In the Dark (17 page)

“Well,
that’s what I’d like.”

Sebastian just
nodded, then walked off down the hall, his boot heels thunking
against the wood floor. I watched after him after he’d
disappeared, then shrugged to myself. If he wanted to be all
inscrutable, well, fine. Me, I had a date. I thought about calling
her, then realized I only had Josephine’s number. Awkward. I
checked my cell for missed calls, saw none, and decided to sit down
and wait. Maybe do some drawing if it ended up taking her a while.

Just as I had
really started to get into a new drawing, the house phone rang. My
dead heart wanted to kick up into high gear. I still got the little
rush associated with a pounding heart, just not the actual
hammer-against-my-ribs thing. Emily was here.

I picked up the
phone and got the lobby guy telling me yes, she was here – with
Josephine. That made me pause, but I went ahead and said I’d
let them up. Sebastian had said not to just let them up next time
they came over, but I couldn’t go down and meet them without an
elevator key. Besides, he was right in the next room.

The elevator
doors opened. No crazy women with a grudge against me stood there,
just Emily and Josephine, both dressed up like they were ready for a
date. Emily in a soft-looking white sweater, off the shoulders and
tight enough to leave little to the imagination; Josephine in a red
dress that made her look simply vibrant.

I didn’t
care for the idea of Josephine coming along to chaperone, but if
Emily felt like she wanted a third party there I’d give in.
Just being with her would be worth it.

They both
drifted off the elevator, Emily straight towards me with a wonderful,
warm smile. She took both my hands in hers, warm human hands over
mine.

“You look
lovely,” she said.

“Thanks.
So do you.”

Josephine
wandered past us with a knowing little smile.

“Hello.”
I wanted to go on, ask if she’d be joining us tonight, but I
felt too unsure to say it out loud.

“Hello,
Ian,” she said back, still smiling that mischievous little
smile. “Is Sebastian at home?”

I took in her
tight, swirling dress, the smile on her face, the too-innocent way
she asked, and felt my eyebrows lift. If she thought she had any
chance, she dreamed bigger than I ever would. But hey, at least I
knew now why she’d come along.

“Yeah,”
I said. “He’s in . . . a room down the hall. Fourth door
on the right.”

She nodded a
thanks, winked broadly at Emily, and turned to go down the hall. I
watched her vanish down the same way Sebastian had and shook my head.

“She has
ambition, I have to say that.”

Emily loosened
one hand from mine to trail a finger along my cheek, drawing my gaze
back to her. The touch sent electric shocks through my face, down
through my body, and for one, panicked moment, it was too much, too
fast – but then she cupped her hand against my cheek, eyes
meeting mine, and I knew whatever she wanted from me tonight wouldn’t
be too much at all.

“You wanna
get outta here?” she asked, smiling with her own mischief.

“If you
do.”

She lifted the
hand she still held away from my side, turned it over in hers and
brushed her lips against my palm. Her touch sent a tingling rush
through my body. My eyes half closed, still looking into her dark
eyes from under my lids. She opened her mouth against my palm, wet,
warm tongue sliding across my skin until it reached the edge of my
hand, and bit. I felt my skin break and winced, while unexpected
ripples of exquisite pleasure trailed across my hand. Liquid welled
up from the cut, my wet, sticky blood, which she licked off my palm
in a slow, languorous movement.

It was enough to
make my knees weak. I’d only been bitten once before, by Kent
when he made me, when I didn’t know what to expect. It had felt
good, sure, but there’d been a lot of fear mixed in, too. But
this – it was intense pleasure mingling delightfully with the
ache, tumbling over each other until I couldn’t tell if it hurt
or felt heavenly. I didn’t know pain could be so . . .
exciting.

She let my hand
go, licking red drops from her lips and smiling up at me. I traced my
fingers across that smile.

“I’d
like to go,” she said, before my fingers had entirely left her
mouth. “Somewhere we can be alone?”

I shivered. “All
right.”

