Original Sin (32 page)

“Yes, I would hht="quotave,” I say resolutely. I don’t want him to ever think anything different. “When, I don’t know? But one day I would have found my way back here to you. Because I’m meant to be with you.”

Pressing his lips together, he drifts into a long blink, then he cups my face with his hands and guides me to his lips. He kisses me, hard. And before I know it we’re making love again.

He stares down at me intently in the darkness. “I know what I said about the key and that I would always be here waiting for you, but … the truth is, I don’t want to be without you again – I can’t be without you.”

I’d promise him my soul right now if it would keep him moving inside me like this. Every nerve ending in me is singing. I’ve never felt a need like it before. It’s not a physical need; it’s a pure, unadulterated, emotional need.

He seals his mouth over mine, kissing me deeply, passionately, emotionally. And we end my birthday just like we did his, making love. Except this time it’s intense and emotional. And afterwards I have the strong urge to cry, but I don’t.

It’s almost as if I know our happiness will soon be over. And I think Nathan knows it too.

Chapter 31: From Good to Worse

I roll over, smoothing a hand over the empty space in our bed where Nathan was sleeping a short while ago, smiling to myself.

Late night walks. Hunting together. Watching movies. Nathan reads to me. Another thing I didn’t know about him, he likes to read. A lot. I like to sit curled up with him while he reads to me. We do what normal couples do together, except for the shifting, hunting and drinking of blood for me. But that’s normal for us.

I’ve been back home for almost two weeks. We don’t talk about the future. We talk about today. Maybe that’s because neither of us wants to tempt fate by talking about the future, in case something turns up to take it away. Take me away.

I shower, then come back into our bedroom and get dressidth=pty spaed. Taking my still dry hair out its ponytail from the shower, I brush it, leaving it down. Just how Nathan likes it.

Opening the curtains to the day, I see Nathan is in the garden watering the plants. Probably sounds stupid but I kind of miss him. I hate not being around him. I feel like a part of me is missing when I’m not with him.

Going downstairs, I don’t bother with breakfast. Instead I go straight outside to see him. He turns, lowering the hose, puts the clip down, halting the water. He smiles at me. It melts me to the ground.

As I turn, I hear before I see, Craig in the tractor at the far side of the field, driving along singing to himself. He’s a funny guy. I like him a lot. Then I see Jack and Scarlett coming out of the woods, heading in the direction of the barn. She must have gone with him to visit with Sol. I’ll go later. I’m sure Nathan will be ready to visit again.

We went a few days ago to visit Sol’s grave. It was hard for Nathan. It was hard for me to see him so broken up. But this time he let me be there for him. He didn’t cry. I could tell he was holding back, but we talked about Sol for a long time.

I tried to make him see that Sol’s death was not his fault. Just like Carrie’s wasn’t mine. He said he could see that Sol’s death wasn’t his fault. I know he was lying to me, telling me what he thought he should be saying. Nathan will always blame himself. Like a small part of me with always blame myself for Carrie. Even though I know events are out of our control, the rational side doesn’t connect with the guilty side.

Just these last few days I’m already seeing the heavy burden of Nathan’s guilt lifting just a tad, allowing him to finally grieve for Sol, and he’s slowly finding a way to cope with it.

I’m just walking back through the garden toward the house when I feel the squirt of water on my back, soaking through my T-shirt.

I spin around to Nathan, who is wearing a big playful mischievous look on his face. He raises the hose again, aiming it straight for me.

Right, now it’s game on. And with nothing to lose, I run at him – my sole aim to get that hose off him and give him a good soaking.

He moves quickly, laughing, dodging me at each turn, but I finally catch him from behind and try to wrestle the hose from him, but he’s not letting go, squirting it under at me, soaking me through. I manage to grab a hold of the hose in his hand and twist it around and spray it up in his face, soaking him.

Laughing, breathless, and both ending up drenched, we flop down on the grass side by side. My breaths are coming in fast and heavy, and it’s not because I’m worn out – it’s because I am exhilarated. And happy. So very happy.

I turn my head to the side to look at him. He stares back at me. I can read Nathan’s eyes like they are his thoughts. He’s so clear for me to see. And then I desperately, urgently, want him to kiss me. He rolls on top of me, taking my face in his hands and kisses me, deeply, passionately. I kiss him back with fervour. We stay like that for a long time.

“I’m soaked,” I grumble, pouting, as I start to become aware of the dampness all around me.

