Solving the Vampire Murders

eighteen

Mandy blew out a loud breath, pulling the covers over her head. Faris was right. Pretending that she was normal around Torren wasn't going to work. Even the simple act of giving him a hug had been a mistake, but that's just who she was. A hugger. A hand-holder. They were old, comfortable habits that she wasn't ready to let go of.

Much like Torren.

But, Mandy couldn't deny she had been careless. In the aftermath of her visit to Faris' lab, Mandy had forgotten she couldn't touch Torren without taking the necessary precautions.

There were different digestables that a vampire could consume to seem less—cold. A combination of tequila, citrus fruit, and hot peppers could give the illusion of body heat. The capsicum pinked cheeks and warmed lips, while essential oils in citrus increased stagnant blood flow, and distilled blue agave pushed fire into veins. Ingesting anything other than blood or red wine wasn't a comfortable experience. Still, she was willing to suffer through to keep Torren and her sisters around for as long as she dared.

Faris didn't get close enough to people—vampires or humans—to make use of tequila or hot peppers. He sipped on thick, red wine, perfectly content to remain cold and detached. The thought caused Mandy to sink deeper into her blankets.

The memory of his hands on her waist. His low growl. The promise. It all flew in the face of that coldness. Faris, for all his calculated mannerisms, had allowed her to take a step closer. Inviting her into the close embrace of tango dancers.

Why can't I tell you no?

It was everything she wanted from him, yet, not enough. His words lingered on her like his scent. Cloves and overripe grapes mixed with the jarring taste of hope. Still, Mandy knew how this particular dance worked. The price of his closeness, of that small bit of vulnerability, meant he would push back.

Mandy wished the comfort of her plush mattress and down pillows could coax sleep from her body. Sleep would be a welcome break from everything else. It had been over a month since she had last dreamed, but that didn't stop her from pretending.

Closing her eyes, Mandy let her thoughts drift. She let go of her perfect memory and let fantasy take over. In her dreams Faris didn't hold back. Nothing in the way of his feelings, not even his precious experiments. Every test tube and beaker pushed off the counter. Glass shards strewn beneath discarded clothes. The crush of lips. The edge of his hips pressed between her thighs. Her name a growl in his throat.

Wrenching the covers off her head, Mandy forced herself to get up. She slipped out of her 80's party attire and into something more appropriate for Clint's last-minute Coven Calling—a black leather skirt and silky camisole. The text notifying her of the meeting came on her way home from the lab, worrying her nerves ever since.

The last time the coven had been called together Mona had barely crawled out alive.

Mandy pushed the thought from her mind, slipping into a pair of cherry-red kitten heels before running a brush through loose blonde curls. Instead of sneaking out the front door and tempting a run-in with Torren, Mandy flung open her bedroom window. With one smooth movement, she leaped from the window sill and out into one of the oak trees lining the yard. Strong hands gripping rough tree bark as she swung down to the ground. It was a miracle she didn't snap her heel on the dismount.

The sun had only just begun to peek over the horizon, orange and pink rays tingling her exposed skin and stinging her eyes. She slid out a pair of sunglasses from her purse and darted towards her SUV.

In the days after her rebirth, Faris had arranged for her car's windows to be tinted black. Then he had gifted her several pairs of sunglasses to prevent the glare of the sun from burning her new eyes. It was a necessity, as it turned out. Vampires didn't disintegrate in sunlight like movies suggested but were extremely affected by it.