Vampire Lies (Blood and Snow Season Book 1) (6 page)

He touched my lip with his fingers. “Shopping?” he asked.

Heat touched every part of my body. I couldn’t speak. So I nodded.

“Excellent.”

CHAPTER 8

Laeddin took us to a place in New York City called Bloomingdales. We had a sales person help us.
I had a bit of a freak out when I saw my back in the three-way mirrors in the dressing room.

Okay, a big freak out.

“What’s wrong?” Laeddin asked, popping in to the dressing room with me. I screamed again, quickly sliding the sleeves of the dress up so the front of my body was covered.

His eyes roamed over my body quickly before focusing on my face.

“Look at my back,” I said, turning it toward him.

His eyes got dark, like emeralds, and he licked his lips. I was mesmerized by the action.

“I—wings are tattooed onto my back.” I tore my gaze from his face and focused on the reflection of my back in the mirror. The wings were outlined in black and filled in along the edges. I knew tattoos were a thing in the human world, but I never thought I’d get one.

“May I?” Laeddin asked, reaching out to touch my back. 

My heart raced so hard and so fast, it was hard to hear anything. “Sure.” I bit my bottom lip.

His touch was gentle. He traced one of the wings. I closed my eyes, sinking into the incredible feeling racing through my body.

“They are trapped within,” he said, interrupting my thoughts.

I opened my eyes. “Will they stay away?” I stood and moved so that I was inches from him. He grasped my shoulders and tipped his head.

We were going to kiss. I sensed it, knew it the way I knew which way was up. I lifted my face to meet him halfway.
My first kiss,
I thought.

I knew I should close my eyes. I’d seen pictures o
f couples kissing, but I was too fascinated with the way Laeddin moved. The length of his dark lashes and how they cast shadows on his cheeks, the slight dimple in his chin, his mysterious scent, and his warm breath.

Millimeters away. He
was so close. I wondered how it would feel, if it would change me.

Someone knocked on the door. “How’s it going, Jasmine?”

I squealed and jumped out of Laeddin’s grasp. “Fine,” I said, but my voice sounded strange.

“Did you need a different size?”

Laeddin smirked.

My face turned bright red, like rich blood. “I’m not sure yet. Hang on.”

I heard her step closer to the door.

Laeddin moved so that he could whisper in my ear. “I’m going.”

He kissed my cheek and then vanished.

I
checked my cheek in the mirror. I expected to see a mark where his lips touched. The spot burned, but there was nothing.

“Jasmine
?” the clerk said again, knocking with more urgency on the door. I peeked my head out and handed her one of the dresses I’d taken in. “I’d like to try this one in a different color.”

She took it, happy to have something to do. “I’ll see what I can find.”

“Thank you.”

When she was gone, I tried on a tan
mini skirt that came to the middle of my thighs and a powder blue button up shirt. I turned back and forth, liking the look. Then I tried on a couple of different pairs of jeans, more shirts, some sweaters, and a couple of different dresses. They all looked great.

By the time the sales girl came back, I was ready for more. “What do you think?” she asked, showing me the dress. It was a pastel purple and matched my eyes.

“I like it.” I took it from her.

“And what about the others? Anything you like?” She gave me a stern look.

“I love all of it.”

“Good. If you want to give them to me, I’ll
begin wrapping them up.”

“Sure
.” I took the clothes and handed them to her.

“Anything you don’t want?” she asked.

I shook my head. From the corner of my eye, I caught Laeddin watching our exchange. He had his hands in his pockets and was smiling. “Nope.”

“Very good.”

“And I’m going to need shoes. And underthings. And socks, and tights… and coats, and jackets too.”

She followed my gaze and saw Laeddin. “You’re very lucky. He’s so gorgeous.”

“I know,” I admitted and then blushed.

***

Over the next several days, Laeddin took on the role of tour guide. He showed me around Salem. He took me into Boston, where we walked the streets, until he surprised me with a movie. It was a romance called
Across the Ages
about a girl who travelled through time and ended up falling in love. There were several cringe-worthy moments. Like when the main character kissed the male lead. It was soft and passionate and romantic and my cheeks went hot.

When the movie was over I could tell Laeddin was
relieved, but I wanted to see it again. So we did. He was very thoughtful. I had so much fun spending time with him. He didn’t talk much about himself though. Mostly we talked about me, and my life.

Laeddin also prepared the
documents I would need for school. It was mainly just him snapping his fingers, but since Salem high could call and check on the information listed in the transcripts, he had to make sure certain things I didn’t care to understand were in order.

Sunday night, he took me to a symphony. It was our last night together before
I was to start school. All he did was snap his finger and he went from wearing jeans and a t-shirt to a black tux with a white shirt.

“You look so handsome,” I whispered. It’d taken me an hour to do my makeup and my hair just right and then to get dressed.

I’d chosen a black dress with loose ruffles in the skirt. What I loved most was that the under part of the ruffles were teal, so when I moved, a pop of color would show. The bodice was tight and sleeveless. A small teal flower was pinned on the right side of my waist. I’d chosen black pumps with a red bottom, but Laeddin changed them to teal. I’d curled my hair and pinned it in a loose bun on the right side, then put a sparkling comb at the top to secure it in place.

“Well you look beautiful.” Laeddin rested his hands on my waist. His warm skin radiated the scent of his blood. I’d noticed that the more time I spent with him, the more appealing his blood became.

