Flowers and Fangs (Stake and Dust series, Book II) (8 page)

"I've known him since we were young—our
fathers went to school together, but we just started dating. We
weren't—" She halted her words and pursed her lips. She was sharing
way too much. She met his eyes in the mirror without apology.

"You never slept with him?" he asked the
question she hoped to keep to herself.

"Does it make a difference?"

"It might. He's been leaving roses with his
victims and he showed up at your house with flowers and a box of
chocolates."

"We were supposed to go out for Valentine's
Day."

"What are you leaving out?" he asked.

"Perceptive, aren't you?"

"Comes with the job."

Along with weapons and fighting
skills
, she thought to herself. She squirmed in her seat and
Lad whined. "Sorry, boy." She rubbed behind his ears, knowing how
much he liked it and he settled back down and closed his eyes. "I
live at home," she said to Derek. "Tim lived at home with his
parents, too. There wasn't a lot of alone time if you know what I
mean." God, she hoped he did so she didn't have to spell it out. As
it seemed he did know, and he made no qualms about saying so.

"You planned to sleep with him—on Valentine's
Day."

Her face felt warm and she was sure she
turned a nice shade of pink.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," he
hurried to say. "Hell, sex is part of a relationship, right?
Eventually we all go there." He glanced in the mirror again, but
she didn't answer him.

Back in high school they only got as far as
feeling—over their clothing. Then he left school and that was that.
If he had stayed… Yeah, she had no doubt they would have
gone
there
.

He pulled off the main road and onto a
residential street. "We're here," he announced as he pulled into
the driveway of the third house on the right.

"I thought we were going to see a vet.'

"This is better," he reassured her.

Dr. Mary Sinclair was in her early thirties,
blonde and pretty. She clearly had a thing for Derek with the way
she batted her eyes at him, but she was all business when it came
to examining Lad. She had a room in the back of the house with an
examining table with restraints. There were chains and manacles
attached to the wall, and a cage sat to the side that was large
enough to house a polar bear.

With what Sloane had learned in the last two
days, this doctor dealt with more than a typical dog or cat crisis.
She didn't even flinch when they brought Lad to her.

She checked him thoroughly from his snout to
his tail. It dawned on her that the doctor searched for flesh
wounds before she concentrated on the leg. She x-rayed the limb for
a better idea of how bad the break was.

"There, there sweet boy," she cooed in a
sweet tone meant for animals or infants. You've had a bad day."
Finally she finished her examination and turned her attention to
the x-ray she placed over a light illuminating the film. She then
addressed Sloane. "It was a clean break, no crushed areas or
fragments. I can set it, but he'll need to be sedated for a few
days. I don't want him up on the leg and damaging it further. Would
you mind if he stayed here with me? I'd like to run some more test,
too and make sure there aren't any internal injuries."

Sloane glanced at Derek who gave her a slight
nod. "Sure," Sloane gave her consent. "About paying you…"

Dr. Sinclair waved her off. "Derek's got this
covered."

Derek? Her gaze riveted to him and he
shrugged. "Don't sweat it. Mary here takes IOUs."

"Funny." She pinched his cheek. "It's a good
thing you're so cute."

Sloane wanted to argue more, but she didn't
have a whole lot of cash and she couldn't imagine this private
visit was cheap.

After Dr. Sinclair sedated Lad, Derek strode
out of the room to have a word with the good doctor in private. She
couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could tell the two
were more than just casual friends. Was the doctor Derek's
girlfriend? Funny how that didn't sit well with her.

When Dr. Sinclair leaned in and gave him a
hug, Sloane quickly looked away, not wanting to witness an all out
kiss fest. She would bet Derek was still a good kisser. Those full
lips would know what to do and she had a hunch his talented fingers
would, too. He wasn't a teenager any longer, but a man. Clothes
wouldn't hinder his advances. She closed her eyes and willed the
image of a hot naked Derek from her mind.

