CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (7 page)

That was a mistake. A huge mistake. As soon as my fingers met his skin my body started to purr. I wanted to take my hand away, but all I saw was his suntanned skin and his hungry eyes. His lips were waiting for my kiss and I wanted to bury myself in his arms. He grabbed my wrist and gently moved my hand.

“Thank you,” I managed to breathe.

What was wrong with me? He was just a boy! Okay, a ridiculou
sly handsome boy with a smoking-
hot body, but still. No boy had ever made me lose myself like this. Not even close!

“Questions, Sam. You wanted to hear all, so bring it on,” he reminded me.

“Rules,” I blurted out and tried to clear my mind. I was disturbingly aware of his warm body next to me and it was extremely hard for me to think clearly. “The woman in the
C
lub said there are rules.”

“Okay, next one.” He waved his hand and I looked at him questioningly. “No time for that now.” He shrugged.

I bit my lip. What else did I need to know? Suddenly, I remembered something Jonathan had said. Something that had disturbed me but I'd forgotten.
“Did you make a call on me?”

“What if I did?” He flashed a devilish grin.

“Answer me.” I lifted my hand as if to punch him, but then I remembered what it cost me to touch him. “Did you?”

“Yes.
”
H
e stopped the car and turned to look at me. “The moment I saw you I knew you were mine.”

I slapped him. And yes, this time I was strong enough to pull my hand away from his cheek. “You, you, you bastard!” I shouted.

He shrugged. “What? Whoever sees the treasure first can keep it, right?”

I raised my hand again, but a dangerous gleam in his eyes stopped me. I could sense he wanted to fight with me and he would fight dirty, so I let my hand fall and settled for killing him with my eyes. “I'm not yours to take!” I cried.

“Really?” He looked at me meaningfully.

I breathed heavily and concentrated on my front door. I needed to know more, and if my dad saw this amazing car he'd be out in a second. And if your mom saw that amazing boy, she'd lock you in your room for the rest of your life, a small voice whispered inside my head.

“Why do I want to throw myself on you every time I touch you?”

“Because…” His grin widened. “I am your creator.”

“What!” I yelled, astonished.

“Later.” He grabbed my hand and lightly kissed the tips of my fingers. “I'll bring you some blood tonight. Don't lock your window. It'd be a shame to br
eak
it.”

He gazed outside and I followed his gaze. My mom and dad were standing on the porch, staring at us.

“I hate you,” I hissed and climbed out of the car.

He blew a kiss after me and drove away. I stared at my parents and knew without asking that I was grounded. The time was 7 a.m. on a school morning and I'd just come home with a boy. And not just any boy, but a b
oy who was not exactly any boy
next door and drove a brand new Maserati.

Dad drove me to school. He didn't yell at me; he didn't have to. Mom had done a pretty good job with that, and thanks to my new super hearing, my ears were still ringing. Dad had simply driven the car out of the garage and pointed at its door, and I'd climbed in.

Once in a while he tried to make conversation, but I settled for sulking. I knew I had no reason to be angry at him, but shadow-boy was not around. And Dad had taken my scooter after all. From now on, Dad would drive me to school. I didn't bother to tell him that I could run there faster than he could drive.

When we arrived at school, Dad leaned towards me to give a kiss, but I managed to evade it. I gave him a look and jumped out, slamming the car door as hard as I dared without breaking it. He rolled the window
down
, but I refused to look back.

I zoomed into the class like a storm and slumped into a chair. Jonathan was already there.

“Bad day, huh?”

“How would you know?” I gritted my teeth.

He shrugged and left me alone. Kate came to class just before the teacher and we managed to exchange some meaningful glances. I was glad to see
she was
okay and I desperately needed to talk to her. The problem was that she was still sitting five rows away from me and Mrs. Wright, our math teacher, was specifically strict with where she wanted her students to sit. Something to do with Feng Shui, I guessed. I doodled absent-mindedly and answered mechanically every time the teacher asked me a question. My mind was elsewhere and at first I didn't even realize I was plucking the answers from the teacher's head. After a while I didn't even care, so when the class was almost over I didn't have the slightest clue what she had talked about.

“You cheat,” Jonathan whispered to me a few seconds before the bell rang.

“So, sue me,” I snapped.

He flashed a smile at me and I froze. So did every other girl in the room. Jonathan had never smiled before. Not like that. His smile was something to die for. Dangerous, seductive, and kind of boyish at the same time. The old me would've passed out with happiness. I mean, Jonathan Blake, the most stunning male in the universe, had just smiled at me. But the new me snarled with annoyance. The new me had met his cousin and knew that Jonathan was not the only boy on this planet anymore.

“Let's get out of here,” Jonathan said and grabbed my hand. “I know how to cheer you up.”

I hesitated, and he challenged me with his amazingly blue eyes. His hand felt warm in mine and I didn't feel the urgent need to jump all over him. No, actually, I felt almost normal. So I shrugged and gave him half a smile. That was all he needed. He led me slowly out of the room and I didn't care to look around. I knew even Kate was hyperventilating. Jonathan had been a mystery to all of us since school started. He wasn’t in any club and didn’t have any friends, not that people hadn't tried. Everybody wanted to be his friend. But he had kept up his guard and remained a loner. Yes, a sexy, very, very hot loner, but a loner all the same.

Jonathan got on his motorcycle. I climbed on behind him and knew my dad would kill me if he saw me now. I didn't care. I put my arms around him and he started the engine. I let myself lean my head against his back and closed my eyes.

The warm autumn air felt nice on my skin and I enjoyed the wind in my hair. I didn't feel excitement like the first time. It was funny, but after I met his cousin, Jonathan was just a boy to me.

