He didn’t speak, but nodded. He was very silent throughout the rest of the morning and afternoon, and I hoped I hadn’t offended him too much.
Vance asked me to go on a picnic for dinner, which surprised me. I found I needed to readjust my preconceived notions of what a demon acted like. Maybe Vance was different, or maybe he was just different with me. I could tell he was genuinely trying to please me.
I discovered a basket in the house and soon had it packed up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, and blood of all things. I figured I better get used to the idea of the blood if I intended on spending any amount of time with him. It was part of who he was now.
“You ready to go?” Vance asked when he walked into the room carrying a plush looking quilt rolled up under one arm.
“Yes, I am,” I replied with a smile. “Just let me clean this stuff up first,” I added, carrying the dirty knife to the sink.
He waited patiently while I put away the food and wiped off the counter, his eyes never leaving me as he silently followed my every move.
“Okay,” I said when I was finished. “Let’s go.”
He grabbed the basket before I could reach for it, placing it in the hand which was holding the blanket before reaching out to take my hand in his.
“What're you doing?” I laughed at him while we were walking out of the house. “I can carry something too!”
“Nah.” He smiled over at me. “I got it. Just relax and enjoy yourself,” he added with a wink. It never ceased to amaze me how he could make my whole body flush with desire with just one little expression.
“Ah, so there’s that pretty blush of yours again,” he commented, but he said it through gritted teeth this time. I realized my reaction was causing an adverse reaction in him.
He closed his eyes briefly and released my hand. “Did you pack any blood?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied, my heart beginning to race.
“You walk on ahead, okay? I will catch up to you.”
“But I …” I started to reply when he cut me off.
“Portia!” He opened his flaming eyes to me. “Go now!” I noticed his teeth were lengthening slightly.
I didn’t wait for him to tell me again, turning to walk briskly away from him. I moved across the wide expanse of lush lawn toward an area where a large Magnolia tree graced the banks of the swampy river which ran by the property.
Standing under the shade of the old tree, I looked out into the murky water and I absently rubbed my arms as I observed the patterns of the light from the dusk colored sky dancing across its surface. I wondered what predators might be lying in its depths watching me at this very moment, like I was being watched by the predator behind me. I could feel Vance’s stare penetrating into me, the hunger practically rolling off of him in waves.
I wanted so badly to turn and look at him, but I was afraid to, as if making eye contact with him would hurt or make him thirst for me more.
Slowly, I wandered further under the tree until I was deep in the shadow of it and mostly hidden behind the massive trunk. I slid down to sit at the base.
It was still very humid. The heat surrounded me while I listened to the sounds of crickets humming in the air. The noise was peaceful, and I soon found myself being lulled to sleep while I waited for Vance, even though I struggled to stay awake and alert to my surroundings.
I realized I’d fallen asleep when I suddenly found myself being lifted in Vance’s arms. He cradled me carefully, carrying me over to the thick blanket which was now spread out on the ground under the leafy tree. He placed me gently on it before he joined me at my side, pulling me into his arms.
I snuggled easily up against him, craving the feel of his body against mine. I nuzzled against his chest.
“Are you better now?” I mumbled against his skin.
“For the moment, yes,” he replied, stoking my hair. “I went back inside for a … drink,” he said. “Sorry I took so long.”
“Will it always be this way?” I asked softly.
He didn’t answer me for a moment and I could feel him struggling with some sort of inner conflict.
“Yes,” he finally said. “As long as you are the way you are now.”
“Is it difficult? To be with me, I mean.”
He let out a sound that was half snort, half chuckle. “It's the most difficult thing I've ever faced,” he said point blank. He rolled me over on my back. “I can’t get enough of you.” He kissed the corner of my mouth lightly. “You're completely intoxicating.” He kissed the other corner of my mouth. “In every way possible,” he added and he nudged my nose with the tip of his.
He lowered his head and kissed me, gently at first before deepening the kiss much further, wrapping his arms tighter around me while he lay over the top of me. I arched my back and he slipped a hand up to my neck, turning my head slightly before he left my lips to kiss my neck down to my collarbone.
His teeth lengthened and his tongue licked over my skin. I arched my back, crying out in pain when he bit into me, but he sucked softly, gently drinking the blood from my wound and I could tell he was trying to maintain some control.
Suddenly he lifted his head, all of his senses on alert. He placed a hand over my neck, his healing powers seeping into my skin.
“Portia,” he said, looking down at me seriously. “We're not alone out here. I need you to pop back into the house. Stay in the bedroom until I come for you, okay?”
“Let me stay here and help you,” I said, but he was already shaking his head in denial.
“Please trust me on this and do as I say,” he replied, watching me closely.
I nodded. “Okay,” I said, and my body dissolved from beneath him.
As soon as I was in the room I ran to the window to peer out through the curtain. I could see him standing near the tree and a woman appeared out of the deepening shadows. She approached him.
Mayla. She was soon joined by several others, all men and they moved to form a half circle around her and Vance. Mayla was carrying something in her hands. She stepped forward, handing it to Vance.
