Blood for Blood

“Hello, Sunshine,” I murmur into her ear.

She giggles and turns to me. Her eyes twinkle with so much happiness. It’s my only goal in life to make my girl happy… And I think I’ve been doing a good job so far, even if I do say so myself!

I pull Rory into my body and hold tight. She is so warm and soft… I just can’t help myself. I nuzzle her neck and breathe in her fresh scent. She smells like lilacs. Even her scent reminds me of sunshine. I call her my sunshine because she lights up my whole life.

I know… Totally sappy. But right now, with the sun shining down on her soft blond curls and her sparkling blue eyes gazing back at me? What else can I say but she is the light of my life?

“Hey, gorgeous,” she whispers back.

She is the only one I will ever let get away with calling me that! I don’t exactly like being the “pretty boy” type. I would go for the more “ruggedly handsome” or “biker bad-boy” type. But as long as she is the only one calling me gorgeous, then I don’t mind so much.

I lean in and kiss her soft pink lips. It's only a soft brushing of flesh. But it sends a buzz to all my nerve endings. She feels like magic.

“I miss you,” I growl.

She giggles again (I love that sound) and playfully slaps me on the chest. “You just saw me this morning in class!”

“Yeah, but it’s been two hours since class…” I tease.

Then I kiss her again. Slower this time. I have all the time in the world, why not enjoy it? And enjoy it, I do! I love the taste of her cherry lip balm, and the slightest hint of bubble gum on her tongue.

She pulls back. Her chest presses against mine with each ragged breath. Her cheeks are flushed pink, and her lips are swollen from my kiss. Pure sunshine!

“I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you, too, Justin.” She beams back at me.

I grab her hand and tug her inside the Cheri’s Ice Cream Shoppe. Even the little bell over the door is chiming happily. Nothing could ruin this day! (Unless they are out of chocolate swirl…)

“Hey, Ems!” Rory sings.

“Hey Rory! Hi Justin! How’s it goin’ you guys? And what can I get for y’all today?” Emma calls out from behind the counter with a friendly wave and a megawatt smile.

Emma moved from Alabama a few years ago. Her and Rory are pretty tight. She graduated high school with us last year. She is a cute girl, but definitely not my type!

“Hey Emma. Can I get a chocolate swirl cone?” I ask.

“And I’d like a double mint chip cone,” Rory adds.

“Sure thing, sugar!” she laughs with a wink. “What’chy’all doin’ this fine afternoon?”

“We’re going to the park,” Rory giggles, leaning into me, threading her arm through mine and looking up at me like I’ve hung the moon. I swear she is perfect.

“Aww… So cute! I can never get Josh to take me to the park! Maybe I can hogtie him after I get off my shift and drag him with me,” she winks at Rory while she scoops our ice cream.

Aurora grabs the ice creams with a huge grin. She nods her head in agreement. “You totally should! It’s a beautiful day outside. Early fall is the best time for strolls down the park!” she urges.

“I’ll hold him down for you, Emma,” I offer as I hand over ten bucks for the ice creams.

“Thank you, Justin! You all are just so sweet! Rory, you gotta keeper, girl!” Emma teases.

“Don’t I know it!” Rory teases back and hands me my ice cream. Then she grabs my empty hand and hauls me toward the door. “Catch ya later, Ems!”

“See ya soon, darlin’!” Emma returns.

Aurora practically rips my arm out of my socket as she yanks me in the direction of the park. Not that she could actually hurt me, I just find it amusing how insistent she is right now, and let her lead the way.

“What’s the hurry?” I laugh at her persistent tugging.

“I just want to get you all to myself! I can’t share you with Emma! I’d have to kill my BFF!” she teases me.

I just chuckle and shake my head. I know she would do no such thing.

When we reach the park it’s pretty empty. I thank the stars that I can finally be alone with my girl. I lace my fingers through hers as we stroll down the paved walkway, as we consume our ice cream.

When every drop of my chocolate swirl is gone, I tug her over to our little bench, set back in the trees. I like my privacy. And then devour her mouth again. This time she tastes like mint ice cream. Yum!

She squeals in delight and presses her body closer to mine. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me back with equal passion. I pull her onto my lap and she instantly straddles me. She feels soo…

“Kissy, kissy…” A voice snarks from behind us.

I moan and slowly relinquish Aurora’s lips.

Seriously?!? Again???

“Hey Link. What are you doing here?” I try not to growl too much.

Lincoln is my other best friend, and another hybrid like me. Aurora knows what we are, of course, and she is cool with it. She is my Chosen. Basically, it means when we turn 21 she will be my mate. But lately it seems like whenever I finally get Aurora alone, he shows up out of nowhere! What is up with that?

