Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,198

be more win than loss, right?”

Alanna blinked, not sure how to respond. Mel shrugged, obviously uncomfortable. “Sorry. Forget it.”

“No, it’s all right. You don’t get to talk about your relationship with them, do you?”

How vampires and non-InhServs worked out their relationships with one another had become a topic of intense interest to Alanna, as if she’d find the key to her own evolving one with Evan and Niall, no matter how pointless it seemed to analyze it. She wanted to hear more, and her obvious interest seemed to relax Mel.

The woman nodded. “Other than Frank and Niall, it’s pretty much only the founder’s servant, when they visit, and Elisa. She’s the servant of the vampire who taught Miah and Nerida to adapt as best they could.” All humor disappeared, her expression becoming dangerous, the Amazon warrior. “I sometimes wish we could resurrect that bastard who made them and kill him all over again. When he turned them, even though they were kids, they got some of the amped-up hormones that drive vampire adults. They crave sexual release for themselves and from their servants when they take blood, same as most vampires.”

“Oh dear,” Alanna murmured.

“Yeah. Frank tried like hell, but he’s never been comfortable with it, so they mostly use him just for blood. That’s not really the worst of it, though. They may have the bodies of children, but they have the hearts of women. They want relationships . . . love, and they won’t ever have that. Not for however many hundreds of years they live.” Mel took another swallow from the water bottle. “Not only do they have to stay hidden from the vampire world, no vampire or servant can get past the fact they look like kids. The ones who can aren’t anything they want near them.”

“You love them, though.”

“I can’t imagine life without them,” Mel said seriously, meeting her gaze. “And I love them as women. But even me . . . there are things they know I have a hard time with, no matter how I try. I guess there’s something in our chemical makeup, when we’re decent human beings, not fucked-up twisted pervs, that won’t let us get past it. I mean Nerida . . . she fucking smells like a little girl. I play with the kids here, and then I’m holding her and . . .” She shook her head, sighed.

“I learned more about their early years from the founder’s servant. She told me it got really bad once or twice, such that they were considering a suicide pact. The founder made them a promise. He said if it ever became too much, whether today, tomorrow or decades from now, he would help them with that, make it merciful.” Mel’s face tightened, showing her pain about that, but her acceptance as well. “When they decided to take me and Frank as third marks, they’d made a semipermanent peace with it. At least for the next three hundred years, according to Nerida,” she added wryly.

“They have this place, and most importantly, they have each other. And that was the solution, wasn’t it? What none of us can comfortably give, they give each other. It’s a weird thing to talk about. I should really stop.”

“No, I’m curious,” Alanna assured her. “I’ve seen you with them, and it’s an unusual . . . dynamic.”

“Yeah. No kidding.” Mel smiled fondly. “Nerida is the odd one. She can have sexual impulses, but it’s like the six-year-old’s in there, too, because nine times out of ten, those impulses have to do with affection. Closeness. She’s like an Olympic postcoital cuddler, without the actual coital part.”

Alanna’s return smile seemed to relieve the woman’s tension, her worry that the conversation was too much. Thinking how young she’d been when educated about her sexual requirements, Alanna realized she was probably more prepared for this conversation than most.

“The two of them are the only two vampires I know who like to swim. They hang onto a float and paddle around like beavers.” Mel chuckled. “Or they have me or Frank cart them around, hanging onto our necks. They felt your presence the other night, and appreciated your respect of our privacy.” Mel gave her a knowing look. “But what you saw, that’s the way it is. It’s probably the most difficult thing they have to cope with. Getting killed or preyed upon by a much stronger vampire, yeah, that’s rough, but finding someone to love, to whom we can give our soul,