Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (15 page)

Gabriel’s heart drums loudly in his chest. Hormones leak from his dampened skin, mingling with hers in the air. The scent of their desire permeating the air is nearly more than she can handle. Roseline’s lips part, allowing one final agonizing breath to enter her body. She groans, burying her face in her hands, as she tastes Gabriel’s essence.

“That was amazing,” he whispers, his mind slowly escaping the fog. “It’s never been like that before.”

The reminder of his time spent with other girls snaps Roseline out of her trance. “I barely touched you,” she murmurs, trying to sort out what they have just experienced. It has certainly never been like that with other humans she seduced.

“Really?” Gabriel frowns, blinking away the last of the haze. “That’s not what it felt like.”

A thought, so irrational she nearly discards it, flashes across her mind. It blooms into full-blown hysteria as she begins to rock on the edge of the couch. Warm tears slip between her fingers. “This isn’t possible. It can’t be true.”

What other explanation could there be?

She jumps as Gabriel’s hand settles on her bare arm. Scorching fire licks against her skin as his blood calls to her. No, not just calls to her, it invades her. Her whole body burns with need, yearning for his touch, to feel him pressed up against her.

This, whatever this is, is not some sadistic hunger or a physical need for blood to aid in healing. This is lust in its rawest form. It hardly compares with a far more terrifying discovery-buried love. “Are you okay, Rose?” he whispers. His breath tickles against her ear. Goose bumps leap to attention.

“No,” she croaks. “I have to go. I have to leave. I have to—” she chokes off, completely unsure of what she can do to stop this unnatural bond.

It’s too late
, her mind whispers.
You already belong to him.

Fourteen

Gabriel’s disappointment hits her like a wrecking ball, but she refuses to be swayed. She has to leave, to get some fresh air to clear her mind before she does something she will really regret. Like seal the bond that’s not even supposed to be possible with a human!

Why didn’t anyone tell her this could happen? Maybe it’s never happened before. What if she is special somehow? Or Gabriel? Whatever he is, he is obviously not human.

She takes a deep breath. He smells human…only slightly off. Like he is somehow something more than just human.

His scent lingers in her nostrils, making her head spin. “Please let me go,” she begs.

A strange cold lingers where his fingers were only a moment before. Roseline rubs her arm, refusing to acknowledge the yearning of her soul.

Gabriel crouches beside the hatch, finger hooked though the door. “I’m sorry. I never should have…I didn’t mean to…” he sighs, shaking his head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not you,” she whispers softly.

She bites her lip as his face droops. She doesn’t want him to feel guilty. In fact, she wishes he didn’t feel anything at all, but the rebellious side that risked life and limb to escape from Vladimir wants Gabriel to fight for her. To tell her that all of this is happening for a reason, that there just might be a way to make it work.

She knew if he did, she would lose herself to him. It takes every ounce of strength she possesses to not pull him back as he opens the hatch. She cannot trust herself. Not with him. Not in this moment.

She knows he is not in any real danger from her. No matter how good he smells she would never bite him. Blood is the source of life, for humans and immortals, but taking the lifeblood of another being comes with a terrible curse.

Although she and her family do not actually feed off the blood of others, like so many of the vampire myths claim, it does happen from time to time to help speed healing. Like any prescription drug that can become addictive, so can too much human blood. Personalities begin to change, behaviors become more violent, and the result has been the creation of the vampire myth.

A myth that Roseline fights against daily.

The need she now feels for Gabriel goes beyond fleshly desires. Even her lust for him has begun to fade against the presence of the bond somehow formed between them. As if their souls have somehow entwined and that fact scares her, more than she could ever admit. She cannot fall for a mortal. It is forbidden. And yet…

Her heart tells her it is already too late. The bond is sealed. But how? They have not shared any physical intimacy, which should be the moment when two become one. So how is this even possible?

“What do you think you’re doing?” a shrill voice screeches from the hallway below.

“Claire,” Gabriel gasps, teetering toward the hatch opening. Roseline’s hand shoots out, gripping his shirt as she pulls him back from danger. He gives her a weak smile of gratitude before rushing down the ladder. “What are you doing here?”

