Zack wagged a finger. “If you’re really a vampire. Prove it. Do something only a vampire could do.”
Mooney squinted. “Yeah. If you were really a vampire, you’d have some kind of power, right?”
“I plan to, but you won’t remember it.” Lucian moved toward Mooney with that look he got when he was trying to get into people’s minds.
“Lucian!” I warned. “I told you. No more memory wiping.”
Lucian sighed. “Then it would be easier if they believed what you’ve told them and stopped screeching like scared children.” He rolled up the sleeve of his suit and dragged a fingernail down his wrist, drawing blood.
Zack looked gruesomely entertained, but Mooney winced. “The hell, man,” Mooney muttered to himself.
Lucian’s wound bubbled, hissed, and sealed itself in an instant. “There. Convinced?”
Zack and Mooney weren’t convinced until Lucian patiently went through about five more demonstrations, including healing more wounds, lifting both Zack and Mooney up off their feet at the same time, and a close-up look as his canines.
“Okay,” Mooney said slowly. “So your boyfriend is a vampire.”
Zack folded his arms. “And some bad vampires want to hurt you because of it?”
I nodded. “That’s mostly the situation. Yeah.”
“How can we help?” Zack asked.
“By telling no one,” Lucian said.
“Wait.” Zack looked up at the ceiling, then snapped his fingers. “Werewolves. Are they real, too?”
“No comment,” Lucian said.
“He’s stingy with answers,” I explained. “You’re lucky you got this much.”
Lucian took my hand and started pulling me toward the hallway. “Come. We need you to get to your class or you’ll never pass the test on Friday.”
I gave Mooney and Zack a wave before I was out of the room, then grinned at Lucian. “How do you know about my test on Friday?”
“I meant what I said about not wanting to ruin your life. This school work is important to you. I’ve been making sure you keep on track with your studies.”
I pulled his arm toward me and gave it a little hug. “Normally I’d make a joke about how you probably just wanted to get in my pants. But…” I trailed off, remembering all too vividly how the disaster of last night had gone.
Lucian stopped me in the hallway, bending his neck to meet my eyes as he cupped my cheeks. “I’m attracted to you, Cara.” His jaw flexed and his eyes blazed. “I would do things to you…” He wet his lips, and I could feel the barely contained desire practically radiating off of him like heat. “There’s almost nothing I wouldn’t give to have you all to myself, even for one night. But the price is too great. I wouldn’t sacrifice you. You’re the one thing I wouldn’t give up.”
I lowered my eyes, smiling a little sadly. “I’m the one thing you wouldn’t give up to get… me. I’m not sure that entirely makes sense.”
“Sleeping with you while we’re bonded would be unforgivable.”
I chewed the corner of my lip, looking back up into his dark, penetrating gaze. “So what are the technicalities? What happens if you don’t, you know, go inside me?”
“The bond is only consummated through vaginal intercourse, if I feed on you, or through an obscure ritual I haven’t heard of anyone performing in a very long time.”
“So we could do other things, is what you’re saying.”
“Well, yes. But I don’t—”
I got on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips. He staggered backwards until we bumped against the window sill. I took two fistfuls of his suit, trying to keep him from running away again or pushing me off.
Lucian didn’t kiss me back at first, but then he seemed to relax into it, kissing me back as he hooked his arms around me, pulling me tight to his hard, lean body.
I gasped when he finally pulled back from the kiss. “You really need to get to class. Your test on Friday will be a quarter of your grade.”
“People post notes online,” I said, kissing his neck.
“These notes are good enough to get you through the test?” he asked.
“Yes, Dad,” I laughed.
Lucian smiled crookedly, revealing his vertical slash of a dimple. “I only want what’s best for you.”
“Right now, I’m so wet that I think I’m going to need to throw these panties away,” I whispered. “And I think your hand between my legs is what would be best for me.”
Lucian’s eyes widened. “You make a compelling argument for skipping class.”
I nodded. “Zack and Mooney are probably out of that lecture hall by now. We could see if it’s still empty.
I giggled when Lucian scooped me up and carried me toward the door. He opened it with his knee, then kicked it open and locked it behind us.
26
Lucian
I pressed Cara against the door as soon as it was closed. Her flirtations might as well have broken a dam inside me to release a torrential flood of hunger.