by J. L. Myers
It’s not like that. There was no uncertainty in Kendrick’s voice. We’re just having fun. It’s nothing permanent, nothing like that. His emotions touched on a twinge of guilt. My feelings for you haven’t changed, but I need to live, too.
And now I felt terrible. Had I actually expected Kendrick to stay mine, in the only form I would have him and not in the way he truly desired? His feelings for me had kept him from living his own life. It had created a dependency between us. But I couldn’t give Kendrick what he wanted. It was out of my power. And he deserved to experience all that life had to offer, with whomever he chose. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. It’s not my place and you should be having fun. I want you to be happy. I do.
Kendrick covered his guilt, though a touch still remained, probably from worrying me like crazy. I’m gonna go now. I feel dirty and I need a shower.
Understanding that he wanted to cleanse himself after being part of what Ty and I had been doing, I nodded. Sure. We’ll catch up later.
With that our link severed and I was alone again. Still beside me Ty was now reclined back on his elbows and watching me. “What?” I questioned, shrugging.
Ty sat up and leaned towards me. The streaming sunlight caught his irises, making them gleam like chips of gold. “I just find you…amazing.”
I frowned and pursed my lips. I wasn’t about to start lying. “You know where I was, don’t you?”
Ty placed a hand on my thigh. “I know. You were checking in on Kendrick.” The missing irritation from his voice surprised me. “Is everything alright?”
Ty was asking about Kendrick’s well-being? Had I entered the twilight zone? Seeing the interest and perhaps even a pinch of concern in Ty’s face, I answered truthfully. “He’s fine, it would seem. Better than fine.” I gave a nonchalant shrug. “He’s met someone. That’s why he’s been blocking me.”
Genuine surprise crossed Ty’s face. “You’re serious?” I couldn’t tell if Ty was doubtful or relieved. After a pause he asked, “So, how does that make you feel?”
Now realizing his staid expression was a cover for possible insecurity, I put his worry at ease. “I think it’s great.”
~
Ty’s body broke from mine, and I felt the loss of his bare chest against my bikini-clad one. The crowd surrounding us on the outside deck whistled and waved drunkenly as the next song started up. Tonight was island night and everyone was dressed the part. Every guy was bare chested and wearing board shorts, while the girls flaunted skimpy bikinis or coconut shells with sarongs or grass skirts.
Ty rubbed the material of my own sarong and leaned in close. “Drink?” he asked over the loud festive music.
Following Kendrick’s interruption at the waterfall, Ty had insisted I take from him back in our cabin. Satisfied with my earlier taste of him, I knew he meant an actual normal alcoholic drink. Still I blushed at the memory. “Sure.”
We pushed free of the close-knit dancers and found the bar. Leis, tropical flowers, and light-flashing glasses served as themed decorations atop the varnished wooden shelves behind the staff. As Ty edged in to order our drinks, I shivered, feeling exposed. There was that peculiar sensation of being watched again. It had been happening on and off since the first night. Though apart from the perv watching what he would have thought was Ty and me making out in the club, I hadn’t caught anyone else. I glanced around, letting my paranoia bleed in.
“You alright?”
I jumped as Ty appeared before me, holding out a girly purple drink with a paper umbrella and glazed cherries. “Oh, yeah. I’m good.” I took the drink while registering that no one was looking our way. “I uh…it’s nothing.” I took a long sip from the curly straw and my face lit up. “Purple and tastes like candy. What is this?”
Ty shrugged. “Fruit Tingle. I figured since you like vodka, a purple version would have to be better.” He drained his own drink, a much more masculine bourbon on the rocks. Then he pointed across the net-covered pool to the bathrooms. “I’ve gotta take a leak, but…” His free arm captured my waist and hauled me close. “When I get back, we’re burning up that dance floor. All. Night. Long.”
I shivered at this hot, alcohol-rich breath, my eyelids shutting at the thought. When I opened them his heat, scent, and touch were gone. I backed over to the end of the bar, sipping while watching the growing mass of drunk dancers.
