Elle Jasper: Everdark

Eli shook his head, moved his hand to the back of my neck, and lowered his mouth to mine. The sun had dropped now, and the breeze hitting my wet skin felt a bit cooler. But with Eli wrapped around me, I hardly noticed or cared. His lips grazed mine, his tongue slowly caressed, and I lost myself in his powerful, seductive kiss. And just as I lowered my hand, pressed against his chest, and trailed my fingers over the ridges of his stomach, he stopped and raised his head.

A smile—pained though it might be—tipped his sexy mouth. “And to prove I’m not just some horny vampire who only wants in your pants, we’re heading back to camp. Now.”

With a lot less grace than I’d imagined, Eligius Dupré dumped me right into the Atlantic and walked back to the beach.

“Wait!” I said, sitting in the water. “It’s totally cool if you only want in my pants!”

Eli laughed. “No.”

I slapped the water and swore something filthy-nasty in Romanian. After Eli turned and stared at me in shock, he laughed again, so loudly it resounded off the palms of Da Island. I ducked underwater to cool my heated, raging, hormones.

Sitting around a roaring campfire on a Georgia barrier island at night with a handful of centuries-old vampires, Gullah conjurers, and adolescent boys with vampiric tendencies made for a way more interesting crowd than any other I’d ever hung with in my wild teenage years, or in my adult years, truth be known. No lie—it was surreal. Bizarre. Oh, and Zetty—can’t forget the big Tibetan. The fact that he sat across from me with a pouch of ground-up black cat bone (I pray the poor thing was dead before its bones were harvested, but I have my doubts), graveyard dust, and God knows what else Estelle mixed up made me want to write to Zetty’s mother in Kathmandu and tell on him. He was one seriously superstitious dude who no longer trusted me, and it’d probably be a long time before he did. I’d really freaked him out when I was detoxing on the vampire venom.

I looked around at my other fireside companions. Of course, the Duprés were their same charming, French selves. Phin and Luc sat in conversation, and Luc was peeling a piece of saw grass and throwing little slivers of it into the sand as they spoke. Strangely enough, they both looked serious, and it made me wonder what they were talking about. Gilles and Elise, next to them, were totally into each other, which I found pretty cool, given the number of years they’d been together. Gilles held Elise’s hand, and her eyes lit up when looking at him. I’m guessing that’s one of a vampire’s greatest perks: When they love you, they really love you—obsessively, faithfully, and forever. I liked it.

Josie sat next to Seth; their heads bent together in conversation. Every handful of seconds, one or the other—or both—would laugh at some private joke they were sharing. They’d grown pretty close since the night the humans had been saved and brought to Da Island, and as long as she kept her fangs out of my brother’s arteries, I was totally cool with all that.

The Lord of the Flies gang, all wearing T-shirts and board shorts, sat huddled together, their bare feet dug into the sand. Riggs had a stick that he kept jabbing into the fire, sending a spray of red sparks flying above their heads. Having’ caught my eye twice already, he raised one eyebrow and grinned. I shook my head. Just what a juvenile guy needed—the sensual tendency of a vampire. He’d been bad enough when he was just plain teenage pubescent Riggs. Now? Good God. I couldn’t help but like the kid, though. I’d watched him spar with a boy named Jacoby—both about the same size, same height. Riggs was fast, and he moved with such grace, he’d seemed to be floating. Like Seth, he’d matured physically, and he was damn fast. Mentally, as well—to a certain extent. I’d witnessed his intense concentration while he was sparring. Gone was the awkward gangliness of a fifteen-year-old. I was seriously impressed. I felt sorry for all parents of young available girls in Savannah.

Estelle and Preacher sat on one side of me, Jack and Tuba on the other side of them. Every once in a while Tuba would slip me a glance, then grin, his wide white smile seemingly glowing in the dark.

Gilles cleared his throat, and we all turned our heads toward him. The firelight played against the age lines grooved into his face by life, prior to becoming a vampire. His eyes, that same shocking Dupré blue, looked like glass as the amber light from the flames reflected in their depths. He glanced around. “You’ve all done well and have worked hard at honing your new skills. I remember, way back when, after I’d gained my own talents. Not an easy accomplishment.” He gave a short nod. “I am proud.”

A low murmur ran through the boys, pride evident on their faces.

“As you have acquired vampiric tendencies, there are things we will expect of you. You are all custodians of the city.” Gilles’ gaze searched the group of boys, and he smiled. “ Non . That does not mean you must clean up, although if the notion strikes you, it would be an admirable thing to do.”

The crowd chuckled, and Gilles continued.

“That means you are now like us—guardians. And things will be expected of you as such. You will watch over the city and keep the humans safe. If you use your tendencies against the humans, you will first be brought to trial, here. With Preacher and his dark ones.”

The boys all looked around.

“And if they deem it necessary, we will relinquish your skills from you,” he said.

Understanding lit the boys’ eyes but fear quickly replaced it. That meant the Duprés would have no choice but to kill them. I prayed it never came to that.

“Now,” Gilles continued, “we leave here in two days. You’ll return to your homes, to school, and you will set examples for others your age.” The smile he gave did two things: It warmed and chilled at the same time. Weird. “We’ll be watching.”

The boys got up and headed to their tents. Their silence meant they were thinking about all that—hard. Good. They needed to. I didn’t want to have to make any more trips to the police station to bail their asses out for doing stupid stuff.

“Gilles, stop,” said Elise softly, playfully smacking Gilles on his thigh. He wore a pair of plaid Bermuda shorts and a white Da Plat Eye T-shirt and flip-flops. He cracked my ass up. Gilles rose, pulling his wife up with him. He eyed me, grinned, then turned back to the small crowd. “You boys will no longer require as much sleep as before. Don’t sit around idly. Read. Study. Make your mind sharp. Play sports.” He thought for a moment. “I always fancied football. Rather, soccer.” With a nod, he pulled his wife along. “Adieu.”

The rest of the crowd dispersed. Preacher leaned over and patted my head. “You be good, child,” he said, his satiny skin shining in the firelight. “Don’t forget your tea.” He grinned, Estelle giggled, and they disappeared toward the tents.

“We’re gonna go for a walk,” Seth said, Josie at his side. “See ya in the morning.”

“Night,” I said, and followed them with my eyes until the shadows swallowed them. Eli and I were left alone by the fire.

“Were you making fun of my father?” Eli whispered. I sat between his thighs, and his arms slipped around my waist. “Shame, shame, Riley Poe.”

I tilted my head upward to look at him. The glow from the fire flicked shadows against his face, and I swear, I’d never seen a more beautiful soul in my life. “I’m not. It’s just . . . funny. I’m used to seeing him dress so formal. Those flip-flops are a kick in the ass.”

Eli’s arms tightened around me, pulling me close. “Yeah, I know.” He settled me in a way that I didn’t have to crank my neck at such an awkward angle to see him. “How do you feel?” he asked seriously. “Ready to go home?”