Scent of a Vampire (17 page)

Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

Page 86 of 172

It was difficult to get a hold of the bullet. Every time that I got a grip on it and started to pull, it would slip out of my grasp. I finally managed to move it by using the tweezers and my index finger to guide it.

"Yes!!" I exclaimed when I pulled it free from the hole. I dropped the bullet on the towel and got the ice bucket with the water in it.

I wrung out a washcloth and gently cleaned the wound. I looked at Alex's face, which was relaxed now. He had indeed passed out. As I held the cloth against the oozing wound, I reached up and took the towel from Alex's mouth.

"Yikes." I said as I looked at the shredded towel. His fangs must have been out. Taking the towel from his wound I was amazed to see the blood flow had already slowed down. I couldn't help but wonder why last time he had lost so much more blood than this time. Oh well, I was just happy to see the wound was beginning to knit together. It was fascinating to see something so extraordinary. I set to cleaning up but kept glancing at Alex to make sure that he was all right.

When I was done cleaning, I took a shower and dressed in the best clothes I could find in Leeds's suitcase, which happened to be a pair of black leather pants and the tube top. At least they were clean. I ate one of the apples I had bought earlier and drank the orange juice. I looked at the box of donuts but had no appetite for them. Nothing like digging into a mans body to put off your appetite I thought. Feeling a bit tired I glanced at the clock. It was four-thirty.

Soon it would be dawn and somewhere out there Roberto was getting ready to go to sleep.

I wondered if he was thinking about me, if he was worried. There was nothing I could do at the moment so I crawled into the bed beside Alex. I scooted over next to him to check his wound. It was healing nicely and the bleeding was down to a drop. Alex groaned softly and threw an arm around my waist. Not wanting to disturb him I just let it lie there. I looked at his face, which was boyish in his slumber. His mouth was gorgeous with full soft lips. He had a little blond stubble on his strong jaw. I remembered how he had kissed me a few days ago, soft and sensuous, like he needed to savor it. I inhaled in a deep breath in order to stop my racing heart and my senses were assaulted with his scent. He had the sweet scent I knew now that all vampires have, but underlying that was a muskiness mixed with, Oh God, a wave of white-hot lust hit me. I understood now what Alex had been talking about. It had to be the Sensay blood. My desire for Alex was
painful.
It was like the blood flowing through my veins was on fire. I could feel my clitoris swell and begin to throb.

I eased Alex's arm from around me and slid out of the bed. I stumbled into the bathroom. I had barely closed the door when I slumped onto the floor and in a frenzy of need ripped off my leather pants. I barely touched myself with my fingers before I felt the first ripples of an orgasm hit me. I lay on the bathroom floor shaking with my pants around my ankles and I began to cry.

I lay there sobbing and didn't hear the door open. The next thing I knew Alex was picking me up and carrying me to the bed where he laid me down. He lay beside me and gathered me in his
Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

Page 87 of 172

arms. He never said a word, just stroked my back. After a little while he went still and I knew that he had fallen into his slumber.

I was so tired but couldn't fall asleep. I stared at Alex's still form and thought about how gentle and understanding he was. He made me feel treasured like I was the only woman in the world. I was so confused because my heart constricted whenever I looked at him. Am I falling in love with two men?

What was wrong with me? Even with my mind in turmoil I felt fatigue overtake me. I fell asleep thinking I needed to do something but I didn't know what to do.

When I woke up I felt tired and disoriented, as if I hadn't slept enough. I looked at the clock on the nightstand and it read eleven forty-seven. No wonder I was still tired, I only slept five hours.

I lay there and let my mind wander. All of this was such a mess. My parents are in danger. Some fanatics who want me dead had shot me at twice. I've had my wardrobe overhauled by a horny devil. And I have two men, well vampires, who I think I may be in love with. And oh yeah, my best friend was in Italy without me. We had always talked about going to Europe together.

We were going to backpack and stay in hostels. Our last big adventure before we got old. Now she was there and I was here. I was not able to even take care of myself. This whole situation was ridiculous. I am a grown woman. And what's more, I am semi intelligent. What I really needed was to make some decisions for myself for a change. Distance was what I needed, distance and time alone to sort out my feelings. I was sure that if I had some time to myself that I would see things more clearly.

