by Tamsin Baker
He ended the call as soon as he saw me. “I’m sorry to see you distressed. But I won’t apologize for putting your recovery ahead of feeding a giant moggy who is capable of taking care of himself.”
“He’s a beautiful Maine Coon and my baby boy.” I jabbed my fingertip into Nic’s taut chest.
He grinned at me and grabbed my finger, his speed too fast for my reflexes. He wrapped his arms around me. “You are strong. You almost poked a hole in my chest. I’ll take you home so you can see his happy, furry face for yourself.”
I hugged Nic back. His first introduction to Snuggles had drawn Nic’s blood. I really couldn’t blame him for not thinking about feeding my baby boy. Besides, that wasn’t the only thing I was worried about. I pulled away and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, but my car is here and I need it to get to school tomorrow.” I found my purse and gun. Sunday afternoon was meant to be hand-to-hand combat training. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to force my heartbeat to slow. “Ben will yell when he finds out what happened.”
“He already knows—”
“What?” Tension pulled across my shoulder blades.
“He called here yesterday afternoon.” Nic squeezed my upper arms and spoke softly, as if to calm a hysterical child. “Looking for you.”
I slumped onto the bed, my mind whirling with questions. How did Ben know to come here to find me? If he’d found out about the party, about me attending without even letting him know, he’d want to skin me alive. “He’s gonna kill me.”
“I told him a little of what happened. He wanted to take you home right then.” Nic sat next to me. “I couldn’t let him in case you needed more of my blood to heal.”
I squirmed into Nic’s chest. One thing for sure, I’d never look at a Bloody Mary in the same way again. “Maybe Ben fed Snuggles?”
“Maybe. But he left here in a high temper.”
“How angry?” Does he know about you healing me?” Maybe Ben recognized that Nic saved my life the only way he could. Or maybe he was plain furious.
Nic massaged the back of my neck, his fingertips finding painful knots of tension. “I didn't let him see you, or describe the detail of what happened. I had to ask Gaspard to escort him out.”
“Noooooooo.” I blew out the word like a teenage drama queen.
“Let’s get you home. I’ll come with you and use the tunnel to get back.”
I let Nic pull me to my feet. “I need to avoid Ben for the rest of forever.”
“You are overreacting?”
“No. I’m in all sorts of trouble. He’s training me to be his back-up. He has to be able to rely on me.” Not only could he not rely on me, but I’d proven myself to be the kind of idiot who walked into danger ill-equipped and ill-prepared.
“I can train you.” Nic’s smoldering gaze triggered the primordial part of my brain.
For a few moments, I imagined him pinning me to the mat, lust turning his eyes the deepest amber.
“As if we’d get much training done.” I thumped his shoulder.
He faked a trip backwards with a wicked grin on his face. “We’d enjoy it, though.”
Someone rapped on the bedroom door. We both spun to face it. Heavy footfalls followed the gentle raps and the door swooshed open.
“This is taking sleeping with the enemy to a whole new level.” Ben stomped into the middle of the room, hands on hips, nostrils flaring.
I recognized the vampire who interrupted us on the stairs on Friday night. “I’m sorry sir, he forced his way—”
“We’ll talk later, Jason.” The look on Nic’s face suggested the talk might not be pleasant for Jason. “Shut the door.”
Jason bowed his head slightly, closed the door silently, and Nic positioned himself between Ben and me.
“Nic is not the enemy.” I nudged Nic out of the way and faced Ben.
“Really? Then who’s to blame?” Ben closed the distance between us and towered over me. A vein in his neck twitched.
Instead of backing away, I squared my shoulders and glared at him. “The leech who attacked me, that’s who. Nic killed him.”
“Exactly. One of his kin attacks you on his property. At one of his parties.” Ben made rabbits ears in the air when he said “parties.” He didn’t yell, but he either couldn’t stop or didn’t care about the tremor in his voice. Our heads were so close, his breath blasted across my face. “Do you know if the leech is really dead? Do you know if it was acting alone?”
