She stormed away from them, headed for the elevator. The break room was only a floor down, but she hit the lobby button. It didn’t matter how late it was, or that she was going to have to rush to catch the bus. She wasn’t going to stay here in this building when it was just her and him… and that woman. She had her son to think about and she didn’t want to expose him to any more of this.
If Rainer hadn’t been drunk—
Angelina shook her head as she set Tommy down and put his shoes on, despite his protests.
“No, Mommy,” he cried, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. “I don’t want to go outside.”
Angelina sucked in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then released it. “I know. I know I said we could stay here, but that was before Rainer came back.”
“No, Mommy!”
He’ll need blood in the morning.
It had been a long time since Angelina wanted to scream as badly as she did right now. She didn’t want anything to do with Rainer. She didn’t want this job, she didn’t want to see his stupidly handsome face, she didn’t want this nagging feeling at the back of her mind that he deserved to know about Tommy. But she needed him.
She needed him for the job. Without it, what could she possibly give Tommy? She needed him for his knowledge. He was a vampire and would help her get what she needed for her son. She needed him for his blood. The image of Tommy, so sick and miserable in the morning, came back to her and she shuddered.
Reluctantly, she pressed the button that would take them back up. Then she cradled Tommy in her arms, whispering to him that it was okay and that they weren’t going to go outside after all. He calmed quickly, putting his head on her shoulder. In the morning, she would get what she needed and once Tommy was at Daycare, she would have a rational conversation with Rainer about all this.
I’ll have to do as Emma suggested and record it all, she thought with a sinking heart. If he would suggest that she have a threesome with him… But maybe that was just because he’s drunk?
The break room was quiet, abnormally so. Angelina was used to several others being there when she stopped in for a cup of coffee or to heat up some soup. Now, though, it was so silent that it was unnerving. She settled Tommy down on one of the bigger chairs, then hunted around until she found the blankets. Stripping a couple cushions off the other chairs, she set up a little catch-net for Tommy in case he rolled off—she would have put him on the floor but was worried about rodents.
After he was settled down and breathing deeply, Angelina turned off all the lights, except the one over the microwave, and laid down on the couch. She hated to admit it, but it was almost more comfortable than her bed at home.
In the quiet hum of electronic equipment, Angelina pulled out her phone and put on some quiet music, then closed her eyes.
Immediately, the image of that blonde with her hands all over Rainer came to mind. Angelina hated the surge of jealousy that rose in her. And that niggle at the back of her mind, the little voice that told her it wasn’t too late to go back up and join them.
***
“Finally,” Isabella or Elizabeth or Francesca or whatever her name was crooned. She flatted herself against him, her perky breasts squashed against his chest. She tugged at his suit jacket, pulling it down to around his elbows and pressed a full-lipped kiss to his mouth.
He was already hard and willing. This woman’s warm body against his was delightful and she rubbed against him in just the right way. She knew what she was doing.
But his mind kept going back to Angelina. Had there been disappointment in her clear eyes or just anger? He hadn’t even noticed that she held her boy in her arms until after he’d made his suggestion—what must she think of him now?
There had been many times when Rainer wished he could go back and change this or that. Despite knowing the futility of it, he wished the same thing now. He wished he could go back and not have made an idiot of himself with her.
Then maybe he’d be able to concentrate on this woman, who was currently pushing him onto the couch. Her tight skirt rode up on her thighs as she straddled him and pressed her breasts into his face. He kissed them automatically, his hands roving without any thought behind it. Though his body felt these sensations and the pressure in his pants increased, not even that was enough to banish the thought of Angelina.
“I don’t know why you invited that fat girl to join us,” his latest amour sighed, tangling her fingers in his hair. “I’d hate to have to touch her.”
Any attraction he felt towards this woman vanished. He pushed her off him, standing rapidly. The result was that his brain seemed to wobble, and he slumped to one side. The woman stared at him with confusion and he gazed at her anew. Blonde hair. Green eyes. Sculpted legs. Skin like butter. A real picture of perfection, except for what had just come out of her mouth.
“I really wish you hadn’t said that.” Rainer realized that she had undone his pants and tugged them back into place before zipping them. He was so physically ready that he wasn’t sure he’d have lasted long, but the thought of touching this woman now made his skin crawl. “Get out.”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“Get out. I won’t have anybody talking about my employees that way. And quite frankly, I don’t have time for people who are putting down other people because of their weight. Angelina is not fat; she is a woman, a mother, and a damn hard worker. You have no right.”
She sat there a moment longer before slowly standing. “You can’t tell me it’s healthy—”
“Your comments had nothing to do with her health.” Rainer pointed at the door. “Get out. Right now.”
The woman buttoned her shirt, her cheeks flushing as she moved for the door. Rainer watched her go, annoyed and frustrated even as his gaze fell to her ass. It was shapely. Not as shapely as Angelina’s.
