“Guys, this is Blake.”
I really did not like theidea of Tessa having a regular vampire feeder, especially not one that actedpossessive of her.
Blake nodded to all of us,then his eyes settled on the tall enforcer at my side.
“Ryder,” he said.
Ryder nodded back.“Blake.”
It was clear Ryder hadthe respect of all the vampires, which was an achievement since they thought ofash as mongrel dogs.
The song changed then andTessa squealed, ducking out from under Blake’s arm and grabbing Jayden and myhands, dragging us to the dance floor. Typical Tessa, she was a sucker for BritneySpears. It felt good to let loose, and I got lost in the music for some time.After dancing inside of a Jayden and Tessa sandwich for almost a half an hour,I broke away to get some water. I was laying off the liquor for a bit. Humanalcohol was pretty much a waste now anyways.
As the crowd parted, Inoticed Ryder leaning against the bar, his eyes locked on me as I approached.He lowered his glass from where he’d just taken a drink, his eyes travelingacross me. I approached him slowly, taken aback by the intensity of his gaze.
“Having fun?” I queried.
His reached around andpulled me close to him, speaking in my ear. It was the only way to be heard inhere. “What did you say? I can’t hear you over the music?” he shouted.
His muscular thigh waspartly lodged between my legs, and to steady myself I reached out and let myhand rest on his bicep. The only thing ruining this moment was the reek ofalcohol on his breath.
“Got a hold of some vampmoonshine I see,” I shouted back.
He gave me a slow butinsanely sexy smile. “I’m told I need to lighten up.”
I grinned. Well, well,well … if I didn’t know any better, I’d think Ryder was more than a littledrunk. My straight-laced, overly rigid, tough as shit Ryder. And I was startingto get the feeling that in his drunken state he wanted a piece of Charlie.
I knew I could lean intohim now … I could kiss him. But something held me back. This wasn’t how Iwanted it. Tomorrow the steel door to his emotions would close again and I knewon instinct that one night with Ryder would never be enough, and I didn’t wanta taste only to lose it forever.
Before I could respond,he leaned in so close that my hair covered his face and his cheek touched mine.“I should have told you this long ago, but watching you fight in that culling wasamong the worst moments of my life. I was half a second from jumping in thefight and killing them all.”
My heart beat wildly inmy chest at his proclamation. Who was this ash? He seemed relaxed, his wordsflowing more freely than usual. He pulled back then, slipping his leg out fromunder me, leaning farther back onto the bar. He was then casually watchingpeople dance like he hadn’t just said the most romantic thing in the world. Isank in next to him and ordered my water.
After taking a few sips,I decided to be bold. “You wanna dance?” I gave him my bedroom eyes. This lookhad never failed me. I was wearing nipple pasties, for Christ’s sake. No waywould he say no.
He swallowed beforeshaking his head. “I shouldn’t.”
Well, there’s a firsttime for everything. Awesome.I’m a complete loser. I noticed Kyleheading our way, and not wanting to break down like a full-on girl, I swiveledaround.
“Right, see you later.” Ibooked it for the bathroom, trying to remember where it was.
Stupid, Charlie!He didn’t like me, he was just drunk and my boobs looked amazing in this shirt –he got distracted.
I took a wrong turn downthe hallway before remembering that this led to an outside patio and smokingarea. Frustrated, I turned around and ran smack into a vampire.
He caught me by theshoulders to keep me from falling. His grip was firm.
“Oh sorry,” I said as I triedto pull out of his grasp. He didn’t let go, and my eyes shot up to his face. Hishair was slicked back and jet black; he had a pointy nose, and his eyes weredoing the pulsing thing.
“I’ve been waiting allweek to meet you. Your performance in the culling was superb,” he purred, tighteninghis hold on my shoulders.
“Thanks, I really need touse the bathroom.” I reached up to brush his hands off. He tightened themagain, his grip an iron vice.What the actual fu–
“Ow!” I shrieked as hisbreathing hitched and he began to pant. Fangs slid from his upper lip. Shit. Ihad never fought a full-fledged vampire before. I knew they were stronger thanash, but not sure how much. I had a feeling I was about to find out.
I put both hands on hischest and shoved him, hard. He stumbled backward a little, but my push onlyserved to enrage him more. He smelled of vamp alcohol and had clearly lostcontrol.
He slammed into me beforeI could even track his movement. The back of my head cracked into the wall andI yelped. He had me pinned against the brickwork; we were alone in this darkhallway. His eyes pulsed from solid silver to some weird gray color.
