We Are the Day Ch. 05

Is anything in this house...normal? The kitchen I was led to belonged in the house of some master chef, not a vampire lord. "Why?"

"You know I like to eat."

We sat down to breakfast of omelets, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, and way too many other foods that were made by his personal chef and homemaker, Karen. She was a sweet lady who acted motherly but didn't look a day over twenty-five. Her brown hair was pulled into an elegant chignon with a few wisps that hung around her ears. I was admiring her choice in attire when Damian began to speak to me.

"You and Kenna are moving in."

I dropped my fork. "Why?"

"Last night and that party were too much for Carter and me; we want you under the same roof as us. All of your stuff will be moved in by the end of the day."

It looked like bossy Damian was back. I guess it was better than the tight-lipped, secretive, Damian. "Kenna's parents paid for that apartment through the end of the school year."

He rubbed his chin as he contemplated my words. "I'm sure we can find some use for it, then."

I picked my fork back up, feeling giddy. Damian really was trying to be...better, and I loved him for it.

"You know you've never said that to me before."

"Said what?"

"That you love me."

I felt heat rush into my cheeks. "But you already know it." I picked at a pile of potatoes before speaking again. "You haven't said it either."

"I love you, Taylor."

My insides felt like mush as I stared into Damian's eyes. "I love you, Damian."

I'm not sure how long we sat staring at each other, but it took Karen clearing her throat to break our mental embrace; our eyes stayed locked despite her interference.

"Would either of you like anything else? A glass of juice? Some more bacon?"

"No, thank you, Karen," Damian said, still not looking away from me. Karen dismissed herself without making a sound. "I want you. Right now."

"I know. I can feel it," I said, squeezing my thighs together. His arousal pressed in on me like heat in the middle of July. It had been too long since I last had Damian, my need grew with barely tamed force as my eyes raked over the man that I loved.

"Ugh. We have things to do," Damian said before folding his long fingers in front of his mouth, his eyes flashing yellow.

"What do we have to do besides question the prisoner?"

"Carter thinks that if we give you an IV drip, your blood will return to normal. You can be human again. I was thinking at that I could hook you up to a drip system while I go question the prisoner."

"What?" My mind was reeling. Did he change his mind about me? Why would he be trying to change me back? "I thought this is what you wanted."

"I only want it if you do, and you don't. The moment you thought you were a vampire, you lost it, Taylor."

"I didn't lose it." Even I could hear the lie in my voice.

"The remains of my chair say otherwise. You know I got that as a gift from Shakespeare."

I didn't give a damn about his chair. "Why do you want me to be human?"

"Because when you believed you were a vampire, you thought that you were an infection...just like the rest of us." That one little word rang in my ears as if it were every curse word, in every language, bottled up into one massive sin against God. "I gave you my blood to make sure that you'd live. Now that you're alive, you can go back to humanity."

"Don't dismiss me like that."

"I'm not dismissing you. I'm just saying that no one that sees vampires as an infection should be looking to become one. In fact, they probably shouldn't be with one, either. Though, it's a little late for that."

"Fuck you, Damian. You can be such an asshole sometimes."

His eyes pierced mine before he moved with vampiric speed to snatch me out of my chair and whisk me to his bedroom. He slammed the door before whipping around to face me, his jaw clenched and unclenched. His eyes turned to a threatening yellow and I could've swore that I heard his teeth grinding. I stood my ground, not looking away from his icy glare.

"I'm gonna let that slide because I know how trying it can be to experience a transformation. Your emotions are all over the place and you're still confused, I get that; but, if you ever speak to me in such a manner again, I will show you what 'fuck you' really means. You got me?"

I sniffed the air; it was heavy with his arousal which re-sparked my own. Now I understood what Damian said about female arousal being one of the most powerful scents; the same could be said for male arousal. Damian's scent paraded around my brain, turning all focus onto him and the bulge growing in his pants.

My eyes raked over him again, not finding any aspect of him lacking. Every move he made, every expression on his face, even the clothes that he wore turned me on. Like the first time we met, I imagined pulling my fingers through his dark tresses while I suckled his pouty lips.

"How long do I have to get those fluids?"

