“Aurora Sky,” those lips said. I want to show you something.”
“What?”
“Come with me.”
We walked side by side down the empty hall and out the doors into the student parking lot. The cold bit into my bare flesh. Fane led me to a familiar Pontiac Catalina.
“This is my car.”
I folded my arms over my chest.
Fane planted a boot on the bumper. “This thing’s a tank.”
I looked it over. “It’s certainly ugly enough to be.”
“Very funny, but it could go through a brick wall and still hold its shape. Last year, this woman in a Dodge Neon ran headfirst into me in her sedan. Wasn’t her fault, really, she was skidding on ice.”
My eyes widened.
“Don’t worry,” Fane said. “She walked out of it just fine. But her car…” Fane shook his head. “That thing crumpled like an accordion.” He moved his hands together to demonstrate.
A smile spread across my face.
“The tank?” Fane gave it a shove with his boot. “Not a scratch.”
“It sounds very safe,” I said. As Fane grinned I added quickly, “But I’m still not ready.”
“Just know that I’m here for you when you are and, at the risk of my reputation, I’m no speed demon.” Fane lowered his voice. “The tank is more of a coaster. She doesn’t like going over fifty.”
I laughed. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”
Fane opened the back door. “Go on, have a seat.”
Was he crazy?
“I’m not…”
“We’re not going anywhere. I just thought it might help if you eased into the whole auto rehabilitation.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
“Step one: Get inside the car.”
I smiled and shook my head at his antics, but couldn’t resist playing along for the moment. I lowered my head and climbed onto the back bench. The burgundy upholstery was old and torn.
“Where are the seatbelts?”
Fane climbed in after me. “Buried under the seat someplace.” He shut the door behind him. “How’s this?”
I looked out the side window at the parked cars then out the front overlooking the west side of the school building. I nodded. “Fine for now. What’s step two?”
“Step two involves lips—yours and mine. The surest way to get over a car phobia is by creating positive associations.”
Hearing the words caused a thrum inside my chest. His lips haunted me. They were wicked. They were wonderful.
Fane twisted one of the fringes at the end of my scarf.
I stared at the red thread wrapped around Fane’s finger. “What about Valerie?”
Fane released my scarf. “I broke it off.”
“What? When?”
“First thing Tuesday. I told her that she and I had a good run, hoped there were no hard feelings, and wished her the best.”
After one kiss. I should know better than to be a sentimental sap, but my heart was on fire.
“Did you tell her why?”
“I told her I met someone else.”
My stomach did a flip-flop. “Did you tell her who?”
Fane chuckled. “As delightful as the spectacle would be, I don’t want you two to get into a cat fight in the girls’ locker room. Valerie’s got claws and I couldn’t bear to see so much as a scratch on you.”
“Excuse me,” I said, sitting up. “Did you not see the way I took down that kid in the cafeteria?”
Fane watched me with an amused half-grin.
I stood on my knees and leaned over him. “Don’t let this girl-next-door act fool you, Fane. I’m learning martial arts. I take kickboxing.” I stretched my leg over his lap and straddled him. “I could pin you down and keep you down.”
Fane looked up at me. “I wouldn’t stop you.”
He leaned forward as I leaned down. When our lips touched, the world outside his car melted away.
I ran my tongue over his teeth. His back molars were sharp. I retracted my tongue. Fane must have sucked a mint earlier; a hint of peppermint lingered on the tip of his tongue. Our lips moved together softly. I cupped his face in my hands and closed my eyes. Fane ran his hands down my back.
His lips were divine—like soft caresses against my own chapped lips. The windows began to fog, steamed by our heavy breath.
Fane managed to lower me to the bench of the car and cover my body with his own. His hand slipped up my bare thigh, but went no further. He stroked my skin softly. Wave after wave of pleasure rippled through my body.
We stopped kissing. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. My lips parted slightly. Fane caressed my skin as though touching me was the greatest privilege in the world. I wondered if he was aware of the fact he could do anything to me right then, and I’d let him.
A rumbling engine from a nearby car woke me from my trance. More engines revved until an entire fleet came to life around us.
My eyes opened. “What time is it?”
Fane glanced at his wristwatch. “Eleven thirty.”
He sat up when I pushed onto my elbows. “It’s already lunch hour?”
There was a glimmer in his eye. “I didn’t notice the time passing, either.”
I felt dazed when I sat up. I couldn’t see out the windows. They were completely fogged and icing over.
“China Garden’s nearby,” Fane said. “Why don’t we walk over, and I’ll buy you lunch?”
I smoothed my skirt down my legs, which Fane was admiring rather closely. “Sure, let’s go.”
We were the only students exiting a car. I spotted Valerie across the lot staring our way. Her eyes narrowed the instant she got over her shock. Sure, I could gloat, but I’d rather forget about her altogether. So much for keeping a low profile.
Fane walked on the outside of the sidewalk and took my hand. It made me grin. I never figured Fane as the hand-holding type.
He reached in his pocket. “Mind if I smoke?”
“Now you’re asking?”
“Well, yeah, we’re together now.”
Together. I grinned so wide I could feel it in my nose.
