Legacy (Vampire Awakenings Book 12) Page 2

  “Hey!” she greeted too loudly. “You made it!”

  “I made it,” Kyle replied.

  “Let’s dance!”

  “No, thanks.”

  Her smile didn’t waver as she danced closer, and he realized she was one of those people who did not take hearing no well. But, who did?

  “Come on,” she cajoled. “Just one dance.”

  As she said it, the music switch to a slower song. Kyle opened his mouth to tell her no again when Melanie and her friend left the doorway. Shit.

  No matter how badly he wanted to go after her, he stopped himself. He couldn’t stalk her through the home. It would only scare her away again, and he couldn’t risk that. They’d just arrived and wouldn’t leave yet. He had to give her some time and space; otherwise, she would think he was a freak who was stalking her.

  And she wouldn’t be completely wrong in her assessment.

  With a sigh, Kyle resigned himself to staying away from her, for now.

  When the woman reached for his hand, revulsion twisted in his stomach. Before he realized what he was doing, he stepped away from her.

  “I’m going to get some more beer,” he said.

  He didn’t wait for her to reply before he turned and walked away. Kyle wound his way through the crowd and over to one of the kegs. He lifted the nozzle, topped off his beer, and gulped it down. If he were human, he’d probably end up plastered, but he filtered alcohol out fast.

  He filled his cup again before striding back to the dance floor in the hopes Melanie had returned. She hadn’t, but the girl was still there, and when she spotted him again, she homed in like a missile on its target.

  Though he’d prefer not to dance with her, he accepted her invite. If he was going to stay, he had to appear normal, and lurking on the outskirts of everything wouldn’t help him blend in.

  ***

  As Melanie made her way through the house, she ignored most of the people she encountered; she didn’t know them.

  She was in her senior year of college and attending summer school to graduate after the fall semester, and she barely knew anyone outside of Lucy. But, to be fair, neither of them had made a lot of friends.

  Lucy was friendly with more people than her, but they weren’t friends with any of them. They didn’t call, text, or hang out with each other. They simply knew each other well enough to say hi in passing.

  A twinge of regret tugged at Melanie. She’d spent over three years here, and all she would have to show for it was a degree.

  These people would leave here with friends, lovers, some with marriages, and a few with children. They’d come here and embraced the college lifestyle. They’d opened themselves up to everything it had to offer.

  Three short years ago, she’d come here with the same intentions. Melanie was determined to enjoy everything a normal life had to offer, but she soon realized she could never truly do that.

  Her life was as far from normal as it got, and no matter how hard she tried to stop it, her awareness of that abnormality bled into her days all the time.

  Sure, many of the people here were trying to reinvent themselves after high school, but they didn’t have her bizarre background.

  And even if she could become a whole new Melanie, she would have to constantly lie to everyone she became friends with about her past. They never talked about it, but she suspected Lucy had come to the same conclusion.

  Lucy originally joined the clubs, attended the parties, and threw herself into the social life more than Melanie. But after a couple of months, she drifted away from the clubs and the people always inviting her out.

  They’d fled their pasts and came here together, but they could never escape themselves. And now that college was almost over, she had no idea what lay ahead of her. She intended to get her master's in social work, but then what?

  She had no idea. She’d run as far from her past as possible, but it would never let her go.

  So what would she do after college? Get a job and… what? Continue to live like a normal person while always lying about her upbringing and her father? And what if she met someone? How could she possibly build a life with them if she had to lie to them about who she was all the time?

  And there was absolutely no way she could ever tell them the truth. Not only would they never believe her, but they’d probably run screaming for the door. Even if they did believe her, they’d probably run, and she couldn’t blame them if they did.

  Three years ago, she arrived here with so much hope, but it had died as reality sank in. Now, she had as many uncertainties as when she was trapped with her father and the others.

  Growing up, she’d always feared her father would never set her free. Then, she’d been set free, but after a few months of freedom, it sank in that they’d clipped her wings without her realizing it. So, instead of plunging into the college lifestyle as she’d planned, she skirted the edges of it while she waited for something to rip it away.

  She and Lucy stopped to refill their drinks before continuing to a back room with a pool table and dartboards. The room was crowded but not as much as the rest of the house.

  Melanie settled into a chair and tried to relax as she sipped her beer. These parties weren’t her thing, but she forced herself to attend at least some of them. She may never have fully immersed herself in the college lifestyle or established any lifelong relationships, but she tried to enjoy as much as she could.

  So, she attended the parties with Lucy, danced, and talked with the people attending. She never exchanged numbers because, even if she liked the people she met, she wouldn’t make plans with them again.

  Talking for one night, laughing, and sharing drinks was one thing. Getting together again led to people wanting to learn more about her, and she didn’t have answers to their questions.

  However, she wouldn’t leave school with nothing. She’d have memories of laughter and parties and people she truly liked, even if she never learned more about them. They would be bittersweet memories, but those were far better than only having memories of the apartment she shared with Lucy and her classrooms.

