The taste of his blood hit me hard and I gasped against his mouth. It was rich and warm and indescribably salty sweet. I know it sounds gross, but I couldn't help my instant response to it. I cupped Erik's face in my hands and pulled his lip down to my mouth. I licked it lightly, which made the blood flow faster.
"Yes, go ahead. Drink," Erik said, his voice rough and his breathing coming quicker and quicker.
That was all the encouragement I needed. I sucked his lip into my mouth, tasting the wonderful magic of his blood. It wasn't like Heath's blood. It didn't give me a pleasure so intense that it was almost painful, almost out of control. Erik's blood wasn't the burst of white hot passion Heath's was. Erik's blood was like a small campfire, something warm and steady and strong. It filled my body with a flame that heated a liquid pleasure all the way down to my toes, and it made me want moremore of Erik and more of his blood.
"Uh-hum!"
The sound of a throat being conspicuously (and loudly) cleared had Erik and me jumping away from each other like we'd been electrocuted. I watched Erik's eyes widen as he looked up and behind me, and then saw his smile, which made him totally look like a little boy caught with his hand in a cookie jar (apparently my cookie jar).
"Sorry, Professor Blake. We thought we were alone."
CHAPTER 6
Oh. My. God. I wanted to die. I wanted to die and turn to dust and have the breeze blow me anywhere just as long as it was away. Instead I turned around. Sure enough, Loren Blake, Vampyre Poet Laureate and the Best-Looking Male in the Known Universe, was standing there with a smile on his classically handsome face.
"Oh, uh, hi," I stuttered, and because that didn't sound stupid enough I blurted, "You're in Europe."
"I was. Just got back this evening."
"So how was Europe?" Calm and collected, Erik draped an arm nonchalantly around my shoulders.
Loren's smile got wider and he looked from Erik to me. "Not as friendly as it is here."
Erik, who seemed to be having fun, laughed softly. "Well, it's not where you go, it's who you know."
Loren lifted one perfect brow. "Obviously."
"It's Zoey's birthday. We were just doing the birthday kiss thing," Erik said. "You know Z and I are going out."
I looked from Erik to Loren. Testosterone was practically visible in the air between them. Jeesh, they were acting totally guy-like. Especially Erik. I swear I wouldn't have been surprised if he knocked me over the head and started dragging me around by my hair. Which was not an attractive mental image.
"Yes, I heard that you two were dating," Loren said. His smile looked weirdkinda sarcastic so that it was almost a sneer. Then he pointed at my lip. "You have a little blood there, Zoey. Might want to clean that up." My face flamed. "Oh, and happy birthday." He turned down the sidewalk and headed to the section of the school that housed the professors' private rooms.
"I don't know how that could have been more embarrassing," I said after licking the blood from my lip and straightening my sweater.
Erik shrugged and grinned.
I smacked him across the chest before reaching down for my plant and my book. "I don't know why you think this is funny," I said as I started to march away toward the dorm. Naturally, he followed me.
"We were just kissing, Z."
"You were kissing. I was sucking your blood." I looked sideways at him. "Oh, and there's that little your-hand-up-my-shirt detail. Better not forget that."
He took the lavender plant from me and grabbed my hand. "I won't forget that, Z."
I didn't have a hand free to smack him again with, so I settled for a glare. "It's embarrassing. I can not believe Loren saw us."
"It was just Blake, and he's not even a full professor."
"It's embarrassing," I repeated, wishing my face would cool off. I also wished I could suck some more of Erik's blood, but I was not going to mention that.
"I'm not embarrassed. I'm glad he saw us," Erik said smugly.
"You're glad? Since when has public making-out become a turn-on for you?" Great. Erik was a kinky freak boy and I was just now finding out.
"Public making-out isn't a turn-on, but I'm still glad Blake saw us." All the fun had gone out of Erik's voice, and his smile had turned grim. "I don't like the way he looks at you."
My stomach lurched. "What do you mean? How does he look at me?"
"Like you're not a student and he's not a teacher." He paused. "So you haven't noticed?"
"Erik, I think you're crazy." I carefully didn't answer the question. "Loren doesn't look at me like anything." My heart was thumping like it would beat its way out of my chest. Hell yes, I'd noticed how Loren looked at me! Way noticed it. I'd even talked to Stevie Rae about it. But with all that had happened lately, plus Loren being gone for almost a month, I'd just about convinced myself that I'd imagined most of what happened between us.
