Page 939 of One More Kiss

“Sounds good to me. Have fun,” I say, closing the door softly.

The clock on the wall says 7:30 pm. I’ll wait for them to leave and then sneak out right after. I’ve got enough money to buy me a bus ticket to anywhere, and I’ll steal some blood from the fridge before I go.

I’ll have to get some information on blood banks when I get to my destination, but I need to do this. I can’t stay here anymore. Every time I look at them, I want to either kill or fuck them, and neither is something I can deal with.

* * *

Watchingthem leave from the window of the apartment, I waste no time grabbing my bag and heading down to the elevator. I keep my face low and walk through the crowd. Heartbeats sound all around me, and the scent of blood and sweat tempts my willpower.

The city is crowded today, people pushing and shoving to get where they are going. The sun is just about to set as I make my way to the bus depot.

“Can I have the first ticket out of here? Doesn’t matter where it’s going,” I say to the attendant behind the counter.

“That would be to Charlotte, South Carolina, and it’s $387,” she replies, not giving a fuck that I just left my fate in her hands.

“Perfect.” I take the money out of my wallet and hand it over to her. She passes me back a ticket, and I go to the right bay to catch my bus.

There’s a line of people waiting to board, and I follow it to the end. A man stands in front of me, flipping through his phone, but when he turns around to see who’s behind him, his face lights up with a smile.

“Hello,” he says, putting the phone in his pocket. He’s getting serious about this conversation that’s never going to happen.

“Hi,” I say, avoiding eye contact and turning my body so my back is leaning on the side of the bus. I cross my arms over my chest, making it clear I’m not interested.

“Are you going to Charlotte?” He asks. I roll my eyes and don’t reply. This is the bus to Charlotte.

“Hey, I’m just trying to make conversation. No need to be rude,” he spits out.

He’s come to stand in my line of sight now. His hands hang out at his side, but I can hear the beat of his heart and smell the arousal on him. This sick fuck gets off on chicks who fight back.

I cock my head to the side and study him for a moment. He’s average height, about 5 ‘10”, hair shaved close to his head and he has muscular arms. It’s clear that he works out.

“Sounds like not my problem. Get in line or I’ll make you,” I say, coming off the bus. I mirror his stance and finally give him the eye contact he wants.

“You’ll make me? That’s pretty funny coming from a leprechaun. You think you could take me, try it,” he taunts.

I’m doing an excellent job of holding my shit together. The social worker in me is trying to see the negative sides in punching this asshole in the face, but the vampire side wants to rip his throat out.

Before I can reply to his request, he steps up into my face and shoves me back into the bus. The rest of the line turns around to look, but we look like lovers in an embrace. They lose interest quickly.

“You’ve got three seconds before I dick punch you and break your nose,” I whisper into his lips.

The smell of his blood sings through his body. Even without a cut, when someone is this aroused, the pheromones drive vampires crazy.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Kicking out at the perfect angle too quick for him to react, I get him right between the legs. I use enough force to make sure he bends over and then slam his face onto my knee using my hands on the back of his head.

Screams of pain light up the night. He howls as he drops to the floor, wriggling around to ease some agony, but he can’t find the relief he’s looking for. And then the scent hits my nose. Fresh blood is flowing out of his hands from his nose. The rush of having blood from the source is too overwhelming. I’m on him in seconds. My teeth elongate and my nails sharpen. I straddle him, pinning him to the ground.

I’m about three seconds from sinking my teeth in him before my body gets thrown across the pavement. There is only one thing that could have done that… vampire.

“Odessa, what are you doing?” Julius asks, coming over to help me sit up. He’s eyeing me up and down, looking for something. Maybe to see if I’m alright or if I have blood on my mouth.

“What are you doing here?” I growl. I was so close to getting away.

“What are you doing here?” he mimics.

“We come home and find the apartment empty. How could you just leave us like that?” Draven asks, coming to stand with Julius.

“I’m fucking miserable. Can’t you see that? I have no life anymore. You stole everything from me. My body reacts to you one way, but my brain is so mad. This is such a fucked-up situation. I needed to be free for a bit. Maybe forever,” I express. I don’t think they’ve really understood what they’ve done to me.

They have the good grace to look remorseful, but it’s not enough. I pick up my bag from the floor and walk back into the depot. There is no point running now, they will just follow. I’m going to have to come up with something more creative to break free.

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