She opened her eyes and the dream fell in on itself. Panting, she found herself on sheets that were drenched with her sweat. Somewhere, she was vaguely aware of a male presence. Strong arms fell around her and consoled her.
Nikki screamed again and then began to weep.
CHAPTER TWO
1
Saul dabbed at Nikki’s head with a wet wash cloth, soaking up the sweat that seemed to continuously appear on her forehead. Her shirt was also soaked with perspiration, a sure sign that her body was successfully fighting off the fever. He eyed her skeptically as he tended to her. He did not like the fact that he seemed to care so deeply for this young girl. It was not just the sex that had him hooked, but something more.
It was something he had not quite experienced before. It was pleasant and terrifying at the same time. And that’s what bothered him more than anything; he couldn’t remember the last time he had been scared of something, yet this young woman had instilled a fear in him that had him doubting his instincts.
Perhaps it was the way she had walked into his life: Boldly, simply – as if she belonged there. Nikki had not feared him as most others did. Saul was surprised to find that both comforting and appealing. Nikki was just as brave as she was sexy and Saul couldn’t remember the last time he had experienced such a combination—especially in a mortal.
Of course, now that Nikki had been bitten by Leibald, Saul wondered if she would still be mortal when she woke up.
Saul left Nikki’s bedside and ambled through his cabin, trying to further straighten up from the confrontation with Leibald. His thoughts kept returning to the very obvious point that Benali had made: Maybe it was time he finally tried to track down his sister. Because of their shared bloodline, it would be easy enough. He had never bothered before because Jill had made it quite clear that she didn’t want to be bothered.
Unfortunately, anonymity no longer seemed to be an option. Given recent events, Saul felt he had to find her. Besides, she would likely be a good resource to have around in the event that Nikki did wake up with vampire traits.
Saul stepped onto his back porch and stared out into the woods. His senses hit red alert when they picked up Leibald’s scent. But the scent was a dormant one and, Saul thought, not anything to be concerned about at the moment. He did his best to ignore it, to sense beyond Leibald’s stench and bring the image of his sister’s face to mind.
Jill had an elfish sort of face, almost like a pixie. She’d always had men groveling at her feet, a trait she had used on more than one occasion in order to partake in the mortal pleasures of sex. He grinned, wondering what his promiscuous sister would think of her brother having strong feelings for a young mortal.
With Jill’s face clear in Saul’s mind, he tried to undergo an age-old task that he had never tried to its full extent before. There was an old legend that claimed the living could communicate with those closest to them through something that was close to telepathy. It wasn’t really telepathy, though; this power was channeled through bloodlines and not the mind.
You need to come back to Red Creek, Saul thought, trying his best to send Jill the message. Saul had received a message sent this way before, long ago, from his father. If he was doing it right and Jill was listening, he knew it would sound like an echo from some long-forgotten well at the back of Jill’s mind. Come back now. Trouble is coming, for both of us. We will be stronger together. Message sent, Saul was instantly overcome by lethargy. He leaned against the porch railing and caught his breath. He assumed the feeling of exhaustion meant that he had performed the trick properly. Of course, there was no real way to tell.
He tried to imagine what Jill’s reaction to this request would be, if she received it at all. She’d probably roll her eyes and curse at him. He then wondered if she might send him a similar message. The thought of hearing her voice again after such a long time was pleasing, but he didn’t think Jill would bother with such formalities. If she got his message and decided to come, she would simply show up. That was just the way she was.
Jill had always been very much like a mortal in the way she behaved. She was sarcastic and often aloof. He actually thought she and Nikki might have some personality traits – and flaws – in common.
The thought made Saul smile. Having regained some of the strength sending the message had taken from him, he walked back inside. He went to the bedroom, stripped off his clothes, and crawled into bed by Nikki’s feverish body.
2
Kara sat in her bathtub, the water up to her neck. She let out a sigh. The water was frothing with fruity-smelling bubbles which made her feel girlish and immature. But it was also warm and relaxing – just the thing for to soothe her overly-tired body. This was the best Kara had felt in quite some time. She could almost feel the weight of failure being absorbed by the hot water. And that was a hell of a lot of failure.
Kara had been unable to find anything to aid in the search for Jason Eastman’s murderer. On top of that, she now had two cases of missing persons on her hands that were also offering no clues—the disappearances of Lester Dobbs and a local fishing enthusiast by the name of Robert Selman. Kara thought that Sheriff Morel would have probably kicked all three of these cases in the ass by now; at the same time, a more logical part of her whispered that there was something off about everything that was going on. Almost as if it was all… connected in some way. Of course, her thoughts amounted to absolute zilch without any proof to back them up.
And then, beyond all of these professional failures, there was the fact that Kara couldn’t get Saul Benton out of her mind. From just that one little meeting, she’d become infatuated with him. Even now, sitting naked in her tub and feeling sexier than she had in a long time, she wondered what his skin might feel like against her own as he slid into the tub with her. What did his mouth taste like? What would his hands feel like on her breasts? Would he be gentle or rough when he guided her to the edge of the tub and took her from behind?
