The Vampire Awakenings Bundle: Books 1-5

by Davies, Brenda K.

  "Sounds good," Ethan said and began to reel in his line. Emma frowned as Isabelle continued to stand there, staring back and forth between them. She gave Emma a tremulous smile before turning and walking back to Stefan. Though she didn't get the feeling Isabelle disliked her, there was something standoffish about her that Emma didn't understand, and it made her a little uneasy.

  Gathering their poles, they walked to the back to join the others. Black clouds began rolling in over the island as they drove back to the dock in silence. The ozone aroma of impending rain hung heavily in the air as the wind started to kick up and blew hair around her face. She brushed it back and kept hold of it as Stefan slid the boat into its spot at the dock.

  Emma accepted Ethan's hand, and he helped her to climb off the boat. Their footsteps resonated on the wooden boards beneath their feet as they walked up the dock with her hand in his. Emma studied the people hurriedly gathering their things on the beach. Some die-hard beachgoers looked as if they would stay and ride out the storm, but others were already running for cover.

  "Would you like to go to dinner tonight?" Ethan asked. "Just the two of us."

  She smiled as she tilted her head back to look at him. "I would."

  Taking comfort in his solid presence, she rested her head against his bicep. Emma lifted her head from Ethan's arm when a man separated himself from the crowd on the beach. A shiver ran down her spine as she watched the man stroll down the sand with an easy grace. His broad shoulders were hunched forward against the rising wind, and he had his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

  He looked so out of place on a beach full of barely dressed people, but he moved as if he fit in amongst them. The thick clouds, turning day into early night, made his hair appear darker, but she knew it was a light reddish-brown color.

  Emma's heart slammed against her ribs, tremors racked her body, and despite the heat of the day, she was suddenly freezing. Closing her eyes, she shook her head and took a deep breath before opening them again. Her gaze ran frantically over the beach, but she didn't see the man amongst the crowd again.

  "Are you okay?" Ethan inquired.

  Emma reluctantly tore her attention away from the beach and back to him. She realized she must look ridiculous standing there gawking at the beach. He was staring at her with concern as she’d abruptly stopped walking in the middle of the dock.

  "I'm fine,” she replied. “I thought I saw someone I knew, but I was wrong."

  She had to be mistaken because there was absolutely no way Tristan could be here. No way he could know she was here. He'd been out of her life for a year now. Surely her mind was playing tricks on her, and she’d imagined things. Still, she couldn't shake the icy chill settling into her bones.

  Chapter Eight

  Ethan pulled the chair out for Emma and settled in across from her as the waiter placed their menus on the table and filled their water glasses. It was their fifth date this week. They had spent most of the days with his family and her friends, but dinner was just them, and he liked it. They would meet up again with the others for drinks afterward, but these couple of hours alone had become his favorite hours of the day.

  Her hazel eyes danced in the candlelight as he settled in across from her. Over the past few days, he'd come to enjoy spending time with her more and more. Her smile could light up a room, and her laugh was so buoyant and carefree, just hearing it made him smile too.

  He'd always believed humans were only good for blood, and even then he only used blood bags. Though he knew his brothers and The Stooges had sex with humans, he never trusted himself enough to, just as he'd never trusted himself to feed directly from one. He wasn't sure if the others knew those two things about him, he'd never told them, and he tried to play it off that he was like them. They never asked about his habits, but they knew he didn't go to the clubs as often as they did, and he'd never walked out of the club with a human like they had.

  She may be human, but he was eager to have Emma beneath him, even if he was concerned about what might happen. He experienced no driving urge to kill when she was around, but he was afraid he might lose control of himself with her. She was a human; she was weak and vulnerable. There was a chance he could injure her. Even as he thought it he knew it could never happen, he'd kill himself before he ever put a bruise on her.

  The idea of drinking her blood without her knowing was repulsive to him. It would be delicious—powerful and filling—but he would never taste her unless she knew about it. For the first time, he wanted to feed on a human without the driving compulsion he always felt to lose himself in their blood as he watched the life slip from their eyes. Without feeling as if he would welcome the eventual death of the person more than the actual blood itself.

  She would never know about him though. She would run screaming from him if she discovered the truth, like any sane human would, and it was the last thing he wanted to happen. He was determined to enjoy the three weeks they had left together. He wouldn’t let the knowledge of what he was push her away, frighten her, or put her in any danger. There were already three other vampires roaming this island, he hadn't seen them again, but they could become a threat to her.

  From what Stefan told him, he knew some of his kind liked to hunt and kill other vampires for more power. He hadn't sensed much of a threat from those three, but he wasn't willing to risk Emma's life or the lives of her friends. He would kill them if they even thought about trying to get close enough to harm Emma.

  His gaze drifted back to her as she tapped her chin with her index finger and studied the menu. The waiter returned with their drinks, took their order, and left. Emma's hair shimmered in the glow of the candle, appearing more blonde than brown as the firelight danced over it.

  "So, Emma, how is it you're still single?" he inquired.

  The question startled her enough she sloshed the wine against the side of her glass. They'd had some fun dates over the past few nights. Dates which involved talking about the music they liked, their favorite TV shows, movies, and books. They'd discussed their families and friends, but the conversation had stayed away from past relationships, something she was more than happy about.