Cold air touched my shoulder, raising the hairs backing my neck. Then the pendant at my wrist warmed. I spun and snorted purple out my nose. A pale, lean-muscled guy was right behind me, so close our skin almost touched. “Ah, sorry,” I coughed. “I didn’t see you there.”
The guy’s black pupils tracked down my barely-clothed body, taking in every exposed inch. A smile parted his lips, showing off glossy white teeth. “No,” he said over the noise, his accent sort of Aussie. “But I saw you.”
I took a step back and he caught my wrist. His touch was arctic and he let go, running his fingers through his spiky blond hair. There was something familiar about the calculated look in his eyes that chilled me to the bone.
“I have a boyfriend,” I blurted.
The guy laughed, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. “And he left you…alone. A pretty piece like you.”
He stepped closer and I didn’t move, panic at who he was and what he wanted keeping me planted. Because I had seen this guy before. This was the perv who’d been watching us. Anger fired in my bones and sudden wind picked up around us. “I’m not interested. Back off.”
The guy chuckled. “Spirit. I like it. Will make our encounter so much more…fun.”
He came at me with open hands and I readied to fight. Before I got the chance to knee him where it hurts, someone darted between us and shoved him back. “Lay off my girlfriend or I’ll rearrange your face,” Ty snarled, baring human teeth.
The guy barely took a step back, his expression turning feral. “C’mon, mate. I just wanted a taste. Pretty thing like that must be used to handing it out.”
Violent wind hit the deck and Ty roared. His fist flew out, cracking the guy in the nose. I cried out and grabbed at Ty as the guy spun from the force.
The dickhead deserved the hit, but letting Ty wreck the guy would cause more mess than it was worth. Dancers had already stopped to watch, and the drinkers at the bar had shuffled back. Security would be on us like a rash any minute.
“Ty, let’s go.” I tugged harder, wind whipping my hair. “He’s not worth it.”
The guy shot around, face unharmed and smiling. “Now the party starts.”
He leapt at Ty and I cried out “Stop!” as girls in the crowd shrieked.
Then a blinding flash of light struck with a deafening BOOM. I hit the deck, the aftermath obliterating my eardrums. As the noise faded I blinked rapidly, clearing the blinding light from my eyes. Around me there were shrieks and screams, the scamper of people running.
A set of warm hands found my shoulders, lifting me off the deck. “Ty?”
“Yeah,” he yelled, sounding far away. “Did you see what happened?”
“No,” I said as the surroundings started to come back into focus. “Just light and that noise.”
‘This is a severe weather warning,’ a crackling voice barked over the speakers. ‘All passengers are directed to retrieve their life vests and report to their safety stations at once.’
Right on cue, fat drops of rain started to fall, splattering across the deck which moments ago had been swarmed by drunk, sweaty dancers. The cruise ship began rise and fall with violent thrusts.
“There was lightning,” Ty said, directing me out of the open. “It couldn’t have been a mile from the boat. We need to get inside.”
Now able to see, my gaze shot behind us. There was no one there. “What happened to that guy?”
Ty shook his head, face hardening as he took my hand to drag me inside. Another boat-rattling rumble rang out as the door to the stairwell slammed shut behind us. “Disappeared with the lightning.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
With a continued warning the next day for all passengers to keep indoors due to the storm, we spent our time switching from our cabin to cozy corridor seats, just talking and holding hands. It had been nice. An honest telling of our lives from the beginning up until now. Ty’s upbringing had been a course of harsh training and high expectations from his father. It was vastly different to mine. Well, except for the early years that were still coming back to me.
Now we were all talked out and contracting cabin fever. It was time to break loose and break the rules.
Feeling like a naughty kid, I let Ty pull me past the cordoning tape and upstairs to the Oasis deck. Ty dropped his backpack from his shoulder, causing it to clank as it hit the deck. Bar the gentle glow of a three-quarter moon peeking through thick clouds, the windy area was almost lightless. Not that my vamp sight needed light to see. There was an aboveground spa, and a bar. Square potted plants had been pulled up against the sides, and stacked plastic deck chairs had been tied down to brave the weather.
