Seth moved from his position on the floor and knelt beside her bed. He smoothed her hair and looked into her eyes gently as he spoke. “No, that guy isn’t a vamp. It’s been bothering me. I wish I knew what he was, but I have no idea. I even talked to my brother about him and he’s at a loss, too. Granted, whatever he is might not be a big deal, but it might be a huge deal. He could be more dangerous than a vamp.”

“What could be worse?” Juliet scoffed. “Besides how bad could a vamp be if I’m with you? You’ve already compared them to blood-sucking insects. Let me see, if they’re like mosquitoes to you, how dangerous must you be?”

Seth ignored her question and said thoughtfully, “Actually, there may be a way to guarantee that vampire will stay away from you. I should have thought of it sooner.”

“What?”

“If you have my scent all over you, he may simply mistake you for me and take off. You know?”

Juliet took a deep breath. Seth smelled just like the card at the department store. “I can’t smell like Euphoria for Men. All the girls will be staring at me in the hall wondering why they got such a hot-man vibe when I walked by. I’d get hit on by the girls, I promise.”

“‘Euphoria,’” Seth repeated, looking skeptical. “What are you talking about? I don’t wear cologne.”

Juliet rolled her eyes. “Fine. Aftershave?”

Seth jerked his head back and put some distance between them. “Why are we having this conversation? It’s bizarre. I was trying to steer the conversation to one of those delicious moments where I could kiss you and all you do is start asking me irrelevant questions about my hygiene?” He got to his feet and headed for the door. “It’s late. Since I’m not staying over, I should get going.”

“Hey,” Juliet gawked, staring after him and jumping to her feet. “I didn’t mean to chase you away, but you do smell exactly like Euphoria. It’s a scent based on pomegranates.”

He suddenly turned around and leaned against the door. He folded his arms across his chest and let his coat dangle from one hand. “So you were researching me at the mall,” he said with satisfaction.

“Not exactly,” Juliet deflected. “No. I was just looking for a scent that was based on pomegranates and when I asked for one, they showed me Euphoria, but after I smelled it, I couldn’t buy it. It already smelled like you.”

Seth dropped his coat on the floor. “And why would you go looking for a perfume that smelled like pomegranates.”

“Well,” Juliet fumbled. “It’s the only thing I know you like.”

“Really? After what you said last Saturday, it sounded like you were afraid I would bite you and drink your blood.” He began taking slow steady steps toward her, forcing her back.  

Juliet stuttered, “You keep saying you’re not a vampire, and what you’ve said tonight makes it sound like you are nothing like them, so…”

“So?” he encouraged when she faltered.

Hot sweat was breaking out on Juliet’s back. He was advancing on her like a one-man army. His sherry-colored eyes had been eclipsed by the eyes of the man who wrote about how he would ruin the woman he loved. His stare was so intense she could hardly meet his eyes. She had to look away.

His fingers curled around her chin and he brought her face up to meet his. “So?” he said again.

“So, why shouldn’t I smell like something you like? You’re my boyfriend,” she choked.  

When she gathered enough courage to look at him again, he seemed unreal. The slant of his eyes was menacing and a sinister fire seemed to be glowing behind his irises. Whatever he was thinking, his mind had gone to a place Juliet had never been before. As he said, she was innocent.

“Are you my girlfriend?” he whispered, not taking his eyes off hers. 

 “We decided that last week,” she stuttered.

“I remember, but... this is an awkward situation, Juliet. Really awkward. There’s this delightful little catch in our relationship that constantly contradicts itself. Would you like to know what it is?”

She simply stared.

He licked his lips. As his mouth opened, his fangs extended until they were resting on his pale bottom lip. Juliet stared spellbound at his mouth. She had never seen anything so mesmerizing in her entire life. Her mind registered no thought of danger. The only thing she knew was that she didn’t want this moment to end. Whatever he was, he was the most fascinating creature that had ever existed.

His voice was deep and smooth as he said, “You want a relationship with a vampire, but you don’t want to get bitten. You want to lose your innocence, but in fact, you don’t want to sin.” Juliet tried to interrupt, but Seth stopped her words with his. “Then there’s me, and I’m the exact opposite. I want a relationship with you, an innocent girl, but I don’t want to pollute you, even though it’s unavoidable if you stay with me. I want to stop sinning, but I can’t. Like I said, I’m not like those vampires. It’s true they’re cursed, but not like me. I’m the prince of curses.”

Juliet opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

“Hold still,” Seth said, turning her around so her back was against his chest. The heat from him swept through her body like a hurricane. His lips were by her ear and his hot breath trickled down her neck. “Do you trust me?”

“To do what?” she mumbled. She couldn’t focus on what he was saying since his hand had slid around her waist.

“Protect you,” he said softly, his tongue smacking lightly on his teeth.

“I trust you,” she mouthed, but she made no sound.

“Then you have to stay conscious to the end. You need to smell exactly like me if you’re going to be safe.”  

Even with everything Seth had said, Juliet still expected him to move in on her throat. She told herself he was going to bite her, even though he said he wasn’t a vampire. Her mind was foggy and everything in her room felt strange, even the lighting was off-color and grotesque.  

Don’t be afraid, she told herself gently, as though she was rocking a screaming child.  There’s nothing to be afraid of. This is what you wanted, so relax and let it happen.

