Forever Black (Nightwalkers 2) (15 page)

She laughed when she saw Kris stick out his tongue and
wrinkle his nose as he threw up a peace sign with his hands. It was a childish
action, but she still laughed. Kris' hair was messy, and his eyes were outlined
in black like Caleb's.

"I know you can't." She tried not to frown, but it
came anyway. Her attention was focused on Kris because she couldn't see Caleb's
face. "I was just teasing."

Caleb held the phone up to his face, but he wasn't looking
at it. His eyes were focused on the people they passed on the way to the stage.
"You
wanna
go to sound check? Listen to some
kick ass, live music?"

"Sure."

"How bout I…" He went over to the edge of the
stage and propped up the phone so it had a good view. Then, he bent down and
smiled. "Can
ya
see all right?"

"Aim a few feet higher, and it'll be at the perfect
angle."

He grabbed himself through his baggy pants, giving it a
playful shake as he stuck his tongue out at her jokingly. "Better?"

Ashleigh nodded as she disabled the webcam on her end. Her
face was filled with huge smile, one that reddened her cheeks and squinted her
eyes. She was in love, the awestruck look easy to recognize.

Caleb joined the others and started strumming on his guitar.
Kris was arguing with Armageddon's drummer, Sam. Sam pointed a drumstick at him
and motioned for him to get to his place. Kris was the troublemaker of the
band, but he had been Caleb's best friend since childhood. Because of that, Sam
had to put up with Kris' antics.

Ashleigh stared up at the ceiling. Sparkling ribbons crawled
along it. The ballroom looked amazing, and it was just like a ball in a
fairytale.

But even this gorgeous place couldn't keep her eyes from
wandering back down to the Caleb when she heard him start to sing. Then,
everything melted away. He sounded amazing live. The video quality wasn't the
best, neither was the sound, but for these brief moments she could be with
Caleb, something she had been trying to convince herself not to do.

A hand tapped her shoulder, making her jump and quickly spin
around. Ashleigh pulled off her earphones and faced the girl standing behind
her. She was young, in her early twenties, and dressed in jeans and a sweater
with her college logo on it.

"Can I
bum
a cigarette off
you?" The girl seemed antsy. She walked around the couch and stood in
front of Ashleigh. "My mom is driving me nuts."

"Cigarettes?" Ashleigh laughed. "I don't
smoke, but sometimes Caleb shoves some of his…" Ashleigh picked up her
purse and rooted through it. Picking up a small sandwich bag, she shook the
contents cheerfully.

"Damn, I would, but my mom would kill me if she smelled
that shit on me right now. I'm supposed to be helping."

"
Wuss
." Ashleigh
wrinkled her nose as she put the bag back into the small pocket of her purse.
"I wish I'd known this was in here earlier, or it still wouldn't be."

"I'll hit you up on it later, though." The girl
looked toward June than back at Ashleigh. "I'm Nicki."

"Ashleigh." She set her purse down. In her fingers
was a piece of gum. "How's this instead?"

"Fine." Nicki took the stick and quickly unwrapped
it. Her eyes gravitated toward Ashleigh's laptop. "What you watching? Some
kind of concert?"

"
Kinda
." She gazed back
at the screen. She could hear the distant sound of Caleb’s voice coming from
the earphones around her neck.

"You're an Armageddon fan?" Nicki chewed noisily
as she pointed to Ashleigh's computer bag. There were several buttons and
patches sewn there.

"Huge. They're my favorite band."

"Mine, too." Nicki glanced toward June again then
over at her mother, who was working on decorating the buffet tables.
"‘Nightmare’ is my favorite."

Ashleigh frowned when the screen went blank. "I like
that song, too." She put her laptop back in her bag. It was the same one
she’d had for years and some of the straps were broken. She buckled the ones
that weren't and set it on the floor. "Caleb's got an amazing voice."

"That's not all that's amazing about him." Nicki
laughed as she gently japed Ashleigh on the arm. "God, I'd love to get a
backstage pass and see if he's as hot in person as he is in pictures. Meeting a
guy like that is probably surreal, you know?"

"I know." Ashleigh looked down briefly and tried
to stop the frown from infecting her smile. "When I met him, I felt that
way."

"You've met him?" A light giggle escaped Nicki's
lips. She turned her body more toward Ashleigh. "What's he like?"

"He's a big goofball."

Ashleigh could see the Count walking into the room, a slight
heat filling her chest at the thought of him. Whenever he was around, he made
her very nervous. The power his sweet words had over her was scary. He knew
exactly how to make her swoon. She loved that, but at the same time, she
wondered if she could control herself around him.

Now that she and the Count were speaking, they got along
well. Even though he had the fresh, handsome face of a twenty-five year old, he
was much older. The age gap had become an issue at times. His worldly
experience calmed his personality, but she was still young. She couldn't
participate in a lot of his detailed discussions, so most of their
conversations were light and simple.

"
Ooo
…" Nicki giggled as
she covered her mouth and whispered to Ashleigh, "Here comes the
king."

"Huh?" Looking at Nicki with a playful suspicion
in her eyes, Ashleigh laughed. "Why do you call him that?"

"Look at him." Nicki turned away, instead of
taking her own advice. "He's hot, isn't he? I would die if he came over
and talked to us."

"Really?" Ashleigh studied the Count. His eyes
were only on her as he strolled toward them.

"Oh my God. He's walking right toward us." Nicki
started to fidget. Her face reddened as she motioned for Ashleigh to talk.
"Hurry up, start talking about something else, so he doesn't know we're
talking about him."

"Hello, your grace." Ashleigh's voice was overly
sweet as she tried not to laugh. "We were just talking about you."

