King Hall (26 page)

He jerked his eyes away from my neck to meet my gaze. “Like wild spice. I’ve never tasted anything like it. Drinking off a Shifter and a Vampire doesn’t even compare to your natural taste.” He cocked his head. “I’m surprised you’ve never sampled your own blood before if you were curious.”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

His eyes were back on my neck. “I’ll try not to take too much.”

I shrugged under him. “Take what you want.”

He grunted, pretty much telling me he was only going to take a small amount no matter what I said, and I tilted my head to the side and back, giving him free access. His hand slid to the nape of my neck, pulling up so my head fell back even farther. He struck. Long, sharp fangs sliced into my neck, but I didn’t flinch. He did it so quickly it didn’t hurt at all, especially when, a second later, he groaned, and all I felt were those angel’s feathers massaging my body.

I moaned in contentment, his power not so overriding this time but more controlled, since he wasn’t fearful of hurting me as he had been before. I was able to lift my hands to his spiky hair, fisting it, holding his mouth to my neck, never having felt anything like the caresses of his mind hold, it utterly beautiful. As the sensations faded, reality returning, I felt his thumb brushing back and forth over my nape, and his warm tongue slowly sliding across my wound, licking away any wayward drops. Blinking my eyes open, I turned my head, and our cheeks brushed as he pulled his head back. I still had my hands in his hair, and he smiled down at me, our noses touching.

His cheeks were slightly flushed from his drinking, and he asked softly, “Was it as good for you as it was for me?”

I chuckled.

Tap, tap.

We froze.

Someone was standing outside the window. Had just knocked on it. Our positions were very, well, not the best with him lying on top of me between my legs. Hell, I had even wrapped a leg around his waist at some point in the drinking and he was gripping one of my hips to keep from tumbling off the bench seat. Just…not good.

Slowly, we peered up.

Well,
fuck.
That was the only word that described this situation.

“Fuck,” Ezra muttered. He agreed, too.

A hand made a rolling motion outside the window.

Ezra hesitated, but released my hip, his other hand too buried under my neck and in my hair. He hit a button on the door, and the window rolled down smoothly.

We both stared out the opened window, undoubtedly looking guilty, even though we weren’t. If anyone else had caught us, it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it wasn’t just anyone. It was possibly the worst two individuals who stared down at us with quiet eyes.

Into the strained hush, King Kincaid murmured, “So,” a motion to the King at his side, “King Venclaire and I were just finishing up with Mrs. Jonas when we walked outside and saw Lily’s car in the parking lot idling, but no one appeared to be in it.” His voice was very quiet. “I thought I would turn it off for her, but you can imagine our surprise when we found it,” a short pause, “occupied.”

King Venclaire said just as quietly, “Ezra, what exactly is going on
in the school parking lot
? Because, right now, it doesn’t appear favorable.”

Ezra cleared his throat, starting to lift off me. Seriously, luck was not on our side at the moment because, as he progressively rose, it showed that the loose buttons on my shirt — my favorite, old shirt — had popped off, baring the swells of my breasts and my pink bra, adorned with winking camels, in full view. Ezra and I didn’t notice until the Kings sucked in a harsh breath, staring down at my chest.

We followed their line of sight, and both of us cursed.

Ezra tried a few times to pull my top together, but it was one of those tight cotton shirts and, with no buttons, my breasts kept “bursting” back into view. He cursed again, and peered up to the Kings, saying, “It’s not what it looks like. I swear.”

“The shirt’s old,” I explained quickly, scrambling with it and holding it closed as we fumbled clumsily over one another to sit properly, which probably made us look more guilty. “The buttons were on their last leg and must have broken off under the strain of Ezra’s weight.”

Little by little, his voice still quiet, King Kincaid asked, “And what was Ezra doing on top of you in the first place? You weren’t exactly pushing him away.”

Ezra ran a hand over his face, covertly glancing at me.

I nodded.
Just tell them.
It wasn’t that big a deal.

He cleared his throat and, with innocent, spring green eyes, gazed at the Kings. “I was drinking. We were lying on the backseat for privacy.”

Both stared, blinking at us until King Venclaire asked, “You were drinking off Lily?”

