Bite Me if You Can (12 page)

Leigh heaved a sigh. The questions running through her mind were endless. She knew now that she wasn’t cursed, couldn’t do anything cool or freaky, like fly or morph into a wolf, but she wanted to understand what exactly she was now. Was she still human? And if so, how could she now live so long, and not age, and not get sick, and not get cavities and so on?

A small sound from Lucian drew her attention back to him. He no longer had his back to her, but had turned to face her, a stunned look on his face, the hand holding the phone forgotten at his side.

“What?” she asked warily.

“You had a wet dream in the shower?” he asked.

Leigh immediately flushed and cursed herself for muttering under her breath. If he had been anyone else, he never would have heard her. But Lucian wasn’t anyone else, he was an immortal like she was becoming. He’d said her senses would improve... including her hearing. So his was obviously superior. Great.

There were only two options here, she realized. Either she lied and denied it, or brazened it out. It wasn’t like he knew he had played a key part in the shower action.

Shoulders straightening, she took on an uncaring expression. “Sure. What? You’ve never had a wet dream?”

“Was I in it?”

Leigh’s eyes went wide and she gasped with horror, “What?”

A squawking from the phone drew his attention back to it, and he lifted it to his ear, listened for a minute, then sighed. “I don’t want to explain it myself, Marguerite. I haven’t slept in thirty-six hours. I’ve spent all night cleaning up your house. She wants answers but I’m filthy and want a shower and—What?”

The way Lucian stiffened made Leigh’s eyebrows rise, then he said, “I haven’t done anything to your house, Marguerite. I was cleaning up the mess Julius made when he broke out of the kitchen.” He listened for another thirty seconds, then shifted uncomfortably. “Marguerite, I don’t want to have to spend the next hour explaining—” He tsked impatiently. “No, I can’t control her mind and make her wait. I can’t get into her thoughts.” He paused, then gave a snort. “No, Marguerite, that isn’t what it means. It means I’m tired.” Lucian made an impatient gesture, then said, “I’m going to take a shower, Marguerite. Here’s Leigh.”

Her eyes widened in surprise as the phone was suddenly shoved into her hand. Before she could protest, Lucian had turned, walked into the bedroom’s adjoining bathroom, and slammed the door. Leigh stared at the closed door for a moment, then raised the phone to her ear and said uncertainly, “Hello?”

There was a moment of silence, then a long sigh, and Marguerite said, “Leigh?”

“Yes.”

“He’s impossible, isn’t he?”

Leigh hesitated, all her protective instincts coming to the fore. For some reason, she wanted to defend the man. “It sounds to me like he’s just tired.”

“Hmmm.” Silence buzzed along the line, then Marguerite asked, “What do you think of him?”

“Well... ” Leigh hesitated. Her first thought was that she hardly knew him, but then she realized she did know a thing or two. She knew he had taken on the burden of taking care of her during the turn when he needn’t have bothered. She knew he was brave enough to go after the rogue vampires rather than relax and enjoy the good health he had.

“Leigh? Are you still there?” Marguerite asked, and Leigh cleared her throat.

“Yes. Sorry. Er... he seems strong and brave and caring and concerned.”

“Excuse me?” Marguerite asked, sounding surprised. “Caring and concerned, did you say?”

Leigh frowned as she recalled his reaction when he’d found her under the bed, his pulling her out and putting her back in bed again. He’d said she was too weak to be up and about. And he’d brought her food... well, dog food, but then she was getting the distinct impression that he didn’t eat much.

“Yes, caring and concerned,” Leigh said firmly, then tried to think what else she knew about him.

She knew he wasn’t afraid to look like an idiot in odd getups, so she supposed he wasn’t vain. He seemed well-spoken—when he spoke—and he tended toward grumpiness, or seemed to.

Leigh suspected it was just a shield, a way to keep others from getting too close. She knew how that worked. When she was on the run she’d had to pull on a mask to keep anyone from getting too close. She’d always had her guard up, and to keep people at arm’s length she acted cold and what some would have said was bitchy, though that wasn’t in her nature. It had been fear-driven, and it made her wonder why Lucian felt he needed a shield to keep people at a distance.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Leigh tried to think what else she could say. The only thing that came to mind was that he looked damned good half-naked.

