Authors: Stacy Claflin
Vince laughed. "We're perfect for each other, Samantha. We both have someone on the side all the time and we don't let it bother us."
I rolled my eyes. "I thought we were perfect for each other because we both want to rule over vampires worldwide after removing the current leadership."
"That too, baby. Have fun with the humans." The call ended.
I put my phone away, thinking about the differences between Tanner and Vince. Sure, Tanner was a high school football player and obviously very different from a ruthless vampire who was set on ruling the world, but I found myself really taken in by his innocence. I wanted to learn more about that and not to crush it, as I usually would. Instead of seeing it as a weakness, I was drawn to it.
What was I going to tell Tanner? I was going to explain that I was a vampire, but I couldn't tell him that I was actually working with one of the most powerful vampires alive so we could take out one of Tanner's classmates. He would think that I was a monster, even if he didn't know who Alexis was.
Was I even doing the right thing? I didn't want to lie to Tanner, but at the same time there was no way I could tell him the real story. I wanted him to continue to like me. He was a much better person than Vince.
Did I really even want to pull him into my life? I would run the risk of corrupting him, losing the very part of him that I found so intriguing. I would have to make sure that I didn't let that happen.
Grabbing the remote, I decided to watch the TV to get ideas on what kind of a story I would give him. It had to be something that would be believable and at the same time evoke male protection. If he felt like he could protect me from something, then he would definitely want to spend more time with me. Guys love to be able to protect a girl, always have and always will.
I couldn't believe it. I was actually falling for a human. I couldn't ever let Vince know about that. He would never let me live it down. I turned my focus onto the show and ended up staying up late watching some kind of redneck movie marathon. It was so stupid that it was funny, and I couldn't pull myself away.
At some point I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up and sat up when I heard keys jiggling in the door. I'd chosen that motel because of the low security, so it didn't have the typical card keys from the hotels that I was used to frequenting. I turned off the TV and ran behind a curtain before the door opened. I slipped through the wall with my backpack, glad to be traveling light.
The sun was just beginning to rise, meaning that I had some time before school started and I had to restart my search for someone to lure Alexis. I'd follow her around again and see if there was any guy who even gave her a glance, then I'd pounce. I knew that finding a boy who actually looked at her wouldn't be an easy task. I hadn't found one yet.
I decided to grab some breakfast, but not much was open in the still sleeping town. The deli that Alexis worked in was open, so I figured I'd grab a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. I walked in and was surprised to see her working. Why did she work so much? I'd been to her house, those humans raising her made more than enough money to buy her anything that she wanted. Maybe they were the type who didn't want their kids growing up to be spoiled brats.
"Do you guys have mochas?" I asked. "I haven't seen a coffee stand anywhere in town."
She smiled. "This may be Washington, but we're far from Seattle. You'd have to hit one of their suburbs before you'll find a coffee stand on every corner. And you will, believe me."
I sighed. "I may just have to do that."
"We've got drip coffee for now. Unfortunately our barista is out sick this morning, so you won't get any special coffee."
"So you do have mochas?" I asked.
"Yeah, she makes mochas and espressos, but nothing fancy."
"I'll have to remember that. Just give me a drip coffee for now."
As I ate my sandwich and sipped the thick coffee, I watched all of the customers to see if anyone paid any attention to her. But of course, no one did. I sighed, knowing that I had a long day ahead of me before getting together with Tanner after his practice.
CHAPTER SEVEN
After I had enrolled as a student, I was following Alexis to her first class far enough behind that I could watch people's reactions to her, which were nearly non-existent. Except for those two friends from the other day and the occasional teacher, nobody even glanced at her. I was probably going to have to get some random boy addicted to venom and then point her out to him. I'd probably have to use mind control too. Was she going out of her way to be invisible?
"Hey, what are you doing?" asked a familiar voice from behind.
Turning around, I saw Tanner and smiled. "I didn't think I'd see you until later."
