Do Mine Eyes Deceive Me...A Gorgeous Sadistic Vampire?

Harrison had shown me that he wasn't the most evil being on the planet. He liked the fact that I cared about him. So basically, he knew that I was, to some extent, attracted to him, and he was okay with that, but didn't return the feeling, and just wanted to spend eternity like that.

That seemed kind of monstrous to me. I mean, was it even worth it? Not that I had a choice, but I was never going to see my 8-year-old twin siblings, Nathan or Arianna, ever again because of what I was being forced into. I had to give up everything. My mom and dad were probably worried sick. What about Lena? She had lost both Sari and I in such a short period of time - one night to be exact.

How cruel does someone have to be to be OK with all of this. Harrison was taking my life - literally - away from me, and he had nothing to give in return except for companionship. He wanted to be acquaintances in which one person cared for the other and the other was simply okay with that and nothing more. I hated this entire situation.

Not to mention that Harrison had warned me I wouldn't see much of him between the Banquet and the time of my full transformation. He wasn't kidding. It had been a week and I'd seen him once! Oh, and he'd almost tried to kill me.

Here's how it went down:

I was wondering the halls through my new home. I didn't realize by home, he meant an eight story mansion/castle with more than a hundred empty bedrooms and just as many enslaved humans working for him. All of the workers were on strict order to not see me. Or rather, Harrison didn't want me to see being like I was, enslaved for him.

Anyway, I heard the front door open with an eerie creak and then slam shut. The floor under my feet had vibrated. I rushed down as quickly as I could, remembering the way only vaguely to the front door, and was met by a black-eyed Harrison on the grand staircase.

I had figured after Harrison had saved me from those two wild immortals a few days back, things would be much better between us.

Of course, I didn't know what a black-eyed vampire meant. Now, I knew it meant that he was thirsty.

Then, I had said "Oh. Hi, Harrison. How are you?"

I found myself shoved up against the nearest wall. "Joanalie, you need to get away from . . . oh! You smell . . . so good," he hissed. I felt his nose and his lips against my neck, and I was afraid. He'd never gone this far before.

"Stop! I need to go. You're thirsty! Think, Harrison! You don't want to kill me, do you?

"No - no, I don't want that," he groaned, his lips moving against my pulse as he spoke. "I just want a little drink . . . it won't hurt, I promise"

"Harrison, you are out of control. I thought you were out . . . hunting," I gulped out the last word, and a shiver ran through my spine. Not to mention what other parts of my body were feeling because of this beautiful creature's lips against my neck. Still, I was scared. He was very close to killing me, and I was all but helpless.

"Not hunting, no, dear Joanalie. I was getting Malachai. I had to make him pay. You didn't like him, no. He did bad to you, so I had to make sure he knew not to do that again," he said. My feet were dangling above the floor now, as he held me against the wall.

"You hurt Malachai because of what he did to me?" I asked, momentarily shocked despite the tooth grazing the flesh of my neck.

Harrison just giggled. "Thou shall not play with you. I need you for my ultimate plan . . . yes, and your smell is so delicious."

It was official. He was out of control. If he were in his right state of mind, his eyes would be red and he wouldn't be talking nonsense. He was thirsty because one vampire couldn't drink another vampire's blood. Well, they could, but it wouldn't do anything. It would be like drinking air.

"Will you hate me if I drink your blood?" he asked, removing his face from my neck just long enough to look into my hazel eyes with his black ones.

"I can't hate you if I'm dead," I whispered, pleading. "Please, Harrison. Remember who you are! Don't kill me. I only wish you could be better than that."

"You should know better by now, deary." I feared that would be the last thing I ever heard before the only man I'd even been the least bit attracted to killed me.

"That will be quite enough, Mr. Harrison," a booming voice commanded from the foyer just down the stairs from where we stood.

"Mr. Devlin, what are you doing here?" Harrison snarled, dropping me. I fell to the floor and landed on my knees.

"You invited me here so we could have that meeting . . . but I think you should go hunting, now. I'll keep Miss Rivers company," said Devlin.

"Over my dead body," he growled. Most surprisingly, Harrison reached down and helped to my feet.

"How ironic . . ." Devlin commented. I supposed he thought it was ironic considering Harrison is technically dead.

He strode over to the newcomer and hissed something in the man's ear that was obviously not hear-able to me.

Harrison strode out the door and it slammed shut again.

"I suppose I should think you . . . Mr. Devlin," I said uncertainly, walking down the steps to greet him.

"Devlin Calhoun is the name. You may call me Devlin, and the pleasure was all mine Miss Rivers," he said.

I finally got a good look at him. He was irrevocably gorgeous, of course, but I found myself shying away from him instead of being swayed by his charm.

He had elbow-length red hair that was pulled back into a sleek pony-tail and sort of repulsed me. Hair longer than the chin on guys just didn't appeal to me.

"I saw you at the Banquet, but unfortunately didn't get a chance to introduce myself. It's a delight to finally meet Harrison Stillhart's infamous human spouse. It's all anyone in the immortal community can talk about lately. Now I see what all the fuss was about," he eyed me shamelessly and stuck his hand out.

I stepped down the remaining steps and grasped his cold-as-ice fingers. He gracefully brought my hand up to his stony lips and kissed it. I tugged my hand away quickly and he released it with obvious reluctance.

"That was quite foolish of him, Miss Rivers - may I call you Joanalie?" he asked.

"Joan," I corrected. It almost sounded funny after becoming accustomed to Harrison always calling me Joanalie.

"OK, Joan. It's really quite a shame he's not more careful around one as special as you. Doesn't a good husband always put his mate first?" Devlin said. It was so obvious, his intentions. As if he could ever brainwash me into thinking Harrison was the bad guy out of the two. Maybe he wasn't the good guy, but I didn't think he was 100% the bad guy anymore . . . maybe.

"A good wife should know better than to get in her spouse's way. Obviously I am the one who needs to be more careful. I'm responsible for my own life, after all," I retorted.

"Fair enough," he said smiling.

"What are you and Harrison here to discuss?" I said, honestly curious. I was also eager to keep the conversation away from he and I.

"Oh, hasn't he told you?" Devlin asked, grin widening to a point where his intimidating incisors were gleaming.

"Well, I'm certain he has, but I'm only wondering which topic he's to discuss with you. Of course, we discuss many different things, and I'm just not quite sure which one this is . . ." I trailed off, rambling amateurishly.

"I don't think I'm the right one to tell that to you, Joan. I'm sure you could be persuaded to talk - or not to talk - about something else," the grin changed into a smirk, while the back of his thumb and forefinger stroked my clothed upper arm.

I cringed away, trying my best to play it off as a sneeze that I didn't want to contaminate him with.

"Joanalie won't be discussing anything more with you, Devlin. It's me you have business with, and we can take it to my office," said a surprisingly composed Harrison.

He grabbed the devilish guest by the forearm and led him upstairs to his secret office that I had yet to find. How rude. He'd just breezed on by without so much of an apology. I was hoping maybe he just didn't want to do in front of Devlin.

But now it was four days after that, and I still hadn't seen Harrison, nor heard Devlin leave. Of course, vampires had other means of transportation than the front door, but I believed that I had some unfinished business to attend to with my 'husband.'

I was going to go looking for his office.