Blood Gifts Read online

  She told him about her life as well. She was a painter. She sold her paintings online. But mostly she sold used clothing online. From thrift stores and garage sales. Sometimes she did a little substitute teaching. He looked fascinated by all of this, which was absurd. Or very polite, she mused. But it seemed like the words they spoke weren't the point anyway. It was just the fact that they were saying them to each other. It was like they began to share an aura or something. Like they were in their own little world. Forming a bond that got stronger and stronger the more they said. He was like a strange land that was being mapped out in front of her. His likes and dislikes. His goals. His thoughts. His heart.

  He liked to ride horses, and rebuild old cars, and he carried with him everywhere he went, an empty tiny ornate perfume bottle that had belonged to his mother, who had died years ago. Everything she learned about him wove together to form a detailed picture of who he was, which only strengthened the pull she felt to him.

  They spent the entire day together. Bought lunch from street vendors and ate in the park. Then went to a cafe on the walking mall for dinner. A quiet place with candles on the tables. As they spoke he reached across the table and entwined his fingers with hers. It was like they belonged entwined together.

  Afterwards, they walked hand in hand down the street. It was an old brick sidewalk with old fashioned street lamps that were only ten feet tall. Then they reached normal sidewalk again, and tall modern streetlights. They crossed the street and were in front of her apartment building. He stopped outside. She realized he wasn't coming in.

  "I guess this is your stop," he said, rubbing her fingers absentmindedly as they held hands.

  "Yes... stop... right..." she said nervously. The idea of leaving him now seemed... awful. Like unplugging her energy source. This was probably unhealthy. But she didn't care.

  "I, um..." he said as he took a step towards her. He dropped her hand so he could put his hands on her shoulders. He trailed his hands from her shoulders, down her upper arms, and back up again, over and over, as he stared into her eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't say it. Then suddenly he cupped her face in his hands and bent down and kissed her.

  It was not a sweet kiss this time. It was a hungry kiss. She felt his lips pressing against hers warmly, and tingles spread throughout her body. She actually got weak in the knees. He put his arms around her and held her to him as they kissed passionately. Then she felt her knees buckle under her, but he caught her quickly before she fell, and held her to him tighter. They were no longer kissing and she could catch her breath. Suddenly the street light above them burned out with a loud pop. She laughed.

  "Are you okay?" he asked her breathlessly, still holding her in case she started to fall again.

  "Yeah," she said, looking up at him happily. "Sorry." She realized she should be embarrassed, but the feeling wouldn't come. "I should..." she said, pointing up to her apartment.

  "Let me help you," he said. He kept an arm around her as she walked.

  "Thanks," she said. Now she was a little embarrassed, now that she had to make her legs work and they barely were.

  He got her inside and pulled her into the ancient elevator. The kind that was small and you had to pull the sliding gate closed yourself. He reached over and pressed the "3" button without asking where she lived. She noticed it, but shook it off. Sometime during the day she must have mentioned that she lived on the third floor.

  The elevator stopped on "3" and he opened it. "What apartment?" he asked politely.

  "3C," she said.

  He walked her to her door and watched her unlock it. Then he kissed her on the top of the head.

  "Well, I should let you be now," he said. He took a step back as she stepped inside her apartment.

  "Oh," she said, disappointed. "Did you want to come in?" She set her purse down on the floor inside the door, and looked expectantly at him.

  "I... sure," he said, shrugging and smiling.

  She smiled and grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. She closed the door behind him, and then, dropping all pretense, she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He leaned down into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. Then he leaned down and swept her up in his arms as he continued to kiss her. He carried her over to the couch and set her down. He sat down too and kept kissing her.

  Her mind was swirling with many thoughts. Was she really sleeping with him on the first date? She realized she didn't care. The haze she'd been in all day with him only got thicker now. She was being pulled deeper into him, and she didn't care. He kissed her roughly now and his hands traveled all over her body over her clothes, as he laid her back on the couch and pressed his body on top of hers. Her heart was pounding. She could feel his heart pounding. She almost felt like she was going to pass out, but she hoped she didn't. This beautiful haze of him had to continue.

  Suddenly she heard him groan. He had been kissing her neck. He stopped kissing her abruptly. He sounded out of breath as he said, "I can't do this, I'm so sorry."

  He got up quickly and practically bolted out of her apartment. She sat up dazedly. She was still out of breath. She looked down and noticed her V-neck T-shirt was practically torn off. There was a tear down the front almost to the hem. Wow. When had that happened? She lay back down on the couch and tried to catch her breath, wondering what had gone wrong.

  Chapter 5

  Luke ran down the stairs in Karina's apartment building at super speed, because they were empty. Then he got out on the street and wandered, walking quickly, trying to catch his breath. What was going on with him? Clearly he and Karina had some sort of bond. He had never felt anything like that before. He had been in love, but not like this. But that wasn't what had made him run out of her apartment.

  In the heat of the moment, his fangs had come out. He had wanted to drink her blood. His lust for her was not just for love and sex, but blood too. But it was too soon for her to know he was a vampire.

