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Chapter 14 - Kiss Me Hard
I could see his jaw tighten, feel his fingers flex, witness as parts of him began to unhinge. I knew what he was struggling with: giving in to lust, and staying true to his words from before. My eyes, burning, stayed on his as his nostrils flared and he glared down at me.
My skin began to grow hot as his grip grew tighter. It didn't hurt; it was tight enough to leave bruises, but it didn't hurt. The size of his hands were so big that they encased my shoulders.
I ran my tongue over my lower lip thoughtlessly, waiting for him to act. His eyes flickered to my wet lips, before a growl emitted from the back of his throat and his own lips crashed against mine.
It wasn't slow, like Damon's kiss had been. It was rough, needing, like he wanted it just as much as I did. That satisfied me. His hands fell to my hips, pulling me into him, his head bent down to maintain the contact between our mouths. My hands, now free from being pinned to my sides, wound around his neck, holding myself to him as our lips moved against each other.
The connection put my thoughts into a frenzy. I reacted to his movements instantaneously, my will power slowly slipping from my loosening grasp.
He broke away, mouth pressing against my ear, breathless. The sensation was overwhelming. He made to say something, but then stopped. And then he was gone, leaving me hot, disheveled, and confused.
The other teenagers in the room were starting to fade out of their bloody, drunken stupor. One girl's fingers were on her throat, a horrified expression claiming her face. I quickly slid out of the room, not wanting to be at the scene anymore.
How much time had elapsed since I'd wandered upstairs? I couldn't remember. The music was still pounding heavily, the bass literally vibrating the house. I clambered down the stairs, stepping over garbage, and was thrust into the crowds of teenagers. Still on a high, I was hyper-aware of every brush and touch. I swallowed, eyes darting around nervously for my brother.
My eyes found a clock: 10:43 pm.
Stretching out my fingers, I swerved around, only to bump into someone.
"Sorry!" he shouted tipsily.
I was still on some sort of high from Kol's kiss. It had been explosive, but not enough to satisfy. And it was addicting; once I'd gotten a taste, I wasn't able to let it go,not until I had gotten my fill. Every part of my body that the stranger had collided into burned. I was on fire inside, the lecherous flames threatening to consume me at any given moment.
Letting out a heavy breath, I couldn't stop my eyes from seeking his. They were Caribbean blue, I noticed.
"It's okay," I muttered, clenching my jaw.
He was oblivious to my internal struggles. "I'm Ethan," he slurred.
I studied him curiously. I knew I should just walk away, but it was like my feet were rooted to the ground. I could feel his warmth radiating from him, hear his rapid heartbeat, see his wandering eyes as they traced my body.
And just like that, something snapped inside of me.
My lips curled into a smile as my hand found his. "Come on, Ethan," I said. "I want to show you something."
He followed me without hesitation. He was drunk, and I was a pretty girl. Why would he ask questions?
I led him through the crowds. Up the stairs. Past the room I'd been in with Kol. I didn't own my body anymore; it was acting on it's own accord. There was a part of me inside, trying to resist, but it was so minuscule.
Wandering hands. Locked doors. My lips on his. The taste of cheap beer. The familiar rush of energy flowed through me as I pulled the stranger to me. It was sloppy, unlike Kol's kiss. He squeezed my breast hungrily, pushing me towards the bed. I let him.
His fingers were slipping under my shirt. My jacket had already been shrugged off. That small part of me still wanted to end this, before I killed this innocent boy, too. But how could I, when it felt so right? So good? So empowering?
Just a little bit more, I promised myself.
Breaking our locked lips, I played with the buckle of his jeans. Without thinking, I broke it accidentally, my strength unknown to me. He didn't notice as he yanked my shirt over my head.
He sucked on my neck as I fell onto the bed, my bare back pressed into the comforter. I wrapped my legs around him, pressing myself into him, absorbing his heat, taking it as my own.
A little longer.
My body was singing, thriving from the feed. I rolled him over, keeping our lips connected as I straddled him.
Then, I noticed it. His skin had faded into a chalky shade, and his veins were bulging from beneath his skin. Horrified at myself, I thrust him away from me. After a moment, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed.
Quickly, I darted to my feet. Gasping, I frantically pulled my shirt back on and distractedly tried to find his pulse. My clammy hands did me no good, and I began to hyperventilate, before the faint yet steady sound of his slow heartbeat filled my ears. Relief fell over me.
Still, I was terrified at how easily I had lost myself. How easily I has succumbed to the lust. I was ashamed that I had come close to ending an innocent life, again.
It didn't stop me from feeling utterly empowered, though. That was the truly sickening part. I didn't feel disgusting; I was buzzing, full of energy and strength. I felt amazing.
The guilt was cutting into me like a sharp blade.
Disoriented, I tried to sort my thoughts. Jeremy and I would need to leave soon. Kol had been our ride, but I wasn't sure what had become of him.
I couldn't think about Kol at the moment.
