by Donna Flynn
“Katie?” he growled.
“No, I’m alright,” I told him, unable to meet his gaze. “You came in time.”
“When I saw what he was doing…” He was so angry that he seemed to have trouble finding words to express his thoughts, which was not normal for the usually eloquent prince. With a cry much like that of a wounded animal, he slammed his fist into the gazebo, cracking the whitewashed wood under the force of the blow and making me jump. This was a side of Aidan I had never before seen, and even though it wasn’t directed at me, it was a truly frightening one.
“I’ll be fine. I’m just sorry you had to come and save me. I was so stupid…” I broke off with a sob, wondering how I could have been so easily deceived by Scott’s good looks and charm.
Aidan pulled me into his arms, whispering calming words that soothed me and kept me from completely breaking down. I sat enveloped by his muscular arms, appreciating their solid strength, feeling as if nothing in the world could harm me as long I was there and loath to pull away. “Thank you for taking care of me tonight. If I would have called Paul, I don’t think I could have stopped him from killing Scott.”
“You don’t know how hard it was for me not to kill him,” he confided, clenching the fist he had hit the gazebo with at his side, his body trembling with anger.
I knew he was fighting his vampire side, the side that urged him to give in to his rage and kill. I had seen Paul do the same thing many times in the past when he was extremely angry.
“I don’t like the thought of anyone being hurt because of me,” I told him.
“You’re so naïve. That boy could have done a lot worse and has to other girls.” I gasped, realizing that he must have read Scott’s thoughts. “You need to use more caution. Evil that you could never imagine does exist in this world,” he warned, tightening his fist hard enough that his nails sliced into the flesh of his palm, drawing blood.
“Aidan, don’t,” I murmured.
As if in a trance, he stared down at the blood that dripped from his fist to the floor of the gazebo. I took his hand in mine, moving my fingers over his, until he loosened his palm and exposed the moon-shaped marks that bled freely. Unconsciously, I traced the marks with the tip of my finger. Tiny sparks shot from where I touched him, jolting us both with their current. As if in a trance, I lifted his hand and gently kissed each tiny mark. He groaned softly and I found myself moving closer, overcome with the feeling of rightness that being near him stirred in me.
He took a step back, looking as shocked as I felt. “Enough,” he said softly, pulling his hand from mine. “None of this is your fault.”
“I was stupid,” I muttered. “When Scott started drinking I should have stopped him.” I turned my head away so he would not see my shame. “I should have called home immediately, but I was so afraid.”
“You did nothing wrong,” he said.
I wished I could believe him. “I thought tonight would be a night to remember. My first date, first boyfriend, and my first real kiss.” I shook my head, biting my lip, wincing as my teeth connected with the raw area where Scott’s ring had sliced my lip when he slapped me. I tasted the blood that had begun to well there because I’d reopened the wound. “Now all I’ll remember is this nightmare.”
He touched my cheek where Scott had slapped me, and a tingle spread through my body. It was electric, its compulsion pulling us closer together, and then he did something that took me by surprise: something so unexpected I thought I had to be dreaming. He bent his head to mine and kissed my cheek before gently brushing his lips over each of my wrists. My body tingled and I swayed toward him. He stared at me for a brief moment, his indecision easy to read, then moaned low and deep just before his cool, firm lips pressed gently to mine in a gentle, slow kind of kiss that made my toes curl and my body hum with excitement.
I could taste the copper flavor of both his blood and mine, which had lingered on my lips. It should have revolted me, given my squeamishness when it came to blood. I mean, I passed out when we pricked our fingers at school for Biology, but instead I found myself savoring its taste, and something inside of me awoke. The feeling of purposelessness I had always felt in my life up to then began to fade, and I knew without a doubt I was finally where I was supposed to be. In his arms, and I gave myself over to the kiss completely.
Aidan groaned loudly and pulled back, gently placing my hands on my lap. His face was a blank canvas, a look I knew vampires used so no one could tell what they were thinking, but I could feel his confusion, his desire, and his anger at himself for kissing me.
“I’m sorry. I should not have done that.” He ran his hand through his thick, black hair and sighed. “Let me walk you to the house now.” I made no protest as he took my hand and walked me to the front door. I was too dazed by his kiss to do anything more than follow his lead.
At the door he lifted up my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. “You need to tell your parents about what happened.”
“I can’t,” I whispered, fearing they would completely freak out.
“Katie, they need to know what happened.”
“I know, but please let me tell them tomorrow. I can’t take any more tonight.”
“If you do not tell them what happened by tomorrow, then I will,” he warned.
I knew he would. When it came to my well-being, it seemed they were all of one mind. “Thank you.”
“Get some sleep. I hope you feel better in the morning,” he murmured, brushing my cheek with the back of his hand.
“Goodnight,” I whispered, but he was already gone. Again, I wondered how he had known I needed him. But instead of pondering his sudden appearance, I walked inside and ran up the stairs. I made it to the top before my mother called out to me.
“Katie, did you have a good time?” she asked.
“Uh, it was alright,” I said, looking down at her from the side of my face that wasn’t bruising. “I’m just really tired.”
