by Kailin Gow
But it was what Keegan held back that so intrigued her. A sense of quiet danger and pent up anger. No, Keegan was not simply the handsome student who so charmed her sister, and Alexis longed to learn of his full capacity. Good and bad. Sweet and bitter. Gentle and harsh. She wanted it all.
Her skin tingled at the thought of his blood. It wouldn’t take much. Not much at all to have him exploding with the full force of emotions. If only she could have more time alone with him. She’d seen how easy it was to awaken his passion. All she needed was to keep Sadie out of the way.
His lips had parted too hungrily and his eyes had surrendered to her.
Getting behind the wheel of his vehicle, she breathed in the musky scent of him. His masculinity pervaded the space and she was again caught up in the strong desire to be with him. He could be her own Mr. Darcy, the Lord Ashwin she’d lost, the love that had always eluded her. She saw in him the capacity to empathize and understand her, perhaps even more than Lord Ashwin.
She started the motor and drove into the tight alleyway, stopping in front of the loving young couple who now huddled close together. Keegan leaned heavily on Sadie as she led him to the passenger door.
**********
Though his wound was substantial, Keegan still had to wait before being seen by a doctor. The triage nurse had cut an opening in his jeans and had stemmed the flow of blood with thick wads of surgical gauze that she’d temporarily taped to his leg before sending him to the crowded waiting room with a pair of old crutches.
Mothers holding crying and coughing babies, mingled with several elderly people who complained about the inexcusable wait. One young man sat staring at the floor, his arm in a sling and a patch over his eye.
“You may as well go home, Alexis,” Sadie was eager to point out as she took a seat next to Keegan. “There’s absolutely no sense in all three of us waiting here.”
Sadie saw the hesitation in Alexis’ eye, and the argument she was preparing. But there was no room for argument. Keegan was her boyfriend and she had every right to be here with him while Alexis was nothing more than an irritating appendage.
“Well.” Alexis gave a haughty tilt to her chin and glanced down at Sadie. “The night is young. I guess my time would be better served elsewhere.”
Sadie smiled as she watched her sexy sister walk away, but was quickly dismayed when she caught Keegan’s unwavering stare at Alexis. His hunger was clear and her heartache intensified. Why had she thought Keegan could love only her?
This was Lord Ashwin all over again.
She fought to keep her eyes dry, but was overwhelmed by the pain of loving him. Losing him to another girl was heartbreaking enough. Losing him to her own sister was unbearable.
His eyes remained on Alexis until she was completely out of view. Bringing his gaze back to Sadie, he was instantly shocked to see the tears that lined her eyes. Sorrow tugged at his lips as he dragged his thumb under her eye to catch a tear.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and while she felt his emotions in his embrace, she couldn’t quite define what emotions he actually felt. When he squeezed her tight, it wasn’t with the love she’d sensed before, it was with regret and remorse.
She was losing him and she felt helpless to stop it.
They held each other for a long while; him with his confusion; her with emptiness.
“Keegan Knowles.” The crackling voice called over the intercom. “Examination room six.”
Keegan got up and grabbed the crutches. “Coming?” he asked Sadie when she remained seated.
She shrugged, unable to find her voice. Though she wanted to be with him, she was reluctant to be present should he start to bleed heavily.
“I’d like you to be there,” he insisted.
Knowing he needed her was a small victory. She stood and followed him down the hall to the door marked six.
A nurse invited him to sit on an examination table and just as quickly left.
Silence barreled down on Keegan and Sadie, almost drowning them.
“Does it hurt?” she finally asked, if only to break the ungodly silence. She couldn’t imagine how the pain could even remotely compare with what she was feeling that very moment.
“Not as bad as when I dislocated my shoulder at last week’s game.”
She forced a tight smile, remembering how she’d held ice to his shoulder. He’d been so appreciative of her presence, thanking her repeatedly for being there for him. Then again, Alexis hadn’t been there to distract him.
After another tense moment, he reached for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. With all the pain she felt, it was little consolation, but she clung to it. It was all she had. With Alexis’ uninhibited ways, Sadie felt she had nothing to battle with.
Her thumb played over his, and her gaze dipped to watch the dance of their digits. She couldn’t give him up; not without a fight. Not without trying. Not without showing him the passion she was capable of. Alexis might wear her passion for all to see, but Sadie’s passion was meant only for Keegan; only for intimate moments like this.
She leaned over him, bringing her face inches from his. “This isn’t over.” Bringing their intertwined fingers to his chest and squeezing his fingers tight, she leaned closer still and brushed her lips against his. He smiled, unsure and reluctant. When she pressed for more, urging his lips to part and welcome her tongue, he yielded with a soft moan.
His fingers tightened around hers and she felt the swell of passion fill him. The softness of his lips was replaced with urgency and hunger while his free hand ran through her hair, gripped the back of her neck and pulled her closer.
The heat that grew between them was intoxicating and Sadie soon forgot where they were. She was with him, in his embrace and that’s all that mattered. He held her, tight and with conviction. It was all she wanted from him.
