by Riley Storm
Claire laughed softly, a sound that seemed to surprise her.
“I’m sorry you have to deal with that, Pietro. That doesn’t seem fair. But I’m not on either end of that spectrum. Just somewhere in the middle. I think it’s really cool, but I’m definitely not obsessed. Sorry,” she said, sticking out her tongue.
His heart fluttered briefly, but then he sobered. “That’s a relief.”
Pietro looked around, realizing that they were still out on the streets. In the dark. Where vampires lurked.
“Umm, thanks for that, by the way,” Claire said, picking up on his mood change. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s no big deal,” Pietro said, his eyes delving into every pile of shadows, looking for things that shouldn’t be there.
He wanted to get a move on, to hurry Claire back home, so that he could be confident she was safe and secure behind a threshold. Vampires had a very hard time crossing those, and the stronger they were, the harder it got. A family house would be impossible for them to bully their way into without being invited. He assumed her place would be like that at least. If not, well, he didn’t need sleep.
Out here, however, in the open, she was exposed. Vulnerable. There was only so much Pietro could do to protect her.
“Shall we get you the rest of the way home?” he asked.
Claire fell in step beside him as they walked, looking straight ahead. Pietro craned his neck around constantly, towering over her protectively, letting his eyes pierce the gloom, searching for hidden threats.
Nothing was getting to her without going through him first, he vowed.
“Yeah. I guess. I wouldn’t want you to have to intervene again,” she said. “I really am grateful for that. Sorry I didn’t say that right away.”
“You can stop apologizing for things now,” he said gently. “You have nothing to say sorry about. Guessing by what Pete was saying, it’s not the first time you’ve come across him today.”
“Second, actually. First time he…well, it doesn’t matter what he wanted. Then I supposed he had me followed. Wasn’t happy that I was talking to any male, even if it was just you.”
Pietro tried hard not to let himself be hurt by the offhand comment. “He’s your…boyfriend?”
“Ex,” Claire said with immediate authority. “Very much my ex-boyfriend. Permanently ex. Which is what he’s so mad about.”
Pietro held in the sigh of relief that filled him at that knowledge.
“So he had one of his guys tail me and then decided to try and scare me some more into going back with him. That’s when you arrived…”
He recognized the way Claire left off, her voice growing suddenly suspicious as she realized something.
Here it comes, he thought to himself, wondering which way it would go.
“Wait a minute,” she said, coming to a halt so abruptly that Pietro ended up a half step in front of her, despite having expected it. “How did you find me, Pietro?”
“Um,” he said, wondering what route to take.
Should he tell her the truth right from the start? Just reveal his hand and hope that she believed him enough to let him do what was necessary? Or should he try to play it off as nothing, keeping the situation light and relaxed.
He decided to go with the second option. Judging from what she’d been saying about Pete, Claire’s evening had already been stressful enough. She didn’t need him adding to that by throwing a supernatural threat at her. Nor did he need her being aware that it was his fault it was after her.
“Dragon hearing,” he said. “I left the bar not long after you. I heard the confrontation in the distance and came at a run. We can move pretty fast if we need to.”
Claire stared at him. “Bullshit,” she said quietly. “You’re lying to me Pietro. I don’t like that. Tell me the truth please. Did you stalk me?”
He saw her tense, preparing to back away from him. The only way he was going to be able to convince her then was to tell her the truth. The entire truth, regardless of how little she might actually want to hear it. He couldn’t fool this woman, lying to her made him too uncomfortable. She could see right through him.
“Would you accept that a Vampire Hunter, one of their elite, broke into this world from another dimension earlier tonight? That it attacked me and, during the scuffle, it read my mind and got a picture of you. That I then scoured town all evening in an attempt to find you so that I could protect you from it?”
Silence hung in the air as the seconds ticked past. Pietro’s heart began to speed up. Had he messed up by telling her the truth? It was imperative that Claire was on his side. It would make his commitment to protecting her that much easier, without him having to skulk around in the shadows and try to avoid detection.
The blank look he was receiving from her wasn’t promising though, and Pietro was preparing himself for the inevitable blowup and being told to get lost. It’s not like he would blame her for such a reaction either. Here he was, showing up on a random street to fight off her ex-boyfriend, after she’d made it clear she had no interest in him.
To someone from the outside, it would very easily look like he was stalking her, that he was following her everywhere she went. His only hope was that she would recognize the truth coming from him as easily as she might recognize the fact that he’d not told the truth the first time around.
“Holy crap,” she breathed after a full minute. “You’re being serious, aren’t you?”
Pietro nodded, letting that sink in for a bit before he asked his next question.
“So, given that knowledge, will you let me walk you home?”
Chapter Eight
Claire
“I suppose I did ask for the truth, didn’t I?” she said in a daze of thoughts and confusion, worry and fear.
A vampire? After her? It seemed preposterous, and a few weeks ago she would have laughed and walked away, or perhaps even called the police, suspecting Pietro of being delusional.
