Page 17 of Love Bitten

Xander was a fascinating creature, to say the least, but it was hard to ask him questions without overstepping my boundaries. This book might have the answers to some of my curiosities, and maybe I could even do a better job of respecting Xander and his past.

“Here you go.” I handed the form back to The Librarian, who filed it away in a cabinet while I picked up my book.

It was somehow even heavier than I expected, probably from the pounds of dust hiding inside.

As I trudged out of the library with that thing nestled between my arms, the last thing I heard after the jingling bell was:

“Thank you for coming in and enjoy your book!”

When I got back to my place, the mail had been delivered. I checked it, knowing full well I never got anything important, only to find a letter nearly identical to the one I’d received on Saturday.

My heart began to race as I set the book on top of the mailbox and ripped the beige envelope open. I scanned the pages of handwriting hastily, ignoring the sweet sentiments for the time being while I looked for the only thing that mattered:

I hope to see you again this upcoming Saturday. I shall await your reply with great excitement and until then, know that I am enjoying the memories of our first date.

That was what I cared about. He wanted to see me again! I was pretty sure Xander already knew exactly what my answer would be, based on the tone of his letter, but I had every intention of sending him the reply he was waiting for, albeit less fancy than his letters always were.

With shaky, fumbling hands, I tucked the letter inside my massive book and nearly ran inside, making my way to the depleted stack of printer paper on my desk.

I wrote down an answer quickly. Ignoring my disgust of my handwriting long enough to get the damn thing finished, before inspecting it. It was ugly, sure, but it did what it needed to do – it told Xander that yes, of course I would be there on Saturday, as soon as the sun went down. I wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity like this.

Now I had to play the waiting game, getting through the rest of the workweek without going insane from the anticipation of the weekend.

I should have gone to sleep immediately, as it was getting late for me and I had to be up again this afternoon, but the vampire history book was calling me, and before I could control my impulses, I cozied up on the couch and cracked open the book, unable to put it down all through the morning and into the afternoon.

Sleep was a thing of the past. Xander didn’t need it and right now, neither did I.

16

XANDER

Saturday finally arrived, bringing with it thick, dark clouds and buckets of rain. The grounds, unkempt and overgrown as ever, were a sight to behold in the dim, dreary spring storm.

I’d wanted to go outside and work, but the fear of getting too caught up in my activities and staying out past the cover of the night kept me paralyzed, resorting to simply staring out the window as the hours dragged by. The house was a picture to look at inside, at least, and Luke would be impressed no matter what I did.

I had received his letter back to me on Thursday, having reread it at least a dozen times by the weekend. I had never been this intrigued by a human before. It was a new experience for me, which was increasingly rare the longer I existed.

It took every ounce of strength I possessed to not snatch Luke up when he walked into the entryway. I desperately needed to take him upstairs, sink my fangs into his flesh, and fuck him until he cried out for mercy, but as a mere human, he took more care than that.

“You’ve been cleaning.” Luke smiled as he gazed around the foyer, running his forefinger along the tabletops.

It came up free of dust each time, a fact of which I was rather proud.

“I have,” I said, puffing out my chest. “I’ve nothing better to do, you know.”

“I’m sure you do, but this is really sweet. It looks great too.”

“Ah, but there’s more.”

I led Luke through the house, giving him a second and better house tour. The dining hall shined, with the crystal laid out on the table sparkling clear and bright. I’d even brought in fresh flowers which I cut myself early that morning before the sun was up.

The room smelled lovely, although I suspected Luke liked the scent more than I did. It was a bit too floral and clean for me, someone who’d preferred the colder, headier scents of wine, aged wood, and…blood.

Blood. I shifted to the other side of Luke, who was busy examining the antique glasses laid out on the table, so that I could see the marks on his neck where I bit him.

“Your bite marks are healing nicely,” I remarked as casually as I could.

“Yeah,” Luke said. “I wore turtlenecks and high-collared shirts at work all week so no one would notice them and ask what happened, but the cuts are pretty much gone now.”

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