Question: Does anyone know how Bracken/Brakken is spelled? I don't have a copy of Huntress handy, so I might be mispelling!

Thanks to Kalika Scott, JRepG, Ande, Perceive, and Kat for their reviews on Chapter 6!

Kat: Yes, Jez will make an appearance in the story. Morgead, on the other hand, will not.

JRepG: Of course I left the chapter like that! It's my job to keep you on the edge of your seat! Trust me, if you read LJ Smith, you will not be disappointed. My writing doesn't hold a candle to LJ Smith's. But thanks for the compliment. I would suggest you start of with the Night World Series, but sadly, they're out of print. So my next suggestion is Dark Visions because it's one of my absolute favorites. Next I would suggest Secret Circle. Also, Vampire Diaries and Forbidden Game are really good if you can get your hands on them. The four Vampire Diaries books may be out of print too because they were written back in the early 1990's. I haven't really checked because I have them all. But I know for a fact that most of the Night World Series is out of print--they're making a comeback though (they should have them reprinted with new covers at the end of 2006)--because I lost my copy of Daughters of Darkness while I was moving to a new house. I was devastated--no seriously. Wow, you really ought to give me an e-mail adress so I don't write these giant e-mails at the start of my chapters! Heehee.

Sorry y'all! There is a story beneath all this writing.

Chapter 7

They sprang apart. Clara found herself standing on jellied legs.

She quickly bent to pick up the bottle in order to hide her embarrassment. Her cheeks were flaming. She only hoped they weren't as red by the time she straightened herself. She pretended to fumble for the bottle a little. A hand reached down to help her, and their fingers touched again. It was like touching a hot wire. The buzz was still in the background of her mind, trying to bring back the nearly shattered connection. She fought it, her hand snapping back from his touch. They both straightened.

Drew handed her the bottle. She took it, being very careful to keep her fingers away from his.

Her heart was pumping double time. She swallowed hard. What was this anyway? What had just happened to her?

Brakken strode into the room, whistling. He took no thought for his dusty shoes the way Clara had. They probably had a house cleaning lady to come in after them, Clara thought. Her parents would be furious if she stepped across such a beautiful and ornate rug with dirty shoes. She didn't even know why she was thinking about shoes right then. Probably because she was afraid of looking Brakken in the face. She was afraid he knew what had happened between her and Drew.

She steeled herself and looked up. Brakken was smiling in his general and friendly way. He was wearing a slightly sweaty jersey and a pair of basketball shorts. She had to admit, that even like this, Brakken looked hot. He seemed to be completely oblivious to what had just happened between them.

She let out a breath that she hadn't known she was holding. She and Drew sent each other guilty glances.

"Clara!" Brakken mentioned, looking down at himself. He pulled a hand through his rumpled hair. "I'll be right back. I just have to go and change."

Clara found herself nodding like a puppet on a string. Her cheek muscles were getting another work out from smiling so much. She couldn't seem to help herself. It was almost as if she expected the smile to draw attention away from her red cheeks.

Brakken pointed his finger at his brother as he was leaving the room. The comment was only half-joking. There was an underlying thread of steel in Brakken's words. "Don't scare away the company."

It was clear to see that the brothers didn't get along very well.

Drew only smirked. The funny thing was that he actually looked like he wanted to scare away the company. He looked like he wanted to bundle her up and rush her out the door. Nowhere was to far from this house for Drew. He looked like he would fly her to the moon if it would keep her away from Brakken.

There was that territorial light in his eyes again. She definitely wasn't dreaming it up this time. And what had happened between them was no dream--it had been real. Clara didn't know what it was but she knew one thing: She hadn't dreamed it up. It was the singlemost real moment in her life.

"You should leave," Drew suggested as soon as Brakken had left the room.

"What?" She asked, feeling frazzled and confused.

"You should leave," Drew repeated. "Brakken doesn't have any problems with his math. He's never had problems with it."