  She sipped her beer and welcomed the warmth of the alcohol seeping through her system. A young man playing pool smiled and waved at her. She smiled back as her thoughts returned to Kyle.

  She couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to get to know him a little better. As soon as the idea crossed her mind, she shut it down, but it kept niggling at the edges of her brain.

  Drinking more of her beer, she attempted to drown it out.

  CHAPTER 3

  An hour later, when she felt buzzed and happy, Melanie made her way back through the house. The rational part of her mind kept telling her to stop, but the beer and a shot of tequila had hushed the rational part a lot.

  Twenty minutes ago, Lucy wandered off with a pretty young girl, and Melanie hadn’t seen her since. Lucy hadn’t left, she wouldn’t do that without letting Melanie know first, but it would probably be a while before she saw her again.

  Melanie wiped away the sweat beading on her brow before tugging at the shirt clinging to her damp skin. As the night progressed and more people filled the rooms, the house became increasingly like a sauna.

  She found Kyle almost exactly where she last saw him. He was dancing with a couple of girls who were practically drooling on him. An unexpected knot of jealousy lodged in her chest and festered there. She willed her feet to turn around and go back, but the traitorous bastards didn’t move.

  Instead, she found herself admiring the way his jeans hugged his firm ass and the obvious bulge in the front of them. To quench her growing lust, she took another sip of beer, but it doused her growing desire as much as gasoline extinguished a fire.

  She’d had a few sexual experiences since coming to college, but none of them were overly exciting. They were just guys who piqued her interest.

  Though she saw two of them on a fairly regular basis, they never shared anything beyond their one night with each other. She never saw the third guy again.

  She supposed, technically, they could all be considered one-night stands, but she didn’t look at them that way. They were her experiences, and she didn’t regret them.

  She probably would have tried to develop something more with one of them, especially her first. He was sweet, cute, and really liked her, but when he asked about her parents, she realized she’d have to lie to him for the rest of their time together, and she couldn’t do that.

  So instead of telling him more about herself, she stopped answering his calls. She still couldn’t meet his gaze when they ran into each other in the halls, at the cafeteria, or parties.

  However, none of those men had intrigued or enticed her as much as Kyle. When he lifted his head and their eyes met again, her spark of interest surged into an inferno no amount of alcohol could extinguish.

  The sexy smile curving his mouth caused butterflies to erupt in her stomach, and an ache spread between her legs. She wanted him more than anyone else before him, and she’d consumed enough alcohol to make it seem like a good idea.

  When the song changed, he broke away from the girls and glided toward her. And that was by far the best way to describe how he moved… gliding. He was like the ocean flowing over sand, all grace and beauty with a hint of danger lurking beneath the surface.

  When he stopped before her, she had to tip her head back to take in all of him. He was about six foot two, a good ten inches taller than her, and she liked it.

  When his smile revealed all his perfect white teeth and the hint of a dimple in his right cheek, she smiled back at him. She told herself it was the light reflecting in his midnight blue eyes that caused them to sparkle, but she had a feeling they always twinkled.

  With the confident way he carried himself, it was evident Kyle knew how good-looking he was and his effect on women, but he wasn’t arrogant about it. Plus, she liked confidence; it was sexy.

  Kyle drank in Melanie’s cinnamon-colored hair, tawny eyes, round face, and the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her button nose. The dusky rose color of her bow-shaped lips was natural. He almost stroked her cheek but managed to restrain himself from caressing her sun-kissed skin.

  “So, we meet again,” he said.

  To be fair, he was determined to make sure that happened.

  Melanie nervously licked her lips. She still had no idea what she’d planned on doing while making her way back here, but at least she didn’t run as she had during their first encounter.

  “So, we meet again.” As the silence stretched on, her brain fumbled for something to say until she blurted. “I’ve never seen you at one of these parties before.”

  “I’ve never been invited before.”

  “Oh.” She was rocking this conversation with her witty insights. “Are you new to the school?”

  “More like trying to decide.”

  “Trying to decide what?”

  “If I want to attend.”

  “Oh.” There went her stellar conversation skills again. “Do you have friends who go here?”

  “I did once, but not anymore.” It wasn’t a lie. Dante, his future brother-in-law, had attended the college, and Kyle considered him a friend.

  “So why do you want to go here?” Melanie asked.

  “Because I like what I’ve seen so far.”

  She realized he wasn’t talking about the campus when he gave her a pointed look. She fought against the blush creeping up her neck as she resisted the impulse to tug at her shirt again. The thin, yellow shirt had been cool and comfy when she put it on. Now, it was suffocating her.

  “Oh,” she murmured. “Well, if you have any questions about the classes or the campus, I can probably answer them for you.”

  “I’ll have to take you up on that later. But, for now”—he held his hand out to her—“would you like to dance?”

  The idea of touching him almost caused her to bolt again, but she managed to keep herself restrained from fleeing. However, she couldn’t stop herself from staring at his hand like an idiot.

