Vampire Bride

Chapter Seven - Bonus

Maxwell

The sight of her perfectly still body in a music filled room is disturbing considering every other time I saw her surrounded by music she was dancing. Although, tonight she’s standing stick straight with her arms crossed over her chest. What a workaholic. Creeping up behind her, I can’t help but to admire her body in yet another skintight outfit. The black and white dress gives an illusion of extra curves to her hips.

Careful to not touch any part of her, I lean in close. Unwillingly, the tip of my nose and lips brush her neck as my whisper startles her. “Oh, how I have missed you, Charlie.”

Her shock and sheer stiffness disappointment me. All it does is push away any happiness I have in seeing her. The sound of hatred in her voice as she asks me how I found her makes anger of my own start to bubble to the surface. My reply of always being able to find her doesn’t make her any more content with my presence.

When she accuses me of being in her house last night, I can only shrug it off, being careful not to give any hint that I was in fact in her house last night. “Maybe.” My response is short, without giving a concrete answer.

“You have to leave; I could get fired for you being here. This isn’t my party. I’m not allowed to just invite outsiders to events, even though you’re more than an outsider,” she lectures.

Just then, a tall girl in a ridiculous short hot pink frilly dress approaches us. “I didn’t know you had such a cute boyfriend.” I watch as her hand casually lands on Charlie’s shoulder.

She whips around to face the young girl. The sensation of her frazzled nerves put my own nerves under duress. This girl is just a child and Charlie’s heart rate accelerates with each pump from her presence. 

“He’s not my boyfriend, just some party crasher that I’m about to escort out.” Charlie’s arm jolts backward manically, searching for me without her breaking eye contact with the girl standing before us. When she does finally grip my arm her nails scratch at my skin, but only momentarily before her squeezing grip turns to a shove. Just then, I realize that this must be the birthday girl.

I stand my ground and extend my hand to her. “She’s just being harsh since she’s not allowed to have my company here. I assure you the fault is all mine. I’m Maxwell, by the way.”

“The fault might be yours, but the pleasure is all mine,” the young girl responds.

Before she can say anything further, Charlie interrupts with her hands flying in the air. “Whoa there, you’re sixteen and he’s…old, too old for you. He was just leaving. Weren’t you, Maxwell?”

“He doesn’t have to leave. He can dance with me.” The look of joy on this girl’s face makes my stomach turn. Her fingers quickly latch onto my arm and begin pulling me out onto the dance floor. I fully intended to bring Charlie with me, but Morgan came rushing to her side.

Charlie leaves the room, but not before giving me a stern look. As if I would do anything inappropriate with this needy child. As the song finally ends, I slip through several bodies, thankful that a handful of boys her own age gather around her. There’s only one place I want to be and that’s looking for Charlie.

The halls of the hotel are long and empty. Stopping in one of the side aisles, I take time to listen for her. Her heartbeat. Her breathing. The unmistakable thump of her footsteps on the carpeted floor. As she rounds the corner that I reside behind, a smile forms on my lips. “Are you getting tired?”

Her startled body jumps at my voice. “How did you escape Justice?” she asks with her hand clenching her chest.

“Justice? What justice did I escape when I’m still on trial?” I say, playing along with whatever she’s getting at.

“The sixteen-year-old birthday girl,” she says, annoyed.

“Her parents named her Justice, creative. I slipped away when a few excited boys moved in on her. How about we go back and join Justice on the dance floor?” I find it more humoring than she does.

In a matter of seconds there’s a flash of messy brown hair and a pair of fierce brown eyes staring me down. Her glossy lips purse to form whatever smart reply that brain of her is thinking, but a static filled voice interrupts. “Black Night, this is Muggle Born…where are you?”

She keeps still, ignoring her assistant with her finger still pointed at me.

“Black Night—” Morgan says again, cutting through the silence between us.

“Yes, Morgan?”

“I thought we were using code names? Anyways, where are you? Is the cleaning crew on their way?”

“I just got done asking for housekeeping; they should be coming shortly. Just make sure all the underage drunk kids are away from the scene, we don’t need the cops here.” Once she’s done talking, she clips the device on her dress somewhere, somehow.

“Black Night, huh?” My laugh is muffled by trying to hide my amusement from her since I can physically see she’s not in the mood for more of my jokes.

“Shut up. I picked that code name way before you came along and ruined my sanity. Don’t think too much into it. There is no satisfaction to be had on your part.”

“I feel not a speck of said satisfaction...but doesn’t it make you a little curious?” The playfulness in my voice gives away the sheer pleasure of knowing that she’s meant for me. “How about you give me one dance and I will leave.”

Her bottom lip gets brutally bit by her teeth as she contemplates the offer. “I don’t think so. If you refuse to leave, you can sit here and be as bored as I am.” Without waiting for me, she spins around and heads back to the ballroom.

I catch up with ease. “If you insist.” If she thinks I’ll be bored in her company she’s very wrong.