I backed her up
to the elevator, pressing myself against her when she hit the doors.
With one hand I smacked the button while I reached for her mouth. She
opened it against mine, hungry, sliding her hands around to dig her
nails into my back and pull me closer. They bit into my skin like
little brands, hot and sharp. I let out another gasp against her
mouth.

She chuckled.
The doors slid open and she stepped backwards into the elevator, away
from me. I followed her, my bitten hand throbbing, my mouth watering.
The doors slid shut, sealing us in. She lifted my hand to her mouth
again, put her lips to the wound there and gently sucked. My head
spun with the sensations that caused. Before I could reach out to
kiss her, the elevator stopped and let us out on the ground floor. I
let the kiss go to follow her off the elevator. Seattle was a
friendly enough town, but a vampire kissing a mortal girl until her
mouth bled might cause a few double-takes.

“I thought
we could go for drinks down the block,” I said, my voice dazed.

She laughed, a
delighted, teasing laugh, and led me to the front doors.

“Would you
like to go someplace with a little more privacy?” She squeezed
my hand, which throbbed in response.

“Hell
yes,” I said.

“Your
place or mine?”

I hesitated. “I
don’t think . . . I mean, my place isn’t . . . they might
be watching.”

“Josephine
should be busy for the rest of the night,” she said. “If
you don’t feel safe at your place, we can go to mine.”

I smiled. “I’d
like that.”

“Good.”
She grinned back up at me, then pulled me to the line of cabs outside
Sebastian’s apartment building. She picked one and opened the
door for me. She scooted right up beside me, her thigh pressed
tight-close to mine. I had to gulp to keep my watering mouth under
control.

“2112
Raintree,” she told the driver, and he pulled away from the
curb.

J
osephine
had stayed. Emily and Ian had already gone, together, against
Sebastian’s advice. Ian did not understand the situation she
had put herself in, but he had fulfilled his responsibility by
warning her. He doubted Ian would harm the girl tonight, or even
soon. But he had seen it too often. The bloodlust required tight
control.

He spun with his
heavy practice sword, listening to it slice the air. This inactivity
grated on him. These women had covered their tracks far too well. He
should have had them by now, should have ended it.

A knock on his
door stopped him short.

“Yes?”

Josephine came
in, slowly. Her eyes swept the darkened room once and locked on him.
“I came to see if you’re all right,” she murmured,
shutting the door behind herself.

He sheathed his
sword, watching her. She stood still, watching him back as intently.
As uneasily?

His stomach
fluttered and he nearly forgot to answer her question. Such an odd
emotion she caused in him. Not caution, not fear, but one of those
from long ago that he had worked so hard to push away. He could
almost name it . . . but not quite.

“What do
you mean?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I
mean, are you all right?”

“I am
healthy,” he replied, not sure if that was the correct
response. He thought it was something like that. Hadn’t he said
–

A soft laugh,
a hand smoothing the furrow of his brow.

“
You’re
healthy, aright, but why the frown?” a woman’s voice,
familiar, murmured close in his ear.

He blinked. The
practice room came back into focus, making his stomach lurch. Where
had that come from? It felt like he’d lost his balance for a
moment, as though a blindfold had dropped over his eyes at the same
moment an earthquake began to rumble. But nothing had touched him, no
one had come near . . . He looked to Josephine, who wore a frown
herself now.

“Now I am
worried,” she said. “What was that?”

Sebastian turned
away, fist tight on the pommel of his sword. The disorientation
faded, leaving him balanced, sure of his physical self, and very much
in the here-and-now.

“Ghosts,”
he said softly.

“Ah,”
Josephine said, in such a way that he found himself turning back to
her. Her face was distant.

He straightened.
“Can I help you? You’ve stayed for a reason.”

Her own distant
expression cleared, and she smiled as though she hadn’t been
thinking of anything. “Of course. I’m concerned about the
girls. Are you certain it was safe to let them go?”

“No. But
the only other option is to force them to stay here, and I do not
believe either would tolerate such a restriction.”

Josephine nodded
softly, then looked over her shoulder as though she might see them
through the walls. “I’m just worried. About all of it.
Especially about Emily.”