Feeling confident in this private Oasis, I allowed my towel to slip from my hips. Beneath it was an iridescent-purple monokini. The one-piece kind with large cut-outs along the sides. It showed off plenty of skin and covered only the necessary bits. I smiled, reveling in my new confidence.
Ty’s lips curved up at the sides and he tore his muscle shirt off. He came forward, pressing his steaming body against mine before stealing a quick kiss and sweeping me off my feet. I giggled as he carried me into the spa, holding me so tight I could feel his hot breath on my neck and hear every beat of his pulse.
“You’re more beautiful than even the heavens,” he whispered into my ear.
I hugged into his broad chest, forcing up the blocks in my mind. With the overwhelming punch of Ty’s scent, it took serious concentration. Still, I wasn’t giving up. When I was ready I peered up to meet his vibrant eyes. The desire in them made my face hot. I planted a soft kiss against his lips. “You’re making me blush.”
Ty loosened his hold on me, allowing me to slide off his lap. “Will you wait here?”
“Huh? Why?”
Ty raised a hand to caress my cheek. “I have a surprise. I’ll be right back.” He leaped from the spa, dripping a trail of water as he disappeared down the stairs to the deck below.
Before I could wonder what Ty was up to, a shock of tingles swamped my spine. Unease washed over me and I attempted to shake off the foreboding sensation. But it wouldn’t budge, and I knew why. I had felt this before. The pendant warmed as if in confirmation, blistering against my wrist even below the hot water. Someone was watching me. Here on this abandoned deck. I wasn’t alone.
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I peered around. The moonlight had vanished behind thickening dark clouds. Ominous shadows grew, tricking my heightened vision.
“Ty, where are you?” I mumbled.
With eyes darting from shadow to shadow, they settled into the blackness beside the unmanned bar. I stared intensely. Was that a slight movement within the shadows? My vision began to blur from staring so hard. I blinked, forcing my eyes to refocus. “I’m imagining things,” I told myself. “I’m being paranoid.”
Caius was still out there, somewhere, but we were on the other side of the world. On a freaking boat in the middle of the ocean. There was no way he could get to me here.
An almost inaudible sound redirected my staring gaze. It was a guy in his twenties with spiky blond hair. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his black pants. The guy’s head was down, gaze focused on his bare feet.
Although I couldn’t glimpse his face, even in the dark of night, one thing did catch my attention. The top buttons to his white collared shirt were open, revealing unusually pale flesh. I’d see this guy before. More than once. “You again. Didn’t you get the hint. I’m—”
Any words I had died as the guy took a few short steps forward and peered up. I inhaled too quick, sharp pain exploding in my lungs like a bomb of pins.
Compared to last night, his face appeared drawn and sickly, tinted to an almost gray hue. Had he been seasick all day?
The clouds above glided from the moon, releasing an eerie glow that spilled light down on us. I did a double take and scrambled from the spa, backing up and tripping over Ty’s backpack. The perv’s pupils weren’t black anymore. They weren’t even human. They were blood red. Rogue vampire.
A pleased smile flashed across his face, revealing razor-sharp fangs. “I’m Lukas.” His hissed words were cold and deadly. “Nice to meet you, again…Amelia.”
Jumping upright my pulse hammered through my ears. There was a primitive way in which he stood, every muscle tense in preparation. Even the thin muscles along his neck were taut. There was no doubt I was the hunted.
The walls in my mind dropped and I took a step back. “What do you want?”
The creature’s smile widened. “Just you.”
Panic had my heart racing with realization. This was the vision I’d had the other day…I was the prey.
Amelia, run! Kendrick’s sudden panicked words shot through my ears. He’ll kill you!
Bile spiked in my throat as Lukas lunged forward. He was faster than any vampire. Faster than me. Too fast to track.
