Vampire's Dilemma

by Jacqueline Lichtenberg

  “Things will get better. I won’t let you get hurt,” Shel said. She can interpret that any way she chooses and she’ll be right. Lucy’s silence worried him. Shel wasn’t quite sure why but he cared deeply what she thought of him.

  “Why should you care?” Lucy asked. The look in her eyes told Shel she understood he didn’t mean the problem with whoever had tried to kill them.

  “I don’t know.” He had to be honest with her, “I guess it just feels right to care.”

  They were silent for a long moment and the quiet was oddly comfortable. Shel held his hand out toward her at last. Lucy put her hand in his. He had the feeling she had put more than that in his hand. “Come on, let’s go ashore and see about supper.”

  * * * *

  Shel scanned the crowd in the bar until he saw the one he would take. Normally he would find someone attractive and initiate a relationship. Over the course of a few weeks, he would take a little each time they had sex, until the need subsided to a manageable ache, then he would move on. The incident on the yacht had shown Shel he no longer had that luxury. Tonight Shel would do something he hadn’t done since he learned to control his urges. Tonight Shel would kill.

  They shared a glance, a smile of understanding, she wanted what he had to give and they left the bar. Shel walked with the woman toward an alleyway and the darkness.

  He staggered a little, drunk on the life force coursing through him. When he’d learned to control the need, he’d made a vow never to kill. Shame that the vow lay broken along with his victim in the trash littering the alley warred with the cold relief that he wouldn’t hurt Lucy now. Bile rose in Shel’s throat along with a hatred of himself and what Madeline La Rouge had made him. He caught hold of the stop sign pole, leaned over and retched, ignoring the tourists that streamed around him.

  * * * *

  It was dark outside. Lucy stirred her diet soda with the straw. She watched the people stroll along the street while she waited for Shel. He had disappeared nearly an hour earlier. She was beginning to get worried. A movement caught Lucy’s eye, the crowd parted, avoiding a man doubled over like he was in pain. He seemed familiar. The lights of a passing car swept over him and Lucy froze for a painful heartbeat. Then she was out of her seat and running for the door.

  She pushed through the knot of gawkers and caught Shel’s arm. He looked at her for several seconds with a blank expression before recognition brightened his dark eyes.

  “Come on, lean on me,” Lucy said, pulling Shel close and sliding her arm around his waist. The sudden sound of a woman’s malicious laughter made her look up. Lucy scanned the few people still close by for the one who laughed. A woman dressed in red smiled at her. A shiver ran down Lucy’s spine like a panicked spider.

  The woman waved as if she knew Shel. Lucy couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. Shel groaned and retched again. Lucy dismissed the notion, her innate compassion taking over. She turned all her attention to Shel, pushing her concerns about the strange woman out of her mind, Lucy concentrated on getting him back to the boat.

  Chapter Five: Perfidia

  Shel levered himself out of the captain’s chair, his head felt like it was coming off. He had forgotten this part of letting go when he fed. He needed some aspirin. Movement on the dock caught his eye. Shel stopped at the entrance to the salon and watched the two men approach the yacht. Shel heard Lucy coming. He crossed his arms and leaned in the door opening to the salon, blocking the men’s view down into the yacht. Shel waited for them to state their purpose there.

  “Mr. Jefferson?” The tall blonde one asked.

  “Who wants to know?” Shel was not in the mood for prying questions.

  “I’m Davis, and this is Wilson. We’d like to ask you a few questions about Lucy Adams,” Blondie, Davis, said.

  If these two weren’t Madeline’s spawn, he’d turn in his official Captain Obvious decoder ring. Shel gave a mental sigh, he missed the old serials. Unlike most of his kind, Shel had accepted modern advances wholeheartedly.

  “Who?” Sheldon reached back and caught the doorknob. He pulled it closed behind him, shutting it practically in Lucy’s face. Sorry sugar, you don’t want to meet these two. He would apologize later.

  “May we come aboard and discuss this?” The one called Wilson moved toward the gangplank.