He stopped his bike at a lonely beach and helped me off. We didn't talk, but I felt a warm friendship between us, and somehow I knew he felt it, too. He took my hand and we walked to the beach.

“I'm sorry,” Jonathan said and sat on the warm sand.

“For what?” I sat next to him. “For kidnapping me?”

“You could've said no.” He shrugged and I let my head lean on his shoulder.

He put his arm around me and sighed. “If my cousin could see us now, he'd kill me.”

I glanced at him, and something in the way he said
it made me believe it was true.
“So why are you doing this? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being here with you, but a couple of days ago you barely noticed me, and now we're sitting on the beach, side by side, like best friends or something. What changed?”

“I don't know,” he sighed and stared at the waves. “Maybe I'm bored.”

“I'm flattered,” I hissed, but couldn't help it when a slow smile crept to the corner of my lips.

We sat there for a long time without speaking. Our hearts beat in the same rhythm as the waves and it felt good. A lonely seagull screamed in the sky and a quiet wind whispered in our ears. I looked around. The beach was almost empty and it felt kind of too private. Our bare toes were buried in the sand and our legs were entangled. I didn't feel awkward with him but more like we were brother and sister, and at that moment I couldn't believe I’d had a larger-than-life crush on him. Okay, that wasn't exactly true. I knew I had fallen for his hard-ass, handsome looks, but under it he was just a normal boy, and right now I knew there could never be anything more than friendship between us. So I didn't resist when he landed a kiss on my hair.

“I know why he changed you,” Jonathan said quietly, and I lifted my head. “You're different.”

I looked at him questioningly and waited for him to say something more. He didn't, and I didn't want to ruin the moment by pressing him, so I put my head b
ack on his shoulder and sighed.
“So what now?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged as his bare foot softly kicked mine. “Except...”

“Except for what?” I asked hopefully.

“You're allowed to sit at my table.” He grinned wolfishly.

I stared at him and burst into bright laughter. “And Kate?”

“If she wants.” He smiled. “I won't bite her. I promise.”

“Tha
t's right,” I laughed,
“
b
ecause she's my snack.”

We laughed together and punched each other playfully. Except that our powers were so strong that we flew into the sand panting and laughing. The sky was deep blue and some terns were flying above us peacefully. I snuggled into Jonathan's arms and laughed aloud.

“What?”

“Nothing,” I giggled. “This is just so bizarre. Me hugging the great Jonathan Blake.”

“We're not hugging,” he laughed and pressed me closer. “We're...” He never finished the sentence.

A dark shadow blocked the sun and I noticed I was starin
g right into his cousin's eyes.
He bared his teeth and was ready to rip us apart when Jonathan pushed me lightly away and said quietly, “Dane.”

“Dane?” I asked, stunned. “But aren't you supposed to be old?”

“Not now,” Dane growled and faced Jonathan. “What are you doing here? I told you to stay away from her!”

“It wasn't his fault,” I defended him and stepped between them. “I pushed him.”

“Right,” Dane mocked. “Like you could do that.”

“It's true,” I stammered. “You want to blame someone, blame me.”

“My innocent angel.” Dane shook his head and his eyes gleamed threateningly. “You have no idea, do you?”

I glared at them in turns. Dane was right. I had no idea about anything. Jonathan had said I was different, but was it a good thing or a bad thing? He'd shown me almost no interest until now and still I got the impression that Dane was madly jealous of him. I let my eyes stop on Jonathan. He met mine steadily and I could swear I saw a hint of sadness in there. He growled quietly, and when I
looked back at
Dane I saw he was growling, too. What the freak was going on? I snarled and Dane burst into laughter.

“I thought you were a wild cat and I was right!”

I bare
d my teeth and he moved closer.
“Stop right there!” I yelled and he lifted his hands, laughing. “Why do you care what I'm doing with Jonathan? We're just friends, not that it's your business.”

“Are you?” he grinned.

I nodded slowly. “Yes, yes, we are. Besides, you were the one who kissed me, not Jonathan.”

Dane ignored my tone and stared at me so intently that my knees started to give in. “Still, I think he forgot to mention that he had his eyes on you from the first day he saw you.”

“No,” I whispered and glanced at Jonathan. He shrugged and smiled. “But you never said anything,” I whispered. “Why? You could've had me anytime.”

“You were Dane's call,” Jonathan said quietly.

I stared at them murderously. I was so angry I wanted to kill them both. Jonathan for being a sissy and Dane for being, well, for being Dane. They both looked guilty and all the rage between them was gone.

“And now?” I challenged Jonathan, not that I wanted anything more than to be friends with him, but I had to know.

“Nothing,” Jonathan eyed me apologetically. “You're still Dane's call.”

“Uh! I hate you both!” I cried.

“I don't think so,” Dane said and stepped closer.

“Don't you dare touch me!” I shouted and he backed down. “I'd like to go home now.”

“Sure.” Dane smiled and gestured to his car.

“With Jonathan,” I said, and Dane froze.

Jonathan grinned at Dane and climbed onto his bike. “Hop on, princess.”

“Thank you,” I said to him, but kept my eyes on Dane.

“See you later?” He lifted his eyebrow.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Of course,” Dane said. “You always do.”

I snorted at him and punched Jonathan. “Let's go.”

Jonathan drove me to my house and Dane followed. Thanks to my newly improved sight, I saw my angry parents from afar and knew to prepare myself for what was coming. Jonathan had barely stopped the bike when my dad ran to me and practically dragged me inside. After the first shouted question I shut my ears. Great. In a week my life had become a total mess. I was a vampire and my parents thought I was part of a drug gang or something worse. Could this get any better?