Demetrius (11 page)

“Her name is Ethel and she’s a sweet lady. She doesn’t have dementia, so you may have to wipe her mind. I can introduce you as my boyfriend, tell everyone I wanted to give you a tour of the place.”

“No. You’ll have to tell them you’re giving your notice.”

She stopped in the middle of the parking lot. “I’m not quitting.”

“Yes, you are.” He kept walking toward his Maserati.

“I’m not. I need the job now more than ever.”

Waiting until she’d climbed into the car, he slid in and closed the door. “I told you, you can stay at my place until you’re safe. We can’t keep you safe at your work, nor can we keep all those you work with safe.”

Twisting to look behind him as he backed out, he caught the torn look on her face.

“I’ll pay you back.”

“Of course not,” he scoffed. “I’m not helping you by holding you to a debt.”

“I can’t just keep using your hospitality, having you provide room and board, buy my clothes.”

“Callista,” Demetrius’ voice was soft, serious, “it’s okay to accept help. You don’t have to do all of this by yourself.”

“I
can’t
do it all myself, otherwise I would. And it’s so easy for you to say. When’s the last time you had to ask for anything?”

Hmmm…never. “If it makes you feel better, then fine, pay me back.”

She blinked at him. “Okay, good. But only for this stuff, not the other stuff you bought.”

Chuckling, he shook his head. “Consider it a gift.”

“A gift for someone else,” she grumbled.

“Yes, someone else in your size who’s also bound to a demon, and if she has sex with me, she might die. I’ll give them to her.”

Her mouth quirked. “Deal.”

He parked next to the sprawling one story building. Never having been to a nursing home before, he’d know what it was without having to be told. Everything was wheelchair accessible, all the doors were automatic, and it had a peaceful quality surrounding it.

Dying of old age wasn’t something his kind contemplated. They were either killed in conflict, by accidental fire exposure, or by intentionally walking into the sun. The idea of fighting tooth and nail for every second life had to offer, even if it meant residing in a place that would never feel like home, a place where their bodies and minds declined no matter how hard modern medicine tried seemed, oddly, courageous.

Every single elderly person living inside probably had more stubbornness lingering in their old bones than Callista had. He could see why she liked working here, why he sensed she was saddened to bid her farewell for more than the loss of income.

Following Callista in, he halted behind her when she stopped at the front office.

She greeted the woman, who eyed him with avid interest.

“This is Demetrius, and I thought I’d show him around and maybe say goodbye.”

The other woman looked surprised. “I’m sorry, what?”

Callista took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. My father passed away, and I just…have things to take care of.” Her eyes welled with tears, and she wasn’t putting on a show.

“Oh, honey.” The matronly woman wrapped Callista in a bear hug. “You don’t have to quit. Take some time off, come back when you’re ready.”

“Are you sure?” Callista hiccupped, and damn that was cute. It must happen every time she cried.

“Of course. We’re always hurting for help, especially the graveyard shift. And we love having you here. There’ll always be a spot for you. If you change your mind and need to leave permanently, just drop me a line. No worries, dear. Take your man around and chat with the residents.”

Callista gave her boss one last hug before they left the office. She didn’t look at him, eager to go visit.

The first room she stopped at definitely wasn’t Ethel.

“George, howya doing?” she greeted warmly. Just like before, she introduced Demetrius, and it was the same routine as with the woman in the office.

The next room was a married couple. Callista went through her spiel. Demetrius found himself fascinated at how easily the humans comforted Callista. It was without thought, instinctual. His people didn’t do that, didn’t get all emotional after hearing shitty news. Their main goal was to show no weakness.

“We’re running out of night,” he whispered to Callista. Although from all the hearing aids he saw shelved for the night, he could probably use his normal voice and not have to worry.

“It would be weird if I only visited Ethel,” she hissed back.

“How many more?” He knew she wanted to visit every resident, but they had to get going.

She threw him an incensed look and turned into the next room. “Ethel, can I introduce you to someone?”

Demetrius faced the little old lady who was to be his lunch. Callista was right, the woman’s smell was off. Like a bun slathered in too much butter, the richness was overpowering.

He smiled back at the woman and ignored the turning of his stomach. Ethel seemed nice enough; his bite’s natural response would temporarily relieve the pain radiating in her bones. It’s just that the thought of her blood welling in his mouth—

Okay, so don’t think of it.

Callista stepped aside giving him the go ahead. He caught Ethel’s eyes and tranced her, then slid around behind.

His stomach flipped.

He could do this. No blood equaled weakness.

Bending down, he bared his fangs.

His stomach roiled.

Callista glanced at the door and back at him. “Hurry.”

His eyes caught hers and his stomach settled. He bit into Ethel’s neck and almost missed the damn vein. Usually going for younger specimens, he wasn’t used to the extra skin someone her age carried.

Blood pooled into his mouth, he gagged.

Callista came closer, he swallowed.

Another pull, more stomach distress. He hurried and swallowed like he was back taking moonshine shots during the prohibition.

Releasing Ethel, he straightened, his guts protesting. Callista watched him closely, and she must’ve recognized he was about to be sick. She clasped his face and slammed her lips against his.

The taste of her mingled with the flavor of blood on his tongue. His gut settled down and he kissed her back, letting Ethel’s blood work through his system.

“Look at you two,” Ethel sighed. “So young and in love. I remember those days with my Jim.”

Startled Callista broke off their kiss. “We need to go. Thank you, Ethel.”

