Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) (2 page)

Lydia and her friends were relentless.
They thwarted every attempt Hannah made to avoid the party. They even convinced
her to buy a new outfit. She did manage to steer clear of any piercings or
tattoos. As much as she grumbled about the shopping trip, she loved her new
jeans. Trish, who also had an ample backside, had no problem finding jeans that
fit her. The night of the party, Hannah wore her new See Thru Soul acid washed
skinny jeans, and a white knit tank with a scooped neckline and red lacing that
went up the front. A pair of red open toe pumps completed her ensemble.

Trish, as designated driver, was behind
the wheel of Lydia’s Acura MDX. Lydia had started drinking early, and never could
hold her alcohol. After two wine coolers, Lydia was already tipsy.

The party was being held at an estate
about ten miles into Los Malos Canyon. There were several cars parked around
the large house. It was hard to make out very many details since the sun had
already set. A large grassy area surrounded the house and there was a parking
loop in front. The two-story mansion had a stone exterior, large windows
across the front, and at least four chimneys. Above the front porch there was a
semi-circle deck. About fifty feet from the main house sat a small
cottage.

As they walked to the house, Hannah
tugged uneasily at her shirt. It wasn’t overly tight, but it still kept riding
up.

Trish slapped at Hannah’s hand. “Stop
tugging at it or you’ll stretch it out!”

Not for the first time, Hannah wondered
if she should have faked an illness to get out of going to the party. Her
nerves were making her a little woozy and she worried she might actually throw
up.

“You look great. If I had a body like
yours, I'd be wearing less than that.” It was a shock coming from Caitlin,
because it seemed like a genuine complement. The more time she spent with
Caitlin the more she agreed with Trish. Once you got past the fact that she was
a bitch, Caitlin was likable, as odd as it sounded.

“I still think you should’ve gotten your
belly button pierced.” Trish added. “It would have been totally hot.”

“Unless it got horribly infected,”
Caitlin chimed in cheerfully. “Oozing piercings aren’t exactly sexy.”

It was just as dark inside of the house
as it was outside. Hannah could see two sets of stairs that led to the hallway
upstairs. There were two doors at the end of the foyer, and each room looked
crowded.

Lydia took off without a backward
glance. This would have bothered Hannah if she hadn’t known that Lydia was off
in search of Dominic. Staying with Lydia made it much more likely that she’d
run into Aiden.

“I’d better make sure she doesn’t do
anything so embarrassing that even I wouldn’t post it on Facebook,” Caitlin
said, and then rushed after Lydia.

Trish looped her arm through Hannah’s
and led her into the party. What had looked like two rooms was actually one
large room. Either someone had removed most of the furniture or the room was
normally fairly empty. There were tables along the walls, a few sofas along the
edges of the room, and a bar. The music was loud enough to make conversation
difficult.

Even though Trish didn’t know Hannah
well, she insisted on staying by her side. They danced, and every once in a
while Trish would lean in to critique the clothing worn by another guest.
Caitlin came by to tell them Lydia was having a great time with Dominic, and
then hurried back into the throng of people. Hannah was thankful for the large
gathering, because it made it easier to steer clear of Aiden. She still had no
idea why she wanted so desperately to avoid him. He just made her uneasy.

“I’m going to find a bathroom.” Hannah
nearly shouted at Trish over the music. In truth, she was perspiring and she
wanted to put some antibacterial hand sanitizer on her underarms, but who
admits something like that?

“Okay, I’ll come with you,” Trish said.

Hannah waved a hand at her. “Don’t
worry; I’m old enough to go to the bathroom alone.”

There were so many people in the hallway
that Hannah found it difficult to squeeze through them. Another guest directed
her toward the bathroom, but he seemed uncertain. Hannah walked along the
hallway, relieved by her temporary reprieve from the crowd. She looked around
for some sign of the restroom and slammed into a very solid chest. When she
looked up, ready to apologize, the only words that came out were, “Good God!
How many of you are there?”

