by V. Vaughn
He gives me a tired smile as he moves out of my embrace. "You should get some sleep, my dear. Nine o'clock will come early."
I nod as I stand. "Good night, Sebastian."
"Good night, Margaret."
After I get in bed, I stare up at the ceiling and think about what I just said to Sebastian. It's true. Even though my life is in peril since I'm living with vampires, and I had no idea how dangerous working for the Hart brothers would be, the idea of death knocking on my door isn't a new concept for me. Even though I have a new heart, I'm not going to live to my golden years, and I'm glad the time I've got isn't going to be mundane. So while my love life is a mess, and I've got a vampire who thinks messing with me is a good way to send Sebastian messages of his evil intentions, I've also got an exciting life as Kitty Kane. And that's what I'm going to focus on so I can get some sleep.
5
Maggie
I sip on a cup of decaf coffee and wish it were caffeinated as I let out another yawn. I have a low-grade headache and feel off, as if I were the one who drank too much last night. Sebastian's newspaper rustles as he glances over the top of it at me. "You can nap in the car, Margaret."
I take in his appearance, and it pisses me off that he looks fine. "How is it you don't have a hangover and I feel like crap?"
His coffee cup clinks against the saucer as he sets it down. "Vampires have a high tolerance for alcohol. Perhaps you did overdo it."
I poke at my eggs and force myself to take another bite for the protein. "I had a beer at dinner and half of a drink late last night. This isn't from alcohol." All the warning bells of getting sick are ringing in my head, though, and I have that familiar ache in my stomach I used to get from the fear of another hospital stay. Even though I haven't had to be hospitalized since my transplant, maybe I have been overdoing it. I know I need sleep, regular exercise, and moderate eating. I also know that alcohol consumption is discouraged, and since I started living with the Harts, I drink at least a glass of wine almost every night and eat more than I used to. My snug clothing agrees.
It's time to get my health back on track, and while most of today will be spent at two book signings, leaving me no time for exercise, I can abstain from drinking as well as eat less. My plate scrapes against the table as I push it away, and I get up to shower and pack up in time to leave.
When we hit the road, I do take a nap, and I wake when we arrive at my first book signing of the day feeling much better. I'm on my own at this one since the sun is out, but it's a small shop, and I'm confident I can handle things without Sebastian.
A bell over the door jingles when I enter the bookstore, and I'm greeted by a plump woman with red hair that refuses to be contained by the pins trying to hold it on top of her head. "You must be Kitty. Goodness, you're even prettier in real life."
"Thank you. You must be Joan." I glance around the quaint space. Books are on shelves reaching the ceiling, and comfortable couches and chairs are placed in two rows set in a semicircle. A large brown leather chair faces them. "What a lovely shop this is."
"I'm glad you like it. I hope you don't mind cozy."
While I've done a reading before, the questions didn't feel as intimate as I think they will today, because the setting makes it appear as if we're in a living room. "Not at all. I'm used to a table with lines. This is going to be a lot more fun."
"Fantastic. Can I get you some tea or coffee before people begin to arrive?"
"Herbal tea would be wonderful. Thank you."
Joan leaves me, and I set my bag down by the big leather chair with a thump. I walk over to the classics section and peruse the selection. I notice older books on the top shelves, and a wooden ladder attached to a metal track creaks as I climb up to take a look. I pull out Anne of Green Gables and open it carefully. The musty smell that makes me think of my grandmother's library floats toward me, and I let out a small gasp of delight. I recall how she would read to me when I was a child, and I wonder if there are any old editions of the mystery series we both loved.
"That smell is wonderful, isn't it?"
I glance at Joan standing below me. "It is. I'm having a nostalgic moment." I take a few steps down as I ask, "Would you have any first-edition Nancy Drew books?" As I take another step, my stomach lurches, and stars float before my eyes. The rung of the ladder I grab onto is hard in my hand as I try to steady myself. "I think I'm going to—"
The next thing I know, my head is resting in Joan's lap, and I gaze up at her green eyes. "Sweetie, you fainted."
