Blood, Body and Mind (5 page)

~~~

Just before sunset two days later, Sara woke up. Despite the great deal of pain from the bullet wound and soreness in a multitude of other places, she moved about enough to get herself going.

While sitting on the floor, she felt beyond the room, checking for others in the house, discovering the immensity of the building. She felt the presence of the Carlovettis and the vamp, plus one other person one floor below her—Duncan. She traced the faint signal of the others to the lower regions of the mansion and realized they were both still at rest.

Moving slowly to the bathroom to clean up, she found her clothes, clean and neatly folded on the large sink. Her backpack sat on the counter too, allowing her to brush her teeth first. This took a great deal of energy. As she sat down on the toilet, a knock sounded at the bathroom door.

“
Yes?”

Duncan was standing just outside the open door to where she was. She didn’t have much energy left so she tilted her head slightly to look at him.

Duncan was not tall, but his slender stature made him appear taller. His skin tone was fair, his hair red and very curly, even as short as it was. Her first thought was Irish. It was his eyes that startled her the most. They were the deepest shade of green that she had ever seen. His smile at her made her realize that he had been talking to her all the while she had been studying him.

“
Miss? It is I, Duncan. May I inquire if you need anything? I have been instructed to aide you in any way that you require.”

Sara watched as he fussed with the stack of towels in his arms.

“
I was about to get into the shower. I’m pretty sure I can do that on my own, thanks. Unless you were told to help me with that too.”

Sara had only planned to wash off and then sit down again. She suddenly felt...like something left uncovered in the fridge for too long.

For a full minute, he didn’t say a word. His face, however, said it all. Shock, terror, and confusion flitted across his features as his face deepened in color, in embarrassment. She felt horrible about teasing him, and decided to help him out and revise her statement.

“
No, Mr. Duncan, I’m going to get into the shower. Alone. I’ll be okay by myself. But thanks anyway.”

“
Very well, miss,” he said with obvious relief in his voice. “Just pick up the phone and dial four if you need anything. Oh, and it’s just Duncan, not Mr.”

“
All right, Duncan then. I’ll be sure to let you know if I can think of anything. Thank you.” He turned and looked at the bed. It was still made. She knew that he was wondering about it, but she didn’t have the energy to explain she had not slept in a real bed for so long. The hard floor was much more to her liking anyway.

Forty-five minutes later, Sara walked into the kitchen, startling Duncan. Also, there sat the man who had lied to her—the man from the hangar.
He was extremely handsome, this new master,
she thought again.
Arrogant as well, if the way he was looking at her was any indication of his personality.
This morning, he was dressed in much the same manner as he had been during their initial meeting at the hangar—black jeans, dark blue rather than black tee today, and tennis shoes, also black. Why did they always dress like they were going to a funeral? she mused, somewhat surprised that she had even noticed.

“
Miss Temple, how are you this fine morning?” The humor he wasn’t trying to hide in his voice made him sound almost human.

“
Fine enough to wanna smack that smirk right off your face,” she told him. “And alive and kicking, no thanks to you either. You lied to me, bloodsucker.” She looked around the brightly lit kitchen with its bright new appliances. Sunlight streamed through the open windows, letting sounds of the early birds and smell of fresh cut lawn in. “Shouldn’t you be in your coffin somewhere, or something? The sun is shining; I would think you’d be a crispy critter by now. I could help you along if you’d like. We could move outside to where the sun would make a more direct hit.”

Sara was being snarky, she knew it. She couldn’t seem to help herself. She heard Duncan’s sharp intake of breath. To be honest, she had forgotten that he was there. When Aaron threw back his head and roared with laughter, she turned to stare at him.
Christ,
she thought. His laugh went through her whole body, making her very aware of him as a man.

“
Thank you, but no. Here is fine for now. As for the sunlight, I’m actually quite old. Therefore, I can stand the sunlight a little more than a younger vampire. As for you being alive, Miss Temple, I never said I’d take your life, only that I would end the one you were currently living. And I plan on doing just that, just as soon as you are able to get about.”

Sara felt his look and it was as if he had caressed her. It both excited and made her angry. Anger she could handle. She wouldn’t allow herself to think about the other right now.

“
I won’t become your blood du jour, bloodsucker,” she snarled at him.
Yes,
she thought,
I do much better with anger.

“
Miss Temple!” Duncan barked at her. She felt herself flush with embarrassment.

“
It’s all right, Duncan. She’s angry with me, as I am with her. So, we can get this over with now, Little Warrior. If you please, we can finish this in the dining room. Duncan has made you a wonderful breakfast, and you will need your strength back very soon.” She backed up as he stood. His size did not frighten her. It was the man; he scared her in ways that she did not understand.

“
No.” She had to get away from him, away from all of them.
Now,
she thought, she needed to leave now.

“
No? No, what, pray tell?” He took a step toward her. She was sure it was not to intimidate her, but it had. Slightly.

She looked at the door just behind Duncan.
I can make it,
she thought. “I want to be able to leave, please? I appreciate that you’ve seen to my wound, since you are the cause of it anyway. I have a job, and my own place to stay, and...I’d like to go. I need to go.” She could hear the panic in her voice, and hated it. She moved toward the door. She was not afraid of him, but rather of what he was making her feel.

“
I caused your wound? However did you arrive at that conclusion?” He asked her as he wrapped his arms around his impressive chest.

Sara felt rather than saw him move. He had moved himself between her and the door, blocking her way. Damn it.

“
You brought those men into the Carlovettis’, didn’t you? They were there because they wanted you dead.” She was only half paying attention to what she was saying now.

