The Rock's of Beauty by Meghan Escott (books for new readers TXT) 📕

say you left before I had got there. Your secrets safe with me.”
Jasmina walked away and then jumped off the floor and back to my car. I turned back to Eric and waved to him and smiled. He smiled back at me and tried to get up but I clicked my fingers and before he could get to me I was surrounded by fire and transported back to my room.
I only had little time before Sam and all my friends came into my room. I clicked off the invisible barrier that had reappeared when I entered the room and got a tissue and wiped the blood off of my lips.
“What did you do Lucy?” Sam asked once he had established that he could come in the room.
“I went to school.” I said quietly, with my back towards him and the tissue pressed against my lips.
“And did what?”
“Nothing.”
“So why are you whipping blood from your lips? Come on Lucy; don’t think you can fool me. I felt your blood lust and I can smell the blood. Just do me a favour and don’t lie to me. Talk to me like you want me to talk to you.” He shut the door behind him and walked up to me. He took the tissue out of my hands and took my hands in his.
“What do you do when you’re gone Lucy?”
“I go to school and meet with someone called Eric.”
“And who is this Eric then?”
“Eric is a Vampire Prince who has an ability to help the grieving.”
“So you’ve been going to see Eric so he can help you?”
“Yes, that is what I have been doing.”
“Why didn’t you let someone come with you? You can’t do everything on your own.”
“I’m not doing everything on my own though. I have Eric to help me now and he has helped me talk, drink blood, want to live. Do you know how good that feels after all of this misery? It feels amazing and I want to live and yes, I am going to miss and want Joshua back for the rest of my life but I’ve got to move on and grieve in silence. I will have another child on the way soon and I don’t want her to be the replacement Joshua even though her twin will die at birth and take a good few pieces of life from me as well.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I look in your mind all the time and I learnt all of that from you. You had a vision that I would die and ever since, you have been trying to keep me safe but you know nothing you can do can keep me safe from myself. You’ve told my friends about you’re visions now you get them every night and Jane and Hannah try and decipher the meaning of them with you. You’ve tried hard enough now, so can we try and get back to normal? And, just so you know, I haven’t killed from drinking blood.”
Chapter Three

ONE MONTH LATER
“I still wish I could have found you sooner and helped you...and your family out of there before it all collapsed. It would have saved you your injuries and the death of Joshua and then I wouldn’t even have to be doing this.” Eric said to me, holding Kahn in his hands and sitting on my bed with his legs crossed.
“There was nothing you could have done, or anyone for that matter. I still wish that I hadn’t read Sam’s mind that night and stopped him from helping us in the first place. I still say it’s all my fau...” I looked round and saw Sam at the door looking at Kahn in Eric’s arms. I got up off my bed and went over to him and kissed him on his lips. “Hey baby.”
“Why is he holding Kahn?” Sam said, not sounding impressed. “And why is he in here in the first place?”
“Baby, he’s holding Kahn because I let him and he is up here because I let him up here. Is there a problem with that?”
“Can I have a word with you outside Lucy? Away from him?”
“Will you stop calling Eric him? His name is Eric and he’s helped me so much in the past month so he should at least be called by his name.”
“Whatever. Can I talk to you now?”
I walked out of the room, kissing Kahn on his forehead and smiling apologetically at Eric. He smiled his brilliant but familiar smile back at me and continued rocking Kahn. I walked out of the room and shut the door behind me. I pointed at the bedroom Sophie, Jasmina and Jane were using and Sam nodded. I opened the door and stepped into a clean and tidy room.
As soon as I had shut the door behind me, Sam leaned across me and locked it and took the key out of the lock. I instantly panicked and backed up and leaned against the door. I must have looked worried because Sam reached across me and tucked some hair behind my ear.
“If you’re scared when your locked in a room with me, Eric isn’t doing his job very well is he?”
“He is doing his job well; I’m talking about Joshua every day now and I’m having blood every day as well and...”
“You’re having blood every day?”
“Yes.”
“From him right?”
“Yes, from Eric.”
“How long had you been sucking his blood and refusing mine before we met him exactly?”
