As she stared at him, she wondered where he’d been over the past few hours. She suspected he spent the time feeding but she wondered on whom. To her surprise, a twinge of jealousy poked at her. She piled her cards up and built them into a neat stack.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“Out.”
“Where?”
“I went to feed.”
“On who?”
He smiled at the question. “Why the sudden interest?”
She pressed her lips together and shrugged. “I’m just curious.” She picked the cards up and turned them in her hand.
“An old friend,” he said.
Lauryl clenched the cards until they bent. “Jennifer fucking Conrad.”
He snickered and wiped his lips. “Interesting phrasing.”
She jumped up and hurled the cards at him. “You douche bag! You could do anyone in this town but you just can’t leave her alone. You always manage to find your way back to her skanky bed! And you do it to spite me!”
Eamon appeared unbothered by the cards flying around him. “Calm down please.”
“Screw you. I’m going to my room. You should have turned Jennifer!” she yelled as she stomped out of the room.
Eamon stared at the cards on the floor. The sound of her door slamming echoed through the house. They were catalysts for one another. If she wasn’t trying to irritate him, he was trying to find a way to aggravate her. He knew going to see Jennifer would infuriate Lauryl. That was the reason he did it. He wasn’t accustomed to someone defying him nor did he want to try to become accustomed to it. He was going to have to discover some way though to smooth things out between Lauryl and him. She was becoming more and more independent and contrary. In addition, she was now stronger vampire.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Prince Charming is a Monster
Anthony checked at his watch for the sixth time since he had arrived at the bar. He was early and each minute that crept by added to his nervousness. He signaled to the bartender to refill his glass with tequila. He knew the alcohol was a bad choice, but he needed something, anything to keep his nerves under control. A hand settled on his back and he spun around.
“Hello, Anthony,” Lauryl said, smiling.
It took him a moment to convince himself that she was really standing there. The forty-eight hours between her phone call asking to meet for drinks and now had moved along at a glacial pace, but now she was here. His palms were now damp and he tried to wipe them on his pants without being obvious.
“You look incredible, Lauryl,” he said, attempting not to sound over-anxious. His eyes focused on her chest. The low cut blouse she wore gave him an unspoiled view of her breasts and his heart thumped like a sixteen-year-old boy.
Lauryl skimmed her hand down his shirt. “Thank you.” She poked his chest with a gentle teasing pressure. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Anthony nodded to the empty barstool next to him. “Have a seat.”
She looked at the stool and shook her head. “Let’s go for a ride.”
“I thought we were meeting for a drink.”
“We are.”
Anthony let her walk a few steps ahead of him as they walked to her car. There was something different about her walk. In fact, it seemed like there was something different about her as a whole. She’d developed a magnetic confidence. Before she had been somewhat awkward and unsure of herself; now she radiated poise and control.
He heard a car alarm turn off and doors unlock. “What happened to the Passat?”
Lauryl’s veil of self-assuredness cracked for a moment but recovered. “Eamon bought me something new.”
“Oh.”
They got in the BMW and she pulled out of the parking lot. “I’ve missed you so much, Anthony,” she said, not taking her eyes from the road.
He closed his eyes for a second. Professional ethics swirled loosely in his head. He kept reminding himself that she was married now. But something made her call him. He hoped that it wasn’t for a professional reason.
“I’ve missed you, too. I guess you must have quite a life being married to Eamon.”
She gripped the steering wheel and turned the car off the road onto a bluff overlooking the ocean. “Yeah, it’s some life,” she muttered.
“Why are we stopped?”
“Prince Charming is a monster,” Lauryl said. With a laugh she added, “I’m living a life I couldn’t have imagined in a million years.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. You know me. Always dramatic.” She took her hands from the steering wheel and held them out to him. He took hers and squeezed. “I’ve wanted to feel that for so long now.”
Anthony shook off the confusion about his own feelings and concentrated on hers. “Are you okay?”
“Do you mean am I using? No, I’m not.”
“Are you having problems with Eamon? Is he hurting you?”
She laughed. “I’m in a difficult situation, Anthony. That’s all I can tell you.”
He shifted in the seat. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”
Lauryl shook her head. “Trust me. There are some things I can’t tell you.” She pulled her hands away from him.
“Do I need to be concerned about your safety?”
“My safety? No, you don’t need to be concerned about that.” She stared down at the floorboard and then back at him. “Please don’t be my doctor.”
He realized he sounded clinical and blushed. “I’m concerned about you. You tell me all of these cryptic things and it gets my mind going.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What do you want me to be?”
She leaned over and kissed him. Her tongue caressed his, making him hard. He pulled away, embarrassed by his adolescent reaction.
“Don’t pull away, Anthony. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this.”
The sound of her words banished any resolve to remain professional. He’d longed to hear those exact words for months. He had fantasized about them with endless, pleasurable outcomes. She was married now, though. “You’re married. I hate saying that, but it’s true.”