"You call him Loren," Erik said.
"Yeah, like you said, he's not a real professor."
"I don't call him Loren."
"Erik, he helped me do research for the new rules for the Dark Daughters." That was more of an exaggeration than an outright lie. I'd been researching. Loren had been there. We'd talked about it. Then he touched my face. Definitely not thinking about that, I hurried on, "Plus, he's asked me about my tattoos." And he had. Under the full moon I'd bared most of my back so that he could see themand touch themand let them inspire his poetry. I jerked my mind away from that line of thinking, too, and finished with, "So I kinda know him."
Erik grunted.
My mind felt like a bunch of gerbils were zooming around in big wheels inside it, but I made my voice sound light and kidding. "Erik, are you jealous of Loren?"
"No." Erik looked at me, looked away, and then met my eyes again. "Yes. Okay, maybe."
"Don't be. There's no reason for you to be jealous. There's nothing going on between me and him. Promise." I bumped my shoulder into his. And at that moment I meant it. It was stressful enough trying to figure out what I was going to do with Imprinted Heath. The last thing I needed was a secret affair with someone who was even more off limits than a human ex-boyfriend. (Sadly, it seemed like the last thing I need is usually the first thing I get.)
"He just doesn't feel right to me," Erik said.
We'd stopped in front of the girls' dorm and, still holding his hand, I turned to him and fluttered my lashes innocently. "So you felt up Loren, too?"
He scowled. "Not even vaguely a possibility." He pulled me to him and put his arm around me. "Sorry about getting all nuts about Blake. I know there's nothing going on with you two. I guess I was being jealous and stupid."
"You're not stupid, and I don't mind you being jealous. Or at least a little bit."
"You know I'm crazy about you, Z," he said as he bent and nuzzled my ear. "I wish it wasn't so late."
I shivered. "Me, too." But I could see the sky starting to get light over his shoulder. Plus, I was exhausted. Between my birthday, my mom and step-loser, and my undead best friend, I really needed some alone time to think and a good solid night's (or in our case, day's) sleep. But that didn't stop me from snuggling into Erik.
He kissed me on the top of my head and held me close. "Hey, have you figured out who's going to represent earth during the Full Moon Ritual?"
"No, not yet," I said. Crap. The Full Moon Ritual was in two nights and I'd been avoiding thinking about it. Replacing Stevie Rae would be gruesome enough if she was dead dead. Knowing that she's undead dead and hanging around the stinky alleys and nasty tunnels downtown made replacing her just plain depressing. Not to mention wrong.
"You know I'll do it. All you have to do is ask."
I tilted my head up to look at him. He was on the Prefect Council, along with the Twins, Damien, and, of course, me. I was Senior Prefect even though I'm technically a freshman and not a senior. Stevie Rae had been part of the council, too. And, no, I hadn't decided who should replace her. Actually, I had to Tap or choose two students for the council and I hadn't thought about that, either. God, I was stressed out. I drew a deep breath. "Would you please represent earth in the circle for our Full Moon Ritual?"
"No problem, Z. But don't you think it might be a good idea if we had a practice circle casting before then? With all the rest of you having an affinity for an element, or in your case all five elements, we better make sure everything goes smoothly when a non-gifted guy stands in."
"You're not exactly non-gifted."
"Well, I wasn't talking about my vast make-out skills."
I rolled my eyes. "Neither was I."
He pulled me closer so that my body was molded against him. "Guess I need to show you more of my talent."
I giggled and he kissed me. I could still taste a hint of blood on his lip, which made the kiss even sweeter.
"Guess you two made up," Erin said.
"Looks more like a make-out than a makeup, Twin," Shaunee said.
This time Erik and I didn't spring apart. We just sighed.
"There's no such thing as privacy at this school," Erik muttered.
"Hello! You're sucking face out here in plain sight," Erin said.
"I think it's kinda sweet," Jack said.
"That's because you're kinda sweet," Damien said, twining his arm through Jack's as they walked down the wide front stairs of the dorm.
"Twin, I may vomit. How about you?" Shaunee said.
"Definitely. As in projectile," Erin said.
