Pure: A Paranormal Romance

by D. L. McKinsey

  He smiled shyly. “I was wondering if maybe we could hang out sometime…”

  I rolled my eyes and walked away before he could finish.

  The nerve of that boy! He tortured me for years, and now, he wanted to ask me out? Granted, he didn’t know I was Analise Walker, but still. I punched him in the face. That should have been enough to ward him off. I shoved my way into the crowded house. My eyes instantly landed on my sister and her crew sitting on the stools in the living room. Kim’s whole face darkened when she saw me. Not giving her the satisfaction of more attention, I decided to push my way into the kitchen.

  “Chug! Chug! Chug!” I heard several loud chants when I entered. Multiple guys made sort of a semi-circle around one guy currently “chugging” beer. Who was this guy that was making an ass out of himself?

  Simon. I stood and watched Simon greedily down what looked to be his tenth beer, judging from all the empty bottles on the table in front of him. Had he lost his mind? When he finished, he threw his hands up in victory, and all the guys cheered. Jace slapped him on the back, laughing along with him. They actually looked like good friends. Simon stumbled forward a little but caught himself on the table. They were both still oblivious to my presence at the kitchen entrance.

  Jace turned away to talk to one of the jocks about a game or something. I didn’t really listen because I was too busy watching Simon. Clearly, he was drunk out of his mind. His sloppy movements told me so. Simon took one step forward, and I could tell he was about to go down. Damn it! I rushed over to him and caught him just as he was falling.

  “Oh, heyyy, you showed uuup!” Simon slurred, blowing his beer breath on my face.

  “Yeah, I did, and now I’m taking you home,” I said as I slinged his arm over my shoulder. I could feel eyes on us, but I ignored them. Simon was way too drunk to stay here. This was great. My first party ended before it even started, and I had to carry my drunken friend home. I chose to exit at the back door instead of the front. I really didn’t want to deal with Kim, or Bobby for that matter.

  “Hey, wait up!” I heared Jace’s voice from behind us. I didn’t answer him.

  The cool night air was refreshing when I got Simon out of the house and into the backyard. Surprisingly, no one was out here. Maybe it was because there wasn’t anything out here but a direct path into the woods.

  “Hey! Hey!” Jace said, catching up. Simon pushed himself off my arms and hunched over, puking everywhere. Ugh, that was so gross

  “It’s okay, man. Get it all out,” Jace said while patting Simon’s back.

  Wow, he really was a good friend. Simon continued to dry-heave. Jace straightened up and turned to face me. Again, the sparks flew. This time, I fought against it.

  “Uh, hi, I’m Jace,” he said politely, sticking his hand out. The way his eyes sparkled was enticing.

  “Uh, hi.” I responded awkwardly. I wanted to take his hand, but the contact would be too much for me.

  “So, how do you know this guy?” he asked, pointing at Simon who was now lying on his back, making snow angels. The only problem was it was late summer. Man, he really couldn’t hold his liquor.

  “Long story. Look, I need to get him home.” I told Jace, reaching down to pick up Simon.

  “I could take you. I’ve only had one beer. I’m completely sober,” Jace said, holding up two fingers in scouts honor. He looked so cute I couldn’t help the smile that forced itself on my face.

  “Um, no, thanks. I think we can manage.” I tried to ignore the disappointed look on his face, but it was hard. Reaching down, I lifted Simon to his feet with one arm only for him to fall back down.

  “You-you be nice to Jace. He is a goo-good guy now, Ana.” Simon drunkenly slurred. If he wasn’t drunk, I would have punched him in face right now! He just called me ANA in front of Jace! I knew Jace heard because I heard his sharp intake of breath without even looking at him. Aw, hell!

  “You’re Ana? Analise Walker?” Jace asked, his voice thick with emotion. No point denying it, thanks to my dear friend that ousted me. I simply nodded.

  “Oh shit! It all made sense now, but you look so…wow.” Jace ran his hands through his hair, staring at me in wonderment and excitement. Suddenly, he engulfed me in a bear hug. I could have easily broken free, but his heat surrounded me. The tingles in my body ignited desire in my core. Jace let me go but placed his hand on my cheeks and just stared at me.

