Tom stretched out on the bed in his P.J. bottoms when I opened the door, going over some document or the other. I walked right past and into the bathroom, stripped out of my clothes and located the shoebox on the top shelf. If this doesn’t work I give up! I dabbed a little perfume on my neck and between my breasts, bit my lips to make them redder and slipped the red heels on my bare feet. I stood in front of the mirror. Oh! My neck wound’s healed. Wow! Yea Raf. I needed stockings. I removed the shoes, found a pair of black thigh highs and carefully slid into them before replacing the shoes. The black lace framed my platinum curls well. I practiced a few poses in the mirror. “Good enough!”
I stepped through the door quietly, Tom never raised his eyes, although, I would have sworn I saw his nostrils flare slightly. I stood arms behind my back, one foot slightly in front of the other and waited. Finally he glanced my way.
“Connie, I don’t think … ” he stammered.
I sauntered toward the foot of the bed, putting a little extra sway in my hips. “I have something for you,” I purred as I straddled the bedpost, one foot on the floor the other bent on the bed. I tapped the spot above my femoral artery and smiled. If I got him that close, I had him.
In a totally boneless movement, Tom rolled to his stomach and slid down the bed until his hands rested on my thighs. His thumbs rubbed soft circles in the hollows there. His need showed in his eyes as he gazed up at me. My breath caught. I swallowed and licked suddenly dry lips. Tom watched, a slow smile curving his lips, he bent his face to my thigh and bit. Who needs foreplay? The look in his eyes was the most erotic thing ever! I clung to the bedpost for support as I felt the artery pulse with the beat of my heart. He drew harder on the wound, my heart began to race and the orgasm hit me. I would have fallen, the bedpost forgotten, if his arms hadn’t wrapped around my hips. His lips moved inward and I cried out.
Much, much later when I lay in his arms he chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“You don’t fight fair,” he scolded with no heat at all.
I shrugged a bare shoulder and he nipped at it. “Extreme measures were called for sir. I had to bring out the heavy artillery.” I stroked a red shoe down his thigh. He rolled until I was pinned beneath him.
“I was afraid I’d hurt you,” he said simply.
“You have never hurt me. She did.” I knew he had been extra gentle with me this time. He’d done everything slowly, giving me time to decide if something hurt or was uncomfortable.
“I may not be up to full vamp power mode but I can handle anything else you feel up to,” I promised. “I’m not made of glass.” I pulled myself off his chest and kissed a path to his throat. “Are you sure this doesn’t hurt?” It says something about me that I am more concerned with causing Tom pain than with drinking his blood, again, right? I straddled his chest, staring into his eyes.
“Well, I admit to liking it a bit better when you bite lower, darlin’,” He told me trying hard not to grin. “It does not — hurt. Quite the opposite,” he said with a wink. “The end result is the same.”
“That’s just sick!” I said laughing. “Okay, here goes.” I closed my eyes and leaned in. He was shaking so hard that my eyes popped open. “Don’t laugh at me!” I punched him in the arm and hurt my hand.
“Allow me?” Tom asked as he drew his thumbnail over his heart. A red line appeared. “Better hurry, before it closes.”
I licked a trail along the blood line and his laughter turned to a sigh. I latched on to the cut and began to suck. His sigh turned to a moan, followed by a shudder as his body bucked beneath mine. I consumed no more than a thimbleful before the wound closed. Tom was right, the end result was the same — he came. My satisfaction was tempered by fear for my mental health, probably due in no small part, to the glut of vampire movies watched throughout my life.
“Heart of my heart, blood of my blood,” echoed in my head. That’s it! I’d blame all this shit on Frank Langela.
CHAPTER 35
Terrell hadn’t called since he left for L.A. He had only been gone a week but his absence was taking a toll on Raf. So far, no further incidences had occurred at work. The clientele only said good things about our Halloween party, apparently no worse for wear. Raf had several interested parties, but showed little excitement. I secretly took their numbers — just in case.
Dee and Jimmy used their tanning prize during my shift so we got to visit more often. Dee decided she and Raf would cook us all Thanksgiving dinner. Raf needed a distraction.
