Crave - Teresa Mummert Page 0,13

my open bedroom door to announce his presence.

“You alright?” he asked as he bent down beside me and lifted my chin to look at my face. I sniffled as the tears that blurred my vision fell from my lashes, rolling down over the apples of my cheeks. He held my face in his hands and wiped my tears with the pad of his thumb.

“My friend… died tonight.” A small sob escaped me as the reality of the situation set in. Wrapping his strong arms around me, he pulled me against his chest.

“It was those vampires. I know it. It had to be them,” I rambled in between sniffles.

“Calm down, Eva. How do you know it was vampires?” he asked, pulling me away from his body to look at my face.

“They were there. It had to be them. They came in just to cause trouble. I left right after they had showed up. I should have stayed… or… done something.”

“There’s nothing you could have done. If you would have stayed it could have been you that they hurt.”

“We have to do something about it. We have to stop them from hurting anyone else.” Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed my gun out of my dresser drawer.

“Whoa, Eva. What the hell?” He raised his arms as if I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had.

“It’s okay. It’s for protection. I know how to use it.” I slid it into the back of my jean shorts, my body shaking from being overcome with grief. He walked up to me slowly, putting his hands on my waist and looking me in the eye.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Reaching his arm behind me, he pulled the gun out of the band of my shorts. He released the clip and emptied the bullet from the chamber. Sitting the contents on my dresser, he turned back to face me. “I promise you, no one will hurt you, but you can’t just go after them by yourself.” Kissing me on the forehead, he searched my eyes for understanding. I let out a sigh, feeling overwhelmed and defeated. I just wanted to be held. I was surprised he hadn’t run out the door yet. I thought about my stint on the ledge. I can’t believe I almost missed out on this.

“I understand if you wanna go,” I murmured into his chest. His arms gripped me tighter.

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart,” he reassured me. I slipped my arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his musky cologne mixed with the lingering smell his body wash had left behind on his skin. He kissed me on top of my head as his hand ran over the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair.

“We have to kill them,” I whispered as I glanced up to look him in the eye. His body stiffened, pulling me back against him. My eyelids grew heavy as tears silently fell from my lashes to his shirt.

“You should rest,” he said.

“No,” I replied quietly, grasping a man that was nearly a stranger as if he held my sanity.

“Sshh...” He breathed in my ear as he picked me up into his arms and swung around laying me gently on my bed. “I’m not going anywhere.” He took off his shoes and walked to the far side of the bed. I slid under the covers as he lifted his shirt off and removed his pants. Even in the darkness, it was hard to miss the ripple of muscles down his stomach and I hated that even grief-stricken, my stomach still fluttered at the sight of him. He slid under the blanket and wrapped his arms around me. I turned my back toward him and adjusted myself to fit perfectly against him, cocooning myself in my newfound sense of security. He kissed my neck, exhaling deeply before resting his head on the pillow behind mine. I pushed out a heavy breath of my own and let my eyes fall closed, feeling safer than I had in years.

Chapter five

Intruder

I awoke cloaked in darkness but for the first time in as long as I could remember, it didn’t cause my heart to stutter. I glanced toward the window that had thick, chocolate-colored drapes, blocking out any hint of time. I reached over to my alarm clock and turned it toward me. It read 7:34 am. I laid back down on the bed and closed my eyes, not wanting the