The Hunted (57 page)

‘Lucas!’

‘Okay, I’ll be good.’

I slammed the bathroom door shut and whizzed in and out of the shower so fast that it might have had a revolving door on it. I ran a brush through my hair and gave it a quick blow dry to help it settle. I also rubbed a bit of moisturiser over my skin, brushed my teeth and added some lip gloss.

Okay, not too bad for ten minutes.
I wrapped a towel around myself and studied my reflection in the mirror.

A minute later I was dashing across the hallway to the bedroom, stopping briefly on the way to make sure Lucas was behaving himself. I stumbled into my room, shut the door and dug out some suitable apparel to wear today. I chose the same denim shorts I had been wearing last night, as well as a little red singlet with a matching red cardigan in case it got a little cooler. I slipped on a few bangles, hooked some earrings into my ears, and rifled through my dresser until I found a pair of sandals. I did another quick study of myself in the mirror and decided that I was more than presentable now.

I grabbed my shoulder bag and knife, just in case, slipping it into the bag and heading down the stairs. When I got into the living room, Lucas and William were sitting awkwardly across from one another, neither one talking. Lucas was picking at the pilling on the edge of his armchair while his leg bounced emphatically against the floor, all nerves.

William was sitting relative still and glancing absently down at his hands in his lap. Both of them were more than a little relieved to see me when I finally entered the room, the awkward moment finally over.

William abruptly stood and crossed the room. He took my backpack from my shoulder in a gesture that was now surely lost on our current generation of men. ‘You look beautiful,’ he said as his eyes roamed suggestively over my figure, then settling onto my mouth.

Lucas snorted softly. ‘You should have seen her ten minutes ago,’ he muttered under his breath.

I felt something go flip-flop inside my stomach in response to his heated gaze and before I knew it I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat and batting my eyelids like Betty Boop.

Lucas studied the exchange between us like a hawk. He glanced from me to William and then back to me again before snorting in disgust. ‘You know Elena used to pick her nose, right?’

I turned and looked at him in horror, my lips curling up into an automatic snarl as he looked triumphantly at William.

What was he trying to do to me? Ruin my chances at any happiness?

‘Did you know that Lucas still does?’ I retorted angrily.

‘Only when I’m hungry.’

I gagged. ‘You’re disgusting.’

‘Am I missing something?’ William asked calmly, glancing between us.

I looked back at William and ignored my brother. ‘Lucas is just pissed because we didn’t take him with us last night.’

William took another step forward and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me in close to him. He smelled heavenly and it took everything in me to keep my knees locked into an upright position. ‘There are some moments in life that aren’t meant to be shared with siblings,’ he said suggestively, as he placed a kiss lightly on the side of my cheek and ran his fingertips up and down my spine.

Oh, this guy is good. A little more of this and I’ll be putty in his hands.

Lucas grunted. ‘Did you know that when she eats onions she farts in her sleep?’

My head whipped to the side to stare irritably at my brother. ‘Can I speak to you for a moment?’ I said, lugging Lucas from his sitting position and dragging him off to the kitchen for some privacy. ‘What are you doing?’ I hissed. ‘You’re totally embarrassing me! Why are you saying this stuff?’

‘What?’ he said, raising his hands defensively and trying to look as innocent as possible. ‘You do fart after you eat onions.’

‘No, I don’t!’ I squealed. ‘That’s
you
who does that, not me!’

He looked up and tapped his chin in contemplation. ‘Oh yeah, I guess it is.’

‘Lucas, why are you being such a prat all of a sudden? I thought you wanted us to get to know the Vampires?’

He had the good grace to look ashamed. ‘I do. It’s just—you’re my little sister. For sixteen years you’ve all but ignored boys, even that guy Stephen that you dated. He spent more time on the other side of the front door than he did inside this house, and now—well, now you look … different. I don’t know how I’m supposed to act. I just know that it’s always just been you and me. I don’t want you to forget about me now that you have a boyfriend.’

I laughed and shook my head. ‘He’s not my boyfriend.’

‘Then what would you call it then?’

‘I’m going to call it
having a good time
.’

‘And that’s it?’

I shrugged. ‘For now.’ I grabbed him by the shoulders and smoothed his hair back. ‘You’re still my number one, okay? You always have been and you always will be. No guy, no matter how sublimely good-looking he is, is ever going to change that.’

‘Promise?’

‘Only if you stop telling William I fart in my sleep and pick my nose.’

He looked at my outstretched hand and shook it. ‘It’s a deal. But just so you know, you’re no angel. Give you a full litre of any fizzy drink and you can burp the entire score from the sound of music in under five minutes flat.’

I smiled. ‘I know, and that takes some serious skill on my part, but do you think for the sake of my blossoming attempt at a love life that we could keep that little gem just between you and me?’

We shook on it again and headed back into the living room. William was standing exactly where we had left him, his arms folded across his chest, and a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. I had no doubt that he had heard everything.