Lauryl started to laugh. “My marriage isn’t what you think it is.”
Anthony’s brow furrowed for a moment. “Still, I have to try to maintain some kind of—.”
She cut him off. “No, you don’t. Anthony. What’s the most farfetched, unbelievable thing you think you could believe in?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He leaned into the car seat. “Maybe UFOs. I’m not sure what you’re asking me.”
“I’m asking you to tell me what is the most outlandish thing you believe in.”
“I guess UFOs. It’s hard to believe in something unless there’s evidence.”
“So if you had proof you’d believe it, no matter how weird or scary?”
After some hesitation, he nodded. “I guess I would.” He had no idea where she was going with this. He watched her fidget with the key fob. He knew her body language and habits well. Being married to Eamon hadn’t changed them at all.
“I want to tell you something, but I can’t”
“We’re back to this again,” he said. His voice softened. “How about I tell you something that I haven’t been able to tell anyone? Then maybe you’ll feel like you can tell me.”
“What?”
“It’s pretty serious.”
“What?”
He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “I’m in love with you. I’ve loved you since you first started coming to my office. As inappropriate as that is, I love you.” He wiped his sweaty palm on his pants and touched her cheek.
She turned her face and kissed his palm. “I don’t think it’s inappropriate.” She smiled.
“From a professional standpoint it is. I could get in big trouble. Or I could have.” The feel of her lips skimming over his palm made him hard again. “You make me crazy.”
Her tongue licked up from his palm to his wrist, settling on his radial
artery. The sensation of her teeth, oddly sharp, caused him to pull away.
“Did I hurt you?” she asked, her eyes warm with desire.
“No, your teeth caught me a little off guard.” His focus stayed on her eyes. There was something in them he had never seen before. Desire, not for him, for something else.
“Sorry.” Lauryl traced her finger down his neck and then her mouth followed her finger’s path.
Anthony squirmed. “They seemed a little sharp.”
“Yeah, they are,” she said. “I think I can show you what I want to tell you.”
“That’s fine.”
Lauryl licked the skin of his neck and bit him.
“Oh, shit, Lauryl,” he sighed. A sharp pain in his neck flashed through him but it melted into pressure and sucking. He closed his eyes for a second, enjoying the sensation of her on him. When she stopped, he looked at her. Her lips were wet with what appeared to be blood. He could smell blood. The coppery smell was unmistakable.
“Anthony, I’m a vampire.” She wiped the blood from her lips with her fingers and waited for his reaction.
He didn’t know what to say. Her expression was free of any kind of sign she was joking. He reached up and touched the spot where she’d been sucking. It was wet and sticky. He checked his neck in the rear view mirror and saw two perfect punctures that closed as he inspected them. He looked back at her, her face still expressionless.
“Are you serious?”
“What do you think?”
Anthony sat and processed what had happened. What he had seen and heard. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to tell him. A multitude of questions filled his head but he couldn’t decide which one he wanted to ask first. He put his hand back up to his neck. The bite had closed but was still tender.
“How did this close so fast?”
She shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I just know it does. All that’s going to be there is a bruise like a love bite.” A giggle came from her. “Which is what it is.”
“Jesus, Lauryl, there are so many things I want to ask.” He ran his hand through his hair.
“Ask.”
Anthony expelled a long breath. “I can’t believe this. I mean, it’s like beyond belief. You’re really a vampire. I mean the kind that lives forever and so forth.”
“Yep.”
“I’m guessing Eamon’s one too.” He realized that was a stupid thing to say. “Yeah, dumb, I know. How old is he?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He doesn’t talk a lot about himself to me. I’m just kind of like furniture or some other possession of his.”
“Is it hard being a vampire? Do you like it?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“No it’s not hard or no you don’t like it?”
Lauryl looked down at the key fob in her hand. “Both.”
“Why?” he asked.
“I hate who I’m stuck with. If I wasn’t with him, I wouldn’t mind it so much. But I miss having a life and I miss dancing.”
Anthony nodded his head. “I guess it would be hard to dance if you couldn’t see yourself in a mirror. That’s true isn’t it? I don’t know what’s real and what’s a myth.”
“No, that’s true.” She frowned. “No reflection.”
He looked around the car, still struggling with this new reality. “Am I going to be a vampire?”
Lauryl laughed and put her hand on his thigh. “No, not tonight. You’ll probably be more connected to me now but that’s it.”
That sounded perfect to Anthony. “I can’t say I’m upset about that.” The tiny smile that appeared on her face delighted him. “The connection part, that is.”
“Me either. In fact, I’d like to keep seeing you, Anthony. I know I said it before but I’ve missed you. Sitting here with you makes me realize that.”
“You want to keep seeing me? What about Eamon?”
“A girl’s got to eat. I can be with you two or three times a week, no questions asked. He goes out to eat by himself. It’s just something we do. But for me, it’ll be more.” A shy and tentative look crossed her face. “I mean, if you want to. I understand if you don’t.”
