Page 79 of Heathens

I feel the light caress of his hand on my cheek, and the warmth of his breath on my neck, just as everything goes black.

DOMINIC

Duncan Towers

Ididn’twanttodo it this way, but I had a feeling she would ask for more. Conditions. Freedom. She’d want time, everything to be under her control, and I can’t give any of that to her.

Not until Rene is dead.

He forced my hand.Technically, this is all his fault.

But thankfully she’s here, she’s safe, and ‌she’s mine. That’s what matters. We can focus on our relationship when she wakes up, and fix all the little issues.

I sigh, kissing her on the cheek. She’s beautiful when she sleeps, even if she drools a little.Her hair is like silk, rich coppery strands spilling all over my pillow. I see her eyelids flutter as an imperceptible sound escapes her lips.

I wonder what she dreams about. Is it me?

Jury’s still out on whether she trusts me, but we’ll get there. I brush her hair away from her face, watching her groan in her sleep. I’m not worried about her bindings coming loose, even if she wakes up, but I’m still anxious. All day I’ve been falling in and out of consciousness, fighting sleep for the chance to look at her, and to be there when she wakes up. I hold out for about half an hour before passing out, snap awake again, and the cycle repeats itself. I don’t know what time it is, or how long I’ve been doing this for, but it’s okay.

We have all the time in the world.

I nuzzle up against her, closing my eyes at the sensation of her warm skin against my cheek. She’s like a furnace, and it’s been so long since I’ve actually shared a bed with a human that I forgot how hot they can run. My legs tangle with hers, and each touch sends a jolt of bliss through my veins. It’s almost better than drinking blood. She lets out the sweetest sigh, and I feel a little giddy. It seems like the only time she’s not trying to fight how she feels about me is when she’s unconscious.

Go figure.

I can’t trust her if she won’t trust me, that’s what makes all this necessary, but over time I can convince her I’m doing this for her own good. With me in control, the humans can have free rein over their own affairs. Hell, we could even work together and build the population back up. We could live in the kind of harmony they hoped for back when Rene fed them all that bullshit about equality before putting them under his boot.

My mind is running wild with one key question: do I turn her? The selfish part of me says yes, but the cautious and more paranoid part says not yet.

Wait it out.

Neither Rene nor I make new vampires often. Mateo and Luke were the exception to my own personal rule because I needed numbers after the last clash, and even they were a risky call. So many vampires think they can just drain a human entirely and leave them to fade away. Some rip them to shreds. I know better. We need to keep our numbers stable. The more vampires there are, the more competition there is for food, and the less likely it is we can keep the wildcards in line. The only real regulations are imposed by Rene and I, and for the fear of running out of food.

Nobody wants to hunt rats in the sewer.

Not again.

Rene’s motivations are a little different than mine, as he stopped making more vamps after what happened between the two of us. Betrayal bit him hard, and I keep biting every chance I get. Me though… My secret is I just don’t really like to share. Besides, who needs an army of idiots when you have a real solid crew?

I almost slip back into sleep, but jolt awake just before I go under. Turning Sofie might be the endgame, but for now, I need her under my thumb. She’s going to be hungry when she wakes up, and I’ve still got more steak in the fridge. She seemed to like it last night. Even said it was amazing.

That I’m amazing.

I place a kiss on her cheek, and she groans in her sleep.

“I’ll be back in a bit, and you and I can hash this out.”

I look like shit, feel like shit, and I need to feed. Not the fun, playful kind I do with Sofie, but for real. No matter how rough I feel, though, there’s this manic energy that’s infected me.

This whole dinner kidnapping thing was desperation more than anything. But it’s working. Everything’s going perfectly. Why plan if you get it all right on the first try, right?

I leave the bedroom and head straight for my record collection. I need some music while I cook. It clears my head, helps me think. So, something to fit the mood. I feel good – great, actually.

Rene’s going to be dead in no time, and I’ll rule Santa Cruz.

I find an old Temptations record and flip it over in my hands, scanning it. I slip the vinyl out of the cover and examine it for cracks and dust before sliding over to the record player when I find nothing amiss. Music booms through the speakers and I close my eyes, letting out a gentle exhale.

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg. Maybe it’ll make Sofie laugh.

---