Broken Heart Town 2 - Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire

by Michele Bardsley

  "Stop it!"

  "No!" he cried. He grabbed me by the shoulders and stuck his tongue into my mouth. I nearly gagged.

  "Hey, Mom," said Tamara from the doorway, "you got a visitor." I heard the sharp intake of her breath and then, "Holy freaking crap. What are you doing to him?"

  I pulled away from Charlie's sloppy kiss and tried to scramble off him, but he held on to me desperately. With my vampire strength, I had the ability to hurt him, but I was trying to free myself without breaking his arms. Then he released me, so suddenly that I fell onto the floor. "What the bloody hell is going on?" Shock rooted me to the spot as I looked up, up, up into the stormy gaze of Lorcan O'Halloran.

  Chapter 4

  I was shaken to the core. First by Charlie's strange behavior, which was so un-Charlie-like that it was as if someone else was wearing his skin, and second by Lorcan's sudden appearance. He was the last person I expected to see. What was he doing back already?

  Charlie sat in the wingback and stared at me. His eyes had the glassy look of a puppet's. Worry gnawed at me. Something was wrong, but was it him… or was it me?

  When Lorcan reached down to help me up, Charlie yelled, "Take your hands off her!"

  He leapt up, his fist cocked. Startled, I said, "Charlie! Sit down!"

  "Okay." He dropped into the chair.

  Uh… what the hell?

  Lorcan's hand on mine produced an electrical shock. At least for me. His face seemed carved from stone as he pulled me to my feet. No one who paid attention could confuse him with his twin, Patrick, who had a more ebullient spirit and who wasn't afraid of wearing more than one color. Lorcan always wore black, like he was constantly in mourning.

  He let go of my hand and grimaced. "I am not constantly in mourning."

  I blinked. I hadn't realized I said that out loud. I looked at Charlie. "I think you should go home," I said. "Go home and rest. Okay?"

  "Anything you say, Eva. Anything at all." He stood up and marched out the door.

  Lorcan, Tamara, and I watched him go down the hallway and out the front door. Chewing on my lower lip, I said, "He's never acted that way before."

  "Once he reaches his home, he'll be fine," Lorcan said reassuringly.

  "Mom, you have the ability to zombify people."

  "That's not a cool power," I protested. "Bending the will of others is kinda lame."

  "All vampires have the ability to glamour," said Lorcan, "but the Family Romanov's talents go far and above memory wipes and"—he glanced at Tamara, smiling—"zombifying people. Obviously your powers are strengthening very quickly." His gaze flicked over me. "You must learn how to control them."

  "Are you going to teach her?" asked my daughter with acid sweetness. "Or do you want to skip the niceties and just kill her again?"

  "Tamara!" I bopped her on the back of the skull.

  "Hey! That's child abuse." She frowned over her shoulder at me, then stomped away. I think people in China heard the door to her room slam. Guilt wiggled through me. Okay. Maybe I shouldn't have bopped her.

  "She has a right to be scared of me," said Lorcan. "And to be angry with me."

  "You think so?"

  My policy was to right my wrongs ASAP. You never knew how long you had with someone and I always wanted things to be squared away in case—well, just in case. So I hurried to Tamara's door and knocked.

  "You're sorry," said Tamara as I opened the door. "I know." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, too." She sighed deeply, as if this admission had cost her all the energy she had left. She sank onto her bed and closed her eyes.

  "I love you," I said.

  "I love you, too. Now go away so I can mope."

  Grinning, I shut her door. Then I walked past Lorcan and headed toward the sizable foyer. The library wouldn't be open for an hour, but I had another nightly task to perform.

  Lorcan followed me into the foyer. I opened the closet and dug out various bags. He helped me drag them onto the front porch. When all the items were out, we sat on the rickety porch steps.

  Like I said, ever since I became a vampire, the critters had been drawn to me like rain to Seattle. Squirrels, raccoons, deer, rats—all creatures great and small wanted to hang out with me. They followed me like I was Snow White or the Goose Girl. Sometimes I could hear their thoughts, which were more like pictures and emotions than actual logic with words.

