"Oh, I just thought –"
"Keys," he repeated.
I searched in my purse and placed them in his palm. His fingers closed around them and before I knew it, he chucked the apple at my chest and I scrabbled to catch it. "Here, hold this," he said.
I glared at his back as he walked to the car. What had gotten into him? I was used to the teasing by now, but it seemed like he was intentionally trying to be mean.
The car ride was silent and awkward, at least for me. Liam was driving faster than he usually did, which made me worry a bit. He had the utmost respect for vehicle safety, the safety of the vehicle itself, that was. Knuckles white with an irritated look on his face, Liam swerved around a car as we sped down the highway. The car honked and Liam looked in the rearview mirror and bared his fangs at the driver.
I bit my tongue, smiling, and looked out my window.
"What?" Liam demanded.
Shaking my head, I replied, "Nothing. Just—"
"Just what?" he asked hotly.
"Nothing," I said, taken aback. "Really."
He harrumphed and put on the radio. The station was playing some terrible song.
"I can't listen to this," I said, reaching for the button to change the station.
He slapped my hand away. "I love this song."
I gave him a look, and said, "No, you don't."
Liam gave me an icy smile and turned up the volume to the point where my seat was vibrating with the bass. I gritted my teeth. How long until we reached Callum's? How freakin' long?
I could tell Liam was in pain, too. The song was that bad. Looking at his face, I reached for the volume knob and turned the music down.
"Having a bad day?" I asked him carefully.
There was a pause, and then he huffed, "That's none of your business."
I clasped my hands in my lap. "Okay, sorry," I replied quickly. I tried to think of something neutral to talk about. "So…"
"Please don't try to make meaningless conversation."
My jaw dropped a little. "Oh. Okay, sorry…again," I said.
"Stop apologizing. It's annoying."
"Jesus," I said under my breath. "I—"
"And don't use the Lord's name in vain. It's a sin."
My head jerked to look at him. "Since when did you become so religious?"
"I didn't."
The car nearly side-swiped a van. I gripped the door handle.
"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you, Liam?" I demanded.
He put his foot down on the gas and whipped past five cars. I hoped there weren't any cops around. And that Liam remembered that I was still just a human and I probably wouldn't walk away unscathed if we crashed.
"Nothing at all. I'm doing perfectly fine," he replied with a humourless smile.
"Oh, obviously," I told him.
He swerved across three lanes of traffic and barely made an exit. In the midst of cars honking at us, I had glanced at the sign. We weren't taking the right exit to Callum's house. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," he replied.
I sighed. "Liam, seriously. Where are we headed?"
His head snapped to look at me and he replied with a slow pronunciation of each word, "You'll. See."
We were driving onto the main street of a small town. There were quaint little bars, restaurants packed with the Thursday night crowd, closed stores, and people milling around, enjoying the clear night.
"Liam—" I began.
"What?" he snapped. "What do you want, Dahlia?"
He used my full name, which told me something was really wrong. I frowned and put my hands up in surrender. "I was just wondering how far away wherever we're going is? But never mind—"
"Stop nagging me with stupid questions," he said angrily.
Shifting in my seat to look at him straight on, I replied, "Okay, look, I don't know why you're so mad at me. I can understand if you're having a shitty day, but please don't take it out on me."
He emitted a dangerous growl and roughly pulled the car onto the side of the street, parking it in front of a closed hardware store with a screech. He clenched his teeth and said, "I was having a great evening until I had to come and babysit you."
"Oh, sorry," I said sarcastically.
He tilted his head to the side and glared at me. "Do you know how much I hate having to drive you around? You and your—" he waved a hand at my head, "—stupid hair and stupid—"
"My stupid hair?" I repeated, sending a hand to tuck a strand behind my ear.
"—irritating voice and your stupid—" he inhaled sharply, "—your stupid scent that makes me just want to—"
I swallowed. There was a moment of vibrating tension as his eyes blackened and looked at my neck. I clapped a hand over the spot he was looking at. His gaze met mine and his nostrils flared.
"I'm hungry," he said bluntly, and opened the car door and stepped out.
My mouth was slightly agape as I opened my door and got out of the car as well. I was so confused. What did he mean by "I'm hungry"? Surely he wasn't going to grab one of these people…
I saw him with his head down, following a couple who was walking into a shadowy area near a small alleyway.
"Oh, come on," I muttering, slamming the door shut.
I began jogging to catch up with Liam. This was ridiculous. I reached the alley and saw the couple kissing on the corner. I couldn't see Liam anywhere. Then I saw a flash of black and something tingled in my veins and I just knew Liam was lurking in the darkness near me. Whatever Letalis Flora power I had was telling me that there was a dangerous vampire around.
"Liam," I hissed down the alley where I had seen the flash.
There was silence. The couple glanced my way curiously, but resumed murmuring to each other in a matter of seconds. I crossed my arms, the night's breeze a little chilly.
"Liam!" I said, louder this time.
The couple looked startled and starting walking down the street again. I breathed a sigh of relief. Liam strode out of the shadows, hands balled at his sides.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snarled, coming to stand extremely close to me. He loomed over me and I was actually a little afraid. "You scared them off."
