Golden Blood (8 page)

“Sisters do that.”

They both grinned. Gemma shifted in her seat
as the waiter appeared with their meals. Harrison looked at her
chicken salad with no dressing and grimaced. He’d take his fully
loaded pizza over vegetables any day of the week.

Gemma glanced at his pizza. He thought he
glimpsed a tinge of envy before she prodded her salad. Part of him
wanted to offer her some, but tempting her seemed a little unfair.
Although, it would be a good chance to see how strong her will
was.

He was just opening his mouth to offer when
she interrupted his train of thought.

“So I overheard Rosie say that her dad’s a
mechanic. He’s trying to start up his own business or
something?”

“Yeah.” Harrison took a large bite of pizza
and answered around his food. “He’s opening a garage to restore old
cars. He helped me restore mine. He’s got a thing for
classics.”

“Well, you have to love the classics.”
Gemma’s eyes lit giving Harrison another reason to like her.

“What condition was the Stingray in when you
got it?”

“Total junk, but Bryan had faith. It took us
eight months to get it road worthy.”

“Wow. That is so cool. I’d love to do that
one day. Your car is so sexy.” She grinned then blushed. “What’s
her name?”

Harrison stopped chewing and pulled a long
string of cheese away from his mouth.

“Her name?”

“You haven’t named your car? She’s beautiful!
How could you not name her?”

“I… I didn’t pick you for a name your vehicle
kinda gal. You saying you’ve named your Ducati.”

Her eyes went dreamy. “He’s my black
stallion. I usually call him Beauty. Dom always refers to him as
the beast.”

“Black Beauty.” Harrison nodded. “Nice.”

Gemma crunched her lettuce and took another
sip of water then gave him a pointed look.

“Okay fine. I call her Cory, but if you tell
anyone that, I’ll have to kill you.”

She giggled. “Good luck with that.”

“True.” He shook his head with a chuckle and
took another bite.

“I wouldn’t say anything.”

Her voice was serious and Harrison couldn’t
help feeling that there was more to her statement than he was
catching.

Not wanting to lose the tone of their
conversation, Harrison launched into an animated story about the
first time he took his car for a spin and nearly crashed it into a
tree. Gemma was in fits of giggles before long.

The dinner had gone better than expected.
Conversation seemed to come easy for them, although Harrison could
still feel a quiet caution in his companion. Leaving the restaurant
had been ridiculous with Gemma insisting they go separately to
avoid being seen together. He tried not to let the request bug him,
but was irritated nonetheless. He’d just had dinner with the
coolest girl he’d ever met, what did he have to hide?

She did allow him to drive her to the beach
instead of following him on her bike. That had taken some
persuasion, but he was glad he put the effort in. She spent the
whole trip in the car telling him about her sixteenth birthday and
buying her Ducati. He loved the animated Gemma and wished others at
school could see her like this. Their vicious gossip was so off the
mark.

Harrison pulled the car to a stop and let the
engine rumble as Gemma finished her story. He flicked off the
ignition and they sat in sudden silence.

The breezy casualness that had floated them
through the evening disappeared as expectations began to build.
Harrison took his time to study the girl beside him. She was so
beautiful. The urge to reach across and slide his hand over her
shoulder and up her long neck was intense.

He knew the move would destroy all progress
made, so he clenched his fist tight and looked out the
windscreen.

“That’s the tree.” Harrison cleared his
throat and pointed to the shadowy pine on the edge of the sand.

“Cool.”

He clicked the door open. The interior light
came on, illuminating the car, giving him another taste of her
stunning beauty. His breath caught and his limbs refused to
move.

“What?” A nervous smile twittered across her
features.

“You know how they sometimes say that angels
take on human form?”

She nodded, her emerald eyes glowing.

“I think when they do, they look just like
you.”

Her expression began to crumple with that
desperate look, so he grinned.

“Okay, that was a line.”

The tension snapped with her melodic
laughter.

“Did it work?”

“Nearly.” She blushed.

