“You know how I told you about my dad? How he left us four years ago to go ‘find himself?’ ”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Well, he’s evidently still lost. I thought he was coming home for my birthday. Sunny and I turned seventeen three days ago and he sent us an e-mail saying he was going to come home to celebrate with us.” I swallow hard. “It’s so dumb, but . . .”
“But what?”
“I was so excited. My dad’s awesome. Or he used to be anyway. And I haven’t seen him in so long. I guess I thought maybe if he came . . . if he saw us again. Maybe he’d want to . . . I don’t know . . .” I laugh bitterly. “Stick around or something. Or at least plan more regular visits. Sounds so stupid now that I think about it.”
Jareth shakes his head. “Not stupid at all,” he says. “It makes perfect sense to me.”
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter. He never showed. He was supposed to bring the cake, too.” I laugh bitterly. “We ended up having a birthday party with no cake. Pretty lame, huh?”
“Did he call to tell you why? Did something happen to prevent him from making it?”
“No. I waited up ’til like one A.M., hoping he’d walk through the door. So idiotic.” My voice breaks again and I’m sobbing like crazy now. Can we say LOSER? “Sunny e-mailed him the next day. Turns out some other thing came up and he says he forgot to tell us.”
“Other thing?”
“Evidently he’s got a new wife. And she has kids. One of them had some school play or something . . .” I shrug. “Why go hang with the old family, I guess, when you’ve got a whole new one?”
Without warning, Jareth grabs me and pulls me into a hug. At first I’m not sure about this, but his arms feel so right, wrapped around me. His hands so good, stroking my back. I give in, burying my head in his shoulder and sobbing my eyes out. Trying to take the strength he is offering me. I’m scared to death at the perfect comfort I receive, but too relieved to pull away.
“I’m so sorry, Raynie,” he whispers, smoothing my hair with his hands. “That’s a lousy thing to do. He doesn’t deserve you as a daughter.”
“I wish I could just hate him,” I cry, hoping my nose isn’t all running on Jareth’s black shirt. “But I can’t. I still love him. I still miss him. No matter what he does, he’s still my dad.”
“It’s hard when people you love let you down.”
“Sometimes I think that’s why I don’t have any close friends,” I say, now in full-on babble mode. I can’t believe I’m telling him all this. But his arms feel warm and his touch is comforting. I haven’t felt so safe in eons. “I mean, everyone thinks it’s ’cause I’m some tough punk-rock chick who doesn’t need anyone. But, in reality, I think it’s ’cause I’m scared to death. That if I get close to someone, they’ll just leave.”
“I know the feeling,” Jareth says, almost thoughtfully. “More than you can know.”
“Oh?” Excitement builds inside me, competing with my sadness. He’s on the verge of spilling the Deep Dark Secret, I can tell.
He pulls his head away. “Some other time,” he says, pressing his lips against my forehead and giving me a soft kiss.
I stick out my lower lip in a mock pout. “Oh, fine.”
He laughs. “I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“Don’t worry,” he says, reaching over to my nightstand and grabbing me a tissue. He hands it to me and I wipe my eyes and nose. “Unlike some people, I keep my promises. Always and forever.”
He reaches up and brushes a strand of hair out of my eyes and studies my face. “You’re really beautiful,” he says. “You know that?”
I screw up my face. “Yeah, yeah.” But secretly I’m pleased.
“No. I’m serious.” His fingers trail down the side of my face, his nails lightly scraping at my cheekbone. Feels so good. I close my eyes.
And then he kisses me. Yes, the beautiful vampire, the dark general, the one who never gets close to anyone, leans in and presses his lips against mine.
This kiss is different than the one in the closet. This kiss is soft. Gentle. Light. Like a butterfly’s wing whisking my lips. I know it sounds weird, but it’s almost like a worshipful caress. I sigh a bit as tingly sensations burst from my fingers, my toes—all over my body. I kiss him back, hesitantly at first and then with more assurance. Jareth is a master kisser, nothing like the awkward fumbling boys I’ve dated in the past. The ones more interested in the technical workings of my bra. The ones who see the mouth only as an obligatory precursor to getting me to take off my clothes. But Jareth seems content just to kiss me. To explore my mouth with his own. His tongue telling a thousand stories, mine delighting in a thousand tastes.
I wonder what he’s thinking as he kisses me. Does he have feelings for me? Is this something he’s been hoping will happen? Or is this just a gesture meant to cheer me up, to distract me from my pain? Sadly, I have no real clue what this immortal creature of the night actually feels for me and that scares me to death.
Stop thinking so much, Rayne, I tell myself. You’ve got a hot guy making out with you in your bedroom. Just go with it.
But I can’t. Not this time. Because I’m starting to develop a deep tenderness for this vampire. And that’s pretty damn terrifying. After all, he’s told me a dozen times that he doesn’t get close to anyone. He doesn’t even have donors, for goodness sake. He never wants a blood mate. He likes being alone. If I fall for him, I’m going to fall alone. And when I hit rock bottom, it’s going to hurt like crazy. In fact, I’m not sure I’d even be able to survive. To claw my way up from such heartbreak.