Blood and Guitars (26 page)

I was mostly happy for Mark, hoping that he’d
take the opportunity to get to know her better. He deserved that
much. He deserved more than to just chase me around without having
his feelings returned. Despite knowing that, I couldn’t suppress
the pang of jealously that erupted somewhere deep inside of me.
Feeling jealous about Mark paying attention to another woman would
have made some sort of sense, since I was used to being the only
girl in his life even if we were only friends, but that wasn’t the
problem. I stood there, watching them from a distance. Hana touched
Mark’s arm and laughed, and Mark’s face lit up in response.

No, I wasn’t jealous of this strange vampire
who was flirting with my best friend. I was jealous that the two of
them were able to stand there and flirt casually out in the open
amongst others of our kind without having to sneak off and hide
their relationship. As much as I loved Trey, I was suddenly and
painfully aware of the fact that we could never have a relationship
like Mark could have with this woman. Trey and I could never exist
without secrets, lies.

I turned my head, anxious now to leave this
fancy hotel and the painful truth I’d just unburied behind me.
Antonio was standing near the exit, talking to Damir Vidic, head of
the Emissary. He was vampire I preferred to avoid if possible
because of his unending pursuit of me. Damir’s grandfather
Stanislav Vidic, Synod Elder himself, was standing with them as
well. Seeing the two of them standing so close, I was amazed at the
resemblance. Since vampirism doesn’t usually run in families for
obvious reasons, the fact that Damir was the grandson of a Synod
Elder wasn’t a normal occurrence, despite how many generations were
between them. The story was that Stanislav, who had abandoned his
family centuries ago, had reconnected with his youngest descendant
and then made him a vampire. For this reason, most vampires in the
area saw Damir as an anomaly.

There was no way to escape the encounter as I
approached the exit, so when Antonio beckoned me I approached the
three of them with a smile plastered on my face. Damir greeted me,
showering me with compliments, and then introduced me to Stanislav.
The Elder took my hand, kissing it formally. I met his eyes only
briefly, just long enough to feel the wave of power he sent out in
an attempt to read my thoughts. He was met with a fortified wall
however, and this seemed to intrigue him. Most vampires my age
wouldn’t have been able to resist his mental prodding, but my
moon-given talent set me apart. He smiled at me then, amused by the
idea of it. I exchanged niceties until I was sure it wouldn’t be
rude to excuse myself and then I slipped out. I pushed the elevator
button and waited impatiently for the doors to open, but not before
Damir caught up with me.

“Leaving so soon?” he asked as he drew
near.

“Not soon enough,” I muttered.

He was too close for comfort now, but I
forced myself not to pull away. I

wouldn’t let him intimidate me. But Damir
leaned down, brushing a strand of my hair away and inhaling.

“I would have asked if you wanted to go out
together and feed, but you’ve obviously already done that.”

I raised an eyebrow at him as the elevator
dinged. “What makes you say that?”

“Please. The human’s scent is all over you,”
he observed casually.

The fact that Damir smelled Trey on me made
me nervous, although I didn’t know why. It was good that Damir was
assuming the human he could smell on me was someone I had fed from,
but I still sighed in relief when the elevator doors finally
opened. I moved to slip inside but Damir’s firm grip on my arm
prevented it.

“I’ll consider it a great personal insult if
you don’t stay,” he said, his voice like a low growl. “Enough of
these games, Aurora.”

My eyes flashed dangerously as I met his
gaze. I pulled myself out of his grip and said, “Consider yourself
insulted.”

I stepped into the elevator and pressed the
lobby button. The elevator doors closed on Damir, straight-backed,
and furious. I sighed in relief and willed the elevator to move
quickly. I’d really done it this time, and part of me wondered if
Damir wouldn’t take the stairs and wait angrily for me below. What
about tonight had made Damir believe things would be different
between us? I certainly hadn’t done anything to give him that
impression. Maybe it was because I was so obviously refusing him
among the elite of our kind, his Synod Elder grandfather included.
I’d obviously wounded his huge ego. Thankfully, Damir was nowhere
to be seen as I made my way through the lobby and found my waiting
cab.

