Free Vampire in Denial by Dale Mayer

against her chest and she was tucked up against Cody's heart. All kinds of weird feelings churned around in her stomach, making her wonder if she were going to be sick. She'd never felt this type of connection and warmth before.
     
    Cody had always been there – in the background. Part of the family, but not family. She'd never considered him anything other than David's irritating best friend. Now all kinds of feelings were washing through her, and heat was just one of them. Was this, as she suspected, all due to her head injury?
     
    Cody descended so quickly, the wind rushed past her face, lifting and tossing her long hair. The moon shone behind him, raising his features in relief. How had she never noticed the clean, chiseled lines of his jaw and high cheekbones? Or the way the breeze picked up those jet-black curls to play in the wind? Good thing her hands were tucked out of the way, or they'd be reaching to see if those strands were as silky as they looked. Waves of warm delight washed over her, making her tingle. She frowned with confusion.
     
    What was going on here? She'd never considered Cody in this light. She'd been too busy drooling over Jared.
     
    The landing, despite all his efforts at gentleness, jarred her.
     
    "Ohh." She moaned in pain as her head bounced.
     
    "Sorry." He straightened and stared down at her, worry etched into his features. "I tried to be careful."
     
    "It's okay." It wasn't really, because now the hammer inside her head had been replaced by a sledgehammer. As she gasped for breath she tried to hold back the tears. "It's not your fault."
     
    "I don't think anyone else is going to believe that," he muttered.
     
    She almost didn't catch his tone. And couldn't come up with one good reason why people wouldn't believe him. Cody was one of the good guys. Everyone knew that.
     
    "Oh, my God."
     
    Tessa stirred at the voice. "Where are we?"
     
    Cody never broke stride as he walked down the back pathway. If anything, his back stiffened as he entered the house to the concerned cries of everyone present.
     
    "We're home."
     
    "Oh, no." She so wasn't ready for this. She turned her face further into his chest.
     
    He cuddled her closer. "Sorry. Your mom needs to see to that injury. This is the second one tonight. Any more than this and it could be the end of you."
     
    "I'm tougher than I look," she muttered so only he could hear. She refused to open her eyes and face the glaring accusations she knew would surround her.
     
    "What the hell happened?" Her father's roar filled the room, followed by startled silence. "Is that Tessa? Now what did she do to her hair?"
     
    Tessa moaned, as her dad's voice turned the sledgehammer in her head into a jackhammer.
     
    "She's been hurt – again. It's her head. She's in a lot of pain. Can I lay her down somewhere?" Cody stood in the middle of the living room, turning around, looking for a place to put her.
     
    Tessa's mother rushed over to them. Tessa tried to open her eyes but couldn't stand the light from the kitchen. "Light hurts," she mumbled.
     
    "Let's take her to her room." Her mother led the way and Cody followed, still carrying Tessa. In his arms, she didn't feel she was large and awkward or any other of the other million mixed-up feelings she usually had to deal with.
     
    Now there were new ones.
     
    "Here. I'll pull back her covers." Blankets rustled, then Tessa felt the coolness of cotton sheets under her back as the beautiful warmth of Cody's body lifted away. She protested.
     
    " Shhh . You'll be fine now. Let your mother take care of you."
     
    Cold on both sides, Tessa curled into a ball while her mother pulled the blankets over her.
     
    "Cody?"
     
    "I'm here." He reached over to take her hand gently in his.
     
    "Thanks," she whispered and let the darkness take her away.
     
    ***
     
    "Go. I'll look after her. You need to explain what happened to Serus. I don't know what's going on, but this has to stop. She's not like