Ethan’s lips curled up. “Why not you?”
“I…” I stared at him as my panic began to change into something else entirely – an achy need to be closer to him; to touch and be touched by him.
What is wrong with me?
He walked over to my bed and sat down. “Come here.”
I moved towards him and he grabbed both of my hands, kissing them with his soft lips.
“Why you? Because we belong together,” he murmured.
Earlier his skin had felt cool to the touch. It had been the one thing that had surprised me. Now, his cheeks were warm and he held my hands against them, nuzzling them, lovingly.
“But I don’t even know you,” I said. “How can you say that?”
He shrugged. “You do. You just don’t remember.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I just moved here,” I said.
He looked up into my eyes. “Let’s just say we knew each other in another life.”
My eyes widened. “What… like reincarnation?”
His hands tightened on my wrists and he pulled me onto his lap. “Something like that.”
“Seriously?”
Instead of answering me, he leaned forward and captured my lips with his. I closed my eyes, abandoning all logic and caution. Soon we were kissing with as much heat and passion as earlier, this time without fear of being interrupted. When his fingers opened up my robe and began touching my naked body, I gasped with pleasure.
“Ethan,” I breathed, my heart pounding in my chest.
“You’re mine,” he whispered into my neck, making me shiver. “Forever.”
“Sure,” I whispered back as his tongue slid down to my nipple and began teasing it. “Whatever… you… say.”
His hands caressed my breasts and I closed my eyes as his hot mouth continued to make me quiver. Soon, I was making mewling noises and he was breathing as heavily as I was.
“What?” I whispered when he suddenly pushed me away.
“Come with me,” he said in a ragged voice. “I can’t make love to you here. It’s not safe.”
“No, it’s okay. Nobody will know,” I whispered, surprising myself with my own eagerness to give myself to him.
He closed his eyes. “You’re a virgin and I’m…”
How did he know? Obviously, not from my actions.
“What? It’s okay.”
“Come with me now, Miranda,” he said, opening his eyes and pulling me to him. “It’s time to leave everything else, behind.”
I pulled away. “Miranda?”
He blinked. “Nikki, come with me and we can be together forever. I’ll never let you go, again.”
“What? I can’t leave my family,” I said. Sure, he was hot and I wanted to feel him touch and kiss me again, but I wasn’t about to leave my family.
He stared into my eyes, and soon I was willing to go anywhere with him. I just wanted nothing more than to be lost in his arms forever. “Come with me,” he prodded, touching my face, lovingly.
I nodded. “Oh, God. Yes.”
Just then the bedroom door was thrown open and my brother stood in the doorway with a shotgun. “Hands off of her, pal. She’s not going anywhere with you!”
Ethan growled and moved away from me as I struggled to adjust my robe.
“Did you just growl at me? Get the hell out of here, Cujo, before I use this thing!” demanded Nathan. “I’ll fucking do it!”
Ethan took a step towards my brother and I yelled, “Ethan, don’t hurt him! Please!”
Somehow deep down, I knew that Ethan had the power to rip Nathan apart with little effort. Even though both of them were similar in size and stature, you could almost feel the power and strength emanating from him. It was both frightening and exciting at the same time. At least for me.
Ethan looked at me and for a second, I thought he was going to carry me off into the moonlight. Instead, he let out a frustrated groan, and then in a flash, was gone.
“What in the hell was that?” hollered Nathan as he dashed towards the balcony.
“Um, that was Ethan,” I answered, touching my bruised lips. I couldn’t believe how much I wanted him to return. To finish what he’d started.
Nathan stormed back into my bedroom and ran a hand through his brown hair. “What were you thinking, Nik? That has to be the thing trying to fuck with us. That certainly wasn’t a normal dude who was trying to feel you up, which, by the way, wasn’t at all fair to Duncan!”
A wave of shame spread through me as Duncan’s face popped into my mind. I did love him, didn’t I?