My gaze returned to Ethan. His skin had faded back to it's natural shade, despite a pale tint to it. He looked as if he had passed out. I left him be, slipping out of the room, and hurrying back to the downstairs.
Minutes later, I found Olivia in the living room, talking to a girl I didn't recognize. My fingers tapped her arm to capture her attention, and I pulled her closer to me.
"Do you know where my brother is?" I questioned loudly, trying to force my voice over the music.
The blonde girl shrugged, eyes squinting. "No. Are you alright? You don't look so well."
"I'm fine," I lied easily. "I just want to go home."
"Oh, well, sorry. I dunno where he went."
I turned away from her without another word, but I could feel her eyes on my back as I knifed through the groups of intoxicated teenagers. Rubbing my eyes, I pushed away some swaying bodies and exited through the front door, stumbling onto the lawn.
My eyes searched the yard for the familiar face of my brother, but I couldn't spot him. Following the cement path to the drive way, I started to walk around the house. Even if I didn't find Jeremy, I reckoned that the fresh air would do me some good, and clear my befuddled thoughts. As I shuffled into the backyard, I found myself alone, the backyard not yet interrupted by the hoards of students.
"Jeremy?" I called out tentatively, surprised when I found my words slightly slurred. My tolerance for alcohol was shameful.
"I knew there was something special about you, Madeleine," came a high-pitched voice from the shadows.
Turning around, I found Olivia standing behind me, as if she'd followed me outside.
"What?" My eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"That vampire that hangs around your brother all of the time wasn't the only one sent here to keep an eye on him," she said, almost nonchalant. "You Gilberts are a pretty hot topic within the supernatural realm. Only, I'm not really interested in your brother at all."
Swallowing, confused, eyes narrowing, I asked, "Then what are you interested in?"
"You," she said. "I know what you are, Madeleine."
My stomach lurched as I peered at her, suddenly nauseous. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said weakly.
"But it's okay," Olivia assured, taking a step towards me.
Instinctively, I took a step back. "Don't come near me."
She straightened her posture as she stared at me, eyes flashing in the dark. When I had first met Olivia, I hadn't thought anything about the petite girl with blonde hair and bright eyes. But now, as I watched her, I could see the deepness in them, vast and bottomless like an ocean. They were old eyes.
"Don't be frightened of me," she said. "I'm not going to hurt you. Unless you try to run."
With a quivering voice, I asked her, "Are you like me?"
"A succubus?" She laughed. "Hell no. In fact, I haven't seen a succubus in over a decade."
"A decade?" I repeated. "What are you, then? A vampire or something?"
"Bingo," she said, tilting her head to the side slightly. "And do you know what that means?"
I waited for her to continue.
"That I'm stronger than you. A lot stronger."
"What do you want from me?" I bit, taking another step away from her.
"It's really quite simple," she said quickly, as if she were growing impatient with the pace of our conversation. "You're going to come with me, and no one will get hurt. I'll fill you in with the details on the way."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
She sighed, rolling her eyes. "How did I know you were going to say that? Oh well. Guess we're going to have to do this the hard way."
As the words rolled off of her tongue, I threw myself to the left, trying to sprint away from Olivia. But before I could make it ten feet, she was already standing in front of me. She reached out, wrapping her hand around my throat, and tossed me onto the ground. Gasping, I rolled onto my back, trying to push myself back onto my feet. But Olivia was too fast, delivering a swift yet harsh kick to my gut. I choked, the force of the impact leaving me breathless.
"You fight like a girl," she laughed.
Olivia stretched towards me, as if she were going to yank me to my feet. But, she stopped suddenly, her face contorting in utter pain.
I was confused for a moment, watching in horror as her lips parted, and blood trickled down her chin. She made a sickening, gurgling noise before she fell to the ground. Behind her stood Kol, holding her bloody heart in his hand.
"I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" he questioned with a devilish smirk on his face.
Coughing, trying to regain my breath, I let my head fall to the grass beneath me, relieved.
Kol discarded the organ, his hand grabbing the dead vampire's chin as he got a good look at her face. "Olivia Brighton, I knew there was something off about you." He sighed, dropping her head and bringing himself back up to his full height. "I should have caught on sooner."
I watched him from my place on the ground. My stomach was sore, but only for a moment. I inhaled shallowly as the pain slowly subsided, energy blooming freshly inside of me.
"Well then, you can get up now," he said shortly.
Groaning, I got up onto my feet, wobbling for a second, before balancing myself. "I want to go home," I told him tiredly, putting my head in my hands. My eyes burned with tears, but I forced them back.
He studied me for a moment, before saying, "Let's go find your brother."
"I'll just go wait at the car."
Kol's fingers curled around my bicep before I could walk away, and his dark eyes looked into mine. "You'd be stupid to think that I would leave you on your own, after what just happened."
I woke up, entangled in sheets and blankets. I shot up in my bed, only to discover I had an awful, pounding headache. Groaning, I fell back into my pillows, putting my hand over my eyes to block out the light.
