Broken Heart 01 I'm the Vampire, That's Why (7 page)

"Why haven't you left?"

"That very question has been on my mind," I admitted. "We have enough money from Rich's life insurance and the sale of his business to live on for a good long while. But, it's a moot point now. The choice has been taken from me."

"Temporarily." In the blink of an eye he moved from his position near the broken windmill to two inches away from my face. My mouth went slack with shock.

"What other secrets do you hide, Jessica?" He leaned in, his lips very close to mine. My gaze was drawn to his mouth—his plump, red, juicy, kissable mouth.
Yum
.

"Well, if I told you, they wouldn't be secrets." I tried to back away, to get some breathable (figuratively, of course) space between me and the cute dead guy, but he tracked me until my back hit the wall of the shed that used to store the supplies for Putt 'Er There.

I felt a flicker in my mind and realized Patrick was poking around in my thoughts again. "Will you stop that? I'm boring! Reading my mind is a big snore-fest, okay? It would severely damage my self-esteem to see you fall asleep in mid-mind read. So, really, stay out of my head."

"No." He flattened his palms on the wall just above my shoulders. His hair tickled my cheek as he leaned close to my ear. "I like being inside you."

Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

Oh. My. God. An erotic image flashed: Me and Patrick naked and sweaty, moans echoing as his cock thrust… oh shit. Desire beat a tempo in my veins; hell, it mamboed all the way down to my nether regions. My poor, sexually deprived womanhood almost went into nuclear meltdown.

"You did that on purpose," I accused, my voice barely a whisper.

"Did what?" he asked, all sweet innocence. The look in his eyes was another story, though. I've seen lust in a man's gaze, but the emotion lurking in Patrick's eyes was a deep, dark, very dangerous version of sexual attraction. What I saw there, glittering in those silver orbs, sent skitters of fear—and terrible desire—up my spine.

"Quit putting those… those suggestions into my brain."

"Whatever you imagined,
céadsearc
, is of your own making."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you probably want to do naughty things with me." He grinned and I saw his fangs. You would think that someone with limited vamp experience and a not-so-great reaction to piercing, pain, or blood would run screaming away from a man with teeth like that. But I didn't. I kinda sorta maybe wanted him to use those fangs on me.

"I meant, smart ass, what do those weird words mean. Hey! Are you insulting me in Irish?"

"Gaelic.
A thaisce
and
céadsearc
are not insults."

I waited for him to define the terms, but he did not explain. Instead, he chose to explore my neck.
With
his lips
. Pure lust shuddered through me as his mouth scraped my collarbone, his tongue tracing an intricate pattern to a sensitive spot behind my ear. My hands crept into his soft, thick hair, raking through the strands because the alternative was to put my hands elsewhere on his gorgeous, muscled frame…

and… and… what was my objection again?

"I feel your hunger," he said. "Would you like to feed?"

"On you?"

"If you like." The whispered invitation promised ecstasy. If I still had a heartbeat, it would've gone into convulsions. Dare I convey my earlier desire for Patrick to nibble on me? Just a little bite? Hmmm?

"No," he said, answering the question I hadn't voiced. "I cannot."

"Why not? I've feasted on you like you're a two-dollar buffet."

He lifted his head and my fingers sifted out of his hair, fell to his shoulders, and, of their own accord and without express permission, stroked down his pectorals. Mmmm. Abs of steel. I sighed (okay, I
tried
to sigh) in delight.

"I do not think being compared to a cheap meal is a compliment," he said, though his lips quirked in suppressed laughter. "You don't know what you are asking."
Or realize what I've allowed
.

"Allowed? What did you allow?"

Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

"Damn." He stepped back and the torturous ache of need building between us
fizzled
away. Poof. Gone.

I lamented the loss of feeling wanted—and of wanting. "I begin to see your reasons for wishing I would not poke around in your mind. I will explain everything, Jessica. But please understand that what exists between you and me is…" He struggled, apparently trying to find the right word. "Rare."

"Because I'm wearing your lost ring?"

"Do you really think it's only about the
fede
?"

