"Yeah." Ashleigh jumped across the seat and sat next to Natalie. "I would love one." Reaching over, she grabbed the bottle from Natalie’s hand and took a big gulp. "Ick!" Closing her eyes, Ashleigh made a pretend gagging face and shoved the wine back at her friend. "That’s some nasty stuff."
"I like it." Natalie took a drink and tried to force a grin.
"Is the real me really that much of a disappointment?" Ashleigh picked at her pink fingernails, her thick, black curls falling over her cheeks and hiding her face. "Spencer seems to think so. He probably won’t believe me if I tell him the truth."
"Spencer?" Natalie shook her head, a sweet sounding laugh escaping her lips. "Who cares what he thinks?"
"You’re right." Ashleigh sighed as she took another swig from the bottle that Natalie passed her. "He’s a jerk, so it doesn’t matter what he thinks." She handed the wine back then playfully tapped Natalie’s leg. "I’m going to talk to him, so wish me luck." She opened the door, and the man standing there quickly turned to her, "Hey, I need to talk to Spencer."
"He’ll be back soon." The man pointed to the entrance of the bar. There was someone lying on the ground. "Go back inside."
Ashleigh stared, horrified, at the dead body. The person’s face was intact, but the flesh on his neck was torn away. Even though it was dark, she could see the pool of blood forming as he bled out onto the sidewalk.
"Umm…" Ashleigh looked back at the man's stern face, "Okay." She quickly shut the door and sat back in her seat. "Holy shit, Nat!" She shook Natalie’s shoulders as she tried to keep her voice down, speaking in a high-pitched whisper. "There’s a dead guy out there! It's just like—"
"Ashleigh! What are—" Natalie was going to say something more, but the man that had been standing outside came back into the limo.
He glanced at them briefly but didn’t speak. A few seconds later, some of the others filtered in, Nathan and Spencer arriving about ten minutes later. The girls didn’t say anything when they entered, but they couldn’t help but stare at the blood on their faces, especially Spencer’s.
He didn’t look like that suave, handsome man anymore, and when he wiped his face with the sleeve of his coat, it made it even more evident that he was probably not used to being in a suit.
Spencer took off his jacket and placed it in his lap. Underneath, he was wearing a black dress shirt that seemed more fitting to his personality than the white suit he had been wearing. He quickly folded back the sleeves to his elbows, revealing a few braided hemp bracelets that hung around his wrists. That was a dead giveaway that he was only putting on this rich boy act, but Ashleigh wasn’t quite sure why he bothered.
She watched him ruffle his slicked backed hair, spiking it up. Then, he licked his fingers and wiped at the blood still on his face. This action almost made Ashleigh laugh, but she held it in.
"Anyone hungry for desert?" Wearing a sour expression, Spencer seemed to be in a very bad mood, his annoyed gaze falling upon the girls. "There are two little girls still here."
"I can’t get you a meeting with Victoria because she’s just a pen name." Trying to sound brave, Ashleigh’s voice was lower than normal. She dreaded what she was about to do. Closing her eyes, Ashleigh let out a big sigh and gazed at her clasped hands, a sadness creeping into her voice. "So, you’ll have to settle for plain old Ashleigh Brown."
She looked up at Spencer, who was still glaring at her, her expression mimicking his. "Now that I’ve made my introduction and you figured out my secret, you can go and skip your…" Ashleigh spoke with overdramatic hand motions. "Grand introduction that you told me I am unworthy of.
“And if you don’t believe that I’m Victoria Allure, then I’d be happy to send you evidence of it in the form of an email when you take us home!" She held tightly to her knees as she leaned forward slightly, screaming in his face.
A hissing sound escaped Spencer’s lips before he started to laugh. "Ouch. So all I’m entitled to is an email?"
"Yes." Ashleigh crossed her arms over her chest angrily, turning her head to look at Natalie. "And maybe I’ll autograph one of my books if you buy me dinner before you drop me off at home."
Spencer chuckled. "How did dinner get into this list of demands?"
