I THIRST FOR YOU

9 - Tasting The Flesh

Right after dinner, Amanda positioned her laptop in the mattress just like what she did last night. Noman was the first to pop in complete with a clear video feed of him in a moon-printed shirt. He waved a 'hi' on her way and Amanda returned a 'hello' back.

Just as he was about to start his daily interrogations about her experiences in the castle, Matteo's number flashed on her cellphone screen, registered as his eleventh attempt of call for the day.

Amanda sighed and picked up the gadget lying next to the laptop.

"I better take this call, Dom. I have been ignoring Matt since this morning, " she said while sitting in her mattress, Indian style.

Noman nodded. "Yeah, you should. I'll just wait. I won't log-out."

Amanda pressed the answer button and right then and there, Matteo's worried but stiff voice flowed. "You didn't answer my calls Cait."

She genuinely looked guilty upon hearing it, but she lied instead, "Yeah, I'm sorry Matt. I left it in my room this morning."

"Why? What were you doing all throughout the day? Where did you go?"

He pretty much sounded like a jealous lover, and Amanda somehow didn't like it.

Knitting her brows, she released a deep breath to calm herself.

"Matt, why did you call?" she asked instead.

"I talked with Chief Moretti in her office this lunch, " he informed.

"Yeah, and what happened?"

"Before that, remember that Vitalis Master we met days ago?"

Amanda silently cleared her throat. Why was their conversation leaning towards that guy again?

"Yes, why? What about him?"

"He was there before me. Talked to the Chief for whatever issue he had. It made me wonder what."

"Hmmm, " she mumbled whilst watching blankly at the now-closed balcony door. Right after dinner, she had asked Dayana to close all entrances of her bedroom just to drive away all manners of unexpected visitors - animals and blind, handsome men included.

"You know what was weird?"

"What?" she asked, suddenly curious.

"He didn't act like he was blind at all. No one assisted him in and out of the office. And another thing, the Chief looked dazed after he left. She wasn't answering my questions for at least a minute."

Her brows furrowed. "Really? Maybe she was just stressed out."

"Hmm, maybe so, but anyway, when I asked her about you, she didn't tell me where you are kept. She said it is classified info."

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief. "See, I told you so."

"I know, but I tried to beg her to tell me. I want, no, I need to see you Cait. We have so much to talk about."

"Well, we are talking now. This doesn't satisfy you?" Amanda frowned a little. She heard a long sigh and then he answered.

"It's much better we talk face-to-face. I miss you Cait. I miss your lips and the way you taste."

Matteo's voice through the other side of the line was heavy with emotion. Amanda could easily imagine his face looking at her with love and longing, and his eyes, an intense burning of desire. Though selfish about it, she silently thanked that they weren't talking in person just like he wanted to. She'd prefer to avoid such confrontations as much as possible.

"Matt..." she whispered, her voice soft and understanding.

"No, don't worry, you don't need to answer me. I want to hear your words not through the phone. I'll wait until this case is over and I hope it will be soon before next week."

"W-why? Is there a problem with the Formula One's?" For a moment, her thoughts strayed on the work she had left in the Circuit.

She heard a clearing of a throat and then a shuffling of clothes nearby - his probably.

"You could say that, " Matteo replied. "Actually, your stepfather will be coming on the race day."

"What?!" Amanda immediately straightened her legs. She darted out of bed and paced along her bedroom space. "Why didn't he tell me that?! I didn't get a call from him or a text!"

"Well, he wanted to surprise you."

"Oh no, this is a big problem." She paused from pacing, pinched the bridge of her nose and clenched her eyes shut.

"Don't worry, I'll keep tabs with the murder case and ensure the police department will find the culprit fast before next week."

Though it was unlikely considering all murder cases in the provincial district were piling up fast, Amanda still nodded and said gratefully, "Thank you Matt."

"You're welcome. Just be safe wherever you are right now."

She smiled and sat at the edge of the bed, a lot calmer now. "Yes, I will."

"Cait?"

"Hmm?"

