Kiss of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Realm Book 2) (7 page)

Dorian began to hum, “Ba-ba-dah-da-dah. Bum, bum. Bum, bum Ba-ba-dah-da-dah. Bum, bum. Bum, bum,” and slowly he began to circle us around the room, our heads nearly grazing the vaulted ceiling of the ballroom.

I found that I did know the song ― probably from it being included in numerous movie soundtracks ― so I tentatively began to hum with him. I felt a little foolish, but if my maker was willing to make an idiot out of himself, then so was I.

It was so wonderful being in Dorian’s arms. He looked very dour, as if he was taking my vampire training quite seriously. But I was having a wonderful time. Soon we were swirling across the room, our speed increasing. It was as if I could almost hear the music playing in my head. I couldn’t keep a broad smile from spreading across my face. And soon Dorian was smiling too. Not as much as me, but he was probably use to flying.

“Haley. You’re a natural,” he said, spinning me even faster. “I knew you could do it.”

I let out a laugh and tilted my head back so I could take in the details of the painted ceiling as we twirled, cherubs whizzing past. It was just as impressive up close as it had been from the floor. “Faster!” I cried. “Spin me faster!” It was just so exhilarating being in Dorian’s arms as we danced across the air.

“You need to try it on your own,” he insisted.

“No,” I said, instantly feeling alarmed and clinging tighter to him like a toddler who doesn’t want to be put down at the beach.

“Give it a try, Haley,” he said. “I can’t keep my arms around you every time you want to fly.” But I still wouldn’t let go. In a very steady voice Dorian told me, “I promise it will be alright.”

He was right. I was being silly. “Just give me a moment.” I tried to focus. I was a vampire and I could fly. That shouldn’t be such a hard concept to accept into my brain. After all, I’d taken to drinking blood with very little struggle. “Okay,” I told him. “I’m ready. Let me go.”

It’s not like Dorian whipped me across the dance floor or anything. In fact, he was trying to be careful, being very gradual about my release. But almost immediately after his hands were no longer touching me, I began to wobble and descend.
I am a vampire. I am a vampire. I am a vampire
, I kept chanting to myself as I tottered across the ceiling.
Gravity does not define me.
I grew steadier and began to rise.

“Haley,” Dorian called from halfway across the room. “Look out for the chandelier.”

“Gah!” The next thing I knew I had collided with the lights. Teardrop crystals rained down all around me. Instinctively, I made a grab for an arm of the chandelier. And that’s when gravity knew that I was still its slave. “Help!” I called to Dorian, not sure how long I would be able to hold on.

In an instant he had an arm behind my back and another under my legs, supporting me the way a groom carries a bride over the threshold. “Let go. I’ve got you.”

We glided toward the ground, smoothly and effortlessly as if Dorian was standing on an escalator. “You’re getting it,” he assured me. And then, flashing an amused smile, he added, “But you do have to watch where you’re flying. It’s kind of like driving a car that way.”

“Yes. I’ll try to keep that in mind,” I said, remembering the tree that had been my undoing. We were both silent for a moment, Dorian smiling, his strong arms supporting me, and me feeling foolish. Finally I said, “I think I’m okay now. You can probably set me down.”

“Oh. Yes, I forgot,” he said, keeping his arm around my waist, but releasing my legs. Dorian eased me to the floor, my body pressed against his. I had to fight to keep myself from shuddering from the pleasure it gave me.

“Thank you,” I said when my feet were firmly on the ground. “I guess I lost my head a little.”

“Anytime,” he said, his piercing gray eyes looking deeply into mine.

We were just inches apart, our chests still pressed together. It would have been so easy to lean forward and place a kiss on his lips. Was I just feeling giddy from being waltzed around the room or was Dorian also thinking about kissing?

“Are you ready to try again?” Dorian asked, pulling away from me. “I think we can do without the waltzing this time.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling my cheeks go hot, even though I wasn’t sure if vampires could blush. “Sure. I just…” He had obviously not been thinking about kissing me. I had been mistaken.

“What?” he asked, giving me a sharp look.

“Nothing. I just needed a moment to catch my breath.”

Chapter 9

Dorian

Haley was an excellent student. Given her recalcitrant nature, I had assumed that teaching her to fly would have been a challenge. But much to my surprise she listened to what I had to say and responded well when I made suggestions. There was that one brief moment, her body pressing against mine, when I’d set her on the ground after untangling her from the chandelier. The way she’d looked at me, I thought for just a split second that she would be receptive to a kiss. But then I remembered her words. “I know that you dislike me just as much as I dislike you.” When you disliked someone you usually weren’t very eager to be kissed by them.

