Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3) (7 page)

Christian started to button up his shirt as he considered Darien.

Darien held his hand out for Christian to follow his people through the doorway. “Shall we?”

“After you,” Christian said politely.

Darien nodded and pulled Vicky along through the doorway.

Zak sat on the floor, glaring as the new vampire followed them out.

Christian glanced back at the little dog, then watched the man walking in front of him. There was no doubt that this was the real Darien Ritter. The power radiating from him was incredible and felt nothing like the man he spent hours studying last night. The question that tickled the back of Christian’s mind was how this man could have arrived during the daytime, and where had his double gone?

***

Clara stood on the porch to see Darien off. “Are you sure you can’t stay longer?” It was well after two in the morning when Christian had announced that he needed to take his people and go home. Darien had taken the opportunity to announce that he and Vicky needed to head home, too.

“Yes,” Darien said. “I have calls to make early tomorrow if I have any hopes of getting the Halloween party arranged.” He turned to help Vicky load her bag into the backseat of the car. Christian had left while they had gathered their things from the room where they had stayed. “Good night,” Darien called to the group.

“Farewell.” Clara watched him get into the car to leave.

Vicky settled Zak into her lap for the ride back to town. “Who knew that bikers could be so nice?” It had been a very entertaining evening with Christian’s menagerie. Vicky had found out that most of Christian’s people rode motorcycles, but they were nothing like what she had expected them to be. After the initial misunderstanding was cleared up, they turned out to be amazing people. Lana had spent most of the evening talking with Liz about hawk moths and the care of night-blooming moonflowers. Liz had even promised to take her out to get some cuttings from the garden when Lana had a vehicle that she could transport them back home in. Darien had gotten caught up in a conversation with Roger, Tony, and Christian about motorcycles. Stanley and Jerome had taken Josie and Jenny up on their offer for a dip in the onsen.

“You can never tell a person’s character from the way they look,” Darien said thoughtfully as he pulled his sports car out of Clara’s driveway.

Vicky snickered in the seat next to him.

He shot her an odd look. “What’s funny?”

Vicky’s snickers burst into full laughter, and she held her sides in mirth.

Zak shook out of his disguise and reached a few soft feelers up to touch her face in concern.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. “Sorry.” Vicky giggled again and wiped a tear away from her eye. She rubbed Zak to soothe him. A few more chuckles leaked out. She took another deep breath, but it failed to remove the grin from her face.

Darien cocked an eyebrow at her as he split his attention between her and the road.

She giggled again. “I just never expected to hear that coming from you.”

“What?” Darien asked, confused.

“The whole ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’ thing.” Vicky smiled and pulled on Zak’s feelers as she talked. “The two of you are the epitome of that statement.”

Darien nodded his head as he thought about it.

“Who would expect a cute little Shih Tzu to be a hellhound?” She ruffled Zak. “And
you
.” She turned her attention to Darien. “You’ve had the world fooled into thinking you’re a human for how long?”

“A while.” He shrugged.

She laughed again. “A long while.” Vicky sighed and leaned back into her seat farther. “I read up on the company.” She looked out the window to watch the night passing.

“Does that bother you?” Darien held his breath waiting for Vicky’s answer. He hated to think that the woman he had come to love might have an issue with what he was.

Vicky sat, petting Zak for what Darien thought was a lifetime. “No.” She turned back to look at Darien’s profile.

He glanced over at her and caught the truth in her eyes.

The tension that had built in the car dissipated as she went on. “It bothered me a little when I first found out, but I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Zak wiggled unhappily in her lap.

Vicky rubbed him roughly. “
Either
of you.”

Darien sighed deeply at her answer. He slipped his hand from the steering wheel and over to her arm. His fingers caressed her skin as he slipped them down her forearm, drawing her hand to his and lacing their fingers together. Darien gently lifted Vicky’s hand up to his cheek before sliding it over to kiss the back lovingly. “We aren’t the only ones that are more than we appear,” he said, dropping their joined hands down to rest on the console between the seats. “I can honestly say that you were not what I expected when the temp agency sent you.”

Vicky fidgeted shyly as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

“I don’t know—”

Zak gurgled loudly interrupting Darien’s words.

The vampire chuckled and amended what he was saying. “I should say
we
don’t know what we would do without you.”

Zak purred his agreement as he wiggled in Vicky’s lap.

Her smile grew. “You two are so sweet.” Vicky squeezed Darien’s hand and scratched her free hand into Zak’s back. “Now, if I could just find a way for the two of you to agree.”

Zak wiggled menacingly at Darien, and the vampire bared his fangs at the little horror.

Vicky chuckled at the two play posturing. She relaxed back in her seat and enjoyed the touch of her boys as they made their way back home.

Vicky held the phone to her ear as she sprawled on her back across Darien’s dark blue comforter. “Hey, Mom.” She hung her head over the side of the bed so that her hair pooled on the floor below her as she talked. “What’s going on?”

“Not much,” Vicky’s mother, Ann, answered. “Work has been a little busy lately. They just hired a new accountant.”

