Midnight Magic, page 15
“What the hell is this place?” She turned to Dallas once more.
“Self-defense is a little different with supernatural forces.” His voice was serious.
“Dallas...” she started.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, okay? I’ve been there. Trust me.” He licked his lips, and Ava couldn’t deny the motion sent a shiver directly to her groin.
Fuck me.
She’d known Dallas as Mal’s best friend for the last three years, and though he was much older than her, she couldn’t deny that she found him insanely attractive.
At least on the outside.
She knew him fairly well, and knew enough that like Mal, Dallas wasn’t really the kind of man you brought home to your parents.
Like Mal, he was the kind of guy you hid from your parents. Ross may have been out of her league, but at least he was in the ballpark.
Dallas was definitely out of the ballpark. He was out of the fucking state.
“I suppose next you’re going to tell me the tooth fairy is real,” she drawled as she dropped her backpack on the floor. She ran her hands along the ropes of the boxing ring.
“Not quite, but the whole teeth thing has some merit. Offering your bones for blessings is pretty much witchy shit 101. Right along with blowing out candles on your birthday.”
She turned to see him in the boxing ring, his hand outstretched to hers.
“You up for a round two, kitten?” His eyes settled on hers, and she couldn’t help but smirk.
“What, are you going to pretend to be a big bad vampire and come after me?” She set her hand in his and let him pull her up.
“Something like that.”
She stepped on the soft floor of the ring and watched Dallas take his stance.
“First thing you need to know about bloodsuckers is their natural defense. Thrall.”
Dallas stalked her closely, boxing her into the back of the ring post. She ducked and weaved around him, and he smiled.
“When a vampire corners you, you’ll feel this...energy. Like your head gets hazy, foggy.” They danced lightly, and he turned, grasping her arm behind her, pressing himself into her back, like they had the day before, when they’d been in the backyard. His other hand held her wrist across her chest, fingers brushing her scar, with that ripe sting. His lips were at her neck, and she could feel his breath heating her skin.
She closed her eyes and tried to focus. Being wrapped up like this, the weight of him against her chilled her bones, and flashes of the party reared their ugly head. That feeling of hopelessness, of terror.
The loss of control.
She struggled against Dallas, but he held her tightly.
“Thrall placates you. It makes you malleable, seeps into your brain. So, when they get close...” His lips were at her ear, and his breath on her earlobe left her stomach in knots.
“You’ll likely start to feel aroused. Don’t worry, that’s a natural reaction. It doesn’t mean you want them. It just means their thrall is doing what it’s supposed to. Sex and blood go hand in hand for vampires.”
Ava pushed back against him, trying to angle her elbow just right.
The feeling of the knife cutting into her flesh was vivid in her mind.
Of her legs knocking into Brody’s head.
Of green eyes that stared into hers.
Razor sharp fangs piercing her skin.
She’d felt hazy, blissful. Like his lips on her wrist were the most perfect thing in the world. Dallas’s words juxtaposed with her memories, and she couldn’t deny that as she thought about Cassius’s lips on her skin, it awakened deep feelings within her.
That must be the thrall.
“How do I fight it?” she asked, her voice much breathier than she intended.
“Thrall takes hold of your mind, Ava. Not your body. That is yours.” His words broke through her thoughts. “Break my hold.” He directed her. “Fight me.”
His voice was dark, and sultry and Ava had to admit a part of her didn’t want to. A part of her wanted to feel his pressure, wanted to relinquish, and give in to the things that filled her head. But if she couldn’t fight Dallas, how would she ever fight off someone like Cassius? Death would be inevitable.
And there was no reason she could trust that even though Cassius had saved her, he wouldn’t make good on his claim. She didn’t know him. Not really.
He was a vampire after all. She might not have known all the finer details of a vampire’s biology, but she was pretty sure they didn’t save people. They killed them. There were no stories of vampires sweeping in to rescue damsels in distress. Not that I’m a damsel. Or in distress.
“Focus your mind. Feel your surroundings, anticipate my moves.” He gripped her wrist with his fingers around her chest, while his other hand tightened around her wrist that he held against her back. Her muscles were starting to tense.
Ava closed her eyes, and pushed past the initial shock, and arousal, and focused on the feeling of immobility, the loss of control.
Images of Brody between her legs surfaced, and she remembered the feeling of her leg’s deadweight. She was on the brink of death, she knew that. Yet she’d found the will to knock her legs into his head enough to make his lip bleed. Enough to distract him.
When Ava pushed forth against Dallas, there was only one thought in her mind.
The prevailing thought was that she would be better. She would not shrink like a violet in the face of danger.
Especially if danger is tall, blond, and fucking sexy as hell.
It was as if a switch had been flipped, and as she fought her way out of his hold, and he sparred against her, she felt a burgeoning sense of urgency she hadn’t had before.
“Not bad for a first shot.” Dallas ran his hands through his hair before removing his shirt. He’d worked up quite a sweat. His tan skin glistened in the low light.
Ava let her cardigan fall to the ground, revealing just her Blue Oyster Cult shirt, which was starting to cling to her arms from her own sheen of sweat.
