Fallen by Stacy Claflin Read Free Book Online Page B

him would be much better than following Alexis around, not even the humans had any interest in her.
    "Okay! Come on," he said, grabbing my hand. We walked to his car and he got on the freeway.
    "Where are you taking me?"
    "I thought we could take a drive and see where we end up."
    "Oh, an adventure! That sounds like fun." And it actually did. I remembered back to the days when I made fun of my sister for becoming giddy over a human guy. Now I understood, although I hoped that this would end better than it had for her. The days of rounding up rioters to stake vampires were long gone. I looked over at Tanner, his head bouncing in tune to the music, and couldn't picture him ever trying to kill me.
    He looked at me. "What are you smiling about?" he asked, smiling too and still moving to the music.
    "Just enjoying the company," I said, and started moving to the music.
    Tanner belted out the words of the song and I laughed so hard that my stomach ached.
    A little while later, we approached a beach. "Wanna go there?" he asked.
    "Sure!"
    "Wait. Are you hungry? We can grab some food and make a picnic."
    "Only if it's my treat," I said, smiling.
    He pretended to think about it. "I can live with that."
    Soon we were sitting by the water's edge on a blanket, eating greasy chicken. I couldn't recall the last time that I'd had so much fun. When we had finished eating, we reclined on the blanket and pointed out different shapes of clouds. After a while, we settled into a comfortable silence.
    "Do you mind if I ask what you did last night?" Tanner asked.
    I looked at him. He seemed nervous, but interested, not frightened. Maybe this would work out after all. "Sure. Ask away."
    "First of all, it felt more amazing than anything I've ever experienced. Then afterward, I felt a growing strength which is why I was able to take on my teammates. What did you do?"
    I rolled onto my side to see him better. I traced his chest with my fingers, thinking about how to explain it to him.
    He turned and looked deep into my eyes. "Whatever it is, you can trust me. I'm not going to tell anyone. Who would I tell?" he asked with a smile. "Everyone else at school hates me."
    Tracing his broad shoulders, I said, "Soon they'll start treating you better."
    He took my hand and kissed it, placing it back on his chest.
    I traced his chest again. "Do you have an open mind?"
    His body shook with shivers as I moved my fingers to his neck, where I had bitten him. "My mind couldn't be more open. I stayed awake last night trying to figure out what you did. You wouldn't believe the thoughts that came to my mind."
    I ran my fingers along his face, stopping at his lips. I kissed him briefly. "What did you think about?"
    He kissed me back. "I thought that maybe you were a witch, casting a spell on me."
    "I'm no witch," I whispered. "You can't trust them anyway."
    Tanner raised an eyebrow. "You've met a real witch?"
    Running my fingers through his hair, I said, "More than I care to think about. They hate my kind."
    He took a strand of my long hair and twirled it around his finger. "Why is that? I can't see anything to hate."
    "We're more powerful. When we request their services, they have no choice except to oblige. Even the most powerful ones."
    "Tell me more," he whispered.
    I caressed his ear with my breath. "Let me show you instead. You can figure it out." I moved to his neck and licked circles lightly, giving him the chills and preparing his skin. "Pay close attention to what I'm about to do."
    "Oh, I am."
    I smiled, and then I gave a little nip, allowing the venom to start its magic. I pulled away, and then watched him close his eyes as he relaxed. I stared at his beautiful face for a moment, tracing the bruises which had nearly disappeared. My venom from the previous night had helped his body to heal faster. I moved back to his neck and bit down, giving him a stronger dose of the venom this time.
    He let out a soft sigh as the warm blood began to flow into my mouth. My