Once Bitten, Twice Shy (12 page)

At least Donna understood why I was struggling with mirth. I glanced at her and bugged out my eyes and she suddenly developed the same cough I had before. Finn shifted on the sofa next to me, bringing my eyes to him. He was staring at me as if I’d grown an extra head, though an underlying hint of amusement glimmered in his eyes.

Conner gave Donna an exasperated smile, as though he couldn’t decide if he wanted to kiss her, spank her, or both. Even though that smile wasn’t intended for me, I couldn’t stop the little flutter in my belly at the thought of any man looking at me like that. A sliver of jealousy pierced my heart. I wanted that for myself and I wanted it badly.

“I’m sorry,” I sucked in a deep breath. “It’s just, Cornelius
the Slayer
?” I squeaked.

At my words, Donna dissolved into giggles, unable to hide them behind a cough any longer. It took me several seconds to get myself under control as well. When the two of us calmed down, both Conner and Finn were staring at us, their expressions stony.

“I don’t understand what in the hell is funny about a vampire who has earned the name
Slayer
because of the thousands of humans, vampires, and other supernatural beings he has slaughtered,” Conner stated softly.

Donna and I instantly stopped laughing. Conner was right. That wasn’t funny at all.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

I felt a hand on my knee and looked down to see Finn’s fingers squeeze my leg gently before he released me. I stared at my leg, wondering if his hand left marks because every place his hand had touched was tingling. God, I was turning into vamp tramp!

“It’s all right, Ivie.” Finn’s voice distracted me from my contemplation of my leg.

Still, I felt like a heel for giggling about this guy. It was obvious that, even if Donna and I thought his name was stupid, his intentions were serious and, likely, deadly.

Finn turned back to Conner. “I will give you a list of the other eight names, but there is something else.” He paused and I could tell he was searching for the right words. “There are more members, all secret, and The Faction is still recruiting. The Council and the investigators still don’t know how many vampires are truly involved.”

That didn’t sound promising, I thought.

Conner’s brows lowered and he tapped his lip as he thought. “It may give us an opportunity to plant a spy within the group. You and I need to approach the Council with a list of appropriate candidates.”

Finn nodded before he turned to Donna and then me. “Ladies, I don’t want to exclude you from the conversation, but there are things I must discuss with Conner that must, by vampire law, stay between Council members.”

Donna nodded, clearly used to this sort of thing. I wanted to argue and ask a million questions, but the usual good-humored sparkle in Finn’s eyes was long gone. I knew with one glance at his expression, that I did not want to piss him off right now.

So, Donna and I went into the kitchen to make a pot of strong coffee and put together a light breakfast. I watched her move around the kitchen, her face pale and pinched.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes. Just tired.”

It hit me that Donna had been trapped in this house with me for a while now. I wondered if she had been drinking as much blood as she should. While I didn’t want to contemplate my best friend sucking the life out of someone, I also didn’t want her to get sick or hurt. I had already been through that nightmare.

“Do you need blood?” I asked quietly.

She blinked at me, her eyes huge. “What?”

I took a step toward her. “You haven’t left the house. You’re paler than usual. Do you need blood?” I swallowed hard, unable to believe I was about to say what I intended to say next. “If you need it, tell me. I, uh, I will give you blood.”

She stared at me, her eyes huge. “Are you offering to give me your blood, Ivie?” she asked slowly.

Even though the thought terrified me, I was. I wanted my friend to be safe and healthy. I nodded.

Suddenly, Donna grinned hugely. “Wow. I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever done for me, especially considering how you feel about being a snack for a vamp.” She laughed a little. “Don’t worry. Conner and I shared blood last night before we went to bed. We get most of our sustenance from each other.”

I wrinkled my nose. I was no expert on vampires, but I always assumed they needed human blood to survive.

Donna saw my expression. “It’s complicated,” she sighed. “I’ll have to explain it to you later. It will take a while.”

I nodded and busied myself washing the cups and teapot from our middle of the night tea. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Donna’s voice stopped me.

