"Oh. Sorry. I'm just a little freaked out after seeing the news about the missing girls," I mutter, gauging his reaction with subtle scrutiny.
He nods, his smile fading as seriousness takes place.
"You should be. It's unnerving. Just be careful, and try not to walk home so late. Why did they make you shut down alone?"
Because I'm the new girl and a sucker.
"Because the other girls wanted to go to the dock party."
"Ah. Well, personally, I feel no party gets going good until close to midnight."
"Midnight, eh?" I ask, feeling all the more relaxed now.
Not immortal, just a bad boy human. Crap. I think that's even worse.
Midnight is the showing hour, and all blood drinkers loathe it because they're forced to reveal the monster they are. It's when their fangs show against their will, and their eyes glow their true color, even though they're not ready to show themselves.
"Well, it was odd but nice meeting you. Sorry I wasn't better company," I murmur as I start off the sidewalk and down my gravel path to my house.
"You live here?" he asks, seeming surprised, possibly a little confused.
"Yeah, why?"
"It's just... what made you choose this house?"
It was the first affordable house I found that was far away from my overbearing, paranoid, ridiculously protective mother.
"It was cheap, I needed something close to town, and it's small. Why? Is something wrong with it?"
He shakes his head, obviously hiding something. "Not at all. A friend of mine lived here a while back. I didn't realize she was selling it."
"I bought it from a woman in her early thirties. Jessica... Richards? I think."
"Sounds about right," he murmurs to himself, staring at the house as though he's looking for something... someone.
He seems confused.
"Were you close to her?" I muse.
"Not really, it's just odd this place made it back on the market without my knowing."
Okay. I'm curious now, but I'd rather talk about something other than the prior owner of my house.
He concentrates on the house for a second longer, giving me a chance to examine him better under the moonlight. He's so much hotter than I initially thought now that I can truly gawk at him.
"I should get going," I strain out, knowing Mom would kick my ass for speaking to a dark-haired beauty in the middle of the night. "It was nice meeting you..."
"Kane," he says softly, giving me his delicious, dissolving smile once again.
"Nice to meet you, Kane."
"I'm sure you'll see me around. Especially since you work at the diner. It's my main source of nourishment."
Butterflies ruffle through my stomach, and I smile involuntarily.
I don't know if I should stay or go. Now that I finally believe he's human, I'm almost considering going to the dock party.
"I should head on before all the booze is gone. I'll see you around, Alyssa," he says while turning away, making me sick at my stomach.
"How did you know my name?" I release in a crackle.
He just laughs, turning back, mocking my fear.
"You're still wearing your tag," he says while motioning to my shirt, and then he winks at me before walking away.
I look down to my uniform, and I roll my eyes when I see the big slab advertising my name.
Idiot.
I've officially made myself look like an absolute wreck now that I've freaked out for no real reason.
I turn around and head inside, hoping to fall right to sleep. A shadow passes through the room, and I squeal out.
"Ha! Knew I'd scare you," Frankie murmurs as he appears in front of me.
"Stupid warlocks," I grumble. "I knew you were here."
He laughs harder, reveling in his successful plot to leave me shaking and breathing hard.
"I know, that's why I didn't bother showing myself back at the diner. By the way, who was that guy you were walking with?"
A delicious human that I made myself look like a psycho in front of.
"Spying much?" I scoff while walking by him.
Frankie looks much younger and acts much younger than he actually is. His soft eyes and timeless face remind me of what's to come.
"You told your mother you wouldn't be getting involved with any guys until the disappearances stop."
"I'm not getting involved with anyone, Frankie. Besides, he's human."
"You're sure?"
He runs his hand through his blond hair as he stares worriedly at me.
"He would have tried something. The streets were deserted. All he did was accompany me on my walk since it was on his way."
"So you showed him your mark?" he asks naively.
Though he's my mother's best friend, he doesn't know all of my dark, jaded secrets. Mom's poor taste in men left her with a daughter too strong for her own damn good.
"Um, it wasn't necessary."
He sighs and grips his head.
"Your mother isn't going to be happy about this."
"Happy about what?" I can't think of absolutely anything I've done wrong. Hell, I've spent all day at work.
"You coming home so late, talking to a handsome stranger, and then letting him walk away after finding out where you live."
I'm sick of this. I've literally been one day without my mother, and already I'm getting scolded by her spy. She's not going to make me feel like a child in my own house. That was the entire reason I moved all the way out here to Pine Shore.
"My mother can't control my life. Neither can you. Now go loiter in someone else's home. I'm taking a shower and going to bed."
He tightens his lips, knowing better than to argue with me.
"Fine, but I'll be around. This place is crawling with immortals. I can feel their energy. It's a good thing your mother can't do the same, otherwise she'd be the one stalking you right now."
"Overbearing, untrusting, arrogant immortals," I mumble under my breath while heading to my room.
"I heard that," he calls from the living area, but I ignore him as I hear the front door shut behind him.
My first night, and I'm getting treated like a child who is still living with her crazy mother. Just for that, screw them. I'm going to the dock party.
