Shadows Rising (Darkness Falls Book 2)

Chapter Thirty-Six

I sat on my bed, turning the key over and over in my hand. I still couldn't believe it. This was the key to my house – my house. I had a house. My brain still struggled to absorb that this was real. It would have taken years and years of work for me and Luke to build up enough money to move out, and Ava had erased all that in one act of extraordinary generosity.

The bedroom door opened and Luke came in. "There you are. I was looking for you." He stopped when he saw my face, still wet with tears. "What's wrong?" He was at my side in an instant, sitting on the bed with me.

Choked with emotion, all I could do was hold up the key. Luke stared at it, uncomprehending.

"My mum bought us a house."

He started to laugh.

"No, really," I said.

Shock and disbelief spread across his face. "You – you're serious."

A laugh broke out of my throat, the sheer enormity of this slamming into me.

Luke jumped up, pulling me into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he spun us in a dizzying circle, our mouths meeting in a blaze of passion.

"I can't believe this," he whispered, his eyes shining.

He kissed me again, and there was something almost frantic about it, as if we were trying to drink each other down. I closed my eyes and sank into him. This was something I'd never tire of; tasting the softness of Luke's lips, the occasional tiny prick of his fangs, the solid strength of his arms around me –

Something soft hit my back and I realised we'd fallen onto the bed. Luke gazed down at me and the absolute love in his eyes stole the breath from my lungs. I was his sun and I lit up his world. I could see it all in the way that he looked at me.

Luke's hand trailed down my ribs and along my hip, but I caught it before it went any further.

"No," I whispered. "Not now."

He managed to smile and groan at the same time, resting his forehead on mine. "This really sucks, you know that?"

I grinned cheekily at him. "Coming from a vampire?"

He nibbled my lip in response. "It's okay, I can wait." His thumb glided along my cheekbone. "I could wait forever for you."

And he meant it. We both knew the day would come when we would be together in every way, but it wasn't now. There were too many people downstairs and the moment just wasn't right. It wasn't special.

I thought of my house and a blissful smile curved my lips. Now that we had that, we had all the time in the world.

Once we'd dealt with this final threat.

About half an hour later Clara and Ava returned, weighed down by a selection of knifes.

"Did Noah give you any trouble?" I asked.

Clara smiled thinly. "Nothing I can't handle."

I didn't press for details. For all I knew, Clara's defying Noah would lead to him kicking her out of the team and out of the house. Well, trying to kick her out. I couldn't see him actually managing it. Whether Clara and Ava's defiance would have any repercussions remained to be seen.

Beneath a battered jacket, Clara was armed to the teeth; knives were slotted into her belt and the strap that ran across her chest, the blades gleaming against her black tank top.She looked lethal, and the cold smile that curled her lips suggested she was rather looking forward to facing Rachel again.