Page 57 of Ruin

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to,” I stammered as I sat up in bed.

Arik walked out of the room quietly as his footsteps echoed down the long hallway.

My vision fixed on the ocean just beyond the glass doors.

An exit.

My eyes darted between the open wooden door to the rest of the villa and the glass slider that led to the terrace. The waves of the ocean lapped at the shore in the distance as the shadow of the villa stretched across the beach.

And before I could stop myself.

I ran.

Chapter Twenty

Arik

Isat at the far end of the dining table, my eyes scanning the beach just beyond the terrace. I took deep breaths as I waited patiently to see what choice Claire would make. The warm coffee cup sat in my hand as I waited, bringing it to my lips and welcoming the rich espresso as it hit my tongue with a bite.

I lifted my eyes from the cup.

Claire’s voice cut through the silence. “What happens now?” Claire stood at the opposite end of the table, her chest heaving beneath her flannel sleep shirt.

An easy way out. And she chose to stay.

I motioned to her seat, where the glass of iced caramel latte dripped with condensation as it waited for her.

Late morning sun poured through the windows, casting an angelic glow over the room. The soft light made everything seem almost surreal, a gentle contrast to the turmoil of our recent days since the incident. It was like leaving the pits of hell and reentering our heavenly bliss.

Claire nodded, but something still flickered behind her eyes. She could either fight against this new reality or embrace it and see where it led. I felt her all morning. The internal struggle as she fought to conceal her emotions, only overpowered by her true emotions as they emerged.

She was mine. I knew it. She knew it.

She had softened for me so easily.

Claire eyed her glass with a mixture of curiosity and wariness as she took her seat. “So…you’re a vampire, but you eat food and drink?”

I paused, a frown of confusion crossing my face.

“I thought vampires could only have blood,” she continued, taking a long sip from her glass.

I chuckled, setting my glass back down, “Oh, the fantasies about vampire rules and abilities are utterly amusing.” I paused to offer a reassuring smile as I leaned back into my seat before continuing, “I eat. I drink. I also do not sparkle, do not combust in the sun, and I do have a reflection.”

Claire laughed, “And garlic?”

My smile widened as I spoke. “I love garlic. Could you imagine, though? A vampire in Italy. Oh no, not the pasta!” I screamed in a mocking tone.

Claire laughed before her face filled with confusion once more. “So, if you can eat and drink, why feed on people?”

I sighed, my finger tracing the rim of my cup as I slumped slightly in my seat. “My body runs on venom. The venom needs human blood to sustain itself. I have a heart, lungs, blood of my own, and everything a normal human has. However, I do not need them because the venom keeps me alive and, in this state…forever. My heart beats and is still biologically thirty-eight years old, but if you were to rip my heart out, I would not die. Venom is everything. I, basically, regenerate every second.”

Claire’s jaw dropped. “So…you have to feed on blood for your venom…so you won’t die?” Claire asked, her brows pressing together.

“To be honest, the urge to feed would take over long before I died. There is no way I could resist long enough to actually die. It is impossible. I have tried.” The distant pain in my tone was real, a shadow of the struggles I had faced over the centuries.

Claire nodded, taking another sip as she stared out the window. “So, how often do you…”

“Feed?” I finished the question for her. “I can typically go about a month before the urge starts to impede my judgment.”