“Yeah,” I agreed as he handed me my nightclothes.
I stood up and pulled on the clothing. The shorts were comfortable but rather short, while the tank top hugged every curve of my body. I reached down and grabbed the strapless bra from the floor, then lifted my shirt to put it back on.
Aaron came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, stroking the smooth skin of my stomach. He started kissing my neck again, and I had to fight the overwhelming need to take over once more. I turned around and pecked him on the lips.
“You know, you never cease to amaze me,” he said as I pulled my shirt back down.
“What do you mean?”
“I thought you were avoiding me these last few months. This was very unexpected.” He smiled as he took my hand and led me out of the bedroom and back into the living room.
“Where have you two been?” Shawn asked, with a shit-eating grin on his face. I knew he knew what had just transpired. I could tell by the look in his eye.
“We got caught up talking,” Aaron said lightly, letting my hand go so I could sit down on the floor by my brother. Kim looked over at me with a knowing look on her face, which made me break out into a fit of giggles.
“Where’s Adam?” I asked when I had pulled myself together and had taken a look around the room. Nadine was missing as well.
“They went to bed about thirty minutes ago,” Shawn said.
“Oh,” I replied softly.
Aaron put a plate of food in front of me. “Eat up; you need your strength.”
He sat down near me and started devouring his own. The boy had one heck of an appetite.
“They aren’t doing anything,” Shawn whispered, leaning over. “In fact, he’s already asleep, and she’s pissed off.” He laughed.
“Are you reading their minds?” I whispered.
“It’s better theirs than his,” he joked, nodding toward Aaron, who remained oblivious of our conversation.
“Why?” I asked before it hit me. I instantly put my hand to my mouth and giggled.
“You’re my sister. I don’t need to see the images in his head,” he murmured.
“What are you two talking about?” Aaron asked, looking up.
“Nothing, dude,” said Shawn, smacking me. “It’s a sibling thing.”
“Sometimes I hate being an only child,” Aaron grumbled before concentrating upon his food once more.
Chapter 21
Visitation of a New Species
A couple of hours later Aaron and I were back in the bedroom. Shawn and Kim had passed out on the sofa bed after watching an awful horror movie. The moment the door closed, Aaron’s lips were on mine, and we embarked on a replay of what had happened earlier. I don’t know what time it was that we went to sleep. All I know is that we were knotted in the bedsheets, our bodies pressed close together.
Everything felt okay as I drifted off, with the warmth of the bed, the way Aaron’s arm was draped around me, the smell of his cologne. My body was happy, and I felt emotionally recharged. It wasn’t until around five a.m. as I started dreaming that the guilt began to set in.
“Do you still think of me when you’re with him?” Wesley asked, startling me.
“Do what?” I asked innocently.
We were lying on the ground in the field where we had seen each other a few weeks earlier.
“Aaron. Do you think of me when you’re with him?” he asked again.
I rolled on my side and looked at him. He looked worse than ever. His eyes were almost milky white, and his skin color was virtually transparent. It was as if I was looking at a ghost. I gasped.
“I did the first time,” I said, reaching over, and touching his face. “How can you be here? You look so weak.”
“I’m comatose right now,” he said, sitting up. “She drained me to the point of death and left me. I have a feeling she is going to do the change soon.”
“I won’t let her,” I said, my voice shaking. “I won’t let her change you.”
“Well, I don’t really see any other option, Dawn. You said you were going to come for me weeks ago and yet I do not see you.” He was angry. “Instead, when I summon you, I get images of you with Aaron. The last thing I ever wanted to see was the love of my life with another man!”
“You’re with Miranda. I’m sure there is enough of that going on with you too,” I said dryly.
“Not willingly. I am compelled by her. She owns me, just like you used to own me. I would do anything for her, but I have never stopped loving you. That right there is why I have been able to keep her off you.”
“Summon?” I queried. “Shawn says that it takes a lot of strength to summon a demon, and even more to summon an angel.”
He looked at the sky and sighed. “She’s already started the change. I’m dying as a human, and she will see me reborn as whatever side of the blood I get.”
“You weren’t going to tell me, were you?” I speculated.
“I don’t know what I was going to tell you. I just wanted to see you.” He lay back down next to me and became calmer.
“Where you at now?” I asked.
“Same place as the last time. She likes it here. It’s close enough to people but hidden away for training. You’ve got to get the other two elements. She’s just building this army. Once she feels these newborns are ready, she’s going to be coming back to Midvale. I need you to be ready for whatever she throws at you. Once I’m changed, I don’t know if I will be able to stop the visions. Or even lie my way out of it.” He groaned and then coughed. “John still
