Temptation (6 page)

His neck.

Kissing his neck as the clouds lowered and the fog circled in. Kissing his neck as the sand tilted beneath him.

She was holding his head and kissing his neck hard, harder.

The smell of the perfume, the roar of the ocean, the soft wetness of her lips, the fog, the thick fog—it all swept over Todd, swept over him, over him, over him.

Until he sank into a cool, waiting darkness.

Where
is
he?

April made her way through the crowded aisle of the arcade, explosions, automatic gunfire, space battles, and car races roaring in the narrow, dimly lit room.

Where
is
he?

Near the back of the arcade past a row of flashing pinball machines, she thought she saw him, trying to push a dollar bill into the change machine. The dollar went halfway into the slot, then came sliding out. He tried again.

“Matt!” she called.

When he finally succeeded in getting his game tokens and turned around, she saw it was some other big-shouldered, round-faced brown-haired boy.

Matt isn't here.

Back on the street, she pulled down the sleeves of her olive
sweater and pushed back her blond hair, which felt damp and heavy from the humid air.

Fog was drifting in from the ocean, creating strange, shifting shadows beneath the streetlights. Searching for Matt, April turned her gaze down Main Street, jammed with summer people floating in and out of the restaurants and shops. They emerged from the fog, brightened quickly into focus, then faded just as quickly back into the mist, as if stepping through a heavy curtain.

Where are you, Matt? April wondered, glancing at her watch for the thousandth time. Lost in a fog?

She poked her head into Swanny's, her eyes quickly surveying the brightly lit ice-cream parlor, then stepped aside to let a middle-aged couple enter.

He wasn't in there, either.

He was supposed to have met her nearly twenty minutes earlier. The plan was to meet in front of Swanny's, then head to the beach and hook up with Todd.

“Hey—April!”

April spun around hopefully. “Matt?”

No. It was a couple of guys she had met at the bonfire on the beach the night before. She waved. “Lookin' good!” one of them called. Then they disappeared into the lowering fog.

I
am
lookin' good, April thought. She and the twins had spent the afternoon at the beach, and now she could feel the warm glow of her sunburn. She always got so pale during the
winter. Now she was getting some color, feeling warm despite the cool, foggy night, feeling alive.

So where was Matt?

He really takes me for granted, she decided.

He keeps me waiting all the time. And then he shows up without an excuse or anything. He usually just says, “Sorry I'm late. I got hung up.” And that's supposed to be okay.

The flash of warmth she felt now wasn't from her sunburn—it was from anger. Matt is a great guy, she thought. But maybe her mother was a little bit right about him. Maybe he
is
a little immature.

April stepped to the corner and peered up and down Dune Lane, one of only two cross streets in town.

I'm not going to wait for Matt all summer, she thought.

Gazing at the shadows on the street created by swirls of fog under the corner streetlight, April suddenly sensed that she was being watched.

She turned to see a tall, thin boy in a black sweatshirt and dark, straight-legged denims. He was standing on the opposite corner in front of the camera store. The curtain of fog seemed to part in front of him, and as he stepped under the white light of the street lamp, April could see him with almost exaggerated clarity.

He was very handsome, she saw, with straight black hair, very pale, almost white skin, a slender, serious face, and dark eyes, which he turned away when he realized she was staring back at him.

He looks like an actor or a model, April thought. He's almost
too
good-looking.

She wondered if he was waiting for someone. Then the fog seemed to close in around him, and he became a solitary, still shadow among many moving shadows.

I'm giving Matt five more minutes, April decided, pacing angrily back and forth between the corner and the front of the arcade. Then I'm going home.

This is a bad start to the summer, she thought. She decided she'd just have to be straight with Matt. There were two kinds of people in the world—those who always showed up on time and those who never showed up on time. April was always punctual. And if they were going to have a good time this summer, she decided as she paced, Matt would have to be punctual too.

Glancing at her watch, she was about to give up on him when a hand touched the shoulder of her sweater.

Startled, she spun around, expecting to see Matt.

Instead she stared into the penetrating, dark eyes of the handsome boy she had seen across the street.

“Hi,” he said shyly. “Sorry. Did I scare you?”

“No,” April lied. “I mean—no.”

“Are you lost or something?” he asked. “I saw you here and I thought . . .” His voice trailed off. He stared into her eyes.

“No. I'm not lost,” April said with a sigh. “I'm waiting for someone.”

“Oh. Sorry.” The boy took a step back.

He couldn't be a townie, April thought. He's so pale.

But so good-looking.

He flashed her an embarrassed smile. “I didn't mean to bother you.”

“That's okay,” April said. She realized she didn't want him to leave. “Is this your first summer here?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No. I've been here before. It doesn't usually get this foggy in town.”

“I know,” April said. “By the way,” she added, feeling a bit awkward, “I'm April Blair.”

“Gabri Martins,” he said and reached out and briefly shook her hand.

“Gabri? That's an odd name,” April blurted out.

He nodded. “Yeah. I know. It's short for Gabriel.”

“Well, it's nice to meet you, Gabri,” April said.

He was so thin, half the size of Matt.

He stared into her eyes and seemed to be reluctant to leave. He was wearing a lemony aftershave or cologne, April realized, sweet and tart at the same time. She felt drawn to him, more than just attracted because of his good looks.

She had to concentrate hard to hear what he was saying.

“Maybe your friend got mixed up or something. Did he know to meet you here?”

April nodded. “We were supposed to meet here, then go to the beach.” Why did she suddenly feel uncertain?

“Maybe he got mixed up and went straight to the beach,” Gabri suggested, taking a step closer to her as a group of teenagers squeezed past on the walk.

“Maybe,” April replied thoughtfully.

