“Did you miss me?” He smiled down at me.
“More than you know,” I said, while trailing my hand down his back.
“Everything go alright?”
“Yep.”
“That’s it? No details.”
“Nothing to tell,” I said with a half-smile.
He smiled that breathtakingly beautiful smile of his at me and kissed me again. Then he offered the juice bar back. “Um…no thanks.”
“That’s probably for the best. If you’re going to have vampire blood I’d prefer it be mine.” That caused a funny little stir in me. “I’ve missed you,” he said in a voice that shouldn’t be legal, and I melted.
Once I’d gotten my senses back (yeah, right! Like that would ever happen around him) I told him what Lilly had said: “She wants me to come out to dinner tonight.”
“Not tonight. Tell her tomorrow. I want to be alone with you tonight.”
“Alone? Have you seen how many people are in this house lately?”
“We’ve got a lock on our door.” The voice and the look alone about did it for me. It was when he pressed me against him and added the kiss I thought I might explode.
Chapter 18 - Starry Night
We lay out under the stars on a trampoline in the backyard that night. Oliver wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck and whispered how much he’d missed me and I giggled because it tickled. Once he’d had his fill of tickling me we stared up at the stars with the sides of our bodies as close as possible and our fingers intertwined. It was a little cool out and we had that familiar hoodie laid across us for a tiny layer of warmth.
I told him that I’d talked to Lilly and told her “we’d” be out for dinner tomorrow. She had sounded slightly tipsy when I’d spoken to her and that concerned me a little. It wasn’t like her to drink enough to get intoxicated. There was nothing I could do about it then so I shrugged it off and enjoyed the night sky with my Knight.
“Why was there such a concern over you biting me?”
His eyes met mine in the star covered night. “No one can know I had your blood,” he whispered.
“But you didn’t bite me,” I whispered back.
He sighed and looked back up at the stars. He spoke very softly, “It doesn’t matter. There’s concern that I would put you in danger…from me.”
I didn’t understand and I didn’t have to express that because he immediately picked up on it.
“There’s concern that I’ll develop a craving for your blood. This doesn’t only apply to me, it applies to all mixed bloods.”
“But you don’t, do you? Crave my blood that is?”
He turned so he was facing me again and brushed my hair away from my face, then he trailed his fingers across my cheek and down my neck. The sounds of crickets filled the night. “Of course I want to taste you again, but that’s just because you’re you. Because I love you and want you. All of you, not just your blood.” His fingers trailed down my arm then he lightly kissed my lips and rested his forehead against mine.
“Do you think we’ll end up like Julz and Oscar?” I asked. I’d been having this nagging fear ever since I’d gotten a glimpse into their past.
“Never.” He said confidently. “Why would you even consider it could happen?”
“They were happy once, right? Like we are.”
“Laney, they were nowhere near anything like we are.” He raised my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it softly.
I decided to change the subject. “Do you think I have a vampire line in me?”
“It’s a possibility.” He didn’t say anymore.
He was quiet for a while after that but I noticed his foot would give a little wiggle every once in a while which usually meant he was thinking about something good.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” I eyed him in the dim light of the stars and soft glow of the porch light. I tried hard not to smile when I saw the hint of a smirk start at the corner of his mouth.
With one arm behind his head, a smile spread across his face while was still looking up at the sky. “You.”
“What about me?” I turned my body to rest my head on his chest.
“I was thinking that I would like to taste you again.”
Oh. My. God! The feeling that shot through me right then was a mixture of excitement, lust and…yeah, that was pretty much it.
He tipped my chin up so I could see into his beautiful emerald eyes. Then he kissed me long and slow. Resting me back down onto the trampoline and propping himself up on his side to lean over me. He stared into my eyes again and smiled. “Was that a yes I felt?” I nodded. “I won’t bite you. I don’t think I could do it without releasing venom. He lifted my wrist and lightly kissed it. “Just a little, okay?” I nodded again. As usual, he could’ve done anything to me when he made me feel like that. “It will hurt a little, are you sure?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
His cool soft lips pressed against the flesh of my wrist. My heart pounded with excitement as he kept his eyes on mine. I felt a quick prick on my skin and my breath caught at the surprise of it. The pain barely registered as he pulled his mouth away from my wrist. We watched as a very small trickle of crimson slowly ran down my arm. His tongue caught it before it reached my elbow and followed the line back to where it began. A soft moan came out of him and every part of me yearned for him. I watched with added excitement as he covered the small hole in my wrist with his mouth and took a couple slow draws from my vein. Then he swept his tongue across it and sealed it. I grasped the front of his shirt and pulled him to me. I kissed him hard and ran my fingers up through his hair. He pulled back after a long moment of kissing and smiled down at me. Eyes sparkling and fangs gleaming in the night.
Something else that had been bouncing around in my head and causing me to have concerns decided it was time for an answer. “I won’t age, but I could still die, right?” I breathed through my panting breath.
He nodded, his eyes bearing down on mine.
I took a moment to steady my breathing. “Then change me.”
I saw the corner of his mouth turn up. “You’d have to give up lucky charms.”
I laughed and he kissed me again. When he pulled away I saw the gleam of moonlight flash off his fully extended fangs. Then the back door clicked open and Hayden was soon sitting beside us.