Vicky listened to her mom prattle on about the difficulties of training new people as she stretched her legs up in the air. “I can see how that would be rough.” She watched gravity pull her yoga pants up her legs as she talked. “At least they got you some help.” Bending her knees down, she twisted so her back popped, and lay there for a moment feeling the stretch in her muscles.

“This is true,” Ann answered. “But it would have been nice if they had consulted me before they hired this girl. She’s a complete flake.” Vicky’s mother went on to complain about her new helper.

Vicky relaxed back to the bed before twisting over in the other direction. This had become their Sunday evening routine. Vicky would call and listen to her mother complain about work as she cooled down from her workout. She had found the treadmills in Darien’s building a lot nicer than running through her old neighborhood. At least here she didn’t risk getting mugged at night.

“So, what’s new with you?” Ann asked.

“Not too much.” Vicky relaxed back to the bed. “Vanessa is throwing a Halloween party next Friday.” She looked up when she heard a noise at the door.

Zak wiggled in to the room just ahead of Darien.

Darien paused in the doorway when he saw Vicky stretched across the bed in the black yoga pants and a forest-green T-shirt she had kidnapped from his dresser. He smiled before continuing on his way.

“That sounds like fun,” Vicky’s mom said. “Is it a costume party?”

“Yes,” Vicky answered as she watched Darien rummage in his dresser, getting things ready for work tomorrow.

“Are you taking Darien?” Ann asked. A lot of their conversations had been about Darien lately.

A smile crept across Vicky’s face. “Yes.”

Zak jumped up on the bed and wiggled over to Vicky’s stomach. She scratched her free hand into his tentacles.

“What are you going as?” Ann asked.

Vicky looked up at the back of the man in the room and smiled a little wider. “A vampire’s minion.”

Darien turned to look at her, surprised she had said that to her mother.

Vicky’s eyes twinkled in mischief.

He chuckled and went into his closet to make sure his suit was ready for tomorrow.

“So, is Darien going as a vampire?” Ann asked. Darien had finally shown Vicky the outfit he was preparing for the party. The suit and cape would have made Bela Lugosi proud. Darien did tell her he had a dress for her, but he had been very tight lipped about what it was.

“Darien makes a good vampire.” Vicky laughed at the irony of that statement.

Zak gurgled at her.

“So, things are still going well between you two?” Ann asked. She was glad that Vicky had finally found herself a nice boyfriend.

“Yes, Mom,” Vicky answered. “Things are working out very nicely.”

“I’m so glad for you,” Ann cooed. “I just recently found a nice guy, too.”

Vicky froze at her mother’s words. “
Really
?” She had never known her mother to date. “What’s he like?”

“He is sweet but a little strange,” Ann went on to explain. “He works nights over at the gas station.”

Vicky wrinkled her brow in concern. “You’re dating the guy from the gas station?”

“It was the only night job that would work with him,” Ann explained. “He has to be inside by sunrise.”

Vicky was starting to get very concerned about this man. “Why is that?”

“He didn’t want me to tell anyone…” Ann waffled for a moment, “but, he’s a vampire.”

“
He’s a what
?” Vicky sat upright on the bed, dislodging Zak from her stomach.

Darien poked his head back into the room to see what had cause Vicky’s distress.

“A vampire,” Ann said again.

“No, Mom. He can’t be a vampire.” She shook her head. “They don’t exist.” Vicky ignored the vampire coming to sit on the bed behind her. She didn’t want her mother dealing with things of the night.

“He
is
a vampire,” Ann declared. “I have seen it.”

“Has he bitten you yet?” Vicky asked.

Darien touched her back, and she turned widened eyes to him.

“No,” Vicky’s mother said. “He said that he loves me too much to risk turning me into a vampire.”

“Then what does he eat?” Vicky asked, still shocked.

“He keeps a cooler full of bottles of blood,” Ann explained.

Vicky’s horror dug in a little deeper. “How long has this been going on?” Moving the phone away from her mouth slightly, she looked up at Darien. “My mom’s dating a vampire,” she mouthed quietly.

His eyes widened in surprise before fading into amusement.

“A few months,” Ann said.

Vicky’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “And you didn’t say anything until
now
?” She stiffened in shock.

Zak and Darien both petted her reassuringly.

“I didn’t want to bother you with this until it got more serious.”

Vicky could hear the embarrassment in her mother’s voice. “How serious has it gotten?” she asked, starting to get really distressed.

Zak gurgled his concern.

“He asked me to marry him.” Ann sounded excited by this.

Vicky nearly died of shock. “No, Mom. You cannot marry a vampire!” she exclaimed.

“I can marry anyone I want,” Ann said defensively. “Anyway, Jack is a really nice man, and he’s great in bed.”

Vicky prickled at this statement. “I don’t care how good he is in bed!” she said, affronted by her mother’s words. “You can’t marry him!”

Darien patted Vicky on the back.

She looked at him.

“Invite them up.”

Vicky looked at him, confused. Her mind wasn’t working well at the moment. “Hang on, Mom,” Vicky said, interrupting the tirade her mother had started into. “What?” Vicky asked Darien as she pulled the phone away from her ear.

“Invite them up for a visit,” Darien repeated.

