Taste

Dinner with vampires was exactly how it sounded. A dinner with a couple of viscous beasts. Who stared at me throughout, most likely imagining their fangs penetrating into my throbbing jugular.

I half-heartedly complimented Nena on her cooking skills, knowing she'd appreciate the praise. True enough, she grinned brightly.

She wasn't like I'd imagined, I must admit, not that I'd done it a lot. Arden told me she was an old soul, with a kindred spirit who had an affinity for lore and travel.

And I got it. Like, I understood that was her personality. It's who she was. Not sure if we were going to be the best of friends that Arden has us down to become. But she was a decent chat, more so than any living girl.

"So, what theories has my darling older brother pressed in to your pretty head?"

I quit drinking my water, to stare at her. Why did she persist on regarding me in that manner?

But she didn't falter, so I put down my glass.

"Um, nothing much. We basically have the same idea," I shared a look with him across the table. "It's a vampire, it has to be."

Taking a gulp of her blood, she set it aside to rest her chin on top of her intertwined fingers. With eyes wider than the pale moon, she watched me, closely and elegantly.

There was something about her. She was gorgeous, to be blunt about it, but it was more than that. She radiated excellence and power, dominion and could make the earth crumble at her feet.

"What makes you think that?"

A shaky laugh escaped me, despite the steady look she gave me again.

At the other end of the oak, Arden was perching on the edge of his seat. His gaze fought both sides, unsure where exactly to rest.

I didn't want to appear rude, so I addressed both creatures.

"The complete draining of blood, for one. What else does that? Another, um, how about the way they're displayed for the police officers to see? I get it, humans can be sick too, but not in such a callous manner."

She pouted her glossy lips for a second, before running her tongue along her pearly whites.

"And if it is a vampire, what then? What will the mighty Emmy Willis do?"

Her tone, while challenging and somewhat condescending, provoked me to think clearer. She wasn't just questioning our judgement, she was making sure that we had our heads firmly placed on our lucid shoulders.

And, for that, I had to appreciate her. Arden knew that our personalities would clash, but that we'd compliment each other nicely, too.

For sure, there was more to her than simply just being his sister.

Her story was going to be one shrouded in mystery. She'd give out pieces at a time, expecting you to fulfill the puzzle on your own. If it was down to her, she'd never give you a morsel, but the communication was a necessity.

I devoured my last bacon strip.

"I'm experienced in self-defence. If it comes down to it, I'll fight. Yeah, maybe I won't win, maybe it will eat me alive,"

Her eyes held mine, a shine unable to hold itself back. One I found that I reveled in.

"And it'll choke on me."

***

"Shit," I groaned, as I faced the blinding light of my mobile. In the dim light of the library, I forgot to turn down the brightness, as a message pinged for my undivided attention.

Are you coming home? Tam's text was without kisses, alerting me to know she was likely worrying out of her mind.

I quickly checked the time. Fuck, it was past nine. Public transport had ceased an hour ago.

Arden's fingers touched my elbow, forcing me to face his magnetic stare.

"You can stay here. There's a bedroom in the loft." When I felt my eyebrows furrow, he laughed lazily. "Yeah, it was here before we moved in."

Quickly thinking over it, I found that I was typing to Tam almost immediately. Within seconds, I got a reply expecting me to be home before school started tomorrow.

I promised I would be, despite how much I didn't want to go. Doing so would mean facing Matt... and I didn't know if I could.

Putting that to the back of my head, I picked up the article setting out the scene of The Carver's first public kill.

Single mother-of-two, Debra Callaghan, 27, was found dead today in her condo in Salisbury, Wiltshire. The body was discovered drained of blood and a cross burned into her left cheek. Callaghan's children have been placed into the care of her grandfather.

The first victim was just another someone, nothing about her screamed extraordinary, she was just going about her day-to-day life when it was taken from her. She wasn't thought to have been in any gangs, or owed anyone money – she'd been just a regular Jane trying to get by.

So, why did she, in particular, have to be his first victim? What made her special?

"Here," I looked up slightly again to see a hand offering me a glass of water. "You look like you need it."

Gratefully taking it from him, I smiled softly at Arden. God knows why I bothered, he instantly went back to clutching the wood and resting his entirety on the pressure of his forearms.

He sure was strong.

Jeez, girl, stop! Was I going to get wet at every male that proved he was indeed a man? Get a grip, not everybody made you as hot as David Boreanaz.

Casting my attention away, I strolled with my glass in hand, leaving him to it for now. Perhaps a break would do me some good.

Instead, I pricked an ear out for clinking heels. To say I was disappointed when they didn't come was confusing.

Nena sure was interesting. Her condescending, yet prideful tone was enough to put any head in a spin. She was an enigma, that was definite.