He was smiling. "I just got suspended for the day."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's good news?"
"Yeah. I punched five guys from the team—and they couldn't even take me. Five against one! Can you believe it?"
"That's awesome. Hey, let's go somewhere and celebrate."
"Don't you have to go to your classes?" he asked.
"Nah. Let's go enjoy the day." Spending the day with him would be much better than following Alexis around, not even the humans had any interest in her.
"Okay! Come on," he said, grabbing my hand. We walked to his car and he got on the freeway.
"Where are you taking me?"
"I thought we could take a drive and see where we end up."
"Oh, an adventure! That sounds like fun." And it actually did. I remembered back to the days when I made fun of my sister for becoming giddy over a human guy. Now I understood, although I hoped that this would end better than it had for her. The days of rounding up rioters to stake vampires were long gone. I looked over at Tanner, his head bouncing in tune to the music, and couldn't picture him ever trying to kill me.
He looked at me. "What are you smiling about?" he asked, smiling too and still moving to the music.
"Just enjoying the company," I said, and started moving to the music.
Tanner belted out the words of the song and I laughed so hard that my stomach ached.
A little while later, we approached a beach. "Wanna go there?" he asked.
"Sure!"
"Wait. Are you hungry? We can grab some food and make a picnic."
"Only if it's my treat," I said, smiling.
He pretended to think about it. "I can live with that."
Soon we were sitting by the water's edge on a blanket, eating greasy chicken. I couldn't recall the last time that I'd had so much fun. When we had finished eating, we reclined on the blanket and pointed out different shapes of clouds. After a while, we settled into a comfortable silence.
"Do you mind if I ask what you did last night?" Tanner asked.
I looked at him. He seemed nervous, but interested, not frightened. Maybe this would work out after all. "Sure. Ask away."
"First of all, it felt more amazing than anything I've ever experienced. Then afterward, I felt a growing strength which is why I was able to take on my teammates. What did you do?"
I rolled onto my side to see him better. I traced his chest with my fingers, thinking about how to explain it to him.
He turned and looked deep into my eyes. "Whatever it is, you can trust me. I'm not going to tell anyone. Who would I tell?" he asked with a smile. "Everyone else at school hates me."
Tracing his broad shoulders, I said, "Soon they'll start treating you better."
He took my hand and kissed it, placing it back on his chest.
I traced his chest again. "Do you have an open mind?"
His body shook with shivers as I moved my fingers to his neck, where I had bitten him. "My mind couldn't be more open. I stayed awake last night trying to figure out what you did. You wouldn't believe the thoughts that came to my mind."
I ran my fingers along his face, stopping at his lips. I kissed him briefly. "What did you think about?"
He kissed me back. "I thought that maybe you were a witch, casting a spell on me."
"I'm no witch," I whispered. "You can't trust them anyway."
Tanner raised an eyebrow. "You've met a real witch?"
Running my fingers through his hair, I said, "More than I care to think about. They hate my kind."
He took a strand of my long hair and twirled it around his finger. "Why is that? I can't see anything to hate."
"We're more powerful. When we request their services, they have no choice except to oblige. Even the most powerful ones."
"Tell me more," he whispered.
I caressed his ear with my breath. "Let me show you instead. You can figure it out." I moved to his neck and licked circles lightly, giving him the chills and preparing his skin. "Pay close attention to what I'm about to do."
"Oh, I am."
I smiled, and then I gave a little nip, allowing the venom to start its magic. I pulled away, and then watched him close his eyes as he relaxed. I stared at his beautiful face for a moment, tracing the bruises which had nearly disappeared. My venom from the previous night had helped his body to heal faster. I moved back to his neck and bit down, giving him a stronger dose of the venom this time.