“Listen,” I said firmly. “He has this power to make me do things… I can’t control myself around him,” I shook my head incredulously. “Nathan, God, I seriously think I’d do anything for him if he asked.”
“What?”
“I know,” I said, my eyes misting over. “I couldn’t help it, either. One moment I was fine and the next, we were making out and I did nothing to stop it.”
His eyes narrowed. “Mind control?”
I wiped a tear from my eye, my emotions all messed up. “Yes.”
“So, do you honestly believe he’s a vampire?”
“Yes, Nathan, I do.” My mind was beginning to clear, and now there was little doubt in my mind that he actually was a vampire.
He leaned forward. “Did he suck your blood or anything?”
I touched my neck. “He didn’t bite me. At least… not that I remember.” I ran over to the mirror and checked my neck. “See, it looks normal.” Remembering our mother’s neck, I covered my mouth in horror. “Oh, my God… mom! She has that thing on her neck! Remember?”
We both flew out of the bedroom and began knocking on her door.
“Come in,” she called.
Her room was dark except for a candle burning slowly on the nightstand.
“Hey,” I said, in a low voice. “Um, sorry to bother you. We were just wondering if we could check those bites on your neck. To make sure they aren’t infected.”
She rolled over and gave us an exasperated sigh. “You woke me up in the middle of the night to check my neck?”
“Sorry,” said Nathan. “Um, we saw this news report about these mosquito bites that get really inflamed if you don’t care for them correctly.”
“Yeah,” I said. “If you don’t clean them good… um, eggs will grow in your neck.”
She sat up and shrieked. “What?! Eggs! Look and see if anything is growing in my neck!”
Nathan bit back a smile as we stepped closer to examine mom’s neck.
“Fine, I’m convinced,” he whispered, looking at me. “Check it out.”
I was, too. The swelling had gone down but the two holes could have definitely been caused by a vampire. Not that either of us were experts, but we’d watched enough horror flicks to know what we saw.
“Mom, we have to talk to you,” I said, stepping back. “I know this is going to sound crazy but you have to believe us.”
She looked at both of us. “Okay, spill it. What’s on your minds?”
We started over from when we’d spoken to Amy, her warnings, and how she’d killed herself. Then, I told both of them how I met Ethan and how he’d called me Miranda and had almost made me run away with him.
She threw her head back and laughed.
“It’s not funny, mom,” said Nathan. “This Ethan guy looked like he was ready to attack me tonight and I had to use a gun to scare him away.”
“Nathan, I doubt the gun would have killed him, anyway,” I said. “He only left you alone because I told him to.”
“Whatever,” he snapped. “This guy is some kind of monster. Whether it’s a vampire or demon. He flies, he growls – he isn’t normal!”
She threw her hands up in the air. “It’s… I don’t know how to react to this. I can’t just accept the fact that you both think this kid is a vampire. As far as my neck goes, I’ve never met Ethan, so if you think he bit my neck when I was having a cup of coffee and didn’t notice, y
ou have another thing coming.”
“Do you feel different at all?” I asked.
She glared at me. “For Heaven’s sake, Nikki! I’m not going to turn into a damn vampire!”
Nathan and I looked at each other. We knew it was pointless to keep trying to convince her that there were vampires in Shore Lake. Unless she saw it for herself, there was no way she was going to believe us. Nathan had reacted the same way.
She rubbed her temples and then stared at us, again. “Look, I’m going back to bed and I suggest that the both of you do the same thing. In the morning, you’ll both realize how crazy this sounded.”
I sighed. “Okay.”
“Goodnight, mom,” said Nathan.
“I love you both, but if you wake me up to talk about vampires again, I’m getting rid of cable!”
Chapter Nineteen
“Okay, I’m not leaving you alone anymore,” said Nathan as he paced back and forth in the kitchen. We were both too shook up to sleep.
“Fine,” I said, taking a sip of coffee.
He wagged his finger. “We should talk to mom and see if she’s willing to move back home, too.”
