CharlieThree firm taps rap against the door. I’m starting to despise these knocks. “Charlie.” A familiar voice calls.I rush to that stupid wooden door as if it were a lifeline. “Grace.” Her name comes out on my exhale of breath.The excitement from her arrival is short lived. “It’s almost time.” She makes the briefest of eye contact with me before looking down the hall. Left then right and left again. “Slyvester will get you when the halls are clear.” Before she leaves she squeezes my arm. “We’ll see you soon.”It feels like eternity waiting for Slyvester to come get me. Are there that many people? Or do they not care for being on time? I remember those that showed up late to parties or clients that didn’t stick to the timeline. Would the council allow such a thing?The knocks that finally bang on the door are heavier than the others. I open it to reveal the doorman. He lingers in the hallway quietly waiting for me. “Follow me,” is all he says before retreating down the hall.I’m no
MaxwellThe moment I arrive at Benjamin’s, along with everyone else, I want to rush to Charlie’s room, but I stop myself. I can keep myself in check just a bit longer.“Maxwell.” Stella’s voice purrs behind me. She loops her arm around mine. “Will you sit with me?”“No.” I shake her loose.“Oh, do you think it’ll make you look bad. Poor Charlie dead and you’ve already moved on.”I twist around to face her so fast that I catch a flinch flash across her face. “I’ve not moved on and if I ever were it wouldn’t be with you.” I look her up and down, eyes narrowed, “I don’t remember you being so miserably clingy or so stupid and naive, scrambling to pick up peieces of a life that no long exists.”I leave her standing there to search for my seat. Grace claimed she marked one for me right in front. It’s not exactly where I want to be, front and center to the council’s probing eyes, but once Charlie comes out, front and center will be exactly where I want to be.Benjamin does his theartics like
MaxwellMy thoughts have been occupied with one object for many years now. Nothing can hinder the daydreams, and nothing can stop the nightmares that plague me on a daily basis. It feels as if I’m in the deepest depths of Hell, enduring indescribable agony, but I’ll endure whatever Hell brings my way to get what I want—what I need.It’s been over a year that I finally found what I was searching for. Over a year since I began watching Charlie Preston. After all this time, I still can’t confront her. As if her rejection is an option. Her acceptance of who I am…what I am, determines my survival and what I am isn’t easy to digest.Just the sound of her name makes my bloodless heart beat, and tricks my dead lungs into breathing. She’s all I can think about, and my willpower is fading fast. Even the thought of her soft, tan skin causes my hands to shake with the overwhelming need to touch her.Tonight is like any other night; I crouch in the shadows that gather around her house, becoming in
CharlieNothing appealing catches my attention to keep me alert. I’ve been here since seven this morning and the slow ticking clock finally says it’s after eleven at night. The more I glance at those stupid numbers, the slower the hands tick by.Knowing that I’m forty-five minutes late and counting for my night out, no doubt my good friend Juliet will have a lecture waiting for me when I finally do arrive. Juliet may be happy-go-lucky at times but an enforcer nonetheless. Keen attributes every junior high teacher has on their résumé, I imagine. My head thumps against the desktop in defeat as I contemplate staying in this dank office or facing a disappointed Juliet. A groan of protest rumbles in my chest, which loudly sounds throughout the room. An echo almost taunts me.A voice sounds from down the hall. “Charlie?” The footsteps get louder and louder until they stop outside the open doorway. “Are you ready?” Morgan, my faithful assistant asks, trying to hide a yawn with her purse slun
MaxwellI arrive early at the club in anticipation of watching my future bride’s body gradually start to sway to the music. My nerves start to get the best of me when she doesn’t show up at her usual time. From the conversations I intentionally overheard, I’m certain she would be showing up tonight. The once good mood that engulfed me earlier disappears when I realize I’m stuck here surrounded by drunk, conceited people for no reason.A young woman blocks my view of the door as she places herself right in front of me. A quick lick of her lips would give any normal man the impression of how easily it would be to take advantage of her. However, I’m as far from normal as anything gets. The seductive tone in her voice makes it extremely difficult to keep my irritation to myself. “You look like you could use some company.”Having no need for her company. I only want Charlie. “No thank you.”“Come on, handsome, you don’t want a little fun in your night? I’ve seen you here before and you alw
CharlieAn ever growing lump in my throat blocks any words that I would want to speak. Yet, after several swallows the blockage doesn’t seem to waver, making my voice croak. “Can I help you?” The dark entryway and living room only make me more terrified. All this large open space is causing my imagination to run wild, wondering what’s hiding in those dark corners even though I know the trespasser is outside.I always considered myself a strong independent woman who would never be considered one of those stupid girls found in horror films who runs upstairs, putting themselves into a spot they’re unable to get out of. However, asking a stranger who’s on my doorstep in the extremely early hours of the morning—who I think is stalking me—if I can help him is falling right into the role of that oblivious girl. All I need now is for him to pound his hands on the door that is mere inches away from my face to scare the wits out of me even more.His deep, smooth voice shatters the image of a kn
MaxwellThe shout of her words directed toward me brings a smile to my face. The shadows, my love, are exactly where I am and soon you’ll be in the shadows with me, I mockingly think to myself. The sun will be up in an hour or so and that’s the only thing keeping me in those shadows and not arguing with her further. For once in a very long time, I have a challenge and the anticipation of victory itches underneath my dead skin.All Charlie needs to do is simmer down and accept her new reality, because it’s not going to just disappear. Nonetheless, accepting this fate isn’t easy. I didn’t accept my fate with open arms and Charlie isn’t either. Flashbacks of when I was in the same position as Charlie blur my vision as I casually walk down the street. I wasn’t lured by an attractive female vampire wanting to make me her groom because she loved me. No, I was forced into the night by a greedy man who only cared for his own survival.His selfish ways molded me into the heartless vampire I tr
CharlieTossing and turning in bed, I beg for my eyes to remain closed. A lazy half roll is all I can muster to stretch away the restlessness. Within seconds of my new found position, though, the sheet slides off, exposing my barely clothed body. The feel of a large hand trailing up my thigh causes my body to shiver with anticipation. I don’t need to open my eyes to know who the hand belongs to. His hand keeps a steady pace as he glides his fingertips over my stomach to linger on my chest. Goosebumps break out over my skin from his tickling touch.His lips touch my ear, and his seductive voice has an angelic tone as he whispers my name. “Charlie.”The need to be close to him gets to be too much for me to keep bottled up and my back arches in efforts of raising myself to my knees. However, when my head gets a few inches off the pillow he pushes me back down only to climb on the bed himself. His strong hands bend my legs at the knee. Loitering behind my closed legs, his hands rub at my