“That’s the smell. It’s that guy’s cologne!”
She glared at him. “Are you insane?”
“That’s it. Only now it’s a hundred times stronger than it was this morning. Where were you before you came to work?”
The accusation in his voice hurt. “I was home!”
“By yourself?”
“Yes, by myself! What the fuck, Kyle? If you have something you want to say, just say it!”
“Fine! I think you know this guy. I think you saw him last night. I even think he might have been there this morning, and that’s why you reek of some other guy!”
She coughed out an astonished breath. Quietly she said, “You know what? I am not going to stand here, cornered in the ladies’ room, being insulted. First you tell me I smell. Now you’re accusing me of being a whore. How about this, I never saw that guy outside of the bar or before yesterday, but I’d be willing to bet he has better manners and more class in his pinky than you have in your whole body. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll go find out since my shift is over. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” Annalise pushed past Kyle and out of the bathroom.
She hoped the dim lighting of the bar was enough to hide the tears now filling her eyes. Shockingly, the world did not stop for her problems. She moved quickly to the bar to retrieve her bag when Bruce asked, “Hey Lisey, where’s Kyle? I’ve been waiting for five minutes for my Bud.” She ignored him and walked directly out the front door, keeping her eyes down. She did manage to catch Kyle coming out of the bathroom, and she thought she might have seen Adam stand the second she pressed out the door and into the humidity of the hot night.
She furiously dug through her bag for her keys and cursed all men for being idiots as she swiped the heel of her palm angrily under her eyes. When she unlocked her door, she didn’t even bother to lower the windows. She climbed in and slammed the door, locking herself in the sweltering heat. She jammed the key into the ignition and could already feel sweat beading under her clothing. She turned the key and the Steaming Turd gave a tired retch, click, click, click, and a groan. Motherfucker!
She turned the key again and got the same reply. Beyond frustrated, she slammed her palms across the steering wheel as she yelled every choice curse word she could manage. She was jarred from her tirade when a light knock rapped across her window. She saw the pale-blue, cuffed sleeve and knew it was Adam. Annalise pressed her palms flat on the wheel then calmly brought them to her face to smooth back her ponytail. Taking a calming breath, she turned the key enough to power the car if not the engine and rolled down her window.
Adam didn’t lean down. He simply stood there, well over six foot tall, and softly said, “I thought we could go for a walk.”
Annalise looked at the crease of his shirt where the buttons were hidden. His clothing was kind of weird. Her eyes moved to his hips. Jeans. Could Amish wear blue jeans? He wore a plain, brown leather belt. Her eyes fell upon the zipper of his pants then she quickly looked out her windshield. Probably shouldn’t eye up the Amish eye candy. She could get him shunned or something.
She turned back to him as her door clicked open. She watched as his large hand gently fell over hers resting on her lap and gave a soft squeeze. “Walk with me.”
As if moving through a dream, Annalise allowed herself to be pulled from the car. Adam gently took her bag and tucked it behind the driver’s seat then removed the key from the ignition. He locked her door then tucked her keys into his pocket and took her hand once more.
Not usually a quiet girl, she seemed incapable of words at the moment. She felt an odd comfort around Adam, an inexplicable safeness. Maybe it was the Amish thing. They were like people of God, right? Although, there was that big underground cocaine farm in Amish country a few years back, but Adam probably wasn’t involved in that.
“What does your farm grow?”
“We harvest many things, but we are not involved in outside sale. The women sometimes run goods to town, but as far as our agriculture and livestock, we tend to raise only what we need for our families.”
His voice filled the space between them like heated honey. His words were thick and accented with sweet drops and enunciated consonants that caused a sort of echo to cling in the air. He held her hand and they walked down the sidewalk past different storefronts. Bensalem was not a night stroll kind of town. It wasn’t a city. If you needed to go somewhere, you drove. As a matter of fact, as far as walking, she couldn’t remember ever walking anywhere since she had her license. It just wasn’t a scenic place.
