Page 10 of Stranded with a Wounded Vampire

“You saw me in the grocery store and you felt it too?” she questions.

“Yes,” I admit.

“Then why are you…” She waves a hand. “Why are you doing all of this, where you try to keep me away from you and you say it’s dangerous? You say you want me as your Bride. Doesn’t that mean you should want me to stay so you can get to know me better?”

“I do this for your own protection.”

“You keep saying that, but I don’t understand. How can me being with you be a bad thing?”

“I did not want you to stay the night here because what I feel for you is very strong. And like I said before, you can’t change your mind later.”

“But…but remember I said I was here because I thought there was something between us? I feel the attraction too. I came up here because I had to see you again and get to the bottom of this. I want to get to know you better. And…and maybe I wouldn’t mind if we ended up in the same bed tonight too.”

“I know,” I answer. “I have scented your arousal since the beginning, when we were at the store.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks flush an attractive shade of pink. “I didn't know. I'm so embarrassed. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you with that.”

“No, no,” I say. “I'm not bothered. I feel honored that you would feel that way about me, considering it is illegal for me to breed.”

“Illegal? Bruce, now what are you talking about? It can’t be illegal for the two of us to be together. There are two other women who have married Korn.”

Another roll of thunder rumbles in the distance and then a flash of lightning streaks through the large front windows. The wind howls outside louder than ever before and the pound of rain lashing against the structure increases. “Lights on,” I announce and a series of ambient lights turn on in corners of the room.

“Your home is very nice. The couches and the other furniture look warm and comfortable.”

“Thank you.” I look through the window, into the shadowy outside. “We truly are stranded together for the night. This debate between us whether you should stay or go is now moot. I don't want you to ask anyone else to come up because I don't want to be responsible for another human getting stuck on the road up here or something happening to them in this storm.”

“Exactly. I agree. But the fact remains that you say that having me here makes you uncomfortable. And that it’s illegal for us to be together? I don’t understand.”

“I’ve been taken off the Korn mating database. I cannot have a mate or even a pleasure mate. It is illegal.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense…you said that you’ve felt this frenzy for me…”

“Since I arrived on the planet. It’s true. It’s been very irritating.”

“How can that happen if you were taken off this database?”

“It doesn’t mean that I can’t be thrown into a frenzy. All females know that I am incompatible and to stay away from me.”

“But I’m human, not Korn.” She bites at her lip again. “Does…does this all stem from the way you walk and how you’ve covered yourself in more clothes than necessary? You don’t have to explain any of this, but you need to know that I don’t care about any of that.”

I inhale, surprised at how meaningful these words of acceptance are to me. But then I remember it’s because my sweet Willow doesn’t know the whole story, the extent of my dishonorable behavior that led to my permanent wounds. She is speaking from a place of misplaced innocence, and if she knew the truth…this human might very well leave me as swiftly as any Korn female.

I step back and stride for the kitchen, this time not bothering to try and hide the slight lurch in my step. I change the subject and remark again over the point I find the most irritating about human mating customs. “There's no dating and no divorce amongst Korn. We can't have this moment tonight and then you leave tomorrow morning and take another human male into your bed.”

She again follows behind. “I know that about your species and I've already accepted it. These last seven days I was thinking out what I’d do if I arrived and we hit it off, because I understood that starting something with you might mean we were together forever. I figured coming up here to meet you was a first step. To be truthful I didn’t expect for things to change so quickly to where we’re now stranded here together tonight, but I’m happy to have the opportunity to get to know you better.”

I pause in front of the refrigerator and turn to look down at my beautiful female. The curve of her bare neck is mesmerizing. “Korn in a blood frenzy move fast. You staying here with me would mean that there would be little time for this ‘getting to know each other’ you speak of and instead we’d be instant mates. And I’d need to know that you’ve given your full consent. It is against the law to consume blood from another being and perform the frenzy without full consent.”

“Consume blood? Um, well maybe we could take this night to get to know each other better first?”

I shake my head. “I already know that you're the right being, which is why you staying the night is so risky. The problem is that I can’t have you.”

“How can you know that? You don't know me.”

“It is different with Korn. If my body has chosen you, it knows. The choosing is never wrong. The Frenzy is never wrong,” I say with a wistful tone, wishing I was truly able to pursue this human as my Bride, give in to this blood frenzy and mark her as mine. “The partner our body chooses is always the right one, mentally and physically.”

She crosses her arms and a smile twitches at the corners of her luscious lips. “I don't know if you’re really the right guy for me. After all, you were being kind of rude to me at first, telling me to put down my cupcakes and donuts and leave.”

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