Chapter 20

“Running away isn’t a very good solution.”

A squeak left Jayde’s mouth as she scrambled to her feet, eyes popping open to stare wide-eyed at Ryuu. He stayed where he was, near the tree, with his hands at his sides and now dark green eyes studying her. She stood up slowly, feeling shaky, and met his intense stare with a dark scowl. He was still shirtless!

His eyes shifted to her mouth, surprise flashing over his face before he could school his features back into his expressionless mask. Jayde covered her mouth, gasping when she realized she still had sharp fangs that barely peeked out from under her top lip.

“Why are you hiding out here?” he asked, genuinely sounding curious even as his eyes lightened a bit with amusement. “It’s far from everyone.”

Because I’m terrified of what I’ll do if I’m around people. The thought rose quickly, almost leaving her lips before she could clamp them shut. Her heart was racing again, emotions and new needs swirling around inside her like a hurricane. She looked away from him, clenching her jaw in annoyance as she let her hand fall from her mouth. Ryuu now knew what she was, so no point in hiding it. She just hoped he would stay on the other side of the tree.

As if the thought had brought him to her, Ryuu was at her side, cupping her cheek in his palm and turning her head so that her eyes met his again. “Don’t hide yourself,” he stared at her, curiosity mixing with other emotions in his eyes as he murmured. “I finally know what you are.”

She felt her cheeks heat as he smiled at her. Jayde tried hard to hold onto her anger at him, folding her arms over her chest as she lifted her chin out of his hand, glaring at him. The damn boy-dragon thought he could get away with how he had bullied people? She would arm herself with anger and keep his charm from affecting her.

Ryuu blinked, watching her rapid change in mood, moving his hands up and backing away a step. He wasn’t going to hurt her, never planned to scare her either, but he was wanting to kiss her. Maybe she sensed that.

With her anger, she became prettier. Her usual pale skin was flushed a bright lily pink, hair looking like she just rolled out of bed, and her sapphire blue eyes had an intriguing red tinge to them that made them look purple.

“Listen up, Pendragon,” she snapped her fingers in front of his nose, focusing his attention back on what she was saying. “I do not appreciate you transforming and… and picking me up! It would have been beyond rude and embarrassing had I decided to wear a skirt tonight instead of jeans!”

She couldn’t help but be a little angry over the fact that she had a slight lisp from her fangs, not being used to them hanging out like they were. Ryuu at least had the sense to look contrite, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried a goofy sheepish grin on her. The muscles in his arm distracted her a moment, turning her mind to fuzz as the bulging biceps led her gaze up to his neck. She unconsciously licked her bottom lip as she unintentionally starred, then growled at herself when she realized she was staring at him like he was a pork roast.

Ryuu noticed her look, feeling a little heated at the flick of her pink tongue as she danced it over her bottom lip, and the slightest lengthening of her fangs from only a moment before. It fascinated him, partly because he had never been around a young vampire before but also because he had a feeling that Jayde and his destinies were intertwined. He wanted to get to know her.

“Uhm…” Jayde frowned as her thought derailed, killing off whatever she had been thinking to say. Her mind was intensely focused now on biting Ryuu, with the end result of… well, blood. The thought of a mouthful of it should have made her feel sick, but it actually made her hungrier.

He lifted his hand to her cheek again, gently pressing his palm to her jawline as he rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. She was a vampire, a species so reclusive many people his age hadn’t ever interacted with one. The only exception was Mr. Crea since he was a professor. But Ryuu was very attracted to Jayde. More than that, he wanted to protect her from everything that put a gleam of fear or tears in her eyes, and wanted to keep her to himself from the rest of the nonsense of the school. When Alodie had attacked Jayde, even his instincts as a dragon had wanted to protect her, rising up and emerging so fast Ryuu hadn’t been able to stop the transition. The fast transition had given him a spark of shocking knowledge that he hadn’t expected to have for at least another hundred years.

Jayde had to force herself to keep breathing, looking up at Ryuu as he brushed his thumb across her lip again, sending tingles through her body. He looked thoughtful, and maybe that’s why this time his thumb grazed a fang, causing her breath to hitch, eyes going wide at the oddly sensual sensation coursing through her. He froze, watching her with wide eyes, then stepped forward into her space, up against her. He was intrigued by the sensitivity in her fangs, and Jayde was frozen in place by her own shock and the heat in his eyes.

As he slowly bent his head towards her, Jayde realized that she had nowhere else she wanted to be at that moment. She closed her eyes in anticipation, almost quivering with excitement now, then his lips were brushing oh, so lightly over hers. She breathed in his scent, kissing him back softly. Ryuu slid his hand to the back of her neck, sliding his fingers into her hair to tangle them there as he wrapped his other arm around her waist to pull her tightly against him. She settled her hands on his shoulders, this time letting herself quiver with excitement as her hands met bare skin.

In that moment, Jayde let herself slip away as her instincts took over. It was like she had all the knowledge in the world on seducing a man as she trailed kisses down his neck, slowly, listening as his breathing turned shallow even as he held her against him tighter somehow. The need for blood, for Ryuu’s blood, rushed into her mind to fill it with images of her tiny, sharp fangs sinking into the skin she kissed. His heartbeat was loud over the rush of his blood as she heard it pump through his veins. Placing a kiss directly over his pulse, sucking softly, she could almost taste the rich, succulent blood in her mouth.

“I’m so hungry,” the soft words left her mouth unthinkingly, a fuzziness filling her head so it felt like she wasn’t in control of her body. “You smell so good.”