Bite Me if You Can (24 page)

“Des Moines?” Rachel asked with surprise. “I thought they were in Missouri.”

“Bastien told me Iowa,” Lucian said with a shrug.

“It could be a red herring,” Etienne murmured, and Lucian blinked at him with surprise.

“Why would he buy plane tickets here as a red herring?”

“Well, why would he head here where you are waiting to catch him?” Etienne pointed out, then added, “Besides, it’s hard to believe Morgan would fly here, he has a phobia to flying.”

“What?” Lucian asked with amazement.

“He and Dad were friends,” Etienne reminded him. “And I heard Dad teasing him about it once. I gather he had a bad experience while with someone named... ” He paused to think and then said uncertainly, “Cayley?”

“George Cayley,” Lucian murmured. “He came up with the first fixed-wing aircraft. A glider, really.”

“Well, from what I overheard that day, Morgan tested one of his first gliders for him and it didn’t go well. He’s refused to fly ever since.”

Lucian nodded. It fit. Morgan had lived in the Yorkshire area of England several times between 1700 and when he’d caught a ship to America in 1875 and George Cayley had been born, lived, and done his experiments there somewhere in that time. His shoulders began to relax. “Okay, so he wouldn’t fly, the tickets are probably a red herring to confuse us, and he probably isn’t heading this way at all.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Rachel murmured. “I think Morgan wants Leigh.”

Lucian’s eyes narrowed. “Why? From the conversation we overheard in the kitchen, it was the redhead, Donny, who wanted her turned in the first place.”

“Would Morgan be willing to come up here to get Leigh for this Donny?” Etienne asked with a frown.

Lucian shook his head impatiently. “Morgan won’t give a damn what Donny wants.”

“I read her thoughts,” Rachel said quietly. “I saw that night in her memories. Morgan couldn’t completely control her. She seems to have a strong mind. He could control what she did, but not what she thought. It fascinated him... enough that I think he’d come after her.”

Etienne frowned, then asked his uncle, “Does Morgan know where you live?”

Lucian grimaced. “As you say, he used to be friends with Jean Claude. He spent a lot of time in the Toronto area for a while and they visited my home together several times.”

“But he doesn’t know you’re here at Marguerite’s,” Rachel said.

“No. He does know the address, though, and if he gets to my place and finds I’m not there, this would probably be his next stop.”

“If he’s headed this way anyway, why not have Bricker and Mortimer fly here and wait for him at the airport?” Rachel suggested.

When both men turned to peer at her, she shrugged. “Well, they know what he looks like. They could catch him when he steps off the plane. What flight were the tickets for?”

“I don’t know,” Lucian admitted. “Bastien hadn’t told me that when Leigh started screaming. For all I know, the flight could have already landed.”

Etienne shook his head. “If that were the case, Bastien would have said Morgan was here in Toronto, not that he was headed this way.”

“That’s true,” Rachel agreed, then smiled at Lucian. “Which means you don’t have to disappoint Leigh. It should be perfectly safe for you to take her shopping.”

Lucian hesitated, part of him not wanting to disappoint Leigh and wanting to be sure she had the things she needed to be comfortable, but the other part telling him he had other responsibilities, too. Finally he shook his head. “I should call Bastien and find out what flight Morgan is booked on and when it should arrive, then arrange for one of the company planes to pick up Mortimer and Bricker and get them up here.”

He knew that the flight Morgan had bought tickets for must already have left, otherwise Bastien simply would have arranged for Mortimer and Bricker to get to the airport and catch Morgan and Donny before they boarded the flight. The rogue would be smart enough not to buy the tickets until the last minute. He had to know they would be tracking the credit card. Morgan had been friends with Jean Claude for centuries and had heard the tales of Lucian’s exploits in rogue hunting. He knew all the tricks.

“I’m ready.”

The trio glanced toward the stairs as Leigh bounded down. She’d showered in record time. Her damp hair was slicked back, and she’d borrowed a pair of Lissianna’s jeans that fit her in the hips but were obviously too long. She’d rolled them up to keep from treading on the hems. She was also wearing a red t-shirt with a scooped neck that was a bit tight and emphasized her generous breasts.

