Fire and Ash (Immortal Touch) (35 page)

“The female?” This was surprising. She’d struck him as the docile type, the last person he would have expected to cause problems. “What the devil possessed her - who did she convert? A relative?”

“No. A seventeen-year-old boy. In her defense, the boy was dying and I believe she felt she had no other choice…”

“In her defense? What are you, her attorney?”

“I just wanted it made clear that she didn’t do this out of spite or rebellion. I believe the boy was a friend and her emotions may have caused her to act in haste.”

“Jesus H. Christ. Why is it so hard for these ignorant fangers to follow a few simple rules? Can you tell me that?”

“Maybe it’s…”

“Maybe it’s because they’re all a bunch of imbeciles. Well, my evening is shot to hell. Now I have to figure out the best way to deal with
this
fucked up situation. I had better things to do tonight. I was…” He stopped short as inspiration suddenly struck him. A scheme that could transform this annoying distraction into a most delightful form of entertainment. He turned the idea over in his head, contemplating. “Hm…”

“What?” Tristan sounded nervously suspicious.

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“If you want my opinion, this being her first offense, I would
respectfully suggest we grant her a pardon. Just this once. I’d consider it a personal favor, Ash.”

“Perhaps you’re right.”

“I
am?
” The words came out sounding nothing short of astonished.

“I’d like for you to do two things for me. First, I want you to
reassure our Oregon couple that, given the unusual circumstances, this one infraction will be forgiven.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I’m a reasonable person. Second, I want you on the next flight here. Expect to be gone for about a week.”

“You want me
in Florida?”

“That’s what I said.”

“But I don’t know if I can get…”

“I’m not interested in your personal problems,
Kendall. If you can’t find someone to cover for you at the restaurant, then close it. Remember who fronted you the money for it in the first place. I need you here. Is that understood?”

“
Yes. Yes, of course. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“
I want you on a plane by morning. There’s still the little matter of disposing of the boy, and I’d like to handle this one personally. Say nothing of it, just make sure Winter and Miss Spencer keep him in line in the meantime.”

“
All right. But wouldn’t it be easier if I just met you in Portland?”

“I don’t need you in
Oregon - I need you here. I’m going to require a babysitter while I’m away.”

There was a
long pause. “Uh…
what
did you say?”

Ash laughed heartily at the bewilderment in Tristan’s voice, his carefree mood restored. “Maybe ‘guardian’ would be a more appropriate title.
Just get here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have plans for the remainder of the evening. First I need to acquire blood, and then…well, let’s just say there’s a certain young lady who has an illuminating night ahead of her.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Who would have ever thought that blood could be so incredibly intoxicating?

He’d never felt this amazing in his life. His diabetes gone, acne cleared up, vision now 20/20, Dane felt like a new man.
Strong. Handsome. Confident. Able to do
anything.
He was superhuman now, like a character from a comic book, and nobody was ever going to push him around again. Not ever.

And Eva had done this for him.
His beautiful Eva. She’d cared enough to bestow upon him this rare gift, because she couldn’t bear to see him die. In some form or another she
did
care…she must. Otherwise he’d be in a cold morgue right now instead of spending time alone with her. He could hardly believe his luck.

Now if
he could just get that snotty British creep out of the way…

The slamming of the driver’s side door interrupted his reverie. “We need to
clear something up right now,” Eva announced bluntly.

“
Yeah? What?”

She glanced in the rearview mirror before pulling out
into the empty street. “I think we should discuss your behavior.”

“There you go
again…sounding like my mom.” He hated it when people talked down to him, as if he had no common sense of his own. He wasn’t
stupid.
Why was everyone so eager to assume that he was?

“
This is important. We’re not talking about staying out past curfew or flunking a midterm. Your priorities have completely changed now, and things that used to be - Dane, are you listening to me?”

“Not really.” He stared out at the darkness, deliberately recalcitrant. If she wasn’t going to show him any respect, then why should he show her any? The truth was, her
speaking to him as if he were a child only reinforced the worry that she would never view him as her equal. Even now.

“I see.” Never had two small
, stilted words sounded so threatening. But she added nothing more, and they drove in uncomfortable silence until they turned onto the seldom-used dirt road that led to the chalet. Their time alone together was coming to an end, and he wished suddenly that he hadn’t been so defensive. All he wanted was to be with her - why had he gone and ruined everything with his moody sullenness?

Halfway down the road, she abruptly stopped
the Cherokee and turned off the engine. Before he could think of a clever and witty remark to break the ice, she turned to him and began to speak quietly.

“Look…I realize you must be sick to death of people always trying to tell you what to do. I get that.
I’ve been there. I’m only a few years older than you, remember? But you have to understand that it doesn’t automatically stop once you reach a certain age. There’s always going to be an authority figure to answer to, no matter what the situation. And right now your careless actions won’t just be a threat to you - they’ll be a threat to me as well. I put my own life in jeopardy to provide you with a second chance. All I’m asking is that you never give me cause to regret it. That’s all I ask.”

This wasn’t at all what he’d expected to hear. A lecture on responsibility, sure, but the revelation that she was risking her own safety for him? The words swam through his muddled
head, and the only conclusion his hopeful mind could reach was that she cared more about him than he’d ever imagined she would.