  “I’ve thought about this moment for two years. What I would say when I saw you again, but now, I’m at a complete loss for words. All I want to do is this.” Jace crashed his soft lips to mine.

  I was stunned. My body wouldn’t move. Jace was kissing me! He expertly glided his lips over mine. After a couple of seconds, I couldn’t refuse anymore, so I actively participated. He tasted like the sweetest candy. I didn’t think I could ever get enough. His hands slipped around my waist and molded my body to his. His body against mine was like heaven.

  “Ana?” Hearing my name immediately snapped me out of the moment. I quickly detached myself from Jace. I knew who that small feminine voice belonged to, and I was both happy and terrified to turn and face it. Too bad, I didn’t have any other choice. I slowly turned on my heel, coming face to face with Marie and Seb at the edge of the woods. They looked tired and dirty but very much alive and free! Marie was looking at me, slightly confused. But that was not what I was worried about.

  Seb’s whole body was tense. His jaw was tight and his fists were balled. The look in his eyes was dangerous. Seb was royally pissed off. I’d actually never seen him look so strong and lethal. However, it wasn’t me he was giving his death glare to.

  It was Jace.

  Oh shit! He saw the kiss!

  Chapter 19

  Emotional Rollercoaster

  Ana

  This was so awkward. We all sort of just stood there, staring at one another for a full minute. It might not seem like much, but with the tension in the air, it was excruciating.

  “I'm so happy to see you!” Marie said sweetly, breaking the weird silence. She engulfed me in a hug which I eagerly returned. I missed my tiny friend so much too.

  “How did you guys find me here?” I asked her when we pulled apart.

  “Well, Marcos and Talon left to see Maximus. That's when we took our chance and got out. Lucky for us, most of the guards were human and not very well trained. We took out who we had to and ran. I knew you would come home, so we made our way to this small town. We actually just got here and had no clue where to find you. Seb wanted to cross the woods and that's when we heard the loud music. We followed it and here you are with him…” Marie trailed off, bringing back the awkwardness.

  I had no clue how to explain the kiss with Jace, so I was just going to ignore it. Besides, I didn't even know how I felt about it.

  “Well, I'm so glad you guys made it out safely,” I said, smiling at Marie who gladly returned it. When I looked back at Seb though, a smile was the furthest thing from his face. This was just perfect. What else could go wrong?

  “Hey! Hey! Best friend!” A loud shrieking girl sprinted around the corner. From the too-tight skirt and bouncy blonde curls, I knew exactly who it was. How the hell did she get here?! She was still running towards us from the side of the house. Her impractical heels caused her to trip and fall face first into the grass.

  Oh gosh.

  “I'm okay!” She yelled, getting back up and pulling down the shirt stuck to her fat rolls. I smacked my palm to my forehead. You have got to be kidding me!

  “Hey, best friend! I found you!” Lily said, out of breath.

  I stared at the girl with my jaw dropped. She was nuts! That was it!

  “Lily, how the hell did you find me?” I asked, rubbing my temples. If one more person showed up in this backyard, I was going to explode.

  “That's easy! I used your picture from the security cam at the house and hired a private investigator. With money, you can find anyone. At first, he couldn't find you; like you didn't exis
t. But then, your face turned up on some security cam at a shitty motel here. So, I drove here, showed your picture to some teen boys, and they said you would probably be at this raging party!” She told me excitedly. There was something wrong with this girl.

  “Why would you have someone track me?!” I asked very irritably

  “Duh, we are like best friends now! You saved me, and I couldn't have my new BFF running around all homeless,” she said like that made perfect sense.

  I could just scream right now! I opened my mouth to yell at her for her clingy and crazy behavior, but Simon cut me off.

  “Ooh. I'm not feeling well,” he said, rolling over onto his stomach.

  Crap! I couldn't handle all this shit right now! All these conflicting emotions running through me were enough to make me insane! Geez! My first party sucked!

