Wanted (2 page)

“Something about who?” I jumped. Matt was suddenly at my side.

“Hello!” I held a hand to my chest and felt my heart beating wildly. “Non-vamp senses here. Could you please not sneak up on me?” Cora was unmoved; she’d probably heard him coming.

“Whom,” she corrected automatically.

“Sorry,” he said without meaning it, whether for scaring me or the grammar error, he didn’t clarify. With his signature half-grin, he continued. “Were you talking about Conor again?”

Cora grinned. “I was just telling our lovesick friend to be careful and not expect anything.”

I looked at Matt, exasperated. “I don’t expect anything, believe me. I am perfectly aware of how invisible I am and how out of my league he is. Like I said, I’m just drawn to him—”

I walked into something solid and bounced off. Pain blossomed in my nose and I found myself flailing backward, books flying, trying not to end up on my rear. A pair of hands caught my arms and steadied me. My books crashed to the floor.

“Easy there. Sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” The voice was deep and full of mirth, and strangely familiar.

As my vision cleared of stars, I looked up and found myself staring into emerald eyes. My own eyes widened in response, breath coming out in a gasp.

As Conor gazed at me, his expression warmed.

“Ashlinn, right? Are you okay?” His voice flowed over my skin.

He knew my name.
He knew my name.
And he looked genuinely concerned.

I swallowed, trying to find my voice. “Um. Yeah, just my nose, it’ll stop stinging in a bit. I’m really sorry, are you okay?” Inwardly, I cursed how stupid I sounded.

He chuckled and bent to gather my books. As he handed them to me, he winked. Two winks in one day, my heart nearly burst out of my chest.

“I think I’ll make it. You’d have to use more than a cute nose to hurt me.” His smile was blinding. My hand flew to my nose instinctively. He thought my nose was cute, not huge? Conor seemed to finally notice Matt. “Matt, these ladies with you?”

Matt shrugged from my side, and grinned. “
With me
with me, not so much. Don’t think I haven’t offered.”

I swatted at Matt. “We are his
friends
.”

Cora stood off to the left, watching the entire exchange. Excitement radiated from her.

Conor nodded and turned to me. “Well, you guys should come with Matt to the party.” He looked at Cora. “You’ll fit right in. You should hang out with us more.”

She smiled, snapping out of her trance. “I’ve been telling Matt the same thing. Thanks.”

The vamps all chuckled. Great. Disappointment seeped into my moment, and I was aware more than ever how much I didn’t fit with Conor.

“Ashlinn, you are always welcome. Any friend of Matt’s…”

He leaned toward me, those green eyes getting bigger and bigger, so I could see flecks of gold in them. I struggled to keep my world from turning on end. He whispered as I inhaled his woodsy cologne. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”

His breath warmed my ear and his low chuckle raised goosebumps on my entire body. My eyes closed, blocking out the sight of his gorgeous hair. I wanted this moment to last forever. And then I felt cold. With impossible vamp speed he was halfway down the hallway, throwing a “See you Saturday,” over his shoulder.

Matt’s mouth hung open. When he noticed me looking, he snapped it shut.

“Doesn’t even know I’m alive, huh?” I nudged him. “He knew my name. My freaking name. How? Why?”

Matt shook his head slowly, still staring in the direction Conor had gone.

Cora giggled and grabbed my arm. “I totally thought he was going to bite you right here. Or kiss you. I take back everything I said earlier. He knows you’re alive. Matt, do you talk about us?”

We started toward class again. Matt’s brows were drawn together, lips pursed. He blinked. “Um, what? No, not really.”

Cora nodded excitedly. “So he just knew. He totally flirted with you.” She practically bounced down the hallway.

My mind struggled to process the entire scene. “Maybe he can read my mind. Maybe he knows I like him and he was just screwing with me. You know, some guys are mean like that.”

Matt shook his head again. “Conor can’t read minds. It’s not one of his strengths. He can’t even get much of a read on feelings.”

Okay, so that blew my theory. The only other option was too mind-blowing to believe, but I voiced it anyway. “So that means he somehow found out my name and invited me to the party.” I was babbling, the excitement overtaking my better judgment. Conor flirted with me.
With me
.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. All I could think about was the look in Conor’s eyes as he’d leaned toward me to whisper in my ear. The fresh, woodsy smell of him, his smile—I was even more infatuated than I’d been before, if that were possible.

