Expecting Eternity (Vamp Life #2) (3 page)

  I was about to respond, but he’d grabbed a soda and was heading for the door.  “I’ll be back soon.  I love you!”  He smirked at me before closing the front door behind him.

“Well…then.” I said to myself, still sitting on the counter.  My stomach growled, so I picked up the other toaster pastry and took a bite.  Food would definitely not sate my real hunger.  Curiosity gave me a brief distraction from my thirst for blood.  I hopped off the counter and went to check the safe.  It was still open and I noticed immediately one of the pictures was missing.  Our first one together, one of the four from the photo booth, was gone.  He’d taken it to replace the one lost in his old wallet when he was kidnapped.  It reaffirmed to me that my past no longer mattered.  Just the present and just our love.

There was a familiar knock at the door.  I immediately knew who it was.  What is Antonio doing here?  I asked myself with a sigh, wishing I could just pretend I wasn’t home.  Unfortunately, hiding from a vampire isn’t easy.  When I opened the door, he was standing there holding a cooler.  It struck me as funny to see him in his fancy, expensive clothing holding a blue camping cooler.  He gave a quick survey of my living room. 

“Where is your fiancé?”  Without waiting for my response, he walked into the house.  Marcus had been gone for a couple of hours and I’d been putting up the groceries I’d just purchased.   

“Job hunting.”  I said, returning to my task of storing the food in the cabinets.  “He’s my husband now, actually.  We were married yesterday.”  There was no point waiting to tell my former lover the news, so I just got to the point.

Antonio placed the
container on the floor beside the refrigerator.  Kneeling down, he flipped off the lid and began stocking the fridge with bottles containing a thick, red substance.  He remained silent for a long moment.  “Marcus has earned the right to be with you after the way he saved your life.  I’m not going to cause any more trouble.”

I’d have been more appreciative of his support if my attention hadn’t been focused on the liquid I so desperately craved.  “Hand me one of those.”  My arm was already extended before I added.  “Please.” 

“I knew you’d need to feed, amore.”  He shook his head negatively as he gave me one of the containers of blood.  “The people of the Manor were ecstatic to donate blood for their Queen.”

Queen?
No, thanks.  I hated the foolishness and the myth that surrounded my existence.  “How is everything going over there since Dante’s death?”  I put the bottle to my lips and drank deeply of the crimson lifeblood.  It was a relief to be able to consume blood donated by willing parties and I was thankful to the humans who chose to live and serve in the vampire manor.  It seemed a weird way to live, but I tried not to judge.  To each their own.

I caught Antonio’s gaze fixed intently on me and he immediately looked away.  He bent to pick up the
now empty cooler and was walking toward the front door.  “It’s been a relatively smooth transition.  I should go before your husband returns.”

“Wait.”  I walked toward him.  “Thank you for the blood.  I’m glad after everything I can still count on you to look out for me.”

He gave a small nod.  “Call me if you need more before the next delivery.” 

It was apparent that he was in a hurry to leave and I certain
ly didn’t want Marc to come in and see him at our home.  I had to ask what was weighing on my mind, though.  “Taya…have you heard from her?”

“No, I’ve had some of my people looking and inquiring.  It seems most likely that she went back home to the Philippines.” 

“I hope so.  She seemed to be in love with you.”  I tried to gage his reaction, but as he often did, he kept his expression neutral.  “Were you two a couple?  I don’t mean to pry, but I would prefer the truth.  I only know what she told me.”

The vampire looked irritated, but I didn’t care.  He was always in my business. It was my turn to by nosey.  “She tried to pickpocket from me during my travels in the Philippines
.  If I didn’t have such keen senses she would have succeeded.  Father….”  Antonio visibly cringed at the mention of our deceased maker.  “Dante suggested we kill her for fun, but I told him I admired her beauty and skill in order to save her.  It wasn’t a lie.  I did appreciate her looks and talent.”

“A thief?”
  I was only occasionally taking a sip of the blood now.  My thirst was nearly quenched.  “I knew there was more to her than met the eye, but I didn’t expect a criminal.”