"Because I’m hungry. You guys all had something to eat and didn’t bother to get us anything." Ashleigh glanced in his direction. "Pizza Jim’s is still open. So give me fifty bucks…" She made eye contact with Natalie as she tried not to laugh. Natalie was motioning for her to shut up. "And just drop off us off there."
She had to try very hard not to smile when she caught the devilish grin on Spencer’s face. The way one of his eyebrows raised was incredibly sexy. His mood had changed drastically toward her with her announcement, and even if she didn’t want to admit it, she liked the attention.
She was finally getting the chance to speak to a vampire, something she thought only existed in her imagination. Even though she was afraid, this whole experience was a rush, like getting chased by a pack of hungry wolves then being accepted into their community. She had a chance to learn more about real vampires, and she didn't want to let that slip away.
Her deepest desire was to be loved like a character in her books, to be the girl that could tame the monster that was the hungry vampire. It was a childish dream, but it consumed her, and even now when she was in so much danger, she couldn't let it go.
Sitting forward in her seat, Natalie tried to speak over Ashleigh. "We don’t need pizza, just take us home."
Spencer leapt from his seat, grabbing Ashleigh and pulling her into his lap. It happened so quickly, she didn’t have time to react. Before she knew it, she was in Spencer's arms.
"Let me go." Turning her head to him, Ashleigh’s angry gaze met with his. With her quick action, their noses bumped. Quickly, she spun away, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at the empty space in front of him. "I am not dessert."
His warm arms wrapped around her waist, making her jump. His face filled with an evil smile. Spencer obviously hoped his friendly gesture would heal the ugliness of their first encounter. "I’m sorry."
"I don’t accept your apology." Her strong voice wavered as she put her nose up in the air. "And I was joking about the pizza. I just don’t want you following us home."
"Hey." Spencer placed a hand on her leg and began to rub her inner thigh, something she glared at him for. "Don’t be like that." He rested his chin on her shoulder and spoke seductively in her ear, which he was extremely good at. "Forgive me."
"Will you buy me pizza?" Ashleigh laughed, her hand going to the one he had on her leg and pushing it away.
"I think we should just go home." Natalie glared sternly at Ashleigh, her eyes narrowing.
"I’ll buy you pizza." Spencer grabbed Ashleigh’s hand. "We’ll have to walk there though." He looked at the other vampires, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he shook his head. "We have to ditch the limo."
"Why do we—?" Ashleigh gazed out the window when the limo stopped and the other men started filing out.
"Don’t ask, just do." Spencer pushed her off his lap and out the door. It was dark outside, and they couldn’t see anything in front of them.
"Where are we?" Ashleigh turned in a complete circle. Natalie came up behind her and took her hand.
"Come on." Making a “come hither” motion with his hands, Spencer was bouncing back and forth on his feet as if he were revving up for something. "I wanna show you some real vampire skills."
"Real—?" Before she could finish her sentence, Spencer had picked her up and took off running. He ran at inhuman speed, Ashleigh clinging tightly to him. She was terrified as the world blurred around her, and her stomach turned from his quick movements.
Soon, she was standing on her own two feet again. They were very shaky, however, and she toppled backward into Spencer’s arms. He held her upright as he pointed to a large red sign.
Pizza Jim’s.
"Pizza?" Spencer laughed as she stood on her ow
n, looking queasy.
The others appeared behind him, the air produced by their quick movements blowing Ashleigh’s hair about for a brief second. He let his hands rest on her shoulders as he leaned close to her ear. "Let’s get it to go." Taking her hand, he led her inside. They ordered a pizza then walked back to Ashleigh’s house, which was a few blocks down the street.
They planned on locking the guys out, but that was hard to do with a pizza box in her hand. They did manage to shut the door on them, Natalie quickly latching the chain lock. Ashleigh sprinted into the kitchen with the pizza as she made her way to the back door. Natalie beat her to it, her hand quickly reaching for the chain lock there as well.
Natalie let out a large sigh of relief then headed toward the living room to shut the windows while Ashleigh took the ones toward the back of the house. When Natalie got there, she saw Spencer and the others sitting in the living room. Spencer sent a cocky wave her way, one that Natalie returned with an overly fake smile.