Their tongues tasted and teased. Their lips puckered and nibbled. And their hands… He released his hold of her fingers and slowly traced a line up the curve of her waist and over her breast. She shivered, gasped and fought to stay upright as her knees faltered.
When Keegan began to kiss his way to her jaw and down her neck, her eyes shot open. The touch of his lips over the thin skin that protected her pounding artery was at once alarming and exciting and the thought of skimming her own lips over his neck filled her.
What would he taste like? How wonderful would it be to completely melt into him and share in his blood.
She arched her back, surprised by her own abandon. He leaned into her, pressing her closer. Their mouths met again sending waves of pleasure through her. Sensing her urgency, he deepened the kiss until she had practically crawled on top of him. She was lost in the kiss, relishing his taste until she felt her fangs grow. In a flash, she bolted away from Keegan and out the door, leaving him breathless, confused, and frustrated.
Chapter 14
The night she’d left Sadie and Keegan at the hospital, Alexis had gone hunting with a vengeance. Her hunger was insatiable and she’d only returned home in the early hours of the morning.
Though exhausted by her late night activities, she resisted going to bed, hoping to see Keegan arrive. Judging by the cute little outfit her sister put on first thing that morning, she was expecting a visit from him as well.
“Did you have time to go hunting after the hospital last night?” Alexis asked, trying to cut through the growing tension.
“Barely,” Sadie said. She opened her school bag and set her books in a neat pile on the table. Once her pencils, pens and erasers were all aligned she glared at her sister. “But I’m sure you drank enough for both of us.”
“I was quite reasonable,” Alexis lied. She’d be anything but reasonable. Whether it was her hunger for Keegan or her irritation with Sadie, something had triggered an increased desire to feed and feed again.
“I know what your idea of reasonable is.”
**********
By that evening, it was clear that K
eegan wouldn’t be coming around. Sadie was already preparing to go out feeding and thought the tension between them had remained throughout the day, Alexis wanted to go along with her.
As they’d always done, they tracked down criminals for their prey. This night led them to a kindergarten teacher who’d been accused of kidnapping young children for the purpose of making kiddy porn.
Alexis felt particularly eager about this one. Not only was her hunger more intense than ever, this victim was the vilest creature they’d hunted down since arriving in California.
Easy to track down, they’d stormed into his miserable little apartment while he’d busied himself uploading his latest production. Sadie vomited as she caught a glimpsed of the image on his screen.
Alexis pulled him out of his chair and threw him to the floor.
“Hey, what the…?”
“Let’s see what you can do with someone your own age,” she hissed.
The pig gave her the once over and licked his lips. “Whatever you want, babe.” He stood, his hands clawing at the air before him as he approached her.
She slapped him, sending his head reeling back further than any human’s should.
“You like it rough, you slut?” He reached out again grabbing her wrist.
Never one to enjoy losing control of a situation, Alexis felt rage and indignation at his touch. How dare the vermin lay his hand on her?
He jerked her forward, bringing her nose to nose with him. Alexis smiled sweetly just a second before she ripped his head to the side and sank her fangs into his throbbing vein.
His scream was a gurgle that slowly ebbed away until only the occasion bubble of saliva could be heard popping at the corners of his mouth.
After Sadie had done her best to stop his latest movie from making it to the web, she joined the feast. It took only a short amount of time for her to be sated.
“Come on, we need to leave.” She got to her feet, clapping her hands free of his filth with disgust.
Alexis, still famished and weak from need, clung to her victim wanting more.
“I’m going to go see if there isn’t any more vile material lying around and then we’re out.”
Alexis nodded, but while Sadie was in the other room, the blood stopped flowing. Stunned, Alexis bit deeper, searching for more. Unwilling to believe she’d drained him dry, she tried again and again.
When Sadie emerged from the bedroom, she rose. “All done.” She swiped her arm across her mouth and was quick to head to the door and lead the way out before Sadie could check on the man. As they emerged on the forgotten streets of the quaint little beach town, Alexis repeatedly passed her fingers over her lips.
She’d drained. It was the one thing about being a vampire that she’d always managed to control whether it was because of Sadie’s influence or an innate instinct not to drain. Despite her reckless reputation, she’d always been able to stop herself; to feel satisfied after a relatively small amount of blood.
She hoped her little sister didn’t see the difference in her, but she knew that if she drained a person to the point of death, it was the worse way of killing the person. Vampires who do, have succumbed to the most base of their darkest nature, thus becoming killers…Strigois.
But as weeks passed, the change became more and more evident. She wanted to deny it and did everything she could to keep it from Sadie. Her time at the house had greatly diminished as she spent all her time roaming the streets, even venturing to neighboring towns for prey. And though Sadie often questioned her with a glimmer of suspicion in her eye, the vague explanation Alexis offered seemed to satisfy her.
Vague memories of lessons on vampires returned to her. She remembered reading about Strigoi vampires from Romanian myths. The more blood they drank, the stronger the cravings became. It was exactly what she was going through and she didn’t know how to stop it.
One early morning, as she finally made her way back home after a night of draining one criminal after the other, she looked at her reflection and was horrified. Her eyes glowed more than ever, visibly red and betraying the nature of her identity.
