Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (165 page)

“
Sounds nice, a chance to
escape all the drama for a little while.”

He threaded his fingers through my
long locks, his flirtatious grin fixed on his face. “I’d love to
have you all to myself.”

“
You know how much I love
being with you,” I whispered.

His smile eased into a big grin, and
he gently caressed my face and softly kissed me. “How about this
weekend?”

I drew in a short breath, but the
words remained frozen in my throat. I walk over to the railing and
stared into the woods.

“
What’s wrong?” he
asked.

He regarded me intently, his hair
swaying in the soft breeze wafting in from the silent
woods.

“
I’ve got a lot on my
mind,” I finally answered.

He came from behind and hugged me.
“Like what?”

I spun around, then pushed the black
hair from his face, raking my fingers through it. “I’m so thirsty.
How about a soda?”

“
Sure. I’ll take a Sprite
or Pepsi.”

I unlocked the door and stepped
inside. “Jesse, we need to have a long talk. Let’s have a bite to
eat and chat.” When I glanced over my shoulder, he was still
standing at the doorway.

“
Aren’t you going to invite
me in?” he asked.

“
No need for that. I mean,
after that fantastic kiss on the lips, do we really have to be that
formal?”

“
I don’t want your parents
getting mad that I came in without permission,” he said.

I slowly walked to the doorway and
stared into those eyes that still took my breath away; there was
nothing dead about them. “Are you able to come in and get it
yourself?” I asked.

“
I’m not really that
thirsty anyway,” he said. “I’d rather hang out here on the
porch.”

Our eyes locked. He was so handsome
with those strong, chiseled features, eyes as blue as the sky, and
lips sculpted perfectly for kissing. I stared at his sensuous
mouth, and he looked so cute with that pouty bottom lip of
his.

“
Are you coming back
outside?” he asked.

“
Are you coming inside?” I
retorted.

We stared into each other’s eyes for a
long moment, and it would have taken a knife to cut the tension
between us. The challenge had been issued, and we both refused to
give in.

“
Something’s changed
between us,” Jesse said. “I can sense it.”

I shook my head.

“
What is it?” he
asked.

“
I put two and two
together.”

“
And what did you figure
out?”

“
I want to know what you’re
hiding from me, Jesse,” I finally blurted out. “What’s going
on?”

Jesse stared at me in silence as he
contemplated what my words implied.

I inched closer to the doorway. “Take
off your shirt,” I demanded.

His beautiful eyes shone as he gazed
straight into my eyes. “I had no idea you were so bold, so
kinky.”

My lips pressed into grim lines. “I
need to know if I’m crazy, which is a very serious possibility.
Take off your shirt right now please.”

He gazed deeply into my eyes.
“No.”

“
No?”

He smiled. “No.”

I cleared my throat. “Why
not?”

“
Why not?” he repeated.
“Because I suddenly feel very shy. You’re treating me like a piece
of meat.”

“
Maybe the real reason you
don’t want to remove your shirt is because you don’t have a scar
from the bullet wound. I’m sure it healed very fast, and that’s why
you didn’t want to go to the hospital,” I said.

He nodded, seemingly impressed with my
insights. “Why?”

“
Because
I think you’re
special
.” If I was right, he would know what I was talking about. I
didn’t want to risk our friendship by flat out calling him a
vampire, just in case it wasn’t true.

His voice cut into my thoughts.
“Special? I’m glad you think so. I feel the same about
you.”

Boldly, I held up the crucifix. “Cut
the games, Jesse. I know what you’re hiding. You’re
immortal.”

He laughed. “Listen to yourself,
Taylor! Do you think a cross can actually stop me?”

“
Maybe not, but apparently,
you can’t come in without being invited.”

He shook his head.

I continued, “If necessary, I can also
kick a leg off one of my mom’s wooden chairs.”

“
To stake me?”

“
Only as a last resort, if
I need to defend myself,” I retorted.

“
I’m a little curious about
how you came to this interesting conclusion.”

The massive lump of dread thudded down
into the pit of my stomach like a lead balloon. “I put the pieces
together, and they all fit quite nicely. Why don’t you stop trying
to hide from me when I know the truth? You can trust me to keep
your secret. My bond is my word.”

“
Those were my
words.”

“
And I mean
them.”

He gazed deeply into my eyes, then
slid his shirt over his head.

My gaze darted from his powerful
shoulders to his rippling abs and perfect chest, sculpted with hard
muscles. His hair fell in disheveled waves across his forehead, but
I didn’t see any scars on his perfect skin.

“
I knew it!” I said,
gasping. “It’s gone!”

“
Looks like we’ve got a lot
to talk about,” he said.

I tried to ignore the dry sensation
inside my mouth. “How long did it take you to heal?”

“
About twelve hours. It was
a deep wound,” he said.

My eyes widened. “What are
you?”

“
You’ve clearly already
decided that. You’re holding a Bible and a crucifix and threatening
to stake me.”

“
Don’t forget the garlic.
My pockets are loaded with it.”

His gaze narrowed. “I love a girl
who’s always prepared for battle.”

“
Are you going to answer me
or not? What are you?”

“
I think you already know
the answer to that, Taylor.”

I fidgeted and tried to look away. “I
don’t.” I gazed up as he loomed over me. Shivering, I was thankful
for that invisible barrier that kept me safe.

His blue eyes began to glow, like
nothing I’d ever seen before. I watched his teeth turn from normal
to pointed fangs, right before my very eyes. My heart lurched, and
I suddenly began to gasp for air.

