FEBRUARY 21, 1986/Boston, Massachusetts
Of all the things I expected from this evening, this wasn't among them.
I thought I'd go to the club, watch Evangeline, make eye contact, maybe buy her a drink. Engage in small talk, charm her into giving me her number. Lay the groundwork for using her to lure her brother out of hiding.
I didn't expect that she'd press her curvy, gorgeous body against mine. Didn't anticipate she'd kiss me with such passion, such ferocity, that a long-dormant spark would alight in my chest. Didn't think I'd feel my first twinge of lust in decades.
"My dorm's not far. We can take a taxi, or walk. Kerri and I took a taxi to the club, because it's still pretty cold."
We're hand in hand, walking down a dark Boston street. I won't let go of her because of the men that lurk in the shadows and alleys. At best, they look like human trash, dregs that would devour petite Evangeline in a second. At worst, they look like underworld thugs that would devour her in a different way.
Probably to the drunk college students staggering past, those men of the underworld probably seem like bikers, or drug dealers, or random tough guys. The kind of men that humans overlook every day. I know better. Given Evangeline's background, I wonder if she does, as well.
Regardless, she's mine for tonight. The question is, what am I going to do with her?
"The dorm's down this street, then to the left." She points ahead of us. "How did you know I lived in the dorm, anyway?"
Her voice slices through my thoughts and the icy Boston air. We've rounded a corner and are headed toward Kenmore Square, a seedy part of town that seems to cater to American baseball fans and punk rockers, if the people with mohawks flowing into a bar called The Rathskeller are any indication.
I squeeze Evangeline's hand. "Educated guess. Doesn't everyone in Boston live in dorms."
She stops in front of the bar and stares into my face, tilting her head so her red hair spills over her shoulder. "Where do you live, Matteo?"
Her green eyes are so beautiful that I can't help but lean in for a kiss. One more thing I didn't anticipate: that I enjoy kissing her. So very odd.
"You didn't answer me," she murmurs against my mouth, then giggles.
Out the corner of my eye I spot several shady-looking guys in black, smoking outside the club. They eye me cautiously, and look to Evangeline with interest. Of course they do; she stands out with that long, red mane and her gorgeous face. I idly wonder if she wanders around here at night on her own, and a brief shudder flows through me.
I tug Evangeline away. Not that I couldn't fight a pack of undesirables on my own.
"I'm a bit of a nomad." That's a good hedge, perhaps.
"So you don't have a home?"
I let out a chuckle. "Having second thoughts about me?"
"I don't bring just any homeless guy back to my dorm, you know. You're special."
"My home is in Italy."
There's a pause, and I suspect she's working through the logistics of all this in her mind. "So why are you here in Boston? And for how long? Are you a student?"
We walk under a highway overpass, the darkness enveloping us. She edges closer to me, and out of instinct, I let go of her hand and slide my arm around her shoulders. The cars whizzing past don't drown out the crackling sexual tension I feel between us.
"I'm in town on business. I'm here for a few weeks, maybe a month. Just arrived the other day."
"I see. You seemed like you could be a graduate student, but too old for undergrad."
I know she's fishing for my age, but I don't want to go down that particular road. "And you? How about you?"
"Senior at Boston University. Pre-med. Just turned twenty-one last month. I've been accepted to BU's medical school, and I start in the fall."
"Impressive. What kind of medicine do you want to practice? Do you know yet?"
She flashes me a smile. "I'm interested in virology. The study of viruses."
Her answer makes me feel as if I have ice freezing in my veins. Is her choice of study a coincidence? Does she know more about her heritage than I expected? Her ancestor was the man who developed the deadly virus that killed my best friend—and thousands of other vampires across the globe—and her brother is the evil bastard trying to resurrect that research to kill us all.
What if she's in on her brother's plan?
"Interesting," I say, trying to keep the distaste out of my mouth. "Any particular reason you chose that?"
"I've always been fascinated by infectious disease." She laughs, a genuine, beautiful sound. Or it would be beautiful if my anger wasn't rising like the bile in my throat. "That sounds weird, doesn't it?"
I'm about to answer when she pipes up.
"There's my dorm."
It's a big, brick structure, gothic-looking and imposing. We cross the street and she slips out of my embrace as we walk up the steps and pass through the glass doors. There's a young guy sitting behind a desk just inside. He's watching a small black and white TV that's blaring one of those obnoxious comedies with the laugh track.
"Hey, Alex," she says, gesturing at me. "He's my guest. What are you watching tonight?"
"Perfect Strangers. It's hilarious." He beams at her.
Alex, who seems quite enamored with Evangeline, eyes me warily. "Sign into the book, 'kay?"
I glance down at the open red binder, grab the pen and scrawl my name. Evangeline watches with interest.
"Matteo Moretti," she murmurs.
I smirk at her, still unable to get the memory of my best friend's gruesome, painful death out of my mind. Her family caused that. I cannot forget.
"Have a good night, Alex," she trills, then turns to me, her eyes shining. "I'm on the second floor so we can take the stairs. C'mon."
I hate myself for staring at her ass as I follow her up the stairs. She's wearing a black wool leather coat and tight black pants, along with heavy boots. I'm sure she's trying to look tough, but really, she looks like a little black kitten.
On the second floor, we take a right and we're at a door painted identical to all the others—a wan, industrial gray.
"Kerri and I live here," she says in a hushed voice.
I glance up and down the hall, which is lit with harsh fluorescence. Since I haven't been on a college campus in several decades, I'm curious about something. "Where is everyone? It's so quiet."
Evangeline slides a key into the lock and looks at me quizzically. "Out. It's the weekend. No one stays in. Well, unless they're like tripping on mushrooms or having sex."
As she opens the door, she grins and bites her lip. We enter into her room, and my eyes immediately adjust to the semi-darkness. There appears to be a window, and moonlight is pouring in, a liquid silver that makes Evangeline look maddeningly beautiful.
Maybe it's that moon. Or maybe it's my rage about what her family has done to my people. Or perhaps it's the visceral emotion I feel for her, a shameful, angry, needy lust.
As soon as the door shuts behind us and before she has a chance to turn on a light, I take her by the shoulders and swiftly pin her to the door so I can assault her with my mouth.
What I want is to sink my teeth into her neck, but for the moment, I settle on a punishing, hard kiss.
____
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Odds that he will turn her into a vampire tonight?
____