Published: April 19, 2020

15

KAYLA

Morning was filled with darkness. No, that wasn’t exactly true. Twenty feet above her head, a small window she’d attributed to being part of the wall the night before let in a sliver of light. She stared at it while Garrick showered in the bathroom adjacent to their room.

Their night was spent in silence and between a wall of pillows Garrick had fashioned. Here she was, horny as all get out, and the gentlemen that he was, built a pillow fort between them on the bed.

Of course, he did. He was only there because he felt bad for her.

Because my magic is out of freaking control and he’s the only one who can keep it from destroying the entire world. Although, the world part was probably an exaggeration. A crap ton of destruction across Sun City, maybe, but the world? Magic was powerful but could it be that powerful?

The shower water turned off. She half wondered if there was any hot water left. He’d been in there for an obscenely long time, letting the steamy water cascade down his bulging muscles, washing through every cut he had. She licked her lips, imagining herself running her fingers against the hard planes of him again. It’d felt so good last night. His skin was so smooth and soft, a glorious juxtaposition to the hardness underneath.

The shower water turned back on. Was he alright in there? She hadn’t even realized vampires took showers. Not that they wouldn’t. There was a lot of things different about the vampire in the adjacent room. Sure, he drank blood, but he also ate real food, walked around in the sun, and crossed mage thresholds without fuss.

She untangled herself from her blankets and hovered the bathroom door. Foremages this close, her girly parts had no shame. She’d half convinced herself to knock softly enough so he didn’t hear her and she could go right in to see him in all his glory.

Stop being a horndog, she chastised herself.

“Hey, is everything okay in there?”

“Fine,” his voice was guttural and deep and followed by several loud bangs like he’d tripped in the shower. Garrick groaned.

“Are you okay in there?” She could only hear the rush of the water. He didn’t answer. “Garrick?”

She twisted the door handle.

“I am fine,” he said sounding pained.

She stopped but the damage was already done. Her freaking magic ripped the handle from her hands and pushed the door all the way open with a bang.

Her jaw unhinged. Understandably, he was startled by her presence in the doorway. But boy oh boy what greeted her was a feast she couldn’t unglue her eyes from.

“I’m sorry, I…” she trailed off but nothing in her tone nor the way she leered at him was sorry. In fact, she was the furthest thing from sorry. She’d seen him shirtless, but this… whoa. This was beyond. Every part of him was thick and she meant every part.

He cleared his throat and she found enough of her remaining shards of sanity to turn her back on the glorious work of art in front of her. What the hell was going on with her?

“Sorry, I thought you hurt yourself.”

Only the shower water ran, he didn’t say anything.

“I’ll leave now.”

“It’ll also be helpful if you refrained from thinking those kinds of thoughts.”

Embarrassment wreaked havoc on her cheeks as her numb feet carried her out of the bathroom doorway and over to the bed. Softly, the bathroom door closed behind her.

How could he tell what she was thinking? Could he read her mind? No, that was crazy talk. No one could read minds. Vampire or not.

She tried to catch her breath and fan the heat away from her cheeks. It was probably the way she ogled him. She hadn’t exactly been tactful in staring him down while the suds slid down his perfectly formed physique.

Just in case, she pushed those thoughts away from her mind. It was just her emotions gone haywire. She’d nearly burned down not one but two buildings last night. Her magic had always made the most inconvenient and inopportune appearances. Like forcing her to bust into a bathroom to see a hot vampire naked.

The silver lining in all of this was that her magic had otherwise seemed completely at ease. Maybe because she knew Garrick was in a toasty shower but sooner or later it might be back. So, she had to get it under control sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, that was way easier said than done. She’d practiced at controlling her magic for most of her life. She’d even thought she’d had a handle on it enough to go to college and stay on campus. Fat lot that did her.

She shuddered to think of how naïve she’d been last year. She should’ve known she wasn’t ready to take on the outside world. First semester Freshman year was a fluke. Halfway through her second semester, everything went crazy.

Her pulse quickened as she thought about it. Her jaw tightened against teeth that were furiously grinding into powder. The air in the room became too dense to breathe.

Her hands burned hot. Fire hot. One glance down showed her palms glowing, almost orangey-red. Oh no, it was happening again.

“Garrick!” she cried looking at her hands.

After several thuds inside of their bathroom, the door swung open. Wrapped in a thick white towel, soaking wet from head to toe, Garrick’s alarmed expression met hers.

“It’s happening again,” she held her shaking hands for him to see.  In small swirls, her hands pooled purple essence. “It won’t stop.”

Hysteria clogged her throat. It was getting worse. Garrick’s sure eyes looked at her.

“What were you thinking before it happened?”

“What?”

Recounting her freshman year at school wasn’t going to help them now. He sensed her hesitation because he explained.

“I believe the mages have said magic is tied to emotions. You are frantic so your magic is frantic.”

“How do I not be frantic when it’s going to destroy…”

“Don’t think of that,” he cut her off, pressing his large hands into the top of her shoulders. “As a youngling, once the vampire in me presented itself, it was hard trying to control the two halves living inside of me. What I learned is that if I controlled the triggers, I controlled the bloodlust. Think of something else. Think of what calms you.”

“I-I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” his deep voice was calm and reassuring. “You have this in hand.”

“How?”

