Evil Red (7 page)

“Sweetheart, you’re on the wrong side of the
road.”

Valerie bristled at that. Forget smiling. Did this
asshole think he could dismiss her that easily? He certainly didn’t
own the sidewalk.

“Fine, you don’t want to share. I’ll bring my
own.”

Valerie tossed her hair back right before stepping
into the street. She didn’t care that a car was coming. She wasn’t
going to stand around waiting for traffic in front of this jackass.
Besides, the car wasn’t going fast. Valerie stared through the
car’s windshield at the driver, a guy around her own age. Her glare
was enough to avert a horn. The guy brought his car to a stop and
let her pass.

Valerie’s feet pounded against the concrete all the
way up to the double doors leading back into the school.

That hadn’t gone as expected. Guys had always tripped
over themselves when Valerie graced them with her attention. At the
very least they smiled or offered her a God-damned cigarette.

She couldn’
t get
Fane
’s face out of her head, the way he looked at her, like
he owned the world.

Getting that close to him had given her an angry sort
of thrill. He had a lean, powerful body. The vamp kept in shape.
And his eyes were like liquid chocolate, wide and expressive, while
he stood with perfect composure as though life was nothing more
than a series of scenes.

Now Valerie was romanticizing him, and she couldn’t
explain why.

Fane could wave her away all he wanted. It only made
her more determined to make him hers.

THE SEDUCTION: TAKE TWO

Before heading to school the next morning, Valerie
slipped a fresh pack of cigarettes inside her purse, along with a
pair of brass knuckles. If Fane dismissed her again she could
always knock his teeth out. Good luck biting anyone after that.

She sat near him in gym and math, ignoring him in
both classes. Then at lunch, Valerie grabbed her purse and headed
across the street.

Today there were three guys smoking with Fane, but
Valerie didn’t let that deter her. Fane smirked when he saw her
approach, watching her closely. That was more like it. Valerie
pulled a cigarette out of her pack as she walked.

She walked past the other three guys, right up to
Fane.

“Got a light?”

Fane’s friends stopped talking.

Fane tilted his head to get a better look at Valerie.
Although she was tall, he was taller. He smiled slowly.

Valerie swore to herself that if he refused she’d
make him eat brass.

She held up her cigarette, tapped her foot, and
waited. The death glare began to kick in, but Fane missed it. His
eyes dropped to her lips… and lingered.

That’s when Valerie knew she was in danger of being
out maneuvered. The boys she’d dated in the past didn’t know the
meaning of foreplay. They groped, they slobbered, they got in and
out of her panties quicker than a jack in the box.

Fane was a different animal altogether. The way he
stared at her lips electrified Valerie from the inside out. It
didn’t matter to her that his teeth were crooked or that his cheeks
were slightly hollow or his hair better fitting a heroin-addicted
graffiti artist.

Like some kind of sex-starved dude, Valerie wanted
inside his pants.

She could almost swear he was following the train of
her thoughts the way his smile turned sensual. Fane slipped his
hand down his abs—the ones outlined through the ribbed T-shirt
peeking through the opening of his leather coat. His long fingers
stopped at his belt, pushing their way inside the tight pocket of
his black jeans.

Unable to stop herself, Valerie looked down, directly
at his crotch and wondered if per chance his fingers weren’t the
only abnormally long part of his body.

After pulling a green plastic lighter from his
pocket, Fane held out the flame for Valerie as she leaned forward,
cigarette between her lips. While she sucked in, Fane returned the
lighter to his pocket. It went in faster than it had come out.

Fane’s smoking buddies took a couple discreet steps
away and resumed talking.

“You’re not from around here,” Fane said.

Valerie exhaled before answering. “Spent my whole
life in L.A. until now.”

Fane’s eyes narrowed. “What brings you to
Anchorage?”

Was it her imagination or was Fane suspicious of her?
Didn’t matter. Valerie enjoyed a challenge, and when it came to the
chase she was all in.