“To Clearwater,” I said as I slid into the
seat and closed the door. I only wished Trey were on his way back
home with me, putting some distance between him and the group of
vampires that had gathered in the bay.

Like any normal vampire, I slept the entire
next day and woke up around seven feeling somewhat prepared to take
on the night. I downed some blood from my stash before I showered
and dressed. I’d given Kacie the day off today, and although we
weren’t open for business I still needed to get to The Waking Moon
to varnish some pieces. I hadn’t heard from Trey since we’d
exchanged a few texts when I was about an hour outside of
Clearwater early this morning. He’d wanted to be sure I made it
back to town safely, and I’d had to pretend I’d already arrived so
he wouldn’t worry.

I let myself in the back door of The Waking
Moon and found the notes Kacie had left for me on the desk. Two
pieces had sold to one person and she’d already taken care of
packaging the paintings up and arranged a pick-up time with the
shipping company for tomorrow. I walked into the showroom,
surveying the empty spots where the sold paintings had hung, and
trying to decide which paintings I had sitting upstairs would best
replace them. I didn’t know when Trey planned on being back in town
exactly, although, in retrospect, I should have been better
prepared. I was still buzzing a little from the jolt of blood I’d
had, and that was probably why I was able to sense him coming
before he neared the building. I reacted by slamming my elbow into
the large glass window near the front door, shattering it. Then I
sighed, knowing I was just going to have to turn around and clean
up the mess.

“Come on in,” I called out as I heard Trey
open the back door. He let himself inside and closed the door
behind him, walking around the corner into the showroom with a huge
basket in his arms.

“Hey.” He smiled at me. Then he lowered his
eyes to the floor and the shards of glass that were lying at my
feet. His expression changed to an apologetic one. “Ouch.”

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. “I guess
it could have been worse. It’s more of a mess than anything. The
plastic I put up last night wasn’t doing much good,” I lied.

With some effort, he set the basket down away
from the broken glass and then straightened, walking toward me. I
let him encircle me in his arms, resting his hands on the small of
my back. He pulled me up against him and kissed my forehead before
saying, “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” And I was, mostly because I hadn’t
come up with a cover story that didn’t involve destroying my own
property. At least it had been a believable one.

“I missed you last night,” he added, resting
his forehead against mine so he could meet my eyes. “That hotel
suite kind of sucked without you.” There was that half-smile I
loved so much.

I grinned back at him, and instantly felt
better now that I was in his arms. “I’m sorry.” I hated that I’d
lied to him, choosing to ignore the simple fact that I was still
lying to him that moment, and had been lying to him by omission
since the beginning. “I wish I could have stayed with you.” That
was the truth.

“What do the police say?” he asked, scooting
a particularly large piece of glass aside with his shoe.

“Not much,” I shrugged. “Probably just some
kids in need of cash.”

“Have you called someone to get the window
replaced?”

“I was just about to do that.”

“Do you have the window measurements?”

I blinked at him. “I haven’t gotten that far
yet.” Not surprising considering I only just managed to break the
window before he got here.

“No big deal.” He gave me a little squeeze
before he let go and stepped back. “Do you happen to have a
measuring tape around here?”

I retrieved the small tool box I had up in
the loft and Trey measured the window for me, calling out the
numbers so I could write it down on a notepad.

“Make the call.” He put the measuring tape
back in the box. “I’ll help you get this mess cleaned up. Where’s a
broom?”

“Closet in the back.”

He disappeared around the corner and returned
a minute later with the broom and dust pan. He began to sweep the
glass into a large pile in the middle as I went to the back and
pulled out a phone book. I called three places before someone
agreed to come out and replace the glass tonight. My little cover
story was turning into a hassle. At least I’d get the glass
replaced tonight and be done with it.

“Someone will be here within the hour,” I
explained as I walked back into the showroom, Trey was emptying the
dust pan into the garbage can. He swept up the last slivers of
glass and the floor was clean again.

“I’ll take this to the dumpster out back for
you.”

