Blood Candy (13 page)

Candy turned to Jimmy. While they silently
debated with their eyes, the room fell into silence. White Paul
leered at Anastasia, unconcerned about everything else, while
Medium Dave looked around at all of the decor, including a white
marble sculpture of a nude Greek or Roman woman. Silence stretched
on, and while the situation ate away at both Candy and Jimmy, it
didn’t seem to bother Anastasia in the least. She waited patiently
with a pleasant smile.

“I don’t think so,” Jimmy said at last. “I
don’t like the sound of this ‘claim’ stuff. I don’t know what it
means and we’re not just going to agree to it.”

“It’s nothing more than a formality in this
case,” Anastasia said. “A front, if you will, so Rupert cannot make
the same claim, which for him will
not
be a
formality.”

Candy and Jimmy looked into each other’s eyes
again, searching for answers, searching for what they should do. As
far as she was concerned, there wasn’t any other choice, and by the
look on his face, he didn’t have any other options. She squeezed
his hand. He needed to understand this was the only way, that she
wouldn’t let Rupert take her.

“Okay,” she said.

Jimmy remained distrustful of the whole
situation, but he conceded with a slight nod. Blake then stepped
forward towards Candy—halfheartedly, she thought.

“To make it official, he has to partake of
your blood,” Anastasia said.

“Wait a minute!” Jimmy stepped between Candy
and the vampires. “We’re not doing it like this. She’s been
traumatized and you want to make her relive that? You’re
insane.”

“It’s the only way,” Anastasia said with a
glance at Jimmy. “All Blake needs is a tiny amount of blood from
her wrist. He will be gentle and it won’t take more than a few
seconds. We have no intention of making her relive any
trauma.”

Everyone turned their heads to the door when
the bells rang. Jimmy didn’t budge from his position. Candy was
glad. She was having some serious second thoughts about agreeing.
She didn’t like the sound of Blake biting her no matter how
Anastasia tried to spin it. At least she
thought
she didn’t
like the sound of it; her body reacted in a completely different
manner. Now she thought she’d like to see how it felt this time
around. She wanted to see if it would feel good again and it didn’t
seem like such a bad thing to have Blake—beautiful, gorgeous
Blake—take a tiny taste from her wrist.

“What about that blood slave stuff? You said
it yourself,” Jimmy said.

“The wrist is less potent than the more
sexually charged areas like the neck,” Anastasia said, her eyes
going to the door. The bells rang again. “There’s no risk of a
powerful bond. We are running out of time. Given the circumstances
and time restraints, there are no other options. Rupert will have
the right to remove Candy from my home or anywhere
else.”

Candy nodded when Jimmy turned to her, and
then he stepped aside.

Blake held his hand out. “This will be quick.
I promise there won’t be any emotion attached. You can trust me,
Candy.”

Candy put her hand in his and he turned her
palm face up, exposing the veins. She turned her head and closed
her eyes. She heard both Jimmy and White Paul sigh, though it was
more of a low growl from White Paul. She didn’t think they had any
other choice.

The pain lanced up her arm.

Candy gasped and her eyes flew open as the
pain cramped the muscles in her arm. The pain she wanted more of,
the pain that felt so
good
. The pain she never wanted to go
away surged into her shoulder, spreading its electric fingers
throughout the rest of her body. Her abdomen tingled, radiating
warmth, feeling like . . . there was no way she could explain the
feeling. There seemed to be nothing else in the world with which
she could make a correlation.

She must have closed her eyes again. When she
blinked them open, Blake was gently kissing the wound on her wrist.
His tongue flicked over the tiny punctures and the sensation in her
abdomen flared back to life. He had to catch her in his arms
otherwise she would have fallen to the marble floor. Jimmy rushed
over and took her away from him. Blake didn’t offer any
resistance.

“No,” Anastasia said. “Blake must introduce
Candy as his own. They have to be together to make it
authentic.”

