Chapter 2: New School, New Complication

Chloe’s gaze met mine, and it was like she’d reached into my chest and squeezed my heart. My God, she was gorgeous. And I was staring at her like some sort of creep. I slid on my sunglasses, and using every ounce of willpower I possessed, I looked away from her.

Despite promising myself I wouldn’t, I kept sneaking glances at Chloe throughout class. She was wholly focused on the teacher and his lecture. She was probably smart and studious in addition to being the most beautiful girl in this school.

Every so often, she’d tilt her head and toss her hair over her shoulder, exposing her neck for the briefest of moments, and I’d be rewarded with a whiff of her floral scent. My gaze lingered on the vein in her neck, on how it pulsed steadily. Would she taste as good as she smelled?

I scrunched up my face in disgust. What was wrong with me? I hadn’t drank from a human in decades, not since Hannah, and I wasn’t about to get sucked into that rabbit hole again. I didn’t care how tempting she looked or smelled.

When the bell rang, I rushed out of the room, not trusting myself to stay away from her. The morning dragged on—high school was just as horrible as last time. Finally, lunch rolled around, and while I didn’t plan to eat cafeteria food, I was looking forward to having a few minutes to decompress.

I claimed a table in the corner of the cafeteria, one that afforded me a clear view of the room and everyone in it. My gaze zeroed in on Chloe. She was sitting in the middle of the cafeteria with a group of kids. Her shoulders were tense, and terror flashed across her face. I moved to get up, to go over there and ask what was wrong, but then just as quickly as the emotion had appeared, it vanished. That was odd.

“This blows.” Jax flopped down in the chair next to me. “I’m not sure who in this school is dumber. The teachers or the students.” He crossed his arms and scowled.

I rolled my eyes and refocused my attention on Chloe. Right about now, I’d kill to have the twins’ ability to read minds. I’d have to settle for enhanced senses. Blocking out everyone else, I honed in on Chloe’s conversation.

“Oh, yeah, you’re the new girl who’s been sitting in the back of every class,” said one of the girls at the table.

“Wait, didn’t you punch that new guy in the face this morning?” one of the guys asked.

“Oh my God. I heard about that.”

I tilted my head. Why wasn’t Chloe saying anything?

“No, he grabbed her butt,” the other guy said.

A laugh erupted from my chest. That escalated fast. Not that I hadn’t thought about touching her in all the wrong places for all the right reasons, but no one except me knew that. Jax slowly leaned forward. I ignored him. The last thing I wanted to do was tell him I was obsessing over a human girl.

“What?” Chloe gasped. “No. That’s not how it happened at all. It was an accident.”

Chloe twisted the top off her water bottle and took a long drink. When she set it down, I didn’t miss the way her lips glistened. I’d never wanted to taste a mouth as badly as I wanted to taste hers. I’d bet her lips were as soft as her skin. She’d be so eager and pliant against me. I couldn’t suppress the groan that rumbled through me.

“Are you seriously stalking the local girl from this morning?” Jax asked.

“No.” But I still couldn’t tear my gaze from her.

“Leave her alone,” Jax warned. “I told you. She’s bright white, and for us, that means trouble.”

I glanced above her head, then back to her face, but I didn’t see anything. It bugged me Jax could, though. He described it once like a shadow that surrounded a person, the color constantly changing based on emotions. To him, people were walking mood rings.

Chloe reached up and smoothed her hands over her head and down her hair. I fought to hide my smile. Chatter at her table resumed, and she looked away. When she did, it was like popping a balloon—all the breath rushed from my lungs, leaving me deflated and feeling alone. I was in a shitload of trouble.

“You’re not going to leave her alone, are you?” Jax asked.

“Probably not,” I admitted.

I wasn’t sure I could leave her alone. Even though I knew I should—for her own safety—I also knew I’d obsess about her until I got to know her better. So far, I’d only spoken to her once; for all I knew, she could be as interesting as a slug. Maybe once I got to know her, I’d realize I didn’t like her all that much.

Jax shook his head. “Why do you hate yourself so much?”

I laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re going to torture yourself over her, and for what? We both know how things will end. Do you really want to go through that again?” There was an edge to Jax’s tone.

As usual, he was talking about the disaster that had been Hannah. That girl had wreaked more havoc in our lives than I cared to admit. But she was a warning I couldn’t easily dismiss, either.

My skin prickled, and I turned slightly to find Chloe staring at me. A need unlike anything I’d ever felt before crashed down on me. My body tensed the way it always did right before I went on a hunt. I curled my hands into fists, fighting against every instinct I had. Chloe wasn’t prey.

But she was a complication. A huge one.

The bell rang, and Jax stood. “We should get out of here,” Jax said as we walked out of the cafeteria.

“You mean ditch the rest of the day?” I raised a brow.

“Why not?” Jax shrugged. “Miss Findley said we needed to be enrolled. She never said anything about actually going to classes.” He laughed.

“Look, I’m not thrilled about being here, either, but let’s not make this any harder on Dad, okay?” I slapped Jax’s shoulder, then strode into my next class.

