Hard Days Night (The Firsts Book 8) (23 page)

Bev leaned in and looked directly into
Mal’s eyes.  “You look so pretty tonight, darling.”  She paused, and then said,  “Do you mind if I have sex with your father?”

Mal laughed and kept Bev from leaning too far over and falling completely out of the dress.

“I do not mind at all, but we really need to keep the wine away from you if you’re going to show him how charming you are.”

“I’m bombed because I can’t believe I’m going to come on to
your father!
”

“Bev, I love you.  You are not only, literally, the only female friend I’ve ever had, but one of the smartest, kindest, coolest people I’ve ever met, so I want you to be happy.  And if you’re attracted to Kai, go for it. He’d be a fool to turn you down
, and I don’t think he would.  I saw how you two were looking at each other earlier.”

“Really?”

“Really.  He should be out in a moment, and I know you’re going to knock his socks off.  Well, if he were wearing them, which he won’t be since it’s 90 degrees tonight.”

Standing upright, Bev smoothed the tight dress against her body and looked at the now distant wine bottle and moaned.  “I over-did it, didn’t I?  It’s
just, it’s been a while since I was this attracted to a man.”

“Okay, don’t give me any more details.  And if you guys
do
get busy, do
not
fill me in.  I’m okay with you two being together, but Kai
is
my father and that does seem a bit TMI for me.”

“I understand. How do I look?”

Mal watched Bev taking deep breaths. “You’re glowing, my friend.  He won’t say no.”

Kai had offered to take both of his “ladies” out for a five-star dinner, but he hadn’t shown up yet.  Mal looked at the bottle of wine longingly, wishing she could have a glass, but she wouldn’t for the next nine months.
  However, since she was going to fill out significantly in that time, she had taken this opportunity to wear a turquoise bathing suit with a white sari tied as a skirt and an open knit top over it, which showed off her fit body and the new tan she’d been working on since they arrived here three days ago.

She and Bev sat on the lounge chairs to wait for her father to come back to pick them up.  Twenty minutes later, and another glass of wine later, Bev turned to stare back into the house.

“He’s late,” Mal said, concerned now, since Kai shouldn’t be late when he had only gone down the road to the supermarket.

At that moment, the door opened, and Kai walked in.

But he wasn’t alone.

Standing side by side, Mal and Bev watched Kai, dressed impeccably in white pants and a white linen shirt opened at the throat with white
puka shells at his throat, lead a beautiful woman through the house and out of the sliding doors to the deck.  Mal had no idea who she was.

Bev watched, shocked and pissed
, tugging at the strained straps of her dress. 
What the hell is this
, she thought.

Kai looked at Mal first,
then his eyes shot to Bev’s, an unspoken plea for forbearance, which she did not grant.  Bev turned away and walked to the railing to look at the steady march of waves in the moonlight.

Once he reached Mal, Kai spoke.  “Ladies, I would like you to meet Erin Kilroy.  She and I, uh, spent some time together in Hilo some years back.”

The tall redhead at his side winked at him and then turned to Mal with a smile.  “The man is a master of understatement, and I am understating
that! 
You must be the daughter I’ve asked to meet no less than ten times.  Mahalo, isn’t it?”

A lyrical Irish accent shouldn’t have surprised her, Mal thought, considering the woman’s name and auburn hair.

Mal nearly stepped backwards as the woman stepped forward and embraced her, then whispered, rather loudly, in her ear. 

“Your father is a scamp. He didn’t tell you I was coming, did he?  You look shocked.”

After Erin pulled back, she tilted her head.  “You all look so lovely.  Did you have plans?”

Suddenly Bev turned around. 
“No, nothing at all.  Please, have a seat.”  After she gave Kai a harsh look, she walked off of the deck, through the living room, and slammed the door to the bedroom she shared with Mal.

Erin’s gaze went to Kai.  “Oh, Kai, I believe you’ve pissed off your girlfriend.”  She smiled.  “Go get her and I’ll sit here with Mal.”

Kai was torn. It upset him that Bev misunderstood and seemed hurt, but he wasn’t sure he wanted Erin left alone with Mal yet.  The woman was too unpredictable. 

“I’m going to go talk with Bev, but you two ladies, keep it simple and general until I get back.”  He stared into Erin’s eyes.  “You know what I mean.”

“Darling, I always know what you mean,” Erin responded.

After several more minutes of hesitation, he walked away.

Erin took Mal’s arm and led her to the railing to watch a tall sailboat illuminated by the full moon.

“So, tell me about your vampire.”

Mal’s eyes went to Erin’s instantly.  There was nothing else in this world that Erin could have said that would have shocked her more.

“I’m sorry?” was the only thing that came to her
in response to such an unexpected inquiry.

Erin shook her head.  “Your father told me about your experience with the, um, corpse that wasn’t dead.  He had to be vampire.  You have to know that.  More, I can tell you know what I’m talking about by your reaction.  So I think it’s safe for me to reveal that I am vampire, too.  You may speak freely.  I’m interested to find out why he did not erase your memory.  I can also tell you are not blood-bonded, as your father is to me.”

Mal knew she was standing there gaping, but couldn’t do anything to change it. 
Blood-bonded?  Her father?  What did that mean?  This woman was a vampire like Ahmose?

“I…have to
sit down,” she finally uttered, her gut clinching.

Erin led her to one of the loungers, and
sat on one beside it.

“It’s okay,” Erin said, and curled her fingers around
Mal’s forearm. 

Mal felt the calmness infuse her mind and body
, aware immediately of how familiar it was.  Ahmose had done that more than once.

Pushing Erin’s hand away, Mal raised her eyes again to look another vampire in the face.  She could see it.  Erin’s beauty was obvious, and sparked the same intense awareness that Ahmose had, even lying dead on the sand.

