Chapter 8

"Uh, please refrain. Listen, I don't know who you are or why you thought it was okay to bite me, but let's get one thing clear—there was no marriage tonight. That ceremony was a sham. We didn't have a license, a blood test, or a legal proceeding before a judge.

Most importantly, you absolutely did not obtain my consent to be your lawfully wedded wife," I retorted sharply.

"You stood beneath the tree," he stated bluntly.

"I was coerced into standing under that tree because of that foolish Gina Harris! And furthermore, on which planet does standing under a tree imply 'I agree to marry you'? Can you picture trying to convince a judge that I'm legally your wife simply because I stood under a tree in a cemetery?"

"In vampire court, it would," he replied acidly.

"There's no such thing as a vampire court!" I shouted.

"Sorry, darling, but there is. I am a vampire, and now, so are you," he responded calmly.

Disbelief shook me; vampires don't exist.

'Yes, they do.' His voice abruptly echoed in my mind.

"Please don't tell me that was you inside my mind," I said, feeling numb.

'Yes, telepathy is one of the many abilities I possess as a vampire,' he replied with a hint of pride.

Suddenly, I became acutely aware of his presence intruding into my thoughts as if they were public domain. He casually sifted through my memories, attempting to gather information about me. Shocked by his blatant disregard for my privacy, I forcefully expelled him from my mind and yelled, "Get out of my head!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I was only trying to find a way to soothe you."

I almost laughed out loud, "Soothe me? You bit me like some rabid bat and then abducted me. I can't see and have no clue where in hel*l I am! Unless you have powerful sedatives, I doubt there are any words from my memories that could calm me down!"

"Look, I know I bit you, and I apologize, but it was necessary because you were mortal—you would have died—" He explained.

"Because you bit me!"

'Ah, to hel*l with it,' his voice echoed in my mind.

I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly felt two hands grip my shoulders and push me back onto the mattress. I screamed in terror and struggled to push him away, but he grabbed my wrists and pinned my arms above my head with one hand.

"What are you going to do?" I whispered, my voice breaking with fear.

"Take you home and put you back to bed," he replied.

"What? Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes," he groaned, "I will have to court you, KalaniMoore, and make you fall in love with me."

I stifled a laugh and responded, "Yeah, well, good luck with that."

"We are destined to be together, Kala," he said finally, before leaning down and gently brushing his lips against my neck.

I involuntarily groaned as his teeth grazed my skin.

'You taste really good, Kala,' he murmured in my mind.

'GO TO HE-LL!' I mentally shouted back at him.

His tongue flicked over the pulse point in my neck, causing me to shudder beneath him. My body no longer felt like it was mine; it writhed uncomfortably under his touch, craving more contact.

"Mmm... this seems to be a very effective method for calming you down, Miss Moore," he breathed against my neck.

My mind felt clouded, overwhelmed by the sensations he evoked.

"I wish we could stay like this longer, but I need to take you back home," he said.

With a searing pain erupting in my neck as he bit down once more, I sharply drew breath and sensed the encroaching darkness envelop me again. Releasing my arms, he pulled me up into his hold. Leaning limply against his chest, I noticed how warmly his skin pressed against mine.

'KalaMoore, I love you,' he murmured silently to me just before I lost consciousness.

Deep in slumber, I was jolted awake by my alarm blaring right beside my ear. The aggressive electronic clamor assaulted my eardrums until I managed to free a hand from under my quilt and slap the snooze button.

Drowsily, I rolled over, cocooning myself tightly in my quilt. Gradually, the foggy recollections of last night began to resurface, becoming uncomfortably vivid. It all came back to me—the man, my husband.

Suddenly agitated, I sat up in bed.

I had no memory of walking back from the cemetery or undressing Gina’s maxi dress. I couldn’t recall climbing into bed either. Yet, I clearly remembered that voice... those lips.

My heart skipped a beat, an unsettling feeling washing over me.

Shaking my head, I tried to compose myself. My mind scrambled for rational explanations for those bizarre memories—perhaps I drank too much, maybe I was drugged, or perhaps I hit my head on the way home from the party. Or maybe this was the beginning of a mental breakdown.

Groaning, I collapsed back onto my pillows, longing for clarity about last night's events. Though substances and stress could induce hallucinations, deep down, I knew the man from last night was real—despite what logic told me.

Could vampires truly exist?

Staring up at the ceiling, I pondered whether I wanted my mysterious vampire to be real or not. If he was real, then when he bit me last night, he must have turned me into one too. So hypothetically speaking, if I were now a vampire, sunlight would burn me, crucifixes would make me recoil, and garlic would repulse me.