  She forced a smile and took a sip of her wine before answering. "I guess I'm just lucky."

  He laughed as he leaned forward to grab his whiskey. The ice clinked against the side of the glass as he took a sip. "So no relationships for you, ever?"

  He was trying to sound teasing and carefree, but he could feel pressure steadily building within him. What if there was someone else in her life? She didn't seem like the type to cheat on someone, but what did he know? She could have a boyfriend back home. Emma shrugged, but for the first time her eyes didn't twinkle. A new tension resonated in her body, one he'd never seen before, as she grew unbelievably still.

  "There was someone," she murmured and glanced away from him.

  He thought he might break his glass, but he couldn't get his hand to ease up on it. "Was it serious?"

  "I'm not sure I ever knew what it was, but it didn't end well."

  "Did he hurt you?" Emma's eyebrows rose, and even he was shocked by the growling tone of his voice as he leaned toward her.

  "No, well I mean not physically. He kicked the crap out of my pride though. At the time, I thought he broke my heart, but I was never in love with him. I tried to convince myself I was."

  "Why would you do that?"

  Emma watched him as he sat a little away from her again. He was trying to look casual, but a muscle twitched in his jaw. "To seem normal, I guess."

  She felt like such an idiot as she tried to explain it to him. Why had she tried so hard to fit in back then? Her parents loved her no matter what. Jill and Mandy thought she was perfectly fine. She was the only one who had believed something was wrong with her, but until Ethan, she'd never felt an intense attraction to a man. It still seemed a little odd, but she didn't question it anymore, not when he was sitting across from her.

  "He was my ah...my first..."
her voice trailed off as heat crept into her cheeks. "My first serious boyfriend, my first everything, and he was extremely charming. I tried to convince myself he made me happy; he convinced himself it was okay to sleep with other women."

  "He was a fool."

  She smiled again, but sadness continued to enshroud her. "That he was."

  "I'm sorry you were hurt."

  A small laugh escaped her. "The funny thing is, I wasn't. I was so relieved I finally had a reason to call it quits with him, I practically did a happy dance all the way down his hall afterward."

  "Then why were you trying to convince yourself you were happy with him?"

  She took another sip of her wine as she pondered her answer, but the only thing she could think of to say was the truth. Leaning closer to him, she rested her hand on the table as she said the words she'd never said to anyone. "Have you ever felt like you don't belong?" she inquired. "That no matter what you do, no matter how many friends and family you have, something is missing inside of you?"

  Ethan felt as if she looked inside him and saw what he felt every day of his life. She couldn't know the worst of it, but for the first time, he'd encountered someone he was certain could understand the emptiness residing within him. "I know exactly what you mean."

  Emma searched his face, but he didn't seem to be trying to manipulate her like Tristan used to do. His words were sincere, the bleakness in his eyes touched her in a way nothing ever had before. Without thinking, she took his hand. His fingers slid over hers as he rolled his hand beneath hers and grasped it in return. Unlike with Tristan, a sense of belonging stole through her whenever she was near him, and she felt as if whatever was missing inside her was finally found.

  "I thought Tristan could make me feel normal, maybe I was missing a boyfriend, but I always felt as if I had to force it when with him. It never felt right. And he was a little unstable. I didn't know it while we were dating, but his issues became apparent when I broke up with him."

  Ethan took another sip of his drink as he studied her. "What kind of issues?"

  Emma frowned as she tried to decide how much to reveal to him. There weren't many people willing to date someone with an emotional basket case for an ex, but he didn't seem like the type to run for the hills, and she didn't see any reason to keep it from him.

  "He became extremely possessive after the breakup, started following me, calling me all the time, and leaving me gifts. He appeared in my classes, classes that weren't his. He would sit in the back and watch me. His gifts grew steadily stranger, more disturbing, and more terrifying. The last one was a dozen black roses with a card I swear was written in blood, and it scared the hell out of me. I finally went to the police about him, but he disappeared before they could do anything."

  Ethan kept his mouth closed as he fought to retract the fangs that extended while she spoke. He finally regained control of himself enough to talk again. "You haven't heard from him since?"

  "Not in a year, and hopefully never again."

  Ethan nodded but rage still simmered beneath the surface. That was a human he would gladly kill for frightening her if given the opportunity. He found it odd the strange behavior would abruptly cut off, but that kind of behavior wasn't something he understood. Her ex didn't sound like a very stable person. Maybe he killed himself, or maybe someone else did the deed.

  "What about you?" Emma inquired though she wasn't certain she wanted to hear the answer. "Any serious relationships?"

  "Nothing serious."

  "Not the settling down type?"

  He smiled at her over top of his glass. "I just haven't met the right one yet."

  "Do you believe there is a right one?"

  For him, it was a distinct possibility. "I do."

  "So is there a string of broken hearts behind you?" It wasn't the subtlest way of asking about how many people there were in his past, but she wasn't exactly skilled at subtlety.

  "None of those."

  "I'm sure you've had lots of girlfriends."

  "Five, and they were all aware it wasn't going anywhere before it started."