“Half-naked?” Marguerite asked with interest, and Leigh blinked. Had she spoken aloud? It was a bad habit she had. Usually, she muttered and no one could hear what she was saying, but—like Lucian—Marguerite was an immortal with exceptional hearing.

“Leigh?” Marguerite said after a moment of uncomfortable silence had passed between them.

“Yes?” she asked warily.

Marguerite hesitated, then said, “He may seem grumpy and miserable, but he’s a good man. My husband, his twin brother, always said that before Lucian lost his wife and two young children, he was always smiling and laughing. I think the grumpiness is just his way of keeping people at a distance.”

Leigh blinked. It was exactly what she’d thought moments ago, except that she hadn’t known about his wife. She asked, “His wife and children?”

“Yes.” Marguerite said quietly. “It was a very long time ago. Before I married his brother.”

Leigh considered this news, then asked, “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because he can’t read you,” Marguerite said simply.

“I don’t understand,” Leigh said warily.

“I know.” She sighed. “There is so much you have to learn about us; too much for me to explain over the phone. But don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. I’m going to call my daughter and she’ll help you understand everything. It’s probably better this way anyway. Lucian could never understand what we women would think is important to know.”

“Okay,” Leigh said slowly.

“I’ll call her as soon as I hang up, but in the meantime just know you are safe and everything will be fine. All right, dear?”

“Yes,” Leigh murmured. “Thank you.”

“Okay, I’m going to hang up and call Rachel. You should hear from her shortly after that. You might want to put a pot of coffee on. She’s a big fan of coffee.”

“Okay,” Leigh murmured again.

“Welcome to the family, Leigh,” she said, and while Leigh was still blinking in confusion over that, Marguerite hung up.

Leigh listened to the dial tone for a moment and then she, too, hung up. She stood for a minute, unsure what to do. Lucian had told her to find clean clothes in the closet. She’d felt self-conscious about using someone’s clothes without their permission, so had chosen to don the terry-cloth robe she’d found hanging from a hook on the bathroom door. Now she felt she would be more comfortable being dressed when this Rachel arrived. On the other hand, she would hardly be comfortable if it turned out to be Rachel’s clothes she was borrowing.

Grimacing, she hurried to the closet. Relief coursed through her when she opened the door and saw the row of men’s clothes. She’d feel better borrowing something of Lucian’s. She would rather be swimming in clothes far too large than meeting Rachel in the woman’s own clothes, borrowed without permission.

After rifling through the clothes, she chose a pair of jogging pants, then turned to the shelves on the side of the large closet and pulled a t-shirt from the stack. Leigh knew she’d swim in anything of Lucian’s, but at least the joggers had a drawstring she could pull tight to keep up. Taking the clothes with her, she hurried to the room she was beginning to think of as her own, where she doffed the robe and donned what she’d selected. As she’d expected, they were far too large, but she pulled the drawstring tight, and decided it would have to do as she headed for the kitchen.

Leigh had no idea how long she had until Rachel arrived, and she wanted to get the coffee going before then.

The cupboards in the kitchen were mostly empty. There were things like salt, pepper, flour, and sugar, and there were some condiments in the refrigerator, but there was little real food other than that. She wasn’t surprised.

It wasn’t until she checked the stainless steel storage jars on the counter that Leigh found what she was looking for. They were unlabeled, but one held powdered milk, one held tea bags, another sugar, and the third and largest held coffee. Just enough for two pots by her guess.

Leigh made the coffee, then paced the room as she waited for it to finish dripping. Questions were lining up in her mind like soldiers in formation, one after the other marching across her thoughts. If they weren’t cursed, what were they? How would her life be affected now?

Her gaze lifted to the ceiling several times as she paced, and each time a scowl claimed her lips. She understood that Lucian was tired, but it was hard not to be impatient with the lack of answers and the need to wait for this Rachel when he could easily answer her questions.

When the coffee machine buzzed, announcing that the coffee was done, she moved out of the kitchen and up the hall to peer out at the driveway that circled in front of the house. There was no sign of Rachel yet and no sign of a car approaching up the road that she could see. Leigh clucked her teeth impatiently, then glanced toward the stairwell.