  Shel waited until the man was about to step onto the short ramp that would let him on board. “No.” The man froze, one foot in the air. Thought so. The man was a Vampire. He couldn’t come onto the boat without permission. Madeline wouldn’t be far off either, probably in a car in the parking lot.

  “Madeline is not pleased with your meddling in her affairs.” Davis made no move to help his friend.

  “And this means what to me?”

  “The girl has something Madeline wants. Give her to us and Madeline will let you live.”

  “Tell Madeline I don’t trade in people’s lives.”

  “We’ll be back. You can’t hide.” Davis yanked Wilson away from the gangplank. The two men walked down the dock toward the marina buildings and parking lot. Shel swore softly. They were going to have to find somewhere else to tie up.

  Shel opened the door just as the phone rang. Lucy reached for it. Shit! He stumbled and tripped down the few steps into the salon, falling to his knees. Clambering up Shel held his hand out for the phone.

  Lucy held out the phone and listened to him answer it. Shel tried to catch her hand but she slipped out of reach.

  “Hello?” He frowned. Lucy walked away.

  “Hello, mon amour. You were not very polite to my friends.” Madeline’s voice was as silky sweet as ever, like a drop of poison laced sugar syrup.

  “When did you ever have friends?” Shel fought the urge to gag.

  * * * *

  In the little cabin, Lucy listened to Shel talking to the woman on the phone. She couldn’t quite make out what Shel was saying but the tone was plain to her. The woman was obviously a lover.

  Lucy imagined Shel saying soft words to this anonymous woman, things she wanted to hear him say to her. The picture of Shel with this strange woman was intolerable but she didn’t know what to do about it.

  Lucy didn’t have much experience, she’d only been with her husband and he’d never been very adventurous. She imagined Shel would be far more sophisticated, he probably did the sort of things she’d only read about every night. How could Lucy compete with the kind of women he was used to? With someone like the woman in red she’d seen the night before?

  Shel laughed, and to her ears it was the sound of a challenge being given. Suddenly Lucy knew what she had to do. Quietly Lucy took off her clothes. She climbed into bed and waited.

  * * * *

  Shel hung up and grimaced. He put the phone back in the charger and hurriedly looked around for Lucy. He didn’t want to tell Lucy about Madeline but she needed to know. She was even more special now that he knew Lucy was one of Isabel’s descendants. That little bit of knowledge had to be kept from Madeline at all costs.

  “Lucy!” He called out, trying to locate her.

  “In here.” Lucy’s muffled voice came from his cabin. Shel frowned. What is she doing in there? He wished he could make Lucy forget her past. Walking into the small room, Shel froze. Lucy was leaning against a pile of pillows with the sheet pooled around her waist.

  “Lu…Lucy?” His mouth was dry.

  Lucy had on the nightgown Shel had admired in the hotel room. The sunbeams coming through the tiny porthole window caressed Lucy’s pale hair, gilding it with gold sparks and turning the thin silk of her gown almost transparent.

  This is a bad idea. Dangerous. I’ve got to get out of here. The need curled in his belly. “We need to leave.” Shel turned, ignoring Lucy’s puzzled hurt expression, and all but ran back up on deck. She had gotten much too comfortable with him.

  Chapter Six: Fever

  Shel stood in the cabin doorway watching Lucy sleep. He knew he shouldn’t be there. The chance of the
need breaking free was too great. He didn’t want to do that to her. The warm musky scent of Lucy’s skin filled Shel’s head, making him dizzy. Suddenly the need rose up in him stronger than he’d ever experienced. Shel’s mouth opened and he braced himself above her, poised to bite, to let his fangs sink into her and taste the hot rush of her salty sweet blood… Lucy made a soft sound and shifted.

  “Shel?” she asked in a sleep thick voice. He froze, the spell her scent cast over him broken.

  “Shh, go back to sleep, sugar,” Shel whispered. Lucy made a soft sound and turned away from him, onto her side.

  It took everything he had to walk away. More rattled than he cared to admit Shel headed for the deck and the fresh sea air. That should not have happened, not after a full feeding. He shivered as a chill swept through him. Shel stepped out onto the deck and took a deep breath. He would have to be damned careful around Lucy.

