Worlds Apart (15 page)

Oh Christ.
“No, I—”

“Mr. Sutton’s paid. It’s fine.”

The end of the drive was approaching. Roo let the cab travel about fifty yards along the lane before she spoke.

“Stop, please.”

“Forgotten something, love?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll just turn around.”

“No, it’s fine,” Roo said. “I’ve changed my mind. We had a row, but I see I was in the wrong now. I don’t want to go anymore. Obviously doesn’t matter about the money.”

“I’ll drive you back.”

What was it with bloody accommodating males? They were never around when you needed them and now Roo was plagued with them.

“I’d like to walk.”

The driver peered through the window. “Still raining.”

Yes, of course it is.

“No problem. Sorry about this.” Roo got out of the cab.

“No bother to me. I get paid for a job I haven’t had to do.”

As his taillights receded in the distance, Roo blew out a sigh of relief and slunk back along the road. The moment she slipped past the gates, she pushed through the rhododendron bushes. All that effort to stay clean and dry and now her blouse and skirt were wet through and dirty.

Roo whimpered with joy when she saw her tent. It would have been the last straw if she’d not been able to find it straightaway. She stripped outside, folded her clothes and took off her sodden shoes before she unzipped the flap and crawled in. Roo fumbled for the lantern and switched it on, then zipped herself in.

Home.
Not much of a home but she felt safe here. Though it was clear she couldn’t keep this up. She had to look for a room to rent. Not in Ilkley, it would be too expensive, but maybe in Guiseley. She could check out the company Jason’s dad worked for at the same time. She still thought he’d been murdered. Roo rubbed her hair with a towel. She needed to make the trip in working hours, and if she told Taylor she had a room to look at, he’d never suspect what she was up to, particularly when she was going to have to ask him for an advance on her salary.

Roo peeled off her underwear and pushed it into a bag with her wet clothes. Maybe she could sneak them into the guys’ washing machine tomorrow. She pulled a short, tight T-shirt from her suitcase and slipped it on along with pair of hipster panties, then draped the sleeping bag around her. She was in the middle of brushing her teeth when the sound of voices filtered into the tent. Roo snapped off the lantern and swallowed the minty foam.

A high-pitched giggle was followed by a deeper voice. Roo couldn’t make out what was being said, but knew they were close. More than close. Her heart pounded in embarrassment. Even in the gloom of the interior she could see hands brushing the outside of the material, fingers pressing.
Not funny, guys.
But all at once, Roo wasn’t sure this
was
Taylor and Niall, and her heart pounded even harder. With fear. She reached for the zipper and held it down at ground level. Right in front of her, a face pressed against the nylon. It looked like a death mask and Roo bit her lip so hard she tasted blood.

She didn’t understand why she couldn’t work out what they were saying, but she was sure both men and women were out there muttering and whispering. They laughed, but there was a menace in it that seeped into Roo, soaking her as effectively as the rain.
Phone the police.
She reached for her purse but it was too far away to grab. Roo wondered about the point of holding on to the zipper when one slash through the material would reveal her, yet she was reluctant to let it go.

“Let us in,” a woman whispered, her voice clear and sultry.

Oh God.
There
were
such things as vampires? If books and TV were to be believed—and who else could Roo believe?—they couldn’t come in a private residence unless invited—that had to include tents—so Roo was definitely not going to invite them. The outside of the tent rippled and dipped as hands, faces, God knew what else, rubbed against it. Roo wanted to scream “Go away,” but if she did, it would be admitting there was something out there and Roo really didn’t want there to be anything there except figments of her imagination.

She’d not been this scared since—ah, well remembering another scary occasion wasn’t going to help. Roo closed her eyes, which got rid of one scary thing but not the sounds.
Oh crap.
Roo opened her mouth and sang a stupid yodeling song.

