Temptation Read Free

react to her, as if trying to decide what to do to her.
    He’s trying to frighten me, Jessica thought.
    Well, he’s got a surprise coming. He can stare at me all he wants. I don’t scare easy. And if he tries anything, I’ll slash him to pieces.
    She and Gabri slid into the shadows as two boys walked by their dune. The boys were hurrying to join a group of kids who had started a small bonfire down the beach.
    â€œFresh blood,” Gabri said, his voice a whisper. “Maybe it isn’t too late. Maybe I haven’t wasted the whole night with you.”
    â€œWhat are you going to do?” she asked, not even trying to keep the mockery from her voice. “Try to get another blind date?”
    He ignored her. “I need the nectar,” he whispered, not bothering to hide his desperation. “I need it.” Then, raising his arms above his head, he began to spin.
    Clouds drifted over the moon, casting the dunes in total darkness. The ocean roar picked up. The wind swirled in wide circles.
    Invisible in the dark swaying dune grass, Gabri spun. When the clouds drifted away and the pale light filtered down again, and the ocean hushed, and the wind calmed, he emerged as a bat, purple and black. The dark animal eyes stared down at Jessica with the same intensity, the animal mouth open, revealing pointed fangs covered in white drool.
    He hissed at her, swooped at her face, forcing her to stumble backward and shield herself with her arms. Then, still hissing, up he fluttered until he disappeared against the black sky.
    Seconds later Jessica was spinning in the tall grass. Moments after that she fluttered up to join her winged companion in the sky.
    I’m so thirsty. So thirsty.
    I need the nectar too, she thought.
    I need the nectar. I need it so badly.
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    Monica Davis carried her sandals as she walked, her feet sinking into the wet sand, studying the rippling light on the ocean as the clouds moved across the moon. Her friend, Elly Porter, bent to pick up a smooth, white stone, then skipped it across the water.
    â€œI’m cold,” Elly complained, jogging rapidly to catch up, her knees high, as if that would keep her warm.
    â€œFeels good,” Monica said, closing her eyes, ocean spray clinging to her curly blond hair. “I’m just glad to get away from the cottage,” she added, picking up her pace, enjoying the sound her feet made squishing over the sand.
    â€œWhen did you get here?” Elly asked, turning to face her friend, walking backward, the wind fluttering her oversize T-shirt.
    â€œLate last night,” Monica replied. “And, of course, Dad threw a fit. He always does.”
    â€œWhat was it this time?”
    â€œTwo of the screens were torn. And there was some kind of bug nest in the house. Wasps, I think. So he started ranting and raving about how we’re paying all this money for a summer house, the least the owner can do is make sure the screens aren’t torn. Poor Dad,” Monica said, shaking her head. “He’s just sostressed out. It always takes him a month to unwind. And by that time—”
    She stopped suddenly.
    Elly stopped too, and followed her friend’s gaze up to the blue-black sky. “Oh!” Elly cried out, grabbing Monica’s arm. “Are those—bats?”
    Monica let out a silent gasp as the two dark forms hovered above. Their wings flapped like bedsheets on a clothesline.
    â€œRun!” Elly screamed, pulling Monica’s arm.
    Monica held back. “The beach is full of bats at night,” she told her friend, keeping her eyes on the two hovering forms. “They live on that island over there. See?” She pointed to a dark, wooded island out in the ocean beyond a small dock, its outlines visible against the purple horizon.
    â€œDo people live on the island?” Elly asked. “It’s completely