“Go ahead,” I said. “Light one for me, too.”
Smoking wasn’t on the list of resolutions, but I might as well add it.
Fane chuckled as he pulled his pack of American Spirits out of his coat pocket. “I don’t think so.”
“What?”
“They’re not good for you.”
“Oh, and they’re good for you?”
“I’m immune.” Fane pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took my hand in his free one again.
“Must be nice.”
I squeezed his hand. When he looked at me, I smiled.
The lobby inside China Garden was blissfully quiet. The Denali crowd stuck to McDonald’s, Subway, and the supermarket deli. A hostess appeared and led us to a booth behind a bamboo partition. She handed us plastic menus.
“I’ll have the vegetable chow mein,” I said when a waitress came by to take our orders.
Fane looked across the table. “Are you a vegetarian?”
“Yep, despite my mom’s best efforts to ‘entice’ me into eating meat again.”
Fane smiled at the waitress and handed over his menu. “I’ll have the same thing.”
The waitress nodded and left.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
Fane smiled. “I want to. Besides, I don’t really care what I eat.”
I shrugged. A smile spread over my cheeks when our eyes locked. I fidgeted on the booth’s vinyl bench.
Fane watched me closely. “You’re cute.”
My cheeks flushed with heat. “What about you?” I asked. “You call me a baddie and it turns out you’re Mr. Soft and Fuzzy—a gentleman.”
“A gentleman,” Fane repeated. His eyes lit up and he laughed. “Mamma would have been so pleased.”
I stared at Fane. Mamma? In addition to the word he chose,
he used a faint Italian accent to say it.
“Does your mom not live in Alaska?”
“My mom is dead.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”
“Oh,” I said again. “Were you very young?”
“It didn’t seem like it at the time, but looking back? Yes, I’d say I was quite young.”
“Hot tea,” our waitress announced. She set down a small white and blue porcelain teapot with two small cups.
Fane poured tea into a cup and pushed it toward me.
“Thanks.” I took a small sip.
“What about you?” Fane asked. “How are things at home? Are they still trying to make you eat cookies?”
I nearly snorted the tea out my nostrils. “I can’t believe you remember that!”
Fane leaned toward me. “How could I forget? You looked like an angel who’d lost her way to heaven.”
I set my teacup down. “I’m no angel.”
And I had the mark of the devil to prove it. Fane seemed pretty dark, but I doubted he’d look at me with the same adoration if he knew I was a secret assassin for the government, engineered to hunt down and kill the reanimated dead. He might even be the type who would feel sorry for vampires. I doubted he had much respect for authority or the government. And somehow, I doubted he would take too kindly to the idea of guys sinking their teeth into me—undead or otherwise.
Luckily, he’d never know that side of me. Superheroes got to have their own separate lives, and my alter ego was no longer all doom and gloom. Who would have guessed that a boy named Fane would have made it feel right again?
When I thought about it more, I was struck by something even more unimaginable.
If I hadn’t gotten into the accident, I never would have gotten to know Fane the way I knew him now. I never would have felt his touch or kissed his lips or seen his smile. And that would have been the real tragedy.
On the way home from school, I stared out the bus window dreamily. The world outside no longer existed. I lived in my own world and I liked it there.
I took great big steps up the hill leading home, skipped up to the front door, and leapt inside. The smile on my lips died when I looked over and saw Mom waiting for me in the front parlor, with Agent Melcher sitting beside her.
14
Mission North
Melcher must have parked across the street or next door because there’d been no ominous black sedan in the driveway to warn me of his presence. He sat in our armchair in his gray suit. It was the first time I’d seen Melcher without Crist hovering nearby.
I stormed into the center of the room and glared at my mom. “What the hell is he doing here?”
Mom frowned. “Aurora, don’t—”
Melcher interrupted with a smile. “Your mother tells me you’ve been getting into fights and missing class, Aurora.”
“So?” I plopped down on the couch and slung one leg over the other.
“I understand transition period is confusing. You’re not like the other kids at school anymore. You’re special.”
Great, just what I needed, Melcher going all student counselor on me. I didn’t need a pep talk. I didn’t plan on fighting any time soon. I was happy now.
“Do you mind if I have a moment with your daughter, Mrs. Sky?”
Mom stood up immediately. “Of course not. I’ll be in the other room if you need me.”
I folded my arms over my chest and glared at Melcher.
He sighed and spoke in a low, articulate voice. “You’ve been called to serve a greater purpose, Aurora. It’s frightening at first, I know. We put you face-to-face with evil and you won. You have a gift. A vampire is like any other terrorist target, and we’ve never been better equipped to win the war on terror. The important thing to remember is they’re not human. They’re pure evil. I think you’re ready for training, Aurora.”
“I’m not ready. I have senior year to finish.” And a boyfriend who deserved all my free time.
“This won’t get in the way of school. I was just explaining to your mother that we’ve assigned you a mentor. I’ve chosen Dante for you. I think the two of you will find you have a lot in common.”
“So he’s a vampire hunter?”
“That’s right.”
“Fine. Whatever.” I stood up. “Thanks for stopping by.”
