“Okay. I’ll spare you the cat and mouse game. Follow me.” He roughly shoves the dead body back into the freezer and locks it. He seems quite annoyed for someone who has twenty-four hours a day to work. “I examined several vampire brains and made an interesting discovery.”
After leaving the morgue, we cross into a dark room. On the back wall is a white screen.
Armand futzes with a laptop and several CAT scans appear. “The brain on the right is Taylor. The brain on the left is me.”
I step closer to examine Armand’s. “What’s this?”
There is a spot in the parietal lobe which sits at the top of the brain. In the event of trauma, it’s the part most likely to be damaged given its location.
“That is what makes a vampire, a vampire.” Armand waves a finger at the screen.
“That tiny lesion?” I’m amazed he was able to isolate it. “Are you sure?”
“We know venom is introduced into the host system after being bitten.” He actually created a diagram! “In our fangs where the pockets of venom reside, it mixes with the host’s blood and turns it into vampire blood. During that process when the new blood spreads through the body, a lesion is formed in the brain.”
“A damn lesion.” I’m furious I wasn’t able to connect these dots myself.
“It becomes an extra organ if you will.” Armand puts up more slides. “To a non-suspicious eye there would not appear to be any other changes to the brain.”
“It must be why you retain knowledge of your former life,” Taylor adds squeezing his shoulder.
“So what if this lesion is—” I stagger to a stool as vampire blood drains away from my face.
Armand jumps up and down. “Ding, ding, ding. And the Nobel Prize for figuring out how a vampire becomes human goes to Alexander Manning!”
Remove the lesion, no more vampire. Even in death. Or, just in death? I turn back to the CAT scan and run my fingers across the bright white spot on the brain. I take a nearby magnifier and examine it closer. Can it just be plucked out?
“Have you done any experiments on live subjects?”
“No, of course not,” Armand scoffs. “To remove the lesion and only the lesion, the host would certainly die. I am running hundreds of probability simulations each week hoping for a way to fix that.”
“Has Elijah secured your computer?”
“As best he can. I’m ghosting off a Cray at the NIH.”
I dump my head in my hands. Armand hacked into the National Institutes of Health!
“Do you know how long it would take me to program a fresh computer, Alexander? They’ve been compiling data for forty years.”
In forty years, Elizabeth will be seventy-five and I may very well have a stake through my chest for snapping and trying to kill Christiana.
Chapter 22
The place Loren brings me for the glass of wine, I’m dying to see him drink, is an absolute dive on the outside.
On the inside, however, its décor and atmosphere are quite charming.
Loren, who led the way in his late-model Lexus, gestures me to an impressive wood bar with twinkling lights above the mirror. I sit on a leather stool that feels very soft and worn in. On the wall are a series of mahogany plaques with shiny copper plates, awarding people I never heard of for things I know nothing about.
For a school night, the crowd size is not unexpected. A woman in a low-cut V-neck tee shirt flies over to us, and doesn’t even notice me. Not even for the obligatory, I don’t get it stare I often suffer when I’m with Alex.
Loren is so gorgeous, he makes me completely disappear and I’m perfectly fine with that.
“Can you get the lady a wine menu please?” Loren asks in a low commanding tone, and she darts away.
“You don’t need a menu?” I ask.
“I know what they serve here.”
“Do you come here often?” I laugh nervously at my own corny line, but Loren doesn’t smile.
Perhaps he doesn’t get it. Too twentieth-century for him.
With a serious expression, he leans into me and whispers, “I can smell what wine they serve.” His breath is sweet and it tickles my ear.
His voice hints at some kind of old-world European accent perhaps from when he was first made. That must be some story.
I tear my eyes away from him and salivate at all the wine bottles stacked in diamond-shaped cubby holes. “You can tell what’s in those bottles?”
“No, in their cellar,” he answers flatly, showing off his spectacular powers.
Disturbingly, some may or may not have passed to Alex. So where, or rather who did Loren get his powers from? Are there really no others exactly like him?
“Here,” says the obnoxious bartender.
Now she sees me and is seething with jealousy.
With confidence, I lift my head and let the menu fall. “I’ll have whatever he’s having.”
Loren folds his arms against the bar and sneaks me a smile that makes me lose my breath. Then he turns to the woman and barks out the name of a wine I never even heard of. Down to the grape. Which means it will be fantastic.
The way the girl grunts suggests she doesn’t appreciate having to trudge all the way down to their cellar to get it. This also means I have to speak for a few minutes.
“Let’s sit over there.” Loren points to one of the two high-tops in the back corner.
There’s a flash of light, a burst of electricity and my balance is non-existent for a moment. We traveled at least thirty feet in a matter of seconds. He moved us through time. Dazed and dizzy, I fall into his arms.
Staring into my eyes, Loren moves a loose hair out of my face. I feel his grip tighten like something affected him. His matte black eyes lack the sparkle I see in Alex’s. Perhaps it’s been too long for any hint of his original color to be present. Not even his apparent attraction to me brings out a beautiful blue, a stormy hazel, or chocolate brown.
“Thank you,” I say after he releases me.