"I don't know what to think. It's really weird that a bunch of vampires and werewolves caravanning in expensive RVs ended up here. And I just happen to be wearing a ring that once belonged to you?"

Patrick nodded. "We meant to come here. Our other facility was destroyed and my father suggested the Consortium would find the town suitable for its needs. I didn't realize he also meant for me to find the descendent of Mary McCree."

Questions crowded my mind. "Your father? Well, if you're still having conversations with him, he's gotta be a vampire, too. Why would you need to find someone descended from my grandmother?"

He put a finger to my lips. "There's a lot to tell you—and you're still getting used to being a vampire."

"That's an understatement." My hands had drifted to Patrick's waist. As my fingertips brushed his left hip, I felt a vibration.
What the
—I uttered a sound of surprise.

Patrick lifted his shirt and pulled free a tiny cell phone from its clip. "Yes?"

Foreboding rippled through me. I saw Patrick's expression go flat; his eyes turned the color of a rain cloud.

"Don't do anything until I get there." He flipped shut the phone and reattached it to the clip. "We must go."

The foreboding turned hard and cold in my gut. I swallowed the knot of fear clogging my throat. I knew my kids were not the ones in danger. It wasn't parental confidence, either. It was the real and true knowledge they were safe and sleeping soundly in their beds.

He took my hands and we lifted into the air. We sped back to the high school and before I knew it, we had landed in the same spot we'd launched from.

"What's happening?" I asked.

His only response was a grimace as we went through the doors. The meeting was apparently over, though it seemed everyone was still in the gym socializing. Charlene sat apart from the other townspeople, who had, as always, shunned her. She messed around with her PDA and pretended not to be bothered by how everyone ignored her. Not even being one of eleven people Turned was enough to merit a little acceptance. I had never understood why Charlene hadn't packed up her kid and her possessions and just hit the road. With Rich dead, she had nothing and no one. An itty bitty iota of sympathy welled, but I quickly stomped on it.
I did not feel sorry for Charlene
.

"Stay here." Patrick let go of my hand and strode like some bossy general toward Stan, Miss Tiny-Ass,
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

and two men I hadn't seen sitting on the Panel of Doom. Hmmm. Why were they having a private powwow?

"Hey, girl, Where'd you go to?" Linda asked, smiling. "Some show you put on there with ol' Charlene.

And there wasn't even a two-drink minimum."

"Har-de-har." But I grinned. "What happened at the meeting?"

"Well, Stan blathered on about the Consortium, then one of the other guys… that one… he looks like melted chocolate, don't he? Anyhoodles, he got up and blathered on about some dig inEgypt . And then Ivan got up and talked about how he's been newly elected to the council and how the Consortium is here to protect us." Linda's eyes rolled. "Bored me outta my fucking gourd." Her gaze wandered to Patrick.

"Who's that bit of fluff next to Patty O' Hunk?"

Well, now. Wasn't that a sight? Miss Skinny Fangs was sidling next to Patrick. I nodded to Linda. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. You do that." She chuckled.

I marched right up and insinuated myself into the little group. It gave me no small amount of pleasure to elbow aside the pixie so I could stand next to Patrick. She bared her teeth at me, her eyes narrowed into slits.
Oh screw you, honey
.

"
Go dtachta an diabhal thú
!" she spat.

Oopsie. I must've sent my little insult into her teeny brain. Heh. Heh.
Cut it out, love. You're too open
with your thoughts
. I smiled at Patrick with a "who me" expression.

"Nara!" he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Do not curse
a ghrá mo chroí
."

I didn't think it would be possible for a vampire to pale, butNara did. She went white as Wonder Bread, her lips rounded in soundless denial. Ooookay. I was so Googling Gaelic terms when I got home.

What did you tell her? I aimed the question right at Patrick.

I merely told her the truth about you.

And that was…

Ssshhh.

I gritted my teeth. Patrick was the most gorgeous man I'd ever had the pleasure of lusting after, but he was also the most stubborn, secretive, insensitive… um… er… did I say stubborn?

Yes. Now be quiet.

"Where is she?" asked Patrick.

"A donor found the body near the communications RV," said Stan. "We were too late to save her."

