The Crimson Bond (3 page)

            He pulled me gently into his arms and,
Lord help me
, my breath hitched and my stomach flipped. I was completely breathless and overwhelmed with a torrent of feelings. Pure electricity was shocking my senses to death. I was convinced that if I lived a thousand years nothing would ever feel this right.
Come on Brooke, get a grip
. I dared to peek up at him and he had his full intense gaze on me. His lips were turned up like he found me amusing, but his eyes were that deep, dark blue again. He pulled me closer and I melted into him. The mixed drink I finished earlier had finally kicked in with it’s slightly numbing effect and was beginning to loosen me up a bit. I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly, breathing him in. He watched me, a small smile playing on his lips. He was obviously very aware of the effect he was having on me. The air was so charged it was fairly sparking between us. I couldn’t believe how I was falling all over myself over him. I had never been that girl. Suddenly, I wanted to put some space between us. It just felt like too much, too fast and I was confused by the all consuming need to be with him. I wondered idly if he was feeling the same. Somehow I doubted it. This guy was obviously experienced and I couldn’t imagine that I would hold his attention for very long, let alone be causing this kind of reaction in him.
            The song ended and as much as I wanted to stay in his arms, I decide I needed a break to gather my wits before I did something completely foolish, like throw myself at him and declare my undying love. I’m pretty sure my nerves were lying all around my feet right then.
            I excused myself and could feel his perceptive gaze following me as I walked away. I glanced around for Anna and when I didn’t see her anywhere, I headed towards the front doors of the bar. The need to get out of the packed bar and out into the cool evening where I could regroup was all consuming. Pushing through the heavy mahogany doors, I slipped out into the crisp night air. The street was relatively quiet for the downtown area and I took a seat at one of the many rod iron tables scattering the patio area, just to the side of the bar. Surprisingly, no one else had taken advantage of the gorgeous night and I was alone to gather my shattered wits.
            I let my thoughts wonder.
Wow, that Alex guy was intense.
Never had I had that kind of electricity and attraction with another man. My attraction for Brad was lukewarm, maybe even cold, compared to the tidal wave of feelings Alex had stirred in me.
Suddenly something in the air changed, causing a slow, tingling chill to run down my spine. I glanced hurriedly around searching for the cause of the fear that had now settled in my gut. I gasped as my eyes fell on a tall, albeit handsome, guy standing at the corner of the patio several feet away. He was staring at me with a look that made me feel like a cornered animal. He had unruly black hair, but his clothes were impeccably stylish. Intense green eyes watched me carefully as if he expected me to flee. Ironically that is exactly what I was considering at the moment. I watched him cautiously, trying to decide if I had enough time to make it to the door of the bar before he could get to me. Part of me wanted to turn and run, the other part was scared to death to turn my back on him. This was definitely not my normal reaction to seeing a handsome man staring at me from across a patio, but there was something in his green eyes-- a hunger, almost. Whatever it was, it had me going into the fight or flight mode.
            After several seemingly long intense seconds, I noticed his gaze shift to look behind me and I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I jumped slightly and glanced around to see Alex staring venomously at the guy in front of me.
            “Ethan”, Alex said threateningly, his voice sharp and slicing.
            Ethan settled his eyes back on me. “Alex”. He said this lazily, as if he had no plans to go anywhere anytime soon. His lips curled into a grim smile. “I see we have our eye on the same prize?”
            I was taken aback by his comment.
Prize? Me? How barbarian. What in the world was going on her
e?
            Alex stepped around me and walked to stand in front of the guy with the disturbing green eyes. “Ethan, she belongs to me,” he hissed.
           
What!? I barely know this guy! Either one of them!
I couldn’t decide what I thought about that comment. On one hand it was very presumptuous, on the other hand, despite that, I liked it. In actuality, I hadn’t thought he was really serious about pursuing me. It secretly thrilled me that he would lay claim to me in such a medieval way.
           
Alex’s whole body tensed drawing my attention to the muscles bulging through his shirt. Clearly this guy worked out.
            Ethan smirked at Alex. “I guess we have a problem then, because I’ve decided I may want to keep her for myself. And as you know, I am not easily dissuaded.”
            Without taking his eyes off of Ethan, Alex spoke to me. “Brooke, go inside.” His voice was tight and full of authority and, oddly enough, I immediately complied. With one last look at the two men facing off, I turned and hurried into the building without a second glance behind me.
            Once I entered the crowded bar, I searched desperately around for Anna. When I saw her dancing with Paul, I hurried over and grabbed her arm.
            “Anna, we have to get out of here. I know this sounds crazy, but I think Alex and some guy are outside fighting over me!”
            Paul, evidently having overheard me, was already heading out the door I had come in.
            Anna was looking at me incredulously. “I am completely lost. What happened?”
            I took a deep breath and tried to fill her in the best I could.
            “I was sitting outside and I looked over and this guy was standing not far away, watching me. He kinda gave me the creeps and I was getting ready to run inside when Alex showed up. They seemed to know each other and …. “, I trailed off afraid I would sound ridiculous. “They were both saying that I belonged to them. I have no idea what they’re talking about because I barely know Alex and I’ve never seen the other guy in my life”.
            I tried to calm myself and make sense of what had just happened. Anna’s face on the other hand had gone from looking confused to a dawning look of understanding. I glared at Anna. “You know something don’t you? What’s going on?”
            Anna, now looking completely composed, grabbed my hand and headed towards the front doors. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I think I have a good idea what happened.”