"So this lovey-dovey stuff makes you two sick, huh?" Erik asked with an evil gleam in his eyes. I wondered what he was up to.
"Utterly nauseous," Erin said.
"Ditto," Shaunee agreed."
"Then you wouldn't be interested in what Cole and T. J. wanted me to pass along to you?"
"Cole Clifton?" Shaunee said.
"T. J. Hawkins?" Erin said.
"Yep and yep," Erik said.
I watched the twinly cynical Shaunee and Erin instantly change their negative attitudes.
"Cole is so fiiiine," Shaunee practically purred. "That blond hair of his and those naughty blue eyes make me want to spank him."
"T. J."Erin fanned herself dramatically"that boy can sing. And he's tallOoh, he's 50 damn fine."
"Does all this drama mean you two are actually interested in some lovey-dovey stuff?" Damien asked with a smug raise of his eyebrows.
"Yes, Queen Damien," Shaunee said, while Erin narrowed her eyes at him and nodded.
"So did you have something you wanted to pass along to the Twins from Cole and T. J.?" I prompted Erik before Damien could fire back at the Twins, which made me for the zillionth time miss Stevie Rae. She was a better peacekeeper than me.
"Just that we all thought it would be cool if Shaunee and Erin and you"he squeezed my shoulders"went to the IMAX tomorrow night with us."
"Us as in you, Cole, and T. J.?" Shaunee asked.
"Yep. Oh, and Damien and Jack are invited, too."
"What are we gonna see?" Jack asked.
Erik paused for dramatic effect, then said, "300 is rerunning as a special holiday IMAX event."
It was Jack's turn to fan himself.
Damien grinned. "We're in."
"Us, too," Shaunee said, while Erin nodded so vigorously in agreement that her long blond hair bounced around, making her look like a crazed cheerleader.
"You know, 300 may be the perfect movie. It has something in it for everyone," I said. "Man titties for those of us who like that. And girl boobies for those of us who like that. Plus a very large dose of heroic guy action, and who doesn't like that?"
"And a midnight IMAX show for those of us who don't like the daylight," Erik said.
"Sheer perfection," Damien said.
"Ditto," said the Twins together.
I just stood there and grinned. I was crazy about them. Each and every one of the five of them. I still missed Stevie Rae constantly, but for the first time in a month I was feeling like myselfcontent, happy even.
"So it's a date?" Erik said.
Everyone chimed in with their yeses.
"Better get back to our dorm. Wouldn't want to be caught on sacred girl ground after dorm curfew," he teased.
"Yeah, we better go," Damien said.
"Hey Zoey, happy birthday," Jack said.
Jeesh, he's a sweet kid. I grinned at him, "Thanks, honey." Then I looked at the rest of my friends. "I'm sorry I was such a butt earlier. I really do like my presents."
"Which means you'll be wearing your presents?" Shaunee said with her sharp chocolate-colored eyes narrowed at me.
"Yeah, you'll be wearing those totally hot boots we spent $295.52 on?" Erin added.
I gulped. Shaunee and Erin's families had money. I, on the other hand, was definitely not used to owning $300 boots. Actually, now that I realized how expensive they were, I was liking them more and more. "Yep. I will be wearing those fiiiine boots." I mimicked Shaunee.
"The cashmere scarf wasn't exactly cheap, either," Damien said haughtily. "Did I mention it's cashmere? One hundred percent."
"More times than we can count," Erin mumbled.
"I love me some cashmere," I assured him.
Jack was frowning and looking at his feet. "My snow globe wasn't that expensive."
"But it's cute, and it follows the snowman theme, perfectly matching my gorgeous snowman necklace, which I'm never going to take off." I smiled up at Erik.
"Even in the summer?" He asked.
"Even in the summer," I said.
Erik whispered, "Thanks, Z." And kissed me softly.
"Feeling my gorge rise again," Shaunee said.
"Puking a little bit in my mouth," Erin said.
Erik hugged me one more time before jogging after the already-retreating Jack and Damien. Over his shoulder he called, "So do I tell Cole and T. J. that you two aren't really into the whole kissing thing."
"Do and we'll kill you," Shaunee said sweetly.
"You'll be dead like a rock," Erin said, just as sweetly.
