by M. Leighton
Finally—reluctantly—I made myself turn off the water and get out of the shower. I tried not to get too wrapped up in the phenomenon of toweling off, but it wasn’t easy. It seemed as though the rasp of the towel could be heard in the next room and felt all the way to my bones. It was a very perplexing and absorbing experience. I didn’t understand how sensation could be so dramatically heightened yet pain be so dramatically dulled. It was a paradox for sure, but one about which I would not complain. I would simply be grateful.
I’d gotten dressed and was running a comb through my tangled hair when an amazing scent filled my nostrils. It seemed as though, for a moment, it held me completely captive.
I stood in the bathroom with my feet glued to the floor. But for the deep breathing—my body’s instinctive efforts to pull the delicious aroma into my mouth and lungs—I didn’t move a muscle.
As if I’d touched the tip of my tongue to something decadent, my mouth was filled with the barest hint of ambrosia. That trace, however, was all it took for my senses to converge on the source with an all-consuming, pin-point focus.
With a mind-blowing speed and a frightening intensity, hunger stole over me. It was so powerful I was unable to fight it. I could think of nothing else, nothing but sinking my teeth into whatever carried that scent and draining it until there wasn’t a drop left. I didn’t care that it would inevitably mean death for the human or that there might be fear or tears or pain on the other person’s behalf. I only cared about quenching the thirst, the overwhelming, painfully potent need.
Before I could identify what it was or even give it a second thought, I was on my way out of the bathroom and headed toward my bedroom door.
A voice gave me pause. It lasted for only a fraction of a second, but that was all it took to save her life.
It was my mother.
“Ridley, I’m home. How did it go at Sebastian’s?”
In the deepest part of my brain, I recognized her and it registered that I didn’t want to hurt her. That’s the thought that stopped my feet from moving forward.
My only truly coherent notion was that her blood was not saturated with alcohol. On some level, I was both surprised and confused. Unfortunately, those emotions weren’t strong enough to dull the intense yearning I had for her unpolluted blood. My body didn’t care that she was my mother. My body didn’t care that my heart didn’t want to hurt her. My body only felt, and at that time, one feeling ruled all—thirst.
As I was reaching for the door knob, ready to remove the only obstacle between me and my prey, another scent caught my attention and dragged it away from the door. I whirled around to find Bo standing inside my room, right in front of the window.
In a movement that would be too fast for human eyes to track, Bo crossed the room to me and took me in his arms. Quickly, he whisked me back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Never taking his eyes off me, Bo reached behind him and turned on the shower spray.
My mind was spinning with vague thoughts and hazy sensations, but none of them could compete with my need. They were slave to that one thing that was infinitely more controlling and dominant than all else.
Thirst.
Bo stepped closer to me, his eyes bubbling black pools of excited anticipation.
“Mr. Hearst,” he whispered and then he gave me his throat.
Without hesitation, I drove my fingers into his hair and my teeth into his neck. With the slight pop of penetration, blood began to gush from his artery into my mouth, bathing my tongue in the thick luscious liquid.
Bo panted in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me, his hands roving my body from shoulder to hip and back again. As his fingers teased my skin, his blood satiated my thirst. But as one fire waned, another was kindled. It gathered into a storm of white hot flames that licked their way along my veins and burned inside my core.
As if sensing the new direction my body was taking, Bo slid his palms down the backs of my thighs and he lifted until my legs were wrapped securely around his waist. In three long steps, he had my back pressed against the cool wood of the door.
Bo leaned into me, his hips grinding into mine. When I tore my mouth from his throat, our lips collided with a passion that I feared would incinerate us both. His tongue lapped up the residue of his own blood where it coated the inside of my mouth and I felt an explosive heat rising inside me, pouring through me to pool where our bodies met between my legs.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Ridley, I’m home,” my mother’s voice called from behind the door across the room, the door that led to Izzy’s bedroom.
Bo stilled against me, turning his head away from mine so that I could quietly draw a huge gulp of air into my burning lungs. It was saturated with the scent of my mother’s blood, but it no longer affected me like it had only minutes before. Bo had seen to that. Once again, he’d swept in to save the day.
Bo leaned back to look at me, desire still burning in his eyes, hot and smoky. He released his hold on me and let my legs fall slowly down the outsides of his thighs until my feet touched the floor.
I could tell that he was as shaken as I was. It was becoming apparent that we were going to have a difficult time keeping our hands off each other, even more so now that I was a vampire. Bo had never told me that there were other pleasures associated with drinking blood.
“Ridley? Can you hear me?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, Mom, I can hear you.”
“How did it go at Sebastian’s?”
“Fine.”
“Did he ask you back again? To sit for him, I mean?”
“Um, we didn’t really talk about it, but I’m sure I’ll end up going back over there.”
“Good. I’d hate for you to mess up an opportunity like that.”
His face still inches from mine, Bo grinned. My knees turned to mush and I smiled in return. Oh, how I loved him!
“I won’t mess it up, Mom.”
“Alright. I’m going to bed.”
“G’night.”
