Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97229 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97229 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
At the top of the graveyard, looking down at the northern windows.
I could see it vividly.
“That’s right,” Hans told me. “Give your instincts more credit, little one.”
“But I don’t get it,” I said. “How could I know what happened there in 1309? I don’t understand.”
Hans took my hand across the table. His fingers looked as gorgeous as ever in mine.
“One of the most important things you’ll ever learn, is that it’s more often the soul that has the answers. Listen with your soul and not your ears.”
He took his hand away and I took another swig of wine, trying to focus on the orchestral quartet just a few feet away from us. The room was… heavy. The energy in the pit of me was… scared. It felt so horrible – the thought of Hans there, hanging on a crucifix, tortured, with blood pouring down his legs.
He switched the tone. “You can ask Edwin what happened yourself when you meet him. He’ll be able to recount the tale better than me, I’m sure.”
My eyes widened. “He’s still alive?”
“Oh, yes. And he’s still as funny as ever. His sense of humour has never changed. You’ll like him. I’m sure you’ll get on well.”
I jumped in my seat as the waitress appeared with our steaks.
“Anything else I can get you?” she asked, but we both shook our heads. “Enjoy your meals,” she said with a smile, totally oblivious, and walked away.
I looked at the meat on my plate, feeling a bit sick at the sight of it. Blood and flesh.
“Come on, eat up,” Hans said. “You’ll enjoy it when you get started. Don’t let my tales put you off.”
How could they not? The thought of chewing on steak made my stomach churn.
“Believe me,” he said. “You’ll be seeing a lot worse than blood oozing from a steak as time goes on.”
We’d barely even scratched at the surface of the vampire’s long journey, but the initial instalment had me reeling. I tried to compose myself, my fingers jittery as I picked up my knife and fork. I tried to eat, and my body managed it, even though my mind was still twisted in stories.
“Anyway, that’s enough of me for now,” Hans said, switching the focus again. “Let’s talk about you.”
I pulled a face in confusion, still chewing until I swallowed.
“I’m hardly a vampire with seven hundred years of stories,” I replied. “There’s nothing much to say on my side. I grew up in Orcop. Went to school. Lived with Mum and Grandma in the village. You know all this anyway though, don’t you? You said it yourself. You’ve been watching me my whole life.”
He smiled. “Yes.”
“So, why ask me?”
He laughed at that. “Because you’re squirming in your seat, so freaked out that you’re paler than I am.”
I laughed back. “Is it that obvious?”
“It is, yes. So let’s change the topic. Onto you and your past, or onto some aspects of our… present.”
He had the power to flick the moods between us like light switches. He was a master of energies and tones.
“It’s all right,” he said. “The past is the past, and time moves in cycles. Turn your attention to the now.”
His eyes were lustful and deep with desire, and there was no point denying it. The magnetism between us was still burning strong, even under the nausea. If anything, his history made me more attracted to him, like something profound was going on under the surface. Some kind of knowing. Wanting. Craving.
“Tell me what turns you on, little one. Truly, deeply, from the depths of your fantasies.”
I felt shy in my seat all of a sudden.
“I… I don’t really know yet.”
He laughed again. “I don’t believe you.”
I shrugged, striving for honesty. “Ok, so what do you want me to say? The thought of a blood house and some filthy hot people getting bitten for fun? Running across cobblestones while you chase me, so out of breath and desperate I can’t get away? You fucking my pussy so hard I can barely stand it while you suck my blood like a monster?”
“Yes. If that’s the truth of it.”
“You know that’s the truth of it. You’ve seen how excited I get.”
He flashed me a gorgeous white smile.
“Yes. I just wanted to hear you say it out loud. I love it when you speak like that.”
It was just like being in my dreams again, but my fantasies had more of an eerie quality to them when they were out in the open, even with the thrum of the restaurant trying to mute out my words.
I looked at my steak, trying to focus again on what I should be eating, but it was pointless. My body was already buzzing with need. My excitement was already making me wet, my thighs clammy.
“Keep on eating that steak,” Hans said. “You’ll need your strength for later.”