“Ian will
not hurt her,” Sebastian told her. “She is fed and in her
right mind for now.”

The sigh that
escaped her told him a great deal more than her words. He heard
frustration in it, and longing. The danger concerned her less than
Ian and Emily leaving to be alone together.

“I have to
confess, I’m a little jealous,” she said, forcing a light
tone. Sebastian cocked an eyebrow. He had figured that Josephine kept
both Evan and Emily as lovers. He had seen such arrangements many
times before and had grown to accept and expect them, even if he
found them distasteful. He had thought to mention his suspicions to
Ian, but relationships between humans and vampires could be complex.
If Josephine did not want Emily to pursue Ian, she would have to say
so herself.

Josephine looked
down. “Ever since she met Ian, she’s been interested in
her. Especially tonight – she wanted to know what Ian likes,
what she does, how old she is, if I think she likes her, just on and
on.” She gave a soft laugh and came a few steps closer, looking
at him now. “I’m feeling a little left behind.” Her
dark green eyes met his, her expression intent, trying to convey
something to him . . . not threat, that much he could read
immediately, but his mind had honed in on her words more than her
body language.

On and on . .
.

Josephine took
another step closer, still asking him to read into what she said. “I
guess I should let it go. Ian is an attractive girl, after all. And
it’s not like Emily’s never taken other lovers before.”
She laughed again. “I guess I stayed behind to talk with you,
so I wouldn’t feel so left out.” Her voice lowered an
octave.

More subtext.
Sebastian ignored it, chasing the formless idea in his head. “Has
Emily asked questions like that any other night? About Ian?”

Josephine
paused. Her voice notched back up to her normal speaking tone. “Well,
she’s been interested in her since they met . . . not exactly
questions, no. Not until tonight.”

Sebastian’s
eyes narrowed. The twins. The woman whose car had been stolen.

“What is
it?” Josephine asked, alarmed.

“I must
go,” Sebastian said, and left the practice room.

T
he
house that Josephine and Emily shared was in an older neighborhood,
lovely old houses well-spaced with nice lawns and gardens surrounding
them. The cab took us to a large two-story brick house with a double
garage and a beautiful chimney curliqueing up the side.

Emily paid, then
turned to me as the cab left the driveway. “Well, this is it,”
she said. “Would you like to come inside for a drink?”
She grinned at me.

I took her hand
and tugged her closer. “What are we having?”

Her arms went
around my waist. “Why don’t you come in and see if
anything strikes your fancy?”

“Sounds
good.” I bent to kiss her again, but she stepped back, holding
my hand and leading me toward the house. I trailed her, hoping to get
that kiss. And then some.

She unlocked the
big wooden front door and pushed it open, leading me past an entryway
into a beautiful but comfortable parlor. I got the impression of cozy
antique couches, huge bookshelves, a thick carpet under my feet,
before Emily pressed herself close to me. She closed one hand over
mine. It stung when she touched it, reminding me of the feel of her
teeth on my skin. Getting bitten never would have turned me on before
the change. I had not been that kind of girl. As a dead girl, I
discovered to my surprise that the pain was irresistible.

Emily’s
fingers wove between mine, making my hand sting wonderfully. “It’s
not actually mine, but it does have the advantage of privacy,”
she said in a low voice.

I felt that
smile growing over my face again. Nobody had come on to me like this
for a long time. Well, not true, I had plenty of people come on to me
like this all the time – at clubs, bars, places I hung out to
feed. People who didn’t know me, didn’t know what I was,
or thought I was living a lifestyle. That had been fine at first,
when vampirism was still so new and I had a broken heart to work on.
Not anymore.

“Yeah?”
I asked, putting my arms around her.

She reached up
and kissed me. I opened my mouth to her and felt her slip her tongue
inside, searching out my fangs. She pressed her tongue against one,
leaving the rich sweet flavor of blood lingering in my mouth. No one
had ever tried foreplay with my fangs before. I had no idea how good
it would feel. I sighed in delight. She chuckled.