Caterpillar, a Paranormal Romance With a Touch of Horror (29 page)

“No, it scares you.  I hurt you last time.”

“No, really.  Please.  I want you to.  I
want
to do it.”

“Cat—”

“Don’t argue with me,” I said, my tone brooking no further debate.  The subject was closed for discussion.  “Can you get inside if I help you?”

He was weak, but with my help, he got to his feet and we made our way to the house.  “I’m sorry I couldn’t come in to help you.”

Actually, the question had surfaced in one corner of my mind, but I’d put it aside when I saw him collapse.  “It’s alright.  I’m sure you had your reasons.”  What else could I say?  He’d saved me in the end so it really didn’t matter. 

“We’re allergic to fire.  Severely allergic.”

Inside, we all but fell into the wet living room floor.  I got up and closed the door then rushed back to Tegan and rolled him onto his back.  I raised his head and lowered my face toward his.  “Tegan,” I said quietly. 

He opened his eyes and looked at me.  Quietly, I stretched out along side him, half lying on top of him, and presented him with my throat.

“Cat,” he whispered and then I felt his lips at my neck. 

It felt much the same as it had the previous time.  I felt the sting of his teeth entering my tender flesh then the beginnings of a pleasant sensation started to swirl in my head.  But that was where the similarity ended. 

Like the whoosh of my house going up in flames, the vague feeling of pleasure burst into a fiery passion in my belly.  Desire licked at my insides.  I slid my fingers into his silky hair and fisted them, holding his head to my neck. 

I felt his arms wind around me, pulling me closer, pressing my body into his.  My head spun with craving, a longing for something…more.  Tegan’s hand slid down my back and cupped my right thigh, pulling it across his hips.  Then he sat up, his mouth working voraciously at my throat. 

I straddled his lap, my knees on the floor.  And then he was kissing me.  I tasted something sweet on his tongue, something that registered in the back of my mind as being my own blood.  His tongue was warm and silky as it plundered my mouth.  His hands roved my back then settled at my hips, where his fingers gripped me and moved my body against his. 

A tension was building low in my belly, lava bubbling and boiling somewhere below that.  I heard a panting, a gasping noise, that I recognized.  It was my voice, the sound of my passion as it escalated to the point of breaking.  That seemed to inflame Tegan all the more, a low growl in his throat sending chills racing down my arms. 

Then he was on his feet, with me in his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist.  I felt my back hit the wall and then he was moving against me, my skin being abraded from both directions. 

The sound of a siren in the distance broke the spell we were under.  Tegan was the first to recover.  He raised his head and looked at me, his eyes a dark smoldering blue.  His breath was coming in quick pants, too.  He grinned at me, a wry grin that said more than words.  He regretted the interruption, too.

He lowered me from my position against the wall and rested his head on my shoulder.  I was still on a bit of a high from our shared desire and I was further stupefied by his grin.  I’d never seen him smile like that and it was quite intoxicating.

He straightened and looked down, our eyes locked in mutual understanding, before his gaze dropped to my neck.  He pulled my hair around to cover the spot where he’d recently fed.  Then his eyes rose to my lips.  I watched the tip of his tongue wet his own lips before he bent his head and brushed them lightly over mine in a sweetly affectionate kiss.  My heart melted just a little bit, as did my knees.

I heard a slamming door and we both moved toward the door.  The rest of what happened was a blur, but I remembered what I needed to, which was the thin story we’d concocted.  I heard a whoosh when the fire began and then Tegan and I used a water hose to put it out.  They’d have to figure out the rest.

As emergency and law enforcement workers started to drift off, having nothing more to do at the scene, Tegan and I walked through the burnt, soggy interior of my home.  Neither of us said a word, but when we came to my bedroom door, Tegan reached down and took my hand in his.  The gesture was absolutely perfect in its simplicity, yet it spoke volumes.  I was surprised by the amount and depth of comfort I received from it.

Astonishingly, most of my closet and part of my chest of drawers remained fairly unharmed, but for the smell of smoke I’d probably never be able to get out.  While we were in there, I grabbed a bag from the back of my closet that looked to be in good shape and started to throw a few items inside.

My mind was spinning, touching on a thousand different thoughts, but not settling on one long enough to produce any real or helpful conclusions.  It was Tegan who offered the first bit of pragmatism to the situation.  “I’d like you to stay with me, at least for the night.  I know you’d be safe and we can figure something else out tomorrow.”

Although I could’ve offered several reasons why that wouldn’t be a good idea, at that moment, nothing sounded better than to be close to Tegan.  Nothing. 

I shook my head, striving for casual even though my insides were quivering like a nervous teenager.  “Alright.”

I continued to pack items into the small bag, going through the bathroom and picking out toiletries I could salvage.  I mean, I’d no doubt have to do some serious shopping, but I at least had enough to make do for a few days.  I’d go turn in the information to my insurance agent as quickly as possible on Monday.  They weren’t going to like it, but they were going to have to cut me a check—a big one.