As soon as she was gone, Rainer groaned. He was still as hard as an anvil and wanted release so bad. His thoughts returned to Angelina once more but after what had happened? He couldn’t bear to look at her. Maybe in the morning, he’d get a chance to explain that he hadn’t seen Tommy. That he was really drunk…
And maybe even tell her why he’d gotten drunk. That feeling like iron bands wrapping around his chest came back. The memories lurked just behind his consciousness. But they weren’t going to win, not today. He was alone and so that meant no more drinking, but there were other ways he could distract himself.
So, he opened his phone, pulled up his favorite porn site and started watching a movie—one of his favorites, one with plot and semi-decent acting along with the sex.
Best of all, it had a happy ending, where the man and woman fell in love and lived happily ever after.
***
Morning came quicker than he would have liked. Sleep had alluded him (another side-effect of not drinking fresh blood, insomnia) but he had pulled himself back together. He’d cleaned up the office and had a list of resources that Angelina could look into for Tommy. Not only would they hopefully give her more information about raising a vampire child, but they would put her in touch with other moms raising vampire kids. That would give Tommy peers that could relate to him.
He was just putting together a list of places she could get blood for Tommy, as well as considering some financial aid programs, in case she needed it (blood was expensive!) when there was a knock on the door.
Rainer brushed his hair down with his fingers before he called, “Enter.”
He was both pleased and a little worried to see Angelina come in. Her eyes flashed, although the dark circles under them spoke to a sleepless night herself. Her face was freshly scrubbed, though, her hair wound up into a new bun and her shirt was less wrinkled than he thought it would be. The thought that she slept naked made him cringe—or rather, the tightness that came from that image did.
“Good morning,” he said evenly. “I hope that…”
He trailed off. What could he say that would make up for last night?
�
�Good morning,” she repeated, her voice so perfectly measured that it almost made him grin. There was a tightness to the way she held her mouth, though.
He waited in silence.
“I saw the blood bag that you left outside the breakroom door,” she told him. “Thank you. I have taken Tommy to daycare and… and I thought…”
She faltered and he knew at that moment that she meant to quit. His heart sank but he kept the emotion cleaned from his face. He wasn’t going to be clingy. He’d apologize for how he had acted, but he wasn’t going to ask her to stay. She had already done more than what he expected of her, after all. He didn’t really need a receptionist.
She wrung her hands, then held them stiffly at her sides, not looking at him.
Rainer waited a moment longer before he stood. He buttoned his suit jacket (he’d gone home and picked up a new one) and handed her the lists he’d printed out. “I think you’ll find these helpful as you continue to go forward with Tommy. I know that yesterday was scary, but you should know that I think you’re doing a pretty damn good job.”
“You do?” Angelina’s eyes widened. She took the lists, staring at them blankly. “You… really do?”
Rainer nodded, his expression almost fierce. “I do. It’s clear you love him greatly and have tried to find resources on your own. There isn’t a lot of information about born vampires because there aren’t very many people who are born vampires.”
“Were you?”
The question made Rainer’s jaw tighten. “No,” he replied curtly. “I was not. I was turned into a vampire when I was thirty years old. Some luck, right? There are people who end up being too old or too young to do much on their own, but I at least get to be at an age where I can actually live. And I’ll be this way for eternity.”
Something darkened in her eyes as he spread his arms. Rainer let them drop back to his sides. He’d seen that look plenty of times. It was jealousy. Jealousy that he would have such an eternal life, and also distrust. And why not? He’d seen so many wars, been the victim of so many horrors, that he ought to have lost all compassion. That’s what humans thought.
But the truth was, every pain he’d suffered only made that desire to help others stronger. He didn’t want anybody else to go through what he had gone through.
“Thank you for the list.” She glanced at it for a moment before looking back at him. “Do you really need me here?”
Surprised at the question, Rainer only cocked his head to one side.
“Most of the things that a receptionist should do, you do yourself,” she continued. “What I’m doing… reviewing articles, inputting data and then this article that you wanted on Isaac Fisher… that’s all way outside my pay grade. So, do you really need me or are you just looking for a… a…” She trailed off, her cheeks going red. Finally, she blurted. “I’m not a prostitute!”
Rainer rose a brow. “I never said you were.”
“Last night—were you just mocking me, then?”
“Mocking? No.”
Angelina curled her hands into fists. “Listen. I don’t know what you want and quite frankly I’m not so sure that you know what you want.”
Scarily astute.
“But one thing is for certain. If you’re expecting to put me on your desk with my panties around my ankles, you have another thing coming. I’m never going to sleep with you.”
Rainer was silent for a moment.
Angelina started to tremble as her gaze fell back down to the paper in her hands. “Are you going to fire me now?”
He almost wanted to tell her yes just for that. What right did she have to judge him so harshly? Expecting him to fire her just because she didn’t want to sleep with him?
But then, he had invited her to have a threesome the previous night.
