5 Darkness Falls (5 page)

I picked up my phone off the kitchen island.
As soon as I saw
the message on the screen, I went
over to my Mac
Book
on the computer desk
and powered it on
. I logged in
to Skype, immediately answering the call that came in.

“What do you have?” I asked, focusing on the silhouette staring
back
at me
.

I couldn’t make out
too
much about him. He looked to be about my height with a solid build.
Based on the angles of the shadows and the way his clothes
were
framing him
, if
I had to guess, I would say he was wearing a leather jack and jeans.

“She was last spotted in Cape Town, South Africa,”
his
deep voice stated.

I pursed my lips. I wasn’t fond of traveling, especially
in light of
Lexi’s current condition. “What’s her schedule?”

“It’s encrypted; no access. You’d be going in blind.”

“How many are assigned there?”

“That’s unknown.”

I took a deep breath, my pulse skipping. “I’m
lying
low for now. Keep me updated.”

“Suit yourself,” the
dark figure
replied
, immediately disconnecting
the call.

I sighed
and
leaned back in the chair, pushing my tongue against my gums. They
were aching from
this new information. The vampire in me was screaming to go;
my logical side
, however,
was keeping
me planted here with Lexi. It
wouldn’t do any good if I went
off half-cocked. I had more than myself to think about
now.
I couldn’t be as careless as I was before.

***

Lexi

I yawned, stretching and rolling over. A cold breeze blew over me, startling me. I glanced down and found myself naked in bed
;
clearly
the covers had clearly been over me
sometime
before I’d
managed to twist
myself beyond their hems.

I climbed out of bed, taking the towel with me and wrapping it around myself. I still felt a bit foggy.
Although
I was here,
physically,
my brain was slow to process things. I immediately headed for the closet to get dressed.

I shrieked, leaping into the air as Kellan’s lips connected with my
skin.

He burst into a fit of laughter. “Sorry, babe.” He pulled me back into his arms. “Did you have a good nap?”

I nodded. “How long was I asleep?”

“About four hours.”

I scrunched my nose. “I’m not liking this whole sleep thing. How did I ever get anything done as a human?”

“Craig called. He and Mel wanted to see if you we were free to go to the movies tonight.” He gave me a pointed look. “Are you ready to tell them?”

“I know I have to.” I bit my bottom lip. H
e
ran his thumb across it, forcing me to release my
hold.
“I just don’t think Mel is going to take it well.”

“You’re best friends. Do you really think she’s going to turn her back on you?”

“No. I
’m more worried
about her giving me the third degree.”

“I’ll be there with you. I’ll be your all-mighty protector.” He pumped his biceps
, making
a show of kissing them.

I
playfully pushed his shoulder.
“Go
,
so I can get dressed. Tell them to pick a movie and
a
time.”

I turned back to the row of clothes
, unable
to focus on them
.
I swallowed several times, my mouth watering and serum rising
from the
vision of a bowl of cold
,
vanilla ice cream
,
draped in strawberry
,
blood sauce with colorful sprinkles on top. It played out in my mind like a provocative commercial, each layer falling into place in slow motion, enticing me. I frowned. It was too soon for cravings, wasn’t it? I ran my tongue along the inside of my mouth, trying to
chase
away the desire.

If I concentrated hard enough, I swore I could
even
taste it
.
I whimpered. I didn’t like this feeling.
The
need for this specific food
was so intense
that my stomach growled.

“What do you want?”

My head
snapped in the direction of
his voice. I was surprised to find Kellan smirking at me, amusement lighting his eyes as he watched me from the doorframe of the closet.

“How did you know?” I
gazed at him in wonder; I
knew my eyes were wide
.

“Because I know my baby.” He winked.

I sighed. “I didn’t think things would hit me like this
…
at least not this soon.”

“Just tell me what you want
,
and I’ll get it.”

I looked at him through
veiled
lashes, feeling my cheeks
flush.
The tempting
images
replayed in my mind, igniting a new wave of longing. “Vanilla ice cream with my strawberry
,
blood sauce and rainbow sprinkles on top.” I thought about it for another moment, the
details of the
image
s
commanding
my
attention.
Thick, gooey, sweet red jam cascading over frozen scoops of vanilla deliciousness.
Delightfully,
a new layer was
added.
I mentally watched
fluffy
clouds of fresh whipped cream be
ing
piled atop the layers of melting, melding goodness
, and to top it off,
a
new layer of
colorful sprinkles were scattered on top
,
as a final
tasty embellishment.
“Oh! With whipped cream too!” He grinned wide. “Please?” I flushed.

“I’m on it.” He gave me a military salute
,
immediately head
ing
for the kitchen.

