by T. A. Foster
Vix and I walked to campus together.
“Meet after class?” I turned toward the library. My group was waiting.
“Yes. I’ll text you when I’m out. The lectures are getting longer when they should be shorter.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “All of this seems like such a waste of time right now.”
“This is exactly what we’re fighting for. Normal. We deserve normal. So go be a boring student.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She grinned for the first time in days.
We needed these reminders. The fight wasn’t worth anything if we didn’t appreciate the minutes we had. We weren’t only fighting for our territories, or the right to choose whom we wanted to marry. We were taking a stand against the council. We should be able to live how we wanted. Date who we wanted. Live where we wanted. Case and the Tribe threatened all of that.
I climbed the stone steps to the rotunda. I tried to soak it all in. The musty smell of old books. The whispers in the study lounges. The speckled colors from the windows. It might be my last time here.
“Darlin’, seems you’ve been busy lately.”
I whipped around. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s the library. I have to study too. Graduation’s right around the corner.” Case tapped the backpack strap on his shoulder.
“We both know you don’t care about your grades or finals,” I hissed.
I could see my group gathered at one of the end tables. I didn’t want them to overhear my conversation with Case. I walked into the hall.
“That’s not true. I have stellar grades.” He leaned against a column.
“I’m not really interested in your academic accolades—if you even have any.”
“Ouch. That hurts. Do you not trust me?”
“Not at all.” I smiled.
“How’s Abi doing?” he asked.
“She’s fine.” I glowered.
“Fine? Hmm. Not missing Eli at all?”
“I said she’s fine.” I didn’t want him to know what a miserable state she was in.
“It’s not going to be so easy for you to find the others.” He smiled.
“It doesn’t matter what you do with them, Case. I will find them. They don’t belong to you. You don’t have the right to kidnap people.”
His eyes sparkled green flecks through his brown contacts. “That’s what you don’t seem to get, little kitty. There’s an order that you keep forgetting. Sloan belongs to Ronan. Abi belongs to Eli. Vix belongs to Noah. And you belong to me. It’s simple. The longer you keep this up, the longer you’re going to be chasing that tail of yours I love so much.”
I stepped back when two students walked past. They were discussing exams. “We don’t belong to anyone. The longer you keep this up, the longer you’ll be disappointed. It’s not happening.”
He reached out and traced the stars behind my ear. “You are stubborn, Dare. It already is happening. You’re just putting off the inevitable. You’re hurting your friends by letting them believe you can defy us. Pretty soon you’ll need to get some of these stars removed. You’ll only have yourself to blame.”
My nose almost touched his. I could feel his breath on my face. “The only one hurting them is you.” I straightened my shoulders. “Now get off me.”
I pushed him out of my way and left him standing in the hall.
It wasn’t easy to concentrate during the group meeting. Bill and Sharon talked over each other the entire time. I handed in my binder and told them to call me if they needed more information. There were certain situations I liked to be in control of. This wasn’t one of them. I wanted to graduate. I wanted to take down the Tribe. I wanted to make it past my twenty-second birthday without a ring on my left hand.
I spent the rest of the day on campus trying to prepare for the finals I had left. When I couldn’t focus anymore, I knew I needed to see Zac.
I tossed my backpack in the backseat and drove to his house. The lights on his street glowed over each driveway. I hadn’t meant to stay so late studying.
I scooped up the key under the doormat and let myself in the house. “Zac?”
It was dark. His computer was open on the coffee table. “Zac?” I called again.
I didn’t have to stop by. I knew I could have as easily called to check on his leg, but there was a pull toward him I was having a hard time fighting. I kept thinking of reasons to see him. To talk to him. It was clear the crush wasn’t going anywhere.
I checked the kitchen, the bathroom, and his bedroom. The house felt empty.
“Zac?” I was nervous. Case was feeling threatened. What if he had done something to Zac? I walked through the kitchen and paused at the garage door. I pulled it open.
“Ok, really? I’ve got to hide my key somewhere else.” Zac grinned. He was standing on one of the mats, shirtless and sweaty.
“I-I wanted to see how you’re doing. I’ll stop using the key if you want,” I offered.
“No. Use it. I like that you use it. What are you doing out so late?”
I hadn’t thought about the time. Nocturnal habits had a way of bleeding into my human life. “Sorry. I should have called. Is it too late?”
“It’s fine. My phone’s inside anyway.” He pivoted on his heel. “Did you come back for another session?”
“Are you up for it? Looks like you’ve been out here awhile.” I noticed the sweat trickling down his neck.
“I’m always ready.” He winked.
“What about your leg?” I was worried it wouldn’t get better without magical assistance.
“That’s why I’m out here. This keeps my mind off it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Doesn’t it hurt more when you move around on it?”
He shook his head. “Focusing on something else keeps my mind off the pain. Really, I’m fine. I can handle it.”
“If you’re sure.” I eyed him. His symptoms seemed odd, but he was alert and energetic. I was starting to realize how paranoid I had become.
“Want to start with something new tonight?” he asked.