"Excuse me." Natalie clasped her hands together as a nervous laugh escaped her lips. She quickly disappeared into the kitchen again and ran over to Ashleigh, who was digging around in the fridge for a soda. When she found the one she wanted, she walked over to the cupboard and grabbed some paper plates.
"What are you doing?" Putting her hands on her hips, Natalie regarded her friend suspiciously.
"Getting a drink to have with the pizza." She raised her can. "I thought we'd grab the pizza and hide out downstairs till sunrise—"
"Didn't you see the vampires?" Natalie motioned toward the living room as she spoke in a frantic whisper. "They're in our living room."
"Huh?" Ashleigh stared blankly at her for a few seconds as she tapped on the tab of her can. "But we locked the door, and I…" She motioned toward the back hall. "Shut all the windows."
"Well…" Natalie palmed her forehead as she sighed. "They're out there."
"They're good." Ashleigh laughed as she spoke softly, a very devilish smile on her face. "They must really like us."
"You’re a bad girl." Natalie slapped Ashleigh on the butt playfully before yanking on her sleeve and pulling her close. "I know that smile, and I know how long it’s been since you’ve been with a guy."
"Duh. I'm not like you—I don't always think about sex." Ashleigh laughed again, getting closer to Natalie as she whispered, "They’re vampires. I’m not dumb enough to sleep with any of them."
"Wanna bet?"
"No, and if I do, it’ll just be for research." She set down her soda and took a few pieces of pizza from the box. She then grabbed her plate and followed Natalie out to the living room.
"Liar." Natalie chuckled, tickling Ashleigh’s sides as they walked.
"Knock it off!" Ashleigh let out a high-pitched squeak and quickly elbowed Natalie in the arm.
Ashleigh was going to sit, but the couches were filled. The guys had already settled in and were watching television. One was holding their cat, who was happily lapping up the attention. Most of them had shed their coats in the limo and were now sitting around with half-unbuttoned shirts and rolled up sleeves that showed a few tattoos on their arms.
Spencer was sitting in the lounge chair and had taken control of the remote, turning on a hockey game that all of them seemed to like. They were all very active and in overly hyped-up moods. None of them were able to sit completely still.
The girls stood against the wall as they ate. They gawked at men in their living room, none of them devouring the pizza like normal guys would. Ashleigh glanced at Natalie, who was checking out Nathan. He was yelling at the television. There was a small smile on Natalie's face as she licked her lips.
Speaking in a mocking tone, Ashleigh’s voice was low. "You bad girl, don’t you dare. Did you forget these guys are vampires?"
Natalie reacted by sending her a small smile and jab in the arm. "Shut up. I’ll dare if I want to, and I dare you to get the full vampire experience tonight as well."
"I don't think so," she whispered as she tried to keep in her giggle. "Not unless it was with Caleb Mason."
"Well, I doubt that." Natalie chuckled softly.
"Exactly. That's why I had to write it in books."
"Come on, Ash, these guys are hot too."
"No." Ashleigh snorted, some of the men turning to look at her as if they had just noticed she was in the room. Her smile quickly melted and the hint of fear sparked inside her again.
Ashleigh took her empty plate into the kitchen, whispering to Natalie as they walked, "And you better not either."
When she came back out, they had shut off the television, an empty spot magically appearing on the sofa. A few of them motioned for her to sit down. Ashleigh stepped over the long legs of the men sitting on the floor and claimed the empty seat.
"So…" Nervously putting her hands on her knees, Ashleigh scanned their curious faces, purposely avoiding Spencer’s. "Why did you all want to meet me? I was scared it was because I write cheesy vampire novels, and you were offended."
"It’s amazing how well your books portray real vampires." Nathan, who was sitting next to her, was the first to speak. "We're not monsters, we're just like you…minus the serial killer gene." He laughed as he turned his body toward her, his knees hitting hers. "And I loved your torture scenes. Ahh… It made my mouth water just reading your description of the blood flowing."
