Staring at book covers

I didn't manage to get some of the Avon publishing version of Lynsay Sands's books so I bought the Orion Publishing ones. The book's bigger, a little more pricier but it's a damn piece of eye candy. I couldn't resist taking a look at the cover every 5 minutes!

The female [only one so far] is just so cute but the men... are just mouth watering. Lol.
However the interesting [or otherwise] thing about being an author is that you don't always have a say in the book covers. Except for sometimes; as you see Lynsay makes a change from the darker haired to the lighter haired guy in Bite Me if you Can. But I like the covers so far. Makes reading more pleasurable =)

[photos can all be found on http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/books/a-quick-bite-paperback]

Into The Vampire's Lair Chapter 6 teaser

I have started to organize my blog. As you can see there are tabs at the top so it's easier for readers to go straight to the teasers [which is what you hungry people are here for. Lol!]

I will usually post the teaser a day or so after the previous chapter has been posted. As for Chapter 6, I have an extra treat for you all- I have set up a page entitled 'All about Vampires'.

Since this is "Into the Vampire's Lair", I hope to build the world of the immortals as how I see it. And thus,

It includes the Vampire hierarchy and Council organization for those of you interested.

Okay, enough babbling. Here's Chapter 6!

***

“Do you think everything’s okay back there?” asked Erika, looking out the window towards Eian and Fiona’s house.

“It should be. They probably have some pack business to settle and don’t want us in the way,” replied Alaron, his eyes making a quick flick towards the rear view mirror. He didn’t want to say it out loud but he had a hunch it had something to do with his brother. It worried him but he was confident that Draven knew how to take care of himself. He would have to worry more later for at the moment he was somewhat responsible for the human beside him.

“Okay, that sounds really official,” she said with a sigh. This whole non-human business was starting to sound even more complicated than she thought. Turning to Alaron, Erika decided to change topic, “So umm, now that we’re friends, what do you want to talk about? I mean it’s quite a long ride back to my loft you know,” said Erika absently, twirling her hair around her fingers.

Alaron wasn’t sure how to respond to her question. He wasn’t one for having civilized conversations with women. In fact, his only interaction with them so far was for sex or the occasional bite or two to quell his desire for warm blood. Bagged blood was more wholesome, sure but it lacked that freshness and triumph that came from hunting a real human being.

“Umm… Al?” Erika’s voice snapped him out of his daze. “You don’t mind if I call you Al right? I mean, I know Fiona calls you that. Alaron’s a nice name but it’s too archaic for me. Did your parents accidentally add an ‘L’ in your name or something?”

Alaron gave a sideward glance towards his passenger. Was she always this talkative? Yeah, especially so when she’s berating and insulting him about something.

“I don’t think they made a mistake… and I do mind you calling me Al though.”

“Why? Fiona gets to call you Al.”

“But you don’t call her Fi do you? Nah. It’s just weird. I mean me and Fi developed this short name system because I didn’t want her to waste too much breath when she wanted to call for me.”

“That’s a weird reason,” she replied dryly.

“When she was uh… younger, she was always… uh sick. I mean, she would scream a lot at night, mostly in pain and sometimes she’d forget to breathe. So I used to sleep on the floor of her room to keep her company and Alaron is quite a mouthful when you’re in an asthmatic state.”

He saw Erika raise one shoulder in a shrug. “Yeah… I suppose that makes sense. So… you’re like her brother?”

“We’re so close in age that I suppose we’re more like siblings than Draven and I are. Weird huh?”

“Wait… so you’re not like centuries old?” she asked in surprise.

“You sound almost disappointed,” he laughed. “Nah, I’m only 31. But I think most of us stop counting our age after awhile. We just go by the century. At least that’s how Draven and my father remember their age.”

“Was your mother…”

“No, she was human.”

“Oh,” she whispered and kept quiet until they turned into the corner of her shop. Best not bring that topic up; she sensed that it was a sensitive issue for him.

“This is so surreal,” she commented as Alaron brought the car to a stop outside her old loft. It looked practically the same from outside but once they got in, it looked pretty much like a hurricane had passed through it.

Erika was aware that a man was following her into her home and was suddenly conscious of the state of her house. She had clothes strewn everywhere! A blush of embarrassment crept up her neck at the thought of him finding her soiled underwear lying around.

Alaron had sensed her tension the moment they climbed the stairs to her loft. What was she so worried about?

“I’m fine with sleeping on the couch or floor or whatever so can you stop with the whole worrying thing?” he commented the moment they stepped through the door. “I won’t go near you or bite you or anything,” he added when she gave him a fearful look.

“But that wasn’t what I…” she said, stopping midsentence when she saw him taking off his shirt and heading towards her couch. She wanted to tell him that he’d leave his sweat on her cushion but somehow the words didn’t materialize. Her eyes were literally eating the view of his back; smooth and even though it was dark, she could see the lean muscles and the way it tapered to a ‘V’ into his jeans.

“Shit,” she muttered, turning away sharply to avoid imagining wild thoughts in her head. The guy said he liked her but was gentleman enough not to make any moves on her so far. Isn’t that a good thing? Shaking her head slightly, Erika managed to make her way to her room without giving a second glance towards the couch.