"Are you ready to go?" She jumped at the
sound of Derek's voice and felt heat rise to her cheeks. She hadn't
seen the guy in years and had no business getting all hot and
bothered over him. She must be suffering from Stockholm syndrome.
Being attracted to Derek proved how irrational her thoughts were.
He kidnapped her for God's sake. Chained her to his bed.
And he
fought to save you from a homicidal boyfriend with fangs.
Okay,
the lines between good and very, very bad were blurred.

She gave Lad a quick hug goodbye. "I'll be
back for you soon."

"I'll take good care of him," Dr. Sinclair
reassured her.

"Thank you." She followed Derek to the car.
The night turned cold and she zipped up her jacket. She couldn't
believe all that had happened in the last few days. It was like an
episode out of the Twilight Zone. It just couldn't be real and yet
she knew it was very, very real, terrifyingly real.

Derek opened the passenger side for her, but
she just stood there, frozen and unable to force her limbs to move.
The last few days of chaos came crashing down on her in one large
wave, taking her breath away and making her eyes blur.

"Hey…" Derek was at her side in two strides
and pulling her into his embrace. This man risked his life to save
hers, not once, but twice. He was paying for Lad's medical
treatment. With that alone she could forgive him for kidnapping
her. The tears came and he stroked her back in slow caresses. Yeah,
she'd been right. He did know what to do with his hands.

She melted further into his embrace and
fisted her hands in his shirt. His scent wrapped around her senses,
reminding her how alive he was, how strong and brave… how very
male... She met his concerned gaze, but she didn't want his pity or
his concern. She…
Oh hell in hand basket
as her grandmother
would say when nothing made sense. And this didn't make sense. She
wanted him. Her lips instinctively found his. His hold on her
loosened, and he pulled back to look at her, searching her face for
obviously some clue as to why she just kissed him. She was about to
apologize for her bold move, but then his mouth swooped in to
capture hers. She was shocked at her own eager response to touch
his lips, but even more so that he seemed just as fervent to dive
right in, too. Did the Stockholm syndrome work in reverse?

"Hmm…mmh." The sound of someone clearing
their throat made them both pull apart as if they'd done something
wrong and boy had they. "I thought you'd have been long gone, but I
see you've been…detained," Mary said with a bit of humor lacing her
words.

Sloane met the doctor's gaze. Guilt rolled
over her and did a good job of slapping her back to reality. She
just kissed this woman's boyfriend. "I'm sorry. I didn't—"

Mary waved her off and grinned like she'd
just witnessed a miracle. Shouldn't the good doctor want to punch
her in the nose for taking liberties with Derek?

"Don't be sorry," Mary said. "It looked like
Derek was rather enjoying himself."

Her gaze riveted to Derek to say something,
but he stood there with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his
jeans as if keeping them there would force him to behave.

"I just wanted to give you the number to my
backline," Mary said and handed her a slip of paper. "You can call
any time to see how Lad is doing."

"Thanks." She stuffed the paper into her
jacket pocket and hurried to the car. She slipped inside, shutting
the door behind her. "Can you say: Awkward?" She closed her eyes
and hit her head against the headrest.

A few seconds later, Derek opened the door to
the driver's side. Once he was buckled in, he turned to look at
her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry." She tucked her hair behind her
ear. "I didn't mean to cause any problems between you and your
girlfriend."

"My girlfriend?" Then he chuckled with a
shake of his head. "Mary isn't my girlfriend. She's my cousin."

"Oh." That tiny bit of knowledge cheered her.
She glanced at his profile and her lips curved before she thought
about what that meant. She kissed him, full on kissed him with
teeth and tongue and she didn't understand why she did. Heck,
technically she still had a boyfriend. For God's sake what did
Derek think of her?

"Was the kiss that bad?" Amusement danced in
his voice.

"What?" She met his gaze in confusion.

He gestured toward her. "You're
frowning."

She made a conscious effort to smooth her
features. "It's not you. It's just…I don't kiss."

"Really?" His mouth twitched.

"I mean I don't go around just kissing
anyone."