Vance’s mind was closed tightly, but I could tell he was very agitated with Mayla. He kept waving one of his arms in frustration while he spoke with her before he finally turned and stormed off toward the house.
A couple of the others attempted to follow after him, but Mayla stilled them with a raise of her hand and she watched Vance move away.
Once Vance entered the house, Mayla disappeared with her demon henchmen back into the tree line.
I heard Vance’s heavy footfalls as he climbed the stairs. The door opened and he came inside, his face a determined scowl.
“What was that about?” I asked him and I realized the thing Mayla had given him was a container full of blood which he still held in his hands.
“Mayla's upset with me,” he replied shortly.
“Why?”
“Because you're still alive,” he said looking at me. “I’m defying a direct order from her.”
“To kill me?” He nodded before popping the top of the container open, taking a hefty drink from it.
“What did she say?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied taking another large swallow. “I’ll take care of it.”
“But there may be some way I can help.”
“Portia, I don’t want to talk about this right now,” he said firmly. “You might've been kind enough to let me know you killed one of the demons from my coven though. I can defend you better if I’m not being caught by surprise.”
“You shouldn’t have sent him to stalk my family,” I replied, not feeling the least bit remorseful about my actions.
“It was the only way I knew to get your attention. You wouldn’t listen to me and you kept jumping in and out of places before I could talk to you.”
“Forgive me for that, but I was kind of obsessed with trying to stay alive. You seemed pretty bent on hurting me every time I showed up,” I reminded, glaring
at him and daring him to deny it.
He stared hard in my direction, sparks flashing in his eyes as he clenched his jaw.
“You didn’t get to eat earlier and I've fed from you,” he said finally, changing the subject. “Let’s get some food into you.”
I nodded and followed him, realizing this discussion was completely closed.
“Why'd she bring you more blood?” I asked him as we entered the kitchen together. “You have plenty in the fridge.”
“This is fresh.” He glanced in my direction. “Fresh is always better than cold,” he explained. “She's very considerate to bring me some when she has it.”
“And what happens to the donor?” I asked while I watched him finish off the contents of the container.
He dropped his head to look at me, a puzzled expression crossing his face before he gave a shrug. “Never really thought about it I guess.”
“Well you should,” I said feeling angry with him over his nonchalant attitude. “It doesn’t just magically appear for your benefit. Someone is probably dying to give you your fix.”
I evaporated out of the house to where our picnic items had been left and gathered them up before returning back into the kitchen. He was standing right where I had left him.
“I hate it when you do that, just so you know,” he said roughly and he walked over to take the items out of my arms, placing them on the counter.
“And I hate it when you do that,” I replied, glancing over at the empty blood container now on the counter. “So, I guess we're even.”
He didn’t reply, just giving a slight shake of his head instead. He rummaged through the basket, pulling out the sandwiches and chips we’d intended to eat earlier, carrying them over to the table.
“Eat up,” he said gesturing to the food and he pulled a chair out for me.
I sat down and he sat across from me, slouching in the chair with his arms folded over his chest while he watched me.
“Aren’t you going to have some?” I asked him while reaching for a sandwich.
“Nope,” he replied brusquely. “I just ate.”
I paused at his comment before taking a bite, trying to decide if he was baiting me. Deciding not to fall for it if he was, I began eating instead. We didn’t say another word to each other while he watched me finish off my sandwich and a bag of chips.
He brought me a glass of water when I was done. “Are you sure you got enough? You don’t seem to be eating much lately.”
“I’m fine, Vance,” I said, reaching up to take the glass from him while wondering if things were always going to be this uncomfortable between us. “Thank you for the drink.”
He stood there, waiting for me to finish the water, taking the glass from me and placing it into the sink when I was done. I realized he seemed awfully protective of me again this evening, and this made me completely curious as to why.
“Is there something going on I should be aware of?”
“No,” he said quickly. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem … I don’t know … different, ever since Mayla and her cronies showed up,” I replied watching him carefully.
He turned to face me. “I’m really tired, Portia. Can we just go to bed now, please?” he asked with almost a pleading quality. He did, indeed, look very tired all of a sudden.
“Okay, sure.” I offered my hand out to him and reaching up to place a kiss on his cheek when he came to take it.
He led me up the stairs without saying another word as we walked, nor while we changed our clothes. When we crawled into bed together a few minutes later he didn’t even try to kiss me, instead he pulled me up close to his body so we were spooning together.
He still wasn’t very talkative, so I let my heavy eyelids relax and just enjoyed the feel of him as I slowly fell asleep. I was almost completely gone, when I felt his lips brush lightly against my hair.
“I love you, Portia,” he said.
Chapter 25
I was awakened in the middle of the night when Vance suddenly pulled away from me and crawled out of the bed. I opened my sleep laden eyes trying to adjust to the darkness and I automatically reached for where he had been.
“What’s the matter?” I asked quietly.
His head turned toward me, his red eyes glowing in the darkness. “Stay here. Someone's in the house,” he replied with a whisper. “I’m going to check it out.”
“Let me come with you,” I said, throwing the covers back.
