Page 50 of Blood Sport

I roll my eyes. “Of course not. I do need the book back, and it’s a good excuse to catch up with Miles.”

She chuckles, and I just know that she is rolling her eyes at my response.

After what happened at the Black Rose four nights ago with Jaylen, I’ve realized I’m in way over my head. I shouldn’t be as attracted as I am to him. Not just because he’s a vampire, but because he’s also Miles’s best friend, and I can’t do that to my brother. He made it clear I can’t date any of his friends, especially Jaylen, so I need to respect that. No matter how fucking difficult it is to stay away.

At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

“Okay, whatever you say,” Rylee responds. “Just let me know when you’re on your way home so I can let the girls know.”

“Don’t wait for me,” I say, eyeing the front of the building. I don’t see Jaylen’s motorcycle on the street, so that’s a good sign. There is a chance that it could be parked in the parking lot beside the apartment building, but I like my chances of him not being home. “If you need to start the movie without me then I’m okay with that.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” she says, and then yawns. “I’ll see you soon.”

I smile. “Bye, Ry.”

As I hang up the call, I slump in the seat of my car. The sun is setting low on the horizon, casting hues of red, orange, and yellow across the sky over Pullman. The swirls of colors behind the clouds make the sky look like it’s a marble painting, taking my breath away. I swear the sunsets in Pullman are next level.

Before I switch off the engine, a man’s voice comes over the radio. The way his words crack as he speaks shows that despite the need to be professional as a journalist, the topic is like a painful dagger to the heart.

“Sorry to interrupt the broadcast, Joe, but I have some sad news for the listeners of The Wave. I come to you with exclusive information about The Slayer serial killer lurking in the shadows of Pullman. A young couple from WSU was found deceased in the early hours of this morning behind the Tipsy Tiki. The wounds on their bodies match the MO of the other eight victims that have been discovered in recent weeks. Investigators say they are doing everything they can to catch this killer, but the residents of Pullman don’t believe them. Until then, the local Sheriff urges everyone to stay safe and stick to groups of three or more because it seems that whoever this person is isn’t afraid to take on two people at once. Thanks, Joe. Back to you.”

Two more victims found? Whoever this fucker is isn’t slowing down in their killings. In fact, they seem to be escalating with the rate of new bodies turning up dead in town. I want to know who this vampire couple is and if I have seen them around campus before, but it’s not important. What’s important is that this hunter is taken the fuck out because I’m afraid they will discover that Jaylen is a vampire. The thought of him being hunted down by a crazed vampire hunter doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t want him to be in danger, and he certainly is just by existing in the same town as the fucker hunting down vamps.

With a sigh, I unclip my seat belt and get out of the car. My heart is thumping nervously in my ears with each step I take into the foyer and up the rusted staircase. The dirt-stained carpet under my feet shows its age, matching the rest of the building.

Why Miles decided to move into the apartment, I’ll never know.

I climb until I reach the third floor, my eyes instantly darting over to apartment nine. Rock music blasting through the hallway captures my attention. It sounds like it’s coming from Miles’s apartment, but I can’t be sure.

I ignore the pounding of my heart in my chest and walk toward the door. Three raps of my knuckle on the splinted door can barely be heard over the music blaring inside the apartment. But somehow, the music stops and the front door swings open to reveal two baby blue eyes.

“Fuck,” I curse. My fifty-fifty chances didn’t go in my favor.

Jaylen frowns down at me. “That is no way to greet me, little angel.”

My eyes roll to the back of my head as I fold my arms over my chest. “I was hoping Miles would be home.”

He leans against the door frame and folds his arms over his chest. I can’t ignore the way the thin black material of his shirt stretches over his biceps. The tattoos on his arm are calling for me to inspect them, but I force my eyes to meet his. I can’t get sucked into his beauty like I normally do.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

I look past his body into the apartment to see the book I need sitting on the small shelf by the front door. “Yeah, I just need a book I left behind a few months back.”

Jaylen follows my line of sight to the shelf and then turns back to me, a smirk playing on his lips. “Well, if you want it, little angel, you have to come in and get it.”

Does he think I’m that same eight-year-old girl who used to play silly games with him like we used to? “Can’t you just give it to me?”

He shakes his head. The damp curls around his face swish over his eyes with the movement. “No can do.”

With a huff, I push past him into the apartment. If he wants to play games then I will happily play, but on my terms.

The place smells of citrus and men’s cologne. A mop and bucket catch my eye in the kitchen, and I spot cleaning products on the bench. It seems Jaylen was in the middle of cleaning the apartment before I knocked on the door. With how large and intimidating he is, I can’t picture him performing domestic chores like mopping the floor and cleaning the kitchen.

I spin on my heels to face Jaylen, not realizing he is right behind me. My heart jumps in my throat at the closeness, and I take a step back. “I see you’ve been doing some cleaning.”

Jaylen shoves his hands into the pockets of his black sweatpants. “With Miles at his girlfriends, I thought I would tidy the place up a little.”

“Aren’t you a good housewife,” I comment, and turn back to the bookshelf. I’m painfully aware of Jaylen’s sandalwood scent wafting over me and the coolness of his body. I’m reminded of when I ran away after staring down his hard cock, and he chased me back to the sorority house. At that moment, I was so consumed by him that I wasn’t thinking straight. But I’m not going to let that happen again.

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