She woke up drenched in her own sweat and fear. Travis dying was not something she could handle. He might be inhumanly strong, but he wasn’t immortal. This was the first time she had ever had a dream that affected in such a fierce manor. It had been so real.
Emma vowed that she would do whatever it took to keep her boyfriend alive. He wasn’t going to sacrifice himself to save her.
Her boyfriend. She liked the sound of that. It gave her tingles…Well that combined with the too real nightmare. Brushing the damp hair from her brow, she laid back down staring at the ceiling above.
Concentrating on even deep breaths, she found it next to impossible to close her eyes without seeing his blood all over her hands.
It was terrifying.
What she needed to do was distract her mind, and what better way than to think about the dance next weekend. The wind howling outside wasn’t helping her state of mind.
But as predicted, Monday was a snow day.
Chapter 17
She felt like a Cinderella. The white organza dress was embedded with crystals that sparkled in the light. Twirling her skirt in the full-length mirror she felt weightless, like she was moving through air. Her hair flamed against the stark white material.
Tonight was going to be a magical night, she could feel it.
The doorbell chimed downstairs and her stomach dropped to the floor. Her nerves were fluttering in overdrive. How could they not be? It was only the second time that Travis had met her parents. Things were still so awkward for her, and she couldn’t help but think her dad would do something utterly embarrassing, like threaten his life. She wouldn’t put it past him. He was the type of dad would sit with a shotgun across his lap while he interrogated Travis’s motives.
Rushing as gracefully as possible down the stairs, she reached the landing just as her mom opened the door.
Then she got sight of Travis, and her heart skipped. He looked absolutely stellar and dashing. His dimples winking brightly at her mom as he greeted her politely. She couldn’t possible dream a more perfect boyfriend. And to think he was all hers.
The moment those turquoise eyes slammed into hers, she felt the universe spin gloriously around her. One sunning smile from Travis and she instantly knew she was going to have the night of her life.
Travis couldn’t believe how gorgeous Emma looked in shimmery white. He literally felt the floor fall out from underneath. Why she of all people wasn’t afraid of him he wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to look a gifted horse in the mouth. He was eternally grateful to fate for bringing her to him.
She was an angel.
Innocent.
Trusting.
Warmhearted.
And his.
It gave him warm fuzzies in his belly just looking at her.
“Wow you look like a princess.”
His compliment couldn’t come close to how giddy she felt inside. She smiled at him embarrassingly so. Before she could utter a response, his eyes flickered yellow, and she knew she had hit the mark. She looked smokin’. But those changing eyes reminder her quickly that he was different. The less her parents saw, the better.
“Mom!” she called a little too loud, startling her, but it got the job done. Her mom focused her attention back to her.
“Emma for goodness sake, I am right here.” Her mom sounded exasperated. Luckily monkey was keeping her dad busy.
She took a deep breath and watched as Travis quickly got himself in check, losing any trace of his demon eyes. “Could you please grab my wristlet? I think I left it upstairs,” she asked her mom and waited until she was upstairs before she whispered, “Are you okay?”
He could see it written in the lines of her face. She was worried. Worried about his demon. Not that he could blame her. Where she was concerned, he was even more unpredictable than normal.
He nodded his head and smiled. “Yeah I’m fine.” For her sake and his, he did his best to focus on anything but how amazing she looked. He just couldn’t seem to get a handle on his reaction around her, and tonight she caught him off guard.
An arch of balloons in blue and white were clustered in an archway providing an entrance into the snow ball. The moment they walked in side-by-side, she felt a hush fall over the room. She might have even been able to convince herself that she was imagining things if everyone wasn’t staring at them with curious eyes.
“Why are they all staring at us?” she wondered out loud.
“Because you’re breathtaking,” he replied with twinkling eyes.
She jabbed him in the side unable to hide the smile breaking across her cherry lips. “I’m serious. It’s making me feel like I have crap all over my face or something else highly embarrassing.”
His smile lost a little of its glint. “If I had to guess, it would be because I have never been to any school functions before, let alone with a girl.”
She couldn’t help but feel special. She wasn’t just some girl.
Travis watched as her smile brightened. Obviously his answer had pleased her. He wanted nothing to go wrong tonight, and he was determined to make sure it didn’t.
No hellhounds.
No lower demons.