Roseline dashes across the room and snatches her heels. In a flash, they are wound around her ankles and she is back at the attic hatch. Neither Gabriel nor Claire notice her movements.

“Looking for you, duh,” Claire snaps, swaying slightly on her feet. Her blood-red lipstick is smeared; her breath reeks of alcohol and something else. Roseline leans through the opening and sniffs the air, her nose scrunching with disgust when she recognizes the scent.

“How dare you cheat on me, Gabriel Marston,” Claire shrieks, slapping him across the face. Roseline bares her teeth and hisses but her reaction goes unnoticed as Gabriel rubs his reddening jaw. “Your father is going to hear about this.”

Claire turns and stomps toward the stairs, wavering precariously on her silver stiletto heels. Her hands wave wildly just before she tumbles end over end, landing in a heap on the landing. Groaning, Claire rights herself and scoots down the remaining steps.

Roseline hurries down the ladder, peeking to make sure no one will see her descent. Gabriel appears deeply embarrassed by his girlfriend’s state. “Sorry about that. She probably won’t even remember this tomorrow morning.”

“I sure hope she doesn’t remember what else she’s been up to,” Roseline mutters under her breath as she smoothes out her dress.

Gabriel’s eyebrow rises. “Oh yeah?”

Roseline chuckles. “Well, by the smell of that aftershave, I’d say your girlfriend just messed around with Oliver.”

Gabriel grimaces. “Yeah, that sounds like them. I’m gonna have to do something about her.”

Sensing an awkward moment rapidly approaching, Roseline steps toward the stairs. No way can she handle a talk about his crumbling relationship with Claire. “I should probably get going,” she mutters. “Thanks for the tour.”

She turns to head down the hall but Gabriel catches her arm. “I meant what I said earlier. I really want to get to know you.”

Roseline struggles to pull her gaze away from him. She can already feel the gravitational pull building between them. She clears her throat, annoyed by how flustered he makes her feel. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.

“Me either,” he admits. “But I don’t care.”

She hates how easily those five words change her life. Roseline knows it is wrong, for so many reasons, but she refuses to care, at least for tonight. She nods with a tiny smile and slips down the stairs.

“Where have you been?” Sadie moans as soon as she arrives on the ground floor, relying heavily on the wall to remain upright. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I think I’ve had too much to drink.” She belches loudly and swipes her arm across her mouth. Her hair is matted with crushed chips and gooey chocolate. She must have gone in headfirst to the pudding bowl.

“I think you’ve had a bit too much fun for one night,” Roseline says as she pulls Sadie toward her. “Your mother is going to kill you when she finds you like this.”

The only answer she receives is a gentle snore as Sadie passes out in her arms. Roseline darts a glance around to see if anyone is watching before she lifts Sadie’s legs and carries her out of the house. Judging by the moon’s location overhead it is well past two in the morning. The house is dark as she approaches but Roseline can hear Sadie’s parents whisper complaints from their room on the backside of the house.

Clutching Sadie tightly in her arms, Roseline kicks off her high heels and easily scales the tree. She slips in through the cracked window, gently tucking her snoring friend under the covers. Roseline hesitates, smiling down at Sadie. It is amazing how sleep can tame the wild beast.

“Goodnight,” she whispers from the window before leaping to the ground.

Deciding it would be best not to go back through the door she exited only a couple minutes before, Roseline slips down between the two houses. An eight-foot privacy fence stands between her and Gabriel’s back yard. Roseline steps back then jumps straight over the top, landing silently on the other side.

“How can you embarrass me like that with Oliver?” an angry voice calls out through the night. Roseline ducks behind a tree, wincing at her bad luck. She has just landed in the last place she wanted to be—right in the middle of Gabriel and Claire’s confrontation. Fate is obviously having a laugh at her expense tonight. Roseline peeks out, unable to stop her curiosity.

“Oh, that was nothing,” Claire replies from where she is slumped on a lounger. “Why do you even care? You were fooling around with that slutty new girl.”

“Take it back,” Gabriel growls, yanking Claire to her feet. His face contorts with anger.

Claire’s high-pitch laugh grates on Roseline’s nerves. “Are you serious? You are actually defending her honor? Oh, that is too good.”

“I said, take it back.”

