Night Moves (The Night Songs Collection) (23 page)

“They aren’t really windows?” I smiled at the genius of it. “Did they build this house especially for you?”

“People like me.” Ryder smiled. “We’re safe here. No one can see in. Nothing can hurt us here.”

I
wished that this could last forever.

I’d lost count of the days that Ryder and I spent in our cocoon. It was truly paradise. Lazy afternoons spent cuddling, twisted in the sheets, long nights enjoying each other in every way possible. Ryder was actually a wonderful cook, a shame since he could no longer enjoy the fruits of his own labor. Thankfully I could. Any weight lost while on tour would surely be finding its way back to me.

Spending the early evenings under the starlight floating in the pool with Ryder was the best part of the day. All the stress and tension my body stored from the last few weeks melted away. Neither of us brought bathing suits, and no one bothered to get one. That made our play fights and wrestling matches turn into something else quickly.

“What time are the guys going to be here?” It was my turn to play hostess. Adam, Thomas, and Josiah were coming over to record. Ryder turned what had probably been meant to be a traditional office into a small, well stocked studio. It was the only part of the house he’d really taken the time to personalize, putting out framed photos of his girls. It wasn’t soundproofed, but we were far enough away from our neighbors not to bother them and I enjoyed listening to him work.

“Any time now. Relax.” Ryder kissed me as I worked on cleaning up the house. It felt weird not to make any food for our guests, but hey, these guys didn’t eat. “They’re guys. They won’t notice a mess unless they’re ankle deep in rats.”

“Eeww.” I whacked Ryder with my cleaning rag. “It doesn’t matter if they care or not, I care. Can’t have them think we’ve been doing nothing but lying around in bed since we got here.”

“I’m perfectly happy with them thinking that. It’s not like we didn’t just spend a month together on a bus.” Ryder smirked, kicking clothes under the couch. “I’m sure Thomas has bought some sleazy hookers, and we’re going to have to hear all about it. I just hope they all lived to tell the tale.”

A shiver went through my body. Ryder was so wonderful, and I felt safe here, it was easy to forget what he really was. I knew that I wasn’t enough for him, even though the color had returned to his skin, I knew he’d need to feed off more people. These vampires fed off of energy, and he tired quickly when there were no shows. He pulled energy from me, making me have to work extra hard minute to minute to do regular things. It was like living for two. I was tired and hungry a lot. Thank God Ryder seemed to know what I needed, or I probably would have wasted away to nothing.

I wondered if it would be easier on me if I had his blood.

“Hey, is this where the party is?” Adam’s voice boomed in the doorway. The guys hadn’t bothered to knock. They just walked in, bringing instruments and bottles of Venom for inspiration.

Ryder gave everyone those weird chest bump guy hug things like they hadn’t seen each other forever. I guess after spending every moment together in tight quarters for months, a couple weeks away would seem that way. The noise level rose, as everyone roared with laughter almost at once.

“And the bird, she didn’t look anything like her picture! I wanted a refund! That ought to be illegal!” Thomas finished his story.

“Imagine, hookers with no morals.” Josiah laughed.

“It is illegal, dude.” Ryder reminded him. “Come on guys, let me give you the tour.”

It felt a little empty to have Ryder busy with all of his friends when all I had was him. He was more than enough for now, but I knew it was a recipe for disaster. I needed to be my own person.

But that was impossible right now.

“Anyone in the mood for a little girl time?” A voice I didn’t expect to hear came through the door.

“Erin!” I squealed, and actually jumped up and down.

“Surprise!” She hugged me back, practically catching me in midair. “Let’s put this in the fridge so it gets cold.” She waved a bottle of white wine back and forth.

Erin followed me into the kitchen and watched me put the wine in the fridge. “This place is gorgeous.” She gushed. “I bet you’re having a blast. Is that a pool in the backyard?”

“Do they make houses in Vegas without them?”

“Not ones that I’d ever want to visit.” Erin laughed. “Let’s hang out back there.”

We headed out to the backyard, only illuminated by solar lights. I took off my shoes and began rolling up my jeans so I could dunk my feet.

I looked up to see Erin had taken off her shirt and was about to shimmy out of her jeans. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Getting in the pool.” She said like it was the most natural thing in the world. I was still bent over, hand on my cuff, mouth hanging open in shock.

“All the guys are here.” I whispered loudly.

“I know. How do you think I got here?” She laughed, now only wearing her belly button ring and her makeup. She pushed water at me, soaking my clothes and hair. “They’re busy. And they’re going to be drunk soon.”

“I’m going to have to be drunk soon.” I headed back in the kitchen to grab the wine. Screw chill time, this was an emergency. And a job for ice cubes.

When I returned, Erin was peacefully completing a lap in the pool, doing the breast stroke. Even though I brought us two glasses, I drank straight from the bottle.

“Are you coming in? What I would do for a back yard like this. Instead I have to share with a bunch of stupid neighbors.” She waited for me in the shallow end on her knees so only her head was exposed.

“Yeah, yeah. Have I mentioned what a horrible idea this is?” I pulled my shirt up over my head and undid my jeans. That was enough.

“Actually, you haven’t.” She snickered. “Do you really want to ruin a pretty bra and panty set with chlorine? It will bleach it right out and make it funky. Now that would be horrible. Stop being a prude, Mellie.”

“I am a prude compared to you.”

Erin feigned shock. I was willing to bet this wasn’t her first drink of the night.

