Shadow School Ch. 11

Melanie felt guilty for thinking such things but she couldn't help it. She was human. There was a reason humans had to confess the things they thought, because it was natural to have such sins to purge.

She imagined William going to confession after last week. It was a bizarre thought to have; the vampire walking into the church without having God strike him down at the door. She pictured William, head bowed, approaching the old wooden doors to the small confined space where others released their burdens to a priest's ear. He would cross himself and ask for the priest to bless him, then tell...

Melanie played one of her dominoes and winked at her the nine-year-old girl across from her.

What she wouldn't give to rewind the clock a few months. And keep her knowledge. That way she could skip the prom and just stay home to watch old movies. No, she would rewind even further so that she wouldn't go out that one night when she bumped into Gavin at the Tasty Freeze. She wouldn't fall for his flattery and end up seeing him a few times.

Gavin had looked so handsome, a bit dark for her liking, but he had treated her in a manner that her father told her to expect. He was a gentleman. Not like most boys. The few dates they had gone on were nice. Movies, putt-putt, bowling, and he never asked for more than a kiss. Even those had been hot but not overwhelming.

At first she thought something was strange about it, but she shook her head, reminding herself that there had to be a few guys left out there that didn't immediately want to get into a girl's pants. So she had asked him to her prom and he had said yes.

Melanie played another domino.

It was what he wanted. Probably. It wasn't like she knew what was really going on but Gavin could have come into direct contact with Cameron at the prom. And he probably thought Kristie would be there too. Then he bit her. Really bit her, drawing blood, which she so was not into. She had run from him... straight into Trent's arms. Then Gavin chose another for his House. Even though he had seemed conflicted, he had let Melanie be taken by Roanoke, and that had ended their contact.

Wasn't that what she wanted? To be away from him? What he had done to her?

Smiling to herself, she supposed she owed Gavin for her new closeness to William. Melanie thought that in the end, William seemed to be the better person. Sure, he had danced with most of the girls at the gala, but that had been because of his mother. He had picked Melanie first, and returned to her later.

Melanie wondered what the connection between mother and son really was. It must have been odd for William to grow up loving someone, then continuing to age when she did not. Virginia was forever nineteen and had turned William on his eighteenth birthday. From that moment on they were close enough in age to be brother and sister.

Melanie shivered as she played another domino.

She didn't quite know what to think about William. He had been respectful to her while she was weak, had checked them both into a hotel and despite being hungry, had not taken any of her blood. He had stayed in the room with her, though he did let her have the bed while he rested on the suite's sofa. Melanie wondered if he was giving her the space she needed or if he was simply trying to avoid temptation.

He'd given her even more space when he dropped her off. Melanie had returned home to her parents' arms the following night and William had said goodbye without even coming in. She didn't want to think why he needed to leave so quickly.

And that was the problem in the end: she was falling for him.

It probably had to do with the whole rescue thing but it was more than that. William had entranced Melanie the moment she saw him at the gala. She tried not to be one of those girls who fell head of heels for a cute boy without getting to know him but he just fit her ideal guy; which to be honest, was a Mr. Darcy with a bit of Wickham mixed in.

But to get that, realistically, she would have to time travel back to the days of Jane Austen. Or date a vampire who actually lived through those days...

She played another domino.

"Aunt Mellie, that's not a green."

Melanie glanced down and saw she had played an eight instead of a two. She wasn't even paying attention now and even her littlest cousin, who couldn't count to ten, was calling her out for not matching the colored numbers.

"What do you need sweetie?" The youngest of the four siblings was at her elbow, calling her out on her mistakes. He would be able to play soon too at this rate. "Did your movie end?"

"No. The man said to come get you."

"The man?" Sweat broke out all over her skin. Melanie turned to look at the arch to the kitchen but no one was there. She turned back to say something - she had no idea what - to the other kids who were curious and confused by their brother's declaration. "You all stay here." She lifted the youngest into her seat. "Will you play for me for a minute?"

The tyke nodded and his siblings groaned.

"Help him if he needs it," she said, going to the arch.