“Thank you.” He used his magic and we were suddenly seated in the theater. No one even noticed when we just popped in. It was as though we’d been there all along.

When everyone was seated, the conductor came out and spoke to us about the program. Then they began to play… and for the next hour I was lost
in the beautiful sounds of the music.

Chapter 9

On Monday morning,
I woke with a mixture of excitement and apprehension swirling in my belly. The sun was just starting to rise and my first inclination was to fly because Sabrina would be waiting at my window.

Except
she wouldn’t be this morning.

My emotions floated to the surface
. I needed Sabrina. She was my friend. I jumped out of bed and ran to the window, pushing it open. Birds chirped their song. Small animals rummaged in the trees that lined the back yard. A deer lifted its head and bounded away.

My throat burned at the sight of the d
oe. I needed blood. It’d been more than a week since my last breakfast in Sharra and I couldn’t ignore my hunger any longer.

“Where’s a unicorn when you need one?” I whispered fiercely
, turning from the window, surprised by how sad I felt. I missed my best friend. Having Laeddin was great, but I was had to be careful of my attraction to him.
Or his blood
, my mind whispered. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t totally relax. Hiding out in the human world would be so much more fun if Sabrina was with me.

Laeddin and I discussed bringing her.
We’d talked and talked about it. But it wouldn’t work. Sabrina was small. Her presence would be noticed.

I took a deep breath. I’d chosen this. Normal. High s
chool. It would get better once I found some human friends and started doing typical stuff.

“Focus
, Jasmine.” I went into the bathroom. Laeddin had changed the color scheme in there as well as my bedroom from purple to my favorite colors, which were teal and black.

The style was contemporary. A fresh jasmine flower sat in a pot
on the counter near the sink and I leaned in to smell it. After my shower, I fixed my hair. The teal streak that had been in my hair for as long as I could remember was no longer there. I kept turning back and forth in the mirror trying to decide whether I liked myself better with or without it.

I decided it didn’t matter. I left my hair
down, curling the ends that hung to my waist with a hot iron. It took me a while to figure it out and I ended up burning two of my fingers. I realized I couldn’t do magic, but I was still a vampire. That meant I could still heal quickly. I kept my makeup simple, using neutral colors that enhanced my violet eyes, and applied neutral lip-gloss.

I’d picked out my outfit the night before, a tan skirt with
five-inch heels in the same color and a powder blue button down shirt. I put on a matching lacy blue bra and undies. The bathroom seemed lonely without Zenny. Usually he was around to give me compliments and help me choose makeup colors, hairstyles, and the clothes I would wear. I missed him too.

But I reminded myself that he wasn’t part of my normal life.

I focused on my shoes. They were the favorite part of my outfit. The shoes had a peekaboo toe and a bow at the ankle. Completely adorable.

When I finished, I went down to the kitchen. I needed blood, but wasn’t sure how to get it.

Laeddin was there, leaning against the counter, eating an orange. He was dressed in dark jeans and a green t-shirt. His feet were bare and his black hair was still wet.

I wasn’t sure whether it was the orange or him that I craved more. But he made the orange
look so delicious, especially with the juice dripping off his lips. I wanted regular food. I thought about wishing for it, but he’d already told me he didn’t want to change who I was and I didn’t want to waste a wish.

“Morning,” he said, pushing off the counter.

I suddenly felt shy. “Hi,” I replied.

“Ready for school?” He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, twisted off the lid, and took a long drink
. I was mesmerized by his movements. He smelled like ecstasy. It could’ve been his skin or his blood. I wanted to lick at the vein pulsing at his neck, sink my teeth in, and find out. I had a feeling his blood would be as spicy as his scent.

He
recognized that I was watching and stopped drinking, placing the lid back on the bottle. I licked my lips. Thirsty.

“You need to feed,” he suggested.

“Yes.” I took a step in his direction.

He faced me, spreading his legs shoulder’s width apart. It looked like he was preparing for my atta
ck. “You want to taste me, don’t you, Princess?” His voice was low, deep and sensual.

“I do,” I responded, moving closer. I was almost in a frenzy,
and the need for blood made his smell so heady.

Laeddin tilted his neck as though giving me access. I was on him before I realized what I was doing. My tongue tasted his neck and my fangs released.
I pressed against his warmth.

He cleared his
throat. “Is this what you wish?” Laeddin asked.

That made me pause. “You m
ean I have to use a wish to drink your blood?”

“That’s right,” he said, clearing his throat.

That took the heat right out of me. I untangled myself, pushing out of his arms. “Never mind.” I picked up my pink and light green polka dot backpack and walked to the front door. “I’d better get to school.”

Laeddin
was immediately wearing shoes. “Here.” He pulled open the refrigerator and grabbed a glass. It was filled with something red. “It’s blood. Drink. You’re going to need it.”

I
grabbed and sniffed. “What kind?” I took a sip. It tasted a little sweet and salty with a hint of copper. It tasted different than any blood I’d tried before. There wasn’t any magic laced within as with the blood I normally drank. “Is it an animal?” If so, I knew it would keep me in control for a short time, but wouldn’t satisfy for long. I took another, bigger drink. It was delicious in a way I never imagined. Even better than unicorn blood. Had my mom lied about my not being able to drink animal blood? Would it keep me strong and healthy just like magical blood? 

Laeddin smirked. “Something like that.” A
set of keys appeared in his hands.