Patrick's expression held no emotion, but I felt his anguish. It slithered through me, clawing at my guts. I
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"Did Lor… was he responsible?" he asked quietly.

Stan couldn't meet Patrick's gaze. "I don't know."

"If the human is dead, there's nothing we can do. Give it to the mortals for disposal and let's be done with it."Nara sounded bored and petulant. Her gaze raked me. Anger boiled through me. Someone had died… andNara didn't give a shit.

"Who is it? Someone in your crew?" I asked.

"No," said Stan. "We do not know the identity of the woman."

Narastudied her nails and sighed as only a heartless bitch could sigh. Damn her. How
did
she do that fake-breath thing? "Let Patrick's new play toy deal with it," she said. "She is the leader of this pitiable band of fools."

Oh no she didn't. "Listen, sister, I'm not a play toy and I'm not leader of anything unless it's the Smack Nara Squad."

"Why you insolent little Turn-blood! How dare you speak to your betters that way!" She looked as if she were contemplating the removal of my head.

Okay, I had no idea why I didn't like this chickie-poo. Oh wait. She insulted me and she thought she was my better. Hah. And HAH again. Something else about her raised my hackles, too. I had an icky feeling in my stomach. Some people might point out I didn't likeNara because she was beauty personified and really, horribly thin and she had, if I wasn't mistaken, a thing for Patrick. Not that Patrick and I had done much more than share some blood and argue, but I still felt like he was mine. However, I didn't hateNara because she was pretty, skinny, and hungry for Patrick.

I didn't.

Much.

I looked atNara , who was staring at Patrick. I resisted,
barely
, the urge to gouge out her eyes.

You have no worries about Nara, a thaisce.
I may need you to identify the woman who was killed.

Are you able to do so
?

I'll try.

Finally it sunk in. A woman was dead. Had Lor started feeding again? Surely he wouldn't be hungry so soon after practically devouring eleven people.
Patrick, does anyone else know about the… uh, dead
woman
?

None of the townspeople know, love.

Narawrapped her pretty little fingers around Patrick's muscled bicep. "You do not need to go with her.

Send your drone. Go on with her, Stan. Your Master and I have business to discuss." Her gaze glittered as she smirked at me; her eyes suggested the kind of business she wanted to discuss involved beds and
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv
erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

nakedness.

"Stan isn't my drone. The Consortium does not condone the use of mortals as drones—you know that."

He glared at her. "There is only one thing I want from you,Nara ."

"Hmmm… and there is only one thing I will trade for the object you desire."Nara clutched at him, desperation overcoming her arrogance. "We were good together once. We can be again."

Again? As in… she and Patrick had a thing? Her gaze slid toward me, her eyes glowing with triumph. I have faced down bitchy PTA presidents, power-hungry principals, and Girl Scout leaders with cookie-sale complexes.Nara had no idea who she was dealing with.

I slid my hand under hers and pried her fingers off Patrick's arm. I bent the digits back until they snapped. Shocked, she glared down at her crooked fingers, and then at me.

"That hurt!" She looked at Patrick, her face a mask of suffering. "You see what cruelty lies in this one's heart?"

"I believe cruelty is your forte," he said softly, his expression blank. "You know who she is and yet you taunt her with innuendos."

Naralicked her lips; her eyes filled with longing. "
Padriag
…"

"I have had enough of weird languages and melodramatic vampires," I said. "Keep your mitts off him,Nara , or I'll break more than your hand."

In an instant, the emotion clouding her face dissipated. She hissed, baring her teeth to show off her fangs.

Her eyes glowed with hatred. "You're such a
bitch
."

"No, honey. I'm not
a
bitch. I'm THE bitch." Just to piss her off, I put my hand on Patrick's neck and said, "Mine."

"
A thaisce
!" yelled Patrick.

"Mrs. Matthews!" squeaked Stan.

"No!" ragedNara .

I yanked away my hand. The imprint of a honeysuckle faded into Patrick's skin. I remembered seeing the same pattern on my children when I claimed them. Wait. Claimed them? How did I know what it meant? Oh shit! Did that mean I had claimed Patrick, too? "Did I break some sort of vampire policy?