Page 70 of Into The Light

No one.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Emilia

I’m so stupid.

Running through the yard with my shoes in hand, I followed the trail leading down to the stables. I didn’t even know where I was going, but I knew I needed to get out of there. I needed space, fresh air, and a place to puke in peace.

So, so stupid, Emilia.

Like dropping an anchor into the ocean, the weight of my reality sank in. The man I’d gone and fallen for was a vampire. A real live vampire! I had thrown caution and my good sense to the wind and fallen for a fucking vampire.

That “no more bad boys” rule I made? Not only did I ignore it, I strapped a stick of dynamite to it and lit that sucker up. It exploded, and like most explosions, it hurt like hell when it blew up in my face. I’d made the rule for good reason, and yet I tossed it aside the moment he blinked those arctic eyes at me. How pathetic that I would toss away all sense and reason for a guy. Not even a guy... a freaking vampire. And yet here I was, surprised that he had a psychotic ex-girlfriend vampire who nearly tore my throat out.

Way to go, Emilia.

When I reached the stable, I pressed my head into the cool stones trimming the walls. It felt good to combat the heat scorching through my face. All the blood that had drained at the sight of that cruel creature had rushed back in all at once and it felt like my cheeks were melting off. I stood still for a moment with my eyes closed and let the silence and cool air wash over me while I tried to slow my pounding heart. Crickets chirped in the distance, and the swaying branches in the trees above me rustled and creaked in the breeze. A branch snapped, and I spun around half-expecting to see Aiden behind me, but instead a chestnut gelding stepped toward the fence to examine me.

“Hey buddy. Nothing to be scared of. No crazed vampire bitch named Leeya here.”

Leeya. Ugh. Visions of her lethal glare sent a shiver slivering down my spine. That and the thought of that perfect-looking creature tangled up with Aiden in a heated love affair. That movie-star hair, Angelina Jolie worthy lips, and legs that seemed to never end. Not to mention her boobs.

Those things couldn’t possibly be real, but then again, I doubted a vampire could get a boob job.

And those eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was jealousy, hunger, or both that had produced the blood-chilling gaze she’d used to penetrate me and shake me to the core. If Aiden hadn’t stopped her, I would have been a bloodless corpse right now instead of a stupid girl crying alone by the stables.

Another branch cracked, and I spun around again. My heart pounded in my chest, but I saw it was only the same gelding coming even closer for inspection. It was only then I realized the greatest depth of my stupidity... I had run out alone to a secluded place when there was a jealous, blood-thirsty supermodel vampire with a hard-on for my death on the loose.

And I thought age was supposed to make you smarter. It looked like thirty was starting off with a bang in the brains department.

My anger toward Aiden didn’t matter, or more-so my anger toward my bad decisions. I needed to get back to the safety of the house. I had a bedroom big enough to cry in and a closet full of clothes to wipe away my tears.

I turned to start back to the house but ran into a wall of flesh blocking my way. A scream started crawling up my throat but stopped when I heard his voice.

“Emilia,” Aiden whispered, reaching out and touching my shoulder.

“Sweet Jesus! I thought you were that crazy bitch here to finish ripping out my throat!”

“You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

“Yeah, I figured that out, too. I may not be making the best decisions these days, but at least I come to my senses. Eventually.”

“Emilia, I’m so sorry about tonight. I had no idea she was coming, and I’ll make sure we never see her again. You need to know I would never let her hurt you.”

His pleading eyes plucked those pesky strings of empathy surrounding my wounded heart. With the shake of my head I silenced their song and dug deep to find my resolve. Those impossibly beautiful eyes staring straight into my soul wouldn’t mesmerize me again and send me racing away from my good senses.

Not this time.

“I need to go inside, Aiden,” I said, breaking the eye contact in an attempt to break his spell.

“Emilia, please.” He touched my chin and lifted my face to meet his. The desperation in his stare tied my stomach into a knot so tight I wasn’t sure I could ever figure out how to unravel it. With a deep breath I fought to break free from the invisible tie binding us together. Like a Chinese Finger Trap, the harder I fought the tighter it got.

I made the mistake of glancing at his lips and my own parted a bit in a complete betrayal of the plan I had to end this insanity, to go find a nice boring accountant to marry and end my string of bad boys and broken hearts.

“Please don’t be angry with me, Emilia.” He stroked my cheek, and I pulled away, not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because I did.

“I’m not angry with you, Aiden,” I said in exasperation. “I’m angry at me!”