She looked mouth-watering to Lucian, and he was embarrassed to note that his brain wasn’t the only part of his anatomy that had taken notice. His penis shifted in his jeans as he got a semierection just at the sight of her.

He’d definitely been too long without a woman, if this was how he was going to react, he thought. He didn’t even recall being this bad as a hormone-ridden teenager in Atlantis. In fact, he was pretty sure he’d missed that stage. Now, it appeared he was going to suffer it... with a vengeance.

Bad timing, Lucian thought grimly. He was supposed to take it slow and sneak up on her, but now that he’d decided to go ahead, it was as if his body had slipped some mental chain he’d placed on it. It was loping around like a panting dog with its tongue hanging out... semi stiff.

“We should head out,” Rachel announced, and Lucian turned narrowed eyes to her. She’d sounded terribly amused, obvious laughter underscoring her tone. She had read his mind again. And so had Etienne, he realized, as he saw the amusement on his face as well.

Sighing, Lucian waved them on to the door. “Go on then. Leave.”

“I’d be happy to make those phone calls for you so you can go shopping,” Etienne said as he opened the front door. “Do you want me to?”

Lucian blinked in surprise at the offer. No one had ever offered to help him before.

“You’ve never seemed to need it,” Etienne said, obviously reading his mind once more. “Or asked for it.”

“Or wanted it,” Rachel added dryly, seeming to suggest he’d been too proud.

Lucian chose to ignore her. They appeared to be getting along well at the moment and he didn’t want to ruin that. Gaze firmly on Etienne, Lucian did the hardest thing he’d had to do in a long time and accepted help. “I’d appreciate your making the calls for me. I’d do it, but—”

“But you promised Leigh you’d go shopping.” Etienne grinned.

“Is there something you need to do before we go, Lucian?” Leigh asked anxiously, having overheard them as she approached. “If there is, we can put off shopping until you’re done.”

The offer was sincere and sweet and obviously reluctantly offered. Lucian smiled at her pained expression.

“No,” he assured her firmly. “Etienne will make the calls for me.”

She looked so relieved he wanted to kiss her.

“We’re out of here,” Etienne announced, ushering Rachel ahead of him. “I’ll call you later.”

“Thank you.” The words came out stiff and awkward. Lucian wasn’t used to having to say them. Shaking his head at himself, he stepped to the door to watch them walk to their car, then closed the door as they drove away.

“Aren’t we going shopping?” Leigh asked with surprise as he locked the door.

“Yes,” Lucian said patiently. “But I thought you’d rather take the car than walk twenty miles to the nearest mall.”

“Oh. Right.” She grinned, clearly overjoyed at the prospect of shopping.

Typical woman, he thought with amusement, then promptly took the thought back. There was nothing typical about his Leigh.

Turning, he led her into the kitchen.

“Well, that’s new,” Leigh said when he opened the refrigerator door to reveal stacks of bagged blood.

“I had it delivered last night after the cleaners left,” Lucian explained, retrieving two bags.

“Hmm. Good thing it wasn’t there when the cleaners were here.”

“That’s why I waited to order it,” Lucian said wryly as he handed her one of the bags.

She wrinkled her nose at him as he popped his own bag to his teeth.

Leigh hesitated, then her mouth opened and he saw her tongue run over her teeth. It wasn’t until then he realized that he’d forgotten that she couldn’t yet bring on her own teeth. It was one of the things he had to train her to do. Then he frowned as he realized that the only time he’d helped her bring on her teeth was the first time he’d fed her after she’d awakened. But then he knew her bloody nose in the kitchen had brought them on yesterday afternoon. Her teeth had been showing as she’d rushed past them in the hall on the way upstairs to binge feed on blood.

As for this morning, she said she’d fed, but he had no idea how she’d brought on her teeth. He was thinking he’d have to bring her teeth on for her after he finished his bag when she suddenly relaxed. A second later his eyes widened as he saw them slide down.

Leigh smiled, obviously pleased with herself, then slapped the bag to her mouth.

Lucian stared at her over his own bag, both amazed and impressed that she’d managed to figure out how to control her teeth without any training at all. This was seriously impressive. And Morgan, he reminded himself, hadn’t been able to control her completely. According to Rachel, he’d been able to control her actions but not her thoughts. Leigh appeared to have some impressive abilities.

