by Bree Younger
“That felt…” He heard the awe in her voice. “It felt …”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Fucking incredible, Libby.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not just saying that, are you?”
He groaned. “No. I’m not just saying it. And as much as I’d love to do it again, Lib,”—he reached out to cup her face and raise it for a quick kiss—“we’ve got to get going. It’ll be dusk soon, and I want us to get out of here as quick as possible.”
“Right.” She looked around and reached toward the stack of towels that sat on a nearby shelf.
He snagged one and passed it to her. She held it in front of herself, obviously becoming a little self-conscious of her nudity.
“Okay, Lib. I’ll just leave you to dress.”
He snatched another towel and wrapped it around his waist before leaving her to it. After scrounging around through the closet and chest of drawers, he’d finally managed to find a pair of sweats and a T-shirt that fit all right. A pair of beat-up sneakers completed his outfit. Then he rummaged through the cabinets some more and had just finished assembling the impromptu meal for Libby when she came out of the bathroom.
She was towel-drying her hair and looking good enough to eat in a pair of tight jeans and a pink cotton shirt. “Here. I’ve fixed you a quick supper.”
He saw her eyes take in the offering he had for her on the plate. “Yum, jerky again. And grits.”
He nodded. “Yeah. And we’ve also got some canned peaches.”
“Oh, goody.” She shot him an amused glance, and he felt it all the way down in his gut.
While she ate, he went around gathering their few things together and straightening the cabin as best he could. He looked up and caught her watching him. He could tell she had something on her mind. “What?”
She shrugged and took another bite of jerky. He walked over to where she sat on the couch. “I can tell you want to ask me something, so just go ahead and do it.”
She reached up to rub across the bite mark on her neck, now nothing more than a couple of bumps that could have passed for bug bites. “I was just wondering if it always feels like that when you bite someone? You know—so…” She waggled her eyebrows.
“Yeah. I know. And the answer is yes. Unless I don’t blur the pain. It hurts when my teeth penetrate, then, well, it feels pretty damn good, from what I’ve been told. But usually when I bite someone, unless it’s someone I know, I blur the memory.”
“But you didn’t blur mine. Why not?”
“I did blur the pain of the bite, Libby. Just not…the other. It seemed a little pointless. You know I’m a vampire. I was too out of it to handle it right the first time I bit you, so I couldn’t. But I did nudge you into a healing sleep right after.”
“A healing sleep?”
“It’s why you were out of it for so long.”
“And you can’t go back and erase the memory now?”
Shaking his head, he began cleaning up the now-empty dish. “No. It has to be done immediately or it won’t take.”
“Oh.” She walked to the sink and began running some dishwater over the dishes she had used during their stay. “Since you’ve bitten me twice, that doesn’t mean I’m going to turn into a vampire or anything, does it? I know you told me before that I wasn’t going to, but that was before, well, you bit me again.”
He had to suppress a grin at her oh-so-casual-sounding question. “No, Lib. That’s not how it works.”
Her eyes slid toward him. “So, how does that work, then?”
Propping himself on the counter near her, he crossed his legs. “When a vampire bites someone, intending to turn them, he injects them with vampire venom. If enough venom is injected, then the person becomes infected and begins to change.”
“But you don’t inject venom every time you bite?”
“No.”
“How much do you have to inject before you turn someone into a vampire?”
“Depends.” He cocked his head to one side and studied her. “Why? You interested in becoming a vampire?”
She shuddered. “No. Not at all. I guess I’m just curious. You didn’t inject me with the venom. Right?”
“Right,” he answered, mentally crossing his fingers. That first time—when he was so out of it—had he injected her?
“How much venom do you need before you change?”
“Well, it depends on the person. How big they are. How healthy. That kind of thing. And it normally takes several bites to change someone.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So people don’t get changed accidentally like you read about in some of those stupid vampire stories. And it’s rare when we turn someone, because it can be dangerous. It’s a very fine line when giving someone enough venom to change them. If they get too much, they can die. Also, if they don’t get enough, they could also die or become very, very ill.”
“That’s good, then.”
He shot her a questioning glance.
“That I’m not going to turn into a vampire or anything,” she explained.
“No. And I shouldn’t have bitten you again. It wasn’t fair of me to ask you when you were…”
She blushed. “Oh, yes. Well, I guess we were both a little carried away.”
“You could say that.”
Neither one of them said anything after that. He assumed she was mulling over what he had told her. A quick glance out the window let him know the sun had finally set. He straightened. “I think we should get going, Lib. The sun’s down and we don’t have time to waste. I’d like to get as far away from here as possible.”
“Okay.” She reached for her purse and looked around for the duffle, but he grabbed it.
“I’ve got it, Lib.”
She just nodded and crossed to the door. After they’d made it down the stairs, he reached out to stop her.
“I need to tell you what we’re going to do.”
“I assume that means we’re not just going to get in the SUV and drive like hell until we’re home.”
“I think that might be a little dangerous since they’ve seen your truck and they know what it looks like.”
