Aidan bent his head toward mine, his breath warm against my ear. “Happy birthday, love.”
19 ~ Dance of the Devil
I still can’t believe he pulled this off,” I said, my gaze fixed on Aidan as he stood by the punch bowl, deep in conversation with Matthew, Tyler, and Sophie. About science stuff, I supposed.
Cece licked the remaining frosting off her fork and set it back on her plate. “Let’s just say he was driven. He started planning it the day he got back.”
“And you!” I said, turning toward Whitney, who sat on my other side. “Clearly his partner in crime. I can’t believe you didn’t give me some kind of heads-up.”
“No way. I was sworn to silence,” Whitney said with a smile. Surprisingly enough, she seemed perfectly at ease in Aidan’s company, despite what had happened over Christmas break. I could only assume that the Aidan Effect had something to do with it, but whatever the case, I was grateful. And I was happy to see that her cheeks were more rounded now than the last time I’d seen her. She hadn’t touched the cake, of course, but she had eaten a few bites of dinner—steak and lobster tails with garlic mashed potatoes and French carrots.
As soon as we’d finished dinner and cut the cake, Gran and the other adults had left—well, except Matthew. The DJ was just starting to crank up the music. And I was ready, my feet tapping to the beat beneath the table as one of my favorite songs started playing.
“Who gave the DJ the playlist?” I asked.
“Aidan put you in charge of music, didn’t he, Cece?” Whitney asked.
Cece nodded, looking gorgeous in a pale pink sheath. “Marissa and Max helped too. A group effort, really.”
“I still can’t believe it.” I shook my head in amazement. “I mean, you all flew to Atlanta just for this?”
Cece widened her eyes in mock surprise. “What do you mean, just for this? This is huge. Epic. Your eighteenth birthday!”
“You didn’t have a big birthday blowout,” I pointed out. We’d quietly celebrated Cece’s eighteenth just last month with cupcakes at the café. She’d refused to make a big deal out of it.
“Yeah, but you know”—she sighed heavily—“things were still kind of sober then. Anyway, I didn’t turn into some badass vampire slayer on my eighteenth birthday. You gotta own it, girl.”
I just shrugged, not quite sure I felt all that different than I had the day before, at least where vampires were concerned. I mean, yeah, I had my mark now and the bracelet. Still, it felt more like an easing-in type situation at this point. One by one, the pieces falling into place.
All this buildup leading to my eighteenth birthday, as if everything was going to change—as if I was going to change—just because I’d reached the magical age. Maybe I’d been worrying over nothing.
“Where are y’all staying, anyway?” I asked, eager to change the subject.
“Same hotel as Aidan and Dr. Byrne. Aidan arranged all the rooms and everything. We’re flying out tomorrow afternoon, though. Sophie, Max, and Marissa are headed down to Saint Bart’s. Oh, and Tyler, too.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope,” Cece said. “I think something’s going on with his mom. He didn’t want to go home, and since he and Max are roommates and all . . . well, you know. It just made sense.”
The idea that Tyler might be working his way through my friends—first Cece, then Kate, then Sophie—made me uncomfortable. On the other hand, he’d gone on only one or two casual dates with Cece, and as far as I could tell, there wasn’t anything going on with him and Sophie.
At least, not yet.
Cece obviously sensed my hesitation. “You don’t think he and Sophie . . . you know?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “Do you? I mean, it’s not like it matters, right?”
Cece leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. “I think she’s secretly into him but afraid to tell us. Which is too bad, because I think she’d be good for him.”
“Sophie is the redhead, right?” Whitney asked, and Cece and I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve noticed the way she watches him. I’m pretty sure she’s crushing hard.”
Cece gave me a pointed look. “See? Tyler just needs to step up and—oops, speak of the devil. On your left,” she warned as Tyler approached our table.
“Hey, birthday girl,” he drawled, reaching for my hand. “Come dance with me.”
“You think you can handle me?” I asked with a grin.
“Well, why don’t we find out?” he shot back.
Laughing, I took his hand and followed him out to the center of the floor.
An hour later, I returned to the table where I’d stashed my bag and shoes and collapsed into a chair, exhausted. I’d been dancing nonstop, making my way around the dance floor from group to group.
Mostly, Aidan just watched, claiming me only for the slow songs. But when he held me in his arms, the heated look in his gaze promised more—much more. I couldn’t stop thinking about that silk blindfold in his pocket, his teasing words about later. My skin tingled all over, just thinking about it.
As far as I was concerned, later couldn’t come fast enough. I was feeling brave—reckless, even. My mind wandered back to that day in his room, the day he’d returned. Skin against skin, his body beneath mine.
I had to pick up a glass of water from the table and press it against the side of my face to cool my heated cheeks as I considered the possibilities.
Just then, Matthew dropped into the seat beside me, his eyes shadowed with concern. “Hey,” he said. “Having fun?”
“Yeah, I’m having a great time. Why?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought I felt . . . a disturbance in the force or something. You suddenly felt . . . off to me.”
Oh, man. I sure hoped he couldn’t read my mind now that I’d turned eighteen. We probably should have tested it earlier, while we were out getting my tattoo. The last thing I needed was Matthew knowing what I’d been thinking about just before he sat down.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said with a shrug, going for casual. “The party’s great. It looks like everyone’s having fun, right?”
“Wait,” he said, going suddenly still, his gaze fixed on my bracelet. “Was it doing that before?”
I glanced down at my wrist, suddenly aware of a sharp, burning sensation. Even more ominous, my bracelet’s center stone, one of the bloodstones, seemed to be swirling, the black and red roiling like an angry storm cloud. “That’s not good,” I muttered.
“What does it mean?” Matthew asked, his gaze meeting mine.
I swallowed hard before replying. “It means vampire. Bad vampire.”
I stood so abruptly that my chair tipped over backward. Quickly, I reached for my shoes and slipped my swollen feet into them. “Look around,” I said. “Make sure everyone’s here, accounted for. We’ve got to keep everyone inside.”
“That vision,” Matthew said quietly, his thoughts traveling the same route as mine. “Jack.”
We both scanned the room, searching for his tall, athletic frame, his blond hair. “I don’t see him,” I said.
Matthew shook his head. “Me either.”
“Let’s find Kate, then,” I said, pushing my way through the crowd, Matthew at my heels. I found her sitting at a table on the edge of the dance floor, holding her cell phone in one hand. “Where’s Jack?” I called out breathlessly, bracing my hands on the back of a chair. “C’mon, Kate, where is he?”