She watched them drive away until she could no longer see the red glow of the car’s lights. Vulnerable to the night creatures that she now knew existed, she could not shake the feeling that one watched as she fumbled with her house key, one filled with hatred, one more evil than even her father could imagine.
Chapter Six
“Damn, it’s hot today.” Diana smoothed out a corner of her towel, then shimmied to flatten out a lump of sand that kept pressing into her stomach.
“You’re kidding. I don’t think it even hit eighty yet,” Terry said, then glanced at her watch and moaned. “I swear, if I didn’t have to work, there’s nothing I’d rather do than sun all day.”
Diana rubbed her cheek over her towel and grinned. “I can think of a few things.”
Terry snorted. “Oh, I get it. You popped your cherry so now you’re…burning!”
“Burning doesn’t begin to describe— Ah! That’s cold.” Glaring over her shoulder, Diana watched Terry coat her back with sunblock. The chill lingered, soothing the sweltering heat enveloping her body. “Where did you have that? In your cooler?”
Terry nodded. “Feels great, doesn’t it? Girlfriend, you two-timing your beach buddy? I’ve never seen you this red.”
“I’m really burning? We just got here.” Diana hissed when Terry squeezed a line of lotion down each of her legs. “That feels so good.”
“So, tell me about last night.” Terry smoothed the lotion over Diana’s legs as she spoke. “I still can’t believe I left you in Cabana’s.”
“One minute you’re trying to drag me out of there and the next you’re gone.” Diana reached into the cooler and felt around for a water bottle. After a few sips, she squirted her face. “That must have been one killer headache.”
“Fast and furious. But by the time I got home, it was gone.” Terry wiped her hands on Diana’s towel. “So, I hear you got yourself a real hunk after I left.”
“I don’t have him, yet.”
“That’s not what I heard,” Terry said in a sing-song voice. “Tina told Linda who, of course, told me that when you were walking up to the guy, his eyes nearly burned a hole in anyone who blocked his view. According to her, that man wanted to sca-rew you, honey.”
The woman sitting on a sand chair not two feet away raised her head from the book she’d been reading. Her gaze darted to the little boy eating a sandwich beside her, then back to Diana.
Diana dropped her forehead down to the towel. “Terry, would you please talk a little lower?”
“You’re blistering! Diana Nostrum, you must be hot to trot!” Terry laughed. “Get it? You’re so horny, you’re blistering? So where’d you two run off to? The nearest motel?”
Rising and snatching up her towel and beach bag, Diana stomped up the hill toward the picnic area separating the beach from the cabins her father rented. Terry caught up, shoving her towel into her beach bag.
Diana spun around and glared at her. “Terry, if you don’t learn to keep your voice down, I swear our friendship will die a sudden death!”
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve been saying that since we were eleven and I said, a little too loud for your sensitive ears, that I thought it was cool that you got your first period. Big deal.”
Diana scanned the picnic tables scattered beneath the trees until she found one that ensured some privacy. As soon as she dropped down onto the cool bench, she retrieved their sandwiches from the cooler Terry plopped onto the table.
“Big deal? Terry, I went into the cafeteria not five minutes later and everyone started chanting that a woman was in the house. And what about Tommy Millwood? Thanks to you, my entire Bio class knew I was going to let him feel me up before he did.”
Terry held her hands up. “Okay, on that one, you’re right. I did screw things up a little.”
“A little? He had a camera rolling and a group of Peeping Toms in training at the window of his den.”
“Hey, look at it this way. Thanks to me, you found out he was a perv.” Terry took the sandwich Diana handed her. As she unwrapped it, she chuckled. “You have to admit, it was pretty funny.” When Diana scowled, she rolled her eyes. “All right, I’ll keep my voice down. So tell me about this guy.”
Diana leaned toward Terry. “I’m planning on jumping his bones the first chance I get.” Diana ignored Terry’s incredulous expression and picked the tomatoes from her ham sandwich. “Didn’t you tell them I didn’t want tomatoes?”
