First Bite (Darkwood Manor Series) (3 page)

“Meet me tonight,” Jason whispers, as his eyes stare through me. I am about to say no, but he moves closer. I force myself to hold my breath. “There is something about you that intrigues me. Please meet me tonight.”

I stare in his bright green eyes. I know this is a bad idea, and I know I should tell him to get lost, but I can't. I want to be around him, and I just hope I don’t end up killing him.

I nod to answer his question.

“Great. Meet me at midnight, at the lake.” When Jason smiles it lights up his whole face, and it makes him even more beautiful.

He is the first man I ever thought was truly breath-taking beautiful. “Lake. Midnight. Got it.” I can't help but smile at him.

“I can't wait to get to know you Victoria Eden,” Jason says and walks away.

I shut my door, and lean my head against it. I can't believe I agreed to meet Jason at midnight, and be alone with him. I feel wetness run down my arm, and look at what could be causing it. I squeezed the orange, and the juice is running down my arm. I toss the orange in the trash and walk into my bathroom to clean up.

I change into a pair of my favorite low rise, light blue jeans, and a white shirt with quarter length sleeves. There are three buttons on the shirt that I normally leave undone.

I know I should tell Nathan about me meeting Jason alone, but he would stop me. I glance at the clock, and I have four hours until midnight.

Chapter Three
Midnight Meeting

Sneaking out of the mansion, I head towards the beautiful lake. From what I saw at my window, it’s huge, and has a single light wooden dock that goes about ten feet out. I know I’m breaking a few of Mr. Martin's rules, but I don’t care.

As I get closer I can see Jason, and he has his back to me. I have had a few boyfriends, but I haven’t felt anything like I’m feeling for him.

Before I left my room I drank two full bags, and really hope that it helps with my blood lust. I take a deep breath and walk towards him. He must have heard me coming, because he turns around and gives me a big welcoming smile. His eyes seem to be glowing in the moonlight.

“You came,” Jason says, and I raise one of my eyebrows at him.

“I told you I would be here,” I say and move to stand next to him. I look at the lake and see hundreds of fireflies flying above the water. The glowing white moon is low and full, and looks like it’s coming out of the lake. “This is beautiful,” I say, and look into his brilliant green eyes. He is watching me and all I can see is the bright, round, full moon reflecting in his exceptional eyes.

“That you are,” he says, and I can feel myself blushing. “My room faces the lake, and I come out here to be alone. I love how the fireflies look on the lake.” Jason moves closer to me as he talks.

I try to think about anything besides how tasty he smells. I look at him and can feel my panic rising. “Jason, I shouldn’t be here,” I say, as he moves closer to me.

He smiles at me, and I hold my breath.

“Are you sure about that?” Jason brushes my hair away from my face, and leaves his hand on my cheek. My heart races as he moves even closer to me. His green eyes seem brighter with the full moon.

“Jason,” is all I can say before his lips are on mine. I know I should push him away, and I know I shouldn't be kissing him, but I don’t do any of those things. I wrap my arms around his neck and I groan when I feel his tongue conquering my mouth.

The moment his tongue finds mine I immediately regret it. He tastes better than he smells, and I move away from him gasping for air. That was the stupidest idea I’ve ever had, I can still taste him on my lips.

“Victoria, are you okay?” Jason asks, and I move farther away from him. I turn my back to him so he won’t see my eyes turning bright red with my blood lust.

I started wishing that I listened to Nathan and stayed away from Jason. I shouldn’t be out here. I need my best friend to help me calm down before I tear out his throat.

“Jason can you get Nathan for me?”

“Seriously? You want your best friend, right now?” I don’t miss the hurt in his voice. I want to hold him, and tell him that I don’t mean it, that I want to be kissing him. But that isn’t completely true. I want to drain his blood.

“Please,” I beg him.

Jason doesn’t say anything for a couple of minutes, and I don’t want to turn around.

“I have never been interested in anyone here at Darkwood, and I’ve never brought anyone out here. This is my special spot.” When I hear him walking away, I can feel my tears threatening to break free. I feel bad that he doesn’t know why I’m pushing him away, and it's for his own good. The image of me killing him is still very fresh in my mind.

