Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
The club throbbed with the rhythmic pulse of the music as I watched Connor perform on stage. Unease coiled in my bones, urging me to escape—to leave everything behind and vanish. Yet the weight of my mission anchored me.
Being here alone, without Vail, felt like a gamble, and the tension tightened my every nerve. When Connor texted me that morning, inviting me to watch his band rehearse, Vail had insisted I go.
“It would look suspicious if you didn’t,” she had said, her voice firm in the kitchen.
“What about you?” I asked.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured me with a grin. “The other night proved my wards are solid. Promise you’ll text me often, so I know you’re okay.”
As I stood against the brick wall, I sent her a reassuring text before tucking it back into my pocket.
Connor was dressed in his usual uniform of a white T-shirt and relaxed jeans.
His fingers danced across the strings of his guitar, and his gaze met mine.
A subtle smile graced his lips, and I felt a surge of heat coursing through me.
The memory of our steamy encounter in the shower flashed through my mind; I longed to be alone with him.
Was it merely physical attraction that stirred inside me, or was it the danger he embodied that sparked this primal desire?
The fleeting moment of connection evaporated as my gaze fell upon Sam and Ivy. Sam’s piercing stare bore into me like icy daggers, and I pretended not to notice. I forced a small smile before returning my attention to Connor.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Sam was behind the attack from that possessed woman and the attempted breach of Vail’s wards. Yet, I was troubled by the lack of his scent on the lawn or in the alley. It left me feeling uneasy.
As the song wrapped up, the band took a break. Diana headed over to the sound engineer, and Connor’s gaze found mine once more, a warm smile spreading across his lips. With his guitar slung over his shoulder, he jumped off the stage and walked toward me.
As he drew nearer, I noticed the cut on his lip and quickly scanned his body for any other injuries. His knuckles were bruised, and before I could stop myself, my fingers instinctively reached out to trace the line of the cut.
“What happened?”
“From the other night, we were on a job,” he explained, letting the last word linger. I didn’t need him to elaborate—I knew exactly what he meant by “job.”
A Vampire—just like me—had gotten close enough to Connor to draw blood, yet he had emerged alive, while I guessed the Vampire hadn’t been so fortunate.
“Does it hurt?” I asked, my eyes wide as I searched his for answers.
“I’ve been better,” he replied, offering a reassuring grin.
I was troubled by questions. Who had he faced? Was it a Vampire I’d seen around the club? Did Vail know them? I brushed away those thoughts; it didn’t matter now. Whoever it was had undoubtedly become nothing more than ashes in the wind.
“Do you like being a Vampire Slayer?” I whispered, unsure if Connor had told the others I knew about their secret.
“Like is a strong word,” he replied, uncertainty flickering in his eyes, as if he wanted to say more.
He leaned in, his lips almost brushing against mine.
A surge of desire washed over me, a longing to kiss him and feel the warmth of his body.
But beneath that yearning lay a fear of the predator in front of me.
“So, how exactly does one kill a Vampire?” I murmured, my breath barely a whisper against his lips. Connor smiled; his gaze locked with mine. He slid his guitar from his shoulder, leaning it against the wall with a soft thud.
“Well, first, I would never get this close to a Vampire,” he asserted.
“Noted,” a playful smile on my lips.
“But if I did, then I would do this.” In an instant, he seized my arms, wrapping his large hand around my wrist and pinning it above my head against the wall. I playfully wiggled my fingers, but Connor’s grip was firm.
“With the other hand, I would take a weapon, preferably made of wood, like a stake.” He demonstrated, holding an invisible stake between his fingers.
“And then I’d plunge it right here, into his non-beating heart.
” Mimicking a stabbing motion, he feigned driving the stake into my chest, then gently rested his flat palm against my own non-beating heart.
Not wanting his hand to linger too long in the absence of my heartbeat, I acted swiftly, crushing my lips into his. Shifting his hand from my chest to under my chin, he lifted my head, deepening the kiss.
Sam yelled from up on stage into a microphone, the noise reverberating through the small venue’s speakers. “Connor, stop flirting and get your ass up here.”
I felt Connor smile against my lips. “Let’s continue this later,” he said, and kissed the tip of my nose before running back to the stage.
I stood there for a moment catching my breath.
“How are you feeling?” I heard someone say. I turned around, and Diana was standing next to me.
“About what?” I asked.
“After you threw up the other day.”
“Oh, yeah. I feel much better. I think it was food poisoning. Probably from something I ate,” I told her.
“Well, I’m glad you’re not sick,” she said and put her hand on my arm, smiling at me.
“Me too.”
“I’ll see you later,” she added as she walked toward the stage.
“Slut.” I spun around to find Ivy passing me, her words dripping with venom.
“Do you have a problem with me?” I confronted her.
“I noticed your friend lurking around the other day,” she hissed. “I know she’s been following me.”
“Ivy, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do, and it’s suspicious.”
Connor reappeared, breaking the charged atmosphere. “I forgot my guitar,” he said, grabbing it from where it lay against the wall beside me. “What are you guys talking about?” he inquired, looking between us.
“Nothing,” Ivy replied smoothly. “See you later,” she added, walking past me toward the stage. She turned back to Connor. “I thought we agreed this was going to be a closed rehearsal,” she remarked, a hint of reproach in her tone. I noticed Connor’s cheeks flush slightly in response.
Turning to me, Connor kissed my cheek, “You okay?”
“Ivy is kind of a bitch.”
“Yeah, she is, but you get used to it.”
“Do you want to head back to your place for a bit and hang out?” My tone carried a hint of flirtation as I touched his arm.
“I’d love to, but we have to rehearse until the show, since the club has hired a new sound engineer.
Rumor has it that Jet Phoenix is in town, and I’m hoping he’ll be here tonight,” Connor replied with a mix of excitement and regret.
“But you’ll be back tonight for the show?
” he asked, his hand finding a place on my waist.
“Yes, Vail and I will be here.”