What was he suggesting? And why did he have to be so dang vague about it? Why couldn't he just come out and say what he meant?

"What are you talking about?" She asked, swallowing. It did little good because her throat was so dry.

Drew gave her an exasperated glance. He was starting to get into one of his moody states. "Look, I can't explain it to you, okay? Just go. Just trust me and leave."

Clara frowned at him. This was the chance of a lifetime. She'd never get the chance to be this close to Brakken again. Could she really just up and leave. Then again, this was Drew's house too. It would be rather presumptuous of her to refuse to leave the property.

She felt a strange irritation in her. She wasn't the type to argue, but she felt like it just now. Who was Drew to insult her intelligence? Of course he could explain something to her and she would understand.

"Drew…" She didn't really know how to say what was thinking.

He put his hands on her shoulders to turn her around and try to guide her toward the door. The warmth of his hands seemed to penetrate through the cloth and seep into her skin. The balloon in her chest threatened to double again. Clara jumped back from his touch.

Drew was looking down at his hands as if they were betraying him.

"Please don't do that," Clara managed.

"Sorry," he responded, dropping his hands to his sides. She looked up at her and she had no reason to suspect that he was lying. This was all as new to him as it was to her. "I'm not meaning to—I mean…this isn't me. I'm not doing this. It's just sort of happening."

She nodded, biting her lip.

His look was pleading. "Clara, just go. Please leave."

There was just something so urgent in his expression that she had to comply. She nodded, goose bumps arising on her skin once more. She moved into the entrance and began to stuff her shoes onto her feet. They weren't complying very well with her jittery fingers. She was finally able to jam one of them one her feet and tie the shoelace. She almost felt like a kindergartener who was still learning to put her shoes on.

Brakken came thumping down the stairs at a jog. He was now dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt and—as good-looking as he had been before in his basketball uniform; he now looked ten times better. It wasn't until that moment that Clara noticed how much larger Brakken was than his brother. He was shorter by about an inch, but definitely more built with baby blue eyes to die for. His features were so much smoother and less accentuated. He was clearly the better looking of the two brothers—although Drew definitely had features to gawk at. But at that moment, he didn't hold a candle to Drew. Drew's mouth was so much more sensuous, his cheeks so defined in the light that fell from the chandelier.

The smile on Brakken's face slipped when he realized what she was doing. "What's going on?" He asked, turning from Clara to Drew.

"I'm going," Clara said, stuffing the other shoe on her foot. She yanked on the laces and tied quickly, straightening. She sent Brakken an apologetic glance.

Brakken, in turn, sent his brother a dark look. Brakken turned back to her, a sympathetic light in his blue eyes. He hopped down the landing from the second step, where he'd been resting against the banister with a confused glance. To Clara's surprise, Brakken began to stuff his own shoes on his feet.

"I'll drive you," Brakken suggested.

"It's all right," Clara replied. "I've got my car out front."

Brakken shrugged into a jacket and helped to guide her out the door, ignoring her protest. Clara didn't look back at Drew because she knew the expression she'd see on his face. She didn't think she could face the disappointment in his eyes.

She didn't even understand why she was all nervous and jittery. Drew had a really strange effect on her sometimes. She really wished that she could understand him sometimes. He was just so unfathomable—so… She couldn't think of the right phrase to coin him. All she knew was that he drove her nuts sometimes.

As soon as the door was firmly shut behind them, Brakken turned her around. He looked at her searchingly. "Are you okay?"

"I—" Clara's hands waved in floundering gestures. She wasn't sure exactly how to respond to that statement. She was finally able to finish what she had been trying to say, "I—well, yes."

"He didn't scare you, did he?" Brakken asked. "Did he play another one of his stupid jokes on you?"

"I—don't know." Is that what it had been? A joke? There was no reason for her to fear Brakken. He was one of the sweetest guys in school—and yet, for a moment she had actually believed Drew. She couldn't believe that she had fallen for that. He had been so nice to her…and all so that he could get her to believe him.