  Actually he never wanted her to know he was a vampire. The entire day he had pretended to be human. He had told her the truth about himself, but not the whole truth. He did travel from town to town, taking construction jobs, etc. He had eaten food in front of her. Even though he didn't need food to live, he could eat it. He knew vampire myths would keep her from guessing he was a vampire. People believed vampires couldn't go out in the day, that they were cold, that they had no heartbeat, that they had to be invited in. Not true. He also had a reflection in a mirror and was not bothered by crosses or holy water. Humans had the wooden stake through the heart thing right, though, unfortunately. And that fire or beheading would kill them as well.

  But he had pretended none of it mattered. That he was human too. And he had begun to believe it. Right up until his vampire teeth descended as he kissed her neck.

  What was he doing? Why was he pretending? He had wanted her for her blood to begin with. To be his verae while he was in town. Someone he drank blood from occasionally. Someone he did not kill. Someone who would have no memory of him. At least that's the way it was supposed to work. But his mesmerizing powers didn't work on her.

  He could live on animal blood for a while, possibly forever, which he had been doing. But occasionally he needed human blood, or wanted it anyway. Once every few weeks. He had long ago decided he would be ethical, humane, not kill anyone for blood. So, this was how he lived. And now there was her.

  He had few attachments in the world. A few friends in various towns that he visited now and then, but for the most part he was a loner. Getting attached to Karina now seemed wrong somehow. She was human. She wasn't a drifter like him. She didn't make sense in his world.

  Maybe there was a way—he almost hated to think about it. If he couldn't erase her memory of him, perhaps he could reveal himself to her. Drink her blood anyway. Let her scream, let her cry, let her hate him. And then he could leave town. But could he hurt her? In the heat of the moment, would he care? He'd never had to work this hard for a human's bloo
d. It was usually like taking candy from a baby. Easy.

  He could stay away from this town for fifty years, one hundred years, whatever it took. Till she had died. Till the police she would inevitably call had stopped looking for him. But he would get to taste her blood. It was thoughts like these that made him realize he really was like other vampires. Heartless, soulless, greedy bastards. But it would be more heartless to try to pursue this—whatever this was—with her. He could never turn her into a vampire. A monster. He couldn't live with her and love her until she died of old age, and then continue for centuries without her. And worse, drink from her regularly, like she was just blood to him. How could he turn these feelings off?

  He would reveal himself, drink from her, then leave town. She would hate him, and she would be better off without him. And once he had tasted her, he would not be so obsessed with her. He hoped.

  Chapter 6

  Karina woke Monday morning feeling very groggy. The haze that Luke had put her into must have actually worn her out. She got out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen for breakfast. Leanne had called from work and left a message. She worked in a doctor's office, as a receptionist. Karina knew she would call again on her break, and she would answer the phone then. No sense telling her the story of last night while she was busy trying to check in patients.

  Karina ate breakfast, checked her computer for new orders from customers, and packaged up a few things to take to the post office later. She felt very unemotional today. Sort of numb. Like her date with Luke had sucked all the color out of her life, all her emotions. It was certainly intense. And then ending so suddenly. Ironically, before Karina had gotten a phone number or a last name out of Luke. Nice. Classy. She did know he was renting a basement apartment from someone. That wasn't helpful.

  So she moped. Leanne called. They dissected the date, the details Karina was comfortable giving her anyway, and then Leanne had to get back to work. Nina called at lunch time, and Karina told her most of it too. They were excited, but they were seeing it all wrong. She didn't tell them how intense it was. How it made her feel out of control. How she liked feeling that out of control over him. They were both sure he would call. It was "just a guy thing" they had said. But it didn't feel that way. After the day they had had. Wow.

  She took a shower in the late afternoon and got dressed to go to the post office. Jeans and a blue tie dye T-shirt. Hair in a ponytail. No makeup. She mailed her packages, then stopped by her favorite thrift store on the way home to restock a little bit. Then she went back home. She had just finished dinner and was watching TV when someone knocked on her door. She got up and peeked out the peephole. It was him.

  She opened the door, trying not to look as excited as she felt. He should be a little sorry for how he left yesterday.

  He was dressed all in black. Black jeans, black button up shirt. Very dramatic.

  "I'm so sorry," he said quietly, looking into her eyes. "I... just needed to get a handle on myself last night. Everything was moving too quickly."

  "I know," she said. "It's okay." She stepped aside to let him in.

  He looked nervous as he stepped inside her apartment. He closed the door behind himself, then put his hands on her upper arms. He let one hand travel up to undo her ponytail and let her light brown hair fall around her shoulders. She smiled as she put her hand on his hand as he caressed her neck.

  "Karina," he said gruffly, "you will never understand what I am about to do."

  She looked up at him, confused.

  He opened his mouth and she saw fangs quickly descend. Her eyes grew wide. Suddenly he gripped her shoulders tightly and began to pull her closer to him. She screamed. He let her get away. She ran deeper into her apartment, since he was in front of her door. He chased her at super speed and caught her in his arms as she was passing the couch. On her way to the kitchen, to climb down the fire escape.

