Crimson Groves (22 page)

I overheard him say something about Texas. Are you in Texas?
Lily had asked it, but was the question really coming from her? How could she overhear him say something about Texas without him knowing? It was impossible. Bronx was too smart to allow that. My stomach rolled over, clamping, tightening. I didn’t want to believe that Bronx had already gotten to her, using his gift of persuasion to control her as if she were his puppet and he was the puppet master. But it made too much sense to ignore. If Bronx had Lily, and I believed he did, then that meant she was in danger. And I had to help her.

I got up quickly and changed, choosing a blue V-neck tee, black pants, and my infamous work boots. Then I ran my fingers through my hair. A quick glance in the mirror showed me that I looked okay. I gave my reflection a brief smile, then headed out to the living room.

“You look beautiful,” Tyler murmured, eyes groping me up and down as if they were riding a seesaw.

I felt that warm sensation spark to life inside me again, spreading all over from my head to my toes. “Thanks. You do too.” It was amazing how good he looked in blue and white striped pajama bottoms and a comfy-looking, white cotton tee shirt.

I sat down beside him, the leather squeaking against my weight. I grabbed the laptop and shook away the screen saver with my finger. The tiny clock in the top right corner said it was seven fifty-one in the evening. The sun had long since dropped from the sky.

Tyler slid his hand behind me, rubbing my shoulders while I typed a response to Lily. I was getting more worried for her by the minute, but revealing that in this e-mail would be a horrible mistake. I was certain that the message would ultimately end up being read by Bronx. So I decided to keep my response to her short and sweet, confident that I’d hear back from her (Bronx pretending to be her) pretty soon.

Lily,

I’m ok. Don’t worry about me. Please take care of

yourself! I promise to keep in touch.

Your Friend,

Abby

I shut the laptop and placed it back on the coffee table. Tyler stopped rubbing my shoulders and took my hand. I tried to stand up but was met with resistance, with him pulling me back down. His grip tightened. Even though I was much stronger and could easily break free, I sank back into the sofa and leaned over into his chest. His other arm wrapped around me, almost making me forget about everything. The warmth from his body, his amazing scent, his tender touch—I loved it all. You can really make yourself believe everything is okay as long as you have someone to hold you.

He stroked my hair using soft, gentle, slow movements with his fingertips. Tingles stretched out across my head. I craned my neck, pulled back a little to look up at his face. His eyes were glossy, moist, barely holding back tears. This got me choked up, and I quickly ducked my head back into the safety of his chest. I could hear the beat of his heart speeding up.

“Abby,” he said in a timid voice. “Please be careful.”

“I will. I promise.” I wasn’t sure if I was reassuring him or myself.

My eyes met his as I pulled out of our embrace. He stroked my cheek while his other hand intertwined with mine. His face lowered, slowly erasing the small gap between us. Butterflies started fluttering inside my stomach. The hot sensation returned, soaring up my back and over my neck. Mentally I knew to pull away. I knew I shouldn’t do it. I knew it would put too much of a strain on us. Our focus would become blurred and our efforts would become more challenging. This was the moment that actions would speak volumes louder than my false words.

The warmth of his lips on mine blasted hot chills through my body. He let go of my hand and aggressively fondled my hair, then pressed my cheeks to pull me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his chest and dug my fingernails into his back. He gasped and then dropped his hands to my waist, sneaking them under my shirt and then tugging at the button on my jeans. He teased my lips with his tongue, sliding it back and forth, trying to pry inside my mouth. His hand jerked more roughly with the button, but it wasn’t budging. Then his eager fingers skimmed across my waistline, causing my whole body to shake. My fangs slowly emerged as I opened my mouth. I delicately nibbled his bottom lip and then returned to kissing him. A silent warning rose between us, but it quickly faded as he bit down into my lip. Instantly, I tasted my blood. The intensity of the moment left me spiraling out of control as he pulled back and dropped down to my neck, where he continued kissing and sucking. The pleasure of his kisses could not be described by words. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head to the side. He moaned and took a deep breath. I licked my lips as I lowered them, closer and closer, until they brushed against his skin. I could feel his vein thumping faster and harder.

