“Petting the animal again?” Cord muttered as soon as he saw Amanda with Bagheera.
He had half expected her to be inside the bathtub, alone, naked and cleansing herself of the dirt from the hospital.
Seeing her now, it seemed she had indeed taken a bath judging from the still wet locks sticking to her neck and the bathrobe she wore, but she wasn’t alone. Apparently, his traitor pet had been quick to ask for her attention.
Amanda hummed her agreement without looking at Cord.
“Bagheera missed his daily belly rubs so I’m giving it to him now.”
She continued petting the animal who lay at her feet, next to the sofa she was sitting.
Cord’s teeth clashed. He pulled the blindfold off and dropped it to the floor. The way her cleavage peeked and her breasts pressed up against her thighs, it made him wish what he was seeing wasn&
Jerome knocked on one of the double doors of the study, signifying his arrival along with a female vampire his Master wished to see. It was early in the afternoon that same day. The sun was high in the sky and the air was hot and humid. Not a sign of rain was threatening to pour down.Although Cord knew most of his subjects were inside their dark rooms welcoming a deathlike sleep, he ordered his butler to fetch one that could help him with his...dilemma.Amanda was with Arissa in her old bedroom, busily preparing her luggage for their departure five days from now to New Zealand—to a place where it wasn’t Cord’s comfort zone; to one of the countries where he had once been rampaging and killed more than a dozen witches.Knowing this, he needed treatment asap, or at least to learn more about what was happening with his body, or more like his shadows. He couldn’t forgive himself for the ghastly behavi
The bright morning light filtered through the white curtain inside the Master’s chamber as soon as Arissa opened the casement windows.Amanda, able to get a straight, uninterrupted sleep the entire night, cracked an eye open. She expected that Cord would be next to her, or at least already on his favorite chair delicately observing her like he usually does, but he wasn’t.She cringed, finding it weird. Never had he missed a night since they started their odd relationship. He even ordered her to sleep inside his master chamber instead of her own room so that they’d grow closer. He hadn’t skipped a chance on watching her sleep the whole night through too and for this, it left her asking, why? His absence was indeed an unusual thing.“Good morning, Miss Cait. You’re breakfast is ready, ” informed the maid cheerily, unbeknownst of the pile of confusion inside Amanda’s head.
And pierce her skin he did.Cord’s fangs hit the soft flesh of Amanda’s neck. Blood instantly oozed, but he pressed his mouth and sucked the crimson liquid into his system.Amanda, feeling the piercing pain, woke up gasping and with her eyes almost popping out of its sockets. She felt the heavy weight on top her, she felt the restraining hands on her wrists, and she felt Cord’s warm mouth on her skin. Alarm immediately flooded through her.“Cord!”She tried to push him back, but was met with a tighter grip on her wrists.She had trusted him. Trusted his full capacity to control whatever was changing him. He had returned to his formal dark self -- that much she could deduce. Otherwise, if he was in his right mind, he wouldn’t have placed her in this danger the second time.“Cord!”But the cur
Minutes earlier...Under the Master’s order, Jerome fetched the Vitalis doctor again from her laboratory. Mera immediately knew why. The odd couple were going to New Zealand by tomorrow and most likely, her Master was getting impatient with the cure of his so-called attacks.Truth be told, she was working like crazy to find it, but it wasn’t just that easy. She needed both Science and Medicine to come up with an answer, and even that not-so-common Metaphysics too. They were vampires after all. Everything was out-of-the-ordinary for them.If she were to be honest with herself, she’d say Cord had given her another absurd task along with one other previously requested. It was to find a cure for their curse without requiring Amanda’s blood sacrifice. She hadn’t gone far into her research with that one. It was a challenge and one that she was willing to take. After all
Amanda and Cord’s plane landed twenty-five hours after at the Wellington International Airport. It was an arduous flight, one that he definitely disliked but being at the Premium Class of the plane at least lessened the stress of flying.The last time Cord was in New Zealand, it was over seven hundred years ago via a galleon ship. He was on a rampage then. He stepped out of the ship with all the crew and passengers sucked of blood. Mera, Calvin and Pamela were with him to handle the damage.It was the one story he disliked to share when Amanda asked, wanting to kill time during their flight.Once they arrived, they headed straight to Heather’s pre-booked hotel, the Wellington Best Point Hotel. It was the one nearest to Amanda’s house, at least a thirty-five minute walk.After check-in, Amanda met Noman at a cafe near her house some time past ten in the morning with her luggage in to
“What?” Amanda’s step-father unconsciously stood up from the table with his mouth agape. He glanced at Noman who bobbed his head confirming the news and then he looked back at Amanda, his brows knotting.A moment of silence filled the dining room. Amanda waited for her step-father to speak, to finish processing the life-changing news that she had ever so gently bombarded. She already knew he’d support whatever decision she chose. It was just a matter of soaking it all in.“You should tell your mother about your decision, Caitlin. I bet she’ll feel lonely when you leave,” was her step-father’s calm words, breaking the silence.She watched him claim his seat again and drink the ready glass of water near his plate.“She’ll always be in my heart, Dad,” she stated, touching his free hand, “and also, I can always come visit anytime if
Cord grabbed a nearby chair and steadied himself as his muscles undulated painfully under his skin. Despite burying them deeply inside his mind, visions of his transformation into a dark one and his rampage in the past started appearing along with the seizures.It started off as a single memory of when he was once human. He was sleeping soundly, in the realm of dreams when midnight hit the clock. In his thirtieth birthday the curse would begin, that was what the witch, Eloise, said and indeed, it happened.First, Cord’s mesmerizing bluish-green eyes had changed into obsidian. He groaned, clawing his naked chest as he felt his insides tearing him up apart. His skin, already a pale complexion, turned even paler, all manner of color drained from its pigments.Second, his human heart stopped beating. He could feel the fibers shrinking, tightening until it lay dead like a stone.In int
Under the moonlit night, Cord watched over Amanda as she slept. The door to the bedroom was open, but he didn’t enter. Instead, he decided to stay on the balcony, observing a reasonable distance away from her.He had cooled down the heat in his body in a mountain some kilometers of distance away from the O’Malley house. He had punched a lot of trees, kicked a number of boulders into pieces, and even resorted to using his hands, beating his erection to the point where all his pent-up sexual tension was released.Once done, he was back to having a clearer mind, but he knew he couldn’t fool himself. He still wanted her and that want was ever a burning flame.Until he’d find a solution to his problem, he’ll have to continue drawing a line between the two of them. Amanda’s safety was his top priority after all.When morning came, he waited for her to wake up before he e