"Good to know, but we've kissed before,
darlin'. I remember." He winked.

"I mean…I care about Tim," she said more for
her benefit and it didn't sound too convincing.

He studied her for a long moment. "Are you in
love with him?" There was no teasing now. He really wanted to
know.

She cared about Tim. Was that love? Until all
this happened, she thought it was a possibility. "Maybe, I could
have been," she said with little conviction.

He nodded. "I get it, you know. You had a
history with Tim. Sometimes the line between being comfortable and
being in love can become blurred."

"Yeah." She let out a long sigh. "I wanted it
to work between us. I truly did."

"You don't have to feel guilty that it
didn't. I admire you."

"You do?"

"You took a chance and some of us never gain
the courage to even try."

He put the key in the ignition and started
the car before he glanced at her again. "Just in case you're
wondering if I have a girlfriend..." His lips curved and for a
moment she thought of the kiss they'd shared. "…I don't," he
finished.

Her heart stuttered then restarted again. She
didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything. She settled
back in her seat and looked straight ahead as the car sped forward.
She tried not to let his words affect her, but darn it anyway, they
did. Derek didn't have a girlfriend. Despite all that had happened,
she smiled.

Chapter Ten

He kissed Sloane McBride, and dammit if he
didn't like it
way
too much. Even more than he had liked
kissing her behind the bleachers in their school auditorium.
However, he would have to put the breaks on the smooching. She was
vulnerable right now and he didn't get involved with chicks on the
rebound. And let's not forget:
She might sport fangs in the near
future.
Kinda put a damper on the whole relationship
scenario.

If he believed that load of crap, why did he
tell her he didn't have a girlfriend. He might as well tattooed
'Kiss Me I'm Yours'
on his forehead.

"Derek?"

His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"Yeah."

"I don't understand why I kissed you… I mean
it was good and all, but…"

He glanced at her as she tried to work
through her conflicting feelings. Heck, he was having difficulty
himself.

"Can we forget it happened?" She met his gaze
then. "Things are complicated. Don't you agree?"

That was putting it mildly. "Sure, but it
might prove difficult."

Her brows furrowed over her petite nose.

"You see, I thought the kiss was pretty damn
good, too."

Her lips twitched before she gave into the
smile.

Yeah, he was an idiot. All his instincts told
him he was making a monumental mistake, but he kept going down the
wrong path anyway.

They rode the rest of the way to his house in
silence and she eventually closed her eyes. He let her sleep. It
had been a tough few days. Dark bruises shaded the tender skin
below her eyes. Stress tended to take a lot out of a person and it
was taking its toll on her.

Once he parked the car in the garage, he
nudged her awake. Her eyelids flew open and he placed a hand on her
arm, letting her know she was safe. "You're okay. We're back at my
place."

He had access to his house through the
attached garage. He inserted the key into the lock, but paused. The
door wasn't completely shut. A lot happened today, but he knew he'd
locked the door before he left to search for Sloane.

"Is something wrong?" She whispered and
stepped closer, close enough for him to get a whiff of her perfume,
citrus and all so feminine. It smelled good on her, but now wasn't
the time to go there. He had more pressing matters to attend to,
like maybe taking down an intruder. Things could get pretty ugly in
the next few minutes.

He placed a finger to his lips. Her eyes grew
wide, but she nodded with understanding. He reached for the sword
he had stashed behind his workbench. He had various weapons hidden
throughout his house for quick emergencies. Since Tim ran off with
his favorite dagger, lodged into his back, the sword would have to
suffice.

He slowly eased the door open. The lights
were on in the kitchen and he knew he hadn't left them on, but the
real cincher that someone invaded his home was the movement he
heard in the living room. With light steps, he made his way around
the corner with his weapon poised.

"Jesus, Derek!" the intruder gasped.

He lowered his weapon. "Hello to you too,
Cassandra."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Yeah, well that goes without saying," he
shot back. "Have you ever heard of waiting for the person to come
home to let you in?"