Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) (16 page)

“Hey,”
Riley said, peeking out from one of t
he
doorways at the
end of the hall.

“Don’t say it,” she heard the snarl in her voice, but didn’t care.

“I won’t sa
y anything you don’t want me to,
”
he said, strolling forward
with
hands up in feigned surrender. “Let me just get you out of here for a few hours.”

Liz dragged the back of her hand against her cheeks, trying to dry her tears. “You’
ll bring me back?
No,
funny business?”

“Not unless you beg me for it. You have my word.”

Listening to
the footsteps
and muffled exchange of words
on
the other side of the door, Liz knew it was now or never.

I can’t face Braden. Not yet.

Liz gave a dismissive shrug.
“Okay, but just so you know, you’re buying.”

Like all big cities, Vancouver looked beautiful at night.
Riley drove her across
town
, pointing out different hot
spots. At first he
stopped at Kaplan’s Star Deli
and made her eat a
corned beef sandw
ich. When she tried insisting she wasn’t hungry, he threatened to ma
ke the weary store owner his
meal if she didn’t obey. After that, he drove through a trendy neighborhood he called
Yaletown
and stopped at a club whose music blasted half way down the block. 

Once inside, all of her self-pity was
forgotten as sh
e took in the lights and bodies
moving to the music.
At first Liz didn’t want to dance. Top forty hits weren’t exactly her thing, but Riley wouldn’t take no for an answer. Although she didn’t entirely trust him, his enthusiasm began wearing her down.

After a few dances and his insistence she try the pink champagne a waitress in neon rubber spandex handed him, Liz felt loser. Braden may be having a wild night with Maze, but that didn’t mean she had to cry alone in her room.

After a good hour on the floor, Riley finally consented to taking a seat at one of the small tables. Liz’
s muscles twitched with
little
spasms and her feet hurt, but
it was worth it. N
ever
had she experienced a
livelier
atmosphere
. She even spotted a few celebrities huddled at tables having just as much fun as she was.

“I didn’t think you would get tired of dancing,” he said with a proud grin.

“I’m not superhuman,” she replied
beaming
back.

Tilting his head closer, she could feel his cool breath stir her heated skin. “That can be easily reconciled.”

“Uh, no…it’s the blood thing that grosses me out. I’m prolife and all,” she said, squirming in her seat.

“I’ll have you know that unlike my fellow nesters at Sunnydale, I don’t actually kill my meals. I find they don’t appreciate that much.”

“Really?” she said, surprised. “I thought all draugar did.”

“I’m different. Not quite draugar, d
efinitely not damphyr. I feed
from willing women who wake up the next day thinking they had way too much to drink and kinky sex.”

Liz had to mull that over.

She and Braden were both under the assumption that Riley was a killer. Hearing him state otherwise was a surprise,
admitting  he
gave his donors a good time wasn’t.
From the way he moved on the dance floor, he had confidence in his body. Several gorgeous women and a few men took notice. But she wondered how much of his show
was an act
.
As cocky as Riley
was, there was a part of him that seemed awfully eager to please her.

“Why do you like me?”

“What’s not to like?”
he laughed.

“
No,
really.
You’ve been asking Braden to come find you for the last eight years, but you’re out with me?”

Riley looked at her, serious for once. “
It’
s not just because you’re
gorgeous and
an
insane dancer
.
When I look
at you, I see the loneliness I feel inside. I can’t help but think if this never happened to me, if I had been allowed to stay a damphyr, I would have been fate-partnered to someone like you.”

Riley’s fingers strolled over the top of Liz’s hand, leaving a cool trail in their wake.
The sensation was nice
, but her thoughts floated back to when Braden touched her for the first time on the plane.
It was the damphyr’s hands she longed for.

T
ears from earlier began to brim again. Maybe there was more to Riley than she originally thought, but he wasn’t Braden.

“And as far as my wayward younger brother,” Riley said, nodding to
one of
the
packed
back corners
of the room where the hall to the exit and restrooms were, “He’
s been following
us all night. He just thinks he’s too sly for me to notice.”

Liz turned quickly, trying to spot him amid all of the club’s patrons.

“Don’t look at him. Let him squirm for a while. You agreed to be my date for the evening.”

“Date?”
Liz raised her eyebrow at him.
“Aren’t you like thirty?”

“
Uh, uh – I’m not a day over
eighteen
,” Ril
ey assured. “In fact, I think
that is exactly what this is. I’m showing you how very much I would like to lavish good t
hings on you. Even detailing the
kind of life we could have together.”

“I have feelings for Braden,” she answered simply. “Although after seeing him and Maze, I wish I didn’t.”

Bending down
, Riley brushed his lips against her ear.
The effect made her shiver.
“Like I told you earlier this evening, he does for you
, too. Don’t get
bent about what happened until you hear what he has to say.”

