Page 65 of Vampires of Eden: Oliver
This is uncomfortable. I don’t know how to feel about it, but what I know for certain is that I’d give anything to have this experience with Aries. To nourish him back to health and have him pull from me.
But here I am, feeding Alexander—this vampire that’s been forced on me against my will—while Aries is getting ready to slurp on Ben.
Life sucks, you know? It really does.
ChapterTwenty
“You’re the bravest vampire I’ve ever met, you know that? Iconic.”
Within ten minutes of getting back to my room, Sasha knocked on the door. She’s pacing across the floor with the excitement of someone who’s just left a major sporting event where her team won by a narrow margin.
“That scoff! The sound you made at Heartless when he said, ‘We haven’t made you do anything…’ Christ alive. It was like a two-ton slap in the face. The weight of the world was delivered in that single-syllabic sound. Like, ‘Don’t you fucking dare—’”
“Sash.” I’m lying prostrate on my stomach on the bed, but I whip my head to the side, scowling. “Would you please lower your voice and calm down? This isn’t a game.” It must be nice to play the role of bystander, watching as someone else’s life crumbles all around them. I press my face back into my pillow. I’m trying to smother myself but it’s not working.
“How can I calm down when this is probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me?”
“That’s… really sad. It’s not even happening to you.” The weight of the bed shifts, which tells me she’s sitting at my side.
“And oh God—poor Alexander brooding through the entire thing. His narrowed eyes were darting between you and Aries like one of you stole his lucky penny but he couldn’t figure out which one.” Sasha laughs, slapping her thighs. “Ahh, what a time to be alive.”
Unexpectedly, a laugh bubbles up from my chest. I turn my head to look at her. “You’re insane.”
“Maybe.” She smiles. “It was a refreshing reminder of the Ollie that I knew as a kid. What happened after you and Mr. Purebred Prince left the room? And did you hear what Aries said?” She raises her chin to elongate herself, mocking Aries’s confidence and smooth voice. “‘We’re mindful, my lord.’Pow.Another discreet slap across the face. Aries is like a fox. Watching him, you’d never know that the two of you were sleeping together… Are we sure that this isn’t another elaborate fantasy that you’ve made up in your head?”
Lifting, I stare at her in disbelief. “Are you questioning my sanity?”
“No… well, a little?”
I roll my eyes and drop back down into the pillow. How could I possibly fabricate the goodness of his intoxicating scent? The mutual pull of our natures and the way my eyes alight. His compassion, patience and the way he validates things I’ve only ever thought about—things I’ve never dared to say aloud to another vampire.
“Well, Camille is the one who brought this to my attention,” Sasha says, patting her hand in the center of my spine. “Youtried to hide this from me.”
“Yes, and your prudence is truly masterful. Good job at the breakfast table earlier.”
She snickers, sensing my sarcasm. “Sorry about that. So, tell me what happened with Alexander?”
Flipping onto my back, I stare up at the high ceiling, examining how it arches elegantly to a point. The way the light from the window casts a hazy shadow on one side. “He told me that he wants us to have a ‘real’ bond. And that he loves me. Which is completely unnecessary.”
“Why is it unnecessary?”
I turn my head to look at her. “You’re not surprised by this confession?”
“You are? I think Alexander’s affection for you has been fairly obvious since you were kids. You’d be totally in your own world, as per usual, but he used to pay such close attention to you—he would watch you watching the caterpillars.”
“Excuse me?” I have no idea what she’s talking about.
Sasha shakes her head. “You’re impossible. Do you remember the first summer when they started bringing Alexander here to get you two acquainted? This was before the official decision was made, I think.”
“No. Barely.”
“Well, I do. You were such a chatterbox back then. That was before Heartless started his campaign to condemn you into silence and submission. Anyway, we’d be out in the garden with the nannies and you’d wander off, suddenly quiet and intensely watching some insect. A caterpillar, or maybe a bumble bee that had landed on the flowers. Alexander would sit and watch you, perfectly content. I always remembered that. It was sweet.”
Exhaling a sigh, I roll over onto my side. “And yet he’s dismissive when I speak, treats me like his pet and calls me names. What’s ‘sweet’ about that?”
“I think… he wants your attention, but he doesn’t know how to get it. How do you capture the attention of a hopeless daydreamer when you’re grounded in the reality that they want to escape?”
Sasha pauses, regarding me as the silence settles between us. As if she genuinely expects me to answer this question.
