Sunlight blinded me at first, but my eyes adjusted. Heat poured down on me and my skin soaked it in. I breathed in the scent of manure, pollen, and dew. The back of the house had a big fenced-in yard, much bigger than the last house. A large, open field was on the other side of the fence. I stood at the edge of the patio, feeling the warmth and grit of the concrete under my bare feet. I tilted my head back, and let the sun cleanse me.
Images flashed in my head. I focused my thoughts until one steady stream played in my head.
I wore a white gown as I walked, the grainy texture of sand brushing my over feet. Wind tossed my hair and my gown pressed against my legs. The intense sun cooked my flesh, but I loved it. I loved the warmth, loved how it filled me with joy.
Come to me
, the voice said.
A brown concrete structure with a dark opening lay ahead of me. I headed toward it. I’d been there before, many times.
Come to me and I will make you happy.
His familiar voice was sweet music to my ears. He meant the world to me. He was night and I was day. He loved me and cared for me in a way no other man had. I’m coming, I said in my thoughts.
I will give you eternity. I will give you more than you can imagine.
I stopped inside the entrance, still in the light. Ahead of me, my lover waited. Darkness hid him, but I knew he was there.
“Come closer,” he said in a smooth voice that made me ache. “I want to touch you.”
I smiled as I stepped into the darkness.
Strong hands grabbed my arms. He pulled me to his hard body for a kiss, full of passion, full of love, full of need. His tongue ravished mine. My hands splayed over his bare chest and glided over the ripples of solid muscle. I reached his shoulders and felt his soft hair brush my hands. He smelled of spice and incense, and it took all my control not to lick every inch of him.
His arms wrapped around me and he brought me deeper into the darkness where the air was cooler. Pressing me to the wall, he lifted my gown and ripped my thin panties. Seconds later, his pants fell and he filled me with his swollen cock.
I threaded my fingers in his long hair and wrapped my legs around him. His violent thrusts had me gasping for air and moaning for more. He knew how to please me, make me ache, make me quiver. I wanted him. I needed him. I couldn’t resist him.
He held me tight as he drove into me deep and fast. This man knew me, heart and soul. Knew what I needed, what I wanted. When my orgasm came, I shuddered and screamed.
“You will always have my love,” he whispered in my ear.
“And mine is yours,” I said.
He bit into my neck and his orgasm exploded. His cock throbbed inside of me while he drank from my veins. But he wouldn’t kill me. He wanted me to be like him. He wanted me to stay with him. And I wanted to do it.
“How are you feeling?” Jonas asked.
I gasped and jumped back.
“Whoa!” he said, reaching for me. “Calm down. It’s just me.”
My heart thumped. “Sorry. I was...somewhere else.” Oh man, was I ever.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’d say so. Are you feeling okay?”
“A little hungry for some food. Otherwise, I feel fine.” Fine enough. No need to mention the soreness between my legs. “Where’s Boss?”
“He left a few hours before dawn. He decided to stay at the other house.”
“Not the one we left, right?”
“No, he has another one.” His eyes traveled down the length of me. “Do you remember anything from last night?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. The sleeves of Boss’s shirt hung over my hands. “I remember I shot five gargumen and killed them.”
His eyes enlarged. “You killed five of them?”
I sighed. “I knew how. I just don’t know how I knew.”
“That’s weird.”
“Boss burned the bodies. Then we came here.”
Jonas stared at me, as if waiting to hear more.
“Oh, and apparently I heal faster than Boss, which is bizarre. He’s over fourteen hundred years old. How can my wounds heal quicker than his?”
“If the vampire who created you was older than Boss, you would have a touch of his powers and abilities.”
I lowered my sleeve-covered hands. “How does a vampire create a half-breed anyway?”
“You share each other’s blood over an extensive period of time.”
Oh, God. I drank vampire blood?
“How long?” I asked.
“Weeks, months. The vampire wouldn’t have drained you completely. Whatever he or she took, they would replenish with their own. Over time, it changes your chemistry and you become dependent on warm blood.”
“But you’re not a half-breed.”
“No,” Jonas said with a shake of his head. “Boss gives me one dose a year. That’s all.”
