Rest in Pieces

by Lucinda Dark

  “If you want to go home, no one would blame you,” I said quietly.

  His head snapped to the side. “What?”

  “I said—”

  “I heard what you fucking said,” he growled, unlatching his hands from the steering wheel. He shoved one over the short strands of his buzz cut. “You’re fucking telling me that if I can’t handle it, I should go home?”

  “That’s not what I meant,” I said, shaking my head. I reached for my belt buckle and pressed the button to release it. “I just mean that I wouldn’t blame you, no one would, if—”

  “I’m not fucking scared,” he barked.

  “It’s okay to be scared.”

  “I’m not—”

  “I was scared.” I said the words so sharply that they stopped him from saying anything further. He looked at me. I mean, really looked at me. His eyes soaked me in, drifting down to my hands in my lap to my face. “The first vampire I ever met was a guy I had a crush on at a party,” I admitted on a whisper. And just like that, the whole story seemed to pour out of me before I could stop it. “My parents were paranoid about vampires. They didn’t let Brandon or me out after dark, ever. We were homeschooled. Neither of us had any friends. Well, I know Brandon didn’t. We were each other’s best friends, but there were things that he couldn’t get from me and things I couldn’t get from him. Our neighbors had a daughter around my age. I met her a few times when I was in the backyard training or fucking around with Brandon—I don’t remember. He had the biggest crush on her.” My lips twitched with amusement. Sometimes, I thought that he only liked Hannah because she was the one girl around his age that he could talk to that he wasn’t related to.

  “Hannah told me about a party some friends from her school were having. She invited me and Brandon, but when Brandon learned that she had a boyfriend and he’d be taking us, so he turned her offer down. I knew he really wanted to go, but he was already backing away. He didn’t want to be hurt. I was selfish. I didn’t stay with him that night, but I went with Hannah. And there was a guy there—Travis. He was so beautiful—vampires are like that, I guess. Beautiful. Otherworldly. They’re like movie stars. I think it’s to lure their prey. My mom had that theory on it anyway. But I met Travis there and he followed me home. He forced me to invite him in and the rest is...” I swallowed and glanced at Maverick. “He had a friend,” I said. “Two vampires followed me home, broke in and killed my family, all while I watched. I was frozen in fear. The fear in me allowed me to let my family get killed. I wouldn’t judge you if you were scared.”

  He was quiet as he watched me. Eyes burning like coals, rich and hot. “What freaks me out the most isn’t even the supernatural part,” he said.

  I tilted my head. “What is it?”

  “It’s you.” My lips parted in surprise. “You admitted that you think your fear killed your family, but that’s not true. Your bravery saved your life.”

  “At the cost of theirs,” I reminded him sharply. Maverick shook his head. I sucked in a breath and spun towards the door, my brows drawn low as I reached for the handle.

  I heard him move, but it was too late. Maverick had his seat belt off and had slapped the lock button before I finished curling my fingers around the handle. I yanked on it uselessly. “I want out, Maverick,” I growled.

  “No.” His voice sounded right next to my head. I held myself excruciatingly still. “I’m not done talking, Barbie. You started this conversation. You can’t just run away because you don’t like what I have to say.”

  “Then say what you want and let me out,” I said.

  His breath whispered over my ear. Don’t react, don’t react, don’t you dare fucking react. I chanted the words in my mind, but the mantra did nothing for the wave of warmth that threatened to overwhelm me.

  “You fucking took on that vampire that came to the house to kill us without a thought. Jumped a fucking railing. Stabbed her. The wounds you took—when she threw you into the mirror and all of those shards came down, I thought…” Slowly, with incredible restraint, I pivoted my head to take in his expression. The apocalypse could have happened right then and there and I wouldn’t have been able to look away. His gaze rooted me to the spot. “I lied,” he whispered. “I am afraid. I’m fucking terrified. I feel like everything that fucked up my life two years ago—Torin’s distance, the secretiveness—it’s all finally making some semblance of sense. You walked into my life and shattered it apart. I hated you when I first saw you. I wanted you gone. I don’t know how, but in some way, I knew your arrival meant something big was on the horizon. I couldn’t have predicted this.” He laughed without humor. “Vampires. Demons. Murders. Yet, I wouldn’t trade it to go back.”

