“You can’t do that and you know it,” she said. “You don’t look a day older than when you brought me home. They’re not stupid, they’re going to notice.”
I nodded. “I have good genes. I aged well.”
“Really? You don’t look like you’ve aged at all.”
“Like you once said to me—not bad for an old chick.”
Bronwyn studied me closely for a moment or so, and then she smiled, and her face transformed from beautiful to stunning.
“The night is still young,” Bronwyn continued, just as the grandfather clock struck ten. “You want to go out for a while?”
“Sure. Where do you want to go?”
She grinned.
I snorted and laughed. “You want to go to the Test Tube Factory, don’t you?”
Her grin broadened, and I laughed. “Just for you, Bronnie, just for you.”
Forty-five minutes later we were sitting at our table, with our waitress engaged in a tug of war with Bronwyn over my affections.
I took a good look at the waitress’s luscious breasts, unfettered by a bra, while Bronwyn scowled at us both. I don’t think it occurred to her that the waitress got her drinks more quickly when I did that.
“You want to get out there and dance?” I asked.
She gave me a curt nod. “Sounds good.”
“Bronwyn, I know it makes you angry when—”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“But—”
“Are you coming?”
“Aren’t you going to let me—?”
“Let’s just go and dance, okay?”
I sighed. “Sure.”
She grabbed my hand, squeezing my fingers to the point of pain, and pulled me onto the dance floor. She began to relax, and finally lost herself in the music. I loosened my grip, and we underwent an unexpected partner change. I frowned at Bronwyn, now in the arms of a muscular young man. He steered her away from me, and she stared at me, half-irritated, half-alarmed. She started to push herself out of his grasp, but his arms tightened around her. I was just about to rescue her when I realized I wasn’t alone.
I gazed at the girl who was now clinging to me. She had luminous blue eyes, and a willowy, full-breasted figure. She was almost too thin, and she held me with what seemed like desperation.
I gazed deep into her eyes and scented the air.
She was very sick.
I saw the desire in her eyes as she held my gaze.
“I’m sor—” she began, but I gently held my finger to her lips, silencing her.
“No you’re not,” I whispered. I nuzzled her neck, scenting her soft, young skin.
Disease was not just in her, it was galloping through her system.
Her arms tightened around me, and she took in a shuddery breath.
She radiated warmth as her body responded to my hands stroking her smooth back.
We slowed down, and the world slipped away.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered, gently pecking my lips.
“So are you,” I said, capturing her eyes before I pulled her in close.
“Do you want to get out of here?” she asked with a hint of a smile.
I returned it. I had not fed and I was hungry, oh so hungry.
She took me by the hand and led me from the club. I was acutely aware of Bronwyn’s jealous eyes searching for me, and I hoped against hope that my young friend would stay away from me for a few minutes.
The young woman led me to the rear of the club, and we slipped out of the door, hand in hand, and found ourselves in deserted shadows.
She took my hands and gazed into my eyes.
I leaned forward and kissed her, gently at first and then with increasing hunger as my blood thirst made itself known. When we parted, her breathing was rapid, and she cupped my breast and teased the nipple. I sighed.
I pulled her in close, my hands traveling down her back to her behind as I nuzzled her neck. She began to pant.
I extended my fangs and plunged them into her neck, taking in great drafts of her sweet, feminine blood.
She was sick, so sick. She had a disease of the blood—leukemia.
Her flavor told me she did not have long to live, even if I hadn’t done what I just did.
As she lost strength, I cradled her in my arms and we sank to the ground.
“You’re not human, are you?” she whispered, stroking my face, eyes glazing with shock and blood loss.
I shook my head. “No.” I smiled at her.
“What are you?”
“It doesn’t matter. What do you want?”
“There’s no hope for me. I hurt all the time and I’m dying. I want to die while I can still walk.”
I nodded.
Her eyes flickered with a little fear, a little anticipation, and a great deal of relief and peace.
“Is it going to hurt?” she asked, breath hitching.
“No. No more than it did last time,” I whispered, kissing her eyes, her cheeks, and then her lips.
She slipped her arms around my neck and returned my kiss of farewell.
