Full Moon (32 page)

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.”

“Why didn’t you get us out of the house
right away?”

“If I would’ve dragged you out of there,
they would’ve attacked me. I had to play it cool and pretend like I
was enjoying the party. I was only there to sneak you guys
out.”

“Why was that guy chasing us?” I asked.

“He wanted Julie. He had a taste of her
blood and wanted more. He tried to fight it off because he didn’t
want to worry about any fatalities being reported, but he couldn’t
stop himself. I got shot trying to protect you from him and his
kind.”

“What about the wolves?”

A serious expression came over his face. “I
don’t trust them, but for one reason or another, they were
protecting us.”

“When I tried to leave, one lunged at my
foot.”

“They were only trying to keep you inside so
Jonathon wouldn’t kill you or Julie. They knew he’d have to leave
at sunrise.”

“So Jonathon survived the wolf attack?”

“He’s almost 1,000 years old and very
experienced. He had no trouble outrunning them.”

Mixed feelings rattled in my chest. “Will he
come back?”

“No. He went back to Washington, and he
apologized. I’m sure he’s out hunting where he lives though.”

I just stared at him, almost unable to
believe it. “I’ve got lots of questions.”

“And I’ve got plenty of answers,” he
said.

“Do you sleep in a coffin or change into a
bat?”

“No. Those are just myths. Besides, coffins
are too industrial these days, not comfortable at all,” he tried to
joke, but nothing about the conversation was laughable.

I couldn’t stop staring at him. Even though
I’d suspected him for a while, the whole thing was so hard to
believe.

Worry lines crossed his features. “Say
something, Taylor. Anything.”

“I-I can’t believe I was kissed by a
vampire.”

He stared at my lips. “Did you like it?”

“Yes. I’ve never felt anything so…sexy and
arousing, and all you did was touch my lips.” I couldn’t even
imagine what an open-mouthed kiss would be like. Pushing my fears
to the back of my mind, I took a deep breath and tried to focus.
“Do you…drink blood?” I finally found the courage to ask.

He inched closer. “Are you asking if I’m
dangerous?”

My heart thundered. “Yes. Are you?”

His brow furrowed as he pondered the
question. “I could kill you before you knew what happened. Yes, I
can be very dangerous.”

“So…what kind of vampire are you?” I
asked.

“I’m not sure what that means. I’ve already
explained that I’m not a regular one.”

“Are you the sexy, brooding type with a
troubled soul, seeking forgiveness for your sins, or are you more
of the scary type, the one who rips into flesh without conscience,
ready to devour the whole town? Are you a manipulative vampire or
the kind that sparkles?”

“I’m just Jesse…and I refused to be
labeled.”

“Point taken.” I gripped the doorframe and
met his gaze. “Do you have to kill me now that I know your
secret?”

“Why don’t you invite me inside and find
out?”

My voice went flat. “You haven’t told me
what you really eat.”

“Do you really want to know?”

I swallowed hard against my racing pulse and
forced myself to stay calm. The realization was that I was
completely and utterly attracted to a paranormal creature who could
easily rip my neck apart, and that made me shiver. “I do. I want to
know. I need to know, Jesse.”

“Come outside, and we’ll talk about it,” he
said.

My breath caught in my throat. I wasn’t that
dumb. Even though none of it seemed real and I felt like I was
living in one of those B-movies I’d downloaded on my iPhone, I
wasn’t about to take any chances. “I-I can’t accept this. I’m going
through so many emotions right now. Maybe we should take a break
for a little while. I just…I’m not sure what’s going on between us,
if anything.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I was
stunned. There I was, on my doorstep, dumping the hottest guy I’d
ever known. As open-minded as I tried to be, I simply couldn’t
handle who he was. I was suffocating, finding it impossible to
breathe as he stared at me with those blue eyes of his.

“Taylor…”

I loved the way he said my name, and that
made it all the harder. “This isn’t the movies, television, or a
novel,” I said. “It’s not just some little road bump. I’ve got a
lot to process here. This is huge, and I need some time.”

