Survivor - By Kaye Draper Page 0,32

the railing. “It’s fine. I’m not as fragile as everyone seems to think.”

He reached out and ruffled my hair, startling me with his familiarity. “Of course you are.” He dropped his hand to rest on the railing next to mine. “But then, vampires are also more fragile than everyone seems to think.”

Something in his voice sounded deeply unhappy. “Well, we all have our issues I suppose.” I was having difficulty thinking around my fatigue. “And vampires were human once. I guess becoming immortal doesn’t magically cure you of all your personality flaws.”

He laughed, a rich sound that danced over my skin like a caress. “You have no idea how right you are. But at least when you are human you have your freedom, you have no master controlling your destiny.”

I sighed and backed away from the railing. I wanted to argue with him- after all I didn’t feel like I had much freedom, and my guardians controlled my, er, destiny- but I just didn’t have the energy. “I’m going to head back inside.” I paused. “It was nice to meet you,” I said awkwardly. Somehow talking to him out here had felt oddly intimate. Like I had known him forever.

He slid off the railing and joined me. “I’ll come with you.” We made our way back around to the front of the house. Haine didn’t seem to mind my slow pace. When we were back in the warm glow of the front porch, he put a big hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let your differences discourage you. I like to believe that if you love someone deeply enough, you can overcome any obstacle.”

I looked up at him, completely floored by the soft sentiment. His blue eyes were full of kindness. He smiled and lifted his hand to touch my hair, pulling back when Peter and Leah came through the door. Peter’s green eyes grew silvery as he took in Haine’s proximity to me. The other vampire gave him a wry smile of apology and stepped away, taking up a place at Leah’s side.

Leah glanced between the two men. “Take good care of our new friend, Peter,” she said softly.

He bowed his head and touched his heart. It was a formal sort of gesture, and Leah repeated it. I got the feeling there was something going on here. Something vampirey. And to think, Leah had said she didn’t want to talk about politics tonight.

We drove home in silence. Overall, I had enjoyed myself. I had been accepted by Peter’s people, and I felt like I was part of his life. But still, I was slightly on edge. When we got to my place, Peter carried me up. Opening the door with the spare key that now resided on his keychain, he carried me straight to the bedroom. He followed me down onto the bed, kissing me deeply. I was shocked at his intensity. His eyes had gone silvery and his fangs were elongated. He pulled me against his body and his urgency lit through me like a flame.

Chapter 9

I wheeled into Dr. Walton’s office about ten minutes late. I’d forgotten my planner and had to go all the way back up to my apartment to get it. My visits to the old psychologist’s office were something that I both looked forward to and hated at the same time. On one hand, he was knowledgeable and kind, and it was nice to be able to tell someone how I was feeling- someone who would actually listen and give me constructive feedback, unlike my family. On the other hand, the visits reminded me that I wasn’t normal, that there were countless things that were hard for me, and that they would continue to be hard for me for the rest of my life.

As an added bit of stress, I was still trying to figure out how much to tell him about Peter. I couldn’t exactly explain most of the reasons why my relationship with the vampire was difficult, but still, maybe he could help.

Dr. Walton sat in his big leather chair, jotting a note in a manila folder. I made my way to the desk and he looked up with a warm smile. “Hello melody, how are things?”

I looked at the blue veins in the back of his age spotted hands and wondered, as I had a million times, what his life was like outside the office. What would it be like to live to a ripe old age without needing mental help?

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