"Oh no." I groan as I sit up. "I'm so sorry."
"How do you feel now?"
I move to my knees to get up. "Other than embarrassed, I'm fine."
Joan grunts as she stands up. She grabs my arm to help me or maybe so I'll help her. "No need to feel foolish in front of me. Now tell me, what did you eat today?"
"I—" My cheeks heat up as I recall I didn't take more than a bite or two of my breakfast, and I skipped lunch, saying I wasn't hungry, in an effort to cut back on calories. "Not much. I've been eating more than I should lately, but I suppose a drastic change in the other direction wasn't the best idea."
Joan clucks her tongue at me and grabs my hand as if I'm a small child. "Come to my office. I'm sure I have a yogurt in the fridge to tide you over." She brings me into a room that is as chaotic as her hair, and she shoos a cat from a chair that has a stack of files in it. "Jacob, scram." Joan grabs the folders and says, "Sit."
I lower myself into the chair as she squats down behind her desk. A moment later her voice is stern as she says, "Edward."
Another cat thuds onto the floor where she tosses him, and I chuckle. "Twilight?"
Joan pops up with a yogurt in her hand. "Yes. I loved that series. Werewolves are so sexy, don't you think?"
If she only knew. I grin. "I was team Edward, so I have to say it's vampires for me."
She hands me the yogurt and a spoon. "I won't hold that against you, dear."
"Thanks." As I open the container, I ask, "How long have you owned this bookstore?"
"It feels like all my life." She gets up and walks over to a corner, where two mugs with steam rising seem to magically appear as she lifts them from the pile of things on a small table. "I started working here when I was fourteen, and after college, this shop was up for sale. So I bought it."
"How wonderful. It's obvious you love it."
"Very much. I tell people that even though digital books are taking over, they're still going to have to pry a paper one out of my cold fingers when I die." She chuckles at herself as she sits again and sets my tea on her desk where I can reach it.
My energy level increases as I finish my snack, and when I'm done, I let out a content sigh. "Thank you. That definitely hit the spot."
"You're welcome." Joan gets up and says, "I'm sure people are starting to arrive, so let's go greet them."
We walk back onto the shop floor, and I notice she's right. Joan introduces me to a couple of women, and as I enjoy my tea, we talk books. More women come in, and they join the conversation. I get so distracted Joan has to tell me when it's time to start.
I sit in my big chair and smile at the group. "Ladies, this is such a treat. I feel as if you're all my friends. Are you ready for a little romance Kitty Kane style?"
I pull out a book that hasn't been released yet, and while I typically read a PG excerpt, I decide these women deserve something steamy, and I dive into a sexual-tension scene. I finish to women fanning themselves and making suggestive comments that make me laugh.
"Who has a question for me?" I ask.
"You're so young, Kitty," says a woman about my mother's age. "But you must have fallen in love, because your characters seem so real. Are you in a serious relationship now that helps inspire you?"
I smile as I think about Alexander for my answer. "I am in love, and he does inspire me."
"What about the heartbreaks?" asks another woman. "You can't possibly have suffered many?"
Elizabe
th makes my heart ache, and I think about what it must be like for her to not be able to be with Sebastian. "No. I haven't had to deal with major heartbreak, but I do know people who have." Now Elizabeth's sadness fills me, and I add a little fear into the mix as I think about Alexander. Sebastian said he loves me in a way that's enough for humans, but I don't think it can last for a vampire. How can it when they're capable of so much more? Tears fill my eyes, and I blink. "I'm sorry." I swallow down the lump in my throat. "I'm a hopeless romantic, and it hurts my heart to think about others in pain."
A woman says, "It's okay. I cry at commercials. I like to think our empathy is what makes us so open to love."