Nodding her head, Terry continued to frown. “Just because you popped your cherry?”
Diana shook her head as she chewed. Taking her time, she unscrewed her water. “No. It’s just that I’m convinced he’s the one.”
“Because of the butterflies you felt before you met him?” Terry shoved her shoulder into Diana’s. “You’re whacked.”
Taking another bite of her sandwich, then tossing a crumb to a squirrel, Diana slowly chewed and pondered her decision.
She couldn’t be certain Sebastian was her soul mate, but he sure turned her on. And the trepidation that had always helped her keep her dates at a distance fled the moment he’d kissed her. She’d never felt so depraved, so undeniably alive. Nerve endings burst to life, muscles never before exercised, never called into service, clenched with unimagined strength and a hunger she’d never experienced unfurled, overwhelmed and consumed her.
“I feel so…so powerless with him.”
Her heart tumbled with fear and excitement just from imagining what would happen tonight. She nearly choked on her sandwich when Terry bumped her shoulder again.
“You had no willpower? You can’t be serious.”
Tossing another crumb to the patiently waiting squirrel before swallowing the last of her sandwich and balling up the square of foil, Diana glanced around to make sure no one was around in case Terry blurted out something embarrassing. Leaning close to her friend’s ear, she continued in a hushed voice. “He’s so damned hot, Terry. And I’m so tired of waiting.”
“Okay, so he turns you on and you’ve got the go-ahead from Nana Lina, but do you like him? I mean, you have to at least like him the first time.”
“We talked for hours last night and I loved every minute of it.” Gnawing on her lip, she added, “Part of me is terrified that he is the one Nana Lina made me wait for.”
“Why?”
“She said that my father would consider him an abomination. You know what that means.”
“No offense, Di, but your father’s nuts.” Terry snorted, then bit into her sandwich.
“Still, I could have sworn I saw fangs—
“What?” Terry finished chewing, then took a long drink of her water before continuing. “You’re not saying you think he’s a vampire, are you?”
Diana turned away from the laughter in Terry’s eyes. “I know it sounds crazy, but—”
“Think, Di. If vampires existed, why on earth would they hang around here?” She waved her hands around. A piece of lettuce flew off her sandwich.
Picking at a sliver of wood sticking up from the picnic table, Diana mumbled, “Well…they sure looked pointy.”
“We’ve lived here all our lives, we know practically everyone and we’ve never once met one or heard of any bodies turning up at the morgue with holes in their neck. Have we?”
Thinking of Luna, Diana forced herself to shake her head. “Let’s just imagine there are vampires, Terry. Let’s just imagine we found one. What would you do?”
“Oh, let me think.” Terry squinted, then slapped herself on the side of her head. “That’s right. We have our very own vampire hunter living right under your roof. I guess we’d call him and every damn man with two strong arms and a stake who lives within a hundred miles of us.”
“But—”
“But nothing. They don’t exist, Diana, so snap out of it and answer my question. Do you like him or not?”
Diana swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yeah, I like him…I like him, a lot.”
“Then go for it.” Terry stood an
d stretched. “I hate to say it, but I have to get back to the office. Your dad is driving me crazy with his new schedule of events.”
“Wait. I’ll go with you. I don’t have a student ‘til three and I need to speak to my dad.” Diana tossed the ball of foil in a nearby garbage pail, then followed Terry up the steep hill to the lodge that held the main office, laundry room, game room and small apartment her father used on the nights he worked too late to warrant driving home.
When they stepped into the office, Terry sped past her and rushed to the bathroom to change back into her shorts and shirt. Diana sat at the antique desk her mother had bought when they first opened Frank’s Lakeside Cabins and picked up the walkie-talkie.
“Dad? You there, Dad,” she asked, then released the talk button.
“Ten four, Little D.”
