Breathless (10 page)

His mind raced. He had to do something, but this was no place for a fight. Too many humans could be hurt, not to mention the attention a confrontation would bring. But he could not allow the creature to continue working its spell. He felt the heat begin to rise inside him again. This time, he let it grow, careful to keep it under control.

He saw the guy stiffen, watched his head swing from side to side. There was no longer any doubt about the guy being vampire—he had sensed Rave’s heat and registered the danger. Rave forced his fire down now, locking it inside him. He didn’t want the creature to locate him, merely to let it know the threat was there. He hoped it would be enough.

And it was. He watched the vampire spin away from Leesa and glide quickly across the lawn and out of the yard. Rave followed at a safe distance, making sure it was truly leaving. Rave considered taking it once they were alone, but decided against it. The vampire was alert to the danger—there could be no guarantee of the outcome. For now, it was enough that the creature was going.

Rave circled back to the party, his senses on high alert. He probed every inch of the shadows until he was satisfied all threat was gone. Everything seemed as it should. But the game had changed. It was time to talk to the girl.

She was still outside, arms wrapped around her waist as if she were cold. He was afraid she might head back into the house at any moment, and that would not do. He needed her to remain alone. Running his fingers through his hair, he walked toward her.

She looked up at his approach. A surprised expression crossed her face. Rave was pleased to see the surprise was followed by a smile. He smiled back.

Leesa’s body began to tingle as the Maston guy drew nearer. This was crazy. One smile, and already her knees felt weak. He was even better looking than she remembered—his bronze skin flawless, almost like marble in its smoothness, his smile wide and especially bright against his dark complexion. His coppery hair glinted in the moonlight, seeming almost to smolder when the light hit it just right, and a simple bronze medallion on a leather thong around his neck did the same. His clothes—plain brown T-shirt and jeans—fit his athletic body perfectly, especially the jeans. She found herself wishing he would turn around for a moment, and felt herself begin to blush. A minute ago she’d been feeling cold, but suddenly she felt very warm. Her hand moved to her hair.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked.

“Yes…I mean, no, I don’t mind.” Her fingers began twirling in her hair. “Yes, you can join me,” she added, struggling to make herself clear.

His smile widened. “I’m Rave.”

“Leesa,” she managed to reply.

“Hi, Leesa.”

“What kind of name is Rave?” She hated the question the as soon as she asked it.

“The only kind I’ve ever known,” he said simply.

She took a breath, and forced herself to stop staring at his gorgeous face. What to say now? She said the first thing that came to mind. “I bet I can guess your last name.”

He looked amused. “Oh? And how would you do that?”

“I have psychic powers,” she said, trying to make her voice deep and mysterious, hoping she wasn’t sounding like a fool.

She reached forward to put her hands on the side of his head—anything to touch that hair—but he stepped back more quickly than she could have imagined and her hands closed on empty air. She tried to hide her surprise—and her disappointment. She etched a look of concentration onto her face instead.

“It’s…….ummmm…….Mas….Masters. No, wait! Not Masters…Maston. Yea, that’s it. Maston.”

He laughed, and the sound melted her remaining nervousness.

“I see you’ve heard about us,” Rave said. “Nothing good, I expect.”

“My best friend grew up in East Hampton. She told me about your people.”

Rave put his hand over his heart and sighed with exaggerated drama. “Oh, no! Even worse,” he said, grinning. “Those townspeople tell all kinds of stories about us.”

“Are any of them true?”

“Human sacrifice and stuff? Sorry, no. Nothing so exciting.”

Leesa feigned disappointment. “Drat. I could use the excitement.”

“Is that why you were talking to that guy who just left?”

Leesa was surprised. How long had he been watching? Was he jealous? She hoped so. “Stefan? He didn’t hang around long enough for me to find out.”

The name rang ominously in Rave’s ears. It was a name he had heard before. Stefan was a
very
powerful vampire. “You need to stay away from him,” he said.

The seriousness of his tone alarmed her. “Why? Do you know him?”

“I know of him.”

Leesa thought how similar that was to what Cali said about Rave. “What do you know?”

“I know he is very dangerous.”

“My friend said the same thing about you. Should I stay away from you, too?”

Rave did not reply right away. “Your friend was right,” he said after a moment. “I am dangerous. Perhaps more dangerous than even Stefan, though that remains to be proven.”

He stepped closer, cutting the distance between them in half. Leesa thought she felt the temperature rise a few degrees, but that had to be her imagination—didn’t it? She thought briefly of strange blue fires and deadly kisses, then tried to brush those stories from her mind.

“But I hope not dangerous to you,” he added softly.

She studied his face. He didn’t look dangerous, but there was something undeniably powerful and mysterious about him. Could that be why she found him so attractive? She knew girls back in high school who’d had a thing for bad boys, but she’d never been one of them. For now, she would give him the benefit of the doubt. “I believe you,” she said at last.

He smiled, looking relieved.

“Why is Stefan so dangerous?” she asked. “What do you know about him?”

Rave wasn’t sure how much to tell her. If he opened that door, how far would he have to go? “I’m not sure you’d believe me,” he said. “Worse, you might think me crazy.”

Leesa tilted the water bottle to her lips and drained the last of the water. This whole night was getting stranger by the minute. First Stefan disappeared for no apparent reason, and then Rave shows up minutes later, after she’d spent weeks hoping to see him again. And he somehow knew Stefan. Knew
of
him, she reminded herself. She needed to learn more.

“Try me,” she said.

Rave thought for a moment and decided he had no choice. He had to tell her. The most important thing was for her to be safe, to stay away from Stefan. He hoped she would believe him. “This is going to sound crazy, I know,” he said. “Stefan is a vampire.”