"Yes," I say. "I think you're right." I go on to talk about the writing process in the manner Sebastian trained me to do, and I tell them how I cry and laugh at my own words when I'm editing. I speak about all the things I've been so carefully schooled to say, and I watch the women latch onto my crafted words as if they're mine. But they're Sebastian's, and I remember how he spoke them with such conviction I know he believes they're true. The more I recite them, the more I realize I believe in what he does too. It occurs to me that Sebastian is a man with a big, loving, compassionate heart. When I stop speaking, a woman expands on the ability to love in a passionate way, and I nod as I listen. It hits me that I finally understand what it was Elizabeth saw in Sebastian, and I smile. He was more than the man she loved. He was her hero.
6
Lyndsey
I tuck my legs under my bottom as I get comfortable on a sofa in Alexander and Sebastian's study. Ice cubes rattle in a glass as Alexander prepares us drinks at the wet bar, and I wait to hear more about my family. He says, "During the Great Famine, Ireland was overrun with vampires who had no control over their bloodlust." He hands me my whiskey and moves to sit on the sofa across from me. "The O'Kelly vampires came here for a fresh start in a country where they hoped to find peaceful coexistence with the human world."
His face clouds over as he takes a sip of his drink, and I say, "That's when my ancestors came over too."
Alexander nods. "Yes. Your vampire family members made sure of it, because they needed you."
"How so?"
"Every male who follows along the O'Kelly line is a potential heir to the throne," he says. "While vampires live for hundreds of years, they eventually die. Naturally or from other means, and they need an heir in the wings." Alexander has yet to tell me how a vampire can die, but I don't want to interrupt his story, so I stay quiet. He grins at me. "Think of the human O'Kellys as a farm team."
"And I've been brought up to the big leagues?"
"Yes. When your father's predecessor died, he was changed to take over. And his queen will join him when she dies her natural death."
"His queen?" I set my jaw as I imagine my father with another woman.
"Your mother."
My jaw drops in disbelief before I close my mouth and smile. It makes me happy that my mom will be with my father again one day, and I wish I could tell her. I say, "My mom still hasn't gotten over my dad leaving us. Do you think she knows something?"
Alexander shakes his head. "I'm positive she doesn't. There are strict rules against it. Rules governed by forces you don't want to anger."
He says it like the forces are actual beings, and I frown, because I think I'm only getting a taste of what the dark world I've entered is about. "So when my father left us without a trace, it was because he had to."
"Yes."
I think about how Sebastian made me disappear and the note I left my landlord. Fear tightens my chest. "Alexander, what about me? Sebastian—"
"In today's age of digital technology, where most anyone can be found, the rules have relaxed a bit. For those with an Internet footprint, fading away slowly is encouraged. So even though Sebastian didn't know who you were, he's always careful, and neither of you did anything punishable."
I drop my shoulders in relief, and then I think about the kings and queens of modern day. They tend to have functions on the philanthropic side, and I can't imagine that's a thing in the vampire world. I ask, "What does royalty do? Do they serve a vital purpose?"
"The O'Kellys rule all vampires in the United States."
I give Alexander a playful grin. "So I can tell you what to do?" While I don't have a need to be a leader, it's more attractive to me than luncheons.
He chuckles. "Eventually. But for now, you have to listen to me or Sebastian."
It occurs to me that since Sebastian's my creator, he said he would take great care in training me, but he handed me off to Alexander. I ask, "Where is he? I thought it was his duty to teach me vampire ways."
"He delegated. He's on the road with Maggie for Kitty Kane's book tour." Alexander licks his lips as he sets his drink down. "Be glad you got me. I'm a lot more fun."
I tip my glass to him before I sip some whiskey, and the alcohol burns its way down my throat when I swallow. Something is up when your girlfriend is on a road trip with your brother, but Alexander doesn't seem phased by it. I recall the protective look in Sebastian's eyes when he was with Kitty the night we met, and my curiosity about her relationship with the Hart brothers grows. But since it's not a subject I'm comfortable asking about, I move on. "Where is my family's island?"
