Blood and Guitars (32 page)

“So … they want to make me a vampire?”

I shook my head. “Not many vampires want the
responsibility of creating another.”

He swallowed hard, understanding. “They just
want to get rid of me.”

“I’m sorry. You have to believe this is
exactly what I was trying to protect you from. I can understand if
you never want to speak to me again, but I’d never be able to live
with myself if I didn’t warn you.”

Trey gave a small resolute nod. He got to his
feet and walked slowly back toward the dock. I resisted the urge to
reach out to him with my mind, though it was killing me not knowing
what he was thinking. For several moments I watched him in silence.
Then I stood and went to his side. He was leaning with both hands
on the wooden railing, staring out over the dark water. I waited
for him to say something, and after a moment he turned his head to
look at me.

“The way I see it, my days as a human are
numbered.”

I opened my mouth to speak, wishing it could
be any other way. But he was right, and nothing I could say would
make it less true.

“That leaves me with one option,” Trey said.
“I guess I’m about to get real acquainted with your world.” He
turned toward me, looking grave. “What do I do now?”

“You have to decide if you can ever forgive
me for putting you through all this. If not I’ll need to find
someone else to change you and mentor you in the ways of the
night.” I braced myself for his answer. I didn’t even deserve
him.

He looked at me, incredulous, and a humorless
laugh escaped his lips. “Do you really have to ask?” Then he pulled
me close and said, “Falling in love with you isn’t something I just
decided on. I can’t control my heart. It doesn’t do what I ask of
it.” Trey pulled my hand to his chest where I felt his heart
thumping.

“Yeah, well that kind of control doesn’t even
come with the vampire territory,” I admitted, staring up at him.
“My heart is just as stubborn as yours.”

“It has to be you,” he stated. I blinked at
him, still unsure. “Aurora,” he breathed. “It’s always been you. I
don’t want a life in the dark without you. I … I don’t even want a
life in the light without you.”

“Are … are you certain? After everything I’ve
put you through, you must hate me.”

“Hate you for loving me?” There was that lazy
smile again. “I could never hate you. I’m hopelessly in love with
you.” He took my face in his hands, and I still saw wonder and
amazement in his eyes as he leaned toward me slowly.

I found it easier to drop my guard than I
would have expected. Now that it didn’t matter that Trey was seeing
me in my true form, fangs and glowing eyes and all, I relinquished
control and let myself be absorbed by the kiss. When our lips met,
Trey’s emotions blended with my own seamlessly. His lips were warm
and soft and familiar, and my heart ached to think that I might
have missed kissing him like this for all of eternity. I kissed him
back with more fervor than I’d ever allowed myself, no longer
forced to hide who I truly was. Trey responded by wrapping his
hands around the small of my back and pulling me close against
him.

Maybe it was because I was no longer forced
to fight my instinct, but I felt like I was kissing Trey for the
first time. Suddenly everything was exaggerated and brand new, like
the texture of his hair between my fingers, and the wonderful smell
of his cologne as it rose through the neck of his tee shirt.

Then I tasted blood. Trey’s blood. Okay, so
maybe I’d never actually tasted Trey’s blood before, but I’d
smelled the intoxicating scent of it rushing through his veins
since the first night we’d met. He tasted even better than I’d
imagined….

But something wasn’t right. Why did I taste
Trey’s blood?

I pulled back and saw the puzzled look on
Trey’s face as he raised a finger to his mouth, touching his bottom
lip on one side where blood was rising to the surface.

He looked up at me, almost embarrassed. “I …
I think I got a little caught up and … uh …”

It was obvious now. He’d nicked his lip on my
fang, which was both hopeless and adorable.

“Let me see,” I said, smiling and tugging him
forward by his shirt until we were only inches apart again. “Close
your eyes.” He looked at me, hesitating for only a second before he
let his eyes fall shut. I brushed my lips against his, kissing his
mouth again, only this time slowly and deliberately. His heart
raced and I could feel through the emotional link that he sort of
liked not knowing what I was going to do to him. Kissing a vampire
while bleeding could easily be too much to ask of any mortal man,
but not Trey. He just kissed me right back. I prolonged the kiss
for longer than was necessary, but I just couldn’t help myself.
When I did pull back, his eyes fluttered open and I smiled at him.
“Better?” I asked.