  “You wouldn’t?” That, more than anything else, baffled me. If I could go back in time and trade back everything I’d been given—Torin, Maverick, the McKnights—if it meant I could have my family back, would I? I didn’t know.

  Maverick shook his head in answer to my question. “I wouldn’t. But I also don’t want to see you like that again. Hurt. Bleeding. It made me feel useless. I still feel useless. I’m not the worst with a gun. God knows I’ve put in more hours than I have anything else in the last few weeks, but a few weeks of gun training will not make a difference when we’re fighting something that doesn’t play by the rules. Shooting at targets is nothing like shooting at a living creature trying to kill you.”

  “No, it’s not,” I agreed.

  “But I’ll be fucking damned if I let you go without backup,” he said. “I’d honestly rather you took my truck and drove as far from here as possible.”

  “I’m not leaving,” I said.

  He sighed, the air leaving his lips on a rush with a small chuckle following it. “I know,” he said. “I knew you wouldn’t even consider it, but after this…” He reached up, his fingers grazing my cheek. “After this is all over, you and I, we’re gonna have a talk.”

  “A talk?” I squeaked. “About what?”

  He eyed me, unresponding. His hand fell away from my face once more and he backed up, hitting the lock button again before giving me one final look and getting out of the truck and walking away.

  My heart stuttered in my chest, a sinking feeling filling my gut. If anyone had bothered to ask me what I preferred: talking or dying? I would have answered dying without a single fucking ounce of hesitation.

  Thirty-Nine

  Torin

  I can smell it … brimstone and sex. “Brimstone and sex?” I repeated, the words a confused whisper as I passed through the crowd of cheering fans.

  Yes. It’s here. My gaze darted around, but nothing out of the ordinary stood out. There were no strangers, no one I didn’t recognize. The people who had all come out for the Homecoming game were my classmates, my teachers, and parents. Their faces passed by in a sea of color. Sweat permeated my senses. Not brimstone and sex. Then it was there—sulfur wafting off someone’s skin. A demon. The creature was a demon. I whirled around, trying to catch the direction but it was gone almost as if it had never been there to begin with. As if I’d imagined it.

  You did not, my vampire assured me.

  I growled, startling a girl near me. She looked back, her eyes widening when she saw me standing behind her, squeaked, and scrambled away. I clenched my teeth to keep from going after her. Running away from me when I was so close to my vampire was never a good idea. When was the last time I had blood?

  “Wow, that sure is a scary expression.” The dry comment was both a blessing and a curse. I turned as Barbie and her friend strode closer. I eyed the second human as she stared up at me, her eyes wide and round. “Penny for your thoughts?” Barbie crossed her arms and lifted a brow when I still hadn’t spoken.

  “I’m in a mood,” I gritted out.

  She unfolded her arms and turned to her friend, leaning over and saying something in a low voice. I followed her movements with a lasered focus. The friend bobbed her head, red curls hurdling over her shoulders as she stepped back a
nd turned and left.

  “Come on.” A small hand gripped my wrist and tugged me forward. I let it happen. Barbie’s skin on mine had my mind in an uproar. My fangs itched to descend.

  Barbie pulled me through the throng of people in the stands, watching the football game, watching Maverick. Did she want to stay behind and watch him? My muscles tightened in refusal. Heat boiled behind my eyes. No, I couldn’t do this here. I shut my eyes, knowing full well that they were blood red, and let Barbie lead me.

  We didn’t stop for several minutes. Gradually, people moved around us less and less and then the sounds of the cheering crowd were muted. “You can open your eyes now,” she said. “We’re alone.” Slowly, I raised my lids and looked down on her. The hunger must have been etched into my expression because she frowned. “When was the last time you fed?” she demanded. I shook my head. I didn’t know. I couldn’t recall. “Shit.” She hissed out the expletive, turning from me and pacing away before pacing straight back. “Do you have any blood on you?”

