Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) (22 page)

Although I was taller than Daren, his position on the stairs made it so I had to look up at him. I lifted myself onto the balls of my feet and glared beyond his shoulders. His brows dropped. His head turned quickly as though he expected to see someone standing behind him. But there wasn’t anyone. My scowl was aimed at the room above.

With three swift steps I reached the staircase and charged up the stairs. Daren’s eyes widened as I closed in on him, but it was only to push him aside and make my way up.

“Wait,” he said suddenly. “They’re not done yet.”

Not done? Oh yes they were!

How dare Noel bring a vampire into our home? I ought to grab the dagger from my nightstand, but I didn’t have the patience to pass Noel’s closed door without pounding it with my fist.

“Noel is not to be interrupted,” Daren called feebly behind my back.

I turned the doorknob and threw the door open so hard it hit the inner wall. Either Noel hadn’t locked it or rage had given me Hulk-like strength, though if that were the case I would have ripped the door off its hinges rather than merely push it open.

A single pillar candle flickered in the wind of my arrival from on top of Noel’s nightstand.

My eyes flew immediately to her companion who sat up quickly from his place on the bed. He wore ratty Goth clothes, had black hair, a round face, broad shoulders, and impossibly round eyes—most likely caused by my abrupt arrival.

Luckily Noel and her companion were fully clothed. The boy quickly covered his neck with his hand.

Noel had the audacity to smirk at me. “Maybe try knocking next time.”

Her glossy lips, highlights, and short plaid skirt fit her. It also made it easier on me. The deep, dark, sensitive friend I’d known was gone, Goth Girl replaced by Gossip Girl. Why she’d invite another human in on the suck-fest was beyond me. Maybe Daren arranged the rendezvous in exchange for a turn with his fanged friend.

I looked at the vampire, still holding his neck, which was weird. Shouldn’t Noel be the one covering her neck?

“Who are you?” I demanded.

The guy scrambled off the bed, hand cupping his neck as though glued to his skin.

“I’m Reece. We went to Denali together.”

Neither his name nor Daren’s rang any bells—not that I stored names in my head. Apparently not faces, either. Didn’t matter. He needed to go. The fact that Noel would invite such a creature into our home made my stomach clench into a fist-sized ball of molten rage.

“You and your friend need to leave now,” I said to Reece.

Noel slid off the bed in one fluid motion. Not a single strand of her perfectly streaked copper and gold hair was out of place despite romping around in bed with two guys.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Noel said in a calm voice. “You and Daren can wait for me in the living room while I have a chat with my roommate.”

So now I was the roommate rather than Aurora.

“See you downstairs,” Reece said, eyes on Noel. He closed the door behind him.

Noel looked up as though listening to his retreat before directing her gaze at me. “If this living arrangement is going to work, you need to start respecting my privacy.”

“And you need to stop entertaining vampires in our house,” I retorted.

Noel snorted. “Daren and Reece aren’t vampires.”

I looked at Noel’s neck. I didn’t have the clearest view standing in the dark, but I couldn’t make out any bite marks.

She raised her eyebrows.

“Both those boys were bleeding,” I said. “Who did that to them? You?”

The candle light glinted off Noel’s eyes. She grinned slowly.

“I give a wicked hickey.”

That wasn’t a hickey, more like a laceration. I shivered. What if Noel was into sick role playing games? That, or she was a vampire. I didn’t know which scenario to believe. Had she turned while I was away at camp? Noel the she-vamp. Crazy. But something had changed.

Before I could say anything, Noel spoke.

“Lovely dress. Did you and Dante have a nice date?”

Oh no she didn’t.

“I was out on assignment,” I said. “Why aren’t you?”

Noel shrugged. “I’m between assignments at the moment.”

How come Noel got a carte blanche? And a convertible! Not that I was in the market for an automobile, but seeing the damn thing in the driveway rattled my cage.

Noel flipped her hair back. “Are we done here? My guests are waiting for me.”

“I want them to leave.”

“For the second time—they’re not vampires.”

I folded my arms at her tone. “Are you?”

Noel stared at me a moment, her expression unreadable, before answering, “I like role playing.”

I wrinkled my nose. So she did like sex games.

“I don’t want those guys over here,” I said.

“Well, that’s too bad.”

Noel blew out the candle, temporarily pitching us into darkness. Her night vision must have been better than mine. The floor creaked with her swift steps toward the door. She brushed past me. Light from the hallway spilled in when she pulled open the door. I leapt to action, extending a hand to stop the door and prevent her from escaping.