Kara shifted uncomfortably in the tub, getting excited by her thoughts. It was mildly embarrassing to be so easily provoked by a good-looking man, but then again – what choices did she really have, in Red Creek? It made her wonder why she had ever come out here to start over. Why hadn’t she opted for somewhere like LA or New York, like a normal person? In a large city, she could have probably landed a cushy job behind a desk, filling out paperwork and being left alone. She could have met a nice man, fallen in love, had regular sex, and maybe even gotten married.
Then again, was marriage what she wanted? Her first one hadn’t been a success by any means. All Kara had gotten out of it was a drunken ex-husband that called her on occasion just to put her down and a son who had stopped caring about her at the age of thirteen.
No, Kara didn’t want any of that. What she wanted was Saul Benton, and she had no idea why.
After a while, Kara realized that she was trying to formulate a plan that would allow her to go to Saul’s cabin again. Perhaps she could catch him out on the streets and corner him somehow. Lester’s disappearance was still unsolved, so it would only seem logical that she question the man who had recently had a confrontation with him.
Kara dried off and wrapped her robe around herself. She then went through a ritual that had been fairly common before she’d been asked to fill in for Sheriff Morel: she poured a tall glass of white wine and crashed on her couch with a book.
Kara made it three pages into the book before the square-shaped object propped against the edge of the couch grabbed her attention. It was Jason Eastman’s laptop, stuffed inside an old laptop case she had found in Sheriff Morel’s office. She had looked through the contents of the computer several times at the station but had found very little. The few things of note she had found were password-protected. These included a few Word documents and video files. A data specialist was due in Red Creek in two days to look over the computer to see if they could get around the passwords.
Eyeing the laptop case and knowing what was inside,
Kara thought about Nikki Galimore. As hard as she tried, she could not put to rest the feeling that Nikki was somehow involved in whatever was going on in Red Creek. It was a dangerous way to feel, given the uncharacteristic jealousy that Kara felt toward the girl. But still…what were the chances that Nikki had been friends with Jason Eastman and just happened to start hanging out (and probably sleeping with, Kara couldn’t help but assume) Saul Benton right around the same time?
Kara toyed with the ethics of snooping around on the computer, but resisted the temptation. Instead, she tried to formulate a legitimate reason for paying Saul Benton another visit.
3
Nikki’s fever showed its first signs of breaking shortly after three o’ clock in the morning. The change had come after a bout of moaning and turning almost violently in bed. At first, Saul had feared Nikki might be taking an ill turn. He was deeply relieved to feel her skin losing some of its sickly heat instead, cheeks gaining a healthier hue than the feverish blush of hours prior.
As the last of the shivers wracking Nikki’s body dissipated, Saul got up and retrieved a glass of water from the kitchen. He held it up to Nikki’s lips and helped her drink, knowing her body must be heavily dehydrated. When her lips parted to take the glass, he badly wanted to kiss them.
Having Nikki surface from the fever made Saul even more worried about her condition. Although he was happy Nikki was getting better, Saul could not help but worry that her improvement may signify the coming of a more dangerous – and potentially deadly – change. It made him want Jill to show up more than ever. Saul knew he wasn’t the best candidate to care for someone that was sick. He was not exactly the most nurturing of people. Being responsible for Nikki in this capacity was beyond him. It made him wonder where her parents were. Was there no one around that would be concerned for her safety?
Saul glanced at a nearby clock; twenty-four hours had passed since Nikki had fallen ill. Her fever was basically gone now – she was out of the woods, as people said. So there was no reason for Saul to hover over her, no reason at all to lie beside her as she recovered. Yet he continued to do so, somehow unwilling to give up the strange feeling of warmth and light that came with being near her. Poetic foolishness, Saul thought to himself.
As Nikki stirred against him and her breath brushed his shoulder, he thought that poetic foolishness was okay from time to time.
Saul would not go so far as to say that he was falling in love with Nikki, but there was certainly something stirring inside of him that he had never experienced before. It was both an emotional response and a physical one. It was peculiar because it made him feel both weak and strong at the same time.
What the hell is this, he wondered.
Saul could not find an answer. Still, he remained where he was: Watching over Nikki, his arms around the mortal woman, until his own eyes drew closed in sleep.
4
Twenty-nine hours after Leibald had nearly torn out her throat, Nikki Galimore opened her eyes.
It took Nikki a moment to make sense of her surroundings. When she realized that she was in Saul’s bed, Saul’s heavy body beside her, the faintest of smiles touched her lips.
Nikki rolled her head to the side. She spent a few moments simply watching Saul, memorizing his sleeping face. She ran her hand over his well-defined chest, placed her hand over his heart (wait, she thought, does he even have a heart to speak of?) and realized that she could feel his breathing. It was more than just feeling it in the rise and fall of his chest; she could sense the movement of his lungs and the air churning through him.
