Vampyre | Book I of Bloodlines | Free on Inkitt & Kindle Unlimited
Pure Magic

Darius

Like a barren desert thirsting for water, my body absorbed every single drop of blood that Viola brought me. I still feel the blood rushing to every part of my being, my senses sharpening, and my strength slowly returning.

Now, if only Viola would do as she’s told and come closer. I grumble at her, making my displeasure known.

I look at my arm and notice that my skin has improved—it’s no longer the gray, sickly color it was before.

“Not bad. This hand, at least, I recognize as my own, but this still isn’t me,” I say, watching my hand make a fist.

“I fail to see how one can improve on this,” Viola says, getting to her feet and flattening the front of her skirt.

Viola blushes as she does her best to hide her smile, still standing too far away for my liking. What I wouldn’t give to see her blushing in the sunlight, where both of us are free.

I enjoy the fact that she clearly likes what she sees, but right at that moment—there is nothing more I want than to punish her for not coming to me. My bruised ego wants to hold her, to make her feel my strength and power, and for her to not only be impressed but also feel safe in my arms.

“Viola, will you please come here?” I offer her my hand, desperate for her touch.

When I heard her talking with Mr. Dixon, it wasn’t just jealousy that consumed me. It was fear of what he might do to her. I was concerned for Elliott, too, but my Viola, my precious Viola, was out there all alone while a Vampyre stalked her from behind for much longer than she even knew. Meanwhile, I’m here, powerless to guard my little mouse.

With no breath or heartbeat to give Dixon away, he wasn’t easy to track. He watched her for nearly ten minutes before making his presence known, which instantly made me distrust him.

Viola’s eyes dart from my eyes to my mouth, a little smirk of accomplishment creeping its way onto her lips.

She walks over and finally slips her hand in mine. “What gives you the right to be so damned beautiful?”

Her eyes linger on my lips once more, conveying exactly what she desires. I wrap my hand around her waist and guide her closer to me, exactly where I yearn for her to be every minute of every moment she’s away.

“Your eye seems to be doing better,” I observe, examining her bruised eye. The swelling has gone down significantly. “Shall we try it again now that I’m a little stronger?”

Viola shakes her head. “No, it would be too suspicious if I were to heal so quickly.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” I concede, drifting closer to those enticing lips of hers.

Viola pulls her face away just before I can kiss her.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, concealing my utter disappointment at her withdrawal.

For a long moment, Viola studies my face, her eyes searching mine for something I’m unaware of.

“It’s you,” her voice carries disbelief as she cups my face in her hands and continues to scrutinize my features.

“Not yet, but we’re getting there,” I reply matter-of-factly.

“No, I know you. I’ve…dreamed of you,” a smile slowly spreads across her lips as her eyes scan my chest. “I can feel something, I think it’s your magic. There’s a pull, but…one I can choose to ignore.”

She looks up at me with her amazing storm-colored eyes and beams at me.

“It’s really you…” she whispers.

“Just my luck, the one woman on Earth that I want, and she’s immune to my power of seduction?” I pull Viola even closer. “That won’t do.”

Viola’s featherlight fingers trace up my now more muscular arms. “You’re the flame, I’m the moth, and I’m blissfully burning up in a torrent of fire.”

The desperation to be closer to Viola consumes me, and my self-control disappears into the wind. My kiss isn’t tender—it’s savage and demanding. All those days and nights of pent-up tension, imagining her close to me, listening to her touching herself—all pour out at once into her mouth.

Viola moans as I press her warm, slender body into mine. I want to hold her so close that our bodies combine into one mass, but with these chains, I can only get enough slack on one arm at a time to hold her.

“Oh, Darius,” Viola moans as I kiss a trail down her neck.

Viola’s small hand runs through my hair, gripping almost as if to push my mouth further into her, but I won’t—no matter how desperate or hungry I may be, I will never feed off my beautiful Viola. Never.

Her moan tempts me closer to the edge, and I feel my fangs elongate. I grumble as I slowly release my hold on her. I lift my gaze to the high ceilings above and let out a long breath.

I hear Mrs. Norris asking around for Viola—she’s looking for my girl. Just my luck. I can’t help but groan at the situation as I move back a little and look at her.

“You need to go.”

“No, I don’t,” the tip of Viola’s nose brushes against mine as she gently shakes her head. “And now that I can get close to you without you taking a bite out of me, I think first thing tomorrow morning, we should try removing those chains.”

“I regret to inform you, but Mrs. Norris is looking for you again. You don’t have much time to get to your room, though she is starting to have trouble making it up the stairs, so that’ll buy you a few extra minutes,” I explain.

Viola lets out a little moan of protest and buries her face into my chest. “I don’t want to leave you here like this.”

“I know, darling one.”

My hand gently wraps around her delicate neck, and I trace the line of her jaw with my thumb. She’s so perfect—her little freckles adding to her natural beauty. What I wouldn’t do to make this woman mine for all eternity. William is a fool.

The way Viola melts into my touch, her eyes slowly drifting closed, sends my ego soaring higher than ever before. Buddha would be disappointed.

When her eyes drift open, Viola smiles at me as if she had forgotten about the changes I underwent just moments ago and is looking at me for the first time.

She nods, and I gently kiss her soft, warm lips one last time before she steps backward.

Viola picks up the empty glass bottles and rushes out of the room.

“Good night, Darius,” she calls from the doorway. “Don’t you go anywhere!”

I shake my head. “Not without you by my side.”

Viola’s smile is contagious, and I feel my lips threatening to follow suit. That woman is pure magic.

I listen as Viola hurries out of the library without incident. She manages to make it to her bedroom and hides the empty bottles with time to spare. Mrs. Norris finally catches up to her, and to my surprise, Mrs. Norris delicately suggests that Viola legally adopt Elliott.

“It’s none of my business, of course,” Mrs. Norris continues, “but I think it best for the boy.”

“Mrs. Norris, we started off on the wrong foot. I know you might have concerns about voicing your opinions to me. However, you are far more experienced than I am, and I would more than appreciate your friendship and advice in such matters. Please, continue.”

They speak for another twenty minutes or so, and Mrs. Norris gives Viola the details of a lawyer in town who handles such matters. With a copy of their marriage certificate, all she would need is William’s signature on a few documents, and she could legally adopt him as her son.

Once Mrs. Norris departs, I hear Viola move to check on Elliott in the adjoining room. Amber starts raving about the book in whispers, expressing a desire to fall in love with a Vampyre and be whisked away to exotic locations for the rest of her life.

Viola quietly shoos Amber out of the room before she tends to something in Elliott’s room, though I can’t quite tell what she’s up to. The sounds suggest the shifting of pillows, blankets, and soft items.

“Right,” Viola finally announces, sounding satisfied with her work.

She then returns to her room through the adjoining door, which she leaves wide open.

The swell of love I feel for this woman fills my chest until it almost hurts—it’s the best reminder that I’m still alive—sort of.

Never could I have imagined that the next time I would see my Viola, she would be bleeding to death in my arms.