Read Vampire U for Free Online

refused to say why.  He'd suggested that strange things were happening at Romanus University, dangling the hint in front of me like a piece of red meat.  Could he help me find the missing pieces of a puzzle I could barely see?
    Something pulled my eyes up to the room's high ceilings, where a dark fresco depicted erotic scenes that looked uncomfortably similar to the couples groping in the halls.  A long balcony spanned the room's perimeter, its walkway concealed in the shadows behind a rail of wrought iron.
    Standing at the rail, Mander stared down at the party, immaculate in a black suit and a silk tie that stood out like a vivid red slash.  When I saw him, a wave of intense relief swept over me, like a woman drowning in dark water when her flailing hand grasps the side of a lifeboat.  I immediately felt a flare of irritation; I wasn't some moon-eyed girl to fall head over heels for the first frat boy to pay attention to her.  But Mander wasn't like the rest of these guys.  Or so I told myself.
    He turned his gaze to me a moment later, as though he'd only been waiting for me to notice him.  Pinpoints of light from the chandeliers sparkled in his dark eyes, but his smile was warm and welcoming.  He gestured toward the far end of the ballroom, where I saw a narrow staircase tucked into a dark corner.
    I made a beeline for the stairs, but Alex, the tall brute from the hallway, blocked my path.  "If you're going up there, you need a brother to accompany you," he said.
    I swallowed, trying not to show fear, but Alex seemed to sense my unease, to feed on it.  He stepped closer, filling my nostrils with a primal odor that made me think of lust and violence.  A wild thought flashed through my head - an image of me ripping off Alex's clothes and straddling him as his thick fingers tore at her dress.  I blinked, shocked that such a thought would even occur to me.  It felt as though someone else had hijacked my brain.
    Alex glared at me, and his lip curled up in a snarl as I stepped back.  He closed in until we stood just inches apart, our bodies almost touching.  His eyes burned with intensity, locked on mine like a cobra about to strike its prey.  "I could take you up there," Alex said, his voice soft and soothing.  "Or we could go someplace else... someplace private."
    "I..."  My voice sounded faraway, numb.  I wanted to say yes, to let this big frat boy take me wherever he wanted.  Do whatever he wanted.  Then another voice cut like a razor through the cobwebs that lay over my brain.
    "She's with me, Alex."
    A dark cloud of rage rolled across Alex's face as he turned to the staircase.  Mander Deslauriers stood on the landing, his hands behind his back.  Mander's relaxed posture reminded me of a panther lounging on a branch as he faced his larger fraternity brother, but his eyes were sharp, hard, and steady.
    I could feel trouble in the air, like the crackling energy before lightning strikes.  But Alex just laughed, a dark and ugly sound.  "All yours...  bro.”   He spat the last word like a curse.
    Alex stalked off, and the crowd seemed to part for him like a school of fish making way for a shark.  Mander gestured for me to come closer, but he didn't take his eyes off Alex until the bigger man pushed through the double doors at the far end of the ballroom.  "My apologies," Mander said.  "Some guys get a little aggressive after a few shots."
    I tried to calm my shaking nerves.  "And how many shots have you had?"  My voice trembled.  Alex had scared me, not because of his attitude, but because my mind hadn't felt like my own until he walked away.  And it still didn't, I realized, only now it was Mander's presence that pulled at me, as subtle and persistent as gravity.  Despite his strangeness, a part of me wanted him, and with my heart still racing from the encounter with Alex, I felt bold.
    Mander smiled, and a dimple appeared in the hollow of his cheek.  "Enough to take chances, but not enough