Since both were great cooks my concern was not with the quality of the meal but rather transportation of Raf’s part all the way to Dee and Jimmy’s. Too bad my guys wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of the food.
Tom was either at the salon or the lab. He said they had a lot of fine-tuning to accomplish so the new product line could hit the stores for the holidays. Even at home he constantly perused paper work or had the phone attached to his ear. I felt neglected, but he always found time for sex, if not conversation. I guess I couldn’t complain — much.
Willy had been antsy since the Lilitu incident. I’d locked him in the office after all. Whatever his reason, he stayed on the move as if patrolling both at home and the salon. He took to growling at Randy. I say Randy, because he came in with a different lady each night. We had no more sightings of the tall redhead we assumed to be Lilitu. I think Willy blamed him for my injuries. I couldn’t fault him there.
We closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. Raf, up by noon on Thanksgiving Day, threw himself into his preparations. I offered my help and he acquiesced, allowing me to chop veggies for the dressing. He had Dee on speakerphone during most of the prep. Ignored, I took Willy to the park for a long walk, ending in a run. I can’t hold Willy back like Raf can. When he saw the cat, we were off to the races! So we worked up an appetite for dinner.
We loaded everything into the Hummer; with Raf driving we might be late for the designated dinnertime — or not. Tonight he drove like a bat out of hell so we arrived early and had set the meal out precisely on time. Way to go us!
Dee’s parents lived in Texas, so did not attend. Just as well, Dee had been on the outs with her Mom for some time. Jimmy’s folks had a tradition of helping serve meals to the needy. They would have their family get together tomorrow. Dee invited Cindy and her now live-in boyfriend Jon, to dinner. Although I nodded to Cindy as we changed shifts at work, I hadn’t met Jon.
Where Cindy was Goth-ish in dress and makeup, Jon was full-fledged! Hair dyed blue-black, black eyeliner, black lipstick, and black nail polish. He had several ear piercings, a nose ring, eyebrow stud, and a safety pin in his upper lip. He had a spider web tat on the left side of his neck. Probably the spider hid under his shirt somewhere. Others scrolled up his arms. I assumed his clothes covered more. His clothing consisted of black jeans tucked into chunky Frankenstein-like boots, black tank top, and black leather jacket with lots of metal studding. In spite of his appearance, he was the most polite eighteen-year-old I’d ever had the pleasure to meet. Cindy’s mom should give him a chance.
The meal was delicious! I ate like a pig. So did Dee, which surprised me. She always carefully counted calories. Cooking must have gotten her appetite in gear. Jimmy, always ravenous, made no exception tonight. He didn’t say three words all evening. Raf made traditional turkey and dressing but put walnuts and cranberries in for additional flavor and color. Yum! We enjoyed broccoli casserole and sweet potato casserole with cinnamon and pecans courtesy of Dee. For dessert the selection included pumpkin pie, chocolate-pecan pie, and Italian crème cake. Tom and Raf drank some of the Special Blend. Some perks came with being the boss. From their nods I gathered my blood put the special in the Special. Eww — sweet? Willy ran from chair to chair begging for snacks. I gave up scolding him because frankly, it did no good. I know he got some turkey, he’s hard to resist, but hopefully not enough to upset his stomach. So, no surprise we all just sat around like lumps for a good hour after the meal, unabl
e to move except to unsnap our jeans.
When we finally stirred from our food comas, Cindy and Jon thanked us for the hospitality and made their getaway. I helped wrap the food and load the dishwasher. We’d take home more than we brought. I tried explaining to Dee I’d be the only one eating, but to no avail. Maybe I could freeze or better yet donate it to the homeless? With our plunder loaded, we said our good-byes. Raf and Dee had their heads together — planning the Christmas feast no doubt.
We left via our usual route, down Congo toward Col. Glenn. A full moon shone brightly and I wondered what progress had been made at the house on the hunting club property.
“Slow down when you get to the hunting club,” I instructed Tom. “We’ve had good weather lately. I wonder how far they’ve gotten with that house.”
“Sure thing, darlin’,” Tom said as he swung into the driveway.
“Tom, you can’t go in here. It’s posted!” I shrieked.