  Tamara and I had accumulated a number of cats, which went in and out of the house like they owned it. I verbally forbade all cats to go into the library, and strangely enough not a one had set a paw in it.

  Broken Heart didn't really have dogs—most of them had left with the people. I think the fact that we had real werewolves roaming the forests and the streets kept their lesser brethren from venturing into town. But cats—shoot, they weren't afraid of anything, not even lycanthropes.

  As the end of August neared, summer still clutched Oklahoma in a lovers' embrace. The air felt humid and hot, even now, when the sun had been down for hours. A breeze offered some respite and brought with it the sweet scent of honeysuckle, a flower that bloomed nearly everywhere in town.

  "Why are you here, Lorcan?" I offered an acorn to a squirrel. His tiny little paws accepted the treat and he sat on the step by my feet to nibble on it.

  Lorcan didn't answer. Instead, he stared at the animals scampering around my front yard. Finally, he looked at me and asked, "Don't you think your daughter has a right to be angry with me? I did kill you, Evangeline. And because of me you're a vampire."

  "Everyone is entitled to their feelings. But feelings aren't actions. Actions say more about you than any words you could ever speak." I offered some birdseed to a bluebird that landed on the stair railing. "But words have power, too."

  "My actions were those of a murderer. What does that say about me?"

  "I didn't realize you meant to kill us. Planning the deaths of eleven people—nope, that's not nice at all."

  "You know that is not true." He sighed. "I will never be able to pay enough penance for what I did."

  "How do you judge what's enough? By how you feel or by what others tell you?"

  "I don't know."

  I knew what it was like to pay for a bad mistake. Maybe that's why I softened toward Lorcan. I wasn't exactly afraid of him, maybe because deep down, I could feel his pain. Literally. I don't know why I knew that the heaviness in my stomach was really his turmoil. He'd said my powers were getting stronger. Lorcan truly was sorry—in fact, he seemed to be in a permanent pity party.

  Lorcan's gaze captured mine, and I felt my nonexistent pulse stutter. Desire skittered through me, too. I put my hand on his arm. "You'll be okay," I said, echoing words that my mother said to me many times, "if you'll let yourself be okay."

  "I would be okay," he said, his voice razor-soft, "if I knew that my actions could be forgiven."

  "Shouldn't you start by forgiving yourself? That would probably pave the way for others."

  "Maybe I should start by asking your forgiveness."

  Forgiveness wasn't on my mind. Lust, pure and simple, zipped through me—as sudden and potent as a lightning strike. Lorcan's eyes captured mine and for an eternity I gazed at him. I wasn't sure if I was ready to make real what my imagination had created. Was I just horny? Or did I feel something special for Lorcan?

  I lifted my hand off his arm and the spell between us broke. I glanced around the yard. Though I welcomed all creatures (like I had a choice), there was one that had not yet arrived to see me.

  Lucky was missing again. I hadn't quite decided if he was a lycan or not. He never got close enough for me to pet him, but each time he visited he came a little closer. I couldn't feel much from him other than deep, aching pain. I didn't know if my mojo had drawn him here or not. Maybe he knew something about loss, like I did, and that bound us together.

  "Who are you looking for?" asked Lorcan. "It seems as though every animal in northeastern Oklahoma is already here."

  I shrugged. If Lucky wasn't a lycan
, I didn't want him run off by the very possessive guardians of our town. And if he was, I didn't want his secret out. I felt protective of him.

  I peeked at Lorcan and saw him smiling. The sensual curl of his mouth was like a punch to my stomach. He was beautiful. Beyond beautiful.

  "Wow," I said, fanning myself, "is it hot out here, or what?"

  "Hello, Eva. Lorcan."

  I looked up to see Ralph walking up the cracked pavement that led to my house. Ralph was the only single dad among the parents Lorcan had accidentally killed. As the father of active twin toddlers, Ralph was kept busy. He had a full-time nanny and cook, thanks to the Consortium, but I rarely saw him around town. He usually brought his sons to the library every couple of weeks. And he always came to the Turn-blood meetings and the shindigs hosted by the Consortium.

