Water flew from her hair as she shook herself free from the memory.
“Thirteen serving nine,” Brent called. She looked up at him, and he paused, gave her a very distinctive wink, and then served the ball.
Noah went stiff beside her, no doubt seeing the wink as a challenge. And as the ball flew over the net, Noah flew into action.
It was as if something possessed him the second Brent winked at her. His speed increased, and he crossed over into her side of the court when it looked like she might not make a save. Brent and Kristen tried to keep up, but Noah was simply too quick. He moved as if on land, treading the water as if it was air. And when he hit the ball, it flew almost dangerously fast.
Alice wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and stared at Noah as he served, calling out the score.
“Fourteen serving thirteen.”
And then, with two volleys and one spike, delivered by Noah with a stunning vertical, the game was over.
Brent shouted an obscenity and Kristen rushed to his side. But Brent would have none of it and stalked out of the pool and back into the ship. Kristen followed, ever faithfully, at his heels.
Alice shook her head and walked out of the pool. Noah high-fived her after she hit dry poolside, and then he accepted a bottle of water from Cindy. Alice returned his congratulations, but mentally, she was trying to pull the pieces together. He’d been so fast, as if a second wind had hit him.
She watched him under hooded eyes as she nursed her bottle of water, mind churning.
“I’m going to go take a break,” he told her after most of the family had dispersed. “Sun is kind of getting to me now.”
“Sure,” she said. He did look tired. Red, his skin was damp with sweat and pool water. Tension rode his shoulders, and a scowl cut into his handsome face. For once, the man didn’t look perfect.
He gave her a quick nod, then turned and disappeared back into the cruise ship.
Noah stalked down the hallway, elation at the win fading until he was so pissed he could barely think. He couldn’t decide who he was angrier with: himself or Brent. The little twerp goaded him on purpose. The wink directed at Alice wasn’t meant for her, it was meant for Noah. And the simple gesture made him see red.
Idiot. One silly act of aggression toward a woman who wasn’t anything more to him than a neighbor—an acquaintance—had pushed him to show speed and strength bordering on inhuman. He was better than this. Charles was the rash one in their little group, their family. Noah was always cool-headed.
Except when he was around her.
Alice’s dazzling smile flashed in his head, and a warmth blossomed in his chest.
Shit. He opened the suite door and then shut it behind him and leaned against it. He stared at the inside of the room. The room where he’d kissed her. Where she’d melted against him, her body warm and wanting. He could smell her desire, could practically taste it. Why had she pushed him away?
He grimaced and stepped away from the door. He should be happy that she’d brought the situation back under control. Sleeping with her would have complicated everything. Would have tossed his plan to keep her at a safe distance all to hell.
But while he might be able to pretend to be happy about it to her, he wasn’t happy. At all. He was angry and frustrated and horny. He wanted to drag her out of the pool, toss her over his shoulder, and carry her back to the room. Pluck that little swimsuit off of her. He wanted to make love to her for the rest of the trip. Taste the desire he smelled on her. Hell, he could make love to her forev—no. What was he thinking? Lust was muddling things up, making him think impossible things.
He paced back and forth in the suite, but the couple of strides it took him to cross the painfully colored space didn’t take a bit of edge off his nerves. He stopped and forced a few deep breaths. He closed his eyes and was suddenly off balance.
The sun. He wasn’t feeling like himself because of sun poisoning.
He walked into the bathroom he shared with her and grabbed his fake shampoo bottle from the bag holding his bathroom supplies. He’d stuffed it under the sink, knowing she’d never be the type of person to go through his belongings, even if she did happen to discover the bag. He flipped the top open and downed a few mouthfuls of blood. Careful to make sure none had spilled onto the bottle, he replaced it in the bag, brushed his teeth, and headed for the bed. His head hit the pillow and he immediately regretted lying down.
Her scent surrounded him, covering the pillow and the bedding. He turned his head and took a deep breath, and instantly, his cock hardened painfully in his shorts, and his fangs lengthened.
God, he still wanted her. It wasn’t a desire he could blame on sun poisoning.
And if he was honest, he’d wanted her for a very long time.
Hell, he’d never gone to a single neighborhood event before she’d moved into the house next door. Not a single party. Not a single meeting to discuss common areas. But ever since she’d shown up on his doorstep five years before, asking him to sign up to help build a neighborhood park, he’d gone to every damn thing. Sat through the boring meetings. Nodded politely at his neighbor’s stories and banter. All for a glimpse of Alice.
