An Angel Among Vampires (20 page)

“Look, I know you understand the gravity of the situation. I can’t believe you fed your blood to a vampire you barely met a few days ago and have a contract out on. Let alone go falling in love with him.” He says as he gets up and paces the living room.

Why didn’t I kill him? I had my weapons on me. My purse was in my hand and I did not even think about pulling any weapons on him. Even when Christien’s body was laying there defenseless, I just moved it out of the way and left.

Roman shakes his head, staring down at me. “You did escape, but you didn’t do what you knew was necessary. What is it about this vampire that makes you forget who and what you are?”

“He needs to die, Jess, and you know it. You know, if you need my help, I’m here for you.” He offers softly, still not understanding my hesitation.

“I’m not sure if I can do it Rome. You don’t understand. It is as if he has some kind of power over me. My brain stops functioning and I turn into this crazed sex machine.”

“Sounds like me once a month. If this is too difficult for you, I can take care of it for you.” He offers in a sympathetic tone.

“I can’t ask you to do that. I made this mess, I have to fix it.”

Roman looks at the clock and sees it is almost 11:00 pm. “Do you know where we can find him? It is still early. He’ll probably still be out.”

He stops at the front door and looks over his shoulder at me. “You have to kill the first man that makes you truly feel like a woman. I know this can’t be easy for you. If he was anything other than a vampire, I would be happy for you. I know deep down you want that picket fence with 2.5 kids.”

“You and I both know that will never be part of my future. A husband and kids are not conducive to the life of a mercenary.” I concede with a hint of disappointment.

“You don’t have to be a mercenary, you know. You never know. You may find someone that wants to be at home with the kids while you work. You should not give up on a dream just because it may not be in your cards right now. Things have a way of working out when you least expect them to.” He tells me before heading out the front door.

“That is easy for you to say.” I mutter at the door.

Chapter 24

I get up and head for the kitchen. I can feel my blood thirst rising so I put a couple of bags in the microwave to warm them. That’s when I finally notice it.

For the last few days, the blood thirst has been riding me harder than normal. I am sucking down three times as much blood as I usually do. I am also losing my control in public more often than I ever have before. Maybe my feelings for Christien are some kind of reaction to my increased blood thirst. I will have to remember to ask Roman if he has ever heard of this sort of thing happening with vampires before.

I suck down the blood quickly, grab the dress I left downstairs the other day, and head upstairs to change.

Unable to decide on an outfit to wear, I choose to keep the dress I have on and just redo my makeup and hair. Within minutes, I am downstairs and armed in the usual getup.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror by the door.

I am not sure I can do this. Maybe Rome is right. What happens if I am not strong enough to follow through with it? I don’t think I can kill Christien.

I mentally shake myself as I hear Roman coming up the walkway. After resetting the alarm and locking up, we are on our way to Blixen.

The full moon has passed, but the effects are still lingering. The club is packed and the line to get in is down the street. Sometimes it pays to be a frequent patron. Roman and I bypass the line and walk up to the vampire at the door. The vampire recognizes us and opens the door, waving us through. We ignore the complaints and groans of disapproval from the patrons in line as we walk inside. Once inside, a flock of male Weres immediately recognizes Roman and surrounds him.

Roman is a tall, handsome, in an effeminate sort of way, Italian, gay werewolf. Not many Weres decide to live that lifestyle, even if they prefer male company. Roman says it has something to do with the werewolves DNA make-up to want to have offspring. Even male Weres that prefer males will still include female sex partners.

I order a top shelf rum and coke and search the dance floor. Mack brings me my drink and hands me a second one too. Seeing my confusion, he answers the unasked question. “Roman.”

“Do we really have to do this Rome? Maybe he won’t say anything. I really believe he won’t do anything to hurt me.” I beg him softly, trying to prevent others from overhearing our conversation.

I feel Christien’s power before I see him. The tingling sensation from his power forces me to rub my arms to chase the sensation away.