A soft breeze blew strands of my hair into my face. I tucked them behind my ear. “So you’re saying I took blood from a powerful vampire, one older than Boss, for a long time.”
“Yes. That’s the only explanation.”
I thought about the flashback I’d had moments ago. The man in the darkness had been a vampire. I hadn’t seen his face or remembered his name. He had to be the one who made me a half-breed. Whoever he was, I had loved him.
“Do you recall anything else from last night?”
I looked at the ground. “Boss was feeding from me.” I lifted my head. “You had a gun pointed at him. Why?”
“Did he ever tell you why half-breed angels are so rare?”
I narrowed my eyes. “No, he didn’t.”
“Because every creature, human and non-human, likes to use half-breed angels. They drain the righteousness and purity of the half-breed angels, then kill them. If a vampire finds one, it’s instant death.”
“What do you mean? I don't understand.”
“Vampires love to feed from angels. They’re drawn to the energy, the blood. It’s purer than any other blood. Once they’ve had a taste, it’s difficult for them to stop.”
Holy shit! Why didn’t Boss tell me? “Did you think he was going to kill me?”
“I wasn’t sure.” He shrugged. “He wouldn't have killed you, technically. You just would've become a full vampire.”
But Jonas stopped him. I was standing in the sun, basking in the warmth because Jonas saved me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“It pissed him off royally. I think it was part of the reason why he left.”
“You think he’s mad at you?”
Jonas walked past me to the edge of the patio. He tilted his head back and gazed up at the blue sky. “I don’t care if he is. It’s not for him to decide if you should be turned or not.”
Points awarded to Jonas. If anyone should decide my fate, it should be me. And whoever my mysterious vampire lover was in my flashback, I was willing, at the time, to spend eternity with him. So what happened?
My stomach growled.
Jonas heard it and spun around, smiling. “I guess you
are
hungry.”
“What time is it?”
“After two,” he replied. “Tabby is sleeping upstairs. I can wake her and we can go out for an early dinner, if you’re interested.”
“Do you think Boss will return tonight?”
“Probably. He said he wanted to do more research before he came back.”
I looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. I could stay in the sun all day and be happy, but hunger called. “Can you give me some time to clean up and find some clothes?”
He chuckled as he walked past me. “Take your time. After I wake Tabby, it will take her at least an hour and a half to get ready.”
After Jonas went back inside, I stepped into the grass. The coolness felt good on my feet. As much as I loved the heat from the sun, I also loved the coolness and dark of the night. Could I give up one for the other? My flashback made me think so. I had to discover who I was first. Maybe then I’d find my answer, and my mystery lover.
Chapter 18
Tabby, Jonas, and I sat in a crowded restaurant, enjoying dinner. Servers dressed in black crossed paths every few minutes. Chattering voices were louder than the music playing through the speakers. The aroma of bread, garlic, and sausage consumed the air and soaked into my clothes. Our plans for an early dinner turned out to be a later one after it took Tabby twice as long as anticipated to get ready and find suitable clothes that were wrinkle-free.
I leaned back with my hand on my tummy. I’d eaten three fourths of the lasagna and given up on more. Jonas sat across from Tabby and I, shoving large forkfuls of skilletini into his mouth. The man always seemed to have a hearty appetite.
Thoughts in my head swirled around Galluzzi and Alison. Questions continued mounting. What was Alison? Why did she work for Galluzzi so long? Why did Alison save Galluzzi’s life? I couldn’t imagine a demon willingly want to save someone. Yet, if Alison were something other than a demon, why would she want to work for Galluzzi, a half-demon? I recalled what Jonas told me about people using angels. Could Alison have been part angel? It would explain saving Galluzzi’s life, but not working for the woman all those years.
Tabby picked up her glass of wine, looking at me with disquieted green eyes. “You’ve been quiet since we left the house. Is something bothering you?” She sipped the dark liquor and set the glass back down.
Jonas wiped his mouth. “She’s right. You haven’t said much.”
I sat up and nudged my plate further up the table. “I’ve been thinking about Alison Baxter.”
“I never finished my search for her in the database.”
“What if she wasn’t a half-demon?” I asked “What if she was something else?”
