Ian and I did all those mundane, normal date things. We saw a chick-flick, took a walk through the freezing cold park after we got our ice cream. We held hands and kissed and cuddled for all to see.
I’m going to miss all of this when we have to leave in the morning.
A sliver of light cuts through the dark hotel room. I turn to see Ian walking out of the bathroom, a burst of steam following him from the shower he’s just taken.
He wears a pair of sweats I’ve seen him sleep in many times. But his chest is bare. And I bare no shame as I let my eyes wander over his skin.
Cut chest. Rising and falling valley of stomach muscles. Shoulders that beg me to touch them. Scars dot his body here and there, but they only add to the rugged beauty that is this man who I wish could be mine. Forever.
Ian’s eyes never once leave mine as he slowly crosses the room to me. And with every step he takes, I feel my temperature rising a few degrees.
Finally, an eternity later, he stops just an inch from me. “You’re so beautiful, Alivia.” His fingers hesitantly come to my sides, sending sparks racing through my body. His nose brushes mine, his lips just a breath away.
He smells like soap and heat and desire, and it leaves my head spinning. His still wet hair drips onto his shoulders, and my own wet hair drips down my back, soaking the oversized shirt I’m wearing over my underwear.
“I don’t want to leave tomorrow,” he whispers. He traces his nose over my cheek, and then his lips are brushing against my ear.
“Just pretend tonight is all there is,” I breathe. “It’s just us. Just tonight.”
His lips kiss my ear, and then they part and his teeth send an explosion of desire rocketing through my veins.
Suddenly, the inch of space between us is far too much and I am not in possession of my own body when I clasp my hands behind his neck and wrap both of my legs firmly around his waist.
It’s just Ian. Just me.
A FEW DAYS LATER, I’VE just woken up when there’s a quiet knock on my door. I squint my eyes open just as Ian lets himself in. A smile starts to spread on my lips. This is a habit he’s formed, one I greatly approve of. Without hesitation, Ian climbs into my bed and wraps his arms around me.
“Good morning,” I say sleepily. I press my face into his chest. And then my nose crinkles. “You just got off work, didn’t you? You smell like ambulance and blood.”
“I did.” And the tone of his voice instantly brings my eyes up to his face.
“What happened?” I ask. Because I’ve been in this town long enough to know that something did happen.
Ian sighs and holds me tighter. I place my head back on his chest. “There was a thirteen-year-old girl attacked the day we left for Jackson, on the edge of town. Her mom found her outside their house the next morning. She was almost completely drained of blood.”
“Almost?” I question.
“Yeah,” he says. He rubs his eyes. He’s tired, he needs sleep. But lately he comes here first after a shift. Sometimes he then goes home and sleeps, sometimes he just sleeps here. “And then there was another attack last night. You know Bella who volunteers at the library?”
“I’ve only met her once, but yeah,” I say, recalling the very unfriendly redheaded woman. The one who looked at me differently the second I asked for any info on the Conrath Plantation.
My insides are sinking.
“She was nearly drained, too. She was found at her house by the neighbor.”
“They were both nearly drained,” I say. The room grows colder and my future comes creeping up on me. “Too much blood gone for it to have been a House member feeding, too much blood gone for them to survive and be turned into a Bitten.” And that means just dead.
Ian rubs a hand up and down my arm absentmindedly. “I think someone was trying to turn them, they just didn’t have enough self-control. If it was just a thirsty vamp, they wouldn’t have left just a little blood. They always drain them. I think these two were a mistake—a mess up.”
“Whoever declared war on the House is back,” I say as I sit up and look down at Ian. “That’s how it started before. Someone went missing, and then they attacked the House.”
Ian nods, his eyes distant. “I don’t know what to do about this,” he says. “I can’t stop it if I don’t know who’s doing this. I’ve been patrolling at nights, but I’ve never seen anyone. I want to blame the House, but it’s clearly not them. People are scared, Liv. Half this town is fully aware of the vampire problem in Silent Bend. They never talk about it, but they’re going to start.”
And I can only imagine the chaos that is going to happen if the town goes into a vampire panic.