Vampires of Eden (Alexander #2)

26. Alexander

CHAPTER 2 6

Alexander

S tepping out of his shoes and walking toward the kitchen, Daniel glances over his shoulder. “Do you want to have lunch together? There’s leftover pasta from last night and I… I could make us a couple sandwiches. All veggies for you, of course.”

Kicking off my shoes, I offer a polite smile. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry. You go ahead. I’m going to take a shower.” I head straight through the living room, down the narrow hall just under the stairs and into my room.

When the door is closed, I lean back and rest my head against the wood. I close my eyes.

He kissed me.

Daniel kissed me with such intensity and passion. It was the most brilliant, exhilarating and sensual kiss I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t think kisses like that existed in real life—or that I’d ever be fortunate enough to get one.

But before I had a chance to process and truly revel in it, it’s like he slapped me. Hard and straight across my face. Not physically, but Jesus… it might as well have been.

I do know what it’s like for ranked vampires in Central Eden. How could I not? You’d have to be ignorant and clueless to not see the mistreatment ranked vampires receive. It’s everywhere and not exclusive to Central. It’s in the villages and the impoverished housing. The dwindling population and the lack of available goods and services. The emptiness of this vineyard that needs a full staff and not just three vampires running it.

That mistreatment that Daniel spoke of? It’s the root of Eden’s problems.

Obviously, I’ve misread this situation between Danny and me. It was stupid of me to think that he’d want something serious with?—

Tap, tap .

A soft knock at the door makes me tense and stand straight. “Yes?”

“Will you open the door, please?”

Turning, I grab the knob and pull the door open slightly to view Daniel through the crack. “Is something wrong?”

“I would say so.” He takes a breath and his voice and general presence are much calmer now. He’s back to Zen after the messy and angry explosion. “Are we going to talk about what happened earlier, or… will you keep fake smiling at me, pretending like everything’s peachy?”

“Everything is fine, Daniel,” I reassure him. “I understand your perspective. It makes sense to me. We don’t have to dwell on it.”

“I’m ‘Daniel’ now. Right. It’s upsetting that you’re acting like everything is fine when it clearly isn’t. May I come in, please?”

After I pull the door open wider, he steps inside and moves to sit on the trunk at the end of the bed.

I don’t want to fight with him. Not like before when we were biting, catty and at each other’s throats. I can’t do that anymore, because he means too much to me now.

I think he’s always been an important vampire in my life. Even when he wasn’t physically in front of me, memories of him occupied my mind. Encouraging and motivating me. Giving me ambition and hope. Sometimes, even strength .

“I apologize for screaming at you in the vineyard,” Daniel says by way of an intro. He smooths a palm over the top of his head. “You always think I’m so mature, but I feel a little like a child that’s come down from a tantrum.”

Still standing near the door, I clutch the handle in my grip. “You have a right to feel the way you do. It’s understandable.”

“Alexander please —don’t placate me. Don’t blandly smooth this over because you think that’s what’s comfortable. Or because it’s the politically correct thing to do. What’s happening in your head?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m still processing, to be honest.”

“Will you process with me? Can we do it together?” His eyes are imploring and it makes something inside of my chest melt. I nod, then push the door shut and walk over to the desk in the corner.

The room is quiet as I sit and fold my arms. My assumption is that Daniel will say more, but he simply looks at me with that soft, patient expression. Waiting.

I take a deep breath and unfold my arms, then slide my palms atop my thighs. “I…” Helplessly, my thoughts circle back to his passionate kiss in the warm sunlight. My neck and face flush as I lift a hand to scratch my head. “Well, first, thank you for kissing me back. No one has ever kissed me like that in my life.”

The corner of his mouth quirks up in a grin. “You don’t need to thank me, but you’re welcome.”

“Mostly, I think… it’s important that I listen to you and understand. Because that’s where I went wrong with Oliver. I didn’t pay attention to what was hurting him and I don’t want to make that mistake again.”

Daniel opens his mouth and instinctively, I put my hand up. “I know you’re not Oliver, please don’t say it?”

He closes his mouth and takes a visible breath. Then nods.

I go on. “As much as I enjoyed that kiss, I don’t think we should do it again.”