My jaw dropped. “But what about Duncan and our new jobs?”
“What about… there’s a vampire after you, Nikki? Or should we call you ‘Miranda’?”
I sighed. “What if he follows us anyway? He said he’s been looking for me and now that he’s found me, we are supposed to be together.”
“How romantic,” snickered Nathan. “If you ask me, I think he just wants to get into your pants.”
“He almost did,” I mumbled.
“Good thing I heard those groans and whimpers coming from your room, which was gnarly, by the way. Do you know how disturbing it is to hear your sister getting it on with a vampire?” He shuddered. “It’s sick.”
I smiled. “Thank you for being a nosy brother, Nathan. You probably saved my life. At least, my virginity.”
“Thank my stomach. If it wasn’t for mom’s leftover pasta salad calling to me in the fridge, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Probably not.”
He sat down by the counter. “I just don’t know what else to do. You know, I wonder if we should see if Abigail is still in town. She might have some ideas. She’s the only other person who’d believe us.”
“We should probably go and pay her a visit in the morning,” I said.
He looked at his watch. “The sun will be up soon. I’m going to grab my sleeping bag and camp out in your room for the next few nights. Hopefully, that horny vampire gives up and decides to go after someone else.”
“Oh, my God,” I whispered in horror. “What if he killed all of those girls in the paper? You said they were all similar looking. Maybe he was looking for me?”
He snorted. “Or worse yet, you are not the real Miranda and he decides to kill you when he figures it out.”
I glared at him. “Oh, thanks, Nathan. Just when I think it can’t get any worse.”
“Hey, I’m just trying to keep everything in perspective. I mean, we shouldn’t rule anything out,” he said with a yawn.
His yawn triggered one from me. “True, but I hope you’re wrong,” I said as we headed out of the kitchen and back upstairs.
Ten minutes later, Nathan was snoring on the floor but I was still awake. I stared at the door to my balcony, which was now closed and locked. Part of me still longed for Ethan and I wondered if I’d have the strength to say no if given the chance to surrender to him again.
Chapter Twenty
“Wake up, Princess of Darkness,” teased my brother the next morning.
“Very funny,” I mumbled. I looked at my alarm clock to find it was already after eleven o’clock.
“I talked to Duncan already,” said Nathan, between bites of a banana. “We’re supposed to meet him at the marina around four o’clock.”
I yawned. “Did you tell him about last night?”
“I told him some things but left out the part where you were sitting on Ethan’s lap, panting away.”
I groaned. “It was pretty bad. I’m so disgusted with myself.”
“You were certainly enjoying it last night.” He grimaced. “Heck, I was the one disgusted.”
“Come on, you know very well that it wasn’t me, last night. Aren’t I typically the frigid and shy twin?”
His lips curled up. “True. I’m usually the one fighting off the opposite sex.”
I got out of bed. “I’m taking a shower now. At least you don’t have to follow me everywhere during the day. Vampires don’t like the daylight.”
“As far as we know,” he said. “But this is real life. I wouldn’t count anything out.”
“I’ve only run into Ethan at night. In fact, he usually hangs out at the diner after dark.”
His eyes narrowed. “What in the hell does he order? Steak Tartare?”
I grimaced. “Gross, no, he only orders coffee; he and his five friends.”
“Oh, hell, more vampires?”
“I think so, although the others never say a word. They just sip coffee and stare at the rest of the customers.”
“Probably planning a strike.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it. Look, I’m taking a shower. I’ll meet you downstairs in a little while. Is mom awake?”
His face darkened. “No, that’s another thing that’s still bothering me. This isn’t like her, at all.”
“I know. We’d better keep an eye on her. Maybe give the sheriff a heads-up, too,” I said.
“He already thinks we’re nuts,” said Nathan. “Can you imagine if we tell him about last night?”
I bit my lower lip. The sheriff would never believe us. “Let’s keep it to ourselves, for now.”