I echoed Erik's fading laughter as I grabbed my lavender pot, hugged Dracula to my bosom, and went into the dorm with my friends. And I began to actually think that maybe I could figure out a solution to the Stevie Rae issue and we could all be together again.
Sadly, that thought proved to be as naïve as it was impossible.
CHAPTER 7
Saturday evening (which is really our Saturday morning) is usually a lazy time. Girls hang around the dorm in pj's and nappy, uncombed hair, sleepily eating bowls of cereal or cold popcorn and staring at reruns on the different wide-screen TVs in the dorm's main room. So it's not surprising that Shaunee and Erin gave me confused, groggy frowns when I grabbed a granola bar and a can of brown pop (not diet, eesh) and appeared between their glazed stares and the TV.
"What?" Erin said.
"Z, why are you so awake?" Shaunee said.
"Yeah, it's not healthy to be perky so early," Erin said.
"Exactly, Twin. Each person has only so much perkiness. If they use it up early in the day, then it's gone and you're left with grumpiness," Shaunee said.
"I'm not perky. I'm busy." Thankfully, that stopped their lecture. "I'm going to go to the library to research some ritual stuff." That wasn't a lie. They just assumed I was talking about the coming Full Moon Ritual when I was actually talking about a ritual to make poor undead-dead Stevie Rae un-undead. "While I'm doing that, I want you guys to find Damien and Erik and tell them that we're going to meet under the tree by the wall at" I glanced at my watch. "It's five thirty right now. I should be done with my research by seven-ish. So how about we meet at seven fifteen?"
" 'Kay," the Twins said.
"But how come we're meeting?" Erin said.
"Oh, sorry. Erik is going to be representing earth tomorrow." I swallowed around the sudden clog in my throat. The Twins looked equally sad. Clearly, none of us had really gotten over Stevie Rae, even those of us who believed she was dead. "Erik thought that it might be a good idea to practice casting a circle before the actual ritual. You know, what with all the rest of us having elemental affinities and him not. I thought it was a good idea, too."
"Yeahsounds good ," the Twins mumbled.
"Stevie Rae wouldn't want us to mess up a ritual because we're missing her," I said. "She'd be all Y'all better act right and not make big ol' butts outta yourselves." My twang made the Twins smile.
"We'll be there, Z," Shaunee said.
"Good, then we'll go watch 300 after that," I said.
That really made them grin.
"Oh, and would you two be sure that all the elemental candles are there?"
"Will do, Z," Erin said.
"Thanks, guys."
"Hey, Z," Shaunee called across the room when I was almost out the door.
I paused and looked back at them.
"Nice boots," Erin said.
I grinned and held out one foot. I was wearing jeans, but they were the kind that rolled up to just under my knees, which meant that everyone had a clear view of the sparkling Christmas trees that adorned the side of each boot. I was also sporting Damien's snowman scarf, which really was soft as a cashmere dream. A couple of girls sitting on the love seat closest to the door made noises like they thought the boots were cute, too, and I saw the Twins share a smug, told-ya-so look.
"Thanks, the Twins gave them to me for my birthday." I said, loud enough for Shaunee and Erin to hear. They blew me kisses as I went out the door.
I munched my granola bar and headed to the media center in the main school building. Surprisingly, I was feeling okay about the Full Moon Ritual. Sure, it would be weird not having Stevie Rae represent earth, but I'd be surrounded by my friends. It was still us, even if we were short one of us.
The school was even more deserted today than it had been during the past month, which made sense. It was Christmas, and even though fledglings have to stay in physical contact with adult vamps, we are allowed to stay off campus for up to a full day. (There's some kind of pheromone vamps secrete that semi-controls the physical Change taking place within us and allows us to complete the metamorphosis into adult vamps, or at least allows some of us to do that. The rest of us die.) So lots of kids were spending Christmas with their human families.
As I'd expected, the library was deserted. I didn't need to worry about it being locked up and alarmed like a typical school. Vamps, with their psychic and physical powers, didn't need locks to make us act right. Actually, I wasn't for sure what they did when a fledgling did something typically teenage and moronic. Rumor had it that the vamps would banish the miscreant (hee-hee, "miscreant," that was one of Damien's vocab words) for varying periods of time. Which meant the kid could get really sickas in drowning in his own disintegrating bodily tissues and dying.