I close my eyes and concentrate on breathing. A huge part of me wants to tell Jason that I’m sorry, and start to kiss him again, but I know I won't stop with kissing. I will kill him. When his tongue was in my mouth I wanted to bite it and let the blood drip down my throat. I would have, if I didn’t pull away, and now my head and stomach hurt.

I drop to my knees, and cradle my head in my hands. I welcome the cool wetness soaking into my jeans. I wonder if this is what my father went through when he was drinking out of a bag, and not a human.

“Victoria!” I nearly cry when I hear Nathan's voice. He will help me and keep Jason away. “Oh my God what did you do to her?” Nathan isn’t a violent man, but when it comes to me, he just might be.

“I didn’t do anything,” Jason says, sounding confused and a little angry.

“Nathan,” I say and start choking. I feel warn familiar arms wraps around me.

“It’s okay honey. I’m here,” Nathan says, and I snuggle into his chest. “Are you completely out of your mind, or just a little?” he whispers into my ear.

Nathan puts his arms under me and picks me up into his arms. “Thanks for getting me Jason.”

As Nathan carries me away, I glance at Jason one last time, and he is staring at me. The beautiful lake is a deep blue, and the moon is shining down on Jason like he is some kind of angel.

Back in my room, Nathan hands me another take-out bag, and I suck it down. “Are you going to tell me why you’re out there with your temptation?” Nathan asks, and takes my hand in his.

“I like him. I know I shouldn’t, and I know I need to stay away from him. But I don’t know if I can.” I pause and close my eyes. My craving for Jason isn’t bad right now. “Maybe I should call my mom and tell her I can't be here.”

“That wouldn’t do much good for you. Your mother told me she was going out of town and wouldn’t be back until Sunday,” Nathan says, and I open my eyes. This is news to me. My mother didn’t tell me she was going out of town.

“I didn’t know that,” I mumble, and he smiles.

“Honey, are you going to tell me what happened to make you freak out like that?” I don’t want to answer him. I don’t want to hear him tell me how stupid I am for putting Jason in danger. “Victoria, tell me or I will ask Jason.”

I sigh, and nod. “He kissed me,” I whisper, and wonder if he heard me.

“You what?! You’ve got to be kidding me! Victoria, you have a blood lust for him, and you thought kissing him was a good thing?” Nathan shakes his head, and narrows his eyes on me. “What would you have done if you had killed him? Throw him in the6 middle of the lake?”

My mouth drops open. After all of the years we’ve been friends, he should know me better than that. “I would never do that.”

“You told me you would never kill a human like your dad. You said you don’t want to be a monster like him.” I flinch away. My father has killed many people, but I only saw it happen once. The memory still haunts me, and I will never forget what I saw. As the traumatic memory soaks in, I start to relive it.

He took me out to a movie, and said he needed to stop somewhere on the way home. We walked into a store, and a man with salt and pepper hair stopped in front of us with a genuine smile on his face.

“We are closing in five minutes,” the man said, and I glanced at my dad.

“I would like to speak with you…alone please,” my dad said to the man, and he nodded. “Darling stay here I won't be long,” he told me, and I stood there in the empty store alone. I didn’t move or follow my father, not until I heard screaming.

I ran down the hallway to the open office door. My father had the other man’s neck stretched as if it would have snapped at any moment; his teeth were buried deep into the man’s carotid artery. I began fighting my basic instincts, at the smell of the coppery gold my father had spilled. Bright crimson soaked into the man’s collar of his white button up shirt. The victim’s eyes were wide open in terror; his mouth was stuck in a silent scream. Tears stung the back of my eyes, and my gums throbbed as my fangs grew longer.

I just stood there, frozen, but I must have made a noise because my father’s eyes popped open. I could see a smile while he was removing his mouth from the man's neck. He stared at me with bright, red eyes.

I had never seen a vampire feed before, and watching my father made me sick but excited at the same time.

I ran from the back office and away from my father. I ran out of the store and didn’t stop until I was down the street. I pulled out my cell phone to call my mother, but I knew that she would want to stake my father. I called the only person I knew who would help me, and be there for me. Nathan.

That memory has haunted me ever since I witnessed my father feeding and killing someone.

