by Lynsay Sands
“Cheesecake,” she answered abruptly, squeezing up against the man to make room as Victor followed her into the backseat.
“Comfy?” Harper asked dryly, peering at them in the rearview mirror from where he sat alone in the front.
Elvi grimaced, but didn’t complain or suggest anyone move to the front so Harper wasn’t left alone like a chauffeur. She just wanted to get moving.
Harper shrugged and shifted the car into gear, started to reverse, then stopped abruptly as another car pulled in behind them, cutting them off.
“Edward,” Victor muttered craning his neck to peer out the back window. He gestured to the man through the window and yelled, “Get out of the way!”
Rather than do as instructed, the man got out of his car.
“Where is everyone going?” he asked politely, eyes sharpening as he peered into the backseat and saw Elvi there.
“We have to get to the A&P,” Harper told him. “Move your car so we can get out.”
Edward hesitated, and then said, “Wouldn’t it be easier just to take my car? It’s got larger seats.”
“Fine!” Elvi said with exasperation. It would probably be just as quick as waiting for him to get back in the car and back out anyway, she thought. Elvi would have crawled right over Victor to get out of the claustrophobic vehicle if he weren’t already heaving a sigh and opening the door. She waited impatiently for him to get out, scrambled out behind him and hurried after him to the vehicle blocking Harper’s.
It was a BMW like Vincent’s but black. It was also huge and definitely had more seating room. Elvi crawled in, meeting the Italian again as he too climbed into the backseat. Larger though it was, it was still cramped once Vincent climbed in and pulled the door closed. These men were big. She still felt a little like a sardine in a can.
Sensing that Alessandro was peering at her, she turned a questioning gaze his way.
“Déjà vu, eh?” he said with a grin, pulling his door closed.
Despite her impatience to get to the grocery store, Elvi found herself grinning in response.
“I am Alessandro Cipriano,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand. Once she’d shook it, he gestured to the blond now climbing into the front passenger seat, “and this is Harpernus Stoyan.”
“Call me Harper.” The man turned to offer his hand as well, in a quick shake, then reached for his seat belt.
“And I am Edward Kenric,” their driver announced as he finished with his own seat belt and shifted into reverse.
“I suppose Victor introduced himself properly while you were tending his injury,” Harper said, shifting to sit sideways in his seat so he could see her.
“No.” Elvi glanced sideways at the man whose lap she was nearly seated on. Dear Lord, all of these men were big. She’d think it was a result of being vampires, but she hadn’t suddenly shot up to six feet tall, and gained bigger boobs, so supposed it was purely the result of their gene pool.
“Victor Argeneau,” Harper introduced him properly.
Elvi and Victor exchanged a nod.
“And you are, I hope, Elvi Black?” Harper said.
“Yes.” She blushed, suddenly recalling that all these men were here to court her. She wanted to blurt that she hadn’t posted the ad, but feared they might not believe her.
“Where are we going?” Edward asked.
“Turn left,” Elvi instructed, realizing that he’d backed up and turned around and was now paused at the mouth of the driveway unsure which way to go. “We’re going to A&P.”
“A&P,” Edward murmured as he came to a halt at the red light on the corner. “What is the emergency exactly?”
“Cheesecake,” Alessandro answered, then shrugged when the British man turned sharp eyes on him. “It’s what she said when I asked.”
“Turn right here,” Elvi muttered with embarrassment. The light was still red, but there was no traffic coming from the sides.
Edward shifted back to face the road and turned as instructed.
“It’s straight up this road several blocks,” she said. “It’s on the left side. I’ll warn you when we get close.”
Elvi then sat back and tried not to tap her fingers on her knee as Edward Kenric drove up the street at a ridiculously slow speed.
“The speed limit here is fifty kilometers an hour,” she informed him when she couldn’t stand it any longer.
Kenric cut his eyes to hers in the rearview mirror. He didn’t spit out the sharp words she sensed he wanted to, but did pick up speed…a little. Elvi could have wept with frustration. She was sure he was only going thirty. She could have run there faster than this…carrying one of the men.
