Cherry Blossom (Vampire Cherry Book 2) Read Free Page B

front of me, but I couldn’t see the left one. I crouched down and started rummaging through the shoes that littered the floor of my closet. “I don’t know. Notice. Where is the stupid thing? Sheena will kill me if I’m late.”
    Sheena wouldn’t say anything, even if I stood her up. She still felt guilty for being the one to introduce me to Willoughby, even though she didn’t know what he was at the time.
    Alex walked up behind me, bent down, and closed his hand around the second of my shoes, as if by magic. “My mother’s always ready for guests,” he said, holding it out to me.
    I grabbed it, and squeezed my foot inside without bothering to undo and redo the laces. “Call her in the morning.” By then, I might have found an excuse to avoid that get-together. With a quick peck to his lips, I rushed to the door. “We’ll talk when I’m back. We’re meeting the guy from the blood bank after the movie, so I’ll bring some blood home. Maybe you can try it?” He still refused to drink human blood, saying vampire blood kept him sated for a longer period of time.
    I believed he saw drinking human blood as the last step to no longer being human.
    Fast as lightning, Alex pinned me to the door, his body hard against my back, his arms framing my shoulders. “I only want your blood,” he whispered harshly, his face in my hair. His erection digging in my back was the least of my concerns.
    “Okay, the mood swings? Not doing it for me. You go from mellow to seeing red in no time. Is something bothering you? If you want to talk about it, I can call Sheena and cancel.” I prayed he said yes and finally talked to me about how he really felt about being a vampire. He’d told me how powerless he’d felt when Willoughby drained him—how he hated the fear, and the nightmares that followed—but not a word about what he’d become.
    He pumped his hips against me. “It’s bothering me that you’re not naked.”
    Trying to fuck issues away was my thing. Alex usually insisted it solved nothing. Seeing him resort to the same cheap trick raised a wave of anger inside me.
    Let go,” I said. “I have a show to catch.”
    He stepped back, and when I turned, his arms were up. Whether in surrender or resignation I couldn’t say. Something clenched in my gut. His lack of a heartbeat wasn’t the only thing different after his turning. I wanted to believe the rest of the changes I saw in him would smoothen out, as he got used to his new reality.
    I pulled him down by his shirt and whispered, “Be good.” Then I touched my lips to his once more, and went to find my friend and ex-manager.

 
    Chapter Three
     
    The movie was nothing noteworthy, but mind-numbing and jolly was exactly what I needed for my head to clear. By the time the ending titles rolled, I’d decided to let things unfold as they would. I’d meet Alex’s mother and bring him to my childhood home. My lifespan would be too long for me to worry about every little thing.
    My stomach clenched at the thought of facing my parents, but I put on a huge smile. “You up for ice cream? I’m buying!” Actually, Constantine was. Since he’d achieved council member status for something we’d both done, he was giving me half of the stipend that came with the position.
    Sheena arched an eyebrow, her dark eyes glinting. “How very generous of you.”
    Pretending not to notice the sarcasm in her voice, I smacked her ass. “You want lobster, you got to gimme some sugar.”
    She kept a straight face, but I could see a grin tilting the corner of her lips. “Tempting though it may be, I’ll have to refuse. Ice cream will do.”
    By now, we’d reached the ice cream stand. “One of those.” Sheena pointed at the largest cups available. “I’d like two scoops of caramel, and one each mocha and vanilla.”
    “I want a cone, straight up chocolate, please,” I said.
    The teen behind the counter asked if we wanted any toppings. I refused, but Sheena hid her ice cream