“If you don’t want to work for me anymore, I will fire you,” he said, keeping his voice even. “Because then I can at least give you a fairly good severance package. To help with your son,” he added when her eyes narrowed. It was easy to see that she thought he was talking hush money. “But no. I have no plans to fire you. This is a temporary position and I still have use for you. Maybe I like to take care of the things that a receptionist would usually do, but what you are doing isn’t just cheap labor, Miss Matthews. I know that you want to be a journalist. I was hoping this experience would help you.”
There was still distrust in her eyes.
Rainer sighed as he shook his head. “Believe what you want. I have business to take care of with the broadcasting teams. My visit to the jail yesterday was most productive. As for you, just keep on doing what you’re doing. As long as you’re still working on that Isaac Fisher article as well.”
“I am.” She frowned at him. “But I don’t get that, actually. There were a lot of nasty things being said about him, but I’ve looked more closely. Only the most heavily anti-vampire news stations are saying anything about Fisher anymore. He’s old news. Why bring it up again?”
“I have my reasons. Oh, and make sure that you get a sitter for tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?”
Rainer nodded, retrieving his car keys from the desk. “The party. You agreed to go with me, and I’d rather not have to look around for someone else so late in the game. Besides, it’ll give you some insight on vampire culture that you can use for your article.”
He also planned to ambush her with a three-hundred-word piece on it afterward. Part of being a reporter was making observations, and he wanted to see what she noticed when she wasn’t looking.
“But—”
“About last night,” Rainer interrupted quickly, knowing what she was going to say. “I was drunk. I was not mocking you and I was not thinking of you as a prostitute. Women have sex for plenty of reasons and only a fraction of those reasons have to do with money. I did not ask you because you’re working for me, nor did I expect you to say yes for that reason. I asked because you are beautiful, charming and a vampire’s stamina is such that one partner isn’t always enough. But I should not have asked. It was inappropriate and for that I’m sorry.”
Angelina’s jaw was nearly on the floor.
Rainer smiled at her, unable to help himself. “Now. Be ready by six and make sure to wear something sparkly.”
Chapter Four
Everybody around her was dressed to the nines. Satin, chiffon, silk, diamonds, gold. It all shone around her. The vampires were all insanely beautiful. Angelina didn’t eat or drink anything, far too aware of the way her chin doubled if she held her head the wrong way. She was also afraid of what might happen if she had to use the bathroom or for whatever other reason might somehow end up alone with one of these beautiful creatures.
Angelina was well aware of her own sexuality. She was attracted more to men than women but when it was the right woman, she could get pretty turned on. And when it came to vampire women, they were all the right woman. Maybe it was some sort of pheromone release. She knew, though, if any of them asked to bite her neck…
Well, maybe she wouldn’t say yes without thinking. But it would be hard to say no.
Rainer was over at the other side of the room, talking with a wizened vampire leaning on a cane. Angelina was glad he was over there and not beside her. Right now, everything was reminding her of that day three years ago. When she had been paid to attend a vampire party. Only vampire men had been present, all the women were like her. Hired.
It had been obvious from the start that sex would be expected from the women attending. The vampire who had paid her to be there hadn’t outright said that she was there to service these men, but Angelina was never blind to his intentions. They’d all been masked. Angelina had quickly been captured by a tall vampire with dark, glittering eyes and fangs that flashed in the dim lighting.
He’d started kissing her out there in the open; Angelina didn’t want to, she realized she wasn’t ready to do something like this. But when she tried to break away from him, he’d grabbed her arm. Tightly. Hissed in her
ear that she wasn’t going anywhere.
And then Rainer was there. He’d plucked her away from that vampire as easily as one would pluck an apple. She still remembered how it felt. Tucked into his body, his strong arms around her.
“This one isn’t for you,” he’d said and then whisked her away.
He had taken her to a private room, where he gave her a bottle of water and asked if she was alright. He’d removed his mask. She hadn’t. Then they’d sat and talked for a while and she’d told him about her current troubles and what had brought her there. When he’d asked if he could take a few sips of her blood, she had agreed. And from there, it was history. A week later, they emerged. Angelina had been disoriented, the week of pleasure and sex seeming like it had lasted no time whatsoever and at the same time, a lifetime.
She never took off her mask. Even when it was uncomfortable and scraped at her skin, she didn’t take it off. She ate, drank, slept. Made love. She’d even forgotten that she was wearing it until she stopped in a gas station bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.
Rainer had slipped several hundred-dollar bills into her purse at some point when she was with him. It was enough to take care of her prenatal expenses but that was about it. Although, if she hadn’t had that, she would be in an even worse situation now.
“Hello,” a sultry voice whispered in her ear.
Angelina jerked back, having been so lost in her past that she had forgotten where she was. She flushed to see the beautiful woman standing next to her. Quickly, she mumbled a greeting and sipped at her glass of champagne.
“I’ve never seen you at one of these things before,” the vampire woman said. “My name is Morticia.”
“Like The Addam’s Family?”
Morticia fairly beamed. “Oh, yes. I absolutely adored her, so I changed my name.”
In Bed with the Vampire: A Paranormal Romance (Shifter Dating Service Book 3) Page 4