His eyebrow lifts. “Why shouldn’t we? ”

“Because there’s no end game for us, Danny. A major part of my life and responsibilities are in Central. I understand why you don’t want to go, but I have to be there. Sitting on the board is important to me. Not just because of ‘legacy,’ but because I believe in Eden and that we can change.”

“I agree wholeheartedly,” he says. “You should not give up your seat. But you also shouldn’t marry Lord Cherrington to keep it.”

“I know,” I say, sighing. “I won’t. I have to figure that out, and I will—but that goes back to my original point. When I submit and allow my nature to flourish, I want to be certain that the vampire I love wants me, too. I respect that you don’t want to be involved with my life in Central—my parents and peers. But I… I cannot casually play with you. I won’t do that.”

My hands tremble as I lift and run them through the top of my hair. This conversation is difficult and awkward as hell.

In my heart and the depth of my nature, I already know that I love Daniel. If I stop suppressing my nature and willingly yield to what I feel, it’ll be like throwing myself off of a cliff. The fall will be devastating. Much harder and deeper than anything I ever felt for Oliver.

This truth scares me to death.

If I open myself up to him and he eventually rejects me because of my responsibilities and station—or because of his past hurts and mistrust of purebreds—I’ll be crushed forever. I will never recover from the heartbreak.

Daniel folds his hands in the gap of his thighs. “So, it’s all or nothing? Either I give up everything in my life here and come with you to Central to play by Eden’s aristocratic rules, or you don’t want anything to do with me?”

I shake my head. “No, this isn’t an ultimatum?—”

“It sure as hell sounds like one.”

“It isn’t,” I say firmly. “I just think it’s better for both of us to not indulge in…” Inelegantly, I wave a hand between us. “This. I’d like for us to stay friends. ”

“Is that what we are? Do your eyes alight over and over again for your friends , Alexander?”

Breathing, I rub the back of my neck because the flash of heat there is unbearable. “No. Obviously never. But I think this is the best and safest option for us?”

Daniel inhales deeply, then blows it out. “Safe… That is the underlying objective for both of us, isn’t it? Keeping ourselves safe at all costs.”

I blink, confused. “What do you mean?”

“May I clarify some points from my earlier tirade?”

“Sure.”

He pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “First of all, I… I never thought you’d ask me for a formal arrangement—to be your official partner in the eyes of Eden as an aristocracy. That possibility never once crossed my mind, so when you said it, it caught me off guard.”

With my arms comfortably folded again, I listen intently. A formal arrangement makes the most sense to me, but I can see how it wouldn’t to him, given what he’s experienced. A coldhearted purebred who literally manipulated him with her aura and kept him hidden in her room as a shameful secret.

My questions were probably like a shock to his system.

“When I suggested that we could explore each other,” Daniel goes on, “I meant that you could regularly visit the cottage or meet me at Kat and Roland’s, because these are safe spaces for me. I feel deeply for you, Alexander. I want to understand your nature more, within the confines of my own safe environments. Perhaps the way I phrased it before made it seem like I only wanted ‘secret sex’ with you. That isn’t the case. Also, can we avoid using that phrase going forward. I don’t like it.”

“Understood,” I say, nodding.

“Leoni would obviously know about our relationship,” he explains. “Kat and Roland as well. Eventually, local vampires in the villages too. And that’s fine. I don’t want to be kept secret. But I also don’t want to be immediately subjected to a hostile environment because I’m with you. Which is exactly what Central would be for me. Does that clarify?”

“It does,” I confirm. “Thank you for explaining your thoughts to me.” Unfolding my arms, I rest my palms against my thighs once more, not knowing where to take the conversation.

“My objective is to be protected from a toxic environment,” Daniel goes on quietly. “And your objective… is to be protected from me . Because you don’t trust me with your heart. You’re afraid that, inevitably, I’ll break it.”

My throat tightens as I shake my head. “No, I?—”

“Yes,” Daniel says calmly. His pale lilac eyes bore into me. “Deep down, you still believe that I hate you and all purebreds because of what I’ve been through, and my ridiculous outburst in the vineyard only added to that false narrative. You think I’ll turn on you and suddenly change my mind about this, so it’s safer for you to walk away from me now. To keep me at arm’s length as a ‘friend.’” Daniel’s stare is unwavering, as if daring me to challenge him. Daring me to lie to his face and tell him he’s wrong.

