“Don’t you know that it’s rude to stare?” he quipped without even bothering to look at me. “I can’t believe you, Sofia… You’re shamelessly checking me out in public.” This time, he looked my way, winked and flashed me a toothy grin. “Don’t make it so obvious that you think I’m hot.”
“I married the most humble man on earth…” I muttered. He playfully shoved a fistful of sand my way. “Hey!” I squealed, jumping up from my beach towel. I began patting off the sand from my bare legs before scowling at him.
“Come on, Sofia… Admit it. You think I’m hot.” He stretched out on his towel, his hands tucked behind his head.
I rolled my eyes. “I think…” I paused and narrowed my eyes at him “that…” I leaned forward toward him, while fisting a clump of sand with the hand I was using to support my weight “you’re going to get sunburn if you don’t let me massage some more sun block on you…” I grinned before throwing the fistful of sand onto his bare chest. “I also think that you can be an arrogant pain in the neck sometimes.” I winked. “No pun intended.”
He didn’t seem to mind the sand on his chest at all. He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me on top of him. He then ran his hands through my hair, lowering my head so he could kiss me. Both of us had yet to explore all the changes that we were dealing with since he turned back into a human, but one thing I knew for sure: he was just as good a kisser as a human as he was a vampire.
By the time our lips parted, I was out of breath and flushed red. I could feel the heat climb from the tips of my toes right up to the freckles on my cheekbones. I drew a breath before looking at him. He had a self-satisfied, smug smirk on his face. “See? Hot.” He flicked his dark brows at me, obviously proud with his performance.
I could barely think straight, so coming up with a good comeback was close to impossible. I was surprised by how ridiculously attractive I found him at that moment. I can’t believe he still has this effect on me. Annoying that he is fully aware of it too…
“That’s a first.” He made a face as if he were giving something some deep thought. “I don’t think I remember ever rendering Sofia Novak speechless.” He grinned, before wistfully rolling his eyes and once again uttering my name in a sweet slur. “Sofia Novak.” His hands tightened around my waist, his thumbs gently caressing my skin.
I placed both hands over his chest as I propped myself up to look him straight in the eyes. “We did it, Derek. We made it.”
He smiled. “Didn’t I tell you that I was going to marry you? You should believe me more often.”
“What is it about you turning back into human that has made you so arrogant?” I teased, though I had to admit that I was greatly amused by this sweet, somewhat irritating, playful side of him.
He was about to respond when we heard a grumbling sound. His eyes widened and his arms clasped around me protectively. “What was that?”
I listened and there it was again.
“Did you hear that?” he asked, looking alarmed.
The rumbling sound came again and I burst out laughing. “That was your stomach, dummy!”
He frowned. “Mine? Are you sure it wasn’t yours?”
“Poor baby… You’ve forgotten what it’s like when a human gets hungry. Your fangs – not that you still have them anyway - won’t begin to ache and your blood won’t begin to pound. Not anymore. When you’re hungry, your stomach growls.” I reached for our picnic basket and grabbed half a cheese sandwich. I shoved the whole thing into his mouth before he could even respond to what I had just said. So whatever it was he was going to say got muffled by the sound of his own chewing.
I snickered as I watched him slowly chew and swallow the food. “I never thought I would find the sight of a man eating food sexy…”
“You admit it finally!” He raised his arms in the air in triumph. “You’re so into me…”
“Well, I married you…” I shoved a chocolate-covered strawberry into his mouth. “But, we both know that you’re just as into me as I am into you.”
He chewed and swallowed. “Truth.” He then kissed me.
The moment our lips met, an image flashed through my mind. Blood dripping… flowing… lots and lots of it… My heart began pounding loudly against my chest. I gasped and raised my head, stunned.
“What is it?” Derek asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure…” I frowned. I couldn’t deny the fear. Suddenly, I felt like we were being watched, like we were in danger. “Could we go somewhere else, please?” I asked him.
“Of course,” Derek said, looking at me with concern.
We hurriedly packed up. As we headed back to the hotel, I clung to Derek tightly.
“Everything’s going to be alright now, Sofia,” he assured me, kissing my forehead.
“I know,” I told him. But I still couldn’t shake away the feeling that the cure and our marriage were in no way the end. This was really only the beginning.
Chapter 48: Vivienne
The number of hunters Arron sent to “patrol” The Shade left me ill at ease. I knew that to trust them would be a fatal mistake.
I couldn’t blame Derek for the choice he made. I had to trust that he knew what he was doing, but danger loomed over all of us, and everyone in The Shade felt it.
Ian, Anna and Kyle were all brought to hunter headquarters. We asked that regular reports of their status be given to us, but it had been two weeks and not a single piece of news had been shared with us regarding what was happening to them. We followed up several times, only to be ignored.
The tension in The Shade was growing by the minute. Even the humans admitted to holding a severe mistrust towards the hunters.
“What are we up against?” I asked Aiden. We were standing on top of one of the towers of the Crimson Fortress, looking over the island, a soft evening wind blowing against our faces. “Who is this Arron?”
Aiden shrugged. “He’s the one in control. He calls all the shots as far as hunters are concerned.”
“What’s he like?”
“Ruthless.” Aiden frowned. “I honestly don’t understand why he agreed to Derek’s terms. That was unlike him, but something about their conversation… They knew something… It’s like they came to an understanding… Arron and Derek… I’m not sure what it is. I just know that this grace period Arron is giving us… it comes with a price.”