Using my super vamp speed, I raced to the cabinet under the sink and grabbed a few washcloths. I was back to his side in a matter of seconds. “Were you bitten?” Oh please let him not have been bitten.
“No mi amado,” he laughed. “A tree jumped in my way. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to buy you a tree and a new robe.”
I threw my arms around him and started crying. “You scared me.” I pulled the sleeve up, exposing my wrist. “Feed, so you can heal.” Screw tradition. He needed to heal and by the look in his eyes, he was going to protest. Dragus pinched his lips together and shook his head. Fine! I bit into my own wrist and with my free hand pinched his nose. When reflexes took over, his mouth shot open and I pressed my wrist up into his fangs, forcing him to drink. I hissed when his teeth slipped into the wound I had opened.
His eyes narrowed, but he took my offering, because no vampire can resist when blood is forced into their mouth. Dragus latched on and drank greedily. I brushed his soft black hair out of his eyes and stroked the side of his face while he fed. Finally, he released my wrist and smiled.
“Thank you,” he purred. “Now, it’s your turn, mi amor.” He reached out and pulled me over on top of him. I should protest and refuse, because I would feel greedy. He was hurt, but not too badly. His arm had already healed from the intake of my blood. I then realized that my arm had been burning in the same place that his had been injured. When I took his vein, I was thankful that he was safe and sound. I couldn’t imagine how I would fair if he had been seriously hurt.
His blood was not weak. It tasted of strength and power. This was a good sign that he was not badly injured, but I still didn’t want to weaken him. When I tried to trick him and pull away too soon, he read my thoughts and held me in place to finish my feeding. I groaned in defeat and he laughed. I released my hold on his vein and closed the wounds.
“I have to go to work,” I whispered. “You are more than welcome to stay here and rest.” Oh man, I would love to come home from work to find him in my bed, but I couldn’t concentrate on that. I had to get to Nights and help Lydia.
“That’s fine, I need to get back to the office and fill out the paperwork for the incident tonight,” he tightened his hold and tucked me into the crook in his arm. We lay there in silence for a few minutes, before I got up to shower.
Dragus left in quite a hurry, even after I offered to let him use my shower. From the growing length in his pants, I figured he wouldn’t be able to resist a frolic under the spray if he stayed. Maybe it was for the best, because Lydia would kill me if I didn’t show up tonight. Walter’s band was playing and I’m sure I would have to be there for closing.
Brock followed William and I to the club in his Krieger Hummer. I think it’s because I had crammed both of them into my Lexus the night before. Being the jubilant person I am, I laughed at their lack of comfort. You haven’t seen anything until you try to cram two humongous Krieger into a compact sports sedan. It reminded me of the circus act with a bunch of clowns.
Once inside, Lydia was right on my heels until we reached the office. Brilliam took their post by the door, as I settled into my chair.
After I reassured her that everything was fine, she turned back into responsible manager mode. “I’ve booked Walter’s band for Friday night. They don’t have anything going on until next week anyway. I tried to negotiate with Romeo on the fee, but he wouldn’t budge. He wants to talk with you about that.” I looked up over the stack of invoices I was signing and grimaced.
“Why does he want me to do it? You are just as capable as I am,” I frowned. “I don’t want to talk to him Lydia.” I looked at her, pleading for some help.
“You might as well get this over with, Charity. Pay the jerk and send him on his way,” she shrugged.
She was right. I needed to just pay him now and get him off my back. Brilliam was there to ruff him up if needed. Of course, Dragus was sure to hear about this, in their nightly reports. I told Lydia to send him back and I waited nervously. Romeo was an overly persistent vampire and when he went after what he wanted, he made sure he got it. It’s part of the vampire nature to be forceful, but most of us learn how to keep it subdued.
He knocked lightly and opened the door. Romeo’s eyes bugged out of his pretty little head with he saw the two Krieger posted at my door. “If you’re busy, I can come back.” His voice was a little shaky.