"I need you to know that I am just waiting for you. Waiting for you to bloom free. I have been tirelessly patient. A little wait now wouldn't be a problem."

Amanda dipped her eyes on the floor, a quirk on her brow briefly appeared. "What are you talking about Matt?"

Riddles. Why do most of the handsome men she had come across give that?

"Your mother said that I'll just need to be patient, " Matteo replied in a sure tone.

"Hmf, you are bluffing now. How can you meet my mother when I am just twelve when she died?"

There was a moment of pause. Amanda was smiling at first but then it disappeared when she realized something of value. Something that was highly unlikely but still plausible.

"Matt, have you met—"

"I'll explain everything when we see each other again, Cait, " Matteo interrupted. "I'll see you next week."

Though feeling cut off, Amanda didn't pursue the subject.

"Y-yeah, fine, " she replied, knitting her brows. "See you."

*

*

From the live feed, Noman stared at Amanda with a giddy smile on his face.

"Oh my God, that was epic! What did he say? Why did you mention about your mother and you being twelve?" he asked once she placed the cellphone down.

Of course, Noman was the only one who knew about her family and their not-so-normal tree. Heck, he even knew about her true nature being that he was the only one that Amanda trusted. That was since they met ten years ago and since she saved his life from a catastrophic accident.

"Nothing. I think he was just messing around with me, " she answered, smartly avoiding the headache-causing subject.

"Huh, killjoy, " Noman pouted. "If you don't want to talk about Matteo, how about the Vitalis Master then?"

A memory flashed on Amanda's mind; the ones that happened in the throne hall and his threatening words of bounding her in the pillar with ropes. She scrunched up her nose and fought off a blush.

She didn't want that to be the topic of the night. Especially with Noman who would no doubt add spice and color to it.

"Oh Dom, I'm tired, " she said, "Can I talk to you tomorrow? I want to sleep now."

Noman narrowed his eyes at the monitor screen.

"You, lady, are trying to dodge the subject, but no worries, I'll let you off this time." He leaned back on his swivel chair and crossed his arms above his head. "You are lucky you have a friend who understands you so much."

"Yeah, I know." Amanda grinned. "Talk to you tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Good night Sleeping Beauty, " Noman greeted with a wave of a hand.

"Good night Elsa, " she greeted back, and Noman's live feed turned off after he blew her an invisible kiss.

Amanda brought her knees up and rested her head against it. She clicked close all her applications and then shut the laptop down.

Once done, she stood up again and crossed the room to turn the chandelier light off. She did this too with the lamp shade before she climbed up the mattress.

Darkness wasn't really her problem. Heck, it was even a welcomed condition for her especially when sleeping. To her, this creates a calming environment to relax the mind, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she realized this wouldn't help her at all.

She recalled the words that Matteo released. Without intending it, it lingered on her mind for more than necessary. Although she wanted to think of it as just a joke, deep inside she believed he was hinting on something. Something immensely important.

He was a happy-go-lucky man since she met him two years ago. A typical businessman. Him being like this serious was rather new to her. He even dropped some weird comment about her mother as if he had seen her before. But that was unlikely. Very unlikely for such a reclusive woman like her mother. Unless, he did meet her in the past.

Considering his words carefully, he might even know something about her original family - the Roand Family, and their deepest, most guarded secret.

As she lay in bed, she squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled deeply.

She hoped to find out soon what Matteo Nikos Threvelli knows. After her stay in this castle. Once the case will be solved. She wasn't going to take just hints alone and she wasn't going to leave it just as it was - a riddle.

*

*

That night, Amanda was in a deep sleep, but her head tossed from side to side, disturbed on something. Her breathing was beyond normal. It was ragged.

Her room was dark, save from the full moon's light that shone through the French glass door; through the slightly opened curtain.

Her bed had become a stage as the moon's light had turned into a spotlight, highlighting her form under the bed covers.

To some, it may have looked like a beautiful apparition, but to her, it brought about an unsavory circumstance. It gave her a nightmare.

