'That's Ryan. He'd invite everybody in Malibu if they'd fit in the house,' Brad said with a grin. 'Belle has this whole system of cla.s.sifying guys by what kind of dog they'd be if they were dogs, and she says Ryan's a golden retriever: likes everyone, everyone likes him.'

I guess if Dani has to date a vampire, it's good that he's also a golden retriever, Jason thought wryly.

'I'm heading back inside. I want to dance with a go-go girl. Those wings they make me nuts,' Brad said. 'And I am a single guy again. You coming?'

'In a while,' Jason answered. He wasn't ready to paste a smile on his face and dive back into the crowd. He grabbed a beer and headed down to the beach, scrambling down the cliffside to the sand.

It was deserted, which was unusual for a DeVere Heights party. Generally the beach was the main event. But it was chilly out tonight, and Ryan's house didn't have stairs down to the sand. It was probably just as well that people weren't clambering down the cliff drunk. Jason took a breath of crisp nighttime air and walked down to the sea. A little way further along the sh.o.r.e, a few boulders were scattered at the waterline, the black ocean lapping gently at their bases.

The real moon sailed high in the sky, casting a silver glow over the sand and turning the water to shiny obsidian. Jason had never seen the Pacific so calm before. He walked for awhile, making for the boulders. It was nice to be away from the noise and the heat of the party.

He skirted the boulders. And, suddenly, there she was. Waist-deep in the water, the moon glinting softly off her dark hair: Sienna.

She trailed one pale hand through the still ocean, dragging ripples of silver in her wake.

Jason stood still, afraid to move. Afraid to breathe. Afraid to ruin the perfection that was Sienna at that moment.

Then she turned toward him, as if she felt his eyes on her. She started to smile as she took a step closer to sh.o.r.e. Then she froze. He could tell she was remembering the new rules too.

Just friends, a voice whispered in his head. Friends. But the adrenalin coursing through his veins told a different story.

They just stood there. Both staring. Then Sienna moved forward, just a tiny bit, a small step toward Jason.

That's all it took. Jason was moving toward her, running into the ocean. She held out her arms as he reached her, and he pulled her up against him. Her mouth was on his, hot and wet and perfect.

Some small part of Jason's brain was still telling him this shouldn't be happening. That he should stop it. But that was an impossibility. Take his hands off her warm skin? Take his mouth away from her lips? Complete impossibility.

He didn't care what happened. All that mattered was now: this minute, this night. He and Sienna alone on the beach together.

Ten.

'I'M SORRY'. SIENNA backed away from Jason, fingers pressed to her lips.

'Don't,' he told her. 'Don't say you're sorry. Not for that.'

Sienna smiled. 'You're right. We don't have anything to apologize for. You go to a party, you have some drinks, you end up kissing one of your friends, right?'

'Right,' Jason said. 'This pretty much falls into the friend category. That punch Ryan's dishing out is lethal. I'm surprised I didn't end up kissing Adam.'

Sienna laughed. A completely fake laugh.

'Although I guess I'd have had to wait in line. Belle has made it her mission to find Adam his dream girl,' Jason added. Why am I talking about Adam when I'm finally alone with Sienna? he thought.

'It's good for her,' Sienna answered. 'It keeps her mind off Dom.' She looked down at the ground, like she was fascinated by the sand at her feet.

'So, we're good, right?' Jason asked, because it didn't feel exactly like they were.

'We're good. We're friends. Everything is . . . it's OK,' Sienna murmured, eyes still on the ground.

He wasn't finding it easy looking at her, either. Not standing so close. Not when he could still feel that kiss.

'Do you think anyone saw?' Jason asked.

Sienna glanced nervously up and down the beach. 'I doubt it. There's no cover anywhere. If anyone else was out here, we'd see them, right?'

'Right,' Jason said. 'We're alone.'

They stared at each other for a moment.

'I need to go home,' Sienna said in a rush. 'I'm going to take the beach route. I'll . . . I'll see you at school, Jason.' She turned around and hurried away from him.

'Wait!' Jason called.

Sienna looked over her shoulder.

'Let me walk you,' he offered.

Sienna just stared at him.

'Except how stupid would that be? Me walking you to your house where your parents live,' Jason continued.

'Pretty stupid,' Sienna said softly. She started away again, her arms wrapped tightly around her body.

'Wait!' Jason called again. He couldn't stop himself. 'At least take my sweater. You look like you're freezing.' He didn't even know if vampires felt the cold the way humans did, but she looked cold, the way she was rubbing her arms with her hands. Maybe she was just feeling uncomfortable, already regretting what they'd done.

'Here.' Jason tossed her the sweater. He didn't trust himself to get close enough to hand it to her. Not without kissing her again.

Sienna wrapped the sweater around her shoulders. 'It smells like you,' she told him. 'And you always look after me make me feel safe,' she added dreamily, almost as if she were talking to herself. 'I love that.'

Jason smiled; he didn't know what to say.

Sienna shook herself out of the daydream. 'It's late,' she said. 'I'll see you at school.'

At school. In a group of people. Where they would never be alone together again.

I'm not doing Lonely Guy Standing on the Beach, Jason told himself as he watched Sienna hurry away. He turned and climbed up the cliff, got himself another beer, and re-entered party central. Which had turned into make-out central while he'd been gone. It seemed like every available s.p.a.ce was taken up by groping couples. He couldn't take it. He was out of there. But first he needed to tell Dani.