Repressing a growl, Arden pushed himself away from the board and clippings.

"I feel like an idiot! Where are the dots we can't connect?"

I watched as the table disconnected from the steel traps in the ground, cracking the tiles below. The sound was minimal, but the mess was there to stay.

Setting aside his show of strength, I waltzed back, capturing his hand in mine.

He was cold, like an ice pack stuffed to the very bottom of the freezer. I expected icicles to drop off.

"Hey, maybe we just need to step back, gather our thoughts. We'll catch him, I swear it."

Perhaps it was my unwavering gaze, or my vice-like grip on his dead flesh, or even my comforting tone... but he listened. He ceased all motion, all ability to use his mind, just to calm himself down.

Arden was many things, but a fiend wasn't one of them. That's what separated him from the others.

The demon may live in him, have control of his body and memories, but it didn't get his conscience. That stayed. And I knew for certain it wouldn't leave.

Until he squeezed my palm, I didn't even notice we were holding hands.

Sliding mine out slowly, he didn't fill the space with accusations. In its place, I was treated to his smooth baritone.

"Do you want to forget about this for a little while?"

Teetering on the edge of their garden, laughter rose just as quickly when I stepped out. He was pulling me forwards, not looking behind him, as we advanced into the bitter cold. The ground was coated in frost, ice settling in between the cracks in cement, leaving me no room to walk on my own.

"Come on, I've got you."

Nervous giggles were all that I could expel, as we perched on the edge of his frozen poolside. My feet were slipping again, I wasn't used to this.

As if called on by God himself, I caught onto white sparkles falling to the ground, laying sweet and beautifully upon the ice. They came fast and thick, very rare to find in early October, but never impossible.

I felt like I was in a scene from some crappy Hallmark film, looking for a new lease on life and learning how to give in and let go.

So, now I got why they continued to make those things. The feelings that stirred in my stomach when Arden helped me out onto the frozen pool weren't familiar in nature. I hadn't ever felt like this before.

In my thin gloves and leather jacket, I came to the abrupt conclusion that soon I'd be the same temperature as the pool and snow soon. There was no way I'd come out of this alive, or at least not without some frostbite.

Keeping a hold of my hands, he backpedaled slowly, like he had known how to skate his whole life. The ice crunched and slashed under our weight, but Arden promised that once I had the gliding down, then I had nothing else to possibly worry about.

Safe to say, he guided me and burst out laughing whenever it looked like I'd fall. Of course, he was quick to catch me and play it out and grab me, whirling me in a semi-nauseating spin.

I didn't know any way that this could be described, except that with the snow cascading down, it could make any dream seem like reality.

And, for that, I was thankful.

Despite what Holly had said to me earlier today, I wasn't the same person I was a few weeks ago. I had changed; grown. There was more to me, in my thoughts and the wheels of my mind. I had expanded.

Especially since the old me would never have spent any of her free time with a vampire, willingly. If I had been poisoned and kidnapped, sure, but I'd have laughed so hard I wouldn't be able to stop.

Arden let go of me, sliding back as I grasped for something to hold onto again. Although he made no sound, I couldn't miss his grin.

Breathing as evenly as I could, I had him in clear sight, as I nudged one leg sideways and the other forward, expecting to be near him in no time at all.

Of course, that's not what happened at all.

No, in its place, my ankle decided now would be the perfect moment to give up and become jelly, so I was all just a flail of arms and the rushing thought that I was going to crack my skull open and be this week's grand meal.

A small wind kicked up as a knee provided as a hard surface to hit rather than a sheet of solid ice. A hand snaked securely round my waist, immediately tight, and it pressed hard into my lowest rib while trying to haul me up.

My neck snapped back, and through the hazy white, the soft buds on our clothes and in our hair, I connected with his gentle eyes.

"Oh..." I trailed off, blinking heavily, trying to rid of the spots in my vision. "I forgot what I was going to say."

Lips curling upwards, he replied, "Yeah, you're definitely okay."

Gradually hauling me up, his free hand inspected the back of my skull, feeling for any rogue bumps or bruises. And so, I stood there, waiting for the confirmation, unable to prevent my attention drifting to his other limb, which still clung onto my waist.

I didn't want to think too much of it, so I decided to relax, but ended up giggling when he ruffled my hair.

"No major damage. We should be more careful, can't break that fierce face of yours."

I was about to agree when I lost my words again. I found myself invested in his movements, the way that he touched me. I found that I was no longer just enjoying his company – but perhaps even relishing in it.

In little over a week, I'd opened myself up to two people. One of them ravenous, dangerous and exciting. And the other calm, peaceful and beautiful.

I just didn't know which category either fell into.