I sit, but without a glass to hold and use as a prop or a distraction, my fingers tap the wood tabletop in rapid beats.
Loren places his cold hand over mine. “You have nothing to fear from me, Elizabeth.”
Vampires are predators who smell anxiety, but willing prey can’t be very fun. I don’t know what my future holds once Alex mates with Christiana. I don’t necessarily want to take up with another vampire.
“Okay.” I cross my arms and gaze at him to make him as uncomfortable as I am.
The way he meets my stare and smiles, challenges me right back. He opens his mouth to say something else, but the woman is at our table with the bottle of wine.
“Perfect,” Loren says, fingering the faded and dusty label.
“I’ll bring your glasses and an opener.” She’s pissed off.
“Watch this.” Loren stretches his long fingers across the top of the bottle and unwraps the cover.
“Is this a champagne?” I ask.
“No. Older wines were corked the same way though.” When he easily twists the stopper out, a pop sound floats past me.
He crumbles it in his pearly white hands and lets the pieces which have turned to dust fall onto the table. He brings the rim of the open bottle to his regal nose. Loren can probably smell every ingredient cultivated with the grapes and even the soil they grew out of. If he’s as good as I suspect he is, the blood type of the woman who crushed them with her bare feet.
The server comes back with two sparkling glasses and huffs that the bottle is already open.
Loren sneers at her rudeness, so I put my hand on his thigh under the table, to calm him. He goes very still for a moment, but covers it with his.
“We couldn’t wait,” I say to the server, who spins and stalks away.
<
br /> “You’re feisty, Elizabeth.” He gently releases my hand and I’m grateful because it’s so cold. Having sex with him will be like humping an ice sculpture. “I can really see why Alex wanted you so much.”
I should be flattered, but I’m smacked in the face again with the reality that I’m going to lose him.
Loren reacts to my sadness and since we’re alone this time, he glides a cool finger under my chin. “It’s okay, Elizabeth.”
“No, it’s not okay.” I put my hands in front of my face. When I take them away, I see the wine was poured into the glass. I take a sip—Jesus that’s good—and clear my throat. “Let’s talk about something else. What do you do? For a living.”
Loren sits back and grasps the glass he poured for himself. Under the ambient sconces behind him, his pale skin glows warmly. “Finance. I learned over the last few years or so medical licenses are hard to fake. My preferences and ambitions lead me to never really stay in the same place for very long, anyway. The painstaking process of getting re-licensed again and again has led me to pursue a more lucrative purpose.” He clinks his glass with mine and takes a sip.
“Why do you prefer to move around a lot?”
He considers my question with a pensive nod as he takes his next sip. After a pause, he smiles. “Because I can.”
Perhaps it’s smart he doesn’t tell me too much. Alex says being intimate with this vampire will protect me, but what if he becomes a target? That thought makes me put down my glass because my hands begin to shake.
“Elizabeth, is Alexander the only vampire you’ve been with?”
I jerk my head up to see if anyone reacted to what he said since he didn’t lower his voice. No one even flinched. In fact, they are behind a blurry wall. No. We’re inside that wall. I reach my hand out to touch it. It feels like water without being wet, shimmery and glistening.
The illusion stretches and takes the shape of my hand. “Are you doing this?”
He raises his eyebrows and smiles.
Huh, boy. I take a long sip. “To answer your question, no. I’m not a vampire-addicted whore or anything.”
Loren chokes then throws his head back and roars with laughter. After he gets himself under control, he says, “I’ve known Alexander a long time and would be very shocked to discover he took up with someone like that.”
“Who would you expect Alex to take up with?” I ask after a sip that soothes me, but I suspect Loren is controlling my emotions.
“Someone like yourself.” He puts down his glass. “Alexander has been alone for a long time. If he were going to willingly take another vampire to mate, I suspect he would have done it by now. Mated vampires are very monogamous.”
“I’m learning about the mating rituals of vampires.” I clear my throat. “Why haven’t you mated with Julianna? Is that her name?”
“How . . .?” He adjusts his collar like he’s angry at my question and unsure of what to reveal to me. “I’m surprised Alexander brought her up to you.”
“Why don’t you tell me about her?” The idea he is interested in someone else, sets my relax dial much lower. “Is she here in Princeton with you?”
When his head lowers, my heart sinks, before it kicks into overdrive. Igniting a vampire’s emotions is never a good thing.
“Elizabeth, you’re fine.” He moves a long blonde strand of hair that fell into my eyes. “I haven’t seen Julianna in many years.”
“Have you asked any of the other vampires who hold allegiance to Francisco for help? I understand one is really good with computers. Maybe he can track her down.”
“A hundred years ago, trackers were over achieving vampires with a sharpened sense of smell. Now they’re string-bean geeks sitting behind several monitors.” He fills my glass and the way he speaks for a moment, the intoxicating accent aside, it’s as if he’s an ordinary man anguished over a woman.
Even I can see he is lonely and ravenous. A horny vampire might be more dangerous than a thirsty one.
“I wish I could help as well,” I say. “But I’m not sure calculus will solve this problem.”
