Something deep inside of her called out to him, he felt like he was being gravitated towards her. A moth to a flame... she did annoy him. Although, this was only the first day and he wasn't making such a great impression himself.
He had to learn to control his temper, not to flip out so easily. That was hard to do around her. He had to make this work, the thought of going through the whole process of finding someone else was too much hard work. He had to come up with something that would soften her up... He didn't have a clue.
Tammy slammed the bedroom door behind her, that man was beginning to get on her last nerve. Him and his family had dragged her here and he wasn't even giving her an explanation, just going around the houses and dodging every question she asked.
She walked over to the bathroom and grabbed the cotton robe from the back of the door. She wrapped the robe around her and for the first time felt a little assurance and comfort. She strolled over to the bed and laid down.
She had to admit she was beginning to like him but that was only physical, she didn't like his mannerisms or they way he spoke abruptly at her.
There was a knock on her door, God! Couldn't she have five minutes without him?? He was probably coming to tell her to eat. Why was he bossy? Probably because he was older than her or he had some need to be in charge.
The door opened and Dante stepped into the room now fully dressed in jeans and a blue cotton shirt. Tammy didn't look at him, she just laid on the bed staring up at the fancy painted ceiling.
“Mmm,” Dante walked round to the front of the bed. “I came to say sorry for the way I have just behaved.”
“You should be!” Tammy sat up and now wished she hadn't looked at him. The blue shirt looked amazing on him, making his porcelain skin very striking. She looked down at her hands and fidgeted slightly. “I don't know why you have to be rude.. It's not like I asked to be here.”
“Yeah well,” he huffed. “I didn't ask for any of this either!”
“See,” Tammy threw her hands in the air. “Your doing it again. Nothing you say means anything to me.” She crawled down to the end of the bed and sat cross legged directly in front of Dante. “Can't you tell me something, just so I understand” she gave him her best girly smile which made Dante back away a little.
His appearance changed slowly, he had been defeated by that smile. Damn it! He shrugged and sat down next to her. Okay, he would tell her about the curse. Only the curse. His lips twicthed and he couldn't believe she had managed to get round him so easily with just a smile.
“Okay,” he coughed and Tammy gave a smile of delight. “The curse” he said firmly, Tammy nodded and laid down on her stomach, she was wanted to listen and now knew the way to get round this dark and dangerous stranger. Well, if you could still call him a stranger. “Your not concentrating” Dante snapped.
Tammy regained herself. “I am now. You may begin...”
Dante looked at Tammy again just to make sure she was paying attention and hadn't disappeared back into that day dream world. Although, he was fascinated by watching her drift away there. He sat straight and looked away.
“My great great great great Grandfather was a witch hunter--you ever heard of witch hunting?” Tammy nodded, well at least he didn't have to explain that. “He would travel around England searching for them. Half of them weren't witches of course, just women with problems. People were very superstitious back then.. They would drown and burn them at the stake. A lot of innocent people died.”
Dante got comfortable, he was actually enjoying telling the story. Just like Tammy he laid down on the bed on his stomach beside her. “Anyway, he did this for years. During the time he got married and his wife became pregnant. In the village he lived in something strange became to happen, children began to go missing during the night. They just vanished, my Grandfather and his two brothers would go out, but there was never any sign of them.”
“They had to come up with a plan, the only reasonable one was to hide and keep guard. Who ever it was never returned, so life got back to normal. He started to carry on with his witch hunting, then one night he and his brothers were in the forest and they could hear children giggling in the night. They followed the sound and came to an odd looking house. One of the brothers recognized his own son, they dashed into the house and found a woman.” He turned to Tammy, “Are you still with me?”
Tammy nodded and Dante carried on. ..“The woman realized who he was and got very defensive. Instantly, he knew she was a witch and grabbed his dagger, ready to kill her. She did something with her eyes” Dante's voice full of suspense. Tammy had to admit he was a very story teller.
“That look had paralysised his whole body. She kept telling him she had been waiting for him and that he had to be punish for torturing and killing her sisters.. She took the dagger and stabbed the palm of her hand, then did the same to him. She brought his palm to hers and their blood mixed. She started to chant and he started to change inside, his body was being to process her blood and he became thirsty for something he wasn't sure of.”
“When she pulled her hand away from his, he fell to the floor and she quoted.. “Thou shell be the man of night, thou son's shell be the son's of night. Your family is doomed, for once a boy awakes of age a daughter shell never come his way. He couldn't ask her any questions as she plunged the dagger into heart.”
Dante's voice grew softer and his eyes lowered. “He couldn't speak of what had happened only to his wife and his brothers swore they would never tell. As time went on he learned of what she meant and learned to deal with his new needs thanks to his wife. His wife gave birth to a boy, as years went by they thought he was safe. Once he turned 21 he became what his father was. His father decided they would move here and he would help his son find a wife-- who could be what his mother was to his father. That's really how the tradition started..”
