Turning by Dawn Kirby

Haven

Nicholas stepped closer to the house, careful not to let the leaves crunch beneath his feet. Alana had painted such a clear picture in her mind for him; he had been able to find Ben’s hideout before Matt had been able to recover from his wounds. A fact that suited him just fine. The less people he had to worry with at this point, the better.

Ben was under the delusion that being a vampire made him untouchable. No human was safe around a creature with that mindset. At times neither was another vampire. Thomas’s death had proven that.

He reached for the front door, calmly seeking out Alana’s now familiar heartbeat. It was quicker than normal. Her breathing was labored, frantic almost. Alarmed, his body faded from view as he hurried through the closed door and up the stairs. He could practically feel Ben’s cold breath on his own neck.

Quietly he crept through the open bedroom door. Alana’s hand was cuffed to the bed. Her legs pinned in between Ben’s as he lay beside her whispering his plans for their future in her ear. The urge to kill had never been quite that strong before. Common sense overcame emotion. Ben had fed. A lot. Nicholas hadn’t. If they fought now there’d be no way he could win let alone save her.

But her captor was distracted. So distracted he hadn’t even felt another presence in the room with them. Then an idea. He knew how to get her out, but it would have to be quick. Taking her cuffed hand in his, he closed his eyes and concentrated hard on his own home. It was the one place they could go where no one would find them. There she would be safe and he could regain his strength.

Alana felt something close around her hand and then there was a feeling of weightlessness. Suddenly Ben’s body disappeared. Wind and darkness swirled around her making it virtually impossible to see anything. Seconds later it died down and Nicholas was standing there, his hand in hers.

They were standing outside a Victorian style house. Trees surrounded the house in every direction. She looked around quickly; sure Ben had followed them there somehow. Getting away couldn’t have possibly been that easy.

“Here we’re safe,” Nicholas told her. “Here nobody can touch us.”

She closed what little gap there was between them, pressing her body against his, resting her head on his chest. In his arms she knew she was secure. He rested his chin on her head, content to let her stay right where she was. That’s when she heard it. She turned her head to look up at him. He lowered his eyes to hers.

“No, I’m not dead,” he said. “Not yet anyway.”

“I thought-” she started, but found herself unable to finish.

He brushed his fingers through her hair and smiled. “I’m sure an explanation would be nice, but I have none. I simply am what I am.”

“And that is?”

Her heart was racing. So was her mind. They’d been close before, but this was different. She saw him in a new light somehow. Hearing his heart beat, no matter how slow had brought forth emotions she’d been trying to ignore.

“A man.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing his lips gently against hers. She slid her arms around his neck, her fingers playing through his hair. Her lips parted. Passion took hold. Their kiss deepened. His hands moved up her sides, stopping just shy of the curve of her breasts. She broke away, her gaze shifting between him and house. The lustful look in her beautiful blue eyes was unmistakable.

“Show me.”