When I finished and we were getting ready to leave, I stopped on the porch to lock the door.  I laughed the dry, derisive laugh of someone about to do something completely mindless.  “I was gong to lock the door, but I don’t suppose there’s any need to do that.”  Tegan and I looked at the front of the house.  Although the door was still standing and intact for the most part, all the windows were busted out.

“I don’t suppose,” he agreed.

As we walked down the steps, two things occurred to me.  “I hope the cat’s alright,” I said, thinking he could go back to Aunt Jillian’s if he needed to.  Secondly, when we came to the curb, I noticed that Tegan’s vehicle wasn’t there.  “Where’s your car?”

“I ditched it in town when I realized you were in trouble.”

“How did you know I was in trouble?”

“I- I could sense it, I could…”  He paused, struggling to find the words.  “I could feel you, feel your fear.”

“H-how?”  I knew there was a lot more to know about him and I
did
want to know it, but I couldn’t rid myself of the ingrained hesitation and apprehension that went along with things I’d always been taught to fear, things like Tegan.

He looked down at his feet as we walked.  Even in profile I could see his brow furrow.  “I think it’s where I drank your blood.  It’s just so powerful…”

“So you could feel what I was feeling?”

“Sort of.  It’s hard to describe, but I guess that’s as good a way to look at it as any.”

“Can you feel what I’m feeling now?”

Tegan’s eyes jerked up to mine and I saw a moment’s hesitation before he spoke.  “Not really,” he said then cast his eyes away. 
Not really
wasn’t much of an answer.

Before I could continue my questioning, we had reached my Toyota.  He took the keys and my bag and put me in the passenger seat then shut my door and rounded to the driver’s side.

We had driven several miles when I noticed he turned onto a road that would lead us away from Atlanta, to the north.    I couldn’t stop the little prickle of anxiety that nudged my pulse up a notch.  “Where are we going?”

“To a safe house.”

“Like a police safe house?”

“No, this one has nothing to do with law enforcement.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know, a lot I need to tell you, but we can take it a step at a time—for your sake.”

I didn’t get the impression he was trying to put me off for any reason other than the one he’d stated.  “Then how about telling me how you put that fire out.”

I wiggled down in my seat and leaned my head against the headrest.  I closed my eyes and waited for him to start talking.

“There are certain…powers that come along with being cursed, powers that—”

“Cursed?”  I interrupted. 

“Yes.  That’s what I am.  Cursed.”

“How does that happen?”

“That’s a long, long story. One question at a time,” he said, patience resonating in his voice.  “When we use that power, blood is the only way to replenish that power and maintain our human bodies.”

“What would your body look like otherwise?”

He glanced over at me, his look the serious one I was so accustomed to.  “Not pretty, nothing you’d want to see.  Nothing I’d
want
you to see.”  I could tell he was uncomfortable with the topic.

“So I got these pages from my aunt and it mentioned something about your soul splitting,” I offered as a subject change.  I had so many questions, I could change it every five minutes and still keep him talking all night.

“That’s true.  When some people get cursed, they give in to the dark element of our nature.  They’re basically pure evil, what would typically come to mind when you think of a demon.  But others, like myself, we fight to keep the good alive, even though there are some aspects we can’t fight, like the form that we take.”

“So what happens to the bad part if you fight to keep the good?”

I watched him as he carefully chose his words.  “Have you ever heard of a doppelganger?’

“Yeah, like a person’s evil twin, right?”

“Exactly.  That word originated because of the curse.  When someone’s soul splits, the evil dwells in a human form just like the good.”

I took a minute to digest what he was saying.  “So you’re saying that you
literally
have an evil twin?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever seen him?”

“No.  But I’m sure I will.  It has to happen eventually.”

“Why?”

“He’ll seek me out and try to destroy me.”

“Why?”

“Because he can have more power if he doesn’t have to divide it with me.”

The thought of a pure evil Tegan out there was not a good idea for me to dwell on at that moment, so I chose another subject to change to.  “So what else can you do?  What other powers do you have?”

“Nearly infinite power to wield earthly elements. 
If
I chose to use them, that is.”

“What do you mean ‘if’?”

“I resist using them as much as possible so that I don’t have to drink blood to replenish and stay human.”

The realization of what he’d actually done for me, what he’d given up personally to help me, struck home.  “You did it for me?  Used your power, even though you don’t like to?”

He nodded.  At his humble gesture, I felt gratitude rise up and form a lump in my throat. 

“Thank you
so
much,” I whispered.

He looked over at me then, staring into my eyes, like he was seeing into my very soul.  Finally he said, “You’re welcome.  You were worth it.”

My heart fluttered in my chest and I couldn’t help the silly grin I felt slide into place.  I closed my eyes again and thought about what all I’d learned in the short time we’d been traveling, an amount I still felt was just the tip of the iceberg.