“I should not have done this,” he said, completely shattering the mental image in my mind as he sat beside me.
“Done what?” I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
“Come back to talk to you.”
It was apparently okay for me to jump to conclusions. “Well, excuse me then. I—”
“Do not be upset,” he said gently. “For you misunderstand me.”
“How should I understand you then? You just said you didn’t want to see me.”
“No, I did not wish to talk to you—”
“There is a difference?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “For I would always see you, whether close or from a distance, as I have for almost the last twenty-six years. It is the talking part that has thrown me off-center and complicated matters.”
“How so? I am having fun.”
“That is the problem,” he whispered, brushing the curl from my hair. “Almost a hundred years ago, my mother told me of you…the woman I’d share eternity with. I came searching, and after so many years, I found you. But you were not immortal. You were a little girl…a little witch. And not just a witch, a witch born from a powerful family of witches, destined to lead a coven of witches. I watched as you dedicated your life, risked your life to protect your coven. I saw your joy, your love of magic. And I did not wish to be the reason you’d have to choose. I told myself, seeing you and protecting you…even from a distance, even for only a mortal life span, was good enough for me. Now that you are here beside me, talking and laughing, I realize I’ve been lying to myself.” He kissed the side of my cheek. “Forgive me. I tried, truly I did. But I genuinely am selfish. I shouldn’t have come back to talk to you. But I did because I cannot go back to life before talking to you. So, I am going to stay close and maybe ruin your life in the process.” He cupped my face and kissed my forehead.
“What you are saying exactly?” I said, my mind a mushy mess.
“You are mine,” he said, searching my eyes. “And I do not…I cannot be away from you. Not any longer.”
Everyone knew, even the humans, that vampires were seductive, that it was easy to fall under their charms. I wanted to tell myself that was the reason why this…man I hadn’t even spoken to till early this week had me aching for a kiss, not on my forehead or cheek. But I didn’t really know if that was true.
Sitting up, I cupped his cheeks, too. “I don’t know what to think right now…but can I kiss you anyway—”
His lips were on mine instantly, and I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck.
Vampire or witch…I didn’t care.
I felt good.
I felt happy.
I would have kept kissing him if not for the fact that I needed air, and I would have gone back to kissing him if he had not pulled back and rested his head beside my neck. “We shall stop so you may go home to think over what I have said and what this all means, Druella…what you really want. Then call me and tell me.”
“I think I’m already telling you.”
He lifted his head. “Tell me again when you aren’t under a vampire’s allure.”
“How do I call you?”
“Cell phone, of course,” he whispered, gently touching me. “My number is already on your phone…go.”
“What?”
“Go home, Druella. I’ll wait for your call.” His hands dropped from me.
All I could do was nod, then get up, and take my stuff. After moving a few steps away, I turned and watched him as he watched me, a slight smile on his lips. Then I did what he asked—I went home, leaving him sitting there.
My mind was in a haze.
I didn’t remember getting into my car or driving back home, or parking, or even how I entered my house. But I was back at my house, in my room, and all I could do was strip down and lay in bed.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling and trying to connect the broken pieces of my mind. It felt as if I had spun around a thousand times and fallen onto my back to feel the world spin around me. It was only when the sun began to rise that I finally snapped out of it and could think straight again.