Melanie had no clue what to do. Someone was in the house? Who? She thought she had guardians watching over her. It had to be someone they knew of then, if they let..."

Gavin was standing at the window, his eyes viewing the Disney movie she had popped in earlier. He ignored her, apparently preferring to watch Beast save Belle from a pack of wolves. She glanced back and forth between Gavin and the film, a little shocked that he was ignoring her, and said nothing as Belle decided not to leave the Beast wounded in the snow.

Melanie thought, Ever heard of a doorbell?

She stared at Gavin, his pale skin seemed even whiter against black hair and black clothing, not to mention the black night he was standing in. It was a wonder her nephew didn't scream. Her fear was starting to turn into anger.

Gavin walked away from the window and Melanie wanted to throw up her hands. This was absolutely...

The doorbell rang.

All the kids scampered to get it, and she had to wade through three boys and a girl to grab the door as they opened it. The kids stared at Gavin in awe and maybe a little of their own fear.

"Gavin, now really isn't a good time," Melanie said.

"You know him?" the seven year old boy said, wrinkling his nose.

"Are you a boogy man?" the littlest asked.

Gavin offered the kids a bright smile. "I'm a friend of your... cousin."

Melanie scowled. She didn't like having her thoughts used against her and she certainly didn't want Gavin to interact with her innocent cousins.

He glanced at her. "I need to speak with her for a moment."

The youngest tugged on her arm. "That's the man at the window," he said in a loud whisper. His siblings didn't move as they continued to stare at Gavin.

Melanie looked at him with fresh eyes, trying to see what they saw. A boy about her age, dressed dark like a goth kid, his straight black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wondered if guys from the Dark Ages called them ponytails.

Gavin smirked at her.

"I'm not inviting you in," Melanie said.

"I don't need an invitation," Gavin replied easily, making a thrill of new fear run through her. "I don't plan on coming in."

"Kids, why don't you go finish your game so he can tell me what he needs to. I'll be back in a minute." She started physically turning the kids by their shoulders to nudge them away and they all went slowly, their little faces turning back over their shoulders as they started whispering about their visitor. Melanie turned back to Gavin. "Okay. What?"

She saw two women standing at the end of the sidewalk and wondered if they were Roanoke or Ovidan.

"Both." Gavin turned back to look at the two. His eyes met those of the woman dressed in something Martha Stewart might wear; if she were a little more dark. She was talking to a young woman with shockingly white hair arranged in spikes.

Gavin turned back to Melanie and grabbed her hand. She tensed but he simply turned her wrist over and eyed her arm. His pale fingers traced a bruise just below the crease of her elbow and her skin was suddenly covered in goosebumps. "Were you hurt badly?"

Melanie bent her arm to her chest when Gavin released her hand. "Physically no. Mentally... I don't know if I can ever..." She shivered, unable to finish her words. She had trouble sleeping and constantly looked out her window to see who was watching her. Of course, she never saw anyone but William had assured her they were there.

"I am sorry if the experience was traumatic." Gavin said stiffly. He was so formal around her now; it was weird. "Things... did not turn out as planned. And for that... for my actions... I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Well. You were just doing your job weren't you," Melanie said bitterly. "Did you have anything else or can I go back to what little normalcy I have left before I head to your institution?"

"No," Gavin said. "I wanted to apologize and I have. Though I would like to add that you should truly listen to the comments around you. Apply every meaning to a word, even if it makes you feel suspicious for no reason. And... be careful of William. You don't weather four hundred years without vice."

"You would know."

"Yes. I would. And you know I do not lie."

Melanie wanted to tell him that he lied to her but she couldn't get the words past her lips. She would just have to settle on knowing that he heard her thoughts.

"I. Do. Not. Lie." Gavin said, staring at her intensely as he said each word.

"Sure. Whatever. I'll see you this fall." Melanie shut the door before she could let her feelings rush over her. She stepped further away, hoping that putting distance between them would make it harder for him to read her mind. She had no idea what distance a vampire needed.

As she crossed back to the table where her cousins were barely playing in their attempt to eavesdrop, she put on a huge smile and asked if they needed any snacks before bed.

