Vampire Beach: Legacy (11 page)

‘Excuse me?’ Jason asked, still trying to process the fact that she was actually standing on his doorstep. He felt alive and awake, all his senses tingling.

‘You’re dripping.’ Sienna reached out and playfully tousled his wet hair.

Jason automatically reached for her hand, then stopped himself at the last second. He wasn’t supposed to touch her anymore. They were just friends.

Sienna seemed to realize that at the same moment. She snatched her hand away from him. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds.

‘I was in the pool,’ Jason said finally. ‘Hence the moisture.’

‘Oh.’ Sienna nodded. ‘Well, I should boogie. I’m supposed to be at Belle’s, and she can only cover for me for so long before her dad figures it out. I just came by to give this back.’ She held out the sweater he’d loaned her the night before. ‘Thank you.’

‘No problem.’

‘OK. So . . . I’ll see you later.’ Sienna turned away, and Jason’s heart gave a lurch. He didn’t want her to go.

‘Wait!’ he called.

She turned back immediately. ‘Yes?’

‘Don’t you want to come in?’ Jason asked.

Sienna raised one eyebrow. ‘Is coming in a good idea?’ she asked.

Jason grabbed her hand – in a friends way, he told himself. ‘Oh, just come have a drink. Friends are allowed to do that. And there’s no one else home, so no grapevine potential.’ He tugged her inside, and he couldn’t help noticing that she didn’t resist too much.

‘One drink,’ she said.

‘Right.’ Jason reluctantly let go of her hand when they reached the kitchen. ‘What do you want? Coke? Iced tea? I think Dani’s got some health water in here somewhere . . .’

‘Do you have any lemonade?’ Sienna asked. ‘I always like to have lemonade out by the pool.’

‘Lemonade it is.’ Jason maneuvered things around so that he could get the big pitcher of lemonade from the back of the refrigerator.

‘I’ll grab glasses.’ Sienna immediately pulled open the right cabinet and took out two tall glasses. Jason watched her, remembering when she was allowed to just come hang out at his house because she was his girlfriend. Now even something as simple as having a drink seemed illicit somehow. ‘Any sparks between Adam and the girls Belle found for him?’ Sienna asked.

‘I’m not sure. I don’t think Adam got to have a say in it.’ Jason laughed. ‘I think Belle was planning to decide for him whether there were sparks or not.’

‘She’s got good taste. I wonder if she already has a dinner date set up,’ Sienna replied. ‘She’ll probably tag along and coach him on what to say too.’

Jason poured the lemonade and led the way out to the pool. ‘I don’t know how nice it will be today. It looks like rain.’ He peered up at the clouds.

Sienna stood next to him and glanced at the sky. ‘It never rains in California,’ she informed him.

A huge wet
splat!
on Jason’s arm made him laugh. ‘Is that so?’ he asked.

Sienna grinned. ‘Yes. It doesn’t rain. It pours. Like you wouldn’t believe.’

Another drop hit his shoulder. Then another.

Sienna was already running for the pool house. ‘Hesitate and suffer!’ she called.

Jason looked up – just as the skies opened. Rain poured down on him as if he were standing under a waterfall. ‘Gaaahhh!’ he cried, sprinting after Sienna.

She was standing just inside the door of the little pool house, laughing. ‘You baby,’ she teased. ‘You were already wet anyway.’

‘I know, but the water in the pool is heated.’ Jason shook his head like a dog, spraying water all over Sienna, who squealed and gave him a playful push.

‘Welcome to winter in Malibu,’ Sienna said. ‘Either it’s bright and sunny or it’s practically a monsoon.’

‘I never knew that.’ Jason reached up and took down one of the extra lounge chairs they kept on a shelf over the pool supplies. He pulled off the dust cover, and he and Sienna sat down together.

‘Yup. Winter is rainy season. Sometimes it will rain for two weeks straight. And then there are mudslides.’

‘That sounds bad,’ Jason said.

‘It is bad. My family did a big charity auction last year for the victims of a mudslide south of here.’ Sienna sighed, and Jason knew she was thinking of all the charity stuff her parents were making her do lately, just to keep her away from him.

‘So all this "sunny California" stuff is false advertising?’ he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

‘Hmm. Well, "sunny California for fifty weeks a year" is not nearly as catchy.’

Jason chuckled. They watched the rain pounding the stone patio outside the door. It was a sheet of water, and it made him feel as if they were trapped in their own private little world.