Half an hour later, Erika was feeling fresh from her bath and despite telling herself she wasn’t getting lucky tonight, she put on the sexiest pair of undergarments that she could find. Swallowing timidly, she opened her room door and peeked at her guest… only to find him asleep and snoring.

“Alaron,” she whispered but only received a lazy grunt as a reply.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” she berated herself, slamming her door and jumping into her bed, face first.

***

It was a cloudless night, with no moon so it was dark and provided Draven an ample cloak as he watched Amber walking soundlessly towards her own home. In fact, walking was a tame word to describe her lethargic movements; she was trudging lifelessly.

Draven knew that he was partly to blame for her soul-less demeanor and part of him wanted desperately to reach out and hold her but instead, he remained in his hiding spot. He wanted… no, needed to take his fill of her image before he disappeared from her life forever.

Would she even remember him? The realization that she might not elicited a soft sigh from his lips. He was almost five hundred years old for god sake. Why was he acting like a dejected lover; walking around with his broken heart on his sleeve for all to see?

“Pathetic,” he hissed. He had tried to convince himself over and over that what they shared was just sex but he knew he was in denial. The fact that they established a mental bond shared between wolf mates even before they made love was enough to alert him of her specialness.

It was a special thing, he supposed, to be able to communicate with your loved one like that; to complete each other’s sentences without having to even say a word, to sync each other’s movements in tempo with the other, to be privy to each other’s emotions without having to even read each other’s minds…

That was what makes her so special. With his abilities, he could simply read any human or Vampire’s mind with or without their permission and erase whatever bit about him that he didn’t like. Life would be so boring that way. But this wolf… she could read his mind back and even stop him from erasing her memories at will. Not to mention that she’s smart and sexy too.

Smiling to himself, Draven glanced towards the single lighted room in her house. He couldn’t really see through the windows but he was satisfied knowing that she was inside; alive and safe.

It was time to leave now…

***

It was another two hours drive up to Culzean Castle but somehow Draven didn’t feel like returning home yet. He didn’t think he could face his father and not blurt out the truth by accident.

He needed a distraction. But what?

Draven needed company but everyone he cared about were south from where he was at the moment. Roaming his eyes, he caught sight of a few brothels and bars; their neon fluorescents blinking attractively in the night.

“Yeah, that’ll do,” he sighed and stopped the car. If alcohol and sex with other women was what it took to forget her, then he’ll be damned.

Taking long strides across the uneven ground, he took in the reek of alcohol, stale perfume and piss from the drains; his face kept straight while his peripheral vision observed the crowd.

He’d classify the place as sleazy with dodgy characters smiling or sneering at him, depending on the gender and of course the sudden need for some men to flex their beefy bodies at him; an invitation or a threat? A thin smile crafted on his lips.

“Whatcha smiling at gorgeous?” a silky voice purred at him as he entered. Draven’s eyes flicked slightly to his left and saw a buxom blonde leaning against the door frame, staring at him. It took him just a second to return his gaze forward; her mind wasn’t even on sex. Sex was a job to her and he was a potential customer.

It was useless. He could read her too much and that was just boring.

Walking on, he slumped himself on a stool at the bar and ordered a Black Russian. Maybe dulling his senses for awhile might make reading women less easy. Then he wouldn’t give a damn if they wanted to rob him blind for the night.

He was onto his third glass when he sensed someone slipping into the seat next to him. Draven grunted. Obviously if he could still sense anything, he wasn’t drunk enough.

“Another Black Russian!” he called to the bartender. Maybe he should have ordered pure Vodka or Whiskey. A Black Russian seemed so mild…

“I’d say otherwise,” said the person beside him. Draven growled slightly but didn’t reply and instead took a deep gulp of his drink. He could tell that it was a woman beside him but he couldn’t read her much… must be the alcohol finally taking effect.

“I think that’s enough Black Russians for now,” he heard her say when the bartender arrived with his fourth glass. He growled when he saw a dainty cocoa-coloured hand taking his glass away from him.

“Give me one more… that’s for the lady,” he snapped; staring at the bartender with an implicit threat in his gaze.

“No, don’t worry David… he’s just joking. Why don’t you go and serve the others? He and I are leaving,” she said sweetly before grabbing Draven’s arm and pulling him out of his seat.

On another occasion, Draven might have been thrilled to be escorted out with a woman in such a short time but at the moment, his head was buzzing with annoyance. Just how the hell did this petite woman manage to heft his weight up like that?

“Where’s your car?” she asked impatiently, sounding annoyed. What was she annoyed at him for? Draven wanted to curse her but the words stopped in his throat and instead he began to vomit uncontrollably on the ground.

“Fuck! Culzean, you arse. Now look at the mess you’ve made,” she snapped, pulling him up and literally dragging him across towards his car. “Keys!” she barked. Draven wasn’t even registering her question anymore but he felt her digging in his pocket… and the next thing he knew he was belted up in the passenger seat and on the road.

 “Oww…” he groaned, clutching his head in his hands. “Am I dead…”

“Yeah, you would have killed yourself at the rate you’re drinking!” the woman chided. Draven winced at the sound of her voice. She sounded so familiar and yet so…

“Who are you?” he croaked. “Where are we going?”

“To my house,” she said stiffly. “You need to feed.”