He didn’t mean to go and ruin the lightness
after that, but he couldn’t stop himself. He placed his arm across
the back of her seat and leaned in close.

“Everyone at school always talks about how
beautiful you are. I bet none of them know it’s not just skin deep.
Thanks for letting me see you tonight.”

Her lips parted with a small intake of
breath. It was taking every ounce of will power not to lean forward
and kiss her. He was losing the battle until his eyes ran down her
face. A cold shiver raced up his spine.

As if the quill of God was dripping ink, a
star shaped mark came to life on Gemma’s collarbone.

He jerked back.

“What’s… what’s that mark?”

He reached out to touch it, but she slapped
his hand away. Her face blanched and she pulled her shirt together
with a tight fist. Turning in her seat, she faced the front. He
watched her jaw muscles go tight as she slammed her teeth
together.

Wanting to know more, but unwilling to suffer
in the tense silence for a second longer, Harrison let out a soft
sigh. “Well, let’s climb this tree before it gets too late.”

Gemma’s head jerked to look at him. He
couldn’t decipher her expression. It was either disappointment or
relief or maybe it was anger, but he couldn’t help feeling it was
more at herself than at him.

They climbed the tree in silence and found a
perch on the top branch. He kept the conversation light, pointing
out star constellations and sharing some of the crazy ideas he came
up with while up here. She smiled and laughed, but it felt forced.
The lightness from earlier had fled and Harrison had a feeling they
wouldn’t get it back.

After only forty minutes they climbed back
down and he drove her back to her bike. He didn’t try to touch her
or get close again. If he was really truthful, fear was playing a
small part in his decision. He would be an idiot to ignore the fact
that she was unusual.

The image of a red mark pulsing on her
collarbone made his skin bubble as he watched her speed away. He
wasn’t sure he wanted to get any closer to this girl, but knew that
want and reality were two very different things. He seemed drawn to
her by some magnetic force. It was pointless to fight it. He just
needed to establish a few ground rules and honesty was going to be
one of them, whether she liked it or not.

Pulling open his car door, he decided to let
her have her peace for the rest of the weekend, but come Monday, he
was getting some answers.

Chapter Seven

St. Augustine, Florida
- 2011AD

Gemma flicked her locker open with a frown.
It had been a crappy Monday. It had started off badly with a run
that left her feeling ragged and scored her a big lecture from her
father. Her mother then jumped in with a lengthy scientific
explanation about how the body works and repairs itself after
exercise.

“If you push yourself too hard, you will
weaken your muscles and be no use. We insist on this strict regime
so your body will be functioning at its peak. Now don’t go messing
with it!”

Gemma managed not to roll her eyes throughout
any of it, but it was an effort. She left feeling berated and
edgy.

Once at school, Harrison had sought her out
before the bell and asked that they get together for a chat. She
was instantly wary and told him she probably couldn’t tell him what
he wanted to know.

“I need my privacy. You have to respect
that.”

He pretended not to care, but she could sense
how pissed he was. He stalked off leaving her feeling annihilated
and the school day hadn’t even begun.

Thankfully the last period bell had just rung
and Gemma couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Dumping her
weighty biology textbook at the back of her locker, she fished
around for her skinny English journal and felt her insides twist at
the putrid breath tickling the nape of her neck.

“So I hear you had a date on Saturday.”

Gemma cringed as Jordan Monroe reminded her
of another reason to hate her day. Someone had spotted Gemma and
Harrison in the parking lot on Saturday night. The gossip had been
thoroughly spread before Sunday lunch, apparently.

“It wasn’t a date. I just happened to bump
into him.”

“Not sure I believe that, but okay.” Jordan
snaked around her and leaned against the lockers.

Gemma took a step away from him, but he
grabbed her open jacket and pulled her back. She felt no fear. Of
all the people at school he was the least scary.

“Why are you wasting time with that weed when
you should be with me?”

“Don’t make me sick. This jacket’s suede, I
don’t want to ruin it.” She gave him a sickly sweet smile.