Things were different now though. Dragons were here. They existed, and there was concrete proof of it. Why shouldn’t other creatures of myth and lore exist? Why would it ever be limited to just the dragons? There was no reason for that.
“I am definitely not ready to know everything that’s out there,” she said when Pietro still hadn’t responded. “Dragons were one thing, but I mean, there’s video evidence, and Lilly is in love with one. That’s tangible. In a way. Sort of. But vampires? I hate to think of what else is out there.”
Pietro nodded, his eyes watching her, concerned and cautious all at the same time. He must know she was feeling on the edge. In the past half-day, her life had gone from shaky to completely and utterly destabilized with no hope of recovery. She couldn’t see a path out of it.
“You don’t have to know everything that’s out there,” Pietro said, in what she was sure was supposed to be a comforting manner.
Unfortunately, all it did was confirm to her that there were even worse things out there than this vampire that was after her. Claire shivered, despite the warm mid-summer heat of the evening. What was worse than a vampire?
I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know.
“Good. Because I suspect that’s a lot, and I don’t need more nightmares. I might not know much about what you’re talking about. I get the concept of vampires, but I don’t need details. Don’t want them. What I do know, however, is that, despite the awkwardness of our first, um, shall we say, meeting, all you’ve ever been to me is polite and nice.”
Which simply was not what I wanted at the time, but right now, a nice person to see me home safe sounds wonderful.
Pietro, however, cringed at the reminder. Visibly cringed.
“Can we just pretend that never happened? Please?”
“So I should just pretend that I only met you now, at the bar half an hour ago? That you then followed me home? A stranger?” She was teasing, and he knew it.
“Okay, fine. But can you just not mention it? It wasn�
��t my finest hour. I was…” Pietro shook his head.
Claire caught herself, shocked at the dark shadow that slipped across his face at the time. He wasn’t just embarrassed by the memory, she realized. There was something more to it than that. What had happened to him that night, she wondered?
The dark look was gone almost as fast as it appeared. It was just the two of them on the sidewalk, halfway between streetlights, and it wasn’t like her attention was elsewhere. There was no way she could have missed it.
Now is not the time to ask. Not when there’s a vampire after you.
“A vampire…what did you call it, hunter?” she asked in sudden confusion. “Someone who hunts vampires?”
“No,” Pietro said quietly. “Not someone who hunts vampires. It’s a vampire that hunts other vampires, creatures, or people. It’s the most elite, superior vampire caste there is. Sort of like the Navy SEALS, British SAS. The best of the best sort of thing.”
“Oh,” she said, her voice sounding very, very small. “And it’s after me?”
He nodded.
Well, that sucked.
“Okay,” Claire said, coming to what could be the only rational decision, given the truth she could see in his face. “Armed with all that knowledge and terror, I will let you walk me home tonight.”
Pietro seemed to breathe easier as she gave him her permission. Claire almost asked him what would have happened if she’d said no, but decided, again, that she was probably better off not knowing.
She gestured to him that he was standing between her and where they needed to go to get her home, and Pietro stepped to the side. Claire started to walk, but as she passed the hulking dragon shifter, she paused.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For…everything.”
Then, before she could think it over too much, Claire stepped in close and wrapped her arms around his powerful chest, squeezing.
Pietro jerked in surprise, the contact catching him off guard, but then his arms draped over her, returning the tight embrace. For just a moment, Claire felt safe and protected, a surprisingly nice feeling that she’d not expected from the moment. Desperate to keep feeling that way, she held the hug for longer than she’d planned, basking in that shield Pietro had draped over her.
“Okay,” she said at long last, feeling like an eternity had passed. “We should get going.”
Immediately, Pietro withdrew his arms, the gentle strength contained within them departing with it. Claire couldn’t help but compare him to Pete. Despite the similar sounding names, the two were nothing alike.
Whereas Pete was strong, aggressive, and anything but gentle with her, Pietro was calm and confident. He didn’t need to show off his muscles or his strength, so she’d not had an appreciation for his size or strength until she’d been pressed against it.
Pietro was huge, and she saw now the way his muscles pulled at the sleeves of his shirt, filling them out with no room to spare. His chest pulled the front of the shirt taut as well.
Without really realizing what she was doing, Claire found herself staying close to his side as they walked.
“It’s okay,” Pietro said, obviously recognizing her nervousness. “I’ll protect you. You’re safe with me.”
That same quiet confidence of his body language extended into his voice as well. There was no doubt there, no bragging. Just simple fact that he knew he was strong enough to keep her safe from anything that might want to harm her.
“Thank you,” she said, lost deep in thought.
Something was bothering her subconscious. A fact that she’d overlooked about the entire situation. Focusing on it, however, made the strand of knowledge disappear. Whatever it was, it wasn’t coming to the fore, no matter how much she tried.
So Claire went the opposite direction. She distracted herself as they neared her parents’ place.
“Do I have to worry about the vampires attacking the house?” she asked, suddenly fearful for her parents.
“No,” Pietro said promptly. “You’ll be fine inside. Vampires have certain limitations in this world.”