She lay down on the other side of Oliver and wrapped his arm behind her head like a pillow. That was the end of that. But not of my raging hormones. I wanted him to drink from me so badly. I wanted his fangs to pierce my flesh again. I wanted to be with him in every way imaginable and…and I just couldn’t let myself think about it any longer. I’m sure he was feeling all my emotions just then too and I imagine it wasn’t helping him either.
I was the first one to leave the trampoline that night. Not because I was irritated, which I was, but because I just needed to walk away. As I slid off the side and started for the door Hayden said, “A word of advice: never let a vampire jump you on a trampoline.” And then she giggled. She was the only one. Maybe she was as bat-shit crazy as her mom. Just better at hiding it. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Her mother was missing and her uncle, who usually devoted all his free time to her, was now devoting it to me. I guess I could share. A little.
We were in the bedroom, just the two of us, later that night when Oliver said, “Sorry about earlier. She’s not used to sharing me.”
“I understand.” At least I was trying to.
He kissed my forehead as I snuggled under the covers. “Get some sleep. I’ve got to see if I can find Julz.”
“Why?”
“She’s my responsibility.” He sat on the edge of the bed as we talked.
“Like a child?”
“Yes.”
I got a little irritated at that point. “This is ridiculous! No one even wants her around. Why would you even bother?” So much for me being sympathetic.
“I told you why.”
“I don’t think that’s it.” He was staring off like he sometimes did. Being distant but still there. “Really, you’re responsible for her, forever?” He nodded slightly, still spaced off. “So are you saying that this would be my life once we’re bonded?” My voice had gotten a little louder. “She’s ruined everyone’s life, including her own. Now you’d let her do the same to us?” He focused on me then, his eyes searching for an answer.
“Laney, please try to understand.”
“I have tried. I guess I just don’t get it.” I pulled the covers tight and turned my back to him.
I heard him sigh and then the bed shifted as he cuddled up behind me, and he slid an arm around me to hold me tightly against him. He held me for a little while, then kissed my cheek and whispered, “I love you, but I still have to go find her.” With that he was gone and I was tiredly fuming.
Chapter 19 - Awkwardness
I woke in a better mood. I could see why he needed to deal with her. I just didn’t understand why he still did. Why anyone did. I guess that was a rather harsh way to look at it. I’d seen her memories, and only a few. I couldn’t imagine all that I hadn’t seen. Oh, and those feelings she once had for him. The feelings she still had for him. It was painful to even think about. But still, there was this piece of me that just wanted her to be over. Yeah, pretty sure that makes me evil. I didn’t mention anything about Julz and neither did Oliver. Apparently his efforts to find her had been in vain, because she still wasn’t home.
Most of the day was uneventful. Hayden spent quite a bit of time cutting all the boys’ hair that afternoon. And yes, I did find it odd that the thirteen-year-old had the skills to cut hair. But she’s half vampire, so she probably has all kinds of skills I don’t know about. “What about you Laney?” She asked.
“I’m good. Thanks though.”
“Let’s leave Laney’s hair alone. I love it long,” Oliver said with a smile, the last part was mostly for me, as was the long kiss I received before I was off to get ready for the day.
Hayden had started with Isaac. That’s whose hair she was cutting when I had left her room to shower. By the time I was ready for the day she was done with Isaac. I encountered him in the kitchen where I saw that she’d trimmed him up a bit and re-dyed the tips of his hair too: they were a brilliant turquoise again.
I headed back down the hall to Hayden’s room where I thought I’d find Oliver getting his hair cut, but what I found was a little disconcerting. I’d walked in on Hayden cutting Felix’s hair. But that’s not what concerned me. What troubled me was the way they behaved when I walked into the room. It seemed I’d caught them in some sort of “situation.” Felix was seated on a very low footstool and Hayden was standing in front of him just enough that I couldn’t see either of their faces. He was eye level with her when he sat on the stool and he gave her a little push back as I entered. It appeared I’d interrupted something, but I didn’t know what.
“He’s hard to maneuver around.” She smiled awkwardly at me and quickly looked away like she was returning to cutting his hair.
“Is that a fat joke?” He tried to play it off like it was funny and they both chuckled, but there was a nervousness to their laughter.
I didn’t even want to touch this one. “Do you guys know where Oliver is?”
Felix told me he’d gone to take a shower in the bathroom in Carter’s room. So I entered quietly as to not wake Carter, who was curled up with his back to the bathroom.
I found Oliver at the bathroom sink with only a towel tied around his waist.
Ahhh…Chiseled beauty.
I ran my hands up his cool back as I reached him and he glanced over his shoulder at me with that mischievous little smirk. I kissed his flawless skin and wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him tight. I caught sight of his dragon tattoo when he moved his arm and I traced it with my fingers. It was such a dark contrast against his pale skin and there was still something so familiar about it. But I had no idea why or where I would’ve seen it before. I started to tell him about how it seemed I had seen the tattoo before when I noticed his hair was much shorter. It still looked good–I imagined he’d even look good if he were bald and had the skin of a lizard. His curls were gone, leaving just a hint of a wave through his light brown hair.
“I didn’t want to cut it, but regulations…I love when you run your fingers through it.”