When the kiss finally ended, Shane had a drugged, vague look in his eyes, and he seemed to have trouble letting go of her. Even Claire's parents had gotten genuine attention: he'd gone with her to see them twice, with exit permission from the vampires, and he'd been earnest and steady even under her father's stern cross-examination. Eve, his other (nonvampire) best friend (and Claire's best friend, too). Was still struggling.īut he'd worked so hard to make it up - not just to her, but to everyone he felt he'd let down. Shane had dark streaks, and he'd struggled with them. stumbled, was the best way she could think of it. The lovely joy of that released a burst of bubbles inside her, bubbles full of happiness. I get the point.'Ĭlaire turned in his arms and kissed him, a sweet burst of heat as their lips met. What exactly are you saying? That I'm not brave or something?' 'In case you're worried, I'm not girly-scared or anything.' 'I know I don't have to do it,' she said. but he hadn't always been on the vampires' side, at the time. The popular wisdom - and it wasn't wrong - was that she'd already given enough blood to Morganville. Shane was entirely right: Claire had a legal document that said she was free from the responsibility of donations. The third way was by force, in the dark, when you ventured out un-Protected and got bitten. Taxes in Morganville were collected three ways: the polite way, via the collection center downtown, or the not-so-polite way, when the Bloodmobile showed up like a sleek black shark at your front door, with Men in Black - style 'technicians' to ensure you did your civic duty. 'Okay, then, you don't have to do this because you're tax-exempt.'īy tax-exempt, he meant that she didn't have to pay.

'Well, you don't have to be here,' he pointed out - not for the first time today. 'You got the overdue notice, didn't you? It's this or they come to collect. He was taller than she was, so he had to bend to rest his chin on her shoulder and whisper, 'You sure about this?'Ĭlaire nodded. Her boyfriend's body felt solid and safe, and his arms went around her, wrapping her in comfort. Shane's lips felt like velvet against the nape of her neck, and Claire shivered in delight as his breath warmed the skin there.

Last Breath by Rachel Caine