Page 16 of Daring Her Vampires
Heath: No.
Saphira: It’s Sally….
A tear slides down my cheek.
Bash: Yeah. Fine.
After he agrees, I drop my phone, unable to continue reading as they make a plan.
Dropping my head, I swipe angrily across my face. I hate crying. It’s been years since I've allowed my emotions to get the better of me. Their love sinks in, and I’m touched. I’m loud, intrusive, and can be annoying. People either love me or hate me. They’ve never made me feel as if I wasn’t a valued member of the family, but I’ve had doubts. I wear my confidence like a badge of honor. Life is too short and too valuable to dwell on shit that doesn’t really matter. Everyone has a little voice in their head, pushing the negative thoughts in.
Every day, women are forced by outside influences, telling them they aren’t good enough. As I strip, I think about all the shit that is said about a woman's body. I like mine. I’m skinnybut have some curves. My breasts are nice, not big, but not small. I’m on the short side but proportionate. When you reach a certain age, you realize it doesn’t matter. The key to life is to love yourself. No one is perfect. I was given a gift of my rabbit and a body I like. I know how to dress it to the best advantage.
Stepping into the shower, I toy with the idea of making myself come, and run my hand down my stomach. I have no problem pleasuring myself and have several vibrators that help me. My fingers work too, especially with the scent of my mates swirling through the air. I don’t like being told what to do. Once, I allowed a man to dominate me, and I had to force myself not to laugh through the entire experience. I believe as long as you want it, and it’s consensual, do whatever the fuck you want. I don’t judge others for what gets them off.
As I touch my clit, I growl, pissed that Atlas’s words stop my downward slide. I remove my hand and start my showering process. I don’t linger on any body part, knowing I will end up more frustrated when it doesn’t give me any relief. The touch of my mates is the only thing that will satisfy me. The bond is a bitch like that. It’s the universe's way to ensure you complete the bond and continue growing our world. You may think, because of my age, I couldn’t get pregnant, but you would be wrong. We age, but extremely slowly. A shifter woman doesn’t have the limits of a human. Our bodies are young. Even though I thought I found a little wrinkle the other day, don’t worry. I rubbed it, and it turned out it was an impression from my pillow. Mates are sacred; finding them and continuing to populate is the goal. I rinse out my hair and turn off the water.
Shit. I could have kids. I suck in a sharp breath. Would I be a good mother? Sure, I’m good at gathering friends and taking care of them. I accepted the fact that I wouldn’t have kids a long time ago. I didn’t think I would find a mate who could accept me, for me. The universe hasn’t been kind to me in the past, sowhy would it start now? What would mine be like? My vision goes fuzzy, and my palm slaps the glass door. A picture of a little girl with long, curly blonde hair running across a room flashes in my head. She’s laughing, loudly and unapologetically. My breath comes in short bursts, and my heart elevates to dangerous levels. She looks over her shoulder and smiles blindingly at me.
One second after she appears, she’s gone, and my mind clears. Holy shit. My body wakes as if I were dreaming, and I shake my head. I don’t have to be sleeping to have visions. My gift is always random. That was not. It seemed pretty clear to me. I’m going to be a mom. I don’t know how to feel. How will my mates feel? I don’t know them and can’t predict how they will react. For now, it will be my secret.
I hear the water in the spare bedroom stop, and I hustle out of the shower. Wrapping myself in a towel, I shove my vision away to think about later. One thing I take away from it is that I do have a future with the two vampires. I have to trust the bond and go with the flow. I know it won’t go smoothly—it never does—but I will be happy in the end.
I slather on my lotion. It makes my legs shine, and it has a light scent. Starting with my makeup first, I decide to go dramatic, using my black eyeshadow to create a smokey eye. I’ve had years of practice and could do it in my sleep. Luckily, despite the wrinkle scare, I don’t need foundation. I’ve used it before, but it irritates my skin. My enhanced sense of smell makes it difficult to find scents that don’t annoy me. I can smell everything; unlike my hearing, I can’t dim it. Taking out my favorite red lipstick, I apply it quickly and smack my lips together. Perfect.
