Kissing Skulls *Revised*

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I tried to be a good girl.  Honestly, I did—but the curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn’t help myself.

I tip-toed after Dustyn and peeked over his shoulder the moment he reached the doorway.  Just in time to catch sight of a dark figure rushing across the foyer.

Fear shot through me.  My first thought was that  Dustyn’s father had returned for another round of verbal abuse.

 Thankfully, as the person in question moved past the light of the chandelier, I could make out a stern, hooked nose and shaggy brown hair—both utterly familiar.   

No soulless black eyes in sight. 

“Dustyn!”  Dave shouted as he made his way across the entryway.  “Where is she?  Is she—”

His gaze fell over me, and he surged forward.  The next moment, I was engulfed in his arms before I could blink.

“Well, hello there,” I murmured into the crook of his shoulder.

Happily I slid my arms around him—quite pleased this time with the tingles I felt run up and down my spine.  No weirdness withthis touch, just…rightness.

  “What a pleasant surprise.”

He shocked me by pulling back, forcing me to look up to meet his stern expression.

 “Shut the hell up Mary.”  His arms snaked around my waist, holding me tighter, even as he grouched.  “Dustyn told me what happened.  You could have been…”

He swallowed, and I had to look away before I did something stupid, like cry. 

Go figure.  Mister Slayer had probably called Dave while I had been preoccupied in the bathtub to dish on all the ways I was an epic failure who needed to be protected at all times. 

Wonderful. 

I rolled my eyes, and glared over at Dustyn who watched us both with an unreadable expression. 

“You’re such a party pooper,” I whined at him.  “One of you is enough—I don’t need two macho men running around fretting about my welfare.”

I expected some smart-ass comment about how I was a clutzy idiot and that it would take a lot more than just him and Dave to keep me from killing myself by tripping over my own tennis shoes—something like that.

But, he flinched, and I wondered for a moment if I had said something wrong…

My mouth flew open to issue some generic apology—but like always, that icy cool was back in the blink of an eye.  I could have only imagined the little slip…if it weren’t for the way he spoke to me next.

 “This isn’t the time for games.”  His icy tone shocked me the same way as if he’d dumped a bucket of cold water on my head. 

Whatever vulnerability he showed before was all but hidden beneath a blank, serious mask.  Now, he was one hundred percent Dustyn the robotic wonder again, and…for some reason I felt sad.

I’d be damned if I knew why. 

“The vampires seemed determined to kill you for some reason,” he continued.  His eyes were on me, and I shivered a little in my borrowed sweatshirt.

  “We need to know why.”

“What does it matter?”  I argued, sinking a little more into the front of Dave’s cotton tee.  “They tried to break my neck—is the motive really relevant?”