I may have noticed that time was passing and we were getting dangerously close to dawn. If Haley was going to make it home safely, it would have been advisable for her to leave with plenty of time to get to her sleeping chamber before sunrise. I don’t think I exactly planned to have her practice flying until it was too late for her to reasonably expect to get home, but I did managed to ignore the time for as long as was justifiably possible.

As dawn grew near, I began to wonder if Haley had yet to develop the knack for sensing the rise and set of the sun. I’d have to train her if she hadn’t. Meeting the sun was believed to be the most painful way for a vampire to die. Not that anyone ever survived to confirm that belief.

“I think that’s enough flying for today,” I said after Haley had zipped around all four chandeliers and then zigzagged in between them like a downhill skier racing between flags. “You really are remarkably improved.”

“I have a good teacher,” she said, settling beside me on the parquet floor. “So what’s next?”

“It’s going to be morning very soon,” I told her. “There’s still probably time for you to fly home but…”

“But what?” she asked.

“But I’m not sure I’d advise it. There’s always the risk you might run into trouble and be delayed,” I told her. “And you don’t want to be tempted by your friend’s open invitation.”

Haley nodded. “That would definitely be bad.”

“You’re welcome to spend the day here, if you like,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual. It would be so wonderful to wake up at sunset knowing that I would see Haley shortly after climbing out of my coffin.

“I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you,” was her reply. She looked a little uncomfortable.

“It’s no inconvenience,” I quickly assured her. “In fact, it will give the staff something to do. I’m the only one here at the moment and I fear they’re rather bored.” When she still looked hesitant, I added, “We always keep a few guest rooms made up and a fully stocked refrigerator.”

“Well, okay.” She finally agreed.

“Good.” I couldn’t help but smile. And then I added, “It will be nice to have a bit of company.”

I could feel the sun starting to rise. The castle was perfectly sealed. The staff would have drawn blackout curtains over any windows. No ray of light could enter. But still I could sense it. I was about to say something to Haley. I wanted to ask her if she could feel the change in the light. But the expression on her face caused me alarm. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or ill. “Are you alright?” I asked, wondering if I had somehow offended her.

“I’m fine,” she insisted. And then she fainted dead away in my arms.

“What’s going on?” Haley asked as I was carrying her up the stairs to the second floor. “What happened?” She frowned as she noted that I was transporting her. “You don’t have to carry me.”

“Of course I do. You fainted.”

“No I didn’t,” she protested. “Vampires can’t faint.”

“We can and you did,” I informed her. “This is my fault for allowing you to live so rough.” It was shameful that I had neglected my progeny to the point that she could collapse with the rise of the sun while she was standing in a darkened room.

Haley’s head began to loll again. “Not your fault,” she mumbled as she pressed her face against my chest and closed her eyes again.

I took her to the guest room closest to mine. But as I tried to lay her on the bed, she emitted a small whimper and clung to me a little like a child who was exhausted from a long day at the fair. I couldn’t just leave her. That would have been cruel. And what if she woke up in the middle of the day needing me?

I carefully settled upon the bed with Haley still cradled in my arms and then arranged it so that she could rest with her head supported by my chest. Lying there with my arms around her was the happiest I had been in recent memory. And I had to admit, it was nice to spend some time with her when she couldn’t argue with me.

Haley rustled around a little. “Don’t most vampires sleep in coffins?” she murmured in a drowsy voice.

“Some do and some don’t,” I told her, pushing a lock of her hair off of her face so it wouldn’t get into her eyes. “The older ones usually do, but many younger vampires just sleep in a light proof room.”

“What do you use?” she said, nestling against me like a kitten snuggles in a pile of blankets.

“A coffin usually,” I told her. “Unless I have an overnight guest.”

“Mmphfff,” was her reply.

It was a cruel truth that the longer a person was a vampire, the more they forgot how to sleep. When I was first turned, I could close my eyes and lose myself to the darkness. It wasn’t exactly like sleeping, more like the oblivion of anesthesia, but there was a simulation of sleep. As the years passed, that oblivion became increasingly more elusive until I was barely ever able to lose consciousness for more than a few minutes each day. Meeting Haley hadn’t helped. She’d stolen any tranquility I had previously been able to find. The days became an endless torment of me having way too much time to think.