***

Kristie sped down the street at a reckless pace. She could see her tails following behind her and she cursed at their ability to drive better than she could. There was no way to lose them.

Not that she wanted to. She knew they were with Sokar House and they were on protection duty but dammit if she didn't want to get away from their mind-reading for a moment and think things through.

What a nightmare this whole situation was turning out to be. At first she thought it was so cool to be one of the only humans who actually new that vampires existed, and knowing they weren't all psycho murdering monsters was even better. But now she knew Cameron was pregnant.

And Daman was being careless with his own comings and goings.

It irritated the hell out of her that he didn't at least ask first. She had always enjoyed her freedom. She had deluded herself into thinking that as long as she freely chose to accept her new college and the ways of the people who attended that she was still free to do as she chose.

She wasn't free. And the thought of that really grated her nerves.

Nerves that were on fire again.

"FUCK!" She screamed into her helmet as she felt her hips jerk against the seat. Riding her motorcycle had been a bad idea; the vibrations were too much handle and what she had just brazenly done with Cameron didn't work.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!" Kristie yelled, screeching into a turn and darting down a side street. She did a couple of pretzels through a neighborhood and hoped she lost her tail as she headed down an unfamiliar street. She parked around the back of a gas station and stomped inside.

Kristie approached the cashier with every bit of gusto she had. She tucked her helmet under her arm and ran her fingers through her hair, letting her eyes twinkle as they landed on the young man behind the cash register. "Hey."

"Hey yourself."

Okay. Cocky without the looks to back it up, but whatever. Kristie grinned. "Can I see your phonebook?"

One gangly arm slid the book across the counter with gusto, as if he was handing over keys to a Porche. She grinned again and flipped to the C's.

Kristie looked at the list of Carters with dismay; Melanie just had to have some sort of plain name that loads of people had. There was no way she would find her like this. She didn't really know her parents' name and vaguely knew the area Melanie lived in, but not the street name.

Kristie humphed and slid the book back. "Thanks."

"No problem," said Mr. Suave.

She stepped outside and slid her helmet on, walking back to her bike.

Her feet left the ground. Kristie registered this a second before her body slammed against the wall of the building and her head bounced off the cinderblocks.

See? Helmets save your life.

"What the?!" Kristie stared out her vizor into the intense dark eyes of Daman Sokar.

Well shit.

"Do you have any idea what could happen to you if you struck out on your own?" His deep voice was intense.

"No. I don't," Kristie said harshly, shoving at him but only managing to move him about an inch. "Because you tell me jack shit! You have your little army following me around for my protection but I haven't seen any kind of danger and you could very well be making this up just to create some sort of hot sex situation. What's the deal Daman? Are we under attack? Are incoming freshman getting abducted? Is someone trying to take me to pay you back for something? And why the hell can't my body get a hold of itself?!"

Daman still stared her down but this time a twinkle appeared in his eye. Fucking vampires.

"You watch too many movies."

"Well, excuse me if that's the only thing I've got to go on. I've lived a pretty normal fucked up life until this point."

"Uh, you okay?"

The voice came from Mr. Suave, who had apparently decided to take the trash out at the wrong time. Daman glanced his way as he would an annoying mosquito.

"Peachy keen," Kristie said, shoving under Daman's arm and walking to her bike. His was parked just behind hers.

"Follow me," Daman said.

"Like hell," Kristie muttered. She took off toward her house but when she got there and saw her mother's car, she drove right on by.

"Christ," she said, now unable to go home without the usual drama that accompanied her mother's visits. She turned left and found herself driving up alongside Daman's motorcycle.

Rolling her eyes she decided she may as well follow him. Maybe he would divulge some sort of secret now that she was demanding answers. She had to admit she hadn't been asking too many. She was too busy fantasizing about Daman's... Okay, stopping that thought before it gets too far.

Her body reacted anyway. Really? Did she have to choose her motorcycle tonight? She should have known better.

