Beth Bishop's Blog, page 2
July 12, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 12: Part 1
Even though Leslie’s room was dark, my body knew it was daytime, and I awoke feeling refreshed and energized despite the odd dreams. I was smelly from sparring with Justin and wrestling with Leslie. A smile spread across my face as I thought of the shower with hot water.
More quickly and more silently than I had ever moved, I slipped off the bed and into the bathroom. Leslie’s blood cured my ills and apparently made me more agile. I flicked on the bathroom light and squinted...
July 10, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 11: Part 2
“Where would you like to bite me?”
My eyes went wide. “Are you serious? I thought you’d, you know, bite yourself and uh, drip the blood into my mouth.”
“Yeah, well, you thought wrong. So,” he gestured to himself. “Where?”
“Um, your wrist, I guess.”
Leslie unbuttoned his cuff and rolled up his sleeve. His arm was pale and coursed with lean muscle. The top side of it had a few scars on it, and I reached out to touch them. Before I could, he flipped his arm over and raised his wrist to me.
“So,...
July 8, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 11: Part 1
“Be still.”
“It hurts, okay.”
“I’m trying to set it.”
I sat in a chair, pulled into the bathroom from the map table in Leslie’s library, with my outstretched arm resting on the counter. As Leslie twisted and pushed on my wrist, the resulting waves of pain generated waves of nausea. Almost uncontrollably wiggly, I felt the need to pee, vomit, or both.
“Be still,” he repeated. He pushed on the top of my hand, and I jerked it away, a reflex from the pain. “Am I going to have to...
July 5, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 10: Part 2
“I want to know.”
“No, you don’t. Just know it will be thorough and painful.”
“There are lots of things you know that I want to know, Leslie. I want to know what you’re going to do to Luc,” I insisted. “I want to know if you were lying when you said you’d been looking for me for a long time.”
“No.”
“Okay, but why?”
“Because you are Camellia.” He looked down at nothing in particular.
“What’s with that cryptic answer? It’s not an answer at all. You want me to be honest?” My anger sparked. “Why...
July 3, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 10: Part 1
I had my family—my parents and Justin—but the others chose to go. Leslie arranged for them to stay outside the area in one of his safe houses. In the morning, they would be free to go where they wished. Leslie gave them advice as to safe areas to inhabit, but I doubted they would take it.
Once our former family members left, Leslie introduced us to the other vampire, besides Selene, who lived with him. Everything about Kyler, a German vampire with brown hair and eyes of...
July 1, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 9: Part 2
“Because you are Camellia Rosegarten,” he said simply, leaning back against the door.
“Some answer,” I huffed. “So, you don’t sleep in your bed. Do you hang from the rafters like a bat?” I flapped my hands at my sides like wings.
“No,” he growled, his calm façade slipping. “No, when I have to rest, I hide, if at all possible.” He looked angry with himself or me or the world. “Fuck, I tell you too much,” he exclaimed and popped his fists against the door. “I tell you too much.”
He cast his eye...
June 28, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 9: Part 1
In the first of the most vivid dreams I’ve ever had, I danced at a lovely ball. I wore a light blue Cinderella gown and my hair in a tight bun. The faceless prince, in his white jacket and dark red pants, whirled me about the dance floor. I heard laughter other than mine and turned my head to find Aster.
Her golden hair fell down her back. She wore a pink version of my dress. Selene whirled by on the arm of an imp who floated in mid-air. Her mouth moved but made no sound, “Shh....
June 26, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 8: Part 2
When the limo stopped, Leslie released me and opened his door. He got out, and I looked out of the car door to find that we were inside a driveway enclosed by stone on two sides. Both walls had doors in them, so I knew we weren’t under an overpass. Only the entrance and exit were open to the outside, and dawn was upon us.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“My carport.”
Your carport?” I went on full alert. “Well, that explains why it’s a tunnel, but why are we here? I thought you were taking me home.”
...June 24, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 8: Part 1
It was too much. Aster, my sister and best friend, was a vampire. I let it all out—the anger, the sorrow—in a torrent of tears.
Other than to use a tiny cell phone like Selene’s, Leslie sat quietly and held me while I fell apart. When the crying ran its course, I felt numb and empty. My breathing hitched and stuttered, and Leslie’s hold on me tightened, as if that might help. He kissed my hair and then buried his nose in it. I heard him sniff it, and then he pulled back to sniff...
June 21, 2019
Wild Rosegarten, Chapter 7: Part 2
TW: assault
When we entered the room, he was trapped by endless handshakes, backslaps, and conversations. Everybody wanted something, and Leslie, apparently, was the man who could get it. I smiled. I said hello and nodded graciously at congratulations for having landed Leslie. For the most part, the party-goers ignored me after Leslie made introductions, which made it impossible to ask questions. I had to assume that anyone bold enough to approach Leslie directly had to be important, but mos...