All in all, it was best not to piss off the vampyres. Naturally, I'd made an enemy of the most powerful High Priestess at our school. Sometimes being me was goodlike when Erik was kissing me or when I was hanging with my friendsbut mostly being me was a big ball of stress and angst.
I searched the musty old books in the metaphysical section of the library (as you can probably imagine, at this particular library it was a big section). It was slow going because I'd decided not to use the computer catalogue search engine. The last thing I needed was to leave an electronic trail that screamed: Zoey Redbird is trying to find information about fledglings that die and have been reanimated as bloodsucking fiends by a High Priestess who is an evil control freak with some kind of as-yet-unknown Master Plan! No. Even I knew that would not be a good idea.
I'd been there for more than an hour and was getting frustrated by my snail-like pace. I really wished I could ask for Damien's help. Not only was the kid smart and a fast reader, he was also seriously good at research. I was clutching Rituals to Heal Body and Spirit and trying to get a top-shelf copy of a leather-bound old-as-dirt book titled Combating Evil with Spells and Rituals, when a strong arm reached up and plucked it easily from over my head. I turned around and almost banged dorkishly right into Loren Blake.
"Combating Evil, huh? Interesting choice of reading material."
His nearness did not help my nerves. "You know me" (which he really didn't). "I like to be prepared."
His brow wrinkled in confusion. "Are you expecting an attack of evil?"
"No!" I said way too quickly. So I laughed, trying for a gay, carefree tone (gay, hee-hee), but was sure I came across as totally fake. "Well, a couple months ago no one expected Aphrodite to lose control of a bunch of blood-sucking vampyre spirits and she did. So I figured, you know, better safe than sorry." God, I'm a moron.
"Guess that makes sense. So there's nothing specific you're preparing for?"
I wondered at the sharp interest in his eyes. "Nope," I said nonchalantly. "Just trying to do a good job as leader of the Dark Daughters."
He glanced at the rituals book I was holding. "You know that those rituals are only for adult vampyres, don't you? When fledglings get sick there is, unfortunately, only one reason behind it. Their bodies are rejecting the Change and they will die." Then he added in a gentler voice, "You're not feeling ill, are you?"
"Oh, gosh, no!" I said hastily. "I'm fine. It's just, well" I hesitated, grasping for an excuse. With a sudden inspiration I blurted, "It's embarrassing to admit, but I thought I'd do some extra studying for when I become a High Priestess."
Loren smiled. "Why would that be embarrassing to admit? I wouldn't have imagined you as one of those silly women who think being well read and well educated is an embarrassment."
I felt my cheeks start to get warmhe'd called me a "woman," which was way better than him calling me a fledgling or a kid. He always made me feel so grown, so womanly. "Oh, no, that's not it. It's embarrassing because it sounds kinda conceited to assume that I'm going to actually be a High Priestess someday."
"I think that assumption is just good common sense and justifiable self-confidence." His smile warmed till I swear I could feel the heat of it against my skin. "I always have been drawn to confident women."
God, he made my toes squidge.
"You don't have any idea how special you are, do you, Zoey? You're unique. Not like the rest of the fledglings. You're a goddess among those who think themselves demigods." When his hand caressed the side of my face, lingering on the tattoos that framed my eyes, I thought I'd melt into the bookshelves. "I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright. Who art as black as hell, as dark as night."
"What's that from?" His touch had made my body all tingly and my head woozy, but I did manage to recognize the deep cadence his amazing voice took on when he was reciting poetry.
"Shakespeare," he murmured as his thumb brushed softly over the line of tattoos that decorated my cheekbone. "It's from one of the sonnets he wrote to the Dark Lady, who was his true love. We know, of course, that he was a vampyre. But we believe the true love of his life was a young girl who had been Marked and who died as a fledgling without completing the Change."
"I thought adult vampyres weren't supposed to have relationships with fledglings." We were so close that I didn't have to speak much above a whisper for him to hear me.
"We're not supposed to. It's highly improper. But sometimes there's an attraction that happens between two people that transcends the vampyre-fledgling boundary, as well as age and propriety. Do you believe in that kind of attraction, Zoey?"