It was one she remembered her dad singing to her that always made her smile. Partly because her dad couldn’t yodel. Though neither could Roo. Roo’s eyes slid open as she sang louder. Somehow it felt worse not to look, except the tent seemed to be vibrating. She didn’t
think
she was doing that. But it gave her an idea and she stopped singing.

“Harder, harder,” she shouted. “That’s it. Oh yesssss. So good. Just there. Oh wow. Yes. Yes. Yessss.”

Bit of a leap from yodeling to sex, but Roo put everything she had into her screaming orgasm, and the sounds outside stopped. Just like that. Which was almost as scary. Then Roo’s fingers where they held the zipper began to rise as someone pulled on the outside. By the time she’d come to her senses and lurched for her phone, the entrance to the tent was fully open and Niall’s face came into view.

“Niall!” Roo threw herself at him, yanked on his arm and he fell inside the tent. “Oh God, something’s out there.”

He lay on his side, looking straight into her eyes. “Now something’s in here.”

“Not you. Well, not unless you can speak like a woman and sound like a lot of people at the same time.” She gulped. “You can’t, can you?”

“No.”

“What are you doing out here?”

His jaw twitched. “That’s my line.”

Roo stared into his eyes and gave up any thought of lying. What was the point?

“I hadn’t paid my rent, and when I got back to my bedsit, my landlord had turfed out all my stuff and was repainting. So I bought a tent and a sleeping bag and I was going to stay here until I had enough money for the deposit for a new place. I was fine last night, but there’s some people out here in the wood. They pressed their faces against the tent and kept whispering. I think they were…”

Niall edged closer and Roo flicked on the lantern.

“Vampires,” she whispered.

Chapter Ten

Niall’s heart thumped so hard he could hear it in his head, but when Roo had said the word—vampires—relief smothered the sound. Only the fact that she was deadly serious kept him from laughing out loud. Not vampires but others like him. He’d seen them flit off through the woods as he approached and he wondered what they were doing on this side. If it was bad or good news for him.

“Probably kids messing around,” he said.

“It’s a long way from Ilkley and they didn’t sound like children.”

Niall moved closer. She needed distracting. He was already well past distracted and into serious lust.

Roo frowned. “Perhaps there’s a…oh I don’t know the collective noun for a group of vampires—a colony?—somewhere in the vicinity?”

“A bite of vamps, a lick, a lap, a suck?” He stared at her mouth. “You smell of mint.”

“Toothpaste. Had to swallow it.
Blurggh
.”

“I like mint.”

Roo’s eyes widened and she gulped.

As he looked at her, Niall felt a sharp blade of longing drag up his spine and nudge him closer.
I want her, I
want
her.
But maybe this wasn’t really him feeling this.
They
might be interfering. Had they come through tonight because Taylor had finally begun to respond? But why threaten Roo? He swallowed hard. Maybe they knew that something drew Niall to her. And that feeling he had reminded him of that summer’s day years ago when a blue-and-white model plane had flown over the wall of the garden to crash at his feet. And a dark-haired boy had followed.

Lightning flashed, followed by a boom of thunder, and the rain pelted the tent. Niall reached back to zip up the doorway and then lay down again in the cramped space. He’d stay for a while. They wouldn’t hurt her while he was with her.

“I don’t think I’d like to be a vampire,” she whispered. “The staying young sounds good, but I’m a vegetarian.”

He smiled.

“Though I do lapse occasionally. I can’t resist crispy smoked bacon.”

Niall’s smile broadened.

“And fillet steak,” she said with a sigh. “Oh damn, I’m not a vegetarian at all, am I? Just a picky eater. But then vampires are picky too and they make such a mess when they feed. Living so long, you’d think they’d have better manners. Um…you’re not a vampire, are you?”

“No. You’ve seen me in daylight, remember? Not sparkling. Eating a sandwich without dribbling.”

“Yes, but you might have been wearing sunblock. Perhaps they’ve made scientific advances—”

“Roo, I’m not a vampire. And if there
are
any around, I’m not going to let them hurt you.”

