Don’t think about that, Dru. I did my best to shove Christophe out of my head. The thought went

quietly.

I got my arm around him and tightened up, but just at that moment he broke away. I ended up with

my face in his throat, so close I could smell a healthy boy who needed his daily shower and was just

about to get right on that. It was a nice smell, and I filled my lungs with it.

But right under it was another aroma, just as delicious. A copper tang, with a hint of wildness and

moonlit nights. It was the fluid in his veins, and my teeth tingled a little. The smell of his blood

tickled that place at the back of my throat. The place normal people don’t have.

The place where the red thirst lives.

No. Jesus Christ. I didn’t want to even think about what would happen if he found out I was growing fangs with my face so near his neck. Was that why he’d all of a sudden gone still again? Could

he smell the bloodhunger on me?

Would Christophe smell it?

“Dru,” Graves whispered.

I found out I’d snaked my leg between his and curled us up together like kudzu tangling on a fence.

There was definitely something happening below his belt, and confusion swamped me. Did he not

like me? Could he help it? What was with him, anyway?

I stayed where I was, breathing deep and fast, hoping the tingle in my teeth and the dryness in my

throat would go away. It was like that old dream of walking down the school halls and finding out

you’re naked.

“Dru?” He sounded like he had something caught in his throat. “Look, I’m sorry. I just . . .”

I would wriggle away, I told myself. In just a second. A hot flush suffused me, like the cloudiness in

water when you drop the macaroni in. My teeth went back to normal; I swallowed several times.

“I like you too much,” Graves said into my hair. He wasn’t letting go of me. As a matter of fact, his

arms tensed, and I ended up with my face all the way in his throat. Thank God I had a hold of myself now. I could still smell the blood in him, but it wasn’t overpowering. “I mean, nobody else’s ever been even close to interested in me, all right? I, uh. I just mean I, if you’re, you know, not wanting to do this . . .”

The relief crashing through me made me hug him, hard. So hard he lost his breath, so hard my

bruises and aches came back. It felt like we were back in Dad’s truck in the Dakotas, clinging to

each other for dear life. Both of us shipwrecked and holding on to whatever we could.