“Right. I take it you’ve got some kind of plan.”
“Yep. We’re going to steal another truck, Lib.”
“The hell you say.”
Chapter Nine
Libby watched Ty as he leaned down and twisted together two wires, jumping slightly as the truck started with a sound that seemed incredibly loud to her in the quiet country night. Guiltily, she looked around even though they’d already confirmed that there was no one nearby. She still couldn’t believe that she had agreed to stealing a truck. When Ty had first said it, she’d actually thought he was joking with her. But he hadn’t been. And she had to admit that his reasoning did make sense. But still…
“Okay, Lib. I sure hope you can drive a standard.” Ty sat back up and turned to look at her.
“Me? You want me to drive?” She knew she had to look as dumbfounded as she felt. Men never wanted the woman to drive. At least, not in her experience. It was one of those guy things, like holding the remote control or not stopping to ask for directions.
“Yeah, you. They know what I look like, but they’ve never seen you. If we pass any cars, I can duck down. That way they won’t be able to identify us. Different truck. Different driver.”
“But if they recognize us, they’ll chase us. I really think you should drive. You would probably have a better chance of outrunning them than I would.”
“Sweetheart, there’s no way this truck would be able to outrun anything they might be driving.”
“Oh. Well, hmm…” She still wasn’t sure this was such a great idea.
“Can you drive a standard?” He climbed out of the truck and stood beside her.
She heard the doubt in his voice and felt herself bristle in annoyance. Did he think she was totally helpless? Who had rescued whom, after all? “Yes, of course. In fact, I learned to drive on a stan
dard, thank you very much.”
She climbed confidently into the driver’s seat and waited. With a last dubious glance, he shrugged and shut her door. She waited until he was seated beside her. The truck was rough-looking. It was old. The seats had rips and tears, and it looked like all that was holding it together was rust and Bondo. But Ty had checked the engine and assured her it was in good enough shape to get them home.
After he shut his door, she closed her eyes and prayed. When she opened them up, he was grinning at her.
“Look, Ty. I’m still not sure about this whole thing. I mean, what if the cops stop us? We’ll be arrested. Grand theft auto. I don’t really relish the idea of becoming some tough female convict’s bitch.”
He laughed. “I promise, we’re not going to be arrested. This place is obviously just a fishing camp. The people who own it haven’t been here in a while. They certainly won’t report the truck stolen.”
She snorted. “How do you know that?”
He just shrugged. “I can smell it.”
She narrowed a suspicious gaze on him. “Oh, really?” She sniffed. “All I smell is old chewing tobacco and dust.”
“Hmm….”
“And what about my SUV? How am I going to get it back?”
She heard him sigh. “Look, Lib, I swear. When we get back, I will personally have someone return this truck and get yours. I’ll even make sure that we send some money to the owners of the cabin we stayed in to compensate for the food and the broken window. Everything will be fine.”
“But how will you find that cabin? I mean, we don’t exactly have the address.”
“I’ll find it.”
“But—” Her fingers clenched around the steering wheel.
He reached over and covered her white-knuckled grip with his hand. “Trust me, Lib.”
She studied his face for a minute. He seemed sincere. Vampires probably had some kind of built-in radar or something. She nodded. “Okay. Okay then. Let’s do this.”
“Right. Now, do you know how to get us out of here? I’m assuming since you drove here you know how to get back to a main road somewhere.”
“Yes. I guess so. I mean, I was a little lost, but I know basically where we are.”
He looked a little sheepish for a moment, which surprised her. “And…just where might that be, Lib?”
She didn’t understand what he was asking. “What do you mean?”
“I mean”—he leaned closer—“that the last thing I remember before waking up staked out in that clearing was leaving a bar in Biloxi where I’d been partying with some friends. So...”
“Oh my God. Ty, I didn’t realize—”
“Yeah, so as far as I know, we could be anywhere from Alabama to Louisiana or any point in between.”
“No. We’re still in Mississippi. Pearl River County, just above Poplarville.”
“Damn. I mean that’s good, but we’re almost an hour from Biloxi. If we could just get to somewhere that had phone reception, I could call my brother, and he could meet us halfway.”
“Your brother?”
“Yeah. Quinn. He’s at the casino in Biloxi.”
“What casino?”
“The Midnight Moon.”
She mulled over that bit of information. “Does he work there?”
Ty shot her a quick glance. “We own it.”
Her stomach tightened at the sexy grin and then what he’d said sank in. “You own it?”
“Yep.”
She thought about that for a minute. She should have known he wasn’t just some guy who worked for the cable company or anything as ordinary as that. Did vampires have to work for a living? “You know, I’ve been there a few times. I lost some money playing blackjack, but you guys have a great buffet.”
“Thanks a lot.” His mouth quirked up on one side.
She shot him a suspicious look. What was so funny? “The desserts were incredible. That’s kind of odd considering you guys don’t eat food or anything.”
She heard a suspicious sound from him, but when she looked at him, his face was blank. “Our chef is human.”