I wish we were
, he thought.
Just me and Sienna, alone together. No parents. No rules. Nothing to keep us apart.

‘Why so serious?’ Sienna murmured, and Jason realized she’d been staring at him.

‘Just thinking. I can’t see a thing through the water.’

‘Me neither.’ Sienna moved closer, her slender arm brushing against him. ‘I love the sound of rain. It makes me think of lazy days, just staying inside, lounging around in bed . . .’

Jason’s throat went dry. He knew he should answer her, say something boring and friend-like. But the image of Sienna lounging in bed had driven all other thoughts from his mind. All he could feel was the heat of her body close to his, all he could smell was her perfume, and all he wanted was to press his lips against hers.

‘Jason . . .’ Sienna turned toward him, and then they were kissing. Her arms slid around his neck, and he clutched her waist and pulled her down on top of him as he lay back on the lounge chair.

The sound of the rain pounded in his ears, keeping time with his galloping heart as he tangled his hands in Sienna’s thick hair and deepened their kiss. He felt her fingers slide beneath the waistband of his bathing suit, and his breath caught in his throat. He unzipped her hoodie and eased it down over her shoulders as he kissed his way down her neck and across her collarbone.

We
are
alone in our own world
, Jason thought.
No one can see us here. No one will ever know.

‘Should we stop?’ he murmured, his mouth on Sienna’s throat.

‘No,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t want to stop.’

Jason gave himself up to the feel of her lips, her body, her skin, hot and smooth as he slid his hand over her bare stomach.

There was a quiet
click
and the rain seemed louder suddenly. Jason felt a gust of cold air on his face. He pulled away from Sienna, thinking that the door must have blown open.

‘Jason!’ Sienna hissed, her eyes wide with fear as she stared at the doorway.

Jason turned his head to see somebody standing there, but it wasn’t his parents – or even Dani. It was his Aunt Bianca – a member of the Vampire High Council – and it was horribly clear that she’d seen everything.

‘
AUNT BIANCA
!’
JASON
cried as he and Sienna scrambled to their feet. Sienna moved as far away as possible in the small pool house, but it was no good. Sienna’s hoodie lay in a heap on the floor and Jason was dressed only in a bathing suit. It was obvious what had been happening.

‘Looks like I caught you,’ Bianca said with a small smile. She was holding an umbrella, but rainwater poured off it, landing with little
plinking
sounds on the tile floor.

Jason sighed. Aunt Bianca had seen them. She knew Sienna’s parents. And she was a vampire herself. So even if she wasn’t aware of the Devereuxs’ ban on their romance, she’d find out soon enough. And she would side with them because she was one of their kind.

‘Hello, Sienna,’ Bianca said. She closed her umbrella and propped it near the door. ‘I’m assuming your parents don’t know where you are.’

‘I just came to return a sweater I borrowed,’ Sienna said.

Bianca raised her eyebrows. ‘Is that what you kids are calling it nowadays?’ Her tone was light and teasing, the way it always was. But Jason thought there was a hint of menace underneath, a menace he’d only caught a glimpse of once before – the day Bianca had decided to execute his friend Tyler for stealing from the vampires.

He hadn’t seen Bianca since then. Jason had a feeling he’d never talk to Bianca again without sensing that edge of danger.

‘Let’s not play games,’ she went on briskly. ‘I know you two aren’t supposed to be seeing each other. All I have to do is tell your parents I found you here and they’ll send you straight to France, Sienna.’

Sienna’s dark eyes filled with tears. Jason stood up and reached for her hand. There was no point in pretending now. Sienna’s fingers wrapped around his. Jason felt a little better just touching her. ‘Why would you do that, Aunt Bianca?’ he asked. ‘We love each other. We’re not doing anything wrong.’

‘Love between a vampire and a human is wrong,’ Bianca replied. ‘You both know that.’

Jason couldn’t believe it. She sounded so casual, so normal. But she had basically just admitted that she was aware Jason knew about vampires!

‘
You
were a human in love with a vampire once,’ Sienna pointed out. Her voice shook and Jason realized she was afraid. As a member of the Vampire High Council, Bianca had a lot of power over Sienna.

‘Yes,’ Bianca acknowledged calmly. ‘So I think you will agree that I know what I’m talking about. I know how it works. And I know that it
doesn’t
work.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Jason managed. He was still reeling from the shock of Aunt Bianca even being there.

