Free Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey Page A

fault—kept flashing in my brain like a movie scene being replayed over and over, so I stood, shaking my head. "That's the stupidest story I've ever heard."
     
    "Really?" Lucius's eyes were now inscrutable, which was somehow scarier than his anger. He rose, too. "How shall I make you believe this 'story'?"
     
    "You can't." I backed up a little. "Because vampires don't exist."
     
    "I exist. You exist."
     
    "I'm not a vampire," I insisted. "That genealogy means nothing."
     
    Anger flashed in Lucius's eyes. "The genealogy means everything. It is the only possession I prize."
     
    I retreated a few more paces. He seemed to loom taller than ever. "I have to go now," I told him.
     
    But with each step, Lucius advanced toward me, slowly, and I found myself halting, spellbound by those black eyes, mesmerized. The shiver down my spine came stronger, rooting me to the floor like an electric shock.
     
    "I don't believe in vampires," I whispered, but with less conviction.
     
    "You will believe."
     
    "No. It's not rational."
     
    Lucius was inches from me now, and he leaned down, the better to see eye-to-eye. And then he bared his teeth. Only they weren't just teeth anymore. They were fangs. Two fangs, to be precise. Two sharp, seductive, gleaming fangs. They were the most awful, perfect, unbelievable things I had ever seen.
     
    I wanted to scream. Scream as loud as humanly possible. Or maybe feel Lucius clasp my shoulders, pull me tightly to himself, feel the authority in his hands, the touch of his lips, those teeth on my throat. . . Oh, god. What was wrong with me? What was wrong with him? He was a freaking vampire. He really was. No. It was a magic trick. An illusion.
     
    I closed my eyes, rubbing them, cursing myself for falling for the fakery and yet half expecting the sensation of razorlike incisors slicing into my jugular. "Please . . . don't!"
     
    There was a moment of silence that stretched on forever. A moment when I honestly believed that he might hurt me. And then, suddenly, Lucius really did grab my arms and pull me close, enfolding me against his chest, just as he'd done in my dream. Firmly, but gently.
     
    "Antanasia," he murmured, and his voice was soft again. He smoothed my curls with his hand, and I allowed him to soothe me, too relieved to object. "I'm sorry . . . that was cruel to scare you," he said. "I should not have done that, that way. Please, forgive me."
     
    Tentatively, I wrapped my arms around Lucius's narrow waist, not even sure why I did it, and he squeezed me even closer, resting his chin on the top of my head. His hand covered the entire small of my back, which he stroked softly. We stood that way for about a full minute. I could feel his heart beat against my cheek. Very softly. Very slowly. Almost imperceptibly. Mine was pounding, and I knew he could feel that, too.
     
    Finally I pulled back, and he let me go.
     
    "Don't ever do that stupid trick again," I said, surprised to find that my voice was shaky. "Never. It's not funny."
     
    The crazy Croatian music spun on the turntable, eerie and penetrating. Lucius took my arm, and I hated that a part of me welcomed his touch again. Hated that it had been hard to pull away. He's a lunatic, Jess.
     
    "Please, Jessica. Sit." Lucius gestured to the bed. "You look a little pale."
     
    Sit. . . and then what will happen?
     
    "I ... I have to go," I said.
     
    Lucius didn't try to stop me, and I left him standing there, in the middle of that dark room. I tripped down the steps, and when I reached our yard, I ran, not stopping until I'd locked the door in my own room, breathless, flushed, and incredibly, incredibly confused. Because what I'd felt hadn't just been fear. It had been something like the sensations I'd had in my dream about Lucius. Disgust turned to fear turned to lust. . . alchemy. Insanity. It was all mixed up in my brain suddenly. And it was so, so wrong.
     
     
    Chapter 13
     
    "TODAY WE'RE GOING to discuss the concept of