"You know you can't just bite unwilling people," I reasoned.
"I can do whatever I want," he retorted.
"Yes, you can," I agreed. "But you just can't do that."
He got right up in my face. "Yes. I. Can."
"Okay." I bit my lip. I tried to keep things calm and peaceful between us. "I don't want to argue."
Laughing viciously, he leaned back and said, "It's too late for that."
I was beginning to get angry, too. "What has gotten into you?"
"What has gotten into me?"
"Yeah," I said. "You've—"
"What has gotten into me?" He began to pace back and forth at the entrance of the alleyway, then stopped. "What has gotten into you?"
"What? You were the one chucking apples at me while I slept. I don't know what I did to piss you off."
"Just shut up, Dahlia," he nearly yelled. "Just shut up. You—"
"I what?" I demanded.
"You—" he growled, pointing a finger at my chest, "You—I can't even…you're so—"
I looked at him expectantly, waiting for his answer. He hesitated and then whipped away, striding back towards the car. I shook my head, turned to follow him, and called after him, "I'm so what, Liam? At least finish what you have to say."
He stopped with his back to me. I slowed down and stopped about five feet away from him. He turned around slowly, eyes closed and jaw tense. "Stop pushing me," he said in a low growl. "I've never had a very good temper."
Brow furrowed, I said, "I'm not trying to push you."
"Well, it feels that way," he snapped.
I said nothing. There was obviously something he wanted to get out, but he wouldn't say it. While I waited for him to say something, I noticed that there were a few people that were watching us cu
riously. I felt a little self-conscious, so I walked over to Liam so we didn't have to yell at each other. His dark eyes, slightly narrowed, followed my every move. I gave him an "out-with-it" look.
He grabbed my arm and yanked me closer. "I know what you did," he said sharply.
I twisted out of his grip and looked up at him, confused. "What did I do? This isn't about my hair again, is it?"
He was not amused. He glowered at me for a moment, then turned his head to look at a spot across the street. I could tell he wasn't really looking at anything in particular, his mind elsewhere. "Last night," was all he said.
I was still confused, and then I had a feeling I knew what this was about. Was this about Callum and I sleeping together? How did he even know? I analyzed his face for some sign of what was going on. Why did this bother him so much?
A cool wind swept over us and a chill set in deep in my bones. I crossed my arms over my chest. "What about last night?"
He sneered, "I'm not stupid."
"That's debatable, but okay —"
"I have excellent hearing, you know?" He inhaled and shook his head. "I wanted to tell Mr. Knightley about Lester's progress and I went to the room and I heard—"
Turning red, I put a hand to my mouth. Liam's eyes bored into mine, still angry, taking in my reaction with no sympathy. I felt my blush spread. Liam heard us? I dropped my hand and tried to compose myself. I was an adult. This wasn't that bad.
"Okay…" I said, not knowing what else would be appropriate in a situation like this.
"Okay?" he repeated heatedly. "That's all you have to say?"
"What should I say?"
This was so confusing. I didn't know what he wanted from me. From the way he was looking at me, it didn't look like he knew either. His face was still angry when he turned and headed for the car.
Following him, I talked to his back. "Look, I'm sorry that this somehow upsets you, but what Callum and I do is none of your business. But that being said, you shouldn't have had to…hear…" We reached the car and he was already over by the driver's side, opening the door. "Wait," I said a bit breathlessly. I stood on the other side of the car.
He opened the door but didn't get in. He braced one hand on the hood of the car and one on the door, head tilted down towards the pavement.
"I'm…God, I don't know…a little mortified?" I told him. "I don't want this to make things tense between us. I—I like whatever it is that we have, Liam. I guess I sort of trust you. Even if you're a vampire who's been told to kill me or turn me." I let out a breathy laugh. He was still looking at the ground. "And I'm sorry that my hair and voice and 'scent' annoy you. Trust me, it's not intentional. And I'm sorry you found out about last night that way."
He stood still and I just waited. A few moments passed, and then he got in the car and shut the door. Eyes cast down, I scuffed my shoe on the sidewalk.
Sex always had some sort of aftermath. It didn't matter how good it was or how happy you were afterwards, there were always repercussions. Sometimes you could predict what they would be, but sometimes they took you off guard. Just like this one.
The window buzzed down and I squatted to peer into the car. Liam was staring at the car parked in front of him, not making any eye contact with me. "Are you going to get in?" he asked impatiently. "We don't have all night, sunshine."
I grinned despite myself. I hated that stupid nickname, but I'd never been more relieved to hear it. He still sounded grumpy, but I didn't care. I hopped right in.
"Friends?" I asked.
"Don't push your luck," he grumbled.
I laughed quietly and settled into my seat, the sick feeling in my stomach dissipating. Liam started the car and merged back onto the road.
He drove the speed limit this time.
Chapter 25
* * *
Liam drove to a large estate set far from the main road. As we drove up the long driveway, some nerves settled in the pit of my stomach at the thought of seeing Callum again. They were the good kind of nerves, the ones that made you feel like you were in middle school again, the ones that were usually accompanied by a slow blush and an increase in body temperature. My fingers gripped my purse a little tighter and I focused on breathing.
