Immortal Hearts (Vampire Kisses 9)

"So Luna and Jagger sleep here?" she asked as she looked up at the huge abandoned factory. Large windows were missing and, from the alley, one could see discarded boxes filling some of the rooms.

"Yes," Alexander replied.

"The Maxwells don't have an apartment?" she asked.

"I think they feel this is their apartment."

"I want to sleep here, too!"

We waited at the end of a small line that had formed. When we reached the entrance, the burly security guard looked us over and took a moment when he saw Stormy.

"Is this your sister?" he asked me.

"No. She's his sister."

"I would have sworn you two were sisters," he said, gesturing to Stormy and me. "The same hair, the same style." I was flattered, but I wasn't sure if Stormy felt the same. I glanced over to catch her expression, and she had a huge grin on her face. I was hoping she wasn't just being polite.

We stepped into the club, and Stormy was entranced by her new environment.

"This is stellar!"

Among the crowd of clubsters, it was obvious that Stormy was the youngest one in attendance. I was proud to be in the company of Alexander and his sister. It felt so amazing to be walking into a fabulously morbid dance club in Dullsville in the company of my vampire boyfriend and his younger vampire sibling. It wasn't something I'd ever imagined happening - and here I was doing it.

"Look at all the tombstones," she said, pointing to the walls. "I feel so at home." That was exactly how I felt. It was like I was standing next to a younger version of myself.

"Where's Luna?" Stormy asked. "I want to see her."

"We have plenty of time to run into her," Alexander answered. "Raven and I will show you around."

"Yes, look over here," I said to Stormy. I led her to the coffins Jagger had in the corner of the club. Several clubsters were lying inside and mugging for their friends.

"Aren't these awesome?" I asked enthusiastically.

As soon as I said that, I realized how mundane these were to her. For the mortals in Dullsville, this was freaky and fun. But Stormy always slept in a coffin. It was like someone being excited to show me beds at a mattress factory. And on top of that, she couldn't even be photographed. I'd missed the mark on two vampire poin K valigts.

"Uh ... cute," she said politely.

I rolled my eyes at myself and led her back to Alexander.

"Did you find Luna?" she asked.

"No," Alexander answered. "She's not that fond of me, you know."

I was surprised how clueless Alexander was about Luna. And I was surprised she wasn't draping herself all over him the moment I left him unattended. I thought she might be hanging out by the bar with Romeo, so I guided us away from that area to give us more of a chance to be together.

Just then I spotted Scarlet and Becky talking at the edge of the dance floor.

"Where are your better halves?" I asked.

"Practice," Scarlet said, obviously bummed.

"Aren't they always practicing?" I whined.

"Aren't they always practicing?" I whined.

"Yes," Becky replied. "That's why they are so good."

"Is this Stormy?" Scarlet asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" I wondered.

"Luna mentioned she was coming tonight. I'm Scarlet," she said, turning to the younger Sterling.

"Pleased to meet you," Stormy said, extending her hand, which Scarlet shook.

"Wow, she's so cute and polite," Scarlet said.

Alexander beamed proudly.

"And I'm Becky," Becky said, extending her hand to Alexander's sister.

"Becky has been my best friend since third grade," I said to Stormy as the two shook hands.

Stormy eyed us both as if she didn't believe me. I guessed it might seem weird to a stranger, since Becky and I were polar opposites in appearance.

"Why don't we all dance?" Scarlet asked.

Just then Sebastian found us. "Hey, girl!" he said, and swooped Stormy up in his arms. Even though she clearly wanted to be treated like an adult, Sebastian grabbed her like she was a child, and she shrieked in his embrace as if she was one.

nt size?"How are you?" he asked, setting her down.

"I'm fabulous," she said.

"Still have those braces?" he teased.

"Yes, but I'll be getting them off soon."

"I think I like them on you. Those purple and black bands are sexy!"

Stormy giggled with delight.

Jagger spotted us from the bar and gave a polite wave to Stormy.

Stormy didn't know how to respond. She hung next to Alexander and Sebastian as he headed over to us.

"It's okay," Alexander said. "Remember, our feud is over."

"I don't trust him," she said with a whisper. "I never have."

"So we have a guest here?" Jagger said, his green and blue eyes shining down at her.

"Yes, Stormy came to visit me," Alexander said.

"And one of her first stops was this club?" Jagger asked, pleased.

Alexander reluctantly nodded his head.

"She came to dance with me," Sebastian said.

Jagger shot him a glare but turned his attention back to Stormy. "Well then, you've come to the right place. What do you think of it?"

"I love it!" she said genuinely.

Jagger beamed with pride. "I thought this town needed something like this to give it some life."

"Well, it sure has," I chimed in. "You are doing so well here."

"I'm glad you think so," he said. "And I'm hoping the club will get even better." He eyed me with a lingering stare. It made me slightly anxious; I wasn't sure what he meant by the comment.

"Is Luna here?" Stormy asked Jagger.

"Yes, she's buzzing about here somewhere. I know she was looking forward to seeing you."

"I can't wait to see her," Stormy said eagerly.

"I saw he a few minutes ago. I think she was talking to Romeo. They are quite the item, you know," he said specifically to Sebastian.

Sebastian glared at Jagger, who slipped into the crowd. Then Sebastian turned to Stormy. "So am I going to get that dance?" he asked, offering his hand.

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Hey - " Scarlet said. "We asked her first."

"Fine, why don't we all dance?" Sebastian winked at Onyx, who couldn't help but smile.

"That sounds like fun," Stormy said. Just as they started for the dance floor, I saw pink hair bobbing our way. Within a few moments, she broke through the crowd and there stood Luna in all her glory.