Dead End Dating (30 page)

Wilson caught and held Nina Two’s hand, and I smiled. “You’re right. I am responsible.”

Damned straight I was, and I couldn’t have been more proud.

I needed to sleep in the worst way.

Exhaustion tugged at my pain-rattled senses as I headed back to the city, tablecloth wrapped around me like a sarong. The towel on my shoulder had been replaced with a large bandage courtesy of Dr. Sheridan, my mother’s personal physician, who’d made a house call—or, in this case, a ballroom visit—the minute my mother had called.

I’d left Francis with Geneva Gray, a successful, single female vampire and the leader of his new fan club. While she’d looked ready to devour him in one bite, he’d looked more than capable of handling her. The fight had stirred his baser side and cracked open his shell in a major way.

Finally.

My mother and father had been stuck helping with the cleanup—in other words, they’d been dictating orders to the crew in charge. Jack and Rob hadn’t been seen since escorting the werewolf outside, and I knew they’d had their wilder side stirred up so much that they’d needed to work off some of the energy. The cure? Some heavy-duty sex.

Max looked ready to bust himself, his expression fierce as he drove me home. But he was the oldest, and more controlled, and so he managed the forty-five-minute trip without spontaneously combusting. I knew once I was out of the car, however, he would go on the prowl and find a woman to help him use all that vamp energy. Lucky girl. There was sex. And then there was
vampire sex.
She was definitely in for the most memorable night of her life.

I felt a pang of envy because, it seemed, everyone would likely be having sex tonight except for me. But then we hit a bump. Pain exploded and coursed through my body. I clamped my teeth together and went back to thinking about my soft, warm bed and blessed sleep.

“Are you going to be all right?” Max stood just inside the doorway to my bedroom. “I could stay if you need me.”

“Go.” I waved him off from where I’d collapsed on the bed. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Try to sleep. That’ll make everything better.”

“I’m way ahead of you on that one,” I told him, my eyes already closed. I buried my head beneath the pillow even before he killed the lights.

I didn’t even hear footsteps. Just the sound of the door opening and closing, and then he was gone.

My shoulder throbbed as I unwrapped the table cloth I was wearing, tossed it aside, and climbed beneath the sheets. I closed my eyes and, for the first time all week, welcomed sleep. I was too tired to think, much less worry over missing girls and credit card bills and ruined dresses. Sleep, I told myself. Just sleep.

I was almost dead to the world when I heard the front door.

Since the sun had yet to come up, my senses should have been more alert. They would have been if I hadn’t come
this
close to being a vamp shish kebab. It wasn’t until I felt the cool hand on my forehead that I managed to open my eyes.

I saw the large shadow looming over me and I jumped. Pain zigzagged through me and I yelped.

“What the hell happened, sugar?” The deep, familiar voice slid into my ears.

“What…?” I blinked. I had to be seeing things. No way was
he
here. In my bedroom. Now.

Sure, he’d paid me just such a visit many times, but that had been in my fantasies.

Then again, my shoulder hurt like a sonofabitch, which definitely screamed reality.

I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “What are you doing here?”

“What happened?” Ty stared at my shoulder, his gaze dark and hooded, as if a dozen thoughts raced through his head. None of them pleasant.

“I got staked.” I explained about the jealous werewolf.

“That was a stupid thing to do.”

“I don’t know. I thought it was quite brave. Noble, even. And, of course, very professional. Wilson is my client, and I did get him into the predicament in the first place. I couldn’t very well leave him to fend for himself. Sure, he’s an ignorant jerk, but he came to his senses.” I told him about how he’d left with Nina Two and how they’d looked so happy.

“I should have known.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That you’re a sucker, and I’m not referring to blood.” His gaze narrowed, and he gave me the once-over, which made me suddenly very aware of the fact that I was completely naked beneath the top sheet. “Are you sure you’re a vampire?”

Unfortunately.

Now where had that come from? I liked being a vampire and doing vampy things and living forever.

I struggled to a sitting position, the sheet tight under my arms, and my shoulder screamed with a pain unlike anything I’d ever felt. I had the sudden urge to crawl into a fetal position and disappear. My eyes blurred with tears.

Okay, so I liked the whole vamp thing most of the time. Now
not
being one of them.

“It’s okay.” But he didn’t sound as if anything was okay. He sounded awkward.

“What’s the matter?” I sniffled. “Never see a vampire cry before?”

“Well, actually, no.”

“If you say vampires don’t cry, I’m going to hit you with my good arm.”

He grinned and reached out. He caught a fresh tear with one rough fingertip, and I shivered from the feel of it.

“Lie back down,” he murmured.

Mmm…I thought he’d never ask.

He settled me back onto the bed and just when I closed my eyes, ready to feel his kiss, I felt a rush of air as he moved away. I heard the refrigerator door open and close. Glasses clinked. And then he was back.

The bed dipped and his hard thigh pressed against my side.

“Drink this.” His hand slid under my neck as he helped me lift my head. “It’ll help you regain your strength.” He held the glass to my lips, and my gaze hooked on his wrist. Blue veins bulged, pulsing with a life force that would help me much more quickly than the bottled stuff I’d become accustomed to. His pulse echoed in my head, and hunger grumbled deep inside me.

“Go on,” he said.

I met his gaze and saw the meaning deep in his eyes. He knew what I was thinking, and he was thinking the same thing.

I licked my lips and felt my fangs graze the fullness of my tongue. His pulse thrummed louder in my ears, and my insides tightened.

I wasn’t going to do it, I told myself. I couldn’t. I was made of stronger stuff.

But then my shoulder screamed and the pain was too much and he was right there and—

My lips closed over his wrist, and I took what he offered.

