by Serena Robar
The man had a point there.
I gracefully submitted to his proposal and followed him to the front gate.
“Are they open?” I wondered aloud, not seeing any activity inside the building.
“The golf course is open to one A.M. tonight. I called ahead.”
I nodded in agreement. Of course he did. That’s what Thomas did. He made things happen by cell phone. It was one of the things I admired about him. That and his tight rear end, which I was enjoying an unobstructed view of at the moment. Thomas was old school in many ways, including his taste in clothes. Sure, he could do the layered shirt thing with the best of them but he believed that jeans should fit and fit well. No baggy pants for him and really, who could ask for more in a boyfriend?
After paying for nine holes, Thomas escorted me to the first green, a curvy sort of grass corridor leading into a windmill. The trick was to time your stroke so the ball missed the arms of the spinning fan. So easy a child could do it, right?
“You go first,” I insisted and he positioned himself above the ball.
“Have you ever golfed before?” he asked, carefully lining up his aim.
“No, I can honestly say this is my first time,” I admitted as he followed through and sent the little ball straight toward the windmill and directly into the tower. A hole in one.
“I’ll try to be gentle,” he teased softly, looking over his shoulder at me.
I smirked at him then turned my head away toward the entrance. Joking about first times made me remember our fight back in California. Piper had helped me see that I’d been pretty hurtful and childish. Immature, to coin a better term.
“You know, Thomas, I’m sorry about—”
He held up his hand to stop my apology. “No, we’re not going there right now. Now we’re embroiled in the greatest game ever played.”
I giggled at his dramatization. “Greatest game ever played, huh? Miniature golf?”
He shrugged his shoulders and clarified, “Well, golf in any form is a pretty perfect sport.”
I took my turn on the putting green and grunted. Thomas and my dad were a match made in heaven.
“Choke up a little on the club,” he coached and when I didn’t do it to his satisfaction he stepped forward to position my hands himself.
He held me from behind in a semiembrace, hands over mine, and led me through the motions of the stroke. I easily could have spent the entire night deliberately misunderstanding his pointers just to feel his body every time he corrected me. I loved the way he smelled like chocolate chip cookies, and the one thing I wanted more than anything was for things to be right between us and for him to kiss me.
“There you go. Not bad at all,” he murmured in my hair after guiding me through the swing. My eyes were closed and I was leaning back into him, not paying any attention to the ball, but I agreed with him nonetheless, “Mmmmm, not bad at all.”
He abruptly stepped away and I swayed a little, quickly righting myself. Was it fair to change a sixteen-year-old girl into a vampire, leaving her a perpetual hormonal mess for all of eternity? I think not. How could I concentrate on this stupid game if he was going to invade my personal space like that?
I lined up my second shot and hit it much harder than was appropriate, shooting the ball over two greens and past the sixth hole.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
We trotted off to the next course. This one required skipping the ball over a couple of islands surrounded by a foot of water and landing the ball on a lily pad, which was guarded by a jumping frog. I marveled at the skill it would take to achieve a hole in one and thought, Who came up with these stupid courses, anyway?
“I’ll let you go first this time,” Thomas gallantly offered.
As I walked past him to the tee, I smartly retorted, “It seems you’re a little fast and loose with the rules of the greatest game ever played, aren’t you?”
“Maybe I just like the scenery from back here.” He offered this confession in a hushed tone and I practically whacked the fake grass off the concrete.
“Are you doing that on purpose?” I accused, shaking out my arm, which was still vibrating from the club striking the ground.
“Who, me?” he declared, wide-eyed and innocent, taking his turn with the ball. I watched in silence as he gently struck and it bounced not once, but twice and landed perfectly on the next island. We were walking over the bridge that connected the small land when I blurted out, “Have you ever wanted to bite me?”
Thomas was just stepping down from the bridge when I asked, and he tripped over the edge, stumbling into the pond.
Ten
“Thomas, are you okay?” I rushed over to help him.
“What makes you ask a thing like that?” he demanded, struggling to escape the pond without getting his other foot wet. I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward me.
“Well, I just wondered if you ever felt like biting me. Like in the heat of the moment or anything.” If my face could burn with shame, it would be a deep shade of crimson.
“Colby?” Thomas asked, using his exasperated-but-must-have-details voice.
“I’ve heard some people, some living people think that it’s sort of a turn-on. Getting bit by a vampire.” I peeked through my lashes to check out his face.
He definitely looked uncomfortable with the turn our conversation was taking.
“Who did you hear that from?”
I blew out my breath and confessed, “One of the Tribunal Security guards. Is it true, then?”
Thomas ran his fingers through his soft brown hair and then massaged the back of his neck, obviously trying to think of how to say what he was going to say in a way I would understand.
“Well?” I prompted, starting to enjoy his discomfort.
“Well, yes. Some living and Undead enjoy the art of biting when, uh, experiencing certain intimate acts and uh, maybe I have been known to think, uh, certain thoughts about you in, uh, that way.” He finished talking and looked like he was going to faint.
“So, is that a yes then?” I questioned, looking for some clarification on the subject.