He didn’t stop, but wound down the newly paved driveway, around a stand of hardwoods on the left, to come to a stop in front of a house. I stared, mouth agape. My house rose in front of us. The house from my newspaper clipping, right down to the heart shaped window in the attic!
“How?”
Raf opened my door and set Willy on the ground before helping me out. I needed the help. My legs didn’t work. Tom came around and took my hand, leading me up the walk. What would be flower beds come spring, edged the cobbled sidewalk. In late November the plants grew sparse. Along the wrap-around porch, more beds with trees at either corner. Redbuds, I bet. A dormant dogwood rose up from the new sod in the front yard. Up the steps we went, Tom put a key in the lock. I stared at him.
“How?” I asked again.
“This is the reason you have been so neglected lately.”
“You built it?” I asked stupidly, staring through the front door. Raf walked in flicking on lights as if he’d been here before.
“I had it built, though I admit to pounding a nail or two,” Tom replied as he scooped me into his arms. Willy did a happy doggie dance at our feet. Behind us a huge owl, snatched some small creature and retreated into the pines on silent wings.
I couldn’t seem to absorb the scene in front of me. As he set me on my feet, closing the door behind us, we faced stairs rising from the small entry in which we stood. To the left of the door sat the living room complete with picture window swathed in lace curtains with walls of bead board painted a soft yellow. Through the living room toward the rear of the house ran the dining room, again the walls were bead board but painted barn red, the lower third wore cream wainscoting. A fern green kitchen was graced with cherry cabinetry and countertops in shades of tan stone. A huge sink, antique or an excellent reproduction, boasted nickel fixtures. The island was an old seed bin with clear glass in the drawer fronts. The room ran from the back of the house nearly to the front, where a dogleg housed a half bath and a sunroom in a rich golden yellow. The rooms flowed one into another, connected by floors of stone, except for the living area, which had hardwood. Though few, the rooms were spacious.
I managed to question, “The windows?”
Tom laughed, pointing to Raf who did an excellent impersonation of Vanna White. He indicated a button on the window. When pushed, blinds descended between the panes obscuring the view. “They are state-of-the-art, room darkening. No light gets through when they’re down. They’re on every window in the top two floors,” Tom told me.
“More than two?” I asked as I looked at the stairs. They went up.
“A full basement that gave us fits. The water table hereabouts is awful high,” Tom reminded me. “It’s constructed like a “safe room”. He showed me the panel on the dining room side of the stairwell. He pushed the wainscoting and a door opened, some sort of spring mechanism keeping it closed until touched, the light came on automatically. The stairs went down.
The floor plan resembled the main floor in the loft. One large area divided into living, office, and kitchen space with a separate area for bedrooms and baths. The difference lay in the paneling. The loft’s was very dark. Here the birch bead board had been left naturally light. The lightness helped compensate for the lack of windows.
This area had been furnished. A desk and chairs in the office. In the living area sat a chenille sofa in deep barn red, flanked by two club chairs in red and gold plaid. The desk and the tables were of a heavy rustic light pine. The bedrooms had furniture of similar design but as yet no linens covered the bare mattresses.
“Only one way in or out, and the door closes automatically,” Tom told me. “Shall we go see the upstairs?” He tugged on my hand. I followed. He pushed a button on the wall at the head of the stairs and the door swung outward. The full moon shone brightly through the living room windows, revealing the owl now perched in the dogwood on the front lawn. I had missed country life.
The upper story divided at the head of the stairs by the hall. To one side were two bedrooms with a bath in between. The spacious bathroom had a claw foot tub, separate shower, and the toilet, a cherry tank with pull chain attached to the wall. Across the hall, another bedroom suite housed the sleeping area, sitting room and bath. All the rooms had hardwood floors, except the baths, which had stone, bead board on the lower half of the walls and either paint or floral paper above. Everything was done in soft yellows and greens, making me long for spring. As in the downstairs, no furniture, with the exception of a beautiful king sized, white, ornate metal bed. It must have been custom made.
Raf, who had been silent until now, set Willy on the floor and told me, “We thought you’d want to pick out the furniture and accessories. I’ll help if you want.”
