."
I was amazed. I wanted to talk to Alex forever and hear all about his life. Imagine, living in London during the 60s.
"Im Henry the eighth I am. Henry the eighth I am I am." I hummed.
Alex smiled at me, "I love when you sing like that. It makes me happy to hear you sing."
"Are you kidding?" I couldnt believe someone found my habit of singing endearing. I thought about how Roberto complained about it.
He leaned over and brushed a kiss on the top of my head, "Nope, not kidding. Not about the bullet either. You can do this Olivia. I know you can. We can do this together." I took a deep breath. "Okay, I will try. Lets see what Leeds packed for us and then if I need anything I can check to see what they have at the gas station."
We went through the backpack first. Luck was on our side because there was a first aid kit in there, along with some packets of food, a poncho, and some maps.
Alex said, "Leeds isnt so crazy after all. This is a pretty good emergency pack." I had gone ahead and opened the suitcase and said, "Sonofabitch." Alex dropped the backpack he was holding at my curse and hurried over to me, "Are you all right?"
"No. Look at the clothes he packed for me."
Alex looked in and pulled out a little white tube top and then a black thong that was trimmed in red fur. Next came out a black leather bustier. Alex held the bustier and seemed like he was lost in deep thought.
I grabbed it from his hands and said in an angry voice, "Can you believe Leeds bought me this stuff?"
Alex swallowed hard, "Ummm Olivia, with your Sensay powers, do you ever feel like there are bolts of electricity flowing through your veins?"
129 "Yeah it does when Im really excit...ohhhh." I stammered. Alex must have been picturing me in the leather and got excited. I couldnt help but look to the large bulge in his jeans.
Alex took a deep breath, "Its okay. Lets just concentrate on getting this bullet out. The first aid kit doesnt have a knife, but it has bandages and antiseptic, so we will just need to find something to make an incision with. Why dont you run over to the gas station and see if they have anything that might work. I would go but," he trailed off and glanced down.
"Ummmm, okay. Ill pick up some food while Im at it. Maybe some orange juice to get my blood sugar back up."
Alex was at once concerned. "Did I take too much blood from you? Are you feeling dizzy or lightheaded at all?"
I was touched by his concern, "No Im fine. Im just not sure if you might need to take more after your ,,surgery."
Alex had that far away look on his face again. I shook my head, though I knew how he was feeling. The lust is very hard to control when the electricity starts running through your body.
"Okay, Im going to head over to the station now." I said as I opened the door and slipped out. Luck was on my side. The gas station was open all night. It was a short walk across the parking lot. When I opened the door to enter, the man behind the counter looked up. Taking in my appearance he dismissed me as a prostitute and went back to his car magazine. I went down the few food aisles they had first. I picked up some donuts, chips, and candy bars and put them back down. I couldnt let Alex see me pigging out on junk food. Though with the stress I was under it would have made me feel better.
Instead, I walked to the back of the store to the
130 refrigerated section and found some fruit and packaged cheese. I grabbed a quart of orange juice and headed to the check out. I put everything on the counter and when the clerk looked up I asked, "Do you sell any type of cutting utensils?"
The clerk said, "You want a knife? We have some small pocket knives in aisle two."
"Thanks." I turned and went down aisle two. The pocketknife was on the small side but it would have to do. As I was headed back to the counter, I grabbed the box of donuts I dropped earlier.
I checked my items out and went out the door, just as what Im sure was a real prostitute, came in with a rather scary looking man. I tried not to stare.
It was a little startling to find myself in contact with this part of the world. It wasnt a normal part of the world I moved in. You know this world exists. It just never touches me. It was kind of a surreal moment. I made my way back to the motel room and let myself in. I didnt see Alex anywhere and I panicked for a second, until I realized the bathroom door was closed. I set my bag down to unpack it. I heard a groan from the bathroom and ran to the door. "Alex! Are you all right?"
All I heard was another moan and I grabbed the doorknob ready to go in, terrified I would find Alex on the floor, passed out and bleeding or something. When the sounds became a little louder, I comprehended just what they were.