  I noted that Ralph looked really good in his dress shirt, jeans, and leather loafers. He had short brown hair and kind blue eyes, and though he wasn't much taller than I was, I could tell by the fit of his clothes that he was definitely muscled.

  Next to me I heard Lorcan make a low sound that reminded me of a growl. I glanced at him, but he seemed to be looking at the two deer nibbling on a patch of grass.

  "The library's not open yet," I said. "Did you already read all the Margaret Wise Brown books to Stephen and Michael?"

  "A million times," he said with a grin. "But they love them—especially Good Night, Moon. I'll end up owing late fees. But I didn't come for books, Eva. I came to ask…" He cleared his throat, his gaze on Lorcan.

  Lorcan returned Ralph's pointed stare, his black eyebrows rising in challenge. I could almost feel the testosterone thickening the air around us. Ralph licked his lips, then drew back his shoulders. "I was wondering, Eva… would you like to go out?"

  "Go out where?"

  He flashed that cute grin again. "On a date. With me."

  I felt flummoxed. I hadn't been on a date in forever. Suddenly nervous, and flattered, and given Lorcan's gray-eyed gaze on me, very uncomfortable, I opened my mouth to say…

  "Wait a minute," I said. "Oh, no!"

  The Eva LeRoy makeover suddenly made sense. New clothes, new hair, new look—all because Jessica had been setting me up. I'd bet dollars to donuts my own daughter was in on it, too.

  "Did they put you up to this, Ralph? A pity date?" I put my head in my hands and groaned. "I'm sorry. I fell for it, too."

  "Eva, no." He stood in front of me, his hands tucked into his front pockets. "I told Jessica that—that I wanted to ask you out, but didn't know how. It's been a long time since I wanted to date."

  Uncomfortable was far, far from describing what I was feeling now. Lorcan had somehow gotten closer to me. His thigh pressed against mine and it was rock-hard and warm. Even though layers of clothing separated us, my treacherous mind remembered his dreamy half-naked form, in excruciating detail, and had I still breathed, I would've lost the ability.

  "Eva, are you all right?" asked Ralph.

  Lorcan's hand cupped the back of my neck. "You seem flushed, darlin'. Are you feeling well?"

  Oh, please. Vampires didn't get sick (if one didn't count the taint). Heat stroked me. I felt as though fingers and lips touched my flesh all at once. Impossible. I could feel every stroke, every lick. My body shuddered under the sensual assault.

  "Eva needs breakfast, is all," Lorcan lied smoothly. "Perhaps you can call her later?"

  "Of course," said Ralph. "Promise you'll think about it, Eva? I swear that pity has nothing. to do with my motives."

  All I could do was nod.

  "Good. See you guys later."

  Ralph waved at me, then used his vamp speed to run as far and as fast as he could. Whew. I couldn't blame him. I was acting weirder than usual—and that was saying something.

  Lorcan eased away from me, his gaze filled with concern. "Are you really okay, love?"

  Frenzy couldn't describe the state of my body.

  How could I feel this turned-on? But slowly the fires burning me inside out cooled. Within moments, I felt somewhat normal, if less than satisfied.

  "I can't believe Jessica talked Ralph into asking me out."

  "She didn't," said Lorcan. "It is as he said—he wanted to ask you out. Jessica merely helped things along."

  "Oh." I fiddled with a bead on the edge of my halter top. "Ralph's nice."

  Lorcan leaned close to me and I felt my undead heart giddyup. I could almost taste him, his mouth was so near mine. I pressed my hand against the butterflies fluttering in my belly. "Is nice what you want?" he asked.

  No, it wasn't. I wanted ravenous, passionate, can't-live-without-you need. I scooted away from Lorcan. His presence overwhelmed me. I felt embraced and repelled by it. Confusion reigned, along with the aching desire he inspired—probably in all females within three feet of him. Would it be possible, I wondered, to explore the physical attraction between us? We couldn't have true intercourse, but there were lots of ways to make love—and I hadn't tried all that many.

  "What are you thinking about, Eva?"

  None of your business. "I'm still wondering why you're here. You never did answer my question."

  "Maybe I want to ask you out, too."

  I laughed, but the sound that came out was more like a terrified squeak. "You're joking."