  Emma frowned at him. He was gorgeous, she was sure a whole lot more than five women had thrown themselves at him over the years, but he spoke of his relationships as if they were business deals.

  "You make it sound like they were an arrangement,” she remarked.

  That's what they were to him, but she wouldn’t understand.

  "Not really," he replied. "From the beginning, they knew it wouldn't be serious, and when it was time to part, we would do so amicably."

  "How could you possibly know that at the beginning of a relationship? What if your feelings changed over time?"

  "I just knew they wouldn't." She frowned at him in confusion, but he didn't know how to explain it to her, didn't know how to make her understand without turning her away from him. "You know how you said it always felt forced with Tristan, well that's kind of how I felt with them." It wasn't exactly the truth. Due to the way he'd grown up, he'd always known about the existence of soul mates, and he'd known going in none of those women were his mate. "I was never going to spend the rest of my life with one of them."

  "Were they one-night stands? Never mind, you don't have to answer that, it's personal," she blurted after.

  "I've never had a one-night stand," he told her. It was something he felt she needed to know, as he had every intention of pursuing something with her. "That's not my thing."

  Her head tilted as a playful gleam lit her eyes. "You're just a romantic at heart."

  Ethan chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm not so sure about that."

  The waiter arrived with their food. He didn't require it to sustain him; in fact, he'd never eaten human food until very recently, and only when around her. He picked at the contents on his plate to avoid her suspicion. The raw steak wasn't overly bad, but it was the blood he sought as he put it in his mouth.

  The bags of blood Isabelle stocked didn't seem to be doing the trick quite as well as they used to. It was Emma's blood he thought about when he consumed the bags now. He could try and find another human to feed from; it might satisfy him a little bit more. The idea of doing that was extremely unappealing to him, and if it wasn't Emma, he was feeding from, he knew there was a chance he might kill them.

  Emma glanced surreptitiously up at him as they ate. She'd never met anyone like him. Most of the men she knew were good guys; they didn't purposely set out to hurt people, they weren't all nutball stalkers, but she'd never heard one of them say they entered into their relationships with the clear-cut understanding it was never going to go anywhere. She also didn't know many men who had never had a one-night stand or hooked up before, but there was no reason for him to lie to her about his past.

  He was fascinating to her, and the more she learned about him, the more attracted to him she became, which was something she hadn't thought possible. She could barely take her eyes away from him as they ate their dinner, and if they weren’t in this restaurant, her hands would be all over him.

  He lifted his head and caught her watching him, but she didn't look away, she couldn't. She was pinned by his gaze, swamped with the growing need working its way through her body. She found it increasingly difficult to breathe, let alone eat, so she placed her fork down.

  "Would you like anything else?" he inquired.

  You, she almost said, but she bit back the word and told him no instead. She couldn't sit in this restaurant with him for a minute longer. She felt like she was going to claw her skin off if she didn't get up and start moving soon. A cold shower would be great, but she didn't think that would help her right now either.

  In fact, she thought the only thing that would make her feel any better was to be in his arms again. Their other dates over the week had ended with a sweet kiss, there had been no more instances like the one at the club, but she desperately craved his hands on her flesh again, now.

  Ethan paid the bill and walked around to help her rise from the
chair. He could feel the increased heat of her body and hear the escalated pace of her heart. Recognizing her increasing desire, he couldn't resist touching her and brushed his hands over her shoulders as she rose from the chair. Her breath hitched; her breasts rose against the confining front of her dress. When her honeysuckle scent increased with yearning, he felt it wrapping around him and drawing him irresistibly closer to her.

  The last thing he wanted was to meet up with the others, he much preferred taking her back to her house, but that was her decision to make. He kept his hand loosely around her waist; his chest brushed against her arm as he wound his way through the tables and people.

  They were almost to the door when the sky opened, and a deluge of rain fell. He went to hold her back, but she was already stepping outside. He followed her out the door and stood beside her beneath the overhang as the rain pelted the ground in a loud crescendo which drowned out the noise of the restaurant.

  "It should be over soon," he said. "We can wait inside."

  The mischievous look she shot him over her shoulder should have warned him, but he still wasn't expecting it when she asked, "Why?" and stepped into the storm.

  Disbelief and amusement filled him as she tilted her head back and lifted her arms to the sky. Laughter trailed from her as the falling rain plastered the deep blue dress to her body. He could only stand and stare as she tilted her head back to the sky. Something about the picture of her laughing in the rain made his heart clench and caused a strange warmth to spread through him.

  He thought he could stand there and watch her forever, but the urge to touch her drove him into the rain. She was still laughing as she dropped her head to look at him. The rain turned her hair darker and caused it to curl as it clung to her face and neck. He barely noticed the drops of water as they pelted against him; the only thing he could focus on was her.

  "It feels wonderful!" she cried above the noise.

  Words failed him. It felt as if he was taken over by something entirely primitive, something that would only be appeased by touching her. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he lifted her up and pressed her flush against his body. Her mouth parted, but before she could speak, his lips descended on hers in a kiss that would have been bruising if the contact of their mouths didn’t immediately eased some of the strain within him.