I went to run, but it was no use. The vampire was upon me, his icy, rock-hard hands wrapped around my neck like clamps. I struggled uselessly as his grip tightened on my throat.
Then I was moving, being dragged back into the shadows as my air supply choked closed. Gasping for breath, my head swam, vision blurred. The fight in me grew weaker with every second of lacking oxygen.
Crippling fear turned my bones to jelly. I was about to pass out. Even Kendrick’s shouts had died off. Why hasn’t he bitten me? I wondered as my vision blackened. Why not kill me and get it over with?
Out of nowhere a force like a battering ram slammed into us.
Lukas’s choking hold on my neck released and my oxygen-deprived body thudded to the deck. I gasped for breath, blinking against the black haze and clutching my tender throat. My body felt like putty, unresponsive and heavy.
Around me I could hear scrambling, growling, and hissing. Another loud thud vibrated the deck.
Get up and run! Kendrick screamed, his voice cutting through the haze.
I teetered, rocking forward as I tried to regain my balance. I blinked frantically to force the black fog from my vision. There was another loud blow followed by a bone-splitting crack. A screeching hiss followed.
Two dark figures grappled across the deck. One was my attacker. And the other? Was black as night and freaking massive.
Lukas hissed, swiping his razor-sharp claws. The gigantic beast responded in a threatening growl that was too familiar to confuse.
“Ty!”
His gold wolf eyes shot straight to me. In the same second the vampire sprung forward, slashing his claws across the wolf’s shoulder and chest. Ty snarled as glossy crimson spurted from the deep lacerations, striking to bat Lukas in the chest. The guy went flying, hitting the railing.
Ty bounded my way as Lukas shot up, deadly starvation in his red eyes.
“Look out!” I screamed too late, still struggling for more air.
The vampire shot through the air like lightning itself and landed on Ty’s back. His claw-like fingers punctured Ty’s skin, causing him to howl. The wolf reared and darted, but it was no use. The other guy’s hold was concrete, his fangs snapping again and again, trying to bite into Ty’s shoulder.
Moving fast, the wolf anticipated and deflected each attempt, wheeling, bucking, and snapping back. But he was growing weaker. I could see it. Blood poured from his wounds and his defense was slowing.
A grunt escaped my lips as I forced my recovering and heavy body from the deck. With all my might, I lunged. The plan had been to yank the vampire back in an effort to free Ty. But as my hands connected with his shoulders his elbow shot out, so fast I didn’t have time to react. It connected with my cheek with a brut
e force that sent me flying. My body collided with a stack of plastic deck chairs, cracking them on impact.
Ignoring the pain, I scanned around for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. Before me, Ty had somehow managed to throw Lukas off his torn and bloodied wolf back to stand on his hind legs.
My fingers folded around a jagged piece of broken deck chair as both guys threw clawed punches while snapping their bared fangs. As I went to move, brandishing my makeshift weapon, something caught my eye. The moon had resurfaced from the clouds above, glinting against something by my side. Next to Ty’s backpack was a smashed bowl of melted chocolate and scattered strawberries. The surprise Ty had left to get. But that wasn’t all. A gleaming silver stake protruded from Ty’s backpack. There was an inscription down the length.
Amelia, you have to kill it, Kendrick said, no longer screaming for me to run. The heart. Aim for the heart!
I dropped the plastic and grasped the cold silver weapon in my shaking hands. My mind shut Kendrick and his voice out. If this went wrong, I didn’t want him to see it.
An agonized growl forced my attention from the stake. The vampire had landed another hit on Ty, cutting fresh scarlet valleys across his stomach. Ty snapped forward, wolf teeth bared. The vampire used his movement against him, gripping his shoulders and digging his fingers like knives into Ty’s wounds. Ty’s knees buckled, bringing him to the floor as the vampire opened its mouth in anticipation.
With a split second to save Ty’s life, I sprang from the deck. Both hands rose, clutching my weapon. The stake plunged in, hitting bone and jutting sideways through Lukas’s back.