Surely Lucian was out of the shower by now? Perhaps cleaning up had refreshed him, made him feel more like talking. She could always go see... maybe take him a cup of coffee to sweeten him up.

Biting her lip, Leigh peered out at the driveway and the road beyond again. There was still no sign of an approaching car. She’d just pour a couple coffees, and if Rachel hadn’t arrived by then, she’d take a cup to Lucian and ask a question or two until the other woman did arrive.

Leigh considered it a good sign when there was no sound of running water coming from the bathroom as she slid into Lucian’s room. She was sure it meant he’d finished his shower, as she’d hoped. It was only as she pushed the door closed with her foot and surveyed the empty bedroom that she realized she was lucky she hadn’t entered to surprise Lucian in his towel... or even naked. That could have been embarrassing. Well, for him at least. The idea was filling her mind with images that made her face flush, but not with embarrassment. Really, the man is dangerous, walking around with that muscular physique, she thought, recalling him standing half-naked in the kitchen.

Forcing away the memories and the thoughts they invoked, Leigh crossed to the bedside table to set down the tray she carried. It held two cups of coffee, a bowl of sugar, and a bowl of powdered milk. Having no idea how he took his coffee, she’d brought the fixings with her.

It was bribery, and there was no denying it. She was hoping the coffee might make him look more kindly on her pestering him with questions. Leaving the tray for the moment, she walked to the bathroom door and paused to listen. There was no sound at all coming from beyond the door; no movement, no rustle of material, nothing.

Leigh bit her lip. Perhaps she’d missed him and Lucian had already dressed and left the room. Her gaze slid around the bedroom, but it looked the same to her as when she’d left earlier. Perhaps he’d fallen and hit his head getting out of the shower. That was more worrisome than the first possibility, and she immediately raised a hand to knock sharply at the door.

“Hello? Lucian? I brought you coffee,” she announced. When silence was her answer, Leigh frowned and shifted her feet uncertainly. What should she do? Her hand moved uncertainly to the doorknob, but hesitated.

“Lucian?” she tried once more. When there was still no answer, she drew her shoulders up and turned the knob. She had to be sure he was all right.

“Lucian?” she whispered, her voice dropping as the door slid open to reveal the neat, white marble countertop with the sink in it, then a toilet, and finally the tub itself. Her eyes widened in alarm when she saw Lucian lying, seemingly unconscious, in the large clawfoot tub. His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes fanning over the marblelike skin of his cheeks.

Gasping with alarm, she rushed to his side and dropped to her haunches as she reached instinctively to grab his shoulder, though what she’d intended to do, Leigh couldn’t say. There was no way she could lift him out of the water by herself. Fortunately, there was no need. The moment she touched him, Lucian’s eyes shot open. He stabbed her with a glance that went from sleepy to sharp in a heartbeat, then sent the water roiling and splashing from the tub as he abruptly sat up.

“What’s happened?” His voice was harsh, his expression dark with concern.

Leigh stared, suddenly unable to speak as her gaze slid over his wide chest and dropped of its own accord down to where he disappeared below the bubbles that filled the tub. She was surprised that he would have bubbles in his bath, and also disappointed at how it blocked her view of what they hid.

“Leigh?” he snapped, reaching for the towel on the floor beside the tub.

“I—Oh!” Shaking her head back and forth with a jerky repetitive motion, she stood from where she’d been kneeling and abruptly turned her back to him. Then she gave herself a mental slap and forced herself to speak. “There’s nothing wrong. I just—I called out, but you didn’t answer, and I was worried you’d fallen and hit your head or something.”

When her only answer was the soft slosh of water in the tub as the water slowly settled, Leigh risked a glance backward. Lucian had the towel in his hand, but was still seated in the tub, his expression blank.

“You were worried about me?”

She frowned at the surprise in his voice and the bemused look on his face. Surely anyone would have been worried. Turning away before she could be tempted to ogle him once again, she shrugged.

“You said you were taking a shower but there was no sound of running water and no answer when I called out to you,” she repeated.

“I decided to take a bath instead. I guess I fell asleep.”