But holding Miss Haley Scott in my arms was paradise. My brain, which had a tendency to brood, felt tranquil and light. I closed my eyes and felt my consciousness beginning to drift. It was so peaceful. It was almost like I was a mortal again.

Chapter 10

Haley

I was having the most wonderful dream. I was all safe and warm and happy. Tommy was holding me and telling me how much he loved me. But it couldn’t have been Tommy Sherman. He didn’t have blond hair. Things came in and out of focus like they do in dreams. The boy was handsome and strong. And I knew that he really cared about me. I knew it. There wasn’t just the hope of love like I’d had with Tommy. It wasn’t simply lust disguised with false words.

But part of me also understood it was a dream. On some level my subconscious knew it wasn’t real. The feeling was more like being caught up in a really good movie. I instinctively felt that there was no way anyone could truly love a loser, foster-care kid like me. But that didn’t stop me from enjoying the dream anyway.

When I first woke up, I didn’t know where I was. The room was pitch black, but that was no longer a problem. I could see everything. Keeping perfectly still, I took in my surroundings. I was on a large bed with some kind of ornately carved footboard. The room also contained an armoire, desk, and something that looked kind of like an old-fashion fainting couch for when women became so distraught from hearing a man utter a foul word that they had to stagger over to the couch and collapse. Even if that meant crossing the length of the room to do it.

All the luxurious furniture was a definitely clue that I wasn’t at my Uncle Kevin’s. That much was obvious. Glancing down, I noted that I was still dressed, which was a relief. I even still had on my boots. I cringed with the thought of my dirty boots on the lovely gray and lavender duvet cover, but it was a little too late to worry about that.

All of my glancing around the room was really just delaying addressing the fact that there was someone in bed with me. My head was cradled against his chest and his arms were wrapped around me. There was no rise and fall of his chest. I could hear no thumping of his heart. I realized that I had just spent the last ten or so hours in bed with Dorian Vanderlind.

Some subtle movements on his part led me to believe that he was awake and just holding very still so as not to disturb me. However much I enjoyed being in Dorian’s embrace, I knew there was no tenderness behind it. My dream of the loving, blond haired man was just a dream. It was time to face reality.

“How do vampires get all their money?” I asked. I was barely scraping along with my pay from the diner and really would have preferred a lavish castle instead of my Uncle Kevin’s house, even with the recent improvements.

“Some earn it,” he said, still encircling me with his arms. “And some steal it. The Vanderlind family was quite wealthy, even before my grandfather was turned into a vampire, so that was helpful. And since then we have been able to amass more wealth through investments.”

“There are vampire stockbrokers?” I asked, turning my head so I could look up at him. Every time I saw Dorian, I had to take a moment to marvel at how handsome he was. It border on the ridiculous.

“A few,” he told me. “But mostly we just have mortal brokers who are highly motivated to make sure we keep earning money.”

“Oh.” I could almost hear the air-quotes hanging around the words
highly motivated
. I didn’t have that much money. Less than a thousand dollars probably wasn’t enough to bother a stockbroker. Even a highly motivated one. “So how does a vampire like me make money?” I asked. “I mean, I earn money at the diner, but it’s really not enough to afford anything like this.” I said, gesturing toward the lavish furnishings of the bedroom. I actually didn’t even need something that lavish. I just wanted something a little nicer than a twin bed wedged into a closet.

“You don’t need to worry about any of that,” Dorian told me, sitting up and causing me to shift into a sitting position.

There had never been one point in my life when I didn’t have to worry about money. It was one of my earliest childhood memories. I didn’t know if Dorian meant that he would set me up with a financial planner or what. “Why not?” I asked him.

“Because it’s all taken care of,” he said, straightening his shirt and not meeting my eye.

“By who?” I wanted to know.

“By me, of course,” Dorian said, getting to his feet. “You are my progeny. That means you are practically a member of the Vanderlind family. I’ll not have you running around rural Ohio with no good clothes and scarcely a place to rest your head.”

“Oh, no.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re not going to start up with that whole, ‘I am your maker’ thing again. Are you?”

“I am your maker,” he insisted. “I am responsible for your welfare. At least for the next fifty years or so. And you need looking after. That was made abundantly clear last night. I am ashamed of myself for neglecting you. I shudder to think of what could have happened to you.”

“I was fine,” I assured him, also getting to my feet. “I know how to take care of myself. I’ve been doing it my whole life.” Dorian was super-hot and I couldn’t help being attracted to him, but I was in no mood for him to start trying to boss me around again. He was making a lot of assumptions that made me very uncomfortable.

