To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,37
A white shirt hangs to her smooth thighs.
My shirt.
My fingers trace the hem, unable to stop myself from touching her warm body.
“I hate that I’m hurting you,” she tells me as she wraps her arms around my shoulders, her chest flush against mine, my heartbeat thrashing against her.
My fingers trail up her thighs, holding her hips tightly to me as I seal my lips to hers. She tastes warm and sweet as my tongue slips against her. Her fingers tangle through my hair, pulling lightly at it as she arches into me, her breath faltering with a moan as I deepen the kiss.
Disregarded caution prickles through my mind as her hands trail down my chest, pushing at my shirt. She breaks the kiss for an instant before kissing up my jaw, her soft lips feathering over my skin as her tongue sweeps across my neck.
“I hate that I’m hurting you,” she whispers again, triggering something in my mind just before her fangs sink painfully into my flesh.
My eyes fling open, my heart threatening to tear through my chest as I sit up in bed. My fingers trail over my neck franticly, but only sweat clings to my palm from the smooth skin.
It was just a dream.
The following day my glaring eyes never leave Declan, as if he’s the one responsible for my irrational unconscious mind. I considered running right to Fallon the moment I woke up, toddling over to her like a child waking from a bad dream. I didn’t of course, but I wanted to.
Instead, I stayed awake, picking apart every awful moment of the nightmare. Maybe sealing the curse is the right move. She could control herself, I think. Probably more than I can. The image of my hands on her soft skin flashes through my mind.
Not all of it was a nightmare …
I clear my throat, shaking the warm thoughts away.
Through the crowd, my grandfather makes his way over to me near the tree line. He claps a few mystics on the back as he passes, laughing at a few jokes here and there. It’s amazing and ridiculous all at the same time.
“It’s nice here,” he says, admiring the hundreds of mystics and mortals eating their food.
I nod, trying to think of something safe to talk about.
“How’s Fallon. Are you two okay? I haven’t seen her since we arrived.”
None of that is a safe topic.
“She’s good. We’re good. She’s just … under the weather, Grandpa.”
A line forms between his brows, one more wrinkle among thousands. “Don’t mess that up, son. She’s a good woman.”
I bite my lip at the word woman but nod adamantly. He gives me a smile that makes his eyes shine as he gives me a side hug, his gray hair barely leaning into my shoulder. I hug him back, and I want desperately to cling to the normalcy we have, but in a matter of minutes he’s out mingling with my grandmother in the crowd.
My grandmother’s laughter howls through the loud chatter, happiness lining her face and a look of youth filling her bright eyes.
They’re happy here.
My attention drags back to Declan’s blonde hair by default, and the small calm my grandparents brought is pulled away in an instant. My lips pull into a thin line as my glare sets in.
Gabriel gives me a smirk, his eyebrow rising. He appears to be balancing a line in his mind, as if he wants to ask me what my problem is but also wants nothing to do with it.
Finally, he stands from his spot against a tree and joins me in my tedious job of glaring a hole into the back of Declan’s head as he eats his lunch.
“What’s your deal?”
I roll my eyes and finally look away. “Nothing.”
He bites his lip as he nods, not believing me.
“I – I want to surprise Luca tonight.” Nervously he shifts from one foot to the other before folding his arms across his chest, his metallic fingers tapping against his bicep as he waits for my reply.
“Okay. What kind of surprise?” I pull the Crimson Sword from my belt and begin polishing it with an old rag, careful not to touch the blazing and cursed material the sword contains.
“I – I was think of surprising her with a spur of the moment wedding.”
A clattering sound pulls too much attention to us as the sword slips from my hand and falls forgotten to the ground.
“A wedding? That isn’t a surprise, Gabriel. That’s a commitment.”
An excited smile pulls at his