‘So, did you come to break us out?’ I asked, trying to change the subject.

He smiled and licked his lips. ‘I overheard your parents talking last night about leaving for Townsville this morning. I thought while they are running around chasing down false leads I might come back for you and see if you would like to spend a little time in my world today.’

‘Hang about,’ Lucas said, holding up a hand. ‘Are you saying that all of The Protectors are heading in the wrong direction?’

William nodded. ‘Thomas and I cleared both Townsville and Mackay earlier on this morning. The scent trails lead us back here, to Cairns.’

‘Well if you know that, then why aren’t you out hunting them?’

‘It’s daylight in case you hadn’t noticed, Lucas,’ he said politely.

I shot Lucas a look to silence him. ‘Where were you planning on taking us?’

‘Just to the place where we are staying at the moment.’

‘Where is it?’

‘A few kilometres outside of Port Douglas. I thought we could spend the daylight hours talking and getting to know one another better before Thomas and I go hunting again at sunset.’

‘What about Marianne?’ Lucas enquired.

‘She doesn’t like to hunt,’ William answered scathingly. ‘I’m not even sure why I keep her around.’

‘That’s not very friendly.’ Lucas countered.

William gave Lucas a wry look. ‘You don’t know her like I do.’

*          *          *

As we sped down the highway in the luxury Audi, which we were told William had merely ‘borrowed’ from the dealership, we discussed what the alpha’s reason for staying in Cairns might have been. Since there were about a million different reasons, we didn’t manage to stay on topic for long, particularly not when Lucas was pestering William endlessly about information on vampires. By the time we had discovered that coffins were optional, garlic just smells bad, and bats were filled with parasites, we were only five minutes from our destination.

William drove the car the same way that he ran—too fast. If I thought Kayla had blitzed the speed limits then I was sorely mistaken, because William blew the signs over as he roared past. Don’t get me wrong—I liked to drive fast too, but I also liked to be able to see where I was going. A trip that generally took almost an hour from our place was completed in just over twenty minutes. Apparently it usually only took him fifteen, but we had to stop twice for Lucas to throw up.

When we arrived, I pressed my face up against the tinted window to peer out and drink in the sight before me. I’d seen places like this on the television or in magazines, but I never imagined vampires having so much … style.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and pushed open the car door the moment the Audi halted in the driveway.

I looked up at the modern glass and concrete structure in front of me and echoed Lucas’s long wolf-whistle of both surprise and appreciation. The house itself was three stories high and cut into the edge of a cliff face. It was surrounded by trees on nearly all sides except for the rear, which probably overlooked the ocean. The driveway was covered in loose gravel that wound down the hill, through the trees, and intersected somewhere back with the road.

The building itself was painted stark white and seemed to glitter brilliantly in the morning sun. Through the huge glass panes we could see hardly any internal walls—you could almost see from one side of the house to the other. They also offered uninterrupted views of the ocean and surrounding forest.

‘Wow.’ Was all I managed to get out, as William closed the front car door behind him and loped under the cover of the front entry to avoid the sun’s rays on his milky white skin.

‘Looks like your boyfriend is rich, Elena,’ Lucas said, nudging my arm. ‘Do you reckon he could get me a Hummer?’

I glared at him. ‘Behave yourself.’

Lucas rolled his eyes at me and then headed for the front porch where William was waiting patiently for both of us.

I followed behind as they entered the house, and all I could do was glance around in amazement. The few walls that were not made of glass were painted white and adorned with some very colourful and abstract paintings. The floor was white polished concrete with flecks of gold and silver that became quite luminous in the sun that filtered in through one of the many glass windows. All the furniture was very modern and tastefully presented, with only a few splashings of colour present, mostly on rugs and throw cushions. Everything else was neutral in colour.

William led us into the living room area, which was probably the size of our entire house. The views from this room alone were absolutely breathtaking. The crystal blue water of the ocean stretched out in front of us for what seemed like an eternity, the white sand of the beach below wrapping itself like a fitted sheet around the beautiful jagged coast line.

‘What do you think?’ he asked us.

‘It’s absolutely amazing,’ I replied, completely awed.

‘S’okay,’ Lucas said, trying to sound nonchalant. ‘How do you afford digs like this anyway?’

‘Lucas!’ I hissed.

William chuckled and raised his hands to calm me down. ‘It’s okay. If I’m honest, I don’t. I’ve never really needed money. I merely convinced the owners of this property that they needed an extended vacation in Paris.’ He smiled. ‘Sometimes being a vampire has its perks.’

‘You compelled them into giving you their home?’ I asked, horrified.

He shrugged. ‘Yes. It’s only temporary. They can have it back when we are ready to move on again.’ He frowned at the look on my face. ‘Just like the car, Elena, everything is only borrowed. They will get their property back once I’m finished with it.’

I stared at him, unblinking. ‘Should I ask what you do when you actually need money?’