Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) (14 page)

A few minutes later Simeon had made his
selection and Gemma found herself back in ancient Greece watching
Brad Pitt play the role of Achilles in Troy.

“Man, I love this movie.” Simeon demolished
another cracker and wiped the crumbs from his lips. “It’s got
everything… good fighting, good history, a strong storyline, a
little romance. What’s not to like?”

Gemma grinned.

“What’s your favorite movie?”

She shrugged. “Too many to choose from.”

She cut off the conversation by turning back
to the screen. She actually wanted to absorb herself in the story,
that way she wouldn’t be conscious of just how close Simeon was
sitting and the fact she wanted him to be Harrison. Or the fact
that if Harrison could see them right now his blood would be
boiling.

It was dark by the time the movie finished.
Unsettled and busting for tomorrow to arrive, Gemma rose from the
couch and bade Simeon a quick farewell.

“Hey.” He grabbed her hand and stood. “Thanks
for a great weekend. I had a really good time.”

“No problem.” Gemma tried to pull her hand
free, but he dragged her into his arms. Before she could protest
his lips were on hers. They felt hot, foreign and so hungry for
more Gemma nearly capitulated. If they hadn’t felt so wrong, who
knows what she would have done. Pushing him away, she stepped back
and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

“What are you doing?”

“What, I can’t give you a good night kiss?”
He said with an easy smile.

“No, you can’t.” Her heart was thundering a
mile a minute as she tried to rein in her emotions. Clasping her
indignation, she used its force to pull her body tall. “I have a
boyfriend.”

“O-kay.” Simeon looked doubtful.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on, Gem.” He threw his hands up.
“You can’t tell me this thing with Harrison will last. You
seriously think you can keep him a secret forever?”

“We’re going to make it work.”

A lopsided grin threw Simeon’s features off
balance “Face it, you’re living on borrowed time.”

She wanted to call him an asshole, but didn’t
think she could do it without crying. Instead she clung to her
dignity and turned to leave the room.

“No, wait.” He vaulted the couch in one swift
move and blocked her path. “Don’t leave all pissed. I’m sorry,
okay. I’m just trying to be a friend.”

“A friend?”

He shrugged. “I always think it’s better to
know what’s coming than be blind-sided, you know?”

Gemma looked to the floor.

“All I’m saying is that when it’s over, I’ll
be here waiting for you.”

Her head shot north, her eyes burning. “Well,
it’s not over yet, so you can just back off!”

Simeon raised his hands in surrender. “Okay,
okay. I get it.”

“Do you?”

“You think you love him.”

“I
know
I love him… and I need you to
respect that.”

Simeon looked at her for a long moment, his
eyes deep and sincere.

“You’re right. Kissing you was out of line.”
He looked to the floor. “You’re just so beautiful and I’ve been
looking forward to meeting you for so long. I didn’t expect you to
be as great as your parents described.”

Softened by his sweetness, Gemma shrugged.
“Well I never saw you coming, so…”

They both shot each other a quick smile.

“I promise I won’t kiss you again…

Slightly appeased, Gemma felt her chest
loosen.

“Unless you want me to.”

Her chest shot back into a tight ball of
agitation. “I won’t.” It was all she could get out of her locked
jaw. Pushing past him she headed for her room, the dark cloud of
annoyance raining on her the whole way.

Slamming the door behind her, she leaned
against the wood and drew in a few deep breaths. The phone on her
desk began to jingle seconds later.

Grabbing it up, she looked at the number. Her
body stood juxtaposed between relief and anxiety. All she wanted
was to hear his voice. All she didn’t want was to tell him what had
just happened with Simeon.

In spite of her misgivings, relief won.

“Hey Harrison.”

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“Sure.” She opened her closet door and headed
for the back corner.

“I just got a bad feeling.”

“I’m fine, I’m just…” The truth was right on
her lips. She wanted to say it, but knew she couldn’t handle the
reaction. “It’s been a long weekend.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve missed you.”

She sunk into her spot with a smile.

“What have you been doing?”

