Dark Realms (24 page)

“Are you sure you’re okay, Nikki?” asked my
brother. “You weren’t bitten or anything, were you?”

I shook my head.

“So, is Ethan a vampire or what?” asked
Duncan. “He certainly has some kind of super strength. He almost
killed me on the beach. Then he took off with my girl. I feel like
such a lame excuse for a boyfriend. ”

I turned around to look at him. “There’s no
way you could have done anything more. And look, I’m here, now, and
I’m totally fine.”

He sighed. “It’s my fault, you know. You
warned me about walking on the beach. I’m just glad you’re okay. I
was so worried that he might have killed you or something.”

“No, he wouldn’t kill me.”

“How can you be so sure? You can’t trust
that maniac. Look what happened to Abigail.”

“We don’t know if he did that,” I said, not
wanting to believe it. I couldn’t imagine Ethan as a murderer. Not
when he made me feel so safe and alive.

“Did you actually ask him?” asked
Nathan.

“Um, no. Are you kidding?”

He frowned. “What about those other girls.
Did you ask him about those?”

“No.”

The truth was, I was terrified of his
answer.

“So, what were you doing all this time?”
asked Duncan.

I lied. “Just talked about other things.” I
certainly couldn’t tell him the truth. It did neither of us any
good, and until I figured out what had actually happened and
whether or not I’d had any control, I’d keep it to myself. Besides,
hurting Duncan was the last thing I wanted to do. “To tell you the
truth, I talked to Celeste more than anyone.”

“She is so freaken hot,” said Nathan,
grinning. “I’m going to have to get her number from Caleb.”

“No, Nathan. Just stay away from her,” I
said.

“Why?” asked Nathan. “Because you don’t like
Caleb?”

I sighed. “No, because
she’s a
vampire
.
So is he, by the way.”

Nathan slammed on the brakes. “What?”

Before I could continue, something landed on
the top of Nathan’s car with a loud thud.

“Shit!” hollered Duncan as Ethan jumped to
the ground. “He’s come back for Nikki.”

The doors were locked but it didn’t stop
him. He ripped mine open and tossed it into the ditch.

“Shit, no… he didn’t just do that to my
Mustang!” hollered Nathan, getting out of the car.

“Hi,” smiled Ethan, as he bent down on one
knee. He held out his hand to me. “I just couldn’t stay away. Do
you have a few minutes to talk in private?”

“No,” I said, backing away. “I can’t go
anywhere with you.”

He actually looked hurt. He stood up.
“Why?”

“Leave her alone, you bastard!” snarled
Duncan, getting out of the car. He walked around and stood next to
Nathan, his fists clenched, ready to fight.

“I think we can take him together, bro,”
said Nathan, taking a step towards Ethan.

Ethan smiled with a hint of fang. “I won’t
hurt you because Nikki wants it that way. But if either of you
touch me, your future holds no promises.”

“Okay, fine, what do you want with me?” I
asked, getting out of the car. I didn’t want anyone hurt but from
the look on everyone’s faces, something was about to go down.
Unfortunately, there was no doubt in my mind that it would be
Duncan and Nathan.

Ethan sighed and ran a hand through his
black hair, which was still messy from rolling around in bed with
me. “I’m leaving. Caleb has banished me and I’m going to New
York.”

“Good,” replied Duncan. “Then you’d better
move quickly, daylight’s coming.”

He smiled coldly. “Daylight doesn’t affect
me. It’s just a little… uncomfortable.”

“My sister isn’t going anywhere with you,”
said Nathan. “And guess what? You’re going to pay for my door
before you leave.”

Ethan took out his wallet
and threw several hundred dollar bills at his feet. “There you
go,
bro
. Get it
fixed.”

“Asshole,” mumbled Nathan, picking up the
bills.

Ethan turned back to me. “Can we just have a
little time alone, Nikki? There are some things I need to tell
you.”

Duncan moved in front of me. “You stay the
fuck away from her.”