The estate came into view and my eyes widened. It was an enormous place, like a miniature version of a French chateau. The outside was whitewashed brick with large, paned windows, and the sides were rounded into turrets. I noticed a big tent was set up in the yard on the right side of the house. People dressed in white uniforms were bustling around under it.
Gravel crunching, the car pulled into a parking spot on the left side of the house. Liam turned off the car and we were emerged in darkness. It had been a completely silent ride and even though most of the tension had subsided, some still lingered.
"What is this place?" I asked in the hush of the car.
Liam opened the door, and muttered, "Where Mr. Knightley's birthday party is going to be."
That made sense. I stepped out as well and followed him as he passed by the front door and headed for the tent. We walked underneath it and I tried to take it all in at once.
Even in the process of being decorated, the place already looked spectacular. There was a very earthy feel to the theme. The people in uniforms were setting up round wooden tables, smoothing white linen tablecloths on top of them, constructing centerpieces out of wood and lilies, and stringing up little white lights. There was an open patio next to the tables, obviously meant for dancing. Two men over there were squabbling over how to set up the speaker system.
Liam stopped a few feet into the tent. "Where is Mr. Knightley?" he barked at the staff.
Everyone looked at him with startled expressions on their faces. Liam looked out of place in his leather pants. He did not fit into the earthy theme at all. I had to control the smile on my face.
An older Hispanic woman arranging plates on a table spoke up, "I believe he is inside, sir."
Liam turned on his heel and walked out of the tent. I gave the woman a "thank you" nod and followed him out. I felt like I had been chasing after Liam all night.
We went through an open glass door on the side of the house, stepping into a huge dining room that was in the process of being decorated as well. The whole theme, with the centerpieces, white high-backed chairs, and cream-coloured flowers in tall glass vases, went very well with the stone floor and walls. Round tables were being set up by three women who glanced at us as we came in.
"Mr. Knightley?" Liam asked rudely.
One of the women pointed to a room adjacent to the one we were in. My stomach was twisting itself into knots. I licked my lips and trailed behind Liam as he stalked through the open archway. The room seemed to be part of the same dining room, just a little smaller. The tables hadn't been arranged yet and were all on one side of the room. This room was empty of people, though, and Liam made an annoyed sound. The woman from the dining room poked her head around the archway and looked around.
"Oh, I was wrong, sorry," she said. She stepped fully in the room and wiped her hands on her pants. She was a cute blonde girl with enviable dimples. "I thought I saw him come over here. He's probably in the kitchen, then."
"You idiot," Liam muttered as he walked past her, back into the dining room and through a door.
I smiled apologetically at the girl, who looked a bit horrified, and went after Liam. We crossed the foyer, went around a wide, marble staircase, and headed into the back of the estate.
"You didn't have to be so mean to that girl," I said to his back.
He glanced over his shoulder and gave me a scathing look. "I was just being honest," he replied.
I frowned at him. "I think there's a line between being honest and malicious."
"No," he said, "I don't think there is."
"Of course you don't," I said. "You're lucky I'm not 'honest' with you, then."
He pushed open a door and it led us into a kitchen that any restaurant would kill to have. Large an
d open with chrome appliances and state-of-the-art technology, it wasn't what I expected of a kitchen in such an old-style house.
Liam turned and looked at me. "Oh, yeah? Are you saying you haven't been honest with me, sunshine?"
"Not honest in the way you define it, I guess."
He laughed and leaned against one of the counters. He raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Out with it, then."
I shook my head and grinned. "I wouldn't want to hurt your feelings." I glanced around for Callum, but I didn't see him. "Where's Callum?"
He waved a hand dismissively. "He's in the back," he said. He could probably smell him or whatever vampires did. "Hold on. First, I want to hear this."
"No."
"If you want to be friends again, we're going to have to be honest with each other," he said teasingly. I was glad he was in the mood to attempt some joking.
"Ha," I let out, pretending not to be amused, but I was actually extremely relieved that we were settling back into our normal bickering routine.
"Do you want me to be completely honest with you?" he asked with a glint in his eye.
My eyes widened and I adjusted my purse on my shoulder. "Oh, hell no. I don't even want to know. I already know you have some issue with my hair. That's enough for me."
He stuck out his bottom lip. "It's just all…wild," he explained.
Glaring at him, I said, "And yours is all greasy. How's that for honesty?"
He tried to look wounded and touched a hand to his hair. "This—" he pointed out, "—this is called gel, sunshine."
"Uh-huh," I said, unconvinced. I knew it was gel, but I wanted to give him a hard time.
"Obviously, it's something you've never heard of."
I clapped a hand to my chest. "Ooh, straight to the heart."
Flashing me a toothy grin, "You know, I think the only nice thing I have to say about you—"
I groaned. "I'm serious, Liam…I don't want to know."
"—is that you're surprising well-armed most of the time." He looked at my purse on my shoulder. I didn't even want to know how he knew my Firestar was packed in there. "For a girl, at least."
My head fell back in exasperation. "Jesus."
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