Draven rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. “I don’t eat… food.”

“I said feed, not food. Good god Culzean, you’re such a mess!”

“How do you know my…” he trailed before blanking out.

****

Into The Vampire's Lair covers

And so here my photoshop skills are put to use as I play around with photos and try to create a possible cover for my stories. It's mostly for fun and I am not going to use it for profit. =)

So here's the first cover I made. It's Draven and Amber... although it's really difficult to find male models with long hair. *sigh* But this what I put together.



The male model here looks half Asian... but that's okay.  I was experimenting with a new trick while doing this; which was to highlight only one colour from a picture... and thus Amber's hair here is red [yes, she will dye her blonde hair red later on]

And of course, the reference to Culzean Castle as seen from the Gothic architecture at the background.










But just to give myself another alternative, here's a more "Draven" like model. Plus I changed the background; still gothic but at least the two of them are looking at something. Lol.

So which one [or which guy rather] is better?



 
Next is the Alaron and Erika cover. Somehow it turned out better than I expected! Looks ALMOST like what most romance covers look like!

The photos are mostly stock photos... but I really have got to get a proper camera and beg my friends to pose for me. *laughs*

Right, then there's one photo of Ian Somerhalder that I JUST have to put here. It totally inspired me for the character of Alaron. Yes, he looks almost like that in my head. [and yes later I will make reference to him in Chapter 5!]



By the way, I have never watched Vampire Diaries though... but my brother loves to watch it... and so I end up seeing this sexy guy on screen now and again. And then I found this photo and it hit me... if Alaron was to watch Erika as she does her work, he'd look like that!

Right, so here ends my visual playground.

Into The Vampire's Lair Chapter 5- teaser

This is a section of the unedited version of my draft for Chapter 5. I'm still holding on to it because I keep changing certain things as I write Chapters 6 and 7; moving back and forth to make more sense.

Hopefully this teaser helps to explain certain questions posed on LitE regarding why Draven has a problem with accepting Erika as his mate. It only goes to show that not everything in life is as easy as wanting and having eh.

******

“I sense that you resent the fact that I’m your Alpha,” said Eian calmly.

“I did not choose for this to happen Eian. I’m not the type to embrace change very well and this definitely constitutes as a major change in allegiance. Heck, I’m still trying to adjust to not calling you Your Excellency or Your Grace in every sentence.”

“So you resent it.” It wasn’t really a question but a statement of his observation. Draven merely nodded to affirm Eian’s words and heard his Alpha give out a long sigh. “Perhaps we should take a walk,” he suggested, getting on his feet.

The two men walked side by side down the path towards the forest, keeping silent. It was only when they reached a small river that Eian spoke.

“I remembered finding Fiona here; passed out after feeding on a man. It broke my heart but I knew from that moment that I would never turn her against her will ever. So while she’s a pack member and also an Alpha female, she is not a Werewolf and never will be.”

Draven listened to Eian, unsure of what to say so he merely nodded as they continued walking.

“It is an option for you,” said Eian. “I had thought it was odd that you could read her when you couldn’t read the other Weres but at that time, I was more concerned over Fiona so I dismissed it. On hindsight, I probably shouldn’t.”

Draven stopped in his track and turned to face Eian. “You knew?”

“I suspected it. Just like that time you refused to face me when you came by to send Fiona to work. It was not a nobleman’s conduct.”

“I apologize,” said Draven quickly, looking down at his feet. “I knew you would scent her on me if I was too close and I didn’t want her to get in trouble… yet.”

“Mmm,” replied Eian, obviously not convinced. “Then why did you accept her as your mate? You know you shouldn’t have.”

With a long sigh, Draven looked up at Eian. “I wanted to kill her right there and then. I swear I would have but I couldn’t bear to. Then I gave her the option of removing her memories of me so she could move on with her life and find another mate…”

“Let me guess… she’d rather be killed?”

Draven gave a resigned nod. “If a woman would die for you to prove that she’s your mate what would you have done?”

A weak smile curled at the corners of Eian’s lips. “I see.”

Draven didn’t reply him but looked away.

Empathy filled his heart as he observed the Vampire. He knew what Draven was feeling at the moment. Hadn’t Fiona risked her life to prove to him that they were mates and that he should bite her?

“You should have just removed her memories Draven, instead of facing this agony. But now you cannot reverse it because you’ve answered her mating call.”

“I haven’t answered a damn thing Eian. We only had sex once and that hardly counts as mating. I don’t even know what mating constitutes or how to go about doing it. As far as I’m concerned we have not mated. Period.”

“You accepted to mate with her first and then kill her. Am I right? That’s why you and I now share this bond.”

Draven looked upwards and cursed. “Father will kill me.”

“He might not kill you… but Aramis is the kind of man who might… disown you. Ah… yes he will. So what do you want to do about it now?”

Draven was stumped. Would his father really do that? Disown his eldest son whom he had spent centuries grooming? But Fiona…

“She is not in line for the title, you know that. Besides, she’s under my guardianship and from an economic perspective, your family stands to gain from her marriage to my title.”