Aware that the silence in the car wasn’t only her own, Elvi glanced curiously around at the men. All of them but Edward seemed to be staring at her, though even Edward kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror.
She shifted uncomfortably, then sighed and said, “I didn’t put the ad in the paper. Mabel did. I didn’t even know what she was up to until tonight.”
“We know,” Harper informed her gently. “We found that out tonight at the restaurant.”
“Oh.” She shifted. They were still staring at her, but she hadn’t a clue what to say to make them stop…short of telling them to, and that seemed rude when they were all rushing to get her to the A&P and cheesecake. Well, all but Edward. He seemed to be a Sunday driver. Why the damned man hadn’t just moved his stupid car and let Harper drive, she didn’t know. Obviously a control freak, she decided. Good-looking, but he had issues. And he wasn’t too bright either. A smart man wouldn’t stand between a woman and cheesecake.
A choking sound drew her eyes to the back of Edward’s head with alarm. If he had some sort of seizure and delayed her getting to the grocery store…Honestly!
A chuckle from the Italian made her glance his way and she frowned slightly. “What?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly, and then asked, “What do you think of me so far?”
“I don’t know you,” Elvi said, bewildered by the question.
“No, of course not,” he murmured, but watched her almost expectantly.
Shaking her head, Elvi glanced out the front window again to see how far away they were, but now that the man had asked the question, she couldn’t seem to help but think about it. What did she think of him? He seemed all right so far from what she could tell. He was certainly good-looking, and those eyes of his! She’d never seen golden brown eyes before. They were almost as beautiful as Victor’s.
Her gaze slid to Harper. He was a handsome man too with his golden hair and silver-green eyes. All four of the men in the car were attractive, but of the four of them she would have said Victor appealed to her the most. She couldn’t say why and didn’t care to ponder the matter. Besides, they’d reached the grocery store…finally.
And Edward was driving past, she realized with horror. Sitting forward, she shrieked, “Here!” Then cried out in surprise as Edward stomped on the brakes and sent everyone slamming backward in their seats.
There was a moment of startled silence in the car, and then Edward turned slowly in his seat and cast a cold glare her way. “Ms. Black. In the future, you might try to avoid screeching in the driver’s ear whilst giving directions. It can be quite alarming.”
“Sorry,” she said meekly. The man could be quite scary when he chose to be.
“She gets the point, Edward. Just pull in here.” Victor’s voice was harsh and commanding and Edward responded to it, though not before she saw annoyance flicker across his face.
Releasing the breath she’d been holding once he’d stopped glaring at her, Elvi took a cautious breath and offered Victor a grateful smile, then turned to glance questioningly at Alessandro when he tapped her arm.
“You like me, no?” he asked with a grin when she met his gaze.
Elvi stared at him in confusion, and then followed his gaze when he glanced down, realizing only then that when Edward had slammed on the brakes, she’d grabbed t
he man’s knee and was still clutching it for dear life.
A surprised squeak slipped from her lips, and she immediately released his knee, only to realize she was clutching Victor’s with her other hand as well. Reclaiming that straying hand too, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight ahead at the A&P sign like it was a beacon in the dark.
“Cheesecake, chocolate, ice cream,” she muttered under her breath. Nothing else would matter once she had those.
Eight
“She was serious. The emergency is cheesecake?” Edward sounded incredulous as he watched Elvi hover indecisively over the cake counter.
“She hasn’t eaten in five years,” Victor muttered distractedly as he stood at her side, eyeing the cakes with interest.
“Why not?” Harper asked.
“She didn’t know she could,” he answered absently.
“What?” Alessandro sounded horrified. “Who is your sire, bella? I would talk to him about this. To leave you in such ignorance…”
Elvi ignored him. She had no idea what Alessandro was nattering on about with such outrage. She had no idea what a sire was and couldn’t be bothered to sort it out at this point. Didn’t he know she needed food?