She frowned but nodded. “Get some sleep, then we can talk tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, turning away. “Tomorrow.”
Chapter Five
I woke the next morning with mixed emotions about the night before. I was horrified by what had happened with Scott and yet excited and confused by how it had felt when Aidan kissed me. His kiss had opened a floodgate of emotions within me. I knew I would never forget how it felt to be in his arms and have his lips against mine. To feel as if for the first time in my life I was whole, complete, and exactly where I belonged. As wonderful as it was, though, I realized that it would never be anything more than what it was, a sympathy kiss to me feel better after such a horrible evening. I mean, in all honesty, what would the Prince of the Vampires want with me, a human teenager?
With a sigh, I climbed out of bed. After looking in the mirror and seeing the blue-black bruise that now graced my cheek from where Scott had slapped me, I hid in my room like a coward for most of the morning. I had applied tons of makeup in an effort to cover the bruising, but it was a useless effort. My parents were vampires and their vision was excellent, so I knew they would note the slightly bluish-green color that still showed through the makeup immediately. They would ask a million questions, which I wasn’t ready to face. I knew at some point that day I had to tell my parents what had happened, but I lost the opportunity to do it my way when Paul came barreling in to my room without knocking.
“What the hell happened to you?” he growled, his gaze locked on my cheek, fists clenched. His face filled with rage.
“It’s nothing, just a misunderstanding.” I tried to push him out of the room, but he refused to budge.
“This is not a misunderstanding!” He grabbed my wrist and I cried out in pain. He stared at the finger-shaped bruises and snarled angrily. “Where was Aidan? He was supposed be watching over you last night!”
“What?” I asked confused by his statement.
He blanched visibly. “Nothing, forget it. The real question is, how did this happe
n?”
“Scott. He got a little drunk and carried away.”
The look of rage on Paul’s face was chilling and I trembled. “I am going to kill that bastard,” he growled, letting go of my wrist and turning to go.
I grabbed his arm, clinging to him, trying to stop him from leaving. “Please, Paul, do not make this worse,” I begged. “Aidan handled it.” He stopped, but I could feel the war raging inside of him and knew I had to find a way to calm him down before he really did commit murder.
“What’s going on?” my mother asked, as she and my father raced into the room.
I knew the moment my father saw the bruising on my cheek by the tightness of his jaw. “What happened?” He looked me over, his eyes stopping at my wrist, his face becoming taut and filled with anger.
I knew I had to tell them what happened, but I was terrified. I didn’t want to disappoint them and I didn’t want them to kill anyone either.
My mother came to my side and hugged me close, brushing the hair from my face with a pained look as she gazed at my cheek. “There is nothing you cannot tell us, sweetheart, do not be afraid.”
Reluctantly, I explained what had happened and how Aidan had come and saved me. Oddly enough, they didn’t seem to find it odd that Aidan had been there at all. In fact, they ignored that part of the conversation and began to discuss the best way to handle Scott. Paul, as was typical, wanted to kill Scott, and my father looked as if he would happily assist him, but my mother as usual was the voice of reason, and made them see that killing him was not an option. She assured them both that Aidan had probably already handled the situation and that Scott would no longer be a problem. I wondered what exactly she meant, but I was so thankful for her calming influence that I didn’t ask any questions. Besides, I was still pondering Paul’s comment about Aidan watching over me.
“Paul, why don’t you take Katie out for a little while so your father and I can talk,” my mother suggested.
Paul nodded, although by the look on his face I knew he would rather be out looking for Scott than babysitting me.
I wanted to protest that I really didn’t feel like going out at all, but my mother squeezed my hand and looked worriedly at my father, so I knew she wanted time alone to calm him down.
“I guess I could eat,” I said.
“Kelly’s it is, then,” Paul said, taking my arm and escorting me out of the room.
Kelly’s was the last place I wanted to be, but I hoped maybe somebody could fill me in on what happened to Scott after Aidan escorted me home, so I followed.
*****
Unfortunately for me, Kelly’s was almost completely deserted so early in the day and Paul was so angry I didn’t want to ask any more questions of him, so I arrived home with no more information than I’d left with. An expensive black sports car that was parked in the driveway when we arrived home a few hours later, though, made me more hopeful I might receive answers. As Paul pulled up to the house, my heart began to race with excitement. Only one person I knew drove cars that fast and expensive. And, strangely enough, I could feel his presence even from outside the walls of the house. Aidan had come.
“No way,” Paul said in as he stared at the car in awe. “That’s an Aston Martin convertible.” He managed to contain himself from running to the vehicle and drooling over it in order to help me out of the truck and walk me into the house. He left me at the bottom of the staircase with orders to go up to my room first before leaving to seek out Aidan.
For once I didn’t argue. I ran up the stairs to freshen my hair and makeup, hoping to hide more of the bruise that took up a large portion of my cheek, but despite my best effort there was no hiding the bluish-green and black color. I finally gave up and decided to go downstairs.