He saw the shock register in her eyes. But it was a shock of surprise, not disbelief. Unexpectedly, she seemed open at least to the idea of vampires. Perhaps it was the vampire class she was taking; perhaps it was something more. Either way, she didn’t dismiss it out of hand, as he feared she might. As most humans would.

Leesa studied Rave’s face. She saw no hint of humor or guile. It was the last thing she’d expected to hear, but he was serious. “A vampire? Are you certain? How do you know?”

“Believe me, I know.” He wasn’t ready to go further just yet. His people worked hard to remain in the shadows, to keep who they were and what they could do secret. “Trust me, please. Whatever you do, do not let yourself be alone with him.” He glanced over her shoulder and saw Cali inside moving toward the doorway. He definitely did not want to talk to both of them. Especially since Cali was from East Hampton. “Your friend is coming,” he said. “I need to go.”

Here comes the disappearing act again, Leesa thought. But at least this time they had talked. “When will I see you again?” she asked.

“Soon,” he promised, before turning and heading toward the back of the yard.

Leesa thought she could still feel the warmth of his presence. “Soon” echoed in her head as she watched him disappear into the shadows.

“Hey, Leesa, whatcha been doin’ out here?”

Leesa turned at the sound of Cali’s voice. Her friend was all smiles as she clomped down the steps. Leesa wondered if she’d had another one of those Jager bomb things.

“Oh, just fighting off the guys,” Leesa said in a tone she hoped sounded nonchalant. “Where’s Andy?”

“Tending bar. He’s pretty fun. And he’s a
senior
. He made me another J-Bomb—he got even cuter after that.” Cali laughed. “I gave him my number.” She fluffed her fingers through her hair, letting the cool air hit her neck. “What about you? Talk to any cute ones back here?”

“Yeah, two of them, actually. I didn’t give them my number, though. Maybe next time.” She would tell Cali soon about Rave, at least, but not yet. First, she needed to try to make sense out of everything that had just happened.

12.  A PLEASANT STROLL

I
t’s another hot night, dry and windless. Indian summer, Cali had called it. Not something Leesa was familiar with in San Diego, where it was like summer most of the year, and not all that cold the rest of the time. But here in Connecticut, the near-eighty degree temperatures were fifteen degrees warmer than normal for the second week of October. For three days now, the kids at Weston had been sporting shorts and T-shirts, or even bathing suits, spending as much time outside as they could, tossing Frisbees and footballs or lounging on colorful towels and blankets spread out on the grass.

Definitely not vampire weather, Leesa thought as she strolled home from the library, the night air feeling especially warm after her stint in the air-conditioned building. She made a mental note to ask Dr. Clerval about that in class tomorrow. Did vampires really hate the sun, or was that just part of the legend that had grown up around them? If they existed at all, she reminded herself. Rave certainly spoke as if they did.

She hadn’t seen Rave since last week’s party, or Stefan, either, for that matter. She thought she’d sensed Rave’s presence a couple of times, but never spotted him. Maybe it was simply wishful thinking. As if on cue, she felt that same strange warm feeling again, but decided it was just her imagination. She smiled—he’d certainly made an impression on her, considering she’d only seen him twice, and not for very long at that. If only his folk used phones, she could at least have given him her number. Then if she didn’t hear from him, she’d know his interest was not as keen as hers. She resisted the urge to turn around and look for him.

“Hi, Leesa.”

And there he was, walking next to her, as handsome as ever, somehow materializing out of the night without a sound. Was he really there, or had she conjured him up like some guardian genie out of a fairy tale? He sure looked real—if someone so gorgeous could be real. She kept walking, trying to hide her surprise. Stay calm, she told herself. Act nonchalant.

“Hi, Rave. How’ve you been?”

He grinned that wide grin of his, and Leesa felt her heart flutter. So much for staying calm, she thought.

“Feeling pretty good right now, I have to say,” he replied. “It’s a beautiful night for a stroll.” He casually looked her up and down. “You look really good in red.”

Leesa was wearing a dark red Weston T-shirt and white shorts. She felt herself begin to blush and hoped he couldn’t see it in the darkness. “Thanks.”

“How was the library?”

She stopped and turned to face him. How long had he been around tonight?

“You been stalking me?” she asked teasingly.

“I wouldn’t call it stalking,” he said, still smiling. “More like keeping an eye on you now and then. Making sure you’re safe.”

“Safe from Stefan?” she asked. “You jealous?”

Rave’s face turned serious. “I meant it when I told you how dangerous he is. Please trust me on that.”

Leesa was struck by the seriousness of his tone and discovered she liked his concern. “I believe you,” she said. “I haven’t seen or heard from him.”

“I’m glad to hear that. But stay careful, please.”

They resumed walking. Leesa could feel his attention focused on her, but also noticed how aware he seemed of everything around them. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but she was certain no sound or movement anywhere nearby escaped his notice. In addition to myriad other feelings, some of which she still didn’t understand, she felt safe with him nearby.

“It must be strange not to have a phone,” she said after a few moments.

A bemused expression appeared on his handsome face. “Is it strange not to have wings?” he asked.

His question confused her. She was certain her puzzlement showed on her face.

“You don’t miss what you’ve never had,” he explained. “It’s just the way things are.”

Leesa guessed that was true, at least partially. “But what about a car? How do you get anywhere?”

Rave stopped and lifted his foot off the ground. “With these,” he said, smiling. “I walk, like we are now. Only a bit faster.” He started forward again, seeing no need to add that his kind could cover fifty miles in a matter of hours, if necessary.

“Can you at least take a bus or a cab if you need to?”