“No, come on it. Don’t mind them, there just security,” I smiled. It was also a warning to keep his grubby little hands off of me. “Have a seat. Now let’s talk cost. What’s your price?” I tried to rush him, but the way he walked slowly over to the chair meant he was going to take up a lot of my time.
“Why don’t we catch up? We have all the time in the world to talk business.” Romeo’s eyes never left my chest.
“Romeo,” I snapped. “I have eyes!” I pointed to my face so that he would stop making me nervous, staring at my breasts. Brock shifted nervously in his seat. He wanted to step up and take care of Romeo for me, but I shook my head, wordlessly calling him off. I turned my attention back to Romeo, “Let’s talk cost.”
“Well, for the total of four appearances, my fee is $6000,” he paused looking up at me. “But for you doll, I’ll make it $5500.” Ugh! I hate it when he calls me that.
“Oh, please! I’ve had better bands than Walter’s in here and only paid them $900 a night. Do you really think you can walk all over me, Romeo?” I was disgusted. He was such a greedy bastard. Greedy with his women too, but I’m not going there.
“Come on baby,” he whispered and reached over the desk to place his hand on mine. I looked up and saw Brilliam jump to their feet. I held them back with a slight shake of my head, again. Once they were seated, I jerked my hand from under his and leaned in to stare him straight in his pretty boy face.
“I’ll write a check for $4000, Romeo. That’s my limit. If you don’t like it, you can leave now and I will write a check for the two performances at $800 each. Either way, you make money. You need to decide if you really want to take me for a fool or not.” I relaxed my gaze and leaned back in my chair. “You think it over and get back to me. Here’s my card. Why don’t you just call me when you make your decision?”
With nothing more than a nod, Romeo left the office a little miffed at my boldness. I let out a heavy sigh and called to the bar to have someone bring me a drink. While I waited, I turned off my cell phone and stuffed it into my pocket, not wanting to hear from Romeo anytime soon.
The phone rang as I waited for my Merlot. “Nights, Charity speaking,” I answered hoping it was Dragus.
“Hey girl, it’s Kai,” she sounded stressed and that made me concerned. “I received a call from a vamp doctor over at Sacred Heart. He wants me to see him about this potion. I don’t know if I trust him and I wanted to call you to see what you say.” I wondered if Dragus had talked to his doctor friend at the hospital and got him to agree to work with the witches. Hopefully modern medicine mixed with a little witchcraft could cure the hybrids. I had no clue who this doctor was that she was talking about.
“What’s his name?”
“Dr. Christopher Mason. He says he studies medicine and wants to help me with the potion.” She sounded a little uneasy. Kai only trusted those who she is close too. I don’t blame her, technically she was a mortal. Most witches don’t work with vampires, as a general rule.
Kai and I have always had a weird friendship. We trusted each other completely. She tried to help me find any remaining family that I might have. I had paid Kai to try to contact my mother’s spirit, but since my mother had died peacefully her soul never did linger. She moved on rather quickly. Most souls will linger somewhere between here and their eternal resting place for as long as a hundred years, but dear ole mum was ready for her forever home.
“Dragus never mentioned to me that he was planning on doing this. Don’t go there until you hear from me or Dragus.”
I was momentarily distracted by Brock’s phone ringi
ng in his pocket.
“No sir,” Brock whispered. “Yes, sir…Yes, sir…Okay, sir. I will tell Ms. Charity. Okay, goodbye.” Brock closed his phone and looked up at me. His side of the conversation made absolutely no sense to me.
“Dragus wants you to call him,” Brock’s voice was a little scratchy. I hope Dragus wasn’t chewing him a new one. He must have tried calling while I was on the phone with Kai and got my voicemail. Then he called my cell, but it was in my pocket shut off. Oops.
Kai was still waiting on my answer. “Let me check out this doctor and I will call you back.”
I immediately called Dragus before Brilliam lost their jobs. Abby scooted in with my goblet of Merlot mix and as she left I noticed her smile at William. He watched her from the corner of his eyes as she slipped out the office door.
