Raven Mask (Camren) Book 2

Chapter 4

Shawn left. Lauren and I remained seated. I glanced around the cream-colored room, trying to find a clock. Some days it's easy for me to keep track of time. But other times I'm so preoccupied with other things that I forget about it. Being with a vampire, I tried to be aware of time more at night than ever before. I certainly didn't want Lauren to burst into flames because of some unexpected vitamin D.

As if Lauren had heard my thoughts, she said, "Do not fret. We have a few hours until the sun rises."

"Was I that obvious?"

"Yes, and I assure you, I will not burst into flames if I am not in bed when it does rise."

"What happens if you're not? Do you just die wherever you're standing?" I sounded harsh, but couldn't think of any other way to put it. I wanted to know, so I asked.

She watched me for several moments. "No. I wouldn't just stand there."

"You'd flee?"

"More or less."

I stood. "I need to shower and to put my things away." I didn't want to talk about death anymore tonight. Even if my girlfriend technically personified it.

Lauren moved gracefully across the room, picking up my laptop bag and swinging it over her shoulder. I grabbed the backpack, tossing one of the straps over my left shoulder.

She waited in the doorway, watching me with a blank yet thoughtful expression that I couldn't decipher.

"What?" I asked as I walked by.

"Is it so wrong to enjoy watching you?"

"No. I just don't understand it."

We made it to the basement on the other side of the house and through the large steel door into the underground lounge. As always, I had to wait a few seconds for my vision to readjust to the light.

Lauren led me through the labyrinth of hallways, then opened the double doors at the end of one hallway. Her bedroom was about the size of most living rooms. The king-size canopy bed, placed a foot or two from the wall, was draped with black and burgundy silks. I never knew what colors would decorate it. Unlike mine, Lauren's bedding changed a couple of times a week. My bed doesn't see enough action to warrant such frequent upkeep.

On the other side of the room was a sitting area, with a black sofa pressed against the farthest wall near a matching armchair. The sofa's back curved in almost a heart shape. Its arms were wide and curling, and on the inside of the curl was a spiral of light gray. The sofa stood on four black-clawed feet.

Once a beautiful painting of the night sky hung on the wall behind the armchair, but now it was gone. The painting had been from the perspective of someone standing on a cliff, gazing at the deep waters of the ocean, with the horned crescent moon high overhead, reflecting off the water. The picture was shattered the first night I had stayed with Lauren. I learned not to play touchy-feely with the vampire before she died at dawn. I had noticed the pain buried deep in her eyes and tried to distract her from it. The distraction cost both of us, because when she woke, the hunger she had felt before dying channeled into blood lust. Let's just say, it wasn't pretty.

The picture didn't survive. I'd have offered to replace it if it hadn't been one of a kind.

Lauren placed the laptop in the armchair while I let the backpack slide down my arm and onto the couch.