by Mandy Rosko
She didn’t accept his apology, but he did sense the speck of relief she felt when he spoke the words. She nodded and led him back to the lobby. "I'll introduce you to Carly."
He didn't know why, but he swore that by the end of this ordeal he'd make her more than a temporary relief to him.
EIGHT
Kyle stood outside Jackie's window on the beige painted concrete ledge. He leaned against the wall and kept his ears open for any suspicious sounds. The gentle night wind was cold, but he didn't shiver against it since he barely felt the chill as a vampire.
Kyle leaned over to sneak a glance through her window. She slept peacefully under a blue blanket, unmoving but for the rise and fall of her chest. Despite the closed window, if he strained his ears and concentrated on her, he could hear her breathing.
She was safe, and he stood straight again with the knowledge that she would stay that way. He would make sure of it.
His eyes scanned the silent streets, watching for any possible threats and contemplating when he'd gone to meet Jackie's mother in the hospital. The woman had been interesting enough but her other daughter was not to be seen.
"You know how much she hates hospitals, but she told me to call her the second I knew you were alright." Her mother said to Jackie after giving Kyle a sweet smile and hearty handshake for rescuing her daughter.
The look on Jackie's face at the mention of her sister was not expected. As if she'd seen it coming that her own sister would not bother with checking on her in a hospital.
Kyle didn't care what excuse the mother gave. Not liking hospitals was hardly a reason to not make sure your only sister was unharmed.
It made him curious about the relationship of the three girls if the other daughter could get away with doing something like that. How could the mother just gloss over the fact that one of her daughters wasn’t there with the other? Or was Carly Moore really that sensitive to hospitals?
Detective Carter immediately went to ask his questions. Did she know Charles Clayton? And had she ever heard of a woman named Sarah Valier?
Kyle's shoulders sagged when she answered a no on both accounts.
Detective Carter explained to Patty what the possible situation was with the ferals before promising Kyle he would continue to search for Sarah. And until then, as promised, he would protect Jackie, which was what brought him standing outside of her apartment window.
"Are you sure you don't want to come inside?" She'd asked when he told her of his plan.
He cocked his head and gave her a lazy smile, his eyes traveling up legs, torso, breasts and face and back down again
He didn’t want to worry her, but there was one big reason why that wouldn't be a good idea. He gave her the second biggest reason instead. "You don't look like the kind of person who can relax knowing there's someone you don't know walking around your apartment all night. I’m more useful outside."
That, and the spot outside her window really was the perfect place to stand watch. The only windows to her apartment were on this side, and no one could get in or out of the building without passing through the doors three floors under him. He had all entry points covered.
She gave in with some reluctance, and he loved feeling the disappointment roll off her. Mixed in with relief, which was not so thrilling.
A woman who didn't know what she wanted. It was typical, not at all unusual, and showed a lot of potential. Had he not been cursed the last time he tried dating the woman he was assigned to protect he would have jumped at the opportunity.
No, he'd learned his lesson, and while he was sure Jackie was nothing like Sarah, what he'd seen and felt in her emotions and actions was enough for him to know that he didn't dare risk it.
Sarah, narcissistic bitch that she was, couldn't take it when he decided enough was enough and wanted to do the right thing: to break it off. He wound up cursed because of it. He couldn't even tell the police in this city what color her hair was since it changed every three days, nor could he tell them exactly where she was from since he was ninety-nine percent sure her French accent was fake.
Kyle sighed and rubbed his face. If he knew it was such a bad idea to repeat his mistake with Jackie, why wouldn't he stop thinking about taking her to bed? Putting her under him and having those long legs of hers wrapped around his waist while he rode her?
Kyle leaned against the wall, his eyes were wide open but he could still see the erotic images in his head.
He was attracted to Jackie. More than that. He wanted her, but there was no way in Hell he’d risk her life to go back on a promise he made with himself.
He clenched his fists, desperate to fight off the images until he heard a groan coming from inside Jackie's room.
Kyle’s ears perked. What? No one could’ve gotten in while he was out here. He looked back into the dark bedroom and scanned for intruders.
The room was empty but Jackie and the long shadows of her room. She tossed and turned under her sheets, nearly throwing them off herself.
A nightmare, he thought, lifting his hand to rap on the window, but stopped when she groaned again. He eyes zeroed in on her face, which contorted pleasurably as she panted for breath, and her nipples pebbled noticeably under her thin pajama top. It hit him what was really happening.
An erotic dream. Even from outside he could smell her.
Kyle’s fingers twitched to open the window, step inside and make her dreams reality. The lust inside him boiled at the sight of her, but he forced his vow to the forefront of his mind and didn’t move.
He was there to protect her. Not have sex with her.
Don’t touch, don’t even think about it. Standing with a rigid back and clenching fists, he walked along the ledge to the other side of the building and sat down, his legs dangling over the edge.
He needed the distance but it almost wasn’t enough. Sweat beaded on his brow despite the wind and cold. He could still smell her. Moving away a few feet did nothing to stop the want he felt.
