Scorch (12 page)

Kira shifted her shoulders back, ready to
hold her ground, but before she even opened her mouth, Pavia
charged Luke, poking her finger forcefully into his chest.

"Alright, Luke. What was that?"

Kira crossed her arms, nodding in agreement
and staring Luke down.

"I don't trust vampires," he stubbornly
responded, but an apologetic look tugged at his eyes.

"Well we don't trust you either," Pavia said,
as though she were talking to imbecile, "but that doesn’t mean we
can't do business. Do you want to keep your girlfriend alive or
what?"

"Yes," Luke said, "but—"

"Well, if you want her alive then we have to
kill Aldrich, and if you want to kill Aldrich you'll need us. In
case you didn't realize, the conduits aren't exactly supporting you
right now—runaways."

Pavia blew her bangs out of her face,
regathering her strength before Luke could get a word in. "And if
you're so doubtful, maybe you should just go. We can do this
without you."

"Now, wait a minute—"

"No, you wait," Pavia leaned in closer and
Luke backed up, his face the definition of shock as she snarled at
him, "you want to know why a vampire might want to be human? Take a
look at yourself. I know everything in your head. I sense your
heart pound every time Kira steps into a room. I feel your blood
warm when she meets your stare. I hear the pain tugging at your
chest, staggering your breath, when you think about losing her. And
did you ever think maybe that's why I want to be human? So I can
feel those things for myself without living vicariously through a
conduit like you? Vampires can't be in love, and I know Kira
doesn't want to hear that but it's true. And what's eternity worth
if you're forever alone? Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Pavia turned to Kira, who flinched under her
hard stare, "Kira, I'll see you tomorrow. I owe you some memories
before all of the fighting goes down."

And with that, Pavia spun on her heel,
whipping Luke in the face with her long, wavy black hair.

Luke, for his part, looked like he had been
hit with something far worse… something more like a truck.

"She yelled at me," Luke said, awed.

"Yup, a really good yell too," Kira said,
trying her best not to laugh. A little smile slipped out despite
her best efforts.

"I mean, she really yelled at me." He was
shell-shocked.

"Yeah, well, you deserved it. She kind of
stole my thunder actually, I was all prepared to yell at you
too."

"But when you yell at me it's cute, when she
yells at me," a shiver traveled down his spine, "it's scary."

"I resent that."

"Hey, wait a second," Luke shifted his gaze
to look Kira right in the eye, "I was going to yell at you."

She looked away and started walking down the
brick path, back toward the sidewalk outside of the restaurant.

"What was that back there?" He asked,
catching up to her quickly.

"What?"

"What? Ha! You know what. Saying you didn't
kill Aldrich because of Tristan, I know the truth, you had no idea
about Tristan. Why'd you lie? What are you hiding?" Luke took her
hand in his, making her stop walking before she opened the door to
his car.

Kira didn't meet his stare. She wasn't
ready—not to tell him that she might be turning into the one thing
he despised most in the world.

And that's when she remembered phase two of
tonight's plan. Phase one was complete—she had her army and there
was no way Aldrich would escape. But she hadn't even started the
next phase, the one to make Luke know that she really loved him
too, that she was ready to let Tristan go.

So Kira used the best diversionary tactic she
could think of. She grabbed Luke's impatiently waiting face and
kissed him.

Success.

Chapter Eight

"Stop!" Kira let go of the steering wheel to
slap Luke's hand out of his face.

"Seriously, where are we going?" He said,
reaching for his blindfold again. Kira went in for another
slap.

"Have you never heard of a surprise
before?"

"Maybe I just don't trust you with my car,"
he said, "it's a man's car."

"Please, I've driven your pickup truck
before."

"Okay fine," he sighed, "the not knowing is
just killing me. You grab my face, kiss me—not complaining about
that at all by the way—and then force a blindfold over my eyes and
shove me in the car. I'm not sure if I'm being kidnapped or taken
on a date…"

"Neither," Kira said, prompting another heavy
sigh from Luke, who started tapping his foot against the floor of
the car.