The room had suddenly become an assault on her senses. His scent, deep earth and warmth, permeated the air. Then the smells coming from the kitchen itself. Bacon, God, when was the last time she had had bacon, eggs, toast, and sausage? Her stomach rumbled then. Hunger liked she had never had hit her. She lifted her eyes to his, wondering if he heard it too. But the look on his face made her forget all about the rumbling in her belly and centered completely on the man in front of her.

“
You know why they were there? How did you get that information? Is this another one of your hidden talents? You seem to be just brimming with powers no one knew about, Little Warrior.” He took another step toward her, and then stopped when she retreated. She felt trapped.

“
Of course. I’m surprised a big bad vamp like you didn’t catch that. They were there to kill you and then blame it on the Carlovettis—an attempted murder gone wrong. Well, it did go wrong, but not like they’d planned, I guess. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be able to leave.” This time, she tried to brush by him, but his voice stopped her cold.

“
But I do mind, Sara Temple. You have a lot to answer for, and I plan on having you as a guest until I’m satisfied. Now, if you wouldn’t mind going into the dining room, while you break your fast, I will have a few of those answers now.”

Compulsion—she had heard that vamps had this ability; she had used it herself when needed. With her blood loss and hunger, she could not fight him hard enough to break free. Little by little, she felt her resistance drain away until she was being lead to the dining room. This time, he had won, but the next time, and she was suddenly sure that there would be lots more time spent with him, she would be the stronger of the two.

~
CHAPTER FOUR~

Two hours later, Aaron was no closer to getting any answers from her than he had been when she had first come downstairs. She was by and far the most stubborn, frustrating woman he had ever encountered. It wasn’t the fact that she didn’t answer his questions that frustrated him; it was that she totally and completely ignored him. She shut him out as tightly as if he was not even in the room. Even threats didn’t work, which should not have surprised him, seeing as to how she had asked him to end her life just a few days ago. He finally had to retire to the sublevels of his home. It wasn’t that he was admitting defeat; rather, he could not take the highest point of the sun. But he warned her that he was not finished yet. And damn it all to hell, he had never gotten one whiff of her scent again.

At near sunset, Aaron went in search of Sara. He was going to get some answers from her or else...well, he would think about the “or else” later. He looked in the kitchen first, and encountered Duncan, who seemed to be enjoying himself watching a cooking show on the small television on the counter.

“
What are you doing?” He heard himself snarl at Duncan and felt horrible about it. Just as Aaron was about to apologize to him, Duncan answered.

“
I thought if Miss Sara was going to be staying with us for a while, I’d learn to cook. It seems easy enough. What do you think she would like for dinner tonight? There are so many shows to watch from which I can learn different dishes.”

Duncan was excited. Excited about cooking? For a human? Aaron decided that he would enroll him in cooking classes at the next opportunity. Then Aaron realized that his manservant had thrown him off track of his goal—finding Sara.

“
I could care less. Where is she? I would have thought she’d be up and about by now. Terrorizing the world as we know it.”
Okay,
he thought to himself,
now I’m being an ass.

“
I believe she is still abed, master. Oh, and Master Colin is here. He is below levels, I believe.”

He only called him master when he was trying to make a point. But he was not in the mood to stay and figure out what it could be this time. Damn it, he was hungry and angry, not a good combination in most vamps. He wanted to find her. He turned on his heel and left the room. He was nearly up the stairs when he heard a small whimper.

Aaron flashed to the bedroom door where she was staying and found the door shut, but not locked. He walked in and found the bed empty, as was the room, but the sheets were covered in blood. Suddenly afraid, he strode to the bathroom door and knocked once. The whimper sounded again.

“
Miss Temple—Sara, are you all right? Open the door this instant.” He rattled the knob and knocked again.

“
Go away.” Her voice sounded weak. He tired to open a connection to her mentally. Physically, he could smell her blood. He was not sure, however, if it was from the bed or the bathroom. A sudden thought occurred to him.
Would she cut her own wrists?

“
Are you hurt? Well of course you’re hurt, you’ve been shot. Do you need my assistance? Let me in to see to you. I’m telling you right now, young lady, you’d better not be bleeding to death in there. I’m going to be very pissed at you if you are.”

He twisted the knob to no avail. He could unlock it on his own, but preferred to wait and see how she would respond and what that reveled of her capabilities, since that would reveal exactly what she was. Her powers were beyond what one would expect from a mere human being. “Open the damned door, Sara.”

“
What part of ‘go away’ did you not understand? Don’t you people believe in privacy?” Even though she lowered her voice, he could still hear her mumble, “Stupid man. If I bleed to death, why should I care if he’s pissed off or not?”

“
I’m not going anywhere, damn it. If you don’t tell me what’s wrong with you, I’m going to break it down.” He did not believe in all his life he had been more frustrated with someone.

Just when he thought she was not going to answer, she said, “Isn’t there some rule where you have to be invited in or something? I like that rule. It’s a very smart rule when dealing with fruitcakes like you.”

“
It’s my house, so it doesn’t apply.” He did not know whether to laugh or scream at her. “Are you going to answer me, or do I break the door down? I’ll tell you now, Sara, it’ll go better for you all around if you open the door. I’m not going to be very happy with you if I have to resort to busting my door down.”

“
First of all, why should I care if you bust in your own flippin’ door? You’d have to pay for it, dumb ass. Secondly, I hurt. Why can’t you just leave me alone? I just need to sit here for a little while to rest. Damn it, you are the most aggravating man I’ve ever...Go away!”

He smiled. Damn, but she had a smart mouth. Tasty too, he remembered.