“So, did he have a daughter?” Tammy asked, out of curiosity.
“No” Dante said with saddness. “A girl hasn't been born in my family for over four generations.”
Tammy rested her hand on Dante's which took him by surprise. Her hand felt soft and warm, he actually liked the feel of her skin next to his.
“Are you what HE was?” Her eyes wide and waiting for Dante to answer. He just nodded in reply. “A man of the night?” Dante nodded again. “What is a man of the night?”
He took in a deep breath, he had already gone this far. “A vampire!”
“A vampire?” Tammy said slowly, not really sure how to make sense of it. He didn't look like anything she had read about. His skin was a little too pale, but so was hers. He didn't have weird looking eyes or fangs. She reached out and pressed her hand on his chest. His heart was beating just like hers.
Dante watched her reaction, he knew she was checking him out. Trying to figure out if he was about to jump her and suck her body dry. He wasn't like that, that was just fiction written in books by people who had no idea about real vampires.
Her hand moved from his chest and gently touched his hand; his skin wasn't cold. He was definitely living and not dead. Weren't vampires Immortal?? She leaned a little closer. “Your not dead!”
A smile finally came to Dante's lips. “Oh my dear Tammy,” he laughed. “Vampires are not immortal.”
“But doesn't a vampire occur when they bite a human?”
“No! Only in films and books. Vampires are born, we grow.. In a way you can say we go through puberty twice. First time to become a man, second to become this” his hand moved up and down his body.
“So,” Tammy narrowed her eyes, she was going to dread asking this question. Her hairs were already standing up on end. “What about blood?” Dante sat up and shrugged. “Don't you need to eat blood to survive?”
“Yes and no” Dante answered. “Look, we should end this here for now.” He didn't want to explain his needs or her role as he didn't want her to run away. He looked over at her face, she was very beautiful and she smelle
d wonderful. He had actually grown a little towards her. He had liked the way she had sat and just listened to him. The questions were not even annoying him anymore.
No, she is perfect. She would fulfill her role and do it proudly. He was more certain now than ever, he had made the right choice; Tammy was the one to end this curse.
Tammy nodded, she didn't want to push him too far. At least she knew now, it explained everything. He had opened up to her, he even seemed more relaxed in her presence. This whole thing had made her actually like him a little more. Wow vampire, she felt she was starring in her very own fairy tale with a dark and dangerous prince. Very attractive dark and dangerous prince.
Chapter Four
Tammy woke up to the sun shining through into the bedroom, last night she had slept like a baby. Her dreams filled with Dante, she looked round the room. She had never taken in its beauty, the oak four poster bed, the cream walls and oak furniture. It was something you would see in a grand castle. Now Dante had told her the curse story she felt like she was in a castle full of history which she wanted to learn more about.
Ah, Dante-- her eyes went dreamy, she was developing a crush on him. Which seemed okay after all they were engaged. The rest of yesterday was blissful, Dante had asked her non-stop questions about herself and had even showed her a library situated in the house. Tammy couldn't wait to get lost in all the books that filled that room.
She jumped out of bed and began to rummage through her suitcase. She wanted to look nice, she gave a little giggle. Tammy Miller actually dressing to impress a man. That was something she never thought she would do. Then again he wasn't just any man.
Tammy let out a little sigh, nothing was good enough to wear from him. Each outfit showed how poor she actually was. Finally she decided on a cotton white summer dress and some strappy sandals. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
Every now and then, she did wonder how her Grandmother was. Maybe she should call just to make sure everything was fine. She didn't want to talk to her parents, she was still angry at them. Even though she was having a nice time, she should have been the one to make the decision and not them. Hopefully in time she would forgive them but not now, she wanted them to suffer a little first.
She made her way out of the bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen. Just like the previous morning Dante was sat at the kitchen table. Today there wasn't a feast, just a bowl, box of cereal and a jug of milk. After all, his mother had left the feast yesterday.
Tammy couldn't wait to meet his mother, it would be nice to finally have a female to chat too around here. She was missing Mrs Waters and the book store. Hopefully, she would get the chance to visit her this week.
“Morning” Dante smiled, that was a different response than what she got yesterday. “I prepared breakfast” he looked proud of himself, Tammy gave a little smile and sat down at the table.
“You have done a mighty fine job” she picked the box of cereal and poured some into the bowl. She was hungry, really hungry. They had forgotten to cook yesterday and then by night she was so tired she just wanted to sleep.
Dante sat back as Tammy began to devour her breakfast. He had never seen a girl eat so quickly and then it clicked. He ran a hand through his hair. “I'm sorry, you must be famished. While my mother is away I must remember to cook.”
Tammy swallowed what was in her mouth. “Remember to cook?” she laughed. “Don't you have to eat too?” Then she remembered the revelation from yesterday. Of course, he didn't eat-- well nothing she ate! “Oh, I see” she carried on eating her cereal. She was trying me lady like, but she knew she was shovelling it in.