But being just a member of the pack… a commoner was not Father’s choice for him, Draven knew. Eian was right about Fiona… for not only did she inherit the Duchess title but also the position of Alpha female within the pack. He, on the other hand will lose everything…

Being subordinated to Eian was not a new concept, seeing that he is higher on the peerage than the Culzeans. However being just another pack member; living here in this compound… seemed like a far cry from his pampered existence. Living simply was not a problem but leaving his responsibilities to the next in line was unthinkable. Alaron is still a baby and worth a lot of trouble. As the elder, it would be unfair to suddenly dump everything on the younger Vampire’s shoulder.

Draven knew he had to make a decision soon.

“Has there ever been an incident where a mate refused his or her mate?”

Eian nodded, knowing the direction the Vampire was heading towards. “It didn’t turn out well, I must say.”

“Tell me Eian…” he replied sadly.

“It’s easier when a mate dies because the one who survives can still live off the pleasant memories; feeding off the loss. But to be separated while both are still alive is like putting two magnets at opposite ends of a table- they keep attracting one another, even unconsciously.”

“Pardon me asking but why would there be a problem between Werewolf mates? Have there been Vampire-Wolves mating before?”

“No. After the Count Chervenkov incident, our packs kept away from Vampire clans as much as possible, for fear of having a pack ravished by another wolf-blood loving Vampire. So you can consider my marriage the first of its kind. As for your first question, the Werewolf tried to distance himself from his true mate because she was already married to another at that time.”

“You mean you can have a family with a non-mate?”

Eian shrugged. “Sure, why not? They just don’t share the special bond that mates have with each other; the ability to communicate in their heads, the desire to bear as many children as possible… all that.” Eian paused as though not knowing whether to continue or not. If he encouraged this man to deny his mate then it would be dreadful for the both of them but if he allowed their union, then Draven might have an estrange relationship with his father… for eternity; not to mention what Aramis might do to Amber. Eian didn’t want to think about that.

“Sometimes… it can take a Were decades or even centuries to find their mate and some just do not have the time or patience to wait around any longer.” Eian didn’t know why he was telling the Vampire this. Was he trying to encourage or discourage him from joining the pack?

“I had hoped to find my life mate with a human… not a Werewolf.” When Eian gave him a curious look, Draven smiled a little. “Full grown Vampires tend to be really arrogant and difficult to yield, especially if they are older than you. It’s worst for the females I think because they’ve lived so long as an independent individual that the thought of you asking them to do housework or anything can spark off a quarrel.”

Eian couldn’t hold back his laugh. “That’s so sexist Draven! Besides, Amber is not that easy to handle. She’s stubborn and is also intelligent, independent and a tad arrogant at times. Besides, you have domestic helpers to do the housework right?”

“I don’t see any in your house,” Draven pointed out. “And anyway, Amber is still young. Sixty… is that even legal to get married?”

Eian rolled his eyes and laughed again. “My dear brother-in-law, the legal age to get married is 18, I believe.”

Draven smiled a little at Eian’s response. Even if they were really mates, he couldn’t claim her… so he knew what his next course of action was.

“I have to stay away from her Eian… It is not just for my sake but for hers. You know how much influence Father has in the Council right? If he says she’s a threat, they will hunt her down,” said Draven with a hitch in his voice. Then turning to Eian, he gave him a desperate look. “I will return back to the castle and alternate between there and our other accommodations. I hope… you’ll help stop her from following me. She will listen to you.”

“As an Alpha, it hurts me greatly to forcefully separate mates from each other, especially when I know Amber will be devastated by it. But as your brother-in-law… and your father’s friend, I understand the situation, more than you think I do…” Eian stared at the pleading eyes of the Vampire and nodded sadly. “Alright, I’ll try my best. Then you should leave now Draven…”

Draven bowed his head slightly in gratitude and also respect for this man who was not just a superior but also a part of his family… and possibly a friend.

****

That night, Eian lay in his bed thinking about the conversation he had with Draven earlier and wondered how he was going to break the news to Amber.

“Sweetheart… you’re still awake,” whispered Fiona, moving closer to feel her husband’s warmth. “Did I not tire you enough?”

Eian looked to his left and curled an arm around Fiona. “I would never grow tired of you,” he whispered back, kissing the top of her head. He knew that was not what she meant but he didn’t want her getting aroused again. They just had two rounds of incredible sex and while they were both limber and satiated, he knew that just a small thought could trigger their lust again.

Apparently she thought so too for she didn’t bother to correct him and instead tried to talk him out of his worries. He had resisted telling her about the problem; unsure if it would upset her too much. She still had the whole bookshop business to take care off and that would be enough stress for her.

“I’ll be fine. The whole building a new shop experience excites me more than worries me… so you shouldn’t worry that I’ll be stressed out or anything. It’s my first real adult responsibility and I’m more than ready for it. I promise I won’t let you down,” she said, leaning her head on his chest.

Eian gave a sigh. It seems that he was the one who was going to let her down.

“I know you’ll be fine my love… I trust you,” he reassured her, caressing her hair gently. “Sleep…” he whispered and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. However his mind was still working, thinking about the dreaded conversation he was going to have with Amber in the morning.

Amber is a prized Beta because of her medical knowledge and experience and he was afraid that denying her mate could potentially turn her into a rogue. He hadn’t indulged Draven in this little piece of information nor tell him what actually happened to the female Were who refused her true mate out of loyalty to her then spouse. It was a sad episode in his life as an Alpha; something he’d rather not remember too.