“Thanks.” I watched as he carried the bag of
broken glass toward the back door. What had I done to deserve such
a great guy? But the answer was clear. I didn’t deserve him, plain
and simple. I carried the broom and dustpan back to the closet.
When Trey came back inside we walked into the showroom. A breeze
came in through the hole where the window should have been and I
breathed it in. Trey touched my face, turning me to face him.

“You sure you’re okay?” He ran his thumb
along my cheek.

I nodded. “I’ll be better when I have my
window back.”

“Well, maybe this will distract you until
that happens.” Trey pulled me toward the basket he’d carried in
when he’d first arrived.

“What is this?” I questioned as he bent down
to pick it up.

“VMA goodies.” He grinned. “Let’s go upstairs
and have a root beer while you sift through the stuff.”

“Me?” I furrowed my brow at him in
confusion.

He chuckled as he led the way up the stairs.
“There’s always girly stuff in the goodie bags, too. I thought we
could go through it together.” We reached the top of the stairs and
he set the basket down on the floor. “For instance, I don’t think
I’ll have much use for these.” He reached into the basket and
produced a pair of blue silk designer panties with lace.

I laughed and took them from him. “Are you
sure?” I held them up. “The color really brings out your eyes.”

“I think I’ll get by just fine.” He sat down
on the floor by the basket and I retrieved two root beers from the
little fridge across the loft. We spent the next thirty minutes
rummaging through the stuff and sorting it into two piles: his and
mine. There were energy drinks, which I insisted he add to his own
pile (they wouldn’t have done me a bit of good anyway). Another
item Trey was quick to add to my pile was a 24-karat gold eyelash
curler. Not that I needed it, he added, but he definitely wasn’t
going to keep it. There were several vintage MTV tees that I made
Trey model for me. He made me laugh by strutting around my loft
like a male runway model, posing at every stop. There were several
pairs of sunglasses (I claimed the feminine ones), and a paid
vacation on some island I didn’t recognize.

“We’ll just share that one,” Trey had said
confidently, grinning and looking up at me from under his dark
eyelashes. I was so thoroughly distracted by the elaborate and
impractical gifts in the basket and Trey’s runway walk that I
forgot I was expecting someone until I heard the truck approaching
out front. Trey went with me to greet the repairmen. The oldest of
the two asked a couple of questions and inspected the window frame
for damage before they set to work removing the remains of the old
window so they could install the new one.

I wondered if Kacie would notice it had been
replaced, but since it was just solid glass like the original, I
doubted it. That would be one less person I’d have to explain the
new window to.

The flickering yellow light of the nearest
streetlamp bathed everything in its glow as I gazed at the view
from inside The Waking Moon.

“What do you think?” Aurora cocked her head
to one side as she stared at the new window.

“Uh … it looks just like the last one.” I
shrugged, hoping she hadn’t been expecting a more elaborate answer.
It was a window. What more could I say?

“Good.” She crossed her arms over her chest
and smiled in satisfaction. “That was the goal.”

“Have you eaten anything tonight?” I asked.
She hesitated for just a heartbeat and I added, “I’ll go get some
take-out and bring it back.”

She bit her bottom lip and then smiled at me.
“Okay.”

I called the nearest Italian place that was
still open and ordered a couple of different pastas that sounded
good.

“I’ll try to get a piece varnished while
you’re gone,” Aurora said as I fished my keys out of my pocket.

“I’ll be right back,” I told her, going out
the back where my SUV was parked.

I was only gone for fifteen minutes, and when
I got back and climbed the stairs to the loft I saw that she was
nearly finished varnishing a painting I hadn’t seen before. I set
the food down on the table and went closer to get a better look at
it. The painting was of two contrasting scenes, each on opposite
sides of the canvas. The image was split vaguely down the middle by
a separation of color. On the right half was a night scene with
dark hues and a full moon occupying the top right corner. On the
left was a day scene, the sun rising up over a distant tree line.
Stuck in between the two images was a girl. Aurora had painted a
thin jagged tear that disrupted the images, running from one corner
of the painting all the way down to the other corner on the bottom,
ripping at the girl in the center where her heart would have
been.