Jane looked down at the head bowed over her thighs. Both of his knees were on the floor, one hand gripping her arm while the other held her elbow to keep the sleeve from falling.
When the fangs poked through, her body loosened. Her breath slowed down, and the knot in her chest unraveled. Then it faded.
Jane frowned slightly. She wondered if it was because she was used to higher-quality venom, or if his was just too weak.
Without the numbing effect, the wet heat of his mouth became harder to ignore.
"Okay, that's enough," she said, her hand pushing lightly against his head.
The drinking sound stopped.
Jim dropped back onto his heels. He looked up to her, his eyes dilated, while his throat moved as he swallowed the last taste.
"Thank you," he said. Not a single drop stained his lips.
"I'm gonna go back to Kaira," Jane said, forcing a smile she doubted he would notice.
Keeping her legs together, she slowly shifted to the side and stood up. His flushed skin, his uneven breathing, and the way the fabric tightened—
Jane shook her head, trying to clear the awkward image from her brain as she went toward Kaira's direction. Kaira was slumping on the couch with her boyfriend, Reid, also the club president.
"Wow, Jane. I don't know you have that kind of hobby." Kaira teased her. For one second, Jane thought her friend had caught the awkward moment, until she realized she couldn't have. They couldn't see anything from that angle.
"Stop it. He suggested that position," Jane said, dropping onto the couch beside Kaira. It felt good to be out of that awkward atmosphere.
"He likes you," Kaira said.
Vampires were egotistical. Most of them considered themselves higher than anything. Most. She had seen some hungry enough to kneel for spare food. And hopefully, Jim wasn't that kind, for Jane's sake.
"You think so too?" She wasn't an idiot. He had always had that shy expression whenever he looked at her, but she had always told herself it was just a personality trait. "Anyway, one more reason not to choose him."
A little conscience did rise, but she had paid him with blood.
"So what are you going to do now?" Kaira asked.
Jane didn't tell her everything. So all Kaira knew was, Jane was in search of her next vampire "prince".
"There's this new boy in my class. He sat next to me. And he's a vampire, so maybe..."
"Really? Is he handsome?"
"Very," Jane said unhappily. Too attractive people made her nervous.
"What's his name?" Kaira asked. She had never seen Jane making that expression talking about someone's look.
"Peter Anderson. The name kinda matched his—"
"Peter Anderson?" Kaira sat up suddenly.
Face. Jane stopped herself, swallowing the rest of the sentence. Clearly, it wasn't as important as what Kaira was about to say.
"He's notorious, Jane."
"Notorious?"
"I don't know how to say this," Kaira hesitated. She looked down to the floor, searching for the right words. "He has a good reputation from his exes. Like he never dates two people at the same time, showered them with gifts and care. Amelia Rosenberg, your old friend? She's one of them. But I just think he's sketchy, I mean, who needs that many girlfriends?"
"Huh."
The information left a bad taste in Jane's mouth. She didn't hate Amelia to the point she would do anything about it, but if something bad happened, she wouldn't mind.
Kaira watched Jane's reaction, then sighed quietly. "You're still going after him, are you?"
Jane replied to her concern with an awkward smile. The higher the risk, the higher the prize.
"I know you are stubborn," Kaira said. Jane was a crab with a hard shell. "So I won't advise you against it. Just be careful, okay?"
"Don't worry. I don't plan to be his girlfriend," Jane said. She understood it was impossible. But she did need his fondness, for at least a month.
If attracting him using her personality and face didn't work... Jane almost laughed imagining the scene. She would use the only advantage she had, her blood.
Kaira stayed silent. She wished she could say Jane was being unnecessarily worried, but she couldn't. Killing wasn't allowed, and the final act of violation wasn't either. But everything else was fine. And who knew how far a vampire's imagination could go, especially to those who were free to claim.
***
Flirting was hard. Her mouth closed shut when she needed it to open, and when it opened, it just babbled out nonsense things.
Like yesterday, he asked her for a pen, and she proceeded to turn into a salesman, introducing him to all the different color options.
Jane sighed over the sound of Kaira's laughing, the only person she knew who was in a relationship.
"Flirting is an art. You don't calculate what you're gonna say, you go with the flow," Kaira said.
Jane hadn't found any flow yet, so she decided to change her perspective. She wondered why Jim liked her, hypothetically, so she could replicate it. Was it look, personality, or interactions? Because she swore they weren't that close.
And then it hit her. With Jim, she was careless. She said what she thought and stopped talking when she didn't want to. But with Peter, the roles were switched. She cared way too much about the right thing to say, which automatically turned her into an awkward social freak.
Jane stared at the wall in front of her. Though guilty, she resorted to the only solution she knew: building a list of flaws about him to recall every time she was nervous around him.