Adrian’s head was ripped right from his body. I’d seen it and would never forget it. Nic had tossed the bloody noggin to the side like a misshapen cabbage. Nic gripped my arm and pulled me back. With that disgusting vision in my head, I was happy to let him speak.
“Adrian was not my kin.” Nic tightened his eyes and fixed a cold, hard gaze on Ben’s face. “When Adrian accepted my hospitality, and gave me his allegiance, he told me he didn’t know who sired him. Until Friday night he gave us no trouble.”
Ben swept his arm around the room. “How many other strangers have you taken into your lineage? You know little about them and do even less to control them.”
Nic glanced at me but kept his lips tightly shut. He looked like he barely had his anger under control. The two men circled one another, lips curled, as if ready to pounce.
I jumped between them. “Don’t fight. That’s not going to solve anything.”
Ben shoved me. His strength shocked me and I stumbled back to the bed.
Nic bared his teeth, fangs clearly visible.
“Stop it. Both of you.” I leapt back between them, my arms outstretched like a referee in a boxing match. “Yes, I was attacked, but I’m okay now.”
Neither man paid any attention to me. They seemed to stare at one another right through me.
“That’s not of your concern. I have the problem under control.” The tension in Nic’s jaw was visible, but he covered his teeth.
“Right. Sure looks like it to me.” Ben stopped prowling and glowered at both of us.
“Ben, it’s okay. I know I missed a session, I’m going home now so we can continue our training.”
“Training?" He barked at a harsh laugh." You don't need training, you need a good dose of common sense.
I couldn't argue with that, but I gripped my arms across my chest anyway. “What I do in my own time is none of your business.”
“It is when it involves him.”
Nic hugged my side, one hand possessively on the bottom of my spine. “Back off, Ben. What happened at the party was regrettable, but it’s been dealt with.
Ben pointed his accusing finger at me. “You need lessons in how to use your innate skills and the weapons in your basement before entering an enemy’s lair.”
Nick stiffened beside me.
I touched Nic’s chest to silence him. “This is my argument with Ben.”
Nic raised his eyebrows. “As you wish.”
“I came to a party. To check on my students.” I didn’t need to add that seeing Nic again was part of the attraction. “I didn’t try to break and enter into anyone’s lair.”
“A party at which you were so injured you needed care that apparently only he could give.” Ben stabbed a finger toward Nic. His face wrinkled in apparent disgust. He must have guessed about Nic providing me with his blood to heal.
My cheeks heated as guilt, shame, and revulsion washed over me.
“You’re in his thrall, aren’t you?”
“Of all the—” Nic’s voice betrayed his anger.
I gripped his forearm and squeezed hard. This was still between Ben and me. “No. Of course not—”
“Did he tell you dhampir’s can’t be thralled?” Ben harrumphed. “Experienced dhampir’s can resist vampire hypnotism, but you are far from experienced. Besides, vamp blood is addictive.”
I kept my gaze on his face even though my thoughts raced. Having tasted the erotic thrill from drinking a vampire’s blood I could see why. It explained why the girls were
so ready to join Nic’s guests in private rooms to indulge themselves. I hadn’t even experienced a proper vampire bite yet. My body tingled just thinking about it.
“No one is immune to that. You need to decide which side you’re on.”
“Nic did not hypnotize me. He is on our side.” I jutted out my chin. “I trust him and so did Tilly.”
“Tilly was getting old.”
“So does Imogen.”
“Imogen is a fool.”
“I am neither.” I grabbed my purse. “Let’s go. Training time is wasting away.”
I stood on tiptoes to kiss Nic’s cheek. He feathered a light, chaste kiss to my lips. “I’ll see you to your car.”
Ben looked about ready to blow a fuse, but he followed us outside. His car was parked next to mine, but he got in and drove away without a backward glance.
“He’s furious.”
Ben rubbed my back. “Would you like me to come with you?”
“That would make him worse. I need to have this out with him.”
Nic lifted my chin and brushed his mouth against mine. Nothing chaste about that kiss at all.