He did a pa.s.s through the ground floor. Didn't see her. Although he definitely noticed Adam. His friend was holding court on the big leather couch, surrounded by about six girls, all of them giggling at something he'd said. Belle sat next to him, grinning.

Jason left him to it and headed upstairs. The first door he opened was a screening room. Of course. What Malibu mansion was complete without one? The credits of what looked like the Snakes on a Plane sequel were rolling. A moment later, the lights came up.

'Jason, you missed a great movie!' Dani exclaimed when she spotted him.

It seemed like Dani had missed a great movie too considering that about half of her lipstick had ended up on Ryan Patrick's mouth.

'I'm heading home,' Jason told her. 'Are you coming?'

'I guess so,' Dani answered. 'Ryan's parents are going to be home soon, anyway. They don't want things to run too late.'

'Thanks for the invite,' Jason said to Ryan.

'Any time,' Ryan answered with a grin. 'Don't forget to grab your gift bags. They're laid out in the front hall.' He reached over and kissed Dani lightly on the lips. 'Goodnight,' he said softly, and Dani smiled.

I guess he definitely is her don't-want-to-talk-about-it guy, Jason thought. Well, at least Brad seems to think he's decent. h.e.l.l, he even looks like a golden retriever with all that blond hair and the big brown eyes.

Jason half turned to give them some privacy while they said their goodbyes. Then Dani joined him. They grabbed their gift bags and headed home.

'Ooooh. b.u.mble and b.u.mble products. I love b.u.mble and b.u.mble,' Dani cooed, peering into the bag. 'And the new Killers CD. It's not supposed to drop for a month and a half. How extreme is that? A toe ring. I guess that's why they divided the bags into girls and guys.'

Jason tuned his sister out. He couldn't stop thinking about Dani and Ryan. It was kind of strange that they hadn't even tried to hide the fact that they'd been making out. Then again, he thought, most of the other vampires don't hide their make-out sessions, either. And with that, a sickening thought sliced into Jason's head. Has Ryan been drinking my sister's blood?

Jason staggered downstairs around noon the next morning. Head pounding, eyes blurry, stomach churning. He knew he shouldn't have mixed that punch with . . . well, he shouldn't have drunk that punch, period.

'You're up early,' Dani teased. She had all kinds of c.r.a.p for what seemed like a diorama laid out in front of her on the coffee table. Happy Days blared from the TV.

'Does that have to be so loud?' Jason asked.

Dani took the volume down a few levels. 'Better?'

Jason grunted as he sank down on the couch. 'What are you doing anyway?' He nodded toward her project.

'Designing a set for one of the scenes in A Midsummer Night's Dream. English a.s.signment,' she answered.

'You're doing homework? Now?' Just speaking and breathing was all Jason could handle after the party. 'Didn't you get dented last night?'

'Nope. Having too much fun with Ryan,' Dani replied.

Jason squinted at her, trying to figure out if she'd been fed on or not. If she had, she should still be feeling happy, but not the cheerful, energetic happy she was demonstrating; woozy happy, what-did-I-do-last-night? happy.

'What movie were you guys watching last night, anyway?' Jason asked, to test her memory.

'Some straight-to-DVD spoof of Snakes on a Plane,' Dani said. 'It's so stupid. That movie was practically a spoof to begin with.'

So, memory OK.

Jason watched as Dani carefully glued a tree to the bottom of a cardboard box. Manual dexterity OK.

'My head feels like a balloon full of whipped cream and rocks,' Jason told her. 'You're sure you're feeling all right?'

Dani looked up at him and smiled. 'Jason, if you want to know if Ryan drank my blood last night, just ask.'

Eleven.

'WHAT?' JASON SPLUTTERED.

'Ryan didn't feed from me,' Dani said calmly. 'He would never do that.'

Jason gazed at his sister in astonishment.

She stared right back at him. 'You might want to close your mouth,' she suggested. 'You look like a goldfish.'

'I can't believe you!' Jason finally burst out. 'You know? You know about the . . .'

'Vampires?' Dani finished for him. 'Well, I do now. Although I hear you've known for ages.' She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. 'Thanks for clueing me in.'

Jason shook his head and gave a little laugh, still reeling. 'Sorry.'

'Why didn't you tell me?'

'It was a secret,' Jason explained. 'And it wasn't my secret to tell.'

'But you told Adam, right?' Dani demanded. 'Ryan says Adam knows all about them.'

'Actually, Adam told me,' Jason explained. 'He'd already done tons of vampire research before I even met him.'

'So all this time, you knew what was going on and I didn't.' Dani took a seat next to him on the sofa, abandoning her project. 'No wonder you never backed me up about all the parties Mom and Dad wouldn't let me go to.'

'I was afraid somebody would feed on you,' Jason admitted. 'It happened once, you know, before I knew about the vampires.'

Dani's expression grew clouded. 'Yeah, I thought so. I mean, not at the time, but once Ryan told me how it all works. I looked back and realized . . .'

'Me too.' Jason thought about Erin Henry and how she'd once fed on him at a party. 'It's not the worst feeling in the world.'

'True,' Dani agreed with a grin.

'But afterwards, when you know what really went on, it's a little weird.'

Dani nodded. 'Do you and Sienna . . .? Do you let her drink your blood?' she asked.

'No. Well, I did once,' Jason told her. 'But only because she needed it. She was dying.'

'Wow! Romantic!' Dani exclaimed.