“I don’t believe that,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re not a monster, Aidan.”
“Are you so sure, Violet? Because, honestly, you have no idea what’s going through my head at any given moment. I can hear the blood rushing through your veins, you know. My hearing is that good. And right now, it’s rushing faster, which means your heart is beating faster. And you know why?”
All I could do was shake my head. He was right; my heart was racing like a rabbit’s.
“Because you’re frightened of me,” he said, leaning in toward me. “Because that’s nature’s way of protecting you— making you fear me, telling you to get away, and fast. Because nature knows how much I would love a taste of your blood.”
“You. you really want to drink my blood?” I stammered.
“More than you’ll ever know.” Those words were whispered against my neck, his breath warm against my skin. A shiver worked its way down my spine. I felt his lips, just below my ear, pressing lightly against my flushed skin.
I was supposed to be frightened. But there was no denying that I was totally turned on. I desperately wanted — no, needed — something that I couldn’t even explain. My head fell back, and I’m pretty sure a moan escaped my lips.
More. I wanted more; didn’t want him to stop.
Then I felt it — a hard pressure on my neck, the scrape of teeth. Instantly, my focus snapped back to attention and my entire body froze.
Aidan!” I managed to yell, scrabbling to my feet in a panic. I knocked over my coffee in the process, the caramel-colored liquid splashing all over the place.
He didn’t stand, didn’t move but for clenching his hands into fists by his sides. His eyes looked cold, hard, and for a moment I considered getting the hell out of there, as fast as I could.
He took a deep breath, and I could see the struggle on his face, could see the vein in his temple throb, the muscle in his jaw flicker. Finally, he spoke. “I think I just proved my point.”
“Your. your point?” I stuttered, barely able to breathe. “You almost bit me!”
His eyes met mine. “I wasn’t going to bite you, Violet. But you sure as hell thought I was, didn’t you?” His voice was suddenly cold, clipped.
“What, are you saying that you were. you were testing me?”
“Something like that.” He nodded, his expression softening. “It’s okay, Violet. You should be scared; I can’t hold it against you. Anyway, I should go.” He got to his feet and brushed off the coffee I’d spilled on his jeans.
I shook my head. “No, not like this.”
He smiled then, a sad smile that almost made my heart break into a million little pieces. “Look, I shouldn’t have scared you like that. You’d already had a bad day, and now this—”
“Don’t go,” I pleaded, hating myself for it. But I didn’t want him to leave, didn’t want him to think I was afraid of him.
But you were, my mind reasoned. You were scared shitless for a second there.
“I’ve got to prove. that, you know. ” I trailed off miserably. The words just weren’t coming.
“You don’t have to prove anything to me. Honestly, I’d think you were a fool if you weren’t frightened. My point is that we should be careful, that’s all.” He glanced down at his watch. “Anyway, you should probably go to dinner. Don’t you have practice later?”
“Yeah,” I said with a sigh.
“Hey, come here.” He pulled me into his embrace, and I went there gladly. “I’ll meet you after practice and walk you back to the dorm, okay?”
I just nodded. My mind was going in a million directions, but somehow it kept coming back to the feel of his lips against my neck, to the fleeting sensation of his teeth against my skin. Sure, I’d been terrified, but I’d been excited, too. It was almost as if. as if I wanted him to bite me. It had felt like a craving — a physical craving — like lust, only stronger, more potent.
And the revelation that he’d only been testing me? That should have made me feel better. Instead, I felt disappointment, as if he’d somehow rejected me.
I zipped up my coat to my chin, shivering in the cold night air as I stepped out of the gym and looked around for Aidan. For weeks now, he’d met me each night after practice and walked me back to the dorm. Sometimes we’d linger outside, talking in the moonlight till curfew; other times, he was in a rush to get back to his work. I wondered which it would be tonight.
Glancing up at the crescent moon, I shoved my hands into my pockets. My fingers were turning into icicles, and my muscles, so limber after practice, were beginning to bunch up. The wind picked up, howling between the buildings, bending the branches of the bare trees that lined the walkway. Technically, there was still a week or so of autumn left, but it sure felt like winter to me. Other than the sound of the wind, the night was quiet. I imagined everyone else, tucked inside the cozy café or sitting beside the crackling fire in the East Hall lounge.
I’d give Aidan another couple of minutes, and then I’d start walking back alone. I knew he was working like a madman these last few days before winter break, trying to catch up on his work as best he could before he left for two weeks in Manhattan — two weeks that I’d insisted he spend at home, like everyone else.
I could barely wait — fourteen days in Manhattan, not twenty blocks away from Aidan, no classes, no chemistry labs, and no curfews. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, I realized. I was sure Patsy would enforce some sort of curfew, but I’d have far more freedom there than I did here at school.
More than anything, I didn’t want a replay of Thanksgiving break. Aidan had stayed at Winterhaven, and my friends had all gone off with their families. So I’d mostly sat around the apartment wishing I’d gone to Gran’s instead. The days dragged by — when Patsy hadn’t been at work, she’d be talking about work, and I’d been bored stiff. And that had only been a long weekend, not a two-week vacation. Thank God, Aidan had finally agreed to take the time off and keep me company.
But he wasn’t meeting me tonight, I decided. I briefly considered calling out to him telepathically to make sure, but I didn’t want to interrupt him if he was busy working. After all, his cure was as important to me as it was to him. It was important to us. Because, let’s face it, without it, there was no “us.”
I started off down the lighted walk, then decided to cut through the buildings instead. It was quicker, and anyway, if Aidan came looking for me, he’d find me, path or not. With a shrug, I ducked between the gym and the field house, a route much more direct than the meandering sidewalk.
“C’mon, you freak,” I heard someone say, and I stopped dead in my tracks. Up ahead, just under a flickering light, I saw some guy — a football jock, no doubt — holding a much smaller guy in a headlock.
“If you want me to let you go, all you have to do is shift,” the bully said. “You know you can do it, you little freak. Do it, and I won’t kick the shit out of you.”
“Asshole!” the smaller guy spat out.
Without even thinking about what I doing, I took off at a run toward the two. “Let him go!” I called out.
The jock turned toward me, his eyes glittering in the lamplight. Football team, all right. He was still wearing his practice jersey under his coat.
“You talkin’ to me?” he slurred.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you.” I took two steps toward him, refusing to back down, even though my heart was pounding. “All those steroids messing with your head or something? You know what they say about ’roids? They shrink your equipment, if you know what I mean.”
The guy in the headlock actually had the nerve to laugh— which, of course, only made his tormenter angrier. “Do I know you, bitch?” he asked, tightening his hold on his prey.
I saw what looked like a blur, and next thing I knew Aidan had appeared out of nowhere and was on the guy, pinning him to the ground.
I sucked in my breath. “Aidan, don’t!”
As if in slow motion, he turned toward me. Holy crap, but his eyes were glowing red. Our eyes met and held, and after a second or two, the red glow drained away, replaced by the familiar blue-gray.
“Apologize to her!” Aidan demanded, still pinning the jock to the ground. “To them both.”
The poor guy who had been the jock’s plaything only moments ago now stood a few feet away, watching us. He’d seen those red eyes too. I was sure of it.
“I’m sorry,” came the choked reply. At least the stupid jock had the good sense to sound terrified.
“Thanks for the saving, you two,” the other guy said, “but I’m outta here.” He turned and jogged away.
Aidan finally stood up, towering over the jock’s trembling body. I wrinkled my nose, suddenly smelling something weird, something like. pee.