Page 3 of Afflicted

The food rations for the humans absolutely need adjusting as winter approaches.

I wonder what her blood tastes like.

I exhale heavily, clenching my molars, and my boss, a silver-haired vamp named Anderson, regards me with raised eyebrows.

“Not boring you, are we, King?” He’s stern but not unfriendly, giving off an air almost of an english teacher who likes to give you a talking-to over glasses perched on his nose. “Got somewhere better to be?”

I shake my head quickly, pasting a smile on my face. “Sorry, no, not at all. It’s just rather hot today, isn’t it? There was some talk of the new air conditioning units being installed in the dorms, is that still happening?”

The other vamp looks down at the paperwork in front of him - his name is Peters, I think - and clears his throat. “They’d mentioned it to me but I think Boston was still waiting on parts.”

“Ah, right then.” I smile amicably, wishing the talk of air conditioning would calm my fucking raging erection.

It’s not.

Instead, I run over the layout of the compound to try and distract myself.Four dorms, containing 40 humans in each. A shower block. Library. Cafeteria. Clinic. Garden. Rec Room and gym. Officer’s cabins.

OK, that helped. Marginally.

Peters leans back in his chair and looks at me thoughtfully over caged hands. “Sorry to get off topic here for a second, but I’ve always wondered how you ended up here?”

“I applied for the transfer from Boston.”

He laughs lightly, waving his hand. “No, I mean how didyouend uphere?” He gestures to the ground beneath us. “The states. Your maker, I mean she was legendary, why aren’t you kicking it with the elites back in Boston?”

I shift in my seat. “Her assets were seized. For the cause, you see.”The cause.Those words have the others nodding, looks of understanding being passed around the room. Plenty of well-off vampire families had their assets seized by the most powerful vampire covens, in the name of the cause - eradicating the Afflicted. There’s no doubt in my mind some of the vamps sitting with me now come from wealthy families, now demoted to servants, all in the name of the cause.

Ironic, considering vampires are the cause of all this in the first place.

But the mention of my maker drives a cold stake straight through my stomach. I don’t want to think about all that, clasping my hands together under the table until my fingers go numb. It’s been four years, but the pain still lingers, aching like a long-healed broken limb.

The vamps have started talking again, discussing all the research coming out of Boston, all the advances they’ve made in the labs. I can’t bring myself to care, not in the midst of this swirl of emotions. Everything else fades away and becomes insignificant.

I’ll bet she’s so incredibly soft when she’s asleep.The intrusive thought roars through my brain, and instantly the swirl of emotions centers until all I can think about is the head of blonde hair and the scent of her skin. The first time I saw her, the way my stomach dropped, and the ache of my lungs emptying of air I don’t even need to breathe anymore. Imagining her pouty lips against mine, the delicate brush of her tongue as she opens up for me.

Everyone turns to look at me as one, several sets of confused eyes staring at me, because like a true fucking psycho I’ve pounded my fist against the table.

“You OK?” Anderson asks.

“Yeah. Sorry, uh…” I get to my feet, running a hand over my head. “I think I have duty now, I should go.”

“Oh, of course.” Anderson dismisses me with a nod and looks back down at the papers in front of him. “I think we’ve got everything all cleared and ready anyhow. You go on.”

I head out of the office that suddenly feels tiny and cramped, out into the warm afternoon. For a moment, everything feels tight and wrong, like there’s a noose around my neck. With a sick lurch of my stomach, I run my hands up and down my arms, trying to scrub away the feeling of track marks. They’re gone, long fucking gone. Healed up along with every other scar on my body, every trace of my previous life. The life I was saved from.

But that doesn’t stop that old feeling crashing back down when I realize I’m in the midst of a new addiction. I’m reformed, not recovered.

I lied, I’m not on shift at all, I just needed to get the fuck out of there.

I consider heading to the gym, but then I catch a scent on the breeze, sweet and fresh, and I know she’s close by. I follow it, rounding a corner and heading down the path to the gardens.

The sun glints gold, and it catches the blonde head of hair currently bent over a garden bed. I lean against a tree, half-hiding myself as I watch her. Her hair is loose, and with a flick of her arm she swoops it over her shoulder, revealing her throat. She rubs the back of her hand over her top lip, dashing away sweat, and her eyebrows knit together in a sweet little frown as she concentrates on what she’s doing. After a few minutes, she rolls back on her haunches, tipping her head back, eyes closed, and exhales through pursed lips. She’s just fucking gardening, and I’m rock-hard again, imagining her on top of me, riding me, her head tipped back just like it is now as my hand runs down her chest.

Get out of here. My reason tries to make me see sense. I should leave.

Instead I move closer, watching from the long shadows being cast by the late afternoon sun. My senses are in overdrive as the breeze carries her scent to me, I can practically feel every drop of her sweat on my tongue.

As though she can sense she’s being watched, her head jerks to look over her shoulder. Her eyes don’t quite find my place in the shadows as they scan the yard. She rises to her feet, her movements lithe and easy. Her gaze almost finds me, and I simply stare at her.

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