Tears of the Broken (58 page)

“
Of
course.” David nodded, though it looked more like a bow, then took
my hand and led me to the base of the stage.

Is
this just an elaborate escape plan—to get me in
private
?

“
No,” David said in a short tone.

Humph!

Chapter
Twenty-one

The
heavy black door in the framework creaked as I pushed it open and
the darkness enveloped me, thick with the musty smell of dust,
latex and old books. David closed the door behind him, ducking his
head a little through the low frame. I waited, leaning against a
stack of chairs.

“
Ara?” David stopped about a step away from me. “You can’t
do—”

“
Shh.” I flung my arms around his neck and cut off his words
with my lips; he tried to protest, laughing under the kiss—then,
with a deep breath, he yielded and slid his long, elegant fingers
along the sides of my face.

“
Show me the vampire,” I whispered against his
lips.

“
Ara.” He pulled away from the kiss softly. “Not
here.”

“
Yes.” I grinned. “Here.”

“
What if I scare you?”

“
Then we’re in a perfect place for me to try really hard not
to scream.”

He
sighed, smiling, and smoothed his thumb over my chin, then traced a
straight line down my throat until it came to rest in the hollow
between my collarbones. “You have no idea what you’re asking of me.
I’m not prepared for this at all, I—”

I
grabbed his face and forced his lips closed under mine, turning my
head slightly so our noses wouldn’t get in the way. When I opened
my mouth a little, David took control of the kiss, gripping the
back of my neck to force my face against his.

God,
I can’t believe he wants me like I want him. I jumped up and
wrapped my legs around his waist as he cradled his hands under my
bottom, running one hand up my dress and pressing it to my lower
back. “You shouldn’t wear dresses to school, Ara.”

“
Take it off me, then.”

David’s breath burst from his lips in a cool gust. He dropped
his head, wiping his wrist across his smile. “You really know how
to stop a guy’s heart, don’t you?”

I
pressed my palm to his chest and frowned. “Looks like I stopped
yours permanently.”

“
Oui, mon amour. You stopped it with your smile.”

I
rolled my eyes, but secretly gushed. David laughed and, keeping a
hand under me, cupped his other hand over mine, on his chest. “I
haven’t eaten enough for this kind of misbehaviour, my
love.”

“
When did you last eat?”

“
Monday morning—right before I brought you the
pastry.”

“
That’s two days. You should be fine.”

“
I
don’t trust myself.”

“
I
trust
you.”

“
Ara.” He set me down on the ground and my toes tingled with
prickling pins. “You shouldn’t.”

“
But
I do, anyway.” With my pulse in my throat and hot blood controlling
my limbs, I slid my fingers into the neckline of his jacket and
pushed it away from his shoulders. He jiggled out of it and smiled
as I cast it across the room.

“
You
don’t know how to take no for answer, do you?”

“
That wasn’t a no,” I teased. “Now—” using his wrists to drive
his hands, I pushed them down and jumped as he lifted me up again,
“—show me what’s so scary about this vampire side.”

“
Ara, we—” he tried to speak, but I leaned down and gripped
his lips tightly with mine, then pulled a little—using my
teeth.

He
drew back abruptly and stared at me, wide eyed, but with a
tentative grin. “So, you don’t wanna be a vampire, but you like
using your teeth?”

“
I’d like
you
to use
your
teeth.”

David took a short breath and cast a long glance to the
darkest corner of the closet; I linked my fingers together behind
his neck. With my legs holding me up around his waist, for once, my
chin rested in line with his. We actually meet eye to
eye.

“
Physically. Not figuratively,” David practically
grunted.

“
Stay out of my head, vampire.” I bared my puny teeth at him;
he chuckled. “Now, do as you’re told. Bite me.”

“
You
know I can’t do that. If I bite you, you’ll be injected with
venom.”

“
So?”

“
So,
if you’re injected with venom—you could become a
vampire.”

“
Oh.” We stared into each other. In the darkness of the room,
his eyes almost looked black, like the pupils had flooded the
green.

“
We
should get back out to the rehearsal.”

“
Wait.” I crossed my ankles over, gripping his hips with my
thighs when he went to lower me. “What if…I mean, when humans bite
playfully, we don’t actually bite—” I looked at his neck. “Can’t
you do it like that?”

“
I—”
He frowned, thoughtful. “I don’t know.”

“
Here.” I leaned closer. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
Before he could stop me, I squeezed my fingers into the base of his
neck, then yanked his head to one side as my teeth glided over his
flesh, coming closed again with a mouthful of David between
them.

Under the moisture of my tongue, his sweet scent became his
flavour; he tasted exactly the same as his smell—not gritty or
salty, like I expected.

David groaned in blissful agony as I sank my teeth in a
little firmer, catching the tendon in his neck. His fingertips dug
into the skin of my thighs as we slammed against the flimsy
chipboard wall—sending particles of dust, like a powdery cloud,
into the air around us. “Ara. Ara, stop.” He propped my body
against the wall and unfastened my hands from his neck.

“
Why? What’s wrong?” I wiped my mouth dry with the back of my
wrist. “Did I hurt you?”

“
Yes, you little leech.” He cupped his hand over the bite mark
and pulled it away to look at it. “I may not have a heartbeat, but
I still feel pain.”

“
You’re bruising.” I squinted through the dull light to see
his neck.

“
I
know. I can feel that.”

“
I’m
sorry.”

“
Are you kidding me?” He looked up at me.
“Ara, that felt amazing. It hurt, but
damn
it was hard for me to control
myself.”

“
Control yourself?”

“
Yeah. I wanted to…” He looked down and shook his
head.

“
You
wanted to what?” I lifted his face.

