Tempting Raven (Curse of the Vampire Queen #1)(10)

Nadine growls something incoherent before she singsongs, "Kings and Rhy-Rhy, a little help here."

I roll my eyes. I hate it when she calls him Rhy-Rhy. It sounds so childish. Then again, Rhyland and her act pretty childish sometimes, so I guess the name is sort of fitting.

I blow out an uneven breath, realizing that, if I don't quit being a big, old scaredy bat, Effie and Anders are going to have to deal with Nadine, Kingsley, and Rhyland. And that isn't fair to them.

Summoning a deep breath, I step the rest of the way down the stairs. But the second I step foot into the foyer, I nearly run back upstairs with my tail between my legs, because all five of their gazes shift to me and an alarming silence grasps the air.

Vampires of all vampires, I hate being the center of attention, especially when over half the attention is negative.

Still, I keep my chin held high, refusing to cower, though I feel like I'm going to yack out all that blood I drank at dinner.

You can do this, Raven. One foot in front of the other.

Obeying my thoughts grows more complicated the longer Rhyland and Kingsley stare at me, though I refuse to meet their gazes. Or, well, at least I try to, but my eyes get the best of me and stray in their direction.

They don't look the same as when they left, other than they're still tall and lean. Kingsley's brown hair used to be much longer, but now it's cropped close to his skull. He has a sleeve of shaded tattoos on both arms and is dressed in a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, along with black jeans, and clunky boots. He used to be a polo shirt and slacks sort of guy, so this is a one-eighty in the looks department. The look fits him better, though, as if this is who he's been all along.



       
         
       
        

Rhyland looks a little bit more like himself, dressed in all black with clunky boots and leather bands on his wrists. Unlike before, he now has a piercing in his brow and bottom lip, the edge of a tattoo peeks out of the collar of his shirt, and his blond hair that was once short now reaches his chin.

When my eyes finally meet Rhyland's, I become painfully aware that one more thing is different about him. The unemotional, detached look he always wore has now altered into an intense smolder. And all that intensity is focused on me at the moment. And while most females would swoon themselves to death from the look, me …

I crinkle my nose. Sure, Rhyland and Kingsley are hot  …  until they open their mouths.

Rhyland gives me a funny, curiously amused look that puzzles me deeply. Why is he looking at me like that? Where's the cold, I-don't-give-a-shit expression he normally wears whenever he looks at me? And why am I getting the strangest sense of déjà vu?

I don't know how long I would've stood there stupidly staring at him like a spazz if the buzzing didn't suddenly hum to life in a current of strong voltage.

Snapping out of my trance, I tear my gaze off Rhyland and step toward the doorway, more than ready to get this night on the road.

"Where are you going?" Nadine asks with her hands on her hips.

"Out," I reply.

"Since when do you go out?" She purposefully eyes me over. "And since when do you dress like that?"

Effie mouths, "Put her in her place."

"Like what?" I play dumb, but I'm nervous, an old habit I'm discovering is difficult to kick.

"Like  … " Nadine grins. "Like a vampy skank."

"Well, clearly I'm going to a place where I can be a vampy skank, then," I quip. "But FYI, we usually prefer the term 'sexual-driven vampires.' Skank just sounds way too skanky."

Holy hell, did I just say sexual-driven in front of everyone?

As my cheeks flood with warm-yes, despite our frosty body temperatures, vampires can blush-I hurry toward the door to get the hell out of the spotlight before my luck runs out and Kingsley and Rhyland intervene. I'm surprised they haven't already. In fact, they've been awfully quiet.

Like the calm before a storm.

"Did you hear that, Rhy?" Kingsley asks in a teasing tone.

Dammit! So close.

"Hear what?" Rhyland replies amusedly.

"They're going to some place where sex-driven vampires hang out," Kingsley says. "Maybe we should go with them. You know how much I love anything that has to do with sex."

"Sounds like a fan-fucking-tastic plan to me," Rhyland plays along, the humor in his tone foreign and unsettling. "What do you think, Raven? You got room for two more in the car? I promise we'll be on our best behavior." 

I don't know what they're up to, but I'm positive nothing good.