My Love Lies Bleeding
Page 14
“Stay away from him,” Nicholas interrupted my rant. I ignored him.
“Now what do we do?” I asked.
“Now we go back to bed and get some rest,” Liam reminded me gently. “Let us worry about it.” Solange yawned wide enough to split her face. The brothers were all paler than usual, dark circles like bruises under their water- colored eyes. They were still young. In fact, Logan had only turned two years ago. He was so exhausted he looked drunk, barely able to stand up by himself. Sebastian propped him up, leading him toward the staircase. Nicholas had been turned even more recently than that, so I assumed only his irritation with me was keeping him upright.
Solange yawned again. “Are you going to be okay?” I nodded. “Go on back to bed.” It was nearly eleven but she was weaving a little on her feet. The rest of the family wandered off to their respective private quarters, Liam and Helena whispering to each other. Liam was already dialing his cell phone.
Only Nicholas remained. He was the color of milk.
“Aren’t you going up?” I asked.
He stepped closer to me.
“In a minute.”
I finally felt warm. The afghan slipped from my shoulders. He was looking at me as if he wanted to peel me open like an orange. I remembered the feel of his mouth on mine. I frowned, nervous for no reason.
“What?”
“I just want to try something.” His touch was gentle, skimming my cheek, my arm, down to my wrist. His eyes were like rain in autumn; violent, mysterious, beautiful.
Hypnotizing.
“Stop it,” I whispered.
“Stay away from Kieran,” he demanded softly. “He’s dangerous.”
“And you’re not?”
“Let’s find out.” He closed the distance between us before I had time to even blink.
“What are you doing?”
“I have no idea,” he admitted. His lips hovered just barely a breath away from mine.
“I thought you were mad at me.” I really wanted to lean forward, just ever so slightly.
“I am.”
“You’re also trying to use your vamp mojo on me.”
“It doesn’t work on you.”
“Remember that.” My voice was soft, like whipped cream, and at odds with my smug smirk.
We didn’t close our eyes, not even when our lips met. I tingled all the way down to my toes. I wasn’t remotely chilled anymore; in fact, it felt like the longest, most humid day of summer. His skin was cool. I kind of wanted to nip into him like he was ice cream. When his tongue touched mine, my eyelids finally drifted shut. I gave myself to the moment, all but hurled into it. I wanted it to last for the next year and a half at least. I’d never felt like this before.
It could totally become addictive.
Just imagine if we actually liked each other.
CHAPTER 5
Solange
Saturday afternoon
When I woke up, Lucy was muttering to herself. It wasn’t unusual, but there was a particularly strident edge to it, even more than was ordinarily the result of her impatience with our slow Internet connection. The several farms comprising the Drake compound were nearly a thousand acres, some without any power source.
Our house was lucky to have satellite service even if it meant our connection suffered when it was a cloudy day somewhere else on the continent.
“Stupid satellite.”
I’d need a calculator to figure out how many times I’d woken up to her yelling at my computer. Patience was not one of Lucy’s finer qualities. I snuggled deeper into the nest of blankets. The sun seemed a little too bright, but I liked the warmth of it on my face. “What time is it?” I yawned.
Lucy flicked me a glance. “Just past two, I think.” She scribbled on a piece of paper. “Nose plugs, definitely need those. And a pocket knife, something really pointy. Ooh!” She interrupted herself excitedly. “A stun gun. Think they sell those on eBay?”
I yawned again, pushed myself up on my elbow. I was more tired than usual but I ignored that. “What on earth are you doing now?” I asked.
“Making a list of supplies,” she answered grimly. “I have no intention of letting that Helios-Ra jerk face use me to get to you again.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
She didn’t look remotely convinced. “Nicholas thinks it’s my fault.”
“Since when do you care what he thinks?”
She paused. “Oh. Good point.” She clicked the mouse. “Hey, look, they do have stun guns. That one has Hello Kitty on it, I think. Maybe not, it’s hard to tell.” Her eyes widened comically. “What are they made out of, solid gold and diamonds? I can’t afford that on my allowance.”
I groaned, letting my head fall back on my pillow. “Lucy, you can’t order one of those. Not exactly subtle.”
She made a face. “I guess.”
“Besides, you know my mom’s probably got one in the storeroom.” She swiveled on her chair, eyes shining. “Think she’d give me one?”
“After last time? Not a chance.”
“What, come on! That was ages ago.”
“No one’s forgotten what happened when you convinced her to teach you archery.”
“How was I supposed to know I’d have such good aim?” She’d very nearly skewered Marcus through the heart, which would have killed him, like anyone else. Arrows worked as well as stakes; it didn’t matter what the material was, as long as it was pointy and went right through the heart. It was actually fairly difficult to do: rib cages weren’t easy to pierce. She frowned at me.