All I could think about leading up to Saturday was Conor’s party and our altercation in the hall. Finally I was sitting in Matt’s backseat, behind a tall, thin vamp named Steven. Next to me, Cora kept sneaking glances at his close-cropped blond hair and big brown eyes. She was totally into him, but would never admit it.

The guys sat in the front seat, scanning through Matt’s iPod. They’d pick a song, listen to it for a while, and then skip to another one. It was getting annoying.

“Will you guys just let us listen to a whole song?” I demanded when they’d skipped out of one of my favorites. I rubbed my hands on my favorite jeans and picked at my shirt, pulse speeding up in anticipation as we got closer to the party.

They both chuckled, thoroughly enjoying annoying me. Bastards.

“We’re just trying to get in the mood, ladies,” Matt said, grinning at me in the rearview mirror. I stuck my tongue out at his reflection. He’d been teasing me since Thursday.

Steven settled on a song with a hard hip-hop beat, the bass vibrating though Matt’s car, mimicking a cheesy movie soundtrack as we pulled up to Conor’s house.

House—it was a damn mansion—the thing had different wings. I wondered if they had a “west wing.” It sat regally at the top of a long curving driveway, all sprawled out and lit up. Cars were parked everywhere along the drive, as well as on both sides of the street. Matt pulled in behind a red truck a little ways down the block and we began the short hike to the front door.

I was nervous and excited all rolled into one. Nervous to see Conor, but excited to see him also. Go figure. I pondered what he’d meant by his strange actions in the hallway the other day. Of course, he could have just been messing with me and it hadn’t meant anything. Yet here I was, stomach tied in knots of anticipation, all the same.

We entered into a large foyer with marble flooring and elaborate crystal light fixtures. Dark wood trim framed everything, including the huge, winding staircase. People milled in and out through the hallways leading every which way off the foyer. Wow, old money, I guess.

Matt obviously knew where he was going and led us down a wooden-floored hallway that opened into a huge kitchen. The floor in here was marble, but everything else was sleek and modern. Stainless steel appliances ringed the room, mixed in with granite countertops and smooth, silver cabinets. A large island sat in the middle of the kitchen, steel-topped, surrounded by black and metal chairs.

It was obvious the main action of the party was elsewhere in this huge place. I could hear a distant thumping of bass, not close enough to distinguish the song. Matt approached the bottle-covered island and mixed a couple blood cocktails for Cora and Steven, dispensing a thick, red liquid from one of two crystal decanters complete with spigots, and mixing it with what looked like rum.

I tried not to think about where the blood came from. I hoped they’d been willing donors. It was most definitely human—the old families only drank human blood—no animal blood for their rich tastes. Matt and the others would probably still get some human to offer up their vein later in the night, however. Warm and fresh was always best, so I was told.

For me, Matt held a cup under the other dispenser and filled it with a pink punch. I’m sure it was potent, the vamps liked to keep their human guests with as few inhibitions as possible, the more likely they would agree to donating blood for the night. I wasn’t planning on donating, so I’d have to be careful how much I drank. Just in case someone took me unawares.

I took a sip of punch and let the sweetness linger on my tongue before swallowing. It almost didn’t taste alcoholic; however the aftertaste spoke to its potency. I would have to drink slowly, and not have more than a couple.

A doorway off the kitchen led to a dark stairway punctuated with flashing lights. The bass beats grew stronger, and as we descended, they became almost deafening. It was like walking into an underground dance club. As the room opened up, I saw a mass of people dancing. Goddess! How many people were here? Probably at least a hundred. I blanched a little at the scene of writhing bodies squashed together in the dark. Several closed doors led off the main dance floor room. Those must be where the vampires would take their willing donors. Vamps liked to treat their food well, and sometimes the volunteers got a good make-out session out of the deal. Sometimes, more like almost always.

Matt had explained the process to me once. He would flirt with a girl to let her know he was of the vamp variety. Eventually, he would get around to asking if she wanted to donate blood. He used those words: ‘donate blood.’ Why didn’t he just say “Can I bite you?” The willing donor never felt pain because vamp mind tricks mixed with their saliva made it feel good to get bitten. When he was done—he never took very much and only needed to bite someone once a week—he’d lick the bite marks and the wounds quickly healed. I’d love to have magic spit, too.