“Seriously, Ivie. Thank you for offering. It means a lot to me.” She paused, her eyes far away. “I know you’ve had a lot of trouble adjusting to the changes over the last few months.”

I smiled at her. “I would do whatever it took to keep you safe and healthy, Dee. You know that.”

She nodded, her eyes filling with tears.

“And, for God’s sake, don’t cry or I’ll be bawling too!” I exclaimed, continuing to wash the dishes.

She blinked rapidly. “I was just so afraid that, after what happened…” she trailed off.

I removed my hands from the dishwater and dried them before I walked over to her and hugged her close. Her arms wrapped around me, squeezing me tightly.

“I love you,” she whispered.

My own throat felt tight so my voice was barely audible as well. “I love you too.”

She released me and cleared her throat. “Okay, enough mushy shit.”

I laughed and went back to washing the dishes while she finished brewing the coffee. After the coffee and food were done, Donna went in search of the men. We all sat down and ate together. Conner and Finn were obviously concerned, but they made an effort to carry on a conversation and create a sense of normalcy.

They excused themselves once the food was gone and Donna and I began to clean up. I still couldn’t believe that vampires could eat. It went against all the stories and myths I’d heard.

“Well, I’m going upstairs to get ready for work,” Donna said after the last clean dish was put away.

I looked at her in surprise. “Conner is letting you go into work today?”

She snickered. “As if he can tell me what to do. Yes, I’m going to work. Though, I have to take two of his men with me for personal security.”

She had a point. Nobody bossed Donna around. Not even uber-alpha Conner. Well, sometimes she let him get away with it, the rest of the time I often thought she was doing her best to give him the world’s worst migraine.

I followed her up the stairs. “I’m going to clean up and try to work as well, I guess. If I don’t try to do something, I’m just going to sit around and brood.”

Donna stopped just outside the guest room door with me. “I’m really sorry about the situation with Lex, Ivie. I still think that he’s serious about you. I just don’t think he’s used to having to answer to someone else.”

I shrugged. “That may be, but I’ve had doubts even before he went out of his way to convince me to give him a shot. I think it’s best if I forget about Alexander Dimitriades.”

Donna stared at me, her expression unreadable. After a few seconds, she sucked air into her nose loudly. “Fine. I still think you’re making a mistake, but you have to do what you think is best.”

I grinned. Donna would always support me, even if she thought I was being an idiot. Though, she didn’t hesitate to tell me so.

“Thanks, Dee. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just tell me to get lost.”

We both laughed and I went into my room and showered. I dressed in my only clean clothes, a pair of black yoga pants and a deep purple shirt I found in the bottom of my suitcase. I really had to do some damn laundry. It was one of the few non-black clothing items I owned. I bought it because the color made my pale skin glow and my brown eyes pop. I even put on a little make-up.

While I wasn’t necessarily interested in attracting a vampire, I still didn’t want to look like dogshit while tons of attractive men were in the house. After I tamed my curls, I grabbed my laptop and headed downstairs to the den. I stopped by the kitchen for a bottle of water before I walked down the hall to the comfortably appointed room. I settled on a couch and opened my computer. I set it on the coffee table while it booted up, stretching my arms above my head. I would do a couple of hours of work and then think about taking a nap.

Then, while I waited for the computer to finish booting up, I leaned my head back as I released a jaw-cracking yawn and promptly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

*     *     *

“Ivie.”

I turned my head away from that voice. I was comfy, warm, and tired. I planned to sleep for the next two weeks.

“Ivie, sweet one, it’s time to wake up.”

I grunted and batted away the hand that was pushing my hair back from my face. “Go away if you want to live,” I growled.

The sudden silence at my words was followed by loud, deep laughter. When I realized who was sitting with his hip pressed into my side, my eyes popped open and I sat straight up on the couch, my hair flying everywhere.

“Jesus, Finn, if you want to kill me, just use a gun next time,” I gasped, pressing a hand to my pounding heart.

He was still chuckling as he watched me try to regain my composure. “Of course. Though I doubt you’ll be of use to me dead.”

