Running From the Night (15 page)

“Is it because you like to tease guys who are attracted to you?”

“It’s because guys want what they want from a girl and don’t care about much else. They’ll say just about anything to get in a girl’s pants, and you know it.”

“Not all guys are like that, Melinda.”

Her responding chortle suggested he was a bit naïve. “Of course not, but there are enough guys like that for me to comfortably say they’re everywhere.” She leaned back into him, letting her lips brush his cheek, his ear. She slid a hand up his stomach, his chest.

“I’ve had guys pretend to be modeling scouts and film agents try to offer me their ‘services,’ all the while trying to get in my pants.” She shrugged, running her hand along his cheek. “Maybe I’m wrong for leading guys on, but I’ve only done that with guys that I know are just trying to screw me. Maybe I’m wrong to do that, maybe not.”

“You did that with me.”

“I wasn’t sure about you.”

“For almost a year?”

“There was once a guy I thought was my boyfriend for a year before I found out that he just wanted to screw me, and was cheating on me on top of that. I didn’t mean anything to him.” She rested her head on the side of his chest. “Jelani, I’m not a tease because I like to stroke my own ego, I just don’t like it when guys try to play mind games with me just to get in my pants.”

“I can understand that.”

“I’m glad you can, because I’m tired of you holding back on me. Every time we’re around each other, you’re guarded. You act like I’m some dangerous animal or something. What are you afraid of?”

Jelani sighed. “I don’t like taking things too far until I know what it is I want. I don’t like wasting my own time, or anyone else’s, and I’m sure not trying to just get in somebody’s pants. I want something more than that, but I just don’t know for sure who I want it with.”

“I wonder how many opportunities with girls you’ve passed up because of all that thinking you do.”

Jelani gave her a pat on the thigh. “Yeah, well I can’t deny being accused of thinking too much.”

She smiled at him, staring into his eyes. For a while, they sat that way, each silently reading the other’s face. Finally Melinda broke the silence.

“Do you know why I’m here?” she didn’t wait for an answer. “Because I like you. I like you a lot.” Jelani’s heart raced. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid. She laughed softly, bumping her forehead against his chin. “You know, it’s a little damaging to the ego when you tell someone you like them and they look like they’re ready to jump off of a bridge.”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Jelani said. “It’s just that I—”

“Haven’t made up your mind about me or the other girl you’re interested in,” she finished for him. When she saw the surprised look on his face, she smiled and patted his cheek.

“Love, do you think I don’t know? Do you really think I can’t tell that you’re on the fence about me and some other girl? You’re trying not to get too close to me just in case you decide to go with option number two.” She giggled at him, shaking her head. “Men are, by nature, not hard to figure out. You are no exception.”

“If you know that then why are you here? Why would you waste time dealing with me if you know where my head is?”

“I already told you. Because I like you.”

“Because you like the challenge?”

“You’re starting to make me unhappy.” Her face turned serious for a heartbeat, then softened again. He normally was not attracted to a thin and slightly pointed nose and chin, but all of those attributes worked for Melinda so perfectly that he found himself attracted to everything about her.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been hurt. Badly. If I can avoid inflicting that kind of pain on anyone, I try not to.”

“Oh, Jelani, it’s impossible. You can’t live life without hurting someone, or being hurt. But I admire you for trying, silly boy.”

She kissed him. It was a brief but sensual kiss. When she drew away, they looked at each other, and for the first time he saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes. She bit her lip and stroked his chest with her hand. “You don’t want to hurt me.” She stated it as fact.

“I like you, and I don’t want to do something that could hurt you. You’re right about that.”

“Well, you either will, or you won’t. Either way, I want to enjoy our time together.” She smiled. “And that other girl is going to have to work hard to replace me in your mind.”

She leaned in and kissed him again, this time longer.

Again, his resolve was beginning to crack. “We can spend time, but are you sure …”

“I’m done talking.” She squirmed in his lap, and the sensation had him biting his lip. “Mmm. You like that don’t you? I remember.” She squirmed again, and he clamped his eyes shut. And then he kissed her, and moments later they were in his room, closing the door. She wrapped her arms around him and crushed her body into his. The feeling of every one of her curves pressed against him was more than he could stand.