“Thank you.” I whispered into his chest. “I’ll get through whatever happens.”
“My offer for training still stands.”
“Tempting. I might take you up on it. But as an extra, not a replacement. Ben is my cousin. He’s trying to help me, and was a good friend to Tilly. I have to mend the relationship.”
Nic kissed me again. “He respects you and likes you. Things will work out.”
#
I drove home the long way through town rather than taking the dirt road shortcut I’d used to get to the Gravier mansion. Cowardly, I know, but I definitely was not looking forward to facing Ben.
I turned into my street with my pulse pounding in my ears.
He lounged against his car in my driveway, ankles crossed. He almost appeared casual, but the arms jammed across his chest and stiff shoulders showed just as much tension as I felt.
I pulled under my carport and took several deep breaths, still gripping the steering wheel. I kept my back straight as I paced to my front door, but tremors shook my hand when I turned the key in the lock.
Ben stomped inside and slammed the door behind him. “Of all the stupid—”
“Not now.” I slammed the palm of my hand into Ben’s chest. “Snuggles needs me.”
I ran into the kitchen calling his name and almost burst into tears at the silence that greeted me. Nic wasn’t wrong about an emotional roller coaster ride.
“He won’t be far.” Ben’s voice had lost its gruffness.
“He could be—”
A loud meow sounded from the landing, followed by a series of high pitched chirps. I dashed to the bottom of the stairs and scooped Snuggles into my arms. Blinking away tears, I hugged him to me. He touched his paw to my cheek before jumping from my arms, darting to his feeding mat and pawing the empty dish.
“I’m sorry, bubs. You must be half starved.” I found his salmon in the fridge and broke a chunk apart for him. At another meow, I added more chunks to a clean cat dish.
“He could live on his fat for a few days.” Ben leaned a shoulder against the door jamb. Some of the anger had seeped from him, but I wasn’t sure if the inscrutable stare he leveled at me was any better.
I petted Snuggles head, gave him his salmon, and refilled his kibble and water bowls. Turning back to face Ben, I gave him one of my best glares—the one guaranteed to stop teenage pupils in their tracks.
With his arms jammed across his chest, Ben lifted his brows. “I know you’ve been through quite a trauma, Louisa. But—”
“I knew there was a but coming.”
He shook his head. “We need to talk. Coffee?”
I didn't want to think about the trauma, but I couldn't help it. I tried to force myself to think about making love with Nic earlier this morning. Tremors started in my hands, I slumped onto a kitchen chair before they made it to my knees. “If you make it.”
Ben busied himself with the coffee pot while I rubbed my hands over my face. When he slid a mug of coffee in front of me, the heavenly scent drew a sigh from my lips.
“Go for it.” I stared into my coffee and gripped the mug so hard I feared I might crack it. “Talk, yell, cuss. I’m listening.”
Ben pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted Friday night off to go to a Gravier party?”
I shrugged. “I thought you might shout.”
“Probably. I would have recommended against it, that’s for sure.”
“Why? I went as a party guest not as a vampire hunter.” I lifted my face and returned Ben’s gaze. I expected to see his eyes blazing in anger. The softness I saw there almost undid my resolve not to cry in front of him.
“That’s what we need to talk about.” For a few seconds Ben’s eyes glowed. He took my hand and squeezed gently. “You are, and always will be, a vampire hunter. It’s what we are, not what we do. It’s not a nine-to-five job where you leave the classroom behind at the end of the day.”
“I didn’t sign up for this.”
“None of us do.” The sadness returned to his eyes. “Do you know why Nic and the leech, and probably countless others are drawn to you?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. “You are part vampire, part human witch. They smell your blood, crave it. Most of them see you as a gourmet meal in an attractive thermos— “
“But mostly human.”
He shrugged.
“Wait.” I thumped his chest. “Why suggest I’m not?”
“You are closer to part vamp, part witch.” He shrugged again.
“Who said I’m a vampire/witch hybrid?” At the sound of my raised voice, Snuggles ran to the stairs.
Ben stood and paced the room.