“You really are a frigid bitch, aren’t you?”
He ran his hand up her arm.

“Why? Because I don’t want to date an
arrogant prick who smells like Old Spice? I think that makes me
normal.”

She flicked his hand off and slammed her
locker closed. Jordan’s face had taken on a hard edge after her Old
Spice comment. Her body instantly readied itself for battle in
spite of her inner screams to back off. Something about this loser
always brought out the worst in her. She managed to step away from
him, feeling her pride build as self-control took over. She would
have made it more than two steps if he hadn’t made his next
comment.

“Well, maybe once the competition has been
eliminated you might think differently.”

Gemma’s heart slammed into her ribcage.
Clinging to her inner monologue, she calmly turned on her heel to
face him.

“Jordan, you touch Harrison and I will hunt
you down. I don’t care how much trouble it causes me, you will
suffer.”

His eyes blackened with a sneer. “You know I
don’t care about that weed. I just want to get freaky with the
freak.”

He ran a sweaty hand up her arm and placed it
on her shoulder, pulling her towards him. She swallowed back the
bile burning her throat, her mind switching to battle mode. Keeping
her voice slow and clear, she gave the enemy his final out.

“I can think of six different ways to break
every bone in your hand. It will take me three seconds to choose
one.”

His eyes narrowed with skepticism.

“One.” She swallowed. “Two.”

His hand dropped away and he shot her a
malignant look before backing off. She had a feeling it wouldn’t be
over that easily, but it would probably scare him away for a week
or two. At least he knew she meant it.

She ran a hand over her face and smoothed
back her hair.

“What was that all about?”

The sound of Harrison’s voice made her jump,
yet instant relief flooded her system. She didn’t understand how
the guy was able to make her sweat with fear yet still make her
feel safe enough to be herself. The idea of downloading the last
five minutes made her turn with a welcome smile that quickly
disappeared. Her mouth froze shut. He wasn’t alone.

Dana stood next to him, close enough that
their hands kept brushing. Chelsea was on the other side doing much
the same. Behind him Courtney hovered and behind her stood Darren.
Gemma wondered if the ringlet blonde knew she was being thoroughly
checked out by Mr. XBox.

She caught Courtney’s eye before her gaze
dropped to the floor.

“It was nothing.”

A quick glimpse of Harrison showed a
smoldering face.

“Are you okay?” Gemma glanced up at Courtney,
a ringlet bobbed against her cheekbone as she tipped her head,
looking concerned.

“Of course she is.” Dana threw a black look
over her shoulder.

“I was just checking D. Your brother can be a
jerk sometimes.”

“First class.” Darren mumbled.

“He’s not that bad!” Dana’s expression was
dark and sulky.

“What did he want?” said Harrison.

“Um. Just…” Gemma fought for a bland
expression. The group before her showed no mercy as they waited for
an answer. “Well, he…”

“Cut out your tongue?” The look on Dana’s
face told Gemma she was a pitiful wretch.

“No, I just don’t…”

“Don’t what?”

Gemma’s mouth went into gold fish mode.
Harrison soon put her out of her misery… sort of.

“Leave her alone you guys. Gemma needs her
privacy.”

Dana’s lips jumped into a smug smile. Gemma
glanced up at Harrison and didn’t see the anger she was expecting.
Instead he looked disappointed, which was a million times
worse.

Gemma wanted to counter the attack with some
witty words that would make them all smile and realize she wasn’t a
complete dork. Harrison would laugh, step forward and kiss her
forehead in that adoring way guys do in the movies. He’d then wrap
his arm around her waist and walk her out to her bike where he’d…
but who was she kidding. As she stood fighting off complete
humiliation the only thing she got were pins and needles in her
toes. She closed her eyes and held in the scream.

If it weren’t for this stupid tingling that
was clawing its way up her body, she wouldn’t need her privacy.
Without taking her eyes off the floor she turned the opposite
direction and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster.
She wanted to walk the whole way out of sight, but the tingling had
reached her ribcage forcing her to sprint before she reached the
corner.