"The nerve of him," she muttered.

"Don't worry about him," Brakken said kindly. "He can be a jerk sometimes."

Clara took a deep breath and nodded. Somehow…realizing it was all a joke didn't seem to help her frazzled nerves much. Her emotions were all scattered and confused. Drew had felt the connection—she knew he had. So why would he be so heartless as to play a joke on her just then? Because he knew she was nervous and jittery and he could get a rise out of her?

He was exactly what everyone else said he was. She couldn't believe that she had begun to convince herself differently.

A soft breeze blew over the front porch, pushing her hair into her face, catching in her eyelashes. Brakken reached out and brushed it aside. Clara's heart thumped oddly. She couldn't believe that this was happening. To her of all people. Sure, she'd had a crush on Brakken forever, but she had never expected anything to come of it. Hold your horses, she told herself. Nothing has come of it. He's probably just trying to comfort you. He feels bad about what Drew did.

Brakken's hand rested there for a moment before it dropped.

"Are you okay?" He pressed again. "I mean, really okay?"

"I think I am," Clara managed coherently. "I just…I don't know. He almost had me convinced…"

"I never would have brought you here if I thought he'd been home," Brakken said, trying to reassure her. There was a troubled look in his eyes, as if he were trying to figure something out. "He's usually out getting into trouble until the wee hours of the morning. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Clara said. "I'm fine. Maybe I should just go."

"Wait," Brakken said, reaching his hand out to her shoulder just as she was about to turn. "Let me take you for a drive. You shouldn't be behind the wheel like this. We can go out and get some ice cream or something. When you've calmed down a bit, I can bring you back to your car."

Clara bit her lip. How could she refuse an offer like this? She might never get another one. Slowly, she nodded, feeling shy. "Okay."

Brakken grinned and they headed down the steps together. "My vehicle is the truck," he said, nodding to the shiny vehicle to the left of Drew's bright red sports car.

"I know," she said before she could stop herself. She shut her mouth, cursing silently. He's going to think you're a stalker or something, she scolded herself silently. But it's not as if every other girl in school didn't know exactly which car was Brakken's. That was common knowledge.

Brakken opened the door for her and she stepped in, hardly believing any of this was real. He shut the door behind her. She only had a few moments leeway before he opened the door on the other side. She let out a tiny little girlish squeal, feeling like an idiot for doing so. She clamped her lips together and began to place the seatbelt around her waist the moment the other door opened.

Brakken got in and started the car. She thought he was going to take her to the little ice cream shop just a few blocks away, but instead he turned down an old gravel road. The rocks grumbled under the car wheels.

"Where are we going?" Clara asked.

Brakken turned off to the side of the road once they were completely concealed within the hills. He shut off the engine and turned to look at her.

"What's going on?" Clara asked nervously.

"Look, I had to talk to you," Brakken said, turning to face her in his seat. He took off the seatbelt so that he was better situated. "I don't know if you know Drew all that well—sure, I'm sure you've heard stories, but you don't know the half of it. He's a dangerous person, Clara. I want you to stay away from him. For your safety."

Clara's breath caught in her throat. When she was finally able to talk again, she said. "What kind of things has he done?"

Brakken looked down guardedly, the lids drooping over his baby blues slightly. "I'm not supposed to talk about it," he said. "Father won't let me. Look—I just don't want you to get hurt. I'd hate to see that happen. Because," he looked up at her. "I really think you're kind of special."

Clara's stomach churned with pleasure and disappointment at the same time. She wasn't sure what she was feeling at the moment. She knew he must be right about Drew. No one would know better than his own brother. She didn't even know why it bothered her so much. She should be excited just to have Brakken looking at her like that—and it did. But there was an underlying pit of unease.

Brakken was moving toward her. He eyes widened to take him in and her heart began to race. She realized all the sudden that he was going to kiss her.

Without warning, the world began to fade. She fell into a black void.