I met him on the mat. “What did you have in mind?”
He took me by the shoulders and turned me so I was facing away from him. “I thought we could work on how to react if someone comes up behind you. You’ll want to engage them face-to-face, but I could show you some tactics to get to that point.”
He draped an arm around my neck. “Don’t move. I’ll walk you through it step by step first.”
I relaxed my back against his chest. It would be wrong to savor this. I needed to sharpen my fighting skills, not relish the feel of his body pressed next to me, the heat of his skin radiating the air around me, the sound of his voice in my ear.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded, closing my eyes. “Ready.”
His chest heaved with each breath he took. I didn’t know what he was going to do, but as long as he was touching me, I liked it.
I felt the force of his grip surround my upper arm. It was a solid hold. For a second, I didn’t know if I’d be able to twist out of it.
“Remember,” he whispered. “Relax first. Take a second to assess what’s going on around you.”
As a panther, I was in tune to every sound, every scent, every bit of energy my enemy threw in my direction, but in human form, I had to work through emotions. Emotions I could turn off when I shifted. Right now, the closeness of Zac’s breath on my neck was distracting me. The things I wanted him to do. The way I wished he would turn the lights off again and kiss me.
“Now, I’m going to put you in a hold. I want you to try to turn around so that we’re facing each other.”
“Ok. I’m ready.”
I waited as he slid his free hand across my stomach, his fingers trailing over the skin my cropped shirt exposed. I swallowed. He wrapped himself tightly around me and pulled me against his chest, one arm pinning me from the top and the other from my waist.
He wanted me to fight my way out, show him I reme
mbered all the skills he had taught me from our first session, but all I could think of was my fingers in his hair, his mouth on mine, my clothes on his floor.
“Dare?” His voice vibrated over my ear. “You ok?”
I nodded. I had to fight this side of me as much as I needed to fight him right now. I closed my eyes, shutting it off. Blocking out the images. Shoving the feelings away.
Without warning, I dropped to the floor, slipping out of his hold and spinning to face him, my arms poised to strike him.
“Whoa. That was badass.” He met my stance.
I punched forward, and he knocked the blow with his forearm. We continued to spar. Me jabbing, slicing through the air. Zac anticipating what I was going to do, correcting my motions, perfecting my technique.
He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “What do you say we call it a night?”
I had been there at least an hour. “Sure. It’s late, isn’t it?”
He sat on one of the weightlifting benches. “It is, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a while.”
I watched as he guzzled from a water bottle. “I’m kind of a night person anyway.”
“Aren’t all college students?”
I didn’t know if that was a knock on my age. “No. I don’t think so. I’ve always been a night person. I seem to sleep better the later I go to bed.”
“You’re not a vampire, are you?” He chuckled.
“God, no.” I took the bottle when he handed it to me. There were bits of ice floating on top.
“I was kidding. This town is crazy about all these legends. Clearly, you’re not a vampire. I’ve seen you outside in the sun.” He winked.
“Right.” The direction this conversation was headed made me nervous. I didn’t want to talk about Sullen Grove’s supernatural residents.
He rose from the bench. “How about a beer? Want to hang out before the sunrise?”
I looked at my phone for the time. “I can stay for one beer.” I didn’t need to start patrol yet.
“Maybe I can convince you to stay for two.” He winked. He walked to the kitchen door. I was happy to see his limp was improving.
I followed him inside the house and sat on the couch. He twisted off the top to the beers and handed one to me.
“Thanks.” I took a swallow.
I noticed he hadn’t bothered to put a shirt on. His skin was warm and the back of his neck was still wet with sweat. He was making it difficult to keep my feelings locked in a box in the back of my head. I needed that box. I needed it to be smooth and black, with a lid that locked so tightly it couldn’t slip open, spilling out feelings and wants. I pictured it holding images of Zac. I could put anything I wanted into that box. Right now, the urge to be tangled up in his sheets needed to get in there. I needed it to stay sealed.
“I was wondering if you would train my friends.” I placed the beer on the coffee table.
“That’s not what I thought you were going to say.”
“I told them you were really good at tai chi and that we worked out together. They want to try a self-defense class with you.”
“I’m not an instructor. You know that, right?”
“You might as well be. Look at what you’ve already taught me.” I stared at him, waiting for him to cave.
“You’re naturally talented. You don’t even really need me. I think you could hold your own. An exceptionally hot student. Which leads me back to my vampire theory.” He grinned.
I punched him in the arm. “I’m not a girl vamp.”
“Ok, ok. But you definitely hit like one. Is there a steel rod in your arm?” He rubbed the side of his arm. “If they need some help with self-defense, I’d be happy to help them.”
“Thanks. It would mean a lot to me.”
“Then, I’ll definitely do it.” He sat his empty bottle next to mine. He shifted closer to me on the couch.
I saw the look in his eyes. The one that said he was about to kiss me with one of those all-consuming kisses. I pictured the black box. Naked Zac was in that box. The corner of the lid was cracked slightly. Just enough.