She turned around, and pressed back into him, and gasped. Then she unzipped his pants, slipped her hand in, and found him. His hands roamed from her waist to her stomach, and finally to her small breasts. They were perfect, not too large and not too small, and he felt he could never let them go.

“I want you,” she breathed.

“I’m right here,” he whispered.

***

Chapter Nineteen

Jelani lay on his side under the covers, Melinda pressed against him. Daniel had texted in the middle of the night telling him he was staying at Wen’s place. That being the case, Melinda had spent the night here. He lay there, allowing his hand to admire her smooth curves.

“You keep that up and we’re going to be at it again,” she said silkily. Jelani considered her. He considered the fact that he was coming to care for her more than he had expected he would.

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“Mmm. Neither would I. But let’s leave it here for now. I need to get home and get ready for work.”

“I’ll walk you there if you’d like.”

“Such a gentleman. No, don’t worry about it. I’m a big girl.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know what you meant, and thank you.” She rolled out of the bed and went to the chair to retrieve her clothes. Jelani lay there, watching. “Enjoying the show, pervert?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Yes,” he said, climbing to his feet and dressing. “I don’t have a lot for breakfast, but there’s some cereal.…”

“No thanks. I need to get home. I’ll probably get something on the way there.”

After a few minutes freshening up in the bathroom, Jelani helped her into her coat and saw her to the door. “Talk to you later,” he said.

“Bye,” she said, and stood on her toes, leaning in to kiss him. They shared a lengthy kiss that had her pushing him away, then she turned and made her way down the hall, rounding the corner without looking back.

“Bye,” he said, after she was out of sight. Fifteen minutes and a hot shower later, he went into the living room where he fell onto the couch. “What the hell am I doing? What the hell am I going to do?”

Whether an answer or not, he got a response in the form of a text message.
Back in town. I want to see you.

Jelani read the text from Alisha several times, then sat the phone aside and ran his hands over his head. A feeling of guilt washed over him, and he had to remind himself that he was not yet in a committed relationship with either of them.

I want to see you too,
he typed.
Tomorrow afternoon?

If you’re not busy.

I would love to see you.

Tomorrow, then.

See you then.

Jelani tossed his phone on the couch. “I need to make a decision before this turns into a bad situation.”

He stood and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window that spanned most of the living room wall. Looking out at the water and Stanley Park, and North Vancouver always soothed his nerves. The miles upon miles of evergreen trees and the northern part of the city that stared back at him from across the water was one of the things he most enjoyed about living in Coal Harbour.

He looked down at the walkways, enjoying the flowers and shrubs that persisted despite the cold weather. A solitary figure stood leaning against the black rail, staring directly up at him. Saaya. High up as he was, there was still no mistaking her. Even from this distance, she exuded a presence that was undeniable. Her elbows propped on the rail behind her, she gave him a tiny wave. Jelani waved back and, sighing, used his fingers to signal to her his floor and room number. Saaya pushed away from the rail and made her way across the walkway until she disappeared from view alongside the building. Two minutes later came the rude sound of the buzzer.

Several minutes after that there was a soft knock on the door. He opened it to admit the exotic woman. She wore no coat, only a purple sweater and a knee-length skirt of purple and white, with amazing handcrafted designs. The tiny bells around her ankles jingled pleasantly when she strode through the door.

“Hello,” she said. To Jelani, her tone suggested a tiger greeting a deer.

“Hello to you, Saaya.”

“The way my name leaves your lips suggests you like the sound of it.”

“Oh? You think so?”

She smiled at him. If a smile could cut, this one would slice.

He would gladly take the wound.

“The way you linger ever so subtly on the middle my name; the way you pronounce the
S
so softly. If one could make love to a name, you would have mine in ecstasy.”

“You have a dramatic way of putting things.”

The smile softened. Whereas the last smile was one he wanted to gaze at, this was a smile he wanted to kiss. “Perhaps my feelings are as dramatic as my words.”

“I didn’t know you had feelings.”

“That is a wounding statement,” she said.