“This doesn’t concern you,” replied Ethan,
glaring at Duncan. “Move aside.”

“You’re going to have to make me,” he
growled.

I groaned and stepped around him. “Fine,
I’ll talk to you, Ethan.” If he actually was leaving, I wanted to
find out what he had to say.

“Bullshit,” said Nathan. “No way is that
going to happen.”

I turned to my brother and grabbed his arm,
pulling him away. “Nathan,” I whispered. “Just, let me talk to him.
He hasn’t hurt me. Not ever. Give us a few minutes alone, within
eyesight of you two. Maybe he’ll give us information on those
murders. I seriously don’t think he did it but maybe he knows who
did.”

“No! He might sweep you away like he did
last time,” said Nathan. “Besides, what do you have to say to this…
monster?”

I stared into his eyes. “Nathan, nothing is
going to happen, okay? Just, trust me. We won’t go far, and if I
need your help, I’ll call you guys. Please?”

“What’s going on?” asked Duncan, moving
closer to us.

He rubbed his forehead. “She really wants to
talk to Ethan.”

Duncan’s eyes widened in alarm. “Why?”

“To see if he knows anything about those
murders. Trust me, he won’t hurt me.”

“It’s him I don’t trust,” grunted
Duncan.

“I could have taken her already,”
volunteered Ethan loudly. Obviously, his ears were picking up on
our conversation. “But I haven’t and won’t, if that’s her
decision.”

“What about the mind control thing? He might
talk you into it,” said Nathan.

I turned towards Ethan.
“You
won’t
use
that. Right, Ethan?” I asked, raising my voice, although I didn’t
know what the point was.

“Of course not.”

“I still don’t like it,” said Duncan,
advancing towards Ethan. “She’s my girl, asshole. Why can’t you
leave her alone?”

Ethan ignored him. He held his hand out to
me as I chased after Duncan, to stop him. “Nikki? Can we just have
a few moments alone? Seriously, I don’t have much time.”

“Yes,” I replied, ignoring his hand. I knew
my brother and Duncan were still angry, but I wanted to hear what
Ethan had to say.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her,”
said Ethan right before he grabbed my hand and flew away.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Ethan!” I shouted as soon as we landed. I
stepped away and pointed at him angrily. “What the hell? You
weren’t supposed to actually fly off with me like that!”

“I wanted to be alone with you. It might be
our last time,” he pouted.

I sighed. “That wasn’t supposed to be part
of the deal.”

“Sorry.”

“So, what is this about?”

He smiled. “I wanted you to come with me. To
New York.”

My eyes widened. “I’m still in school and
you’re a… vampire. I can’t just go away with you.”

He got down on his knees and stared up at
me. “Would it help if I confessed my undead love for you?”

This time I laughed out loud. “You’re
crazy.”

He stood up and pulled me back into his
arms. “Hey, the only thing I’m crazy about, is you.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I mean, you
keep calling me Miranda. I’m not this person and I’ll never be
her.”

He tipped my chin up and stared into my
eyes. “I know that. Look, Nikki, I’m drawn to you, and as far as
I’m concerned, nothing else matters.”

“Drawn to me?”

“Yes. There’s this magnetic pull between us,
can’t you feel it? It’s like, we were meant to be together.”

“I don’t know about a magnetic pull… I mean,
I like you. I like you, a lot. But…”

“But what? Just throw caution to the wind.
I’ll take care of you, Nikki. I swear I’ll keep you safe.”

“I just can’t do what you’re asking. My
mother needs me so much right now, and I can’t leave my brother.
You have to understand that? You and I… we don’t even really know
each other.”

“I won’t force you to come with me, but I
want you to understand that I can’t come back to this place.”

I stared at his face, which was so
incredibly handsome. I knew I’d miss him. Whether it was real or
not, I felt something for Ethan and wished things were
different.

He bent forward and pressed his lips to
mine.

“Your skin, it’s so cool,” I whispered,
touching his cheek.