"It's about ten miles out in the Atlantic from here. It's a gorgeous piece of property. And did I mention the great waves?"
I chuckle. "I believe you may have. Have you ever surfed?"
"Of course. I'm the idiot out there in the rain or on a full moon." He puffs his chest up. "I dare say I'm good at it too."
"Must be the decades of practice," I quip back. "We'll have to go sometime."
"Excellent. We can go to your island. I have an in with the princess."
"You do." I get distracted by a scent, and I whip my head toward the door the way a dog would when smelling a juicy steak. The intoxicating odor makes me moan with desire before I realize I'm smelling a human. Or more specifically, their blood. "Who's here?" I ask, and I take a deep breath through my mouth and blow it out slowly as I try to keep myself from tearing out of the room in search of a good feed.
"Ah." Alexander sniffs as if he just noticed. "That's Bertha, our housekeeper. Are you okay?"
I swallow hard as I glance at my drink. "Can I have a glass of blood, please?"
Alexander gets up and pours me one as I focus on inhaling and exhaling. I know the action won't relax my vampire body with oxygen, but the ritual helps me stay calm. I grab my drink out of Alexander's hand and take a swig. Instead of guzzling it, though, I try to take my time, and when I'm done, I feel better.
"Take the edge off?" asks Alexander.
I nod. "Now she's an annoyance like a headache."
"Staying satiated is the trick to temptation. It will get to a point it's not that hard for you. Unless you have anger issues. My last trainee..." Alexander lets out a huff. "He was a tough one, and—well. Some vampires are not meant to be around people."
"What happened to him?"
"He lives on your island now."
"So humans don't ever go there?"
"No." I raise my eyebrows at him, and he says, "Don't get any ideas. It's important for you to be able to handle interacting with live people, and your father would have my head if he thought I didn't train you properly."
"Head?" I ask. "Is that how we die?"
He chuckles. "Very good. Yes. That's one way."
I smooth out the fabric of my jeans as I try to keep the nagging temptation of Bertha at bay. "And the other ways?"
"Destroying our heart and silver in our bloodstream. Oh, and too much sun would eventually kill some of us."
"Ah, so folklore isn't so far off after all."
"Most legends come from a kernel of truth," he says.
Alexander stares at me as if he's perplexed, and I ask, "What?"
He shakes his head. "I'm amazed at how well you're doing with bloodlust." He lifts his hip off the couch to grab his phone out of his back poc
ket, and he texts someone. "I've told Bertha to run errands so you can have a break. There's no need to make you suffer."
"Thanks. But don't take it too easy on me. I want to learn to be in control."
He gets up, and as he walks over to the wall of bookshelves, he says, "You need to concentrate on your new job." He grabs a few books and walks back to me with the stack. "I've got paper or electronic. Which do you prefer?"
The books thud on the table, and I glance at the top one's cover. A shirtless man with multiple tattoos is flexing, and I smile as I think about Becky and Jenna, who were both avid romance readers. "I can do either. But since these are right here, I'll start with paper."
A book is slick in my hands as I pick it up. "I guess I'm about to see what all the fuss is about."
Alexander gives me a sly smile. "I'm here if you need to discuss any of the sex scenes."
I chuckle. "And yet you were useless during my nympho phase."
He frowns but quickly replaces it with a smile. "You can read in here if you'd like, even after Bertha is gone. There's plenty of blood in the fridge as well as alcohol. Feel free to help yourself."
"Thanks." I slide back and sink into the plush cushion of the couch as I open my book, and I delve into the world of Kitty Kane.
7
Maggie
When it's time for me to leave the bookstore, Joan and I hug each other tight. Her embrace makes me miss my mother, and I say, "Thank you so much for having me. This is a special place."
"It was my pleasure, and I hope you'll come back."