“Like the movies!” she exclaimed, wondering if that’s what he meant. “Does sunlight kill them?”
“Yes,” Pietro said. “Well, UV rays kill them. It doesn’t have to be direct sunlight, but that’s the most effective method.”
“So during the daytime I’m safe?”
“Yes. Only at night can they come after you. They also cannot enter homes. Note, I said homes, not houses. It must be a lived in home, not just a house. The thresholds are too strong in a home. A house, however, may not prove impossible for them to enter, though it will take time, and will weaken them as well.”
“What you’re saying is that once I’m inside, I’ll be safe?”
“Yes. Without an invitation, they can’t come inside. You will be out of harm’s way, as will your parents.”
“How did you know that?” she asked, cringing at the reminder of where she lived.
“Trent,” Pietro said, sticking out his tongue. “Information flows both ways you know.”
Claire blushed, shaking her head. “I’m only back here on vacation for a bit. That’s why I’m staying with them.”
Pietro looked over at her as they slowed to turn up the driveway. As he did, his eyes dropped to the arm where Pete had been grabbing her tightly. The red marks of his fingers were gone, but she understood the point he was making.
“Okay,” he said, making it clear he didn’t believe her excuse but that he wasn’t going to push her on it either.
Claire stared straight ahead after that until they were at the side door, the one that led to the basement ‘guest house’ that was where she was staying while at her parents’. The light was on overhead, bathing the entry area in soft white light.
“Thank you for walking me home,” she said, turning to look up at him and gasping at his proximity. She’d not realized he was that close.
Her eyes met his, and she found herself staring into twin pools of blue-green that captured her gaze and held it without effort. How had she never noticed before how pretty his eyes were?
A ghostly memory of their shared hug earlier descended over Claire, filling her with a desire to feel that way again. It had been a long, long time since she’d felt that at ease.
Is he as good a kisser as he is a hugger?
Claire stiffened, forcing the thought out of her head. She did not need to go down that path with Pietro right now.
I don’t need to go down that path with anyone right now, she amended. After all, she was still dealing with the last one, and that was proving to be a nightmare on its own. The last thing Claire needed was another man in her life.
“I’m glad you got home safe,” Pietro said. “Do you mind if I get your number? I’ll be around tomorrow night if you’re out, to make sure nothing happens to you. I…I can be discrete, so you don’t have to actually feel me around. I just want to know you’re safe.”
Claire thought about it, then shrugged. “Sure, what the heck. It’s just a phone number.”
They exchanged texts to ensure both parties had the others number.
“Hopefully by then we’ll have found the vampire,” Pietro said quietly. “So it won’t be an issue. But just in case.”
“Yeah,” she said, still mesmerized by his gaze, trying to keep her composure, all while wondering if she could trust herself to hug him again, wanting to feel that tantalizing comfort blanket of his presence in close to her.
It was a longing that she’d not realized she possessed, but Pietro was awakening it within her, and Claire was having a hard time handling it. A taste wasn’t enough. She wanted more, no matter how wrong the timing.
I’m not even interested in him like that, she said, trying to convince herself. I just want to feel safe, for once. Protected. To not have to worry about ex-boyfriends, or ugly vampires who are after me.
All at once, the thought wriggled free from her mind, the one that had been bothering her th
e entire way home.
“Pietro,” she said quietly, curious about his answer.
“Yes?” he replied, his face relaxed, calm.
Claire snared his gaze so that he couldn’t look away as she asked the question she should have asked from the start. “Why is it that when the vampire read your mind, it was me that it saw?”
Chapter Nine
Pietro
“Uhhhhh.”
The single sound dragged on as his brain refused to come up with some sort of suitable excuse.
How am I supposed to tell her that I can’t get her off my mind? That somehow, after a single, solitary glimpse across the bar, she had somehow imprinted herself upon my mind, in a way that I cannot ignore? That my dragon has been throwing a fit ever since I sat down next to her at the bar today, angry that I haven’t simply taken her home and claimed her?
Simply put, there wasn’t a way for him to say that. Not without coming off as some sort of psycho stalker, that was for sure. The last thing Pietro wanted was for Claire to become afraid of him. She had enough going on in her life right now that she didn’t need him to add to it.
Claire shied away from him when he didn’t answer. He could see the tension growing in her shoulders and around the corners of her lovely eyes, the golden-brown circles moving just a little more rapidly as they wished for him to leave.
“Really?” she said nervously, seeming to understand what his hesitation inferred. “But it’s been several weeks.”
Pietro sighed. There was simply no way of getting around it now. No way of him pushing this to the side and distracting her. He was going to have to tell her everything that she wanted to know and hope against all hope that it wasn’t too much.
“I know,” he said helplessly. “Trust me, I know. I’m not sure why I can’t seem to get you off my mind either.”
That was a lie. Or at least, he had a suspicion enough to make it feel like a lie. Either way, he didn’t have a complete, concrete truth. Now wasn’t the time for it either. If what he suspected was true, that was near the very bottom of things that Claire needed to hear tonight.