There was a strip parking lot to their left and a highway after that. She thought about the empty, bog-like field behind the strip. It was one of those forgotten sections of land that had gotten left behind after the commercialization of the world closed in on all other angles. It was a far cry from a park or anything remotely aesthetic, more like a field where you would want to tread carefully and keep your eyes peeled so you didn’t step on a lost flip-flop or used condom. Yeah, that would definitely be a dark place you wouldn’t go with a stranger. “Do you want to get a coffee?” Annalise asked as she pointed to the brightly lit Dunkin’ Donuts.
He paused. “Sure.”
Once they had each ordered a coffee and Adam insisted on paying, they sat at a small orange table with pink tabletop. Annalise distracted herself by making a production out of tearing five sweeteners one by one and slowly adding them to her coffee then doing the same with her three creamers. When she began stirring together her creamy concoction, she prayed Adam would say something to break the silence. When too much time passed and she assumed he was just going to sit there silently all night, she pulled her gaze from her cup and looked at him. He had been watching her, his expression quizzical and beautiful all at once.
“You have lovely hands.”
“Why did you play that song?” they each spoke at the same time. She blushed, not hearing what he said and amended, “Sorry, you first.”
“I was just noticing your hands. They are lovely.”
Annalise examined her boring fingers and no-nonsense length fingernails and frowned. Was that an actual compliment? Was he joking? Or was it like, Hello, you have nice hands. I’d like to keep them in a jar of formaldehyde next to my pickled pigs feet and ball of human hair…?
“Thanks?”
He smiled, and a small chuckle slipped past his lips. He then reached for said hand and she looked at the man behind the counter and hoped he would call the cops if she needed to scream. “I played that song because I thought you would like it.”
Okay, small talk. She could do this. “I do like it. It’s one of my favorites.”
“Yes, The Beatles, right?”
“Right.” She eyed him curiously. “What made you think I would like it?”
He seemed to hesitate before answering. “What if I told you I had a dream about you and that song was in it?”
She stilled and placed her cup back on the table. “I would say that is pretty fucking freaky because I had a similar dream.”
He did not seem surprised by her confession. He only said, “Such a beautiful mouth should not speak such ugly words.” She knew it was probably a religious Amish thing, so she quickly apologized.
“What was your dream about?”
“A beautiful woman with hair the color of copper that shined red under the sunshine, as she sung to me in a field while teasing a kitten.”
Annalise’s hand went to her ponytail. She laughed nervously as her gaze darted around the empty coffee house, and she wondered if she was somehow being punked. People didn’t just share dreams. Deadpan, she said, “Ah, but you said a beautiful woman, not necessarily me.”
“It was you.”
The surety of his statement resurrected her apprehension. Challengingly she asked, “What color was the kitten?”
“Gray?”
“Where were they standing?”
“We were not standing, but lazing on a quilt in a field. The quilt had a blue hex symbol on it. It
is one that my sister created. It now hangs from the loft of my family’s home. The kitten has white paws and a pink nose and likes to trip you when you are heading to milk the cows in the morning. The field we were lying in is on my farm.”
All breath left her as her mouth suddenly went dry. “Are you psychic?” she rasped.
His smile was slow and devastating. “Not psychic, no, however I have no doubt you are the woman from my dreams.”
“I don’t understand this.”
“Sometimes it is not our duty to figure out the why of things, only to fulfill the task God charges us with.”
“You, I mean the Amish, you guys are really religious right?”
“We believe in God and doing his work.”
“Is that why you’re here? To find me? Are you like a Jehovah’s Witness or something here to recruit me?” She was suddenly uncomfortable and defensive for some reason. “If so, I gotta tell you, you came for the wrong girl. I’m graduating in a week and I have no time for buggies and cults.”
He frowned, and she had a stab of guilt for maybe insulting his lifestyle. “You study medicine.”
Completely taken off guard, she asked, “How do you know what area I’m studying? Did you ask someone at Jimbo’s about me?”