CHAPTER 4
            By the time we made it outside, Alex and Paul were just rounding the corner. Strangely, I could have sworn there was a slight glow to their eyes. Confused, I glanced up at the streetlights, thinking they must be casting the strange glow in their eyes, but was surprised to notice that they didn’t seem to have the same effect on Anna’s eyes. Shaking it off to my nerves and fatigue, I pushed the strange observation aside.

            Since we had walked to the bar, Alex and Paul insisted on giving us a ride home. It was a quiet drive with Alex staring broodingly ahead and Anna staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought. Paul filled the silence by asking me questions from the backseat about my life before moving to Charlotte. I answered, trying to sound unbothered, but really I was feeling confused and shaky from the episode out on the patio. I still didn’t know what had happened after I went inside, but Alex and Paul had met us coming out of the bar and had both looked pretty grim. I didn’t dare question them, but as soon as I got Anna alone, you could bet I would be questioning her.
            As we stopped at the curb in front of our building, Alex turned to look at me. Even in the dark of the car his eyes were an almost iridescent blue. “Brooke, it’s probably not a good idea for you to go out at night alone. This is a bigger city than you’re use to and it can be dangerous.” His voice left no room for argument and amazingly, despite our limited association, I felt compelled to follow his advice. Tonight had definitely proven to me that I had a lot to learn about living here. At the same time, I was not use to someone being so commanding and especially not someone I had just met. Oddly enough, for reasons I couldn’t understand, I felt some kind of connection between myself and Alex. I really liked him, but I had to wonder why he had told the Ethan guy on the patio that I belonged to him. Not that I would mind, I was obviously attracted to him and I found something appealing about this gorgeous guy claiming me--but we had just met. It was odd.
            Alex’s sleek black BMW remained parked on the curb until we made it inside the building. Anna was silent on our way up to our apartment and I kept quiet, bidding my time until I could ask her about tonight. As soon as we closed the door behind us, I turned to her. “Alright, Anna. You know something I don’t and I’d appreciate it if you’d fill me in.” I walked over to the sofa and sat down looking at her expectantly.

            “Okay Brooke, but you have to promise not to freak out.” She hurried on looking at me nervously. “I think you can tell that Alex thinks you’re special. Well, there’s a little bit more to it than that. The bar that we went to is….well, it caters to a certain set of people, I guess you could say.” She paused and looked down taking a deep breath. “Well it doesn’t really cater to people.” She looked up and met my eyes. “It caters to vampires.”
I just stared at her in silence waiting for the punch line.
            She continued. “Brooke, I‘ve known Paul for a while. We just have started dating though. He and my brother, Kyle, are friends. Paul and Alex are vampires. Not Goth wannabees, but truly the real thing. You were drawn to Alex and he was drawn to you, though I didn‘t realize how deep it went until Paul filled me in. It happens sometimes, but only when you meet your companion.” Anna kept talking and I just continued to stare at her stunned and secretly thinking she was a little, or a lot, off her rocker. “When a vampire meets there companion, if they’re human, that person is eventually turned so that they can share eternal life together.”
            Finally coming out of my stupor, I burst out laughing. Anna was obviously one of those people who could look serious as a heart attack while telling an outrageous story.
            “Okay Anna, very funny, so what’s the real story?”
            Anna waited until I stopped laughing and continued on, ignoring my outburst. “I know this is hard to believe and I never would have told you if it weren’t for what happened tonight. You can’t deny the intense attraction between you and Alex. But it goes beyond that.” She gently placed her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. The seriousness I saw kind of scared me, because it meant she truly believed what she was saying. “Brooke, do me a favor. Close your eyes and clear your mind.”
I raised my eyebrows and gave her a put out look. When she made no move to call off her request, I rolled my eyes and then did as she told me. It took me a second, but I finally was able to push my thoughts aside and ‘clear my mind’ as she had asked.
            That’s when I was hit with the onslaught of the intense feelings I had felt with Alex earlier. It was weird, but I could sense his presence even though he wasn’t sitting there. At my sharp intake of breath Anna spoke softly. “Ask him to come to you.”
            “What?” I hissed back, while keeping my eyes closed and focusing on the little sparks of connection I was feeling. Was this girl for real?
            “Just do it.”
            I let out a huff of air and concentrated, thinking the words in my head. “
Alex, come back and talk to me
.” Within a few seconds I heard or rather felt Alex’s voice. “
I’m on my way
.” It echoed throughout me as if it was the most natural thing ever.
            My eyes popped open in surprise and I leapt up like the couch was on fire. “Yikes! What in the world just happened?! If Alex shows up here, I am
really
going to freak!” I stood in front of the couch with my hands on my hips staring down at Anna.