Exposure: Bloodlust Series Book 1 Read online

  I just shook my head and he left, swaggering out of the restaurant, swinging his perfect butt like he always did.

  Damn, why was I mad again?

  Oh yeah.

  “Who was THAT?” Kent asked, leaning forward at the bar, looking incredibly interested in whatever gossip he thought he’d wring from me.

  “An ex. Don’t worry about it.”

  “He giving you problems?”

  “Nah. The guy doesn’t have one bad bone in his body. He just doesn’t know when to give up.”

  “Do we need to keep him out?”

  “No, he doesn’t cause trouble, and he’ll leave if I ask. He’s just annoyingly persistent.”

  He nodded and wiped at the polished bar top.

  “Wait, you’re how old?”

  “18.”

  “With an ex old enough to drink?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “A good one too, I bet,” his eyebrows bounced.

  At 4 o’clock, Henry came sidling up to the bar, getting all the updates from Kent.

  “Heard you had a boyfriend drop by,” Henry said as we both waited at the register for another waitress.

  “Yeah. Not a big deal. Let’s not talk about it. It could get me in trouble.”

  “No way. We’re discreet.”

  I rolled my eyes and even he laughed at the absurdity of his statement.

  “Maybe not. But Kent said he was a hunk. I have to hear the story sometime.”

  “Not worth repeating,” I said in a low, small voice.

  It was absolutely worth repeating, but I couldn’t. My relationship with Clarence was underwraps for the most part. I couldn’t tell anyone how we met, how we started dating. Our first kiss before the werewolf attack. It was all going to be hidden for the rest of my life. Somehow one of the biggest things in my life that ever happened would be an unspoken memory. If I ever found another guy I liked, I couldn’t really tell him about Clarence.

  Sighing, I realized I was next in line at the register. I took a deep, fortifying breath and forced myself to put a smile on and finish my shift.

  Chapter Nineteen

  For the next week Eddie came in for a late lunch. Usually he watched TV and had a pitcher of beer, but he always got a rare steak. My imagination didn’t have to go too crazy before I understood what Clarence had meant. Eddie was a werewolf.

  That was why the two of them glared at each other, and it explained the familiar raspy growl that emanated from Eddie’s throat. It was an almost inhuman growl and it brought chills to me just remembering the sound.

  But if he was a werewolf, why did he walk around like a normal person? Why did he come in and get steaks, drinking beer like a human. Why was he nice to me? I had to know the answers and I needed to know them yesterday.

  Eddie had chosen the weekend to come in at dinnertime instead of lunch. It was Saturday evening, right before my shift ended when he sat at his normal table, sipping a stronger drink this time.

  I put his now familiar order in and Chef took it without any complaints, as Eddie was becoming a regular.

  After bringing the steak out to him, I sat in the chair across the table. I’d clocked out and intended to have a nice, serious talk with Eddie.

  “Joining me, are you?” he asked, his eyes on me instead of the blaring TV.

  “I’ve got to talk to you. But not here. Finish your food and we’ll go somewhere else to talk.”

  “Should I be scared?” one eyebrow popped up in amusement.

  “Maybe. Or maybe I should be scared. Considering what you are and that you don’t need a full moon to become a monster.”

  His grin melted slowly, green eyes shining with intensity.

  “Should I ask how you know?”

  “Best to just eat and we’ll go somewhere more private so you can answer my questions.”

  Eddie clucked his tongue and dug into his steak. I slipped him the tabasco as was his norm and he took it without a word, sprinkling an abundance over his food before inhaling it, slurping down his drink to wash it down.

  “You’re off then?” Eddie said finally, shifting in his seat before pulling out a small stack of bills.

  “Yep. Not your waitress anymore. Tonight, anyway.”

  He grunted and slipped his normal $30 under the empty glass before standing and motioning me to follow him.

  I stayed 2 steps behind him the entire time as he navigated around the building. Eventually we’d walked around to the employee’s parking lot and he stopped next to my car. Mom’s car.

