Stalked (A Secret Salem Novel)

by J. N. Colon

  My heart melted at his confession.

  “Do you think she can handle it?”

  Handle what? The whole vampire thing because I was good with that.

  “Yes. At least I hope.”

  “Your future is important Mac.” She hesitated. “I mean if you’re this serious about her she could be…”

  “I know,” Mac interrupted.

  She—me—could be what exactly, his girlfriend?

  Emmaline was quiet for a moment, apparently mulling this news over. “Then I’m happy for you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Rubi’s different. She’s strong. And I like her.”

  “But…”

  Oh damn. There was always a but.

  “Just be careful,” she continued. “You’re only sixteen.”

  “I know,” Mac said, gently pressing his lips in my hair. “I’ll be careful.”

  Careful with what?

  Chapter 27

  The next morning Headmaster Norrington—Roman—announced school was cancelled for the day. Emmaline and Tatum went to check on the cleanup in my room, which left Mac and me alone.

  We were lying in bed, tangled up in each other. I thought the harsh light of day might make Mac reconsider his decision. I was wrong. If anything he seemed determined to keep his eyes trained on me and a piece of him constantly touching a part of me. Even though he admitted his feelings to Emmaline last night I still wanted him to say it to me. I wanted to know where I really stood. Was he going to treat me the same in public or be cold and distant, watching from the afar?

  But I was terrified to ask. Every time the words bubbled up, my mind skirted away from the issue. The only other topic I could think of was about vampires. I threw question after question at Mac and surprisingly he answered. Like the whole sunlight thing. They could go in the sun as long as they’d been drinking enough blood meals. Speaking of meals, they ate food just like regular people unless they hadn’t been drinking blood. Their body would reject everything else until it got blood.

  How do you kill a vampire? Wooden stakes through the heart just slowed them down. Silver stakes are the kiss of death. Or fire and decapitation pretty much killed anything.

  And if you wanted to be a vampire they had to drink lots of your blood over a period of time while you consumed lots of their blood. Then you just start changing.

  Made vampires didn’t age and born ones stopped when they wanted. Or so I thought.

  “But how do you just stop ageing?” I asked, suspecting there was more to it than he was explaining.

  Mac shrugged. “You just do.”

  I rolled my eyes in frustration.

  Mac simply smiled and ran a finger across my face. “Can we please do something else besides talk about vampires?”

  My skin tingled and I grinned when he pulled me closer. His lips reached out, searching mine and I felt his soft midnight hair dancing on my face. Our mouths had just connected—the lightest touch yet so powerful—when a knock resonated on the door.

  “Damn,” we whispered in unison, making us burst into laughter.

  Mac reluctantly rolled out of bed and answered the door.

  “Uh…” A long pause. “Is Rubi in here?” A familiar voice floated in from the hall.

  Mac opened the door to reveal Madison who was sporting a confused, shocked expression with her mouth hanging open when she saw me curled up under the covers. Her eyes flickered to Mac, seeing his rumbled pajamas and mussed hair.

  “Come on in Madison,” Mac said, sheepishly running a hand through his midnight hair in an unsuccessful attempt to tame the wild strands.

  “How are you Rubi?” She was unable to shield the surprise from her voice. “I heard what happened.” Her gaze shifted to Mac again and she smirked. “At least some of it anyways.”

  My face reddened.

  “Rubi,” Mac interrupted. “I’m going to my room to shower and stuff.”

  I nodded, my mood suddenly plummeting, fearing this was a fluke and he’d surely change his mind. Would this be the last time we were together?

  As if sensing my unease Mac leaned down and kissed me—right on the lips like we were already an established couple. “I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t go anywhere without me.” His thumb brushed across my cheeks as his intense jade eyes bored into mine, filling with concern. “Promise me,” he whispered.

  There was no stopping the hot shiver from rolling across my body this time. “I promise.”

  He gently pressed his lips to mine again and then kissed my dimple. As he leaned back and stood a rakish smile split his mouth.

