Fatal Kiss, page 16
“Michael, I have something I want to tell you,” she said. “I’m just going to say it quick so I can get it over with and not mess it up.”
He cocked his head to the side, his face a mixture of confusion and nervousness.
“I love you,” she said. “This whole time, I have been obsessed with Luke, but you were the one I could never stop thinking about. You were the one who helped me, who kept me sane. You’re one of the few people on Earth that I actually like to be around, and well… I guess I’m saying, I want to be around you all the time.”
A silence settled over the room. Michael’s brow was furrowed with confusion, his dark eyes piercing and severe. The look sent dread flowing through her stomach, her worst fear realized.
“I’m just a barista,” he said. “Are you sure you want to be with a lowly coffee slave?”
It stung to have that thrown back in her face, but she knew she deserved it.
“I wouldn’t care if you were a street magician or a lawyer, Michael,” she said. “I just want to be with you. And I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out.”
Reluctantly, a small smile came to his face.
“I did always have a crush on you,” he said.
“Yeah, I know.”
“It really hurt to see you chasing after Luke like that.”
“I know,” she repeated, nodding in understanding. “You warned me about what would happen, and I didn’t listen to you. That seems to be a theme in my life.”
“Geneva, deep down you are a compassionate person,” Michael said, taking her hand in his and resting both on his lap.
She repressed a shiver and met his gaze.
“I think you feel a lot of guilt,” he continued. “You know, you can be cruel sometimes, but it’s only because you have to constantly fight a monster inside you. You’re not that person, and you never have been. You’ve stopped killing people, haven’t you?”
She nodded, thinking of the empty blood bags overflowing in the dumpster out back.
“It’s impressive to see you battle with it and win,” he praised. “You’re strong, Geneva. That’s what I’ve always liked about you. Sometimes I envy your strength, and especially your ambition. You always go right after what you want.”
He looked away. His hand sweaty around her fingers.
“You’ve taught me a lot, too,” he continued softly.
Then he looked back up into her eyes, his dark lashes fanning over his cheeks as he blinked. He wore an expression of pure longing and adoration, a look that tugged on the corners of Geneva’s soul.
He closed the distance between them and kissed her, his hands flying up to cup her neck with gentle, reverent fingers. The kiss was naïve but warm and tender, just a simple show of affection. Though the touch was light, Geneva could hear the quick pounding of his heart, and this time, when her fangs came out, she didn’t have to hide her face as she pulled away.
Michael panted as he stared at her mouth, his cheeks flushed with color. Whether his eyes were on her lips or fangs, she couldn’t be sure.
He kissed her again, this time, a little less modestly. When he started to deepen it, his blood rushing and fingers trembling, Geneva pushed him away with a gentle hand on his chest.
“Stop,” she murmured. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Did you ever hurt Luke?”
She flicked her gaze away from him, trying to quell her pounding heart and the bloodlust forcing her fangs out of her gums.
“Not like that,” she said breathlessly, “but it was hard, you know. I had to leave the room sometimes.”
Michael nodded. “I remember that,” he said. “You don’t have to leave the room now.”
“I suppose not,” she said softly.
Silence settled over them again, though this time, it was far more comfortable. Michael had a sweet, endearing smile on his face. He leaned back against the couch, at ease in her home, at her side, in front of her fangs. It was nice to have someone she could be her real self around.
“So, are you my girlfriend now?” he asked after a moment had passed.
Geneva chuckled. “Yeah, I am.”
“Should I hand over my bank statements or what?”
She slapped him on the shoulder and glared at him even though she knew he was just teasing. “It should go without saying, but I’m done doing all the secretive, manipulative stuff,” she explained.
“I know,” he replied. “I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
She looked at him and gave him a nod of approval. “Good.”
“Oh, and I love you, too, by the way,” he said.
Geneva smiled. “You do?”
“I have for a while,” he confessed. “Especially after you opened up to me about being a vampire. I’m glad I was able to earn your trust. It sounds silly, but it’s a very powerful feeling. And you can trust me with it because I love you.”
Even though her fangs hadn’t quite receded just yet, Geneva couldn’t resist the urge to pull him into another kiss.
“I think we should take a trip somewhere,” she suggested when they broke apart.
“Where?” he asked.
“Anywhere,” she replied. “I just want to leave this place for a while.”
“How about a road trip?” he offered.
Geneva broke into a wide grin, excited by the idea. Usually, she would find the prospect of a long car ride insufferable, but she would be happy anywhere with Michael by her side.
“Yes, absolutely,” she agreed. “Go home, and pack your bags, then meet me back here. We can take my car.”
Michael laughed. “Woah, slow down,” he said. “I have to ask for time off work. I can’t just up and leave.”
“Call in sick,” she urged. “Please. I want to leave tonight.”
“Tomorrow,” he bartered. “We both need to get a good night’s sleep first.”
“Fine,” she said reluctantly. “Then you’ll meet me back here first thing in the morning?”
“First thing in the morning,” he agreed.
***
True to his word, Michael was at her door early the next morning, before the sun had even come up. Bleary eyed and still dressed in her pajamas, she let him inside. She got herself dressed while he loaded their things up into her car.