  I pulled out my keys and unlocked it. He slid in the passenger’s seat before I opened my driver’s side door.

  Getting in, I put the keys in the ignition and started the car. Seat belt buckled and headlights turned on, I backed out and started to drive. Eddie was quiet beside me as I drove to an empty lot not far away. It overlooked a park, plunged in darkness with no nearby street lamps. I threw the car in park and turned to him, crossing my arms over my chest as I expected him to talk.

  “Ok, ask your questions, Kiddo.”

  “First of all, stop calling me kiddo. I’m not a kid, nor are you old enough to consider me one.”

  He gave me a sidelong look.

  “The name has more to do with the fact that you’re human than your age. You’re all so innocent and childish. I used to be that way once.”

  “How long have you been a werewolf?” I asked him, the words leaving my tongue feeling weird.

  He shrugged.

  “Almost 15 years.”

  “But you can’t be more than 25.”

  “Spot on. I was bit a long time ago.”

  My stomach roiled with cramps at the thought of a 10 year old werewolf.

  “So, why are you following me?”

  “Who says I’m following you?”

  “That night, and suddenly you start coming into the bar every afternoon for lunch? I asked around, you only come during my shift.”

  He shrugged.

  “And what you said… You said something about making your job harder than it needed to be. What job? And who hired you?”

  “Geez, one question at a time,” he sighed, shoving his fingers through dark, messy, wavy hair. “I didn’t think you’d remember what I said that night. You were trashed.”

  “But I do.”

  “Yeah well… I can’t tell you that stuff. Ask me something I can answer. Obviously you’ve been shagging the vampire, but I’m told you don’t know much about us.”

  His words sent my spine to prickling.

  “You don’t know a thing about me and Clarence. So stop pretending you do. Besides, we broke up awhile ago. He’s just hanging around still.”

  “Yeah, he’s smart to.”

  “What? Why?” my arms lit with goosebumps.

  “Cause you’re a fox, obviously. And you haven’t been put in a nuthouse yet with your knowledge of the undead.”

  “A fox?” I scoffed. “I haven’t told anybody, that’s why I’m not in a nuthouse. Only an idiot would open up their mouths about vampires and werewolves,”

  One laugh shot out of him.

  “Spoken like a true sociopath. Well done, Honey.”

  “Oh God. Honey is worse than kid.”

  “Make up your mind.”

  “Why not just ‘Addie’?”

  He shrugged.

  “Nah, doesn’t suit you like Honey or Kid.”

  “Why are you following me around, Eddie? If you’re going to kill me, then do it already.”

  He looked taken back.

  “I’m not going to kill you. I was hired to watch you, learn about you. Not assassinate you. I think the vamp inflated your ego a bit.”

  “Then why the hell are you watching me?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest again. “Obviously it’s worth the money to someone to watch me.”

  Eddie chewed on his lip for a minute before sighing.

  “I’m not supposed to say this, but I like you Addie. You seem like a cool kid and
you were just in the wrong place at the wrong-ass time. Mason’s little experiments and Clarence’s week of being human has spread like wildfire through both the vampire and werewolf communities. There’s a great number of people looking for you, and not all of them want to just take your blood to experiment on you. I was hired to see if it’s true. To see if you’re really the key to the cure. From what I’ve seen, you’re just a normal girl who got caught up in the supernatural.”

  Sighing, I pressed my forehead to the steering wheel.

  “And the supernatural take and take and give nothing back in return.”

  “If you want something from the supernatural, Honey, you gotta take it.”

  “I don’t want to be apart of this anymore,” I groaned. “Why won’t they leave me alone?”

  “Because you’re in it now. Whether you’re the key or not, they’ll always be watching you. There’s no going back once you’re in it.”

  “That’s what Clarence implied when we started dating… but he didn’t say people would be after me.”

  “Pretty sure he didn’t know you’d be a unicorn, either,” Eddie laughed.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You can’t be charmed, Sweetheart. That in and of itself is a minor miracle.”

  “How do you know that?” I gasped.

