Page 3 of Don't Bite the Boy Next Door
“I just can’t leave the animals,” I murmur.
She doesn’t answer straight away. We both know I’m in no fit headspace to travel or socialise this Christmas, as much as I love the season.
“Then I suggest you bake something wonderful for Christmas for your neighbour, some of your world-famous cookies, and drop them off at his doorstep,” she says gently, “and get to know him as a person, rather than just seeing him as the most delicious home-delivery you have never ordered.”
I moan. “Pru, I can’t. If I was even close to him for a second, I’ll bite him. I know I will.”
“I’ll be right by your side,” she says, her eyes intense, “and no, you fucking won’t.”
“But?” I throw my hands into the air, “what about Aspen? You promised Tristan a big family reunion this Christmas in the snow.”
“And there will be one,” she smiles, “but not until I know my sister is not going to kill herself over some Farmer-Joe who smells like blow.”
“He smells more like cherries and frangipanis and…”
“Yeah, yeah,” she holds up her hand, “and blood. I know. But like any drug, it’s the forbidden that’s part of the charm. Once you get to know him, you won’t probably feel like killing him so much.”
“Probably?” I know I sound sceptical.
“I didn’t say you wouldn’t want to bite him, you will,” she shakes her head, “and Charlotte is full of shit if she tells you otherwise. I bite Tristan all the time, and when he was human, I attacked him half a hundred times. We aren’t all paragons of virtue, Tess. But as I grew to like Tristan, I was less inclined to kill him. I wanted a taste, a nip, and yeah, I wanted to screw him silly, but my desire to drain him into a lifeless corpse decreased the more I became desensitised to his smell. Serena and Charlotte say the same thing about Christopher and Nicholas.”
“I don’t think I can do it….” I start.
“You have to let go your guilt over Jacques,” she interrupts gently, “you couldn’t have known, after so many years of correspondence by letter, that when you finally met him, he would be an Irresistible. No one could predict such a tragedy. And none of us would have been strong enough as young vampires to resist such a blood call. You have to let that go and move forward, for your sake, for the sake of this neighbour, for all our sakes.”
I nod and consider, really consider, what she is saying.
“I’ll bake,” I sigh, rising from the table and making my way to the pantry to see what ingredients I will need to buy. “But, Pru,” I add over my shoulder, “if I do kill him, I don’t want you to stand in my way over what comes next.”
I flinch in surprise as she lunges in front of me, her eyes suddenly alight with intensity.
“Tess, I won’t stand aside and allow you to kill yourself. I love you too much.”
“Pru,” I shake my head gently, drawing her into my arms and hugging her tightly, “if you love me, you will do just that.”
