Dark Kiss

Colin did.

His brown-eyed gaze had darkened and he slid an arm around my waist, pressing me up against a set of lockers. “Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, Sam.”

“I don’t.” I sounded breathless. So hungry.

“I know you don’t want to hurt Carly. I get that. But just give me a chance.”

I was shaking my head. Too close, way too close. “I can’t do this.”

He didn’t seem deterred in the slightest. “I want to kiss you so badly right now.”

“Me, too.”

Why had Bishop suggested I go to school, knowing what I was and what I had to deal with? I didn’t feel at all normal right now. All I felt was ravenous.

“I knew it.” He grinned. “We’ll figure this out. Nobody has to get hurt, I promise.”

And then, suddenly, he slipped out of my grasp to head in the classroom door. My daze immediately vanished and I inhaled deeply to try to clear my head.

Nobody has to get hurt. I really wished he was right about that.

I knew one thing for certain—even though we were in the middle of the school hallway, I would have kissed him just now, even knowing exactly what that meant. Maybe I would kiss anyone with a soul who got within a foot of me.

I wouldn’t let that happen again until I got this under control.

Just before I went into class, I noticed somebody watching me. It was my redheaded nemesis, Jordan.

“Color me surprised.” A frown creased her forehead. “You’re all over everybody’s boyfriend this week, aren’t you? Who knew you were such a slut?”

I gave her the finger and an icy glare then pushed through the door. For the entire hour, I felt Colin staring at me while I struggled to control my insatiable hunger. So much for trying to act normal.

I hated Tuesdays.

* * *

All day, it was nearly impossible for me to concentrate, but I couldn’t really say I tried all that hard. Still, I needed to keep up my grades to get into my first choice college. If I focused on that, it helped a little. I had come to loathe this city over the years and to escape it was my main goal in life, even before I’d been trapped here by an invisible supernatural barrier. I’d leave the “maintaining the balance of the universe” part to the professionals.

At lunch, I chose to become a total loner and stay away from the tantalizing scent of other kids. I shoved my ham sandwich into my mouth practically whole, kind of like a python swallowing a small, bread-encased pig. Unfortunately, ham sandwiches weren’t even making a dent in satisfying my hunger today.

But I managed to control myself. I managed to appear vaguely normal. I guess, if I looked at it that way, it was a successful day.

I avoided Colin and I didn’t see Carly at all until school let out. Likely she was avoiding me. I stared bleakly at the blank screen of my cell phone as I sat on the steps outside, waiting for her to appear, clutching my leather bag to my chest.

Finally, Carly exited the school. When she spotted me, she made a beeline toward me.

She didn’t look nearly as shiny as she had this morning. “We need to talk.”

Uh-oh. I had a strange feeling I knew what the subject was going to be. Bigmouthed Jordan had witnessed me practically climbing Colin like a rope this morning. Had she told everybody? I was going to kill her. But first I’d have to get through a very unpleasant discussion with Carly about why I needed to keep my greedy, hungry paws off her ex-boyfriend.

“It’s not what you think,” I began, when we went down the stairs and stepped onto the path—the same one I’d used to follow after Kraven only yesterday morning. It led to the parking lot. Dry leaves crunched under our feet.

Carly eyed me. “What are you talking about?”

She looked genuinely confused, so before I admitted to something I didn’t have to, I took a deep breath. “Okay, well, what did you want to talk to me about? Oh…wait, I know. I said we’d talk about Bishop and Stephen. That’s what this is, right?”

“You’re acting strange today.”

I hitched my bag up on my shoulder, realizing I’d started to sound like a babbling lunatic. “I know. I’m strange. But you already knew that.”

“Yeah, but this is extreme even for you. It’s that Bishop guy, isn’t it? He’s got you all crazy.”

Interesting choice of words.

The parking lot was up ahead. I could see Carly’s red Beetle from here. “You could say that.”

She pulled a pair of dark sunglasses out of her purse and slid them on. “Who is he? Where does he go to school?”

“He’s—uh, he’s not in school right now.”

She hopped the curb and sat against the hood of her car. Other kids got in their cars and left the parking lot. I tried to focus my attention on my friend and her questions about the local angel-in-residence.

“How did you meet him?” she asked. “Just last night at Crave, or somewhere else?”

Dangerous subject matter there. I raked my hair over my shoulder and played with it nervously. “I met him Sunday night after the movies when I walked home. We, uh, hit it off.”

“Are you dating him?”

I crossed my arms over my chest, making a note to get my winter coat out of the attic earlier than I normally would. It might help with the chill I always felt. “Dating. No…I really wouldn’t call it that.”

“What would you call it, then?”

This was getting us nowhere, especially since I wasn’t inclined to tell her the truth. “What’s with the twenty questions?”