the thing first. He mouthed the words thank you when she handed it to him.
"You're welcome," she said.
Boy, he loved her voice. And he loved the way she smelled like lavender body lotion. And he loved her long, thin hands.
But he'd hated dinner. Wellsie and Tohr had done all the talking for him, giving Sarelle a glossed-over version of his life. What little he'd written on his pad had seemed like stupid filler.
As his head came up to level, Wellsie was smiling at him. But then she cleared her throat, as if trying to play it cool.
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"So, as I was saying, a couple of females from the aristocracy used to run the winter solstice ceremony back in the Old Country. Bella's mother was one of them, as a matter of fact. I want to check in with them. Make sure we don't forget anything."
John let the conversation amble along, not paying too much attention until Sarelle said, "Well, I guess I'd better get going. It's thirty-five minutes to dawn. My parents will have a conniption."
She pushed her chair out, and John stood up as everyone else did. While good-byes were said, he found himself fading into the background. At least until Sarelle looked right at him.
"Would you walk me out?" she asked.
His eyes shot to the front door. Walk her out? To her car?
In a sudden rush, some kind of raw male instinct flooded his chest, so powerful he shook a little. Abruptly his palm started to tickle, and he looked down at it, feeling as though there were something in it, that he was holding something... so he could protect her.
Sarelle cleared her throat. "Okay... um..."
John realized she was waiting for him and snapped out of his little trance. Stepping forward, he indicated with his hand the way to the front door.
As they went outside, she said, "So are you psyched to train?"
John nodded and found his eyes roaming the environs, searching the shadows. He felt himself tense up, and that right palm of his started to hum again. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for. He just knew he had to keep her safe at all costs.
Keys jingled as her hand came out of her pocket.
"I think my friend is going to be in your class. He was supposed to sign up tonight." She unlocked the car door. "Anyway, you know why I'm really here, don't you?"
He shook his head.
"I think they want you to feed from me. When your transition hits."
John coughed from shock, sure that his eyeballs had popped out of his skull and were rolling down the driveway.
"Sorry." She smiled. "Guess they didn't tell you."
Yeah, he would have remembered that conversation.
"I'm cool with it," she said. "Are you?"
Oh. My. God.
"John?" She cleared her throat. "Tell you what. Do you have something I can write on?"
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Numbly, he shook his head. He'd left his pad in the house. Idiot.
"Give me your hand." When he reached out, she got a pen from somewhere and bent over his palm. The nub ran across his skin smoothly. "That's my e-mail address and my IM info. I'll be online in about an hour. Messie me, okay? We'll talk."
He looked at what she'd written. Just stared at it.
She shrugged a little. "I mean, you don't have to or anything. Just... you know. I thought we could get to know each other that way." She paused, as if waiting for a response. "Um... whatever. No pressure. I mean-"
He grabbed her hand, whipped the pen out of it, and flattened her palm.
I want to talk to you, he wrote.
Then he looked straight into her eyes and did the most amazing, ballsy thing.
He smiled at her.
Chapter Fifteen
As dawn came and shutters went down over the windows, Bella drew on the black robe and bolted out of the bedroom she'd been given. With quick eyes, she checked up and down the hallway. No witnesses. Good.
Closing the door quietly, she glided over the Persian runner, making no sound at all. When she got to the head of the grand staircase she paused, trying to remember which way to go.
The corridor with the statues, she thought, remembering another trip down that long stretch so many, many weeks ago.
She walked fast and then ran, clutching the lapels of the robe and holding the slit on the bottom closed over her thighs. She passed statues and doors, until she got to the end and stopped in front of