Nikki also realized that she felt more energized than she had in a long time – ever, perhaps. Her skin was damp with fever-induced perspiration, but her body itself felt refreshed and strong. She felt as if she had just slept for days without waking. In lieu of the energy coursing through her, remaining in bed suddenly seemed like a waste of time.
Nikki smiled. She needed to get out of bed… needed to start moving around. There was something different stirring inside of her, something exciting; she wanted, needed to explore it.
Nikki pushed herself up on her elbows and looked around the room. She nearly got out of bed before pausing, then grinning.
On a second thought, there was plenty to do in bed as well.
With the grin still on her face, Nikki lowered her mouth to Saul’s exposed stomach and kissed him just above the navel. The bed sheets covered everything else below and she removed them gently, as not to stir him immediately awake.
Nikki trailed her mouth downward, now using her tongue as well. She felt him begin to stir and when he started to sit up, she reached up with one hand and pushed him back down. It was still like trying to move a mountain, but the energy within her made it easier. When he lay back down, it was more out of his desire to see what she was up to than her strength.
Nikki teased him expertly and did not take him in her hands or mouth right away. She let her breathing against his skin entice him, the anticipation of what was to come bringing him erect. When he was nearly fully hard, she took him in her hand and then guided him into her mouth where her tongue continued to work.
The gasp that came out of him energized her further. Within a handful of seconds, her playfulness began to melt away. When she felt his hands playfully caress the top of her head, she batted them away and repositioned herself to get a better angle. She soon lost herself in the task and was slightly confused when, moments later, Saul grabbed her by the head more forcefully pushed her away. The look on his face was unadulterated desire and it made her entire body tingle.
“Something wrong?” Nikki asked.
“I was about to lose it.”
“So?”
He eyed her neck, the bandages stark against her flushed skin . “Are you okay? Is there any pain?”
“No,” she groaned.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
Saul nodded and then, with speed so quick that it took her breath, he grabbed her by the hips and threw her on her back. As he began to climb on top of her, she raised a leg to block him.
“No,” she said.
She dug her hands into his hips and pushed him hard. This time when he fell back, it was mostly due to her strength. Saul looked at her queerly for a moment; she ignored him, choosing to push him to the mattress and straddle him rather than try and figure out his sudden change of mood.
Wasting no time, she slid him inside of her and sat up. She moaned slightly and began to rock gently atop him. When his hands reached up and found her breasts, she took his hands and encouraged him to massage her harder.
“You’re not used to not being in control, are you?” Nikki asked.
“Not really,” he said through a gasp of pleasure.
She increased the speed and force of her thrusts, leaning forward for better leverage. “Is it so bad?” she asked.
“Not at all.” And with that, he thrust up hard into her.
She screamed out but pushed him down again. “No. Your turn to scream,” she said with a smile.
He laughed; the sound got caught in his throat as Nikki rode him harder. They both moaned, often in unison, and by the time all was good and done, Saul had let out a scream.
5
Afterwards, they lay next to one another. They did not lie tangled in each other’s arms like in some cheesy romantic film. They sprawled out on separate sides of the bed, panting and recovering. It was a peaceful moment and one that Saul could find no equivalent to no matter how far back into his memories he dug.
After a few minutes of silence, Saul rolled over and faced Nikki. Her hair was disheveled and, for all of their recent exhaustion, her skin still held a pallid hue. Still, she looked more alive than Saul had ever seen her. Like an entirely new person, almost. And he wasn’t naïve enough to think that the sex they’d just had was the reason behind it.
“You’re stronger now,” he said flatly.
“Yes, I suppose I am.” Nikki stretched, not the least
bit concerned. “Is that because Leibald sort of bit me?”
“I assume so. If it had been a full-on bite, I imagine you’d still be asleep. And the fever you had would have been much worse.”
“So, I’m a vampire now?” Nikki asked.
Saul shrugged and reached out to cup her face. He tilted her head to get a better look at the bandage around her neck. He carefully removed it and was not at all surprised to find that the wound it had covered had healed completely.
“It would seem so,” he said. “Only not a full-fledged one if your current condition is any clue. Do you have any weird urges right now?”
Nikki frowned in thought. “I just feel the need to get outside and do something. Even if it’s just going for a run. I have all of this energy in me I need to get out somehow.”
“What we just did didn’t help?”
“For a while,” she said. “The moment we were done, that energy was back at once.”
“Do you have any violent feelings?” he asked.
“No. Should I?”
He shrugged again. “Typically when a human turns, they awake as a vampire with violent urges and an almost unquenchable bloodlust.”
Nikki’s face scrunched up in concentration. After a moment, she relaxed and shook her head. “Yeah, I don’t have any of that.”
Saul nodded, relieved. “There is one other thing that doesn’t make much sense to me.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re handling this incredibly well. How are you not freaking out about this?”
Nikki thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was this incredible surge of power. It was like straight adrenaline. I felt well-rested, energized, and just on fire. I knew it had to be from the bite. I guess it hasn’t sunk in yet. I sort of distracted myself with this,” she said, reaching down below his waist and stroking playfully. Saul batted her hand away.
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