“Night.”
I listened as she walked through Izzy’s room toward the door that led out into the hall. A little pang of sadness stabbed at my heart when I heard her pause. I imagined that she was looking around the room, painfully remembering her other daughter for the millionth time. Finally, she moved on, her footsteps fading as she made her way down the hall to her own bedroom.
That needle of reality punctured the balloon of passion Bo and I had occupied, leaving me feeling morose and deflated. I was still staring at the other bathroom door when Bo raised his fingers to my forehead. He rubbed them soothingly across the deep frown I could feel crouching between my brows.
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out,” he whispered, as if he could somehow sense what was plaguing me. In his eyes was love and assurance.
“She can’t lose another daughter.”
“I know.”
“But obviously my being here is out of the question, at least for a while.”
“Maybe you could ‘house sit’ for Sebastian. Skip school the next couple of days and see how the weekend goes. It will get easier. I promise.”
I tried to smile, but I knew that it was a weak attempt. Truthfully, his idea did seem like a stroke of genius and I did appreciate it, but I think we both knew my enthusiasm was sub-par at the moment.
Bo drew me gently into his arms and held me—held me until the bathroom was full of steam, held me until the tremors I hadn’t even been aware of had stopped, held me until some small amount of peace had made its way back into my heart.
When it seemed a respectable amount of time had passed, he released me and stepped back to turn off the shower.
“Why don’t you pack a bag and we’ll take it over to Sebastian’s tonight. We can come back for your car later, after you call your mom and tell her that you’ll be staying at Sebastian’s. Sound good?”
I nodded and we exited the bathroom. Bo sat on the bed while I rifled through my closet.
&n
bsp; My head was clear enough of the dark cloud of thirst to allow the thousands of worries that beleaguered me to swarm my mind all at once. As I packed my things, it seemed one concern kept floating to the top, much more often than the others.
“Bo, can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” he said without a second’s hesitation.
“I assume we’ll be staying at Sebastian’s together, right?”
I busied myself with folding jeans into my bag, but I knew my cheeks were probably bright red. If a vampire could blush, that is. That’s something I’d have to investigate later.
“Of course. I’m not leaving your side.”
I fought off the urge to go throw myself into his arms for that comment. I knew I needed to keep a safe distance when addressing this subject.
“You know I love you, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you make me feel…well…I really want…”
“I know,” Bo supplied, saving me from further embarrassment.
“I don’t want you to think that I don’t want- but we can’t—”
“Ridley,” Bo said as he slid off the bed and crossed the room to me. When I didn’t raise my head, he put a finger beneath my chin and lifted. “We should wait. You have other things to worry about. Don’t give it a second thought.”
His eyes said so much as they absorbed me into their depths. He knew that I was concerned about our physical relationship getting out of hand and he understood. I should’ve known he would, but it was a relief to me nonetheless.
Bo brushed his lips across mine, causing my body to react instantly. I’m sure he could smell my heated blood.
He smiled widely, almost as if he’d done it on purpose. “I never said it would be easy, though.”
That devil.
CHAPTER FOUR
I laughed nervously, excitedly. “No, it won’t be easy.”
I felt a little more comfortable after that tension-breaking laugh. I finished packing my bag and closed the window, and then we both crept to the door to listen closely for signs of Mom stirring around. When the sounds of her soft snoring drifted through the house to our ears, Bo and I made our hasty and silent exit through the front door, locking it safely behind us. I didn’t want anybody sneaking in on Mom, after all.
As we crossed the yard, Bo slipped the strap of my bag off my shoulder and I saw his lips twitch with the barest hint of a grin.
“I’ll carry the bag and give you a head start. First one to the house wins,” he taunted.
“Wins what?”
“You don’t need to worry about that since you’re not gonna win.”
“Is that right?”
Before he could even answer, I took off like a shot, opening up to the power I could feel simmering just beneath the surface in my altered body.
I darted across yards and streets, dodging trees and dogs as easily as if it was broad daylight. I leapt over fences and flew around swimming pools as gracefully as if I had wings. I moved between shadows as if I’d suddenly become part of them. In a way, I guess I had. I was a creature of the night now. Darkness was my new comfort zone.
As I ran swiftly and effortlessly down the long street that led to Sebastian’s, I reveled in the feel of the wind whipping my hair and kissing my cheeks. In that moment, I’d never felt more free, never felt more carefree. I was barely even aware of the squeal of delight that erupted from my bursting chest until a tiny sound teased my ears. It was an answering chuckle, one that I recognized. It was Bo and he was gaining on me.
I pushed my legs as hard as I could, but it was no use. Bo was fast!
I felt the brush of something against my cheek. Somehow, Bo managed to give me a feather-light kiss as he whizzed past me. It was as if I was hardly moving.
When I reached the front steps at Sebastian’s, Bo was standing on the stoop, leaning up against the house beside the front door, arms and ankles crossed.
“Not bad for your first time,” he said cockily.
“I think you cheat,” I announced, mounting the steps.
“How did I cheat? You left before me, remember?”