Demetrius waved to the little lady on their way out.

***

He would’ve hurled blood all over the place. Callista had reacted without thinking, and that seemed to be her motto around the tall, insanely handsome male next to her. His hair hung shadowing his face. She’d had her hands in that hair just minutes ago, making out with him in a resident’s room.

She charged out of the nursing home, straight to Demetrius’ expensive car. Everything the guy had was expensive. A Maserati was toning it down in his world, blending in.

Once upon a time, that would’ve been her. Instead, her father saved all year so she could buy an outfit or two, so they could look the part, and then she’d made the clothes last all year. She’d had to be crafty, too, knowing what was in season and trendy.

Vampires liked their haute couture.

They left the nursing home to go search for McFeely, and that was pretty damn fantastic. It would take her mind off Demetrius admitting he only wanted to feed from her and that only she was able to help him keep from spewing his Ethel entrée.

He couldn’t be her true mate. She’d sense it. He didn’t sense it from her, either. So why did they have these
feelings
?

“Abram McPherson,” Demetrius fired up the engine and drove away, not mentioning the oddities of his meal, “worked for another council family at the time of your mother’s death. He’s been laid off since then, but I’ve found where he likes to frequent.”

Callista watched Demetrius’ strong profile, admiring it while waiting for him to continue.

“You don’t need to go with me. I can take you back to the compound first.”

“No. Why, do you think I’d be scared off?”

The flash of street lights highlighted Demetrius’ pale eyes. “McFeely likes his blood laced. He visits some of Freemont’s finest drug dens where he can make a quick buck and get a free meal.”

“Maybe other prime daughters would get scared off, but I’ve been elbow deep in dirty adult diapers. Not to mention all the other duties my job required. You can’t scare me away.”

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t argue with her. “His most frequent haunt is actually an upscale gentlemen’s club.”

Oh. So “finest drug dens” wasn’t a sarcastic description. “Don’t worry, Demetrius. If you see anything in there that scares you, I’ll hold your hand.”

His eyes blazed hot and he eyed her length. “I was hoping,” his voice was low, giving her tingles in her new panties, “that if I got confused on something I saw in there, you’d explain it to me.”

That he could make her hot so easily irritated her. “I’m sure you’ve done far more than I could ever explain.”

“Guilty,” he said, unrepentant. “And I’ll gladly teach you everything I know.”

She sucked in a breath. The infuriating male. Because she really wanted him to.

“Here we are.”

“We are?” She peered out the window.

All she saw was a dark building with a neon sign that read, “Jewels.” There were no windows, and although it looked to be in good condition, it seemed vacant.

“Those who want to visit, can find it. They don’t need to advertise.”

“I’m not asking this to get out of going inside, but isn’t it going to look weird if I go in with you?”

“Nope. Some clubs don’t mind BYOP. They charge more, that’s about it.”

“Bring your own…P?”

Demetrius’ eyes slid down to the juncture of her thighs.

Oh. “We go in looking for a little ménage and try to find McFeely. Do you know what he looks like?”

“We’re not going in the front door, and yes, I’ve got his description.” He leaned in close. “Did your internet searches teach you all about ménage?” She shivered at the thick tone of his voice.

“Yes, and not interested.”

His deep chuckle spiked the desire smoldering within her. “Don’t worry, princess. I wouldn’t want to share you with anyone.”

If someone looked hard enough, they’d say she was beaming. It was hard to hate his privileged ass when he said stuff like that.

The back door wasn’t locked, but was manned by a burly bouncer who was human. Demetrius tranced him and they slid past.

Creeping along the wall, they passed closed doors. Grunts and sounds of slapping skin emanating from behind them.

It should have been disgusting, but with Demetrius inches from her, she had to quit wasting her effort on the emotion. Anything sexual made her think of him.

Amid the sounds and scents something was missing. It dawned on her what that was as they reached the entrance to the show floor.

A laugh sputtered, but she caught it before she drew attention.

“Well,” Demetrius said, taking in the show, “I can’t say my experience extends to these activities.”

Chiseled men stripped to the beat of the music on the stage while handsome men in G-strings wandered the floor taking drink orders.

Calli’s body shook with silent laughter. “Jewels. I’m guessing not what women wear, but how men fondly refer to their favorite body part?”

Humor lit his eyes. “McFeely’s tastes range a bit further than I originally thought.”

“I might look even more out of place.”

“Not necessarily, but we should stay out of the main room in case McFeely remembers what you look like.”

She searched the faces in the audience. If this Abram McPherson blackmailed her father, then it’s likely she’d crossed paths with him. Prime families ran in the same crowds. He worked for the Mundoons and she’d attended gatherings with them before. Unlike most prime family members, she’d paid more attention to the help, knowing all the work they did.

“I don’t see anyone who looks familiar.”

“Who’re you guys waiting for?”

Calli turned to see a young man wearing a bowtie and glittery boxer briefs. He gave Demetrius a full-length perusal before assessing her.

“I had a meeting set up with McFeely,” Demetrius answered.

The man grimaced. “Good luck with that. He’s got some personal drama he’s dealing with.”

Demetrius wiped his mind like he would a blood meal and sent the man back to the floor to work. Next time, Callista wanted to mess with the human’s mind. She needed to earn her keep.

“He’s in the far room on the left.” Demetrius grabbed her hand.

“You know that how?”

“The human looked there when I asked about him.”

Demetrius didn’t bother knocking. The door was locked, but he shoved it open, the volume of the music covering the sound.