“No! Yes! Shit, I don’t know what I’m saying, but you know what I mean. I want to see you and be with you.”
“I was so afraid this was going to freak you out and then I was going to have to glamour you.” She poked his leg with the fob.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, well, it’s basically messing with your mind. I would blank out your memory or whatever.”
Anthony pushed on the bite again, wincing at the sharp pain. “Don’t do that. I want to remember this forever.”
Lauryl smiled. “Maybe one day it will be forever.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Last Words Were Difficult to Say
Eamon massaged his temples with his fingers. Perhaps Irina had been right. She predicted Lauryl wouldn’t work out. How had she phrased it? This one is not going to be what you think. That was an understatement. Irina’s instinct had been dead on. He should call and tell her that her prediction had been correct and Lauryl wasn’t what he thought. Lauryl hated him most of the time. Her hatred was only interrupted with occasional moments of strained tolerance and then it was followed by torrents of sarcastic and sullen tantrums. He couldn’t let her go because he still felt something, some intangible sort of affection for her. The fact he was her maker had something to do with it. As her maker, their bond would last forever.
Eamon pulled out his phone and dialed Irina, hoping to catch her before she went out for the evening. The last time they had spoken, she had come to the decision she too wanted a companion so no doubt she would be out prowling for a new one. Eamon hoped her choice yielded happier results.
“Hello, brother,” Irina said, laughing.
“I’m surprised you’re in.”
She sighed. “Well, I was thinking of going out. I might have found a friend.”
“Really? What’s he like?” Eamon turned his chair around and gazed out the window.
“It’s not a he.”
“Gone over to the other side?”
“No, I’ve found someone who happens to be female.” There was a silence and then she laughed. “Would you like it if I had gone over to the other side?”
He smiled at the idea. “It wouldn’t make the slightest difference to me.”
“Liar. You’d be on your plane as fast as you could have it ready.”
“You’re confused, Irina,” he said. “Enjoy your night.” He ended the call and stared out at the ocean. Another female being added to his line. Eamon hoped this companion would last longer than the last one. He disappeared within five years. Irina never said how and wasn’t very emotional about his absence. Eamon suspected she’d killed him because she couldn’t stand him any longer and didn’t want to have to ask for permission to separate from him. She just smiled when he asked her about his whereabouts. So more than likely, he was scattered in more than one piece across London.
The slam of the study door brought his thoughts crashing to a close. The sound of the door let him know Lauryl was intent on starting an argument. He wasn’t up for it, so he decided to keep his mood neutral.
“Good evening.”
“Good? No. I’m stuck with you.” She put her hands on her hips.
Eamon turned his chair around and folded his hands in his lap. “It wasn’t a question. It was a standard greeting used by civilized society worldwide.”
She seemed to be on the verge of laughter for a second. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Thank you.”
Lauryl sank into a deep, theatrical bow and sat down. “You’re welcome.”
“What was that?”
“That,” she said “was a standard gesture of submission used by civilized society worldwide. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize it.”
“I might have if you hadn’t disguised it in sarcasm.” She wrestled briefly with anger. To his surprise, she
chose to smile. “What are your plans this evening?” Eamon asked.
“I’m going out to eat. Did you want to come?”
Lauryl decided to call feeding going out to eat. It sounded more acceptable to her. No matter what she called it, it was a rare thing for her to ask him to come with her to feed and he hated to pass up the honor. He did, however, have work to do. If he finished it while she was gone and if she came home in a decent mood…those were big ifs.
“No, I appreciate the invitation, though. I need to finish some work.”
Lauryl shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t say I never asked.”
She walked out and he looked at the papers piled on his desk. Years ago when he started his business, he never suspected that it would grow into so much work. Actually, it wouldn’t have to be so much work if he stepped aside and let others run the conglomerate for him. He couldn’t do that though. The humans he’d hire wouldn’t perform to his standards. A few months back, he entertained the idea of hiring a few and then turning them. The idea of a board of vampires appealed to him. They would possess the drive, insight and most of all the cunning to keep his business succeeding. He had even earmarked a few candidates. Lauryl sidetracked him. Her acquisition had been more important.
For her, he had to work like a human. He had to be more visible and more, well… human. With that came human emotions, which he despised. The emotion that gave him the most trouble was jealousy. He now found himself sulking or pouting over her indifference to him and her attachment to that idiot doctor. He picked up the glass of scotch in front of him and drained it.
That doctor was an annoyance. He continued to insinuate himself into Lauryl’s life and she allowed it. Since he had agreed to let her have contact with him, she had become more pleasant. Whenever she talked to the doctor on the phone or “ran into him” while she was out, her mood improved dramatically. It would be a huge mistake to forbid her to have any contact with him because he still enjoyed the occasional visit to Jennifer Conrad. Lauryl hated her as much as he hated that stupid doctor. Eamon stood up to refill his drink but as he did, he froze as a feeling of terror seized him. Without explanation, the feeling disappeared.
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