A/N: Hello my lovelies! It's been a REALLY long time since I last updated. Work has been dominating my life these days, but I'm trying to set aside some time for me to write on my ongoing projects. This is one of the first updates that I've been able to make in a long, long time. Thank you for the support and patience and please have this little update as a peace gift.
OOOOOOOOO
Dwayne really didn't want to take Iona to see his family. He knew that Faith and David would probably behave themselves around the gypsy dancer and that Laddie would be too absorbed in the video games that were given to him to care. Paul and Marko, on the other hand, made his stomach clench painfully. He recognized that feeling through David's memories when he had been dating Faith before making her a vampire.
A warning for her came to his lips as he led her towards the usual meeting spot at the entrance of the boardwalk, but it never came out. Iona squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. Dwayne had to remind himself that the gypsy's actions could never be guessed. She was one surprise after another and he loved that about her.
Behave everyone, he thought, warning his brothers. Or I'll kick your asses later.
His only answer was a round of loud hyena-like laughter.
OOOOOOOOO
Iona noticed that Dwayne had grown quieter than he normally was as they walked through the crowd on the boardwalk and squeezed his hand. His brown eyes slid in her direction and he shared a brief smile with her. The gypsy dancer pouted at his reaction before guiding his hand around her until it was placed on the hip farthest from his own body. She heard the soft laugh that he'd tried to smother in his chest and knew that she had done something to push away the sudden cloud in his mind.
The gypsy leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment. The image of her grandmother lying on the sterile white hospital bed flashed across her mind's eye, causing her stomach to tighten. It had been Dwayne's sire's fault that Grandmother Ruby was dead and waiting to be buried in a few days. She knew that she should hate him and everything that Max had created because of what he'd done to her family.
He made me alone, Iona thought, opening her eyes as she was guided past Video Max. He was the reason that my cousin had to leave town for safety. He's the reason that my grandmother is gone forever. He took away everything that I have ever loved and expects me to be so alone that I'll join his family in the end. Through him and his blood. He wants to have complete control over my life...and I hate him for that. But should I also hate Dwayne?
Iona glanced up at Dwayne and bit her bottom lip. I can't do it. I can't find a single thing that I can hate about him. He's a vampire, but not by his choosing. He's never hurt me and he's never really lied to me. He's been there for me through all the hell that's been happening these past few days. I can't hate him. I really can't.
Dwayne's hand tightened briefly on her hip when the row of motorcycles came into view. The leader, who Iona knew to be David, was standing behind a redheaded female, his arms around her with his hands dangerously low. The redhead was still seated on the motorcycle in the middle of the group. The little boy, Laddie, was standing near Dwayne's empty motorcycle, but didn't seem to care as he was chewing on another candy bar.
Does that kid ever stop eating junk food? Iona wondered before looking at the other two brothers as they made loud howling sounds.
One of the blond brothers looked at her and smiled from behind his thumbnail as it was being bit and Iona's eyes wandered briefly around his very colorful jacket. The other blond brother had wild hair and when they made eye contact, a large smile broke out on his face and he moved forward.
"Hey Dancer," he said, smiling wickedly. "Come to give us a little show?"
Iona heard a low growl build up in Dwayne's chest and placed a hand on his skin. She smiled at the blond and said, "You couldn't afford my prices for a little show." She sighed. "Besides, I don't have my dresses or music with me."
"You could always forget the dresses," the blond told her. "Hell, you could forget all the clothes."
Dwayne's body tensed under Iona's touch and she looked up at his face to see his darkening eyes. Her fingers drew little circles on his flesh, trying to calm him down.
"Paul!" Dwayne grounded out from between his teeth.
Paul held his hands up in surrender but he never lost his smile. "Chill, man. You know that I'm just fucking with you." He looked back at Iona and bowed slightly at the waist. "Welcome to the Lost Boys' turf, Dancer. Where dreams happen and the addictions run wild."
Iona smiled at him and leaned closer to Dwayne. "Thanks, Paul. I'm sure that I could get used to it."
David laughed and wrapped his arms more tightly around the redhead. She elbowed him and looked at Iona with a roll of her grey eyes.
"You'll never really get used to it," she commented. "I've been with them for over a year now and I'm still not used to them and their ways." She tilted her head to the side. "I'm Faith, by the way. The one that has two different people living in the same body. The other one is hiding out right now, but I'm sure if you stick around you'll get to meet her someday."
