“Elle—”
“I’m going t’trustyou, for old times’ sake.”
His skin was cool ashis fingertips slid across my palm and he took my left hand in his.“I know that goes against everything you believe.”
“You’re the mostclueless Vampire I’ve ever met.”
He laughed, shouldersbobbing as his head dropped. “Yeah, guess it serves me right fornever paying attention t’you.”
“I trust that youwon’t hurt me, or my family.”
“I’d never hurtyou, Elle.” He squeezed my hand and glanced at me from under hisridiculously long eyelashes. “I cross my heart.”
And hope todie. He didn’t speak the words, but they were a whisperedunderstanding between us.
“You should be carefulwhat you wish for.” At the feel of tears gathering in my own eyes,I moved my attention back to the task. “And I believe you won’tdrink or hurt innocent people.”
“I swear it.”
Untangling my handfrom his, I threw the bloodied damp paper in the sink and grabbed acouple of dry sheets. “I’m going to help you figure this out,okay?”
“I believe you.”
His hands found myhips as I moved back in front of him, the gesture causing me tofreeze on the spot. I was torn between making a joke and scoldinghim, asking him what he was doing, but the way he was looking at memade me bite my tongue. His blue eyes were full of questions asthey wandered over my face, so focused, as if he were readingsomething of great importance on my skin.
Ignoring the rapidbeat of my heart and the fact that heat was pulsing through myclothes in the places his hands rested, I continued wiping at hischeeks, trying my hardest to clean away his dark tears, ignoringthe flush I could feel crawling up my neck and the fact that Iappeared momentarily dumbstruck by his closeness.
“I’m going t’help youfind Heather.”
I moved the towel downhis cheek, following the trail that stopped at the corner of hislips. “I know.”
Unlike that night inthe graveyard, he looked healthy, his features still boyish, but inan appealing way. My focus fixated on the tips of his fangs thatrested on his lower lip. “Your fangs are so small.”
So unlike normalVampires. Vampires’ fangs only appeared when they transformed, andeven then, they were long and sharp. So similar to the fangs of asnake.
“It’s because they’rescared. You should see them when I get excited. They’re huge.”
An unexpected laughbubbled up and broke free, his comment thankfully breaking thisstrange moment. “You’re such an idiot.”
“At least I make youlaugh.” He smiled, chuckling at my reaction. “Am I all cleanedup?”
Looking at his faceonly caused me to laugh harder. “You currently look like your zebraface paint has been spoilt by the rain.”
He quipped an eyebrow.“So, sexy?”
I pushed myself away.“I think it would be best if you wash your own face.”
“Well, consideringyou’re so useless.” He flinched as I threw the balled-up papertowel at his face. “Getting back to your earlier comment, I hadthought about visiting you a few times and definitely recently, butI-I didn’t think you’d want to see me.”
“Well, I definitelywouldn’t have made it an easy reunion,” I confessed as I plonkeddown on the bar stool, picked up my slice of pizza, and continuedeating.
“I wouldn’t haveexpected you to.” Turning to the sink, he ran the tap, cuppingwater in his hands, and splashed it over his face. Taking a fewsheets of the kitchen towel, he then wiped his face.
“Gone?” he asked,turning back to me.
“Pretty much.”
He collected the wet,bloodied towels from the sink and threw the lot in the bin, beforecollecting the glass bottle of mixture and joining me once more atthe breakfast bar.
“So, Little MissParanoid, t’answer your early question, the reason I keep tellingyou t’get some rest and even eat is because despite what you think,I can see that you’re exhausted, and if we find what we’re lookingfor, which I’m guessing will entail a shite load of Vampires, well,you aren’t going t’be any good as a fight partner if you can barelykeep your eyes open.”
I swallowed the lastchunk of my slice of pizza. “Oh, so now I’ve partially forgivenyou, you’re suddenly an expert on what’s best for me?”
“You know I’m right.”He took a swig of mixture.
“I’d never admit sucha thing.”
“I know,” he repliedwith a huge grin. “But seriously, you have been stuck in thebasement for two days straight, nodding off for short periods oftime and only eating when I nag you enough.”
I couldn’t argue withthe facts. I was tired. I could feel every cell in my body hummingwith exhaustion, but after forty-eight hours, we finally had astarting point.
“Look. Bed. Shower.Food. I will continue with Vampire 101, and come tomorrow morning,we will be ready t’take on the world. Okay?”
I grabbed anotherslice of pizza from the box. “Okay, but tomorrow—”
“We will be kickingbutt twenty hours from now, if not sooner. I just—” His attentionbecame lost on the red liquid sloshing in the bottle he wasswirling. “—I need a little bit more time t’figure out what I canand can’t do.” He gave me a sheepish glance. “You know, so Iactually stand a chance at surviving and not being a burdent’you.”
I placed my hand onhis knee. “I won’t let them hurt you more than they alreadyhave.”
A smile played acrosshis lips, revealing the bottom of his little fangs.
“Careful, slayer.” Heplaced his hand on top of mine. “It’s starting t’sound like y’careabout me.”
I never stopped.
I swallowed the wordsbefore they could leave my mouth.
“Besides, if anyone isgoing t’kill you, it will be me.” I slid my hand from under his andstood. “I’ve earned that right after more than forty-eight hours ofhaving t’put up with your jokes.”
Pizza in hand, Islipped off the stool.
“As if you neverlaugh.”
“Laughing atyou, Than. Not with you.” I exited the kitchen and headedupstairs.
*****
~ Nathan ~
I slid the last bookon the shelf and pressed my forehead against the old leatherseams.
“Boy, that was alot of reading.”
“There’s a lot ofhistory between these creatures and Elle’s family.”
“So, do you feely’know everything there is t’know?”
A vengeance pact thathad been passed on for years, an entire family sacrificing theirlives to keep complete strangers safe from creatures born ofsomeone’s nightmare.
“That sums itup.”
Each member of herfamily had been raised from infancy to hate Vampires, and they allhad very good