“No. I saw a device in my dreams that I did not recognize. It was for listening to heartbeats.”
“You dreamt of me more than once?”
“I have had many dreams about you.”
She plucked her hand from his and scooted back her chair. This was all just a little too weird for her. “Tell me, Adam, did you dream about me swimming in a dark pond being attacked by bloodsucking fish? Or how about in a jungle being eaten alive by butterflies? Did you laugh at me while I screamed?”
The grave way he scowled at her told Annalise he did not appreciate the accusation, but what the hell was she supposed to think? This stranger had somehow seen into her subconscious with unbelievable accuracy. “What are you speaking of?”
“I heard you, in my dreams. You laughed at me and taunted me while slimy little creatures bit through my flesh and drank my blood.”
“It was not I.”
“Sure sounded like you. Even used some of those Dutch words you speak sometimes.”
“The voice spoke Deutsch?”
Was he angry? “Yes, he told me he liked watching me grex and rootsh or something like that?”
“That doesn’t make sense,” he whispered vacantly.
“Well, how am I supposed to know? I don’t speak dooch,” she snapped mimicking his silly accent. This was stupid. She was sitting here having coffee with a stranger her boyfriend just accused her of sleeping with. “Look, thanks for the coffee, but I gotta go.” She stood and looked for her bag. Right, still in the Steaming Turd. Well, she could just leave it there and walk home. She would ask Kyle to look at it in the morning. “Can I have my keys?”
“Anna—”
“My keys,” she interrupted, holding out her hand impatiently.
He reached into his pocket and placed the keys in her palm. Before releasing them, he asked, “How will you get home if your vehicle is not working?”
She was about to admit that she would walk, but something was off with this entire night and she didn’t want to deal with big-tip,dream-stalker hottie following her. Before he had a chance to stand, she said, “Don’t worry about it,” and bolted out the door.
Thankfully, Adam did not follow her. She wound up going back to the Steaming Turd and sweet-talking it for about ten minutes. The old gal finally roared to life after about the hundredth try. Once she reached her apartment, she texted Kyle, sorry bout 2nite. I do not want to see other people.
She knew he wouldn’t get a chance to reply right away because he was working until close, so she grabbed some clean clothes and headed into the shower. After thoroughly scrubbing her skin with some sweet-smelling bodywash and hopefully removing any trace of whatever offensive scent she carried earlier, she pulled on a clean tank and underwear, grabbed her flash cards, and went to bed.
Kyle had texted back sometime around midnight. Can I come over tonight? She sent him back a quick okay, then studied until she passed out sometime around one thirty. Her last thought was, Please God, don’t let me dream of Adam.
Chapter 10
Adam shifted his feet as he stood outside of Annalise’s door. He sensed she was getting tired but was not yet asleep. There was an overall sense of concentration coming from her. It took him a while to comprehend what she was doing, and then he realized she must have been studying. He was torn between standing there protecting her doorway and figuring his way into her car to find the manual and seeing if he could perhaps repair her vehicle. He knew it drove, but it sounded as if it was about to explode. Not that he was familiar with modern automobiles, but he was a fair craftsman and figured he could manage his way around it.
Sitting with her tonight and sharing coffee turned out to be a mixed success. Waves of skepticism had rolled off of her once he confessed they had shared a dream. He supposed that would seem odd to a girl like Anna. She was more cynical than he was prepared for. He definitely did not like the fear and anxiety he’d felt from her when he’d been walking with her in the dark. He would never allow anything to harm her. She was his mate. That meant she deserved his protection before all else.
He had heard her fighting with the barkeep after their dance. He did not like the tone the other man had taken with her. If not for there being so many customers in the establishment and the fact that his protective instincts had his fangs fully extended, he would have stormed into the washroom and demanded the man apologize and leave Anna alone. Regardless, something like that would not be happening again without his interference.
