The Hunted (58 page)

‘Let me guess,’ Lucas said, laughing and interrupting, ‘ask and you shall receive?’

William grinned at him. ‘And who said that banks were all so tight-fisted?’

I shook my head at the both of them.

‘Ahem.’

Both Lucas and I spun around to see Thomas and Marianne standing at the entrance to the living room, seemingly reluctant to approach any further, and to be honest, that was fine by me. Marianne looked less than thrilled that we were standing in her home, however temporary the arrangement might have been.

‘Thomas, Marianne,’ William said, more formally than I would have thought necessary, ‘you remember Elena and Lucas, don’t you?’ He gestured for them to come closer.

Thomas led the way first and extended his arm out in front of him. He enthusiastically shook Lucas’s hand and then my own. His smile was warm and inviting and I felt instantly calmed by his presence. I’d already decided that I didn’t like his sister, but he seemed nicer.

Marianne hung back behind Thomas and studied something on her fingernails, completely ignoring us.

Fine by me, Blondie.

‘It’s good to see you both again,’ Thomas said, a little stiffly. ‘It’s a nice change to be able to talk with people who aren’t vampires or obsessed with killing us.’

Lucas coughed and I laughed nervously. That wasn’t exactly true.

‘William hasn’t stopped talking about you, Elena.’

‘Really?’ I said, instantly smiling and looking in William’s direction. He lightly punched his friend on the shoulder and thanked him for ruining his ambiguity.

Thomas nodded, but his face tensed. ‘Yes, it appears that he’s stepped into something with you that can’t be unaltered.’

My smile wavered, as I caught onto the undercurrents of words I didn’t specifically think were meant for me.

‘Thomas, do you think you could shut up for a bit,’ William said, glancing back at me with a worried expression on his face.

‘Ugh!’ Lucas interrupted with a groan. ‘Could you not encourage the lovefest? I only ate breakfast an hour ago and I already lost most of that on the way up here.’

‘Is that what that smell is?’ Marianne said dryly, sniffing delicately at the air.

Lucas grinned and took a few steps closer to Marianne. He began wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively. ‘Feisty. I like that in a woman.’

She groaned and went back to studying her fingernails.

‘That’s okay,’ Lucas said, smiling at her and dropping onto the sofa like he owned the place. ‘Playing hard to get. That’s hot too. It all works in your favour, Blondie.’

‘Can I go back upstairs now?’ she whined, looking at her brother. ‘It’s starting to get a little crowded down here.’

Thomas nodded. She spun on her heels and quickly disappeared back up the stairs, a door slamming shut behind her.

‘I think she likes me,’ Lucas said, tilting back on the sofa and lazily putting his hands behind his head.

Thomas glanced warily at William, some sort of unspoken message passing between them, before his features softened. He turned and clapped Lucas endearingly on the shoulder, and then sunk down into the seat beside him like they’d been friends forever. ‘I wouldn’t bet on it, Lucas.’

‘Elena?’ William said. ‘Is something wrong?’ He glanced between me and Thomas.

I shook my head. ‘No, I’m fine.’

Just because we’re kissing each other now doesn’t mean I have to tell you everything I’m thinking.

William took my hand in his. ‘Would either of you mind if I take Elena away for some private time?’

Thomas remained mute, and Lucas looked to me edgily. ‘
Private time
?’ Lucas said, glancing down at our entwined fingers.

‘It’s okay, Lucas,’ William cooed. ‘Thomas will not bite you while we are gone if that is what is bothering you.’

Thomas turned and winked at Lucas, which only seemed to make him scoot further into the corner of the sofa. He shook his head and pointed to our linked hands. ‘I’m more concerned about where that is heading, and just exactly what ‘private time’ means to a vampire who wants to date my sister.’

‘Lucas,’ I hissed, ‘you promised you wouldn’t do this to me.’

He waved his hand at me and shot William a look. ‘Fine,’ he breathed. ‘But if he tries to get too fresh with you just yell.’

I pinched the bridge of my nose in embarrassment.

‘And on that note,’ William said, spinning us around on the spot, ‘I think we’ll be going.’

William led me back through the living room and up a set of steel stairs just off the entry way. We climbed it slowly, as I surveyed every painting, sculpture and photograph that belonged to the banished couple. As we ascended, I could still see Lucas craning his neck to get a better look at us. It was a good thing that the stairs disappeared around a corner otherwise he could hurt himself.

On the first floor, William explained, there were two bedrooms, one of which Marianne was in, and the other being Thomas’s. We didn’t go into either, but he showed me through the library that was also located on this level. The mentioning of books piqued my curiosity.

The library had a sea view too, but the other three walls were lined with bookshelves overflowing with novels and encyclopaedias.

I walked over and studied the titles, noticing that there were a lot of books on geography, history, as well as more classic novels by people like H.G. Wells, Jane Austin, and Charles Dickens. Some were first editions, probably worth more than the entire house.

Looking at them, I asked, ‘Do you like to read?’

‘Very much,’ he answered. ‘As you can imagine I have a lot of time on my hands, though not truly enough to hunt through this library since we arrived.’ He smiled. ‘My attention has been diverted elsewhere of late.’