Elvi had nearly fallen flat on her face in her rush to get out of the car. Only a steadying hand from Victor had kept her upright. Gasping a “thank you” she’d charged for the store, rushing ahead and leaving the men to trail her or not as they liked. It was late enough that the store was nearly empty, which meant lots of carts were all lined up at the front waiting for her.
Elvi had tugged one free and pushed it to the back of the store at a near run, drawing the eye of the few people stacking shelves. They’d glanced her way, and then done a double take when they saw who it was. Elvi had managed a smile for each in passing, knowing that what was startling them was that she was shopping…like a real person.
Elvi had arrived at the counter well ahead of the men, but now as they reached her, she still stood hemming and hawing over her choices. This was a serious issue. Her first food in five years. She hoped it tasted the same.
That thought drew her up short. Blood tasted different to her now. What if food did? While she’d lived, blood had been a tinny, nasty thing, but now it was yummy. What if foods that had seemed so yummy when she was alive, now seemed flat and tasteless in death?
A test was necessary, she decided. She wasn’t going to drag home food she couldn’t even enjoy, but would be left to stare at in mournful depression. She needed to try something and see what it tasted like, but what?
“Elvi?” Victor sounded concerned as he moved to her side. “Are you all right?”
“I need something,” she muttered.
“What do you need?” he asked, and she couldn’t help but notice Victor sounded rather cautious, as if he were approaching a possibly rabid animal…or a madwoman.
She was too distracted to care. Besides, he obviously didn’t understand. She was a woman who hadn’t eaten in five years. Five. That was one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five days. That was five thousand, four hundred and seventy-five meals. Actually, more than that since it would be six years this winter. In just a couple months really. How many meals had it been exactly? Elvi wondered and started to do the math and then pushed it aside as unimportant. She hadn’t eaten. She wanted food. She was a woman with a mission.
“Can I help you with something, Elvi?”
She glanced to the side and smiled as she recognized the fresh-faced young blonde in the grocery store uniform. Dawn Geoffreys, the granddaughter of a friend.
“Yes, dear,” Elvi said brightening. “I need something small to try.”
“To try?” Dawn asked with confusion, then her eyes widened with amazement. “You mean like to eat?”
“Yes. These men say I can eat, but I want to try something small first to…” Her voice trailed away as her gaze slid past the girl to the older woman approaching.
“Mrs. Ricci,” she said with surprise, and then glanced at her wristwatch. It was the middle of the night. Far past the elderly lady’s bedtime, she was sure. Leonora Ricci was in her eighties. “What are you doing here so late?”
“I don’t sleep very well anymore, dear,” Mrs. Ricci answered serenely. “I’m in bed by nine and up by two and looking for something to do. I’ve found this is the best time to shop. No one shops at this hour…Usually,” she added with a smile and then glanced at the men surrounding Elvi and asked, “I’m guessing these are your beaus?”
“Oh, yes.” Elvi blushed, and quickly introduced them.
Mrs. Ricci greeted each pleasantly and then commented, “Little Teddy was telling me about you boys. I hope you treat our Elvi right. None of that love-the-mand-leave-them nonsense kids get into nowadays.”
When the men quickly murmured assurances of their good intentions, Mrs. Ricci nodded and turned to Elvi. “I heard you say you wanted something small as I came up. Why not a cookie, dear?”
She gestured to the table behind her stacked with clear boxes of freshly baked cookies and Elvi smiled. A cookie. So simple and perfect! Stepping up to the table, she slid her gaze over the selection: Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate Fudge, Hermit Cookies, Shortbread, S’Mores, Butterscotch Chocolate Chip—
“White Chocolate Strawberry cookies?” Elvi read the last selection with interest. “These are new. I don’t remember those from when I used to eat.”
“Oh, yes.” Dawn hurried to her side. “They’re new. They’re really yummy too.”
“Perfect.” Elvi slit the seal, opened the container and snatched out a cookie, then hesitated almost afraid to try it. Finally, she raised it cautiously to her nose and sniffed delicately. God, it smelled good! She inhaled more deeply.