He was talking about us! We were staring into each other's eyes, and I felt lost in him. His tattoos were a bold pattern of intricate slashing lines that gave the impression of lightning bolts, and they went perfectly with his dark hair and eyes. He was so insanely handsome and so much older that he made me feel at the same time incredibly attracted to him and scared to death that I was playing with something so far beyond what I'd ever experienced that it could easily spiral out of control. But the attraction was thereand if he was right, it definitely transcended the vampyre-fledgling boundary. So much so that Erik had even noticed how Loren looked at me.
Erik Guilt washed through me. He would just die if he could see what was going on between Loren and me. A mean little thought snaked through my mind, Erik isn't here to see me, and I drew in a deep, shaky breath and heard myself say, "Yes. I believe in that kind of attraction. Do you?"
"I do now." His smile was sad. It made him look suddenly very young and handsome and so vulnerable that my guilty thoughts of Erik evaporated. I wanted to take Loren in my arms and tell him it would be all right. I was just getting up the nerve to move even closer to him when his next words surprised me so much that I forgot about his little-lost-boy smile. "I came back yesterday because I knew it was your birthday."
I blinked in shock. "You did?"
He nodded, still caressing my cheek with his finger. "I had been looking for you when I ran into you and Erik." His eyes darkened and his voice went deep and harsh. "I didn't like seeing his hands all over you."
I hesitated, not sure how to respond to that. I was embarrassed as hell that he'd seen Erik and me making out. Still, even though what we'd been doing had been embarrassing to be caught at, we hadn't really done anything wrong. Erik was, after all, my boyfriend, and what he and I did together wasn't really any of Loren's business. But staring into his eyes I realized that I might want it to be Loren's business.
As if he could read my mind he took his hand from my face and looked away from me. "I know. I don't have any right to be angry at you for being with Erik. It's not even my business."
Slowly, I touched his chin, turning his face back to me so that he could meet my eyes. "Do you want it to be your business?"
"More than I can tell you," he said. Then he dropped the bookhe'd still been holding itand framed my face in his hands, so that his thumbs rested close to my lips and his fingers splayed back into my hair. "I believe it's my turn for a birthday kiss."
He claimed my mouth and at the same time it felt like he claimed my body and soul. Okay, Erik was a good kisser. And I've been kissing Heath since I was in third grade and he was in fourth, so Heath's kisses were familiar and good. Loren was a man. When he kissed me there was none of the awkward hesitation I was used to. His lips and tongue said he knew exactly what he wanted and he also knew how to get it. And a weird, magical thing happed to me. I wasn't just some kid anymore when I kissed him back. I was a woman, mature and powerful, and I knew what I wanted and how to get it, too.
When the kiss ended both of us were breathing hard. Loren still held my face in his hands, but he'd moved away just far enough so that we could look into each other's eyes again.
"I shouldn't have done that," he said.
"I know," I said, but that didn't stop me from staring boldly at him. I was still clutching the stupid healing rituals and spells book with one hand, but my other hand was resting on his chest. Slowly I spread my fingers so that they slid within the open neck of his button-up shirt to touch his naked skin. He shivered and I felt that shiver somewhere deep inside me.
"This is going to be complicated," he said.
"I know," I repeated.
"But I don't want to stop."
"Neither do I," I said.
"No one can know about us. At least not yet."
"Okay." I nodded, not sure what there was to know about, but understanding that the thought of his asking me to sneak around with him made a weird knot form in the pit of my stomach.
He kissed me again. This time his lips were sweet and warm and very, very gentle, and I felt the weird knot dissolving. "I almost forgot," he whispered against my lips. "I have something for you." He gave me one more fast kiss and then fished into the pocket of his black slacks for something. Smiling, he pulled out a small gold jeweler's box. Holding it out to me he said, "Happy birthday, Zoey."
My heart was flopping ridiculously around in my chest as I opened the boxand gasped. "Ohmygod! They're amazing!" Diamond stud earrings glittered at me like a beautiful, captured dream. They weren't huge and gaudy, but small and dainty and so clear and sparkly that they almost hurt my eyes. For an instant I saw Erik's sweet smile as he'd given me the snowman necklace, and then heard my grandma's voice in my conscience telling me that there's no way I should accept such an expensive gift from a man, but Loren's voice drowned out the image of Erik along with Grandma's warning.