Wanted (11 page)

I had too many questions and not enough answers. Not sure I really wanted more information, I decided to give up and go to bed.

* * * *

I dreamt of Conor…again. I stood in his library. The fire burned brightly in the fireplace. I wore a gown the color of his eyes. He walked into the room like a vision, wearing nothing except black, silky pants. My breath caught. He was magnificent, with beautifully muscled chest and arms, abs chiseled into a six-pack. He grinned at me, black hair in artful disarray, begging for my fingers.

“Are you ready?” His voice was low, washing over my skin like velvety kisses, touching me in places deep and hidden.

I nodded, anticipation buzzing in my veins. He stalked toward me, holding me captive with his gaze. Finally closing the space between us, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him. His other hand went to the back of my neck, his fingers burrowed into my hair. Then he kissed me, pressing my body against his like he couldn’t get close enough. He drank at my mouth and I returned the need. After a few moments, he broke from the kiss, leaving both of us gasping.

He took a step back. “You first.” A small, silver dagger appeared in his hand. He put the tip to his chest and dragged it a couple inches, leaving a cut deep enough that blood welled, a deep, rich red. Thick like honey, it rolled down that marvelous torso. He cupped the back of my head and drew me toward him.

I licked the blood trail, exulting in the taste of him on my tongue, coppery and yet so much more. My mouth reached the cut and I sucked, swallowing his essence.

“Ashlinn,” he exhaled on a shaky breath, his head falling back. I felt his heartbeat, an echo of my own. I drank until our two heartbeats merged into one. We breathed the same, felt the same, at that moment we were the same.

“Ashlinn!” Matt’s voice broke into my peace.

I dragged my head from Conor in confusion. “Matt?”

He stood in the doorway, eyes wild, panicked.

I smiled at him to reassure him. “Matt, it’s…” My voice choked off as Conor grabbed me around the neck, snarling. He whipped me around, my back crushed to his chest, his hand a vice on my throat. My mouth worked like a fish as I struggled to breathe.

“It’s too late, Matthew.” His voice dripped with malice. Wait, that wasn’t Conor’s voice. I strained in his grip to see my captor’s face. Despite the pain, I had to know. My greatest fears were realized as I saw Conor had somehow transformed into Tre.

My gaze whipped back to Matt, still frozen in the doorway, eyes wide, mouth open. He threw a hand out as if to stop Tre.

“Don’t!” He yelled.

I felt Tre rear back and immense pain shot through my body as sharp fangs ripped into my neck. He wasn’t just drinking, he was tearing at me. I whimpered and sagged in his grip, his hand cutting off my air even more.

“Ashlinn!” Matt screamed.

* * * *

I sat up in bed, sweating. “Holy shit!” I panted. My hand fluttered to my chest, feeling my heart beat impossibly fast. “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.” I was thoroughly freaked.

What the hell was that about? Was I afraid of Conor or Tre or both? I scrambled to the end table, grabbed my dream journal, and jotted down as many of the freaky details as I could remember. I always tried to record any dreams I could remember the next morning. Sometimes, they held messages, or clues into what my subconscious desired. This dream definitely needed to be written down so I could go back over it later.

Did Conor turning into Tre mean I equated them to be the same? Did I think Matt would not be able to save me? I hated cryptic dreams. Or maybe it was just a freaky scenario that meant I was afraid of being bitten. Period.

I concentrated on slowing my breathing as I wrote. There was definitely no getting back to sleep now. A glance at the clock told me I only had an hour more until my alarm went off anyway. I put my dream journal back, got out of bed and into the shower, letting the hot water wash away the remnants of my nightmare.

True to his word, Conor showed up in my driveway just as I finished breakfast. He honked, but when I came out the front door, he held open the car door for me.

“Good morning!” I tried for sunshine, pushing his distant attitude from yesterday and the nightmare to the back of my mind.

He smiled, eyes trying to figure me out, like he hadn’t expected me to be so happy. Well, crap. I was going to make the best of this whole damn situation.

Conor wanted to pretend to date. Fine. I could pretend to pretend to like him. Both Matt and Conor wanted me to pick them, not out of desperation, but out of a real need for them. Fine. We’d see who kissed my ass the most until Saturday. Oh, wait. Matt had said he was out of the running; he didn’t want me to pick him. Fine. But if I needed help with Tre, I was damn well calling on Matt.