CUT TO:

EXT. DENALI HIGH SCHOOL—DAY

It took two weeks—half a bloody month—to get Fane
Donado to ask her out. Two weeks of smoking across the street,
chatting, and flirting on the bleachers and the back row of math
class. Nine days of suggestive word play that should have earned
her a pat on the ass or invitation behind the school building.
Technically Valerie did the asking as in: “Are you going to ask me
out or what?”

“You want to go out on a date?” Fane asked, raising a
brow.

They stood across the street finishing off a second
cigarette. Fane’s friends, who Valerie tolerated, had just headed
back. Valerie didn’t want to be late for class, either, but this
whole waiting to go out thing needed to be nipped in the bud.

She dropped her cigarette butt and smashed it with
the heel of her boot. She tried not to shiver. Although it was only
September, it felt colder than any California winter Val had ever
experienced.

“What? You’re not interested in me?” Valerie
demanded.

Fane smirked as though she’d just told him a
joke.

Valerie’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t like the sense of
insecurity he coaxed out of her or the way he made her wait for
answers. Most of all, she hated how much she wanted him, beyond the
assignment the agents had tasked her with.

Until she bumped bones with Fane Donado nothing else
mattered.

“Don’
t tell me
I
’m not your type,” Valerie said when Fane continued
studying her in silent amusement.

Maybe he had a thing for blondes or perhaps he liked
brunettes or girls with hair as black as his leather coat. What the
hell did he have against redheads?

Fane flicked his cigarette into the street, folding
his arms before facing her with that uneven smile of his.
“
I don
’t have a
type.”

Well, that was a relief.

“Then what’s the problem?” Valerie demanded, feeling
defensive that he had yet to concede.

Fane answered her question with one of his own. “What
kind of date do you want to go on?”

“Dinner, a movie, you don’t have to get original… at
least not on the first date.”

Fane
chuckled.
“Okay, how about dinner and a movie tomorrow
night?”

Valerie placed a hand on her chest. “About time you
asked.”

CUT TO:

EXT. DOWNTOWN ANCHORAGE—NIGHT

On Saturday night, Valerie drove downtown to meet
Fane at Simon and Seafort’s. It didn’t feel right driving herself
to her own date, but Kennick refused to let a vampire have her home
address. The woman did mention that Fane had invited Valerie to one
of Anchorage’s nicest restaurants, which pleased Valerie to no
end.

She arrived downtown in a sexy black dress that
didn’t look too gothic. Finding a parking spot on the street added
an extra five minutes to her already tardy arrival. All of the
metered spots near the restaurant were taken, except for one that
involved parallel parking—a feat Valerie had yet to practice—and no
way was she putting a scratch on her baby. She circled back
around.

The one way streets were easy enough to navigate.
Anchorage’s city planners had numbered them in numerical order one
way and alphabetized them by letter in the opposite direction.
Valerie took L Street, counting her way down to 5
^th
Avenue. Real original, Alaskans. Stuck to their A, B, Cs and 1, 2,
3s.

There were no skyscrapers or smog in downtown
Anchorage. The mountains towered taller than buildings to the East
while the Cook Inlet flowed around the city like a medieval moat to
the North, West, and South. Talk about being cut off from the
world.

Once Valerie successfully parked, she approached the
outside of the restaurant and caught sight of Fane in his usual
black garb, smoking casually. He showed no sign of annoyance as she
walked up to him, twenty minutes late. Fane tossed his cigarette to
the side, looked her up and down, and said, “Y
ou look beautiful.
”

Valerie stopped herself from making a disparaging
remark about Fane’
s attire.
She
’d finally gotten him to take her out, and he didn’t seem
like the kind of guy who’d put up with insults, though the thought
of making him angry gave her a little thrill.

For now she simply said, “T
hanks.
”

“Shall we,” Fane said, extending an arm. “I requested
a spot by the window, but if they gave our table away we can always
eat in the bar.”

Valerie’s smile dropped. She’d never apologized for
being late in her life, but right then she did feel sorry. She
didn’t want to eat in the bar. She wanted the window seat.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, the words sounding
foreign to her own ears. “This is only my second time
downtown.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Fane said with a friendly
smile. “
I don
’t care
when or where we eat. The company is what’
s important.
”

Valerie felt a faint blush warm her cheeks. Fane took
a step in front of her to open the first door, followed by a
second. They walked through a lobby, past an elevator, and then
entered a dimly lit restaurant with tea light candles glowing from
every table.

