Blood Rose (17 page)

Each thin leg was reddened and hot to the touch. Both marred with scratches each oozing tiny droplets of blood. “How?” That was all he seemed able to say as his fingers hovered over individual cuts while too afraid to touch them. Some were obviously deep where the thorns had dug in. Others were shallow and long from where the deathly vines had drug over my flesh.

“No idea. It just happens. Don’t worry these are small they’ll be gone soon. They don’t hurt that much. You won’t hurt me.” My hand waived dismissively. I didn’t want him to see this. Didn’t want him to know this part of me. It felt wrong. Not even Neesa or Paul knew about this part.

Damien’s fist balled and he put his hand over his mouth clearing his throat. As we sat there they were already healing, enough so all the blood had stopped. The marks would be gone in no time now.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before.” His hands trembled while reaching toward a small cut on my pale thin leg but still never touching. Slowly my flesh was fading back to white. “Why are you so warm? Your skin is even red.”

Shaking my head, I looked down away from him. How could I say these things aloud? “Please, Anna. Tell me.”

Just get it over with. He’ll believe you or he won’t it’s too late to hide the truth now.
“In the dream I burned.” Neither of us spoke for a minute. He looked down at my bare legs, tracing his finger carefully to avoid the blood.

“My parents thought I was doing this to myself for attention. They almost put me in some kiddie psych ward because of those dreams.” The look on his face said it all. There was no appropriate response to such a detail of my life. For some unknown reason, maybe the drugs, I continued.

“My father is a doctor. When therapy and the psychoanalyst weren’t helping he admitted me into the hospital and ran every test on me that existed. I spent years going in for MRIs and CT scans and blood tests. They couldn’t find anything wrong with me other than they said my joints were weak. This is the third time that ankle has been broken. Speaking of which, thank you.” I

held up my left hand. He’d done a pretty good job.

“Don’t thank me. This is my fault.” His fingers traced light circles over the white bandage wrapped tightly around my ankle. As if on cue he reached over to the side table and picked up an open bottle of water and the bottle of Vicodin handing them both to me.

“It’s not your fault. I don’t think you asked him to kill me.” I drank down most the water with two of the pills. He took the bottle and set it down for me. “Though if you did, well I guess then you’re allowed to feel guilty.” My fingers reached for his slowly. I was not afraid of Damien. Not at all. Embarrassed by the freak that I was perhaps but even still, a part of me wanted to tell him. Sometimes it was hard to stop actually. I could tell him anything.

“Don’t you remember last night? I knew of the people who did this to you. I shouldn’t have left at all. At least then you would still be safe.” His fingers linked in with mine loosely. “Not broken.” After taking in a deep breath and letting it out heavily he finally turned to look at me.

“Why did you want to take off anyways? I mean you said you weren’t really going to Florida.”

He seemed thoughtful for a moment. “No, I was going up to New York. I was going home to see my family. I hadn’t called to tell them I was coming, I usually don’t. About half way there my sister called me and I turned around and came back.”

“Okay you may not be lying but you’re nowhere near the truth yet.” My hands pulled from his as I lay back into the couch, my legs stayed strewn across his.

“You don’t miss anything, do you?” As Damien chuckled, it seemed to shake his shoulders but the laughter was dark and begrudging of him.

My eyes narrowed as my lips twisted into a smirk. “You have no clue how much I don’t miss. You wanna know some of the things you think you’re hiding but you’re not? I’ll tell you if you like.” Sometimes I have no filter. This was one of those times.

“You have my full attention.” He leaned closer. Not jostling my legs in the slightest he laid over on his side, propping himself up on his elbow as he lay close to me.

My synapses were firing like crazy. Had been since I’d woken. Things were clicking into place. My eyes were narrowed in on his, nearly lost in the gleaming green depths and hypnotized by the reflection of the dancing fire. Nevertheless, I went on like any other rambling lunatic.

“You never ordered food at the restaurant. When you ordered drinks, you never finished even half. You never ate on shift or even drank a glass of water for that matter. When you want something, you look at someone and they don’t even argue. Mike never even interviewed you... You pick me up with no more effort than picking up a small cat. Plus you are better at resetting broken bones than a doctor. Now here’s the kicker. You ready?”

Damien’s body was taut, as his eyes remained focused on mine so forcefully I thought if he looked any harder he would be able to read my mind. “Go on,” Damien’s voice grew tense.

“You really hate the sight of blood. So much that you find it difficult to even look at me. Your whole body gets tight and I have never seen someone look so uncomfortable unless it made them sick. That’s not it though, if it made you sick, you’d get that same nauseous look that other people get. Therefore, it’s not that. You almost look like you’re in
pain
.” It sucked having him look at me like that. To feel as if looking at me was so awful it physically hurt him.

Deep breath.

Damien’s brows lift slightly. His eyes penetrating into mine in such a way it felt like an invasion of my mind and body. “And?” His voice was thick with strain.

“In the Jeep last night you held your breath until you rolled the window down. Last night you burned everything my blood touched. Of course, there was my loft too. It was very dark Damien… I only knew the blood was there because I’d left it there. Just now you knew I was bleeding when I was covered up with a blanket. Plus you’re not denying it and calling me crazy like everyone else does,” I spit it all out in a rush. My lips moving feebly I spoke barely above a whisper but he heard me, I
knew
he did.

The arm holding him up slid under me behind my back, the other laying carefully to my neck turning my face to his. His lips touched as light as they could to mine. He didn’t want to hurt me, so he was exceedingly gentle.

The breath he held swept against my cheek leaving a chill of cold on my skin. His lips placed once more to my cheek before gently though swiftly sliding away from me. “I would have regretted it for eternity if I hadn’t stolen one last kiss.”

