Love Nip (11 page)

I took it from him and gave him a look that said he really shouldn’t have. I opened the
box to find a beautiful key necklace. Tiny diamonds accented the silver antique-looking key and hung on a thin silver chain.

“Axle, this is amazing. Thank you so much
.” At that moment I felt like the most special girl in the world. No one had ever given me such a thoughtful gift. I couldn’t imagine how much it must have cost him.

“It’s the key to my heart,”
he replied.

“Really?”

“No, not really. It’s just a necklace.” He smiled.

I laughed, playfully punching his
arm. I had completely forgotten about my birthday, but already it was the best birthday ever. I looked up into Axle’s big brown eyes and became lost. There was no Ezra, no case, no problems. Here was a man who handed me doughnuts and diamonds within ten minutes of waking up, what more could I ask for?  

“Go get dressed
. We have an appointment at the morgue, and then you have an appointment at the spa,” he said, knocking me off cloud nine. 

“Spa?
” I questioned as I pulled the necklace from the box.

“Yea
h, the benefit is tonight. You need to look your best,” he explained as he sipped his coffee. I would take a bet that it was plain, black coffee; he looked like that kind of guy.

“Geez, why does everyone keep saying that?” I asked as I walked to
wards my room to get dressed.

The morgue was exactly wh
at I thought it would look like … creepy.

I stayed close
to Axle and he noticed, showing me his gleaming smile.

“Cold?”
he asked.

“Scared shirtless
,” I shrugged. We walked up to a door that was marked
Biohazard
. That’s a great start. Charlotte’s body was laid out on a metal table. She had a small blue towel over her private areas and I was thankful for the modesty. Gavin was gowned up from head to toe. He looked as if he was about to perform brain surgery.

“Hey, w
hat are you doing?” I greeted him.

“I’m assisting with the autopsy,”
he replied.

I felt like I was going to hurl.

“You all right, Emily? You’re looking a bit pale.” Robert walked in dressed in the same get up as Gavin.

“Ba
d coffee,” I answered, receiving a knowing smile from Axle.

Robert walked over and placed a gloved hand on my arm
. “Happy Birthday, Emily,” he said.

I
looked down at his glove and attempted a smile. That’s just nasty.

“W
e’re beginning the initial gross examination of Charlotte Ruck,” Robert stated after he turned on a tape recording located next to the table. He began searching through her hair and came down to her neck. “She has a bite mark located on the left side of her neck, demonstrating that of the vampire species.”

I gulped.
My theory had been correct. She was killed by a vampire.

“Male,
couldn’t have been over thirty in his mortal years,” Gavin stated as he examined the bite. It was hard to believe they could tell all that by two little marks.

“
Okeydokey, that’s great guys. I’m glad you dragged me here to tell me what I already knew, but I have an appointment I have to get to,” I stated, backing out of the room. If I had stayed any longer I was going to blow chunks.

Axle laughe
d and waved at the guys. He drove me to the spa and dropped me off. After I was scrubbed, waxed, and polished he picked me back up. I climbed into the car. Turning to buckle my seatbelt I noticed Axle was leaned over extremely close to my face.

“What’s up?” I asked curiously
.

“You smell amazing,”
he moaned as he inhaled. My heart fluttered in my chest.

I don’t know if it was the way he said it or just him, but my hormones went crazy. I leaned over and our lips met. He reached behind my head and pulled me in tight. His tongu
e slipped into my mouth and had a slight honey taste to it. He bit at my lips, teasing me. I finally pushed him back.

“Sorry, I don’t know what just came over me,” I
murmured, feeling embarrassed.

“Please
, don’t apologize. That was amazing,” he replied, smiling.

“Y
eah, but I shouldn’t be out here having a spa day and kissing you when Ezra is in the hospital dying because of me.” I was going to explode from the enormous amount of guilt that was building up inside of me.

“Ezra is fine,”
he snapped, obviously frustrated as he put the car in gear.

I didn’t feel like arguing so I shut my mouth.
Once we got to my apartment, before he left he asked if I wanted to ride to the benefit. I really wanted to say yes, but I declined his offer. I needed to stay away from Axle, at least until I had a long talk with Ezra. We weren’t dating, but I still felt as if I needed his approval. Ezra was such a nice guy, he deserved someone much better than me.

I didn’t want to take a shower and wash awa
y the goodness, but I felt dirty after the morgue and the kiss. I took a long shower and dried my hair. I rarely put on a lot of makeup, but this was a special occasion so I plastered my face. I curled my long, strawberry-blonde locks and pinned it up letting a few curls fall down. Finally, I put on my new dress and shoes. My breath caught as I glanced in the mirror. I looked absolutely stunning, I almost didn’t recognize myself. My cream-colored dress was strapless and could pass for a wedding gown. The top was form-fitting, and just below my breasts, it flowed to the ground in a relaxed fit. Never in my life had I worn anything so fancy. I slipped on the key necklace from Axle and found a pair of diamond stud earrings.  

I decided to go see Ezra before I went to the party. I walked into his room and was shocked to see him sitting up in a chair reading. He put his book down and smiled.
He was still in his hospital gown, but he looked like his normal self.

“Wow, you look amazing birthday girl,
” he stated. He had color in his face that I had never seen before. An IV line was still attached to his arm.

“Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself,” I replied
in shock.

“Yea
h, I feel great. Riley gave some blood and they gave me a blood transfusion. It was Robert’s idea and it worked.”