“Now what do we do?” I asked.
“Now we go back to bed and get some rest,” Liam reminded me gently. “Let us worry about it.” Solange yawned wide enough to split her face. The brothers were all paler than usual, dark circles like bruises under their water- colored eyes. They were still young. In fact, Logan had only turned two years ago. He was so exhausted he looked drunk, barely able to stand up by himself. Sebastian propped him up, leading him toward the staircase. Nicholas had been turned even more recently than that, so I assumed only his irritation with me was keeping him upright.
Solange yawned again. “Are you going to be okay?” I nodded. “Go on back to bed.” It was nearly eleven but she was weaving a little on her feet. The rest of the family wandered off to their respective private quarters, Liam and Helena whispering to each other. Liam was already dialing his cell phone.
Only Nicholas remained. He was the color of milk.
“Aren’t you going up?” I asked.
He stepped closer to me.
“In a minute.”
I finally felt warm. The afghan slipped from my shoulders. He was looking at me as if he wanted to peel me open like an orange. I remembered the feel of his mouth on mine. I frowned, nervous for no reason.
“What?”
“I just want to try something.” His touch was gentle, skimming my cheek, my arm, down to my wrist. His eyes were like rain in autumn; violent, mysterious, beautiful.
Hypnotizing.
“Stop it,” I whispered.
“Stay away from Kieran,” he demanded softly. “He’s dangerous.”
“And you’re not?”
“Let’s find out.” He closed the distance between us before I had time to even blink.
“What are you doing?”
“I have no idea,” he admitted. His lips hovered just barely a breath away from mine.
“I thought you were mad at me.” I really wanted to lean forward, just ever so slightly.
“I am.”
“You’re also trying to use your vamp mojo on me.”
“It doesn’t work on you.”
“Remember that.” My voice was soft, like whipped cream, and at odds with my smug smirk.
We didn’t close our eyes, not even when our lips met. I tingled all the way down to my toes. I wasn’t remotely chilled anymore; in fact, it felt like the longest, most humid day of summer. His skin was cool. I kind of wanted to nip into him like he was ice cream. When his tongue touched mine, my eyelids finally drifted shut. I gave myself to the moment, all but hurled into it. I wanted it to last for the next year and a half at least. I’d never felt like this before.
It could totally become addictive.
Just imagine if we actually liked each other.
CHAPTER 5
Solange
Saturday afternoon
When I woke up, Lucy was muttering to herself. It wasn’t unusual, but there was a particularly strident edge to it, even more than was ordinarily the result of her impatience with our slow Internet connection. The several farms comprising the Drake compound were nearly a thousand acres, some without any power source.
Our house was lucky to have satellite service even if it meant our connection suffered when it was a cloudy day somewhere else on the continent.
“Stupid satellite.”
I’d need a calculator to figure out how many times I’d woken up to her yelling at my computer. Patience was not one of Lucy’s finer qualities. I snuggled deeper into the nest of blankets. The sun seemed a little too bright, but I liked the warmth of it on my face. “What time is it?” I yawned.
Lucy flicked me a glance. “Just past two, I think.” She scribbled on a piece of paper. “Nose plugs, definitely need those. And a pocket knife, something really pointy. Ooh!” She interrupted herself excitedly. “A stun gun. Think they sell those on eBay?”
I yawned again, pushed myself up on my elbow. I was more tired than usual but I ignored that. “What on earth are you doing now?” I asked.
“Making a list of supplies,” she answered grimly. “I have no intention of letting that Helios-Ra jerk face use me to get to you again.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
She didn’t look remotely convinced. “Nicholas thinks it’s my fault.”
“Since when do you care what he thinks?”
She paused. “Oh. Good point.” She clicked the mouse. “Hey, look, they do have stun guns. That one has Hello Kitty on it, I think. Maybe not, it’s hard to tell.” Her eyes widened comically. “What are they made out of, solid gold and diamonds? I can’t afford that on my allowance.”
I groaned, letting my head fall back on my pillow. “Lucy, you can’t order one of those. Not exactly subtle.”
She made a face. “I guess.”
“Besides, you know my mom’s probably got one in the storeroom.” She swiveled on her chair, eyes shining. “Think she’d give me one?”
“After last time? Not a chance.”
“What, come on! That was ages ago.”
“No one’s forgotten what happened when you convinced her to teach you archery.”
“How was I supposed to know I’d have such good aim?” She’d very nearly skewered Marcus through the heart, which would have killed him, like anyone else. Arrows worked as well as stakes; it didn’t matter what the material was, as long as it was pointy and went right through the heart. It was actually fairly difficult to do: rib cages weren’t easy to pierce. She frowned at me.