The smile on his face caught me off guard.  “How can you be so naïve after all these years?  Pe
rhaps you just don’t know women as well as you do men.”  He continued before I could reveal how insulted I was by the comment.  “Taya is more than a thief.  She’s adept at manipulation, specifically seduction.  Her weapon of choice is her body but she is also adept with the knife.  She’s kind of like the bad version of you.”

I felt like I was tangled in a web of lies.  At least I trusted Antonio enough to accept what he told me as truth. 
And what did he mean by “bad version” of me?  I wasn’t exactly a goody-goody.

“But you never fell in love with her despite your admiration?”
  I asked.

His smile faded somewhat, lingering to hide the sadness in his eyes.  “She wasn’t you.”  At that moment,
I probably would have preferred a lie to his brutal honestly.  The simple statement held much weight.

Awkward and deafening silence.
  Finally, I thought of something to say.  “Do you think I have to worry about her coming after me?”

“No.  For one thing
, she knows I could never love her if she harmed you.  Second, well, you’d sense her coming.  She is just a human.” 

The sound of Marcus’ motorcycle filled me with dread.  I knew he’d be angry to find Antonio in our home.  Even if I wanted to hide the fact he’d visited, his expensive car was visible and I didn’t know how to explain the blood.  I wasn’t going to lie to Marc anyway.  I’d agreed to no more secrets and I was sticking to the deal no matter the consequences.

“I wish you would have stopped by when he was home….”  I told Antonio as I prepared myself for the worst.

I’d had enough of doors being busted down, so I opened the front door to greet my husband.  “Hey, honey….”  I said sweetly as I walked
out onto the porch and greeted him with a hug and kiss on the cheek.  He wrapped his arm around my waist, but I knew he was glaring over my shoulder at our guest.

“You should have told me we were expecting a visitor.”  Marcus said through clenched teeth.  He was prone to overacting, so I was surprised at his restraint.  No cursing or punching…yet. 

To my relief, Antonio spoke up.  “I was just leaving.  With everything that happened, I assumed Evelina would need nourishment.”  Marc looked to me, then to the nearly empty container of blood as I released him from the hug.

Marcus shook his head.  “Shit, I didn’t even think about it with the wedding and all.  You should have said something.”  He frowned at me, but I could tell the anger at seeing my ex was fading.  “Thanks, man.  I’m still getting used to this vamp stuff.” It couldn’t have been easy for him to thank the vampire.

Were they really getting along?  I did a double-take. 

Antonio gave a small bow.  “Congratulations on your nuptials.”  Without another word he walked to his car and drove off.

“Can’t leave you alone at all, can I?”  Marc asked me as he walked into the house.

I let out a
n exaggerated sigh to express my frustration as I followed.

Our meal was almost ready.  Marc had walked
directly to the living room and plopped down heavily onto the sofa, turning on the television.  It was hard to tell how angry he was so I gave him space while I cooked.  He was an all American eater, so I figured a hamburger might help draw him out of his funk. If food didn’t work, I’d have to resort to the pleasures of plan B.  I offered him the plate with my most endearing smile.  For a moment, I thought he wasn’t going to take it.

“Thanks.”  He said simply as I grabbed my own serving and sat down beside him.

“I understand you being mad.”  It was true.  I did.  He was calmer about the whole ordeal than I would have been if the scene were reversed.

After taking a few bites, he turned his head slightly to look at me.  “I’m not mad at you.  I’m the one who said it was the past.  It’s easy to say all that, but to control the emotions it stirs up. 
Yeah, not so easy.  It sucks more than that damn vampire does.” 

“I married you because I love y
ou.  You’re very patient.  I don’t know how you do it.”  He gave a shrug as I spoke.  “I mean, if any of your old girlfriends show up, I’m beating the crap out of them.  And…I know you’ve had quite a few lovers.”

This made him laugh.  “Yeah, I have.  Lucky for you, I got it all out of my system.”