In the pulsing darkness, I found Cora’s hand in front of me and squeezed. She paused, looking back at me.

“You okay?” Her words got lost in the music, but I read her lips just fine.

I swallowed, looking again at all the gyrating bodies. Every claustrophobic cell in my body screamed for me to get out of there. Not only was I feeling trapped, but I’d just willingly walked into a crowded basement full of vamps. I could do this. I gave her a nod and tried for a smile. I think I almost succeeded.

We made our way deeper into the throng. Around the edge of the dancers, couples and small groups sat on couches, making out, or more. Every so often I saw a vamp lead someone into one of the rooms, closing the door behind them. Getting bitten didn’t hurt, if the vamp didn’t want it to. I heard it could feel amazing; it only hurt for me because I hadn’t been willing. They weren’t supposed to do it without permission, but not all vamps cared about rules.

I knew they didn’t take enough blood to do any damage. It still reduced one to food, which just kind of wigged me out. This was my first big, feeding party and I was suddenly super nervous. Usually the humans who came were willing to get bitten. I was not one of those humans. Steven disappeared into the mass of bodies. Matt paused and looked back at us. I hadn’t realized I hesitated at the threshold of the gyrating bodies.

He leaned in and spoke into my ear, close enough I could smell his cologne, different from Conor’s—Matt’s was lighter, a fresh scent. “We can go back upstairs, Ash,” he suggested, blue eyes sympathetic. He dressed comfortably tonight, just a T-shirt and jeans. I wanted to have fun. I wanted my friends to have fun. And I really wanted to see Conor. So, I shook my head.

“Just don’t leave me alone. I’m good.” I forced a brave smile and took another drink. Liquid courage. I knew he had no problem understanding me, with his vamp hearing. Matt nodded and grinned at me. Cora gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, and we plunged farther ahead into the dancing crowd.

We danced and drank, and danced some more. Either Cora or Matt was always at my side, allowing me to relax and have fun. As long as they were by me, I could forget about all the other vamps in the room. Steven found us and he and Cora got cozy on the dance floor. Matt picked a human girl to dance with and I think he was working up the courage to ask her if she’d go to one of those rooms with him. She looked willing enough, practically wrapped around him as they slow danced to a fast song. Was Megan completely out of the picture?

Matt was a cutie. His big blue eyes framed by thick, black lashes made him look all innocent. His sandy brown hair was shaggy, like he didn’t really do much with it, which just added to his cuteness. He had a square jaw, high cheekbones covered in freckles, and a smile that promised mischief. He never experienced any problems getting girls to donate for him.

He didn’t seem to date much. Lately, I hadn’t seen much of him, period, except at school. Matt always said the problem with dating a non-vamp was you couldn’t bite them regularly unless you wanted them as a familiar. Most vamps our age weren’t ready for that kind of commitment. Then there was the inevitable jealousy when the vamp went elsewhere for donors.

Part of the purpose of these types of parties was a chance for the vamps to get blood straight from the source. Most humans who came to the parties were aware of what they were getting themselves into and were willing to give it up. By showing up with other vamps, I telegraphed the message that I was available that night. Looked like my escorts were going to be leaving me for the moment, though.

Matt whispered into the girl’s ear and she nodded, rubbing her hands up and down his arms and tilting her head so her neck was exposed near his mouth. Matt’s Adam’s apple bobbed with a visible swallow. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep. When he opened his eyes, they were practically glowing. He leaned over to me.

“I’ll be back. Will you be okay?” Even in the midst of his blood thirst, he thought of me. Was I so pathetic? I glanced at Cora, otherwise occupied with Steven, then down at my empty cup, and then back at Matt and nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll just go get another drink.” I hoped I sounded braver than I felt. He squeezed my shoulder and smiled, the girl tugging on his other arm.

“Meet you back here.” He turned and went with her into the mass of people. I moved in the other direction, pushing my way through until I popped out of the dancing crowd. The air lightened and I instantly felt cooler and more clear-headed. I made my way upstairs, enjoying being able to breathe easier.