Her shoulders tensed. “Nothing much, just
doing what my mom tells me to.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You sound nervous
or something.”

“I’m fine, really. You know living here can
be hard sometimes. My mom’s been ragging on me about everything
and…”

“Then you have your unwelcome guest.”

She tried to let his casual statement not
rile her. It was said innocently enough, she shouldn’t be annoyed,
but she knew the underlying intent and didn’t have the energy for
this fight as well.

“Can we for once have a conversation that
doesn’t involve him?”

“Sorry, I just don’t like it.”

“I know, you tell me
every
time I talk
to you,” she huffed, “but there’s not much I can do to change
it.”

“You could go live with your dad.”

“Harrison.” She ran her hand through her hair
and squeezed her eyes shut. “You know I can’t have them finding out
about Gabe,” she said for the millionth time.

"Then cut that thing out of your ankle and
come stay with me."

"I'm not having this conversation right now."
She huffed. "We've already decided it's safer to wait until after
graduation. I don't want-"

“Okay, fine.” Harrison’s mumbled reply hid
none of his irritation. She knew it must drive him crazy knowing
that his girlfriend was living with some guy that her parents
wanted her to end up with. To compound the problem the guy was
gorgeous, likeable and way too clear in his intentions. Gemma felt
her body shiver as she relived the kiss. Harrison would never get
over it.

“I know this is hard for you. I don’t like it
either, but I need you to trust me.”

“I do trust you, I just don’t trust him.”

Gemma rolled her eyes. Simeon had been in
their lives less than a week and this was the seventh time they’d
had this conversation!

“Sometimes it feels like the same thing. Just
believe me when I tell you I’m yours.”

“I do, I just-”

“I can’t do this right now.” She kept her
voice gentle, hoping to soften the sting. “The sooner I sleep, the
sooner I can see you.”

“Gem…”

“Good night, Harrison.”

She wanted to hang up right then, but
couldn’t bring herself to be that nasty. Reminding herself that she
loved this guy she bit the inside of her cheek and gave him the
right of rebuttal.

“Good night.”

That was it. The phone went dead in her hands
and her spirit deflated on the spot. Crawling out from her closet
she dove under the covers and hoped the evening would fade into
non-existence when the sun came up.

Chapter
Nineteen

St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD

The sun was brilliant the next morning.
Harrison drove to school wanting to relish it, but all he could
think about was Simeon and how totally unfair it was that the guy
had got to spend an entire weekend with
his
girlfriend.

Thumping his way into school, he let the
jealousy fester around him. What was the point of fighting it, the
second he saw Simeon within a foot of Gemma, he knew it would
spring on him like a malignant virus. He flung his locker open and
grabbed out the books for his first class.

“Hey.”

Her voice was sweet. It brought an instant
smile to his lips, which stayed there when he turned around. Simeon
was no-where to be seen.

“Good morning.”

Gemma gave him a quick kiss. Stepping back,
she kept her hand on his chest and fidgeted with his shirt buttons
as she looked to the floor.

“I’m sorry about last night, I’m just so sick
of this conversation. I feel like I could tell you the same thing
over and over and you still won’t believe me. This jealousy thing…
I don’t know how to deal with it.”

He stilled her fingers. “I know. I hate that
I feel this way too, but… I hate this. I hate that he gets to live
under the same roof as you and spend all this time with you. I
missed you so much this weekend and it was made ten times worse
knowing you were with him.”

“I know…”

“I can just see how much he wants you and I’m
not there to stop him.”

“But I am and I will… if he tries anything.”
Her eyes flickered over his face then back to the floor. “You’ve
got to believe that.”

“I do.”

“No you don’t.”

He frowned and let go of her hand.

“Babe, if you did believe that, you wouldn’t
be behaving this way. I just can’t do this anymore.”

An instant fear tore through his body. “Are
you breaking up with me?”

“Of course not!” Her head shot up to look at
him. “I’m just asking you to stop letting Simeon under your skin. I
want you to start acting like the confident guy I fell in love
with. The guy who repeatedly told me that nothing would ever come
between us.”