I hang my head and massage my chest, a useless attempt to ease the heavy emotion and shame weighted there. “You’re right,” I say quietly. “I don’t… I never want to feel that broken again, but you could do that to me, Daniel. You could do permanent damage and it terrifies me.”

Smoothly, Danny shifts from the trunk and onto his knees in front of me. He wraps his palms around my wrists, sending a warm rush of electricity up my arms, across my shoulders and through my chest. Warming my heart.

“The only way to show you that I won’t hurt you is with time,” he says, looking up at me. “I want to walk this path with you, but I also need time to wrap my head around it. Can we please go slowly? Can you try to trust me, Alexander?”

Daniel’s chest rises and falls as he waits for my response. His grip subtly tightens around my wrists. Every instinct within my body wants this man. Even though it frightens me, my nature is screaming yes to Daniel’s essence and presence. Loudly, as if it will jump out of my body and leave me in protest if I even dare to refuse his offer.

This path is uncertain, but I want to try. I have to. “I trust you. I want to walk this path with you, too. We… we can take our time.”

Danny surprises me when he slowly pushes himself up toward my face. “Good,” he whispers, his breath caressing my lips. He leans and presses a firm kiss to my mouth and it makes my pulse race.

He pulls back, our noses still touching and his eyes are open like slits as he watches me. Waiting, as if he’s posed a silent question. I close my eyes and lift my chin to meet his mouth in reply. Danny parts his lips and the kiss is languid this time—much different from the way he kissed me earlier in the vineyard.

He dips his tongue inside and the kiss is slow, sensual and calculated. Something dangerous that threatens to sweep me away entirely.

Gently, I pull back from his mouth to catch my breath because I’m overwhelmed by the intense cloud of him. Like lightning, black cherries and autumn woodsmoke on my tongue and flooding my every sense. My eyes are alighted, my cock is hard and my pulse beats wildly all over my body.

Daniel rests his forehead against mine, looking down at me with a pleased expression. “I want to keep kissing you,” he says, his voice low. “I don’t want to be your friend. I can’t just be your friend anymore.”

Still breathing, I focus on stifling my nature because his affections and tone are slowly triggering a blazing inferno inside of me.

He dips and kisses my mouth once more, a quick and sweet touch to my lips before he stands straight. “Will you please have lunch with me now? Are we both finished pouting and communicating poorly?”

I snort, grinning. “I think so. Yes, I’ll have lunch with you.” He steps back as I push myself out of the chair .

When we’re standing face to face, he slips his hand into mine. “You’re suppressing your nature right now, aren’t you?”

“Not suppressing—just nature management. I’m managing.”

He stills, taking me in before pulling me toward the door. “It’s okay. We’ll go slowly. You don’t have to be afraid and you’ll see how good we can be. You can trust me.”

“He’s trying to do what, now?” Daniel pauses with his sandwich halfway to his mouth. Eyes wide in disbelief. “You have got to be kidding me.”

I shake my head. “No, unfortunately. He had this detailed multi-page proposal laid out at the last Governing Board meeting. He’d given it a lot of thought.”

I’m not supposed to discuss what transpires at official meetings, but I needed to confess this situation to someone smart, and who’s also not directly connected to Central Eden’s social sphere.

No one has ever asked me to submit a formal proposal of my ideas before. My father walked me through it, so I understand the process and expectations. I just… don’t have the tangible ideas to fill an entire document with. Not to the same level of detail as Lord Cherrington’s horrendous proposal.

Daniel sets his sandwich down and shakes his head. He wipes his hands as if he’s too disgusted to eat. “It is both unfathomable and disturbingly impressive that he could produce an entire document with even more ways to oppress, belittle and rob ranked vampires of our dignity. Securing the borders? ‘Special clearance’ to leave? It’s already ridiculously hard to leave Eden and come back as a ranked vamp, and he wants to add more layers of red tape? Is he fucking insane?”

