Torn - Abigail Livinghouse (top 100 books of all time checklist .txt) 📗

back on the couch that we had been sharing.

 

“I see you’ve met Kyla”, Pearce said, walking over to my side and giving me a questioning look. I scowled back, then looked to Liam, who was getting to his feet.

 

“Well, I’m tired, think I’m gonna hit the sack.” He said.

 

Without warning, he reached out and touched a lock of my hair. I flinched away, accidentally moving closer to Pearce, who gripped my arm firmly. His touch brought goose-bumps to my skin. I knew vampires were unnaturally cold beings, but his touch was like ice, even through my long-sleeved shirt.

 

“Don’t touch her.” Pearce said, his voice as sharp and cutting as a knife. However Liam did not flinch. He only laughed.

 

“Don’t worry bro, I know she’s yours. Good night then”, he said, nudging Pearce on the shoulder as he left. I raised my eyebrows at him.

 

“I’m yours?” I asked, my tone surprised and a bit angry. They talked about me like I was an object that someone owned. I was a person, not a freaking prize to be won or lost. And why would they even be trying was what I’d like to know. Pearce’s face was dark, and grew darker as I spoke.

 

“What do you mean ‘I’m yours’ Pearce?” I asked again. His eyes that were already a dark gray, narrowed into black slits.

 

“Liam’s just talking shit. Don’t worry about him.” He said, releasing my arm finally and beginning to turn away. I gripped his shoulder.

 

“No. I want to know.” I said, leaning closer. “What was he talking about?”

 

Pearce eyed me for a moment, analyzing my face as if he was looking for something. I suppose he found it, because with a deep breath he took my wrist. “C’mon.”

 

He began leading me away and up one of the large staircases. I followed, asking myself if I had lost my mind. First I’m avoiding him and now I’m following him upstairs and away from everyone? Being alone with Pearce was no safer than being in a room filled with vampires. I shook my head as we came into the hall with all the bedrooms. My heart picked up speed as we came down to my room.

 

“Why are we here?” I asked as he shut the door behind us.

 

“So that no one will hear us.” He said, however knowing immortals’ sharp hearing, they would hear us even if we whispered. Pearce must know that too, but he didn’t say anything. Apparently he just wanted privacy. But for what?

 

The hammering of my heart grew louder and faster as Pearce moved closer. I must have bipolar disorder, after avoiding and hating vampires all my life, now even though I knew it was wrong, that I had run away from my family and the life I knew just for the sake of my own life, I knew that I wanted him. And I wanted him now. I swallowed, clenching my fists, suddenly overtaken by the desire to touch him, to feel if his pale skin was as smooth as it looked. He began to speak, and I struggled to keep up with how quickly he was talking.

 

“He meant that you were mine and that I was yours. Ever heard of mates?” He asked, and my throat seemed to dry up at the word. Yes, I knew of mates. That one other that vampires spent their whole lives with. When Trine and I hunted, if we took out a female or male who had a mate, then that mate would come after us seeking revenge. Vampires could hold a grudge that could last an eternity. I nodded. He continued.

 

“Well, many believe that you are my mate.” He said. I scowled, my desire for him ebbing as my curiosity took over.

 

“What do you believe?” I asked. He hesitated a moment, his face darkening once again. After about a moment of thought, he looked back up at me.

 

“I don’t know. It’s very possible. Everything is different for me now that I’ve met you. The world is brighter, the night clearer, for me, life has taken on a whole new meaning. Kyla”, he took another step forward, so that we were now inches apart.

 

“Things have changed for me.” He said, in a lower voice this time, reaching out and cradling my face in his palm. I looked into his eyes, and they seemed to swallow me up. Any resistance I had melted away as his eyes melted me. I licked my lips.

 

“Is it a good change or a bad one?” I whispered.

 

Pearce grinned. “Both.” He said, and then he kissed me. 

Chapter Seven

This kiss was just as fierce as the last one, if not even more intense. Pearce’s arms circled around me, holding me close to him, so close. However for me it was not close enough. I grabbed onto his hair, wanting him to hold me tighter as our tongues began to touch. He shoved me against him, gladly tighter. He lifted me up as my legs went around his waist. He held me in his arms as we kissed. I could feel our bodies moving together, and our lips quickly trying to keep up with each other’s movements. At some point we fell onto something soft, which I think was either the bed or the couch. Either way, it didn’t stop the kiss, which was so long that I had to break it just to breathe.