“Christien, I’m surprised to see you here.” I say cheerfully, trying to keep my tone light. I try to wiggle Roman’s arm from my shoulder unsuccessfully.

Roman acknowledges my attempt to shake him off by gently squeezing my shoulder. Then, he slowly moves his fingertips in small circles on my bare arm, drawing attention to his hand.

I have to admit, he’s good.

Christien sees Roman’s possessive display and his jaw clenches in response. He turns his attention to me. “Why would you be surprised to see me,
ma chatte petite
? We still need to have the talk we were supposed to have had this afternoon.”

“Nothing that I hear
you
are offering.” Christien responds, trying to provoke Roman.

Roman ignores the intended insult. “Then you should leave.”

“Is that what you want,
ma chatte petite
? Do you want me to leave?” He raises his hand, brushing away a stray hair from my cheek, allowing his knuckles to leave small electrifying shocks in their wake.

Christien opens his hand and I rub my cheek against his palm. He slides his hand behind my neck and gently pulls me towards his body. My feet move me a step closer to him.

Roman squeezes my shoulder and calls me. “Jess?”

I can barely hear him. All I can see and feel is Christien.

Christien takes a small step closer to me. The space between us feels as wide as the Grand Canyon. My heart is racing and my body is aching to feel the strength and comfort of Christien’s arms around me.

Christien smiles at me. “I understand why you did what you did this afternoon,
ma
chatte
sauvage
, but the situation was not what you were thinking.”

“It wasn’t?” I ask hopefully.

“Jess, don’t listen to him. He is playing you. He’s a vampire.” Roman moves to stand between Christien and me, forcing Christien to drop his hand from my cheek. “Sweetheart, I know how bad you may want this, but he is not the one for you.”

Tears form in my eyes, blurring my vision. I look up into Roman’s eyes, pleading with him to reconsider without using any words.

His eyes soften and he whispers into my hair. “I am so sorry Jess. I love you and I will do anything to protect you. Even if it means you’ll hate me forever.”

Christien steps around Roman to stand behind me. He wraps his hands around my waist and pulls me against him, and away from Roman. I do nothing to stop him. My head falls back onto Christien’s shoulder. I turn my head towards his neck and take a deep breath. I smell cedar and sunshine, Christien.

Christien moves in for a kiss, but Roman stops him by putting a hand on Christien’s shoulder. “Don’t, please. Don’t make this harder for her. Look at her.”

Christien complies and looks deep into my eyes. I am not sure what Christien sees, but whatever it is, it does cause him to pause long enough to hear Roman explain.

Roman shakes his head and sighs. “Listen to her Christien. She doesn’t know what she is saying. You know how dangerous it is for her to be with a vampire. Will you admit that at least?”

Christien nods once sharply. “For most vampires, I would agree. She would be in considerable danger if they knew what she is. It is a good thing that I am not like most vampires,
Loup
. She is in no danger while she is with me.”

“How can you be so sure? Are you saying you have not thought of tasting her again?”

Christien smiles slyly. “Not in the manner in which you are speaking.”

Roman is about to say something, but stops to think about what Christien just told him. “We need to sit down and talk, but not here.”

I watch the men as they are talking. I can hear their words, but I have no idea what they are saying. Honestly, I really don’t care. I can stand here all night in Christien’s arms. He is so warm. His arms feel amazing around my waist. We fit each other perfectly.

“Answer this question honestly and I’ll consider your request.” Roman says to Christien. “When she was trying to leave this afternoon, why wouldn’t you let her go?”

Christien purses his lips. “She told you about this afternoon?”

“We tell each other almost everything. I’m sure she didn’t tell me all the intimate matters that might have occurred between the two of you besides the kissing, but I’m fairly certain she’s told me everything else.”

The three of us leave Blixen. We meet outside and agree to go to Christien’s house. Well, at least they did. We are moving towards Christien’s limo before I notice that we are leaving.

My eyes flutter as a chill runs up my spine. I look back at Roman who is watching me curiously. “Huh? What? Did you just ask me something?”