Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter (17 page)

“Step two involves lips—yours and mine. The surest way to
get over a car phobia is by creating positive associations.”

Hearing the words caused a thrum inside my chest. His lips
haunted me. They were wicked. They were wonderful.

Fane twisted one of the fringes at the end of my scarf.

I stared at the red thread wrapped around Fane’s finger.
“What about Valerie?”

Fane released my scarf. “I broke it off.”

“What? When?”

“First thing Tuesday. I told her that she and I had a good
run, hoped there were no hard feelings, and wished her the best.”

After one kiss
. I should know better than to be a
sentimental sap, but my heart was on fire.

“Did you tell her why?”

“I told her I met someone else.”

My stomach did a flip-flop. “Did you tell her who?”

Fane chuckled. “As delightful as the spectacle would be, I
don’t want you two to get into a cat fight in the girls’ locker room. Valerie’s
got claws and I couldn’t bear to see so much as a scratch on you.”

“Excuse me,” I said, sitting up. “Did you not see the way I
took down that kid in the cafeteria?”

Fane watched me with an amused half-grin.

I stood on my knees and leaned over him. “Don’t let this
girl-next-door act fool you, Fane. I’m learning martial arts. I take
kickboxing.” I stretched my leg over his lap and straddled him. “I could pin
you down and keep you down.”

Fane looked up at me. “I wouldn’t stop you.”

He leaned forward as I leaned down. When our lips touched,
the world outside his car melted away.

I ran my tongue over his teeth. His back molars were sharp.
I retracted my tongue. Fane must have sucked a mint earlier; a hint of
peppermint lingered on the tip of his tongue. Our lips moved together softly. I
cupped his face in my hands and closed my eyes. Fane ran his hands down my
back.

His lips were divine—like soft caresses against my own
chapped lips. The windows began to fog, steamed by our heavy breath.

Fane managed to lower me to the bench of the car and cover
my body with his own. His hand slipped up my bare thigh, but went no further.
He stroked my skin softly. Wave after wave of pleasure rippled through my body.

We stopped kissing. I tilted my head back and closed my
eyes. My lips parted slightly. Fane caressed my skin as though touching me was
the greatest privilege in the world. I wondered if he was aware of the fact he
could do anything to me right then, and I’d let him.

A rumbling engine from a nearby car woke me from my trance.
More engines revved until an entire fleet came to life around us.

My eyes opened. “What time is it?”

Fane glanced at his wristwatch. “Eleven thirty.”

He sat up when I pushed onto my elbows. “It’s already lunch
hour?”

There was a glimmer in his eye. “I didn’t notice the time
passing, either.”

I felt dazed when I sat up. I couldn’t see out the windows.
They were completely fogged and icing over.

“China Garden’s nearby,” Fane said. “Why don’t we walk over,
and I’ll buy you lunch?”

I smoothed my skirt down my legs, which Fane was admiring
rather closely. “Sure, let’s go.”

We were the only students exiting a car. I spotted Valerie
across the lot staring our way. Her eyes narrowed the instant she got over her
shock. Sure, I could gloat, but I’d rather forget about her altogether. So much
for keeping a low profile.

Fane walked on the outside of the sidewalk and took my hand.
It made me grin. I never figured Fane as the hand-holding type.

He reached in his pocket. “Mind if I smoke?”

“Now you’re asking?”

“Well, yeah, we’re together now.”

Together
. I grinned so wide I could feel it in my
nose.

“Go ahead,” I said. “Light one for me, too.”

Smoking wasn’t on the list of resolutions, but I might as
well add it.

Fane chuckled as he pulled his pack of American Spirits out
of his coat pocket. “I don’t think so.”

“What?”

“They’re not good for you.”

“Oh, and they’re good for you?”

“I’m immune.” Fane pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He
took my hand in his free one again.

“Must be nice.”

I squeezed his hand. When he looked at me, I smiled.

The lobby inside China Garden was blissfully quiet. The Denali
crowd stuck to McDonald’s, Subway, and the supermarket deli. A hostess appeared
and led us to a booth behind a bamboo partition. She handed us plastic menus.