They had three bags each. Leigh would have gone for a fourth, but he assured her it wasn’t necessary. They were headed for the door when she stopped with a squeal of, “My purse! I left it up in the room.”

“I’ll be in the garage,” Lucian called after her with a chuckle as she whirled and flew out of the kitchen. His smiled faded, though, as he realized he’d forgotten something himself. Shaking his head, he moved to fetch the portable cooler out of the closet, then quickly filled it with blood from the refrigerator. He was about to take it to the car when scratching at the back door made him stop. Setting the cooler on the table, he moved to the door, opened it and smiled wryly as Julius cantered in. He had put the dog out a few minutes before the phone call from Bastien and forgotten about him.

“Good thing you scratched when you did, buddy, or you’d have been stuck out there while we went shopping.”

Lucian gave the dog a scratch under the chin, then patted his back before straightening to collect the cooler.

“Behave while we’re gone. No tearing through the house with garbage,” he said, then took the cooler out to the car.

He was closing the trunk when Leigh joined him.

“Ready to go?” he asked as he opened the passenger door for her.

“All set.” She patted her purse happily and slid into the car.

“So,” he said, sliding behind the steering wheel a moment later. “Where do you want to shop? Is a mall all right? Or would you prefer the boutiques in downtown Toronto?”

Lucian reached for the remote on the dashboard of Marguerite’s little red sports car to press the button to open the garage door, then started the engine before glancing at Leigh to see why she wasn’t answering. He stilled when he saw the disbelieving look on her face.

“What?” he asked with bewilderment.

“Do I look like a boutique kind of girl?” she asked, her voice half dry and half amused.

Lucian let his gaze drop over her, taking in Lissianna’s clothes on her curvaceous body, then lifted his eyes back to her heart-shaped face. Her eyes were a pure gold now, and were reflecting light in the dim garage. Her lashes were long, her nose a turned-up little button, her lips full and pouty and sensuous. She didn’t have a lick of makeup on but was more beautiful than most women with makeup. The gods had been kind when creating her.

“Sure. Why not?” he said finally, and forced himself to turn his gaze forward again before his little Lucian was startled awake. He shifted the car into gear and drove out of the garage, hitting the remote to close the door behind them as he headed up the driveway.

“A mall will be fine. All I need are jeans and t-shirts, really. It’s not like I’ll be going anywhere,” Leigh said quietly, then he sensed her eyes sharp on him as she asked, “Will I?”

“Yes,” Lucian said slowly, his mind slipping over the lessons he was to give her over the next few days. “Once you have full control of your teeth, we’ll have to go out for you to practice reading minds and then controlling mortals.”

“But I don’t want to read minds and control people,” she said with displeasure.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to.”

“Why?” She sounded rebellious. “I don’t want to take advantage of others just because—”

“It’s a skill you’ll need,” Lucian interrupted.

“Why?” she repeated.

He felt impatience rear inside him, then suddenly relaxed and smiled. She had this effect on him, but even the impatience was better than being emotionally dead.

Shaking his head, he said, “Because should you find yourself in an emergency where you have to feed off the hoof, you’ll want to be able to control their minds so they don’t suffer pain or recall the event.”

Before she could ask why again, Lucian added, “If they recall the event, they’ll have to be dealt with.”

“You mean killed,” Leigh accused.

“No, I mean dealt with,” he said patiently. “Their memories erased, or their recollection of the events altered. Death is only ever used as a last resort.”

“Oh.” Leigh was silent for a moment, then said, “Well, I have no intention of biting anyone, so it won’t be necessary for me to learn—”

“I know you don’t intend to, or want to, but you might not be able to stop yourself. Remember what you felt in the kitchen with the cleaner?”

“I resisted,” Leigh said, but sounded shaken.

“You resisted this time. What if you’re in an accident? There’s blood everywhere. You’ve been injured and bled a lot before the nanos stopped the bleeding and repaired the damage and you need blood. There’s no one around for miles, no blood to be had but for the other driver, and he’s bleeding copious amounts, the smell taunting you.”

“It sounds like you’re describing something that actually happened to you,” Leigh said quietly.

Lucian shrugged. “I’ve been alive a very long time. Many things have happened to me. And many things will happen to you in the coming centuries as well.”