He looked at the ground, his wet pant leg and then the club. I was watching him pretty intently and thought I caught a quick affirmative nod.
“And that doesn’t strike you as a little gross? Feeding on your girlfriend?” I was certainly puzzled by the appeal.
“Col-by.” He was using that tone again and drawing out my name to sound more like a groan. Hey, I wasn’t the one with perverted biting fantasies here.
“Can we talk about this someplace more private please?” he pleaded and I turned to look around.
“We’re the only ones here, Thomas. It doesn’t get much more private than total isolation.” Really, the man had no sense of timing at all.
Finally, he gave up speaking to me altogether and pulled me roughly into his arms. Yeah baby. His mouth was on mine and I dropped the stupid club and threw my arms around his neck. We were pressed so closely together I could feel every outline of his body—and I mean every outline. The guy was happy to see me, if you know what I mean.
His tongue was dancing with mine, his hands were all over my back, my shoulders and my butt. After much heated making out, he smoothed his hands over my braids, captured my face and rained kisses over my lips, jawline and neck. I gripped his shoulders tightly, pulling him closer; but it was impossible to get any closer to him than I was.
I felt his mouth open and wanted to warn him not to give me a hickey (because really, they make you look so cheap) and gasped when I felt his fangs pierce my skin. This wasn’t like before, when I was attacked and brutally bitten. This was sexy, erotic and a total turn-on.
My back arched and I moaned his name. It felt like every romance novel I ever read. Okay, so I’ve read a few steamy vampire books. Like you haven’t?
This wasn’t disgusting or painful or mere feeding. This was passion between two consenting Undead. And it was HOT!
“Thomas,” I
moaned again, causing him to pause and take stock of his surroundings. We were in the middle of a miniature golf island and I’d practically wrapped my legs around his waist trying to get closer to him. We might have privacy to talk but I believe we were still in full view of the freeway.
He licked my neck to seal the wound and I shivered in delight. “Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand and practically flinging me toward the gate, our clubs all but forgotten by the faux frog pond. It was a mad dash to the car, with Thomas fumbling for his keys to put in the lock.
He pulled the door open with such force, he hit his knee and swore under his breath. I giggled a little watching him try to put the key in the ignition. On his third attempt, he was successful and revved the engine to life. We broke every speeding law in our haste to find privacy, true privacy. He pulled off the freeway and within two blocks, we were parked in a small numbered lot next to a quaint brownstone in the Beacon Hill area.
I was suitably cooled down by now and realized this was the first time I’d ever been to Thomas’s apartment. He led me to the security entrance and we walked to the end of the corridor. Instead of going up, we went through a door I first thought was for service stuff. Another flight of stairs greeted us and we were downstairs, in the basement. He took out his keys and opened the first door to the left and violà, we’d arrived at his bachelor pad.
I don’t know why I was suddenly so nervous. After all, I was with Thomas and trusted him completely. This was nothing like the backseat of Aidan’s borrowed Volvo. I hadn’t had anything to drink. Things were not out of control or going too fast and besides, Thomas’s kisses made my sluggish blood race.
His place was tidy and masculine. A couple of glasses sat in the draining board by the sink. His bed was semimade and visible from the living room. He turned on the lights, set to dim, then pulled me into his embrace. He was more controlled now, gentler and very tender. I kind of wanted the other Thomas back, the passionate one who wanted me right there on the golf course, but I knew he was hiding beneath the surface, ready to be unleashed after making sure I was ready.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” he whispered, looking deep into my eyes for the least sign of resistance. I wanted to scream, “Yes! Finally!” into his face but thought it might spoil the mood. Instead I nodded demurely and let me tell you, I don’t do demure for just anything.
He led me to his bedroom and kissed me again. My mind flashed to our motel room argument and I knew I couldn’t go any further without telling him I was sorry. “Thomas,” I said, as he pulled my shirt off over my head, “I’m sorry about California. I should have respected you more.”
He kissed one exposed shoulder and then the next. “I understand, Colby, you were excited and wanted to save the day.”
Uh, hello? Are we talking about the same thing here?
I pushed him away gently. “No, I mean about being intimate in the hotel room. I shouldn’t have blurted out my non-virgin status to try to goad you into putting out. I think it’s sweet that you wanted to wait until you were really ready.”
Pausing his tender caresses, he said woodenly, “So, you’re sorry about the sex fight but not about skipping out to save Sage and Tina all by yourself?”
I backpedaled quickly. “No, no. I’m sorry about all of it. I was reckless and I should have been a better partner to you on every level.”
His muscles relaxed beneath my hands after my confession and he started kissing my neck once more. I should have let it go, I should have shut my big fat mouth and not needed to get the last word in, but then I guess I wouldn’t be me then, would I?
“You have to admit,” I murmured into his ear, kneading his back with my hands, “I did manage to get the girls without any help.”
Thomas froze in mid-caress, pulling away from me quickly.
“So you’re not sorry you freed Tina and Sage?”