“We’re going to have to.”
Nathan left my room and I took a hot shower. When I was done, I slipped on a white sundress and a pair of sandals. After I dried my hair and added a little makeup, I stared at the results and frowned. I definitely looked like I was going on a date.
I’m doing it solely for Duncan, I told myself.
“You getting dolled up for Duncan or trying to catch a vampire?” joked my brother when I stepped into the kitchen.
I scowled. “For your information, I am doing it for Duncan.”
“Wow, you look very fresh and lovely this morning,” said mom as she walked into the kitchen.
I smiled. “Thanks, mom. By the way, it’s the afternoon, now.”
She removed her sunglasses and looked at the clock. Her face fell. “Oh.”
“Your eyes still bothering you?” I asked.
She nodded. “I have an eye appointment today. I was lucky to get one on a Saturday.”
“I thought the entire town would be shut down with everything going on,” replied Nathan.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“The town barbeque thingy,” I said. “We’re meeting Duncan there later this afternoon. Want to join us, mom? It should be a lot of fun.”
“Yeah, actually, I do.” Her eyes lit up. “Maybe I’ll see Caleb there.”
“He’s the sheriff. He’s probably heading up the security,” said Nathan.
“I’m sure. I’ll probably just meet you both there after my eye appointment. Keep your cell phone on so I can find you.”
“Just call me when you’re done and we’ll come look for you, mom,” said Nathan.
“Okay. This should be fun,” she said, turning on the coffeemaker.
“Either of you want eggs?” asked Nathan, opening the fridge. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m craving a late breakfast.”
“No, that’s okay,” she replied, picking out one of her gourmet coffees from the carousel on the counter. “I’m hungry, but nothing sounds good. I think I’m just going to grab a bite in town before my exam.”
Nathan and I looked at each other, both of us obviously wondering the same thing, was she craving something rare and bloody?
“Nikki, are
you hungry?” asked mom.
“Uh, just some toast.”
“Okay.”
Mom made some for me and then took off with her coffee, while Nathan made himself a monster omelet. After watching him down a half dozen eggs while I nibbled on my toast and jelly, we decided to take a drive over to Abigail’s, to see if she was still in town.
“I think this is her place,” he said as we drove up the dirt road to the next cabin over. It was older and much smaller than the one we were staying at, but kept up nicely. With all of the flowers and shrubs surrounding the cabin, it seemed inviting.
“Yeah, there’s her truck,” I pointed next to the cabin. “Obviously she didn’t skip town just yet. Lucky for us.”
We got out and walked up to the porch. I could hear a dog barking somewhere inside and smiled. “At least we know she’s not living alone.”
“I don’t blame her,” said Nathan, swatting at a mosquito. “Not with Ethan and his band of freaks flying around at night. Hell, maybe we should consider getting a dog.”
“Something tells me a dog isn’t going to frighten a vampire,” I said. “If anything, it might put the dog’s life in grave danger.”
“No doubt,” he replied, ringing the doorbell. We waited and rang it again, but nobody answered.
“Maybe she’s fishing on the dock?” I asked.
He stared over my head towards the side of the cabin and nodded. “Good thinking. Let’s go check it out.”
We went around to the back and looked out towards the lake, but there was still no sign of anyone.
I looked up at Nathan and frowned. “You know, I’m getting this creepy feeling, that something isn’t right.”
“Don’t get all paranoid, Nik. She’s probably taking a walk or over at a friend’s nearby.”
“Yeah. Let’s hope so.”
We walked to the back door, and this time, I pounded on it. When nobody answered, I looked through a small kitchen window and saw a dog sitting inside in a kennel, whining.
“Aw… poor thing. She’s got her Golden Retriever caged up. Maybe Abigail really is getting ready to leave town, today.”
He scraped his teeth over his lower lip and nodded. “Makes sense. Heck, I’m surprised she’s still here.”
Toxic (Venom Series) Book Three Page 34