Jonas scrunched his brows as he chewed.
“What do you think she could’ve been?” Tabby asked.
My eyes moved from Tabby to Jonas. “From what you told me earlier about angels, they can be tempted.”
Jonas nodded and swallowed.
“What if Alison was a half-breed angel. She saved Galluzzi from the wreck. Then Galluzzi tempted her with, I don’t know, a job, power, wealth. Alison agreed. She worked for Galluzzi until her untimely death.”
“Do you think Alison could have helped Galluzzi’s career advance?” Tabby asked.
I shrugged. “It’s a thought.”
“It’s a good one,” Jonas said. “The problem is we have no way of knowing if she was or not. The records for half-breed angels are thin. Her DNA might show similarities with ones on file, but it would take time to access those records, if we even can. She’s been dead for fifteen years.”
I sighed. There had to be another way. My gaze turned to Tabby.
“What if I contacted Benny?” I asked.
Tabby’s eyes grew wide.
Jonas shrugged. “Why not?”
“How are you going to contact him?” Tabby asked.
“He said to call him.”
“Did he give you a number?” Jonas asked.
“No. Before he disappeared, he just told me to call him.”
“Maybe he meant you should call his name,” Tabby said.
My eyes jumped between them. “Call his name? Here?”
“We won’t think you’re crazy if we see you talking to someone else.”
“Okay,” I said softly.
I looked around the crowded restaurant. People were too busy talking or stuffing their face with food. They probably wouldn’t notice if I spoke to an invisible person.
I looked at the empty space next to Jonas. “Benny, if you can hear me, I need to talk to you.”
Talking to nothing felt odd. Jonas kept eating as normal. Tabby sat mute with her eyes bouncing from me to Jonas and back, then lifted her glass and drank more wine.
I glanced over my shoulder and all around the restaurant, searching for Benny. Would he be able to hear me?
Jonas swiveled his fork in the pasta. “Anything?”
I shook my head. “No, he isn’t here.”
Tabby dug inside her purse. She pulled out her cell phone and handed it to me. “Maybe you should call him with a phone.”
I took the cell and gave her a quizzical look. “How? I don’t have a number.”
“Maybe you don’t need one.”
“Try it,” Jonas mumbled with his mouth full of food.
While I didn’t understand how speaking into a phone without a number might connect me to Benny, I was willing to try. I lifted the phone to my ear.
“Wait.” Tabby pulled my hand back, slid her finger over the screen, then tapped it. “Okay.”
I held the phone to my ear again. “Benny, its Stephanie. I need to talk to you. Can you stop by, please?” I gave the phone back to Tabby. “I feel weird doing this.”
She grinned. “You looked normal to me. You just called someone.”
I shook my head, blinked, and there he was, sitting next to Jonas like a normal person.
“Holy shit!” I clapped a hand over my mouth.
Benny shook his head and his wavy light brown locks bounced. “That isn’t nice to say.” A soft floral scent drifted into my nose.
I should’ve guessed cursing around an angel wasn’t appropriate. Mental note made for next time.
“What?” Jonas asked.
“Is he here?” Tabby asked with wide eyes.
I nodded.
“Where?”
“They can’t see me,” Benny said.
I lowered my hand and looked at Jonas. “He’s beside you.”
“Should I move over?” Jonas asked.
I shook my head.
Benny leaned his elbows on the table. “You called?” He had on the same white shirt from the last time I’d seen him. His eyes drifted to my leftover lasagna. “Your food looks good.”
“It was.”
Benny’s mirrorlike eyes lifted. “You’re lucky. You can taste, feel, smell...”
“You can’t?”
“No.” He tilted his head to the side and gazed into my eyes as if he were studying me. “You are a curious one.”
I smiled at the angel.
“Were you aware there are only a few half-breeds left in the world?” Benny asked.
Jonas had told me angels and half-breeds were rare. I found it a bit scary, and sad.
“Yes, I am aware,” I replied. “Do you keep records of half-breeds?”
“Why?”
“There was a woman named Alison Baxter who died a while back. She saved a woman named Galluzzi. I am curious to know if Alison was a half-breed.”
“I can check. Was she from here?”