“Fine.” I sighed, stepping out of my thong and unhooking my bra. I hurried into the water, ignoring the cold, and splashed her as hard as I could. She shrieked. “Happy now?”

“Yes. There aren’t any rules here. Just be free.” She floated onto her back.

“I wish I could. I’m stuck here.”

“Oh, poor you, stuck in this beautiful house with your hot boyfriend.” She rubbed her fingers together. “I’m playing the world’s tiniest violin for you.”

“Your place has to be nice. I mean, if it’s half as nice as Taryn’s, it’s gorgeous. How long have you known her?”

“We both moved in about the same time. We were both out of towners, so we hung out quite a bit.”

“So you know about her brother.” I wanted to know what Erin actually knew.

“That hot piece of ass? Absolutely.” She whistled low, again missing the obvious shock factor. “Unfortunately, he goes through girls like most girls go through underwear. I don’t even think he looks at half of them.”

“Is that how you met Drake?” I had to wonder why everyone was so willing to help me.

“Actually, it is. He was at some party for Immortal Dilemma. No one was really paying attention to him. I didn’t care if Soul Divider wasn’t cool anymore, I’d been in love with him since I was what, thirteen? So I took a chance, and it paid off.” She looked so peaceful, happy, thinking of him. How did he have her so snowed?

“Does he live in the city, too?” Hopefully he planned to spend his time off in Australia. As far away from me as possible.

“He has a suite at the Alta Vista, for business purposes.” Of course he did. All business.

“So he’s gone home to Polina?” I was embarrassed about the bite in my tone.

“Yes, Melanie, he’s gone home to his awful wife. Are you happy now?” She sounded so sad.

“No, Erin, I’m not happy. I want better for you. I want you to have someone who thinks the sun, moon, and stars revolve around you.” That’s what she deserved.

“So a best friend who kills people is better for her?” Drake appeared out of nowhere, sucking the light out of the moon. I screamed at the unexpected visitor, and then choked on pool water, like any worthy opponent would.

“Sweetie, what are you doing here?” Erin spoke in a hushed tone. It was the harshest I’d ever heard her sound around him. “How did you know I was here?”

“No one invited me to the party, so I invited myself.” Drake shrugged, grinning. “I own the house after all, you’re just staying here by my good graces, Melanie. Way to talk about the hand that feeds.”

I seethed, not really having any recourse. I wasn’t self-sufficient right now. And again, Drake managed to catch me at my most vulnerable. With any luck, the guys wouldn’t have heard my scream over their music. But I knew that my luck was running thin.

“Mel, are you okay?” Ryder stuck his head out of the slider. “Drake, is that you?”

“Hey Ryder, there’s practice tonight?” He smiled and winked at us before he turned to Ryder. I wished I had enough strength to overpower him and hold his head underwater until…oh yeah, vampires didn’t breathe.

“Um, yeah, come on in.” Ryder’s eyes were wide as he stammered.

“What seems to be the problem, lovies? Oh, hello.” Thomas barged out once he realized what was going on in the pool. “The party is definitely out here, boys.”

“Go back in the house, Tommy.” Erin sighed. “You’re such a creep.”

“And you, Trixie, are a fine piece of ass.” Thomas practically salivated into the pool. I’d never felt more uncomfortable around a man in my whole life. “You too, Melanie. I don’t want you to feel left out.”

“Not to worry, I don’t.” I sunk into the water as low as I could go. Adam and Josiah were both now out on the deck. I think they were so shocked to see Drake they didn’t even realize there were two naked girls in the pool.

“Come on, everyone back in the house. Let’s show Drake the new stuff.” Ryder sounded like his heart ripped apart with every word. God, I hated Drake so much. He didn’t care what anyone had. He just considered everything his.

And there was not much we could do about it.

“Melanie, once you get dressed, I need to see you in the office.” Drake stopped at the door before he went inside. “We need to talk about the arrangements that have been made. A lot of work went into getting you here. You need to hold up your end of the bargain.”

I
had only two things to be thankful for that night: seeing Erin again, and that Drake actually had the decency not to deliver my sentence while I was naked in front of a group of people.

Stupidly in our rush to get into the water, we hadn’t thought about bringing towels into the pool area. Erin was far more comfortable going into the kitchen to grab paper towels. It was pathetic, but it got the job done.

The house was way too silent for band practice. No one wanted Drake around. I was willing to bet even Erin would have rathered he didn’t show up. Erin didn’t want this. She hated conflict. She just could never say no to him. Kindness, one of her strengths, was also her weakness.

I made my way to the studio, the hallway longer than ever. Pushing the door open, I saw the band sitting looking at each other in silence. The only one who looked comfortable was Drake.

I hadn’t realized it was possible to hate him even more.

My life, my freedom, was too short and too precious to be filled with such hate. But he held the keys to all of it over my head, just out of reach.

“The Mistress has made the arrangements.” He said matter of factly. “Rachel will be ready for you next week.”

“I hear that the problem will take care of itself.” I crossed my arms across my chest, looking over Drake to Ryder, whose eyes almost burned holes into the back of Drake’s head. The rest of the guys actually looked frightened.

Pussies.

“You’ll take care of the problem, Melanie.” Drake spoke to me like an idiot. “You created it, you’ll fix it.”

“I didn’t do shit!” I yelled. “There are rival vampire clans, one of them did it. It’s the same vampire that poisoned Josiah.”

“Do you realize what a lunatic you sound like right now?” Drake’s words burned. But he was probably right. I did my best to keep from shaking. “You brought those girls to the party. I told Erin not to associate with them—”