“I shouldn’t be the only one to suffer,” she grumbles.

I ignore her depressive tone and stay by her side. We enter the darkened ballroom to be stopped by whom other than Justice. “Where have you two been? Anyhow, dance with us.”

“Justice, I don’t participate in events I plan. Maxwell here already offered to dance and I told him the same thing. You can dance together…again…longer preferably,” Charlie says as she tries to duck out of the conversation.

I grab her arm, swinging her around forcefully. “Not so fast, love, the birthday girl insists. There’s no harm when the one that the party is for wants you to break your own rules.” I pull her in close, staring down at her as I glide my hand across her cheek.

“You two are so cute,” Justice says, walking toward the crowded dance floor.

Charlie starts to struggle in my grasp when Justice turns her back on us. I tighten my grip and force her to take unwilling steps into the crowd of people, weaving us through stumbling bodies to the middle where Justice waits for us. Right on cue a new song starts.

“Dance, Charlie.” I persist. She stands stiff and shakes her head in refusal. “Charlie…if you remember, I can make you. I would prefer you act on your own, but if I have to force you to do something you don’t want to do, I will,” I whisper in her ear.

“Did you make Justice adore you so you can stay?” The dull emotionless tone of her voice stabs me in the chest.

“No, I can only influence the people within my bloodline. If only it were that easy to charm everyone, I would be able to get closer to you faster. I’m positive with your closest friends’ approval of me you wouldn’t be so cold.”

“Is that what you think? That with my friend’s approval I would like you more?” A crazy laugh escapes through her stern lips. “It has nothing to do with the fact that you followed me to my house in the middle of night and told me that you were a vampire and owned me. Let’s not forget that you want to drink my blood, which gross. Total turnoff,” she says in a hushed tone through gritted teeth.

Part of me couldn’t disagree with her.

Just then, Justice barges in on the conversation and lifts Charlie’s arms above her, urging her to dance. I can see the cockiness in the young girl’s demeanor as she associates herself with Charlie. She finds herself lucky to be in correspondence with a beautiful, talented woman. I find myself in the same situation when I think about my bride as well.

Charlie finally gives in, and that infamous sway takes over her hips. Justice turns away to her own friends when she sees Charlie dance on her own, leaving me the only one to give her attention.

She keeps her distance from me, refusing to touch. My willpower breaks and I grab her waist, pushing her against me. She only struggles until eyes of speculation are on her and then she melts into me, not wanting to cause a scene. My fingertips glide over her shoulder, sliding down her back, leaving a trail of goosebumps. A wider smile forms on my face as her body shivers in response.

Without warning, her body lightly bumps against me, throwing me across that imaginary line she drew before her. Grabbing her arms a bit too aggressively, I feel my teeth extract along with the familiar ache. My lips desperately want to touch hers. Lost in thought, my nails unintentionally dig into her skin. I refuse to become aware of her struggling body trying to break out of my grip.

Her bare neck calls for my attention as I’m lost in this blood lust. I hear the frantic whoosh of the blood surging through her veins, which forces me to lick my lips. I hear her muffled voice as her body starts to jerk. With a quick glance at her moving mouth, not the slightest bit interested in what she’s saying, it’s the smell of blood that breaks my daydreaming.

The sound of the music is barely audible as I finally hear her words. “Maxwell, you’re hurting me. Maxwell, please,” she whines in a high-pitch squeal.

I let go of her immediately. Her own hands rub at her arms. As she brings her fingers back into view, I know where the smell of blood came from. My nails broke the skin on the backside of her arms, making her bleed. All I can do is stare at her apologetically while trying not to be infatuated with the tinge of blood staining her fingertips.

She grabs me aggressively and drags me off the dance floor. She looks around to make sure nobody is paying attention to us. “What the hell, blood thirsty much? Can you put those things away?” Her two index fingers make makeshift fangs.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that…” There are no words to explain what I’m going through, what I will continue to go through without her. “I got lost in thought; I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”

“How touching. Get lost again and maybe my fist will bring you back down to Earth.”

“Can you honestly tell me you have no attraction toward me?” I know there is. The whole black night gave her away. It’s just if she’s going to admit it or not.

The hesitation as she thinks about how to word whatever it is that she’s thinking is all I need. I know the dreams and thoughts that cloud her mind. The words she says have no meaning behind them. “You repulse me,” she spits out, trying to convince herself just as much as she’s trying to convince me.

A fanged smile flashes at her hate-filled gaze. “You can only lie to yourself for so long.” I take her hand in mine, bringing it up to my lips. “I’ll see you later, love.” With a small kiss to the back of her hand, the slightest scratch of fangs, I leave the party with the sound of her racing heartbeat filling my ears and the smell of her blood in my nostrils.

Once out of the room away from her judging eyes, I put the tip of finger to my tongue. The small smudge of blood electrifies me from the inside out. She has no idea what trouble she’s in tasting so good.