  Take it! But even with the tequila bolstering her confidence, her doubts and the same problems she always had roared back to life. No matter how close they got, she could never share much of herself with him.

  Oh, for fuck’s sake, it’s a dance, not a marriage proposal! Being asked to dance shouldn’t make you this neurotic. That was completely true, but it did.

  Then someone bumped her from behind and nearly knocked her into Kyle as she staggered forward.

  “Whoops, sorry,” a girl said and giggled as she danced into the room.

  She barely heard the girl as his peppermint scent filled her nostrils. The sweet, crisp scent was impossible to resist, and she wanted to get closer. When she slipped her hand into his, a jolt went through her.

  The jolt wasn’t unpleasant, but it was strong enough to remind her of the time when she accidentally grabbed an electric fence as a kid. Her father had taken her to a farm with all kinds of livestock, but the horses drew her attention the most.

  She’d always wanted to pet a horse, but she’d never been that close to one before, and while her father negotiated buying a bunch of meat from the farmer, she crept closer and closer to the paddock until she stood on the other side.

  The horse’s ears flickered toward her as it munched its grass, but it didn’t run away. The size of the animal scared her, but she was too captivated by it to turn back. Determined to pet the beautiful animal, she grasped the fence and nearly shrieked when the electric wire running along the inside of the board zapped her.

  Blood filled her mouth when she bit her tongue and staggered away from the fence. She glanced back at her father and the farmer, but neither of them had seen what happened. When she approached the fence again, she stayed away from the upper board and stuck her hand inside the paddock.

  Stretching her fingers forward, she was desperate to touch the horse and to experience something normal for once in her short life. And then, her fingers brushed against its cheek. It snorted as it stomped its feet, and she held her breath as she waited for it to bolt, but it didn’t.

  On the verge of tears, she’d hung half inside the paddock as she pet the animal again and again. After her father finished with the farmer, he had to pull her away from the animal.

  She’d stared at the horse as her father, keeping his hands on her shoulders, led her to their car. On the drive back to the facility, a single tear slid free. He never took her to the farm again.

  This jolt she shared with Kyle was nowhere near as painful as the one the fence gave her, but it was every bit as startling. Involuntarily, her fingers clenched around his as he led her out to the dance floor.

  Unable to stop herself, Melanie laughed as he spun her around before pulling her into his arms. Her head tipped back, and she grinned up at him as they swayed together. She didn’t care about the heat as much when their bodies pressed together.

  She’d never danced with a guy before. Until now, she hadn’t realized it had never happened. It was such a simple thing, and she was denied it, along with so much else in her life.

  For the first time in a while, anger swelled inside her. Once she escaped the facility, she was determined not to wallow in self-pity and put her past behind her. She didn’t want to live a life filled with resentment, but being starkly reminded of all she’d been denied only enflamed the anger she’d spent years trying to overcome.

  However, when Kyle’s thumb stroked her hand, that anger vanished. Not only was this her first time dancing with another, but it felt so incredibly right. She could spend every night in his arms.

  She gulped when she realized she was getting way ahead of herself and shut down any more imaginings of a future between them.

  The song was upbeat, but Kyle kept her close and moved with a confidence that made the fact they weren’t dancing fast seem totally normal. When his hands settled on the small of her back, she couldn’t stop the shiver of delight that ran through her over the possessive gesture.

  She shouldn’t do it, but she couldn’t resist closing her eyes and resting her head on his chest. Beneath her cheek, he was a wall of solid muscle that flexed as they danced like they were the only ones in the room. And as far as she was concerned, they were.

  Kyle savored the rightness of holding Melanie in his arms. She was small, but he felt her breasts' lushness as they moved together.

  She was unlike any of the other women he held over the years. She calmed him and brought a sense of peace to his life he hadn’t experienced since childhood. He never wanted to let her go.

  CHAPTER 4

  When the music changed, neither one of them pulled apart, and they danced through a few more songs before she lifted her head to look up at him.

  “I need a drink,” she said as she pitched her voice over the music and the crowd.

  “Then let’s go.”

  He reluctantly released her but rested his hand possessively against her hip. They walked out of the room and into the kitchen. She lifted a cup from the stack on the crowded, white tile countertop and poured herself a glass of tap water.

  Standing at the sink, Melanie stared out the window and into the backyard. There were people out there, playing beer pong and sitting in the shadows. Suddenly, the stifling heat of the house hit her again, and she yearned to be out there with them.

  She poured herself another glass of water before turning to Kyle. He was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest while he watched her. Her breath caught a little as those magnificent eyes perused her. Everywhere his eyes touched, her skin prickled with awareness.

  Afraid she would throw herself at him and desperate to be free of this oppressive place, she asked, “Do you want to go outside?”

  Kyle lowered his arms to hold his hand out to her. He smiled when she took it and followed him out the back door. Though it was a hot July night, stepping outside was like walking into air-conditioning after being inside the house.