I would most likely realize my feelings for Alex and Roberto were just manifestations of the intense emotions plaguing me the last few days. Suddenly I felt much better. I started to silently slip out of bed and again caught myself and smiled. I guess I would never get used to sleeping with vampires. I didn't shower, just washed up because I was anxious to get on the road. I did take time to write Alex a note. I thanked him for taking care of me and that I was going on ahead to Buffalo. I also told him I was confused over my feelings and I needed some time to myself. I made sure I left half of the money from the envelope for him and took the other half, which totaled four hundred dollars. That would be plenty for tolls and gas and a rest stop along the way. Maybe there would even be enough to buy myself some decent clothes along the way.

I also grabbed the maps Leeds had packed.

I found my appetite was back, so I took a donut from the box and opened the door carefully so that the sunlight wouldn't hit Alex and stepped out. It seemed awhile since I had last seen the sunlight. Was it really only three days ago?

Good grief, it felt like weeks since I left Buffalo. I got to the car and thought of one more thing I should do so I ran back to the room, slipped inside and took the 'Do Not Disturb' sign from the doorknob and slipped it on the outside of the door. There, I didn't want a maid or someone else opening the door and finding Alex in his death sleep. I got in the car, folded the map so it would be easy for me to read and pulled out of the parking lot. After only one wrong turn, I was
Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

Page 88 of 172

headed in the right direction. Luck was with me because the turnpike traffic was pretty light.

While driving, I had a lot of time to think. Alex and Roberto were probably right. If these Guardian people wanted me dead, we were going to have to leave Buffalo. I thought about how I was going to explain all of this to my parents. I didn't think that they would freak out. They weren't the freaking out kind of parents at all.

I could hear my mom now "Ohhh, vampires Olivia! Did you ask to see their fangs? Did they turn into bats? You shouldn't let an experience like that pass you by Olivia." My parents were all about living life. I always felt they were a little disappointed in me since I turned out to be so cautious.

Maybe we could head north into Canada. My parents would talk sometimes about relatives we had there. All I knew, as I flew across the highway, was I couldn't wait to see them. I drove for an hour and checked the gas gauge. It was getting low and in my hurry to leave I forgot to fill it up in Philly. I had just passed a sign advertising a rest stop a few miles up ahead and decided to pull off to refuel. After putting gas in the car I went to the ladies room. I determined I could take a few minutes to sit and eat something. I took out the map to see how long a trip I had yet.

I was in Allentown. According to the map I was about three hundred and fifty miles from Buffalo. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was two pm. With luck, I would be in Buffalo around seven. Mom and Dad would be sitting down to dinner. Maybe Mom made her yummy post roast. I checked the cash I had left and decided I had enough to go to the gift shop and buy a tshirt or something to put over my tube top.

I was getting tired of the stares I was getting from men and the glares from women. The gift shop didn't have much of a choice in apparel. I decided on a t-shirt that was advertising a local zoo on it. It had a picture of a beautiful white wolf on it. I loved the zoo and wished I had time to visit.

When I got back in the car, I went to put my envelope full of cash in the glove compartment and saw the gun in there. Looking around me as if people were watching, I took the gun out and put it under my seat. Though I didn't think there was any reason to worry at the moment, I knew the Guardians were dangerous. I wasn't a fool. And I wouldn't let them hurt my family.

As I continued driving north, I made plans. First, of course, was explaining everything to my parents. Once more I was thankful that my parents were cool. They wouldn't call me crazy and try and have a psyche evaluation done on me. Then we would need to pack everything we could, clothes, documents, pictures, and mementos. We could probably be ready to leave first thing in the morning. I would get maps and drive to our relatives in Canada. We would be safe there. I wondered how I would get word to Alex and Roberto. Maybe I could send them a letter at their casinos. I was amazed I hadn't even gotten their phone numbers. How bad was that? I slept with one of them for Pete's sake. And I couldn't forget Leeds, even though he was a bit off, I wanted to somehow get back to see him. He was lonely and needed a friend to talk to. I didn't forget about Janel either. I needed to contact her too. With so much to think about the time and the miles flew by and I got excited when I began to see road signs for Buffalo.

Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

Page 89 of 172

I started to see things that were familiar, and a nervous jittery feeling began to nag at me. I tried to tell myself it was because of everything that had happened in the last few days.

I guessed I would be home in about a half hour. The dashboard clock said it was seven o'clock.

Without thinking, I swung off the road on the next exit I saw. The nervous feeling was turning into panic, which was building inside me until it was making me sick to my stomach. I pulled into the, thankfully, almost empty parking lot and opened the car door and threw up. I was scared. What was wrong with me? I closed the car door, wiped my mouth and laid my head back. I took some deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. I felt a little better. I wished that I hadn't left Alex. That he was with me now.

I looked around the parking lot to make sure that no one was watching me because I'm sure I looked suspicious just sitting here. At the far end of the lot I spied a pay phone. YES! I could call home. I would feel much better talking with Mom or Dad. And best of all, those damn Guardians wouldn't be able to trace it. I watched cop shows and if you didn't stay on long they couldn't trace it. It wouldn't matter anyway. I wasn't going to stick around here. I found some change and got out of the car. I kept looking around me. The jittery feeling wouldn't go away.

Great now I was paranoid. It felt as though there was a target painted on my back. I made it across the parking lot without being shot at or kidnapped. Well at least that was encouraging.

With nervous, shaking hands I inserted the coins into the slot. I carefully dialed the number to my parent's home. There was a second of silence and then it rang, once, twice, three times. I knew that if it rang again, the answering machine would switch on. Then I heard a click. Thank God!

"Mom! Dad! Can you hear me? Are you there? It's Olivia." I heard a click. The phone had been hung up. I broke into a cold sweat. Something was wrong. I felt terror rising inside of me. I ran back across the parking lot and got in the car. I pulled the car out of the lot as fast as I could.

The tires screeched as I took a sharp right turn. A few blocks away I forced myself to slow down.

I couldn't get stopped by the cops. I wished I could go to them for help but I knew they'd think I was nuts. "You see officer, it seems my parents and I may be in trouble from a band of mad scientists and religious nuts, and I slept with a vampire and was bitten by another, my friend has been hijacked to an estate in Italy, I ran into a pervert in the Jersey barrens who is really the Jersey Devil, and oh yeah I smell dead people and desire wild sex all the time."

A feeling of dread seeped into my soul and I made myself take some deep breaths. I needed to calm down. I needed to help my parents first. I could have hysterics later. I was only a few minutes from home. I was glad that they lived on the outskirts of town on a few acres, wooded lot. They loved it there. My Mom had her big garden and Dad liked the small animals that ventured into the yard. We always joked how he fed the whole forest, he had a bird feeder, deer feeders and fed squirrels, rabbits and anything else that was hungry. My heart constricted to think of them in danger.

I pulled into the driveway. There were no lights on in the house. It seemed quiet. I looked around but didn't see any cars nearby. My stomach started doing somersaults again and I thought for minute that I was going to be sick again. I took a few deep breaths to settle myself
Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

Page 90 of 172

and reached under the seat for the gun. I got out of the car and didn't even try to hide the gun in my hand. I walked up the steps to the front door. I turned the knob and the door opened. I stepped inside. It was quiet. Something wasn't right. I debated whether I should call for them but thought better of it. To my left was the living room and I could see from here it was empty.

On my right was the dining room, which was also empty. I walked down the short hallway to the kitchen with the gun in my outstretched hand. I pushed open the kitchen door and stepped in. Empty. Not only that, but there was nothing cooking on the stove. No dishes in the sink. A nauseating feeling exploded in the pit of my stomach. I backed up and went back out the kitchen door. I went over to the stairs near the front door. I stood there for a minute. I didn't want to go up there. I felt frozen to the spot. I forced my legs to move. It felt as if each leg weighed a thousand pounds. I walked on leaden legs down the hall to my parents' room. I stood for a minute outside the closed door with my eyes shut tight, trying to calm my churning stomach. I grabbed the doorknob and turned it. At the same instant that the door swung open, it hit me what felt wrong when I first stepped in the house. An intense sweet scent filled the entire house.