Chapter 5

The whole way back to the house I was very aware of how dumb I looked. It was late afternoon in the Georgia summertime. A few people definitely gave me weird looks but I tried not to look back. I was very afraid of what would happen if I uncovered myself. I could already feel the energy I'd gotten from eating the soup fading. Maybe I should have eaten more.

The hoodie was big so I pulled my hands into the sleeves and I kept my head down so no sunlight could hit me directly. I was okay but I was beginning to sweat and not in a good way. It was so bright that I could barely see where I was going but I'd walked back to the Bellas house from here so many times before that it didn't matter much.

I walked through the gate and up the drive, realizing that I didn't even check to see where my keys were. I patted my pockets one at a time and then sighed. I was going to have to ring the doorbell. Forgetting my keys would piss Aubrey off even more. It was kind of a weekly thing with me. You'd think she'd be used to it. I'm absent-minded sometimes... Aubrey usually just rolls her eyes at me and unlocks the door but I always hate it and feel stupid. Why can't I just remember my things like everyone else?!

Why we need to keep the door locked during the day is beyond me anyway but it is Aubrey's rule, not mine. I stepped up to the door and held a hand out, finger extending to push in the button. Now, I just had to wait. A whole fifteen seconds later the door flew open and I was pulled inside.

The hood flew off my head and I found myself being smothered by two strong arms. Then just as quickly I was pushed back and I stood there bewildered.

"Two days, Chloe." Aubrey still had a firm grip on my arms and I could feel her fingers clutching me through the cotton of the hoodie. "TWO DAYS. No calls, no texts and you missed your classes. How are you ever going to pass Russian Lit if you keep skipping?"

My shoulders hunched and I half smiled up at her. "I'm sorry?" Her glare bore into me but being the object of her displeasure didn't feel like it normally did. Her anger excited me somehow. I could sense her fear. Aubrey might get a little uptight sometimes but she cared more than anyone that I'd ever met. My feelings for her had always been a bit confused.

We were somewhere between the lines that separated friends from more than friends. I struggled to define our relationship but most of the time I just let it be. We hooked up when we weren't with other people and we spent practically every day together doing things that couples usually did. I tried not to question it.

"I swear I didn't mean to but we ended up going somewhere and I left my phone"

"Where the hell did you go for two days? And why are you wearing all those clothes when it's ninety-five degrees outside?"

Two good questions. One of which I was going to ignore. "Um, Danny's parents invited us to their lake house." At least there was one true thing about it. Danny's mom and dad did own a lake house and I had been invited up there while we were seeing each other. Who was I kidding? the biggest part of it was a lie. I was totally going to hell. Not that I was really clear on the rules of vampires and getting into heaven. Maybe I should have asked Jesse how long I'd been gone. There were some seriously big questions I hadn't even thought to ask because I wanted to get home before Aubrey sent out the cavalry. Also, I just wanted to see her.

"I swear I'll never let it happen again and before you ask, Danny and I are not a thing. I promise." I pulled Aubrey closer in a play to distract her from the dubiousness of my story. I knew she wasn't going to buy it and I knew she would ask more questions but there was one sure way to distract Aubrey Posen when she was on a mission.

"Chloe…"

"Can we just go upstairs." I slowly blinked and looked right into her eyes, pouring all the seductive energy I could into my expression. Her mouth closed and she stopped just when she was about to protest and a queer kind of look came over her face. Her pupils dilated and her face relaxed.

"Upstairs," she echoed.

I blinked and so did she. Whatever weirdness just happened made me flash back to the night and how I felt when the vampire got close to me. Aubrey tugged at my hand and I walked along wondering what weirdness was going to happen next. For now I was just glad that she wasn't yelling at me.

When we got to our room I pushed her onto my bed and stood there over her. A sense of power filled me and for once I felt so strong in comparison. She was at my mercy. I liked it and I didn't. It was new and strange. I liked our dynamic. Not so much that she felt like she had to look after me but she was usually the one who threw her weight around. I just kind of started things off. In her eyes I could see that I could have her any way I wanted right now. Aubrey Posen was waiting for me to take her. Something about the slackness in her face and the situation made my stomach turn, or maybe that was just the weird ass soup that Jesse gave me.

I couldn't do it. I wanted to so badly but I couldn't. My whole body was screaming at me to just lean down and kiss her. I swallowed and tried to step away. My feet remained motionless until I stepped even closer. I was so not in control. "This isn't a good idea," I whispered.

She raised a hand for me to take and I did. Instead of giving in, I closed my eyes and tried to breathe but with each deep inhalation I caught her scent. I hadn't even touched her and she was ready. This was too much. Too fast. I dropped her hand and turned away. I felt exhausted with the effort of resisting.

And just like that I found the true meaning of hunger. The thought of blood and sex mingled in my mind, creating a perfect hell that I wanted so much to drink in. The beastly thing that I'd been turned into roared, wanting to be let out and I didn't know how to stop it. Two seconds and I was on top of her.

I leaned down and ran my tongue from her collarbone just above her t-shirt all the way up to just below her ear. She squirmed below me and I wanted so badly just to bite the perfect skin. I just wanted to taste her. Her arms tightened around my back and pulled me closer. My mouth was open, poised above her throat but at the last second I kissed her instead. How I managed it I'll never know but I just lost myself in the insistent push of her tongue against mine until I was able to pull back and roll away.

"Well, that was a hell of a thing."

This was really not going to be easy.