“You look beautiful,” he says. “But we should really get you out of these wet clothes.” He tugs at my soppy T-shirt, which is clinging to my skin like a second skin. “I don’t want you to catch cold.”

“Hmm, no we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

“Well if you get sick, I won’t be able to do this.” He leans down to my neck and ever so gently licks a running drop of water off my skin. Every particle of me is sent into frenzy from that one single action.

“No. We definitely don’t want you to stop doing that.” I turn my face to his, “I love you.”

Pressing a gentle kiss to my lips, he whispers, “I love you too.”

Lifting off me, he gets up and pulls me to me feet. I look up at him, feeling all shades of pink ridiculous happiness. A movie kind of happiness. The kind of happiness that not so long ago I didn't think I deserved, let alone would ever have the chance to feel. And I feel it, right now, because of him.

He might be hard work at times. Rough and damaged. Harsh and callous. He has demons. So do I. Mine are quite possibly worse. I have the potential to be a killer. One drop of pure human blood past my lips, and I know I’ll be changed for good. For the worst. There’s kind of no topping that.

He is so gentle and tender with me. So utterly sweet and loving. And boy is he good in bed. Really good. Am I grinning? Yes. Damn bloody right I am.

He’s mine and I am his. And nothing else will ever come between us again. I wrap my arms around his soggy waist, resting my head against his chest and holding him tight. He puts strong arms around me and presses his lips to my wet hair.

Thinking fast, I run for the house, I manage to dodge a vampire coming straight for me, striking him with an elbow jab to his ribs, temporarily winding him.

Nathan is yelling my name, telling me to run, but I’m not running away. I just need to get in the house and get a gun. There’s one in every room. Nathan made sure of that since I came back. Ever the cautious. I guess we just didn’t plan for an outside attack. Not an attack at all really. How do these fuckers keep finding me?

Focus Alex.

I fly into the house, yanking open the kitchen drawer, I pull the gun out, safety off, and I fire straight for the bastard who is still hot on my tail. I hit him in the chest, but not the heart, so as he advances quickly, I hold my breath, aim, and fire. He dusts before my eyes.

I grab the pack of silver bullets out the drawer, ram them in my pocket, grabbing one of Jack’s large sharp silver cooking knives. I head for the back door.

I’m grabbed from behind. Spinning, I’m just about to drive the knife into the heart of my attacker when his voice comes in my ear.

“Bunny.”

“Zeff?!” I spin around, wild and wide eyed.

Surprising to me, I actually feel an overwhelming rush of affection for him, and I also kind of want to punch him too. But knowing he is here gives me a huge sense of relief. He’s an Original. A one man ninja bad ass kicking band. Or something less dorky sounding. I’ve seen him in action. He fears nothing.

I’m moving quickly toward the open back door. Then Zeff is in front of me. For a second I think he’s trying to block my path, then I realise he’s protecting me.

Another vampire appears through the doorway in an instant, this one armed with a gun. But he’s not expecting Zeff, and Zeff drives a silver blade which appeared from out of nowhere straight into his heart, dusting him. Does he keep them up his sleeve or something?

He glances at the gun on the floor. Picking it up, he says, “Tranquilliser gun. They came prepared.”

Not caring about the gun, just needing to get to Nathan, and knowing there’s no more vng agunampires lurking outside the house, I push past Zeff, searching for Nathan.

I see him. He’s fighting two vampires. My heart thuds with a dull thump, down into my feet.

I see him throw one off him, and then with one hard swing Nathan knocks the other one off his feet.

That’s it baby, kick his arse!

I start to run toward him, shoving the knife into my back pocket as I move. I raise the gun. My aim is going to be shit while running, but I have to do something. Nathan might be holding his own, but he’s unarmed. And both of them are already back and up on their feet.

For a split second, I catch Nathan’s eye as he turns in my direction. A silent communication passes between us. A second later he drops to the floor and I start to fire at the vampires. Bullets hit them – arms, legs, shoulder.

I’m all over the place, because I’m still moving. Then my gun clicks empty. And they’re still standing. And not looking pleased at all by the fact I just emptied my clip into them.

I’m not going to have enough time to reload before they come for me. I am, after all the one they’re here for. I pull the knife out of my back pocket, readying myself.

As they make a move to come for me, Nathan jumps one of them, taking him down to the floor. Then I see Zeff blur past me. The first one is dusted in less than a few seconds. Nathan’s knelt on one pounding his face in.

I stare as Nathan's pushed backwards and Zeff moves in, allowing him the space he needs to drive his knife into the vampire's heart.