Free Crave by Teresa Mummert Page A

asked pushing back the tears from my eyes.
    “Eva, I just heard. Are you okay?” Grayson asked, his voice riddled with fear. I sighed at the sound of him.
    “I-I’m fine,” I lied trying to catch my breath.
    “How did he get inside? Did you invite him?”
    I searched my memory of the sudden attack. “He worked at a pizza place. He’s probably been invited in a million times.”
    “I’m coming over,” he said as my phone beeped with a call from the other line.
    “Okay,” I said and switched the call. I wasn’t going to argue with him. Not after the week I’d been having.
    “Was it you? Eva, I just saw on the news. Did this happen in your apartment?” my Dad asked frantically.
    “Yes. I didn’t want to worry you. I am fine.”
    “A vampire attacks you and you don’t think to call us?”
    “I-I didn’t know he was a vampire until I heard it on the news. It’s not like they wear name tags.”
    “I’m coming over.”
    “No, Dad, it’s okay. Grayson is coming and I’m not in any danger. The guy is dead.” I replied knowing full well that Elijah was still out there, but I couldn’t put my family at risk. “I will call if I need anything, I promise,” I said waiting for his response. He pushed out a loud sigh.
    “Fine, but I will be in contact with Grayson to make sure you are safe.” I hung up the phone and tossed it on the table and wiped my cheeks to rid them of any fallen tears. I decided to run through the shower quickly, wanting to scour my skin of any trace of Elijah’s touch. I was rinsing my hair when I heard the door.
    “Eva?” Grayson called from the hallway.
    “Be right out,” I yelled over the sound of the water. I turned it off and reached beside the tub for my towel as Grayson appeared in the doorway.
    “You okay?”
    “I’ve been better,” I said with a nervous grin. “We need to talk,” I added, realizing I needed to tell someone else about Elijah.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked, tilting his head.
    “It’s nothing. I just…” I let my voice trail off not knowing what to say. He brushed the hair back from my neck. We stood in silence for a moment as he examined the two tiny puncture wounds at the nape.
    “He… bit you?” he asked quietly unable to hide the fear in his tone. A lump developed in my throat and I struggled to choke out a response. I didn’t know how he would react. His eyes searched mine for a moment then he pulled me in tightly against him, squeezing me. “I’m so sorry, Eva. I should have been there to protect you.”
    “It’s okay. I'm okay. You’re here now,” I said squeezing him, trying to reassure him it wasn’t his fault. I knew exactly where to lay the blame. I should have known better. I should have seen the warning signs.
    “I guess it is a good thing Elijah was here to protect you when I wasn’t.”
    I scrunched up my face. Grayson thought the intruder is the one who’d bit me. Swallowing hard I struggled to find the words to tell him otherwise.
    He pulled his face back slightly and wiped my tears with his fingers. He slowly leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. I gave in for a moment but suddenly realized that no matter what had happened between Elijah and me, it didn’t change things with Grayson. I pulled back reluctantly. He looked at me with sadness and nodded his head.
    “Right.” He couldn’t hide his agitation, still thinking I was pushing him away because of Elijah, when in reality, we had been over a long time ago. “I’ll… just wait out here for you.” He headed to the living room to let me finish getting ready. I wandered into my bedroom and grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top from my drawers and threw them onto the bed behind me. I heard a floorboard squeak and whipped around, startled. Elijah stood behind and all I could do was gasp.
    “Shh,” he said as he stepped closer. I was frozen in absolute terror. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
    “You mean again? You’re not going to hurt me again