‘Me too.’ I said, feeling myself going slightly red in the face and turning away from him. ‘I mean about the liking to read thing.’

‘What genre?’

‘Mostly fantasy or horror. I also like to leaf through car and motorbike magazines.’

He cocked an eyebrow. ‘Car and motorbike magazines?’

I nodded. ‘I’m saving up for a motorbike or a Bugatti Veyron, whichever one I can afford first.’

‘What’s a Bugatti Veyron?’

I felt like slapping him in the forehead. Wasn’t he a guy? Weren’t all guys supposed to be into cars? ‘It’s the fastest roadster in the world. It has a one thousand horsepower engine and can top speeds of four hundred kilometres per hour.’ I grinned. ‘You’d love it. But it’s about one point seven million dollars to buy, so I think I’ll be getting a motorbike first.’

‘A motorbike is a little dangerous don’t you think?’

I shook my head. ‘Not when you can’t get permanently hurt. I’ve got my permit and I’ve had more than a couple of lessons, but I really need some more practice before I go and buy one. I also need some more money too, but that’s only a small oversight.’

I placed the much loved books back onto the shelf in front of me and wondered again for the millionth time what I’d be like when I was a vampire-slash-werewolf (possibly a vampwolf). It would be wonderful not to age, not to observe time the way that everyone else does—being able to do what you want when you want must be very thrilling in so many ways.

William ushered me out of the room, leading me back to the staircase and heading up to the top floor. I moved slowly, surveying all the artwork as well as the beautiful view of the surrounding forest. At the top of the stairs was a small landing of only about a metre square, with a door and little of anything else.

William turned the handle and swung the door inwards letting me enter the room first.

The area that stretched out beyond was so large that my eyes couldn’t drink in the entire setting in one quick sweep over. The whole room looked very much like a conservatory. Half of the roof was encased in thick clear glass which sloped gently down to the glass walls that faced the ocean on either side. You could see the tree leaves brushing gently against the panes.

Kind of dangerous considering they don’t like the sunlight.

The only opaque walls in this whole room were over on the west wall. In this direction lay a generous ensuite and walk-in robe.

I checked out the bathroom first. It was bigger than my whole bedroom. There was a double-headed shower, spa bath, toilet, and double basins, all perched on a marble vanity that spread over the length of one mirrored wall. I noted a single towel hanging on the rack that smelled of damp, soap and William’s own personal scent. It was all I could do not to race over there and bury my head in the cotton threading.

Shaking off that thought, I wandered into the walk-in robe. I imagined that most of the clothes belonged to the owners, but there was a small section in the corner that I could see had been cleared to house William’s personal belongings. I casually sifted through some of them, forgetting general etiquette as I pawed at his clothes, inhaling his intoxicating scent. Once again, I could feel my head starting to fog over.

I’d better get out of here before my brain turns to mush.

I left the wardrobe and wandered back into the bedroom. I finally noticed that smack-bang in the centre of the room was a massive four-poster king-size bed, decked out in white satin and silk, with a beautiful sheer white canopy strung around each post, cascading gracefully to the floor. The front of the canopy was tied back to allow for a view through the glass windows. I could only imagine how beautiful this room would be after sunset. Being able to see all the stars above you and hear the water lapping against the shore as you slept sure sounded heavenly.

William stepped up behind me and wrapped his hands around my waist. I didn’t refute him. He brushed his nose across my cheek and gently nibbled on the edge of my earlobe.

‘What are you doing?’ I said, spinning around in his grasp and backing away.

His eyes were sparkling with an emotion I didn’t quite recognise. ‘I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,’ he murmured as he again reached out for me.

So this was his version of ‘private time’.

I held up a hand. ‘Let’s just take this slow, okay. I’m not sure what I’m doing and I’m especially not sure if I want to get too involved with someone … someone who is eventually going to leave.’

He frowned. ‘I’m not leaving.’

I put my hands on my hips. ‘You said downstairs that the owners will have their house back when you’re ready to move on.’

He smiled and made a play for me again, circling his arms tightly around my waist so that I couldn’t break free. ‘Yes, when
I’m
ready to move on and that isn’t going to be for a very long time.’

‘How long?’ I said, my hands flattening out against his chest.

‘As long as you want me around.’

I smiled. ‘I think I like that, me having all the power, I mean.’

He chuckled. ‘I thought you might. Can I kiss you now?’ He leaned down and nuzzled at my neck with his lips.

I gripped his head and pulled his face back up to look at me,
his eyes already beginning to turn. ‘Why do you do this to yourself? It can’t be easy being with someone you’d rather bite than kiss.’

He rolled his head back and then sighed, his grip loosening. ‘It’s not, but my desires as a man are weighing far heavier on me than the urges of my thirst, and right now, the part of me who’s a man just wants to be kissed.’

‘I don’t know, William, I think we shou—’

He silenced me with his mouth. It came down hard against mine; pushing my head back until his hand reached up and gripped the back of my neck, holding it in place. He wound his fingers through my hair. He pulled me harder against his taught body. My mouth parted slowly as I let him come into me, his tongue probing the inner warmth there, sending me into a fit of rapture. The sweetness of his breath blew through me, filling my lungs with intolerable fire.