Page 16 of Those That Don’t Exist (Hidden Vampires #1)

“Of course I was! It’s what happens when two people lean in to make their lips meet.” I try hard to look confident, standing a little straighter, brushing a lock of hair off my shoulder. I see a flash of emotion across his face, a momentary tick of his jaw, was that jealousy?

“Then I apologise for disrupting your evening. Forget you ever saw me.” He turns to leave but suddenly my fear of him turns into fear he’s going to disappear and for some reason I don’t want him too.

In another burst of emotion I grab his arm, spinning him round, which seems to take him by surprise.

“You can’t just go. Now you’re here, and talking, you can explain why you’ve been turning up everywhere. I want to know if you’re watching me, following me.” I jab my finger at his chest, not quite making contact.

“I can’t answer that.” He narrows his eyes at me.

“But you’re not denying it?” I push.

He shrugs, which infuriates me once more.

“Maybe I should report you for stalking, and assault,” I spit at him, raising my hands in frustration.

“Don't do that,” he fires back as he shoves me back against the fence, one of his hands at my throat. My fingers immediately wrap around his coat sleeve, struggling to grasp it in my panic.

My emotions around this guy have more twists and turns than I can keep up with.

“You can’t tell anyone.” He bears down on me. “You don’t know what the consequences are, please.”

The last word is an honest plea but how fucking cryptic can he get? I stare at him, his gaze boring down into mine. For a second, it’s like I’m looking past the predator and into a world of pain and hurt. I want to soothe this beast, I want to unlock all his secrets.

“Who are you?” I repeat again. My hands having stilled.

“Stop asking me that,” he practically growls.

“Can’t I even know your name?” With his face so close I can make out his features fully once more.

He really is beautiful, even in anger. Tanned skin, dark stubble and hair, all of which make his eyes more piercing.

He closes them momentarily, his grip at my throat pulsing tighter for a second.

The possessiveness of it should scare me more than it does.

But another part of me likes his hands on me.

The heat from his fingers warms my entire body. His touch feels grounding. It feels like I can breathe easier despite the tension rolling off of him, and the fact he could cut off my air supply with a slight tightening of his grip. Gods, what's happening to my mind this evening?

“Fine,” he sighs, “my name is Ty.” He reopens his eyes and there’s a blazing fire in his pupils.

Ty. I roll it round in my head, committing it to all the memories I already have of him.

“Nice to meet you, Ty,” I breathe, some sarcasm bleeding through considering our current position. My fear has once again abated although I can feel my own pulse rapidly fluttering against his fingers.

“You too, Aurora.”

Fucking hell . A wave of heat rolls across me as he purrs my name. I like the way he says it way too much. That heat settles deep between my thighs.

Wait a second.

“You know my name?” I say, although it comes out much more of a whisper than I intended. His hand at my throat slides up my neck an inch, it feels more like a caress than a threat at this point.

“Stalker, remember?” His lips twitch into a playful smirk.

Fuck, if that’s not an admission I don’t know what is.

And fuck if his smirk doesn’t make my stomach flutter with another emotion.

And how have we gone from threats to this…

whatever this fucked up kind of flirting is. I can’t stop the slight chuckle I make.

“I’m not likely to forget, you’ve been following me like a shadow these last few weeks.” Always there but not touchable.

“Months,” he corrects. I visibly see some tension leave his body like he’s settled some internal battle and decided to be more open with me.

“Months?” I ask.

“Yes. Since the summer.” Does he mean the accident? Does he know about that? “Were you going to just kiss him?” He repeats his earlier question again, changing the subject before I can respond.

“You first, what are you?” I say slowly, insistently.

“I can’t tell you. Not if I’m wrong here.” Ty hesitates over his words. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, making my eyes roam down his frame again. Even under the thick clothes I can tell how strong he is.

“Why?”

“It puts me in danger. I don’t know if I can trust you.” It doesn’t feel like I’m the one threatening him, not with his hand still on my throat, his fingers flexing against my pulse point.