She felt a sense of belonging as she slid into the passenger seat and glanced over at Michael. He looked at ease and comfortable in her car, and braced his arm over the back of her seat to turn and look as he backed out of the driveway.
“This is going to be so much fun,” Geneva predicted. “We can drive down to Florida and go to the beach. We can pass through the Smoky Mountains. Anywhere we want to go.”
“Let’s just see where the wind takes us,” he suggested.
The both of them were eager and giddy when they hit the early morning road, the sun barely visible in a thin line on the horizon. Geneva admired the colors in the sky as they drove through green trees and rolling hills.
It gave her a sense of purpose to be on the road with him. She longed for this kind of freedom and love. Nothing had ever felt this good in her entire life – not even Luke’s admittedly romantic proposal. It was the most content she had ever felt, and she wondered about all the moments she had been missing out on because she couldn’t learn to control her obsessions.
Michael had a calmness and surety about him that made him feel safe for her. He kept asking her silly questions as they drove, like what her favorite snacks were and what kind of music she liked to listen to. She indulged him in the light-hearted conversation, realizing that she knew very little about him.
Hopefully, this trip would remedy that. The first tidbit of information she tucked away was his love for boring political talk radio.
Barely an hour on the road, the rumble of the car against the pavement and the drone of Michael’s talk radio made her drowsy. Geneva rolled onto her side, faced the window, and fell asleep.
***
She woke up with a sour taste in her mouth. Her eyes were crusted shut, and a horrible nausea filled her stomach. She fluttered her eyes, wincing against the bright fluorescent lighting above. Her head was absolutely pounding, her eyes swollen and puffy.
“Oh, thank God,” she heard a familiar voice sigh as she sat up against the soft pillows behind her.
She was in a hospital room, wrapped in a thin paper gown beneath a scratchy blanket.
Eugenia sat beside her, leaning in close over the bed; her brows were scrunched with worry. She gripped Geneva’s hands with white knuckles, her pulse quick.
“What happened?” Geneva groaned, rubbing at the tenderness of her temples.
“You were in a car accident,” Eugenia said. “It was bad, Geneva. A helicopter had to airlift you to the closest hospital. You almost didn’t make it. In fact, no one is even sure how you’re still alive. You’ve been out for days.”
Confused, Geneva looked around the room and swallowed. The window showed a familiar cityscape, and the sky was mockingly dark. She couldn’t remember anything about the accident or how she got to the hospital.
“I don’t understand,” she said, looking to her sister for help.
“A truck rolled over a bridge on the interstate,” Eugenia explained. “It landed on your car and nearly killed you.”
Panic seized Geneva’s heart. “Michael,” she said desperately. “Is he okay? Where is he?”
Eugenia gave her a somber look and shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Geneva,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Geneva vigorously shook her head, the effort making her head ache. “No,” she rasped, trying to swing her legs over the side of the bed to get up. Eugenia held her back and easily pushed her weak body onto the bed.
“He was killed instantly, Geneva,” Eugenia said. “He didn’t suffer.”
Hot tears slipped from her eyes, her heart constricting painfully in her chest. How could she have let this happen? This was all her fault. She had been the one to suggest the sudden road trip, and now, Michael was dead because of it.
“I have to get out of here,” Geneva said, anxiety swelling in her chest. She tried to stand up again, but Eugenia wouldn’t let her.
“You’re still hurt,” she argued. “You have to get some rest and heal before they’d let you leave. So just sit down and relax.”
Compliant, Geneva sank back against her pillow and let out a nervous, uncertain sigh.
“He’s dead because of me,” she said out loud.
Eugenia shook her head. “No, that’s not true.”
“He’s dead because I was selfish,” Geneva insisted, “because I wanted to spend more time with him. I wanted to be with him after all this time, all that energy wasted on Luke. And now, he’s just gone. What am I supposed to do now, Eugenia? How do I keep messing things up this badly?” She collapsed into her sister’s arms, weeping uncontrollably.
“Oh, sis, none of this is your fault,” Eugenia replied, rubbing her arm soothingly. “You can’t blame yourself for the accident.”
Geneva did blame herself for the accident, but not just that. She held a lot of blame for a number of things she’d done over the years. She thought she could spend the rest of her life atoning with Michael, who seemed to have been the only person to truly understand her.
Eugenia stayed by her side until she fell asleep again, though sleep came fitfully and unreliably through the night. She was gone when Geneva finally woke up, so Geneva yanked the tubes and needles out of her body and snuck her way out of the hospital. It wasn’t safe for her to be there, hooked up to their machines.
Outside the hospital, she hailed a cab. She glanced at the man in the driver’s seat before she slid into the back of the car. She didn’t know where to go, but she knew she needed a fresh start, somewhere no one knew her name.
“Where are we headed?” he asked.
“Anywhere,” Geneva replied. “As long as it’s far away from here.”
Fatal Kiss
Fatal Kiss
Also by Viola Tempest
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Avery & Aria: The Story of Star-Crossed Lovers
Curse of Silence
Fatal Kiss
Dreaming of Noelle (Coming Soon)
Shattered Heart (Coming Soon)
Viola Tempest, Fatal Kiss
