Crimson Groves (24 page)

“I’m getting an ability,” I mumbled against his arms, hoping that he’d be just as excited as me. “A powerful one. And maybe I’ll end up with multiple abilities.” I raised my head and cupped his face inside my hands, forcing him to look at me. He did not look surprised by what I’d just told him.

We played a silent stare-off for several minutes. His face stayed hard, eyes glistening with anger. He still didn’t speak. Not one word. Since I’m not a mind reader, there was no way for me to know what was wrong with him. So I told him everything that happened back at the pub, hoping to get a more encouraging reaction and praying he wouldn’t be any more jealous of Stone.

He let out a heavy sigh and finally opened up his arms. I fell into his chest and pressed tightly against him. “Oh Abby,” he breathed, “what am I going to do with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I got a premonition right after you left.” He swallowed hard, pulled me harder into him.

“What’s going to happen? What’d you see?” My throat tightened and my stomach twisted in knots. I knew this wasn’t going to be good.

He shook his head, arms squeezing tighter around me, as he said, “It’s going to kill you! I watched you die!” I felt tears landing on my head and heard the muffled sobs inside his chest.

“That’s not going to happen!” I lifted out of his arms, staring at his face, green eyes heavily stung by those salty tears. “I’m going to learn how to control this power and I’m going to defeat Bronx with it! I promise!”

“That’s not what I saw,” he exclaimed.

I grabbed his face again, my eyes locking onto his like targets. “I’m already starting to control it.”

His eyebrows dipped, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Watch me.”

In a flash I was in the empty seat beside him. I held my right hand out in front of me, fingers together, palm up. I closed my eyes, concentrating hard, emptying my mind of rambling thoughts, distracting feelings. Exactly the way I’d practiced with Stone before he would let me leave the pub. I summoned the energy inside me, calling it forth, demanding its presence and submission. I squeezed my eyelids, focusing. My chest flushed warm. And then it got hotter and spread through my body like a wildfire in a dry forest. My arms and legs started tingling. Shivers crept up my back. The heat intensified, burning hotter inside me. I sucked at the air, mouth open, in deep, gulping breaths. The flow of oxygen made my body burn even hotter. But it didn’t hurt. I wasn’t in pain. The heat was still solely inside of me. I hadn’t released it out yet, so Tyler was perfectly safe. Everything was fine.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. My heart rumbled to life, beating, pumping, and pulsing. It was time for the fire to come out, but on my terms only. I pushed all my thoughts and energy into my awaiting hand. The fire obeyed, erupting there swiftly, instantaneous like lighting. Tyler gasped, but I blocked him out of my mind to hold my concentration. As long as I was in control, Tyler was safe and everything would be okay. I took another deep, slow breath and then opened my eyes. That familiar orange glow was radiating off my palm as if a bright flashlight were under my skin.

“How are you doing that?” he asked.

“I’m isolating the energy to my hand. As long as I stay focused, that’s where it will stay. My hand is so hot it will scorch anything it touches.” I smiled, glancing up at his face and then quickly back to my hand.

“Wow. That’s incredible!”

“Isn’t it?” I chuckled. I was proud of my new ability—more than proud, I was inebriated by the reality of having pyrokinesis and more so by the fact that I was able to control it. “We’ve got to celebrate! Bronx can’t hurt us anymore. I’m not afraid anymore!” I jumped out of the chair, twirling around in front of him, holding the fire safely in my hand. Then I closed my fingers over it, balling my hand into a fist, trails of smoke floating up. The fire was out. Cool prickles rushed all over my body. My breathing slowed. My heart stopped beating. I was just a normal vampire again.

I skipped over to the fridge, pulled out two Chimays, and then popped the tops off with my teeth—yep, my teeth. I would’ve never done that when human, not that I couldn’t, but because I’d be too afraid to even try it. But now I felt fearless. A whole new form of confidence was taking over. My feet were light, as if they were floating above the floor. I grinned, big and wide, and then swooped back into Tyler’s lap like a bird landing in its nest. He took one of the beers, smiling shyly, perhaps a little nervous, unsure of everything happening to me, to us. I held out my beer. He hesitated briefly, and then clinked his bottle into mine. The celebration had begun. Yippy.