Trey licked his lips and then brought his
finger to his mouth again, checking it for traces of blood. But the
cut had completely healed. He let out a quick breath, staring at me
in disbelief. “That’s amazing. How did you do that?”

“Just one of the many things I’ll get to
teach you,” I said, satisfied.

“I’m going to enjoy practicing that one.”
Then a look of comprehension crossed his face and he gazed at me
like he was seeing me for the first time. “This is why you always
pulled away from me. You were -”

“Afraid I’d let myself get caught up in the
rush and you’d see me for who I truly am,” I finished for him. “I
never wanted to pull away from you. I still can’t believe you were
so patient with me.”

Trey looked at me adoringly. “And I thought
you had trust issues,” he said with a small laugh.

“I have my share of those, too,” I assured
him. “Just not with you.” But all the talk about trusting people
made me realize that we needed to share our decision with the one
vampire who might be able to help. “There’s someone we need to
see,” I said. “His name is Antonio. He’s my maker.”

Trey gave me a determined nod and took my
hand, leading me back across the street.

“Where’s your car?” I asked, suddenly
realizing that it wasn’t parked out front.

“I parked down the road a ways,” he admitted
sheepishly, pulling me down the sidewalk in the right
direction.

“So you and Kacie could ambush me?” I asked,
pretending to be angry.

He laughed. “Ambush is such a strong
word.”

“I still can’t believe she went along with
it.”

“I showed up with a guitar and a bleeding
heart, looking all sorts of pathetic. What would you expect her to
do?”

“Throw you out, maybe,” I teased.

“That’s one option.” As we walked past The
Waking Moon Trey’s footsteps paused and he turned to stare at the
front of the building.

“What?” I asked.

“I … I was just wondering,” he said
thoughtfully. “If no one broke into The Waking Moon, how did the
front window end up in pieces all over the floor?”

“I smashed it when I sensed you coming,” I
admitted.

Trey grinned and looked at me in disbelief.
“Are you serious?”

“It wasn’t one of my better plans,” I
admitted.

He laughed out loud and pulled me closer to
his side as we walked. We reached his car and he opened the
passenger side door for me and gave me a hand inside. Even the
knowledge that I was a vampire, and more than capable of ducking
into the car by myself, hadn’t curbed his desire to be a
gentlemen.

“Where does this Antonio live?” Trey started
the engine and glanced at me. I gave him directions to Antonio’s
and he pulled out onto the street. There weren’t many cars on the
road as Trey navigated the streets of Clearwater. He was deep in
thought, and I wanted to make it as easy as possible for him. There
was just so much I needed to tell him, to prepare him for. It would
take some time.

“What are you thinking about?” I finally
asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

“You mean you can’t read my mind or
something?” Trey smiled at me playfully.

“Maybe. But I’d rather you just tell me
yourself,” I said.

Trey did a double-take and stared at me for a
second before returning his eyes to the road.

“I really didn’t expect you to admit to mind
reading.” He let out a nervous laugh and then sighed. “This is
going to take some getting used to.”

I smiled at him reassuringly. “Last night was
the first time I used my abilities to read your thoughts.”

“Seriously?” He seemed surprised.

“That was when I thought breaking up with you
would prevent you from having to go through all this. I hoped that
knowing your thoughts would give me more ammunition in the argument
to convince you we couldn’t be together.”

“Hmmm….”

“What?”

“Nothing.” He smirked and then added, “It’s
just that if I could read your thoughts, I’d probably do it all the
time.”

“At least you’re honest,” I said
sarcastically, grinning at him in spite of myself.

He chuckled and said, “You’re just a mystery.
You always have been. Now, I guess I sort of know why.” He was
silent for a second and then said, “What else can you do?” But
before I could think of a way to answer he spoke again. “I bet you
can run really fast.” I just smiled. “And a vampire wouldn’t be a
vampire if they weren’t really strong.”