“I’ll have the vegetable chow mein,” I said when a waitress
came by to take our orders.

Fane looked across the table. “Are you a vegetarian?”

“Yep, despite my mom’s best efforts to ‘entice’ me into
eating meat again.”

Fane smiled at the waitress and handed over his menu. “I’ll
have the same thing.”

The waitress nodded and left.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said.

Fane smiled. “I want to. Besides, I don’t really care what I
eat.”

I shrugged. A smile spread over my cheeks when our eyes
locked. I fidgeted on the booth’s vinyl bench.

Fane watched me closely. “You’re cute.”

My cheeks flushed with heat. “What about you?” I asked. “You
call me a baddie and it turns out you’re Mr. Soft and Fuzzy—a gentleman.”

“A gentleman,” Fane repeated. His eyes lit up and he
laughed. “Mamma would have been so pleased.”

I stared at Fane.
Mamma?
In addition to the word he
chose, he used a faint Italian accent to say it.

“Does your mom not live in Alaska?”

“My mom is dead.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”

“Oh,” I said again. “Were you very young?”

“It didn’t seem like it at the time, but looking back? Yes,
I’d say I was quite young.”

“Hot tea,” our waitress announced. She set down a small
white and blue porcelain teapot with two small cups.

Fane poured tea into a cup and pushed it toward me.

“Thanks.” I took a small sip.

“What about you?” Fane asked. “How are things at home? Are
they still trying to make you eat cookies?”

I nearly snorted the tea out my nostrils. “I can’t believe
you remember that!”

Fane leaned toward me. “How could I forget? You looked like
an angel who’d lost her way to heaven.”

I set my teacup down. “I’m no angel.”

And I had the mark of the devil to prove it. Fane seemed
pretty dark, but I doubted he’d look at me with the same adoration if he knew I
was a secret assassin for the government, engineered to hunt down and kill the
reanimated dead. He might even be the type who would feel sorry for vampires. I
doubted he had much respect for authority or the government. And somehow, I
doubted he would take too kindly to the idea of guys sinking their teeth into
me—undead or otherwise.

Luckily, he’d never know that side of me. Superheroes got to
have their own separate lives, and my alter ego was no longer all doom and
gloom. Who would have guessed that a boy named Fane would have made it feel
right again?

When I thought about it more, I was struck by something even
more unimaginable.

If I hadn’t gotten into the accident, I never would have
gotten to know Fane the way I knew him now. I never would have felt his touch
or kissed his lips or seen his smile. And that would have been the real
tragedy.

On the way home from school, I stared out the bus
window dreamily. The world outside no longer existed. I lived in my own world
and I liked it there.

I took great big steps up the hill leading home, skipped up
to the front door, and leapt inside. The smile on my lips died when I looked
over and saw Mom waiting for me in the front parlor, with Agent Melcher sitting
beside her.

 14

Melcher must have parked across the street or next door
because there’d been no ominous black sedan in the driveway to warn me of his
presence. He sat in our armchair in his gray suit. It was the first time I’d
seen Melcher without Crist hovering nearby.

I stormed into the center of the room and glared at my mom.
“What the hell is he doing here?”

Mom frowned. “Aurora, don’t—”

Melcher interrupted with a smile. “Your mother tells me
you’ve been getting into fights and missing class, Aurora.”

“So?” I plopped down on the couch and slung one leg over the
other.

“I understand transition period is confusing. You’re not
like the other kids at school anymore. You’re special.”

Great, just what I needed, Melcher going all student
counselor on me. I didn’t need a pep talk. I didn’t plan on fighting any time
soon. I was happy now.

“Do you mind if I have a moment with your daughter, Mrs.
Sky?”

Mom stood up immediately. “Of course not. I’ll be in the
other room if you need me.”

I folded my arms over my chest and glared at Melcher.

He sighed and spoke in a low, articulate voice. “You’ve been
called to serve a greater purpose, Aurora. It’s frightening at first, I know.
We put you face-to-face with evil and you won. You have a gift. A vampire is
like any other terrorist target, and we’ve never been better equipped to win
the war on terror. The important thing to remember is they’re not human.
They’re pure evil. I think you’re ready for training, Aurora.”