I walk up, tugging at the ends of the dress I didn't realize was this short, and my eyes fall on all the drunken fools acting out. Everyone is completely wasted right now, and I haven't had a sip. This could either be really fun, or incredibly annoying.
"You came," a voice says from behind, and I turn to meet the guy who invited me, though he's staggering drunk.
I don't even know how he recognizes me with his heavy duty beer-goggles on.
"I thought we had a moment."
"A moment?" I muse, stifling a laugh as he reaches for me and misses.
"Yeah," he says as he tries to figure out which of the many images is actually me.
"Seeing double?" I giggle out.
"Seeing quadruple," he jokes while shaking his head. "It's fucking wonderful since there're four of you and one of me."
When he finally finds me, his arm wraps around my waist to pull me to him.
"Hey, whoa. Easy, Romeo," I say through my snickers while escaping his hold.
"I can show you Romeo," he slurs while leaning toward me again, and I take a step back, bumping into someone.
I look up to see Kane towering over me, and my heartbeat quickens to the point of feeling like I'm going to explode.
"I thought you weren't coming," he says with a deviously sexy smile.
"I changed my mind," I mutter softly while turning to face him, and his eyes fall down to my chest before popping back up to meet mine.
"Yo, dude, she's with me," the drunken mess murmurs while tugging at my hand.
"Please stop," I huff while struggling to pull my hand free.
Then I feel Kane leaning over me and freeing me from the grasp.
"Actually, I think Alyssa is with
me, considering I'm sober."
"So am I," he says while laughing ridiculously hard. "Alyssa is a pretty name."
I'm tempted to make his hand go crazy and splash his beer in his face, but I refrain from using magic.
Kane pulls me back behind him, tucking me safely in his grasp, and then he gently murmurs, "Actually, she's my girl. Better luck next time, Mark."
Mark huffs and slumps down to the ground. Fortunately, he's too drunk to even try to counter. I smirk as Kane pulls my hand in his and leads me toward the bonfire.
"Your girl, eh?" I tease.
He laughs a little, and then he looks over his shoulder.
"It worked, didn't it? You're here without anyone to help you rebuff their attempts, and you're wearing that," he says, motioning to my dress, his brow rising.
He offers me a glance that makes me blush, and he smirks before looking away.
"Are you trying to say you like my dress?" I flirt, and his smile grows.
He props up against the side of a truck and studies me intently, making me feel a little on display. The intensity of his green eyes is mesmerizing, and the way his dark hair plays with the wind is breathtaking.
"You're a little confusing, Alyssa," he says while tilting his head. "You seemed terrified of me earlier, and yet now you're here, flirting with me."
Way to be obvious, Alyssa.
"I thought your girl was supposed to flirt with you," I say jokingly to lighten the mood, praying I don't look like the mess I feel I do.
"Cute. So, why'd you change your mind about coming?" he says softly, shifting as he puts his hands in his pocket.
Five seconds ago he seemed so confident, and now he seems nervous.
"Long story. So, are these people your friends?"
He lets his eyes drift around, taking in the partiers as he mulls that over.
"Some of them. You want me to introduce you around?" he asks curiously while hopping up on the tailgate of a truck.
"Um, nah. I'm not staying long. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about."
And I secretly wanted to see him again - possibly to piss my mother off. Great. I had to move out before I had the courage to start acting rebellious.
"Well, now you see a bunch of lake-loving drunks. Some fun, huh?" he says through a laugh, making me chuckle lightly while nodding in agreement.
I look down to see it's almost midnight.
"So much for your theory - the fun gets started at midnight. It looks like it gets sloppy after eleven."
He laughs ridiculously hard, and then he lifts me up, as though I weigh nothing, to pull me beside him on the tailgate of the truck. His unexpected touch makes my breath hitch, but I play it off without letting him know how he just affected me.
"You'll have to come to one of my parties sometime. This one shouldn't be setting the bar for this place. I wouldn't have come if I had known it'd be this pathetic."
"You live close to here?" I muse, given the way he said it.
"Yeah, two houses over. You should come by sometime, seriously. We have a party at least once a week. My roommates are relentless hell-raisers."
I smile lightly, and then I tug at my dress when I see it has risen almost too high. He looks down and smirks.
"Pink's a good color on you," he murmurs, his eyes motioning to my dress.
I start to thank him when a group of people walk up to us. They're laughing and talking
"Hey, Kane," one girl says. "We're ditching the dud party and having the after party at our place. You coming?"
He looks to me and smirks. "Told you."
I force a smile, but my stomach is almost queasy. There's no way this many hot-as-hell people are all in one group without them being some sort of immortals. Maybe they're harmless though.
Or maybe you just think he's hot and now you're making excuses.
Girls are missing. And here is a group of immortals, but I know Kane isn't. They're not blood drinkers... they can't be. It's now after midnight, and no one is revealing themselves. Midnight is the waking hour when their victims' deaths force the curse of revelation. They're planning to party, not hide.
"You coming?" a guy prompts, his eyes questioning Kane. "You can bring your... new girl."
His eyes rake over me once before looking to Kane to give him a smile of approval, and Kane lets out a laugh.
