CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (8 page)

At some point I lost track of the shouting. I hadn't heard half of it anyway, but now I focused on my parents again and saw that they had stopped shouting at me and were yelling at each other. I glanced at them guiltily and sneaked out of the room, hushing my little sister who was standing in the doorway looking at me with wide eyes. She nodded and I smiled. At least I still had one ally in this house.

I sat on my bed and waited. It was past eleven and I was still alone. Dane had promised to bring me some blood, but after today I wasn't sure he was coming. I still hated him for making me lose Jonathan, but after all that had happened I wasn't so sure that losing Jonathan was a bad thing. My crush on him was nearly gone and all I felt for him was some kind of warm sisterhood. My body didn't tingle when I was with him and I could touch him and feel nothing but friendship. I could snuggle into his arms and it didn't even occur to me to kiss him. I knew I had to figure out my relationship with Dane sometime soon, but right now I settled for hating him. And
,
to be honest, wanting him madly.

My eyes started to close and I let myself lie down. I'd be damned if I’d stay up and wait for him any longer! I yawned and nestled into my bed. I suddenly woke up to the feeling of being watched. My eyes flew open and I saw Dane sitting on my lounger, staring at me.

“How long have you been there?” I asked sleepily and crawled up to sit.

“Long enough.” He grinned and tossed a bag on my bed.

I glanced
inside
it and smirked. Gross! It was full of bottles of blood. I closed it carefully and pushed it aside with my leg. I was so not going to drink it. Dane eyed me
in amusement
but stayed quiet. My eyes kept darting between him and the bag and I hated the growing need inside of me. The more I tried not to look at the bag, the more my eyes wandered onto it. Think of something else, I ordered myself, and tried to turn my eyes from the bag to my walls. My walls were covered with posters and I tried to pick the most interesting one. At last I settled on a picture of Alex Pettyfer and heard Dane snorting. I closed my ears and kept my eyes stubbornly on Alex. But after a while, Dane started to smack his lips and I couldn't help but glance angrily at him. He grinned like a winner and I wanted to slam him. He had distracted me just enough that I'd forgotten about Alex and was back thinking of the blood bottles again. Crap!

Once I looked at the bag
again I couldn't stop
. I didn't want to drink the blood, but my mouth was watering just looking at them. And just like that, my hand moved as if on its own and I was holding a bottle in my hand. I fussed at it nervously and could feel my fangs sharpening, but I could also feel Dane's smug smile and I wanted him gone. I narrowed my eyes and hissed at him. He laughed and leaped on the bed.

“Do you need a straw or what are you waiting for?”

I bared my fangs, but he didn't move.
He
took another bottle from the bag and opened it. He put his nose close to it and smelled. I tried to look away but the smell was stunning. It crept into my veins like a drug and I wanted to grab the bottle out of his hands and drown myself in that divine liquid.

“Smells good, doesn't it?” Dane slowly moved
the bottle closer to my mouth. I licked my lips and moaned.
“That's right,” he urged, “stop fighting and give in to it.”

My mouth was on fire. Don't blame me, but I grabbed the bottle from him and drank with long gulps. After I finished he offered me another, and another after
that. Finally, I felt my hunger
was satisfied and slumped on the bed, eyeing Dane and licking the last drops of blood from my lips. He looked pleased and expectant. At first, I didn't know what he was waiting for, but then I remembered Kate's words, and another kind of hunger started to burn in my veins.

“Oh
no,” I whispered. “Please, don't let it happen again.”

“Oh
yes,” Dane whispered and pulled me into his arms.

I fought back and hit him, but he didn't let me go. I hated myself. I hated the need that made me act like a slut and I hated the fact that he was here to witness maybe my most embarrassing moment ever. My body hurt and I wished he'd rip my clothes off and take me right there. I tried every trick I knew to get him on
to
me, but it didn't work. And that made the moment even more embarrassing. He laughed quietly in my ear while I pushed my body against his and tried to rip his tee
shirt off
. My hands clawed him and scratched his skin, but his grip was iron and there was no way I could beat him. In some part of me, I knew it, and yet I wriggled and moaned whilst he stayed still.

“Please,” I begged him.

“S
h
h.” He pressed his head against my hair. “Try to relax.”

I felt his body against mine, hard as a rock, and his eyes, flaming with lust on me, and I couldn't understand why he fought back. It'd be so easy to ease my pain and help me.

“My beautiful Samantha,”
Dane whispered and sighed.

The look on his face was unreadable, but I knew he wanted me, too. I might be a virgin but I wasn't innocent, and everything in his body gave him away.

“Please,” I begged once more, but I'd lost the sharpest edge of my craving and my body started to feel exhausted.

“There you go,” Dane said softly and eased his grip a bit.

I leaned on him and let him hold me in his arms. I felt almost asleep, but I didn't want to sleep now. Not when I had so many questions I wanted to ask. Dane stroked my hair gently and whispered quietly, “It'll get easier every time, I promise.”

I nodded and snuggled closer. “Dane,” I whispered sensuously just before I fell asleep.

When I woke up, Dane was gone and I made myself ready for school, blushing every time I remembered last night.

A
t
exactly
7.45 a.m., I stepped out of the house and waited for my dad to drive me to school. He was still in the garage and didn't see Jonathan with his motorcycle. I gulped. Was I really going to do this? I rocked with my heels and waited. Minutes passed, but my dad was nowhere to be seen. What the heck, I shrugged, and ran to Jonathan.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I climbed behind him.

“Taking you to school.” He smiled and kissed my cheek softly.

“What happened to that warning to stay away from me?”