Agent Melcher got up. “Don’t mention it. You can expect Dante tomorrow afternoon.”
Maybe if Melcher had given us a time to expect Dante, we wouldn’t have wasted the better part of Saturday afternoon peering out the window any time we heard a car on the road. Regardless of the wait, it would be nice to meet someone like me.
Finally, shortly after four thirty, the doorbell rang. When Mom opened the door, one of the cutest guys I’d ever seen stood outside. He grinned from ear to ear, his thick brown hair framing a tanned face. His muscular build was tight in all the right places. It didn’t matter that his veins were filled with toxic blood—he had a smile that could kill.
“Sky residence, I presume? I’m Dante.”
“Come in. Come in,” Mom gushed. “Please, have a seat.”
My mom wiggled her brows at me the moment Dante’s back was turned. He looked around the parlor and settled in the armchair Melcher had occupied the day before, but unlike Melcher, Dante slouched all the way back into the cushions.
“I made cookies. Would you like one?” Mom asked him.
Dante’s eyes lit up. “Cookies? You’ve discovered my weakness, Mrs. Sky.”
Mom returned from the kitchen in a matter of seconds, holding out a plate of home-baked chocolate chip cookies to Dante. He grabbed not one, but four.
“I’ll get you a paper towel,” Mom said.
I sat on the edge of the couch on the end closest to our good looking guest. “So you’re my mentor.”
Dante stuffed down half a cookie and talked with his mouth full. “Mentor is one of Melcher’s terms. I prefer to think of us as a team.”
“Have you always lived in Alaska?” Mom asked, handing Dante a napkin.
“Thanks, Mrs. Sky. These cookies are fantastic. I grew up in Fairbanks. Now I’m working on my degree at the University of Alaska Anchorage.”
“How do you like UAA?” Mom asked.
“Small classes, top of the line professors, and in-state tuition—paid for courtesy of the government. You can’t beat that.”
Mom smiled.
Dante had the build of a jock and face of a Hollywood heartthrob. I couldn’t imagine him in one of Melcher’s messy white rooms.
“So, how did you die?” I asked.
Mom clicked her tongue. “Aurora…”
Dante sat up and grinned. “No really, that’s my favorite question. It happened last winter. Maybe you heard about it on the news. Some friends and I were flown to the top of the Chugach Mountains to snowboard. Man, the powder rocked that day. So I got on my board and headed down—not my first time up there, mind you. I’m boarding, surfing the white wave,” Dante said, swishing side to side in the armchair. “Then I go over a small cliff, like I’ve done a hundred times before, and land not on my board, but my shoulder. Next thing I know I’m somersaulting down the mountain, crashing through brush and trees, gathering speed like a human avalanche. There’s cloud coverage everywhere. I’m tumbling and I can’t tell the snow from the sky. Then I’m tossed over the next cliff side and land a hundred feet down into a pile of fucking rocks. Excuse my language, Mrs. Sky.”
Mom was too busy holding a hand to her heart.
I grinned. “And next thing you know you wake up in a white room?”
“Good as new,” Dante said and winked.
“I’m sure you haven’t gotten on a snowboard since,” Mom said.
Dante leaned back. “Au contraire. The moment I was patched up I ran straight up to Alyeska and did a double-black diamond. Well, I shouldn’t say right after—there was that little sabbatical I took first.”
My face
hurt from smiling. I liked this guy in a big brother kind of way. Melcher had finally done something useful.
“Can you stay for dinner?” Mom asked.
“I’d love to.”
Mom radiated with pleasure every time Dante helped himself to more chicken tenderloins and mashed potatoes. Dante hummed with pleasure at each bite.
“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a home-cooked meal?” he asked.
“You should come over for dinner again soon,” Mom said.
“I won’t turn down an invitation.”
While Dante scooped another heap of potatoes onto his plate, Mom shot me another one of the ‘he’s a keeper’ looks.
I returned it with a narrow eyed ‘leave me alone.’
I cleared my throat. “Would you like something besides water to drink? Soda or juice?”
“Water’s good, thanks.” Dante chewed heavily and looked up suddenly. “Sky, how can you not eat with all this delicious food in front of you?”
Oh, he was winning points with Mom, all right. I glared at him.
If he noticed, he ignored me and continued. “You should eat up. We have a long drive ahead of us.”
I gaped at Dante. I must have heard wrong because I swear he just said ‘drive.’
“Training,” Dante said between mouthfuls. “Got a mission planned in Fairbanks.”
“Fairbanks!” I don’t know which had me more flabbergasted.
“Sorry to spring this on you, Mrs. Sky—agents’ orders.”
Mom shifted in her seat. “Did Agent Melcher not tell you that Aurora was in a car accident?”
Dante stopped chewing. “I know it’s difficult, but Aurora has to get over her phobia if she’s going to get the job done. Unless, Aurora doesn’t feel up to the task.” Dante squinted at me. “Well, Sky, are you game?”
Oh, he was good, goading me like that. The last time I did something for the agents I ended up with a bloody neck. At least Dante wanted to take me out on field work. I could do without the locked rooms.
I grumbled under my breath. “And you want to leave now?”
Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter Page 10