“Hey, Rora. You wanna give me a little lovin’ too?” Link flirts.

Normally, if a guy tried to pick up my girl, I’d punch him in the face! But he is my best friend, and I know he flirts with every girl he sees, so I try not to take offense. Plus, I trust my girl!

“No thanks, Link. Sorry. I think you are a little too much for a girl like me to handle,” she softly jokes. She would never hurt him, but she also knows how to hold her own. I love that about her, too.

“Did you have a point of showing up, or did you just not want me to be alone with Aurora?” I sigh heavily, hoping he gets the hint.

“Yeah, I was coming to ask if you two wanted to come hang out over at my house tonight,” he answers like he didn’t completely ruin my mood… Which he did. Can the guy be any more oblivious? Or is he doing this on purpose?

Aurora sighs too, and slips off my lap… Which is THE LAST THING I WANT RIGHT NOW!

It takes all my restraint not to give this guy a shiner! The last thing on my mind is playing video games. My mind is on something so much more fun… And soft… And tasty… I try to hold back another growl, but it slips out.

Rory slips her hand in mine and pulls me up next to her. I slip my arm around her waist possessively and she leans into me, knowing I need her right now. She has to keep me calm. She is giving me strength without me even asking for it. She is so in tune with my every emotion, and I love her for that also… I honestly can’t think of anything I don’t love about my Sunshine!

“Sure, Link. Sounds like fun,” she answers for me. I can hear the disappointment in her voice, and I’m sure Link can too, but he just ignores it and walks on her other side as we head back toward the park entrance.

Before we can make it all the way, Sam and his posse of turned show up. There are some major advantages of being turned. You can run faster than the eye can catch; you have more super strength than I have (and that’s saying a lot!); you live forever (if you are into that) and you get stronger magic. Not that any of that matters to me.

Sam, Josh, Rose, and Danny were all hybrids like me. We call them turned because they were all born from a vampire sire and a human mother, but when they hit 18 they have chosen to have their dads turn them into full vampires. And contrary to what you may think, vampires don’t actually have to suck someone dry to live.

About a hundred years ago, vampires were being hunted. They left too many casualties. People tend to notice when there are a bunch of dead bodies piling up with fang marks in their necks. So the council decided in order for us to remain hidden, instead of leaving the victims dead, they would basically charm their donors into a dream state, take a sip of blood that will last them a few weeks. Then they heal the donor (aka victim) and make them forget what happened; then turn them loose so they can replenish their blood, then a few weeks later, they would repeat the process. Vampires get their blood and we don’t have to deal with a pile of dead bodies. Win-win!

Some of the vampires actually took their donors as mates (like dad), and they give their blood freely. That helps so the vampire doesn’t have to go out searching for some poor moron to be taken advantage of.

As Sam approaches us, Rory scoots tighter to me. She knows about them too. But Aurora is mine! And by the council law, they aren’t allowed to touch her. Not that the guys haven’t tried. She is gorgeous! A lot of the others were slightly jealous, and who could blame them?

“Hey, Sam. What’s up?” I ask.

“Nothin’ much. Just felt like a walk through the park. You?” Sam asks, eyeing Rory up and down.

I try not to let my possessive rage boil to the surface and take a deep breath and pull Aurora impossibly closer to my side. If I’m not careful, I might break my girlfriend!

“We were just heading over to Link’s house to play some RPG,” I respond.

“Hey, Josh. I just talked to Emma, she was hoping you two could have a little stroll through the park,” Rory waggles her eyebrows suggestively.

Josh’s eyes flash red and he smirks. “Well, in that case, I may just have to oblige!” he chuckles. “Catch ya later, guys,” he says as he turns to head toward the ice cream shop.

Link saunters over to Rose and puts his arm around her. “Hey, baby. Wanna come over to my place?”

Rose just rolls her eyes and sighs. “In your dreams, Link. You know I already got a guy. And it ain’t you!” She pushes him away.

“Aww… Not even for a little bit?” Link practically pouts. It’s embarrassing!

“C’mon Link,” Rory giggles. “It’s time to go. Leave poor Rose alone.”

Rose smirks, flashing her red eyes at Rory. “Thanks Rora. He needs to find himself a girl before he gets his sorry self into trouble!”

“I completely agree!” I announce, dragging Link behind me. “Enjoy your evening, guys.”

“Bye, guys! Have a nice night!” Aurora calls after them, and snuggles deep into my side.

I love this girl!