After finishing our first round, I retrieved another. Tyler eased up, seeming happier, a little less cautious. Thank God. No one likes to celebrate with a party pooper. Contagious giggles alternated between us. Constant chatter—declaring my freedom and the fact we were no longer on the run—soared off our lips. I guess Tyler was finally becoming a believer. That or he was acting like he was. Either way was fine with me for now. I sensed there was something a little off about him, but I easily put it out of my mind. The carefree atmosphere was revitalizing. All of our worries and fears were silenced. We moved into the living room, turned on some music that Tyler downloaded earlier from beatport.com. “Alright” by Hybrid and Blackwatch was fitting for our mood as we danced and twirled around to the beautiful lyrics and melody. Everything was absolutely perfect.

When the song ended, we plopped down on the sofa together. Tyler leaned in closer, staring at me, eyes full of depth, meaning, and something else; attraction, lust…maybe even lo—. No, I wouldn’t say it. “I was thinking,” he said, voice soft but confidant. “That maybe we, maybe there could be, something between you and me now. Maybe we can be together and not fight it anymore?” He reached for my hand, gave it a tight squeeze.

Those warm tingly feelings returned, scattering all around inside me. My stomach twisted into knots. Hot chills flushed my cheeks. The knots spread up my chest, into my throat, thick and sludgy. A single tear jumped over the edge of my eyelid. “I just don’t think that’s a good idea.” I shook my head back and forth—rapid movements. “We don’t even know how the Head Council will receive me. And Bronx is still out there and—”

He pressed his lips into mine. They were warm, soft, wet. I didn’t move. My body froze but not because it was cold. I just couldn’t move, as if I were paralyzed. My mind was racing with cautions and warnings. But my body wanted the opposite—wanted to feel close, to kiss him back. He didn’t stop kissing me, gentle sucking strokes. I couldn’t pull away. I liked how it felt way too much. The voice inside my head was being drowned out. The lust fire burning inside took over. I grabbed the back of his head, pulling him closer, grabbing handfuls of his hair. Then I kissed him back, passionately, needy, completely lost to the moment.

Several blissful moments passed, his hands pulling me closer, fingers digging into my back. His kisses were hot, heavy, urgent. His breathing was rapid and deep. I let go of his hair, hands trailing down his neck, shoulders, and back, pulling him closer, both aggressive and soft. But I needed to stop—we needed to stop. It couldn’t happen like this, not yet, not so soon. I let go, dropped my hands to my sides, and leaned back. He stared at me, shocked, his eyes desperate and wanting. I shook my head, looked away. My body was hot. It didn’t want to stop. I bit my bottom lip, not too hard, didn’t break the skin. His face lowered, lips traveling towards me, a slow, steady movement. But we couldn’t. We had got to stop before things got out of control. I threw out my arm, hand pressed hard to his chest, blocking him from coming any closer. “Please just let me think for a minute,” I said. “Please. This is happening so fast.”

Like unwanted visitors, fear and worry crept back into my mind. How was the Head Council going to react to my ability of fire? When should I tell them? Would they be okay with me loving a human? Loving a human! How could I be in love so soon? It couldn’t be love. Could it? Even though vampire secrecy was huge to them, maybe the Head Council would see the benefit of having Tyler on our side. His visions had proved extremely helpful so far. But what if they were in alliance with Bronx, believing some fabricated version of the truth? Then I was really on my own. And that meant I needed Tyler more than ever—the need to keep him safe even greater.

And then there was Lily, who desperately needed me to help her. If I was right—and I knew I was—then there was no telling
what
Bronx was putting her through in his efforts to find me. Bronx. I swallowed hard. I still had to face Bronx, fight him and destroy him. If he was working with the Head Council then that meant I was going up against all of them. Me versus the most powerful vampires ever to live. It didn’t sound very good. All of a sudden, the night wasn’t looking so great anymore. Even using my amazing new power wouldn’t really guarantee my victory. I had no idea what any of their powers were. Sure my gift of fire was unheard of, but they might have a mind control advantage with Bronx. I hoped and prayed that wasn’t the case, and that I got to Lily before it was too late.