  "Yes," he said. His eyes were as hard as pearls. "I was joking." His gaze flicked to the gold rose on my top. He touched it, as though it were a real flower, then looked at me, a half smile crooking his mouth. "I'm glad you like it."

  "It went with the outfit," I said lamely. "Matched my earrings."

  "Yes," he murmured. "Of course." The moment stretched taut between us. Then he sighed and pulled an envelope from his back pocket. The Consortium's fancy "C" was embossed on it. I opened it and pulled out the single sheet of paper.

  After reading it, I looked at him. Anger burned a hole right through me. "You can't do this. I won't let you!"

  Chapter 5

  "We're not taking the library from you," said Lorcan. "We're simply moving it to the new building within the Consortium compound."

  The compound, which had more security than a movie star's wedding, was still under construction on the former site of the Barley & Boob Barn. Most of it was done, though. The largest building was the Consortium headquarters. There were also facilities for scientific and technological development, housing for staff and for donors, security operations, and even a prison. It appeared that one of those Chiclet-white structures had been built for the new Broken Heart library.

  I loved my little library. Not just the books upon books, old and new, crammed on the dusty wooden shelves, but the library itself. The LeRoy home had housed the library practically since Broken Heart was named a town. The LeRoys were one of the founding families. This library wasn't just a storehouse of knowledge and of entertainment; it was also a family legacy and a heritage to pass down to other generations. Funny how much of a claim I made on it, considering I hadn't known of its existence until a little more than a year ago.

  I balled up the letter and tossed it at Lorcan. The paper bounced off his shoulder and onto the step. "You're overseeing it. The whole thing. What am I supposed to do?"

  "You will still be a librarian," he said.

  I didn't want to be a librarian. I wanted to be the librarian. Before I came to Broken Heart, I was a single mother who made ends meet by waitressing. When I took over my grandmother's legacy, I got the one thing that had eluded me my whole life: respect. I had a position in the community, a real job with a real purpose, and I was someone my daughter could be proud of.

  "Why didn't Jess tell me?" I asked.

  "She found out tonight. She was… angry."

  I was sure he'd understated her reaction. "Angry" was probably a poor adjective to describe it. Jessica had been the biggest advocate of keeping Broken Heart as intact as possible. Her family, the McCrees, had been one of the founders of our town right along with the LeRoys.

  "Jessica is not on the boa
rd and not privy to the decisions that we must make," Lorcan continued. "The fact is, Eva, the Consortium owns Broken Heart. We have to remake it so that we can implement our plans for a parakind community. The Broken Heart library will be incorporated into the new, secure building."

  Terrible sadness washed over me as I rose from the steps and walked into the yard. Automatically I looked for Lucky. I knew, somehow, that he wouldn't come tonight. A deer cantered over to me and butted my clenched fist. I loosed my hand to pat her and looked up at the falling-apart Victorian with its peeling paint and sagging wraparound porch. The old girl was past her prime. I hadn't been able to do much to rejuvenate her, either.

  The Consortium had loads of material—books, scrolls, and God knew what else—in its own library. Lorcan was the author of many of those books, too. I'd never thought that my little piece of bibliophile heaven wouldn't be able to coexist with the Consortium's.

  "You can choose any place you want in the compound," said Lorcan. "Or any house in town. Whatever you want—I'll make sure you get it."

  "Wait a minute. You're taking my library and my house?"

  Lorcan flinched, as if I had slapped him. He nodded, but his gaze skittered away from mine.. "The house is on the perimeter of Broken Heart's border. It's a blind spot for us. We need this location to strengthen our security measures."

  "You're going to tear down my house! It's been here for more than a hundred years. It was one of the first buildings erected in this town." The deer wandered away. I looked at the pocket of woods that curved like a wobbly crescent around the LeRoy home. "We shouldn't destroy the history that's already here. We should preserve it."

  You would think a four-thousand-year-old vampire would know something about preservation of the past. Or maybe he'd seen so many things crumble into dust, he realized the futility of saving anything. I walked back to the battered and paint-chipped porch steps and sat down. Gazing at Lorcan, I said, "Why did you deliver the news?"