He seemed confused by my question but answered anyway. "A couple of days, max."

"Fuck. You." I sat on the bed, legs crossed, waiting for his reaction.

"Excuse me?"

"I believe I said, fuck you. Are you hard of hearing now?"

"You're playing with fire, Taylor," Damian ground out, running his hand through his hair.

I shrugged, testing him.

He moved with vampire speed to where I sat on his bed and pinned me beneath his body, one of his hands held both of mine above my head as he ground his erection into my mound. I groaned from the pit of my stomach. "You like to tease me with your words, like I have no idea what your game is. You get some vampire blood in you and you think you own the world; think that you can take me on. Even if you were a full-blooded vampire, you couldn't handle a thorough fucking from me. But since you think you're hot shit right now, I'll let you have your time. You can prance about as a half breed and pull cutesy little vampire stunts; but, just know that when you're back to being fully human-the petite blonde that puts everybody and everything before herself-I will hold true to my promise. That pussy is mine," he said, pushing my hands further into the mattress and trailing his tongue across my lips. "I may consider claiming your ass again, too."

"Just give it to her now, Boss," Carter called through the door. I had no idea that he and Kenna were even in the house.

"Shut up, Carter," Damian said, hopping off of the bed and heading into his bathroom. He came out and tossed the jeans and t-shirt from last night in my direction. "We have to go."

"I thought we had to talk," I frowned, realizing that my plot to get laid was ruined.

"We did talk. Get dressed."

"I am. Bossy ass."

"Yeah, okay. You're gonna see some 'bossy ass' when we get back."

My belly pooled with heat and excitement. Vampiric arousal was like nothing I had ever experienced before; it was all-consuming, heady, and erotic.

"Taylor, clothes," Damian smirked.

I made haste in my pursuit to get dressed and we ran with vampire speed down the stairs to the foyer. It, like every other room in the house, was opulently decorated. A pattern of black, cream, and gold tiles comprised the floors, a gold area rug reached from the front door to the curved staircases that we descended. Exotic-looking plants sat in expensive-looking vases that were strategically placed around the room. I was still admiring the space as Damian called out in his mind.

We're ready.

Without hesitation, people began to file into the foyer. First were Kenna and Carter, then came a brown haired man whose eyes were a startling shade of light brown-they were almost the color of butterscotch. Luke came next; I presumed it was him because he was the only one that appeared out of thin air. Two others came at lightning speed, stopping in front of Damian who wrapped his arm around my waist. Carter did the same to Kenna as the rest of the foyer's occupants linked arms. I was going to ask if we were about to pray or something when we were sucked into thin air. I didn't have time to scream before my feet hit the ground. Plumes of dust and dirt flew into the air and circled over us.

"Whoa," I muttered, leaning into Damian.

"You'll get used to it," he said, rubbing my arms.

"Doubt it. Where are we?" I asked, taking in the scenery. I knew for a fact that there were no cacti in South Bend, Indiana, unless they were kept in little clay pots; so we couldn't be there. Tumbleweeds blew across the dry, crackled landscape, making me feel like I was in the midst of an old western flick; except for the fact that there was a mansion-type house sitting to my left instead of a rundown saloon.

"We're in Yuma, Arizona."

"Why?"

"Because we love the sun. Ninety percent sunshine here," Carter grinned as we began to walk toward the out of place mansion.

"Carter! You're smoking!" I looked at the vampire as a steady stream of pale gray smoke rose from his exposed skin. My eyes darted over our surroundings for something to cover him with but found nothing. My frantic gaze met Kenna, who was grinning at me.

"It's okay, Taylor. I'm fine," Carter laughed. I'm still trying to beat the sun. It doesn't hurt as much, but I still burn some.

Confusion made my face contort as I looked at Carter and then to Damian.

We can't talk about how we beat the sun with the prisoner in ear shot, Taylor, Damian explained as he tapped his ear and motioned to the mansion.

This is how you did it? You went out and baked all day? My stomach churned as we approached the mansion. Damian pressed a code into the keypad and the metal door swung open for us. The smell of burning flesh immediately engulfed me.

