“You have a thing for eighties hair bands, huh?”
Nicholas grinned. “Eighties music is grossly underappreciated.”
I shook my head and continued to skim through songs, looking for the perfect one. When I came upon it, I hit play and turned the volume up.
“This is the best road trip song of all-time,” I declared.
His eyebrow rose suspiciously. “That’s a mighty big statement. I hope you can back it up.”
I smiled knowingly as the opening notes rang through the interior of the SUV.
Nicholas nodded appreciatively. “Whitesnake. Good choice.”
I sat up straighter, pleased with his praise. Minutes later, we were both belting the lyrics to Here I Go Again at the top of our lungs.
I really listened to the lyrics of the song, perhaps for the first time in my life. There I was, on my own again, but I wasn’t on any road I’d ever been on before. I was in completely uncharted territory with only Nicholas to guide me. It still amazed me that we’d grown as close as we had over the past few days. It made me wary as the old saying about eggs in baskets flitted through my mind.
For the next hour we traded off on song selections, singing horribly out of tune together, and putting the past twenty-four hours on the back burner. It felt great to forget about all the anxiety I’d had to carry around and just feel young and free again. Which made me curious.
I turned the music down after the last song ended. “What were you like in the eighties?” I asked. “Did you rock the big Aqua Net hair?” I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Nicholas with a big blown out perm.
He smiled but shook his head. “I looked basically the same as I do now. I wore more leather though, of course,” he added with a wink.
I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of my throat. “What about before you were changed? What did you look like then?”
“The same. Unfortunately, I’ve changed very little in over two hundred years.”
I sighed and leaned back in my seat. “What’s unfortunate about being a stone cold fox for hundreds of years?”
He froze before slowly turning to look at me. “You find me handsome?”
I rolled my eyes and nodded, my stomach twisting uncomfortably. “Very.”
Nicholas turned back to face the road, his shoulders stiff and his mouth twisted to the side like he was thinking really hard about something. I watched him shamelessly, wondering how he could think I’d see him any other way. When he turned the blinker on and made to get off the highway, I sat up straight again.
“Are we there?”
“No, we’ve got another hour or so to go, but I need to fill the tank and you need to feed.”
Now that he mentioned it, my mouth was parched, and my stomach was cramping. I’d chalked it up to singing and the ever-present anxiety but now I recognized it for what it was.
Nicholas pulled into a twenty-four-hour gas station and turned to me. “It looks like there’s only one person working in there.” He nodded toward the convenience store on the other side of the pump. “I’ll go in with you. You’ll feed quickly, and I’ll fill the tank before we get back on the road, okay?”
The thought of feeding didn’t fill me with as much dread as it had the day before, but I was still pretty nervous. Nicholas reached out to grasp my hand.
“I’ll be with you the whole time,” he said, his eyes deep and steady.
I nodded, took a deep breath, and exited the car, unwillingly letting my fingers slide through his grasp.
The convenience store was small, and Nicholas was right, there was only one person on duty at that hour. I walked toward the counter and flashed the man a smile. He was an older gentleman, in his fifties at least. He wore a shirt that barely covered his large stomach, and a thick pair of glasses. His nametag read Matt.
“Hello, Matt,” I began in a strong, steady voice, before ensnaring him in my glamour.
I stalked around the other side of the counter, my mouth watering in anticipation. Once I was at Matt’s side I looked quickly at Nicholas, reaffirming that he was close and would stop me when I’d taken enough. He nodded and gifted me with a soft smile. I returned it before reaching my hands up to Matt’s shoulders and sinking my teeth into his neck.
As with the day before, the tastes that assaulted my senses overwhelmed me. I felt the thick, hot blood pour from his wounds and into my mouth. Felt it slither down my throat and fill me with its delicious essence.
All too soon, I felt a tap on my shoulder and reluctantly pulled my mouth away from the man’s delectable blood. I bit down on my tongue and swiped it along his wounds, licking up the last of the precious liquid. A shiver ran through my body as I stepped away from him.
“Matt,” I began. “My friend and I just came in to use your bathrooms. Nothing more.”
“Nothing more,” he repeated.
I turned to Nicholas as we exited the building. “How did I do?”
He smiled at me, pride in his eyes. “Even better than yesterday.”
My answering smile was wide, and he blinked a few times before shaking his head.
“Get in,” he instructed. “I’m just going to fill up and we’ll be on our way.”
Chapter 11
By the time Nicholas flipped on his blinker, and once again made his way off the highway, I was beyond ready to get out of the car.
“Are we there yet?” I asked with a cheeky grin.
Nicholas rolled his eyes at my antics. “We’re close. According to the directions I was given, it shouldn’t be too much farther now.”
“You haven’t been here before?”
He spared a glance my way before answering. “No. I told you. I don’t make new vampires, so I’ve had no reason to visit the training facility before now.”
“Why haven’t you ever changed a human before?”
“I didn’t say I’ve never changed a human before, I said I don’t, as in I don’t anymore.”
I mulled that over for a moment. “How many have you changed?”
Nicholas was silent for so long I thought maybe he hadn’t heard me. I took a breath to repeat my question, but he started speaking.
