Whispered Kisses

Chapter 2 - Manhunt and tea?

“No one is trying to get you in the sack,” she snidely replied with words glazed of venom.

“Are you sure? Because I make a hell of a lover,” he grinned to himself. Centuries of practice would do that to you.

“No one is trying to get you in the sack,” she repeated heavily, “…Valerie?!”

“She’s gone…,” he chimed, leading her into his bedroom, “See? No Valerie here.”

The girl did a quick look through the bedroom, not forgetting to check the bathroom while she was at it. All the while, Austin watched. He noted how she twiddled with her fingers as she worriedly searched the room, and how she’d bite on the edge of her nail when she’d stand still to think of any other possible places Valerie could be hiding. Austin also didn’t overlook the way the small of her back curved inward before meeting with a small, but perky backside that was covered in skintight, blue jeans.

“What did you do with my friend?!” she snapped, turning to meet his now startled azure eyes.

“Nothing.”

“She was with you last night!”

“Yes…and she enjoyed it. Then, she left. Personally, I tend to steer away from clingy girls. You know, they become all psychotic and what not,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders smugly. The girl, who still hadn’t bothered to introduce herself, pulled out her cell phone and quickly searched for Valerie’s number. Seconds later, the hum of Valerie’s cell phone resonated from underneath the white comforter on his bed. Austin moved calmly, grabbing the phone.

“It’s Emma. Hold on a second,” answering the phone, he placed it to his ear, “Hello?”

“You moron,” she growled, ending the call.

“Would you give this to her when you find her, Emma?” he smiled, moving in to hand her Valerie’s bedazzled cell phone. Emma angrily snatched the phone away from his cool hand, meeting his playful stare with frustration. ‘Why is he such an ass?!’ she questioned herself. An ass indeed, but there was something in his stare that made her nervous. He was confident, maybe a little bit too confident. And he was charming—in his own weird, disgusting way. Austin had a way with the ladies. Maybe it was his debonair stare or that lazy grin that leaned more to one side of his face. Whatever it was made her shiver internally with a mixture of ease and fear.

“Was there something else you needed?” His voice was soothing, like warm honey on a frosty, December evening.

Suddenly finding her throat dry, she cleared it before rasping out a simple, “No.”

With that same lazy grin, he nodded his head, “It was nice to meet you, Emma.”

She nodded in response before walking past him, giving him another whiff of the sweet softness of her skin. Damn how it made the beast in him stir. It urged him to taste, to sample, to take just a little bite, but Austin had the common sense not to. He scowled himself, pushing the thought out of his mind.

“Thanks for stopping by,” he shouted as he heard her footsteps retreat down the stairs. A moment later he heard the door open and then shut.

Emma walked pensively to her car. If Valerie wasn’t home, where else could she be?

Hoping that they missed each other on the road, Emma slid into her Jeep, settling herself into her seat. She was exhausted. Last night’s fiasco took a lot out of her. If she’d known she would have to babysit a twenty-one year old, she would have cancelled their plans and stayed home. But being the caring person she was, Emma wasn’t going to permit Valerie to go partying by herself. She worried about all of her friends, most of them called her motherly, a lot of them even dared to say that she was too uptight.