Magic. The afternoon was magic. The rain. Pierce’s lips on mine. I could barely handle the onslaught of sensations and emotions.

After our second intense kiss Pierce dragged me back inside the lighthouse, reminding me of the danger of lightning. Normally I would have been the one warning someone, but I was in a euphoric state where I could barely think straight.

“As soon as there is a break in the storm, we should head back to the truck.” Pierce ran a hand through my hair while we sat and watched the rain.

“I probably should get a few hours of work in.”

He smiled. “I’m not worried about your work, although I should be worried about mine.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“The storm. Those clouds aren’t going anywhere. We’ll hopefully get a break and make it back, but it’s just going to start again.”

“Not interested in spending the night up here?” I teased.

“You wouldn’t want to.” He brushed his lips against my forehead.

“If you’re telling me that, I’m going to listen.”

“Not that I wouldn’t enjoy spending the entire evening with you…” his words trailed off.

“But not in a haunted light house.”

“I never used the word haunted.”

“I figured it out myself. Your ‘maybe’ about the ghost thing didn’t sound particularly convincing.” The light that turned off on and off and the chill in the air said a lot. The weird thing was I was still sitting there. I was willing sitting there in a haunted tower. Crazy. Absolutely crazy.

“The rain is lightening up a little. Since I know you are okay with getting a little wet, I say we run for it.”

“By run you mean walk quickly, right? Because as I am sure you realize, I’m not running down these stairs or those slick rocks.”

“You’re wearing the right shoes.”

I looked down at my sneakers. “I am, but me and wet rocks don’t go together. You saw that first hand.”

“My offer to carry you still stands.”

I shot up to my feet.

He laughed a deep laugh that was incredibly sexy. “I should have known that’s what it would take to get you moving.”

“I guess I’m predictable.” I turned on my phone this time even though the light from on top was bright enough to light some of the stairs. I’d already learned it shut off randomly, and I didn’t need to fall down a couple flights of stairs.

“No. Predictable is not a word I’d use to describe you at all.”

“You’re wrong. Anyway, I’m glad we’re heading back. Don’t forget what you promised.”

“What did I promise exactly?” His voice came from right behind me.

I didn’t dare turn around, not sure I wanted to handle being face-to-face that close to him while walking down spiral steps. “My door. You promised to fix my door.”

“Oh. That.”

“Oh that? I need a door.” Going down the stairs should have been easier, but it was harder. I was afraid of missing a step, so I took each one slowly. At least Pierce didn’t complain about my pace at all.

“I guarantee Delpha has fixed it by now. She’s also replaced the sheets.”

“Really?”

“She threw the party. She’ll take responsibility. She can be flighty sometimes, but she owns up to things when she screws up.”

We reached the bottom, and I pushed against the outer door. The rain had let up, and it was now only a light drizzle. The ocean had also calmed. “I made her sleep in there. Or on the couch. I really don’t know where she slept.”

“That’s only fair.” He wordlessly took my hand and headed back around the tower.

“Is it?” I slipped, cursing when he had to right me again.

“I’m trying to understand you.” He kept a hand around my waist as we continued along the rocks.

“Why I can’t walk for the life of me?” We reached the sand and headed back to the wooden bridge.

“No. It’s slick out here. I get that.”

“Then what are you trying to understand?” I paused a few steps onto the bridge.

“Why you care so much.”

“I don’t care much about anything.” I started walking again. This conversation wasn’t worth getting stuck out there in the middle of the storm if the lightning returned.

“Sure you do. You care about Delpha even though she barged in on you and threw a party. You actually feel guilty about making her sleep in the less ideal spot when it was her fault.”

“Because she’s been nice to me.” Or welcoming. She’d made me feel welcome, which made a difference even if a lot of the other things she did were incredibly annoying.

“Am I right that not many people are…” He was beside me now. His shoulder brushed against mine.

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“That’s not random you know.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I glared at him. “It’s my fault?”

“No.” He opened his mouth and then closed it. “I just mean it’s my fault, or not really.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“If you are truly destined to be my mate, that makes you something different. People sense it, and they don’t like different.”

“You’re making that up.” I turned straight ahead.

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know exactly.” We reached the sand again, right as a crack of thunder filled the air.

“Because I have no reason to. I think I’m right.”

“You think, as in you don’t really know?”

“Do we ever really know anything?” He reached for my hand.

After considering pushing him away, I let him wrap his hand around mine. Annoyed at his words or not, I enjoyed his touch far more than I wanted to admit.

He stopped short and looked into my eyes. “I wasn’t trying to upset you, I just want you to understand how much of your life may have been influenced by me. And if any of it was bad, I’m sorry.” He rested his forehead against mine.

“I’m not sure I actually believe you have anything to do with my past, but thank you, I guess.”

He put his hands on either side of my head.

I smiled. “Are you going to kiss me again?”