Diana grinned and shook her head. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get him to stop using CB lingo on the walkie-talkie. “I was just wondering if you’ll be staying here tonight after the campfire.”
“That’s a ten four, Little D. The Monday Campfire Jamboree will hopefully go well into the night. Then I’ll have to be available to go searching for the drunks who wander into the woods.”
Sitting on the edge of the desk, Diana twirled a pen between her fingers. “Oh.”
The pen slipped through her fingers and dropped onto the desk. Drunks. She wondered if Jamboree nights had always been just an excuse to hunt something more elusive than a drunk. She suddenly remembered Luna’s tearstained face…Marek’s gentle nature. “Terry’s staying over.”
Terry emerged from the bathroom.
Diana hopped off the desk and moved to the side so Terry could get to her chair.
“You know how Terry likes to strut around in her underwear, so beep before coming in if you come home early.” When Terry opened her mouth to deny the lie, Diana shot her a warning glare. “I gotta go, Dad.”
“That’s a ten four. Don’t let her invite any strangers in. I swear, someday that girl is going to invite some vampire into my home, and you know—
“I know, Dad. They can’t come in a house unless invited. Terry knows too.”
“Well you just remind her. If she has a new boyfriend, I don’t want him in my house until she sees him during the day. Same goes for you. No inviting in. They can’t come in unless—”
“I know, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Over and out, Little D.”
“I’m sleeping over?” Terry winked.
“Very funny. But if I have my way, someone will.”
“You go, girl!”
Later, when Diana arrived at the house she and her father shared, she found a long white box propped beneath the mailbox. Lifting the lid, she gasped. Three dozen long-stemmed, red roses lay nestled in a bounty of baby’s breath. She slid the small card from the envelope. A smile spread across her face.
She flipped open her cell phone and called Terry.
“Frank’s Lakeside Ca—”
“Roses, Terry. Three dozen.”
“No way. What’s the card say?”
Diana drew in a deep breath. “Are you sitting?” Without waiting for a reply, she read, “The goddess Diana could threaten to turn me into a stag and still I’d refuse to stop gazing upon your beauty. Here’s a rose for each time I thought of you today. I’ll call at eight thirty.”
“That’s heavy. I’m not sure I like the goddess crap, but shit, I’d forgive anything if a guy gave me three dozen roses.”
“Long stem, Terry.” Diana ran her fingers over the card. “Tonight, I wear the pink thong.”
“And that cute little tank top with your Mudd low, low risers.” Terry’s laughter was cut off by the beep of another call. “I gotta go, Di. Call me tomorrow with all the details.”
When the moose cuckoo clock in the dining room mooed at nine, Diana peeked out the window, then jumped when she saw Sebastian climbing the steps of her porch. He cradled a long white box, exactly like the one sent earlier, under one arm as he tried to balance a pile of DVDs with his other hand. Wearing denims and a pristine white button-down shirt, he looked even sexier than she remembered.
The doorbell pealed. She pressed her hand against her chest and glanced down at the low rise jeans and white, cropped tank top she’d decided to wear. She regretted not choosing something newer or more feminine for their first date. She’d opted to stay in for a casual night of pizza and TV, but now, taking in the drab living room and meager furnishings and smelling the ever-present scent of garlic, she wished she’d taken him up on dinner at the Lakeside Inn.
Her heart pounded and the wretched butterflies battered her ribs. To make matters worse, the odd twitch in her neck returned with a vengeance.
The greeting Sebastian had practiced all the way to Diana’s house fled from his mind the moment the door opened. He heard her silent plea that he not find her less desirable than the previous night and not regret his decision to waste another with her.
Less desirable?
If anything she looked too good for night three of the bonding ritual. This night tested a couple’s determination to bond. Those bonding were only allowed to exchange teasingly scant amounts of blood to carry them over to night four. And as far as sex, sinking himself into Diana was not an option. Normally, the couple helped each other maintain control. Tonight’s success rested entirely on his shoulders. Judging by the way his body sprang to attention at the sight of Diana, he had a long night ahead of him.