“I can hold my own,” I admitted.

He grinned at me in amazement. “I know I
should probably find it emasculating that my girlfriend could take
me, but it’s just so hot.”

It was my turn to laugh this time. “I could
definitely take you.” He laughed, too. I was aware of the fact that
he kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, but always
with adoration and a hint of disbelief. Not once did I see a trace
of the resentment I had feared.

He couldn’t hide the somber edge in his tone
when he spoke again. “When will you change me?”

I reached across the center console and
touched his arm, knowing this must be hard for him. “Vampires can
only be created during a full moon. That won’t be for… ” I glanced
out the window, looking in the direction I knew the moon would be.
“ … 23 days.”

“Really? I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be
that long.” He ran a hand through his hair and turned at the next
street when I gestured to it. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind
being human a bit longer, it’s just a little nerve-wracking. I feel
like a sitting duck.”

“We’ll lay low until then,” I reassured him.
“I won’t let you out of my sight. It’ll be okay.” Trey nodded,
trusting me fully.

Antonio lived in a wealthy part of town, but
the houses in his neighborhood looked plain compared to Trey’s. I
pointed to the Victorian style home and Trey parked in the
driveway. He reached to open his door but I touched his arm to stop
him, taking a second to scan the area with my mind. It didn’t
appear we’d been followed. I nodded and released him. Trey didn’t
ask what I was doing, though he might have guessed. We walked
together up the front walk and then I stepped in front of Trey and
raised a hand to the door to knock. It opened before my knuckles
touched the expensive wood. Antonio smiled at me from inside.

“I’ve been expecting you.” His voice was
exceptionally kind, and there was understanding behind his eyes.
Although I’d seen this gentler side of Antonio before, I hadn’t
expected that I would find it tonight. It seemed that
Antonio-The-Lecturer would have been more appropriate, considering
recent events. It might have been easier that way. My behavior
lately certainly warranted a lecture or two. “I’m not going to
berate you.” Antonio sighed, clearly reading my reaction. “No. I
expect you’ve been doing enough of that for both of us.” He was
right, of course. “And you must be Trey.” Antonio looked over my
head and I stepped aside so Trey could come forward. “So you’re the
human who captured Aurora’s heart.” He offered his hand and Trey
shook it without hesitation. Antonio’s perceptive eyes turned back
to me. “Come in, child. There is much we need to discuss.”

Trey and I followed him into the grand foyer
where a small flame was flickering in the fireplace, curls of smoke
weaving up through the air above it. Trey and I sat on the plush
sofa while Antonio sat in the leather chair across from us. He
clasped his hands together and looked at us, waiting for me to
speak first.

“What have you heard?” I asked.

“Enough.” He gave me a sympathetic smile and
I felt the hum of his power, but it wasn’t directed at me. I
wouldn’t have sat idly by and allowed just any vampire to read
Trey’s thoughts, but I knew Antonio was only trying to protect me.
And above all, I needed him to understand. “Your name is on the
lips of many of our kind tonight.” He was talking to Trey now. “But
I can also see that you love Aurora. She is like a daughter to me,
and for that reason I will do what I can to help you both.”

Trey looked relieved as he nodded at Antonio
and then turned his head to look at me.

“Would you mind giving us a moment?” I gave
Trey a small smile.

“Sure.” Trey got to his feet.

“Feel free to explore the house,” Antonio
said to him.

Trey nodded and squeezed my hand before
walking out of the room. I took a deep breath and dropped all of
the protective walls around my mind. There was no point anymore,
not with Antonio. If I was going to ask for his help, he needed to
know exactly what I was asking.

Antonio’s head lifted just slightly, but it
was enough to tell me that he’d just felt me drop my reserve. “I’ve
backed myself into a corner,” I began slowly. “I can see only one
possible solution.”

“You want to make him one of us,” Antonio
stated mechanically.

“’Want’ isn’t exactly the word I would
choose,” I said with a sigh.