Page 9 of Cuddling Sucks in Coffins
Chapter Three
Paul was sitting onthe porch swing, leaning forward, his blue eyes shimmering in the moonlight as they watched my every blink. Blond straggly hair brushed the striped sleeves of his bowling shirt, the shoulders of which seemed wider, his form larger and more commanding. As if he were gaining in power.
“Hey, Paul,” I said casually, more as a warning to my three vamps to stay put inside the doorway.
They tensed out of the corner of my eye. Sawyer brought his thick arm up to block the other two where they stood and stepped onto the porch, his steps light for his massive size.
Paul sat between them and me. He could get to them before I could. Yes, they were vampires, but he was this dark unknown. No one knew what he was capable of. Yet he didn’t seem to notice Sawyer on the porch with him. Or didn’t care to. He only had eyes for me.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said. Instead of the ancient, rustic voice he’d had just days ago, it now boomed loud and deep.
“Uh-huh.” I wished my aim was better with my stake so I could throw it at him, though stakes hadn’t even affected the demon who’d wanted to drag me to hell as the devil’s bride. I had my seraph knife, but again, I sucked at throwing. I literally had nothing to use against Paul, and if I did, I didn’t know it. “You must be a riot at parties with your repetitive conversational skills.”
“Lovely night for a stroll, isn’t it?” he asked.
“No, Paul. It isn’t.” I squeezed my stake tighter until my knuckles ached. “We played this game already, remember?”
He stood then, tall, imposing, the top of his head almost grazing the porch ceiling. Even Sawyer had to tilt his neck to look at him.
“Enough is enough! Get the fuck out of here!” Jacek shoved at Sawyer’s arm and elbowed past him onto the porch, his normally happy face twisted into a ferocious scowl.
Sawyer caught him around the middle before he could get any closer to Paul.
But Paul was so focused on me, he didn’t even seem to notice. “I think I’ll take that stroll now.”
I blinked hard at the words, grasping to understand their meaning and why they settled dread into my bones deep enough to shake them.
Then, in the space between seconds, Paul vanished. A great hurricane-like wind howled through the night. It slammed into me, knocking my feet from the ground, sweeping my loose hair into a blinding tangle around my head.
Something boomed through the night. The door, I realized once I could see again. It had slammed shut.
But most importantly, the porch was now empty.
My three vamps were gone.
A strangled cry tore from my mouth as my fists clenched the grass, my eyes glued to the front door.
What had Paul done?
I signaled my brain to go, to move me, to stand me up, but it took precious seconds to flash me images of what might be happening behind that closed door instead. Was Paul in there with my vampires? Slicing them open like he’d done to Tim?
Panic flared, raw and hot though my veins. I finally surged to my feet and flung myself forward.
A loud crack came from the other side of the door. And then the whole thing was tilting, tilting, until it crashed onto the porch. Three vampires stood just inside, very much intact as far as I could see, and very much pissed. Their eyes glowed red, fangs bared, fists balled at their sides. Sawyer stood in front of the other two, always the protector, now settling his massive booted foot on the floor. He’d kicked the door down.
I charged them at the same time they did me, relief stinging my eyes.
“Are you all right?” Sawyer demanded, splitting his attention between me and the night.