The sheer elegance of it made Valerie’s breath catch
inside her throat in anticipation of being seated at one of those
spots.

The nicest restaurant she’d ever gone to had been an
Olive Garden.

Even the hostess looked high class in her tasteful
black dress.

“Donado, table for two,” Fane said in a husky
voice.

Valerie held her breath, praying their window table
hadn’t been snatched by someone else.

The hostess glanced down at a leather-bound book, lit
by a single copper desk lamp. Her smile reached her cheeks when she
looked up.

“Welcome back, Mr. Donado. Right this way.”

Welcome back? How many women had Fane taken to this
restaurant before? Valerie felt an insane urge to rip their hearts
out.

Being led to a window table calmed her somewhat. An
unobstructed view of Cook Inlet rolled out across the pane. Fane
held her chair out for her.

“Bottle of red?” he asked when their waiter came by
to inquire about drinks.

Wine? How fancy and, once again, not what Valerie was
accustomed to. She nodded her head. “That’s fine by me.” She was
dying to try out her new ID.

Fane looked at the waiter and asked for Cabernet
Sauvignon.

“
Good choice,
sir.
”

He returned shortly, making a show of displaying the
wine label, uncorking it, and pouring a small amount inside Fane’s
glass. Fane swirled it, sniffed it, and took a sip before nodding
his approval.

Valerie observed in fascination. It was like watching
someone speak sign language.

The waiter filled her wine glass halfway before
returning to Fane’s. He didn’t ask for either of their IDs. Valerie
always had looked older.

Once the waiter left, Fane raised his glass. “I’d
like to make a toast to a Saturday night out with a beautiful
woman.”

“Flatterer,” Valerie said. They clinked glasses.

Valerie took a large sip of wine, one that enflamed
her throat as it went down. She coughed softly.

Fane grinned. “
Rich, isn
’t it?”

She nodded and set her glass down. When their waiter
returned, Valerie ordered steak, medium rare. Fane got King
Salmon.

She tried another taste of wine, taking a smaller
sip.

A grin appeared on Fane’s lips as he watched her.
“You’re getting the hang of it. Each taste should be savored as
though it were a rare delicacy.”

The way he said “savored” and “delicacy” made Valerie
quiver with pleasure. If he ever started really talking dirty,
she’d be in trouble.

The dim lighting brought out Fane’s features—the ones
that made Valerie squirm in her seat. Ever since he’d shed the
coat, Valerie could only think about running her nails over his
pecks every time the flickering candle cast shadows across his abs.
The faint light accented Fane’s strong jawline and proud nose. His
fingers wrapped around his wine in a way that made Valerie envy the
glass stem.

The irony wasn’t lost on Valerie that this was
supposed to be her seduction, not Fane’s.

She took a quick look around the restaurant before
her gaze settled on Fane. “You must be loaded to afford a place
like this.”

Fane shrugged. “I invested wisely.”

“
Invested,
” Valerie said with a snort. “You’re only
eighteen.”

As soon as the words were out Valerie remembered why
she was here. For a minute she’d forgotten her assignment. She’d
even forgotten that Fane was much older than eighteen in terms of
his years on earth.

Fane looked slightly baffled at her comment. He
dropped his chin and studied her face a moment before saying, “It’s
never too early to start investing.”

“Great. I’ll have to remember that next time I have
an extra hundred bucks lying around,” Valerie said with a
snort.

Fane’s expression softened. “More wine?” he asked.
After she nodded, he poured a half serving into Valerie’s
glass.

Dinner arrived shortly thereafter. Valerie ate the
best steak of her life, the meat deliciously tender, not chewy.
Fane seemed to enjoy watching her eat more than eating his own
meal. After nibbling on his food, he left half the salmon on his
plate. Was he watching his figure or something? Because it looked
fine to Valerie.