He let out a soft sigh as the warm blood began to flow into my mouth. My desire for him increased as I drank the blood eagerly. I didn't want to stop when the flow slowed down, but I cared too much for him to risk hurting him, so I stopped. I sealed up the bites, and gave them a kiss. I continued to kiss his neck and trailed kisses up to his face and around his lips, but not touching them. I was teasing him, wanting him to kiss me.
His eyes opened and the skin around them creased as he smiled. He reached for me, pulling me close and kissed me with a passion and desire that I'd never experienced in over two centuries. We started rolling around until we were off the blanket and I was getting the rocky sand all over my hair.
I reached for his shirt, to pull it off when suddenly I sensed something watching us. I stopped and looked around, only being able to see the deep blue cloudy sky. I sat up and looked in the direction of the woods.
"What's wrong?" Tanner asked, sitting up and readjusting his shirt.
"We're being watched," I said, scanning the trees for anything that didn't belong.
"Let's give them a show they'll never forget."
I couldn't help smiling. "I do like the way you think, but it feels like a predator."
"How can you tell?"
Because it takes one to know one, but I couldn't—didn't want to—tell him that. "Just trust me." I was still searching the forest line, my skin tingling with the unpleasant feeling of being watched.
Then I saw them. Two eyes, barely noticeable, staring at us between some branches in the darkest part of the trees.
"Stay right here," I whispered. I stood up and ran as fast as I could, so fast that Tanner couldn't even see me, and rammed myself into the body that owned the eyes.
He flew into a tree but gathered his bearings quickly, running up to me and glaring at me. "Samantha."
I shoved him. "Danny, what are you doing here? Did Vince send you to spy on me?"
Danny narrowed his eyes. "That he did."
"Enjoying the show?"
"Actually I was. You into humans now? I didn't think you rolled that way."
"Vince sent me to seduce a guy into helping us take out Marguerite. What are you, some kind of peeping Tom? Is that how you get your kicks?"
He laughed. "You know I'm working for Vince. He doesn't take anyone's word. I'm here to make sure that you're doing your job."
"Since you know that I don't fall for humans, obviously I am doing my job. You can leave now and give your report." I turned around to return to Tanner.
"Are you going to give me more of a show?"
I spun around and got in his face. "I'd say not. The mood's been ruined, Danny."
He laughed. "Enjoy the human."
Shaking my head, I walked back to Tanner. His eyes were wide and I could smell his fear long before I reached him. I hoped that Danny didn't take that as an invitation. I'd hate to have to kill him in front of Tanner. That would probably scar him for life.
"What's going on?" Tanner asked.
I ran my hands through his hair, knocking sand out. I pulled him close and gave him a long, sweet kiss and then I held his hand and led him to the blanket. "Let's sit so we can talk about this."
As we sat down, I could smell his fear dissipating. "Are you a…vampire?" whispered Tanner.
Cupping his face in my hands, I nodded.
"Are…are you going to hurt me?"
I shook my head. "I just protected you back there."
"Who, or what, was watching us?"
"It was another vampire. He won't be bothering us again."
"Another one? Are there a lot of them, well you guys, around?"
"You'd be surprised. We blend in pretty easily."
"How can you walk around in the sunlight?"
"That's where the witches come in."
He sat quietly, obviously taking it in. I let him process it while I thought more about the story I would tell him. For the first time in my life, I found myself not wanting to lie. How was it that he, a mortal, was able to bring out parts of me that I hadn't even thought existed?
"So if you're a vampire," he said, seeming to have trouble saying the word, "how were you turned?"
I had figured that he would ask something along those lines, but the question still unnerved me, being that I was born into this life. All of the vampires that I surrounded myself with had been turned, so at least I was familiar with the lifestyle. It would be easy enough to pull off acting like one of them.
He squeezed my hand. "If it's too hard to talk about, don't feel like you have to."
"So you believe me? That I'm a vampire, I mean."
"You drank my blood and somehow gave me superhuman strength to fight five guys at once. It's the only thing that makes any sense, to be honest."