I kissed her along the line of her jaw, ending at her jugular. My hands roamed her body, tracing the muscles of her smooth thighs, reaching up to her hot, sweet womanhood. She gave a shuddery breath, chest heaving with arousal and swallowed convulsively.
I plunged my fangs into her neck, taking the last of her diseased blood.
She went limp in my arms. I held her lifeless body close to me, resting my cheek on her head and sighing.
I felt eyes on me.
I looked up, and Bronwyn was standing there with a wide-eyed stare.
Fuck.
The pain and betrayal in her eyes made my heart twist.
I gently put the young woman on the ground. “Bronwyn,” I said, looking up at my mortal friend. “It’s not what—”
It was too late. Bronwyn gave a strangled cry and ran down the darkened alleyway between the club and the sex shops beside it.
I swore under my breath and ran after her, onto the crowded footpath in front of the club, but it was too late.
She was gone.
I sighed. My heart felt heavy, and guilt weighed down my shoulders. I walked up and down the street, hoping for some sign of her, but she was gone. I went into a few of the other clubs along Darlinghurst Road, but she was nowhere to be found.
Close to dawn, I gave up and went to my car with a heavy heart.
I awoke the next evening and bounded into the kitchen. It was empty, and I felt my heart sink.
I ran upstairs to her room and quietly knocked, but there was no answer. I opened the door and peered in. Her bed had not been slept in.
I leaned back against the wall and cursed.
It hurt me to think about her.
I felt unstoppably restless. I wanted to get out and go to city. If I was lucky, I would run into her there, and I would be able to explain.
She would listen to me and would forgive me.
I got my bike and rode into the city at breakneck speed, cursing the traffic that slowed me down. I felt a flicker of anger, so I parked my Japanese bike in the Harley riders’ spots and walked up Darlinghurst Road.
The pedestrian traffic teemed, and the cars crawled up and down the road.
I started toward one of the clubs, but then felt like being alone. I did not want to admit that I could barely go near a club without the ghost of golden hair and laughing green eyes showing their fond love by my side.
I was also hungry, so I had to feed. I went down one of back alleyways and found a young man passed out, the smell of alcohol thick around him.
I didn’t bother with any niceties or gentleness as I grabbed him and took the blood from his body in a few swift drafts. I spilled my blood over the fang marks and got up with a sigh.
I could feel the blood racing through my system, and it should have thrilled me but it didn’t. I still felt as though my heart had been torn out of my body.
I slipped out of the alleyway and went back to my bike.
As expected, there was Allenby, leaning against it and giving me a cold, furious stare.
“You just can’t leave well enough alone, can you?” he said as I approached.
I smiled. He was alone, obviously waiting for his friends to arrive.
“Neither can you,” I said, standing eye to eye with my arms crossed.
“You fucking bitch,” he said, and punched my ribs.
I barely felt his hand bounce off my side. “You stupid, fucking cretin. You want to go another few rounds with me?”
“Cunt,” he said and aimed another futile punch to my stomach.
It bounced off.
I knocked him over backward with a slap.
He gave a wordless snarl of rage, leapt to his feet, and raced toward me. I let him crash tackle me, and we went down in a tangle of arms and legs.
We pummeled each other like a pair of testosterone laden schoolboys. I pulled all of my punches so he was bruised by them, but not too damaged.
Finally blood spilled down his face from a split lip and his chest heaved. I put a booted foot on his chest.
He struggled.
“No, I don’t think so,” I said. “Don’t push me or I’ll kill you.”
“Fuck off, you bitch!”
“Thank you, I think I will,” I said and removed my foot. Before he could blink I was on my bike and roaring off down the road.
I felt restless; the fight with Allenby had worked off some of my excess energy, but I still felt terrible. I wanted to go out, but I wanted to be alone.
Unable to decide what I wanted to do, I went home and slumped in my recliner, tortured by the pain I had seen in Bronwyn’s beautiful, bright green eyes.
The following night, I went into the city to feed. Bronwyn had not come home. I was restless and aching. I wanted her. When I drove down Darlinghurst Road, I saw Allenby. He was with a group of rough-looking men, and he scanned the motorcycles that passed them.