“I can work with that.” He smiled as he waved her on, challenging her once more. Ava smiled at the invitation.
CHAPTER 20
“What’s your deal? You’ve been moping around here like a bitch for two days.” Taj fell onto the couch next to Cassius. Jasmine sat in the armchair across from them with a beer in hand.
“I do not mope.” Cassius scowled.
“What happened, Doc run out of your favorite veggie shake?” Taj teased.
“I told Ava the truth.”
“Who’s Ava?” Jasmine raised her eyebrow.
Taj grumbled, running his hand over his face.
“Great. The pain in the ass has a name now.”
“The girl from the party? “Jasmine smiled, taking a sip of her beer.
“Yeah, that’s the one.” Cassius leaned back into the cushions.
Her pulse still beat within his veins, but it was faint. As if she was far away.
“What do you mean you told her the truth?” Taj crossed his arms and legs. His ankle rested on his knee, and in the low light of the house, he looked every bit the bodyguard he was once was in the 80’s when they’d first met.
Things were so much simpler then.
But Cassius knew he wouldn’t trade the present for the past.
He’d come a long way from a scared, newborn vampire in the late 1800’s. His life had been racked with blood and death since the day he was born.
He’d vowed to never be like his father; never to force a woman into this bond of blood.
Never to claim a mate.
Never to give his body and his Aurelian curse over to someone he didn’t love.
And after Leon had discovered sustainable alternatives to fresh blood, he’d vowed never to drink a human again.
I may have been born a monster, but only I can control whether I am one.
“I told her what I am. What I did to her.”
“Why on God’s green earth would you do that? I thought we both agreed you needed to—”
“No. I will not harm her.” Cassius flashed his eyes at Taj.
“Cassius...”
“I made a vow, Taj. I know you think I’m crazy, but I value human life. I do not wish to be the end of it. I claimed her blood so that she could live another day. I know I will have to make a decision eventually. But until then, she should know the truth. Just in case-—”
“Just in case, what Cas? Just in case Liam decides to finish what he started? She’s just a girl. She’s nothing special, Cas. Just another fucking stray cat you can’t keep.” Taj’s words were bold, and angry but they weren’t unjust.
“Taj! That’s enough.” Jasmine’s voice raised an octave.
Taj balled his fist.
“I’ll figure it out, Taj.” Cassius pushed off the sofa and walked quietly toward the back porch. It was a quiet night in the woods outside Chester. The sky was starless, and the water in the in-ground pool gleamed like black liquid, the only source of light a tiny reflection on the waves from the moon. He sat on the chaise as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a flyer.
It seemed that a funeral service was being held for the first victim, Ross Parish. Ava’s...friend.
Boyfriend.
He remembered her words as she looked in his eyes, begging him to save not her, but her boyfriend.
It was such a selfless thing—despite the fact she was bleeding out on the concrete floor, it wasn’t her life she asked to be spared.
It was his.
Taj was wrong. She was special.
The light in her eyes, the fight that would not leave her as she pushed with all her might to move her legs. To get up, in the face of death and prevail.
A part of him wondered if she’d be there, at the service.
Are you stalking me...still?
It wouldn’t hurt to pay his respects. He wasn’t like Liam or the rest of the Boracelli’s. Human life mattered to him. After all, he was human once too.
The shells his kind bled and discarded had names. Lives.
Cassius folded the flyer neatly back up and set it in his pocket once more, before heading out into the darkness of night to live once more.
CHAPTER 21
Ava hit the bottom of the boxing ring with a thump. Her blood raced, her long hair she’d pulled into a ponytail whipping around and hitting her in the face as she scrambled to an upright position.
Dallas bounced back and forth, cracking his neck.
Ava felt the adrenaline surging through her, sweat dripping down her temples, her muscles aching. Though she knew if she sat long enough, the exhaustion would truly hit her. She pushed herself up and challenged Dallas once more.
There was something about the rush of it all, that made her feel...alive.
Powerful.
Ava lunged for Dallas once more, and he captured her in his arms. Breaking his hold was easier, this time. She’d started to anticipate his movement, just as he had told her too.
She pushed against him, her fingers sliding along his sweat slicked bicep, her breathing heavy.
“Getting tired yet, kitten?” he purred in her ear.
“Fuck no,” she breathed back, a smile coursing over her face.
Just as she broke free once more, the door opened, and the scent of Chinese food wafted in. Ava turned her head to see Mal carrying a couple brown paper bags, with two men she didn’t recognize behind him.
“Thought I’d find you two here,” Mal grumbled as he set the bags down a steel table near the door. His gaze flashed to Ava.
Ava wiped the strands of her messy hair from her face and took in the sight of the strangers. She noted they were both tall, but not quite as tall as Dallas. The man beside Mal had a mop of dark, curly black hair, and even at a distance Ava could see his eyes were silvery grey. Against his tanned skin, the contrast was quite noticeable, especially given the fact he was wearing all black. Black tee shirt, black jeans, black boots.