Seth shifted his position and to her amazement, he began kissing along her spine. She could feel his fangs, but the sharp points didn’t scratch her. His free hand caressed the side of her face and then moved down to her wrist. He lifted her wrist and crushed it between his palm and his mouth.

Juliet gasped.

No pain came. She opened her eyes to look, and she could see what he was doing. He was kissing her. He hadn’t broken skin.

He moved so that one of his arms was under her knees and the other supported her back. With one fluid motion, he lifted her in his arms and placed her gently on the bed.  

“What are you doing?” 

“Finishing up. I just have four more points to hit and then we’ll be done. You don’t mind, do you?”

At the foot of the bed, he lifted her ankle and unrolled her sock so her heel was bare. Juliet nearly squealed as he moved from one ankle to the other.  

“Don’t be so jumpy,” he reproved as he bent to kiss each dent again. Then he reached and curled his fingers around her yet unkissed wrist. “Two more to go,” he said before he placed a kiss on her palm. Raising his eyes he looked into her face. “Are you ready for the last one? I’m impressed you haven’t blacked out.”

Juliet swallowed and pursed her lips.

Seth moved her palm so that it was resting over his heart. “Do you feel that? Do you feel my heart racing?”

“You’re not dead,” she responded quietly.

“No,” he said, moving his hand so that it cradled her head.

“But you’re not a normal human?”

“Would you be interested in me if I were?” he asked cynically before lowering his head and kissing her lips.

Juliet closed her eyes and sincerely tried to focus, but it was no use. It was like there was a switch inside her that he activated when their lips met and her brain left the place where she rested in Seth’s arms. She saw darkness. Slowly shapes came, and then she was somewhere else, like in a dream.

She was running through a dark hallway with high, vaulted ceilings over her. She ran past rows of stone pillars that reached to the heavens. Blue light trickled in through breaks in the ceiling like stars. Holding her shoes, the soles of her feet slapped on the stone tile. She gripped the hem of her dress and pushed her hair out of her face.  

Then she became aware that a dark abyss was growing behind her as if it was chasing her down the corridor. She had to escape from it. No matter how swiftly her feet flew or how much closer she came to the gigantic double doors at the end of the hallway, the darkness didn’t stop. It was just as desperate to reach her as she was to leave it. She had to break free. She could feel cold, like metal chains sliding against her bare arms like snakes. It didn’t matter the form of what pursued her. Turning back was unthinkable. Even one false thought would plunge her into the deepest realms of darkness, but her spirit was strong and she surged through the doors like they were liquid.

The light broke in one massive wave against her body and heat finally returned to her. The dark that pursued her recoiled into the fortress and the doors slammed shut with a heart-stopping echo.

Juliet caught her breath and, tossing her shoes to the ground, she threw back her head to bask in the sunlight. The glorious white sphere hung in the sky like the purest and brightest gemstone. Clouds grew in gathering puffs like cotton. She fell back on the grass and pushed her long wet hair out of her face. She was laughing. Something amazing had just happened and the triumph of it left her glowing and victorious.

Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw something incredible. There was a white horse standing on the grass that possessed sprawling wings and feathers. It was like Pegasus. When it saw her, it snorted and lifted its wings. Leaning against its body was a young man with black hair and sherry eyes.

Seth.

Though Juliet could not see herself, she could easily see him. He was wearing a burgundy vest with elaborate stitching, a white, collared shirt, and black trousers. His expression made her heart skip a beat. He looked ultimately satisfied.

He offered her his hand.  

He circled his arms around her. Lifting her sent her back to her dorm room where she was lying on the bed.

She opened her eyes and looked at Seth.

“That was great,” he said softly. “It looks like you survived one kiss. Let’s see if you can make it through two.”

Juliet put her arms around his neck and drew his head toward hers. She wanted to see what else his kiss had in store for her. She felt his lips part and the heat of his breath and then everything disappeared.

***

Seth got up from the bed and found his coat on the floor. It turned out that Juliet hadn’t been able to make it through a second kiss and she lay completely unconscious on the bed.

“Poor girl,” he muttered to himself before he put on his coat.  

He looked briefly around the room to see if there was something to cover her with since she had fallen asleep on top of her blankets. He bent down and looked under the bed and then briefly in the chest at the end of her bed. There was nothing, so he turned to the closet. There wasn’t a spare blanket on the open side. There were only clothes, so he pulled the door shut, revealing another door, the one with a poster on it.  

He stared at his own face.

He unconsciously put a hand to his mouth. There he was, a black and white image, except his eyes were colored red.  

“Where in the world did she get this?” he said aloud as he touched the place on the poster that showed the three sets of bite marks down his neck. His other hand immediately touched the scars on his own throat.

For a moment, he considered ripping it down and taking it with him, but he immediately discarded the idea. If she liked him so much that she had a picture of him then wasn’t that lucky? Then another idea came to him. He remembered her post about being in love with a vampire. It was him from the start. After all, there was a myth about three bites from a vampire turning you into one.

He found a blanket in the closet behind the door that had his picture and was careful to leave the doors the way he found them. Unfolding the blanket, he spread it out over Juliet. Hopefully, it would keep her warm until morning. Locking the door behind him, he found himself in the dormitory hall and then on the empty street outside. It was almost five, but the sky was still black as pitch. He could walk home before the buses started, so he took to his feet and marched along the pavement.

He needed some water.