Vicky’s mind clicked into gear, and she turned back to the phone. “Darien just had a great idea,” she said. “Why don’t you bring Jake—”

“Jack,” Ann interrupted her daughter.

“Sorry,” Vicky apologized. “Why don’t you bring Jack up for a visit so we can meet him?”

Ann thought about this for a moment. “It has been a long time since I visited,” she said softly.

“And you did say you wanted to meet Darien.” Vicky turned to look at the man sitting next to her.

“It’ll have to be after the first of the month.”

“That’s cool,” Vicky answered. “How about the first weekend in November?” She raised an eyebrow at Darien.

He nodded his agreement.

“I’ll have to make sure that is okay with Jack,” Ann said. “Does Darien have space for us, or do I need to look into a hotel?”

Vicky smiled as she thought about the number of vampires that had recently stayed in his home. “We’ve got you covered. Darien has a room I’m sure will work for a vampire.”

Darien toyed with Vicky’s curls as she talked.

“I was worried that he wouldn’t have enough space for us.” Ann sighed, relieved. Vicky had told her mother that Darien had put her up after the fire gutted her apartment, but she hadn’t told her that Darien had a five-bedroom penthouse in the posh part of the city. She didn’t want her mother to wig out over it.

“Darien has plenty of room here,” she reassured her mother.

“Well then, let me let you go, and I’ll call Jack,” Ann said. “I love you.”

Vicky hung her head. “I love you too, Mom.” She wasn’t going to rest well until she had met this vampire dating her mother. Vicky listened to her mother close the line before dropping her hand to her lap. Letting out a sigh, she lay back down. Her head and shoulders landed on Darien’s lap, and she wiggled until just her head was comfortably supported by his leg.

Darien ran is fingers through her curls as Zak reclaimed his position on her stomach.

“So?” Darien prompted, looking down at her.

“My mother is dating a vampire,” Vicky said exasperated.

He chuckled as he rubbed her scalp. “
You’re
dating a vampire.” Darien smiled, showing off his fangs.

Vicky shot him a dirty look as she pulled on a few of Zak’s wandering feelers. “That’s different,” she huffed.

Darien cocked an eyebrow at her. “How so?”

“She’s my mother!” Vicky protested.

Darien grinned at her again. “It will be okay,” he said, soothing the upset woman. “I’ll have a talk with him when they come to visit.” Hunching over, he kissed Vicky on the forehead. “We’ll make sure your mother is safe.”

“What if he doesn’t listen to you?” Vicky asked, still worried about her mother.

Darien chuckled and leaned back so he was propped on his arms. “He will.” He smiled evilly. “Or I’ll give him to Zak to eat.”

Zak gurgled happily at this prospect.

Vicky smiled and rubbed the little fay. “Thanks,” she said softly to the two males.

“You’re welcome,” Darien said as he looked into her blue eyes. “Now, why don’t you head off to the shower before bed?” he suggested.

Vicky moved Zak off her and sat up with a heavy sigh. “You’re right.” She turned around to get off the bed. “I probably stink after my workout.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Darien sat up closer to her. “But you do smell irresistible.” He pulled her over to him and kissed her heavily.

Vicky squeaked in surprise before returning the passion in his touch.

Darien pulled back, breathing fast. “I still have things to do.” He released Vicky. “Go get your shower before we are here all night.”

She giggled as she rolled off the bed. Pulling off Darien’s T-shirt, she tossed it back at the vampire as she left the room.

Darien caught the shirt before it could hit him in the face. Balling up the warm material, he breathed in the heady scent and turned to look at the fay staring at him from the bed.

Zak gurgled at him.

“She started it.” Darien tossed the shirt down over the fay and got up from the bed. Pulling the closet door shut as he passed, he followed Vicky into the bathroom, accepting her unspoken invitation. What he had been doing could wait until later. If he were lucky, Zak would only eat his T-shirt and not another pair of his suit pants.

***

Vicky walked into Darien’s office with her notepad. “It’s time to head out.”

Darien looked up from his computer. He was still having some issues adjusting to reading reports on the screen, but he had to admit, it was easier than dealing with some of the larger paper files he had been looking through. “Yes.” Darien saved his work and turned off his monitor.

Vicky stepped back out into her office to pick up her bag so they could go.

“So, where are we going again?” he asked as he shut his office door.

“Cacophony.” Vicky led the way out of the room as she answered. “Gracie Ann wanted to meet to talk about the damages caused by the leak in her roof.”

“I thought Rick fixed that for her,” Darien said as he followed Vicky to the elevators.

“He did,” she explained. “But there was still a lot of damage done to the ceiling and the floor. Gracie Ann just got the insurance check and wants to talk with you about the possibilities of renovating the building.”

“So, she wants more money,” Darien grumbled as they stepped into the little box that would take them to the basement garage and his cars.

“No, the insurance will cover most of the changes, and the store can cover the rest,” Vicky corrected his assumption. “Since you’re part owner, she wanted your opinion about the changes she wants to make.” She looked at Darien, concerned for a moment. This was information she had given him last week when Gracie Ann had called to set up the meeting. “Since you still needed to stop by and pick up her finance report for the month, I figured that you could talk to her before we head over to check on the repairs.”