“He found me the first time I went back to my room. He didn’t make me suck his blood that time but he did the second time and then it just happened accidentally the next time but then I just did it without even thinking about it.”
“Did he drink yours?”
“Once.”
“When?”
“Today.”
“And you let him?” Sam had been calm up to this point but now his voice raised and made me cringe back even further from him. “Sorry. I’m calm now. It’s just that you let Eric suck on you and you don’t even let me any more”
“You never said Eric couldn’t and you never said that you wanted to. Eric taught me to stay out of people’s minds because sometimes I really wouldn’t want to know what they are thinking. Like now for instance, because I’m talking about Eric and what he said and I know that you’re not okay with Eric being around.” I knew I had started to sound defensive but I really didn’t care.
“Right, would this be better? Can I suck on your blood Lucy?” Sam said irritably.
“I never said you couldn’t.” I said sweetly and held out my wrist. Sam frowned at it and took it in his hand. He moved it behind his neck and let go of my hand. I started to move it away but his eyes turned bright and begged with me. In the end I let it rest there as Sam leaned into my neck; moving my hair out of the way. He leaned into my neck slowly and when his lips touched my skin, I flinched and dropped my hand from his neck.
Eric came to the door and knocked on it loudly which made Sam sigh and unlock it. I heard Kahn crying and I quickly opened the door and took him from Eric. I calmed him down straight away and was careful not to look at either Sam or Eric. I could see Sam and Eric staring at each other, daring one another to do something.
“Stop it you two.” I said to them once Kahn had stopped crying. “You two really need to learn to get along. I don’t want you to be fighting. See Sam, I’m even sorting problems out. Eric really has been doing his job not just taking the opportunity to suck on me.”
“All I’m saying is that you’ll let him suck on you and you won’t let me; your fiancé, your turner.”
“I was just about to let you but I heard Kahn crying so I moved away.”
“Right, that’s the only reason. Anyway, I’m going to go downstairs and be with your friends that you haven’t been within weeks.”
“What are you suggesting Sam?”
“I’m suggesting that since you’re their turner then you should be feeding them not by bottled blood.”
I was just about to say something else when I realised that we were having our first proper argument and it was in front of Eric and Kahn. I turned to Eric, gave him Kahn and told him to take him back to my room. He left obligingly and left me and Sam alone.
I locked the door with magic and walked up to Sam. I kissed him on his lips and put his mouth to my neck with my hand on his neck; just like before I had flinched. Sam smiled and bit into my neck.
Sam pushed me back up against the door and sucked on my neck. I grit my teeth against the moan and resisted the temptation to bite into Sam’s neck as well. Sam let out a moan and bit harder into my neck. At the same time, I got a searing pain in my right shoulder. I screamed in pain and slid down the wall and onto the floor. Eric came bursting through the door and looked between me; fighting to stay conscious, and Sam; blood on his fingers and looking at me.
Eric rushed over to me and pulled some tissue out of his pocket and put them to my neck. Sam came over and held my hand, looking confused. “Not neck....Mark.” I managed to get out before I had to breathe deeply. Sam looked even more confused but Eric got it straight away. He got Sam to hold the tissues to my neck and Sam was so dazed that he just did it with no sarcastic comment. Eric ripped the sleeve of my shirt and exposed the changing tattoo. Sam let out a sigh of relief and licked my blood off of his lips.
“Breathe deeply and steadily. Try to ignore the pain and focus on something else. In and out, in and out.” Eric had leaned into my ear and was whispering to me. I nodded and concentrated on breathing. Sam started whispering to me but I couldn’t hear him very well. I worked out that I was losing consciousness when the pain stopped.
Sam took the tissues away from my neck and healed the bite properly. He still looked confused but I stayed out of his mind just like Eric had told me to do. I started laughing randomly and looked from Eric to Sam and back to Eric again who was looking at me worriedly.
“You thought that I was screaming because he was biting me didn’t you?” I asked Eric, still giggling.
“Uh, yes, kind of. I come in to see you on the floor with blood dripping from your neck and in agony. What was I supposed to think?”