Since Jase was still sleeping, we opted to catch up on our sleep, as well. I slept like the dead beside Leila all afternoon. In the middle of the night, she nuzzled onto my shoulder and slid her arm over my chest. And it felt like home. I was amazed that even though I had lived so many years on this earth, it had taken me this long to finally find my soul mate … the woman I was meant to spend my eternity with. I pulled her to my chest and we both fell back to sleep, safe in each other’s arms.
“Aahhh!!!” a little voice cooed from across the room the next morning. “Da, da, da, da, da!”
I opened my eyes, the sunlight almost blinding me, but it felt good against my face. For so many years, I wasn’t able to go out into the sun, let alone wake to golden sunshine streaming in through the window. But I quickly pushed the thought aside; Jase was saying my name! At that moment, I was so thankful that we hadn’t left him at home. Hi
First, we went to the tidal pools, the natural bridges, and Jase loved the wild sea life. Then, we went sailing. It was a lovely day, with a slight breeze blowing over us, the sky was bright blue with white, puffy clouds, and the water was crystal clear. We looked down into the water and showed Jase the ocean wildlife, even sharks, but the sharks got one whiff of me and took off. Vampires are the ultimate predator, and even sharks know it. I had arranged for a picnic lunch and we ate on the sailboat. Jase hinted at wanting blood, but we quietly told him that he couldn’t have any just yet. Even though he was the equivalent of a one-year-old child—or older now—I knew that I was going to have to have a talk with him about appropriate behavior around humans very soon.By the end of the day, Jase was getting tired and fell asleep before we got back to our hut.After he was wrapped snuggly in his blankets, Leila turned to me. “Would you like some wine
The monster laughed and shrugged. “Sorry, but I’d rather have hers; she smells too delicious.” Then, he bared his fangs.“Now!” I yelled and Leila’s body immediately went limp, slipping through the monster’s arms to the floor.It happened so abruptly that the monster was startled as I grabbed him by the throat and pushed him outside onto the back porch. “Is there anyone else with you?”“No … no … no one else!” the monster stammered, his green eyes barely visible beneath the milky film covering them.“Did you follow us?”“Follow you?”“To Aruba!” I yelled, seeing red as I held his throat. “Did you follow us here?!”“No! No!” he whimpered, cowering, a far cry from his confident attitude a few minutes before. “I live here!”“And your friends?”“What?”
Once Jase was settled, Leila turned to me. “What did you mean back there when you said ‘until we find out who’s behind this’?” she asked in a low voice. “You really don’t think …”“I don’t know what to think, Leila.” I took the exit headed toward the airstrip, constantly looking in the rearview mirror to make sure that we weren’t followed.“What makes you say that?”“The one that had you …” I began, cringing at the thought of Leila at the mercy of that monster. “He said that he lived here, but the other two were from the United States.”“No …” Leila said in disbelief.“He also said that they were told that Jase’s blood would cure them.” I hated to have to tell her this, but she really needed to know. Then, I looked directly into her eyes. “They were after our son.”“O
“Don’t worry,” I said to Leila, “I’ll keep you and Jase safe.”When she turned to me, the distraught look in her eyes broke my heart. “How? How can you ever keep us safe from this?” she asked in a low voice, careful not to wake our sleeping son. She reached over and placed her hand atop his. She was scared and obviously needed to reassure herself of his safety.It tore my heart out, seeing her like this. “I’ll take you and Jase somewhere safe, secluded, where no one will find you.”“Without you?”“Hardly.”“What are you talking about, Lance?” Leila released Jase’s hand and turned her full attention toward me. “We can never escape this.” She took a deep breath and turned her attention out the window. “Of course, I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be with you. And it was okay when it was just us. Not just o
“Here is your suite, Mr. Steel.” The grand living room was luxuriously furnished with a beige couch and matching chairs, along with glass end tables with gold trim and a matching coffee table. Lavish furnishings greeted us at every turn.“Thank you. This is beautiful,” I said, offering him a discreet and sizable tip. “Thanks for getting us in on such short notice.”He shook his head, declining the tip. “It is indeed my pleasure, Mr. Steel. And if there is anything that you require or that I can do to make your stay more pleasant, please let me know.”“Thank you. I will.”After he left, we walked into the bedroom and a canopy bed took center stage, draped in beige silk and a matching silk bedspread with fine white linen sheets. I laid Jase down and covered him up in the crib that was placed discreetly against the wall and pulled the covers snuggly around him, tucking him in.Sliding glass d
“Leila, stop,” I said, surprised at her lusty craving, but she didn’t stop. I could have pulled away from her easily, but I didn’t. She couldn’t kill me, after all, but I would have a terrible headache if she took too much before I could power up again. “Leila, stop!” I repeated, and this time, I broke her hold.She looked at me, mortified as her eyes flew open wide. “I’m sorry … I don’t know what came over me …”I smiled, suspecting why. “No worries, my love.”“Oh, my God!” she said, not realizing what was happening. “What have I done? Lance, are you all right?”I laughed. “Yes, love. Of course. You cannot kill me from overfeeding the way that I can kill you.”“I don’t know what came over me … unless …” she looked at me as her eyes flew open wide again. “You don’t think …
Soon, Leila walked into the room, towel-drying her hair, wearing only her robe, which accented her every curve. “What, may I ask, are you men up to?”“Dada fly!” Jase said, having understood every word.Leila just about dropped her towel. “Did he just say what I think he said?”I laughed. “Yes, my dear, your son is a genius!”Leila sat down on the chair next to mine and watched Jase as I held him up above my head and swayed him back and forth, “flying”. “You mean our son is a genius!” she said. “Is it normal for him to start talking now?”“Well, look at him,” I said, enjoying the moment with our son. “He’s the equivalent of an eighteen-month-old child. The growth rate of dhampiers is extraordinary. Remember: he will be fully grown in ten years. I wouldn’t doubt it if he’s talking in complete sentences and the equivalent of a four-
“Mama, Mama, Mama!” Jase cooed happily as he ran across the sand to Leila.She had fallen asleep under the shade of the palm trees. She was smiling in her sleep as beautiful as an angel, so beautiful that I hated to wake her. I could watch her sleep all day.“Leila, love,” I cooed gently near her ear. Slowly, she opened her eyes. “Time to go.”She sat up with a start. “Already?” Then, she looked around quickly and saw that the sun was setting over the bay. “Oh, no! One minute I was watching you and Jase play in the sand, and that’s all I remember.”“Leila, I need to start letting you have more time to rest,” I said, slipping Jase’s shirt over his head. “Let’s go back home tomorrow. You need to see Amy.”Leila shook her head. “Let’s take Jase to Disneyland Paris first. I don’t want to spoil your time.”I laughed. &ldqu