“
I haven’t had time to…
feed. I had other things on my mind.”

I touched his forehead. “When your skin is
cooler, does it mean you’re weaker?”

“Yes, In fact, I’ll lose most of my strength
if I don’t eat soon. That’s another reason I wanted to move
quickly.”

“So, what exactly do you need to…
survive?”

He smiled bitterly. “Do you really want to
know?”

“Not really, but I need to know one thing;
do you kill innocent people?”

He shook his head vehemently. “No. I feed
off of willing victims. I only take what I need and they live to
see another day. Swear to God.”

I stared at him. I wasn’t sure where he
found ‘willing victims’ and wasn’t about to ask.

I sighed. “Where are you going to find a
willing victim now?”

“
I don’t know yet,” he
smiled grimly. “I guess I hadn’t thought about that when I was
chasing after you. I just really wanted to see you before I
left.”

“How about me?”

His eyes widened. “You?”

I pulled my hair away from my neck. “Yes,
use my blood. Do it before I change my mind, though.”

He stared at my neck and licked his lips.
“I… there is some danger involved. If anything happened to you, I’d
never forgive myself.”

“Then you’d better do it quickly, before I
chicken out. I hate needles enough as it is.”

He lips curled up. “It’s not quite the same
thing.”

I swallowed. “Okay, does it hurt?”

He caressed my neck with his fingertip and I
shivered. “I can make it enjoyable for you,” he whispered,
huskily.

I looked up into his blue eyes and the naked
desire reflected there made me breathless. “Okay,” I whispered.
“Just do it, quickly.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Take my blood.”

His eyes dilated. With a low growl in the
back of his throat, his lips crushed mine and his tongue made its
way into my mouth, stroking and demanding a response.

And respond I did.

I slid my hands around his neck, drawing him
closer and I could feel his arousal pressing against me. I shivered
in delight as a desire to wrap my legs around his waist and hold on
forever washed over me.

Instead, he let me go.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked. He was
breathing so heavily, it reminded me of a lion panting for
water.

I touched his lip with the pad of my thumb.
It was so sensual and yet, something lurked behind it that both
frightened and excited me. “Yes, just do it already.”

Ethan stared into my eyes and a burning
desire to do whatever he wanted, slammed through every nerve in my
body. This time I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down
to meet my lips, feeling like I just couldn’t get enough of his
mouth.

He groaned against my lips and cupped my
rear, rubbing his hips against mine, causing a warm ache between my
legs. Just when I didn’t think I could take it anymore, he raised
his head.

“Please,” I begged, not even sure of what I
was asking for anymore.

He moved his mouth to my neck and paused. I
could feel the coolness of his breath against my skin; I could also
feel him trembling. “I love you,” he whispered and then, his teeth
broke through.

I shuddered in ecstasy as my blood flowed
into him with a rush of pleasure so great, that I could have died
and it wouldn’t have mattered. “Ethan,” I breathed, clutching him
tighter so that I wouldn’t fall.

A gunshot echoed through the night and
suddenly he was backing away from me, a look of horror and pain
etched on his face. Before I could ask him what had happened, he
was gone.

“Did you get him?!” shouted my mother’s
voice in the darkness.

“Yeah,” said Caleb. “He’s bleeding. He won’t
get far.”

My mother was crying hysterically as she
rushed towards me. “Nikki! Oh, my God, you’re bleeding everywhere.
We have to get her to the hospital!” she screamed at Caleb.

Caleb nodded. “I’ve already called an
ambulance.”

“Mom,” I whispered, staring at her in
confusion. How did she get there? Where was Ethan?

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“
Yeah… I’m…
fine.”

She shook her head and sobbed harder. “No,
you’re not! You’re bleeding and you’re so pale. Dear Lord, what was
that monster doing to my little girl?!”

I couldn’t answer her, because at that
moment, I lost consciousness.

***

End of Book One

Book Two (Shiver) Now Available!