  Oh he knew exactly what he was doing. Not only was he sending my heart into overtime, he was also claiming me in front of Madison. He winked at her on his way out.

  When he closed the door behind him Madison’s face was priceless. “Rubi, you got some ‘splaining to do.”

  I love Lucy was one of her favorite shows.

  I smashed a pillow against my face so she wouldn’t see the ridiculous grin spreading across it.

  “I come over to comfort you about last night and I find you in bed with McCollum Davenport.”

  I laughed. “I don’t know what to say.”

  She tapped her fingers on the bed expectantly.

  “We’ve kind of been secretly hanging out together.”

  “Well I guess it’s no secret anymore.” She wiggled her blue scarf in my face.

  I shrugged, guessing not for long anyways. At least I hoped.

  Her expression sobered. “How are you really?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “I just don’t understand why someone put all that animal blood in your room.”

  The story was someone pulled a Carrie on me with pig’s blood. I knew better though. Mac didn’t have to tell me it was human blood. Maybe even Sutton’s.

  I shivered.

  “It had to be someone in this dorm,” Madison mused. “It would be too difficult to sneak all the way over here, especially with a bunch of blood.”

  “You sneak over here plenty and don’t get caught.”

  Madison grinned. “Yes, but I don’t count. I’m exceptionally smart,” she said, tilting her chin proudly. “And savvy.”

  I threw a pillow at her.

  She threw it back. “Mac and Rubi, sitting in a tree…”

  We both fell out into a fit of giggles.

  ***

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I nervously fidgeted next to Mac as we lingered outside the dining hall during lunch, a full crowd of students making conversation on the other side of the door.

  “What?” False innocence spread across his face. “Walk in there with the most beautiful girl at school?”

  I rolled my eyes.

  He pulled me close and I buried my face in his charcoal cashmere sweater, warming myself in his arms. Since classes were canceled everyone was dressed in regular clothes and today I reluctantly traded my favorite red hoodie for a cute V-neck knit purple shirt. I didn’t want to look like a complete slob next to the suave Mac Dav.

  Mac gripped my chin with his thumb and forefinger, tilting my face up until I met those intoxicating jade irises. “I’ve made up my mind and there’s no going back.” His deep whisper made chills run the length of my spine and the effect was magnified tenfold as he gently brushed his lips against mine. “Got it?”

  I nodded or at least I think I did. It was difficult to concentrate over the crashing of my heart.

  As I suspected a collective gasp echoed the moment we stepped through the door hand in hand, especially from the vampires sitting to the far right intermixed with popular humans. Mac kept the lazy grin as we walked toward the lunch line unlike me who was wide-eyed and tense.

  “What’s up Mac and Rubi?” Brant strolled toward us, his hazel eyes narrowed and lips twisted in a bitter smile.

  “Brant, don’t even start,” Mac growled, reaching for a tray.

  He crossed his arms against his chest and shadowed us through the l
ine. “So it’s not okay for me to have Rubi, but you can?”

  My eyes flickered between them, wondering if Brant simply assumed I was hypnotized not to remember anything weird discussed between the two vampires.

  “It’s not like that,” Mac replied, grabbing two bacon cheeseburgers and depositing them on the same tray.

  “Oh really. What’s it like then?”

  “I like her—a lot.” Mac’s expression was mild, but danger shimmered in his eyes as if warning Brant to watch his next words.

  Brant blinked, confusion flitting across his face. “What? You mean like you’re really together?”

  “Yes.”

  Brant’s golden brows rose, disappearing into his blonde hair. “Oh man. That’s big.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip as I continued following Mac, silently questioning what the big deal was. So we were dating. Why did Emmaline and Brant treat it as if a new planet had been discovered?

  That crocodile smile slowly melted across his face, bringing back the Brantly Dentwood I had first been introduced to. “That’s why you’ve been so pissed at me lately.”

  They both laughed and shoved each other, apparently some kind of reconciliation between the two best friends had been reached.

  Boys.