Adam knew as the days passed he was growing more feeish. His fangs no longer only appeared at his request. They were reflexively distending against his will. He had fed before he went to the bar that evening, but the ache of hunger came back tenfold the second he spotted his mate. If not for the small taste of blood he stole from her the night before, he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to remain in control of his actions. As it were, his gums had been aching all night, a throb almost as painful as the one in his trousers.
Once Anna left the coffee establishment, he needed to feed again. His grandfather and the others had warned him about this. He needed to bond with her soon. Marking her with his scent was not enough, although it did have the pleasing effect of repelling other lesser males.
He was still confused by her comments about nightmares featuring him. The elders had not advised him of this. It did not make sense to him. Perhaps the frightening dreams she had were merely fabrications of her own mind. He wondered if it was one of those dreams that had her screaming in her sleep the night before. It was odd to him that he was able to soothe her though, if he had in fact been the villain of her nightmares.
The sound of the main door opening two floors below had Adam stepping back into a shadowed nook of the hall. With his strong night vision he could see insects scurrying under the protection of darkness. He really did not approve of Anna living here. He remained still as the sound of heavy footsteps thudded up the stairs, followed by the jangle of metal keys.
Adam peeked into the hall from his shadowed hiding spot and saw the fellow from the bar. He was unlocking Anna’s door. A low growl began to rumble deep within his chest as the other man disengaged the lock and entered his mate’s home. He stepped out of the shadows and listened at the door. Adam heard the sound of keys hitting a table and the twin thuds of shoes dropping to her carpet. Surely the other man would realize she was sleeping and leave. Through the closed door he discerned the shifting of clothing and linens and his fangs punched through his gums.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” the muffled male’s voice said.
“Hey,” his mate answered in a drowsed whisper.
There were more shifting sounds, a squeak, and then a low moan from the male. Adam’s claws began to elongate as
he sensed the male’s arousal. Before Adam realized what he was doing, he was standing in her living room.
“Let’s take this off,” the other male said, and his mate moaned agreeably.
Unacceptable. Adam stormed into the bedroom and snarled, “Take your hands off of her before I break them and leave you with two useless stumps.”
Anna shrieked, and the male propelled himself off of her. “What the fuck! Lisey, why the fuck is he here?”
“What?” She covered herself with the sheet and backed up against the wall where her bed’s headboard should have been. The male stood and began yanking on his pants. Adam felt his muscles bunching and readying for a fight. “Kyle, I have no idea!” Then, looking back at him, she shrilled, “What the hell are you doing here? Get out of my apartment!”
The other man stilled and looked at Anna then back at Adam. Adam read his emotions and sensed confusion and distrust. He growled, “Keep moving, boy.”
“Fuck you, dude!” He turned to Anna. “Lisey, if you didn’t invite him here, call the cops.” The man tossed a small device he suspected was a telephone onto the bed. Anna grabbed it and flipped it open.
Adam turned to Anna and barked, “Anna, sleep.” Her body deflated and crumbled into the bedding just as her eyes fluttered closed.
“What. The. Fuck. Did you drug her?” He reached over, seeming to check Anna’s pulse. There would be no touching of his mate.
Before the other man could get within a foot of his mate, Adam had him by the throat and against the wall. “You do not touch.”
“She’s my girlfriend, you fucking psycho!”
The barkeep tried to fight, but Adam quelled his movements with a simple mental push. “She is no longer your girlfriend. You have decided it is best to simply be friends. You left your place of employment and went directly home tonight without stopping anywhere. When I release you, you will go to your home and sleep until morning. Nod if you understand me.”
The man gave a weak nod, and Adam released him. His glazed eyes stayed unfocused as he slid down the wall and began moving toward the door. “Collect your belongings,” Adam instructed. The man leaned down to retrieve his shirt and shoes. Adam heard the sound of the door opening and shutting then shut his eyes. He took several calming breaths through his nose until his gums loosened and his teeth retracted.
Called to Order [The Order of Vampyres 1] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 10