Marko made a gesture with his finger against his temple and cooed. Faith shot him a dirty look, but David leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. Her body instantly relaxed and a small smile pulled her ruby colored lips tightly.
"How are your sleeping arrangements?" Faith asked, crossing her arms. "I told the boys that you need to be somewhere less crappy. There are better options with the same price range and less peepers." Her body tensed for a moment and a dark shadow passed over her eyes. "I hate that motel anyway. Too many bad memories there."
An awkward silence passed over the group and Marko scuffed the toe of his boot against the ground. Even Paul had fallen silent. Laddie continued to chew on his candy bar, looking around like he didn't understand why everyone was suddenly so down.
"So," Iona said, breaking the silence. "What do you all do for fun around here?"
"Chase Surf Nazis and watch them panic when they see Death coming for them," David told her.
"Enjoy some bad seed and chase some nice ass around," Paul said, raising his hand which now held an unlit joint.
"How about something that's not drug related or hunting down living food?" Iona asked, crossing her arms under her chest. "I'm not exactly a vampire."
"Do you want to be?" Marko asked.
Dwayne growled again and Iona leaned her head against his shoulder. "That's not on the top of my list of things that I want to think about right now, Marko. So, how about we find some other way to have fun? I hear that you like to have motorcycle races…Could we do that?"
Smiles spread across the group of boys and the two wild blonds looked lively once more. David looked at her as he broke contact with Faith.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Dancer?" he asked.
"As long as I get to ride with Dwayne, I'm game."
David's eyes slid onto Laddie and he let out a small whistle, earning the messy boy's attention. "Laddie, go mess around Max's place. We'll be back for you before dawn."
The little boy nodded and looked up at Iona. He reached out for a hug, but Iona made him settle for a head pat because of his chocolate covered fingers and smeared mouth. Laddie bounded off, soon disappearing into the crowd of tourists without looking back. Dwayne's hand lowered from her hip and took her hand instead.
"Let's get going," David said, causing the two wild blonds to howl with delight.
David climbed onto his motorcycle in front of Faith, who immediately wrapped her arms around him. Paul and Marko jumped onto their bikes and revved the engines. They elbowed each other and laughed loudly like human shaped hyenas. Their antics made a smile come onto Iona's face.
"We'll meet at the usual place," David told them before wheeling around and driving away.
Iona watched the other two follow suit before Dwayne pulled her towards his motorcycle. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Dwayne asked her, glancing at her as he mounted his ride. "It can get a bit rough when we race."
The gypsy nodded. "I can handle this, Dwayne, because you're going to be driving us." A wicked smirk touched her lips. "And you're going to kick some ass."
Dwayne smiled and revved his motorcycle into life. "Then let's get going, Iona."
OOOOOOOOO
The race had taken the group all around the border of the town at an impossible speed. Iona had clutched herself against Dwayne as tightly as she could when he sped through traffic and cut curves so sharply that her knees almost touched the ground at points. But she never lost her smile and even laughed a few times when he overtook Paul and Marko.
"Whoa!" she cried out as the motorcycle skid into a sharp stop.
Iona could feel the laughter in Dwayne's chest as he pulled up beside David, the winner of the race. The other two pulled up behind them, high fiving each other with whoops of laughter. Paul nudged Iona with his fist, drawing her attention.
"Look, you survived," he commented with a laugh. "How was that ride for you, Dancer?"
A large smile crossed Iona's face. "That was awesome!" Her stomach made a loud grumbling sound, making her clap a hand over it. "Shit!"
Dwayne turned slightly to look at her. Paul made a small tsking sound, shaking his head. The wild blond crossed his arms and glared at Dwayne.
"You're a very bad boyfriend," Paul commented. "Letting your girl practically waste away without feeding her. Shame on you, Dwayne. I thought you were the most nurturing of our group." He shrugged and turned away with a sigh. "I guess I was wrong."
Iona reached out with her foot and knocked Paul off of his feet and onto the ground. A round of laughter spread around the group as Paul pouted up at the sky. Dwayne put a hand on Iona's thigh and shared a small smile with her.
"Hey Dwayne!" David called, drawing the vampire's attention away from Iona. The platinum blond leader tossed Dwayne a wad of cash. "Treat the girl to a good meal and find her a better place to stay at. We'll catch up with you later."
Iona watched Dwayne slide the wad of cash into his jacket before his hand returned to her thigh. He tapped a finger against it and drew her attention.
"You up for some pizza?" he asked in a low voice.