With so many things still unresolved, was it possible to find love in the midst of it all? Love? It had to be lust, attraction. A need to feel close during challenging times. Whatever I wanted to call it didn’t matter. My body still longed for him. It was growing more difficult to ignore. The crossroad I’d come to was either opening up to Tyler or running away from him—right now. Which one would it be? Tick tock. My body would decide for me if I didn’t act fast. I swallowed hard, closed my eyes, and then threw my arms around him, instantly resuming right where we’d left off. The decision was made. There was no turning back from it.

After hours of holding and kissing each other, the sun began its descent in the sky. Even though I thought it was a really bad idea, Tyler convinced me to let him come to the pub to meet Stone. He took a quick shower, got ready even faster, and then came prancing into the kitchen wearing black slacks and a gray sweater made of cotton and silk. He looked gorgeous, his green eyes hypnotizing as he walked my way.

I was sitting at the café table, and he sat down in the only other chair. While he had been in the shower, I’d changed my clothes and run a brush through my hair. I picked the sexy royal blue top with spaghetti strap sleeves and paired it with the jeans from the other night. My cleavage showed a little in the low, V-shaped neckline. It was kind if sexy, I have to admit.

“You look beautiful.” He stretched around the table and kissed my cheek.

“Thanks, so do you,” I replied through the biggest of smiles.

“Ready to go?” He hopped up and grabbed his car keys off the kitchen counter.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do it.”

We held hands and listened to Katy Perry the entire way to the pub. I couldn’t ignore that little voice cautioning me about bringing Tyler with me. I silently prayed that Stone wouldn’t overreact and that Tyler wouldn’t get jealous. Yeah sure, if I believed that, then I’m really a fool in love. Love?? Why do I keep calling it that? By the time we parked, my nerves were doing aerobics. Tyler got out and came around to my side to open the door. Taking his awaiting hand, I got up, then slammed the Audi door shut behind me. We briskly crossed the street, still holding hands, and came up to the entrance of the pub.

Here goes nothing,
I thought.

We strolled inside, heading straight for the bar. Britney was sitting on the left, in her usual seat, and thankfully she was alone. She wore white jeans and a green hoodie. She and Quinn were heavily talking about something. His eyes beamed the moment he noticed me. “Hey Anna!” he said. “Welcome back! Stone’ll be glad to know yer here.”

Britney quickly turned around and exclaimed, “Hey Anna!” She froze when she saw me holding hands with Tyler. The smile evaporated from her face like thick fog in bright sunshine. “I guess you don’t need me,” she pouted, sticking out her bottom lip.

Realizing she thought Tyler was my donor, I decided to have a little fun with it and keep my mouth shut. There was a good chance Britney would turn out to be my donor tonight, but there was no reason to give that away to her now—not after her bratty attitude. “Britney, this is Tyler,” I told her.

Tyler and Britney shook hands, her face still pouting, and then I introduced him to Quinn. He frowned, studying Tyler as they shook hands. Perhaps Quinn recognized Tyler from before. “I’ll go let Stone know yer here. Would ya like sometin’ to drink before I go back der?”

Tyler respectfully answered, “We’ll both have a vodka with a splash of soda water and a lime please, sir.”

“No problem, son,” Quinn replied and flashed me a quick smile. He moved quickly for his age, and as Tyler and I got situated in the barstools next to Britney, the drinks clanked on the countertop in front of us.

“Thanks,” I said, then turned my attention to the gorgeous man sitting on my right. I could feel Britney’s eyes on the back of my head and I really hoped I was driving her as crazy as she drove me.

Tyler and I did another rendition of cheers with our cocktails. I heard Britney puff an annoyed sigh behind me. Completely ignoring her, and feeling proud of myself for pissing her off, I drank my tasty beverage and then set the glass down. I started giggling uncontrollably, feeling nervous and giddy.

A huge smile stretched across Tyler’s face. He leaned toward me, his lips hovering around my ear. His breath was warm on my skin.
Oh please don’t kiss me. Not here,
I silently prayed. But he didn’t. He gave a long sigh and said, “I love you, Abby.”