CHAPTER 19
AUBREYS AGITATION rivaled Jessica’s. He had never been more surprised by a human than he was at this moment. Despite the fact that she had just committed a shockingly reckless act, the expression on her face was utterly fearless.
She stepped forward again, aggressive. Her ebony hair tumbled down past her shoulders like a waterfall of midnight.
“Well? What does your kind want with me?” she demanded. “Why am I not dead already?”
“That seems to be a point of dispute,” he answered, trying to keep his voice nonchalant.
“You’re the only one here. What’s stopping you?” she challenged, meeting his gaze without the slightest hesitation.
She stood in front of him, arms across her chest, head held high as if she was looking down at him, black hair shaken back from her face, green eyes strong and defiant. Her entire stance screamed “predator.”
A predatory mind-set was something one was or was not born with. Even some vampires still acted like prey. Jessica acted as if she was afraid of nothing.
“Well?” she said, stepping forward again. She was intentionally invading his space, forcing him to react.
“What do you want from me?” Aubrey asked finally. Her mind was a blank to him at the moment. Despite all the years he had spent learning to manipulate every situation, he had no idea what she wanted him to do.
“I know as much about your kind as you do,” Jessica said. “Probably more. I’ve written it all down and allowed other humans to read it. I’ve even told them about the only fight you’ve ever really lost in your life. And I’m not going to stop writing, no matter how many times your kind threatens me with death. I’m not afraid of the inevitable.” She took one more step forward so that she was all but spitting her words in his face. “What do you want to do about it?”
Jessica looked into his eyes fearlessly. She stood so close that he could feel her breath, but he held his ground, his arms motionless at his sides. They were locked into a challenge that was like a confrontation between two wild cats, each refusing to be the first to look away.
Aubrey was struck by the color of her eyes: a perfect green he had never before seen in any human — somehow impossibly deep. For a moment he experienced the disorientation that he knew his own gaze had so often caused.
His shock was now complete. Jessica had looked into his eyes brazenly, and he had been the one caught.
He blinked once, trying to clear his mind, and his thoughts returned to her question.
Over the past few days, he had occasionally wanted to throttle her for her unrealized knowledge and stubborn innocence, and he had once or twice entertained the idea of simply sinking his teeth into that fair and tender throat, which the outfit she wore tonight displayed so well. Most often, though, he had had the urge to do exactly what he wanted to do right now.
“What do I want to do about it?” he mused aloud.
Jessica gasped as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her forward to close the few remaining inches between them. Before she could react, he caught her lips with his own. The kiss was strong but over quickly, and then he willed himself away.