Dark Attraction

Chapter twelve - the gift

On Thursday, Gage woke me up with a surprise.
I'd been dozing, and there was a thump as he landed on the bed beside me. I woke up when he did that but it took a moment to force my eyes open. His soft, cool hand found my bare shoulder and rubbed it gently.

"Hey, Brand. Little firebrand... Branny-baby, wake up... I got you something."

I half turned and looked at him. "Please," I said, my voice raspy with sleep. "Never call me Branny-baby again."

He grinned, wide enough so I could see the nascent points of his fangs, which never failed to send a little thrill through me. I even felt a little throb in my neck from where he'd fed from me the night before. A little sweet ache, that reverberated through my veins saying he's mine and I'm his.

He must have heard it too, because he pressed a box into my hand. "I got you this," he said. "Because you're mine and I want you to remember it."

"What is it?" I sat up, awkwardly holding the box in one hand and pushing myself up against the pillows with the other. I still felt muzzy, half asleep, but my heart was pounding. This was the first gift Gage had given me, and I was thrilled, excited to see what it was.

"Open it and see."

He moved a little closer, sliding his hand up my leg and rubbing his thumb against my skin. Was he nervous? Big tough vicious vampire Gage nervous?

I tried to make eye contact but he ducked his head. "Just open it."

"Okay, okay." I fumbled the box lid off and looked inside. There was a silver chain there. Shining in the dim light. It had a small charm hanging off the end of it...I picked it up to see.

The charm was a flat disc with a symbol etched into it, it sort of looked like a bird with a sharp beak.

"It's a crow," Gage said. "My family crest. Kind of."

"Kind of your family crest?" My heart thumped as I realised the enormity of what he was implying by giving me this. Was he saying I was part of his family? That I had his family's protection.

"Are your family all vampires?" I asked. I traced my finger lightly over the shape of the crow.

"This is the crest for the vampire family," he amended. "My actual human family, eh, they think I died, and it's better that way."

I frowned a little. I'd hate to do that to my family, to Marty, but I guessed it you were made into a vampire you didn't have a huge amount of choice.

I shook my head, he'd given me a gift and I hadn't even said thank you. "Thank you, I love it," I said. I felt my cheeks warm. "Would you... put it on me, please?"

"Well, when my boy asks so politely," Gage said, smirking.

He took the box back and set it aside, unlatching the clasp as I shuffled forward in bed, ready to duck my head for him.

He moved behind me and slipped the chain around my neck. I tried not to let it remind me of a collar, or of his hands around my neck, but it didn't really work. I felt my cock half-harden.

He kissed the back of my neck, tender as he'd ever been, and fastened the chain. I stroked my hand over the front of it, liking the cool feel of it against my skin.

I wanted to turn and face him, ask him how it looked, but he pulled he back against his chest. He was wearing a butter soft grey T-shirt, and he was comfortable to lean on, especially when he ran his hands down my chest.

"You like being mine, don't you, Brand?"

I'd never heard a question so easy to answer. I nodded. "Oh yeah."

He sighed, a sadder sound than I'd have expected given our conversation.

"What?" I reached to cover his hand with mine, threading our fingers together.

"I... I've never had someone I care about so much as I care about you." He said it low, an embarrassed mumble of a confession, but his mouth was in my ear.

My heart did a happy little flip and flutter and I grabbed his other hand. "Aw, honey," I teased.

He stroked his hand over my chest again. "You like it?"

"Yeah, I like it," I said. I wasn't sure if he was referring to the chain or to his admission that he cared about me, but either way the answer was the same. I liked it, and I liked him, and I wanted this. I wanted more than this in fact. I wanted to be his forever, to move in, maybe, and I have this all the time...

But I didn't want to get too far ahead of myself. He'd given me a necklace, which was a lovely gesture, but it wasn't an engagement ring. In fact, there was still a lot I didn't know about him.

"Don't you have class soon?" He asked, his voice low still, but somewhat less intimate.

I sighed. "Yeah, I do. I should probably get going soon..." I could wait and ask him about himself later on, I told myself.

He kissed my neck and nuzzled his nose under my ear, which was sort of ticklish, but sweet at the same time.

"Come on," he said. "I've got work to do, and so do you."

I turned in his arms and kissed on the mouth. "Thank you for the gift."

He smiled and kissed me back. "You're welcome, pet."

---

Within twenty minutes I was leaving Gage's building to get to my morning class. It was a grey sort of day, quite dark, and drizzling so I went to the little coffee shop on the edge of campus to get something hot for breakfast. It was busy that time of day, so I got into line.

"Morning, handsome," a voice came from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder and a woman was looking back at me. Her eyes were an intense violet color from contact lenses, I assumed. She had long blonde hair and was standing with a man in a grey suit. He was also staring at me. I felt my cheeks flush a little.

"Uh, hi," I said, confused. It wasn't like I wasn't used to people hitting on me, of course I was, but not lately. Lately I'd been so busy with school, surfing and Gage that I'd hardly been around places where people would hit on me.

"What're you up to, today?" The woman asked. They both looked to be in their early twenties, but I didn't think I'd seen them anywhere around campus before.

"Just classes," I said. "The usual." I gave her a tight smile and went to turn back to the front, since the line had moved, and I was getting closer to ordering.

"Maybe I'll see you around, cutie," she said.

The person in front of me moved away and I hurried to the counter. I ordered an espresso and a cheese scone, but I felt the eyes of the man and woman on me the entire time. I rubbed the back of my neck as the teller ran my payment through the till.

Once I had my order in my hand I hurried out of there. I couldn't have told you exactly why their attention had creeped me out as much as it did, but I felt unsettled for an hour or so afterwards.

However, my class was interesting enough that I let the feeling fade as I lost myself in the work.

Any trailing feel of unease was erased when I got a text from Gage around two in the afternoon, asking me to come over and hang with him that night.

I responded 'yes, daddy' and he sent back a series of vomiting face emojis. And then 'never call me that again.'

Knowing I'd bugged him, just a little kept me smiling for the rest of the day.