It was a relief for the mood in the house to lighten a bit.  “Mmhmm.  So how did the job hunt go?”

“I talked to this friend of mine.  He just lost one of his mechanics so he said I could have the position.”  He reached out and took my hand.  His eyes were fixed on my engagement ring.  “We still need to get our wedding bands.”

“We’ll get them.  The material items aren’t important.  We have each other.”  I smiled and he nodded, but seemed unconvinced.

When we finished our meal, he slipped his arm around me and we cuddled on the couch.  It was
bliss to mindlessly watch television.  Our dog slept on the rug at our feet.  The cat curled into the opposing corner of the sofa and fell asleep.  Our little family was content and complete. 

The real honeymoon would have to wait until we brought our finances under control.  I was somewhat disheartened as I drove to the veterinary clinic early the following morning.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved the job, but I could have used a little more time to enjoy newlywed bliss.  More specifically at a resort in Hawaii. 

I drove by Fate sitting on the sidewalk.  She waved and I parked around back.  The girl had finally talked her mother into letting her take the G.E.D.  It was hard to tell if she was tired of school or, if it was as she had told Ashley, too hard to concentrate with the ghosts tormenting her. 
I noticed her ever changing hair now had long blonde extensions.  She jogged toward me excitedly as I came around the front of the building to unlock the door.

“Eve!  I’m so sorry
I spilled the beans about the baby the other day!”  As usual, she was full of enthusiasm.

Quickly, I looked around, but the sidewalk was empty.  It’s not that the pregnancy was a secret, but I wasn’t ready for the world to know.  “How did you know about it?”  I asked as I pushed on the door,
flipping the sign around to say “Open.” 

Fate hunched her shoulders.  “It’s hard to explain.  Let’s see.”  She tilted her head.  “Okay.  You know how like when you feel heat coming off something or vibrations from sound?”  I nodded.  “It’s like that with people.  I can sense their presence and sometimes even see an aura.”

“Have you told your mother?  She only mentioned the ghosts to me.”  Fate had a bad habit of keeping things from her mother.  She didn’t want to cause her undue stress.  Noble, but foolish girl.

She followed me and I locked our purses in my desk drawer.  “No.  I didn’t think it was a big deal or anything.  Do you think it is?” 

I handed her a bottle of multi-surface cleaner and a roll of paper towels.  There were no appointments.  The day would be best spent cleaning.  Everything was covered in dust.  “It was important when you told everyone I was pregnant.” 

“
Aww, come on.  You should be happy.”

“I am happy.”  I shooed the opinionated teen out of my office.  “Get to work.” 

While Fate did the majority of cleaning, I called clients who’d recently missed appointments when the clinic was closed.  I had to get word out.  There would be no business if people didn’t know I had reopened.  Most of the people I called were happy to know I was back to work.  Only one person was angry, saying they had found a new, more reliable vet.  The raging public was one of the downfalls of the job.  The animals complained much less often.

Around lunch time, I was about to send Fate out to pick up something to eat. Marc popped in to check on us before I had the chance.  He was practically covered head to toe in grease, but he was bearing fast food sandwiches for everyone.
  He had received a small advance at his job so he could afford it. 

“It’s looking good in here.  Nice job, Fate.”  He said before kissing my cheek.  We all sat down in my office.

She looked him over.  “You’re a mess, Marcus!”

He reached out, pretending like he was
going to smear oil on her face and she screamed.  “Yeah, I know.”  He winked at me.   “I don’t have much time either.  They want a car repaired before the end of the day.”

“I’m glad you could stop by.  I wasn’t expecting you.”  I sipped on the diet soda he’d brought me.

“Have to check on my girl.”  He said. “Besides, I figured Fate was creepin’ you out with ghost stories.”

Marcus could make a joke out of anything, even if it was a serious matter.  I loved that quality in him.  Humor can be an amazing thing. 
Yet, sometimes he bordered on being inappropriate.  I looked to Fate to see her reaction and she was sticking her tongue out at my husband.  They behaved like brother and sister.