“I’m fine,” she said finally.  “Before I say anything to you, tell me about how you know my father.  What do you mean when you say that he is blood-bonded?”

“It’s a different world, Mal.  Many things you don’t know, and many you probably shouldn’t know.  I shouldn’t elaborate, not yet.”

Erin’s eyes became hypnotic and Mal felt slightly dizzy, then the odd sensation went away.

“Tell me about your vampire,”
Erin said without expression.

“First, you tell me about you and my father,” Mal
insisted.

Erin’s expression didn’t change, but Mal noticed her eyes shift.  “Well, isn’t this interesting.  You can’t be compelled.”

“Whatever the fuck you mean. 
How
do you know my father?  Were you…together?”

Erin drew a long breath and smiled.  “Okay.  Yes, we were together.  About five years ago, we had
six deeply passionate years when we were inseparable.  I loved your father.  I guess I still do, to some degree.  But he couldn’t stay in our world.  It overwhelmed him and finally, he asked to be released.”

“Released?  Were you holding him against his will?”

“No.  He was
very
willfully involved with our lives together.  But when humans stay with vampires, we usually bond them to us, by blood.  It creates a link, so that we can always find them if something happens to them.  It also keeps the human healthy, keeps them from aging.  And you know this already, but we need to feed, so the process creates a perfect union between feeding and the human.  It was very beautiful, Mal.  Kai and I were extremely happy for some time before he decided he needed to return to his life. He wanted to find you and repair your relationship.  I assume he has.”

“Not yet.  We’re working on it.”

“I’m glad.  He’s a good man.  I told him then that I wanted him to be happy, and I meant it.  Anyway, that’s our story, however brief.  Would you mind letting me know who you met?  Your father brought me here for
you
, Mal.  He’s afraid you may need some help, and if I’m right, you will.”

Mal hesitated. This was just so unexpected and strange.  Even though she had t
old Bev and Kai about Ahmose, and knew that she carried his child, knew that the child was unique, this entire vampire thing still felt surreal.  That her father had been with a vampire, that he brought that vampire to her, just seemed impossible.

“I don’t need any help. I’m doing quite well on my own, so I’m sorry my father wasted your time. Let me see if he is ready to take you back to the airport.”

Rising, Mal started towards the inside when Erin put a hand on her arm again.

“He is first blood, if you are with child.  He is likely from South Africa.  Most that I have known are from a hidden village and call themselves children of the moon.  Does this sound familiar?”

Mal turned to face Erin.  “It doesn’t matter.  Whatever you know, it doesn’t have anything to do with me and my daughter.”

“It’s a girl.  You know this because…”

Her hands cradling her belly, Mal shook her head.  “Look, we’re not going to be confidants. I don’t know you.  So, thanks for coming and go home.”

Mal slid the doors wider and gestured for Erin to pass.

Erin walked through and stopped just inside.

“You will need
him, you cannot raise a first blood child alone.  I can help you find him.”

“Why can’t I raise my daughter?”

“She will be very powerful.  And she will need her spirit amulet.  Mal, I spent time with first bloods in Africa and I know what you will experience.  The birth will be normal, mostly.  So will her childhood.  But she will be capable of things no other child can do.  First bloods have magics and physical abilities that need to be honed and managed.  A child of this nature is rare and precious indeed, over and above the fact that she’s yours, that you will love her.”  Erin paused, and when she realized that Mal was listening intently and making no move to leave, she continued.   “Do you know the name of the vampire who impregnated you?”

Impregnated
.  That sounded so cold, so clinical, so calculated.  Mal was certain that wasn’t the case.  But then again, was it possible that Ahmose did this on purpose and would come for her when the baby was born?

She turned suddenly to Erin.  “Will he take her away from me?  Answer me, Erin, are we safe?”

“I think you must be.  If he knew, he would never have left you behind.  These children are magnificent and extraordinarily deeply loved, my dear.  He would not leave her behind if he knew.  What surprises me is that he
should
have known.”

Her eyes searching the seascape off of the deck, Mal turned and went to the railing again, aware that Erin had followed her.

“He was the most incredible man I’ve ever seen.  I answered a homicide call and there he was, huge, naked, perfect, except for a bullet hole in his forehead and he was dead.”

“He didn’t stay that way.”

“No.  That still shocks me.  Anyway, he said he needed my blood to heal and kept me for two days.”

“He didn’t force you.”

Mal laughed.  “Hardly.  You know he was irresistible.  I
wanted
him before I saw him alive.  After…warm, beautiful, charming, humorous, I could not stay away from him.”

“First bloods are the ultimate sexual animal. I
was with one only once, I can imagine how he must have felt beneath you or inside of you.”

“I’ll just say I would do it again if the chance arrived.”

Mal watched as the sailboat disappeared around the edge of a cliff that jutted into the sea.  “His name was Ahmose.”

Erin visibly reacted to that news, her body jerked
, her eyes shot to Mal’s.  “Did you say Ahmose?”

“Yes.  He told me he was the leader of his people, although I really don’t know anything about him.  I didn’t think I would ever forget him even though he told me
that he would make me do so.  But I did forget him, until this morning when I spoke to my unborn child and the memories flooded back.  I sound crazy, don’t I?”

Erin didn’t speak at first.  When she did, it was cautiously.   “You don’t. 
Humorous, huh?  Ahmose.  I would never have…well, I never saw that side of him, I guess.  Uh, yes, Mal, he is our leader.  I was changed to vampire in Ahmose’s village near the Victoria Falls in Zambia.  We all thought he was the penultimate male.”

“Everything he did to me
felt
penultimate.  Oh, shit, I can’t believe I am telling my father’s lover about my sex life.”