Then there was Tre. Would he really try to bite me at school? I shuddered a little as the nightmare resurfaced in my head.

Conor glanced at me, uttering the first words of the morning. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I just had a bad dream last night.”

His mouth tightened. “About what?”

“Tre,” I said simply. Jeez, if he squeezed the steering wheel any tighter, it would break off. I hit him playfully in the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it. Nothing for you to worry about.”

He gave me a hard look. “Ashlinn,” he said reprovingly.

“What?” I gave him innocent eyes. “Are we back to being formal now? Sarcasm is how I deal. You’ll just have to put up with it.” I tilted my head to the side as a thought occurred to me. “Do you think that’ll get annoying after a couple hundred years or so?” With the sharing of his blood, I would get to live the centuries vamps enjoyed.

His lips twitched and his grip on the wheel loosened. “Don’t worry.” His voice was lighter as he turned into the school parking lot. “If it does, I could always
accidentally
drink too much one day.”

It took me a moment to realize he was giving me sarcasm back.

I grinned. “So, are we holding hands?” I asked as we got out. I didn’t wait for him to come around and open my door. “Or do you wanna do the whole proprietary thing where the dude slings his arm around the chick’s shoulders?”

He grinned back at me now across the hood of his SUV. “I was thinking more of leading, while you followed two steps behind, eyes downward, like a proper familiar.” He paused, eyes twinkling at me. I was about to shoot back a retort when he continued. “Holding hands will do for now.”

I tried not to let my mouth hang open, so not attractive. He could give crap with the best of them. The joking side of Conor was new to me. Then again, almost everything about Conor was new to me. He came around and offered me his hand, entwined our fingers when I took it. Heat traveled up my arm and spread through my body. Those damn butterflies flew around spastically in my stomach. Conor turned green eyes on me and gave me his flirtiest smile.

Despite my body being completely overwhelmed by his nearness, I managed to roll my eyes. “Why are you working so hard? Aren’t we already dating?” I baited him.

He yanked me in close, stopping my heart.

“Just trying to make it look good for the audience.” He finished with a peck on my cheek, his lips branding my skin with searing heat. I sucked in a breath, trying to remain outwardly calm as we walked into school. I could not figure him out. He was so hot and cold. Was this all really just an act? He hadn’t started with the heat until we’d gotten out of his car.

“Hey, Peterson!” Tre yelled at him from across the entryway. Several heads turned in our direction. “You bite her yet?”

Conor gave Tre a wicked smile and winked. “Maybe you just can’t see it.”

Tre’s eyebrows shot up but he didn’t respond. My mouth dropped in horror, face on fire. Conor squeezed my hand as we made our way to my locker. I knew he had to play Tre, but having people think he may have bitten me intimately made my skin burn with humiliation.

 Cora crouched at her locker, getting out books, while Steven looked on. Next to them, Matt slouched against the metal, hands shoved into the pockets of his baggy jeans. As Conor and I approached, Matt gave me a hopeful smile, probably hoping I wasn’t still mad at him. I wasn’t. I didn’t hold grudges, and I could never stay mad at Matt for very long.

“Hey,” I greeted everyone and let go of Conor to open my locker.

“How are things?” Cora asked.

I shrugged. I’d have to fill her in on the details later. “Tre’s still an asshole. On the upside, he might think Conor’s bitten me.”

“Well, that’s a positive.” Cora gave me a thumbs-up.

I shut my locker, probably with a little more force than necessary. Conor’s hand rested between my shoulder blades. He rubbed a little, calming my nerves.

“It’s better if he thinks I’ve bitten you. I promise.”

I nodded and leaned back against my locker. “I know, I know. Is it Saturday, yet?” I sighed and pushed off the locker. I was not going to wallow. Onward and upward. “Well, off to class. You kids are too much fun for me.”

Conor grabbed my hand as I started to leave and pulled me into his chest. “Be careful.” He leaned down to kiss me, but I pulled away. I couldn’t handle any fake kisses this morning.

“Thanks, dear,” I threw over my shoulder with a smile as Cora and I started toward class. Steven trailed after us, leaving Matt and Conor staring.

“So what’s up with you and Conor?” Cora asked. Steven caught up, kissed her quick, and disappeared down a hallway toward his own class.

“Long story,” I said on a sigh. “I promise to try and fill you in, though.”