I looked at him in surprise. “I’m sorry I didn’t follow orders, but I didn’t really need your help, did I? I’m just saying maybe you don’t see how far I’ve come as a Protector, is all.”
“How far you’ve come as a Protector?” he parroted back to me.
“Ye-ah, I did get them safely to Psi Phi House all on my own.”
“And you left me stranded in California in the process,” he reminded me.
“I know, I know. I said I was sorry for that.” He didn’t make apologizing very easy, did he?
“And now Tina is dead.”
His statement hung in the air.
“Are you implying that if I hadn’t freed the half-bloods on my own then Tina would still be alive?” My voice was dead calm.
“I’m saying if you had followed orders and waited for me, we both would have returned to Psi Phi House together and I might have been able to stop Tina’s death.”
“You might have been able to stop Tina’s death? You, all on your own. Because Thomas, God’s gift to Vampire Investigators, would have single-handedly saved Tina if he’d only been there?!”
I flung myself away from him and grabbed the shirt he’d discarded only moments before. I yanked it over my head and was walking to the door before I’d even managed to get my arms through the holes.
“Where’re you going?” he demanded.
I grabbed his keys off the counter, made a very unladylike suggestion of what he could go do and left his apartment.
Eleven
Once outside, I realized that although I’d swiped Thomas’s keys, I wasn’t about to steal his car. I was awfully tempted though so I dumped the keys in his mail slot and walked down the street. After I was far enough away from his building, I pulled out my cell phone and debated who to call.
Piper was out of town and it was way too late to call my parents. I scrolled down the list of numbers and thought that I should really get a car or something. I paused over Carl’s number and after much debate, hit the speed dial. Carl would pick me up with very little questioning. Because he was extremely professional or really didn’t want to know, I wasn’t sure. I just knew I could count on him and that’s what I needed right now. Someone I could count on.
Carl arrived in twenty minutes. His gray Saab perfectly accented his dark good looks. It’s a shame he and Piper didn’t go out again after Homecoming, though they seemed quite fond of each other. Dating a vampire was so complicated.
His tinted window rolled down as he pulled up to the curb and said, “Someone call for a pickup from this address?”
I smirked at him and climbed into the car. He might not ask questions but he would make wisecracks the whole way home. At the moment, it was a small price to pay for a lift.
We’d made it safely onto the freeway before he asked, “So, how are you holding up?”
I snorted, my arms crossed as I kept my eyes glued to the side window, as though engrossed in the view.
“O-kay, then,” he murmured and we drove the rest of the way in silence.
Once we arrived at Psi Phi House, I felt bad about how I was treating Carl. After all, it wasn’t his fault that his partner was an arrogant know-it-all and he had gone out of his way to pick me up. When he parked the car I thanked him for coming to get me.
“Is there something I should know about?” he asked in a concerned way. All of a sudden I needed Carl’s take on the situation. I mean, he was here and Tina still died. Did that mean Thomas thought he was incompetent as well? I highly doubted that because he trusted Carl with everything, including Psi Phi House. It was only me that Thomas thought was a bumbling idiot.
“Do you think we could have done something to save Tina, to keep her from dying?”
“Colby, don’t beat yourself up about this. Sometimes good people die. You of all people should know that. If we knew something …”
“But we did know,” I interrupted. “We knew there was a spy somewhere and we didn’t stop Tina from being killed.”
“Knowing there was a spy who told other vampires where you were going is not the same thing as knowing one of the girls in t
he house was going to commit murder.”
Carl was absolutely right. We didn’t know that. No one knew that or Tina might still be here. Thomas wouldn’t have done anything differently with the same information we had. It wasn’t my fault Tina died because I left Thomas in California.
He was such a friggin’ control freak (and I should know ’cause I was Type A as well) that he’d assumed he could have saved Tina had he just been there. Nothing like piling a little pressure on one’s self. And Thomas thought I had issues. Hello?! That was certainly the pot calling the kettle black.
“Thanks, Carl, you’ve really helped me clarify some things.”
Carl looked more confused than ever. “Glad I could help. Mind telling me how I enlightened your evening?”
“By making me realize I’m not perfect—”
He raised an eyebrow at my declaration.
“—and neither is anyone else.”
My explanation did nothing to alleviate the confused look on his face. I added, “You know, if Piper decides to stay in England you can totally have her job as my best friend.”
Carl actually shuddered at my gracious offer. He shuddered. Was being my best friend such a tough gig? I hardly thought so. I decided Vampire Investigators in general had issues to work out.
“Anyway, thanks again.”
I climbed out of the car and made my way toward the House. I was nowhere closer to finding the killer than I was before, but now I had something I didn’t before. I didn’t need to depend on someone else to believe that I’d done my best. That I was a good Protector. I had faith in myself and that was enough for me.
In the house, most of the girls were subdued and hanging out in the basement. The Tribunal had removed Tina’s body and everyone seemed to silently agree that upstairs was a no half-blood zone. I tried to comfort them as best I could, but it was difficult because I didn’t know if the person I wanted to console was really the killer. In the end, I slipped upstairs to my room and logged onto the Net to check my e-mail.