“What?” I grumble.
“No one wants to see the real you, Bella, that’s why we all wear masks,” he states darkly, his face serious for once before that fucking fake smile curls up his lips. “Plus, I am good at flirting.”
Groaning, I slump back in my chair and look out of the window. For a moment there, I thought we were going to get along, but he’s back to being his annoying, cocky self. I should have hit him with the shovel again.
Ciar
Sitting back with a grimace at the cover under my hands, I watch the woman who is staring very intently out of the window, ignoring me. I find myself unable to look away from her, even to check out the hole we are staying in. Something about her draws me in, riles me and calms me down at the same time. A light from outside streams through the window, glowing across her skin and making her look otherworldly. Isabella…the name rolls through my mind, wiping away the trace of anyone before her…like looking at a bad quality picture until you finally see the HD version. Or drinking really cheap champagne and finally getting a taste of the good stuff, Isabella is the top shelf.
I find myself wanting to reach out, to learn more…everything about her. She is a closed book, I can see it. The barriers she has in place are clear to see in her eyes. Someone has hurt her before, maybe more than one someone, and it has left a wound, left her guarded and angry. I know that anger better than anyone, but where she has let it harden her, I let it guide me, mould me until no one saw anything but what they wanted.
A playboy.
A rich snob.
A fanger.
But Isabella, Bella, saw through it within the first few minutes and called me on it. That look she gave me, questioning my charm, threw me for a moment before I recovered my mask. Did she really mean it? She wanted to see the real me…no, no one ever does. They want only what they see, and they don’t want the baggage and drama that comes with really knowing someone. They want the pretty picture, not the trash, the truth.
“Who are we hunting? You never answered, an ex perhaps?” I query, fury burning through me that it’s an ex…does she still love him? Want him? Why do I care?
She throws me a look before going back to staring out the window. “You really aren’t going to talk to me? How about I keep guessing then, hmm?” I tease, grinning when her eyes narrow on the window, but her lips stay sealed shut. “Did he cheat on you? No, that would be too easy. Stole something from you? No, that’s not it…he hurt you somehow and you want revenge,” I conclude, and she twitches slightly. “That’s it, right?”
She looks at me then, those eyes flashing and making my fangs ache with the need to taste her again, to sink inside her and see if she tastes as good as I remember…impossible. It must have been a fluke. I was over starved and she was the only blood around, no one could possibly taste that good.
“You are not even close,” she snaps, her eyes burning as she focuses on me. She doesn’t give me just a little of her attention, like most people, she concentrates on me completely like her whole world has narrowed down to me and this shitty motel room, forgetting everything but us. It’s unusual…and oh so appealing.
“No, so tell me, Bella, who am I hunting for you?” I purr, her name rolling from my lips.
Her mouth parts slightly and her eyes flare. It’s enough, I know she isn’t as immune to my charm as she wishes she was. That’s okay, she has charmed me too.
“You don’t need to know the whys, just the who.” She recovers quickly, pushing away her need, and I spot a flash of guilt in her eyes which makes me watch her more closely. What did she just remember that killed that lust so quickly?
“If you want me to find this person for you, I need to know as much about him as possible.” I grin, knowing I will wear her down eventually and find out why…maybe even what she plans to do when she finds him, but not yet. If I keep pushing her now, she is going to shut down. I need to peel her back one layer at a time. And peel her back I will, until I discover what lies underneath, and then I will drink my fill.
Her mouth clamps shut, her eyes flickering away for a moment before she looks back at me with resolution on her face. Something else to add to the list of growing things I know about Isabella—once she decides something, she goes for it. She isn’t human, but I don’t know what she is. She is powerful and she has her sights set on making someone pay for something…but what?
“He’s a fallen,” she starts. Well, fuck, not what I was expecting. “I didn’t really know him, met him on a night out.” She falters then and fury surges through me, my hands curling into fists in my lap before I can stop myself. “He was nice, we had—” She glances away for a moment. “Things in common. I let something bad slip, something dangerous. He plans to use it against me, it will get me killed,” she snarls before blowing out a breath. “He killed my…father,” she finishes, and I know that’s not what she wanted to say.
“His name was Leo Junit.”
Tilting my head, I cross my legs and grip my knee to stop myself from racing from the room and killing this bastard for her. “Okay, we can head in that direction then. Shouldn’t be too hard, there aren’t many fallen around, but Bella, what do you plan to do when you find him?” I find myself asking.
She glares at me then, one so dark and filled with pain and hate that I nearly flinch. There’s something sinister, something crazy in there that has me sitting up and taking notice. I want it all directed at me. “Leave that to me,” she answers simply.
Oh, Bella, if you only knew. I don’t plan on letting you go at all, we are in this together until the bitter end.
“You should get some rest, we have a long few days,” she adds, looking away as if she can hear my thoughts.
“I’ve rested enough.” I grimace. “Why don’t we get to know each other?”
“No,” she retorts, not even looking at me, I find myself reaching for her, wanting her eyes on me at all times.
“A question game?” I purr. “If you skip the question, you have to forfeit.”
She ignores me, so I carry on, “We are going to be together for a while, Bella, it might come in handy.” I grin, since ‘for a while’ means forever, but she doesn’t need to know that yet.
“Fine, you go first.”
“Easy, what are you?” I ask, leaning forward eagerly. It’s been bugging me and I plan to find out one way or another.
“Forfeit,” she replies automatically.
Bella
“Forfeit,” I declare straightaway, leaning away from him, trying to create some distance. He eyes me knowingly, but relaxes back, the picture of elegance, not a hair out of place.
“Sit closer,” he demands.
“That an offer or the forfeit?” I tease.
His eyes sparkle and he scoots over, turning on the bed to face me. “Forfeit,” he clarifies.
Sighing, I get up and sit on the edge of the bed and turn towards him. Why I’m playing this stupid game with him, I don’t know. “How old are you?” I inquire.
He smirks then. “Like an older man, do you?” he flirts, but when I just cock my eyebrow, he gets real. “Older than every other apart from five...my brothers,” he admits. What does that mean? If he’s that old...he’s ancient. I eye him, but his next question has me focusing back on the game rather than his answer.