Broken Heart 02 Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire (7 page)

kitties I ran across. She meowed again and turned around as if to say, "You are no longer worthy of my attention." She trotted out into the darkness, her golden tail waving like a flag as she disappeared under some shrubs.

Grabbing the backpack, I held it in one hand as I leisurely strolled in the opposite direction. My thoughts turned to doomed love.

I had been a starry-eyed seventeen-year-old the summer Michael Hudsen noticed me. Typical story of a crush gone awry—so key up the violins and hand out the Kleenex. Title it
Shy Geek Meets Handsome
Jock
. Michael had just graduated from our high school and broken up with his cheerleader girlfriend. I couldn't believe he remembered my name, much less that I liked the color blue. (I don't like it anymore.

Green is my favorite color. Blue sucks.)

Michael spent two months seducing me with words, flowers, romantic gestures. The week before he was leaving for an out-of-state college, I gave him my virginity.

He gave me Tamara.

I didn't bother going back to high school. Instead I got a job, opened a savings account, and checked out every available library book about pregnancy and parenthood.

Branches crackled and leaves fluttered around me. What the heck? I looked up, fear tingling my spine.

Even with vamp vision, I couldn't see anything—or anyone—above me. "Big squirrels," I muttered. "Or raccoons. Mutant ones."

The brush was too dense and the ground too pockmarked with holes to venture off the path. I leapt over a log, suddenly nervous.
Chill out, Eva. You're a big bad vamp, remember
?

Then I heard it. Something loped behind me, growling softly. Being in the creepy forest with growling creatures reminded me vividly of my dreams.
Don't panic
. Could be anything: wild dog, coyote, mutant raccoon. I dared a peek over my shoulder.

The creature was huge and fast, coming at me like a lion after an antelope. Good God! It smelled like it had taken a bath in the sewer.
Lorcan
? No. Impossible. He was cured.

Terror skittered through me, ravaging my ability to think. The creature howled—an unearthly cry that vibrated my bones. I swear to heaven, I felt its fetid breath on my neck, its claws scraping at my back. I looked over my shoulder again. The thing had gotten closer, but not near enough to grab me. I could see its eyes, glittering with malice and hunger.

My death was in that gaze.

I veered off the path and dared the gnarled and tangled foliage. Immediately, my foot connected with a fallen branch. I couldn't stop the tumble. I went down hard, skidding facefirst into a knotty bush. By the time I'd extracted myself and gotten to my feet, it was too late.

The monster had caught up to me.

And he'd brought friends.

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An unearthly howl reverberated through the woods, but the terrifying sound didn't come from the three lycans drooling and growling in front of me. No, the noise came from behind.

I nearly wet my pants.

In the blink of an eye, a four-legged beast leapt in front of me. He had fur as black as a starless night.

"Lucky!"

He barked acknowledgment. Growling fiercely, he forced the three scary beasts backward until I had enough room to run.

So I did.

Big bad vamp, my patootie
. I was scared witless. I didn't hear any fighting or scrabbling or yowling. I didn't want to look back, but I finally dared it. I didn't see anything but the dark, tree-filled path, which is probably why I smacked into a large oak.

Stunned, I landed ass-first in a pile of rotted leaves and dirt.

I jumped to my feet, but couldn't quite get my balance. The three beasts burst from the brush on my left and I whirled, hands out, as fear pumped through my undead heart.

Terror chilled me as I backed against the large oak. The press of the bark on my back scratched me, but comforted me as well. The tree was big and strong—and somehow that reminded me that I could be, too.

Lycanthropes
. The security guards hired by the Consortium were lycanthropes, or lycans—known to humans as werewolves. True lycans looked more like very big wolves and usually loped around on four paws. Yet these monsters looked like stray canines and were very much two-legged. They looked starved and abused. They watched me with dark, hollow eyes. One stood ahead of the other two—and I guessed he was the leader. A long scar curved around his right eye. His snout twitched as he scented me, those awful eyes watching me hungrily. I'd seen enough Discovery Channel specials to recognize the alpha. He would kill me and feed first. The other two would dine on my leftovers.

My stomach quivered with nausea.

Images battered at me. Pain. Needles. Electric shock. Fire. Chains. Screaming. Blood. I shut the door, my mind reeling from the horror of those flashes. These poor souls had been vampires, but they barely remembered their pasts. Now they were beasts. They had been tortured,. brainwashed—transformed into… lycans?

"Eva! What the bloody hell are you doing here?" asked a furious male voice.

I followed the pure sound of pissed-off Irish up… up… up into the branches of the oak.

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Lorcan peered down at me. "What are you waiting for? Jump into the tree."

Oh, yeah. I could jump. I bent my knees and surged upward, my arms extended. Lorcan grabbed my wrists and swung me onto the same sturdy branch he crouched on.