I pulled up into a side street and parked, and then quietly snuck back to them and hid so I could watch him.
His posture was tense, and he reminded me of a coiled snake. I thought he was looking for me but rejected the idea. He wasn’t just looking at the Japanese bikes; he was looking at them all. A couple of riders even looked like me, but he didn’t display any reaction to them.
Something about his savage demeanor set my teeth on edge. Even though I was in the shadows, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he could see me. My skin crawled.
I quietly backed away from him and went back to my car. I wasn’t in the least surprised to see a young man holding onto my car and puking into the gutter. I took him and left his unconscious body in the bushes.
I headed back toward Allenby, but stopped.
I could feel a presence, another vampire, in the street behind me. I could feel waves of anger and loathing radiating from it. I stared into the shadows, trying to find it, but I couldn’t see anything. I stood still for a few minutes, but they kept their distance, despite the viciousness I could sense. I tried to push the feelings aside as I went back to Darlinghurst Road to watch Allenby.
I had almost reached him when it finally caught up with me. I was surprised it followed me. I stopped and turned, and felt it coming closer to me. I tensed, preparing myself to fight. I caught a blur of movement beside me and a shadowy figure grabbed me by the collar and hurled me backwards. I sailed through the air, landed with a thump, and skidded on my back almost all the way back to my car.
I was immediately back on my feet, poised to fight, but the presence was gone.
I relaxed and sighed, hoping it was over. It wasn’t the first time that I’d encountered a vampire like that, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with one now. All I wanted was Bronwyn.
I lost my interest in Allenby. I had done what I needed to do, I had fed, now I wanted to go home and wait.
I got into my car with a sigh, and thirty minutes later was sitting in my recliner, the strains of my favorite music in the background and tears stinging my eyes.
I stayed at home for the next two days. The city wasn’t a safe haven for me. I spent my time wandering around my house, riding my bike, and waiting to see if she would come back.
On the fourth night, I ascended from my basement hideaway, steeling myself for another lonely night.
My eyes widened in shock as I took in her beautiful eyes, still and calm, watching me. She sat at the kitchen table, hands clenched, knuckles white with tension.
“Bronwyn,” I breathed. “Bronwyn.” I couldn’t hide the relief in my tone or eyes, and both broke her.
In a second she crossed the kitchen and was in my arms, sobbing against me.
“Crowley,” she said when she was able to muster some coherence.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She peered up at me, eyes red rimmed and aching. “I don’t know why you’re apologizing. I’m the one who needs to say sorry and that’s what I’m doing.”
“Don’t do that to me again,” I said. “Please.”
“I can’t help it,” she said. “When I saw you with that girl . . . I . . .
I . . . it hurt . . .”
“I know it did. I know. But—”
She put her finger to my lips. “I know we’re not together,” she whispered. “I know. I know you’re a free woman. So am I. My head knows all of that. But my heart hasn’t quite caught up yet.”
I nodded. “That’s why you came back, isn’t it?”
She flinched. “I’m not here because I have no better option.”
“You’ve found somewhere else to live?”
She hesitated. “Yes, I have. But I don’t want to.”
“You really should go. If I’m hurting you this much, what good am I to you?”
“You want me to go?”
I gazed into her green eyes and shook my head.
She let out a gusty breath and sank into my embrace. “I’m sorry.”
My disobedient arms tightened around her, and I breathed in the scent of her beautiful, clean, sun-warmed hair, her recent arousal.
“Forgiven, Bronnie. Forgiven.”
We stayed tangled together for a few moments, simply taking animal comfort from one another.
Finally I was forced to pull back when I felt my stomach growl softly.
I gave her a crooked grin. “I have to go out for about an hour.”
She nodded. “You want a bite to eat here?”
I shook my head.
“Be careful,” she said.
I nodded. “I always am.”
We gently disentangled. I wasted no time going out to feed close to home. I was anxious to get home and back to Bronwyn. When I got back, I closed my eyes and listened for her. I smiled when I picked up the soft sounds of the television in the master bedroom. I went upstairs and knocked softly.