He licked his lips, an excited tone in his voice. "Yum. I wanted to lick that severed flesh clean." The rest of the vampires laughed, all of them nodding and agreeing with Nathan.
"I got a lot of heat about those scenes." Ashleigh let out a nervous giggle, biting her lip as she took in all their happy faces. "My editor wanted to take some of those out because he thought there was too much violence and not enough romance."
Another spoke up. "I loved them. Especially that scene with Hannah in the butcher shop. Wow."
The man sitting next to him then interrupted. "The description of the axe cracking the bone and the tingling taste of blood made me so hungry. I had to go out and get me a flesh burger after that."
"Flesh burger?" Narrowing her eyes on him, Ashleigh shrugged. "What’s that?"
"People like you." Spencer laughed as he leaned forward in his chair. Ashleigh ignored him and focused on Nathan instead.
"You’re not a flesh burger." Nathan chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "Spencer was just kidding."
"No I wasn’t." Spencer was watching Nathan closely, an expression of jealousy showing on his face. He tried to take command over the conversation, but the others talked over him.
"She’s prey unless someone lays a claim on her." The vampire licked his lips as he gave Ashleigh a slow once over, his gaze pausing on her breasts.
"Umm…" Ashleigh reached up to Nathan’s hand around her shoulders, nervously looking over at Natalie. "Good to know."
Forcing a smile, Ashleigh felt Nathan's arms tighten. He leaned his head closer to her neck, making her squirm as she tried to push him away without making a big scene of it.
"Back off, Nathan, she doesn't like that." Spencer kicked Nathan hard in the knee, and Nathan quickly pulled away.
"Thanks." Ashleigh smiled at Spencer, who was wearing a very cocky grin now that he had her attention.
He patted his lap. She glanced briefly over at Natalie then did as Spencer requested. She sat down on the arm of his chair, her leg resting teasingly between his. This only lasted a few seconds, until Spencer grabbed her middle and pulled her down. A tense moment passed between them, but Ashleigh turned away and broke it.
"I wish girls would let me bite them all the time, like they do in your books." The vampire on the opposite end of the couch leaned forward so he could get a better view of Ashleigh.
Spencer interrupted him, energetically speaking with one of his hands. "How awesome would it be to be fucking some chick and have her beg me to bite her and then…" Spencer laughed. "When I do, she would get off on it? Every chick I do that to
either dies or claws at my face, trying to get free, crying and bitching…"
His arms wrapped around Ashleigh's middle loosely, Spencer raising his voice a little to be heard over the other men's laughter. "And I’m like, baby…" He bared his fangs at Ashleigh, wrinkling his nose at her playfully. "You taste so damn sweet. All I wanted was a little taste. I didn’t mean to hurt you."
Offended by his words, she pushed his face away. She tried to stand up, but he had a firm hold on her waist and wouldn't let her.
Another one chimed in. "Or kill you."
Covering her reddening face, Ashleigh tried not to look at any of them as they continued to laugh. The way the men were making fun of her vampire love scenes made her want to flee the room and toss the covers over her head.
"Hey." Nathan reached over and tapped her leg. "It’s hot. Don’t be embarrassed."
With a burst of energy, Ashleigh broke free of Spencer's arms. Frustrated, she closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead as she took a few seconds to try and calm herself. Unable to bear their teasing, she hastily retreated toward the kitchen, grabbed her laptop, and stormed off toward her bedroom without a word to Natalie.
Spencer leapt from his chair and followed her, leaving a roar of laughter in his wake. Ashleigh tried slam her door, but Spencer grabbed a hold of the side of it.
"Leave me alone." Glaring at him, Ashleigh held one hand around her laptop, and with the other, struggled to shut the door.
"Hey." Spencer forced his way inside, and Ashleigh stumbled backward. "We were only joking."
"I didn’t think it was funny." She pointed to the door with a rigid arm before placing her laptop onto her desk. "I want you guys to leave. I’m tired and want to go to bed."
"Then go to bed." Spencer motioned toward the bed as he shut the door.
"If I go to sleep, is Natalie still going to be here tomorrow?"
Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers Book 1) Page 3