“Who else have you had over?” I asked.

Noel glared at me. Funny how she looked more intimidating as a prep than she ever had as a Goth.

“I’m guessing you mean Fane. Look, I tried to explain things to you, but you refused to listen. There is nothing between me and Fane. Never was. He helped me out. I helped him. End of story. Why do you care so much, anyway? You’re with Dante now, aren’t you?”

“I don’t care,” I said, straightening my shoulders. “I just don’t want vampires in the house.”

Noel stared at me.

“Right,” she said, nodding. “Sure thing. No vampires allowed.” She pushed past me, and walked out the door.

My lip curled back. Even if those boys weren’t vampires, they were friends of Fane’s… and Goths. Guess Noel was still into all that despite her perky new look.

I had no interest in following her downstairs or arguing further. I thought she’d be out on assignment Friday and Saturday nights, and I could enjoy a little peace and tranquility. Instead, I shut myself inside my bedroom.

As I pulled the dress over my head, the caress of the smooth fabric sent shivers through me. My thoughts shifted to Dante.

I didn’t know what to feel.

I liked the way things had been before boot camp. Valerie had a point, though—my high school days were behind me. Relationships evolved. I couldn’t stop Dante from wanting more.

I’d never had a close guy friend before Dante. That kind of relationship seemed more worthwhile than going out. Dating led to breakup. Friendship was forever. Why couldn’t Dante see that?

My hair tumbled down my back when I freed it from Valerie’s hair pick. I rummaged through my dresser for an old T-shirt to wear to bed, but when I crawled under the covers, sleep wouldn’t come. I couldn’t keep my mind on the same thing for longer than twenty seconds. One minute I’d think about Dante, the next Fane.

It felt like I was awake forever. I thought maybe I’d drifted off and not realized it, but, no, I heard Daren and Reece leave shortly after three a.m. according to my digital alarm clock. I also heard Noel come up the stairs, go into the bathroom, brush her teeth with an electric toothbrush, and shut the door of her room.

To be expected, I had bags under my eyes the next morning. I did what I could with foundation and concealer before Mom and Gran picked me up at ten.

“There’s my college girl,” Mom said cheerfully after I answered the front door.

I gave her and Gran a quick tour of the downstairs. Noel didn’t seem to have any trouble sleeping; in fact, she was still in slumber land upstairs.

“Nice place,” Mom said as we backtracked through the kitchen.

Gran observed everything in silence. When we were outside she looked me over and said, “You look tired.”

I shrugged. “I’m a college student.”

“Well, don’t burn yourself out. It’s only week one. You need to make it to finals.”

“Sure. Thanks, Gran.”

“She’ll feel reenergized once she gets some food in her belly,” Mom said.

I followed them to the car, getting in behind Gran.

“Is your roommate nice?” Mom asked.

I gave a crude snort. “About as nice as a hyena.”

Mom met Noel once. I didn’t bother mentioning she was now my roommate. I didn’t want to talk about Noel more than necessary. Besides, Mom would never recognize her.

Her brows furrowed. “Don’t you think it’s a little soon to judge?”

“Definitely not.”

“Not everyone’s as lucky as me,” Gran spoke up from the passenger’s seat. “I have the best roommate in the world.”

“Aw,” Mom said. She started the car.

Good to see those two getting along. It could have gone either way. I’d done my part by disappearing to boot camp for six months. With me out of the picture, that left Gran as Mom’s closest family and confidant. Apparently Grandma had been a positive influence—not something I could have pulled off.

Sleep came to me Sunday night, but the deprivation from Saturday lingered into Monday morning. By Tuesday I was rested and better prepared for Noel’s alarm clock to “bleep” through the wall at five thirty a.m. What joy to be free of the high school schedule!

The shower went on, followed by a hair dryer ten minutes later. I waited until the front door opened and shut before getting out of bed. I had about three hours before I needed to head over to campus.

I set up downstairs with the three T’s: textbooks, toast, and tea. Having an entire house, let alone room, to myself was still a novelty, as was the blissful quiet compared to the cafeteria at boot camp. At mealtime, we were left to our own devices, and girls tended to get rowdy when given an inch.

I lifted the cup of English breakfast tea to my lips while flipping through the reading assignment for Methods of Written Communication. My instructor wanted everyone to pick out a research topic for the first paper by the end of the week. A big research paper was due at the end of the semester. Documenting everything properly intimidated me more than the actual research or writing.