With a sigh, Eian brought Fiona closer to him. Sometimes when you’ve waited so long to find the right one… how could you let her go?

****

I'm trying to also work on a possible cover for this series. It's just for fun but I like seeing my ideas in pictures and stuff like that. Of course it'd be great if someone were to send one to me. lol. Okay I'll work on it and see how it goes.

Writing Improvements 2: Taking down notes from reading

The next step in ensuring that your writing develops as time passes is to keep a notebook or maybe a folder in your computer labeled: Quotes and Phrases

Caution: Never lift directly what others have said/written. Always paraphrased or decontexualize the phrases, making them your own.

This was something that I had only recently practiced; keeping a notebook with all the lovely phrases and ways of describing things that other authors have used. So the next time when I want to write something similar, I take out my book and make use of some of the words. Here's an example.

The phrases here were taken out of a page of Lynsay Sands's book. At this moment, I am absolutely enamored by her writing.  The first book I picked up was called Immortal Hunter and the whole collection is now in my cupboard. [And thus spending £70] *gasps*

You can read the review/summary on this blog that I really like: Booklover's Haven.
For more information visit Lynsay Sands's official website: http://www.lynsaysands.net/.

The reason why I'm openly crediting her here is because her works has inspired me alot. Trust me, pick up her book and you'll end up laughing your head off! And so I decided to infuse the bits of humour that she does so well, into my writing. I really tried... but I'm not sure how well I've done it so far. *cross fingers*

Another thing, I've picked up a few of her terminologies but not the whole Immortal from Atlantis idea. So if you see something familiar don't go and rub it in my face. Lol. I know a lot of readers like to do that- "oh this is from twilight, I must rub it on Alice's face." [I have never read the books...]

Life is full of intertextuality. A story cannot exist on it's own without drawing on another source for inspiration or for parallels and references.

Into The Vampire's Lair Chapter 4 - teaser

Chapter 3 is already up and I've already submitted Chapter 4 on Friday so hopefully it'll be up by Monday.
In the meantime, here is a teaser of Chapter 4 for those of you who can't wait.

***

He was wide awake and pissed. He had been reduced to begging the nurse from the night shift to stop the IV drip for it made him less in control of his thoughts or his dreams. Draven didn’t like that one bit, even if his dreams involved a really sexy naked doctor doing all sorts of acrobatic acts.

It didn’t help either that the sexy naked doctor looked like a specific blonde Head of the OB/GYN.

With a sigh, Draven tried to think of something else and assessed his injuries instead. He was half considering ripping the damn cast off his right arm but was unsure if it had completely healed yet. Instead, he used his left fingers to try and squeeze through the gap between his skin and the cast; feeling for his bone.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” said a very irate voice. Draven didn’t even bother to look up. That voice had been plaguing his dreams the whole night; moaning and whispering lewd suggestions. Besides, when did she even enter the room?

“You were too busy trying to take the cast off that you probably didn’t see me,” replied Amber, moving around to take a look at his chart. Immediately his head shot up, giving her a warning stare.

“Put me on drugs again and I swear I will bite you,” he scowled. Amber stood rigid and for a moment, Draven caught a flicker of pleasure on her face before it was replaced with a look of amusement.

“Try me,” she dared, staring him straight in the eyes. Her heart was beating fast, hoping that he didn’t call her bluff. They stared at each other for a whole minute. He blinked first.

“Right, thought so,” she said, putting his chart down and moved casually to sit by his side. “I know I promised not to come here anymore but I couldn’t help myself. Plus I wanted to make sure they were giving you enough fentanyl for the pain.”

“Why is this hospital administering fentanyl instead of morphine? This is such a simple procedure!” he said accusingly. Fentanyl was almost a hundred times more potent than morphine!

“You think they didn’t try? Vampires must have blood of steel or something. Your chart showed that they were short of administering an elephant tranquilizer to put you under.”

Draven didn’t say anything but grumbled silently to himself.

“Anyway, that increased dosage gave you a good rest didn’t it?” Her voice was gentle, trying to be supportive.

If you considered getting a hard on every hour a good rest, he thought. And the worst part was that he couldn’t even relieve himself because firstly he was in dreamland and secondly jerking off with his left hand was awkward.

Her sudden laughter shook him away from his thoughts. When he turned to look at her, she had tears in her eyes.

“Seriously Vampire… you need to be around women more and not just those you feed on. Don’t you worry, the nurses and doctors here are used to seeing male erections at every hour of the day.”

Draven frowned. He must have looked confused somewhat for she explained, “I know the nurses on this floor are attractive and thus the erections? I don’t blame you,” she said with a laugh. Draven continued to stare at her in disbelief. Obviously she was mistaken.

“You don’t happen to be a gymnast on the side do you?” he asked.

“Hell no. Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Nothing. Why are you here anyway?” he added quickly, hoping that she wouldn’t see the blush on his cheeks.

“My shift starts in thirty minute, thought I’d drop by since you haven’t had any visitors since yesterday.”

“I do not need you to babysit me. You can go now.” His voice was calm but inside he was just a little shaky. Was it pathetic to feel upset that his brother and niece had not visited him?

