Page 15 of Space Vampire
We remain locked together, shuddering in the aftermath of our shared climax. I’m vaguely aware of my back still pressed to the tightly packed wall of bags in the pod, and at some point, both of my legs have gone around Vlad’s hips. He keeps me braced in place, and it feels as if we’re touching everywhere. I feel warm and safe and so damn good.
And happy. For the first time in what feels like a very, very long time, I’m happy.
I touch his face, stroking his cheek. He lifts heavy, hooded eyes to me, and the red of his gaze is mixed with deep black, his pupils huge. I stroke him with my thumb, feeling the need to say something in this moment. Of all the feelings in the past week that have been bubbling up inside me. I want him to know how he makes me feel. That when I’m with him, I no longer fear the universe. I no longer fear the future and what it may hold. That we understand each other, better than anyone else might. That we fit together. “Vlad ...”
“Yes, Dana?” His gaze moves over my face.
His firm mouth is tinged with blood, a hint of his fangs peeking out between his lips. Strangely enough, that makes him even more beautiful in my eyes. I want to kiss that blood away, only for him to sip it from my mouth once more. I want to kiss him again.
I’ll want to kiss him for the next fifty or a hundred years. “I need to tell you—”
A crackling chirp sounds over the ship’s intercom. “Ship approaching,” the station computer says in a cool, monotone voice. “Estimated arrival, one hour.”
My eyes widen. Cold floods through my body. “They’re back. We have to go.”
Immediately, Vlad moves. He pulls back, gently setting my legs on the floor again, and the heated wetness of his release trickles down my thighs. He reaches for his discarded loincloth, his ear cocked to the ship’s sound system as the voice chimes again in warning. Vlad’s tense now, as if sensing time slipping away. “If we hurry, we can fit more food in the pod—”
“What? No! Let’s just go!” I grab his arm before he can even think of hurrying off to try to get more supplies. “The only way I can override this pod is if the ship is still in emergency mode. The moment they dock and turn off the alerts, we’re going nowhere.”
He hesitates. Glances at the doors to the pod.
“Trust me on this,” I say, digging my nails into his arm. “Unless we unhook and go now, we won’t get another chance. We’ve still got time to get out of here.”
Vlad gazes at me, searching my face. I know what he’s thinking. If I’m wrong about any of this—about overriding the pod, about having enough food for me (and therefore both of us), if I can’t chart a path to this Cassa system—we’re bothdead. It’s a big ask for someone who’s just had their first taste of freedom, and I’m well aware of it.
We stare at each other in silence.
After another moment, he nods. “Let’s go, then. Show me how to unhook the pod.”
Hours later, I’m sitting in Vlad’s lap, watching the screens to ensure that no one’s following us. I haven’t relaxed since we left, imagining that I’m going to see a ship on the horizon, chasing after us. So far, though, nothing.
It’s all gone smoothly. There’s a small part of me that thinks it’s too smoothly, but I know the arrogance of these scientists. They’re never going to imagine that we’re charting a course to escape them for good. They’re going to assume that we’ve escaped, sure, but they’re also going to think that the pod will drift in space until it’s picked up, and then they can retrieve their cargo. They won’t realize that we’ve routed for a different destination from the default ... until it’s too late.
That’s the goal, anyhow. If they were even the slightest bit suspicious that I have a brain and know how to read, we’d be screwed. They’d come after us.
But ... the screens stay empty. When I do scans of ships in the area, there’s nothing. And I think of all the times my owner, Nasit, made me clap my hands like a pet monkey so I could have a treat, and I start to wonder if we’re safe after all.
Our pod zooms away, heading into deep space and the path I’ve set toward the Cassa system and its second planet. We’re at 91 percent power, but it should be enough to take the two of us where we want to go since we’ve removed the power-hungry stasis chambers that normally fill the pod.
Vlad has said nothing this entire time. He’s been quiet, letting me work without interruption, offering a bit of support when necessary, and stroking my back as if to silently reassure me that I’ve got this. I wish he’d say something, anything, to let me know that he’s not regretting his choice to come with me. The pod is cramped, and we share the one seat near the control system. If I put a hand out, I can touch the supplies. If I put my other hand out, I’ll be able to place it on the other chair that unfolds into a bunk.
This is our home for the next four months, and it’s going to be really, really awkward if he’s mad at me.
I finally push away from the control panels and get to my feet, pretending to stretch. “I think we’re okay for now. I’ll keep checking to see if we’re being followed, just to be on the safe side, of course.”
Vlad spins around in the chair, his gaze following me. “And?”
“And what?” I make an awkward thumbs-up, trying to decipher what he’s asking. “Good job, me?”
He scowls, getting to his feet. He looms over me in the tight pod, but he doesn’t touch me. He’s close enough that I can feel his body heat, but he somehow manages to maintain his distance. “And ... what was it you were going to tell me?”
His jaw is clenched and he looks grouchy. Angry, somehow. At me? Confessing love seems kind of stupid at the moment, so I smile and play it off. “It doesn’t matter now—”
“Just say it,” Vlad snarls, all sharp teeth. “You hated it, didn’t you? Hated my touch? That’s what you were going to say?”
My jaw drops. “What? No!”
“Speak the truth. I disgust you. These disgust you.” He gestures at his fangs.