“Well, he’s great.”
“Again, I thank you. But we can chitchat later. I really think we should get going.”
“Humph.”
“Put it in reverse and let’s get out of here. And here.” He tossed something toward her. She picked it up.
“A baseball cap? Where’d you find this?”
“Under the seat. Put it on. It’ll make you look like you belong in this POS truck.”
Shaking her head, she slapped it on her head.
He adjusted the brim and nodded. “Perfect.”
With a loud grinding of gears, she finally got the truck turned around and eased it out onto the—luckily—empty road. She hadn’t exactly lied when she told Ty she’d learned to drive on a standard. She just hadn’t added that it had probably been a good seven or eight years since she’d driven one. But after a jerky start and a few choice cuss words that made Ty’s eyebrows rise, everything soon came back to her.
They made good time, meeting only the occasional oncoming traffic. Each time Ty would duck down, folding his long, lean body into what had to be an uncomfortable ball, and Libby would tense up until they’d passed the car or truck, not relaxing until they’d completed disappeared from the rearview mirror.
“You’re doing great, Lib,” Ty reassured her after they’d passed another pickup truck and he’d climbed back up into his seat.
She darted a sideways glance at him and found his eyes on her. “I just want to get out of here in one piece. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I left home two days ago.”
“What were you doing out here anyway, Lib? I mean, sorry to say it, but you don’t exactly look like the country girl type.”
She laughed. “Well, looks can be deceiving. Actually, I was born and raised in Wayne County. It’s hard to get more country than that.”
“Huh.” She could tell she’d surprised him.
“Yeah. I can run a trotline or drive a four-wheeler with the best of ‘em. I was a real tomboy growing up.”
“So you were just on a camping trip out here?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I was actually taking photos for a class I’m taking.”
“Really? Do you want to be a professional photographer?” He sounded surprised.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Oh, nothing. I just never would have guessed it.”
She wasn’t sure if that was an insult or not, so she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Well…to tell you the truth, I’ve only recently thought about being a photographer. According to my mother, I’m still trying to ‘find myself.’”
“Is that right? Me, too.” He smiled, obviously knowing how ridiculous that comment was. If he hadn’t found himself in over two hundred years, he never would. And Libby didn’t believe it anyway. If she’d ever met anyone who knew exactly who and what he was, it was Ty. The air of confidence he wore like a cloak made that glaringly apparent.
She just rolled her eyes and murmured, “Right.”
“What do you do besides take photography classes? Are you a student full-time? Or do you work somewhere?”
She didn’t really want to tell him, but…”I’m a waitress at The Front Porch in Gulfport.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you live in Gulfport, too, or do you just work there?”
She nodded. “I rent a small house out near the airport.”
“You live alone? No roommates? Significant others?”
She was a little startled by the question, but maybe she shouldn’t have been. After all, they had had sex twice. And they knew relatively little about each other. Maybe he had a girlfriend or a wife…Good Lord. “Yes. I live alone. No boyfriends or husbands or anything like that. Not even a cat. What about you?”
She held her breath, hoping she hadn’t been boinking somebody’s man. “Well, I live at the casino
with my brother. The top two floors are our private quarters. But no significant others in my life either.”
“Footloose and fancy free, huh?” A player. Yeah. He was obviously a guy who enjoyed the company of women. Probably in large numbers. She was just another notch on his bedpost. Or his casket lid, she thought to herself with a spurt of vampire humor. She thought about sharing it with him, but decided he probably wouldn’t think it as funny as she did.
“I guess so.” He shrugged. “What about you? You have a steady boyfriend or anything?”
She shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. I wouldn’t have slept with you if I did.”
“Good.” She could hear the satisfaction in his voice and tried not to let that please her. She was unsuccessful.
Another car’s headlights came into view, and he ducked down again as they passed them. Once they were out of sight, he sat back up. After a few more minutes he observed, “There are more houses around here. I think we’re getting closer to civilization. We’ll probably be passing a lot more cars now.”
He was right. Over the next few miles they passed several cars and trucks. Each time he slid down in the seat, and Libby held her breath until they were safely past the vehicle.
For a while neither spoke. Libby reached out and fiddled with the radio. AM stations only, ugh. Well, at least it worked, which was a pleasant surprise. She finally found one that had some good country classics and left it there. She could hear his groan at her choice. He reached out to change the station, but she swatted at his hand. “Oh, no, you don’t. Driver picks radio stations. It’s the rule.”
“I can’t listen to this stuff, Libby. Come on. Raindrops and broken hearts and pickup trucks? How about some classic rock? Or some R and B?”
Libby shook her head. “No way, mister. Hands off.” She glanced down and caught sight of the gas gauge, and all thoughts about music evaporated. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Oh, no.”
“What is it?”
She indicated the gauges. “We’re almost out of gas.”
“Shit. That’s just what we need.”
He looked around as if a gas station might appear out of nowhere. “Okay. Just keep going. We’ve got to be getting close to a main road. There’s bound to be some gas stations nearby.”