Page 6 of Love Bites
Those fangs sure looked sharp.
"Who are you?" I asked again. This time, my words came out as little more than a whisper, hardly audible over the muffled sounds of music coming from the building behind me. My back didn't quite touch the wall, but almost.
"I'm Talon."
That didn't really answer my question, but at least I had a name to go with that handsome face now. "Just Talon?" I asked. Slowly, I was getting my voice back. Maybe if I just kept talking, things would get better. Maybe I would be able to shake whatever it was that had taken hold of me. "Do vampires not have last names? Do you have families? No, wait, you have clans, right?" A nervous chuckle escaped me at the end of that sentence.
"Something like that." Unimpressed by my ramblings, Talon let go of my cheek. I thought maybe he was losing interest, but then his eyes darted to my lower body and he smiled.
I opened my mouth to say something to defend my honor, but what was the point really? He could clearly see that I was aroused by the bulge in my pants. "I'm a little screwed up," I admitted, because it wasn't something I went to great efforts to hide. "Are you actually a vampire?"
"What if I am?"
"Then I should run."
"I agree that might be wise." Talon's eyes darted to my neck. "But I don't see how you could. Don't worry, though. This isn't going to—" Talon never got any further than that. While he was talking, I fished my keys out of my pocket, closed my eyes and pressed the button on the little cylinder-shaped keychain that my dad had forced on me years ago.
Remember, bright light hurts vampires.
A flash lit up the night. Talon backed away and I grasped the opportunity to flee. Vampires were creatures of the night. Their eyes were highly photosensitive. A weak spot.
It only took me a moment to dash across the parking lot to my car. I probably shouldn't have been driving, but the adrenaline was making me feel very, very sober—and I needed to get the fuck away.
I sure as hell wasn't going to wait around for an Uber.
As soon as I got my ass into the driver's seat, I slammed the door shut, jammed the key in the ignition and backed out of the parking lot, tires screeching.
I checked my rearview mirror as I drove away, but I couldn't see the vampire.
I pressed down on the gas pedal.
Chapter Three
Before I even knew where I was going, I was pulling into the driveway of my childhood home. I cursed at myself, fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. This hadn't been my plan. In fact, I hadn't had a plan at all, but never mind that now. I rested my head on my hands and breathed in. Breathed out. Panic had taken a hold of me, and I needed to shake it before I could move on.
I closed my eyes.
You got this, Collin,I told myself, even as my lungs felt too small to hold any air.It always feels like this,I reminded myself. In my head, I heard Dad's voice.One breath after the other, Collin. That's right. Count with me.
One.
Two.
A set of fangs. A clawed hand.
Were these thingsreal?
Had Dad beenright?
Oh God, he had been.
But hecouldn'thave been. There was no way—!
An invisible but solid weight pressed down on my chest, constricting my lungs even further and I couldn't breathe, I couldn't—
I flinched when someone's knuckles rapped against the car's window to my side. Someone was calling my name too. Remy. How long had he been standing there?
My hand shook as I unlocked the car—only because I knew my brother would not shut up if I didn't. "I need a minute," I choked out before he could say anything. I was in no state to have a conversation or to answer any of the million questions my older brother probably had. Remy wasn't the oldest among us, he was only a year and a half older than me, but he liked to pretend that he was everyone's big brother. He was gonna want to fuss over me, but I didn't want anyone fussing over me right now.
