Kindling Flames—Gathering Tinder (19 page)

Pulling his hand away, he gripped the steering wheel tightly and looked out at the street in front of Vicky’s apartment. With a long-practiced ease, he pushed the hunger away and recomposed himself. No matter how easy or tempting she made it, taking Vicky’s blood was the one thing Darien would not do. She had proven herself very capable in her job, and drinking from her would only complicate things more than they already were.

“It’s time to wake up,” Darien said as he reached back over and touched her shoulder. He shook her just a little.

Vicky yawned as sleep released her. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and yawned again before looking over at her boss.

“Have a nice nap?” Darien asked with a smile.

She nodded and rubbed the side of her neck where his nail had left a slight red mark on her skin. “Sorry.” Vicky apologized for passing out as she stretched the stiffness from her limbs.

“It’s all right,” he reassured her. “You’ve had a very busy day. I suspect you’ll be tired for the next day or two.”

Amusement slid across Vicky’s face, and she shook her head as she remembered highlights from her day.

“Go get some rest.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” She gathered up the plastic bag containing her work clothing. Someone at the mansion had cleaned and folded them up for her. Slipping back into her heels, she pulled the messenger bag over her shoulder before opening the door to get out. “Have a nice night, and I’ll see you on Monday, Mr. Ritter,” she said as she stepped out of the car.

“Good night, Miss Westernly,” Darien replied as she shut the door and headed into her apartment building. He waited for a moment to make sure that she was safely inside before he left.

He was surprised at how strong a person Vicky was. She seemed to handle being tossed into the middle of his world pretty well. Either that, or she was in an amazing state of denial. Darien decided it would be a wise idea to teach her more about what was out there. As she became more aware of the supernatural things of the world, they would start to take a greater interest in her. They could really cause her problems if she wasn’t properly prepared for them.

***

Dropping her bags on the couch as she passed, Vicky kicked her shoes off. She was glad to be back in the relative safety of her home. This entire weekend had left her with a lot to think about. After checking the time, she decided it wasn’t too late for a nice, relaxing bath. It would give her a chance to reflect.

Vicky stopped up the drain and added some rose-scented bubble bath to the gurgling water. The soft scent reminded her of the roses outside the gazebo in Liz’s garden and the conversation she’d had with Darien about other ‘monsters’. He’d assured her she knew others pretending to be human.

Sitting on the edge of the tub, Vicky trailed her fingers through the growing bubbles as she thought of all the people she knew. Could any of them be something other than human? The only person she could think of was the biker-like man who had stopped into Darien’s office just over a week ago. Vicky shook that thought away and stripped off her borrowed clothing, so she could slip into the fragrant water of her bath.

Vicky turned her mind to the people she had met at the Vampire Council. The only person there who didn’t seem bothered by Darien’s strangeness was Roger. She had watched the way the other members of the menagerie, and a few of the Council members, skittered around her boss when he walked into the room. But Roger wasn’t intimidated at all. He had happily engaged Darien in a lengthy conversation about the vampire’s car collection while making playful passes at Vicky. This had earning him several scalding looks from Jenny.

“Don’t mind him, sweetie,” Jenny said, as she patted Vicky on the arm. “He’s incorrigible.”

Vicky had laughed at this. She could feel the tension in the group lessen as the two men talked on about cars. It was just the balm needed to soothe everyone’s frayed nerves. It was only when Vicky turned to find Daniel clamped to Josie’s wrist that her fears had been renewed. She’d quickly excused herself to go to the kitchen. She needed some water to relieve the dryness that had suddenly come to her mouth. Daniel had finished by the time Vicky came back, but it wasn’t long until Darien announced that it was time to leave. Clara had offered them her hospitality until tomorrow, but Darien had refused because he needed to get back for some unfinished business.

Vicky suspected that Darien could feel her unease with the vampires. They all seemed to be very nice people, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to hang out with them yet. She was still a little unnerved by the sight of fangs poking out of a few of their mouths. Vicky sighed and turned off the tap, so she could relax back into the hot water.

Closing her eyes, she thought about her boss. She had definitely seen fangs when he had rushed to her aid, but that had been the only moment. The rest of the time, his teeth had been quite normal. She had spent a better part of the evening pondering how he hid them. Darien would probably tell her if she inquired, but it felt rude to ask. And frankly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

She thought about confiding in her best friend about her issues, but she was sure that was a bad idea. First, Darien wouldn’t want his secret getting out, and second, Vanessa would think Vicky had gone crazy.

Vicky wasn’t sure she was still wholly sane as it was. How could vampires be real? Were there really legions of undead out there, mingling with normal people, just waiting to suck out their blood? If they
were
undead, what animated them? How did one become a vampire? These and many more questions bounced around inside Vicky’s skull.

Sighing, she shook her head to clear the unanswered questions from her mind. If she hadn’t fallen asleep in the car, maybe Darien could have answered some of them. As it was, the drone and gentle vibration of the car had combined with her fatigue to lull her into a restful slumber. A yawn slipped from Vicky as she relaxed in the water. She could feel the tired ache slipping from her as she rested in the hot bath. Leaning her head back onto the edge of the tub, she let her mind drift away to think of things on its own accord.

***

“You should always be wary when dealing with vampires, no matter who they are,” Darien whispered as he moved towards Vicky.