She clutched his arm as another rumble of thunder vibrated the tent. “But you won’t be able to stop them. They’re insanely strong.”

“So am I.”
At times.

“Let me feel your muscles.”

He laughed and flexed the biceps of the arm she held. When Roo squeezed, Niall swallowed hard.

“Oh God, you
are
insanely strong. That feels like a cannon ball.”

Not the only hard ball he had.

It was no use. Niall couldn’t help himself. It had to be worth the risk. He wasn’t looking for love with her and this wasn’t Taylor, so Niall should be safe and so should she. Lust pooled in his groin and his cock completed the journey north it started the moment he’d unzipped the tent. Niall cupped her face in his hand, rubbed his thumb over her mouth and kissed her.

The moment their lips touched, excruciating pain ripped through his body, running down every line of his tattoo, thousands of razor-sharp teeth biting into him.
Oh fuck.
He jerked, his hand striking her chin as he flung himself aside and his back arched in agony until he thought his spine would snap. His eyes closed and he clamped his lips together to keep from crying out.
Shit, I hit her. Fuck.
Niall forced his eyes open and saw Roo rubbing her cheek.

He tried to tell her he was sorry but no words came from his mouth, just unintelligible grunts as the pain maintained its grip, but he lifted his hand to stroke her face and felt relief she didn’t flinch away.

“S’okay,” she said. “I know you didn’t mean it. But what the hell’s the matter? Did you get hit by lightning? Have a back spasm or something? Want me to rub it better?” She gasped. “Maybe you’re in anaphylactic shock. That toothpaste is cheap stuff. Do you have an Epi pen?” She felt his pockets and touched his erect cock. “Oh, bit big for a—ah right. Need CPR? Well, no, because you’re still breathing.” She gulped. “Was it me?”

Even through her ramblings, the pain continued, whipping up and down his tattoo, sinking into him like poison.
I hit her.
He should say sorry, but if he opened his mouth, screams would burst out. Niall felt as though his body were being eaten while his brain boiled. This would have happened if he’d kissed Taylor, and maybe affected Taylor too, but Taylor had kissed him first and protected him. Niall didn’t know the rules of this bloody game, had no idea if Taylor always had to make the first move to keep them both safe, but he now knew if he kissed someone first, the price was painful agony.

“Okay yet?” Roo asked, stroking his face.

What am I doing here with Roo when it’s Taylor I want?
He lifted his hand and touched the red mark on her chin with trembling fingers, then let his arm drop and his eyes close. Niall held himself rigid as the pain slowly ebbed away.

“Maybe you’re allergic to me,” she whispered. “I have that effect on people. They always seem to want to get rid of me fast.”

I don’t want to get rid of you.
Her caress of his face was soothing. Niall didn’t want her to stop.
She’s cute. I want them both. And both at the same time would be perfect.

His breathing eased, the pain faded to a dull ache and he opened his eyes to see Roo leaning over him, staring down anxiously.

“Just checking you’re alive.” She gave a little grin.

One bite of the apple and damn the result, he still wanted Snow White. Rain fell more heavily. Thunder rumbled.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

Niall nodded.

Roo smiled. “You had me worried there. I thought rigor mortis had set in. You went stiff in places that aren’t usually stiff.” Her cheeks flushed. “It wasn’t the lightning, was it? Otherwise I’d have been incinerated. But what do I know? Do you think we should experiment to see if you’ll have that reaction every time you kiss me? Obviously, if you do, we’d have to stop.” Roo frowned. “I need to know if I’m going to electrocute everyone I kiss. It hasn’t happened before, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen again. I could create Frankenstein. Kissing in a thunderstorm. Wonder if the tent’s important. Something about the material.”

He’d never met anyone with a mind like hers before.

“Could you act as my guinea pig?” she asked.

Niall wanted to speak but he couldn’t. He wanted to kiss her and he couldn’t.
Kiss me. Kiss me.