“Should I?”

“That’s a loaded question.”

“Then let’s try this one. Do you want me to kiss you?”

“Yes.” I wanted him to do a whole lot more than kiss me, but a kiss sounded very nice.

He brushed his lips against mine. “That kind of kiss?”

“No. I was thinking more like this.” I crushed my lips against his and pulled his head close to mine. His arms wrapped around me, and I deepened the kiss, loving the feeling of being in charge.

A loud crack of thunder had me jumping back. “This storm is too much of a distraction.”

“Then let’s go ahead and get back.” He took my hand and started jogging down the beach. Miraculously I kept up, and I knew that had a lot to do with him forcing himself to go slow.

We stopped talking after that, hurrying alongside each other until we reached his truck. He opened the door for me before hurrying around to his side. He’d just pulled out of the spot when the sky opened again, sending torrents of rain down.

“Good timing.”

“Amazing timing.” He put a hand on my leg.

“Perfect timing.” I already knew we weren't talking about the rain. So much had changed between us since I got into his truck that morning, and I had no idea what was going to happen when we got back to the library. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to have happen, but I knew one thing. Being only friends with Pierce was no longer a possibility.

---

The apartment was spotless when I walked back inside. Spotless. If I hadn’t witnessed the party myself, I might not have believed there had been one the night before. Not a single can or bottle littered the counters. The table had been wiped down. The rug was vacuumed, the windows washed, and my door was back on.

“Delpha?” I called out, still flying high from my time with Pierce and now thrilled that the place looked amazing. “You home?”

“Hey!” She jumped out of the bathroom clutching a scrubbing brush. “How are you?”

“Were you cleaning the bathroom?” I asked a question with an obvious answer because I was too shocked to stop myself from speaking out loud.

“Yes. I’m sorry about last night.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. I shouldn’t have thrown the party. I said it was for you, but it was really for me. Cad’s as anti-social as they come, and we never have parties. I was dying to have one. Sorry.” She dropped the brush and ran over, pulling me into a hug. “Forgive me, please.”

“You’re forgiven. And thank you. This went above and beyond.” I didn’t pull away from the hug immediately. There was something so genuine about it.

“How was your morning?” Her eyes lit up. “You look happy.”

“It was nice.” I smiled thinking about exactly how nice it was. I was never going to forget any of those kisses.

“Nice?” She tilted her head to the side. “Only nice?”

“Very enjoyable.”

She grinned. “That’s more like it.”

“I was going to ask if you’ve been down to work yet today, but by the look of this place you haven’t.”

“Oh, I have,” she said in an offhanded way. “Just long enough to get done what needed to get done.”

“Great.”

“Hey, could you do me a huge favor?” She tilted her head to the side.

“Sure.” I would have agreed to almost anything considering how great the place looked and how little I enjoyed cleaning.

“Ok, it’s not huge.”

“All right.”

“I needed flyers for the story time I’m starting again.”

“Oh, you need help with those?”

“No.” she shook her head. “There’s a guy in town who makes great ones.”

“Ok. I can call him then. I owe you one for this.” I gestured to the spotless apartment.

“I already called him, but I said I was you.”

“Why?” I was starting to accept I would never ever understand Delpha.

“Because he’s a vamp.”

“A vamp?” My heart skipped a beat. “Meaning a vampire?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t like vampires?” There had to be a reason she was pinning her work on me.

“Oh no. I don’t mind them.”

“Then why did you give my name?”

“Vampires don’t like me.” She swung her arms.

I tried to follow. “Because of what you are?”

“I just have a bad reputation for something. Not worth discussing right now. He’s supposed to come down and drop the flyer off, but I specifically told him he needed to give everything to me—meaning you. You know Mr. G can’t be trusted.”

“Am I supposed to pay him? How do I do that?”

“It’s on the libraries account. We’re good.”

“Ok… so I should just wait down there?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“And where will you be?”

“I need to clean the windows on the outside.”

“No way. You could kill yourself doing that.”

“I won’t.” She smiled. “Now please go down and wait.”

“You promise not to fall and die?”

“Pinky promise.” She held out her pinky and actually linked it with mine.

“What time is the guy supposed to come? And what’s his name?”

“His name is Mason and anytime.”

“Ok.” I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs. Technically I was going into work.

The library was empty when I got downstairs. Or almost empty. Mr. G was sitting at the front desk.

“Hello, Mr. G.” I smiled, still in a very good mood.

He grunted in response.

“Ok, then.” I went into the break room and grabbed a folding chair and brought it out. I had no idea what “anytime” meant in Delpha’s world.

I set up the chair and waited.

“How long have you been working here?” I tried to get into more conversation with Mr. G.

His grey eyebrows moved together. “Long.”

“Ok then.” I got up and pulled a mystery off the new release table. There was no excuse to be bored sitting around a library.