He waved a hand toward the couch and she seated herself. “You haven’t exactly been the most approachable person. Would you like something to drink? I have water and juice. No blood, though.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “No, thank you. Why do you say I am unapproachable?”

“Well, maybe not unapproachable, but you don’t make a person feel very comfortable. I’ll be real with you. It’s seemed like you’ve been watching Daniel and me as if we’re some twisted reality show where the contestants have to survive. It’s like it’s an amusing thing for you.”

One of her delicate eyebrows rose. “Have my brother and I not extended your life twice already?”

Jelani sat down on the other couch and leaned forward. “You have, and I’m more grateful than I can possibly tell you. But it seems like you’ve saved me—us—more for your own interest than any benevolent intention. I’m not being ungrateful, and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m just trying to give you a glimpse into the stressful spot we’re in right now.”

Saaya looked into his eyes, and she seemed to be considering him. “You speak honestly, so I will do the same. When first I saw you running from the two
shaquora
in the woods, I was more interested in seeing if you would be able to evade them than any interest in saving you. When the Hunter appeared and dispatched one of them, and both you and the surviving vampire evaded him, I was curious to see which of you he would track first.”

A look crossed her perfect features that could have been guilt. It came and went so fast he wondered if he’d imagined it. “When the Hunter came for you, I knew it would be your end.” She tilted her head, still looking into his eyes. “But then, for a reason I still cannot find, I felt compelled to intervene.”

“And then the second time in Richmond?” Jelani asked.

“Well that was just unfair. He used you and the
shaquora
to his advantage. You never had a fair chance.”

Jelani couldn’t begin to fully understand this, but he let it go. It didn’t matter anyway. “Well you have your reasons, and as long as it keeps me and my friend breathing, and we’re not going to be indebted to you like some sort of servants or something, I’m good with it.”

“Yet you still feel wary of me,” she said.

Jelani broke eye contact. It was like she was seeing right into him.

“Nothing is free.”

She stood and moved toward him. Every step, every swing of her arm, every sway of her hips, was smooth and flowing. If water could dance, it would move like this woman. She sat close and he felt a rush of warmth shoot through his body. For a moment, she looked at him, and he felt compelled to once again look into those brown eyes. They were entrancing; the way her eyeliner curved upward at the corners of her eyes made them altogether hypnotic.

“You smell of a woman.”

“Really?” he said, looking down at himself. “I don’t know what you’re smelling. I just got out of the shower not half an hour ago.”

She smiled at him as though he was the most naïve person in the world. Was every female in his life going to keep looking at him this way? “Of course, I smell the soap,” she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “The water, your own personal scent,” she opened her eyes again. “It would take more than a shower or a bath to hide such things from me.”

He frowned, and a sarcastic chuckle escaped him. “Who said I was trying to hide anything? You sound like you’re my girlfriend and I just stepped out the back door of our relationship with another woman.”

She laughed, actually laughed! He didn’t think there was anything he would ever say that would make this woman laugh so heartily.

“You are cute. I find you quite intriguing for a human.”

“You know you make me real nervous when you talk like that.”

“Why?” she asked. Her expression was so innocent that he was sure she actually meant it.

“You have to understand that humans don’t know vampires exist.”

“And yet you have so many stories about them.”

“Yeah, I know, I know.” Jelani nodded his head sharply, the corner of his mouth curving upward as he spoke. “It’s a grand paradox. Still, knowing the stories and having witnessed the things I have, when you refer to humans as something apart from yourself, it is a bit unnerving.”

She gave him an uncertain look. “Humans are apart from myself; half of myself, anyway.” She smiled.

“Yeah, but being reminded of it is what makes me nervous.”

“I see. I look like a normal human woman, so you can forget, or at least pretend, that I’m not what I am.”

“And once and for all, what are you?”

“You ask a question that has already been answered.”

“Indulge me.”

“I’m not given to longwinded conversations.”

“Then you’ve lead me to another question.” He saw the perturbed look on her face and figured he’d better push through quickly. “Why are you here? I definitely don’t mind you’re being here. For that matter, you can move in until that Hunter guy out there gives up or your brother kills him. I’m just curious, is all.”