  Brant unexpectedly patted my shoulder and winked, flashing me a knowing expression I couldn’t possible figure out. “Welcome to the family Rubi.” He strolled off in Aspen’s direction, nodding hellos to other students along the way.

  I tossed a couple more packets of ketchup on the tray. “What was that about?”

  Mac avoided my eyes as he grabbed a stack of napkins—apparently he’s seen me eat before. “Nothing. He’s just being weird.”

  “Brant, weird? No. Never,” I joked.

  He flashed a devilish smile my way that made my heart flutter and tore my suspicious thoughts right out of my head as if they never existed.

  Mac grabbed my hand and instantly drew me toward the in-crowd table he usually sat at, my feet dragging the entire time. I glanced over my shoulder and shot Madison a pleading look, but her only response was a naughty grin and two thumbs up.

  We sat down, my eyes easily picking the vampires apart from the humans. Every pale, bright-eyed, supermodel beautiful student shot questioning gazes our way. Clearly they were surprised by Mac’s choice of girl.

  I couldn’t say I blamed them. Sure I came from wealth, but you couldn’t tell by looking at me. I wasn’t a piece of polished art. Nope. I was more like an eclectic piece of folk art sitting in someone’s front yard.

  Aspen caught my attention, wiggling her fingers at me while a smug smile played across her face. The spot beside her usually filled by Paisley was mysteriously empty and I hoped she was simply pouting in her room and not lying on the grounds dead where I was sure to stumble upon her body.

  With a sigh I peeked at Mac to gauge his reaction, expecting him to be rethinking his decision. Instead he was picking the bacon off his own burger and dropping it on mine, either oblivious or indifferent to the odd stares.

  A mischievous, lopsided smile curled his lips as he slid my now extra bacon cheeseburger toward me. “I know what my baby likes.” His deep tenor carried across the table, probably every ear—vampire and human—picking up on his words.

  My stomach did somersaults while heat blossomed in my chest and flooded my cheeks at his words that practically proclaimed our couple status.

  “Wow Mac.” Tristan sat across from us, a smirk melting those golden eyes. “You gave her your bacon. What’s next? Your French fries?”

  “Anything she wants.” Mac glared across the table at the senior vampire, daring him to continue his smartass remarks.

  The students around us shifted, sensing the anger and tension rolling off Mac. I on the other hand was having trouble fighting the giant grin that was trying split my face in half. Mac’s arm slid across my shoulders, his fingers possessively trailing up and down the side of my neck as if warning the other vampires I was his and only his.

  I bit my lip to keep from shivering in pleasure, but there was no stopping my lids from fluttering closed for a moment, relishing the feel of Mac’s touch. If he didn’t stop I was going to end up pinning him against the table and kissing the hell out of him.

  In response several vampires shared surreptitious smiles as if they knew some secret, and a strong feeling in the pit of my stomach told me it wasn’t the whole vampire thing. It was something else.

  Later that evening Mac and I snuck away to our secret spot in the attic. It really was ours now, a place we could go to get way from all the watchful eyes.

  “New addition?” My brow arched questioningly as I tapped my foot on a plush, deep scarlet rug with gold embellishments spread out beside the chaise.

  Mac gave a noncommittal shrug. “That little couch can be—well—little sometimes. I’m not the smallest guy in the world you know.”

  “Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Sarcasm was thick in my voice.

  A wolfish smile curled Mac’s soft, kissable lips as he crooked a finger at me. “Get over here,” he growled, reaching for me.

  I melted into his arms as he covered my mouth with his in a skin tingling, toe curling, heart exploding kiss. My mind was completely lost, floating in a world of bliss and pleasure that smelled like a wild forest and tasted salty sweet.

  “I love it when you do that,” I breathed as we pulled back for air, my cheeks deeply flushed and head spinning.

  Mac’s jade eyes flickered like two twin fires made from jade flames. “I guess I should do it some more.” He pulled me in for another all consuming, otherworldly kiss.

  Moments later we ended up laid out the plush rug, tangled up in each other and I was pretty certain this was the real reason behind the new addition.

