Walking out into the sunshine from the somewhat dimly lit shop, she placed a hand up to her eyes to shade them. As she did so, a very large man bumped into her, sending her and the bags she was carrying sprawling onto the ground. She let out a little yelp, as the street scraped her hands, elbows, and knees.
“What the fuck?!” she heard Kyle curse and expected his hands to lift her any second.
They didn’t come. She pushed up onto her knees and it was the salesgirl from the shop that helped her to her feet, blood was dripping from some nasty scrapes. She turned and saw Kyle jogging up the street after the man that had bumped into her and then he stopped, looking around. He must’ve lost him in the throng of people.
He was back at her side in seconds and held her steady, as he checked her over, “Just cuts and scrapes, we’ll need to get them cleaned up and put some bandages on the worst of them. We’ll go and get Boyd, he should have an emergency kit in his car.”
He picked up the bags and held her to him, as she limped along the street, Boyd was on his feet and coming towards them, as soon as he saw them. “What the blazes happened?”
“Some guy, a very big guy, knocked her flying. I only caught a slight glimpse of him, but he looked like - Raige. I tried to follow and get a better look, but then he just fucking disappeared. One minute he was there and the next he was gone.” Kyle’s teeth were grinding together. She now knew why he had run off and not helped her up.
Raige? Her stomach clenched tightly at the thought of that thing touching her.
“How could that be? I felt nothing, if it was him, then we should have been warned.” Boyd looked troubled, and she didn’t like that.
“I’m pretty sure, but I can’t say for certain. Anyway, do you have a first aid kit in your car? We need to clean these and get the grit out of them.” Kyle was acting like he could smell her blood, his nose twitched, and his tongue darted out a couple of times. Her blood continued to drip from her hands and elbows, and blood ran down the front of her legs.
“I must look a sight. Can we please get off the street? People are staring.”
She knew she looked worse than she felt, it was only some scrapes and small cuts, the blood made it look worse, but she didn't like all the looks she was getting, her face was scarlet with embarrassment.
“Yes, yes, of course, let me take those and you help Sabrina,” Boyd held his hands out for the bags, Kyle handed them over, and then put one arm around her waist and the other on an elbow, helping her hobble along.
“Oh no!” she exclaimed, as she looked downwards and tears came to her eyes.
“What? What is it, is something broken?” Kyle’s voice was full of worry, as he spoke, and he kept checking her over to see if something else was wrong.
“My new sandals, they've got blood on them,” she moaned and tried desperately to keep the tears from falling.
“Don’t worry about the sandals, if we can’t clean them, I’ll buy you a new pair. I’m only worried about you,” Kyle was now smiling, glad it had only been the sandals that had made her swear.
Boyd reached the car first, put the bags in the trunk, and pulled out a first aid kit. Sabrina sat sideways on the back seat, her legs and arms held out. She didn’t want to get blood on the seat.
Kyle took some cotton gauze and poured on some of the antiseptic that Boyd handed him and then wiped the cuts and scrapes. She gritted her teeth a couple of times, as the stuff stung, but she didn’t make a sound, still trying not to cry.
She knew that she could get another pair of sandals, if they were ruined, so why was she so upset over those shoes? Probably the stress she told herself, with everything that’s been going on it was understandable. She took a deep calming breath and felt a little more in control, as Kyle started to place some bandages on the places that were still bleeding.
“I’ll get Cook to put some of my blood in your meal tonight, so you’ll heal quicker,” Kyle was on his knees on the ground in front of her and he looked up from under his lashes and hair, which had fallen forward over his face. God he was so good looking she thought and saw the smile on his face.
“Okay, we need to set some rules. You shouldn’t just listen in, for the sake of it. I should be able to think things without you eavesdropping all the time,” she ruffled his hair, like she was annoyed with him, but she knew that he would know she wasn't.
“Perks of the job, hon, perks of the job,” he laughed, and she swatted him again.