"Well if you won't tell me where we're going,
will you at least tell me one thing?"

"What?" Kira asked, turning her attention
back to the road, which was poorly lit and lined with oak trees.
Not exactly ideal for distracted driving.

"Why did you say Tristan was the reason
Aldrich escaped?"

Kira sighed. Not this again.

"Because I didn't want to tell them the
truth."

"Which was…?" Luke said, leaving the
opening.

"That he got away—that he beat me. We need
them on our side." Kira squeezed the steering wheel and her sweaty
palms rubbed harshly against the leather.

She held her breath, waiting for Luke's
response.

"I don't buy it."

Kira exhaled angrily. How did he read her so
easily? Tristan would have let it go, would have wanted to appease
her, but not Luke.

Not wanting to go there, Kira reached out and
slipped the knot behind Luke's head free while trying not to crash
the car.

"Now I know you're hiding something," he
pushed.

"For your information," Kira said, as her
palms heated up on the steering wheel and her voice rose an octave,
"I was trying to be romantic tonight. So will you just drop it for
the time being?"

"For now," he shrugged and turned his gaze
out the window. "Are we going to Folly Beach?"

Kira rolled her eyes. So much for the
plan.

"Yes, if you must know."

He nodded, biting his bottom lip to keep from
grinning.

"What?" Kira asked. He was about to pop, but
he shook his head. "What?" She urged.

"It's just," he started to laugh, "you were
supposed to take a right turn about a mile ago."

Kira snarled under her breath, such a little
jerk. "Do you want to drive too?"

"Are you offering?" He grinned, reaching for
the wheel.

"No," Kira snapped, but made the mistake of
looking at him. As soon as she spotted his grin, her own mask of
anger cracked. "God, you're so annoying," she laughed, "I wanted to
be angry at you."

"I know," he chimed, clearly proud with
himself. Kira shook her head, trying to quell her smile, but it
stayed wide.

Damn, why did he have to be right about that?
She squinted, weighing her options, before sighing and making a
u-turn in the middle of the empty street.

Luke burst, all intentions of placating her
gone.

And, after a minute of trying to remain
stoic, Kira did too.

"Okay, okay, I'll never play driver again,
just bear with me for a few more minutes. We're almost there."

She turned back to the road, blaming Luke's
incessant questions for the mistake. A sign up on the left side of
the road indicated her next turn, and after a few minutes, Kira was
pulling into a sandy parking spot next to the boardwalk. She turned
off the engine and stepped out of the car.

Luke followed suit, waiting for her in front
of the car since his longer legs carried him faster.

Kira took a deep breath—now or never.

Now, she decided and took Luke's hand,
surprised by the sudden swarm of butterflies in her stomach. Beside
her, Luke gulped, just loud enough for Kira to hear. He felt it to.
The sense that something significant was about to happen, something
that might change everything.

Kira led Luke down the boardwalk, each of
them silent, listening to the wind ruffle the grassy dunes. The
beach was a different place at night. Gone were the crowds, the
screaming children, the bright umbrellas, the water wars. It was
calm. The waves didn't splash, they rolled, shimmering with
starlight. The moon was enough to light a path through soft sand,
and Kira followed the trail until her nerves hardened enough to
stop her feet from delaying her words any longer.

Luke sensed it before her feet paused. He
knew Kira was ready before she herself did, but he was right.

Turning toward the water, Kira bent down
until she landed softly in the sand. Luke sunk down next to her,
holding onto her hand when she tried to pull away.

A shiver ran down Kira's spine, sending
tingles to her limbs.

"You're probably wondering why I wanted to
come here?"

Luke shrugged, forcing Kira to continue.

"Well, the thing is," she paused, thinking,
"I guess I just wanted," she stopped again, rubbing her free hand
down the length of her thigh. Why hadn't she planned her speech
better?

Kira glanced at Luke, taking comfort in the
fire sparkling in his eyes, and suddenly the words fell out.