We watched as the beasts surrounded the tree, growling as they contemplated their next move.

Lorcan's gaze captured mine and I felt my nonexistent pulse stutter.

The alpha was smarter than the other two. He jumped as if his legs were springs, grabbing the limb above Lorcan and kicking the surprised vampire in the face.

Lorcan flew out of the tree. He stopped just short of the ground, hovering. I had to take my gaze off him because the growling beast dropped beside me, his snarling, stinky body less than six inches from mine.

"Go away!" He looked as if I'd slapped him. I swear that he actually made a move to leave—before he was helped by the fist of Lorcan.

I watched as the mutant fell out of the tree. He twisted in midair and landed on his feet.

"We need to go," said Lorcan.

I looked up through the thick limbs. "What happens when we run out of branches?"

He looked at me, brows raised. "Who said anything about
climbing
up?"

In the next instant, he wrapped a steely arm around my waist and
whoosh
—up we went, all right—into the black sky. The lycans scrabbling at the tree below us howled in despair.

"Woo-hoo!" I held on to his neck and looked around, excited.

He kicked up the speed and we zipped across the forest in nothing flat. Before I knew it, we were hovering above my house. I felt giddy. I enjoyed being wrapped around Lorcan. He felt very muscular and heaven knew he was handsome. It had been a long, long,
long
time since I'd felt a man's arms around me. As we floated to the balcony outside my bedroom, he was smiling
that
smile, the one that made his silver eyes sparkle.

"Can you go even faster?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "But you wouldn't appreciate, bugs in your teeth."

I pressed my tongue against my teeth—just to check. "Good call."

Even though we had landed, I hadn't freed myself from Lorcan's embrace. He seemed to notice this about the same time I did. The light went right out of his eyes and his expression flattened. "Please, forgive me," he murmured.

He let go of me like I was aflame, then backed away until a good two feet separated us. I was offended by his need to create distance. For heaven's sake,
I
should be the one running away and screaming.

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"What were you doing out in the forest?" he asked.

I figured the best defense was offense. "What were
you
doing there?"

He ignored my question and studied my boots. "Hiking? It's not like you need the exercise."

"Because I'm svelte and cute?"

"Because you're a vampire."

I stared at him, brows raised. "I have a book in the library called
Compliments and Flattery: A Guide
for Social Morons
. You might want to check it out."

His lips quirked, but he stepped farther back, as if physical distance would also give him emotional distance. Sheesh. Would it kill him to relax a little? "Don't fall over the rail trying to get away from me," I said. "I showered, y'know. I spritzed with perfume, too."

"I'm aware of your scent." His words held a dangerous edge that sent my pulse skittering. Then he bared his fangs, his eyes going red for a split second. Startled, I felt my stomach dive to my toes. His gaze lingered on my neck, though I wasn't sure if he was thinking about my fragrance or my jugular. Then his eyes flicked to mine. "Sandalwood… lemongrass… vanilla." His nostrils flared. "There's something else."

"Ylang-ylang. I mix my own perfume. I'm still looking for the perfect Eva aroma." I laughed weakly, feeling uneasy.

"You smell… um, nice."

"It's no problem, Lorcan. I'll get the book for you right now."

He shook his head ruefully. "I know how to give a compliment,
a stóirín
."

The Irish accent that barely tinged his voice thickened with every word. Those lyrical sounds went right through me:
pling, pling, fling
. "Prove it," I challenged.

He crossed the space he'd put between us and tugged the band out of my ponytail. "The sun weeps because it can no longer caress your skin or warm your lips." He sifted his fingers through my hair. "I do not envy the sun, Eva. But I truly hate the moon, because its light touches you in all the ways I cannot."

I swallowed the knot in my throat as sensual awareness danced along every nerve. He leaned very, very close, his eyes ensnaring mine, and whispered, "How was that?"

"Um." I licked my lips. "Not bad."

His gaze dipped to my mouth and for an almost pulse-pounding moment, I thought he might kiss me.

Then he blinked and seemed to realize he was sharing my personal space. He backed up a few steps.

"Stay out of the forest, Eva. It's not safe." He frowned, his black brows dipping ominously. "You could've gotten hurt."

"That's kinda ironic coming from you." It was a low blow, but he'd put me off-kilter. It wasn't like me to verbally punch at people, and I felt bad the minute I said the words.

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"I can never, ever pay enough penance for what I did," he said. "I'm sorry, Eva, a thousand times sorry."

"Lorcan…"

He shook his head, stalling my apology. He rose a few feet into the air and hovered. Aw, man. I loved the sensation of zipping through the air. I really regretted that he probably wouldn't take me up again.

"Eva?"

"Yes?"