"I'll see. You guys head on."
They all start walking off, though one girl turns around to burn through me with her glare. She's the only girl without a guy's arm draped around her, and I start wondering if she's into Kane. I sure as hell don't need to make enemies with her until I know what she is.
"Girlfriend?" I muse as she turns around, my eyes still watching her carefully.
"Don't have one."
I turn back to see his eyes staring into mine, his far too sexy grin making my skin heat up, and I almost shiver in response.
"Cold?" he asks while leaning toward me.
"No, um... I just.... I need to get going."
I struggle to slide off the truck gracefully when my legs stick to the tailgate. Suddenly I'm being lifted and sliding down a wonderfully hard body as Kane lowers me to the ground.
Oh damn.
Everything on me is tingling to be touched by him right now, and I'm almost looking forward to the sort of mistakes I could make.
He brushes my hair from my shoulder while wrapping his arm around my waist, and then he starts ushering me through the crowd.
"I'll walk you home. It's late, and you shouldn't be walking back by yourself."
If he really is human, along with his model friends, then I'd be the one protecting him. If he's not human, and I'm being played, my mom is going to kick my ass.
"I'll be fine. You should probably go monitor your party-animal roommates."
He lets free a grin that sends the most heated chills through my bones, making my heart thud loudly.
"So, it's not me you're scared of, but being alone with me? I think you might have a bit of a crush, Alyssa," he teases, his green eyes burning into mine without fear.
I'm such a damn girl.
"Um... I don't... we... I-"
"Look, I'm walking you home. You can't go walking around by yourself this late right now. I'd like to see you again - somewhere other than the missing flyers."
I swallow hard, and he takes my hand in his as he starts pulling me away from the party. Now I want to go to his party.
"So... what about going to your party?" I ask, surprising myself.
"You want to go?" he muses, his smile etching up more.
"Is it going to be like this?" I laugh lightly, trying to sound more respectable than a stammering fool.
"Not at all. It'll be more laid back."
"Then... yeah. I want to go."
Cop lights begin flashing as sirens squeal out, and Kane shakes his head while pulling out his phone.
"You might want to can the after party. The cops are here," he says into the phone, and then he hangs up and turns to me. "How old are you?"
"Um, twenty. Why?"
"You're underage. Come on. I'll get you out of here."
He tugs me through a wooded area, forcing me to quicken my pace. He stays quiet and alert, checking from side to side with each step. I can't help but admire the view he's giving me, letting me walk behind him. I'm so pathetic.
Before I know it, we've hit the sidewalk of the streets.
"That was one hell of a short cut. I wish I had known about it on the way there."
He turns to me, stopping our retreat and shakes his head.
"Don't go through those woods without me. It's crazy dangerous, especially at night. Two of the girls that are missing went in one night, and they were never seen again."
I smile a little at his protective tone.
"And you think you can protect me?" I ask, delighting in the warm feeling his words have given me.
"I know I can," he says with that damn heart-stopping grin before pulling me again.
Our fingers stay interlocked as we head down the sidewalk, and then I frown when I see my house coming into view.
"Do you think the cops will be at your house?"
"Probably," he chuckles out. "We've had so many parties interrupted by them that it's just common for us to get the blame. It'll be fine though. We're all legal adults."
"Oh," I say somewhat disappointedly.
I was hoping for an excuse to invite him in without looking like a lusting, hormonal fool. Something about him makes my blood stir with primal need. I wanted to feel those perfectly smooth lips on my skin, devouring me.
"Your eyes," he murmurs softly. "Wow."
Oh shit.
I quickly look away, praying my eyes die down. Fucking mood stone eyes.
"It's like they were turning different colors," he says with a touch of suspicion.
I laugh dismissively, trying to downplay the slip up. "Turning on the smooth talk?"
Out of all the immortals, my eyes are the only ones to do this. No one in my family knows why, and I hate it. Every emotion I have comes through almost too clearly when it gets too strong. I was definitely feeling a strong emotion - desire.
"Not at all," he says with a smile as he walks me to my front door. "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" I ask, feeling my eyes fully back to normal.
"At the diner."
"Oh... yeah."
"I'm going to vote they make this your new uniform," he says with a devious grin while motioning to my showy dress.
I let out a small laugh, but then I'm trapped in his eyes as he props up against my door and stares at me. It's like time has slowed, and I'm considering risking everything and pulling him inside.
"Are you going in?" he asks, his smile growing.
My cheeks flush, and I look down at my feet.
"Yeah. Sorry. Bye," I mumble as I wiggle my keys in the lock.
When my door opens, I step inside and turn to see him again just as he walks off my porch. I really thought he was going to at least try to kiss me.
"You know where I live if you need me for anything," he says with his back turned.
"Actually, I don't," I say, smiling, and he turns to face me before I continue. "You said you lived two houses down, but you didn't say in which direction."
He smiles this time, and then he shrugs before walking back toward me. He gets dangerously close, letting his breath find my lips for a split second, and then he pulls back with my phone in his hand.
Immortal Dreams Page 2