Bleeding Love (12 page)

Another voice
joined in on the conversation.

“First off, we
weren't stalking you two. We heard the ruckus you’re making all the way from
the food court so we decided to see what you guys were up to.” That was
unmistakably Xavier, that deep, seductive, and oh-so sexy tone of voice. “And
second, Aidan wasn't stalking the both of you. He was just interested with what
Brianna was doing.”

Rolling her eyes,
Adrienne let out an evil laugh. “My ego says
thank you
for the insult.”

“Tell it
you're
welcome
and that if it needs a boost, I'm here.”

She knew Xavier
was smirking, and she just wanted to slap that sexy twist of the lips off his
face. She put on the closest dress she could reach. It was a claret color and
it hugged her whole body and emphasized all her curves—her bust, her waist, her
hips, and everything else. Her mind was too focused on grilling Xavier for his
arrogance that she didn't bother looking at the mirror. She opened the door and
was ready to tell her fiancé off, but she was caught off guard when she saw the
two guys staring at her.

“Wow.” That was
Aidan. He then nudged Xavier. “Lucky bastard, you get to spend the rest of your
life with someone as hot as her, and she's not even going to age.”

Brianna coughed,
stepping out of the dressing room in a light blue cocktail gown. The garment
ended just right at her knee, whereas Adrienne's exposed the lower part of her
thighs. Still, Brianna was stunning.

“Wow.” It was
Xavier this time, and his eyes glinted suspiciously. “Stupid bastard. I can't
believe you haven't asked this awesome vixen–” He slung an arm around Brianna's
shoulders. “–out on a date yet.”

Aidan muttered
something incomprehensible which even the vampires couldn't understand before
he glared darkly at his supposed best friend—Xavier. The latter just smirked.

“You're still not
going to ask her out?” Xavier raised one of his eyebrows. “It's not really that
hard, man. Try this,” Xavier started, looking at the petite Asian that stood
beside his fiancé. “Brianna, would you mind having dinner with us tonight?”

Adrienne was
trying to stop herself from laughing. Aidan just looked so adorable, like a
deer caught in the headlights.

“Try it, man,” Xavier
pushed, rolling his eyes at his friend's shyness.

Aidan coughed,
his head bent down, his eyes glued to the floor. He stepped closer to Brianna
and looked up, meeting her eyes.

When Adrienne and
Xavier read Brianna's thoughts, they knew she wouldn't be able to control her
feelings any longer if Aidan continued looking at her like 
that—
like
he wanted her. Well, he did.

“Uh, Bree, do you
want to—Umm—go and grab a bite to eat?”

Xavier smacked
his forehead. His friend was just too idiotic.

“Thank God you have
a friend like me,” Xavier said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I thought you
didn't believe in God,” Adrienne countered. “And what kind of a friend are you
exactly, hmm?”

Her fiancé
smirked at her.

“A friend who's a
professional in the dating scene.”

Adrienne and
Brianna looked at each other mischievously before they broke out into fits of
laughter. It was Xavier's narcissism that made him humorous, and Adrienne
couldn't help but admit that she liked it—his being funny and amusing, but, of
course, there were times that she just wanted to throw Xavier into a bottomless
pit. Fortunately, now wasn't one of those instances.

“See, she's not
even going to answer you,” Xavier said, interrupting Adrienne's thoughts. “You're
hopeless, dude.”

Brianna held out
her hands and stepped up to Aidan's defense. “I would've said yes.”

The vampire's
eyes shone with optimism.

“But I can't have
dinner with you tonight.”

“We're going to a
party.” Adrienne stuck out her chest in arrogance. “So that's too bad for you,
Dating Master–”

“But I have an
idea!” Brianna chimed in, cutting Adrienne off. “Why don’t you go with us to
the party? I'm sure Sab wouldn't mind!”

“Ooh,” Adrienne
teased playfully, her hazel eyes shining and laughing. “Someone wants to show
Aidan off to the whole world.”