I backed up slowly and as quietly as possible from the door. I sat down on the bed, unsure if I should leave but not liking the thought of sitting outside in the dark. So I just sat there and listened. It was strangely exciting, sitting here picturing Alex in there, stroking and pulling and....I jumped up. I had to get out; go sit in the car or something. At that moment the bathroom door opened and Alex came out with his jeans still open. I was so embarrassed that I
131 couldnt look at him. He came to stand in front of me. "Olivia, look at me." I looked up at him. "Dont be embarrassed at what you heard. I had to take matters into my own hands. Literally. It is painful to be so hard. I normally wouldnt have difficulty controlling myself but between being here with you and not being able to touch you and that damn Sensay blood, well, I had to do something."
"Im not embarrassed by what you were doing. Im not a prude or anything. On occasions Ive had to take matters into my own hands too, you know."
He groaned. "Please for the love of God Olivia, stop."
My eyes widened. "There is no way you can be in that kind of mood again. You just well, you know."
He took my hand and placed it against the front of his jeans where there was an obvious bulge. "How is it you have no idea about vampires when you just spent two days with one? A vampire has the ability to make love many times in a night." He squatted down in front of me and looked me in the eyes. "If you were mine, you would have known that. I would have made sure I loved you long and hard my every waking moment."
I felt like I had to defend Roberto. "Well maybe he was concerned about me. Maybe he didnt want me to be sore. He is kind that way."
"Hmmm, maybe he was. And maybe what I would have done if you became too sore would have been to use my tongue on every sore spot on your body. As I told you our saliva has agents in it that promotes healing."
I didnt like the fact I was learning more about vampires in the last few hours than in the two days I spent with Roberto. Still I felt I owed him to at least try and defend him. "Well, Im sure he didnt want to frighten me with too many strange things at once."
Alex chuckled, "Yeah youre probably right.
132 Knowing Roberto he was probably just concerned about you and didnt want to alarm you with an over abundance of passion."
"Do you want me to take out the bullet or not?"
Alex stood up and removed his shirt. I stared at his muscular chest with a smattering of fine gold hair on it. When I shivered Alex asked, "Are you cold?"
"Oh shut up and lay down on the bed." I snapped.
"Ohhh baby Ive been waiting all night for you to say that." He wagged his eyebrows at me. I couldnt help but smile back at him. He was quite the charmer.
I didnt want to do this but knew I had no choice. I went to the bathroom and got some towels and filled the ice bucket with warm water. I took an antiseptic wipe out of the first aid kit and wiped the blade of the pocketknife.
"Do you know exactly where the bullet is lodged?"
He pointed to a spot right beneath his collarbone.
"Before you start, if I pass out, which I normally dont, but Im thinking with your Sensay blood in me Im going to feel this more than normal."
I hadnt even given that a thought. But it made sense, if I could feel pleasure more than normal; it stands to reason I would feel pain more than normal. Well heck, that wasnt good. Now I really didnt want to be doing this.
Alex continued, "If I do pass out, dont leave the room. When I wake at dusk well continue on to Buffalo. Im sure Roberto will meet us there. The sun sets just before eight tonight, and it should only take us six hours to get to Buffalo. I can have you back with your parents by three am."
I was overcome with emotion and hugged him hard. "Thank you Alex. Im so worried about them."
He hugged me back. "I know babe that is how I feel about my family too. Id do anything to keep them safe. Tonight while were driving Ill tell you all about them, especially my sister. Her and I are really close or were. I
133 havent seen her in a while." He sounded sad.
I took a deep breath, "Okay lets get this over with."
Alex took one of the towels, corded it and put it in his mouth. He again pointed right to the spot where I should cut.
I forced my mind to the place that I went with my patients when I needed to manipulate limbs that no longer worked. I knew it caused them pain but I also knew it was for their own good.
I steadied my hands the best I could and with no more hesitation, cut into Alexs chest.