I checked my watch a few times and things were quiet until two men both dressed in identical black business suits walked into the library and up to the desk. They seemed to look through me.

It took me a moment to come up with the nerve to question them. “Are either of you Mason?”

At first they gave me blank stares from their identical dark green eyes. They scowled at me before hurrying past the desk toward the lower level.

“Friendly sort,” I mumbled and sat back down on the folding chair and picked up the book again.

“Normal.” Mr. G mumbled.

I smiled. Why didn’t his response surprise me?

I set aside the mystery and started picturing what a vampire would look like. Would he look any different? Pale? And was I really sitting there getting ready to meet a vampire? Was he dangerous? Should I even be doing this? What if he bit me? And what was Mr. G? I studied him. Pierce’s words came back to me. I may have known many supernaturals in my life without knowing it. I shivered uncontrollably until I got up and walked around. Sitting down only made my nerves worse.

Twenty minutes later an attractive guy with sandy-brown hair walked in. He took off his sunglasses and unzipped a black fleece. He was clutching a folder in his hands. He was youngish, probably my age. I tried again. “Are you Mason?”

“Mattie?” He smiled.

“Yes.”

“How’s this look?” He handed over the folder.

I opened the red folder and looked at the blue paper. Since I wasn’t the one organizing the story hour I didn’t know if the times were right, but it looked very professional down to the Willow Harbor Library logo on the corner. “It looks great.”

“Awesome.” He handed me a small flash drive. “The original is on here. Or you could copy the one in the folder if that’s easier. I’m not sure what kind of printers you guys have here.”

“We can manage it. Thanks.” I slipped the flash drive into my pocket to lessen the chance of my losing it.

“Great. See you around, Mattie.” He zipped up his fleece, put his sunglasses back on, and headed right back out the way he came.

That was a vampire? Not nearly as frightening as I expected, but then again Pierce was dangerous, and he hadn’t looked frightening either. And I didn’t even want to think about how wrong my first impression of Delpha had been.

Clutching the folder, I bid Mr. G an unanswered farewell and headed upstairs.

I pushed open the door, looking forward to spending some time in my quiet and clean apartment. Only it wasn’t quiet when I returned.

Music was blaring.

“Hey, that was fast.” She shut off the music.

“Didn’t you tell me he was due anytime?”

“Yeah, but anytime didn’t mean soon.”

“How are the windows?”

“I didn’t do them. I did something so much better.”

“What’s that?” I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to know.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Another surprise?” I asked suspiciously.

“You are going to love it.”

“I bet.” I had already learned just to go along with Delpha sometimes. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Since I’d survived meeting a vampire, this surprise couldn’t be much worse.

I waited for her to explain, but instead she paled and turned toward the door. “Stay out of sight.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” She glanced at me over her shoulder, and her expression was more serious than I’d ever seen it. “Please.”

I nodded, worried about what in the world would have Delpha so uptight suddenly.

The front door of the apartment burst off it’s hinges.

Seriously? Now the front door?

The two men in suits from earlier marched in.

Delpha stepped in front of me. “What do you want?”

“The girl.”

I shuddered. I had a sinking feeling I was the girl they meant. But then why had they walked past me without bothering me in the lobby?

“Sorry, I’m not interested.” Delpha stepped toward them.

“We don’t mean you.”

“Oh, she doesn’t want you either. Please leave. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the door.” Delpha snapped.

“We are not leaving empty handed.” The first man to enter glared at her.

“Except you are. You are leaving empty handed right now.” Her hands curled into fists at her side.

“No.” Large fangs sprang from the first man’s mouth, and his eyes turned bright red.

“You will step out of the way, or you will die.”

“No. You will be the one dying.” Delpha’s entire body glistened as if made up by tiny droplets of water. The pipes squealed even louder than the shower normally did. Delpha’s fists glowed blue, and water flowed from the kitchen sink and down the hall from the bathroom through the air, collecting into an enlarging sphere of water that hung suspended in front of her. As more water continued to flow into the sphere, it became larger and larger. While the men stood mesmerized by the blue sphere as if in a trance, Delpha suddenly pushed her hands forward, sending the sphere of water as a wave over the two men tossing them backward. through the doorway, and slamming them against the wall. Dazed and clearly rattled, they struggled to stand up as a pool of water slowly drained from the room. 

The larger man finally regained his composure. “You are going to need more than a wave pool to keep me away.” His fangs glistened in the dim light as he strode across the hall back into the apartment with his buddy walking close behind him.

“Get the codex!” Delpha yelled before the air shimmered and all three disappeared.

I stood watching the space they’d once occupied trying to make sense of what happened.

I walked toward the spot, sure my eyes were playing tricks on me. I reached out tentatively, but I only hit air. The only evidence of what occurred was the puddle of water on the floor.

They were gone. Delpha was gone.