Claire’s laugh cuts off. “What’s gotten into you, Gabe? You fall for some new girl and now you are ready to give up everything for her? Have you even seen who she hangs with? Sadie-Freakshow-Hughes.”

“You know what,” Gabriel says, releasing Claire’s arm. “I’m glad Sadie got out. At least she didn’t have to stick around and let you dig your claws into her.”

Claire spits at him, unwilling to take that comment lying down. “We both know you haven’t changed. It’s all just an act to get in that girl’s pants.”

Gabriel rolls his eyes. “Sure. That’s my motive. Just like I’ve worked so hard to get into yours.” His voice is rising right along with his blood pressure.

Roseline is sure all of the neighbors can hear Claire’s howl. “You jerk. How dare you talk to me like that?”

“Why? It’s the truth.” Gabriel’s response is surprisingly emotionless. Roseline cannot help but pump her fist in triumph. Gabriel has not fooled around with Claire. That’s nice to know.

“You’re just trying to ruin my reputation. Everyone knows you can barely keep your hands off me,” she screams, making sure all of the questioning ears plastered to the windows can hear. “You can’t get enough of me.”

“We both know how much you’d like to believe that.” His bitter laugh masks Claire’s cry of indignation. “And it’s not like you work hard to make everyone believe that you’re an upright girl. You spend more time on your back than you do shopping.”

The sound of Claire’s slap does not surprise Roseline. In fact, she is surprised it didn’t happen sooner. “We’re through. Do you hear me, Gabriel Marston? I never want to see you again.”

“Fine by me,” Gabriel replies, slamming the glass door in Claire’s face. The eavesdroppers scatter, diving behind couches or slipping down the basement stairs as Gabriel stalks past.

Roseline remains crouched, wondering how long Claire will linger on the back porch. She really needs to get inside and find William.

“Hello? Yeah, it’s me, Daddy. Gabriel just broke up with me,” Claire cries into her cell phone. Roseline rolls her eyes at Claire’s exaggerated sobbing. “I don’t know what happened. He just blew up and started accusing me of messing around with some other guy.”

There is a brief pause before Claire cries indignantly. “How can you even ask me that? Of course it’s his fault.”

“Whatever, Daddy. Just come get me.” Claire snaps her phone shut and stumbles toward the fence at the side of the house.

Roseline sneaks out of the bushes as Claire unlatches the gate with great difficulty. Claire loses her balance and plops to the ground as the gate swings closed behind her. Roseline silently races across the moonlit yard and eases the glass door open. Most of the drunken students have begun filtering out of the house now that the show has ended. That should make it much easier for her to find William and get the heck out.

“William?” she calls, cupping her hands around her mouth. She wanders through the house, stepping lightly over snoring teens.

“He’s over there,” Gabriel whispers as he slips up behind her. He points to a crumpled heap on a couch in the basement.

Roseline rolls a snoring William over. His face is covered with bright red lipstick and an impressive bruise has begun forming on his neck.

“Well, at least someone had a good time,” Gabriel chuckles, sounding impressed. She nods and bends down, bracing to lift William. Gabriel’s electric touch stops her. “Let me. He’s probably heavier then he looks.”

Frustrated with Gabriel’s intervention, Roseline is forced to watch him struggle to lift William’s dead weight. “It’s no problem. I’m sure I can manage him.”

Gabriel laughs, struggling to stand upright. “You’d just crumble under him. Especially in those shoes.” His gaze trails back down the curve of Roseline’s calf but quickly shifts away.

Relenting, Roseline settles with following his slow pace up the stairs and across the side yard. He knocks on the door before Roseline can stop him. Her ears perk up as light footsteps approach.

William’s mother looks livid when the door opens to reveal her son passed out in Gabriel’s arms. Roseline can tell she is fighting back the urge to scream at Gabriel as she moves aside to let him pass. “Put him on the couch please. I won’t have him ruining my new carpets upstairs.”

When she turns to look at Roseline, she manages a weak smile. “Nice to see you on your feet, Rose.”

She tries to find some response that might lessen the grounding William is sure to receive by morning but comes up empty. She settles for a simple nod. Mrs. Hughes’ lips press into thin lines. “Have you seen Sadie?”