The delicious wet heat filled my mouth and slid down my throat. I could feel his life force pulse through me. It traveled at the speed of light. Spread to my fingers and my toes. Raced to the wound on my shoulder. The pain eased and a different sort of ache took its place. One just as fierce, and much, much lower.

He tasted even better than I’d anticipated. Sweet. Bold. Decadent. Addictive.
Yum.

“Ahhh…” His deep groan echoed in my ears and jerked me back to reality.

I glanced up to see him sitting at my side, his head thrown back, his eyes closed as I fed from him. His fingers still held the glass. I sucked harder. He groaned again, and his knuckles went white. The glass shattered. Red splattered my crisp white sheet.

Oops.

Not
oops,
I’d ruined my favorite bedding. But
oops,
I’d broken a major vow to myself and chucked my entire belief system for a few seconds of instant—albeit really terrific—gratification.

Major
oops.

I pulled away and licked my lips. “I…I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have…I mean, I never…” I wiped at the corner of my mouth. “I mean…Oh, hell, I don’t know what I mean.” I shook my head and reached for the tablecloth I’d worn prior to crawling under the sheets. I pulled it up to my neck, all the while pushing the soiled sheet toward my feet.

Ty’s strong hands grazed the inside of one knee as he bent to help me. He wadded the top sheet into a ball and disappeared into the kitchen.

By the time he returned, I’d managed to write off the whole wrist-sucking incident to delirium brought on by an indescribable amount of pain, i.e., temporary vamp insanity.

“So what exactly are you doing here?”

“The police found a body.”

“Laura?”

“They think so. They can’t be sure until they match up the dental records—it looks like whoever dumped the body tried to barbecue it first.”

“That’s pretty gross.”

“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “While no one wants to upgrade the kidnapping to a murder, the police are actually hoping it turns out to be Laura. A body means clues. If it’s the right body.”

“And you don’t think it is?”

“It just doesn’t fit. This guy’s taken a lot of women, and not one body has been recovered. Why now?”

“Maybe he’s getting sloppy.”

“The body was found in a Dumpster near the Hudson River.” He must have read the I-told-you-so-look, because his gaze narrowed. “A Dumpster, not a boat shed.”

“Storage is storage.”

“It’s trash. Not storage.”

“Storage for trash,” I pointed out. “And close enough to send Jerry a thank-you letter.”

He flashed a quick smile before the expression faded into business as usual. “The body wasn’t even stuffed deep inside. It was just sort of lying there, near the top. As if someone had been in a hurry and had just chucked it.” He shook his head. “This guy doesn’t hurry. He’s methodical. Careful.”

“I would think the police would know that.”

“They do. But with no leads, the locals are under pressure to find the missing girls, dead or alive. Otherwise, the feds will step in.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing.”

“Maybe. And maybe it’ll just send the killer running to another city.” He ran a hand over his face and for the first time I saw past the dark good looks and noted the exhaustion rimming his eyes. “I’ve already chased him clear across the country. I want it to stop. Here.”

He looked tired.

As tired as I felt.

Crawl right on in,
I wanted to say.
The bed’s big enough for two.
But I knew that if Ty were to climb between my sheets, the last thing we were going to do was sleep.

“Thanks for stopping by.”

As if he read my thoughts, he nodded. “You really should keep your doors locked.”

“I don’t need a deadbolt. I’m a vampire.”

“You keep saying that, sugar, but I’m not so sure I buy it.” He grinned, his lips parting to reveal a row of straight white teeth. “A real vampire would have jumped my bones the moment I walked into Dead End Dating.”

“A real smart vampire would have kicked your ass out quicker than you could say Bela Lugosi.” I eyed him.

“Better late than never? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Exactly. Out.”

“One day,” he vowed as he pushed to his feet, “you’ll be begging me for sex.”

“Sex isn’t the issue here.”

“Sex,” he murmured just before he closed my front door, “is inevitable.”

That’s exactly what I was afraid of.

A
ny satisfaction I’d felt at getting Wilson and Nina together drained away the moment I dragged myself into work on Monday and picked up line four because Evie had her hands full with lines one, two, and three.

Once I’d finally managed to fall asleep after Ty left—we’re talking
hours
and a spectacular sunrise—I’d slept the entire day and night away (thanks to Ty’s blood, a little detail I’d decided
not
to think about). I’d opened my eyes just as the sun had started to sink to find my shoulder healed and the pain completely gone.

A good beginning for any Monday, I had to admit, but it didn’t last. I forgot my wallet at home and half way in to work had to turn around. Then the latte machine broke just as I was getting a cup filled for Evie.
Then
I stepped in dog poop and stained my new champagne-colored leather Miu Miu boots.

And now this.

“…responsible for the charges incurred on your account. While we here at Ford Bank understand that everyone goes through difficult times, we still have rules and regulations that we must abide by. In particular, the minimum amount due.”

“But I sent a payment in just last week.” For the now ruined Christian Dior dress and my Miu Mius.

“You sent the scheduled payment for charges.”

“Exactly.”

“But not the additional late fees from the two previous months, which, under our contract, you are required to pay in full as part of the minimum monthly payment. In order to bring your account current, we need a total of…”

My eyes widened as he recited the amount. While business was going better than expected at this point, it wasn’t going
that
well.

“I’m afraid you now owe another late charge for this month. That is, unless you would like to set up a payment over the phone, in which case we can avoid any further late fees and bring your account current.”

“I guess so…” Short for
What choice do I have since you’ve cornered me and I can’t pretend to be the answering machine?
I gave him the required bank information, did a quick mental evaluation of what was left, and moped for the next fifteen minutes while lusting after practically everything in the new Ann Tayler online catalogue.