“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure you did.”
“You’re just a sore loser,” he kidded with a grin, reaching out to wind one arm around my waist.
“Maybe you put a spell on me. Maybe you’re a vampire and a warlock.”
“A spell? What kind of spell?” Bo’s voice dropped to a silky purr and his eyes dropped to my lips.
“Some kind of love spell.”
“Why? Were you thinking about things other than running?”
The air felt suddenly thicker and sweeter. Much sweeter.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“Well then maybe I need to do a better job with my potion next time.”
“Potion?”
“Yeah, it’s a delicious cocktail that I brew up just for you.” Bo leaned in, his lips only a couple of inches from mine.
“Delicious?” I was mesmerized, tantalized.
“Mmm,” he murmured as he traced my bottom lip with his tongue. “Want a taste?”
All I could manage was a tiny nod.
Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, Bo lowered his mouth to mine. He teased my lips apart by rubbing his gently back and forth across them. I was breathless with anticipation as I waited for him to deepen the kiss. But he didn’t. Instead, Bo straightened.
“Maybe I’ll just save that for another time. I think you’ve had enough potions for one day,” he said cheerfully.
Despite his casual attitude, I could sense the desire in him. He’d reacted to me as intensely and as immediately as I had to him. I could smell it. I could feel it.
“You suck,” I muttered, still in the throes of his attentions.
Bo laughed, a deep rich sound that sent a shiver racing through me. “Maybe later.”
With that, he took my hand in his and we walked through Sebastian’s unlocked front door.
Even though we’d only left there a short time ago, walking into Sebastian’s house was like participating in an exercise of suspended disbelief. It was surreal to think of the events that had transpired there and the truths that had been uncovered inside the four walls of the structure.
I stopped in the foyer to look around. Though I’d been inside the house more than once and walked its halls for hours, it still felt as though I was stepping into it for the first time. Maybe it was because I hadn’t really known Sebastian at all. Maybe it was because so much had happened in the rooms above my head. Maybe it was the nearly-imperceptible ghost of darkness and malice that greeted me at the door. Whatever the reason, I was immediately uncomfortable.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Bo was tugging me slowly forward, taking in the gorgeous details of the house as he went, seemingly unconcerned.
“He won’t be back. He showed his hand earlier. Right now, he’s got nothing, which puts us on equal footing. We just have to be the ones to find a way first.”
“A way to what?”
“To kill him before he kills one of us.”
“But you’re the boy who can’t be killed. It’s impossible for him to kill you, right?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“But I thought—”
“I know that’s supposed to be the case, but something makes me think that he’s found some sort of loophole.”
I thought of Lucius talking about the letter Iofiel, Constantine/Sebastian’s wife, had supposedly sent him. It was suggested that she’d found some way for Sebastian to kill Bo if he could manage to stay alive long enough. The problem was, even if that were true, we had no idea what was involved in such a feat. Therefore, we had no way to defend against an attack.
“Since all this legendary stuff is obviously true, that means that you should be able to read something important on my skin, right?”
Bo’s eyes slid to me for a fraction of a second before da
rting away again.
“Supposedly.”
“Well, have you been able to see anything on me? Ever?”
“I’m not sure,” he answered without looking at me.
Though I had no reason to think he would lie to me, no reason for him to even try, I got the unshakable feeling that he wasn’t being entirely truthful.
“Bo, if you know something, tell me.”
“I don’t know that I do. It’s just something I…suspect.”
“And? What is it?”
Bo paused in his perusal of Sebastian’s house to look at me.
“Those couple of times that you got upset, you know when I was fighting Lars and when Sebastian was staking me?” I nodded. “Well, I thought I could almost see something, but it’s like your body just wasn’t capable of…handling it I guess. Like it literally cracked under the pressure of it.”
“What do you think that means?”
Bo shrugged, resuming our walk down the hall.
“Just makes me wonder if it will be different now that you’re a vampire. That’s all.”
That one postulation gave me so much to think about, I had to abandon the theory entirely just to concentrate on what Bo was saying. I’d have to pick it back up later.
“Who’s room was this?”
We had reached the end of the long hall that held both Lilly and Sebastian’s rooms, a hall which, at first glance, appeared to dead end. However, that was not the case. The hall extended a ways past Sebastian’s room, at which point it looked as if it stopped. I’d never explored it that far, never realized there was anything down there. But there was.
There was a darkness on the left side of the hall, against the wall, that looked like a shadow upon casual inspection. But it wasn’t. It was a short hallway that jutted to the left, just off the main hall. At the end of it was a bedroom.
Bo stopped in front of the open door. At first glance, it appeared to be a fairly dark and sterile entrance to a tiny bedroom. Only that was just as deceptive as the way the architecture concealed the small hallway.
Once Bo and I stepped four or five feet into the gloomy interior, the room spread out before us in a suite that was easily discernible as the master quarters. Though I’d never been inside Sebastian’s room, I didn’t think it was possible that his space could be as large and grandiose as this one, not with it being situated between this room and Lilly’s.