Flashbacks after flashbacks of memories not her own rallied in her mind. Of blood and gore. Of numerous white, gleaming fangs. Of death and destruction. Of an amethyst pendant again. Of her mother and father and how they loved and lost each other. Of her name, Amanda, and how her father, Marquess Ellis Roand, calls her by that fondly. Of her being left alone. Alone.

"No..." Amanda uttered amidst in her sleep, unable to take the heaviness in her heart. "Stop please..."

Her hands clenched tightly while tears rolled down her eyes.

"Please..."

To the rescue, a liquid shadow, the consistency like ink, covered her entire bed. It formed into a dome sealing her inside. It cast away the moon's light. It instinctively drew the curtain shut.

In response, Amanda's breathing turned calm. Her tears halted from leaking. Her knitted brows, tense mouth and fingers that clawed the bed sheet returned to a relaxed position.

Without switching on, the lampshade's light flickered and stayed still, softly illuminating Amanda's sleeping form.

"Who are you woman? Why do you react to the moon like so?" a shadowy figure voiced out from the foot of the bed. It was the Master of the House in his half-opened white shirt and black slacks. "And why do you have such a blood?"

Without a blindfold on, his eyes were a glow of red, but still he couldn't see. Only white outlines and grey shades that were unnaturally prominent than any normal blind man could make out. He had perfected this many thanks to his bountiful living years. Many thanks to the shadow ability he had acquired from an unlikely source.

Amanda, oblivious of his presence, shifted to the right side. Her knee flexed, opening the bed cover and exposing her slender legs.

It was a sexy sight to see. One that Cord would drink to behold, and the impulse to do so, he didn't so much as question.

He inched closer, near her outstretched arm and bent low to do the damnable.

Using the liquid shadow, Amanda's right hand was lifted up to level his face — his mouth.

He supported her wrist by placing a naked palm under it. The action of which almost brought him in a frenzy after feeling for her pulse bounding against her skin, making a rhythmical sound of life.

Tenderly then, very carefully, his mouth opened freeing his protruding fangs.

But Cord came across a wave of hesitation for a moment.

Why would he do this?

He was a Master. He was a master killer. He once bled dry many maidens without asking for their permission or even sneak into their beds. He had seen women in their sexy form, naked and wanting for his touch. Why would he bring himself down like this just to sneak a peek on this woman's full-colored form? Why would he break his centuries-long commitment of not piercing a human's flesh?

Oh, but it wouldn't be just any human's flesh. It was hers.

And yes, he won't pierce his fangs deep. It will be just a nick. What harm can a nick do? And besides, he cared less about the answers. He just wanted to bask in this moment — her serene face, her careless sleeping form, her finger, and a taste of her blood.

With a determined breath, he inched his mouth closer and received her index finger inside his mouth. One fang hit her skin and instantly droplets of blood escaped from the surface. He tenderly sucked it dry, his cold tongue wrapping around the wounded digit.

Fuck. It was more than heaven. Better than anything he had tasted before. Better than her blood in a wine flute mixed with jasmine leaves.

He wanted to suck on it more. Wanted to draw out as much blood as he can but he held back. He, despite his hunger-stricken state, f*****g held back.

Straightening up, he let his shadows ease her victimized hand down. The finger showed no drop of blood in it. Not one bead at all. The wound sealed itself just like the other wounds he had created when he didn't drain his victims of blood. It wouldn't leave any clue of his moment of weakness. It wouldn't leave a clue of his uninformed nightly visits.

He sighed. Good thing she was a heavy sleeper, just like him.

What little of the crimson liquid he received gave him enough chance for a temporary sight.

His red eyes turned greenish-blue and it transfixed immediately on Amanda. All of her, from her spaghetti-strapped yellow nightdress to her black boyshort, as the liquid shadow fully pulled the bed cover down.

Her curves, the faint veins branching every inch of her body, her glorious locks and her pristine face - everything in full color - was...

"A sight-for-sore-eyes, " Cord commented, face still neutral, but his orbs gave way to more emotion than he permitted out through words.