He looked away from her. She put her hand on
his face and made him look back.

“Can you do that for me? Can you just ignore
Simeon and remember that you have a girlfriend you owe multiple
kisses to.”

His grin was instant. He touched her face and
placed a light kiss on her lips.

“I’ll try.”

“No more sour mood?”

He shook his head with an impish grin.

“No more sulking at the table when Simeon
sits with us?”

He shook his head again.

“No more seeing red when he tries
unsuccessfully to flirt with me.”

He couldn’t quite make his head shake
convincingly so she grabbed his melon and did it for him.

She rewarded his grin with another succulent
kiss. His hands pulled her hips towards him, elongating their
interlude. When they finally parted her eyes were dancing with
firelight and her bruised lips were holding a hungry smile.

“When’s your next free period?”

“Fourth.”

“I’ll meet you in our alcove.”

Her smile was delicious and tasted divine
with her farewell kiss. He let it simmer over his lips as he
watched her walk away. Flicking off the green virus, he let his
eyes linger over Gemma’s retreating form one last time before
smiling his way to class.

His smile vanished when he rounded the corner
and saw Simeon leaning against a very familiar locker. He could
hear a sweet twitter and knew who it belonged to. He tried to draw
on his reservoir of calm as he approached the duo.

“Hey Rosie.” He beamed her a smile as he
stepped around Simeon and came into view. She shot him a look that
screamed, “Piss off!” He decided his sister’s anger would be better
than a second more of Simeon’s flirting.

“Hey Granger. How’s it going, dude?” Simeon’s
eyes sparked.

“Fine.” Harrison tried for an easy smile, but
was positive what crossed his face was more of a grimace.

“Do you want me to walk you to class,
Rosie?”

“No!” Her blue eyes were rimmed with an angry
hue. He would be paying for this for weeks.

“You don’t want to be late.”

Her mortified expression made him feel a
little guilty, but he couldn’t stomach the thought of Simeon going
after his sister as well. Feeling the awkward silence worth the
cost, he stood his ground and was pleased to see Simeon take a step
back, creating a more socially acceptable distance between him and
the sophomore.

“I’m heading the same way you are, why don’t
you let me walk you to class.” Simeon’s velvet smooth voice and
snake like smile made Harrison’s insides quake. Rosie’s swooning
didn’t help either.

“Thanks Simeon,” she breathed. She gifted him
a sticky sweet smile before shooting Harrison the blackest look he
had ever seen. He took it with a steady gaze then watched them make
their way slowly down the hall. Simeon’s tall frame made Rosie look
like a petite doll. Harrison felt his insides smolder as the guy
looked over his shoulder and shot him a wicked grin before putting
his arm around Rosie.

The heady high of Gemma’s kissing was
shattered as Harrison stomped to class and spent the rest of the
morning fuming.

Free period was straight after Italian. If he
was going to enjoy it at all, he knew he had to get something off
his chest first. Sauntering up to Simeon’s locker, he stood behind
the guy as he finished loading his bag and laughing at some girl’s
giggly joke.

“We need to talk.”

Simeon turned to face him with an arrogant
grin. “What’s your problem now, Granger?”

Harrison waited for the young brunette to
scuttle away. “Leave my sister alone. She’s young and impulsive. I
don’t want you messing with her.”

Simeon tipped his head, a thoughtful
expression making his lips turn. “I can’t help it if she likes
me.”

“Yeah, you can. You can stay away from
her.”

“Might hurt her feelings.”

“I don’t care. It’ll do less damage now than
later.”

Simeon shoved his hands in his pockets and
casually leaned against his locker.

“You’re a bit of a tight ass, aren’t you,
Granger? What does Gemma see in you anyway?”

“I’m just being a good brother.” He clenched
his jaw.

“Well, maybe if the girl I wanted was
available, I wouldn’t have my eye on anyone else. You know what I’m
saying?”

“That’s not going to happen.” Harrison fought
the black haze, keeping his voice as even as possible.

“After the weekend we had together, I’m not
so sure.”