Where Dark Things Wait: Night Creatures Book One

Chapter Eighteen - Making an Impression

She ran into Alad, Zhak, and Isemay outside the canteen, and Isemay grinned as she said, "Hello, party animal."

Groaning internally, Kalyna wondered if she'd ever live down her first trip to Red Night.

"Please don't," she mumbled. "All I can say is that it turns out magic is as good as drink for lowering inhibitions. I possibly had a run in with the perpetrator responsible for killing and mutilating all those kids. Maloney checked me over this morning and confirmed that there was still magic residue in my brain. I'm really not usually so wild... Hell, that sounds like such a poor excuse."

Alad frowned, wondering, "When did you have a chance to run into a serial killer? You were either with us or a stream of dance partners all night."

Isemay nodded her agreement as they headed into the cafeteria, but then she paused in realisation and breathed, "Oh..."

"Oh?" Zhak prompted, his bony brows pulled low over swirling, fiery eyes.

"When Kallie was dancing with me... A human offered up his throat and she panicked, I assume because she wanted to feed, and she fled to the bathroom. Only she came back almost immediately, demanding I teach her to be a vampire. I just assumed she'd changed her mind and decided to throw herself into being what she is," Isemay admitted. "She'd only had one drink. I didn't think she could be under the influence of anything. She only became an extrovert after that, but I just put it down to having human blood for the first time. New vampires can have poor impulse control and I assumed she had the same problem."

"I do have the same problem," Kalyna muttered under her breath, having felt out of control for two nights now. "It just wasn't responsible for all of my erratic behaviour. And my god, has there been some problematic decision making done in the last twenty-four hours."

That was when Alad leaned closer, sniffing her in much the same way as he had the previous night, only his black eyes widened, saucer like, as he announced, "Bloody hell. You really fucking did it. Or rather, 'him'. There have been rumours flying about all night, but I didn't believe them."

Kalyna glared at him, chiding, "I've been told it's rude to comment on what people do in private."

"Yeah, but I consider us friends," Alad declared, winking. "I still can't believe you managed it, to be honest. I don't think I've ever heard of Eorl getting intimate with any other OTF member. There were even rumours that he's in the closet, but I guess you've blown that theory out of the water. You need to tell me everything!"

"I really don't," Kalyna refuted as they headed for the servery. "If you're hungry, incubus, then find someone else to feed off."

"At least tell me if he was good," Alad begged. "I bet he has skills. I mean he's fucking ancient. He has to have skills."

Zhak shook his head at his boyfriend, but Kalyna had the impression that Alad simply enjoyed his species. He also made the most of passively satiating his needs in order to have a monogamous relationship. Understanding that didn't mean she intend to share details, though, although she couldn't disagree with the incubus's assumption; Dunstan Eorl did have skills. Skills he'd put to use three times, until her body had succumbed to exhausted, blissful lethargy. She'd yelled his name more than once, and by the time she'd fallen asleep, she couldn't have left his bed and made it back to her own room even if she'd wanted to.

She blushed as she thought about the feel of his lips and teeth on her skin, and the brush of his fingers against her most intimate places. She remembered how he sounded as he moaned, and the way his spiced scent intensified with his own desire. Heat pooled in her core at the thought, and she grabbed a can of Fanta from the refrigerator in an effort to distract herself from her carnal hunger.