By the time Daman was turning into an upscale hotel, Kristie was panting with the effort to keep her orgasm at bay. Her body was demanding release and as much as she liked those releases, they were very inconvenient in their timing. She was thankful that she was no longer in school; classes would have been hell.

Kristie thought of Melanie and felt a little bad for the girl. She'd payed. Now Kristie was the one humming like an orchestra warming up for a show. She wondered what was in vampire blood that did this to a person. It made no sense.

"It makes perfect sense," Daman said, offering a hand to help her off her bike.

Like she needed it.

Turns out, she did. Kristie's legs wanted to clamp together in the effort to continue the contact the material of her panties and jeans had with her clit. As much as she hated it, she stumbled against Daman and used his arm as support as she removed her helmet and ran her fingers through her hair to muss it up.

"So you got some sort of scientific explanation for this?" Kristie said, doing all she could to walk normally to the doors of the hotel.

"Yes. You will learn these things in your classes. You will learn much in your time at school and your questions will be mostly answered."

"What do you mean mostly?" She said, realizing more than a few people were looking at her and Daman as they walked inside. She followed him to the front desk.

"Good evening, Mr. Sokar," the woman at the front desk beamed. "Your usual suite?" She glanced quickly at Kristie but was obviously trying to ignore her.

How many girls do you bring up here? Kristie thought loudly at Daman. He didn't respond. Whore.

The vampire smirked and gave her a leer that would give any woman chills. Kristie played the game right along with him, acting as if nothing was going on mentally between them.

Her body involuntarily convulsed and Kristie barely covered it as a bend to tighten her shoelaces. She crouched so her ass wasn't sticking in the air and gave her face a few seconds to change back to normal. Not that it would so quickly but she at least tried to play it off as an effect of bending over.

What the hell is going on with my body? And why exactly did you leave me like this? She asked mentally, staring off in the other direction so Daman couldn't see her face.

"Thank you Mr. Sokar," the clerk said. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call."

Kristie looked back at her at the hint of flirtation in the woman's voice. The clerk didn't look at her, but gave Daman a huge smile that he ignored once he had his room key. He offered Kristie his arm and they began walking to the elevators.

At first, Kristie didn't want to take his arm again, but being this close to him after a whole week of hormonal stress, her body was weakened by his very presence. She wouldn't be surprised that an even longer time apart meant her body would just present itself to him and just beg to be fucked.

Daman hid a smile as they stepped into the elevator. Kristie dropped her arm and leaned back against the wall trying to regulate her breathing. Seriously?

"My blood is still in your veins and you are the one who asked me to leave," Daman said simply.

"Yeah but I have gotten off like a hundred times since you left. You left! Knowing I'd be like this!"

Daman studied her. "You have been faithful."

"What?"

"A sexual act with another would have eased your hunger for pleasure. You haven't turned to anyone else to seek that pleasure."

"Sure I have!" Kristie rolled her eyes then tried to ignore the change in Daman's face. "I got off in a bathroom in front of Cameron. News flash! Nothing happened."

"The act must be exchanged. A connection must be made."

Kristie thought of how Cameron had closed her eyes and covered her ears. It had been weird for Kristie too but just having another person knowing she was doing something naughty in a public place made her a hot; add that to the inferno of her nerves and it wasn't hard to get off. As for Melanie, Kristie had made eye contact with her...

Daman scowled at her.

"That was before I even met you. And she was the pleasure fool not me. I was kind-of peeping over a stall and she made eye contact with me when she came."

The door to the elevator opened onto a floor and Daman gestured for Kristie to leave. Moving was agony again, the swish-swish of her legs building even more heat between her legs as she followed Daman to a door just a few yards away. She looked back and saw that there was only one other door on this level. So this would be...

Daman opened the door to a massive suite with everything from a bar to a pool table and several sofas. The style was older, not so modern, but the furniture was heavy and looked like heirloom-quality stuff. She wondered where the television was.

Not that that thought stayed in her head long with her legs turning to jelly. Kristie wondered why Daman hadn't swooped down on her and taken advantage of her situation yet. Not that it would take long to satisfy whatever was going on between her legs. She thought even the slightest pressure would tip her over the edge.