Again, it wasn’t that big a deal, so I informed them, “You’ve both seen him drink off Pearl before. Just substitute me for her.” I shrugged. No biggie,
right?

King Venclaire blinked once more, real slow-like, then cleared his throat, blue eyes on Ezra, and asked, “You were still thirsty after drinking off a Shifter and a Vampire,” a glance at his watch, “less than three hours ago?”

King Kincaid’s nostrils flared. I knew he was scenting for deception, so I stated bluntly before Ezra lied, “He was silvered earlier.”
Make your own assumptions from that.
It was supposed to take a toll on the body. Therefore, it might make him thirsty. I hoped that angle worked for our sakes, so we didn’t have to say he just enjoyed my flavor and wanted a nip.

“Hmm.” King Venclaire’s eyes hooded as they danced back and forth between us.

“Well,” King Kincaid adjusted his suit jacket, “that is true.”

King Venclaire nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m going home. I have business I need to attend to,” King Kincaid stated. “Lily, I’ll see you there, since you need another shirt.” He leaned in through the window and kissed my forehead, whispering against my skin, which was useless because they were Vampires, “Allowing him to drink from you will make you physically weak. Drink some juice when you get home.” He paused, and then added against my forehead, “You’re lucky it was us who found you.” One more peck on my forehead, a slow nod to King Venclaire, and he was marching away to where his car must have been, but I couldn’t see it from here.

King Venclaire watched him go and, when King Kincaid was a good distance from us, he turned his attention back to Ezra and me, bending and placing his forearms on the windowsill, hands hanging inside my Hummer, and said quietly, “He’s purposefully ignoring a few key factors, giving him plausible deniability. Number one: Pearl was the only one who offered that day, and that’s not the case now with a whole school full of willing donors available not a hundred feet away. Number two: You’re in Lily’s car, instead of inside King Hall. And, not only that, but Lily’s car is parked in a different location than it was when we first arrived. Number three and the most important, in my humble opinion: Lily’s not dazed or dizzy, and Ezra, you were done when we arrived since your face is flushed, meaning you were not, indeed,
thirsty
.” He folded his hands together, and stared. Waiting.

We sat silent. There was nothing safe to say.

“Well? Have I done the impossible? Rendered the two of you mute?” His mouth opened wide in mock shock when we stayed quiet. “Oh, I do believe I deserve a cookie. I’ve made the impossible, miraculously, possible. This is assuredly a monumental day. Perhaps hell has frozen over. Or, maybe,” he glanced up at the blue sky, “pigs have taken flight.” He clapped his hands once, smiling at us. “This would be the perfect occasion to use my new camera phone and take your picture together.” His smile widened. “I’d title the photo:
Up Shit Creek Without a Paddle
.” His head cocked, grin gone. “Does that sound about right?”

I swallowed hard. His brand of interrogation was a hell of a lot different than King Kincaid’s. Whereas King Kincaid was physically in your face, King Venclaire — my biological dad — was a cunning smartass chock-full of clichés to use when people were that stupid. It was actually a bit more frightening than the frontal assaults I was used to. My hands were clenched on my shirt, and Ezra had silently maneuvered an arm behind me. I think he was ready to chuck me out the other door, so I could make a run for it if needed.

However, our worrying was for nothing because King Venclaire was on the wrong track. His face turned deathly serious, and he stated, “Now, as King I’m not supposed to say this, so I’m not. If you ever claim I had this conversation with either of you, I will deny it, and you’ll be named liars.” That implication was clear since we had dealt with that subject today. “Right now, I’m speaking with you both as a regular Mys, not a Ruler. Although, almost all Mysticals would, also, never say this to you, but since I’m just that special, I will.”

He cleared his throat, and then spoke ever so softly, “If you two are going to partake in sexual acts together,”
oh my God
, “you need to be more circumspect. I mean, really, Ezra. The school parking lot? Even if Lily was Vampire, not Shifter, don’t you know better than this? You two are going to be King and Queen to your people, and you know the Mys communities don’t…mingle. If this keeps up, for any length of time, you need to keep it private. No one, including your guards, should ever know. It will undermine the way your subjects feel about you, even if it’s none of their damn business.”

