Well, it didnt exactly seem like the right time, she said tiredly, and sat down on the bed, back to the head-board. Come on, Shane. We were running for our lives.

He granted that argument with a shrug. How did this happen?

You mean, who? Amelie. She was here, and Michael asked. Claire looked at him for a long second before she added the coup de grae. He asked because he wanted to be able to leave the house.

Shane looked stricken. He lowered himself down on the corner of the bed, staring at her with those wounded, vulnerable eyes. The ones that made her heart break all over again. No, he said. Not because of me. Tell me it wasnt

He said it wasnt. Not, you know, completely, anyway. He had to do this, Shane. He couldnt live like this, not forever.

Shane looked away. Christ. I mean, he knows how I feel about vampires. Now Im living with one. Now Im best friends with one. Thats not good.

Doesnt have to be bad, either, she said. Shanedont be angry, okay? He did what he thought he had to do.

Dont we all? He flopped back on the bed, hands under his head.

Staring up at the ceiling. Long day.

Yeah.

So, he said. You got plans for tonight? Because suddenly Im free.

He made her laugh, even though she thought she didnt have any of that left. Shane rolled up on one elbow, and the gentleness in the way he smiled at her made her breath catch in her throat.

He reached out and tugged at her hair, smiling. Youre all wild today, he said. Hero.

Me? No way.

Yeah, you. You saved lives, Claire. Granted, some people Id just as soon see gone, butstill. I think you even saved my dad. If hed blown up that building, killed all those peoplehe couldnt have walked away from it. I couldnt have let him. They just looked at each other, and Claire felt tension coiling up between them, pulling them closer. She saw him leaning toward her, drawn by the same thing. He reached out and traced one hand slowly along her bare foot. So. Whats the plan, hero? Want to watch a movie?

She felt odd. Crazy and strange and full of uncertainty. No.

Kill some video zombies?

No.

If we get down to canasta, Im jumpingoffthewhat are you doing?

She stretched out across the bed on her side, facing him. Nothing. What do you want to do?

Oh, lets not go there.

Why not?

Dont you have school tomorrow?

She kissed him. It wasnt an innocent kissanything but. She felt like those roses downstairs, dark and red and full of passion, and it was new to her, so new, but she couldnt stop the feeling that she had to do this, now, because shed almost lost him, and Shane leaned his forehead against hers and broke the kiss with a gasp, like a drowning man. Hang on, he said. Slow down. Im not going anywhere. You know that, right? You dont have to put out to keep me here. Well, as long as you eventually

Shut up.

He did, mainly by pressing his lips back to hers. A slower kiss this time, warm and then hot. She thought shed never get enough of the taste of him; it just jolted through her like raw current and lit her up inside. Lit her up in ways she knew werent good, or at least werent completely legal.

Want to play baseball? she asked. Shanes eyes opened, and he stopped stroking her hair.

What?

First base, she said. Youre already there.

Im not running the bases.

Well, you could at least steal second.

Jeez, Claire. I used to distract myself with sports stats at times like these, but now youve gone and ruined it. Another damp, hot kiss, and his hands trailed down her neck, featherlight. Over her shoulders, brushing skin her thin jersey nightshirt left bare. Down

Dammit. He rolled over on his back, breathing hard, staring at the ceiling again.

What? she asked. Shane?

You could have died, he said. Youre sixteen, Claire.

Nearly seventeen. She moved up against his side, cuddling close.

Yeah, that makes it all better. Look

You want to wait?

Yeah, he said. Well, obviously, not my first choice, but Im all about second thoughts right now. But the thing isI dont want to leave you. His arm was around her, and there was nothing in the world to her but the warmth of his body against her, and his whisper, and the utterly vulnerable need in his eyes. But its not going to be easy for me to say no. So help me out here.

Her heart was pounding. You want to stay?

Yes. I He opened his mouth, then closed it, then tried again. I need to stay. I need you.

She kissed him, very gently. Then stay.

Okay, but so far as baseball goes, second base is as far as I go.

Youre sure about that?

I swear.

And somehow, he kept his word, no matter how hard she tried to convince him.

Shane was still asleep, curled in a heap among the pillows, snoring lightly. Shed gotten his shirt off at some point, and Claire lay in the soft glow of the rising sun, watching the light gleaming on the strong muscles of his back. She wanted to touch himbut she didnt want him to wake up. He needed to sleep, and she had something she had to do.

Something he wasnt going to like.

Claire eased out of bed, moving very carefully, and found her blue jeans crumpled on the floor. The envelope was still in the back pocket. She opened it and slipped out the stiff, formal paper, unfolded it, and read the note again.

She put the contract on the desk, looked at Shane, and thought about the risk of losing him. Of Eve and Michael, too.

I, Claire Elizabeth Danvers, swear my life, my blood, and my service

Shane had said she was a hero, but she didnt feel like one. She felt like a scared teenager with a whole lot to lose. I cant watch him get hurt, she thought. Not if theres anything I can do to stop it. MichaelEveI cant take the risk.

How bad could it be?

Claire opened the drawer and found a pen.

THE END