  He went to the captain’s console and checked the readouts. Batteries were charged and the water and gas tanks were full, they could leave any time. He stepped out onto the dock and began unhooking the lines that tied the yacht.

  Working took his mind off the conflict in his heart. Shel went back to the wheel and started the engines, easing the boat away from the dock. Shel didn’t want to stay away from Lucy but he didn’t want to kill her either. If he lost control with her and no one was around, he might not be able to stop himself. The best way to keep Lucy safe would be to limit the time he spent close to her. It would be hard. The thought of her in his arms gave Shel a warm glow inside. He admitted to himself at last that he did love Lucy. The merest hint that he loved Lucy and Madeline would be all over her.

  The next time Shel met up with Madeline he had to kill her and damn the consequences. Lucy would never be safe with Madeline alive. Another deep sigh and Shel shook off his brooding mood as an idea came to him. He’d give Lucy a way to protect herself. Feeling much better about everything, Shel took the charts out of the drawer by the wheel. In the moonlight, he began to study them. There were places they could stay until he figured out what to do about the book.

  * * * *

  Lucy stepped out on deck. They were moving. She saw nothing but water surrounding them. Lucy looked up at the stars that seemed to fill the sky despite the nearly full moon. The sight took her breath away. Shel sat at the wheel bathed in the faint glow of the instrument panel. He glanced at her and held out his hand. She went to him and took it, allowing Shel to pull her closer.

  “It’s beautiful out here. At night, with all the stars.” She leaned against him and gazed up at the Milky Way.

  Shel pressed his lips to Lucy’s hair, breathing in her warm scent, the need barely under control. “Lucy, I want you to promise me something.”

  “What?” Lucy turned back to him. He sounded infinitely sad.

  Shel opened a drawer in the console and took out a long, thin piece of wood. “Promise me you’ll stake me if I ever lose control with you.”

  She refused to take the offered sliver of wood. “No.”

  “Please. I don’t want to hurt you.” Shel placed it in Lucy’s hand and wrapped her fingers around it, then lifted the point to his chest, pushing it in enough to dimple his skin. “Right here.”

  Lucy looked into Shel’s nearly black eyes for a long moment. He was serious, concerned, and afraid for her. Solemnly Lucy took the stake and put it back in the drawer. “All right. If I ever need to.”

  “Thank you.” Shel pulled her close and kissed her.

  Lucy stood there beside Shel watching him guide the boat toward a dark inlet. His hands slid over the wheel in a slow caress. Everything inside Lucy heated. She knew what those hands could do.

  He stopped the boat a short distance from a beach that glowed silver in the moonlight then got up to lower the anchor. She gazed at the island until she heard him coming back to her.

  “Why are you so careful with me?” Lucy asked, reaching out to run her fingers through Shel’s silky shoulder length hair.

  Shel hesitated. “Because you’re precious,” he said at last. “You’re like a moment in time that will never be repeated. I don’t want to miss one thing about you. Not your softest sigh, or the way the moonlight turns your hair to silver, or the way your emotions dance in your eyes.”

  Lucy couldn’t think of what to say. She knew what Shel felt for her was probably because she reminded him of Isabel. Lucy thought about it for a moment. She had never seen so much love in anyone’s eyes, not even Keith’s. Something inside Lucy told her this man would die to protect her. It scared her more than a little. Lucy wasn’t sure she could live up to her ancestor’s memory.

  Shel brushed a strand of Lucy’s hair back from her face and cupped her cheek. “What are you thinking?”

  Lucy shook her head, not answering. She looked toward the beach, pale in the moonlight. Shel took her hand, letting the silence rest between them.

  * * * *

  Shel sat in the darkness of the salon. Lucy slept just feet away. The awful urge to cry rose up and choked Shel making his throat ache. Hot tears dropped to his arms and Shel hugged himself tightly, bending over with the pain of knowing he wasn’t good enough for Lucy. He would never be good enough for her. Lucy needed a caring, gentle man who would put her first and never hurt her. Lucy needed anyone but the monster he was. Shel tried to stifle the sob that squeezed his heart.