  “Oh, those werewolves are everywhere,” he said in a mocking voice, swatting his hand around. “They aren’t my boys, but they’ll answer to me if I make them. They heard it all, and the werewolves are selling their info to the vamps at a very high price.”

  “Why you? Why did they pick you to watch me?”

  He shrugged.

  “I was mildly curious what the fuss was all about. And other than a cute girl, I honestly don’t get what the ruckus is for. You’re pretty and all, but your type is a dime a dozen. As far as I know, nobody else knows about the charm besides me and those boys, but I’ve since taken them in and have bought their silence and loyalty. There’s no reason for the vamps to suspect you of anything unless there’s something I don’t know?”

  His statement ended as a question, as if I’d just spill my guts out to him.

  “Nope, you’re right. I just got involved with the wrong boy. Guess it shot my whole life to hell. Another reason to love vampires.”

  Eddie grinned and nodded, appreciating my bland humor.

  “Well, I guess since you know who I am and why I’m here, I don’t have to try and hide it anymore. But I’ve seen some vamps and wolves around town and you need to be careful. Your boyfriend’s right, there’s a lot going on that you’ve got no clue about.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Touchy touchy,” Eddie laughed, reaching for the door handle. “Now get home. Don’t make my job harder than it has to be, huh Kiddo?”

  I glared at him and he grinned, opening the door before bailing out, leaving me alone in the darkened parking lot. I locked the doors, feeling just a little uneasy from talk of other vampires and werewolves around town and made my way straight home. When I got into my room, I changed and turned out the lights, heading for bed a little early. I reached over and turned out the lamp to see a big body standing on my balcony, my favorite gauzy curtains concealing all but the bulky silhouette against the faint light of the moon. It was Eddie. I knew it was. In a blink, the shadow was gone and only moonlight shone into my room.

  From then on Eddie would invite me to sit with him at his lunch, and I would, provided there weren’t any other guests in my part of the floor. Eddie liked to joke around, and I generally appreciated his humor. It wasn’t dry and old fashioned like Clarence’s was, and he wasn’t jaded in the way Mason clung to. Eddie was young at heart and freer than anyone I’d ever met before. Why the vampires thought all werewolves were stupid, ignorant and brutish, I didn’t understand. Eddie was funny, lively, and sometimes even charming, when he wanted to be. He was like a regular person, only he ate basically raw meat and he could turn into a hairy monster at will. No biggie. At least he didn’t suck human blood. That’s something, at least.

  Clarence had contacted me again while he was in town, but he eventually gave up and I didn’t see or hear from him again after that. Thoughts of him still depressed me, and they brought up immediate thoughts of Mom, so I just tried not to think of him because of the associated memory.

  Every afternoon or evening when Eddie and I would part, his belly full of steak and my pocket full of tips, he’d tell me not to make his job more difficult, but eventually, I decided to test him. If he got paid to keep track of me and keep me safe, I’d make him earn his wages.

  Henry and Kent had invited me to a party at one of their college friend’s houses and I’d finally accepted. I met the two of them there and immediately got sucked into a game of beer pong. I purposely didn’t get drunk. I knew Eddie was going to bite my head off for partying in the middle of the night, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t physically, but rather verbally. I drank a little to loosen up, then danced until I was dizzy, feeling hands groping me as their drunken owners let loose too. I found myself in a corner, making out with some drunk dude I didn’t know just because I could. It was nice after having no control of my life to choose to do something, even if it was a stupid something. The dude was sucking on my neck and shoulder when I noticed familiar shaggy dark hair, and got flashed with vivid green eyes. Those eyes shone with anger, rage even. His face looked incredibly angry as he found me and stomped toward me. Muscles on his neck and shoulders corded and bunched with each step, shifting under his skin like snakes beneath his t-shirt.

  “Addie,” his deep, upset voice grumbled as he grabbed the guy by the back of the neck and threw him across the room with no effort. The room erupted with shock and surprise as Kent came up to us, stoned out of hiz mind but still a decent human being.