One, he always asked for school stuff, never prepared. Minus one point.
Two, his type included Amelia. Minus 3 points.
Three, he used perfume. Okay, maybe not that.
Three, she had something else to do.
Her chance came on a random Thursday morning at the library. Not really random; it was well-calculated. After days of observation, she had figured out that this was the library's slowest time.
Passing through the long hallways of bookshelves and corridors, was a closed door marked with three symbols: a star, a lightning bolt, and a meteor. The meaning? Did she even have to say?
Jane had suspected the vampires had their own library the day she noticed the missing information in the book. And after studying the library map on the tablet, crossing out everything visible there, she could finally pin down the location.
Jane pulled the star-shaped pin out of her pocket. It was borrowed from Emily, the only vampire she had any sort of relationship with. Jane thought she would have to use force, but Emily just gave it out.
"Take it, nerd. Not worth a fight."
She pushed the pin into its designated slot. The two doors started to slide apart, widening a gap just large enough for one person to step through.
Jane lifted her foot. She wanted to do this fast: get in there, find something about vampires' anatomy, or even better, a 100 questions about vampires guide, and leave.
"I don't recommend walking through that door." A voice came from behind her just as her shoe was about to touch the ground.
Jane turned around. The figure slowly emerged from the heavy curtain, his shadow leaking to where she was standing.
It was Peter Anderson.
Jane pulled her leg back.
"Why?" she asked.
"I don't know," he answered. His hands were put in his pockets while he casually leaned against the wall.
Jane squinted her eyes. She glared at him, the sentence I don't trust you practically written on her forehead, but her pounding heart was wondering what if he was actually telling the truth.
She hovered above the threshold separating the two different floors, one marble, the other wood.
Then, she stepped down onto the cold ground.
ING ING ING —
The blaring alarm flooded all her senses.
Fuck! Jane's heart dropped to her stomach. She quickly snatched the pin from the door and pulled her foot back when that devilish voice spoke again.
"Don't bother running. The guards are vampires,"
Jane stood still. The alarm stopped ringing the moment she stepped out but there was no guarantee. They were approaching, she could sense it like a deer to a lion.
"Any suggestions?" she asked. He must have a way out, based on the fact that he was still standing there.
No one answered her, but the last thing she saw was his smirk. Then, her arm was grabbed, and she found herself behind the velvet curtain.
Her eyes dilated, staring into the pitch-black fabric. Then, her hand touched something. A cold smoothness.
Jane looked to the side. A girl was lying on the floor, unconsciously. Her neck was bent to the side, her legs folded and twisted awkwardly in the other direction.
So this was why the curtain had a weird shape even after he stepped out!!!
Then, a pale hand reached inside. Peter grabbed the girl's legs and dragged her out from behind the curtain in Jane's terror. With a finger pressed on his lips, he closed the curtain shut, sending her back to darkness.
"Sorry, did I interrupt your sleep?" his voice muttered from a distance.
Peter stood right at the line separating the two areas, carrying the weight of a girl. Her eyes closed, her hands dangling while her feet were placed exactly outside.
The two guards looked at each other, calculating whether this was worth the trouble. The problem was solved, the explanation was in front.
"It's fine," one of them said. What else could they do? Gave him a fine? "Just don't feed here next time."
"Sure, thank you."
Then the footsteps blended into the air. Lights entered again, and at the end of that light source, was him.
"You can come out now," he said, reaching a hand to her. On his face was the same old gentleman's smile.
Hell, she doubted this was his true self.
Jane grabbed his hand and stood up. The moment of shock soon passed when she realized his perfectness was just a facade.
The unconscious girl was put on a bench, underneath the back of her head was a cushion supporting her head from touching the wooden surface.
Just one minute ago, he was dragging this girl on the floor… Still, he was helpful. She exhaled slowly, adjusting her beating heart.
Then her expression shifted.
"Interested in another meal?" she asked.
Feeding in the middle of daylight, in the library. Minus 1 point.
Feeding till the girl fainted. Minus another point.
"What do you have to offer?" he asked. The left corner of his mouth tilted up; his droopy eyes turned into a crescent.
There's the playboy.
"A bird tells me… No, a rose." she corrected herself, her eyes taking in every detail on his face. "That I am a taste S. The real one, not the one for upsell," she added.
His smile turned wider as he approached, and the shadow slowly swallowed her. He stood in front of Jane, the tips of their shoes touched, the fabric of their blazers brushed, but neither of them moved.
"Will you be my subordinate, then?" he asked, lifting her hand to his mouth, "Jane," and dropped a kiss the same time her name escaped.
She smiled, feeling the smooth coldness on her skin.
Huh.
She'd never given her name; Jane made sure of that. So, a bird must have told him, too.