His gaze softened. “You know what?”

“What?”

“Take all the time you need. I’m not going
anywhere. I will wait, and I will only go far as you let me.”

He held his hand up, and my palm touched his
right at the imaginary line. I could feel the invisible shield, yet
I could feel Jesse’s warm hand. Electricity and warmth sparked
through my hand, as if I’d touched a live wire. It was weird,
something I couldn’t explain it. It was absolutely, 100 percent
paranormal.

“You feel…human,” I said. I worried that I
was being slowly sucked in, compelled by the darkness that I was
sure lurked inside every single one of us. He possessed a mystery
and darkness that drew me in slowly, breath by breath. Though I was
weary, I was drawn in by his tall, dark, handsome beauty. But I had
to remember one thing, and that was just how dangerous he was.

“We have more human traits than any other
vampire. Even still, I drink blood once a week.”

“Does that mean you’ll drink mine?”

He stared down at my neck. “Is that an
invitation?”

“I’d rather you just run your tongue and
mouth down my neck.”

“You have no idea how badly I want to suck
and devour your neck…”

“With your teeth?”

“With my tongue.”

“Will you bite?”

“I’ll lick, suck, and nibble, but I won’t
break your skin. You’d enjoy it.”

The way he stared at me tripled the rhythm
of my heartbeat. His gaze was so sensual, so sexy that I could feel
my body flooding with heat. “I can imagine your mouth against my
neck,” I said, meaning every single word.

His eyes flickered with desire. “I need you
so bad, Taylor.”

“I need you worse.” More hunger, more need
flooded through me, sending goosebumps all over my body.

“Then let me run my lips up and down your
neck and whisper your sweet name in your ear.” When the words froze
in my throat, he continued. “Let me give you those sparks and that
fiery passion your ex could never give you.”

My nerves were electrified, dying for his
touch, for his kiss.

“I want to kiss your earlobe, then trail my
tongue down your jaw and your neck.” He stared at my mouth. “Just
two steps, Taylor. I promise you won’t regret it, but it seems we
have a trust issue now that you know my identity.”

I couldn’t move my gaze from his face.
“You’re a bad influence on me, Jesse.”

Ever so slowly, he leaned as close as he
could to the invisible wall. “I could be the best thing you ever
had, but you’ll never know if you don’t give me a fighting chance,”
he said with great and convincing determination in his voice.

I couldn’t breathe, and the room seemed to
grow hotter and four sizes smaller.

Chapter 22

I stood inside my house with the door open,
safe inside my sanctuary. The vampire couldn’t come in because I
hadn’t invited him, one part of the lore that was working to my
advantage.

Jesse looked into my eyes. “I can hear the
loud crash of every single beat of your heart.”

“What!?” I gasped and clutched my chest.

He stared at me intently. “I can hear your
heart beating, racing, thundering.”

I inhaled deeply to steady my pulse, but it
didn’t seem to help much. “What do you want with a mere mortal?” I
asked. “Surely entanglements with us are bound to cause you
trouble.”

“Yes, we live by a code that requires our
existence to remain secret, and I slipped up by getting shot. But
what am I supposed to do? Keep my shirt on for the rest of our
relationship? I’ve never desired to tell anyone my secret to
before, but I want you to know everything about me. I don’t want to
lie to you, to keep secrets from you. You’re special, Taylor,
someone who will keep my secrets safe. Why wouldn’t I want to be
with a mortal like you? You’re beautiful, funny, caring,
intelligent, and…” He smiled. “Do you want me to keep going?”

“Please do. You’re doing such a fine
job.”

“You’re amazing. And it’s just not your
physical beauty. You have a wonderful personality. I’ve never met
anyone like you before in my life.”

Emotion overwhelmed me. “I’m moved. I really
am, but what if this isn’t for me? Will you let me go on my merry
way? And how can I when I know what’s out there, now that I know
humans are at the bottom of the food chain?”