"It's better if you don't breathe," Damian said, patting me on the back.

"I can't just not breathe. I'm still kinda human," I rolled my eyes.

Damian swatted my butt, "That little attitude of yours is gonna get you into trouble later." His carnal promise toyed with my already awakened libido. He gave me a grin before addressing the rest of the group. "Keep these ladies company while I entertain our captive, will you?"

"Wait, what? Why can't I go, too?" I asked, my bottom lip poked out.

"Why would I allow you to come into the same room with the man that tried to kill you?"

"Because you'll need me to keep you from killing him before we can get some useful information. You won't listen to Carter or anyone else, but you'll listen to me," I said, remembering the night I stopped him from murdering Tony.

He opened his mouth as if he were about to retort, but closed it again. He repeated the action several times, making him look like a fish out of water. He huffed before saying, "Fine. But if things go bad I want you up here with everyone else? You got me?"

"Crystal clear, Boss."

He rolled his eyes.

"Must be nice, being the vampire lord's main squeeze," Kenna said.

I turned around and stuck my tongue out at her and she returned the favor. It brought me happiness to see Kenna back to her old self; her and Carter must have talked everything through, though I wondered when she and Damian would patch things up.

We descended a couple flights of stairs before I tried to break the ice. As much as I wanted to bask in the ambience of my victory over Damian and his overprotectiveness, I didn't want him to be upset with me either. "Kenna and Carter don't seem as tense today."

"They had some intense making up sessions at your old apartment."

"That's what you guys do? Swap sex stories?"

"No, but they were blaring in his mind."

"Why didn't I hear them? Why can't I read minds like you guys? I catch glimpses of pictures, the slight flickering of emotions, but you guys seems to hear everything."

"It's a clan thing, I think. We can hear each other better because we share the clan bond. Kind of how lycans share their mind bond."

My throat hitched as I gasped. "So there really are lycans?"

Damian laughed a humorless laugh. "You'd be surprised by everything that's out there."

We ended up in a basement that had two cement walls and two glass walls. Damian pressed a code into another keypad and an invisible door swung open on the glass side before us. The man from the party was in the room, his back to us as he sat impossibly still in an old chair.

Christopher Columbus probably whittled that chair for Damian before he sailed to America, I laughed to myself internally at the remembrance of the other chair that I broke the night before. Damian tried to frown at me, but couldn't. He smiled and swatted me on the butt again. The door closed behind us, bringing our attention back to the man in the chair.

His head turned in our direction. "Hey, I remember that smell. It was more human the first time I stumbled upon it, though. Looks like you saved her after all," the man spoke.

"Yeah, well, it's what I do. Save the damsel in distress," Damian said as he approached the man. He turned him around rapidly, the prisoner's head whipping around like it wasn't attached to his neck. "So, you remember this pretty lady, huh?"

"Of course I do. She was the hottest piece of ass at that party I threw. Her and that black chick. She's here too, isn't she? I smelled her come in." He readjusted in the chair before speaking again. "I should've waited to show up to the bathroom; that way I could've fucked them both and slit two throats. I would've jizzed on their necks after, too." He grinned as his eyes shifted to me.

Damian.

It's cool. I got it, he assured me before speaking with our guest again. "Since you seem to be in the mood to run your mouth," Damian walked over to the man, cool as ever. It kind of made me jealous. I was already plotting various methods to kill this man, but Damian stayed focused. "Why don't we have a little discussion about why you were following my mate around?" Damian held out his hand and a chair appeared out of nowhere. He sat in it, extended his legs, and then crossed his ankles.

"That was a neat trick you just did, there. Though, I've seen better."

Damian smirked and three butcher's knives twirled in the air before his face, throwing light from the fluorescents above. "I agree, there are more formidable gifts out there; however, this one has its merits." By silent command, two of the knives plunged themselves through the vampire's hands; one sailed through the air and went through his stomach. Blood flew out of each puncture wound, coating the imprisoned vampire, the chair, as well as the floor.

Damian, you're not supposed to kill him, I chided. I would have spoken out loud, but I knew that my voice would be scattered by the vampire's screams.