She snickered. “Perhaps I simply wished to pay you a visit after your female friend left.”

Jelani’s mouth dropped open. “Damn, girl. Have you been stalking me or what?”

“Why would I stalk you when I like you better alive?”

Jelani thought to just let that question go. “How long have you been watching outside my building?”

She gave him an even look. “I have more than just my eyes to see with.”

Again, Jelani figured he’d let that go. “Okay. So?” He waited. She waited. “So, why this most unexpected and pleasant visit?”

A glimmer passed across her eyes so quickly he would have missed it if he had blinked. Suddenly, he felt drawn into her eyes. She smiled, and he smiled in response. The world around him seemed to narrow until only she existed. He clamped his eyes shut and shook his head, running a hand over his face.

“Will you quit that? Stop messing with my head.”

She giggled.

“Oh, you think it’s funny?” he said, leaning over and clamping a hand on her leg, just above her knee. He gave it a squeeze. She looked down at his hand. He looked down at his hand and her unmoving leg in surprise. Most girls were sensitive in that spot.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Not ticklish in that spot, huh?” He reached up and stuck his fingers in her underarm and stroked. Again, no response. If anything, she seemed irritated. “You seriously aren’t ticklish,” he said.

“Stop being silly,” she said, and gave his shoulder a shove. He nearly spun over the arm of the couch. Shoulder throbbing, Jelani held on to the edge, frozen in place and staring at her. He’d allowed himself to forget how strong and how not wholly human this woman was.

“Um, yeah, sorry. I thought I’d try and be funny. Thought wrong.”

“Was that what you were trying to do?” She hid a smile behind a deceptively delicate-looking hand. “Oh, no. Vampires are not ticklish,
jaan
.”

“But you’re half human,” Jelani said, swallowing the fear that word sent vibrating through his body. He mentally reminded himself not to forget this woman was, even if only half, a vampire.

“That is true, but you must understand that I suffer none of the weaknesses of either of my heritages.”

“Being ticklish is hardly a weakness.”

She shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

A thought occurred to him. “And what was that you were doing to me a second ago?”

“Playing with your mind,” she said offhandedly, leaning in closer. She reached out to his shoulder and stopped when he flinched away. “Don’t recoil, I mean you no pain.” She reached again and touched his shoulder. Though he didn’t visibly respond, she frowned and looked up into his eyes. “Oh, love. I’ve hurt you.”

“It’s no big deal. Might bruise, might not.”

“You’re so brave!” she said, her tone packed with sarcasm. “I can fix it.”

“You can?” Despite a bit of trepidation, his curiosity was piqued. “How so?”

“When a pureblooded vampire wishes to feed, or turn a human, they can inject a liquid similar to anesthesia through their fangs into the area they bite. It can be done at will.” She giggled at the horrified look on Jelani’s face.

“Don’t worry, I have no intention of turning you from the light. Truthfully, I don’t know what you would become if I tried.”

“That’s quite alright. I have no desire to be the test subject.”

“So, will you allow me to mend your shoulder?” she asked. “I’ll simply inject the substance into the area so that you feel no pain and then draw out some of the blood. The substance I inject will cause your shoulder to heal quickly, and the punctures would close and disappear.”

“Um, no, really. That’s okay. I’ll just rub some cream on it or something.”

She looked disappointed. “How can I make it up to you, then? I feel bad about hurting you.” She leaned closer, and again he felt what must have been her will, pressing down on him.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said thickly. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose. And will you please stop trying to hypnotize me?” Abruptly, his mind cleared.

“I’m sorry, I cannot help it.” She was close to him. Very close. Her sweet smell made him think of rain-washed flowers and roses. It was a soothing smell. Enticing. He felt drawn to it, wanted to wrap himself in that comforting aroma.

Jelani shook his head. “Girl, what are you doing to me?”

“You are strong,” she remarked.

“What …” he started to ask.

“You surprise me.” And then she kissed him. It was a long, full kiss. The sensation was like nothing he had ever experienced. The first time she’d kissed him, it was pleasurable, but it was an infusing of knowledge and experiences. This was a kiss of intimacy. Though only their lips touched, it felt as though he was completely enveloped.