“Why would anything I do be a threat to you?” he
wanted to know.

She looked ill at ease, as if she
wasn’t sure how to answer the question. Or maybe she just didn’t want to. “Let’s just say, there are others like us who might not approve of what I did.”

“Saving my life, you mean?”

“
Modifying
your life.”

Interesting way of looking at it. Something else occurred to him
then. “Is that guy - Gerard or whatever - is he gonna turn into one of us now?”

“No. It doesn’t
happen like that.”

“Oh. Good.” He preferred to think of his new situation as something special, something unique. He’d never felt special
or
unique before. Before, he’d always been lacking in social grace, so inherently dull and ordinary that he was practically invisible. And he was
sick
of being invisible. It was time for Dane Chandler to break free and show the world that he was more than just some awkward kid. He was…

“You’re still you.”

“Huh?” Her astute insight startled him. How could she sense what he’d been thinking?

“I said, you’re still you. Just because you
’ve become different in a few ways doesn’t mean that anything else has changed about you. Am I making sense?”

He shrugged. Yeah, of course he knew what she was getting at, but he didn’t really want to hear it. He
wanted
to change. Why would he want to stay the same?

“I’ve always thought a lot of you. You’re sweet and smart and honest…
and you had such a bright future in front of you. You still do. I just don’t want to see you throw away the person you were because you believe he didn’t measure up to everyone else’s standards. Don’t change on me, Dane. Just because you
can
do something doesn’t mean you
should.
I don’t want you to become something you’re not. I don’t want to lose the real you. Can you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“I think so.” But the
re were only six words she’d spoken that stuck with him.
I don’t want to lose you.
She didn’t want to lose him because she cared. She wouldn’t have put herself in danger to save him otherwise.

In the enclosed space of the Jeep, the
intoxicatingly familiar scent of her reached him. He saw her exotic green eyes sparkling in the darkness, and his mutated blood pumped wildly through his veins. A robust warmth spread through him and in that moment he felt stronger than he’d ever felt in his life. Stronger, and more alive. He was Dane Chandler, reborn, and he was
not
the same no matter what anybody said. He was invincible. He was a
vampire.

And it
was well past time to claim this woman for himself.

Opening the car door, he
called over his shoulder as he hopped out, “If you don’t wanna lose me, then maybe you should come and get me!”

“What the…where are you going?”

He strolled off into the woods, ignoring her. This time, by God, she was going to chase after
him.

“Dane
, get back here!
Dane!
”

He heard the sound of her door opening and smiled
smugly to himself as her quick, light footsteps caught up to him.

“I am
so
not in the mood for this crap,” she complained irritably. “Can we please just call it a night already? Don’t you have to be home soon?”

“You know what
- I don’t have to be anywhere I don’t wanna be anymore.” Leaning his back against a pine tree, he crossed his arms and lifted his chin stubbornly.

Eva threw
up her arms in frustration. “Fine. You want to walk back to your truck, then be my guest. Act like a spoiled two-year-old if that’s what you feel like doing. As for me, I’ve had it.” She turned to walk back toward the road.

“Why are you with him?”

The question stopped her cold in her tracks. She didn’t look back, but he distinctly heard the flustered response. “Wha -
ahem
- what?”

“Why…are you…with
him?
” His own voice was steady. Confident.

Slowly she faced him again,
uneasiness clouding her eyes. “Dane…?”

“Just answer the question.”
He stared directly at her this time, instead of down at his shoes. Never again would he be intimidated by her or anyone else. He was not just some punk kid to be brushed aside - not anymore.

“You’re asking me why I’m with Julian? Is that it?”

“Yeah. I wanna know.”

“Because I love him. Why
else would I be with him?”

“Just wanna know where I stand.”
He kept his gaze locked on hers, determined to make her as uncomfortable as possible. To show her that he could be just as domineering as her uptight boyfriend.

“Oh, sweetie…you know
I think a lot of you…”

“
Is that right? You think a lot of me.” He took a few steps closer to her, laughing inwardly as she nervously inched backwards. “Well, you know something? I always thought a lot of you too. As a matter of fact, I thought about you pretty much all the time. Every night when I closed my eyes I thought about you. I bet you didn’t know that, did you? But you wouldn’t have cared. No, you just came breezing into the store whenever you felt like it, smiling and flirting with me as if I mattered but you never had any intention of so much as giving me the time of day, did you? It was just a game to you, wasn’t it?”

She looked stunned. “Dane, what are you talking about? I never…”

“Did you get off on teasing me or something? Did it give you some kinda thrill to make me think I stood a chance with you when I never did? What did you do, go back to lover boy and tell him all about the stupid, naïve kid who had a hopeless crush on you and then have a big laugh at my expense?”

“Now just a damn minute! That is not
what…”

“
Shut up!
” She flinched, startled by his outburst, and it gave him an overwhelming sense of pleasure to see her finally lose her serene composure. He was finally ahead of the game, and he wasn’t about to back down now. “I’m talking now. I’m talking, and this time
you’re
going to listen to what
I
have to say. Have you got that?”