Before I had time to blink, I had my back against the wall. Scott’s hands were planted firmly on either side of my head. His body was pressed against mine, and his eyes were furious. ‘My kin and I do not joke about our nature.’ He bent his head to my neck and let his lips trail down the natural curve. I felt the sharp points of his fangs, and my pulse jumped and skittered unevenly. Scott inhaled once, deeply, through his nose, and then raised his head again. His eyes were closed and his face looked serene. ‘Such a wonderful aroma,’ he said dreamily.
‘Thank you,’ I answered sarcastically. Maybe it was unwise, under the circumstances, but I wasn’t thinking straight. Scott’s eyelids flew up, and the colour struck me again as electrifying. His breathing was slow, heavy – and completely unnecessary, if he was telling the truth.
I stared at his closed mouth, utterly fascinated. ‘Can I touch them?’ I asked in an awed whisper. Scott parted his lips in assent, and I stretched my fingers out slowly. Each of my pointer fingers rested on the tip of his fangs. I could feel how sharp they were, how easily they could slice through my skin, but I wasn’t afraid as I should have been. Smiling, I withdrew my hands and let them hang by my sides.
‘Are you scared?’ he asked harshly. I shook my head and opened my mouth to speak. Before any words could take shape, they were cut off by Scott’s soft, sweet kiss.
I lost myself in the moment. My fingers twined through his hair, tugging him, closer to me. It didn’t feel real, despite the feel of his mouth on mine. His hands were on my hips, his fingers digging in, so my body moulded to mimic the curve of his. When he paused, I was gasping for breath and felt flushed, but he looked cool and unruffled. Then I closed my eyes because his lips were fluttering over my collarbone.
‘I hated you, you know,’ I managed to whisper in between gasps.
Scott pressed me harder against the wall. ‘Is that so?’ he asked, knowing it couldn’t be true anymore. He swung me around and lifted me effortlessly onto the table we had been working at. The gesture effectively eliminated the previous problem of height difference.
‘I thought you were a jerk at college. Nobody really likes you. My best friend doesn’t understand why I want to spend time with you,’ I confessed, as tingles shuddered down my spine. Scott seemed utterly uninterested. ‘Speaking of college, how can you come out during the day? I thought the sun burnt vampires to a cinder,’ I said lightly.
Scott graced me with an answer. ‘Myth,’ he spared – one word, only – and then his lips were on mine again. I had more questions, but they would have to wait; for now, I was more interested in winding my legs around Scott’s waist. My fingers played with the buttons on his checked shirt, and in a flash Scott tore it off, leaving a pile of ripped fabric on my kitchen floor. I stifled a gasp at the sight of his bare, muscular chest.
I didn’t have any breath to spare for gasps after that.
***
Scott and I never got any work done when we were together. And yet, somehow, he secured it so that I got an A at the end of our chemistry project. He never volunteered information on the topic, and I never asked. I was happier not knowing, I figured.
