Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter by Nikki Jefford Page B

The first puff of smoke drifted by
like a breath in the cold air. “Why are you so angry?”
    I could ignore him or even act the airhead and play dumb,
but Fane was the first person to bother asking.
    I dropped my arms. “What do you care?”
    “I’m curious.”
    I leaned against the Plexiglas and sighed. “I had my whole
life ahead of me. I was going to get out of here and start my own life. I’m
only eighteen, and I’ll never get to do any of that now.”
    Fane arched a brow. “You talk as though you were dead.”
    “I might as well be.” My nose started running. I sniffed and
rubbed my bridge.
    “So what’s the hitch? How come your life’s come to a sudden
and conclusive end?”
    I opened and closed my mouth, unsure how to answer. “Medical
bills,” I blurted. “I can’t leave the state to go to college because of all my
medical bills.”
    “A lot of kids don’t get a chance to go to college at all.”
    “You don’t get it! All I’ve ever wanted is to get out of
here.”
    “So go. Take a road trip, pick fruit in Australia, backpack
across Europe, volunteer in Africa, join the circus…whatever.”
    I stomped my foot. “You’re not helping!”
    Fane grinned. “You see? It’s not the end of the world.”
    I walked out of the enclosure and looked over the schedule
posted against the bus sign. “God, transportation sucks in this city. You’re
lucky if a bus comes along every hour.”
    “I could take you home right now.”
    “Thanks, but the bus feels safer.”
    “Want a smoke?”
    I looked at the cigarette in Fane’s outstretched hand and
laughed. “No! God, what are you? The dark prince of temptation?”
    I could feel my heart pitter against my chest when Fane
smiled at me next. “I like that. It’s clever. You’re a very interesting girl.”
    “Well, it’s good to know I’m not a complete airhead.”
    “I don’t think you’re an airhead at all. You just look like
one.”
    “Thanks!” I yelled.
    I glanced at Fane’s lips as he took another drag on his
cigarette. I rarely got a chance to look at him up close. From here I could
trace the outline of his abs through the opening in his jacket. His eyes were a
rich, dreamy brown and fully focused when he looked at me.
    Fane lowered the cigarette and pointed it at me. “I do like
your legs.”
    Despite the cold, my cheeks heated and were quite possibly
the only warm part on my entire body. The cold had officially gone to my brain.
    “These pasty things?”
    “Pale. Ivory. Silk.” Each word was like a caress. “Your skin
is a thing of beauty.”
    I trembled, and it had nothing to do with the cold.
    The tip of Fane’s cigarette turned to ash as he held it by
his side. Before it broke off, Fane flicked the cigarette into the street
without looking. He reached inside his pocket and popped something inside his
mouth. I heard him suck and swallow. He repeated the sound.
    Fane was not Scott. He’d eat me alive.
    A bus appeared in the distance. Maybe it was mine. God, I
hoped it was. I’d get on even if it wasn’t.
    I passed Fane without meeting his eye and pulled my wallet
from the front pocket of my backpack. I slung the pack over my shoulder and
only looked at him when the bus was coming to a stop.
    “Thanks for the company,” I said quickly.
    I pitched myself inside the bus the moment the doors opened.
Heat engulfed me. The abrupt change in temperature caused my skin to itch
uncomfortably. I deposited my coins beside the driver and walked down the aisle
toward the back of the bus.
    I tossed my pack onto a seat in back. I had the last six
rows to myself. I smoothed my skirt back as I sat. I should have felt relieved
instead of disappointed by his absence.
    Relief arrived when Fane boarded the bus. The achiness was
another matter.
    When he walked toward me, I felt something familiar and
terrifying. He took each step slowly as though he had all the time in the
world.
    The bus lurched forward. It had no effect on Fane’s footing.
    My