"Nice to meet you," she said, her smile slightly hesitant before her attention went right back to the vampire sitting on the other side of the couch.
"Same to you," I said even though I had a feeling she was no longer paying attention to me.
She fixed Anton with an expectant look. "I'll just wait here, then, until you're ready."
Anton sighed, his lips curling up into a seductive look that he aimed at his companion. He patted the couch next to him. "You could always spend the time over here."
She giggled and ducked her head, an appealing blush staining her cheeks.
Makoto made a sound very similar to gagging. When I looked at him, he was staring at the TV as if he hadn't just made it obvious what he thought of the two's flirting. He hit the un-pause button as soon as he noticed my inattention.
I was forced to react, picking up several grenades as his avatar ran across the city. My fingers felt suddenly clumsy, fatigue causing me to miss the next shot. My eye-to-hand coordination devolved from there, and suddenly it was a struggle keeping my head upright.
Dawn. Somehow it had crept up on me while we played the game. I didn't remember the last time I'd lost track of the sun. Now, I was going to pay for it.
I hit the pause button, the controller sliding out of my hands as I struggled to stand.
"What are you doing? I was about to turn things around," Makoto said, his face outraged.
"I think it's time for me to find my bed," I said, the words tired sounding. I stumbled a few feet then lost my balance.
"Oh, my goodness, are you okay?" Catherine's surprised voice asked. "What's wrong with her?"
"Aileen?" Nathan's face appeared above me.
"Think I'll just stay here for a few minutes." I gave him a sleepy smile, my eyes drifting shut.
From far away, I heard another voice.
"What's going on?" It sounded like Liam
"The baby collapsed on her face." Makoto sounded insultingly pleased about that fact.
"Why is she so tied to the sun?" Viking asked, his voice a deep rumble. "She should have grown out of that after the first year."
There was a long sigh as Liam walked over to where I rested, eyes closed, on the floor.
"You got her?" Nathan asked.
"Yes," Liam said. A set of arms encircled and lifted me, cradling me against a strong chest. "I'll take her back to her room."
I snuggled deeper into the nice smelling shirt, rubbing my nose against it, and enjoying the rumble of his chest under my ear. It was soothing.
"Aileen, put your arms around my neck," Liam ordered. I resisted, my arms feeling like they had weights attached to them. "Aileen."
"Such a grumpy boots." My voice slurred with exhaustion. Grudgingly, knowing he wouldn't leave me alone until I did as he asked, I lifted one arm and draped it around his neck. I took the opportunity to nuzzle my nose against his neck, inhaling deeply his own unique smell—a blend of a spring storm and nighttime.
"You're a pain in the ass," he said. He didn't sound upset about that fact.
I let out a hmm, before sleep claimed me.
*
I jerked awake and sat up in bed, my head clear. I was alone. Even better, I wasn't in the entertainment room covered in marker graffiti or any other unsavory element. I swung my jeans covered legs out from under the covers. Good, Liam hadn't undressed me when he delivered me to my bedroom.
I couldn't believe I had been so careless as to get caught off guard by the dawn. Not only was it embarrassing to collapse in the middle of things, but it was a moment when I was at my most vulnerable. I would be hard pressed to defend myself in the event someone should try something.
I still couldn't figure out how it happened. I should have felt the sun before it ever cleared the horizon. This matter required some thought. It could be that Liam's blood had affected things. If this was going to become a thing, I needed to figure out a way to adapt. Maybe set an alarm on my phone that told me when it was time to retreat to the safety of my bedroom.
I set my feet on the floor. Perhaps a shower would clear my head and help me figure a way out of my current predicament. Out of the dresser, I grabbed a change of clothing before heading to the bathroom.
My feet stuttered to a stop and my mouth dropped. Now I knew what Nathan meant when he said the bathroom would tempt me to the dark side. About the size of my apartment bedroom, it was probably the most decadent bathroom I'd ever seen. It was straight out of one of those MTV 'Crash My Pad' shows. It had a sunken tub with room enough for three people and a shower that an entire football team could get clean in.
I let myself take it all in for a long minute. The place deserved that and more. I could spend days in this room, luxuriating in its spa-like atmosphere.
Sadly, the minute was all I could spare. Leaving the bathtub for next time, I headed to the shower, divesting myself of my clothes and playing with the sprayers for a few minutes. It took that long just to figure the system out. The shower was one of those that had multiple sprayers that could hit you from different sides and strengths. After that, it took another few minutes to get the temperature just right. I let the water pound down on the back of my neck with the perfect amount of heat and just relaxed.
It took some willpower to drag myself out of the shower and not just stand under the sprayer for the rest of my life. Dried off, my brown hair tied back in a bun to keep my clothes from getting wet, I cleared a spot in the fogged-up mirror and grabbed a toothbrush that had been sitting wrapped on the counter. My grayish blue eyes looked back at me from pale skin made even paler by the fact that I hadn't been outside in over two years. I was tall, five feet seven inches, and made lean from my work as a bike messenger for Hermes. It probably helped that although I could eat a small amount of food, it lacked the nutrients my body could process. As a result, I didn't gain weight no matter how many bowls of black raspberry ice cream I consumed.
I'd chosen a black t-shirt and a faded pair of jeans that fit me well but were loose enough that I could move if I had to. While the jeans would be a little warm for June, they would protect my legs if I ended up on my bike again.
Ready, I stepped out of the bathroom and froze at the sight of a pair of long legs attached to a lean body whose owner's head rested on my pillow. Liam turned from his perusal of the ceiling and gave me a lazy smile.
"You shouldn't have bothered with the shower. You're just going to get all sweaty again," he said.
I frowned at him. "What are you doing in my bedroom?"
His smile widened to hold a wicked edge. "Where do you think I stayed during the day?"
"Your own bedroom."
His expression turned amused. "And leave you with the opportunity to sneak out if you woke sooner than expected?"
Damn.
He let out a laugh, the warm sound brushing against me and sending tingles down my spine. He would be handsome if I didn't want to stab him in the eye half the time.