“What job?”
“Being your mate, of course,” he stood up, as he had finished attending to her, and Boyd replaced the kit in the trunk and came around and got in.
Kyle got in the other side and sat beside her, pulling her legs in, she closed the door and scooted closer.
“At least the gun didn’t fall out, I was terrified it would go scooting down the street and someone would see it and call the police,” her heart had nearly beat out of her chest, as she had pictured that happening.
“It’s jammed in there pretty tight, it should only come out if you grab it and pull,” he placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, just as her stomach rumbled, very loudly.
“Food, it’s not far,” Boyd replied to the rumbling. “It’s only a mile or so,” he told them, and she was pretty glad, she was starving.
Chapter 19
The scenery was glorious on the short drive to the restaurant, taking them along the waterfront. She kept a look out for the flamingos, but didn’t see any. In a very short time, Boyd pulled the car off the road and onto a dirt track, which was fairly bumpy, and he drove slowly towards the water.
Trees lined the track and at the end she could see a small building, it didn’t look like a restaurant to her, it just looked like a small square wooden building. As they drew nearer, she saw windows with lace curtains. There were only two other cars, so Boyd parked right outside the door, and led them inside the dim interior.
As her eyes adjusted, she could only see a few tables scattered about a dimly lit room, not her idea of a nice place to eat. Boyd didn’t stop, though, he walked through the room and out a door that was opposite the one they had come in. As soon as they walked through the other side, she gasped, as she took in the view.
Spectacular didn’t even come close. This area was set with tables with white tablecloths on a raised deck that looked out onto a marsh that emptied into the lake. One of the first things she spotted was the pink flamingos…and she laughed.
“They’re gorgeous,” she said quietly, not wanting to scare the weirdly elegant birds.
“No need to whisper, they’re used to people, in another hour or so this place will be full and the noise level will be high,” Boyd explained, and he led them to a table right on the edge of the deck, where they could get an even better view.
Kyle pulled her chair out for her, and she sat down, not taking her eyes off the birds. As the men were seated, a woman that looked to be in her thirties came out another door to the cafe. Her smile widened, when she saw Boyd. She moved closer and locked her eyes on the Vampire.
“I’m ecstatic you have returned, Mr Boyd, we have missed you, you have not visited us in too long a time,” she said in accented English.
“Ciao, Isabella, these are my guests, Sabrina and Kyle,” Boyd motioned with his arm, and the woman turned to smile at them, also.
“Piacere di conoscerti,” she said and Boyd translated, “Pleased to meet you.”
"Oh, Piacere di...cono...serti," she managed to get out, but was sure she had said it wrong.
“Your usual wine?” Isabella asked, and Boyd nodded.
“Yes, but Sabrina will be eating, so a menu, too, please, Isabella.”
Sabrina couldn’t help but notice the way the woman’s eyes lit up every time she looked at Boyd, she obviously liked him...a lot.
“Si, si, of course,” she turned and almost ran to get the wine and menu.
“She likes you,” Sabrina said, smiling as Boyd frowned.
“She likes my business, I always get their most expensive wine and leave a generous tip.”
“Oh, I think it’s more than that,” she tried not to laugh, as Boyd continued to frown.
“Nonsense,” was all he came back with.
Isabella was back, the wine was opened, and three glasses were in her hand, with the menu under her arm.
“Here is your wine, Mr. Boyd,” she placed a glass in front of each of them and poured his first before pouring theirs.
“Menu, miss,” she handed it over and Sabrina started to look through it.
She was pleasantly surprised to see it was in both Italian and English, in fact, there were a couple more languages on the menu. They obviously had a lot of tourists, and she could see why with the setting and the flamingos.
“Chicken salad sandwich, please,” and she handed the menu back.
“Is that all?” Kyle asked, worried once more that she didn’t eat enough.
“Cook always makes such a big dinner, if I eat anything other than a sandwich, I won’t eat dinner, so yeah, that's all.”
