Aurora Sky Vampire Hunter - By Nikki Jefford Page 0,44

a claw over plywood. Ivo pulled out a bottle of tequila and handed it to me.

I unscrewed the cap and took a swig from the bottle. I welcomed the burn down my throat. I took a second swig then held the bottle out to Ivo. "You want a sip?"

His eyes glittered. "Not yet."

I felt that odd pull of revulsion when he looked at me.

Ivo leaned against the counter. "Poor little Wendy, lost her boyfriend."

Laughter trickled from my lips. I quickly covered it with another swig of tequila. Quite the opposite, Ivo. I had a boyfriend who was really into me.

Ivo's earlier playmate walked in with a half-empty beer bottle. I couldn't read her expression. She was most likely too out of it to form a thought, let alone expression. "Ivo, are you coming back out soon?"

Ivo grimaced.

"Why don't you go home, Casey? I've had enough of you."

Ivo might have been able to walk and talk, but he was no less despicable than the rabies vampire I'd killed during orientation.

Casey blinked at him a couple times, turned and left the kitchen.

I set the bottle of tequila down on the counter. "I should check on my friends."

Ivo followed me to the living room. Dante was sitting on the arm of the armchair, bottle of beer in hand, smirking at Patrick as the latter glowered at him.

"So Peter, you want your blood sucked out?" Patrick said.

"Truth be told, I'd like to suck a little blood myself, but I can't - human and all. No, I like to watch."

My lips curled. Sure, Dante was a great actor, but I could swear he was enjoying himself.

"Or do you not suck women's blood?" Dante taunted.

Patrick's fists tightened. I willed him to get up and sock Dante in the jaw so we could get this damn assignment over with together. But just as quickly his shoulders relaxed, and he called Janine over.

Janine approached the couch and stood in front of Patrick. I couldn't see her expression with her back to me.

"Very well, you want to watch me suck your girlfriend's blood?" Patrick sneered. "Is that what turns you on?"

He grasped Janine by the wrist and twisted her arm as he pulled her closer.

I forgot to breathe.

Dante sounded as cool as glacial ice. "On the neck."

Patrick released Janine's wrist and guided her to his lap. The human boys watched without expression. Patrick's mouth widened as he closed in on Janine's neck. Dante leaned forward. I turned and hurried back into the kitchen.

Ivo followed behind me. I guzzled down the tequila. Sure, brilliant way to cure the sick pit inside my stomach - dose it with esophagus-burning alcohol. I coughed.

Pretend to get drunk, Aurora. Don't get drunk!

The vampire chuckled. "You're such a pretty young thing, Wendy. Not like the trash Patrick drags in from the gutters."

I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. The floor went out of focus.

When Ivo's lips opened over his teeth in a grotesque smile, I noticed that each tooth had been sharpened to a point. I almost retched.

"Do you think they're done?" I asked abruptly.

Ivo didn't answer. When I returned to the living room, Dante and Janine were gone. The two boys were smoking in a corner. Patrick sat in the same spot on the couch drinking a beer.

My jaw dropped. "Where did Janine and Peter go?"

Patrick looked over my shoulder at Ivo and smiled slowly. "They wanted some time alone."

"They left?" I knew this was part of the plan, but they didn't even say goodbye.

"The night's still young," Ivo said behind my back. "Matter of fact, it's always night in Fairbanks this time of the year." He laughed softly. "I'll take you wherever you need to go, but you don't want to go just yet, do you?"

"I guess not."

Ivo stepped closer. "You came for something, didn't you, Wendy?"

"Yes," I said in a voice so soft it was barely audible.

He inhaled my neck. Cold fingers ran through my hair. His arm snaked around my waist as he leaned in.

I pulled away. "Not here. I...don't want an audience."

Ivo looked me over and chuckled. "Follow me."

He led me down the dark hall to a bedroom in back.

There was a barricade of splintered wood against the outside of his windowpane. The floorboards were scuffed and creaky. A mattress sat in the middle of the room without a frame or blankets.

Homey.

Ivo closed the door behind him and circled me. "So Wendy's wandered into Never Never Land seeking answers...or something else?"

So the Pan reference wasn't lost on