Her jeans hugged her hips so low that he expected to see some evidence of the soft curls he had run his fingers through on the first night of their bonding. Her bellybutton quivered when his gaze rose to it. He tore his eyes away and continued up over the slight ripple of each rib. Her tank top, cut off right below her breasts, had a neckline so low it revealed the lace edging of her bra.
Watching the swells of her breasts rise and fall gave him an instant erection. His fangs throbbed, his mouth went dry and his knowledge of the English language or any other he’d encountered in the past eighty years dwindled to a simple “Hi.”
He shoved the box of roses toward her. He’d planned on dazzling her with a short romantic monolog, but watched mutely as she clutched the box to her chest, pushing the swells of her breasts even higher. Her heart pounded in his ears. His heartbeat picked up speed and surpassed hers. Gritting his teeth, he brought his heart and body under control.
When he raised his eyes to her face, he shifted and croaked, “Your hair.”
Diana frowned, brought her hand up to her head and shyly grinned. “Oh, yeah, I had it blown straight at my friend Cindy’s shop.”
“Oh.” He cringed at his loss of words.
Reaching out, he weaved his fingers through the long silky tress draped over her shoulder. When his knuckles thumped over her erect nipple, she drew in a sharp breath and nearly dropped the box of roses. On the night he’d taken her virginity, he’d compelled her to trust him and give in to her desire at his touch. Oh, she desired him. The air surrounding her body shimmered from her rising temperature and her scent revealed that her body had already begun to prepare for his invasion.
He wished he could free her mind and discover how she’d react without his influence, but he couldn’t take a chance that her insecurities and fears might hinder the progression of the final nights of the bonding ritual.
“Well it’s hard to tame all those curls. They tend to get a little wild.” Diana raised a trembling hand to her hair.
“I like wild.” He cleared his throat as he drew the fingers of both his hands through her hair until they slid free and grazed her buttocks. “My fingers glide right to the end.”
“And that’s bad,” she asked in a husky voice.
When he didn’t answer immediately, her smile faltered.
“Bad?” He looked into her eyes, lost himself in their depths for a moment, then shrugged and grinned. “I like it when they get trapped in all those curls.”
“Oh.” Diana
blinked. “So you prefer my curls?”
“Prefer? I guess so, but—”
Sebastian jumped back as the door slammed shut in his face. “Diana! I didn’t mean you don’t look just as beautiful with it straight. Diana?”
He stared at the door, expecting it to swing open, expecting her to laugh and tell him she’d only been kidding. But the door remained closed. He knocked, rang the bell, then knocked again and still she ignored him. Finally, he banged his forehead on the door and almost fell through when the door swung open. Diana reappeared with her hair dripping wet.
“Now, where were we? Oh yeah, you like it when your fingers get trapped in my curls.” She planted her hands on her hips and grinned.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he said, feeling like an awkward teen on his first date.
Water dripped onto the front of her shirt, creating little windows that revealed the lace design of her bra and dark round nipples beneath it. The longer strands of hair that rested on her skin below the edge of her tank sent rivulets of water down her flat stomach and into the band of her jeans.
“You’re getting all wet.” His voice cracked. His damn voice cracked.
“So I am,” she said. Her eyes twinkled. “Coming in?”
Her choice of words, her wet shirt and the sudden rise of her nipples immobilized him. All the powers he possessed couldn’t stop his body from turning to granite. Needing more time to regain control, he smiled into her eyes and said, “You haven’t invited me yet.”
Diana blinked, then frowned. “Do I have to?” Please say no. Please, please, say no.
Her silent plea accomplished what his powers could not. The erection he’d imagined bursting through his zipper died a sudden death. He gently touched her mind, heard her run through her father’s warnings about inviting anyone she’d only seen at night into their home. The ridiculous notion that vampires couldn’t enter a house unless invited never ceased to amaze him.
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