Page 27 of Into The Light

“The moment a human gets fed on or sees a vampire they are erased. The memory removed. Because Aiden needs your fear gone, he can’t erase you after every feeding. Your fear would come back each day when you discovered he’s a vampire over and over again. Like that movie, what’s it called?”

“Fifty First Dates.”

“Yes! That one. So the only way is to keep your mind free. Your fear will leave soon, and Aiden can enjoy fear-free blood... his lobster. But we can’t risk you or anyone running off and telling the world. Hence, no phones, no internet, and... a beautiful diamond perimeter bracelet.”

This revelation didn’t sit well with me. For the first time since arriving I felt like a prisoner.

He pulled out the bracelet from the small leather satchel at the side of his chair. The diamonds glistened in the sunlight. Though admittedly beautiful, the implications dimmed the radiance of the diamonds.

“We put it on, I lock it up, and it’s over. Okay?”

I scowled and stuck out my wrist. “Fine. But I don’t like it.”

“I know, sweetie. But it’s for Aiden’s safety.”

He snapped the tennis bracelet on and secured the lock with a small golden key.

“You owe me another Bloody Mary.” I furrowed my brow and clanked the ice around the empty glass, the bracelet shaking with the movement and sending reflected rays of light all around us.

“Coming right up!” He hopped up and disappeared into the house. I looked at the bracelet and then reminded myself... five million dollars. This was a small price to pay. The tan line it would leave behind was another story.

CHAPTER FIVE

Aiden

My eyes snapped open as they did most evenings the moment the sun set. Pulling back the sheets, I stepped out of bed and stretched. I felt energized upon waking, more so than I could recall in recent history. My body buzzed with an energy that heightened all my senses. Though diminished from last night, it still left me feeling better than I had in years. It was her blood moving inside me that was causing this euphoric feeling... it had to be.

The feeling intrigued me almost as much as the woman who’d caused it. Emilia. Memories of her flooded my mind. Her laugh. Her smile. Her eyes. There was something about those eyes, as if she saw deeper inside me than anyone had in centuries. Since Isobel.

Pain seared through me while I forced Isobel’s memory to the dark corner of my mind where it resided. If I let her creep into my thoughts, pain overwhelmed me. It had taken a hundred years just to get her memory to stay there and still took considerable effort every day to keep it at bay.

Mark would be waiting outside my room, part of our evening routine, handing me a newspaper and chattering at me incessantly about his day. He was bored; I understood that much. Being a social creature, my isolated life left him empty. He took a few days off each month to kick up his heels on the town, but most of his time he spent here with me. I had hoped Jenny might keep Mark entertained, but in his opinion she had turned out to be, as he would say, an epic fail.

She was cold and callous. Not unlike me, I suppose, but Mark had held high hopes for her. It seemed all she’d done was ignore him all day and offer me her throat with a sigh each evening. That was the deal, so nothing to complain about on my end, but Mark had been disappointed. This time I hoped Emilia would make a better companion for him.

I opened the door and reached out my hand, waiting for him to place the paper in it. I didn’t care much about the musings of mortals, but I liked to check on my stocks. As I stood with an outstretched hand, no paper landed in my palm. Poking my head out into the hall I furrowed my brow. Mark was nowhere to be seen.

That’s peculiar. Where is he off to?

Pricking my ears, I listened. No sounds came from inside the house except a dripping faucet upstairs I noted needed repair. I focused in harder, my keen hearing now pushing out to the areas surrounding the house.

Laughter.

Mark’s. Another laugh shook my eardrums. Emilia. They were doubled over in stitches near the pool from the sound of the water splashing accompanying their giggles.

My questions over his whereabouts put to rest, I went to my closet and reached for my favorite suit. In my head, I could hear Mark scolding me to grab something more casual. There, folded above the rows of suits were several pairs of jeans Mark had grabbed for me on his latest shopping spree. The tags still dangled from them since I found them to be rather distasteful and crude, but he had assured me they were the best jeans money could buy. I could seize this opportunity to try them out.

After sliding on the rough material it surprised me how comfortable they felt once I had secured the button. Interesting. I started to understand why he preferred this particular fashion. A dusty blue button-down shirt caught my eye.

Colors. Wear colors. Mark’s voice echoed in my head.

It wasn’t pink or anything but provided more color than the greys and blacks I usually wore. I pulled it from the hanger and slipped it on. When I glanced in the mirror, it surprised me to see how good I looked in this outfit. Hope that Emilia would feel the same flashed through my mind followed by shock that I cared enough to wonder about her reaction.

Heading down the corridor, I followed the sounds of continuous laughter to the glass doors opened to the pool area. The crisp evening breeze carried the sounds of Mark engaged in an animated story, and Emilia chuckled at his antics. I saw them laying side by side on blowup rafts as they floated across the aqua green water that glowed from the underwater lights.

“No. Way. Stop the presses!” Mark said, his eyes wide when he caught sight of me. “Are those jeans? You’re in jeans? It’s a miracle!”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He had told me to dress more causal to put Emilia at ease and now he had the audacity to tease me about it... in front of her. As I stood in front of them, his taunts made me feel uncomfortable. Another emotion I had almost forgotten existed.