The other man who walked his way across the track to some cabinet over by the wall, was much less...brooding looking. Against Mal, Dallas and the lost member of a goth metal band, he looked more like a student at Chester than he did a hunter, with his bronze skin, tight-fitting black jeans, and tight-fitting flannel that was rolled up to his elbows. His stature was lean, but Ava could see the muscles in his arm as he opened the cabinet. When he turned to her, she noted his eyes were bright blue, his hair dirty blond. He kind of reminded her of Liam.
“Who’s your new friend, Jake?” The dark-haired metal enthusiast asked.
Before Dallas could even answer, Mal spoke up as he opened the bags of take out, pulling out boxes and arranging them on the table.
“Vinny, Tito...meet Ava, my sister.”
Tito’s head whipped around, and as he did so, Ava could see in the cabinet.
It was stocked with knives and...were those stakes?
“You’re Mal’s sister?” Tito raised an eyebrow.
Ava felt a wash of anger, probably due to the adrenaline, and the surprised tone he took.
“Yeah, what of it?” She stood straight, angling her shoulders, her eyes staring down Tito. After going several rounds with Dallas, she was feeling quite a rush, and as if she could take on the world.
Tito grabbed a long knife and passed the boxing ring.
“Just expected you to be a little less...” Tito’s voice trailed off, as if he couldn’t find the correct words. Perhaps he just didn’t want to offend Mal.
Ava jumped down from the ring and walked up to him, her eyes fixated on his knife.
“A little less what?” She cocked her head to the side, and she could hear Dallas snickering behind her.
“Abrasive, for one.” Tito raised his eyebrows.
“That’s rich coming from someone who looks like he raided Justin Beiber’s closet.” Ava turned past him, and she could hear more laughter now.
“Hope you still like pork lo mein, Simba.” Mal slid a carton of steaming food in her direction.
“Thanks.” She took the carton and a package of chopsticks before sitting on the seat in one of the leg lifts.
“Where’s Hunter?” Dallas jumped down from the ring as well and wiped at the sweat on his face and chest with his crumpled-up muscle tank. His thick hands running the fabric over his chest was not a bad view.
Ava stared into her lo mein, avoiding looking twice; even though she wanted to.
“In Ohio. Working a hunt.” Tito answered as he rounded the back of the room. Ava watched him pull down a target.
“So, how’d it go?” Mal came over and sat next to her with his container of sweet and sour chicken.
“I whooped his ass.” Ava smiled.
Dallas rolled his eyes. “Easy there, kitten. You did good, but your training has only just begun.”
Ava watched him as he grabbed a container and found a spot on the barbell bench.
“So, what is this, like...your lair?” Ava said as she fished around for a noodle.
“Well, when you say it like that, it sounds evil.” Mal smirked, his brown eyes lighting up with laughter.
“What defines good and evil, Mal?” She nudged him playfully as sarcasm dripped in her tone.
“Is that what they teach you in college? To sound smart, you just have to rephrase everything as a question?” He jabbed her back.
“The answer to that is simple.” Ava watched Tito throw his knife at the target.
“Do tell.”
“We’re the good guys because we kill the bad guys. They’re the bad guys because they kill innocent people.”
Ava watched the knife as it landed in the middle of the target.
The room fell silent.
“Heard there’s going to be a memorial service for your friend, and the other victims,” Mal said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, this weekend.” Ava tensed.
“You gonna go?” Mal pushed.
“Why do you care?” She bristled.
Dallas’s eyes caught hers, and for a moment it looked as if he understood. Which was really weird. Dallas wasn’t the sentimental type.
The sight made her wonder...
“You think those guys from Alpha Pi are going to be there? The ones from the pizza shop?” Mal was serious.
“I don’t know...maybe?” She shrugged.
“They’re vamps, Ava.” Mal looked at her, glancing down at her wrist.
“How do you know?” She cocked an eyebrow.
“Because we’ve been tracking the one for a few states now,” Vinny spoke up.
“But...” Ava set her chopsticks down, remembering Liam and his friends coming into the lecture hall, from outside. At two o’clock in the afternoon, with the sun out, when Liam passed her in the quad a few weeks ago. “But they walk around during the day. I thought vampires like...incinerated in the sun.” She looked down at Mal.
“Some do. Some don’t. I’m not really sure why that is, but that’s myth buster number one. Some vampires can walk in the daylight, making them much more deadly, and less likely to be detected unless you’re a trained professional.” Mal smiled at her.
“What else should I know? About them?” Ava hedged, her curiosity piqued.
“They’re not all that hard to kill, but they are hard to trap. Pretty much anything that could kill a person, could kill a bloodsucker. The only difference is, you have to burn them immediately, or they’ll heal their wounds. Fire is their worst enemy.”
“So...do I like, get a stake now? Or a knife? Like the movies?”
Dallas chuckled.
“I don’t know if that’s a wise idea...” Mal’s shoulders tensed.
“Why the hell not? At least she can protect herself with one,” Dallas said through a mouthful of fried rice.
“I feel like you’re going to need a bit more experience before you go throwing knives like Vinny or staking anyone in the chest. You can seriously hurt yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing. Especially if you’re not capable of fending off their thrall.” Mal glanced at Dallas. “I assume you told her about their thrall?” He raised an eyebrow.