She stood just in front of the master vampire. A light burned deep in his green eyes, and she could clearly see the tips of his fangs between his parted lips. Vicky wanted to heed his warning and run, but she couldn’t move.

As he wrapped his arms around her, Darien reached up and pushed her hair back, exposing her neck. Using one long finger, he tipped her head over ever so slightly, before drawing his nail down across her pulse point. He ended by rubbing the ridge of her collarbone, revealed by the low cut of her sundress. Holding her tighter, Darien leaned his face down to her throat. Panic bloomed in Vicky as she felt him place a light kiss on the side of her neck.

“This is going to be fantastic, baby.”

Adrenaline shot through Vicky’s veins as the man holding her changed from her trusted boss into Michael. She screamed as he sunk his fangs into her again.

***

Vicky splashed a large amount of the tepid water out of the bath as she thrashed free of her nightmare. She sat up and looked around her bathroom for the man who wasn’t there. Wrapping her hand over her neck, where the dream vampire had sunk his fangs in, Vicky squeezed herself with the other arm. After a moment of deep breathing, she relaxed and pulled the plug to let the cooled water out.

She got out and wrapped herself in a towel. After pausing in the doorway to make sure no one was in her apartment, she sprinted into the kitchen. A quick searched of the cabinets revealed a partial bottle of Jack tucked away from Vanessa’s last visit.

Opening the bottle, Vicky sat down on the floor to take a long pull. The whisky burned down her throat as she curled forward to hug her legs to her chest with her free hand. She took another mouthful of the liquor before setting the bottle on the floor. Rubbing her temple with her hand, she tried to push the memories out of her mind.

The nightmare had brought back last night’s escapades in living color, and she considered calling Darien for comfort but pushed the thought away. She was a grown woman and should be able to handle a simple bad dream on her own. Vicky took another slug of the alcohol before twisting the cap back on the bottle. She was starting to feel the warming effects it was having on her body. Standing up, she hid the bottle away in the cabinet before heading to her bedroom.

She dropped the wet towel to the floor and wrapped herself in her favorite nightgown before burrowing into her comforter. It felt safe swaddled in her blankets. One eye and her nose poked out from under her covers as Vicky studied the pattern on the kimono and tried to push the nightmare away. When her heart rate had finally slowed, Vicky let out a deep sigh and relaxed, letting sleep take her away.

“Will there be anything else, Mr. Ritter?” Vicky asked as she stood before Darien’s desk.

Darien looked up from the file she had just handed him and studied his PA. She was smartly dressed, as usual, but he could see the tiredness around the edges of her eyes. He dropped the file to the desk and folded his hands on top of it. “How are you doing?”

Vicky was slightly surprised by the concern in her boss’s voice. She looked into those deep, green eyes and considered talking to him. Twice in the night, she had woken up from nightmares about being bitten. Deciding that it was her problem to deal with, she smiled at her boss.

“I’m fine,” she tried to lie.

Darien scowled at the untruth.

Vicky quickly amended her statement. “I just didn’t sleep very well.”

His expression lightened slightly. Darien could tell she wasn’t telling him everything, but he knew what was bothering her and saw no point in pressing the information from her. “All right,” he conceded, and watched as Vicky let out the breath she’d been holding. “But let me know if there is anything I can do for you, Victoria.”

Touched by the concern in his voice, she answered, “I will.”

“Good,” Darien approved. “There is one other thing you could do for me.” He paused, waiting for Vicky to pull herself back to the right frame of mind before continuing. “I want to go over this before my next meeting.” Darien patted the file under his hands. “Could you please make a run to the café for me?”

“No problem.” She nodded. “Your usual?”

“No, ask Sue for something special.”

Vicky cocked a curious eyebrow at her boss but didn’t ask. Hopefully, the young barista would understand Darien’s request. “I’ll be right back.”

Darien picked up the file and poured himself back into it as soon as she left.

***

“Good morning, Miss Westernly.” Sue smiled as Vicky walked up to the counter. “The usual?”

“For me, yes, but Mr. Ritter asked for ‘something special’.”

Sue paused at the odd request. Concern flashed through her, but she tried to hide it from Vicky. “Coming right up!” Sue chirped cheerfully.

Vicky gave her a weak smile before turning her attention to the room behind her. The café sat just off the main hallway, so people were always passing by. She watched each person, wondering if they were human or something else.

“Is everything okay?”

Vicky was startled back to reality as Sue set the drinks on the counter behind her. “I’ve had a really weird weekend,” Vicky answered. Her hand rose to cover the healed vampire bite unconsciously.

Sue’s eyes followed the telltale motion. “Did he bite you?” she asked softly.

Vicky’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “What?” she asked, shocked.

“Master Darien. Did he bite you?”

“No, it was someone else…” she began. “Wait! You know Mr. Ritter is a…” Vicky stopped, not wanting to say the word out loud.

“…A vampire?” Sue finished for her. “Yes, I know.”

Feeling her knees weaken, Vicky looked around for a chair to sit in before she fell over. She backed up and took a seat at the table next to her as the shock stole the rest of the strength from her legs.

Sue hurried around the counter to make sure Vicky was all right.

“I’ll be okay,” she reassured the concerned girl. “I’m just a little overwhelmed by it all.”