Of course, she and Steve were supposed to look like a couple of supernatural teen runaways. She supposed it would have looked suspicious if they'd rented anything with even part of a star attached to its reputation. But damn, this was supposed to have been a fun trip.
She wasn't a prima donna, but sleeping on a mattress that was more dust mites than filling, with sheets that looked as if they hadn't been changed in a year or so wasn't her idea of fun. The bed's covers were half on and half off the mattress, and the pillow sported an indented greasy spot in the center as if someone with not-so-clean hair had slept there.
Or maybe died there.
As disgusting as that thought was, one even worse hit. Someone had probably done the humpty dance on that bed.
Yuck.
She could probably get a disease sleeping on it.
Walking back into the tiny living area, she found Steve staring at the sofa with about as much distaste as she had while gaping at the bed.
"Come to think about it, I'll take the sofa," she said. "And I don't want to hear any shit. There ain't no one going to get past me."
They had flown here. Not on a jet. Him as a Peregrine falcon-which meant he was fast-and her as a, well, a vampire-which meant she was faster. Vamps and shape-shifters being the only two species who could really fly. Well, an occasional witch, but Miranda, her Wiccan roommate, swore they really didn't travel around on brooms.
However, Steve and Della's mode of transportation also meant they really hadn't spoken since they'd left Shadow Falls, with the exception of when they'd first walked into the cabin and he'd insisted she take the bed. And why? Because if someone came through the door he would stop them.
That downright pissed her off. She almost called him on being a complete chauvinistic pig, but then realized that if she wanted to sneak out later, she wouldn't want him traipsing into the living room before morning and finding her gone.
Since he came across as the type with manners, and morals and stuff, who wouldn't come into a girl's bedroom-at least not without an invitation-she'd kept her mouth shut.
Face it, she'd take the odds of him finding her gone to the odds of those mattress germs finding her body, hands down.
Steve cut his soft brown eyes to her and a knowing smile spread his lips. He ran a hand through his brown hair, which he wore a tad longer than most guys. The strands fell right back into place, looking instantly styled. She doubted he went to some professional salon to get that look, but it almost appeared like he did.
His smile widened and he tucked one hand into his jeans pocket. The stance made the muscles in that arm bulge. "So what you're saying is that the bed is worse than the sofa?"
"I didn't say that." She tried not to laugh, but something close to it slipped out of her mouth. She tried not to stare at his crooked smile and what it did to his lips and eyes. Or how his muscled arms looked like a safe place to fall. She'd give anything, even half a bra size to make him ... ugly. And unlike her two roommates at Shadow Falls, she didn't have much bra size to offer.
She continued to stare at him. She could have dealt with an ugly guy much better than one who looked like he'd just walked off of some men's soap advertisement. And hell, she thought, breathing in his aroma, you'd think after spending the last two hours as a bird, he wouldn't smell like he used some spicy-smelling men's soap, but he did.
He smelled ... awesome, and that ticked her off, too.
If she were a witch like her bigger-boobed roommate, Miranda, she'd change him into a repulsive fowl/foul-smelling guy. And she'd also make him less ... nice. She didn't like nice.
The only nice person Della had grown fond of was Kylie. And she was so nice, even Della couldn't hate her. Well, right now, Della did hate her. Hated her for leaving. And if she didn't get her butt back to Shadow Falls soon, Della was going to drag her friend back kicking and screaming. Sure, Kylie had gone to meet her newly discovered grandfather and learn more about her species, but plain and simple, she belonged at Shadow Falls. Someone had to keep Della and Miranda from killing each other. And no one was better at that than Kylie.
"We could both sleep on the sofa," Steve said, and damn if he didn't sound serious.
"Not even in your dreams, bird boy!" she snapped.
"Ouch," he said and chuckled. "I only meant your head at one end and mine at the other. Only our feet would be touching."
"So you've got a foot fetish, do you?" she asked before she could stop herself.
Humor brightened his eyes. With him positioned right in front of the bare window, and the last rays of the setting sun beaming in, she got a good look at those eyes. Were those flecks of amber and green in his brown pools?
His gaze lowered to her Nike-covered size sixes. "I don't know, I haven't seen your naked feet."
Hearing him say the word naked with what sounded like a deep Southern accent, deeper than Texas, made her stomach flutter like she was twelve again and had never been kissed. Good Lord, what was wrong with her? Since when did she find a Southern accent seductive?
She stuck one foot behind the other. "And you won't see them naked," she snapped, not liking that they'd been here less than five minutes and they were already ... flirting. At least it felt like flirting.
And Della Tsang didn't flirt.
Not anymore.
His gaze rose from her feet. "We'll see about that," he said.
They stood there staring at each other for a second. Then he spoke up. "You want to go grab a bite to eat?"
She frowned. "I brought a couple pints of AB positive with me in my bag." Which she needed to put in the fridge. While most vamps preferred their blood warm, Della liked it better cold. When your core temperature was 92 degrees, you appreciated things colder than yourself.
"Yeah, but I need food. Something hot and greasy. Nutrients for whatever the hell is gonna go down tomorrow morning."
Steve had been set up to play as her shape-shifter boyfriend, a guy she'd met after running away from home. They didn't allow anyone but vampires into the gang, but if she got accepted, and he could prove his worth to them, he would be brought in as an "extra." Basically someone they sent out to do their dirty work. Which was part of the reason it pissed her off that Burnett insisted he come. Extras were considered expendable.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you," she said.
"That just warms my heart." He put a hand over his wide chest. "Come on, go with me to grab a burger."
He made it sound like a date or something. Frowning, she was about to call him on it when she remembered seeing a Walmart not far from there and close to some fast-food joints. She could pick up a set of sheets, a blanket, and some extra-strength Lysol spray and maybe be able to sleep on the bed. That meant she could skip out on the foot-loving, Southern-speaking Steve. She wouldn't be gone long. She only needed a peek. A peek at the life she'd been cheated out of.