“Mi amor,” he answered. “I tried calling and the office phone was busy and the cell phone went to voicemail.”
“Sorry,” I whispered. “I was on the office phone with Kai and I shut off my cell so that I didn’t have to deal with Romeo again tonight.” Oops! Crap, I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“Again,” Dragus growled.
“Don’t worry, it was strictly business,” I sighed. “We had to negotiate a price for the band. Brilliam was here and everything is okay.” William cleared his throat and I pierced him with my gaze, threatening him to say something to Dragus.
“What did Mistress Kai call you about?” Full blooded witches were respectively called ‘Mistress’ by the immortal community. Kai and I have been friends for so long that I dropped that part and just called her by her given name.
“She’s a little worried. A Dr. Christopher Mason called her about helping with the potion. Do you know him?”
“Yes, he is the physician working with the seven infected civilians that are being held in quarantine there.”
“I thought there were only two that you found the other night,” I asked, confused. “Kai was a little worried about trusting the doctor. Maybe you should call her.”
“There have been more attacks and it’s getting worse by the night. We may have to put up a mandatory curfew. For safety,” he sighed. “If we have to do that, can your business handle being shut down for a week?”
“A week!” I squeaked. “Dragus, I’m fine on money, but my crew may suffer. They’re on rehabilitation and need the money. I mean, I guess I could pay them with medical leave money or something, but they will miss out on their tips.”
“Would they risk their safety just for the extra money?”
“I guess you have a point. When are you going to set the curfew?”
“The curfew will go into effect tomorrow night at nine. Only trips to the Red Cross will be authorized. I will call Mistress Kai and let her know that the doctor is reputable.”
After an emergency meeting and closing down the club early, Brilliam and I headed back over to my house. The front yard was littered with vehicles and by the amount of Krieger and Nachtmann in my yard made the whole scene look like a family reunion.
Dragus had called and talked to Kai. He sent over a Krieger to pick her up and drive her to the hospital to meet with Dr. Mason. Meanwhile, I had to break the news to my employees. I told them that their regular salary would be deposited on Friday, just like always. Lydia and I decided to throw in an extra one hundred dollars onto their pay for extras they might need.
Brilliam escorted me inside the house and once inside, Brock scooped up the television remote, flipping the channels over to the local news to see what was happening in town. The reporter was standing in front of the Red Cross talking about the wait for the vampires to get extra supplies of the bagged blood. I immediately checked my reserve and breathed a sigh when I realized I had enough for the week. Granted Dragus would be around, but I don’t know if I would have to go without him for a night or two.
I knew that Dragus was out with about ten other Krieger in the forest hunting for the Lycans. It was getting easier to sense him when he was close. His body pulled to mine, like magnets. The closer he was the stronger the pull, until we were connected; a strange, but awesome trick. This was from the blood sharing. Since I had been feeding from him, I noticed my body was stronger. I could lift things easier and I found myself waking a few minutes before sunrise. Dragus said that was normal and too just stay inside my room until it was dark. Krieger can stay up past sunrise and wake up before sunset, but cannot walk in the sun.
I felt the pull of sunrise coming on me quick. Brilliam had left about half an hour ago and my Nachtmann Keith was outside keeping guard. It was hard to keep my eyes open long enough to get to my room, but I did it. After locking the bolts on my door, I stripped down and grabbed something to sleep in and climbed into bed.
The phone rang right at six o’clock. My eyes had only been open a few minutes and I was being lazy, not wanting to get out of the bed.
“Charity, what are you doing?” Lydia demanded before I could say ‘hello’.
“I’m still in the bed, Lydia. What are you doing?” I replied.
“I talked to Ashby and told him I wanted to come to your place,” she paused. “He’s going to pick me up in a few then I’m going to stay with you tonight.” Lydia cannot sit still and I wonder how much she had to beg a Krieger to come and get her. From the way I’d observed Ashby watching her lately, I’m sure he didn’t mind.