It took me a moment to come up with something to say that didn’t sound idiotic, “Uhm, why was it the last time? If you don’t mind my asking.” I’d known it was coming. I just hadn’t known when. Here was the moment he said get lost. Why the regret though?

“Because you’re far too observant as you’ve pointed out. And it is better I tell you
everything
then to allow you to come to your own conclusion about myself. Especially now.” He observed me for a reaction but all I could do was wait for him to speak. I was confused.

“I do not eat or drink at work because they don’t serve what my body needs and uses as sustenance. Then again for that, I would probably have to go to a hospital or a blood bank. Also, I knew you were bleeding because I can smell your blood better than a shark. It is not that I don’t like it, Anna… It is quite the opposite.”

Damien observed my every motion. I took in a slow deep breath as my stomach twisted into a knot and heat rose up from the core of body. His eyes still locked on mine. I waited patiently while his lips couldn’t resist twisting into a smirk. “To be honest, lifting you really isn’t much different from lifting a cat as you put it either.”

“I dreamed about you,” my voice came out in a whisper. Nothing made sense anymore. Maybe this was all a joke or some very strange hallucination. “What are you?”

“What did the dream tell you?”

“You had really long hair at one time.”
You will never love me.
“Who are you?”

As if slapped, Damien flinched. “You won’t like it.”

“I dream of witches, fairies and monsters, Damien. Demons that come out of the shadows and rip innocent people into shreds and I watch the shadows suck up their blood until there is nothing left. What are you?” We sat still as stone staring at one another. Neither of us spoke above a whisper.

“A monster… Like the shadows… Like the demons.”

My eyes were tight again. “I don’t believe that.” He wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t anything like the evil I had seen in those dreams.

“But I am. You pay attention. You notice everything. You heard what I said. What do you think I am, Lianna?”

“You’re not a monster. You’re not a demon.”

“You’re wrong. I’m all of that and much more. You know what I am. I’m a Vampire, Lianna. You know that. Much like the monster at the docks that attacked you.” I flinched involuntarily.

“See? You know what I say is true. Do you understand what I am saying, Lianna?”

My eyes narrowed as I watched him. My body still as stone. Goose bumps rose on my flesh and a chill rushed up my spine painfully.

“Are you making fun of me?” anger tainted my voice like venom. His expression faltered from calm seriousness to complete confusion. With one last glance at him, I braced my hand to the arm of the couch and stood. Limping, I staggered towards the door. “I’m going home.”

Back to calm. “Not that I will stop you but I feel I should remind you however. You’re not only severely injured but you have no clue where we’re at and it’s nearly three in the morning. Not to mention all your wearing is my shirt. However, I think the look is quite becoming. Although if you do truly wish to leave then please allow me to drive you home. Tell me to stay away and you will never see me again. You have my word.”

I couldn’t look at him. “I was wrong about you. You’re not an ass. You’re a complete bastard.” My hands came up to cover my face. As if hiding my eyes would hold back my tears and contain my sanity.

“Do you have any idea how much I wish you weren’t lying? How much I wish you weren’t playing games with me. Sometimes I wonder why I bother with the whole human race,” I sounded angry and pathetic. It made the anger grow and spread through my veins like fire.

Without a sound of movement, suddenly his hands slid around my waist holding me against him in a way that made me weak. “Then I would ask you sit back down and talk to me. Please?” a faint sound of desperation tainted his calm. “Just one night, Lianna. Give me this one night and I will tell you everything you could possibly want to know and more. You’ve given me so much but please just this one last thing,” he sounded desperate. How had I have given him anything?

“I understand what you’re feeling but I am asking you please, Lianna,
hear me out
,” his words were calm and rational. His tone was pleading and desperate. The last three words enunciated as if each were a single sentence.

I couldn’t speak. If I did, I would have screamed. “You’re the one who sees my differences so clearly. Do you really not believe me now?” My head hung forward in defeat. My trembling hands laid over his.

With utter ease, he picked me up from the floor and scooped me up into both arms. “So should I call you kitten?” The word pinged off my id making me flinch away from him as he mocked my accusation without an ounce of emotion. He sat down holding me in his lap. Despite the pain, I pulled away and scooted into my own seat.

Still angry over his stupid joke, I didn’t say anything. Of course he’d had no idea the man who attacked me had called me that. Not that I would ever tell him now.

Damien’s eyes were narrow and his brow furrowed as he looked away from me muttering. His hand ran over his face as he let out a deep breath and turned back to me. “Alright, Lianna, I am going to ask you to be open minded and tolerant of me and above all else know that I will not hurt you. I swear it.”

My eyes narrowed speculatively as I stayed quiet, allowing him his peace before I made him drive me home. He’d saved my life. I could give him a few tolerant hours. “I have not lied to you since you have been here, Lianna. I can prove that to you if you promise me that you will stay calm.” Still scowling, I nodded just once to make him proceed.

His brow furrowed slightly as his eyes stayed locked with mine. After a moment, he sighed, parting his lips just enough for me to see. “For someone so observant it’s shocking you haven’t seen them already.”

He spoke clearly, enunciating carefully. His top and bottom canines were double the length of most people’s teeth and were sharpened to incredible pearly white points. Fangs.
Could it be possible?

There was a long stretch of silence before I found my voice, “The opposite. You wanted it. It
was
hurting you?” He shrugged but nodded his agreement. I winced at the knowledge. Unconsciously my legs tucked underneath me. Only a few traces of blood were left but I hated the idea that I had caused him pain.

“It was tolerable. Some pain can be quite pleasurable you know.” He grinned wickedly for just a second.

I was forced to ignore that comment. “And those are real?” Doubt stained my voice. How could I help it?

Disbelief flashed through his eyes as he laughed out darkly. “Yes, of course they’re real.”