Bleeding Love (21 page)

Adrienne, pursing
her lips and shaking her head, muttered, “And here I thought vampires take sex
and all that comes with it seriously.”

“Ah, but babe.
I’m with you, and sex between us will always be serious.”

Adrienne opened
her eyes wide, shocked at his blatant comment to her.

He back pedaled a
bit. “I'm just high on energy,” he told her.

“And what would
be the reason for that?”

“Dance with me,” Xavier
said instead, and Adrienne was now sure that he was avoiding answering the
question.

“Tell me first
why you're feeling, so full of yourself tonight.”

Xavier rolled his
eyes. “Wow, Adrienne.” His tone was sarcastic. “Way to make a man out of me.”

“Real men tell
the truth, Xavier,” she answered, also using his name, and in return, he stared
at her coolly.

“It's what you
call
avoiding
, not
lying
.”

“Smartass.”

“And we're not
getting involved in this. Give the guy a break, Adie. Way to ruin a good mood,”
said Brianna. “Come on, babe.” That was for Aidan. “We'll see you guys later!
We'll be on the dance floor!”

The lights of the
gym started to dim, signaling the beginning of a slow song. Almost immediately,
heaps of students, more from the Day Class than the Night, started to saunter
over to the middle of the room. Bodies swaying, vampires and humans alike let
the song carry them away.

“So are you going
to dance with me?” asked Xavier, digging one of his hands into his pants pocket
while the other reached out to grab hold of Adrienne's own hand. “Or will I
have to force you?”

Adrienne shook
her head. “What we need to do is to talk.”

She heard a sigh
from him. “How about we have fun tonight, and once we get home, I'll tell you what's
going on in my mind?”

“How about we
talk and dance at the same time?”

Xavier's lips
turned upward, slowly breaking into a meek grin, one which made Adrienne's
stomach flip. She mentally cursed herself for the agitation she felt for her
fiancé. Sure, she found him drop-dead gorgeous and undeniably charming, but
that didn't mean she liked him, right?

“Take my offer or
leave it?” He was smiling suspiciously at her. “You're still going to find out
anyway.”

“Is it wrong to
want to know it right now?”

“Why are you so
pushy?” Xavier couldn't help but ask while laughing. “Seriously, I'm going to
tell you once we get home.”

“So you're taking
me home?” Adrienne asked, eyebrows rising up suggestively.

“Don't you have
an after party to attend?”

Adrienne shook
her head, no. Once the dance finished at twelve, some of the Day Class students
were going to head over to a club and start another party there, a party that
was probably going to be just like all the other parties Adrienne had gone to
and would go to in the very near future. After-parties were always a lot of
fun, but Adrienne could skip this one. “I wasn’t planning to go. Prolonging the
moment of truth, Xavier?”

He smirked before
saying,” Never.”

“Then thank you
in advance for taking me home,” Adrienne answered, smiling back at him.

Reaching out his
hand for her to take, Xavier pulled Adrienne along with him as they ambled over
to the dance floor. He carefully wound his arms around her small waist.
Instinctively they moved closer together, and then their breaths hitched.

His touch
vibrated through her body, awaking every sense. Surprisingly, neither felt
awkward in the other’s arms. They were a good fit. It was as if they to complement
one another, just exactly like vampire mates.

“But seriously,
you're, different tonight,” Adrienne said, initiating conversation, her arms
still clasped together against the back of his neck.

“Different, in a
good way or a bad way?”

“Good because I
like seeing you happy, and bad because you're confusing me,” she said, looking
away and her words trailing off.

The slow song
seemed to go on forever, but no one cared. Even the female vampires were having
a nice time slow dancing with the male bloodsuckers. Adrienne just hoped that
the 'romantic mood' wouldn't excite the vampires enough that they would let
their guards down and start drinking each other's blood.

This caused
Adrienne to sigh in defeat. She promised herself that she wasn't going to bring
a date because she wanted to focus on the making the party flow smoothly, but since
the moment she got to the dance she’d been right at Xavier's side. In the eyes
of everyone, Adrienne and Xavier looked like an official couple, and she hadn't
even realized that until the whispering and the staring began.

“They should just
take a picture,” Adrienne muttered against Xavier's shoulder. “It's would last
longer.”

Xavier smiled at
her, causing her to bury her head deeper into his neck. She felt his arms,
which were around her waist, loosening, and she did the same to her grip on his
neck. They were farther apart now and were hoping that the watchful eyes
surrounding them would find another victim to stare down and kill.
Unfortunately, seeing the two most popular people in the Day and the Night
classes holding one another and dancing was just too good a sight to let go.

“Adrienne Stahl, are
you uncomfortable with the attention you're getting?” Xavier's eyes were full
of playfulness, and Adrienne couldn't help but nudge him in the shoulder.

“I'm sure you can
hear the things they're whispering about.” Adrienne's voice sounded firm. “They're
saying we're together. Can you believe that?”

“Technically,
we're together since we're fiancés and all, right?”

“Well, that's
technically,” Adrienne answered, moving away from him slowly and furtively. She
didn't want him to think she didn’t like his hold on her because she sure as
hell did. “I meant officially.”

That silenced
Xavier. What could he possibly say to that? If he answered her, he'd probably
reveal things he never wanted her to know. Although he had promised to tell her
once they got home. He just knew that what she felt for him wasn't as strong as
his feelings for her, and that was a blow to his pride.

“That seemed to
shut you up.” The slow song ended, and a much faster beat sounded from the
speakers. “Yes, I love this song!”