He felt her pat his left arm softly. “No it’s not… Alaron and Fiona had some things to settle. They’ll probably visit in the evening.”

Annoyance flashed across his face. “Can you stop that?”

“What?” she asked innocently.

“Listening to my thoughts!” he exclaimed. “Honestly woman… and get off my bed!”

She got up but didn’t move away from him. “I can’t! You’re thinking so damn loud that I cannot differentiate it from your normal speech.”

“Then don’t talk to me!”

“Fine!” she retorted and grabbed her purse from the visitor’s chair. Why was he being such an ass? She just came by to bring some fresh flowers to cheer him up. It wasn’t just that he intrigued her but he was by default also a part of the MacFarlane family now. They were supposed to be working together for god sake!

She snatched the small bouquet of carnations that she had placed on the chair with the intention of placing it by his side table. But on second thought, narrowed her eyes angrily at him and threw the flowers towards his face.

“What the…” His left hand tried to block the bouquet but his aim was way off and it smacked him straight in the face. “I hate that woman,” he snapped but she was already gone.

She was intolerable! Coming in here, poking into his thoughts, being nice to him… just what the hell does she want?

Grumbling to himself, he tried to think of other things but found his thoughts wandering back to the she-wolf.

Remembering the kiss from the previous day, Draven suddenly sobered up. Was she making implicit moves on him? God no! Werewolves do not seek out mates from the Vampire community and vice versa. Period.

What if it was just sex? Okay, that made more sense. If she wanted to sleep with him, why didn’t she just say so? It wasn’t as if he was a prude… okay so maybe he couldn’t remember the last time he was with a woman… but you can’t forget how to have sex, could you?

A headache was brewing slowly and Draven’s left fingers unconsciously began rubbing his temples lightly. What the hell was he thinking? Was he contemplating sleeping with that woman?

This needed sorting out immediately. He needed to talk to her seriously and with as much civility as possible.

Sitting up straight, he turned to look at the various machines connected to his body via tubes. There were catheters for various fluids going in and out of him. Did they really think he was that incapable of anything? They even connected a tube to drip urine from his bladder. He broke his arm not his dick for crying out loud.

He began pulling out all the tubes, ignoring the warning sounds that alerted the nurse into his ward. She came promptly within the minute, fighting with him over them.

His left hand touched her cheek gently and suddenly she was walking out of the room with a confused look on her face.

“Okay, that still works,” he breathed out. Basically he erased the part about the alarms going off so she forgot why she had gone into his ward in the first place.

“Now, it’s your turn.” He peered at the cast warily and wondered which was the best and most efficient way to cut it off. However, after much debating he decided to keep it on. “You might prove useful for empathy points from the wicked Doctor,” he said, patting the cast before sneaking out of his ward.

Thankfully, no one stopped him or asked him any questions. It was possible that he had been isolated from the other patients and staff because he was considered an ‘unnatural’ patient in the medical centre. He was thankful that the antiseptic smell of the place was overpowering his own scent. At least that gave him some cover.

“Culzean, what the hell are you doing out of your bed!” she cried the moment he entered her office. “Oh my god you took out your tubes!”

“Please restrain yourself Doctor,” he said coldly, stopping her from getting up to inspect him. “I came here to talk. Civilly,” he said, emphasizing the last word.

“I start work in two minutes,” she replied grumpily but leaned back in her chair nonetheless.

“Okay,” he breathed deeply. “Be honest with me Doctor and I will try to be honest with you. No peeking into my thoughts,” he warned as an afterthought. When he was sure that she was listening, he continued, “Are you in any way desiring to mate with me?”

Amber’s eyes widened. He was so direct! She wanted to divert her gaze away from him but knew that it would scream ‘yes’ without her even saying a word.

“No,” she said instead, trying to keep her voice as calm and confident as possible. She deliberately cleared her mind and thought only of an empty white box; hoping it would provide him no chance to read her.

Draven considered her answer carefully and did his best not to read her mind. He had promised himself to be civil with her and that meant no mind reading.

“So the kiss meant nothing to you?” he asked suddenly, watching the way her eyes went all cloudy and defensive.

“That… that was a mistake. Didn’t I say so yesterday? So no, it meant nothing. You should leave now. My first patient is up in a while.”

He was looking at her intensely with his dark brown eyes. Was she telling the truth? It was really very tempting to take a peek into her mind.

Instead, he replied blandly, “I see.” He covered the distance between them in two steps and moved his face within an inch of hers. “I’m not reading your mind so I hope you’re not lying.”

A small explosion went off in her head as his lips covered hers. She knew it was hopeless to resist when it was what she wanted desperately from him. She let him urge her lips apart, rasping her tongue against his with a wild hunger. Her fingers raked through his hair, bringing his head closer to her, feeling her body pressed against his.

For a nerd, he sure has a hard upper body, she thought.

I do work out. She heard him correct her. It was a good thing that he didn’t pause to reply her verbally because she really didn’t want the kiss to end. 

“Ehem.” There was someone clearing his throat behind them.

“Shit!” she pushed Draven away with all the force she could muster and wiped her lips using the back of her hand. “Oh Mr. Andrews, I’m so sorry that you had to see that. It was very unprofessional of me,” she began to apologize.

I’ll take care of it.

