Chapter Seventeen
Arden decided the next day it was time to fit Danica with a proper helmet for the race. The one she’d been wearing for practice was apparently only temporary and wasn’t up to Arden’s standards. She would be the only one wearing a helmet during the race since she was human, but she didn’t know how to voice that it bugged her thinking of Arden and Phi going into the race without gear. They claimed they healed quickly and that they were far more difficult to kill than her but trusting that was a whole other concept. She’s watched death happen in a race, relived it often. Danica had no intention of watching Arden and Phi die the same way.
“These helmets are top of the line. They’re shatterproof, take impact so well, you won’t feel a thing if you hit your head, and they’ll protect against everything from broken glass to fire. The face shield is equipped with a high-tech screen. Phi will be able to transmit details to it if needed. There’s even night vision just in case the track is dark, and heat vision if you need to pick someone out. Just remember that some creatures don’t have a heat signature at all, like kelpies. They’re too cold.”
“Good to know,” Danica answered, taking the helmet Arden held out to her but she shook her head at him. “This one is too small.” She held the helmet out.
“You didn’t even try it on,” Arden grunted, looking down at the helmet.
“Too small,” she repeated, tapping the glass.
Arden stared at her for a moment before setting it aside and grabbing another helmet one size bigger. “I’m not as well-versed at picking out sizing as Phi is. My mistake.”
“Helmet size is harder to determine so I don’t blame you. My hair could hide the true size of my skull.” She took the helmet he held out and looked down at it. “So, something I don’t understand. If you’re a vampire, aren’t you supposed to be older than dirt? Both of you seem well-versed in technology.”
Arden crossed his arms over his chest, stretching the material of his shirt over well-developed arms. “First, a vampire who doesn’t adapt to the times is a useless one. We live for a long time. It would be foolish not to grow with the world around us.” He shrugged. “Second, I’m actually relatively young for a vampire since I was made after I grew into adulthood. Made vampires freeze at the age they’re made. Born vampires grow and mature slower but stop aging at a certain point. Phi is the older one, but his father is the oldest in his empire.”
Danica tilted her head. “His father, the king?”
Pausing his actions of beginning to sort through other items, Arden raised his brow at her. “Yes. How astute of you.”
“Shut up,” Danica grunted. “I’m just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. You both know what I have at stake. And yet, I know nothing about what is for the two of you.”
“Ah yes.” Arden scoffed. “Your noble cause to save the children.”
“Don’t mock my humanity,” she grunted, narrowing her eyes at him. “Those kids are innocent, and they’ve been dealt a bad hand in life. Me trying to make that better for them isn’t something to mock.” Danica hadn’t meant to put so much feeling behind the words, but she couldn’t help it. After all, those kids were just as much a part of her life as Leo. They were important, had become important to her, and she was willing to do everything in her power to give them the world their parents hadn’t been able to give them. All they needed was someone to care, and she could care enough for all of them.
Arden met her eyes, growing so still, it belied his vampirism. No human could stand like that. “You’re right,” he admitted after long seconds. “My apologies, little racer. Sometimes, I forget what it’s like to care for something like that.”
“You should never not care,” Danica pointed out.
“I care about few things, I’ll admit.” He shrugged. “One of them is Phi, because he’s my best friend. Another is my power, my influence.”
Danica shook her head. “And here I was starting to think you were a decent man,” she said, pulling the helmet over her head to check the fit. Arden watched as she moved her head one way and the other before holding the sides and sliding the helmet off again. “It fits.”
“Don’t make assumptions about us, little racer,” he warned, falling back into the conversation again. “You’ll be wrong.”
“Will I be?” she asked, setting the helmet to the side, and staring at him. “Or will you just be scared that I can read you?”
He had her pinned against the wall at her back before she could raise her hands. She hardly reacted, expecting the move, but she made sure to raise her hands and press them against his well-developed chest. “A human doesn’t scare me,” he snarled, his hips pressing against hers.
Between them, she could feel his arousal pressing against her, a contradiction to his warning. “And yet, you’re defensive.” Her voice was smug, meant to tease, despite a predator holding her hostage against the wall. Her fingers clenched in his shirt. “How cute.”
“Stop it,” Arden growled, his canines flashing in warning.
“Stop what?” she bit back. “Saying the truth?”
“Danica—”
“Poor little vampire,” Danica sang, teasing him. “Scared of the human, needing the human to win a race so he can be a big bad vampire CEO.”
Strong fingers wrapped around her throat in warning. Canines too long threatened to strike, but Arden held himself back. His fingers just barely squeezed, not even enough to restrict her air flow. He was trying to intimidate her, but it wasn’t working, not when she could see the desire swirling in his eyes.
“You won’t hurt me.” Danica grinned despite his fingers around her throat and him pinning her against the wall. “You need me.”
Arden’s eyes flashed violently, and she could see calculations in that gaze. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I do need you.”
And then his lips were on hers, his canines tucked away, either out of consideration for her or because he’d ultimately decided not to bite her, after all, but Danica had hardly any time to process that. Arden lips moved over hers, and for a moment, she didn’t respond, surprised he’d broken so easily. But then she was kissing him back just as hard as he was kissing her, opening up for his tongue to slip inside. His hand around her neck squeezed just a little, his other hand cupping her hip and holding on. Her own fingers spasmed against his chest as he kissed all her good senses away. Phi was right. Arden was an asshole, but God, he could kiss.
Arden pulled back after a moment and met her eyes. His chest rattled against her panting breathes, but he didn’t lean forward again. “I do need you, little racer, but I need for us to win this race more. So, buckle up and win. Our very lives depend on it.”
His words broke through the haze of his kiss, and she blinked.
Our very lives depend on it.
“Wait, what?”
But Arden was already gone, leaving her standing in the equipment room with a scowl and a flushed face.