Starting to
groove, Adrienne moved her head to the side and saw Aidan, Brianna, Tristan,
Sabrina, Max, and even Ethan walking up to her and Xavier. They seemed pumped
up to really get the party started, and Adrienne must have looked truly stupid
jumping up and down in her monkey costume.

“Everyone has to
sing!” shouted Sabrina over the loud music as everyone in the group started to
form a middle-sized circle.

“1, 2,” Ethan
moved to the very center of the circle. There was no room for arguments and
fighting, Adrienne realized. She just needed to accept that Ethan was going to
be a bastard and a fun, fun one at that. “3!”

Dancing crazily
and idiotically, everyone sang,

“
Oh hot damn,
this is my jam!

Keep me
partying till the A.M.

Ya'll don't
understand, make me throw my hands

In the ayer,
ay, ayer, ayer, ay, ayer.”

Everyone, Aidan
and Xavier excluded, really went all out in the dancing department. The girls
were getting really, 
really
 low while the guys attempted to
grind with the femme fatales. Max and Sabrina ended up dancing exceptionally
close to each other as the couple made their way to the center of the circle.

“If you're not
going to dance then jump at least!” Adrienne whispered loudly into Xavier's
ears.

“I don't like hip
hop that much!” he whispered back at her.

Turning her full
body to face him, she grabbed hold of his hips and pulled him closer against
her.

“You have to let
go, Xavier!” she soothed. “Relax! Get crazy! Be free!”

“I'm not, we're—”

Adrienne shook
her head at this, cutting his sentence short. “Saying that vampires aren't as
crazy and as wild, as humans— is rubbish. It's not even a reasonable excuse!”
she said to him. “Xavier, I'm one of you and I'm letting go!”

He breathed a
sigh. Somehow he had to do this. He couldn't believe she was actually making
him do something as foolish as dancing like there was no tomorrow. “Then teach
me, how to
be free
,” he said, moving his head very close to her ear, so
that no one could hear the words he was going to tell her except for Aidan,
most probably, and the other vampires shyly dancing close to them. “Teach me what
it's like to be human.”

She grinned
proudly at him as if she had won the Nobel Prize. “The first step is to stand
out.”

And before what
she said could register in his brain, he stood out from Adrienne's group of
friends. She had pushed him out of line, and he was now in the middle of the
circle.

“I can't do this
alone!” Xavier shouted at her, and before 
she
 knew it, he had
pulled her with him to the center. And there, Xavier didn't hold on anymore to the
social insecurities that came with being a vampire. There was no more hiding
behind a quiet, inconspicuous shell.

They danced. They
let go. They lived.

* * * * *

“Damn. That was
awesome,” Xavier said, leaning back in the driver's seat as he started up the
car.

Adrienne was so
hot. She took off her monkey costume, stripping down to the shorts and
tee-shirt that she had on underneath. She ran her fingers through her hair and entered
the passenger's side, and when she finally closed the door and settled down on
her seat, Xavier began the drive back to the Stahl residence. The moment of
truth was within reach now for Adrienne, she just had to wait for a few more
minutes before she would find out what was making Xavier more enthusiastic and
alive. “I have to agree with you. I didn't even know you could dance so well.”

“Well,” He lifted
up his shoulders before dropping them back down again. “It's one of my many
great traits and talents.”

“It's unfortunate
though that humility isn't also one of those many great traits and talents.”

Xavier chuckled
before he reached his arm out to punch her lightly on the arm. “Say that again,
and you're not going to get anything out of me,” he threatened, his face turning
so that he could look at her.

She faced the
dashboard. “And look at that,” She was smirking and was ready to jump out of
the car. “We're here!”

Sighing, he ran a
hand through his already-messy hair before he turned off the engine and got out
of the car. Adrienne, on the other hand, linked his arm with hers and pulled
him forcefully and abruptly into the foyer of her house. She was ready to know
the reason behind Xavier's liveliness which she had to admit had some effect on
her. Tonight's experience with her fiancé truly felt different. For once he had
let go and acted human, and enjoyed their time together. She couldn't help but
love him for trying to please her, and now, it was his turn to make her happy.

“Spit it out,” she
said, crossing her arms over her chest in anticipation.

He exhaled deeply
and opened his mouth. He was nervous, but she was persuasive. He just needed to
get it done and over with to save himself from her unending forcefulness.

“Fine, here, I, I
l-”

“Xavier, my
darling boy!” a smooth, seductively regal voice interrupted.

Xavier and
Adrienne widened their eyes in shock swung in unison to the figure standing at
the foot of the staircase. Soon, Carter Stahl joined the woman.

“What are you
doing here, 
Mom
?” asked Xavier, relieved that Adrienne wasn't able
to get anything out of him.

The woman ignored
his son's greeting as she walked over to critically examine the eighteen-year
old that stood beside Xavier. Slowly, her lips turned upwards into a smile. It
was small and subtle, but everyone saw it.

“So you're going
to be the new Queen some day,” she said, her voice commanding attention. “My
son's 
mate
, yes?”

Adrienne could
only smile before she hesitantly nodded her head.

“You make her
sound like an animal, Mom,” Xavier said, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden
appearance of one of his parents. “Is Dad here, too?”

Adrienne looked
back and forth from mother to son. The resemblance was there, in the eyes,
opaque crystalline blue eyes. On the mother those eyes were highlighted by blonde
white tendrils framing a fragile porcelain face. His mother could put any
woman, young or old, to shame, and Adrienne immediately felt insecure.

“You don't have
to be scared of me, dear,” said the female regent, turning her head to face her
son's fiancé. “You're much more beautiful than what you give yourself credit
for.”