Fear automatically had her wanting to run to Sadie to confide what was happening to her. But concern for her little sister won out. Sadie mustn’t find out that she’d become an insatiable killing machine. Soon the city would run out of criminals. And who would she feast on then?
Chapter 15
Class was about to begin and Keegan still hadn’t arrived. Sadie glanced at Ro for the fourth time, silently asking if she knew of any problem. Ro shrugged and looked up at the huge clock on the wall. Another minute left.
Keegan usually arrived at school long before Sadie, most often waiting for her by her locker. She’d missed seeing him that morning, missing the touch of his hand on hers. These past weeks, she bit down on the number of questions that dogged her. Since their passionate embrace at the hospital, Keegan had been too gentle in his touch, at times almost platonic. She feared her intense passion might have scared him off.
She longed for an explanation, even if it did turn out to be what she dreaded the most; his love for Alexis. At least then she’d know where she stood.
Now she was suffocating in some unbearable limbo that had her constantly analyzing Keegan’s every move.
That quirky smile meant he cared for her. That deep frown meant he was thinking of something he didn’t want to share with her; most likely Alexis. The touch of his hand was a good sign; he still wanted her. But the lack of warmth in his kiss indicated something else; his ever growing distance. His hugs held more resignation than affection and it was slowly tearing her apart.
And the look in his eyes. Though concern was often there, chagrin and regret always overpowered it.
“Well now, class,” Mrs. Beranski barked as she reached for the door.
Keegan ran in, squeezing through just before Mrs. Beranski could completely shut the door. Sadie smiled at him, but he barely seemed to notice. He looked past her, through her. Baffled, Sadie tried a small and discreet wave as he walked between the rows of desks, passing right by her, but he staunchly ignored her.
Tears sprang instantly to her eyes and she searched for what she’d done wrong. What had she said the last time they’d seen each other? What had she done?
Had he been offended when she said football bored her? Had she insulted him by not eating a meal he’d prepared for her? Or had Alexis finally gotten to him and he could no longer even bare to look at Sadie?
Mrs. Beranski was a blur at the front of the class and her lesson an incomprehensible buzz of chatter. Only when she filed through the row of desks did Sadie manage to focus. She turned, following Mrs. Beranski’s movement until she spotted Keegan seated at the back of the class.
He was livid and, he too, seemed unable to concentrate on the lesson. Sadie stared at him, trying to draw his gaze to her. Not once did he bat an eye or even glance her way. Staring for as long as she could without drawing the attention of Mrs. Beranski, Sadie finally had to turn to the front of the class when her teacher resumed her desk.
Two minutes were left to the class. Two interminable minutes before Sadie could hear Keegan out. Her pencils and pens were all zipped up in their neat little case and her books were closed, piled neatly on the corner of her desk just waiting to go.
The second the bell rang, she grabbed her things and bolted from her seat, heading to the back of the class.
“Damn it.” She caught a fleeting glimpse of Keegan as he slipped out the back door.
Shoving students aside, she rushed out of the class. He was already clear down the hall, running as if a linebacker would tackle him any second. Sadie picked up the pace, running with the respectable speed of a trained athlete. But still Keegan was putting more space between them. She added just enough speed to catch up with him without attracting too much suspicion from the other students who jostled their way through the crowded halls.
Keegan exited through the door that led to the student parking lot. By
the time she reached it, he was already throwing his backpack into the back seat of his SUV. With the parking lot deserted, Sadie doubled her speed and was at his side in a heartbeat.
“Keegan, where are you going?”
He got into the driver’s seat and jammed the key into the ignition. His face was unrecognizable when he turned to finally look at her. Sadie took a step back.
“Are you okay?”
His eyes were deep and hollow, blank as he stared lifelessly at her.
Reaching out to touch his shoulder, she shook him gently, hoping to get any kind of response. “Please, Keegan, you’re scaring me.”
“Death.”
“What?”
“There’s been a death.”
“Keegan, I’m so sorry. Please talk to me about it. Don’t go.”
“I thought I could come to school, but I can’t. I can’t be here right now.”
“But you can talk to me, Keegan. Please don’t shut me out. Not now.”
Lacking all the gentleness he’d always displayed, he pushed her out of the way and pulled the truck door shut.
“I’ve lost a close friend; a mentor.” He glared at her, his eyes searching for an answer yet filled with so much vehemence and hatred.
Sadie’s breath caught in her throat for a long moment and a dizzy spell took its hold of her. She understood the intensity of his pain, but couldn’t begin to comprehend the anger he directed at her.
“His lifeless body was found, drained of blood, his throat ripped apart by a vampire.”
Chapter 16
Sadie couldn’t remember ever feeling so self-conscious of being a vampire. She averted her gaze and wondered if her eyes had given anything away. His comment had come as such a surprise and she couldn’t help wonder if there was an accusation in there.
After one horrified moment, she brought her gaze back to him. Eager to convey how sad she was, she reached for his hand. “I’m so terribly sorry, Keegan.” She took it as a good sign when he didn’t recoil. “How do you know it’s a vampire?”