He shrugged, grinning. “It's always a pleasure to bug my cousin.”

I smiled wickedly and took my cell from my jacket pocket. I texted my dad quickly. Yes, I knew I was a coward, and yes, I knew I'd have to deal with him later, but technically it wasn't my fault that Jonathan was there. And it would've been almost a crime to be late for school, so please, don't blame me for ditching my dad and his old Volvo and choosing Jonathan with his black, shiny motorcycle.

“Let's go then,” I said, and Jonathan stepped on
the gas
.

He pulled over just before the school's parking lot and turned to me. “Is this okay for you?” he asked, smiling.

“What?” I smiled back.

“Me, being with you at school.” He leaned closer. “I mean, I totally understand if you'd rather be with Dane.”

“Dane who?” My eyes laughed and he laughed, too.

“Sam, seriously, being with me might get you in trouble,” Jonathan said uneasily.

“So…” I hesitated and took a deep breath. “Are you really going to disobey him?”

He shrugged. “He's not here, is he?” His mouth was dangerously close to mine.

“No,” I whispered, “but I thought you had a deal.”

“Deals can be broken,” he breathed.

“Not this one,” I said and swallowed. Why did I say that? I didn't want to be with Dane, did I? Sure, my relationship with him was complic
ated, so to speak, but actually
I owed him nothing and was free to be with whomever I wanted.

“I know.” Jonathan pulled back and grinned. “I was just testing.”

“Testing?” I ask
ed. He nodded.
I pushed him hard. “You jerk!” But I couldn't help smiling.

“Friends?” he offered.

“I guess.” I shrugged.

“Good,” he whispered a
nd leaned in to kiss me softly.
I raised my
eyebrow when his lips met mine.
“Friends can do that,” he whispered and leaned back.

I stared at him, stunned, and tasted the word ‘friend’ in my mouth. I could do that. His kiss had felt good but that was all. I didn't feel like
rushing into his arms or want
to undress him this second. So friends we would be. He turned his back to me and
rod
e to school.

We climbed the stairs in silence
,
his fingers entwined with
mine. I glanced at him but didn't pull away. He lifted his sunglasses and returned my gaze.

“You know this will raise rumors,” I said and laughed nervously.

“I don't care,” he said, and pulled me to his arms. “Do you?”

“Are you kidding? I'd pay to see all the looks behind us.” I giggled and put my hand on his back pocket. He froze for a second and then let his hand slip onto my lower back.

For a moment, I thought I heard Dane clenching his teeth in my mind, but I ignored it. He had tricked me and changed me, and he might own my body, but I still had free will.

We entered the classroom side by side, and I could swear I heard everyone inhaling sharply. Kate punched me as I passed her desk and I flashed a wicked smile at her. She was a big question mark and I knew she would bomb me with her notes the whole math class.

I sat down and Jonathan pulled my chair closer.

“What?” He shrugged. “I got tired of being alone.”

I gave him the face. I knew that part of why he did this was to irritate Dane, but I was more than willing to help him.

The class went by in a mist
,
and just a couple of minutes before it ended, Jonathan dropped the bomb. “You know that he loves you?”

“Who?” I asked absent-mindedly. He didn't answer and I turned to look at him. “I don't think so.” I bit the end of my pen. “He's just weirdly obsessed with me.”

“No. He really loves you.” Jonathan's eyes pierced me.

“Well, he has a funny way of showing it,” I said slowly. “Is that why you gave up on me?”

“Partly,” he said and took my hand. “But mostly because you were a pain in my ... you know where.” He kissed my fingers.

“Oh, I thought you liked to be stalked,” I whispered and stared into his eyes.

I heard the bell ringing, but it sounded far away. I also heard people whistling around us, but I only had eyes for him.

“I didn't,” he sighed, “at first, but you know what they say about the forbidden apple.”

“Hmm.” I melted under his gaze. “You know I hate him, don't you?”

“No, you don't.” He let go of my hand and put a lonely tress behind my ear. “I can hear your heartbeats when h
e's around and they don't lie.” I blushed deeply.
“Don't worry, I won't tell him,” Jonathan said and touched my cheek.

I leaned in to kiss his cheek, but before my lips met his skin I felt a hard tug on my hair. “Ouch!”

“Get a room.” Kate smiled at us. “Or get out and fill me in.”

“A room,” Jonathan voted, but I ignored him.

“I'm out of here.” I took my bag and got up. “You think you can manage to live without me for the rest of the day?”

“I can try,”
he said and glanced at Kate.
Then he pulled me close and kissed me quickly.

Kate stared at us and gasped. I shrugged and turned to look at Jonathan, but he was already gone.

“You and Jonathan, huh?” Kate shook her head as we walked to the café.

“We're friends.” I flashed a secret smile.

“Yeah, right,” she snorted and darted forward.

We ate our lunch in silence, and that was weird. Jonathan was sitting across the room, alone like always, but our eyes kept meeting and I couldn't help wanting to go to him. Kate blabbered constantly and my ears were ringing. I knew we could've gone to sit with Jonathan, but I wasn't ready to share him. Not yet, and I could just imagine Kate's face when she saw Dane. 'Cause no matter how hard I tried to hate him, I couldn't forget his dark eyes and his dangerous smile that made my blood rock all the way from my head to my toes.

I managed to avoid Kate for the next couple of hours, but wh
en I went to my chemistry class
she blocked me at the doorway. I smiled tightly at her and she narrowed her eyes
in warning
. I didn't want to piss her off, well, not more than I already had, so I followed her like a nice little girl and sat next to her while she put on a white lab jacket and handed me one, too.