  “You’re so amazing Rubi.” His deep, sultry voice whispered over my skin, making me shiver. “I’d be lost without you.”

  I ran my fingers through his soft, midnight hair, the very thing I’d been dreaming of doing since I saw him in the dining hall for the first time. “You were finding your way just fine without me.”

  Mac stopped kissing my shoulder and brought his face up to mine, his eyes an intense, nearly unrealistic shade of green. “No I mean it. I was just going through the motions, doing what everyone else wanted.” He brushed his thumb across my cheek, staring at me as if I was the most precious thing in the world. “But now I’m with you. I want to protect you and keep you safe. I want you to be proud of me and I want to be someone you could love. I want to be better—for you.”

  Insert key into heart now. Turn. Open.

  My insides melted at his words and trembled until it took every ounce of control I possessed to keep from declaring my love for him already. “Mac,” I whispered, gently tracing the lines of his jaw with the tips of my fingers. “You are someone I could love.” If I didn’t already. “You don’t have to change a thing for me.” I brought my mouth to his, kissing him with everything I had, with everything I felt for him.

  We hadn’t known each other long and had been together even shorter, but there was something pulling us together, binding us in a way I knew was right. I felt it in every beat of my heart, in every fiber of my soul. There was no escaping it. There was no denying it.

  And I couldn’t have been happier about it.

  Being with Mac like this was not just near cloud nine but on it, eating a juicy filet mignon with flakey, buttery lobster on the side. It was like soaking up the summer sun on the beach and never getting hot. Or like swimming under the ocean not needed air.

  It was simply magical.

  Mac rolled on top of me, balancing some of his weight on his elbows. I couldn’t resist, my fingers trailing up his shirt to feel those hard, carved muscles ripple and shift beneath my touch. A murmur of pleasure slipped from his mouth as his lips brushed mine again.

  Apparently he liked it a lot because he yanked his shirt over his head, tossing it on the ground next to us. His hand pushed up m
y sweater, tugging on it. “Can I?” he murmured, between soft pecks on my jaw.

  I nodded, having momentarily lost the use of my mouth.

  My sweater joined his shirt, leaving me in a tank top where I could easily feel the burn of his touch through the thin material. My entire body was going up in flames, my skin feverish and lips swollen from Mac’s kisses.

  “Rubi, you taste so good.” His voice vibrated against my neck where his lips were worrying over the soft, delicate flesh of my throat.

  But then I wondered if he really did want a taste. I thought back to the intense, blinding pain I’d felt when Brant bit me on Halloween. I was certain Mac’s bite would be just as intense—only in an entirely different, pleasurable way. A deep, secret part of me longed for it, wanting to wash away anything any other girl had left behind.

  “Mac.” I pulled his face up to mine, staring unabashedly into his eyes. “Bite me.”

  Fire instantly flickered in those jade eyes, but he quickly dowsed the premature flames and shook his head. “That’s not why I’m with you Rubi. You don’t have to…”

  I brushed my fingers across his lips, halting his unnecessary speech. “I want to.” I touched his teeth, searching for those sharp canines, pressing them until they grew against my fingers.

  A harsh intake of air caught in Mac’s throat, his eyes catching fire again while silver flecks began to dance within the green flames. “A-Are you sure?” His entire body was now trembling with need, his voice thick with it. Maybe even a little desperate. If I backed out now it would devastate him—or at least his vampire urges—but who the hell said anything about me changing my mind.

  I nodded, my own body beginning to quake with anticipation.

  Pure silver melted into his jade irises, reflecting the golden flickering candlelight in a strangely beautiful way. “Rubi… I’ll be careful… I promise.”

  “I know.”

  A quivering breath slipped from Mac, desire riddling every fiber of it as his head dipped down. Hot, soft lips trailed my neck painfully slow, creating an ache deep within my core. My fingers dove in his silky black hair, tugging him closer. Fierce tingles rippled up and down my spine, spider-webbing through my insides.