The dogs didn’t bother to bark when I got out. There were three of them, big, shaggy gray-black Bouviers, which looked more like bears than dogs. They might have been intimidating if they weren’t currently shoving their damp noses in my pockets and whimpering for treats. I had more to fear from the windstorm they might cause with the ferocious wagging of their stubby tails.

The lamps were lit—soft yellow light gleamed through the windows. The light was always soft in the Drake house. I went around to the side, hoping Solange’s bedroom window was open. I could have knocked. I usually did. It wasn’t as if anyone would be asleep, and they could usually smell my presence anyway. But I didn’t know if I was in trouble. I’d apologize if I was, but I hated going in unprepared. Regular parents were bad enough, but vampire parents were in a class all their own. Solange’s window was closed, so I texted her. Nothing.

“Lucky.”

I yelped like a scalded cat, whirling so fast I made myself dizzy. My phone landed in the bushes. Nicholas smirked at me, easing languidly out of the shadows. His pale eyes gleamed. I gasped for breath, thumping my chest. That was the second time in one night I’d practically choked on my own heart. Nicholas licked his lips. I remembered Solange’s warning and tried to calm my pulse.

“What the hell, Nicky!” I muttered. He hated being called that as much as I hated being called Lucky. He stepped closer, totally invading my personal space. I hated that he was so handsome, with his tousled dark hair and his serious expression, like some ancient scholar. There was something else in his expression suddenly, something slightly wicked. I took a step back, wondering why my stomach felt funny.

He advanced and I backed away some more, suspicious, until I bumped into the log wall of the house. I remembered, too late, Solange’s simplest warning about vampires: if you ran, they chased. It was just in their nature.

I stopped abruptly and lifted my chin, trying to pretend my shoulder blades weren’t pressing into the log wall and I had nowhere to go.

“What?”

He was close enough that his legs practically brushed mine.

He was close enough, in point of fact, to kiss.

I was instantly horrified the thought had even crossed my mind. I tried to comfort myself with the idea that it was probably just those legendary pheromones. I was used to them, but I wasn’t completely immune. And the fact was, he was looking at me the way I looked at chocolate fudge.

I bit my lower lip. He blinked, and then his face went impassive again, nearly cold; but I noticed the flare of heat in his eerie eyes.

“That was a stupid thing you did,” he said.

And there was the Nicholas I knew. Of course he hadn’t been flirting with me.

What had I been thinking?

“It was just a party.”

“It was reckless.” He jerked a hand through his hair, messing it further. “We’re trying to protect her. You’re not making it any easier.”

“You’re smothering her.” I scowled. “And I was protecting her, too.”

“By putting her in needless danger just to flirt with some drunk kid? This isn’t a game.”

“I know that,” I snapped. “But you don’t know her like I do. And she’s been so stressed out by you and your overbearing baboon brothers, I just wanted to cheer her up.”

He paused, and when he spoke again it was quietly. “She can’t protect herself if she’s worried about protecting you.”

Ouch. Direct hit. The indignation whooshed out of me, leaving me feeling deflated and foolish.

“Oh.” I really hated it when he was right. “All right. Fine.” I was spared his self-satisfied reply when his cell phone rang discreetly from inside the pocket of his black cargo pants. He barely glanced at me.

“Go home. Now.”

He walked away, leaving me staring at his back. I retrieved my phone to text Solange: I do not like your brother. I stomped all the way back to the car. The dogs had abandoned me to follow Nicholas, growling low in their throats. I kind of hoped they’d bite him. Right on the ass.

Just as I was reaching for the car door handle, a hand clamped over my shoulder and spun me around. Before I could make a single sound, Nicholas’s mouth covered mine completely. He yanked me closer. His eyes were the misty gray of rain. His lips moved, briefly. It wasn’t even a whisper but even that sound was hidden under the almost- but-not- quite kiss.

“We’re not alone.”

I stiffened.

“Shhh.” He bent his head. Anyone watching would have assumed he was kissing me and enjoying it. I admit, I was enjoying it too.

A shadow moved near the hedges, too quickly to be natural. The crickets went silent. Knowing the sharpness of vampire hearing, I darted a glance pointedly over Nicholas’s left shoulder. He didn’t speak, didn’t even nod, but I knew he understood.

He kept kissing me, his tongue darting out to touch mine. It was totally distracting. He was edging me away from the car, guiding me backward, toward the house.

“Don’t run.” He nipped my lower lip.

“I know.” Afraid I was the only one experiencing all these interesting feelings, I nipped back. His hands tightened. His mouth was on my ear when we reached the porch. By the lower step his palms moved over my waist, my hips. His lips were clever, wicked.

Perfect.

At the front door he stopped and shoved me abruptly into the foyer. I stumbled, knocking over a vase of roses. Glass shards, red petals, and water scattered over the stone floor. My lips felt swollen, tingly. Focus, Lucy. The hallway was already full of grim-mouthed Drake boys before I’d even caught my breath. Solange’s mom pushed past me, leading them out. Nicholas was a blur between the oak trees. There were the unmistakable sounds of fighting: grunts, hissing, bones snapping.