"You're my best friend, my rock, you know?
And that's what this place reminds me of—the day my entire world
fell apart, leaving only you to catch me. Tristan was a vampire, my
parents were not my parents, I wasn't human, my entire life had
been a lie, and everything had changed, but not you. You were
there, comforting me, holding me afloat just like always, and I
guess that’s why I wanted to come here. That day, you became the
best friend I've ever had, and I wanted you to know that."

Kira looked at Luke, at the blond hair that
still seemed to glow from the sun, at the slightly crooked nose
almost completely covered in freckles, at the smile permanently
glued to his lips.

"And for what's been almost a year, that's
what you've been to me. A best friend. Until I realized something,
why wasn't my best friend my boyfriend? When I was in England, it
wasn't Tristan that got me through, it was you, just thinking about
you made me feel better. And that's weird, right? And I still do
it. Whenever I need to feel better, I sort of peek into your head,
and I know I promised I wouldn't read your thoughts anymore, but I
do it all the time because it's like taking a little happy pill,
and…"

Kira took a deep breath. She was reaching the
point of no return.

"And I thought about what you said, at the
ball. You said you realized you were in love with me after you
thought you'd almost lost me, and I think that's what happened to
me too. When I left you in the airport, I thought I'd lost you,
that you'd never forgive me, and I didn’t know what to do with
myself."

God, get to the point, Kira screamed at
herself, but she couldn't stop rambling. Why did she feel so
exposed? It was Luke, she was never nervous in front of him, but
all of a sudden all forms of finesse had escaped her.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I
don't care that Tristan is human, and I don't care that he doesn't
remember me, because I still have you and I think that's all I ever
needed in the first place, and—"

"Kira?"

She swallowed.

"Shut up," Luke said, reaching behind her
head to pull her face toward his.

The minute their lips touched, Kira's brain
stopped working. Her mind, already vulnerable, completely let go
and Luke's emotions tumbled into her head in a dizzying whirl of
lights, a firework show saved just for her.

And Kira wished Luke could feel her thoughts
too, the way her excitement bubbled right next to his, sprinkling
down her arms, following his every touch. And even though flames
weren't sprouting from his hands, they felt on fire as they gripped
the back of her neck and traveled down her spine, around to her
stomach.

Hungry for more, Kira pushed Luke down,
falling with him onto the sand, liking how their bodies molded
together. His long lean chest held her weight easily, and his arm
wrapped around her back, bringing her closer, slipping under the
hem of her shirt to lightly tease her skin.

And the closer they fused, the more Kira felt
the sun travel through her body, spreading a warm glow, a sense of
peace down her limbs.

Unable to control it, her flames seeped out,
circling both of them in her fire. But no longer trapped, the
shadows silently followed.

Her blood turned to honey—or was that Luke's
blood. His skin felt sweet on her lips, sugary almost.

Kira shifted her lips to his cheek, letting
his sigh tremble in her ear. She kissed the line of his jaw, the
smooth skin, freshly shaved.

She followed the trail down his throat, the
syrupy sweetness teasing her senses, until something began to sing
to her, a thrumming pulse, a soft percussion under her
tongue...

"Kira?" Luke pushed against her.

She sat up, confused. What was that
smell?

"Did you just bite me?"

"What?" She asked, her eyes focusing like
lasers on his neck. There was no blood. She let go of her breath,
until she saw teeth marks digging into his skin.

"Did you just bite my neck?"

"Um, maybe…" She shifted, leaning away from
him. The honey on his skin was still teasing her.

"Why did you just bite me?" He asked, as
though speaking to a child.

"I got lost in the moment?" She said, not
even convincing herself. Luke's eyebrows furrowed. The excitement
in his pupils quickly drained, turning hard and demanding.

"Kira." His voice was a rock, unmoving.

She stood. She had to escape. This was not
supposed to happen, not to Luke and her.

Before Kira realized what was happening, she
was running. Her feet pounded against solid sand, thumping along
with her heartbeat.

Luke yelled after her, but she couldn't stop.
It wasn't time. She wasn't prepared to lose Luke right when she had
finally found out what he really meant to her.