She picked up her glass and sipped the wine, a white one she had never tasted before, it was extremely good. Turning, she watched the birds, they looked awkward with their long, thin legs, but graceful at the same time. Weird, she thought, as she watched them.
“So did you buy anything special on your shopping excursion,” Boyd asked, she was sure he was just making polite conversation.
“Well, I got these sandals, I’ve been wanting them for a while, and we finally found what I was after, only now they’ve got blood on them. I wonder if An... Cook has something that will clean them?”
“I'm sure she will,” he replied, obviously noticing her hitch and that she was going to say Anna.
“Good, cause I love them. I got a lovely top and a nice bag, and we got Kyle a t-shirt. I did see a lovely dress shirt, but he wouldn’t wear it, it was pink,” she looked at Kyle, who only shrugged his shoulders.
“Pink? Hmm, no, I can’t see Kyle in a pink shirt,” Boyd almost laughed, and she guessed he knew Kyle pretty damn well.
“Well, I think he would look great in pink, there’s nothing to a man wearing that color any more.”
“Not me,” Kyle said, with a grin, and she shook her head and turned to watch the birds again.
It wasn’t long until her sandwich was delivered by a smiling Isabella, who kept sneaking glances at Boyd.
“Sabrina was right, she definitely likes you,” Kyle commented, as the woman walked away.
“I’m not interested,” Boyd said, as he stared out across the water.
“Why not? She’s gorgeous, and she’ll have all that Italian passion,” Kyle was a little bemused, his Sire used to go through women like he did his wine, very frequently.
“She would expect more than I could give, plus I like this place, if we had a liaison, then afterwards it would make it difficult to come here.”
Sabrina ate her chicken sandwich and listened while watching Boyd’s face. There was a hint of something sad, as he had talked about Isabella expecting more from him. His eyes moved quickly to hers, and she realized he had, once again, heard her thoughts.
“Rude,” was all she said, as she continued to eat. There really should be some kind of etiquette about listening in on other people’s thoughts. It was more than a little annoying.
She refused more wine, but ordered a bottle of water and finished her lunch, as she took in the scenery. It really was a most beautiful place to sit and relax. She could see herself and Kyle sitting here for hours, as she ate a leisurely meal and they drank copious amounts of wine. They were absolutely coming back for a holiday, after all this was over.
“I think we should get going,” Boyd interrupted her thoughts, and she realized they had finished the bottle of wine, as she had been daydreaming.
“Il conto per favore, Isabella,” Boyd shouted over his shoulder, she was dealing with several newcomers, Sabrina hadn’t even noticed the place start to fill up.
“Si, Mr. Boyd,” Isabella responded and was back in a few minutes with the bill, Boyd didn’t look at it, he just handed Isabella a rather large note in payment.
“No! Questo e troppo!” Isabella exclaimed, and it didn’t take a genius to work out she was telling him he was leaving far too much money.
“Take it, Isabella, buy yourself something nice,” Boyd just walked away, leaving the woman with the note in her hand and a look of longing on her face.
“That wasn’t nice to watch, she obviously likes him, and he seems so sad to me,” Sabrina was following behind Kyle, who was carrying the bags and making his way through the many people that had made their way to the café.
“I know, it’s not like him, he usually would jump at the chance to go out with a beautiful woman,” Kyle was frowning, obviously wondering what was wrong with his Sire.
Boyd was already in the car and had it running, when they got to it. As they got in, they could see Isabella at the door with the money still in her hand. She still had that sad look on her face.
“So, what's up?” Kyle asked in a cheery tone, trying to lighten the mood.
“I have become somewhat...disillusioned…that’s the word I would use. Having any kind of relationship goes nowhere, even if it’s fun for a while. After all the women I’ve had, it becomes less enjoyable, and so I’ve kept to myself for some time now. Although I don’t love the women, I still do not want to inflict pain on them, and that is what invariably happens, when they realize there is no future in it. So now I don’t bother, I do not like hurting them, so now, I don’t.”