With that, Bree
smiled sheepishly, nodding her head in agreement to what her friend said before
adding,” Xavier can come too, so that Aidan won't feel so out of place.”

“Hold up! What
the hell does he have to do with this?” Adrienne was shocked. “He's going to
infuriate me with his smartass remarks!”

“You're just
jealous you can't match my level of thinking.”

He looked
collected, very calm actually, with a smirk on his face and two of his fingers
around the belt loops of his jeans. He was intriguing. It was so sexy, Adrienne
thought. Thank God he couldn't read her mind.

“I just live by
the virtue of humility.” Adrienne feigned the look of apathy on her face. “You
should try it, you know.”

“And you should
buy that dress,” Xavier replied, and what he said caught her off guard.

Xavier turned to
look at Adrienne and eyed her from head to toe. She was in, no doubt, extremely
attractive, and she had the personality to match it. And the red dress left
very little to the imagination. It pressed tightly against her body, adding
more cleavage to her bust and exaggerating her curves.

“I agree with
Xavier.” Brianna nodded, her head bobbing up and down continuously. “That dress
is an eye-popper. All the guys will want a piece of you!”

Xavier grunted
and stepped in. “Hold up! You're not buying that dress!” Xavier looked
irritated. “I can't let other people look at you like you're some piece of
meat!”He then bit his bottom lip when he realized what he’d just said.

“And the Dating
Master is actually jealous,” Adrienne mocked, pinching Xavier's cheeks.

What Adrienne did
made him look like a little kid, and he wasn't one. He was a man. “As the
Dating Master, no, I'm not envious. But as your fiancé,” he muttered something
darkly to himself. “I am. So stop it. Don't buy the dress.”

“What if I told
you the dress was for you?”

“It's just like
saying,
I was thinking of you while I was having sex with someone else
.“

Adrienne couldn't
believe that Xavier was jealous. He was too sexy and too hot to actually feel
that emotion for her. He was immortal. It was impossible for him to feel envy,
but he did, and Adrienne couldn't help but smirk. The tables had turned, and it
was her time to show off the arrogance.

“To put it
lightly, I enjoy being the center of attention,” she said, going back to the
dressing room to take the wine-colored dress off. “So I'm buying it.”

Xavier growled.
He didn't like it that his mate was purposely irritating him.

“Just think of it
this way, Xavier,” Brianna started, resting a reassuring hand on his arm. “You'll
be there at the party too. You can join the other guys who are looking at her
as well.”

Xavier shook his
head before he turned his sight to the dressing room where Adrienne was.

“That dress makes
you look like a slut, you know!” he called out to his fiancé who, in that
instant, stepped out in her short shorts and white long-sleeved top. “It makes
you look like a slut,” he said in a much a softer voice.

“All for you,” she
looked at him seductively. “
Husband-to-be
.”

* * * * *

The main ballroom
of the hotel changed dramatically. It didn't look like an area for formal
occasions anymore, but instead, looked like a night club. It was probably
because of the neon lights that created the dark but colorful silhouette and
party atmosphere. There was 'Happy 18th Birthday, Sabrina!' ice carvings and
free-flowing drinks in different colors in every corner of the room. The
ceiling was draped in colorful, bright cloths of hot pink, lime, aqua,
tangerine, and lemon yellow. At the very center stood a circular pedestal, around
the pedestal was the dance floor. In the connecting room was the never-ending
buffet offering a sumptuous selection of different cuisines. This was the least
one would expect from someone with the kind of status Sabrina had. Her dad
owned a chain of restaurants and five-star hotels all across the country.

“Humans give so
much importance to their birthdays,” Xavier drawled as he entered the ballroom
with Adrienne at his side. “It's like they have an annual reminder of their
upcoming deaths.”

The vampire princess
rolled her eyes before swatting the arm of her fiancé. “We all know you'll
outlive the majority of the people in this room, so there's no need to get up
on your high horse and brag. And it's Sabrina's debut,” she further explained,
but it wasn't like Xavier would understand the meaning of growing up every
year. “It's more special than the other years.”