Matt usually got things right. But maybe he
did
get mixed up.

“The beach isn't very crowded tonight with this heavy fog,” Gabri said. “It shouldn't take long to find him if he's there.”

“Yeah. I guess,” April said reluctantly. “But it's so dark tonight. . . .”

“Tell you what. I'll go with you,” Gabri offered. He smelled so lemony, so good. He leaned toward her, his handsome face brightening out of the shadows, his eyes locked on hers.

“That's really nice of you,” April said. “But—”

“I'm a nice guy,” Gabri said, smiling to let her know he was joking, not seriously boasting. And then he quietly added, “You'll see.”

“But you don't have to take me—” April started.

“No problem,” he assured her. “Come on.”

She felt his hand on her back as they turned the corner and began to follow Dune Lane to the ocean. To April's surprise, the curtain of fog grew lighter as they neared the beach.

“The town of Sandy Hollow is low,” Gabri explained. “Sort of in a gully. When a fog floats off the ocean, it hovers over the town and stays there.”

“Are you a science expert?” April asked, teasing.

“Ask me anything,” he said, his hand still lightly on her back.

A heavy layer of low, gray clouds hovered over the shore, but the beach was clear. No fog at all.

The waves were high and rough. April could see the white froth on the towering wave tops, even in the darkness.

A few couples walked near the water. A group of teenagers huddled around a small bonfire, sounds from their tape player competing with the rhythmic thunder of crashing waves.

No sign of Matt. Or Todd.

April and Gabri, walking close together, occasionally bumping shoulders, made their way south toward the rock cliff. As they walked, he told her about a whale that had somehow lost its direction and washed ashore in the early spring. He made her laugh by imitating the frightened look on the whale's face. And then he described the heroic actions of the townies who managed to pull the whale back out to the water and send it on its way.

He's really smart. And funny, April thought.

And interesting.

I'll bet he doesn't waste his time at stupid horror movies.

She stopped and peered down the empty beach.

Was she really attracted to Gabri? Or was she just angry at Matt?

A little of both, probably.

“He's not here,” she said softly, staring at the steep rock cliff beyond the rowboat dock, feeling Gabri standing close behind her. “But the beach is really awesome tonight. The waves are so rough.”

Gabri checked in all directions, making sure they were completely alone. The ocean waves thundered, black against an even blacker sky.

They were surrounded by the blackness. And alone.

And Gabri could resist her no longer.

She was so beautiful. So perfect. So sweet.

Yes, the nectar would taste so sweet.

He needed it now. He needed the nectar.

Not just because of his silly bet with Jessica. But because he needed the nectar to survive. It was the nectar that kept him going so many long years after he had died. It was the nectar that made him an Eternal One.

And now he was about to drink.

She stood in front of him, her back to him, arms crossed, staring at the dark, tumbling waves.

He leaned forward as his fangs slid wetly down his chin.

Gently, gently he raised his hand and pushed the hair away to reveal the back of her neck.

So pale. Such tender skin.

Breathing heavily, Gabri opened his mouth wide and lowered his head to bite.

Watching the waves, nearly hypnotized by their dark, rolling splendor, by the soft explosion of sound as they hit the shore, April felt Gabri somewhere close behind her.

Matt isn't here, she thought. No one else is here. The beach is so empty.

I've got to get home.

It seemed as if a soft rush of wind was moving her hair to one side.

She started to turn toward Gabri, preparing to thank him for accompanying her through the darkness. But before she could move, she felt warmth on the back of her neck. Gentler than the wind. Soft, like breath.

And then she heard the fluttering sound, followed by a hideous metallic screech.

And then a dark shadow dropped from the sky.

A shadow at first, then a living, screeching, clawing creature.

April saw the red, glowing eyes and knew instantly that it was a bat.

She cried out and raised her hands.

Too late.

Screeching shrilly like a car alarm gone out of control, the bat dug its talons into April's hair.

“Oh! Help!”

She could feel its wings flapping against her head, feel its warm body bumping against her, feel it tangling itself in her hair, struggling, tearing, clawing.

“Help—
please
!”

She closed her eyes, dropped to her knees in the sand, helplessly flailing her arms above her head.

The creature hissed and clawed, struggling to free itself from the long tangles of her hair.

Then Gabri was there, swatting at it with his hand.

The shrill screech echoed throughout her head. The wings beat furiously.

Then with a final, sickening
yelp,
the bat broke free—and was gone, soaring silently up into the blackness.

April leapt to her feet. Even though she knew it was gone, she could still feel the creature bumping against her head, could still feel the beating of its wings.

The ocean roared louder. The roar circled her, came at her from all sides. She pressed her hands against her ears, but the roar continued, as if it were
inside
her head!

She suddenly realized that the sound
was
coming from her.

She was screaming. Screaming out her terror.

And suddenly the whole beach started to roll. The sand was moving beneath her feet.

No.

The beach isn't moving.

I
am.

She was running hard, running over the sand, running away from the shore, away from the rock cliff, gasping for breath, her chest aching, running too hard to scream now.

Running, running—into Matt's arms.

“Whoa!” he cried. “April—what's wrong?”

She held on to him tightly, waiting for her heart to stop racing, waiting for her chest to stop heaving, waiting for the feeling of the clawing bat in her hair to fade.

“What happened?
Tell
me!” Matt demanded, still holding her tight, wrapping her safely in his arms.

“I—was looking for you,” April finally managed to get out, pressing her forehead against the warmth of his sweatshirt. “Here. On the beach.”

“And?” he demanded impatiently.

“And a bat flew into my hair. It got tangled somehow. It was screeching at me. So loud. I panicked. It was trapped. I couldn't get it out. But then Gabri—”

“Who?” Matt asked. “Who's Gabri?”