“Goddamn it. I knew there was something off about her. Thanks for letting me know, Ted. Please keep me informed.”
When we ended the call, I needed an outlet for my frustration and one of my father’s antique vases was the victim of my wrath as it bounced across the floor shattering into pieces.
Serena would be just about to head into work. Did I let Ted ask her what was happening? What if she panicked and ran away? I grabbed my jacket.
Not a chance. I wanted to be the one to ask her what the fuck was going on.
I knocked softly on her door.
“Who is it?” Came through from the other side.
“It’s me, Smith.”
She opened the door, and I took in her sleep mussed face. I didn’t know whether I wanted to fuck her or kill her.
“Is everything okay?” She asked me.
I pushed past her. “You tell me, Serena Ripley.” I placed emphasis on her surname.
“Oh fuck.” She said.
She sat on the end of her bed. “What do you know?” She asked as she sighed.
“I know you aren’t who you said you are. So you have the chance to come clean and tell me now, or I guess you can just fuck right back off to where you came from.”
She took a deep breath and met my eyes. “I’m a reporter. For Revealed.”
I felt like she’d physically slapped me. My mind replayed every scene with her in it. The knowledge she’d gathered.
“So none of it was real? It was all a story?”
“No!” She exhaled. “Yes, at first. But then I got to know you all, I fell for you all. Now I’m just so confused. I came for a story and I’ve got that. Truth is, I should have left by now, returned to New York, but I haven’t. I’m trying to think over the whole turning thing and what it would mean to stay with you.”
“You lied to us.” I spat out. “We’ve fallen for Serena Ripley, a woman who doesn’t exist. We don’t know you.”
She tried to grasp my arm. “You do know me, you know everything except my surname and my job.”
“No we don’t.” I shook my head. “God, I’ve been so caught up in how we all gel in the bedroom that I forgot we needed to get to know you as a person. I don’t mean crap like your favorite color, I mean how many lovers you’ve had, if you’ve ever had a serious relationship, how you spend your time when you’re home in New York.”
She sat wringing her hands. “Do the others know?”
“No, not yet. You’re going to break their hearts, you know that? So, what do you have on us? What’s the big story?”
“We were contacted by someone who’d been victim to your routine. I know the whole story behind it now.”
I sighed. “Let me guess, Leonie? Do you know where she is? I need to wipe her memory.”
“I’m not going to tell you where she is, Smith. She doesn’t know you’re vampires. All she knows is she was treated like crap. It’ll be a valuable life lesson to her going forward. You misuse your powers. You can’t fuck up and then just keep wiping it all away, Smith. Maybe you need to face up to your actions. You were a total dick, Smith, making her feel like she wasn’t good enough. If you want to apologize to her, that’s one thing, but you don’t get a do-over through your mind scrubbing shit.”
Serena’s feisty nature turned me on. I could see her hard, pebbled tits through the satin of her slip. Her breath was coming harder, and I knew that though we were arguing we were both hugely turned on.
I moved closer to her and cupped her jaw hard turning her face toward me. I ran my other hand down her neck, my fingers trailing below her slip and teasing her nipple.
“So what now, Serena? What’s your next move?”
She pulled my head toward hers, her lips capturing mine. I pulled up her slip and teased her between her thighs with my fingers, coaxing her to the edge of an orgasm. My lips ran up and down her neck, my elongated canines teasing, slightly grazing the delicate skin there. When she was close, so close I could feel her start to tighten, I backed away.
“You have until Sunday to decide what we are to you. Come to the family lunch either telling us you’re staying, or that you’re going to the press. At least give us the benefit of a heads up.”