“That’s okay. I’m here to help you.” He smiles and lowers his glass to move closer to me.
Alex said he has to want me first. A vampire’s cheek against mine would render me immobile even if it wasn’t so cold. Loren smells of fresh rain on a hot summer day with a hint of an icy stream rushing over rocks. A vision sharpens in my mind of him naked, walking toward me. My blouse is open and my skirt is around my waist. Loren settles against me and kisses me.
I gasp for air, feeling it. Feeling him. As though he’s right there nestled in the cradle of my thighs.
Loren deposited that image in my head. He can control my mind and I can’t think of anything except to get the hell away from him. It’s too much.
“I can’t do this.” I dash off my stool and run for the door.
Only, Loren is there, blocking me and again no one saw him move.
“Let me pay the check and we’ll go to Alexander together.” He brushes my cheek with the back of his hand. “So warm,” he whispers, his voice gruff and low.
I nod, but I’m consumed with guilt over such an expensive bottle of wine going to waste.
Outside, the crisp winter air smells like sweet fireplace smoke. Loren glides toward me with the purse I left behind. He gallantly secures the strap on my shoulder and gives it a firm but gentle squeeze. I’m comforted by his touch, even though I know he can snap my bones into dust.
“Do Alex and I have another choice?” I lean into him. “Is there really no other way to protect me?”
“I wouldn’t be so crude to trade my body for protection favors. This is simply part of being vampire. Elizabeth, unless Alexander turns you, which I hope to hell he does not, you smell too good alive, I’m afraid this is the only way.” He gathers a bundle of my hair that fell over my shoulder and skimmed my right breast. The icy sensations spread to the fabric of my sweater. “The decision is still completely yours. Alexander didn’t immediately bring you up when I first saw him. It was a much livelier conversation after that.” Vampires talking like frat boys is a comical vision.
“I know the choice is ultimately mine.” I cross my arms over my chest to hide the way my body betrays me at the moment.
“Permit me one trespass.” He leans closer to me. “To help aid in your decision.”
I know he’s going to kiss me. I know I shouldn’t want it. But he’s just too beautiful to turn away from. His soft, cool lips press against mine then linger. I would expect someone like Loren to take control, but he allows me to set the pace. I’m the one who opens my mouth first. He made his kiss taste like an ice-cold dirty martini. A mix of tangy and tart flavors dash across my tongue. Pleasant and refreshing. I know how powerful Alex’s lustful venom is. That effect must strengthen over a vampire’s life span. My body feels like I’m under a magical spell. Like a fire has erupted in every cell of my body.
Loren’s movements melt into something very human. His hips press into mine letting me feel his arousal. Oh. My. God. My body responds and I allow him to comfortably curl against me.
I’m embarrassed when he stops before me. I’m heated and anxious and I’m pretty sure it’s not Alex’s intention that I enjoy this. God help me, I just might.
I put my hand to my cheek, which is hot and cold at the same time. “Um, please don’t tell Alex about this.”
Loren smirks and steps out of the way.
Alex was standing there behind him the whole time.
~ ~ ~
Elizabeth has a terrible look of guilt on her face.
Now I feel bad. This was my idea. Sort of. I reach forward to kiss her and it enrages me that all I smell is Loren. He’s marked her by secluding her in one of those bubbles he makes.
I shoot hi
m a disapproving glare, but he only shrugs his shoulders and puts his hands in his pockets.
“Are you all right?” I whisper to Elizabeth.
“Yes, yes, of course.” She swallows and hovers against my body.
“Loren, we’ll talk more tomorrow.” The tone of my voice reinforces my anger for moving so fast with Elizabeth.
“Alexander, I—”
“Goodnight, Loren.” He can blind and eviscerate me, yet he spins on his heel and obeys like a bad dog.
“Are you mad at me?” Elizabeth chokes out.
“I feel like I should ask you the same question.”
“I wasn’t happy about this at all, at first. But—”
“But then he kissed you.”
“I don’t know what came over me.” She runs a trembling hand through her hair. “I’m not like that, Alex.”
“Loren is very persuasive.” I touch her hair and cringe at the traces of Loren on the bright blonde waves. “I’m not ignorant to what he looks like.”
“Do you want to talk more about it?” she asks.
“No,” I answer and grip her tighter before I let go. “Not right now. Is Annie staying with your father tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go home.” With the Loren business temporarily adjourned, and as much as I want to make passionate love in her bed, I can’t.
Elizabeth met and kissed the most feared vampire on the planet, yet she slips into her habitual nightly routine, like nothing happened. She heads for the bathroom to cleanse her face and brush her teeth while I sit in her office.
On my phone, there are a few emails from Armand asking me biology and blood-theory questions, which I answer as best I can. Nights when I know I can take Elizabeth whenever I want and how many times I want, I take my time getting to her room. Now I can’t stand her being alone. I worry about what she’s thinking.
In Elizabeth’s bedroom, she sits up in bed. The television is on and a blue glow reflects on her gorgeous face.
Drawing Bloodlines (The Princeton Allegiant Series Book 1) Page 19