"Pizza sounds really good right now," Iona said with a small smile and a nod.
"Then you better hold on tight again," Dwayne warned, revving his engine back into life. "I know a really good pizza joint - it doesn't use garlic on its pizza."
"Perfect for vampires to eat, huh?" Iona wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm not a big fan of garlic either, so it's perfect for the two of us. Right?"
Dwayne hummed an affirmative and then sped off into the night, causing Iona to hold onto him tighter.
OOOOOOOOO
Iona had managed to convince Dwayne to get a pizza to go and hang out at the motel that Dwayne knew Faith and David approved of. They sat on the edge of her bed, watching really bad movies while eating their pizza. Iona had kicked off her boots and peeled off her leather jacket to reveal a midriff shirt that clung to her body like a second skin. Dwayne had to keep his eyes focused on the movie rather than stay on the gypsy's body for too long.
She wasn't making it easy for him though.
The gypsy brushed her hair back over her shoulder, stirring the air around the room. Dwayne took in a slow deep breath and filled his lungs with her scent. He could feel himself getting drawn closer and closer to her as he smelled her vanilla scent.
"Dwayne?" Iona asked, turning her head when he knocked the remaining pizza onto the floor. The vampire nuzzled his face against her neck. "Dwayne, what are you doing?"
Dwayne moved his attention away from her neck and focused on her lips. He brushed his lips against hers with a soft caress. He was surprised when the gypsy leaned into the kiss, allowing him to take the kiss deeper and deeper until he knew she had to resurface for oxygen. Her eyes were hooded as she looked at him and she climbed onto his lap, straddling his thighs with hers.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dwayne asked, resting his hands on her hips as he became aware of the heat radiating from her body and the deep pounding of her heart.
Iona nodded and slid her hands up his bare chest and over his shoulders, forcing his jacket off of him. Dwayne aided her in throwing the jacket off of him and the bed. The vampire made quick work of disrobing the gypsy until only her undergarments hid the most intimate places on her. He could feel the heat radiating from her core and a deep hunger took over him. Iona cried out as he ripped off what remained of her clothes and thrust into her in one swift movement.
Dwayne let out a small groan of pleasure when he found himself in the warm folds of the gypsy's core. Her nails dug into his flesh and she moved her hips against him, matching his movements with her own. Iona's breath came out in soft moans and she breathed his name, encouraging him even as he ran his tongue against her neck where the skin was the thinnest.
She trusts me completely, Dwayne realized, looking up into her eyes as she rode him. How can she do that?
The gypsy smiled at him and tilted her head back, complete bliss lighting up her features. Dwayne's grip on her hips tightened, pulling her closer to him with each thrust.
What did I do to deserve this affection?
OOOOOOOOO
"Oh shit!" Dwayne's voice rang out, waking Iona from her slight doze.
Iona lifted her head from the soft pillows and looked at Dwayne as he stood by the shaded window. "What's wrong?" she asked, clutching the blankets close to her chest as she sat up. She noticed the slight glow in the sky when Dwayne pulled the curtains back a little bit. "Oh!"
The gypsy glanced at the clock that sat upon the bedside table and saw that it was already six o'clock in the morning. She realized that dawn was coming and there was no way that Dwayne would be able to make it back to his cave with his brothers. He was a vampire that was trapped in a really bad place at the wrong time.
"What are you going to do?" Iona asked, watching him pace away from the window.
"I'll have to hide out in the bathroom," Dwayne muttered, his eyes darker than she ever remembered seeing them. "In the bathtub. I can't let the sun touch me." He sighed. "And I don't want you to see me when I sleep."
"Because your vampire face comes out when you're sleeping?"
Dwayne nodded and touched her face lightly. "I'll have the curtain drawn so that you don't have to see me if you need to use the bathroom for anything." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you when the sun goes down."
The gypsy dancer watched Dwayne move quickly into the bathroom and heard him slip into the bathtub. She sat there on the bed, propping her chin up on her knee as she watched the curtains glow with a soft touch of sunlight. Her curiosity was there when she thought about what Dwayne would look like, sleeping peacefully in the bathtub, but she reminded herself that she couldn't do that.
He trusts me and I'm not about to destroy that, Iona told herself, settling back against her pillows.
OOOOOOOOO
A/N: What do you think about this? Leave a little message for me to read and I'll do what I can to get back to you. Hopefully more writing will come and I'll be able to update at some regular pace. Thanks again! -Scarlet