“No,” he said firmly. “It's probably just someone from my coven, but just the same I prefer you let me check it out first.”
His words cut me instantly to the quick. He called it his coven and it suddenly reminded me our magic was no longer bound by the strength of our coven … my coven. We were separated in that way and he now belonged to someone else, a bunch of people actually, and they were my mortal enemies.
Vance finished slipping on his clothes before he made his way to the door, quietly moving through it and closing it behind him.
I slipped out of the bed and tiptoed over to grab the knob, turning it slightly to see if I could hear who was there and why it was so important for them to meet with Vance in the middle of the night.
“What are you doing here, Mayla?” I heard the deep timber of Vance’s voice drifting up the stairs.
“I brought you some more blood,” her voice answered in return.
There was a moment of quiet before Vance spoke up again. “You already gave me blood tonight.”
“Yes, but this is fresh from our outing which you declined to go on this evening. Your refusal to participate caused quite a bit of discord in the rest of the coven. It doesn't bode well for you.”
“I told you before, I’ll not leave Portia unprotected,” Vance answered in a frustrated voice.
“Portia’s on a different path than you,” Mayla replied. “Your destinies are no longer intertwined. I’ve foreseen it. It's unwise for you to try to hang onto something which is no longer meant for you.”
I felt my anger rise instantly to the surface at her words.
Vance’s voice lowered and a menacing quality over took it.
“I’m aware of what you claim to have foreseen, Mayla, but you need to listen to me and listen carefully. I’ll never kill Portia and nothing you say or do will convince me otherwise so just drop it.”
“She's tricking you with her powers, Vance,” Mayla lied to him, and I found myself suddenly wanting to bolt down the stairs after her. “She knows what she's doing is wrong. If she truly loved you, like she says she does, she would not stand in the way of your destiny.”
“Even if you're right Mayla, I’ll not harm her,” Vance said firmly, and I heard her sigh heavily.
“Then come back to the bayou shack with me now and show the others in the coven you're still united with us. We’ll hold a ritual together and it will help to diffuse the unease your actions have caused among us.”
“No,” Vance replied. “I won’t leave her here alone where she could be vulnerable to an attack.”
“I give you my word she will not be harmed by anyone in the coven.” Mayla promised. “You’ll be with all of us, so who could be left to harm her? Or do you not trust her to stay with you if you leave?”
She was baiting him into a trap. If he refused to go, he was saying he didn’t trust me and he was no longer standing with his coven. Mayla was definitely crafty I had to give her that.
“Fine, I'll come. Just let me go get some shoes on and tell Portia where I'm going,” he replied, sounding defeated.
I went back over to the bed, climbing under the covers just as he entered the door.
“I really wish you wouldn’t go,” I said as he strode to the closet, placing the jar of fresh blood on the dresser as he passed. “You have nothing to prove to those people.”
“So you heard everything?” he asked me, sitting down on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on.
“Yes, I was eavesdropping,” I replied honestly, wanting
him to trust me and not believe the lies Mayla was telling him.
“I have to go, even if it’s just to appease them—it will help protect you. They're my coven now, Portia. What would you have me do?” he asked in frustration.
I climbed out of the bed and walked around to face him as he stood up. “No. You don’t have to go. Stand up for yourself and what you believe in. Show them who you really are,” I said, placing my hand against his chest.
He grabbed me brusquely, pulling me hard up against him, his grip digging into my tender flesh. “This is who I really am,” he said angrily, his red eyes burning as they stared into mine. “I'm a demon now and that's never going to change. There’ll be no cure and no going back for me. The sooner you get that through your pretty little head the easier things will go for you. Remember you've pledged to make the change with me. I intend to hold you to your word.”
I started crying. “Vance, you are hurting me.” I pulled against his arms.
“It can’t be any worse than how you're hurting me,” he replied squeezing even tighter.
“How have I ever hurt you?” I asked staring up into his face.
“I can see that you don’t want this, Portia,” he said tersely. “I can feel your disgust at the whole situation coursing through your very being. You don’t want to be a demon, you've made that plain and clear, but by refusing to do so you’re refusing me. There's no way our relationship can continue if you don’t make the change. Every time I feed from you the connection becomes stronger now. You may not realize it yet, but it is happening.”
“So don’t feed from me anymore,” I said weakly. “That’ll stop the connection from continuing.”
He laughed at me. “You are so naïve sometimes! Asking me to stop drinking from you is like asking me to quit breathing.”
“You have other blood you can drink,” I said looking away and feeling guilty for encouraging him to hunt others.
“Look at me!” he said, shaking me roughly until I returned my gaze to him. “It's your blood I crave more than anything. And while I can hardly bear the thought of not being able to feed on your blood anymore, if you don’t make the change then you're in constant danger from me. One slip is all it would take and then you would be dead! Dead at my hands, which is something I could never overcome. I won’t risk it. The fact of the matter is I want to do it. Killing you would be so easy.” He released my arms then sliding his hands up them to rest them on the sides of my face. “Don’t you get it yet? I’m asking you to do this because I’m trying to protect you, and because I love you … desperately.”