 

My face was hot and probably bright red, my heart was slamming into my ribcage so hard I was afraid it would jump out of my chest. My hair was tangled and my eyes wide with surprise and shock at myself. I looked at Pearce. His hair was messy from my hands, and his eyes were dark gray, lighter than they were before. His breathing was also erratic, even though he had no need to breathe. I could not feel but a slight rush of déjà vu.

 

This was just like outside my village. Shock, surprise, and both of us ending up in a complete mess. The good thing was though, we didn’t have to run this time. This was exactly how the kiss near the Outlands had happened. But this time it was Pearce declaring that he felt changed, not me. I swallowed and looked up at Pearce, who was smiling at me with his head cocked to one side.

 

“What?” I asked, sitting up and noticing that we were in fact on the bed. I began smoothing my hair, knowing that I must look horrible. “What is it?” I said again.

 

He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just amazed.” He said. I nodded, raising an eyebrow.

 

“At who?” I asked. He shrugged.

 

“You, myself. A lot of things.” He inhaled through his nose, sighing. “You smell so good.” He said, closing his eyes.

 

“I do?” I asked. I had never worn perfume or any kind of expensive non-necessity like that. “How do I smell?” I asked him, my curiosity piquing again. He opened his eyes and looked at me, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

 

“Sweet. But also pure, like rain. It’s intoxicating.” He said, his brow wrinkling at the end of his sentence. I scowled.

 

“Is it hard?” I asked him.

 

“Is what hard?”

 

“Well, I know you drink human blood. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you’re going to go against your nature.” I said.

 

Even though his nature disgusted me and probably always will, I decided that I could do nothing about it. Bitching about something that is unchangeable won’t get you anywhere. You either have to accept it or just leave it alone. Pearce sighed, almost in exasperation. Like he was teaching a lesson to someone who should’ve learned it by now.

 

“It’s very hard. Emotionally and physically. You see Kyla, I was human once. I am not a natural vampire like some in this house. Miramar for example, she is not a natural vampire either. Liam though, he is. But I’ve been human. I know the life that humans live, not having to worry about hurting someone with your strength or scaring them with the way you look, with the alien beauty.” He shook his head.

 

“Not having the pain. The urge to kill just to feed your own life. The craving for something that will hurt another but help you. I would give anything to be like I once was.” He said, his voice trailing off as if in a question, asking what could’ve been. I crossed my legs, sitting up straighter.

 

“Tell me more about you.” I said, not just because I was curious about Pearce himself but I also wanted to know more about a vampire’s nature. There’s only so much our history books back home have to offer. He seemed to understand this. He nodded.

 

“Well, first things first there are natural born vampires, like Liam, and then there are humans who have been bitten and turned into vampires like me. Immortals, who were not born the way they are presently, are frozen forever at the age of their transformation, but natural vampires age as old as they want to, until they want to halt the aging process and stay the same age the rest of their lives. The only problem with that is, once you halt the process, it can’t be picked up again. If you halt it at the age of five per se, then you will remain a five year old child for all eternity. So, being a natural vampire has its ups and downs. But a changed vampire is a bit different. Natural ones can eat human food, digest it, and then expel it. They can cry, generate saliva, and they even have heartbeats. They don’t really need oxygen, but prefer it. It becomes irritating for them not to breathe for hours at a time, however it’s possible. But I as a changed vampire, do not eat human food, cannot cry, and my heart is still.”

 

I interrupted him then. “But I saw you. You had food and you ate it.”

 

He shook his head. “No. I merely get the food like everyone else. I usually end up giving it away to some of the Naturals in the house. That’s what we call natural born vampires. We’re called Transforms, since we weren’t born this way and we were transformed into what we are now.” He said, clarifying. I nodded for him to keep going.

 

“All vampires generate venom though. Our venom is what incapacitates our prey. They do not suffer when we bite them, the venom is actually numbing, and blocks the pain so that they feel nothing. It is a painless death for them, but it’s still death.” He sighed, looking at a spot near my shoulder. He took another breath and then went on.

 

“Some of us, Naturals and Transforms alike, wondered if there was a different way for us to live without having to take lives. So, we began hunting animals. Not as satisfying, but it keeps us going just as well as human blood does.”

 

“So you found an alternative?” I asked, interrupting again.

 

He nodded. “Yes. And it is much better. It’s given most of us more peace.”

 

I cocked an eyebrow, catching something that he had said. “Most?”

 

Pearce shrugged. “I may be an alternate killer but I’m still a killer, Kyla.”

 

I pursed my lips, for there was nothing I could say. He was right, he