“I'm sorry I shouldn’t have said that, but what were you thinking? What if you hurt him? I know you Victoria. You would never forgive yourself if you had,” Nathan says, and pulls me out of my walk down memory lane.

I nod and look at him. “I know I would have hated myself, but I don’t know if I can stay away from him. It's like his blood is calling to me, and I don’t think I can ignore it anymore.”

“I know, and I am here to help you. You seem to calm down when I’m around you.” I nod and lean back into him.

“You do. I don’t know why but it's something you have always been able to do,” I say and smile.

“Well then, you are stuck with me. You won't do anything without me by your side.” I move my head to look up at him.

“What if you want some alone time with a certain guy?” I say and wiggle my eyebrows at my best friend.

Nathan chuckles. “Well I do have the room next door to him, so I will have my alone time with that certain guy. But I should go before anyone finds me in here. Get some rest and I will see you in the morning.”

I watch my best friend tip toe out of my room quietly. I wonder how I am going to control myself. I know I won’t be able to stay away from Jason, and I can feel myself being pulled to him even now. I walk over to the window and look out at the beautiful lake. Jason Kaye is still standing by the shore, and I want to be down there with him.

I walk away from the window and grab my phone. I need my mom. I need to hear her voice, and to have her tell me that everything is going to be alright. I call her, and she doesn’t pick up. It goes to her voicemail.

“Mom, call me when you can. I miss you.” I put my phone on the table, lie down and close my eyes. Every time I closed my eyes I see Jason, and I can feel his lips on mine. I can feel him pulling me closer to his warm body, but the thing that keeps me up is how he tasted. I don’t think I will ever get it out of my mouth.

Sighing, I get out of bed and grab my black fuzzy robe. Walking downstairs, I head to the room where I saw the large black grand piano. I run my fingertips along the smooth black surface. I haven’t written anything, or sang since my father left. Sitting down, I gently place my fingers on the coolness of the ivory keys, and lightly play the song in my head.

“I will never forget you. You were the first one to love me. You showed me what it means to be shattered.” The sweet melody from the piano and my low soft voice sings. “You taught me not to love, you taught me not to trust. No one else will break my heart; no one will get that close again.”

I close my eyes and allow the sweet music to wrap around me.

“You told me you would always be there, that you would hold my hand. Where are you now? What have I done, to make you leave?”

My fingers move along the ivory like it hasn’t been years since they have touched.

“At night I see your face, your eyes are gleaming at me. I wonder if I'll see you again, and if you will hold me like you used to. If you will tell me that you have missed me.” With my fingers still playing the song in my head, I open my eyes. “I want to love again, I want to trust again. You told me you would always be there, that you would hold my hand. Where are you now? What have I done, to make you leave?”

Something crashing hard to the floor behind me makes me jump away from the piano. Turning around I see Jason, his mouth is hanging open and his bright green eyes are staring at me. Heat floods my cheeks and radiates all over my body. My heart is beating so fast that I think it might beat out of my chest.

Jason blinks a few times, and a slow smile appears on his face. “Just when I think you can’t get any hotter, you surprise me. You have an amazing talent,” he says and moves closer to me. I back up, because I don’t want to hurt him and my control is very fragile right at this moment.

“How long have you been listening?” I ask, and he grins.

“Since you ran your fingers along the piano. I was going to walk away, but when you started singing I was enchanted by your voice.” I hold my breath when he moves closer, and my back hits the wall. “Who was it about?”

I have to blink a couple of times before I realize he asked me a question.

“My father,” I whisper.

Something dark flashes behind Jason's eyes. “Deadbeat?” I flinch at his choice of words. “Sorry, but I lost my father a couple of years ago. He was murdered.”

Without thinking I put my hand on his arm. “I am so sorry Jason. Do you know who killed your father?”

He nods his head slightly. “I do.”

Before I could think or move, his lips are on mine again. I run my fingers through his hair and groan. I know I should stop and tell him to never kiss me again, but I can't. Jason pulls my body closer to his, and I feel his warm hands frame my face. My gums start to throb, like my fangs want to come out. I move my lips away, but lean my forehead on his. I close my eyes so he won't see them grow red with my blood lust.