Oh, he's fine, Taylor. A few knives aren't going to kill him. Look, he's healing already. I looked at the places where the knives stuck out of his body. I couldn't see any signs of healing, but he didn't look to be in pain anymore. He healed around the knives, Damian explained.

"Why were you following her around?" Damian asked.

"Because I wanted to fuck her."

"Wrong answer." With a wave of his hand, the knives left the unnamed man's body sending more blood to the floor. The man screamed in agony, his face contorted like the Scream painting. "You know the sun is up. If you continue to choose not to talk, I'll let the light in. All I gotta do is press a little button and you'll end up a pile of char-fucking-broil, you get me?"

As demented and twisted as it sounded, Damian had never come off more sexy than he did at that moment. He sat with confidence, his chest poked out, his eyes alert and sure. He moved with a cocky grace that I found was translated into our love life. A love life that I wanted very much to continue at the present time.

"Taylor, you mustn't tempt our guests," Damian gave me a half smile, letting me know that all of my thoughts were heard.

I inhaled, noticing the scent in the air; it was tinted with my arousal. I was instantly embarrassed. The last thing I wanted this nameless vampire to smell was my arousal.

"You know what I find odd," Damian said, now turning his attention to the man chained to the chair, "the fact that you decided to slit her throat. There were many other ways that you could've ended her life, but to slit her throat. Sounds oddly familiar, don't you think?"

"It's such a pretty throat. One that I would love to shove my cock down, if I'm being honest with you." The man looked at me, his green eyes going yellow. "Oh don't fret, little half breed, I would've saved some for your friend, too. Plenty of me to go around."

This son of a bitch is irritating the hell out of me, Damian thought.

I'd have killed him by now, Carter responded. I promise, if he says one more word about Ken, I'm coming down there.

I got it Carter. Damian sighed before reengaging the prisoner. "We get that you're pretty horny right now, but we have other things to talk about. Let's try a different approach, shall we? Who do you work for?"

"You already know who I work for, asshole. Who taught you how to interrogate? You're gonna need to pay them for more lessons."

"Were you involved in the blood smuggling?"

"Really?"

Damian waved his hand and the knives reentered the man's body, this time all of them stuck out of his left shoulder. His cries pierced the room.

"You been helping to smuggle blood?" Damian asked, resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers together.

"You dick!"

Damian shook his head and the knives flew from the man's body, filling the room with more blood and curses aimed at me and Damian. "Let's try this one more time before I get really upset. You were smuggling blood, weren't you?"

"Fuck you, man!"

Damian moved with grace to one of the cement walls where a red button sat proudly against the gray backdrop. "Remember that button I said that I would push? Right here...here's the button. Were you smuggling, or not?"

"All of us were!"

"Who's us?"

"The people that want to see change in this fucked up world. We're Children of the Night, yet we cower in the shadows like rats in the sewers-like we have anything to fear from these humans," he sneered the last word, his mouth portraying his disgust. "We were never meant to hide and live our lives in secret. You remember the days when demons walked freely among men-doing what they wanted, checking who they wanted. Those days will be ours again."

"Who fed you that load? The demons that changed you? They had you enlist over some false pretense that your lot were going to rule. You will never take over as long as there is still good in the world."

The man laughed. "They said that you were weak. Always trying to fit in with the humans. Look at you! You even went and snagged yourself some human cunt. Tell me, Damian, is it? How is it that you can even begin to fuck her? A real fucking from vampire to human leads to death, you know this."

What is he talking about, Damian?

He didn't respond.

"You look confused sweetheart, let me explain," the bloody, nameless vampire seemed to gather his spunk back as he looked me in the eyes, repositioning in the chair as much as he could. "Vampires are a thousand times stronger than the toughest human; mix that with some animalistic urges and you got yourself the makings for some house crashing sex. I've seen it both ways. Two vampires went at it, tore down an entire house from their passionate embrace," he said mockingly, his smile was arrogant. "The same vampire, the male, was tired of the 'I can take anything' scene and bedded a human girl-not too much unlike yourself, Ms. Taylor."

"Don't you ever address her-," Damian began but was cut off.

"So, the vampire wooed and fucked her. I was there-saw the entire thing."