I chased and cornered him in the sitting room. “Who Ben? Why did you say that? I think I’d know if one of my parents was a vampire.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “It was just something Tilly said. She made me promise that if anything happened to her, I’d keep an eye on you, help you understand— “
My body tensed. “Why the hell didn’t she tell me?”
“Louisa, please.” He motioned to the chairs.
I slapped his hand away. “Don’t you ‘Louisa please’ me. You could have told me.”
He grabbed my elbow, steered me to the sofa and nudged me into a seated position. “Tilly had every intention of explaining all this to you. She didn’t expect to get cancer, and she sure didn’t expect to leave us so soon.” He slumped into one of the easy chairs and gripped his hands around his head. “None of us did.”
His obvious distress mollified my anger somewhat. “I can tell you right now, neither my mom nor my dad are vampires. Mom could be a bit witchy, but I’ve emailed her some questions and hopefully I get answers soon.”
“Tilly tried to find her brother, your dad, no luck though.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ve let you down. I’ve tried to ease you into it.” He gave me a grim laugh. “I didn’t expect you to get so chummy with Nic bloody Gravier so quickly.”
“I like him.”
Ben smirked. “I’m glad to hear it given the weekends escapades. I expected him to want you. I should have predicted your crazy attraction to him.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m not crazy and Nic isn’t after my blood.”
Ben harrumphed. "I'm sure Nic has other plans for you."
“Like what?"
“You know the only way vampires can produce other vampires from their own flesh and blood?"
I shook my head. “Vampires can't actually breed. They make new vampires…” I waved my hand vaguely. I didn't want to think about the process they used to sire vampire newbies.
Ben leaned forward, drumming his fingers on the table. "Or, if they can find one, a strong, older male will mate with a dhampir, the stronger the better.”
All the doubts I felt, about why a wealthy, pow
erful vampire would be interested in little old me surfaced with a vengeance.
"I bet he didn't mention that while you were tumbling in the sheets, did he?"
I gulped down the rest of my coffee. Too much, too soon. I'd have to check Tilly’s notes, but Ben had no reason to lie to me, especially when I could so easily check on the facts.
“We’re missing out on practice time." If in doubt, distract or procrastinate. Besides, I needed to get rid of the tension snaking down my spine. “Hand-to-hand combat today, isn't it?"
“Not today. Not after what you've been through."
"I'm a vampire hunter, remember? This is who I am, and I've learned my lesson, I'm not skilled enough to take on the enemy. Give me two minutes to change.”
I ran upstairs and quickly pulled on my comfortable yoga clothes and sneakers. Snuggles raced after me, jumped on the bed and kneaded the quilt with his front paws.
I tickled behind his ears. “Not now, handsome. The sheriff has a fine ass, and I'm just the person to give it a well-deserved kick."
With Snuggles at my feet, I stomped outside and unrolled the exercise mat Ben had stored under the back porch.
Ben helped me spread it out on the flattest part of the garden. “Are you sure you’re up to this?"
“Nope.” I stretched my arms above my head and side to side. "But we're doing it anyway."
This was only my second lesson. In our first practice, I’d spent most of the time either flat on my back or face down on the mat. Crazy to think I could get my foot anywhere near Ben’s derriere. But I'd thrown the challenge out, and I wasn't backing down now.
We retreated to opposite corners and Ben removed his jacket and his heavy boots. His pinky toe peeked from a hole in his sock and I had to fight to restrain a giggle.
“Stop smirking. Stretch properly,” Ben commanded.
I straightened my mouth. “So bossy.”
“A lot of good it does me. Don’t let me go home without showing you how to carry concealed stakes on your person.”
“I can’t believe wooden stakes harm them.”
“Only stakes like those in Tilly’s basement. Sharp, thick and long enough to go straight through muscle, into the heart.” Ben stretched as he delivered the short lecture. “They aren’t easy to use because you have to hit the right spot at close quarters. But if you’ve run out of other options, a stake pulled from a boot or your hair for example, could be your last resort.”