He opened his hands wide. “And this, young Prodigies, is not private or circumspect. You are out in the open with, more than likely, students spying out of their classroom windows, guards watching behind their tinted glass, and anyone walking by.”

He stalled, eyebrows together, then pointed with both index fingers, one for each of us. “Also, I feel obligated to remind you that when you have sex, it needs to be protected. I know sometimes having a condom on hand can be forgotten, and in that circumstance, you need to abstain. Our Law is brutal for children born of mixed Mys breeding. I would never want you two to be placed in that situation.” He folded his hands together again, and went silent. Done.

Uh.

My brain was numbed dumb as I stared. Neither I, nor Ezra, had moved a centimeter during his — my biological dad’s — gross sex talk. I was seriously struck stupid. I didn’t know what to say to that, since if we argued that we weren’t together, he would go back to the original issue of why we were in the back of my Hummer when there were a crap load of donors inside the school. We weren’t going anywhere near that one.

“I really should take a picture of this,” King Venclaire mumbled under his breath, glancing back and forth between us. Then, he really went overboard, appearing thoughtful as he asked, “Are there any questions you two have about sex between Mys factions? There are many differences between Shifters and Vampires.”

My cheeks flamed. My mind wasn’t cooperating with my mouth, so I just shook my head. Same as Ezra. That was, in some measure, a response, and I prayed it was enough to shut him up. This man was still my biological dad, even if he didn’t know it. Sex was not something I ever would have discussed with my mom, much less a dad that didn’t know I existed.

“Well, then,” King Venclaire murmured, clapping his hands in finality. “I think I’m done speaking for myself
and
King Kincaid.” He paused, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. “That was what that little look was about. He’s no fool, but since I’m somewhat more open, he elected me to have this conversation with the two of you.” A push away from the door and he stood straight, placing his hands in his pockets. “If you two ever do need to talk, my door is always open.”

He turned, starting to walk away, but glanced over his shoulder, saying, “That silvering excuse was good, Lily. It might have worked — to some extent — if King Kincaid and I had never worn them before and known the effects they have.” His gaze swung to Ezra, eyebrows lowering. “Get to class.” Then his long legs were eating up the asphalt to wherever his car was.

Staring after him, I just blinked. I was pretty sure Ezra did too, since he hadn’t moved a muscle. I wasn’t even sure he breathed for a little while. So, that’s what we did. Stared. Stunned senseless and mute.

Not sure how long we sat like that, I barely noticed when Jack and Pearl got back in my Hummer, Pearl thrilled to be in the driver’s seat and Jack already fiddling with the radio. They didn’t even look back at us until we were out of the gates, jabbering away with each other about the party tonight. When Jack did glance back, saying something to us, his voice trailed off, and he blinked — much like us — and asked, “What’s wrong?” His brown eyes skimmed over where my fists were white knuckled on my top, and his eyebrows rose. “Lily, why’s your shirt ruined?”

“What?” Pearl asked, her head darting back to us, then forward to the road. “What’s going on?”

I tried to speak, but it came out a mumble so, after clearing my throat, I tried again, and managed to say with a hoarse throat, “King Kincaid and King Venclaire paid us a visit.” I licked my dry lips. “They came right after Ezra was done drinking. We were lying on the backseat so no one would see us.” My mouth flapped for a few seconds, but I eventually succeeded in continuing. “It didn’t look good to begin with, and my shirt’s buttons popped off sometime during the drinking, since it’s old, so when Ezra lifted off me, it looked like we’d been…” No need to finish that. They got the point.

Pearl yanked the Hummer to the curb, both her and Jack looking freaked, and she asked, “Are they separating you two?”

Ezra shook his head slowly. “No. King Kincaid left after we gave some bogus excuses for the drinking. He left King Venclaire to…” He trailed off, his voice just as rough and quiet as mine, all of us vigilant of any Vampires nearby.

“What? What did King Venclaire do?” Jack asked, eyes darting between our faces.

“Did he hurt you?” Pearl hissed.

We shook our heads. No, there hadn’t been any physical pain. Only mental anguish, but that wasn’t what she meant.

“Well, then what?” Jack asked, throwing his hands up and accidently knocking Pearl in the head. Reflexively, she reached over and thumped him back. Both pairs of eyes glued on us.