“Just one.”
“Where are they now?”
“Ash,” he responded quietly.
The one word sent shivers down my spine. I knew I needed to tread lightly.
“What happened?” I asked in a small voice.
Nicholas’ hands gripped the steering wheel and his jaw tensed so hard I heard his teeth grinding from where I sat. This pause was even longer, but I let him take his time. He’d either confide in me or not. I wouldn’t make him relive this if he didn’t want to.
“James was a childhood friend of mine,” he began softly. “We’d grown up together, did everything together, even went to war together. That was until my change. I couldn’t show myself to him, but I watched from afar as he drowned his sorrow over my death in the bottom of any bottle he could find. After months of sitting back while he slowly killed himself, I knew I had to step in. By that time, I’d pieced together how it worked and thought I could successfully change someone myself.”
I gasped. “You weren’t successful?” I asked quietly.
A grim smile stretched across his face. “No, I was. I changed him.”
I was confused. “So, what happened?”
Nicholas sighed and let one hand release his death grip on the wheel to run it down his scruffy face.
“He couldn’t handle it,” he said. “The change. He couldn’t accept it. I did everything I could to pull him out of the depression that held him while he was human, but nothing helped. He was with me for only six months. One night, shortly before dawn, he left the abandoned cellar we’d been occupying after I’d gone down for the day. He willingly met the dawn. I found his ashes the next night.”
I closed my eyes and tried to imagine how awful James must have felt to do something so drastic. How terrible it must have been for Nicholas to find his ch
ildhood friend like that. I reached out to grasp Nicholas’ forearm. There were no words that would take away his pain, so I offered him the only comfort I could.
Nicholas’ grip on the steering wheel relaxed slightly, and he exhaled a big breath.
“I could never bring myself to change anyone since then. In fact,” he added, softer than before, “I haven’t even allowed myself to be close to anyone since then.” His eyes left the road and found mine briefly before glancing away just as quick
We drove in silence after that, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I was grateful Nicholas had opened up to me, but sorry for the circumstances. I knew how it felt to lose someone so close to you. To feel like you’d never be able to love another person like you’d loved them.
It was how I’d felt since the death of my parents. They’d been my best friends, just as James had been Nicholas’ best friend. It seemed we had more in common than I’d thought.
I turned to study his strong profile, his sturdy jaw and full lips. It was no wonder Nicholas lived in a colorless, solitary world. I know he blamed himself for James’ death. Knew it with so much certainty that I wasn’t able to hold my tongue any longer.
“His death wasn’t your fault,” I spoke into the silence between us.
I watched Nicholas shake his head subtly. “No, Adrienne. You’re wrong. It was my fault. I should have left him human. I never should have altered the course of his life. He couldn’t handle the change.”
“You said he’d been drowning in alcohol. That he was drinking himself to death. How long do you think his body could have taken that kind of mistreatment? How long would it have been before he drank himself to death or got himself killed in a drunken stupor?” I needed him to see that James’ fate had been sealed long before Nicholas changed him.
He sat quietly, seeming to think through my words. I watched him take a deep breath and expel it slowly through his nose. A few times he opened his mouth as if to speak before shutting it again and prolonging the silence between us.
Finally, his shoulders slumped forward and he muttered, “That may be so. I guess we’ll never know.”
It was a small concession, but I’d take it.
We turned off the dark country road and made our way up a gravel pathway through thick pine trees. When the foliage cleared, I saw we’d finally arrived at the training facility.
The building ahead was a massive u-shaped ranch-style house with walls made of logs and multiple stone chimneys reaching toward the dark night sky. There were lights on in the house that cast a soft, inviting glow. The driveway led to a circle in the center of the u-shape and we followed it around before parking in front of the front steps.
As we stepped out of the SUV, the front door opened, and we were greeted by a smiling middle-aged woman. She wore khaki pants with a navy blue polo, and her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The woman smiled warmly at us as we approached her.
“Welcome! You must be Nicholas and Adrienne.” She paused long enough for us to nod. “It’s so nice to meet you both. I’m Beatrice, but you can call me Bea.”
Nicholas stepped forward with his hand outstretched to her. “Hello, Bea. It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for being here.”
She shook his hand and waved off his words. “It’s no problem at all. It’s nice to have someone up here in the off season.”
“Off season?” I asked as I made my way up the stairs toward the front door.
“Yes. We usually only run this facility from January to March during the Changing season. We were more than happy to make an exception for you, dear,” Bea explained with a warm smile.
“Parliament prefers all changes to be made around the same time. That way they can be trained and monitored in an orderly fashion. Occasionally, a human will have to be changed unexpectedly and they have to make an exception,” Nicholas added.
“Come in, you two,” Bea insisted with a wave of her arm. “Leave your bags and the keys. I’ll have Edmund bring your things to your rooms and park your vehicle for you.”
I turned to Nicholas, who nodded for me to walk ahead of him. With a shrug, I followed her into the brightly lit house. The interior was finished in light, glossy wood, with animal skin rugs, and exposed brick walls. The first room we entered was a massive living room with an overstuffed couch and a fireplace that already held a crackling fire.
