“What bothers you more?' he asks, leaning forward. 'The fact that I'm a vampire or the fact that you have me here, sitting in your bedroom, after midnight? Because I actually think it's the second one.'He flashes a toothy smile. In any other time, under any other circumstances, I would almost think that he was...'Are you flirting with me?' I ask, stunned. 'Now?'I think I see a flicker of disappointment was across his features, but it could just be a shadow. 'Please,' he says coolly. 'I was just curious. And besides, I thought the whole vampire thing was supposed to be sexy. I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to start giggling and twirling your hair.”

“I would definitely want the one with the bed,' I say and then realize how that sounds. I wonder if I will ever be able to flirt intentionally, as opposed to just accidently.'Really?' he says, a little too innocently.I can do this— I can say something flirtatious and mean to. 'Or maybe not. You were always horrible at sharing your things,' I tease, but then realize that was just an insult said with an eyebrow wiggle.James leans in close enough that our arms touch and he smiles, slow and deliberate. 'I've gotten better.'I think all of my internal organs just evaporated. 'Why do you have a bed if you don't sleep?' I blurt. 'It looks new.''Yeah, that's not where I thought this conversation was going at all,' he says before settling back against the wall.”

“Please don't tell your family that I'm here," he says softly. "I want to keep a low profile.""Done," I say, knowing that the story of how I got caught peeping in his back window like a weirdo will be an easy secret to keep.”

“You don't know how to take no for an answer, do you?”“That wasn't a no,” I teased. “Now—” using his wrists to drive his hands, I pushed them down and jumped as he lifted me up again, “—show me what's so scary about this vampire side.”“Ara, we—” he tried to speak, but I leaned down and gripped his lips tightly with mine, then pulled a little—using my teeth.He drew back abruptly and stared at me, wide eyed, but with a tentative grin. “So, you don't wanna be a vampire, but you like using your teeth?”“I'd like you to use your teeth.”“Physically. Not figuratively,” David practically grunted.“Stay out of my head, vampire.” I bared my puny teeth at him; he chuckled. “Now, do as you're told. Bite me.”

“That's it, I think, crumpling the pages into one tiny ball of suck. I'm done banging my head against this stone wall; I don't care if I have to begin my article, "Vlad likes three things: fencing, himself, and killing off his siblings." I don't care if I have to lie and —oops— report that Vlad likes finger painting with dolphin blood in his spare time. We're now entering full investigative mode.”

“I don't know—” the right corner of his lip quirked upward, “—I can eat a lot. I could probably eat you and not think twice about it.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, tilting his shoulders closer to me. “Do you think you're up for that kind of a challenge, little girl?”“Bring it on.”

“So, what were you about to do that day, then? Float away or something?”“No.” He looked up from the ground and smiled. “I was about to lift you in my arms and run, vampire speed, to the closet room under the auditorium stage.”“You would not,” I said, my tone ringing in question.“Ara—” he raised one brow, “I'm a guy. Not a saint.”