Out for Blood
Page 50
“Quinn,” I snapped, finally recognizing him. I whacked him. Hard. “What the hell are you doing? I could have staked you, you idiot.”
He grinned. “I’m quicker than you are.”
“Shut up, you are not.” Okay, so he was. But only because he had supernatural abilities. If he’d been a normal human guy, I could have taken him. I could still take him. I just needed a few more weapons to do it.
“I didn’t think you lived on this floor.”
“How do you know where my room is?” I asked. “And what are you even doing here? You do realize this is a school for vampire hunters, right? Why do I have to keep reminding you of that?”
He smirked. “I have a pass.” He was telling the truth. I hadn’t noticed it yet but there was a discreet metal button, like the ones you get at museums, pinned to the collar of his T-shirt. The shirt was almost the exact blue of his eyes. The pin was contraband. It allowed the bearer to be on campus without a mess of security coming down on his or her head. It almost certainly had never been worn by a vampire before.
“Where did you get that?” I demanded.
“Off Kieran.”
“Kieran gave you a campus free-access pass?” I repeated dubiously.
“Not so much ‘gave’ as left his knapsack out while he was kissing my sister.”
“So you stole it.”
“Did I mention he was kissing my baby sister?”
All the talk about kissing was making it hard not to look at his mouth. Or to pretend I didn’t know exactly how his lips felt on mine.
He frowned suddenly, his fingers on my chin, his expression going hard as steel. “What happened to your face this time?”
I wrinkled my nose. Great. I’d forgotten I was bruised and probably looked like a mottled grape. “Chloe punched me. Well, she tried to.”
“Chloe punched you?”
“Yes,” I grumbled.
“Well, I can’t punch her back.” He sounded disgruntled. “She’s a girl.”
I blinked. “I didn’t ask you to.”
“That’s what guys do,” he muttered. “When someone hurts a girl. Especially you.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that but I felt kind of warm and jittery inside, like I’d had too much hot chocolate.
And then I realized I was still lying on top of him.
We were pressed together, close enough that my breath ruffled his long hair. He had the kind of beauty that almost burns, as if he belonged in a Pre-Raphaelite painting of a poet or a mythic doomed lover. He was that gorgeous.
He raised his eyebrow, the trademark smirk getting more pronounced.
And he was a vampire. Which meant he could hear the sound of my heartbeat accelerating while I stared at him and thought about how pretty he was.
Crap.
Totally unfair advantage.
I pushed up on my palms to launch myself off him before I embarrassed myself completely and irrevocably.
“Hey.” He watched me back away as if he was dangerous. He looked entirely too pleased with himself. “Where are you going?”
“To bed.” Double crap. What if he thought that was an invitation? Was it an invitation? And when, exactly, had I lost my mind? “Uh, I meant to my room. Where my bed is. And—shit.” I forced myself to stop babbling.
He rose into a crouch, looking feral and predatory. “Do I make you nervous, Hunter?”
I stopped, glaring at him. “Excuse me, I know seventeen painful ways to kill you. You don’t make me nervous.”
“I know seventeen different ways to kiss you.”
I ignored the flare of heat in my chest and focused on the fact that it was clearly a line. I tossed my hair off my shoulder. “I’m not one of your groupies.”
“Good,” he said, suddenly serious. He didn’t bother denying that he had groupies. That made me like him even more.
I was in so much trouble.
“Look, Quinn, what are you really doing here? Do you have info on that pill I gave you?”
“Not yet. But I got your text about Will,” he replied, straightening. He only towered over me a little. “And I thought you could use some company.”
“You came for me?” Yup. So much trouble.
He nodded, touching my hair and tangling his long fingers in the ends, as if it was a fire and he was as cold as he was winter-pale. “What are you doing up here?”
“Retrieving personal property,” I explained, mesmerized by the feel of his hand as he tugged me a little closer, winding my hair around his wrist like a golden rope.
“From the coat rack?” he whispered, puzzled. He must have seen me staring at it.
I nodded, wondering why my voice felt like it had faded away completely. I cleared my throat. “Yes, but it’s stuck in the bottom.”
“Allow me.” He let me go so abruptly I stumbled back a little. He lifted the coat rack and turned it upside down, as if it weighed no more than a broom. The microphone tumbled out and I caught it before it hit the ground. He grinned, shaking his head. “Your personal property is surveillance equipment?”
I shrugged, slipping it into my pocket. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I peered out of the doorway, making sure it was clear before I started to creep back down the stairs. I paused on the landing. Quinn was right behind me.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“I’m going with you.”
