Chapter Twenty-Two
Bad or Good?
I woke to the sound of monsters killing each other with machine guns. The constant grunting and swearing of the creatures made me want to kick Bailey off our couch.
I sat up and looked around. We were in the living room at Beaufort Manor. Bailey was playing video games on the big screen like any old Sunday night.
“Jessica said that I could borrow some of her video games. They have so many of them. It was like heaven.” He dodged a bullet with his whole body as if he was actually in the game.
I rolled my eyes and nudged his arm. He turned to me and looked me up and down skeptically. “You’re not mad?”
I stretched and yawned. “Why would I be mad?” I asked.
He shrugged and returned to his video game. “Jessica says you didn’t sleep last night and that’s why you passed out. I thought that maybe it was another episode.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help how wide I smiled. I felt so happy remembering my talk with Nigel. Nigel is so different from any other man I’d ever met. He was special. He was my vampire.
“Not an episode, something much different.” I ran my fingers threw his hair and he swiped at my arm. I giggled as we wrestled. I ended up getting thrown to the floor, laughing hysterically. Bailey’s face turned a dark red with laughter. I was happy.
When I could breath again I asked, “Is dad home yet?”
Bailey looked under the couch for his controller. “Nah. He called though, said he’s be back by morning.” He found his lump of plastic and resumed his game.
I nodded even though he clearly wasn’t paying any attention to me anymore. “How about you make some popcorn and we watch a movie before bed?”
He paused his game again. “I may not me all mature like you and your friends, but are you seriously going to go around with your head up your ass like nothing happened?”
“Bailey!” I snapped. “Don’t swear!” I could feel my cheeks flaring red.
He rolled his eyes. “Like you didn’t do it at my age.”
My throat choked up and I knew that I couldn’t threaten him now. “Look,” I started. “What my friends and I do is of no concern to you. So just back off.” I yelled and stomped off towards the stares. Not the most menacing exit, but I can’t concentrate on my actions when I’m mad.
When I finally reached my bedroom, suffering from making each stair more dramatic then the next, I slammed my door shut. How dare he ruin my good mood? Before he opened his fat mouth, I was actually happy, happier than I have ever been.
I knew that was all thanks to Jessica, but I wouldn’t admit that to anyone now.
I stalked over to my bed and flopped down with a sharp sigh. “Make it all just go away,” I said to myself.
“I’d love to.”
Screaming, I rolled off my bed and hit the floor. “What the fuck?” I glanced up at my bed and, like before, Nigel was sitting cross legged in the middle of my bed.
I clutched at my chest. “Jesus Christ!”
He smiled. “Just the opposite, actually.”
My breathing became more even then. “Nigel you scared the hell out of me! What are you doing here?” I asked, breathlessly.
He shrugged. “You’d be surprised at how boring life can be when you’ve lived for so long. I thought, who in my life always has some kind of adventure going on? Oddly enough, you name was the only one that came to mind.”
I sat on my knees and placed my elbows on the bed. “I have no clue why. I don’t have any adventures going on, ever.”
“On the contrary.” He smiled again. “Just this morning you were the hostage to a house full of vampires. Then witnessing a vampire melt down that was your own doing.” I don’t if he noticed, but I flinched back at the memory of Jessica doubling over and sobbing bloody tears that were never meant to fall. “And now here you sit, pissed off for God only knows what reason, talking to a seventy year old vampire.” He paused, looking down at my bed. “If that’s not an adventure, I don’t know what is.”
I smiled and sat back on the bed. “It’s only because of you that my life is an adventure. If I never knew you, if I never moved to this place, I’d probably be knocked up by an ass-hole and dreading life.” I moved closer to him. “The funny thing is, even though I know you are the bad guy, I know you are supposed to be dangerous. But I still think of you as a human. There is something about you, something hidden deep that makes me think you are good. Underneath all of your sarcastic comments and your I-hate-life attitude there is something I can’t get enough of.”
I rolled onto my knees and moved towards him. He didn’t protest as I moved into his lap. Nigel wrapped his arms around my back and held me tight to his body.
Like before, he didn’t hesitate as he crushed his lips against mine. I locked my arms around his neck and I could feel the cold temperature of his body radiating off of him. I trembled, but I had a hard time convincing myself that it was from the cold.
When I finely decided to come up for air, his lips never left my skin, they just moved to my throat. My fingers traced the collar of his shirt, down to his chest.
“Genna,” he whispered into my ear.
“Mmmm?” My hands moved to his hair, but he moved his face to mine so he could look into my eyes.
“Sometimes, the worst bad guy makes the best good guy.”
He cupped my chin with his cool hand and pulled my mouth back to his. I tried to keep a clear head, but failed almost instantly. The confusion about what he said mixed with his kissing perfection was making my head spin.
“What?”
He laughed in my ear. “You are completely right, about the dangerous part. You should be running away from me now. And yet, here you sit.”
“Here I sit,” I agreed.
He chuckled again. “Why is that, I wonder?”
I shrugged and took an inconspicuous sniff at his heavenly scent. “You were looking for adventure tonight, something to spice up your life. And yet here you sit. Now that I just can’t fathom.”
He smiled and his teeth glistened in the light. “I can understand that easily. I love you Genevieve Caine.”