In response he
shrugged his shoulders. “I still don't understand.”

Adrienne smirked.
“With a brain like yours, I knew you wouldn't,” she answered, grinning from
ear-to-ear, and in that moment, she locked eyes with Xavier.

His
cobalt-colored eyes were glinting and smiling. “Did you just call me dumb?”

“Dumb really
doesn’t describe what I think of you.” She tugged on her tight, red mini-dress.
“I was going for dumbass, incredibly stupid, brainless, you know?”

The vampire
prince smirked at his princess, and with the way he was looking at her,
Adrienne couldn't help but soften towards him. He was tantalizing and deadly,
both figuratively and literally. She then turned her gaze away. She was
breathing hard. She finally spotted Brianna and Aidan. They were fast
approaching Xavier and her.

“I just saw Ethan
staring at you,” was the first thing her best girl friend said, not even a,
hi
or a
hello
. “I told you that dress would do miracles.”

With that said,
Adrienne suddenly felt like a specimen being studied under a microscope. She
could feel Aidan's, Brianna's, and Xavier's gazes on her, and it made her
nervous. It was as if they were expecting and waiting for her to do something
wrong or stupid.

“But you still
look like a slut,” Xavier added in finality. It was obvious that he didn't
appreciate the idea of a million other guys looking at his mate.

“Then what do you
call everyone else here?”

Xavier turned
around and eyed his surroundings, and it was then he saw the cold, hard truth
in Adrienne's rhetorical question. Every girl at the party, Brianna excluded,
was covered in a garment that could barely be considered clothing. The debut
had a glamorous theme, but for High School students, one could still look sexy
and enchanting in short, skimpy outfits. That was the reality of this century.

“You call us,
vampires, animals,” Xavier said, his tone sounding quite stern. “Look who's
acting below her level.”

Adrienne couldn't
help but grin. Xavier was too uptight.

“Vampires are
such killjoys,” was Adrienne's answer, and what she said was definitely a stab
at Aidan's and Xavier's egos. “Lighten up. Just let the music take you away.”

“Pshh.” Xavier
drawled, his eyes cast down immaturely. “Don't forget you're one of 
us
,
too.”

Pushing her
mate's buttons, Adrienne held the end of her dress and tugged the fabric a few
inches higher. She looked at Xavier playfully, while he eyed her actions with
equal measures of like, and dislike.

“Pull it down,”
he ordered, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

“Even if I'm, you
know, like you,” she said, keeping the 'V' word to herself. “I can confidently
say I'm not a party pooper!”

In return, Xavier
opened his mouth and was about to say something, but he was cut off by an
enthusiastic Sabrina Baer, running quickly to her group of friends with Max,
Tristan, and Ethan following behind.

“You two are
finally here!” she said, her voice going up a number of decibels. “Now the
party can really start!” Her tone was mischievous, and everyone caught it.

“This is going to
rock, Sab.” Adrienne was telling the truth, and she was laughing while talking.
“And damn, hun! I'd probably go lesbian for you! The leather just brings out
the best of your assets!”

Tristan, Brianna,
Ethan, and Max laughed, their heads nodding in agreement.

“How about a
threesome?” was Max's teasing reply as he wrapped a protective arm around his
girlfriend's waist.

“Let's just make
it a foursome,” Ethan hinted, looking dashing in a pair of dark-washed jeans
and a polo shirt. “What do you guys say?”

“Gross mental
image, E,” Brianna teased, chuckling. “Oh, by the way! This is Xavier and
Aidan! I don't think you guys have met.”

In that moment,
Xavier took hold of Adrienne's hand. He'd never admit it to anyone except for
Aidan, but he didn't like the way the humans were staring at him. It was as if
they were surveying him from head-to-toe, judging whether or not he was good
enough to hang out with them.