  Taking matters into my own hands, I yanked Simon off the ground and tossed him over my shoulder. Both Jace and Lily gave me stunned looks. They probably didn’t expect me to be this strong. Right now, I didn't care. All I knew was that I needed to get away from this house before someone else came back here and literally caused me to hype out.

  “Lily, I want you, Seb, and Marie to follow me, Simon, and Jace back to my motel. Now!” I said, my voice not leaving any room for argument.

  Lily and Marie quickly left the yard with Seb angrily striding behind them. I didn't know what his problem was exactly, but I had an idea which was why I asked him to ride with Lily. Seb wasn't the easiest person to deal with when he was upset.

  “That was interesting. Are those friends of yours?” Jace asked, looking puzzled.

  “Just show me where your car is.” I responded flatly. I was not trying to be rude, but I was still a little ticked off that he just kissed me like that.

  Jace nodded his head and walked toward the front of the house. The party was still going strong, but at this point, I was beyond over it.

  We crossed the front lawn into the street. I could see Lily's shiny expensive car parked on the side of the road. She was waving from the driver’s side window like an idiot. All I could do was roll my eyes. One way or another, I had to get rid of her. Ditching didn't work so well the last time. Maybe if I scared her, she would run back home.

  We got into Jace’s truck, and I strategically placed Simon’s passed out body in the middle. The more distance between us, the better.

  “Which motel are you staying at?” Jace asked, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at me.

  “The one at the town’s entrance.” I responded, looking out the passenger side window.

  Simon moaned in his sleep and dropped his head onto my shoulder. Why in the world would he get so drunk? Maybe he had a lot on his mind. I certainly did. Too bad, the only way I’d ever be drunk was if I drank his blood. I quickly killed that thought. Never would I drink from Simon.

  “Uh, I'm sorry I just kissed you like that. I-I couldn't help myself,” Jace said, tearing me from my thoughts.

  “You had no problem avoiding that two years ago.” I sneered. The more I think about kissing Jace, the madder I became. Since he came to our school, he'd been stuck on Kim. Now he wanted me to believe it was me he wanted? Yeah, sure.

  “Look, I know, back then, it seemed like I wasn't into you…”

  “You dated my sister! You ignored me for years! It more than seemed like it Jace. That was it,” I said, my voice getting a little louder than I wanted. I tore my eyes away from him and continued looking out the window.

  “Ana, please let me explain. I was a coward then. It's true, but I never had feelings for Kim. You and I always shared this connection…”

  “Jace, please just stop,” I said, cutting him off. His eyes darted to me for a second. Jace slammed the car into park and turned his body to fully face me.

  “Ana, I'm not giving up. I let you go once. It won't happen again.” Jace’s eyes held so much determination, I had no choice but to believe him. Words were lost to me at that moment. What could I really say to that anyway?

  Jace opened his door and got out of the truck. I looked around and noticed that we had arrived at my motel. Slowly, I got out too. Simon was still passed out, so I scooped him into my arms. Lily and the others were all standing around, looking at each other in silence.

  Seb still looked pissed.

  He walked over to me, and I almost got scared by the hard look on his face. When he was right in front of me, I opened my mouth to ask what he wanted, but he simply reached out and took Simon from my arms. I raised a brow, but he just jerked his head toward the motel room. Then it dawned on me that he took Simon so it wouldn't look strange to everyone seeing a small girl carrying a boy. It was just like Seb to always think ahead.

  “Come on, guys,” I said as I walked to the motel.

  “This is a crappy motel,” Lily said once we entered my room. I chose to ignore her.

  Seb laid Simon on the bed and then stood next to Marie by the door. Jace stood next to the bed. Lily looked around in disgust.

  Now, for the hard part: what the hell do I say to all of them?

  This was not in my plan. Well, I didn't really have a plan, but still. Two people knew the truth about me. The other three didn't. Heck, I didn't even know fully what I was or where I came from. I guess I couldn't really explain to them the situation if I didn't fully understand it. Or maybe, I was just stalling.

  “Can I speak with you for a second?” Seb asked.

  I nodded. I was not too eager to talk to him, but I needed to be away from these people for a moment.