“Hey, Speed Racer.” Matt was suddenly at my side.

“Crap, Matt! Today is not a good day to be sneaking up on me.” He dodged my girly swats at him.

“Don’t walk anywhere without me or Conor. One of us will be there to get you from class to class, okay?”

I saluted him. “Aye, aye.”

He gave me a look. “I’m serious, Ash. I don’t trust Tre at all, even if he thinks you’ve been bitten.”

I sobered a little, my nightmare still fresh in my mind. “Okay,” I conceded. “I’ll wait for you or Conor. I promise.”

“Good. I’ll see you after first hour.”

I shook my head after he’d gone. “They’re so serious.”

“Do you think Tre’s really that much of a problem?” Cora asked as we took our seats in the back of the room.

“I don’t know. You don’t hear about people getting attacked by vamps all that often. Definitely not in school. He does kinda scare the crap out of me, though.”

“True. To all of the above. But according to the Council, it’s been awhile since there was a witch as powerful as you.”

I kept my voice low as the teacher started his lesson. “I just can’t imagine risking all the trouble he’d get into just to bite me once. It won’t make me his familiar.”

“No,” Cora agreed. “But if he bites you, he has the first shot at making you agree to become his familiar.”

“See. I don’t get that. Even if he’d bitten me against my will? Shouldn’t I get to say whose familiar I become?”

Cora shrugged. “My parents aren’t involved in the Council. I’m not really up on vamp politics.”

“Well, they suck,” I lamented.

“So tell me what’s up with Conor.” She leaned forward in her desk so we could talk softer. Instead of doing our work, Cora and I discussed Conor the rest of the period.

I told her how both Matt and Conor refused to bite me when I asked them and how Conor had gone from seducing me one minute to being totally cold and formal the next.

“It’s like he’s not sure if he likes me or not. So on one hand, he tries to seduce me into picking him, then feels guilty and gets all polite and gentlemanly. I just don’t know which Conor is the real one.” I sighed, glancing at the clock. Class was almost over.

Cora shook her head. “I don’t know what to tell you. He seems to be just odd like that. Almost as if he’s just doing his duty, and he tries to actually enjoy it before he remembers it’s a job. Crazy.”

I paused. Cora had a point. A scary, heart-wrenching point.

“You know.” I started as the bell rang. “You might be right. That sounds exactly like what he’s doing.”

Matt waited for us outside the door. “You think the Council, like, assigned him to me?” I whispered before Matt fell in step with us.

Cora pondered my question. “I honestly have no idea.”

“What are we talking about?” Matt inquired.

“Boys,” I said, not elaborating. Cora remained quiet on the topic as well.

“Hey, Finley.” Tre walked up to us. My pulse sped with anxiety. “Where’s Peterson?”

“He has his own schedule, Tre,” Matt said flatly.

“Hey, Tre, why do you care so much about Conor?” Cora nudged him.

“No reason.” He turned his attention to me. “So, Ash, did he make you his familiar, yet?”

I lifted my chin. “I haven’t decided whose familiar I’m going to be yet.”

He smiled. “So I have a chance.”

I forced a smile. “I wouldn’t say that. It’s definitely going to be either Conor or Matt. I’m sticking with guys I know and trust, you know?” I was trying to be calm and polite. We arrived at my next class and paused.

“You didn’t know Peterson before Saturday. Just remember that. He may be a completely different person than what he’s showing you now. Just want you to be careful.” Yeah. I’m sure he really cared. “See ya.”

When he was gone, Matt turned to me. “Don’t listen to him. Conor’s working hard at being honest with you.”

“Is he, Matt? How well do you know him?” I challenged him.

He looked frustrated. “Ashlinn, no one likes this situation…”

I interrupted him. “Really? Seems to me you guys both get nothing but a big, fucking win out of this. I’m the big, fat loser. I guarantee I hate this situation the most. I’m so sorry the two of you have to be put in this
situation
. I release you from your guard duty. I don’t really want to see you the rest of the day, thanks.”

“Ash.”

I stormed into class, leaving him in the hallway. Cora was smiling. How dare he say he didn’t like the situation? I was the one being forced into a type of servitude that could last centuries. I was the one whose best friend wanted more. The one whose crush went from seducing her to pushing her away in nanoseconds. And what had Tre meant about Conor? Was I really just his Council-appointed duty?