After I'd calmed down a bit, I tried to remember everything that had happened the night before. It came back to me in bits and pieces, before everything fell onto me like a boulder, the weight of it straining me.
Slowly, I climbed out of my bed. I was still dressed in my clothes from the party. I glanced at myself in the mirror, and wrinkled my nose at my smeared makeup.
I washed myself up and changed into some comfortable sweats and a t-shirt. I searched the bathroom cabinets for some Tylenol, and popped a few, before walking down the stairs and turning into the kitchen.
It was fairly early, about 9 am. Jeremy wasn't up yet, I noticed as I shuffled over to the coffee pot and preparing myself some coffee. Max trotted over to me, his tags on his collar jingling as he started sniffing my hand, and then licked it.
"Hey, boy," I said sweetly, patting his head.
I rummaged through the cupboards, retrieving a bowl for some cereal, and prepared myself breakfast.
As I sat at the table by myself, I was incapable of keeping my thoughts from wandering. Images of the night before raced through my mind, worsening my headache. Faces filled my head; Jeremy's, Olivia's, Ethan's.
Primarily Kol's.
Rubbing my face and biting my lower lip, I felt my stomach twist at the thought of him. I was on a fence, struggling between detesting him and... I didn't even know. I remembered kissing him, and how it felt, how utterly incendiary and explosive it had been. But I couldn't remember if I had wanted to kiss him in the first place.
Had he wanted to kiss me?
I scoffed at the thought. He had been alive for centuries, and been with hundreds of women. He didn't want anything to do with me, but with what I was. He had said so himself.
So I decided that no, I hadn't wanted to kiss him. It had just been that devilish part of me taking hold. Not my conscious will.
I stared at my cereal for a moment, before taking another bite.
Then, there was Olivia. My body no longer ached from her blows, but I could still remember how it felt to have her hands around my throat, cutting off my air supply. I still wasn't sure what she had wanted from me.
The shower started running upstairs, and I assumed that my brother had just woken up. I realized that I still reeked of beer; a shower for me was called for, also.
Something on the table started vibrating, capturing my attention. I reached for the source, Jeremy's phone, only to find the face of the last person in the world I wanted to talk to on the screen.
"Talk," I snapped as I answered.
"That's no way to talk to the man who saved your life last night, darling," Kol taunted from the other end. "Where's your brother?"
"In the shower," I said flippantly.
"Good." And then he hung up.
I stared at the phone, partially curious for a moment, before I heard the door open and slam shut. "Good morning," he said with a smile on his face. Kol strutted into the kitchen, taking a mug from the cabinet and making himself a cup of coffee. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"
It took me a minute to recuperate, before I demanded, "What are you doing here?"
"Jeremy and I are going to the batting cages," he said dismissively, sitting beside me. He looked at me seriously "But, more importantly, we need to speak about last night."
"I didn't kiss you, you kissed me," I spurted.
Kol gave me an amused look, a smirk appearing on his features. "I was talking about the vampire who almost kidnapped you."
"Oh." My cheeks started to burn, bright red I was sure. I coughed, trying to cover up my stupid comment. "I knew that."
"I'm sure you did. Anyways, I thought I would be fair and warn you that Olivia Brighton is not going to be the last of your troubles. Nearly sucking the life out of a high school student isn't exactly the brightest way to keep quiet and lay low."
"I know," I said, putting my head in my hands. "What did she want from me?"
"Succubus are very rare," Kol explained knowingly. "But their blood is one of the most valuable things in the supernatural world. It acts like a drug to vampires, and it has many magical properties for witches and warlocks to use in their potions and spells. It sells for a very high price."
"Is that what she was after? My blood?"
"Perhaps. But succubus, and sometimes incubus, have been known to be sold to supernatural creatures, most commonly vampires. For an extravagant price, might I add."
"Sold?" I choked. "Like, as some sort of slave?"
"Precisely." He studied me for a moment. "Does that frighten you?"
I stared back at him. The thought that Olivia could have been plotting to sell me to someone, to serve as their slave or whatever... it made me sorely uncomfortable. I hated to think of what would have happened, if Kol hadn't been there to save me from her.
My eyes fell to my hands, my throat thickening.
"I can hear your heart beating rapidly," he said coolly. "But don't worry, I won't let anyone put their filthy hands on you."
That was the thing about Kol: one second he had me pinned against a wall, and the next he was telling me he would protect me. But, at that moment, all I could feel was grateful that an Original vampire was on my side.
"Which brings me to my final point."
My chest hurt. I, too, could hear my heart thumping inside of me. I felt like it was going to burst from my chest cavity. There was a rustling upstairs, and I listened to Jeremy's footsteps as he approached the stairs. I hadn't even noticed that the water had cut off.
"You mustn't tell anyone, or make a spectacle of yourself," he commanded. "Olivia's only the tip of the iceberg." Then, he turned away from me, putting on a charming smile. "Mornin', mate."
Jeremy stepped into the kitchen, holding his head. "Ugh, I need some Tylenol. And coffee. A lot of it."