  “You ok?” he asked me, wide eyed.

  “Yeah, peachy.”

  “Hey I know you,” he said to Eddie. “This guy bothering you Addie?”

  “No, go back to your joint, Kent. See you at work tomorrow.”

  Eddie grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, leading me out of the room and house before Kent could say another word.

  “I keep telling you, Kid. Stay the fuck out of trouble. Is it really so hard to stay out of trouble?”

  “You were 18 once.”

  “Yeah, and I had a fucking enterprise to run. I didn’t cozy up with strangers and drink til I dropped. Grow up Honey, or your life’ll be cut short and you won’t have the chance.”

  His tone grew angrier the more he spoke, and soon he had me thrown over his shoulder as he streaked down the street, running as fast as cars with his feet and one hand, running like an animal. When we got to my townhouse he let me fall on my butt on the front porch.

  “There was a vamp there, Addie,” he growled at me. “And a werewolf that wasn’t mine that was coming in the same time I was. I’m not the only one they fucking hired to watch you. I can’t make sure you’re safe if you’re not smart about it.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was the couple beers I had or just stress finally bubbling over, but I started to cry. Not cute little sniffles, but an ugly cry.

  He cursed and sighed, his shoulders deflating.

  “Just go in, Kid. We’ll talk about it later when you’re sober.”

  “I am sober,” I pouted through my tears. “But I left my keys and purse in my car back at the party and Aunt Cindy is gone at work until morning.”

  He sighed again and approached, flipping me back onto his shoulder at my protest, making his way up the stone-walled building. In a few movements he was on my balcony, letting me drop to my feet again. My french doors were unlocked, thank goodness, so I let myself in and stood beside my bed, feeling a whole load of somethings flooding in and back out of me.

  “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he sounded uncomfortable. “But you have to know the truth. You’re in this now, you can’t just claim innocence anymore. If it’s not me, it’ll be someone else and
they may not be as charmed by you as I am.”

  Charmed?

  Now it was definitely the beers, but I turned around to look at him, feeling bold enough to ask, “How charmed?”

  He looked confused for a second before he threaded his fingers through his hair again. Looking up at me, I saw what I was looking for.

  I slipped off my overshirt, leaving just my light pink lace tank top underneath. It was a flimsy thing that showed every inch of skin and the dark outline of my bra. I was hungry too, and I liked him. Maybe I couldn’t have a human boyfriend, but a supernatural one would do. Besides, Eddie said it himself. If you want something, you have to take it.

  I only took one step toward him before he was in front of me, lips bruising mine with their intensity. I gasped in breaths between assaults, feeling his fingers wrapping around the small of my waist, thumbs digging into the bottom of my ribs.

  “This is a fucking bad idea,” he said, pulling away a little.

  I didn’t let him get far. Lacing my fingers through his hair, I pulled his face back down to mine and lapped at his lips until he groaned and gave in again. Opening his mouth to mine again, we tasted each other and clung to each other. His fingers smoothed down my hips and hitched around the back of my thighs until he held my weight in his hands, pressing my body to his, and wrapping my legs around his hips until I felt a bulge pressing against my now-wet jeans. He took a couple quick step forward, slamming my back into the wall next to my bed as he pressed into me, almost stealing my lung space with his eagerness to be closer. Hell, who needed to breathe anyway? Hips pressing mine to the wall and my legs wrapped around him, he temporarily let go of my thighs and hitched up my lace tank. My bra was next and I could hear his raspy breath as he grasped a breast in each hand, roughly kneading before devouring my mouth again.

  I let him touch for a short while, but eventually I managed to tug up at his waist, catching the hem of his t-shirt with my fingers and pulling it up. He understood the gesture and let go of me long enough to toss the shirt, revealing a tight body, dense and muscular with incredibly wide shoulders and tiny hips. Hard pecs led to stony abs and tucked neatly into a sharp V at his hips. A sprinkling of dark hair dusted between his nipples and trailed from his belly button to beneath his jeans.