Jimmy let go of her, but not before he made
sure she was okay. Candy nodded, and then her face went red when
she realized everyone in the room had watched the intimate
transaction between her and Blake. It made her feel like a whore on
display. Blake put his arm around her shoulder and whispered that
everything was okay. Anastasia opened the door.

“Nigel,” she said. “Please, come
in.”

White Paul said loud enough for Candy and
Blake to hear, “So much for them not drinking human blood. Never
trust a vampire, I say.”

Chapter Ten

Nigel didn’t look anything like a vampire. He
only vaguely passed as American with his tweed jacket patched at
the elbows over a sweater vest and with his handmade leather
loafers, but the last thing Candy would have suspected from him
would be fangs and a craving for blood. He looked like a pleasant
man who might be seen hosting a show about gardening in a quaint
voice on BBC.

Anastasia looked like a vampire. Everything
about her gave off an unnatural vibe. Her voice, her mannerisms,
and her young body sent chills into nearby spines. Even Blake
carried that vibe to a degree. Nigel, however, looked like he might
be the overly enthusiastic professor of poetry at a local community
college.

“Right nice night it is,” Nigel said, his
British accent not nearly as heavy or obnoxious as that of Rupert
or Vivian. He took off his jacket and draped it over his arm. “You
have a lovely home, Anna dear.”

“Thank you. And thank you again for coming all
the way out on such short notice,” Anastasia said.

“Not a bother. Anything for you,
Anna.”

Nigel took the time to give everyone in the
room some of his attention. He smiled and nodded at Blake and then
his eyes passed quickly over the Misfits until he got to Medium
Dave where he paused for a moment. One of his brows perked up as if
perhaps he knew him, and then he turned his attention to Candy. He
didn’t smile or anything before he turned back to
Anastasia.

“This must be the girl you spoke of,” he said.
“Quite exquisite I should say. I’ve always had a fondness for
American girls, especially the blondes. Marilyn Monroe got my blood
pumping right good she did. I think it’s the Germanic blood. I
suppose that’s one good thing to come out of that miserable part of
the world.”

“Indeed,” Anastasia said. “This is the lovely
Candy.”

A goofy grin played over Nigel’s face. “Candy?
That’s a fitting name if ever I heard one. She’s eye candy right
and so she is.”

Candy had been used to having Jimmy at her
side and she forgot it was Blake’s hand she held when she squeezed.
It hadn’t taken long for Nigel to make himself seem more like the
rest of the vampires she had thus far encountered. She wondered if
they all spoke unabated about whatever they thought regardless of
who was around to hear. She heard White Paul whisper to Jimmy,
“This guy’s a nut bag.”

“Who’s that?” Nigel said, leaning his head to
and fro so he could see past Candy and Blake. “Don’t think I’ve
ever been called a nut bag before. What exactly does that
mean?”

Anastasia glared at the Misfits. “Eccentric,”
she said.

Nigel nodded thoughtfully. “I never did get
the hang of American slang and colloquialism. They said the
queerest things in the latter eighteen hundreds.”

Anastasia took a couple of steps back so she
could have everyone in front of her. Her youthful voice filled the
antechamber. “Why don’t we get started? I’d like to get your
opinion on a recent problem my son and some of his friends have run
into with an Englishman.”

“Fill me in.”

Medium Dave yawned and propped his elbow on
the hip of a statue made in the likeness of a nude goddess. He
rested his head against his hand during the boring conversation.
Blake kept Candy close at his side. He put his arm around her
shoulder to continue the charade that they were lovers. The sour
expression Jimmy didn’t bother to hide showed what he thought,
though Blake didn’t seem to care.

“Candy and my son have been seeing each other
for quite some time now,” Anastasia said in her dainty voice.
“They’ve been waiting for the right time to make it official. You
know how it is with kids these days.”

Nigel nodded while everyone else pondered her
use of “kid” in regard to someone other than herself.

