Aurora Sky Vampire Hunter - By Nikki Jefford Page 0,56

it!" he cried. "I can't stand the thought of someone else biting you."

"Hey, I didn't like it either."

He turned to me. "You didn't?"

"It was disgusting."

"But most people..."

"I said it was disgusting!"

Fane settled back into his seat and stared forward. "Is that what you think of me? That I'm disgusting?"

I sighed and shrank back in the seat.

My voice came out so much quieter than I'd intended. "I wanted to...but I can't."

His fists tightened around the steering wheel.

I hugged myself in my arms. "Don't ever bite me, though."

I couldn't tell if Fane was nodding or shaking his head. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"Not yet."

"Do you want to stay parked a bit longer?"

Parking inevitably led to one thing - making out - and it probably went against every code of honor for a vampire hunter to have relations with a vampire. But who cared? It wasn't like Melcher had made me recite any vows. Fane wasn't a killer. He was just...dead.

I turned my eyes away from the oppressive trees. "Can we go to your place?"

"My place? That's fine, but I have to warn you, my roommate isn't hospitable."

"Honestly, I could do without the pleasantries tonight."

Fane pulled onto Postmark Drive, skirting cargo hangars and the big FedEx Express Center. We passed my street and headed toward Denali High, passing it before pulling into a nearby neighborhood.

"You live this close to school and you don't walk?"

"Walk?" Fane repeated. "I wouldn't be caught dead walking to school." He laughed.

He pulled the tank into the right side of a one-story duplex and made no movement to vacate the vehicle.

I looked over when he didn't get out. "What?"

"How did you figure out I was a vampire?"

"Noel told me. I don't know why I didn't figure it out, myself. I mean, 'Fane.' Kind of obvious, don't you think?"

"It's spelled with an 'e.' not a 'g.'"

"You're right, that makes all the difference." It felt good to laugh, even briefly. I nodded at the garage door. "Does your roommate get the garage?"

Fane grunted. "You could say that. It's full of his books. He's a rare books dealer - sells online. That's how we cover our expenses."

I bit down softly on my lower lip. "Oh, right, I didn't think about that. You still have to make a living. So what are you doing at Denali High?"

Fane stretched his hands on the steering wheel. "Every few decades I enroll in school to check out how things have changed. Joss hates society, but it fascinates me. I miss being part of it. Besides, it's the best place to pick up chicks."

My voice rose. "Skating on thin ice." Still, I was happy we were joking again.

Fane chuckled.

"So, how does twenty-first-century high school compare to the fifties or eighties or whenever you were last in school?"

"It's changed a lot. I'll tell you, I sympathize with the teachers. These days they have cell phones and guns to contend with...I think cell phones are worse."

"And your roommate doesn't mind you playing school boy while he brings home the bacon?"

"Joss doesn't bring home anything. I have to do all the leg work. Drive him around to garage sales, mail packages, fetch supplies..."

"He doesn't drive?"

"He refuses to learn - said automobiles are just another destructive invention of mankind. It didn't matter in New York. No one drives in the city." Fane looked over. "Sure you want to come inside? Or are you stalling?"

"I'm sure."

We got out of the car and approached the front door. I didn't see any boarded-up windows.

"Welcome to my lair," Fane said as we walked in.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, it wasn't the antique furniture I focused on, but the pair of unfriendly eyes regarding me as though I were vermin crawling around his feet by the couch. There was a white porcelain mug on the end table by his side. The mug and scowl on his face were all lit by a glass iron lamp on the table. I recognized Joss from outside the video store.

"What is she doing here?" he demanded.

"What do you think? She's my guest, and she's come for a visit."

"What happened to the other girl?"

"I ate her." Fane chuckled and turned to me. "You'll have to excuse my roommate. A hundred years and he's still not socialized. Aurora, meet my immortal companion, Josslyn."

"So then...she knows what happened to us." Josslyn looked me over in disgust as though I was the foul creature in this scenario.

Hello? Me, human. You, walking corpse.

"Nice to meet you, Joss," I said.

"My