It screamed of deep longing.

It screamed of desire, and s**t, right then and there he knew he was a goner.

He clenched his jaw.

Now, he regretted being able to see her. Now, he regretted stealing a drop of her blood. He shouldn't have gave in to the temptation. Now, he'll have to face the consequences and harden himself more.

He'll just have to find the culprit fast, so that he could rid himself of this dangerous woman.

Leaving the lampshade on, Cord disappeared into the shadows of the room, eyeing her, committing all of her to memory, until his greenish-blue orbs turned red, his sense of sight stolen once again just like it was dictated to be.

*

*

*

Late in the morning the next day Amanda woke up, feeling unrested. She straightened in bed but remained sitting there, looking blankly at the ready breakfast on the coffee table. There was something that weighed heavily on her heart, something nagging at the back of her head but she willed not to think about it much.

She reached for her slightly puffy eyes and traced very faint tracks of tears there.

"Last night was a full moon huh?" she murmured to herself. "God, when will my nightmares stop?"

She closed her eyes and massaged her neck, but weird now, for she felt a pulsating sore in her right index finger where no visible signs of redness or laceration could be found.

"Good morning Miss Cait, " greeted Arissa with a cheerful smile as she stepped out from the bathroom with a fresh towel in hand. "I placed your clothes in the walk-in closet. Would you like to bath or eat breakfast first?"

Amanda blinked twice, cutting her melancholic state.

"H-hi Ris, good morning too. Uhm, I'd like to bath first if that's okay."

"Of course, Miss, " the maid replied, now standing at the edge of the bed. "I also readied the bathtub for you just in case you want to immerse yourself before showering."

Amanda awarded her a smile. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea."

"Mistress Heather said to give you this by the way." Arissa pulled a white envelope from her apron's pocket and handed it to her.

"Heather?" Amanda c****d a brow momentarily confused. After recalling yesterday's events, that's the time she remembered about the spunky woman she met at the gym.

"It's an invite, " Arissa noted, only looking at the envelope and not the brief confusion in her guest's face. "She would have wanted to dine with you tonight but since you are already occupied with Master Cord, she'll have to make do with tomorrow. You'll dine with her in the rooftop garden of the castle."

"Oh, I see, " Amanda muttered. She stared at the white envelope that contained the message and without reading it, decided to accept the invite.

"Send her my answer then. Tell her I'll come. It would be great to dine with another family member other than the Master, especially someone of my gender. Although...I'd like for Dayana to accompany me since I don't know where this rooftop garden is."

Arissa brightly smiled, pleased, and then bowed her head.

"Yes, Miss Cait. I'll inform both Dayana and Mistress Heather about it before I leave the castle tonight."

"Mhm?" Amanda immediately arched a brow. "Why do it later? Why not do it now while I take a bath?"

The maid's forehead creased. "Uhm, I am not allowed in the North wing of the castle Miss Cait, where Mistress Heather resides, and I think Dayana is sleeping right now. It would be rude if I wake her up. Also, day-shift and night-shift employees aren't allowed to mingle unless necessary."

"Whoa, what strict rules you have here."

"True, " Arissa replied.

Amanda, after sighing, stood up from the bed and took the proffered towel from Arissa.

"Thanks, " she said. "Well, if that's the case then tonight it is. For now, can you give me a tour around the castle garden and the library after my breakfast?"

Arissa nodded. "Of course, Miss Cait, it would be my pleasure."

With a turn-away smile, Amanda walked into the bathroom with the towel in hand. She checked her reflection in the classy mirror first before stripping herself of her night clothes.

"Huh, " she breathed out.

She looked exactly the same. The same Amanda Caitlin Roand - now O'Malley - she knew herself to be despite the passing of time.

But if she were honest with herself, she'd rather be normal like everybody else. She'd trade in her family's unusual genes just to be able to live and love freely. Free from any worries just like her mother. Free from being alone.

And if that were possible, maybe then, she'll come to accept Matteo's advances, or any other man for that matter.