"Only good things, I hope." His face was filled
with a gentle expression as he held out her thermos. It looked very odd in the
hands of this sharply dressed prince.

"You deliver now?"

"For you, yes."

"Thank you." Her hand reached out and took the
container. "
Mmm
…" She unscrewed the top,
taking a long drink from it. "It's still warm. How do you get this to
taste so good?" She shook the contents, a very satisfied smile on her
face. "I've never tasted blood this good."

"Will you walk with me?" He motioned for her to
stand. His eyes bypassed Nicki's, which were trying to shyly avoid him.

"Sure." Ashleigh gathered her things and slung her
laptop bag over her shoulder.

"However do you feed in such a manner?" He
chuckled as he watched her drink from the thermos. "Such a silly girl you
are."

"I'm a reluctant vampire." She began walking with
him, and her shoulder playfully bumped his arm a few times. "You think
that's silly?"

"Yes." He glanced over at June, who was watching
them. "What are your thoughts on all this?" He gazed downward, his
hands neatly clasped behind his back.

"On what?" She licked her lips and studied his
small frown.

"The masked ball tomorrow."

"I think it'll be fun. I'm excited. I've never been to
anything like this."

"I hope the festivities do not leave you
disappointed."

"As long as you dance with me, it won't be
disappointing. It's always hard to go to a dance without a date."

"You wish to be my date?" He turned toward her. A
loving smile filled his lips as their eyes met.

"
Mmm
hmm." She shook her
thermos. It was empty. "But I'm not a good dancer, so you might be the one
disappointed."

"Disappointment is not a valid description of the bliss
I will feel with a beauty such as you on my arm. I want nothing more than to be
with you all night." He took both her hands in his. His grip was light as
he swung her hands slowly, his shining eyes capturing hers and not letting go.

He chuckled softly as he took in her shy expression. Her
small fang was taking her bottom lip hostage as she gazed at him. "So, to
have you as a
date
would be the best
gift I could ever receive. You, my love, will have me groveling at your feet
and begging to kiss the soft heaven that is the surface of your hand."

He kissed her hand, and a soft giggle escaped her lips, as
his eyes remained locked on hers. "Such beauty you possess, that even the
devil could not produce a copy that would compare to you, even in the softest
candlelight. To love you is like my need for air, without it, all the life in
my breast would cease and leave me an empty man."

"You, sir, are a major flirt."

He turned his eyes from her and took her arm in his, giving
a soft laugh. "May I escort you to your room, my lady?"

"Of course." She handed him her thermos. "But
could you get me some more, please?"

"As you wish." He took it from her gently. His arm
slipped from hers, and he quickly disappeared from her side.

Taking a deep breath, Ashleigh closed her eyes. She spoke
under her breath, "Ashleigh, you're in trouble."

* * * *

Dressing up was a fun experience. Her black ball gown made
her feel like she had been transported back through the centuries. She was all
giggles as she studied her reflection. The corset pinched her stomach, but it
made her breasts and figure look amazing. Her hair was styled in long, tight curls
falling over her bare shoulder. She donned a sparkling black and white
diamond-embellished mask.

She wanted to impress her prince tonight. To leave this man,
who seemed to never be at a loss for words, speechless.

Taking out her phone, she struck a sexy pose. It took a few
tries to get a good picture, but when she did, she sent it to Caleb with the
caption—"Want this?"

He replied right away.

Like a starving vampire craves blood.

Ashleigh set her phone on the vanity. Though she loved
flirting with Caleb, she was still hesitant to get back together with him. She
was trying to give the Count a chance. She knew if she responded to Caleb's
message, she'd never be able to do that.

She purposely arrived a half an hour late for the ball. She
wanted to be unnoticed and hoped to get a good glimpse of the party before she
joined in. Even though she felt beautiful, her stomach was filled with
butterflies. As she paused against the railing of the third floor of the
ballroom, her hands gripped it tightly. She felt as if she could plummet at any
moment.

The masked guests and intimate candlelight gave the room a
very dark feel. The soft music playing in the background set the mood
perfectly. This was like a scene out of one of her books, unearthly and
strange. For the first time since becoming a vampire, she felt different, like
she was at home.

Her eyes searched the floor for the Count, but she couldn't
tell who anyone was. She stood there for a few minutes before deciding to go to
the next floor and search there. She moved around the thick crowd with a
frantic, fearful pace. Her head darted from side to side as she scanned the
faces around her.

Abruptly, fingers interlocked with hers and halted her walk.
Her whole body shivered as she slowly turned to the man. She recognized his
naughty expression. She could see those perfect, plump lips that she had
fantasized about being against her neck ever since the night he had bitten her.

His voice was deep and seductive, so smooth it made her
dizzy, "A dance, my love?"

"Of course." She watched him kiss her hand. A
giant smile filled her lips and revealed her fangs. Though she wondered why
they remained, she didn't ask him.

"Such a vision of beauty I have never laid eyes upon.
You make heaven look like the slums, your sparkle outshining the sun and
leaving me blinded." He kept her hand near his lips, his hot breath
warming her skin.

"I'm disappointed." She laughed nervously as she
studied her handsome prince. "I thought I would leave you
speechless."

"You never leave me with anything but great desire and
happiness."

"I doubt that." She looked down with a shy
expression as her cheeks reddened slightly.

"Then, you are a fool." He laughed as he took her
arm in his, leading her down the flight of stairs that led to the first floor.

She glanced at all the people who were dancing. Their
movements were perfect, every step on key with the couple next to them. "I
can't dance like that."

"Then, we will not dance that way." His hands
slipped around her waist, his fingers spreading out and feeling the stiff
fabric of her corset. Her shaky fingers reached up to his neck and played with
the small bowtie on his tux.