I opened my mouth, fangs resting impatiently on his skin. And as I went to bite down into him, he jerked out of my hands and jumped back. Startled and ashamed, I dashed to the other side of the room.

Tyler gaped over at me. There was no need for him to say a word. I could read his eyes; I could see it all over his face. He still wanted me. He wasn’t afraid. He wanted to kiss me again.

I really needed to go—for more reasons than before now. I needed to get back to the mission at hand, which was to keep Tyler safe, find out what Stone wasn’t telling me, and somehow help Lily. “I gotta go. I’ll be back soon.” I flashed away without waiting to hear if Tyler said anything back.

It took me twice as long to arrive at Rayver’s Pub. The need to clear my head took longer than I’d thought it would. The attraction I was feeling for Tyler was becoming too difficult to fight. I either needed to find a way to deal with it or get away from him altogether. The thought of leaving him stung me; the fact I’d almost bitten him stung worse. Using every bit of energy I had, I temporarily made myself forget about what had happened, even though the heat of that kiss still lingered on my lips as I approached the entrance to the pub.

Making my way through the rotted doorjamb, I picked up the scent of three human customers sitting at the bar. One of them was Britney, the new blood donor. She lit up when she saw me. “You guys, this is her,” she squealed while standing up and running to embrace me. I returned the hug and then walked with her back to the bar.

“Hi Britney.” I smiled at her two innocent human friends.

“Anna”—Britney was still under the impression that was my name—“this is Mac and Sara. Mac and Sara, this is Anna. She is the amazing one I told you about!”

Mac was a shorter guy with a stocky build, short auburn hair, and freckles all over his face and arms. He wore loose-fitted jeans and a navy blue tee. Sara was thin but still curvy in her butt and thighs; straight honey blond hair framed her face and hung just below her shoulders. They both looked to be in their mid-to late twenties. I shook Mac’s hand first, since he was the first to hold it out. Sara scowled at me. Her body twitched when I shook her hand, like she thought I’d spread some deadly virus to her.

“When you guys do it, you gotta let Anna be the one,” Britney explained.

“I’m ready. Especially if she’s gonna do it!” Mac said, voice loud and excited.

Sara punched him and rolled her light blue eyes. “I thought you were going to wait, Mackey?”

Britney slurped her drink and then looked over at Sara. “Trust me, it’s the most amazing thing ever. Stone said that because Anna’s still a baby, it’s way more intense.”

“Wait just a second,” I scolded. “I’m not here for you. I’m here to speak with Stone.”
And maybe the two unbitten wannabe’s, I thought.

Britney rolled her eyes and frowned. “We’ll see about that,” she smarted.

Quinn appeared from behind the bar, and his eyes lit up when he noticed me. “Anna, yer right on time. Stone was just askin ’bout ya.”

Ignoring Britney and her soon-to-be blood donor friends, I headed toward the back room. As I did, I felt three sets of eyes burning holes in my back. I didn’t turn around to confirm it, though. I quickly embraced Quinn as I passed by. He was such a sweet man. I admired his patience for that annoying daughter of his. Her insistence on getting her own way was quite irritating, which was most likely the reason he’d caved and allowed her to become a blood donor.

The canned hallway ceiling lights weren’t turned on but my eyes easily showed me to the door, the only thing separating me from Stone Rayver, vampire club boss and possible Enforcer. I raised my hand to knock, but before I did I heard Stone call out, “Please come in.”

The door handle twisted with ease and I walked inside the dark room. I went over to where Stone sat and scooted in next to him. “Enjoying the darkness this evening?” I asked, hoping to hide my anxiousness.