“Hi, Mr Andrews,” said Draven, holding up his hand for a handshake. The middle aged man eyed him suspiciously but took his hand and shook it. Amber watched the man’s eyes turn glossy for a minute before returning back to their usual green hue.

“I’m sorry,” he suddenly apologized, looking at Draven in confusion. “Were you saying something? My mind was somewhere else.”

“It happens,” said Draven with a smile before making his way out.

What the hell was that?

I made him forget he saw us kissing.

He gave her a small wink before closing the door but he did not walk away immediately. He stood outside her door for a minute before deliberately calling out to her in his mind.

Amber?

What! You’re still here? I need to work. Get lost!

What time is your break?

One o’clock for lunch.

Okay. Come by my ward.

***

It was slightly after 5pm when Alaron and Fiona came to visit him.

“Oh… my… god…” was the first thing that came out of Alaron’s mouth the second he entered the ward. “You did NOT!” His expression was a cross between amusement and jealousy.

“Did what?” asked Fiona from behind him. A minute later, her eyes were wide open; staring at Draven in disbelief.

Somehow his brother and niece’s shock didn’t seem to bother Draven much for he was leaning back in his bed with his eyes closed, humming a tune from The Beetles.

“Honestly, this place needs to be fumigated,” said Alaron, desperately opening the windows and turning up the speed of the fan.

Feeling just a little awkward, Fiona sat at the edge of Draven’s bed and patted his left arm lightly. “How’s the other arm?”

His eyes fluttered open and he smiled. “That’s not what you want to ask me.”

“Well, it’s embarrassing. So let’s just concentrate on the arm. Is it healing?”

“Yes. In fact, Alaron come here and help me get this stupid thing off. I can’t think with it on.”

Alaron moved to the right side of the bed and peered at his brother’s face. “Hello Major Tom, are you receiving?”

At Draven’s annoyed look, Alaron chuckled, “Oh he’s receiving alright. Plus it’s not that you can’t think with it on but that you can’t fuc…”

“Don’t tease him like that Al!” Fiona cut him midsentence with an embarrassed flush. “And Draven you are not taking that cast off until the doctor says that you can!” chided Fiona, trying to give both men a stern glare.

“It’ll be fine, my dear… I just needed the bone to be aligned and then I can heal it on my own. It has been more than 24 hours so I think it should be fine.”

Fiona looked at him doubtfully before shaking her head. “I don’t believe you. And don’t think I don’t know why you’re so eager to take that thing off!”

“That goes to show that he is thinking straight, no pun intended of course,” said Alaron winking at Fiona. “Judging from the reek of this room, I’d say you did pretty well even with one hand in a cast. Way to go Bro.”

Draven rolled his eyes. “For the hundredth time Alaron, I hate to be called that!” Feeling self conscious, Draven sniffed the air. “Do you both have extra sensitive noses or what? I can’t smell a thing and the nurses definitely did not smell anything either.”

“Of course you’re not aware of your own stench,” said Alaron.

“Okay enough you two, it’s time for you to feed,” said Fiona, taking out a couple of blood bags and removing the clipper on the transfer tube.

“My blood type?” asked Draven. Fiona gave him a harsh look. “Okay, just checking. Don’t be angry, princess…”

“I’m not angry,” she replied but stuffed the tube into his mouth with much more force than intended. “Drink,” she instructed, holding the bag for him.

“Anyway, Eian and I were discussing last night on how best to fix the problem of the bookshop,” she said slowly. “And we came up with two options. The first is that we restore the current shop to its exact state, including purchasing all the books that are supposed to be in stock. The second option is that we move the shop to a more upscale location and let her start rebuilding it from scratch.”

Draven watched her intently, reading her mind in advance but he asked his question anyway. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch.”

“Fiona…” He gave her a warning look but Alaron answered instead.

“Eian won’t let her work in that old dump anymore… what? It was a dump okay?” said Alaron when Fiona gave him a murderous look. “So if we pick the first option, you have to erase all of Erika’s memories pertaining to all of us.” His voice was monotonous but they heard the slight emotional inflections in it. “The second option, which I would prefer is to suggest to her that she sold her shop ages ago and is planning on opening another one in a much safer environment. Best of all, Fiona can continue working for her!”

And you can continue dropping by I suppose?

Alaron shrugged.

“Erasure of memory is best. Trust me. You can suggest an idea into her but there is a chance that she might fight it someday and overcome the suggestion.”

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tensed. Fiona looked away; Alaron shuffled his feet and stared at the floor.

Draven listened to their thoughts silently and considered the situation. If it were up to the council, the human would have her memory modified and these two would be under house arrest for the rest of their lives… and he? He would be imprisoned and forced to go cold turkey without blood for decades. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of that. 

“Okay children, that’s enough mopping. I’ll take a look at Erika tomorrow and assess her state of mind. If she can handle our secret, then we’ll take her into our protection. If not, then I will take away just the event when she saw us fighting in the store. Is that alright?”

“Yes!” exclaimed the two at the same time. Draven shook his head then glanced up at the clock beside his bed. It was 7:30pm already. How time flies.

“Alright you two, time to go home,” he said.

“But we just got here!” protested Alaron. A heartbeat passed before he narrowed his eyes at Draven. “You have got to be kidding me! Ok, ok. We’re leaving.”