Ridiculous. Boredom had to be to blame. He wasn’t in love with her. He didn’t know her that well, even if he had believed in something as impossible to find as real, long lasting, romantic love. But something about her drew him. Every. Damn. Time.
It wasn’t just her beauty, although she was truly magnificent to behold. She was also tenacious and smart. And her smile…hell, the whole room lit up when she flashed her brilliant white teeth. Infectious, that’s what she was. Her energy and her optimism warmed part of him that had lived in shadow for so long he had thought it had died with his humanity.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pushed up to sit at the edge of the bed.
The caller ID read Charles. “About time you called me back,” he said when he picked up.
“Now, let’s not get in a snit. You talked to Alex, didn’t you?” Charles said, amusement plain in his tone.
“Yes, and Alex had exactly nothing to tell me.”
“Well, you know Alex, not very well-informed—”
“Just tell me what the fuck you’ve found out,” Noah snapped.
Silence answered him on the line and he rubbed his face with his hand. “Shit. I’m sorry, Charles.”
“What’s going on?” Charles asked, his normally light tone tight with worry.
Noah let out a breath. He couldn’t tell Charles he’d shown almost inhuman skill in front of a bunch of damn wedding guests to win a volleyball match. He couldn’t tell him he was inches from losing control and sleeping with Alice. Hell, the way she’d backed off the night before, that wasn’t really a problem anyway. And he could control himself with her even if she changed her mind about sleeping with him. He could.
“Scaring me a little here, man,” Charles prodded, voice soft.
“I’m fine. I am. Just came in from a few hours in the sun is all. A little on edge.” Not exactly a lie. Nice. You’re “not exactly” lying to your friend. Your brother in everything but birth. Way to go.
“Get some blood in you,” Charles replied, relief flooding his voice with emotion. “Shit man, you gotta be careful with that. You know how much blood it can take to recover from too much sun exposure.”
“I am. Or, I will be. It was an oversight. It won’t happen again.” And it wouldn’t. Not the sun exposure. Not the fucking demonstrations of his power in front of mortals. Not another kiss.
Definitely not another kiss.
“Do you have enough?”
Noah’s mind went blank. What had they been talking about? “Enough what?”
“Uh…blood? Do you have enough blood? I know you were planning on a minimal supply, keeping just enough to keep things on the level while you were there. So with this sun exposure, you sure you got enough?”
“I’ve got plenty,” he answered automatically. But did he? Not if he had to take another jaunt in the sun, that was certain. He’d brought what he could reasonably fit into fake toiletry containers. Thank goodness for the chemicals vampire scientists had created to keep blood fresh without refrigeration, or he’d definitely have to hunt onboard the cruise ship.
“If you run low, you know you’re better off with a quick, controlled hunt, right? I know it’s been a while for you, but better that—fuzzy a memory—than getting hungry.” Charles paused, as if waiting for a response, then added, “If you get too hungry, things could go bad real quick.”
Better off blanking out a human’s memory after taking a little blood than losing control, maybe hurting someone—or worse. That’s what Charles meant. But Noah was glad he didn’t say it outright. Charles had faith he could handle it, even if his worry prompted him to suggest a hunt. And Charles’s faith wasn’t misplaced—it wasn’t. Noah was older than Charles. Granted, that made him even more susceptible to the effects of the sun and more reliant on blood. But it also meant he had decades more experience at controlling the need.
“Do you have any news for me?” Noah asked. Best to keep the conversation away from his blood supply. No need to worry Charles unnecessarily. Besides, if he did run low, he’d be okay. He had excellent control.
Hesitation again. Noah gritted his teeth and shoved down the rage that all too swiftly rose in his chest. Definitely more blood—he shouldn’t be this easy to anger.
“I’m sorry. No progress yet. They’re pretty damn insistent. I don’t know the why of it all yet, but I’m fishing it out. Takes time, you know? I should have better news for you tomorrow.”
He swallowed his anger. Charles didn’t deserve getting his head bitten off. He was doing his damnedest to help.
“Thanks,” he finally managed. “They aren’t hunting me yet?”
“No. I would have heard about that. I think they’re at a standstill, just like we hoped.”
He closed his eyes and nodded. “Good.”