“But you still asked me out?” Liz was confused.

“All is fair in love and
war. I can’t help the way I feel, but at the same time, I can’t deny that I would benefit either way by changing you. If you were a vampire I could keep you forever and
it might encourage my brother to join
me in this life.”

Liz bit her lower lip. Her head was spinning from the loud music and the champagne she sipped on. Riley had been nothing but generous with her. The attractive vampire didn’t look at any of the other women who tried catching his eye all night. If she didn’t know what Braden told her, she would have thought he was decent.
He was such a
contradiction.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes, I’ll turn you into a vampire
,
”
he said, leisurely studying her face.

“Seriously?” she sighed.

“Of course,” he said, taking her glass and finishing the champagne.

“Why did you ask Braden to come?”

“Is it really a mystery?” he stared around the room.

“He thinks you want him dead.”

Riley huffed. “He would.”

“Then why?”

“I didn’t ask to lose everything. It wasn’t my fault that my father did nothing to keep me from giving in to the thirst. I had to face that alone. All I’ve ever wanted is my life back, but
there is no place in Erris for me anymore because they would kill me.” Ri
ley
’s glare reflected so much frustration
, Liz
struggled not to turn away
. “I thought if Braden was a man, no longer a child, he could see I’m not completely a monster. Maybe even join up together
and form
our own coven
.”

Liz sat back, taking in his words. The two brothers were definitely failing to communicate. It was possible that Riley was spinning a tale, but she didn’t think so. She
highly doubted he was a
Boy
S
cout, but maybe he wasn’t hell bent on ending Braden’s life either.

“What happened to your father?” she asked quietly. Even though the music from the floor sized speakers boomed through the room, she knew the vampire could hear her.

Riley looked up at her, obviously
tortured.
“I wish I knew.
”

1
8

BRADEN

Braden wrestled through half the night. Watching Liz and Riley on the dance floor
wasn’t
nearly as bad as witnessing the two of them head to head, whispering at th
e
table. When it was almost one
in the morning
, he stood out by Riley’s Por
s
che, waiting for the two to stumble out.

He didn’t want to know who the car really belonged to. What poor fool offered his brother a ride home, only to end up a bloody juice box and benefactor of a great
set of wheels.
Even the
sweet scent left behind
by
the rain wasn’t pleasing. He wanted nothing but to have a moment alone with Liz, back home in Erris, where he could explain.

He blamed Riley. Surely, his brother manufactured the whole thing with Maze to separate him from Liz. From the moment Riley laid his eyes on her, Braden could tell he wouldn’t leave her alone. Liz wasn’t some toy for the two
of them
to fight over, she had feelings and it burned him knowing he was tricked into hurting hers.

The look on her face, t
he pain – he replayed it continuously over in
his head. He hadn’t imagined her tears
, although to look at her now, it was possible she already moved on.

No, she felt something for him and he wasn’t about to let Riley and Maze screw it up. He wasn’t sure how he would convince her
that what she saw was a
set-up
, but he would try like hell. Maybe stalking
her
outside of a nightclub wasn’t the best way to impress her, but
he feared he would never see her again if
he re
turned alone to Sunnydale.
Riley would promise her the cure, only to lure her into a trap.

Braden rubbed his eyes. He was so tired, so thirsty. All of the musky bodies damp with perspiration didn’t help. If he was newly changed, the smells would have
damned him by now. Stronger than that, he thought o
f Eagle Lake, t
he way the forest sang to him at night and how the foliage was some of the most beautiful he had ever seen.

If Liz could see him there, see who he truly was – not this stressed out,
uptight dick he had been behaving as
, maybe she would want to be with him too.

If she can give me a chance to explain
..
.

Like
he would ever want a woman
like Maze.
It surprised him that he didn’t notice as soon as she walked into the room.
Lacking emotion or warmth, the creature existed only to feed and screw. The look in her eyes when she realized he didn’t want her was the most surprising. She was actually confused.

What an existence. I pity her.

After an hour of waiting,
Braden smelled Liz before he even saw her. Her perfume carried on the breeze.
Hoping she would at least hear him out, he went to the passenger side door of the car
and
waited.
Glancing up, he watched as she and Riley walked over. Although his brother was smiling, Liz’s expression was a little more pensive.

Before he could even say anything, Liz stepped into his arms. Hugging him tightly, her face burrowed into his chest.
Braden anchored her in place with an arm around her waist.
Tilting her chin up, he saw the moisture in her eyes – t
he relief. If she only
knew how much it matched his
. There was nothing about her he didn’t want – nothing at all. Maze could shift into Scarlett Johansson or a half a dozen oth
er people and Braden would
want
only
Liz.
The feel of her against his skin was welcoming and desirable all at once.

“I’m so sorry about earlier,” he whispered.

“It’s okay,” she replied. “You don’t have any reason to apologize.”