  * * * *

  Lucy woke. She lay there for several seconds trying to place the sound that had pulled her from a wonderful dream of Shel holding her. The soft sound came again. Carefully crept out into the short hallway and made her way to the salon. Lucy could barely make out Shel’s silhouette against the glow of the moonlight in the portholes.

  She went to stand beside Shel. He didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge that he knew she was there. She hesitated for a second then sat beside him.

  “Sheldon?” Lucy laid her arm over his shoulders. Shel twitched violently, shrugging her arm away and standing up.

  Shel leaned his forehead against the wall by the door. He took a deep shuddery breath and swallowed hard. “I’m going up on deck.”

  Lucy watched in open-mouthed shock as he opened the door and started up the steps to the deck. Lucy blinked then leapt to her feet and followed him. She caught Shel’s shirt. “Sheldon Jefferson don’t you dare take one more step!”

  Shel turned and looked at her. “Go back to bed, Lucy.” His toneless voice sent a shiver through her.

  “No. Not until you tell me what’s wrong.” Lucy stood her ground and waited.

  “Lucy,” Shel watched her as she walked toward him despite the warning note in his voice. He never looked away. Shel’s vulnerability struck something deep inside her. The lost expression in his eyes made Lucy determined to chase it away. She would make things right between them.

  “Tell me what’s wrong.” Lucy reached out and brushed her fingers over his cheek. “Please.”

  “Nothing you can help, sweetheart.” He began to turn away.

  “Sheldon.” She caught his arm.

  Shel looked at Lucy, his eyes cold. She didn’t understand but she wanted to, Shel could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. Maybe it was enough for now. He pulled away, more gently than he would have a few minutes earlier. Lucy let him go without any more questions and he was grateful but strangely saddened.

  Lucy watched Shel go then turned and walked over to the small liquor cabinet in the galley. She pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured a glass before following him up on to the deck.

  Shel was sitting on the edge of the deck staring out to sea, his legs hanging over the edge. Lucy sat down next to him without a word and handed him the glass.

  Shel took the glass and took a sip. “Monster,” Shel said quietly, his voice matter of fact.

  Lucy waited.

  “I am you know. Inhuman, unnatural monster.” He took another sip of whiskey. “You don’t want to get mixed up with me sweetheart, with what I am.”

  “Ah.�
�� She shifted a bit closer.

  “Dangerous, Lucy.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  Shel turned a bleak gaze on her. “Do you really?”

  Lucy placed her hand on Shel’s thigh. “What are you so afraid of?”

  “If we do this I will end up hurting you.”

  “I’ve been hurt before.” Lucy met his eyes.

  They sat in silence for several minutes. Shel took another sip of the drink she’d brought him. On impulse, he held the glass out to Lucy. She took the glass and turned it until she could drink from the spot his lips had touched. Shel raised one eyebrow slightly. Lucy took a sip. And coughed.

  Shel took the glass from Lucy and set it on the deck, pulling her closer and patting her back. “First try at whiskey?” He smiled into Lucy’s hair when she nodded.

  Lucy leaned against him and Shel slipped his arm around her. They sat on the deck in silence. The sky was growing light and Shel suddenly had the urge to go for an early morning swim. He stood and dove into the water, coming up a few feet away from the yacht.

  “Come on in, sweetheart,” Shel called to Lucy.

  “I can’t,” Lucy clutched the sheet closer.

  “Sure you can.” Shel swam a little closer.

  “I don’t know how to swim.”

  “I’ll teach you.” He held out his hand.

  “Sheldon…”

  “Do you trust me or not?” Lucy stood there looking at him for a long moment. Shel thought she would do the wise thing and go lock herself in the cabin. Lucy took a deep breath and jumped into the water. Shel caught her and pulled her close. Lucy kissed him.

  Chapter Seven: I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing

  Shel caught a glimpse of something purple. Lucy. She was walking along the beach again with the little plastic bucket she’d found in the hold. Probably had it full of more beach trash. Two days anchored in the lagoon of the deserted key and she still couldn’t get enough of wandering the beach. Shel’s hand strayed to the strand of small shells tied around his neck, fingers brushing over them. He tossed the oilcan into the toolbox and went to see what she was doing.