He rubbed his face to regain control. "Keep your hands to yourself, McKane."
He couldn’t let this happen. Lust or not, he was in control of himself. After what happened to him with Sarah and what was happening to Jackie with the killer vampires, neither of them would benefit from the distraction of sex.
Kyle pulled his cell out of his inner jacket pocket and dialed his brother's number. He needed a voice to talk to. Something to get his mind back on track.
He was about to hang up when Tom finally answered.
"Kyle?"
"Sorry, I know it's late."
"Which has nothing to do with anything since I haven't heard from you in over a month!"
Kyle winced. Maybe putting off this call and not answering his phone when he knew it was Tom wasn't such a great idea. He hadn't meant to ignore him, but he'd wanted to call with the good news that he'd found a cure, which had yet to happen.
"How's mom?"
He heard Tom sigh. "Worried sick. She wants to report you missing but I keep telling her you'll call, which you should. I think she thinks you’re dead or something."
He winced again. "I’m sure it’s not that bad, and she won't even be awake this time of night."
"Don't you mean morning? And you should leave a message if she doesn’t answer. Anything to let her know you’re alive. I can’t keep making up stories."
The finality in Tom's voice brought on enough guilt that guaranteed he would do as his brother said.
Neither spoke for a moment, and then Tom broke the ice. "Are you close to a cure?"
Kyle smiled. "Very. That's what I'm calling to tell you. I might be coming home soon." He decided to leave out the part about wild vampires.
Tom laughed. "That's great! How'd this happen? Where are you?"
"I met some people who are like Sarah, only not scary beyond all reason, and they're helping me out. There's one girl here who can give me a temporary cure every night."
"Really? Great! So is it a pill you take or something
? Because if you’re so close and you have something even temporary then you should probably come down to visit for a while."
Kyle shifted. "Uh, no, it's not a pill. Actually, the girl who can give me the cure is a witch, and how she does it is ... well..."
"Just tell me already."
"It's a kiss."
Kyle pulled the cell from his ear when the crash hit. Tom dropped his phone.
"What?" he asked when he got back on, and Kyle resented the laughter in his voice. "You sure you're not being scammed?"
Kyle chuckled. Trust his big brother to worry that someone might be picking on little Kyle. "Trust me, I'm not. She's not charging me any money, she’s done it before, and it worked. I spent the last two nights as a normal person and was able to get some real sleep." He decided not to tell him that he'd only gotten one night of good sleep because during the other he was being interrogated and held in an uncomfortable cell until his release.
"So, if she can cure you for one night why can't she cure you for every night?"
"You're asking the wrong guy, but what I know so far is that magic is nowhere near as simple as we thought it was. Today I spoke to two witches, one of whom is a full-time vampire, and a mind reader, and no one can figure out how a curse can do what it did to me."
Tom groaned. “You’re nowhere near a cure then.”
Kyle wasn’t about to let him drain away his good mood. "The good news is that cursing is illegal."
He could picture Tom's eyes widening. "Wow, really? Strange to think there’re laws for all this."
"Yeah, which means that the second I find Sarah, right after making her change me back, I can send her straight to prison and get my life back."
“Harsh. You think she’s around then?”
“She’s got to be. People here are secretive. It would explain why even you couldn’t find her if no one could even find this city without help.”
“Hmm, think the agency will take you back when this is done?"
Kyle heaved a sigh at the reminder of how he’d been when he left. "Probably not, but there're others." Which was true, and if that didn't work out, there were other things he could do with his life. He could start his own agency like he’d always wanted.
He loved his work, but being a bodyguard wasn't always so thrilling anyway, especially when he was assigned to Sarah. He'd been more like her butler than a bodyguard. She just wanted a man in a suit who wore a gun following her around to show everyone how important she was. There was no one, not even troublesome fans, to protect her from. So being the man in charge might be a nice change of pace.
Yet here he was, protecting someone else, only this time the woman in question was worth protecting.
"Anyway, I'm making some contacts here. They only need a little help with a few things and in return these people will look into my problem for me."
He was glad when Tom didn't realize he was hiding half the story from him, or that he didn’t seem insulted the people here could do what he, as a P.I., could not. "That's great, but where are you again?"
"Griffon City, it's ... pretty interesting."
There was a pause and some clicking. "I'm sitting at my computer and nothing's coming up. You weren’t kidding when you said no one could find it without help. What state are you in?"
"This place is like its own state. The people here are pretty secretive about this place. I only found it because a vampire in a bar told me about it. I guess it's where all the witches and werewolves and whatnot live.”
Tom snorted a short laugh. "It’s weird hearing you talk about vampires and witches as if it was normal.”
A low growl rumbled through Kyle’s voice. “Don’t start. I nearly bit you, didn't I?”
It killed him that he almost did it. Tom had come over to his place one night to check on him. One little argument over how he was ignoring calls from his family and Kyle lost it and lunged.
It was the first time Tom had seen him for what he was, and he offered him whatever help he could in finding a cure. He even kept his secret from their mother.
Tom ignored the warning in his voice, and the regret, as he continued the conversation as if Kyle hadn’t said a word. “So I guess me coming to see you is out of the question."
