When we reached Amanda’s place, her parents fussed over her and lavished me with praise for nursing her back to health. As far as they were concerned, she’d been struggling with a drug habit. I stayed and hung out for a while, and I suspected they thought Ira was my boyfriend because Amanda’s mum pulled me aside at one point and whispered, “He’s quite a dish, Tegan. You did well for yourself.”
It made me wonder what it would be like to be with someone like Ira, especially since he didn’t talk. Would he just silently toss you around the bedroom and shag you senseless?
God, I was such a hussy. My hormones must’ve been acting up. Earlier today I was wondering what it would be like to sleep with Finn and now I was mentally undressing poor Ira. I wondered if Ethan would be jealous if he knew. The thought made me grin.
When we arrived back at Finn’s I was immediately hit with two distinct and opposing sensations. The first was the repulsion from the mist in the jar and the second was an altogether new one. I could feel Ethan’s presence so forcefully it almost knocked me off my feet. My entire body filled with unmistakable and violent lust for him. Jesus. This definitely wasn’t normal.
I steeled myself and tried not to give in to the urge that swept over me as I walked into the kitchen. Ethan, Lucas, Finn, Rita, and Delilah all stood around the table staring intently at the jar of mist. My legs practically turned to jelly at the sight of Ethan. It had to be because of his blood.
I’d imbibed far more than I should have and now I was paying the price, which was resisting the urge to drag him upstairs and tear off all his clothes. This so wasn’t me. It was like a sex fiend had burrowed under my skin, turning me into a horny psycho.
Ethan’s eyes flicked to mine, and I swore I saw his nostrils flare. Oh no, was he smelling how I felt? I blinked and did my best not to look at him, turning my attention to Rita instead.
“Are you any closer to figuring out how to get rid of it?” I asked.
“No,” she replied, frowning. “I’ve tried a whole variety of spells and nothing seems to work. I think I need to hit the books and see what I can dig up. Gabriel, Alvie, and Mum have gone to visit an old warlock friend of Gabriel’s. Gabe’s convinced this guy will be able to help us, but he lives off-grid in a cabin in the woods on the other side of the country, so they’ll be gone for a few days.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good. Did Gabriel and Alvie find anything at Michael Ridley’s place?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Rita sighed dejectedly.
Unintentionally, I found myself standing way too close to Ethan. My arm brushed his, and a bolt of lust shot through me. “Sorry,” I muttered, but he didn’t respond or acknowledge me at all. I did notice his posture stiffen slightly.
It was actually frightening how much I desired him. Rita began explaining something about one of the spells she tried earlier, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay her any attention. I wanted Ethan. I needed him.
Something came over me as I went up on my tiptoes, leaned in close, and rested my face in the crook of his neck. Then I flicked out my tongue and licked his smooth skin. His body went rigid, and he gripped my arm tightly.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, closing his eyes for a moment as though gathering himself. Hmm, perhaps he wasn’t so indifferent …
“Let’s go to my room,” I whispered.
“No,” he said firmly.
“But I’ve missed you,” I went on, leaning even closer and wrapping my fingers around his bicep. I gave him a long, meaningful look to communicate exactly in what way I’d missed him.
Ethan moved fast, dragging me out of the kitchen and shoving me into the empty living room. The others were too distracted by whatever Rita was saying to notice us. Ethan pushed me away from him and studied me from top to toe.
I tried to get close to him again, but he put his hand out, warding me off. “Don’t touch me. There’s something not right here.”
He rubbed his hand over his forehead, and even though he looked impeccable, there was something in his demeanour that told me he was tired.
For a moment, my concern for him overrode my lust. He might not have been treating me very nicely lately, but I still cared for him. I wasn’t the kind of person who could be intimate with someone and not feel a certain level of affection for them.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
His steely eyes pierced mine, and then suddenly, everything came pouring out of him. All the things he wanted to say but had been holding in the last few weeks. “Do you understand how difficult it is for me to be around you after what you did? Because of you, I have lost my home, my status, my business. These things were all taken from me. I was outlawed by my own people because I allowed my feelings and attraction for you to override my judgement.”
My chest pinched with that oh so familiar guilt. “I wasn’t trying to fool you. I was just trying to save Rebecca.”
His expression hardened. “If you had told me the truth, I might’ve been able to help you.”
“You wouldn’t have gone against Whitfield.”
“If you think that, then you underestimate the extent of how I felt for you,” he shot back, and it was like an arrow to my heart. I hated how he spoke in the past tense. Whatever feelings he once had for me didn’t exist anymore.
“I’m sorry,” I said in a quiet voice.
“Sorry doesn’t cut it. I lost my home.”
Tears pricked at my eyes, but I managed to keep them at bay. Ethan looked truly distraught, and I realised his house had meant a great deal to him.
“How long had you been living there?” I whispered.
There was a flash of sadness in his eyes. “Almost sixty years.”
I inhaled sharply. That was practically a whole lifetime for a human. I thought I couldn’t hate myself any more than I already did, but I was wrong. My gaze dropped to the floor. I wanted to tell him I was sorry again, but I knew he wouldn’t appreciate it.
Ethan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You’re young. You haven’t yet needed to call a place home, really call it home. When you’re as old as I am, having a place that’s yours is one of the few things that keep you sane.” His face went soft for a moment before hardening again. “I don’t have that any more thanks to you. And now you come sauntering up to me, thinking that a little seduction will convince me to forgive you. That’s a low move, Tegan.”
“That’s not what I’d been doing. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but my body wants you. How I came up to you in the kitchen, it felt like I was possessed. Might it be because I drank too much of your blood yesterday?”
His expression turned thoughtful. “It shouldn’t be that powerful.” He stepped up close to me and let his fingertips linger over my pulse, where it pounded in my neck. “I can sense your need for me so strongly. What is this?” he pondered, eyes roaming my face.
I turned my head so that my lips grazed his jaw. He muttered what sounded like a Romanian curse word.
“You are such a fucking temptation,” he said, sounding strained.
The lust I had managed to tamp down over the last few minutes was unleashed at his throaty declaration. “You can have me, all of me,” I said, completely shameless.