“Don’t look at your hands. Look at me.” She did, right into his dark brown eyes. Water from his wet hair left trails of water running down his chiseled face. “Listen to my voice and only focus on that. Can you do that?”

She nodded, although she was pretty sure it was going to be impossible.

“Close your eyes and only focus on me.”

She closed her eyes and did has he asked. He grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to him, then rested his hands on her shoulders. When he touched her, every nerve ending on her arm shot to attention.

“Calmness comes at your will,” he said to her. “It relaxes our shoulders.”

He methodically rubbed her shoulders. He kept his voice low and calm as he worked down to her arms.

“It stills our arms.”

His large hands moved down to her biceps, and worked the muscles there. Goosebumps spread across her skin.

“And it remains centered at the core.”

His hand found her waist. She kept her eyes closed. Even when a he made a thud at her feet and his voice came lower. His hands moved to her hips.

“Calmness allows us to stand sturdy and strong.”

His hands moved to her legs, then down to her shins.

“We breathe it into our lungs.”

She took a deep breath in.

“It is everything we are and everything we want to be. Calmness is at your call. When you need it, it will arrive. When you don’t, it will float gently away.”

It was as if his voice hypnotized her, it was low and soothing. He made a second pass, this time working from her legs up to her shoulders. All the while, she kept her eyes closed, her breathing steady and her focus on his voice.

“Cha!” He shouted triumphantly. She jumped inside of her skin at the sudden sound. “Your hands are calm now.”

The magic budding there had gone away leaving her regular skin behind. It worked.

“Thank you,” she stared at her hands in awe. “How did you know it was going to work?”

“I didn’t, my father taught me this technique when I first became a vampire.”

“I thought you said you were born one?”

“I am, but all vampires of my kind are born human, then we meet our full change and that transfers us from youngling to vampire.”

It must have been the vampire version of puberty.

“Does it hurt to become vampire?”

“No. It is painless. Although my mouth was sore when my fangs first came down. And my gums itched for days after until I got used to them. My sister teased me for weeks because my mouth looked funny.”

“You have a sister?” She smiled unable to help herself, trying to imagine him with a sibling.

“I had, yes.” His voice had gone quiet. “It’s been many years since my sister has been no more.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Why do you apologize? It is not your fault. She was born with a sickness that made her unable to accept the full change to a vampire and her body could not handle it. You did not cause that.”

“I know, but I’m sorry for your loss.”

“To apologize for the loss of life is a mage thing?”

“Isn’t it an everyone thing?”

“For vampires, no. We mourn for a time, but then we celebrate. Even for a short life, she lived a happy one. She was a teller of stories. At nights, she would tell us a new one after we’d had our final meal for the day.

“My mother always said she was wise beyond her years. Which has never been truer. I will take her stories with me into the eons. For that, I give many thanks and know her final sunfall was met with peace. So, for me, you don’t need to apologize about her. Only for the things that you’ve caused.”

Like this whole mess they were in? Or maybe her most recent blunder, bursting on him in the shower.

“Like, I’m sorry for walking in on you while you were in the shower,” she carefully kept get gaze above his neckline quite aware he didn’t have on a shirt.

“You are sorry?”

“Uh, yeah.” She was supposed to be right? “Because it’s impolite to walk in on someone using the bathroom.”

It was at that moment, he realized how hard she’d worked at keeping her gaze on his and not let it roam across the perfection below his chin. “Do you wish me to change? Is it uncomfortable for you? I know you’ve told your father that you have no experience with flesh.”

“I said that because that’s my father.” He looked like he didn’t understand. “I don’t think it’s comfortable for dads to know their daughters are off experiencing the flesh of others.”

He was still bewildered. “Is this another mage tradition, then?”

Okay, apparently, they weren’t getting anywhere. So, she tried to explain. “It’s another everybody tradition. I never really talked to my dad about my dating life before.”

His confusion doubled. “So, you’ve experienced the flesh of others, but your father does not know this and you do not wish for him to know?”

Well, said like that, it sounded silly. “I’m not opposed to him knowing. It’s just weird, that’s all. Especially now with everything going on.”

He nodded like he understood even though it was clear that he still didn’t grasp the concept. Apparently, vampires were more open about their proclivities with their parents.

“I see. Well, I accept your apology although you do not need to apologize for looking at me.”

Her cheeks tinged. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

“I quite enjoy it,” he continued with a shrug as if this was the first time he’d considered it. So, vampires looked at each other in the nude? Was that a common thing?

He shifted his towel to loosen it.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Removing my bathing cloth so I can switch to my clothes.”

“In front of me?”

He looked at her quizzically, but settled on. “I will switch them in the bathroom. I will be swift. Rations are coming.”

Garrick motioned to the door with his head. She looked at the wall that housed the door with the invisible knob.

“Someone’s there?”

“Now, they are.”

A knock came at the door. Garrick darted into the bathroom with a stack of clothes he’d laid out on the side of the bed while she called for the door.

“Come in.”

She expected to see Carissa at their door to change out the uneaten plates from the night before. Yet, the face that appeared in the doorway was the last person she expected.

Voting will Open Monday 4/20

Author’s Note: So, I spent most of the day trying to fit in a sub-scene into this chapter, but couldn’t make it fit. I may use it some other time, but I sent the deleted scene out as part of the serial alert.

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