Even if it weren't, Kyle didn't want Tom driving here with their mother if there were so many dangerous creatures running around. "No, I guess not." Kyle heard a shuffle in Jackie's apartment. "Listen, I need to go, there's something I gotta take care of."
"Remember to call mom."
"Don't worry, I will." Kyle hung up his phone and stood up to inch his way back to the window. The one good thing about being a vampire was that he'd lost his fear of heights with his abilities to jump so high and scale buildings. Making his way back to the window at a quick jog didn't have him sweating.
Just as he made it to his destination the window lifted, and Jackie stuck her head out.
Her eyes found his and he froze.
"I can't sleep, want to keep me company?"
Her hair curled in all directions, but the just-rolled-out-of-bed-look with her glasses and thin little white tank top was incredibly sexy.
He allowed his eyes to lower to her breasts. Either her dream was still fresh in her mind or the cold air was taking its toll.
She moved out of the way when he lowered himself into her dark room, his voice coming out in a soft purr. "I'd love to."
***
Jackie didn't know what she was thinking, other than she didn't want to be alone. She woke up shaking with what she felt in her dream, unsatisfied and wanting nothing more than the company of the real man and not the hallucination.
It was just like last night.
Even now, in real life he still gave her that hungry look. She could almost feel the things he wanted to do to her, wanted her to do to him.
She had to remind herself that despite what Evey said, Jackie wasn't a vampire and Kyle really wasn’t one either. The dreams were just a product of attraction, and if she had a perfect match out there somewhere she would be the one to choose him.
And even then, she thought dejectedly, that doesn't mean he won't take one look at Carly and decide she’d be a better fit. Just like all the rest.
Jackie cleared her throat and looked away.
"What's wrong?"
She looked back at him, the heat in his eyes gone, which was good, but replaced with a curious pity, which was bad. She'd forgotten he could sense her emotions, but she hadn't forgotten to avoid eye contact with him when he looked at her like that.
"You don't know everything there is to know about vampires yet. When you look into someone's eyes, try not to picture what you want them to do for you in your mind."
He cocked his head. "Why?"
He really didn't get it.
She moved passed him into kitchen. He followed and then stopped a few feet away as she put on a pot of coffee. If only she'd been a gifted decorator so he’d have something other than white walls to look at.
"You almost got me because I'm still a little tired, but as a vampire, you can stare someone in the eyes and manipulate them."
She eyed him briefly on her way to the fridge. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and his mouth open, but that same mouth quickly twisted into a playful smirk. "I didn't know that."
She pulled a bottle of blood out of her fridge and handed it to him. He took it and gave her a curious stare.
She smiled. "Evey stays over some nights. I don't think she'll mind considering I gave her a lifetime supply of it."
He shrugged, twisted the cap off and took a swig. She laughed at the face he made. First of shock and then a twist of his mouth in disgust.
“Ugh, didn’t think blood would taste like that.”
She laughed again and held out her hand. "Give it back, I'll warm it up for you."
He did and she popped the glass bottle in the microwave. He leaned against the counter next to her. "So, if I just looked a random stranger in the ey
es and pictured that they would give me their wallet, they would do it?"
She tried to ignore the heat he created between them just by being so close. She didn't dare inch away to show him how strangely uncomfortable that wonderful feeling was.
"It all depends, on the person's magic, if any, whether or not they have a strong will, that sort of thing. Think of it like Star Wars. You have the Force."
He blinked at her. "I have the Force?"
She nodded, hating that a better analogy didn’t exist.
He grinned again, and when the microwave beeped she tore open the door and handed him his warm blood. He continued to grin at her over the lip of the bottle and then took a cautious drink.
His eyes widened before they slid shut to savor the taste. Evey had once described it to her as being the perfect mix of delicate spice and flavor that danced before making slow love to her taste buds.
Kyle certainly looked like he was enjoying it. "This is better. I guess warm blood is the only thing that makes sense."
She nodded and sat at her small table while waiting for the coffee. He sat across from her with his bottle. "I'm sorry about phoning Mike on you."
He lowered the bottle and wiped his mouth. "You already apologized for that."
"I know, but I wanted to say it again. I guess I didn't sympathize enough with your situation, and when Mike told me about the murder and how you were a suspect ... I guess for a little while I thought you'd actually done it."
She didn't want to mention that she'd also overheard him talking to his brother on his cell. How sad it made her that he had to be separated from him, a brother whom it sounded like he got along with quite well. Unlike Carly and her.
Then there was the feint mention of a woman. Relative or new love interest?
He leaned back in his chair, one arm slung over the back, as though he'd sat in that chair dozens of times before. "Don't worry about it. You'd have to be the most trusting, and therefore, stupid person on the planet to hear that a man you just met is a suspect in a murder and trust him unconditionally."
There was no anger in his voice. No judgment. Jackie smiled.
The sharp scent of coffee touched her nose before fogging her brain, and Jackie got up to make herself a cup with just a touch of milk and four spoonfuls of sugar.