“Why did you call Ashby, when you can just come over here? Curfew isn’t until nine.” I teased.
“Well, duh!” she laughed. “I’ll see you soon.”
After my shower, I felt Dragus close and knew he was going to be here soon. Our relationship was strained right now. He was working from sunset to just before sunrise and with all the vampires in town on lock down, I didn’t know when it would be back to normal. The thought depressed me terribly.
I shut off the lights and headed upstairs. The Hummer he drove was sitting out front, but he was out back with the other Krieger. I peeked out the kitchen window and found Dragus, Powle, Rowland and Bastian huddled together. They must be talking strategy. The last thing I wanted to do was bother him right now.
I wasted time folding and putting away clothes. Then I scrubbed the shower and changed bed sheets. Finally, I couldn’t wait another minute. My thirst peaked and I was becoming uncomfortable. The back of my throat felt tight as I walked toward the kitchen. By the time I put my hand against the refrigerator handle, I noticed it was shaking badly. I wrapped my arm around my stomach to stop the knife to the gut feeling there. Not a good sign, bloodlust was an uncomfortable thing. My newbie vampires tell me it’s like a mix between the flu and food poisoning. I released my grip on the handle and took a moment to steady my breathing. Dragus would sense…
“Come to me, Charity,” Dragus thundered. He was standing in the kitchen doorway. The shaking was bad, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Who was I kidding, it was bad. I needed to feed now.
“I was just going to p…pour a glass,” I sighed. “I didn’t want to bother you, you w…were busy.” Now my voice was shaky.
“It’s my fault and I’m sorry. I can go longer without blood than you can and I forgot.” He materialized next to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to his chest. Dragus grabbed my hands into his and frowned, “You’re shaking.”
“Uh…y…yes, it just started.” I leaned into his chest and drew in a shaky breath. His shirt smelled like fresh cut pine trees, mixed with the earth’s soil. I noticed his pants were covered in grass stains and he had taken his boots off before coming inside. This meant they were probably soaked in mud.
The primal instinct to provide had me drifting away from him, toward his shoes. For some reason, I just wanted to clean his boots, almost obsessively. The need to clean them was all I could think about, but he was in front of me before I could make it across the kitchen floor.
“Where are you going?” he sounded confused.
“Mi amor, your shoes. They are dirty, I must wash them for you,” I pan
ted, looking around his massive shoulders at the muddy Doc Martins sitting in my laundry room. I tried to walk around him toward his boots. My eyes were fixed on them. Dragus stepped in front of me again and placed his hands on my shoulders.
“Charity?” he started shaking me, trying to get my attention, but I was too focused on his damn shoes! It took all of my will power, but I finally snapped out of it. Dragus held the tops of my arms, watching me suspiciously. “Are you well?”
“Um, yeah…I’m fine…I…I think,” I whispered. “I d…don’t know w…why, b…but your dirty s…shoes are b…bothering me.” I managed to laugh, but it was really shaky.
Dragus looked at me even more confused, “Do you want me to move them?”
“N…No! Leave th…them,” I looked up into his eyes. “Let me c…clean them b…before you go b…back outside.” I was almost in a sheer panic, worry about them. Why was I so worried about his dirty ass boots? It’s almost like…like it was my job. I just couldn’t let him outside without being properly cared for. That would not be acceptable on my part. It was my job! Oh! Oh! I know why! Crap! I was bonding with him. It’s too soon! I shouldn’t be doing this. It takes months, sometimes years for bonding to happen.
Dragus let out a small chuckle and leaned in to kiss my forehead. I was so shocked that I started backing away from him. Between the bloodlust and the bonding, I was totally freaking out. Dragus stood there holding out his hands as if he was surrendering. “Charity, it’s okay. Please understand. This is what I have been going through the past few days too. I’m obsessively worried about you, love. The need to provide and protect has been too painful to ignore.”
“You h…have?” I gasped, still shaky. His words distracted me enough that I momentarily forgot about the boots. “W…Why is it happening s…so soon?”
Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger Page 16