The man she had run into bore a striking
resemblance to Dominic and Aiden. He seemed amused by her question. “Six in
this house.”

He was so incredibly attractive that she
forgot her question. “Huh?” she asked.

“There are six of us in this house,” he
explained. “I assume you’ve seen my cousins.”

“Sorry, I’m not usually this
inarticulate.” Hannah’s face flushed.

“No need to apologize. You seemed lost in
thought, and then I ran into you.” His assurance was very kind.

She laughed, and it felt good to break
the tension. “I’m pretty sure I slammed into you, but thank you for trying to
ease my embarrassment.”

“Can I help you find something?”

“Yes, I’m looking for the restroom,” she
replied.

“Just keep going this way.” He pointed
the direction she was already headed. “It’s the third door on the left. Will
you be okay getting back to the party on your own?”

“Yes, thank you.” She hesitated, and
then asked, “Will I see you there?”

He shook his head. “I gave my cousins
permission to host the party here, but I don’t care much for parties. Enjoy
your evening.” With that, he continued to walk away.

Hannah hurried to the bathroom, feeling
a little foolish. What on Earth was wrong with her?

When she finished freshening up, she
slid back out the door, and ran into another chest. A shiver of fear ran down
her spine. It was Aiden. The reason for her discomfort was still unclear, but
she suddenly wished she had brought Trish with her.

“Why were you talking to Nathaniel?”
Aiden asked quietly. He was crowding her against the wall.

“Aiden!” she said with a startled squeak.
“You scared me.”

He continued to move in closer until his
body was almost pressed against hers. She felt the heat radiating from him.
Either he had no concept of personal space or he was trying to intimidate her.

“You remember my name?” The smile he
gave her was one of boyish delight. “You are so sweet, so perfect, such a
wonder,” he murmured. His expression held a strange mix of awe and desperation.

“You hardly know me,” she said, and gave
his chest a little shove.

He didn’t move back at all. “I saw you
with the baby. You’ll be a wonderful mother.” After that bizarre statement he
repeated his original question. “Why were you talking to Nathaniel?”

The question confused her. “I don’t know
who that is.”

“My cousin,” he explained. “I saw you
talking to him in the hall.”

“I bumped into him when I was looking
for the bathroom. He was just giving me directions. I didn’t even know his name
was Nathaniel.” She tried to duck under his arm, but he moved his hand lower on
the wall and it landed on her hair. “Would you like to walk me back to the
party?” She tried to smile, but her lips trembled.

He placed both hands on her cheeks, and
spoke in a soft commanding voice. “You would rather stay here with me. You
trust me to take care of you.”

She felt the strange mental push again.
Suddenly, part of her did want to stay, but her mind rebelled against the idea.
She blinked to clear her head, and said. “I would rather go back to the party
now.”

His eyes reflected his conflicting
emotions. He appeared both irritated, and thrilled by her resistance. “Don’t be
frightened, Hannah,” he whispered as he leaned in closer. “Everything will be
fine. Just relax and everything will be fine. I would never hurt you.”

She thought he was going to kiss her,
but he stopped just short of her lips. She fought the compulsion to stay with
him, to just let him touch her. She started to feel drained, her body felt
heavy. It was hard to stay upright. Using the last of her strength she kneed
him in the groin and shoved him away.

Aiden howled in pain. “Bitch!” he
growled and made a grab for her. He caught the top of her shirt, just as she
toppled backward. She could feel his anger as he lunged toward her. With her
eyes shut tight, she turned her head to the side, and then she heard a loud
crash.

“What the fuck, Nathaniel?” Aiden
yelled. His Irish brogue was suddenly much thicker. “Why don’t you mind your
own business?”

“What you do in my house is my
business.” Nathaniel’s voice conveyed barely suppressed anger.