“Try it,” Mrs. Ricci said. “We are all curious now.”
Elvi peered back at the cookie and bit her lip, then said, “But what if food doesn’t taste the same anymore? What if it’s like dust in my mouth? How disappointing would that be?”
“Oh.” Dawn’s smile faded, and then she turned to the men. “Will it?”
“No, of course not,” Victor snapped impatiently. “It will taste just as good as before. Better even. Your taste buds are more sensitive just like everything else. Didn’t your sire teach you anything?”
Elvi had lost interest in his words after the bit about taste buds being more sensitive just like everything else. Her hearing was ten times better, as was her physical strength and speed, but her taste buds too?
“Try it, Elvi,” Mrs. Ricci urged again.
Elvi took a breath, then lifted the cookie to her lips, closed her eyes, and took a bite. Her eyes immediately shot open with amazed delight. She was just holding the cookie in her mouth, almost afraid to chew, but it was enough for her taste buds. They went wild. The only way to describe it would be an oral orgasm. After five years of a blood-only diet, this sweet, savory explosion in her mouth made every taste bud stand up, then do somersaults across her tongue.
“Good?” Dawn asked hopefully.
“Mmmmmmmm,” Elvi answered on a long moan. “Mmm, mmm, mmmmmmmm.”
A chuckle drew her eyes to Alessandro. He was grinning at her with delight. Actually, she saw, all the men were smiling at her indulgently…except for Edward.
“If it wouldn’t be too much excitement for your senses,” Edward said dryly, “perhaps you should try chewing and swallow—”
Elvi shoved the rest of the cookie in his open mouth. She watched him closely as she began to chew her own and reached for another to replace the one Edward was now trying to spit out. Then he paused, his mouth working as his taste buds tasted.
“These are quite good,” he said with surprise.
Elvi smiled around the cookie in her own mouth, and then offered the cookie box to Mrs. Ricci.
“Can I try one?” Alessandro asked curiously, and then explained, “I haven’t eaten for fifty years, but you seem to enjoy it so much…”
“Fifty years!” Mrs. Ri
cci repeated with dismay. “Someone needs to feed you, son. You come see me if you get hungry. I live across the street from Elvi and I always have something cooking.”
Elvi smiled and held the box out to Alessandro, her eyebrows rising when he, Harper, and even Victor immediately reached in to take a cookie each. Seeing the envious expression on Dawn’s face, Elvi held the box out to her as well, bringing a smile to the girl’s face.
Having finished the half a cookie he’d got, Edward reached for another and frowned at how few were left. “I think we should get more of these.”
“Definitely,” Harper said with a smile as he finished his own cookie. “These really are quite good.”
“Yes, they are,” Mrs. Ricci said and moved to the table to collect a box of her own and put it in her basket. She then wished them good evening before continuing on with her own shopping.
The moment she was gone, the men moved to the table, each grabbing a couple of boxes. Elvi grabbed another cookie from the open pack before setting it in the cart, then moved happily back to the cake counter to survey the selection with greedy eyes. Cheesecake, Carrot Cake, a Chocolate Bomb, Black Forest Cake, Lemon Supreme, Cherry Surprise…They all looked good to her.
“So?” Alessandro followed and peered at the cakes with interest. “What is good here?”
“I can’t decide!” Elvi admitted with dismay. She wanted them all, but couldn’t possibly eat it all and so thought choosing two or three would be better, but which two or three?
“You said you wanted cheesecake,” Victor reminded her. “Cheesecake, ice cream, and chocolate.”
“Yes, but that Caramel Crunch looks yummy too, and which chocolate one? The Chocolate Bomb, the Black Forest cake, or the Fudge Surprise? And look at that carrot cake. It’s a masterpiece,” she crooned.
Victor surveyed the cakes she’d pointed out with a frown, and then shrugged. “Take them all.”
“All of them?” she squeaked, torn between hope and horror at the gluttonous thought.