“I’ll lead you to the hallway where the rooms are located, and you can each pick your own,” Bea explained, leading us further down a hallway off the living room.
Before long, she stopped and swept her hand to the side. “Pick a room and Edmund should have your bags to you in just a moment. Go ahead and get comfortable and let me know if you two need anything.”
We both shrugged and turned in opposite directions to the first rooms on the left and right of the hallway. The door I opened led to a large room with pale blue walls and a king-sized bed made up with soft-looking white sheets and about a dozen pillows. Upon further inspection. I found two doorways. One led to a large walk-in closet, the other to a spacious bathroom. I eyed the garden tub with Jacuzzi jets, already planning a long bath.
There was a soft knock at the door, and I called for them to come in. A tall, thin man who looked to be around the same age as Bea walked through the doorway with my suitcase in his hand.
“Hi, Miss. My name is Edmund. I’ve got your suitcase here. Where would you like it?”
I hurried over and pointed to a dresser along the wall near the hallway door. “Right here is fine. It’s nice to meet you, Edmund, I’m Adrienne.” I held my hand out, and he took it in his firm grip.
He immediately turned back toward the door. “Let me know if you need anything, Miss Adrienne.” I smiled and nodded before he left the room.
I spent the next few minutes unpacking my suitcase, wondering when my training would begin and what it would entail. I had visions of Mr. Miyagi and the Karate Kid dancing through my head, and I chuckled to myself. Wax on, wax off.
Another knock at the door cut off my wayward thoughts. I walked over and opened it to a welcome sight. Nicholas stood in the entryway in dark-colored jeans, a tight black t-shirt, and his ever-present boots. A big grin spread across his face and I couldn’t help but reciprocate.
“Bea said there’s a lake out back. Would you like to go swimming?”
“Swimming? What about training?”
“We’ll begin your training tomorrow night,” he explained. “We have a few hours before dawn and I thought it would be fun to go for a swim.”
I nodded before I remembered I hadn’t packed a swimsuit. With a pang of disappointment, I explained my predicament to Nicholas.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure Bea can find you something to wear.” The man would not be deterred.
I finally caved and went searching for Beatrice. She was in the restaurant-quality kitchen with her back turned. The room was all large white cabinets and stainless-steel appliances. What a vampire training facility needed with a kitchen, I had no idea.
“Bea,” I called softly, walking up behind her.
She turned around with a genuine smile. “Hello, dear. Do you like your room?”
“Yes, of course. Everything’s beautiful. I was wondering if you could help me with something?” I asked. “Nicholas wants to go swimming, but I didn’t bring a suit with me.”
Bea eyed me shrewdly before nodding. “In fact, I do. Just wait here a moment and I’ll go grab it.”
I watched her dart out of the room, almost too quick for my eyes to follow. I still wasn’t used to all the vampires in my life and how fast they could move.
Bea returned within seconds, holding a scrap of bright red material and grinning from ear to ear. “This should fit.”
I took the material from her and held it up dubiously. “Uh, Bea? I don’t think even half of me will fit in this.”
She chuckled and placed a hand on my back, leading me out of the kitchen and back toward my room. “Nonsense.
You have a beautiful figure. You should show it off. Don’t worry. This will cover all the important bits.” I gave her a disbelieving look, to which she responded with only a benign smile. She led me to my bedroom door and left without another word.
Minutes later, I stood in front of the mirror in my bathroom, trying to talk myself down. The top of the bathing suit was just two triangles that covered about 65% of each of my breasts. Even worse, the bottoms came up to well below my navel and left a good chunk of each butt cheek completely bare. This was definitely not the type of suit I’d ever pick out for myself. I felt self-conscious and hyper-aware of every inch of skin that was on display.
“Adrienne?” I heard Nicholas call before knocking on my door.
“Oh, no.” I scrambled out of the bathroom and over to the dresser I’d filled with my clothes. I rummaged around until I found a long nightshirt that I quickly tossed over my head.
“Adrienne?” he said again, louder this time.
“Coming!” I yelled before sprinting over to the door and whipping it open.
Nicholas stood on the other side in a pair of black swim shorts with a towel draped over one shoulder. And nothing else. My eyes were drawn from the waist of his shorts up over his well-defined abs to his sculpted chest. My mouth felt dry and my heart sped up.
The clearing of a throat broke me out of my stupor and my eyes finally made their way to Nicholas’. He stood there with a smug grin and knowing eyes.
“You ready to go?” he asked around a chuckle.
Now I had my wits back, I had to get even. I couldn’t let him have the upper hand. With a smirk, I grabbed the hem of my t-shirt and slowly pulled it off over my head. I turned to throw the shirt on my bed before I met his eyes.
His gaze burned a hot trail over my skin as I watched him watch me. His eyes roved over my long legs, up to my flat stomach, and came to rest on my barely covered chest. On the outside, I showed only a small smirk. On the inside, I was throwing a party that could rival Times Square on New Year's Eve. Got him.
I cleared my throat and Nicholas’ eyes snapped away from my chest to meet mine. “Ready.” I smiled before prancing past him into the hallway. Take that, Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected.
Blood Debt Page 9