“
Yes, Taylor. I am a
vampire,” he said.

A cold chill shot down my spine as I
stared into those glowing eyes and took in those sharp fangs. I
opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out. Max snarled,
then barked fiercely. I glanced up at the blue sky, then down at
the lush green grass, then the open patch of woods. They were all
real, and so was the creature standing before me.

“
Taylor…” he
said.

My hand trembled as I rubbed my face,
my brain still trying to circle around his shocking admission. I
couldn’t believe my suspicions had been so spot on. I just stared
at him, my feet frozen in place. Right there before me was a real,
live, modern-day vampire, a supernatural, mythological, undead
creature of the night—and, in his case, day. He was a dead person
who existed by drinking the blood of the living.

I clenched my jaw and grabbed the
doorway, trying to swallow the rising panic I felt.

“
It must come as quite a
shock to see me this way,” he said.

“
It’s more like a punch in
the gut,” I said. I couldn’t stop staring. Part of me wanted to
protect him, but the other part was totally freaked out and wanted
to call 911.

“
You can control when your
eyes and fangs transition?” I asked.

He blinked. “Yes.” He looked scary,
almost deadly, and completely unpredictable.

I took a step backward, my heart still
racing. “Turn it off then!”

He did, and I was completely baffled
as his eyes turned back to light blue and his fangs faded back into
normal teeth. I had just eye witnessed a paranormal phenomenon, and
I wasn’t even sure how I was supposed to react. It took every
effort in me just to breathe.

All of the sudden, my dog decided he
could not stay indoors any longer, and he bolted out the
door.

“
Max!” I
screamed.

Chapter 21

Max had run out of the house, and I
had no way to protect them. Just like that, Jesse held all the
cards, all the power. My breath caught in my throat as Max barked
furiously.

Jesse bent down and stared into my
dog’s eyes. “Stop barking and stay right here by me.”

Max immediately obeyed and lay down
next to Jesse’s feet.

Jesse petted him, then smiled at
me.

“
Don’t you dare hurt my
dog!”

“
Why don’t you come out and
get him?” he asked calmly.

“
Can you promise me you’ll,
uh…drink responsibly?”

“
I’m not going to hurt you.
I’m not even thirsty,” he said.

We stared
into each other’s eyes. It was if he was daring me to walk past the
barrier that was keeping me safe. But then another thought hit
me:
Mom and Dad will be home any
minute.
I didn’t think he’d hurt them
either, but part of me just didn’t know for sure. For all I knew,
he’d use them to threaten me to come outdoors. I could only pray he
wouldn’t resort to such a horrible tactic.

It was clear that he hated losing any
confrontation and that he wanted to have control over the
situation, but I needed to let him know I wasn’t an easy mark. It
was almost as mentally exhausting as a game of chess. We stared at
one another, each wondering what the other’s next move would be. It
was a stalemate, with both of us refusing to budge. In the end, I
was sure there’d be no clear-cut winner.

He motioned for me to come
out.

I glared. “You know why I
can’t.”

He petted Max behind the ears again,
as if taunting me. “You’d risk your dog’s life?”

“
You wouldn’t hurt him!” I
said. “You love animals.”

“
But when he first ran out
here, you thought I’d hurt him. You panicked.”

“
I-I don’t know. I’m so
confused! I can’t think straight. I mean, this is a lot to
process.” My hands continued to tremble. “Why aren’t you trying to
lie to me and get me off your scent? That’s what you should be
doing right now. Instead, you’re showing me tangible proof that I
can’t deny.”

“
I would try to mislead
anyone else, but I can’t lie to you, Taylor—not you.”

“
But you…vampires are
supposed to be different.”

He cocked his head in confusion.
“Different?”

I blinked back tears, trying to calm
my racing heart. “You walk around in the sunlight. How is that even
possible for your kind?”

“
I am a descendant of the
Leyna, a rare race. The word itself means ‘bright and shining
light’. We sleep, eat, and walk around in the daytime, but we’re
still immortal beings. We can heal also, though not as quickly as
normal vampires.”

“
How old are
you…really?”

“
Seventeen.”

“
Right. And you’ve been
saying that for how many years to get teenage girls to fall in love
with you?”

“
I’m really only seventeen,
Taylor. And so is Sam and Kierra. Our immortality has only
begun.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me all
this sooner? I had every right to know.”

“
I would have, but I was
worried word might get out. I can’t have all those vampire fans at
my doorstep, demanding me to give them the dark gift.”

I shook my head, then continued, “So
you were you bitten by the Leyna this year?”

His gaze narrowed. “No. I was born a
vampire.”

I gasped.

“
Our race can bear
offspring. There’s not many of us, and we’re very rare, only 100 in
the world.”

“
Do the other vampires know
about you?”

“
Yes, but we take great
pains to stay hidden.”

“
Are all the vampires here
Leyna?”

“
There’re only a handful of
us in this town. The others are regular vampires. The ones you met
at the party were from all over the United States, here for a
weekend get-together. Most of them are beyond dangerous. You were
invited to the party so they could feed on you, but some of them
were so drunk that I’m sure they couldn’t have stopped. There were
other humans there, too, all of them as clueless as you were about
the dangers of a vampire-infested cabin in the woods.”

“
And you condone that sort
of thing?”

“
Not at all,” he retorted,
“but we’re sorely outnumbered, and most of them are hundreds of
years old.”