“He’s a vampire that’s very sure of himself, without question.”

“I can’t purchase land as it is!” Daniel protests, folding his arms. “I want to have my own house and garden, but I can’t do it because Eden law forbids anyone that’s not purebred from owning acreage. Did you know that?”

I nod. “Yes, I know.”

“Do you agree with it?”

“Of course I don’t, Danny. But this is why I’m struggling. How do I put all these things into words? And into a formal pitch for the board? There are so many ridiculous laws with tricky loop holes and addendums—I don’t know where to start.” I’ve been avoiding thinking about it because the prospect overwhelms me.

Our society desperately needs a complete overhaul. Piece by piece, sector by sector. A refresh that does away with our antiquated and strict ideals and embraces the contemporary trends of the international vampire community. When I watch the news or travel abroad, it seems painfully obvious that we’re too far behind. We can’t survive this way.

Daniel abruptly pushes up from the table and walks out of the kitchen. I rest my fork on the plate, nervous. Have I said something wrong again?

A minute later, he returns with a large legal pad, a pen and his laptop. “Do you have a book or document—something that lists all of Eden’s insane bylaws and addendums?” he asks, returning to his seat and propping his laptop open. “It’s not online because I’ve checked before.”

“There are only physical copies, written and updated by hand by each Royal Board member. The primary book resides in Central City Hall where we have our quarterly meetings. My father’s copy is in his study.”

Daniel rolls his eyes. “Right. Well, we need that book, for starters, to see what we’re up against. I think we should begin with housing. Once we know the specific laws surrounding it, we can start thinking about how to re-write them. Let’s focus on top-level issues as we go. Like the fact that ranked vamps can’t own land at all… fucking bullshit.”

He mumbles the last part under his breath as he writes a heading on his notepad .

Housing and Land Ownership .

Sighing, he sets the pen down and types. The white glow of the screen illuminates his pale irises. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Modern aristocracies will have resources online for their vamps. We could just replicate their laws and tailor them to our needs, you know? Milan for example. Or Vienna.”

As he clacks away on the computer, I marvel at his focus and aptitude. The way he’s gotten right down to business. “I thought you left the room because I said something wrong and you were angry,” I confess. “This is great, Danny.”

His movement pauses and his eyes flicker in my direction. “When are you going to stop being afraid of me? You just said you’d try to trust me.”

“I am—I do!” Nervous, I wave a hand. “Paranoia takes time to shake. We’re fine. I’m good.”

Daniel inhales a breath, watching me but not saying anything. Wanting to dispel the awkwardness, I clear my throat. “Land prices in Eden are exceptionally high—in Central and in every village. Do you… have the capital to buy property here?”

Folding his arms, Daniel leans onto the legal pad with his elbows and smiles. “Yes, Rabbit. I have the capital to buy property. Are you surprised?”

“A little,” I admit. “If you do, that means you definitely have a lot more money than me right now.”

“I probably do,” he says, unflinching. “Does this make you uncomfortable?”

Taking a moment, I consider. Searching inside myself. I shake my head. “Not at all.”

“If it weren’t for Eden’s strict hierarchy and crusty rules, I think I could realistically outbid Lord Cherrington for your hand. Resolve this ridiculous situation of yours in a single sweeping motion.”

I take a deep breath in, then blow it out because the longing in my heart is so raw. “I sincerely wish that you would.”

The air between us stills and somehow, I know that I’ve said the right thing. Daniel likes this answer, very much. He lifts from his seat, rests his palms on the table and leans forward.

Intuitively, I raise my chin. He draws closer and I part my lips at the precise moment that his mouth softly lands on mine in a sumptuous kiss.

The subtle buzz and dark fruity essence of him shocks my system and a warm, almost gooey arousal floods my belly and groin. I’ve been fighting and ignoring this for so, so long. The heat of his energy and what it does to my body. What it could do to my nature and heart. Wreak a disastrous and emotional havoc like I can’t even fathom.

He pulls up and the separation leaves my head and nature hungry. Confused. Why have we stopped? It asks. We need more.

Daniel’s inky-black lashes flutter as he looks down at me. His voice is sultry and hushed.

“Stop distracting me. We have important work to do.”