“Yes, you were obviously doing a wonderful job taking care of yourself,” he snapped. “Feeding off of sleazy men in dark alleys. That’s no way for the progeny of a Vanderlind to behave. From now on there will be no more of that. You’ll feed in a civilized manner and you’ll stay here with me. Or at one of my homes in Europe, if we go back there.”

Dorian was very good at making pronouncements, but he wasn’t very good at asking me what I wanted. And that really annoyed me. Plus I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust anyone who was offering to take care of me. I’d had my heart broken plenty of times between foster parents and my own crazy mother.

“What are you saying?” I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

“I’m saying that it’s time to cut out the nonsense. You’ve had your little adventure at being independent, but that’s over with now. It’s time for me to take care of you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What if I don’t trust you?”

Dorian looked surprised. I had obviously caught him off guard. “Why wouldn’t you trust me? I am your maker. I am the person whom you can trust most in the world.”

“And what if I annoy you again?” I asked, folding my arms and glaring at him. “What if I don’t obey your every whim and proclamation? Don’t think I’ve forgot about you showing up to my Winter Formal with a sharp stake in your pocket. Why are things suddenly different now?” I demanded. “Why should I trust you?’

“Because…” Dorian thundered, but then he stopped short. “Because…” he said in a much quieter voice, looking down and shaking his head. “Things are different now,” he told me, sounding almost wounded.

“How are they different?” I wanted to know. One flying lesson and a little cuddling wasn’t exactly a guarantee against violence.

Dorian looked up at me, his gray eyes wide and vulnerable. “I thought,” he began, but then he shook his head. “No, never mind.”

“No, you should tell me,” I insisted. “What?”

“I thought that we’d shared something that we obviously haven’t shared,” he said in a quiet voice. “That was my mistake.”

He cares about me
, I thought with astonishment. It wasn’t just my wishful thinking. Dorian Vanderlind actually cared about me. I opened my mouth to tell him that he wasn’t mistaken. We had shared something; there was something between us. But before I could compose the right words to say, Dorian kept talking.

“If you prefer living rough and derive pleasure from feeding off of sleazy men, then I won’t try to stop you. But I would like to continue your training while I remain in Tiburon. You should at least know how to anticipate the dawn.”

I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to insult me. Oh yeah, I absolutely loved scraping by for food and trying not to murder my friend and her entire family. That was obviously a lifestyle that I was happy with. “Don’t worry about me,” I snarled. “I’ll be perfectly fine. I’m sorry I inconvenienced you with my low class behavior. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth.”

“That’s not what I was saying,” Dorian insisted.

“Really?” I fired back, feigning surprise. “Because those were the words coming out of your mouth.” I began storming toward the door.

“Haley, please wait,” Dorian said, reaching for my arm.

“No,” I said, jerking away from him. “I have to go now or I’ll be late for work.” Then I wheeled around to glare at him. “You see, some of us have this thing called a job. And we do it to make money. We don’t have wads of cash just handed to us while we’re still in our cradle.”

“Haley!” Dorian tried to say something else, but I didn’t hear him. I was too busy running out the door and fleeing the castle.

I took to the skies as soon and I was out of the castle gate. I didn’t worry about the staff seeing me flutter off. If they hadn’t already realized that they were working for a bunch of bloodsuckers, then they were in for a rude awakening. I just had to get out of there. Otherwise I was going to burst into tears and I didn’t want Dorian to see me cry. He didn’t deserve my tears. He was obviously some kind of control-freak and I wished I could find away to drive him from my heart.

“Why don’t I ever learn?” I had to wonder about myself as I flew along. Was I really so stupid as to believe that a wealthy and handsome vampire actually cared about my well being? That was almost worse than me believing Tommy when he said, “I love you,” as a thinly veiled ploy to get into my pants.

And what was with Dorian and the whole, “I need to take care of you,” business? It was almost like he thought of me as a pet Pomeranian or something. I wiped at my eyes, trying to keep the tears back and blaming them on the cold night air. We’d shared a nice moment in the ballroom. That was all. I was grateful to Dorian for teaching me how to fly without being snagged by the treetops and tangled in power lines. But a nice moment was all it was for him and a nice moment was all I would allow it to be for me. I guess I’d spent too much time as a mortal reading romantic novels. Dashing young men didn’t come to the rescue. Rich men didn’t fall head-over-heels for the poor little match girl. That wasn’t how the world worked. At least not for people like me. And the sooner I got that idea through my thick skull, the better off I would be.