All eyes shifted to me, and I stood a little straighter. If they wanted to watch me, I’d give them something to watch. I squared my shoulders and lifted my head, making each step purposeful. Graceful. Hearts raced. Breaths caught. Eyes widened as girls swooned over me. And I ignored all of them. Except one.

Chloe’s gaze was glued to me, and an unexpected thrill shot through me. Her heart was racing faster than anyone else’s in the room. Fear and curiosity swirled around her. I had this inexplicable compulsion to talk to her. I needed to, because if I didn’t, I quite literally felt like I might die. Again. For good this time.

I stopped in front of her desk and crossed my arms. “I was going to sit there.”

God, I was a certified idiot. Of all the things I could’ve said, I chose that? This girl was making me crazy.

“You were?” she asked.

I nodded. “I sat at that desk for two other classes. It’s my seat.”

Shut up! But I’d started this, so I needed to commit. At least she was talking to me, which was what I’d wanted. And in my defense, that desk was in the perfect spot—I could see the entire room, and it was positioned so the sun didn’t shine on my face.

She stared at me for a moment, and then she swiped her bag onto the floor and studied the top of the desk. What is she doing?

“I don’t see your name anywhere.” She stood and checked the chair, too. “Nope. No name.” She plopped back down and gave me the sweetest smile.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. She’d caught me off guard, and that was almost impossible to do. I admired the hell out of her for her courage, and her willingness to stand up for herself. Still, someone needed to tell her it wasn’t wise to a pick fight with a vampire.

I could easily remove her from that seat, show her exactly who and what I was. That would definitely help end whatever fascination we seemed to have with one another. But I wanted her closer, not farther away. That thought made me scowl.

Jax barged past me, his shoulder bumping mine—a clear warning to knock it off. But when did I ever listen to my brother?

“Please move,” I said.

“No,” she said.

“All right. Fine.” I slid into the seat beside her and then moved the desk closer, scraping the metal legs across the floor in an obnoxious, grating noise.

Everyone in the room had stopped to watch our exchange. I was tempted to shout at all of them to mind their own business or take a page from Jax’s playbook and just kill all of them. That seemed a little extreme, so I did what I did best—I ignored them.

Someone near the front of the room coughed the word “fight,” which caused a ripple of laughter. Except that guy—that guy I was going to kill. A slow rage built inside of me. Why did people insist on being jerks?

Jaw clenched, Chloe turned toward me. “Why are you telling everyone I punched you?”

Wait… she thought I was telling people? Well, that was interesting. Let’s see where this goes… “You did,” I said simply.

“It was an accident.”

I knew that, but clearly, someone else in this school thought it was a bigger deal than it was. Chloe curled her hands into fists, her fingernails biting into her palms hard enough I could smell the blood rushing to the surface. Need and desire exploded in my gums, and I forced my fangs back.

Her brown eyes blazed with a mixture of anger and desperation, and everything inside of me wanted to pull her into my arms and tell her it would be all right, that I’d never let anything or anyone harm her. But damn, she was incredibly sexy when she was angry.

“Easy there, slugger.” I inclined my head toward her balled hands, my mouth twitching with a smile. “I haven’t told anyone.”

“People are saying you…” She averted her gaze, and that tiny moment of insecurity, of hesitation, tore at my resolve. I needed her. There was no denying it.

“Grabbed me, and that’s why I hit you,” she said.

I let out a laugh that silenced the room. All eyes were on us again, including Jax’s, and I could feel his gaze boring into me. He was probably coming up with a list of ways to kill me.

“No, I most certainly did not grab you,” I said.

“You don’t have to sound so disgusted by the idea,” she mumbled.

My brows shot up. She thought I was disgusted by the idea of touching her? My God, if she only knew how many times over the last few hours I’d fantasized about doing exactly that she’d probably be horrified.

“Disgusted is not the word I’d use, Chloe.” Her name rolled off my tongue so smoothly. I’d give anything to be alone with her, in the dark, so I could whisper her name as I—

“What word would you prefer, then?” she asked, interrupting my very naughty daydream.

I glanced at her. What word would I use? Smitten. Obsessed. Needy. Frantic. Crazed. Longing. Yearning. Desire. The hunger she evoked in me was unparalleled to anything I’d ever experienced. So, yes, there were so many words I could use—that I wanted to use—but I couldn’t exactly tell her any of them.

“Cautiously interested,” I finally said.

She opened her mouth as if she were going to say more, but thankfully, the teacher entered the room and closed the door. I slouched with relief, unsure I’d be able to keep talking to her without throwing myself at her feet, begging for just one small taste. One innocent touch.

Jax was absolutely right—Chloe was trouble, and I was more than willing to jump in headfirst. I didn’t care what the consequences would be. I needed to see where she led me.

When the bell rang, Chloe stood and stretched.

“You okay?” Abby asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You most certainly are,” I mumbled, and then I disappeared from the room before she could even turn around.