  My lips parted. Shit, I could already feel my fangs protruding. “Car,” I rasped. “In cooler. Backseat.”

  She nodded. “Okay, give me your keys. I’ll run and grab a bag.” She eyed me silently before she looked away and muttered, “maybe a few bags.”

  “I need it now,” I lisped, my fangs fully descending. Once they were down, I couldn’t get them back up. Hunger pulsed inside my veins. I zeroed in on her throat where her heart beat a steady rhythm. The sound of blood rushed in my ears like water being poured from a glass. I didn’t even realize I’d taken a step closer until I could feel her stiff body against my chest.

  Barbie looked up at me, her mouth set in a grim, determined line. “Take a step back, Torin,” she ordered. “Or I’ll shove a dagger in your chest.”

  Gulping down the urge to shove her against the wall and rip her pants from her legs as I sank both my body and my fangs into her, I took a shaky step back. “Sorry, I’m—” I cut myself off, covering my eyes with one hand as I tried to regain control.

  “You’re right,” she said. “You need it now. Let’s go.”

  Once again, she latched onto my wrist and dragged me with her, leading me to the parking lot, towards the SUV I’d borrowed from my sister. She took the keys from me, and using the insignia on the fob, she tracked down the right car and pressed the unlock button, waiting for the lights to flash before she yanked me after her. Popping the backdoor open, she spotted the cooler, turned and shoved me inside, climbing in after me.

  “Alright, let’s do this.” Reaching into the white and blue container, I felt my fangs fucking throb as she lifted out a bag of blood. “Do you need me to slice it open or—”

  I snatched the bag out of her hand without letting her finish, snarling as I popped the plastic with my teeth. Barbie sat there, her eyes darting between her now empty hand and the quickly deflating bag in my grip.

  “Well, damn, someone’s hangry.”

  How the fuck could she joke at a time like this? My vampire was riding shotgun about to reach over and take the wheel. She needed to leave. I finished the bag in less than a minute, ripping the empty plastic away from my teeth and tossing it into the still open cooler.

  “You need to go,” I growled, reaching for a second bag.

  “Yeah, not going to happen.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she leaned back against the opposite door, watching me curiously. “I’m going to sit right here and make sure you don’t do anything to hurt anyone.”

  I looked around with the bag pressed to my teeth and when I was done with the second one, I spoke. “There’s no one around but you. Leave. I could hurt you.”

  She laughed, withdrawing one of the daggers I’d given back to her and flipped it around in her grip until the handle was in her palm. “Good luck with that. You try to hurt me and I’ll have you stabbed and bagged before you know what hit you.”

  “Stabbed and bagged?” The blood I’d drunk sloshed in my stomach and the deeply rooted hunger began to recede, but just to make sure, I reached for a third bag.

  She shrugged, laying the dagger at her side. Barbie’s eyes centered on the bag between my teeth for several seconds. She sat forward, her lips tightening as she stared. “So, what … um … what does it taste like?”

  I blinked as I finished it off and tossed it into the cooler, snapping the lid closed with a sigh. “Like cold water flavored with copper and rust. What else?”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “I just thought that it would taste, I don’t know, I guess different to your kind.”

  “I think when it’s from the vein, it does,” I said. “But I’ve never taken blood from the vein before.”

  “You haven’t?” She retrieved her dagger, emitting a slight wince that had her looking down at her hand before she sighed and slid it back into its hiding place at the small of her back. “Why?”

  I arched a brow her way. “I’m surprised you’re not overjoyed.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked.

  “You’re a hunter,” I said.

  An awkward beat of quiet passed. “Right, sorry, dumb question.” She shook her head. “I was just curious. Come on, we should get back to the game.”

  Her hand went to the door handle and I snapped out to stop her. It was as if my limb moved on its own. I hadn’t actively wanted to stop her until I was already doing it. My chest pressed against her side, my fingers over hers on the handle.

  “What is it with guys not letting me out of fucking cars?” she muttered beneath her breath.