His familiar black jeans and boots were now paired with a gray long-sleeved shirt. His hair was slicked with gel tonight and neatly hung to the sides. In one hand was a cocktail glass containing the golden liquid he enjoyed drinking. His other hand swiftly grabbed mine and brought it to his lips.

“Who do I smell on you? You naughty girl!” he scolded, lips curling into a smirk.

I yanked my hand away. “That is none of your business! You know why I’m here, let’s stick to that!”

“Oh, Abby, jealousy is such a horrible emotion. Please accept my apologies.” He sipped at his drink.

More jealousy? What is it with men and their jealous emotions? Did I really just ask another stupid question? Yep, I did. “You barely know me,” I exclaimed. “There’s no way you could be jealous! Can we please stop talking about this?”

He gave a mild shrug and then looked away. “You want to know what I haven’t told you.”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Yes. Weren’t you supposed to tell me everything yesterday?”

He tilted his head to the side. “How can you question me when you were the one in a hurry to leave? And now I know why,” he snickered. “You’ve done well keeping his identity a secret. I should’ve discovered that first when I tasted you.” He cocked his head to the side. “How in the world did you keep that from me?”

Ignoring his attempt to find out about Tyler, I got back to the reason I was here. “I have time tonight. I want to know more about the Head Council and their connection to the one who transformed me.”

“I can’t answer that without knowing who
he
is.” Stone nestled his back against the sofa.

Feeling backed in a corner and wanting desperately to push my way out, I decided to spill Bronx’s name with hopes it would not come back to bite me in the butt.

I reached across Stone and grabbed the drink out of his hand. He let me have it without resistance. The alcohol, definitely some kind of scotch, burned as I chugged down its entire contents. With a clank, I set the empty beverage glass on the table. Fear stuck in my throat like a boa constrictor was wrapped around my neck, making it almost impossible to speak. For the first time ever, I was relieved to feel anger firing away inside me, slithering inside my veins. Because of that, I was able to push the horrible name off my tongue.

“Bronx.” My throat loosened and my fiery anger increased. “His name is Bronx.”

Stone’s eyes gave it away instantly. He knew Bronx, and I assumed a lot more than just that. Realizing this set off my anger. It felt like I was going to explode from the inside out.

My eyes burned. My hands sizzled like they were holding lit embers. But it didn’t hurt. I didn’t feel pain. Gasping aloud, I looked down at them. They were glowing bright orange. My hands were glowing bright orange! Panic seized me. I jumped up, waving my arms in front of me. “What’s happening to me?”

Stone got up too, jumping back away from me. “Abby,” he shouted, “what’s going on? It’s getting too hot in here. You need to calm down!”

I could feel the heat, but it didn’t burn. I was on fire! Why was I not burning? “I don’t know! I can’t control it!” I wailed, voice broken and desperate. I took a few steps backward, colliding into the wall. The orange glow burst into flames with white tips. The heat intensified. I cried out, not because I was hurt, but because I was afraid. Unsure of what to do or how to stop the fire, I held my flaming arms in front of me, feeling completely defeated. “Help me. Please help me.” I started crying.

Stone made an effort to come toward me, but the heat from my arms forced him back. I desperately gulped at the air around me, hoping to regain control of my body. A wave of dizziness shot through me. And that’s when I felt something even stranger, something I hadn’t felt since becoming a vampire. My heart slammed beneath my sternum and vibrated in a rhythmic motion. Tingles coursed through my veins as blood started flowing inside them. The flames spread up my arms.

My chest started burning. I was sucking at the air like someone trying to drink a milkshake that’s too thick to slide up the straw. Small puffs of air filtered inside my mouth. Stone helplessly watched from across the room, eyes wide with panic. I felt my lungs expand, air rushing inside them, tickling my throat as it did. I was breathing again! Really breathing. How was that possible? With every breath I took the glowing fire on my hands and arms began to fade. I started sweating, the intense heat cooling slowly until it was completely gone. Soon my arms became normal.