“Why?” Fiona was puzzled.

“Someone has a hot date at 8pm.”

“Oh!” She blushed slightly then took the empty blood bag from Draven’s chest and placed the other one by his bed. “I’ll put it inside the holding box to keep it warm for you. You’re… going to need it,” she whispered shyly.

“Thank you,” he replied, giving her a smile. “Fiona my dear, could you do me a favour?”

She looked at him dubiously. What favour could he possibly want from her?

“Could you suggest to the nurse or doctor that perhaps I could be discharged tomorrow?”

He could see that she was struggling between saying yes and no.

“Please? The sooner I’m out, the sooner we can settle Erika’s problem.” Her nod was tentative at first but then she nodded confidently and smiled.

“We’ll leave you then… and uh, come by tomorrow morning. Have a good rest Draven,” she said as they started towards the door.

***

Draven was waiting for her, but this time he wasn’t in his bed but leaning by the window, looking out at the vast expanse of forest. He supposed that this was a peaceful place to recuperate but he had to get out of here soon. The place was suffocating him and he didn’t like being around Werewolves too much. Their scent was too enticing; even more than humans and it took a lot of his willpower not to have a taste.

An irony perhaps, considering that he was about to have sex with the she-wolf who just entered his ward.

“Hi,” she whispered. “I told the nurse I was just going to be in for a while… so I don’t think I should stay here too long in case she gets worried and comes in.”

“I’ll take care of that,” he said, moving towards the door. Amber quickly cut in front of his path and placed a gentle hand against his chest.

“No, don’t…” Whatever she was about to say was forgotten as his mouth claimed hers; his left hand eagerly running down her body, pausing briefly to squeeze her breast with enough pressure to let her know his intention.

“We’ll just let her walk in and catch us then,” he whispered against her lips, pressing his erection suggestively on her stomach.

“Oh god… I want…” Once again he kissed her words away; the passion leaving her breathless. It took all of her self control to push him away for a second. “I need to talk.”

Draven looked down at the woman in front of him; tilting her face upwards to study her eyes. “Okay, talk.”

She tried to look away but the intensity in his gaze stopped her. There was no way around this. She had to tell him the truth.

“Draven Culzean… you are my mate.”

Non-English movies/drama

Today for some RANDOM reason, I went to youtube to search for a long forgotten song by Sammi Cheng called 'Glass Slippers' or Bo Li Xie in Cantonese.Of course I do not understand a word of Cantonese since that's not my father's dialect but I love the song and I loved watching Hong Kong movies because of how delicious and tender the Cantonese words sounded to me.

One of absolute favourite movie starring Sammi Cheng is "Love on a Diet." It co-stars Andy Lau and is a hilarious take on how love and diet seems to go hand in hand. It touches on our obsession about being thin and looking our best to the ones we 'love' or have a crush on. But in the end, the two protagonists find that they actually love each other, at their worst and at their best. =)

So since we're on the topic of my non-english media picks, here's my other favourite.

The Latin American singer is Rosalinda in this telenovela and I remembered watching this when I was 14years old on TV. It was my first time ever hearing the Spanish language and I was immediately in love with it. I don't agree that French is the language of love. Spanish is!

Hehe. And so I listened to all of Thalia's songs and from there I taught myself how to speak Spanish. Yupp... that's right. I remembered spending hours in the library looking for those 'teach yourself' books and then borrowing them home to study. It was really fun and eventually I managed to pick up a few phrases and grammar.

However, the thing about languages is that... if you have no one to communicate with, then the language becomes redundant and you forget.


And here is my absolute favourite Korean drama- Pasta!

What I like about this drama is how the heroine is not your typical drop dead gorgeous girl. She's simple, innocent and clumsy and finds herself attracted to a man that shouts at her alot. Lol.

The hero isn't your over the hill handsome type and does initially treat her like dirt but eventually you see a softening of his harshness... that's something I like too.

Plus it's a romantic comedy- my favourite genre.... I mean apart from Vampires and Werewolves that is.

I've mentioned before that my Mom's a chef right? So it's kinda nice to know what actually goes on in the kitchen of a restaurant; the pressure, the details... it's all really amazing to me.

Now that I've mentioned food, there is another drama that I absolutely love and it's called Mae Ka Khanom Wan or the Thai Dessert Girl. Basically it's about this tomboyish girl who gets into trouble with a Mafia boss. Lol. But he later falls in love with her after he tastes her cooking. [She's a descendant from one of the Thai royal cooks] Apparently, Mr Mafia boss is a very picky eater and while he loves her cooking, she is always wary of him and so she disguises herself as a man to try and wreck havoc between him and his betrothed. Hahaha. I loved it! This poster sums it all:

The only thing I do not like about Thai drama at times is how nasty the antagonist characters can get. However, this story is quite a happy one where the bad guy isn't really so bad or backbiting sort. That is what I am hoping to achieve with TLAW and ITVL...

However, I am planning to write a completely different story soon and yes there will be major bad ass characters [if I can impart that wealth of character- I'm too nice...] As for now, I'm just looking for inspiration to write... kinda stuck with the Chapter 6 for ITVL... hopefully I'll get some creative juices by relaxing...