As I walked down the staircase, my mother came from the office, her worried gaze meeting my own. “Oh, Katie, good, I was just coming to get you.” She twisted her hands nervously in front of her. “Aidan arrived in town and would like to say hello to you.”
“Of course,” I said, walking to her side, wondering why my usually calm mother seemed so anxious. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes, of course,” she said with a smile that looked forced. “We shouldn’t keep Aidan waiting.”
As we walked into the sitting room everyone stopped talking at once, all heads turning in my direction. My father stared at my cheek for one long agonizing moment before he turned away, his face tight, his body trembling as he fought back the vampire that lay just under the surface.
I acted as if I did not see his reaction and moved to greet Aidan, whose own face tightened as he stared at my cheek, his ticking jaw the only sign of his upset. I felt his anger wrap itself around me but didn’t show any visible recognition. I even managed to force a smile to my lips as I approached.
“Hello, Katie, I do hope you are feeling better today.” He took one of my hands in his, gently stroking his finger over one of the bruises on my wrist. I felt a jolt of electricity race through me, and my knees buckled. I fear I would have fallen if not for Aidan reaching out to support me. “Breathe,” he murmured.
I nodded and leaned into him, allowing him to aid me as I took a deep shuddering breath. The room filled with tension and I noted my family members all staring at us with varying degrees of surprise.
“Better?” he asked.
“How are you?” I said, trying to ignore the fact that my palms were sweaty and my insides twisted into knots. Something about the male before me attracted me in a way I didn’t understand. I was nervous and uncertain about the new and very confusing emotions I was feeling for him, and the fact that my family was all watching us intently did not help my situation.
“I’m fine, now,” he said softly, lifting my hand to his lips and gently kissing each of my fingers, seemingly unaware of the tension in the room around us.
I glanced at my brother, who was clenching his big hands at his sides, then to my parents, who seemed extremely nervous about my closeness to their leader. All of their emotions slammed into me at once, making it difficult to think or even breathe. Fear, doubt, and worry: all of it suffocating me. My body swayed, and Aidan tightened his hold on me.
“Breathe,” he murmured again, lifting my chin so I was looking into his beautiful blue eyes.
All the panic I was experiencing vanished at once under his calm stare, and I was able to take a deep breath of air and relax.
“Why don’t we all sit down,” my mother said, her voice sounding strained.
“So, what brings you here?” I asked Aidan, trying to lighten the atmosphere in the room.
It didn’t work. Paul continued to glare at Aidan, and my parents watched us warily as if he might pounce on me at any moment.
“I was in the area and thought I would drop in and see my favorite human.” Even though he spoke clearly, his words were tinged with a sexy Scottish accent that made my heart flip inside my chest. “How is school this year?” he asked, his attention focused solely upon me.
“It’s alright; Jess and Chris are in most of my classes, so that makes it bearable.” I wanted so badly to reach out and push the stray lock of hair over his cheek behind his ear, but held back.
“Ah, yes, your friends. They are very nice.” His eyes sparkled merrily and I knew his comment was genuine.
“Thank you.” I stared into his eyes, completely enthralled. I felt like he could see into my soul with those majestic eyes of his, and it made me nervous that he might actually know I was thinking things I had no right to even consider, like how much I wanted him to kiss me again.
He took my hand in his, brushing his fingers ever so slightly against my palm, and my pulse began to race at an alarming speed. The room grew so quiet you could have heard a pin drop, and my cheeks flushed as I realized they all probably heard the frantic drumming of my heart. Feeling suddenly brave, I leaned forward, brushing the soft lock of hair behind his ear, my finger skimming over his cheek as I did. His breath caught and our eyes locked as his hand c
aptured mine, bringing it against his cheek before kissing my palm.
“Homework?” my mother cried out, shattering the moment. “I’m sure you have homework to get done, right, Katie?”
Aidan let go of my hand quickly, his eyes widening as if just becoming aware of our audience.
“Yes. Don’t I always?” I sighed, disappointed she had interrupted us.
“You should get it done now.” I stared at her, unsure why she was being so pushy. Never before had she felt the need to tell me when to do homework, but she looked kind of distraught, so I did not argue.
“Will I see you later?” I asked Aidan.
“I am staying in the guest house for a few days, so I’ll be around,” he assured me.
It wasn’t unusual. Aidan always stayed in the guest house when he came to visit. But I felt an odd sense of unease from my family about this visit, which concerned me.
“Oh, okay then. I’ll see you later.”
He rose to his feet as I stood and grabbed my hand. “I am pleased to find you are feeling well,” he said, raising my hand to his mouth and brushing my knuckles with his lips before dropping it to my side.
“Thanks,” I murmured.
I walked out of the room in daze and went to my bedroom, intent on finishing my homework, but I was plagued with questions about my sudden attraction to Aidan and couldn’t focus. Instead I found myself staring out of the window at the large fluffy clouds that filled a perfect blue sky, rethinking that perfect kiss the night before. “Forget this,” I said, folding up my work and placing it under my arm. “What I need is some sun and fresh air to clear my head.”
I walked down the stairs to the foyer stopping mid-stair when I heard Aidan speaking to my father in an angry tone.