  Her heart pounded with fear as he gripped her shoulders so tightly it hurt. He looked at her a little menacingly, and slowly lowered his fangs to her neck. She squirmed to try to get away, but he pressed her onto the couch and lay on top of her. He held her head with one hand and bent his head down to bite into her neck. She screamed again at the searing pain as his vampire teeth cut her flesh. He covered her mouth with his hand to muffle her scream. Then he tasted her blood.

  It was warm and thick and tasted beautiful. It tasted how she smelled. Sweet. Clean. Innocent. He drank quickly, lost in his blood lust.

  Having his lips on her neck, sucking, warmth flowing out of her and into him, suddenly it felt right to her. Like he needed her and she was giving him what he needed. She was sustaining him. And he was close to her, and warm, and his hands had released their tight grip on her head and shoulder. She was panting as he sucked, and she had stopped fighting him. She moaned.

  He stopped sucking. He was out of breath. He pulled away from her neck to look at her. Part with wonder, part with horror. What was she doing? Sure, there were people that were into this. Having their blood drunk. But she was not the type. This was different. It was like it was because it was him, not because it was blood, or because he was a vampire. She wanted to give him what he needed. She was out of breath as she stared up at him with half-closed eyes. She reached up and traced her finger along his lower lip, wet with her blood. He was suddenly angry. Did she have no self-preservation instincts at all?

  "Be afraid," he said to her sternly.

  "No," she said weakly and shook her head.

  "I could kill you," he said a little menacingly.

  She said nothing, only traced his lip again with her finger. Then she put her hand on the side of his face.

  He retracted his fangs. Then he pressed his thumb to her neck wound to stop the bleeding.

  "Karina," he said quietly, frustrated and amazed.

  "I love you, Luke," she whispered quietly, amazed at herself too. How could she feel this so soon? And for someone who had attacked her moments before, almost killed her?

  "You are not sane," Luke said with wonder. "Clearly." Then he buried his fingers in her hair, trapping her head where it was. "I guess that makes two of us," he said quietly, then he roughly kissed her lips, causing her to moan again.

  Karina felt totally lost in him as she kissed him, felt herself trying to tear his shirt off. He removed it for her. Then he pulled her shirt off quickly over her head and picked her up, holding her tightly in his arms as he carried her to her bedroom. Her neck wound still leaked a little blood and he licked it off her neck as he held her in his arms over the bed. She moaned and her arm fell limply to her side. The sun was setting, and streaks of gold and pink light painted the walls as he laid her on the bed.

  He carefully removed the rest of her clothing, and then quickly his own. He lay down on top of her.

  She gasped as he quickly slid himself into her. She dug her fingernails into his back as he began to move. It caused him pain, but he didn't care.

  She wrapped her legs around him as he thrust into her, feeling like she couldn't be close enough to him. He became more frantic. The pleasure building in her was insane. More intense than anything she'd felt before. It almost hurt. She orgasmed, arching her back. He didn't stop. He just became more frantic. He began to move at a speed that was much faster than a human could move. She was in awe, frozen in a state of intense pleasure and bliss, until he finally came. Pleasure burst through her again in an enormous wave, causing her to convulse a few times as he held her still with his arms. He gripped her tightly, wrapping his arms around her body, her head buried in his neck.

  "I love you too," he whispered. She thought she felt him shake, like he was sobbing. Then quickly, he moved with superhuman speed away from her, gathering his clothing like a tornado, and speeding out of her bedroom, and her apartment. She heard the door close as he left.

  She was still out of breath, lying weak in her bed, when she passed out.

  Chapter 7

  Luke had dressed quickly in Karina's living room and was now wa
lking agitatedly down the street. Mindlessly walking, he ended up back at the festival. Things were just wrapping up. Tables were being cleared and packed up. He stared at a folded pile of tie dyed shirts and thought of her, and suddenly the shirts flew off the table. But there was no wind. He walked quickly past them. The same thing happened when he stared at a pair of pink shoes sitting on a table. They flew to the ground for no apparent reason. He looked at a dented soda can on the ground and it flew away from him. He ran then, back to the park, to get away from all these objects he could suddenly affect.

  What was this? He had never been able to move things with his mind before. This was not a vampire thing. Had his bond with Karina caused him to develop new powers? He was still shaking from his encounter with her. He walked to the farthest corner of the park, away from the festival, and stood in front of a trash can. A little steel thing inside a green wooden holder. He concentrated on it and willed the metal can to lift in the air, and it did. Then he walked over to a picnic table under a wooden shelter. He willed it to slide across the concrete and it did. He was getting excited now. And nervous. How could this be happening? He'd never heard of this before.

  "Well, well," a male voice suddenly said from behind him. "Aren't we talented?"

  Luke spun around to see a young blond man with a smirk on his face standing ten feet from him.

  "Newfound gift?" the man said, slowly walking towards him. He wore all black, looked to be about 25 years old, and had a purple tattoo on the left side of his neck. Looked like a scrolled letter. Luke knew what he was.

  "Cat got your tongue?" the blond man laughed. "You seem to know who I am," he said.

  "I know what you are," Luke said with contained anger. "You're a vampire, Runic clan."