“Did you think I was going to do something other than kiss David?” Ty visibly tenses. Interesting. He also stays silent.

“Did you…” I pause. I'm going to sound insane, but I want answers. My hands drift from my sides to the edges of his coat, needing the fabric to fidget with. He doesn't seem to notice. I dig deep to find some courage. “Did you think I was about to harm him?”

“Define that.” Ty goes unnaturally still, even for a Fae. If he is Fae. He seems Fae with how quickly he can move and how beautiful his skin is.

I fear I'm about to land myself in a mental institution. Maybe I should be sectioned . It’s so crazy but my instincts are telling me to be honest. I can’t look at him as I say this , so I tilt my gaze down to the ground beside him.

“What if I wanted to taste his blood?” I barely get the words out loud enough, but I guess Ty has enhanced hearing too as his shoulders shift at my words.

“Then I was right to interrupt.” Ty’s hand, the one around my throat, moves up, his fingertips brush my skin until they’re gripping my chin. He raises my gaze back to his. “I’m familiar with the feeling, the consuming hunger.”

I swallow. Ty’s gaze flicks to my throat before he runs his fingers down the centre of it in a gentle caress, pausing as he reaches my necklace, the ring hanging on it.

For a moment I think he is going to lift the band between his fingers but he raises both hands instead, placing them on the fence either side of my head.

Leaning in closer, he still has me trapped but we are no longer touching. My anxiety returns.

“The hunger, it’s a type of thirst. One you’ll need to satisfy soon.” He chooses his words carefully. His face shifts through several incremental movements, thoughts flickering across his eyes, too fast to be readable.

We’re standing so close, we’re basically sharing breath, yet I'm still bereft of his touch. The air between us seems to grow hotter. He rolls his bottom lip between his teeth, I want to lean forward and take that lip between my own.

But the tension breaks as a far off noise seems to catch his attention.

“I need to go. Don’t touch anyone,” Ty says, stepping back. Releasing me from the cage of his body, leaving me cold.

“You need to damn well explain what you just told me!” I find my voice again, and grip his coat tighter.

“I will, but I’m on a time limit tonight and it’s almost up. I’ll speak to you back on campus.” Another step back, removing my hands from his coat.

“Please, tell me now.” I step forward.

“Sorry Red, we can’t be seen together. I need to go.” He tilts his head as if listening out for something I’m not aware of.

“Fine, but you better meet me after the weekend.” I try to sound threatening but it comes out like a whine. He chuckles.

“I promise I’ll explain everything. Now go back inside. And don’t do anything intimate with anyone, please.” He turns to go.

“Why shouldn’t I?” I make a last attempt to get him to give me more.

“You need to avoid feeling that hunger again until I can explain. It might be hard so don’t touch anybody, for a couple more days.”

“Ok,” I agree, I didn’t like feeling like a monster anyway. If avoiding people is how to do it, fine. Done.

“And Red?” My eyes find his as I tilt my head. It’s the second time he’s called me Red. “You look positively dangerous in that outfit tonight so do try hard.”

“Dangerous?”

“Indeed, to every straight male in that house, and some females too, I’m sure, you’re a walking goddess. I’m surprised they’ve not all fallen to their knees for you.”

A smile catches my lips. I glance down at my dress, my skin flushing once more. I search for the confidence I had when slipping into it earlier tonight. I glance back up intending to brave it and ask if Ty includes himself in that statement but he’s already gone. Nothing but shadows remain.

I stay outside for a while, replaying the whole conversation in my mind, feeling comfortable in the darkness. With the information overload I need a minute to process. I’d come away with so many more questions than answers but I finally had a name to put to the face.

Ty.

The mystery guy who appeared in my life, who has now all but admitted to being my stalker, and eluded to knowing the fucked up things going on in my head.

My stomach swoops with that feeling you get when standing at the edge of a cliff with a thousand foot drop and no chance of you surviving if you fell. One where you step to the edge anyway because you like the mixture of feeling alive, and in grave danger, all at once.

I’m pretty sure I’m about to jump right off the edge. I guess we’ll find out if I can survive.