“Regardless, she has recently come into
today’s standard of adulthood and now she and Blake are ready to be
united,” Anastasia said.

“Congratulations,” Nigel said with a wink to
the couple.

“Yes, but there’s a problem. An Englishman by
the name of Rupert came upon Candy last night when she was alone.
He charmed her and I can only assume he did so without knowing she
belonged to someone else. It’s all a big
misunderstanding.”

“That it sounds,” said Nigel. “Of course I’m
quite familiar with Rupert’s family. This should be easy enough to
sort out. I assume you’ve already spoken with one of them on the
matter?”

“Not exactly,” Anastasia said. “There are
complications. Rupert has been trying to claim her.”

Nigel rubbed his chin. “He didn’t bite her,
did he?” When Anastasia nodded, he puffed out a dramatic breath and
said, “Oh, well that changes everything, makes an argument against
them a bit more difficult, it does.”

“My son made his official claim tonight. She’s
rightfully his,” Anastasia said.

“I see your problem, but the law says
otherwise if Rupert drank from her first.”

“Yes, that is our problem, which is why I
called in the most charming man on both sides of the Queen’s pond,”
Anastasia said with a smile that had Nigel grinning broadly. “Is
there anything you can do to help? I would hate for this to
escalate any further than it already has.”

“I can’t make any promises. If Lord Kingsley
was around I’m sure I could talk some sense into him, but kids
these days can be so difficult. I’ll ring Hayden Kingsley and see
what he has to say on the matter. If he won’t keep his brother in
line, I can call in a favor with the Magister to hear a case on
your behalf.”

Anastasia quirked up a single brow. “The
Magister? Do you think that will be necessary?”

“It’s your best bet. If Hayden refuses, you’ll
need official mediation. Otherwise, you’ll have to hand the girl
over.”

Anastasia nodded. “I’d be much
obliged.”

“I’ll ring them now.” Nigel pulled out a cell
phone from his jacket pocket. “Afterwards, you can return the
favor. I’m quite ravenous, and I’d like to wet my wick, if you know
what I mean.”

Anastasia laughed and looked at the others
who, with perhaps the exception of White Paul, hadn’t a clue what
he was talking about. “I’ll make arrangements,” she said. “In the
mean time, you can get to know my son and his lady friend a little
better.”

Anastasia started to make her way out of the
room. Then she turned back and addressed Jimmy. “Oh, there’s a
black wolf nosing around outside. I have my men on standby, but
they’re itching to test out their silver bullets. You wouldn’t
happen to know this beast, would you?”

Jimmy and White Paul shared uncomfortable
glances with each other. Jimmy swallowed his pride and said, “I
know him. I’d be grateful if you didn’t shoot him.”

Anastasia flashed a triumphant smile and then
exited the room.

“I’ve got to hand it to you,” White Paul told
Blake. “Your mother is one weird, little freak.”

Blake’s gray eyes flashed with anger. “Watch
your tongue and remember whose house you’re in. Remember who needs
help.”

“Yeah, I’ll remember. You have all of my
gratitude. As my gracious host could you please direct me to the
bathroom?”

Blake inclined his head to a door beneath the
stairs on the left. White Paul headed over to it. With Nigel off
looking at art on the walls while talking on his phone, Jimmy moved
over to take Candy’s hand. Blake gave him a glare of
warning.

“Remember our goal,” he said. “Nigel must
believe she’s mine.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Jimmy
said.

“She’d be better off, that’s for
sure.”

Jimmy clenched his fists. Candy stepped
between them.

“Cut it out. Blake’s only trying to help us,”
she said.

Jimmy stormed off and plopped down next to
Medium Dave on a silky red couch. He crossed his arms and
glowered.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Candy
said.

“It certainly seems that way.”

“Well, he’s not. As a matter of fact, the more
I get to know him the more he gets on my nerves. This is the kind
of drama I wanted to leave behind in school.”