“Riley
, huh? So what’s up with you two?” I asked curiously. If I wasn’t jealous before I was now. I knew I had no right, but I couldn’t help that I still felt something for Ezra even if it wasn’t like what I felt for Axle.

“What’s up with you and Axle?”
he asked, matching my tone.

I shrugged
. “Well I’m glad you’re feeling better.” I gave a weak smile. I couldn’t get the words out that I came to say. I knew it was over between us, I didn’t need to hear it. I had at one time thought I loved Ezra, but as I looked at the man I had such feelings for before they began to melt.

“I’m glad you’re finally on a case, that’s great news. And I heard about your ice incident,” Ezra stated
as he studied his nails. The conversation was getting awkward.

“Yea
h, that was strange.” I heard a noise and turned around to see Riley standing in the doorway. She was wearing faded jeans and a blue top. I didn’t know if she had decided to skip the banquet or if she was changing later.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you were here. I’ll come back tomorrow,” Riley
said as she turned to leave.

“No, it’s fine
. I need to get to the party anyways.” I walked over to Ezra and kissed his forehead, holding back tears. I didn’t know if we would ever be the same, and I wasn’t sure if I cared.

I blasted the radio on the way to the benefit, trying not to think of Ezra, for fear that I would break down and ruin my makeup.
The second time around the block, I finally found the place where the event was being held. It was downtown but in an area I had never even heard of before. I found a close parking space and walked toward the front door. My heels clanked loudly against the pavement. I tripped on my dress and had to hold it up as I walked. There were people standing around the building talking. Some were smoking cigarettes or chatting on the phone. As I walked up the talking ceased and all eyes fell on me. It felt strange and I wondered if I had something on my face. Had my mascara run? I ran a finger under my eyes to check, nope.

Tucking
a curl behind my ear, I opened the door. The building was a lovely place. White tiles ran down the length of the room and ended at an iron banister. As I stepped closer, I realized that the room led to a double-sided stairwell that overlooked a large ballroom. Tan tiles covered the floor, and the walls were the same matching color but laced with white trim. There was a stage at one end and round tables scattered around the dance floor. A buffet table sat just to my left and had to be fifty feet long. People danced across the room as I walked down the stairs. I reached the bottom stairs and was met by Kimmy. She looked amazing.

“Hi there
, beautiful,” she greeted me. She was wearing a long, black sparkly dress that swept the ground. She wore her hair down and curly. Stunning was an understatement.

“
Hiya, gorgeous! I didn’t know you were coming.” We went to give each other a hug and gave up, not wanting to mess up the hair and make-up. We laughed at our awkward almost hug dance.

“How’s Ezra?
” she asked. Nothing gets past Kimmy.

“Actually better, they gave him Riley’s blood
,” I replied.

“Ew,” Kimmy scrunched her nose in disgust.

“You’re a vampire, that shouldn’t gross you out,” I informed her.

“
Could you feed your arm to a cow?” she asked.

“I don’t really know what that has to do with
—”

“Oh geez, I’m such a bad friend. Happy Birthday! What are you
, like twelve now?” she interrupted.

I laughed. I was twenty
-three, but still looked like I belonged in high school. I looked to the entrance and spotted Riley. She strolled in and started down the stairs wearing an impressive dark blue dress. She had gotten dressed awfully fast, must be a vampire thing.

“Do we still hate her?” Kimmy asked
as we watched her descend down the stairs.

“I’m not too sure at this point,” I replied.

“Well, I tell you I hate her. She stole your man so I will never like the tramp.”

“Well if you think about it he was her man first,
so I kind of stole Ezra from her,” I replied.

“Hmm,
awkward,” Kimmy joked.

“Hi guys,” Riley greeted us.

“Hi Riley, I’m Kimmy,” Kimmy replied like Riley was the coolest person in the world.

Riley nodded
. “I’m going to see if there is anyone here I know.”

“
Bye, Riley. Hope to see you later,” Kimmy called out to her as she walked away.

“What happened to hating her?” I ques
tioned Kimmy after Riley was far enough away.

“What? She’s my people,”
she answered.

“Your people?”
I asked as my left eyebrow shot halfway up my forehead.

“I’m a vampire now, us vamps have to stick toget
her. Plus, she’s like my grandmother. I can’t hate my grandmother.”

I felt the atmosphere in the room shift as he walked in. I glanced
up to see Axle walking down the stairs. Our eyes connected and everyone else disappeared. His gaze took my breath away. He was dressed in a black tux and looked handsome. He had shaved his stubble away and had a fresh haircut. He was perfect. I couldn’t look away.

“What about Ezra?” Kimmy asked
, breaking my trance.

“I’m moving on to bigger and better things,” I stated as I began walking toward Axle.

“Pumpkin, there are no words for how good you look.” Axle smiled and his eyes traveled up and down my body. His hand gently swept down my arm, giving me goose bumps.

“Thanks, you look great
, too,” I stated as I ran my hand over his jacket. His eyes looked deep into mine.

“Would you care
to dance?” he asked, linking my arm in his.

We moved
together to the middle of the dance floor. He placed my hands over his shoulder and I laid my head on his chest. We swayed back and forth to Adele. His hand ran down my bare back and sent a wave of chills though my body. He began humming and I stopped, looking up at him.

“What? I love th
is song?” He smiled.

“Why do you have to be so perfect
, Axle?” I asked.

“I hate to break this to you
, sweetheart, but I am not perfect.”

“You know what I mean,” I said.

“What happened to Ezra?” he asked.