“
I wanted to do…
things
to you.”

“
What kinds of…things.” Excitement and fear made my heart
thump. “Bad things?”

“
Yes. Bad things.” He reached up slowly and slipped the
shoe-string strap of my dress down my shoulder, then ran a delicate
line of kisses along the curve of my neck, making the skin on my
lower back tingle.

“
That doesn’t feel like bad things.”

“
This is not what I had in mind,” he said into my
shoulder.

“
Show me, then?” I closed my eyes and rolled my head
back—exposing my throat. “I’m not scared.”

David turned us to the side and rested me on the table,
gripping my upper thighs to keep them around him. “Okay, but, if
you scream…it will only excite the monster in me.”

“
Is
that not a good idea?”

“
If
you do…you will die.” His hands flew up and tangled in my hair, his
thumbs on my cheeks, holding my face in front of his. “Do you
understand that?”

I
nodded, holding my breath, lost in the intensity of his penetrating
gaze.

“
Oh,
God.” He breathed out, turning his face away. “I wanna hurt you so
badly.”

“
Is
this too much for you?” I pulled his face back to mine and pressed
my brow to his. “Do…do you want to kill me?”

“
Right now—the vampire in me does.”

We
both stayed motionless, aside from our shoulders—lifting with each
deep breath. David’s hands remained stiffly against my cheeks, and
my heart felt like hunger pains in my gut. “You won’t kill me,” I
finally broke the silence.

He
pressed his brow more firmly against me, forcing a tight, hard
pressure above my eye. “I’m not entirely sure about
that.”

With
his lips barely an inch from mine, his orange-chocolate breath
brushed, cool and sweet, along my tongue. I jutted my jaw forward a
little, catching his bottom lip and sweeping one delicate kiss
across it.

“
Ara, you’re driving me absolutely crazy,” he whispered, and
his hands tightened on my face as his shoulders lifted faster.
Then, with the gentle force of desire, his belt jammed against my
upper thigh as he jerked my head to one side. “Don’t you dare
scream, mon amour.” Without giving me time to respond, he buried
his face in my neck, and warmth spread over my flesh as his lips
formed a tight seal, drawing my skin against his tongue.

The
muscles around my knees clenched; I wove my fingertips into his
soft hair and let out a tight, barely audible yelp. It feels good,
but cold and wet, like the lips of a person who just ate ice. “Bite
me, David.” I forced his hips closer to me with my ankles. “Use
your teeth.”

“
Shut up.” He breathed out, resting his face only inches from
the throbbing vein on my neck. “Just shut up, or I’ll rip your
throat out.” His tone remained kind and soft, with an uneasy
desperation lingering beneath.

I
grinned playfully, rolling my head back and resting my hands on the
table behind me.
Undress
me
.

“
Ara, I’m warning you—” He became as taut as a statue. “I
can’t take it. I’m losing control.”

“
You
won’t hurt me.” I lifted my dress a little. David stood up, looking
down at my underwear. “I trust you.”

Heavy, lustful breaths flooded the closet space again. David
closed his eyes, reaching his hand slowly toward my upper thigh,
then grabbed it firmly, letting his thumb fall against my
underwear.

I’m
ready for this, David. I want you to do it.

“
Jesus Christ, Ara. You don’t know what you’re doing to
me.”

“
Yes, I do.” I nodded at the zipper on his
jeans. “I can see
that
.”

“
You
have a death wish, girl.” Firmly, he slid his hand along my torso,
lifting the fabric of my dress and bunching it in his fist so my
stomach showed. “You shouldn’t play games like this with a
dangerous predator.”

“
A
dangerous predator shouldn’t bring young girls intodark
spaces—alone.”

“
It
wouldn’t be a problem if that girl would stop showing the vampire
parts he’s wanted to see for the longest time.” He dropped my dress
from his grip and lowered it over my legs.

“
Did
you ever think maybe she’s wanted to show him for the longest
time?”

“
What is wrong with you?” he said with a smile. “Why do you
take such risks? I want to kill you right now. Can you comprehend
that?”

“
That’s what makes this so romantic. I know you won’t, even
though you want to.”

He
shook his head, frowning over a smile. “Only
you
could think something like that
is romantic.”

“
David.” I ran my hands from the tip of his hairline, over his
skull and to the back of his neck. “You’re a vampire. Don’t even
pretend you don’t think it’s romantic.”

His
lips spread wide with his breathy laugh and I caught a glimpse of
his ultra-white fangs; longer than mine—not ridiculously long like
the fake ones on TV—but definitely sharp.

“
You
didn’t use your teeth last time.” I rolled my head to the other
side, lengthening my neck. “Show me what it feels like.”

“
I—”
he looked up, his eyes met mine with hesitation, “I’m afraid I
might break your skin—you don’t want to be a vampire, Ara, and I’m
not even sure if that’s how you make a vampire, but I don’t want to
take any risks.”

“
You
said you’d show me the vampire.” I huffed. “I want to
see.”

“
Oh
boy.” He shook his head, exhaling. “I should’ve known you’d be
trouble, the second I saw you.”

With
my arms folded, I grinned mischievously. “Just one more
try?”

David looked at my neck, then ran his thumb over the pulse.
“You know my teeth are sharper than yours. Even if I only use my
front teeth, chances are I’ll cut you.”

“
You
won’t.” I smiled. “I know you can control yourself when it comes to
me.”

“
You
are lucky we’re surrounded by fifty-odd students, Ara-Rose, or I
would be tearing into you right now.”

“
Physically or figuratively?”

“
Figuratively.” He sighed. “When we’re
alone, you are in
so
much trouble, young lady.”