“I did not!” Jack insisted, but he was a bad liar.
“Jack, you know you can’t do that,” Mae growled, and I wondered what the big deal was. They said that when they bit people it didn’t hurt and it didn’t kill them. So what did it really matter if Jack bit me?
“It wasn’t my fault!” Jack said defensively. “She was getting all crazy thinking about Peter. And you know what? I didn’t bite her. So. You can just wipe that look off your face.”
“Why does thinking about Peter make me more delectable?” I asked, and they both lowered their eyes. “Come on! I know you’re vampires! What’s left?”
“Delectable,” Jack mused. “That’s a very good way to describe it.”
“Why are you even telling me this?” I narrowed my eyes at them. “Why did you tell me you were vampires? Isn’t it like some big secret or something?”
“Hardly,” Jack snorted. “I hate it that in movies when they’re all like, you can’t tell anyone that we’re vampires or the high council of snooty vampires will kill us all! There’s no high council. There’s not a big vampire society. We’re like people. There isn’t one council governing every human on earth. And you know what? People don’t believe in vampires. Do you think that we have to hide anything about us? Did I ever really try to hide anything with you?”
“No, but you wouldn’t tell me things,” I told him pointedly.
“Yeah, cause I liked you. The first day we met, if I had told you that I was a vampire, you would’ve thought I was insane and wrote me off.”
“Why did it take so long for you to tell me?”
“I wanted to make sure you trusted me, so you wouldn’t just think I was insane and never want to talk me again.” Then he got a pained expression on his face and sighed. “I was gonna tell you that night in the park. Then that stuff happened with that damn dog. And you got so upset when I killed it, and I thought if you react like that to me hurting a dog, how are you gonna feel when you find out that I bite people?”
“Oh.” I thought back to that night, and I remembered the way he had threatened to end our friendship because I was crying. It had seemed rather harsh at the time, but in retrospect, that must’ve killed him. “Well, I know now.
And I don’t think you’re a monster.”
“Good.” Jack was genuinely relieved. Then, he suddenly noticed that he wasn’t wearing a shirt and rubbed his arms on his bare skin. “I’m gonna go put on a shirt.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Mae smiled at him.
“I’ll be right back.” Jack darted out of the kitchen and I heard his feet pounding up the stairs.
“You doing okay with all of this?” Mae looked at me earnestly, and I nodded. She touched my cheek gently, cupping my face, and then kissed my forehead. “Good. Did you need more water?”
“Yeah, sure,” I nodded, and she picked up my glass and took it over to the fridge to refill it. “There’s just one thing that’s bothering me.” That was a lie.
There were about fifty things bothering me, but there was only one that I wouldn’t let go for tonight.
“And what’s that, love?” She brought the glass of water back of to me, looking curious.
“Why did Peter leave?” I asked, and her expression faltered and she lowered her eyes. “Jack told me it was because of me.”
“Jack doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Mae replied tersely.
“Mae.” I stared at her until she’d look at me and then she sighed.
“This really is a conversation for another day.” She forced a smile at me.
“I’ve had a very long day, and I’d really just like to take a hot bath. I’m sure that you and Jack can think of something to amuse yourselves with.”
“Always!” Jack beamed, suddenly bursting into the kitchen wearing a fresh tee shirt and shorts.
“And behave,” Mae warned him as she walked past him. “I mean it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. When she had her back to him, he stuck out his tongue at her. Then he waltzed over to me, grinning like a fool. “I am so glad you know. Do you have any idea how hard it is keeping anything from you?”
“Not really, no.” I still didn’t know everything, but it didn’t bother me anymore. Jack was in an incredibly good mood now, and it was taking me over as well. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to have things kept from you?”
“Yes!” Jack insisted, still smiling. “Ezra and Peter keep stuff from me all the time. They think I’m too young for anything. If they had it their way, I probably still wouldn’t know that I was a vampire.”
“You’re forty?” I wrinkled my nose, trying to think of him as a forty-year old instead of the kid he so clearly was.
“Does that freak you out?” He held his chin up high, checking for my response.
“No. It doesn’t. I know that this all should completely freak me out, but I’m not. I feel stupidly safe with you.”
“Yeah?” His lips curled mischievously, and I knew that I had accidentally dared him to scare me. He twirled the stool around so my back was to the island, and then he stood in front of me, placing his arms on either side of me, essentially trapping me between him and the island. His face was right in front of me, and his eyes were dancing. “What about now? Are you scared?”
“Nope. Am I supposed to be?” I smiled back at him.
“You probably should be.” His voice had gone low and husky, and his eyes were almost translucent as he studied mine.
Then I saw his eyes lower, looking at my neck, and my heart, beating of its own accord, sped up. His expression changed, growing more somber, and his face inched closer to mine. I breathed in deeply, and he smelled so clean, like Ivory soap and mint toothpaste.
“You can hear my blood,” I said softly. He didn’t answer, but slowly pulled his eyes away from my throat so they met mine again. His hunger rolled off him, filling me with a strange desire. “What does it sound like?”
“It sounds like…” He let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a moan. “…music.”
“What does it feel like?” I whispered. “When you’re bitten? What would I feel?” Then his eyes got that wistful look, almost like the one Ezra had when he thought about Mae, and my heart fluttered. A look of pleasure passed over Jack’s face, and for a moment, I felt flush with the warmth of his hunger and adoration.
“You…” He exhaled deeply, then smiled sourly. “… really need to get going.” Abruptly, he pushed back from me and turned around, walking away from me. The sudden shift, along with the lingering desire, startled me.
“What? Why?” I jumped off the stool and scampered after him. “It’s not that late.”
“No, it’s not,” Jack agreed, continuing out into the garage. I caught the door before it swung shut and ran into the garage after him. “But I only have so much will power left.”
“You can bite me if you want,” I offered helpfully. I knew he really wanted to, and it didn’t really seem like that big of a deal if he did. “I want you to.” He had stopped in front of the Jetta, and I stood a few away from him, watching him. He laughed darkly and turned to face me, scratching the back of his head and smiling incredulously.
“You’re killing me here!” Jack shook his head, then pointed his keys at me as he walked towards the car door. “You are far more dangerous than I am!”
“What?” I demanded. He had stopped at driver’s side door, and I looked over the top of the car at him. “Why won’t you do it?” His desperate want made me want him too, and I didn’t understand why he wouldn’t just bite me.
“I just can’t, Alice.” His expression was grave, and he dropped his eyes from mine, looking rather ashamed. “And if you’re not going to stop, then I’ll have Mae give you a ride home.” He shook his head. “I won’t be able to say no.”
“Fine, I’ll drop it.”
Grudgingly, I opened the car door and got inside. A few seconds later, Jack got in and started the car. I could feel how much he wanted me, the deep hunger brewing painfully inside of him, and the shame at feeling that way. I sat in silence, feeling embarrassed tears sting my eyes.
“Are you crying?” His breath caught in his throat. “Why are you crying?”
“Is there something wrong with me?” I wiped at my eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Jack asked.