Kyle didn’t answer, there was nothing to say to something like that. Sabrina felt very sad, sad for the women and sad for Boyd. It must be very lonely at times, and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
She could see how women would fall for Boyd, he was handsome and could be quite charming. He had old-fashioned values, and she was sure he would treat a lady right. Then, of course, there was his stockpile of money, that was always a draw. She couldn’t imagine being on her own now, not after bonding with Kyle, it would kill her. She was overwhelmed with gratitude that Kyle had her. He had a woman to love, who loved him in return, and her heart was full of love for her Vampire.
Kyle’s hand found hers and gave it a squeeze, “Me, too,” he whispered, and she nodded her head and turned to look out the window, feeling a little melancholy.
Her scrapes were nipping a little bit, and she wished they had been somewhere that Kyle could’ve put a little of his blood in what she was eating. He usually never told her when he did it, but she could always tell, not with the taste of the food, but how she felt. Soon after eating, she would feel absolutely great and her skin would almost glow. She knew if she had some tonight, by the morning, the cuts and scrapes would be healed.
Her mind wandered, she didn’t realize they were nearly back at Boyd’s. She only noticed when they turned onto the road that led to the house. As they did, she thought she could see a figure getting out of a car, but her eyesight wasn’t enhanced like the other two in the car.
“Who’s that?” Kyle asked, so she must’ve been right, there was someone there.
“I have no idea,” Boyd said apprehensively, as if he never got drop in guests.
Pulling to a stop beside the other car, they could now see the figure of a young woman at the top of the stairs waiting on them. She was slim, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt that clung to her body, showing off her ample bosom. She had a worried look on her face and was biting her lip, as she waited.
As soon as they were out of the car, she started talking, “Have you seen my mother? She hasn’t been home in more than a few days, and she isn’t answering her phone!”
The girl was very agitated and Sabrina could almost smell her fear. As they got closer, she realized that sh
e wasn’t as young as she had first thought. More like mid-twenties than late teens and with the worried look on her face, she looked even a bit older.
Sabrina watched Boyd, as his eyes raked over the body of the woman in front of them, and she stood back to watch what happened.
*****
As soon as Boyd got out of his car, his senses went up quite a few notches. The main ones were his sense of smell and sight, as they examined the woman from top to bottom and back up again. Her scent hit his nostrils and they flared, his heart rate picked up and he frowned, because he did not know what was happening.
She was a comely young woman, petite with quite a large chest, which was shown clearly under the tight clothing she was wearing. Her hair was an auburn color, long and straight, reaching almost to her waist and blowing around in the breeze. Her eyes were full of worry, but that’s not what he saw. What he saw were molten orbs of honey and he felt drawn to her, as if she were a powerful magnet and he a piece of metal.
What the hell was going on he wondered, as she started talking, her words barely registered in his brain - something about her mother?
He forced himself to speak, though he found it disconcerting that he had to force the words out of his mouth, “I’m sorry, but who are you and who is your mother that I may know where she is?”
Boyd was very polite, as he spoke, but his body was tense and he moved closer to the female, noticing she was not all ‘made up,’ as most women were nowadays. Possibly some mascara and lip-gloss were all that marred her beauty.
His body jerked, as he realized the route his thoughts were taking him, and he tamped down every single emotion inside him, to appear cold and hard. The worry on her face was having an effect on him that he had never felt, and that had him more than a little concerned.
“My mother! For goodness sake, my mother, the Witch that was here, Kathleen! She went out shopping a few days ago and didn’t come home. I’ve not seen her since, and I can’t get her on her phone either. This was the last job she did, so I wondered if she had maybe come here, or her disappearance had something to do with what she did here. She never talks about her jobs, so I’ve no idea what you wanted with her. I just want to find her...”
Sabrina's Vampire Series Boxed Set Page 37