“I'm glad we are on the same page now” he leaned over and wiped a spot of milk off Tammy's chin. “I was thinking” he sat back down in his seat. “We could go for a drive and take a walk along the river.” His eyes gave a wicked glint, Tammy thought she was about to choke but she managed to avoid it. “You do want courtship.”
Tammy slowly looked up from her bowl. “Really? Courtship?”
“And stolen kisses” Dante added.
“Old romantic” she teased, her cheeks blushing at the thought of him kissing her.
Dante shifted in his seat and rubbed his brow. “I just think its fair. You want the whole fairytail thing and I am more horror. Some how there must be a way to merge the two.”
“A win-win situation” copying exactly what he had said to yesterday over breakfast.
Dante's mouth opened, but no words came out. For the first time ever, he didn't know how to reply. Wo-ho! Tammy thought to herself, he was speechless and she had done it. Today seemed to be starting on the right foot. Especially, with the idea of stolen kisses.
Tammy watched as Dante pulled up at the river side just outside of Ashville. She had to admit his car was very nice, even though she knew nothing about cars, she was pretty sure it costed more than what her parents house was worth. She was still getting sad from not talking to them or her Gran. She felt guilty saying they were dead to her. She should never of thought that , it was wrong.
Dante sat still and watched Tammy has she drifted off to her own world again. He like they way her big eyes stared a head and how her teeth would bite down on her lip.
He was surprised by her reaction last night, any other person would of run, but she had been curious about the whole thing. When her hand had touched his chest he thought his heart was going to leap out. It had only been two days, how could she have this reaction on him already? That's why he had decided to do this for her.
“What do you think about when you do that?” He asked with a slight smile. Her eyes drifted over to him. He rested his head against the seat, waiting to hear her talk. Her voice was actually quite soothing to him.
“I was thinking about my parents and my Grandmother.” She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Just saying that out loud brought a little ache to her heart. “When I left I vowed they were dead to me-- I shouldn't of thought that. It was a disgusting thing to do.”
Dante could feel her pain, he reached out and grabbed her hand. “You were angry, any rational person would of thought the same. They just gave you away, that was not fair.”
Tammy's eyes opened wide. Just gave me away? Didn't he know about the money? “They didn't just give me away” Tammy watched Dante's expression harden and he tilted his head to the side. “Your father paid them... I don't know how much, I didn't want to know...”
“He paid them?” Dante roared, Tammy took back her hand and sat back a little. His hands clentched in fist, his jaw tight and his nostrils flaring. “What?” He opened the car door, got out and slammed it shut.
Tammy watched as he paced up and down, one minute his hands were in his hair and then clentched. Tammy got out and walked round towards him.
“Stay back!” He warned, holding his hands up. Tammy froze on the spot, fear began to flow through her. He looked like a wild animal ready to kill. She hadn't feared him last night, but now he looked like a monster. “I thought you had come on your own free will. How dare he?” He stopped pacing and began to take in deep breaths. “I am sorry, Tammy.” His face relaxed and he turned back in to the man in the car. “If you want to go home... Go...”
“No,” Tammy cried, which surprised her, she really didn't want to go home. She wanted to be with him. She placed a hand on her heart, she did.. she really did.
Only after two days, was it normal to feel something for someone in such a short period of time? How would she know, she had never been in this situation before. He had been brave enough to tell her his dark secret. She had accepted who he was. A lot of work had been done yesterday and she wasn't willing to give him up.
“No?” he sighed, a little hint of a smile hit his lips.
Tammy shook her head. “I don't want to go home. Don't be mad at your dad” Tammy returned the smile. “He actually done good giving the money, the money is helping my Grandmother with treatment and care.”
“Okay, just as long as o
ne day you don't become hostile towards me and blame me for wrecking your life.” He looked down and the smile dropped off his face. “I don't think I would be able to live with that guilt.”
Tammy now thought it was safe to get closer towards him. She wanted to try something, she moved her arms up and around Dante's waist, pulling him closer towards him. She rested her head on his chest and felt his heart beat against her cheek. At first he froze like statue, he gave an angonizing groan, as if her hugging him caused him pain. Tammy remained where she was and closed her eyes. Dante's arms gently embraced her back and he rested his chin on the top of her head.
“You're very brave” he mumbled.
“I am not brave” she laughed. “I just know your not an evil blood sucking monster, Dante.”
Dante pulled away and coughed. “Lunch?” He walked around to the boot of the car, and pulled out pinic basket. He grabbed hold of Tammy's hand, “Come!” He ordered as he marched off dragging Tammy behind him.
Food? Tammy laughed herself, this man was obsessed with looking after her. A warm tingling feeling filled her. The hug had been nice, she would have to remember not to keep reminding him of what he was. It must of made him self-conscience and embrassed. He was softening towards her, but the instant mood changes were still there. She would have to learn to deal with them but this is where she was going to remain and she wasn't going to give up on him. As she was drawn to him just like he was to her.