“Sure. The blinds in all the rooms are totally light proof, by the way. There’s also a fully kitted-out basement, but I’ve no intention of using it. If we’re compromised, we need to run. There aren’t enough of us to fight, all right?”
He nodded. “I’m good with that. Should we even unpack though, if that’s a possibility?”
I hesitated. I didn’t want to start thinking negatively, but he was right. If we had to run with nothing, it would be damned inconvenient. “Maybe keep one set of everything and an extra pair of socks in your backpack, along with anything you’d be upset to lose, or that’s irreplaceable. Reasonable?” He nodded, and I mentally added doing a wash load tonight as a priority. If we kept up to date with the chores, it would be simpler to leave quickly if necessary, hopefully with our stuff.
“I’ll let you unpack, and see you downstairs in a bit. I’m going to shower off the day.”
I took a long shower, resisting the urge to knock out a quickie. Charley evidently had exemplary hearing, and while I wasn’t embarrassed to be overheard, I figured it would be more fun to have a joint orgasm or three later. Anticipation always got my blood pumping.
Dressed in clean sweats, I headed to the kitchen to see what I could rustle up as a quick snack. Charley wasn’t there. Or in the living room, or the wood-panelled room that served as an office when needed. I knew he wasn’t in the basement as only I had the combination to the wall safe where the keys were stored, and that was undisturbed. So where was he?
I followed his scent back through the kitchen into the small room off it. There was an extra freezer there, and the washing machine, plus a row of hooks and a rack by the back door for damp coats and boots to dry off. I wondered if he’d got too hungry to wait, and was picking out something to defrost and cook.
Above the freezer was a hefty slab of shelving, and on it stood the special fridge I’d intended to show him. But I was too late. Charley spun around at my approach, an opaque plastic bag in his hands, an expression on his face that was part annoyance, part fear, and wholly greed.
I took a step closer. He snarled at me, loudly. I halted immediately and held my hands up in the universally known gesture of surrender. His glance darted down at the bag in his grasp. Fangs shot out where his regular teeth had been, and faster than even my eyes could track, he sank his mouth into the bag.
I sighed. “I see you found the blood fridge.”
8
CHARLEY
The rush waseverything.I could see, hear, smell, feel, ten, a hundred, maybe a thousand times clearer. Every nerve ending in my body sang a happy song as I drained that packet of blood. I was invincible. I was energy itself. Nothing could ever bring me down.
And then just as suddenly, it overwhelmed me. I froze, crashing back to reality as the enormity of what I’d just done penetrated my endorphin-soaked brain. I stared at the blood-spattered medical bag, now empty bar about three drops in the corners, and the ragged hole I’d torn in it. My mouth, my teeth, had done that. Urgh no, there was a stain on my T-shirt. I hated that.
Taking stock of myself, something had gone awry in my mouth. It felt over full, but at the same time more right than it ever had. I ran my tongue over my teeth, a habit I’d had for years, andohhh.Well fuck me, that was kind of awesome.
I managed to raise my gaze to Luc. He’d said something, I thought, and I’d interpreted his presence as a threat. I should apologise.
“Thorry,” I lisped. Oh for god’s sake, that wasn’t cool. I tried again, and enunciated carefully. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I think you might have been right about the vampire stuff.” Were these fangs going to be permanently this way? Hiding in plain sight as a regular human would be hard if so. No wonder vampires were reclusive. They’d have to be.
Luc chuckled quietly. “Don’t think there’s much doubt now. And you didn’t scare me, but I’m not crazy enough to get between a hungry vampire and his next meal.” He gestured carefully at the sink in the corner of the room. “Okay if I fetch a cloth? There’s some blood on the floor.”
He mopped the spots up efficiently and rinsed the cloth, draping it over a rack. “Want any more, or are you done for now? I had intended to show you the stock, and point out the way to heat it, but you’ve managed well enough by yourself, although take it from me, warmed up is apparently much nicer. Want to give me your top and I’ll stick it in a wash before the stain sets?”
In a stupor, I stripped off, and he filled the washing machine with an assortment of our clothes, setting it going. He directed me towards the kitchen without touching me. “Come on. No point worrying about your nature when you can’t change it. You look as high as a kite. Sit down and relax while I make a snack. You’ve probably got some more questions.”
I forced my buzzing body to sit on a high-backed stool while Luc whisked eggs and herbs together for an omelette. He ate it at the counter, barely taking the time to slide it onto a plate before it was gone in several huge bites. He rinsed everything and stacked it in a dishwasher he found behind a fake cupboard door. Then he turned and planted his hands on the edge of the counter across from where I sat.
“I need to go for a run. Will you be okay if I leave you? You’ve been in a sort of trance and I need to check you won’t freak out while I’m gone.”
Oh yes, I’d intended to ask him some more stuff. Huh, perhaps I’d zoned out for a bit. Ahh, damn, and also yay; my fangs had somehow retracted without my noticing. I concentrated and gave Luc my full attention. He was in such sharp focus I could make out individual pores on his handsome face. Maybe I was high. I forced myself to zero in on what he’d asked me.
“A run? In the pitch black and at god knows what time? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until morning?” I didn’t mean to whine, but he was clad in thin joggers and a tight T-shirt, and I realised I was horny as well as—Yes, all right, I was pretty much permanently horny, but the point stood.
“Believe me, this is the perfect time. I’ve got superior night vision, and I won’t be long.” He smirked, and I realised he’d caught me blatantly checking him out again. “We can have tons of wild sex when I get back.”
I grinned, not embarrassed he already knew me so well. “Don’t shower when you come in. I like the scent of fresh sweat on my men.”
His smile was a feral thing, all teeth and promise. “I’ll expect you naked and on your knees by the time you hear the front door open.”
This time my whine was one of expectancy.
I sauntered after him as Luc pulled on a pair of trainers, and had to point out, “Shouldn’t you be wearing socks? That’s going to rub something chronic.”
He glanced at his feet and shrugged. “I’m tough.” He made to open the door. I darted in front of him. “It’s November, Luc, in the middle of the countryside. You’re going to freeze.” He was still in just his T-shirt.