He grinned. “I’m quicker than you are.”
“Shut up, you are not.” Okay, so he was. But only because he had supernatural abilities. If he’d been a normal human guy, I could have taken him. I could still take him. I just needed a few more weapons to do it.
“I didn’t think you lived on this floor.”
“How do you know where my room is?” I asked. “And what are you even doing here? You do realize this is a school for vampire hunters, right? Why do I have to keep reminding you of that?”
He smirked. “I have a pass.” He was telling the truth. I hadn’t noticed it yet but there was a discreet metal button, like the ones you get at museums, pinned to the collar of his T-shirt. The shirt was almost the exact blue of his eyes. The pin was contraband. It allowed the bearer to be on campus without a mess of security coming down on his or her head. It almost certainly had never been worn by a vampire before.
“Where did you get that?” I demanded.
“Off Kieran.”
“Kieran gave you a campus free-access pass?” I repeated dubiously.
“Not so much ‘gave’ as left his knapsack out while he was kissing my sister.”
“So you stole it.”
“Did I mention he was kissing my baby sister?”
All the talk about kissing was making it hard not to look at his mouth. Or to pretend I didn’t know exactly how his lips felt on mine.
He frowned suddenly, his fingers on my chin, his expression going hard as steel. “What happened to your face this time?”
I wrinkled my nose. Great. I’d forgotten I was bruised and probably looked like a mottled grape. “Chloe punched me. Well, she tried to.”
“Chloe punched you?”
“Yes,” I grumbled.
“Well, I can’t punch her back.” He sounded disgruntled. “She’s a girl.”
I blinked. “I didn’t ask you to.”
“That’s what guys do,” he muttered. “When someone hurts a girl. Especially you.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that but I felt kind of warm and jittery inside, like I’d had too much hot chocolate.
And then I realized I was still lying on top of him.
We were pressed together, close enough that my breath ruffled his long hair. He had the kind of beauty that almost burns, as if he belonged in a Pre-Raphaelite painting of a poet or a mythic doomed lover. He was that gorgeous.
He raised his eyebrow, the trademark smirk getting more pronounced.
And he was a vampire. Which meant he could hear the sound of my heartbeat accelerating while I stared at him and thought about how pretty he was.
Crap.
Totally unfair advantage.
I pushed up on my palms to launch myself off him before I embarrassed myself completely and irrevocably.
“Hey.” He watched me back away as if he was dangerous. He looked entirely too pleased with himself. “Where are you going?”
“To bed.” Double crap. What if he thought that was an invitation? Was it an invitation? And when, exactly, had I lost my mind? “Uh, I meant to my room. Where my bed is. And—shit.” I forced myself to stop babbling.
He rose into a crouch, looking feral and predatory. “Do I make you nervous, Hunter?”
I stopped, glaring at him. “Excuse me, I know seventeen painful ways to kill you. You don’t make me nervous.”
“I know seventeen different ways to kiss you.”
I ignored the flare of heat in my chest and focused on the fact that it was clearly a line. I tossed my hair off my shoulder. “I’m not one of your groupies.”
“Good,” he said, suddenly serious. He didn’t bother denying that he had groupies. That made me like him even more.
I was in so much trouble.
“Look, Quinn, what are you really doing here? Do you have info on that pill I gave you?”
“Not yet. But I got your text about Will,” he replied, straightening. He only towered over me a little. “And I thought you could use some company.”
“You came for me?” Yup. So much trouble.
He nodded, touching my hair and tangling his long fingers in the ends, as if it was a fire and he was as cold as he was winter-pale. “What are you doing up here?”
“Retrieving personal property,” I explained, mesmerized by the feel of his hand as he tugged me a little closer, winding my hair around his wrist like a golden rope.
“From the coat rack?” he whispered, puzzled. He must have seen me staring at it.
I nodded, wondering why my voice felt like it had faded away completely. I cleared my throat. “Yes, but it’s stuck in the bottom.”
“Allow me.” He let me go so abruptly I stumbled back a little. He lifted the coat rack and turned it upside down, as if it weighed no more than a broom. The microphone tumbled out and I caught it before it hit the ground. He grinned, shaking his head. “Your personal property is surveillance equipment?”
I shrugged, slipping it into my pocket. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I peered out of the doorway, making sure it was clear before I started to creep back down the stairs. I paused on the landing. Quinn was right behind me.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“I’m going with you.”