  We left the room and stood outside. The night and open space was inviting. I faced Seb, taking in his large muscular frame. The stubble on his jaw was unkempt, making him look tougher and stronger. And attractive, a voice somewhere in my head added.

  “Uh, so how was the escape?” I asked to break the silence.

  “It went according to plan. Marie had to do some shooting, but she handled it well.” Seb’s voice was very even and controlled.

  I was proud that Marie was able to protect herself. She was never big on violence, so it worried me, but now I knew she could take care of business.

  “That's great. What about Marcos and Talon?” I wondered.

  “Marcos is losing his mind, and Talon is hiding things. I believe he knows who you are. We have to leave here soon.” Seb’s serious voice made me realize I'd been wasting time here. How could I forget I had crazy vampires on my tail?! Although the thought of leaving Simon so soon hurt, I knew it was for his own safety.

  “Maybe it’s time you say bye to your little boyfriend.” Seb spat.

  Okay, whoa! Yeah, he was still pissed about that kiss, but he knew what he had no right to be mad. I declared my love to him, and he walked out on me. The pain of that was still fresh. Damn it! I was so tired of these guys playing with my head and emotions like this! They never thought about how their actions made me feel. Well, Ana, maybe it was time you play back. Placing a sexy smile on my face, I casually shrugged.

  “Maybe I don't want to leave him.” I lied. Actually, space from Jace was exactly what I wanted.

  Seb’s jaw ticked angrily.

  “So, is he your boyfriend?” He asked, his voice tight. I loved every minute of this. I spiced it up a bit by slowly dragging my long hair to one side of my head.

  “Maybe, maybe not. What's it to you?” I replied with a smirk.

  Seb quickly grabbed me and slammed my body against the wall. It didn't hurt at all. Actually, it was kind of a turn on.

  “Ana, don't,” he said, pressing his body to mine. The sensation of him spread through me like wild fire.

  “Don't what?” My voice came out a little more breathless than I intended. Seb pressed his face into the crook of my exposed neck. His warm breath on my skin was so enticing, it almost caused my knees to buckle. These reactions were making me feel like a slut. After all, I did just make out with Jace not too long ago. My mind was trying to fight it, but my attraction to Seb was just as strong as it a
lways had been.

  “I'm sorry.” I heard him whisper against me. All I could think about was the brush of his lips against my skin when he spoke. My traitor body was in such a heightened state, my mind barely stood a chance to fight it. Still, I tried.

  “Why?” I asked, allowing my fingers to run through his silky hair. Seb moaned, lifting his head to meet my eyes. The lust in his gaze caused my core to sear with need. All I wanted was for him to press those perfect lips to mine.

  “Because I hurt you,” he replied. Those words penetrated my lust; turning it off like a switch. Now, Seb was apologizing for hurting me, but I didn't miss the fact that he left out his rejection.

  “Is that all you’re sorry about?” I questioned. Please say no. I stood frozen as I waited for his answer. I knew I still loved Seb. I also knew he rejected me. But my heart couldn't help but hope he realized his mistake. All he had to say was he was wrong, and he did love me.

  I knew I said no second chances, but looking at him so close to me now, I knew it was a lie. Seb’s eyes stared at me intensely. His years with vampires allowed him to have complete control over his emotions. I searched his face hard and couldn't find one clue about what he was thinking.

  Seb, please don't hurt me again.

  “Everything okay out here?” My head whipped angrily to the person that interrupted us.

  Of course, it was Jace. He stood awkwardly by the door, suspicious of the closeness between Seb and I.

  “Everything's fine.” Seb replied in a deep even voice.

  Seb’s face may not betray him, but his voice just did. He was pissed as well. I, on the other hand, completely ignored Jace. My attention was all on Seb. My anxiety increased when he stepped away from me. I wouldn't let that stop me. I took a matching step towards him.

  “Is there anything else you’re sorry about?” My voice was so hopeful, it made me feel a little weak. Maybe love did that to a person.

  Seb’s eyes held mine, and for a brief second, I saw something flash through them, but it was too fast for me to grasp.

  “No,” he answered tightly.