‘I
was
a human in love with a vampire,’ Bianca said. ‘But I’m not a human now. I haven’t been for a long time.’

‘Right. But you were human when you fell in love with Stefan,’ Jason said. ‘And you two made it work. So can we.’

‘No, you can’t. Stefan and I knew we couldn’t be together when we were so different,’ Bianca explained. ‘So I made a choice. And now I’m giving you the same choice, Jason.’ Her blue eyes glowed eerily with excitement. ‘You can do what I did. You can become a vampire.’

‘What!’ Jason exclaimed in shock. Become a vampire? He could barely believe what he was hearing.

‘You can transform, like I did.’ Bianca’s voice was filled with wonder. ‘Oh, Jason, you can’t even begin to imagine how incredible it is. No sickness, no aging, nothing can hurt you. You’ll be strong, and fast, and beautiful. You think you can swim now? Just think how it will be when you’ve got the power and the speed of a vampire! You think your life is charmed here in DeVere Heights? It will be a hundred times better once you’ve transformed. You’ll have wealth beyond your wildest dreams.’ Bianca’s face had been changing as she spoke, and now it was glowing with an otherworldly beauty that astonished Jason. He’d never seen his aunt look so stunning.

That’s her real face
, he realized.
Her true vampire face.
Sienna had told him that the vampires toned down their natural beauty to fit in among humans. Clearly Aunt Bianca didn’t think it mattered if Jason now saw her the way she really was.

She turned her luminous eyes on Sienna. ‘And once you’ve made the transformation, Jason, you and Sienna will be free to love each other,’ she said ecstatically.

‘The transformation?’ Jason said hesitantly. ‘What exactly—?’

‘No!’ Sienna cut in. ‘You shouldn’t even think about this, Jason.’ She turned to Bianca. ‘What if he doesn’t
want
to transform? Anyway, the DeVere Heights Vampire Council would never allow it.’

‘The DeVere Heights Vampire Council answers to me,’ Bianca said dismissively. She narrowed her eyes at Sienna. ‘Why wouldn’t Jason want to transform?’ she asked, her voice suddenly as cold as the rain outside. ‘He’ll have everything he’s ever wanted.’

‘But he might—’

‘That’s enough!’ Bianca snapped. Her blue eyes had turned to stone. She turned and looked at Jason as if he were a bug under her shoe. ‘If you’re not willing to transform, I’ll simply tell Sienna’s parents what I saw here today. They’ll send her to France within twenty-four hours,’ she said flatly.

Jason’s mouth dropped open in shock. What had happened to his aunt? One second she was alive with joy, gushing about the joys of being a vampire. The next she was threatening him.

‘How can you say that?’ he gasped. ‘Aunt Bianca—’

‘It’s time for Sienna to leave,’ she said.

Jason felt a stab of anger. Did she really think she could throw the girl he loved out of his own house? But Sienna’s cheeks were pale.
She’s scared
, Jason thought.
We were trying to keep the DeVere Heights Vampire Council from finding out about us, and now one of the
High
Council knows everything!

Sienna let go of his hand. ‘I’ll see you in school,’ she said quietly.

‘Yeah,’ he replied. He smiled reassuringly, trying to cut through the worry that he saw in her eyes. But Sienna didn’t smile back. She just shot a nervous glance at Bianca, turned and hurried out into the rain.

‘I don’t like being threatened,’ Jason told his aunt, trying to control his anger.

Aunt Bianca laughed. ‘Don’t be angry with me, honey,’ she said, walking over to him. ‘I only want what’s best for you.’ When she put her arm around him, Jason’s shoulders tensed in spite of himself. She was still his aunt, but the way her personality seemed to flip from sweet to sour was starting to freak him out.

‘There’s simply no reason to even think twice about undergoing the transformation,’ Bianca went on conversationally. ‘I’m talking about money, power, prestige . . . everything that I have. You know I have no children. You and Danielle are my closest family. You’re my heirs.’

Jason wasn’t sure what to say. He’d never thought about this sort of thing before.

‘But only a vampire can inherit my estate,’ Bianca continued. ‘You understand, don’t you? Most of what I have belonged to my husband. He left me his position in the community. All his influence, his wealth – it was his legacy to me. And it will be my legacy to you – but it’s a vampire’s estate, and that’s how it must remain.’

‘You’re not sick or anything, are you?’ Jason asked uncertainly. Why was she talking about inheritances?