Carefully, Nathaniel knelt beside Hannah.
“Are you okay?”

She nodded, and managed a faint reply. “Just
a little rattled.”

He stared at her a little longer,
obviously doubting her words.

“I saw her first,” Aiden spat out
angrily. “You can’t have her.”

Nathaniel looked just as perplexed by
the situation as Hannah. “You need to leave. Pack your stuff and get out.”

“Not without her. She’s mine!” Aiden argued.

Nathaniel lunged at him, grabbed the
collar of his shirt, and slammed him against the wall. “I don’t know what has
come over you, but this is my house. I won’t have you attacking people in my
home. Now go before I have you removed.” Nathaniel stepped back, but kept his
eyes on Aiden.

Aiden stared at Nathaniel for a long
time before he nodded his agreement. He looked down at Hannah and something
like guilt flashed across his face, or maybe she just imagined it. He stared at
her for so long that she could have sworn he was going to say something, but
then he just walked away.

Nathaniel knelt beside her again. “Are
you hurt?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“I’m sorry about what just happened with
my cousin. Please tell me what I can do for you.”

She looked up at him. He had icy blue
eyes and looked a great deal like Aiden. His voice was so deep that she could
almost feel the air vibrate when he spoke. “Thank you for what you did for me
just now. I don’t understand what happened. It was all so strange.” She
trembled. “For a minute I felt like he was . . .” Her voice
trailed off. None of what she had felt made sense at all. She was shivering. “I’m
so cold.”

He sat beside her and carefully placed
his arm around her. She sighed as she felt his warmth seep into her body.

“He’s never acted like this before. If
I’d seen something like this coming, I never would have let him stay here.”
Nathaniel seemed more than sorry. He seemed embarrassed by Aiden’s behavior. “My
name is Nathaniel. I admit this is an awkward time for introductions.”

“I’m Hannah.” Her own voice sounded
distant.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hannah.”
His head inclined in a polite bow. “I wish that we could have met under more desirable
circumstances.”

“Thank you again. You really are my hero.”
Hannah felt more composed, and actually managed a weak smile. “Maybe you should
get a white horse for those occasions when you feel the need to ride to the
rescue.” Okay, that sounded really lame even to her foggy brain.

He smiled back. “I have a white horse,
but I rarely ride her in the house.”

Hannah giggled at the image.

“I really should find my cousin and my
friends. I don’t want them to worry about me.” When she tried to stand her legs
wouldn’t hold her weight.

“Hold on.” He placed a hand on her shoulder
to keep her in place. “You can’t go back to the party like this.”

“What’s wrong with . . .?”
Her voice trailed off when she noticed that Aiden had torn her shirt pretty
badly. That discovery made her blush and scramble to pull the fabric over her
exposed bra.

Nathaniel removed his grey dress shirt,
and wrapped it around her. “You should lie down for a while,” he said as he
took in her fragile condition. “I’m sure I can find your cousin. What does she
look like?”

“My cousin is the cute blonde pixie with
your cousin Dominic.” A thought occurred to her. “Please tell me he’s not a
psychopath too.”

He shook his head. “She should be safe
with him. Perhaps you can send her, and your friends, a message on your phone.”

She felt like an idiot for not thinking
of that herself. Her head rested against the wall. She meant to reach for her
purse, and take out her phone, but she didn’t move. “Why am I so weak?”

After a brief hesitation, he answered, “It’s
probably the shock. Let’s get you out of the hall so you can rest. Do you want
one of your friends or your cousin to come sit with you?” He stood, and looked
around uncomfortably.

She was embarrassed to hear herself ask,
“Will you stay with me?” If she wanted to lie to herself, she could say that
she didn’t want to take her cousin or friends away from the party, but that
wasn’t why she’d asked him to stay. She didn’t want to explain this to them,
and she felt safe with Nathaniel. Crazy, after what his cousin had tried to do,
not that she really understood what he’d tried to do.