  “Wha—” I stopped, the scent of something delectable entering my nostrils. My mouth watered and though they’d just receded, my fangs descended once more. I glanced down where my fingers covered hers and pulled back. Blood—fresh and red—marred her skin and now mine.

  “Shit, I’m sorry, Torin, I didn’t think you’d notice. It was just a small cut.” A small cut. Yes. It was tiny, barely discernible. There was no real wound. Just a few droplets of rich red lifeblood. I had just drunk my fill. I wasn’t hungry. I had seen people hurt before. I had seen her covered in blood and it hadn’t affected me as much as it was then. She’d been dying then, though. I hadn’t been focused on anything other than healing her—saving her life. Now, though, we were in an enclosed space and the soft scent of her was wrapped around me. “Torin, let me go.” She pulled against my hold, but I couldn’t force myself to let go.

  Instead, I pulled her closer, lowering my head until my lips touched the curve of her throat and neck—just above where the collar of her shirt rested. She stiffened in my arms. I didn’t bite her. I wasn’t going to. I wouldn’t ever do that to her. But my cock strained in my jeans, pulsing with a hard throb. I rubbed against her, licking at her skin.

  Wait for it … my vampire urged. Wait for what? I wondered. I didn’t—there it is, he said. Triumph. Smugness. Desire. It lanced through me when I scented something new that rose from her skin. Lust. Attraction. She was aroused.

  “Barbie.” Her name was a whispered plea against her skin as I groaned. Her head turned and I took her lips in a rush of movement, sucking first her bottom lip into my mouth and nipping gently as I reached up and cupped the back of her head, sliding my fingers through the blonde strands, holding her steady.

  I devoured her mouth. She arched against me, and a small whimper escaping her throat was all of the encouragement I needed. I turned her and had her in my arms in a split second. Her hands came down over my shoulders as her pussy pressed between the fabric of her jeans and mine down against my raging hard on. I ground upward, pushing against her as I kissed her like a mad man.

  I had lost all control. I gathered the strands of her hair and yanked it back, baring her throat to my attention, licking straight up the center and over her jawline as she gasped. I could hear how fucking wet she was as she returned my attention. Her hips swiveled against me, more of those luscious sounds emanating from her throat with fervor.

  Mate. Mine. Mate. Mine.

>   My vampire was howling in my mind—a veritable monster clawing to get free. My eyes were pure red, I knew, but when Barbie’s lids lifted and she glanced at my face, she didn’t appear afraid. No, I smelled a shocking wave of her arousal as it filtered in the air around us. She liked it. I hissed through my teeth as she yanked me back, her mouth descended with a ferocity I hadn’t expected.

  She stole the very breath from my lungs with her kiss. Her tongue played with mine as she moved against me. Impatient. I closed my eyes and reached for the hem of her shirt, pushing it upward as my fingers skimmed low on her belly. She sucked in a breath, her stomach hollowing out. Electricity danced between us as she stared at me. Both of our chests pumped, but all of the oxygen had been chased out of the space.

  She pulled back, blinking to clear away the arousal in her expression. Her cheeks flushed a gorgeous pink even though I knew the moment was over. It was ruined and she would leave, but I couldn’t help but think about how fucking stunning she was.

  “This shouldn’t have happened,” she whispered. I didn’t say anything as she scrambled off my lap. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have…” She trailed off, looking back at me. Still, I kept my lips shut. I wouldn’t apologize for it. I wasn’t sorry. Barbie cursed and reached for the handle once more. I watched her leave, slamming the SUV door behind her as she took off across the parking lot. This time, I let her go.

  Forty

  Barbie

  I swallowed down my nervousness as best I could while Olivia and I dressed for the Homecoming dance later that night. The game—what I’d caught of it—had ended in a win for St. Marion, 17-10. Olivia chattered away as she brushed my hair, pulling it to the side to braid it around the front, leaving a few strands hanging in my face.

  “Ryan is so cute, you have no idea. And he absolutely adores me. I can’t believe I never noticed him before,” she said. “He’s in art class. Won’t show me any of his stuff, but I bet it’s good. His mom’s a big art collector.”