I grab my brush, drop my towel in the laundry basket, and leave the bathroom. Walking into my closet, I run the bristles through my hair as I contemplate my clothing choices. I look longingly at my jean skirt. No. As much as I love it, I need something special tonight. I have dresses in every color and forevery occasion. I think I need some sparkle. I wish my gift would help me pick an outfit for the night. I want something to drive my mates to desperate measures in our game. Yet it needs to be subtle enough that they don’t kill anyone for looking at me. Tough choice.
I narrow it down to two options. One, a sparkly black dress. The hem is extremely short, and the plunging neckline is supported by thin straps. The other choice is red and long, but the slit on the side reaches mid-thigh. It has a high neck and sleeves. The back makes it sexy, as it doesn’t have one. The fabric hits right above my ass. Either will guarantee attention from my mates. I drop my brush on the dresser. Tapping my fingers on my lips, I wiggle my fingers in front of them, back and forth. I hold my hand in front of the red. It may be too formal for a night in the club. Plus, it might get in the way if I have to run or hurt a woman for looking at my vampires. I motion to the black. I can move easily, and it’s less fancy. The neckline is really low.
Red. No, black.
Fuck it. I won’t bend over in the black. A boob has been known to pop out, but I like to live dangerously. Final choice, we're going with the black. Now, for the underwear choice. It’s only logical to wear red lace since I’m going with the black.
Nodding, I gather everything up and go back to the bathroom. I hang the dress on the back of the door and slip into my panties and bra. I can hear the guys in the living room and wonder how bored they are. I did warn them, but I don’t hear them talking. A vampire has more sensitive hearing than shifters, so perhaps they are talking too low for me to hear. I slip on the dress, tuck my breasts away, and hope they stay there. My hair is the last step before I find some heels. I dry it until it doesn’t sizzle with the iron.
As I curl my hair, I wonder what my mates are thinking. Rabbit shifters have a reputation, a nutty reputation. They saywe try to make up for our small size with big personalities. It could be true for some. For me, things that happened in my childhood shaped me, and not all in good ways. I had to decide to live my life how I wanted, despite everything. Our kind is gifted with some of the same attributes. We are fast and agile, all our senses are enhanced, and we can shift in a blink. The other traits are varied. I can see the future and past, but not all rabbits can. Some of us can put humans, and an occasional weak shifter, into a trance. We can command them to do whatever we want and change their memories. Our magic is powerful, and we can choose to hold it in an object. I think it’s funny as fuck that I chose a rabbit’s foot.
I don’t share my abilities with anyone. My friends only know the basic powers of a rabbit shifter, and I haven’t enlightened them. My mates will be the first to learn about me. I don’t want to hide things from them, but I won’t share everything the first night. Some facts will be hard to put into words.
I fluff my hair, spray it so it won’t go flat, and clean off the sink. As I step back, I twist, inspecting my body. Not bad. Everything is in place, and my hair has just the right amount of curl. I go back to the closet and walk down the line of shoes in the rack. My mates are tall, so I don’t have to worry about wearing heels. I grab the red ones and quickly walk to the bed before I change my mind. Once they are in place, I can’t delay any longer.
I’m nervous. I usually don’t get jittery. My past relationships have been short. No one has tempted me to stick around. Humans are great for a night, but it would get awkward if they caught me shifting in the backyard. I drop a mass of thin chains around my neck that caress my cleavage, and then grab my fancy little black purse. I transfer everything from the old one and reach for the doorknob.
I take a deep breath and open the door.
“Ready, boyfriends,” I smirk, and freeze. Holy hotness. Maybe I thought their gorgeousness would diminish while I was getting ready, but I’m glad it didn’t.
“No,” Luca growls, standing in front of me in a second.
“Excuse me?” I narrow my eyes and put my hand on my hip.
“You can’t wear that,” he continues.
“Boyfriend, listen,” I start patiently, holding up my hand. “No one. I mean no one, tells me what I can or can’t wear.”
“I’m going to kill someone tonight,” Luca states.
“You don’t like it?” I ask, ignoring him.