It didn’t matter what she did, or what she said. She was in my head. She filled my senses. I couldn’t sit this close to her and not want to feel her against my chest, feel her lips move against mine.
It wasn’t a conquest to me. Sure, I wanted to take her to my bed, but I was actually ok not sleeping with her. I wanted her near me, and it scared the hell out of me. Maybe I needed to back off.
I slid back on the couch, a cushion’s distance between us. “Are you up for a movie?” The remote control was within reach. I flipped on the TV.
I saw a confused look on her face. “A movie? Sure, as long as you don’t try to torture me with Twilight or Fright Night.”
I laughed. “Too close to home?”
She shoved me again. “Indiana Jones anyone?”
“Wait? Is that what you think I’m like?”
She smiled, tilting her head to the side. “If the fedora fits.” She covered a laugh with her hand. “I can totally see you swinging from a rope down the side of a cave on one of your trips.”
“And are you on this trip with me? Want to rappel down the side of a waterfall? Or we could hunt for gold in Egypt. What do you say?”
I would take her anywhere in the world she wanted to go. I thought I was kidding, but realized the truth had crept into our banter.
The laughter stopped. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Seriously. I want to take you somewhere.”
“Out of Sullen’s Grove?” Her eyes were wild.
“That’s the plan.”
I had never traveled with anyone. Never even thought about it. Until now. Suddenly, it felt like life or death. I wanted to show her the sunsets over the desert and the sunrise from the ocean. There were snowdrifts on tops of mountain peaks, and fields of wild flowers. I could show her all of it.
“I-I can’t leave Sullen’s Grove.” The light dimmed. She lowered her eyes. “Thank you, though.”
“Hey, we’ll do it later. After graduation? After you figure out your summer plans. Ok?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
I placed the remote in her lap. “Lady’s choice. I’ll watch whatever you choose.”
She looked at me. “Any movie I want? You sure about that?”
“Yes.” I pushed myself off the couch. “While you look for something, I’m going to jump in the shower. Be back in ten minutes. I might have some popcorn in the cabinet.”
But I stared a little too long. Lingered in the energy. She somehow managed to wrap innocence and seduction together. I couldn’t stop myself. I leaned down, brushing my lips across hers. I don’t know what I expected, but her mouth met mine with hungry force. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me back to the couch. It was as if she finally unleashed something she had been hiding from me. A carnal side that needed to be awakened.
I canvassed her body with my hands, remembering how she felt and needing to know more. I tugged on her shirt until it landed on the floor beside us. Her back arched as the kisses fired hotter. I kissed the stars behind her ear, kissed the soft skin on her throat, threading my fingers through hers and raising her hands over her head. Nothing compared to this. She was strong and soft. Sexy and delicate. The passion flowed through her, yet I felt as if I was in control.
“God, I want you,” I whispered as my mouth met her shoulder.
Her head rolled back, and I swear a purr came from her lips. I propped myself up to look at her. The green in her eyes was alive, swimming with emerald glitter, as she stared at me.
“Your eyes are so…” I tried to think of a word that would describe what they did to me. The English language has a lot of faults; it was letting me down again.
“Green?” She smiled.
I nodded. “Yeah. Green.”
“Thank you.” She pulled me towards her, her mouth moving wildly, her tongue expertly twining along mine.
I didn’t
care anymore that I hadn’t taken a shower. My heart was beating faster. Her breath blew against my neck as I inhaled her, tasted the cinnamon on her lips. I wanted to get lost in her. Drunk from the way she touched me.
I could finally show her the way the feelings had been building inside me. How she was giving me days of light. Moments of happiness that made me a better man. Finding her had made me feel alive again. I could show her all of it.
Suddenly, it was as if my body was being split in half. I reached for my leg, the agony searing through my skin.
“Zac? What’s wrong?”
I fell to the floor. The pain had moved from my leg and was crawling up my spine, wrapping my nerves in fire.
“Zac!” Dare screamed and dropped to the floor next to me.
“Something’s wrong.” I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to talk. I could feel the wave moving up my neck, surrounding the inside of my throat. It was stabbing me from the inside out.
“What’s happening?” She started to search my body, shoving my hands out of the way. Rolling me from one side to another.
“Call 9-1-1.” I tried to form the words, but I don’t know if she heard me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll fix this.” She ran her hands over my forehead. “Just hang in there. I know someone who can help. I promise you’ll be ok. Stay with me. Don’t go to sleep.”
Before I could ask, the room started to close in on me. She seemed farther away and her hands felt cold and icy. Her voice sounded fuzzy, and then everything went dark.
I tried to move my arm, but it was strapped to the bed. “What the—?” They were both tied down. I could only move my fingers.
I looked around. The walls were dark, but I was definitely not in a house. They flickered from flames. It looked like a cave.
There were voices talking down the hall.
“I promise he won’t remember this.”
“You’re sure?” I recognized Dare’s voice.
“I’m an Eraser. If there is one thing I can do, it’s make him forget all of this.”