I knew my cheeks were
still
red
.
I was embarrassed to have such a human hankering. Humans craved food; vamps were supposed to crave blood. And I was a vampeen that survived off blood, not food.

When he returned with the
heaping
bowl, I was still standing the
re,
contemplating my fate for the next nine months. He kissed my cheek, passing the dish to me. I inhaled deep, closing my eyes and moaning as the scent stimulated me.

“Go eat. I’ll pick an outfit out for you.” He turned me towards the bedroom.

I dug in, spooning a large bite into my mouth. The cold merriment of flavors w
as
orgasmic. I sighed in bliss
, enjoying
the taste of vanilla and fruit
accentuated
by a creamy layer of whipped heaven. It melted down my throat, my serum disappearing with it
.
I munched on the sprinkles
, shivering
in delight.

“You are utterly adorable right now.” Kellan
nestled into
my neck.

He ushered me through the bedroom
, as
I shoveled another spoonful into my mouth
.
We
crossed the threshold into the living room
, and I saw that he had set out
my clothes across the back of the sofa
, although
I stood
in the middle of the living room
, towel still swaddling me, and finished my
icy
treat. I licked the spoon before
handing
him the bowl.

He had a goofy grin on his face as he
humbly
accepted the dish.

I felt
blushed
again,
finding myself
in very unfamiliar territory since becoming a vamp. “It was good, thanks.”

He held up the empty bowl. “I noticed.”

I sauntered past him, dropping the towel when I was right in front of him. I quickly dressed in the outfit he’d chosen for me: a pair of white shorts with a navy blue silky cotton tank. I turned to head to the bathroom, running straight into Kellan’s hard body.

“That was not very nice.”

I stretched up and gave him a kiss. “I love you.”

“Uh huh.” He rolled his eyes.

I chuckled, pushing past him. I headed to the bathroom
and
found my same hair scrunchie from earlier on the bathroom counter. I brushed out my locks and pulled them back
and
up into a tight knot
on
top
of
my head.

Kellan changed into a pair of jeans,
still wearing
his black tee
.
He put on a pair of tennis shoes
, also black,
and I slid into my green Keds from earlier.

He held out an arm for me at the front door. “Let’s go, babe.”

I took a deep breath, sighing as I exhaled. “Let’s
go.”

Chapter 5

The movie theater was busy considering it was after eleven at night. Mel and Craig met us in front of the box office.

“Hey, love,” Craig greeted me. “Hey, mate.”
He and
Kellan did a fancy handshake they invented when they were bored one day.

Mel yanked me into her
, squeezing
me tightly. “I’ve missed you,” she squealed.

“I’ve missed you too. How are things going?”

“Good. I passed the GED pre-test. Did you?” She linked our hands, drawing me towards the line with her.

I smiled. “Yup.”

“How’s business?”

“Steady. I have new orders pouring in every day, which is good, but it eats up several hours every day.” Bloody Bakes was doing incredibly well
,
considering I didn’t advertise. It was growing
so much that
I was certain I would need to hire help soon.

“Yay!” She tugged on my arm excitedly.

“How long do we have until the movie starts?” I looked to the guys for an answer.

“We’re squigglin’ in on the dopple,” Craig replied.

“
I guess we’ll have to tell them after
…”

Kellan nodded,
flashing
me a reassuring smile.

The movie
lasted for
two hours
.
It was
an action
flick
that excited the guys in the room and
kept
the females
perched
on the edge of their seats. When you
’re
a vamp, most action movies los
e
their appeal
when
you realize
that all
the impossible moves,
challenging
stunts and
crazy
antics of the celebrity cast you once idolized were
not only
possible
,
but they were
easy
even
without the ropes and safety precautions
normally
required behind the scenes. Not to mention, you’re essentially living an action movie all the time; at least I was.

“Is it me or did that movie have zero appeal? I mean it wasn’t even fun to watch the hunky lead fight off the gang alone since I could destroy them all in half the time.” Mel pouted, puckering her bottom lip.

“I totally feel you.”

She sighed
, before pepping
up. “You wanna go to the beach?”

I looked at the guys. They shrugged nonchalantly. “Sounds good to me. I need to talk to you and that’
ll be
as good a place as any.”

She eyed me suspiciously. “Why
so
secretive?”

“It’s not something I want to just blurt out.”

She narrowed her sapphire
-
blue eyes at me. When I didn’t immediately cave, she shrugged. “Alright, girl. I’ll bite.”
Pursing
her lips and smash
ing
them together at the same time,
she made
an odd
,
fishy face. “But I am not happy about you teasing me here and then making me suffer the whole drive to the beach wondering what it could possibly be.”