When Lucius had tried to send me away the day before, I was terrified. Where would I go? Why would I leave after working so hard to get here?

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I'd be screwed either way.

Even if I stayed, even if I lived long enough to get my degree, what would happen once I graduated?

It wasn't like I had a job already lined up.

Sure, there'd probably be ample opportunity to put my marine biology degree to use if I stayed in the Pacific Northwest... but where would I live in the meantime?

I'd be homeless. Just like I would be if I left now.

So why wait? Why delay the inevitable?

"Come to spy on me again, Miss Ridley?"

Nero's voice pulled me from my reverie. It was playful, yet cautious, like he was almost afraid of my response. My heart skipped a beat as I looked up to see him standing at the waters edge, completely naked.

"Oh God!" I turned my back to him, flushing a searing scarlet. "I'm so sorry. I swear to God I wasn't trying to creep on you!"

"Again?"

I could hear the half-hearted smirk in his tone.

Too embarrassed to speak, I started to head back to the university, when Nero halted me.

"Wait. Please?"

I stopped, but kept my back to him.

"I just wanted to say thanks." He paused, the sound of fabric quietly flapping filling the silence. "You know, for saving my life."

My stomach fluttered; warmth traveled south at the memory of him feeding from me. I shook my head, fighting the desire that suddenly pooled deep in my belly.

"I also wanted to apologize." He sounded closer now; mere feet away compared to the couple of yards he'd been at before. "I'm sorry for leading you on the other day. I'm sorry for not getting to you in time when you were attacked."

He was inches away from me now, but I couldn't bring myself to turn around.

He was still naked. And with the way I was feeling--confused. Miserable. Horny-- Nero's glorious nudity would have surely been my undoing.

"Miss Ridley... Audrey, please, look at me." His voice was soft, coaxing. "I've put a towel on, if that makes you feel any better."

I shook my head briefly.

"You don't have to thank me," my mouth was dry, my voice raspy. "And you don't have to apologize; the attack wasn't your fault. And as far as you leading me on goes... you were right."

You're a distraction. The Dean, Aiden and Duke--they can't think straight when you're around.

His words from the other day still stung, but he hadn't been wrong.

I took a deep breath and turned to gaze up at him. "Not about what you did, but what you said. I am a distraction. And I'm afraid that if I stay, someone will get hurt...or worse."

"If you stay?" His brows furrowed. "You're leaving?"

"What choice do I have?"

"You could stay here...with us..." His amethyst eyes searched mine, hopeful and frightened.

"What, and risk one of you killing me? Or, killing someone else because my blood drove you insane?" I sounded harsher than I meant to, so I added, softly, "you're vampires, Nero. Vampires! You can't help what you are, but I can help how you react to my blood... by taking myself out of the equation."

"Please, you can't."

"Can't I? I may just be your prey; the human equivalent of a Caprisun to you guys, but I can still think for myself."

"No," Nero closed the short gap between us, clasping my shoulders. "You're so much more than that."

"Oh, you mean the whole "queen" thing?" I shot back, using air quotes.

He gave me a stern look. "I couldn't give a shit less about that."

"Then, why? Why do you want me to stay?"

"Because I..." He faltered, seemingly lost for words.

"See?" I whispered, taking his hands off me. "You can't think of a good reason at all."

His hands fell limply to his sides as his head bowed.

I hated to see Nero look so defeated, but this was for the best. Everyone would be much better off without me here, tempting the vampires, making them crazy with my blood.

At least, that's what I had to keep telling myself.

Turning on my heel, I started to head back to the university, when Nero said something that shook me to the core.

"What did you say?" I whipped around to gawk at him, heart hammering.

There was absolutely no way he said that. I had to have misheard him.

"I love you." He repeated, loudly.

You'd have thought he'd grown three heads, I was staring at him so hard.

No one had said that to me. Ever. Not any of my foster parents, or the guy who'd given me my first kiss. I wasn't even sure if my real parents got to say it to me before they died.

Which was why I didn't believe him.

"N-no," I stammered. "No, you can't lo--" I stopped, unable to say the word. "You can't feel that way about me."

"Why not?"

He asked, coming toward me.

"Because we barely know each other?" He stopped a couple of inches from me, and licked his lips. "Because you're my prey?"

My heartbeat resonated all the way down.

"Nero," my breathing was shallow, voice barely above a whisper.

He pulled me to him, chest heaving as hard as mine. Then, our lips met with teeth-clashing ferocity.

My whole body came alive, hot and tingly, under the weight of his kiss.

His tongue danced with mine; tasting, probing, melting away every ounce of tension that clung to me.

He pulled away abruptly, and kissed me behind my ear.

"I."

He kissed down my neck, on the uninjured side.

"Love."

He gave my collarbone a sharp nip.

"You."

His tongue grazed the hollow at the base of my throat, dragging a frustrated moan out of me.

What he was doing felt good, really good. But I couldn't handle the weight those three little words carried.

So I pushed him away. Literally.

"What's wrong?" He looked bewildered, lips red from the intensity of our kiss.

"I told you." I leaned back against a damp tree to catch my bearings. "You can't feel that way about me."

"Why not? What's so bad about me loving you?"

He wasn't going to let this go, at least not willingly.

I knew that if I accepted what he was saying, I wouldn't leave. And if I didn't leave, it would only be a matter of time before one of the vampires drank my blood again.

And if that happened, they may not recover from the madness of their bloodlust until it was too late.

"Because I'm just a little girl who's too damn nosey for her own good." I finally said, using Nero's own words against him. "You shouldn't love a troublemaker like me; someone you have to save from her own meddlesome ways."

"Audrey," he whispered, breathless. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that."

The look on his face hurt way worse than I thought it would. But I couldn't back down now, not if wanted him to let me go.

"Yeah, well, you can't take it back." I turned away from him, no longer able to take the pain I was causing him. "So, don't worry about keeping me safe anymore. I'll save you the trouble."

I trudged off after that, teary eyed, and cursing myself.

I just need to find Lucius. I thought, morosely. He can get me off the island.