I sat on the bed. “I don’t understand. Are we — ” Glass shards went flying in all directions. The owl had flown into the window. Willy rushed toward the opening, hackles raised.
CHAPTER 36
Instead of the bloodied body of a bird, Willy snapped and snarled at a woman.
Everything flowed in slow motion as my brain struggled with reality. The woman, if she was that, dressed in a black flowing gown of sorts, her long black hair shot with gray, blended into the flow of the cloth. As I watched, huge black wings on her back folded flat, and then disappeared entirely. Gone where? I couldn’t describe her as her features never remained constant. Her eyes changed color and shape, her facial expressions shifting so I couldn’t follow. At one point I would have sworn she had the face and voluptuous body of the green eyed, red-haired wench of Halloween. I blinked and it was the slender face, form and blue eyes of a girl seen on Randy’s arm another night. She was no single woman, but every woman. As I gaped, she seized Willy by the neck and hurled him through the jagged remains of the window!
Whatever held us galvanized disrupted in that instant. I flung myself from the bed, clawing for her eyes, as I screamed, “No!” I heard a thud, a small yelp, and then nothing. “I’ll kill you, bitch!”
She laughed and turned to Raf. “We have unfinished business, you and I.”
With a flick of her hand, she sent me sailing into the wall. With a sickening crunch, pain shot through my shoulder and up the side of my head as my collarbone snapped. Tom and Raf launched themselves at her head. Through a haze of pain, I pushed up the wall to my feet, fury giving me strength. She managed to get Tom by the throat, holding him easily at arm’s length as if he weighed nothing. She ignored Raf, even as his fangs sank deeply into her shoulder. Casually she held Tom out the broken window and let go.
Can vampires fly? My answer came in a sickening thud and a cry of pain. Pain meant alive … Raf, his fangs in her shoulder, fought to get his hands around her neck, so I went for her legs hoping to bring her down. She met my lunge with a kick that sent me spiraling through the air into the unforgiving metal of the bed. My right leg broke at mid-thigh. The protruding bone sent blood pulsing from the wound to paint the mattress crimson. Raf withdrew his fangs to stare at me.
“You prolong the inevitable,” Lilitu told him. “I a
m a god. You dare not refuse me again.” She slung him away from her.
In a blur of speed, Raf came to me. “I’m sorry,” I think he said. He pulled my leg straight and nausea rolled me to the side as my stomach emptied. Pinching the artery closed, he ripped at his wrist with his fangs, pouring his blood into the wound to mingle with mine. “Hold it!” he said as he flew backward, or was it “hold on”? I pinched the wound as he had done, willing myself conscious. Lilitu held him by the scruff of the neck.
“Always you prefer your human pets. Why are you so enamored of them?” She gave him little shakes to keep his attention. When he didn’t answer, she tossed him into my lap. “Is she worth dying for, or perhaps returning to your tomb?” Her throaty laughter filled the room.
Darkness threatened what was left of me, only the fear in Raf’s eyes kept it at bay. He’d rather be dead forever than be back in that tomb. Fear just might save him — if I could help a little. “Drink,” I whispered.
Emotions passed swiftly through his eyes, respect, love, regret. “Forgive me?” His lips softly brushed mine, before his fangs found my throat.
My soul was being dragged from my body into Raf searching mouth. With each beat of my heart I grew weaker, calmer. He seemed to hold me forever, but in reality, it was only a moment before he was ripped from me. I tried to keep my eyes from closing. I fought to live. In snatches, the war raged around me, as my dream crumbled to the floor.
Was that a wolf I saw leap onto Lilitu’s back knocking her to the floor? Raf grabbing at her head as she fell. A scream …
My eyes opened to gaze into other eyes, black eyes, dead eyes. I pushed them away. The head rolled across the room, the eyes staring blankly at the wall. I tried to sit up.
“Be still Connie! Drink! You have to drink!” Raf urged as he held something to my lips. It was sweet like molasses, slightly salty and — warm. I drank and drank. When I opened my eyes again, a tawny wolf leapt out the broken window frame, something black clasped in its jaws.
Midnight Sun, Inc. (Crimson Romance) Page 27