There was a flirtatious gleam in his eye that made my tummy flutter. I sighed and shoved a mass of my curly hair out of my face. I just hoped it wasn’t sticking out around me like a lampshade.

“So, what’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s time for dinner. Donna asked me to come wake you.”

I blinked in shock. I had been asleep for the entire day?

“Um, okay. I’ll be right there. I just need a second to wake up.”

He nodded and rose gracefully, striding to the door with a rolling gait that made me appreciate the way his jeans fit. When I was sure he was gone, I blew out a deep breath. What in the hell was it with me and vampires?

I got up and went to the powder room before I headed into the kitchen. The meal was delicious and the company entertaining. Finn and Conner weren’t as serious as they had been that morning. In fact, Finn insisted on telling stories of his times with Conner in Europe while Conner was still a baby vamp. Donna and I laughed loud and often.

After we were done eating, Donna and Conner insisted on washing up, so Finn and I went out on the veranda. He went directly to the porch swing. The very same one I had sat on with Lex. I started to move for a chair just to the side of the swing, but Finn patted the seat.

“Come sit with me.”

I couldn’t refuse without looking like a complete ass, so I walked over and settled on the swing next to him. Just like Lex, he rested his arm across the back of the swing. One major difference was that Finn gave me my space. He didn’t press so close that I could practically feel the imprint of his ribs against mine. Still, I was tense.

“Relax, Ivie,” he said. His voice was deeper, more mellow, than I’d ever heard it before. It wound around me like a warm blanket and made my tense muscles turn to jelly. Holy hell, a voice like that was a lethal weapon.

I found myself leaning back into the swing, bringing my shoulders in contact with his arm as he used his foot to push the swing. All the while, his fingers ran through my hair, wrapping strands around his fingers before releasing them. It felt heavenly.

“Have you heard from Lex?” he asked quietly, his black magic voice may have been soothing, but his question was not.

I sat up straighter. “No.” I didn’t say anything else.

“Not interested, sweet one?”

I shot him a sidelong glance that made him smile. “I don’t think that’s any of your business,” I answered primly.

His fingers, which had been so soothing just moments before, tightened in my hair, forcing me to turn my head so he could look directly into my eyes. I gasped when I saw that his irises were glowing like amethysts in the moonlight. It was a beautifully haunting sight, those gem-like eyes set in the face of an angel.

“I plan to make it my business if the answer is what I want it to be.”

I felt a small streak of heat pierce my abdomen. While it felt incredibly nice, it was nothing like the insane sensations that Lex inspired within me.

I bit my lower lip. Finn’s eyes tracked the motion. I realized that I now understood how a mouse felt when it faced a large, hungry cat. What was it about these damn vampires?

Then the light in his eyes dimmed and he blinked. “I can see the answer isn’t the one I wanted.”

I opened my mouth, then shut it with a snap. I wasn’t about to argue with him about this. If I told him Lex didn’t matter, I had a feeling he’d be on me like Garfield on lasagna, gobbling me up in huge bites. While the thought wasn’t completely unattractive, it was intense and more than a little scary.

Finn’s mouth quirked as though he could hear my internal monologue. Considering I was still mastering the skill of shielding my thoughts, he may very well have heard every single one. Still, he didn’t say a word of it. Instead, he used my hair to pull my face even closer to his.

“Okay, sweet one. I can see that you are conflicted. I know you want to tell me you aren’t interested, but your body says differently.”

Again, I started to open my mouth to argue only to shut it quickly. The damn vampire had a point. Every time he touched me, my heart sped up slightly and my skin tingled. I couldn’t help it. That didn’t mean I wanted to pursue anything with him.

“So, I’ll give you time,” he announced with a wicked grin. “Though I can’t promise not to do everything in my power for the next few weeks to change your mind.”

I shivered, which caused him to chuckle. With the deeper tones, his laugh was like a hand drifting down my spine, warm, slow, and sexy.

He leaned forward and placed his lips lightly on mine. The kiss was gentle and sweet, though he ended it with a quick nip of my bottom lip that made me gasp.

“Go on inside, Ivie. I’m going to sit in the dark and think of how much I like the way you taste.”