Cherry Stem

by Sotia Lazu

  “That last part…I don’t know where it came from.” He interlaced my fingers with his, brought them to his mouth, and brushed his lips over the knuckles.

  “It’s okay. I liked it.” I let the l roll on my tongue for emphasis.

  “I’m lying.” He sighed, stroking my stomach.

  I automatically sucked it in—not my sexiest body part. “What about?” Postcoital Cherry brain never works at full capacity.

  “I do know where that came from.” The words, though whispered, were crystal clear. “You and your ex. You saw him, then came here all frisky. I guess I was jealous.” Before I could respond, he went on. “And don’t tell me I have no right to be. I want you, damn it, and I can be patient, but I won’t be left here again while you’re out there with him.”

  I probably should have been offended by how little faith in me that statement indicated. I knew how it felt to have been betrayed, however. It made people a little more guarded. It took something from them.

  Dropping the pretense that I couldn’t break free, I used all my vampire agility to flip on my stomach. What I said right then and there could make or break what we had. “Alex”—I waited until he looked at me—“I was frisky for you. I’m not going to screw around.” We weren’t in a relationship—it wasn’t possible for us to be in one—but whatever we had was for two players only. He opened his mouth, and I placed my index finger on his lips to silence him. “I know what we have is…well, it’s a wait-and-see thing, but I’m only waiting to see things out with you.”

  His smile shone on his face for a moment, and then he was kissing me again.

  We barely made it to the basement before sunrise.

  Chapter Eight

  I needed to sleep. My brain was fuzzy, and my body felt too exhausted to keep my head up while Alex talked. I found the perfect solution in confiscating his pillow and placing it on top of mine to hold my head propped up as I lay on my side. My mind, however, did not benefit from the more upright position; it still wanted to just shut down.

  Alex nudged my shin with his foot. “Hey! I didn’t sleep while you were telling me about your meeting.”

  “Mmm.” He’d been a good little trouper and had paid attention while I’d described how my night had gone, and he’d had all the right reactions, including a disgusted face when I’d mentioned Ádísa’s behavior after explaining who she was. It was by all means my turn to listen. And I tried to. Honestly. “Tell me.” I briefly turned my face to the pillow to hide my yawn.

  “Like I said, I got a call. Your friend’s case has another thing different than the rest.”

  I blinked drowsily. “What’s that?” He’d better tell me soon.

  “She left her cell phone behind. Not on purpose, most probably. It was found under the couch at the club where she was last seen. They’re working on locating her boyfriend and checked her calls. No outgoing calls after noon, but her last incoming one was from a private number. They’re working on tracing that but no luck so far. Meantime she had a missed call that night. Apparently from a modeling agency.”

  That woke me up. He was sitting up, and I had to crane my neck to fully look at him. “A modeling agency? I didn’t know Dotty modeled.” I was ashamed that I didn’t think she could model, really. Like Alex had said, she wasn’t ugly, not by a long shot, but wasn’t extraordinary lookswise, either. My shame deepened when I realized my train of thought assumed I’d been something special during my modeling days.

  “Weird that she didn’t mention it. You said she’s your friend. Anyway, I’ll be checking that out first thing in the morning.” He touched his lips to my cheek briefly and slid under the covers, facing me.

  “This is the morning,” I mumbled.

  Chuckling, he glanced at his watch. “Yeah, but I doubt Sheena’s Models is open at six thirty.”

  “Sheena’s Models?” It came out a bit squeaky.

  Alex arched both eyebrows. “That’s the agency. Why?”

  “Sheena was my agent.”

  I’ve never believed in coincidences.

  * * * *

  After Alex had promised not to go see Sheena by himself before sunset, I’d slept like the—wouldn’t you know it?—dead.

  What interrupted my slumber was a curse coming from the floor above. I sprang upright and instinctively reached for Alex. He wasn’t in bed, as I realized after the first few seconds of disorientation. As a matter of fact, Alex was the one who’d done the cursing; I could hear nobody else. Maybe he’d jabbed a toe or something while making me breakfast. The thought of him cooking for me made me smile.

  “It’s the only way,” Alex said.

  So he was talking to someone. I tried not to listen in, but his next words piqued my curiosity.

  “If you don’t suspend me, I’m leaving the force.”

  Resisting my natural instincts was futile. I settled my head back on the downy pillow and eavesdropped.

  “You know you owe me,” Alex said. “I was in a bad place, and it worked out well for you. This is my case. Let me work it the way I know how.”

  I couldn’t make out the other side of the conversation.

  “Just do it, okay? I’ll deal.” Pause. “Thanks.” The last word was whispered.

  The next sound was of footsteps approaching.

  I kept my eyes closed when Alex sneaked back into bed. I didn’t know how extensive his detective training had been, but even had he been trained to recognize when a human faked being asleep, I had no breathing he could listen to in order to call my bluff.

  He snuggled behind me and buried his face in my hair. I couldn’t tell if the sigh he let out was of contentment or frustration.

  I pushed my body against his, making a mmm sound, and he pulled me even closer. I mmmed again when he kissed my shoulder. His hand cupped my breast, and I shifted so he could catch just a glimpse of my face. Scrunching my nose, I asked, “What time is it?” My voice came out raspy enough for someone who’d just woken up.

  “Eleven thirty. You can sleep some more.” His hand roaming my body indicated he wouldn’t mind if I didn’t.

  “Are you going to work?” Come on, buddy. Fess up. Don’t lie to me. The latter became a chant in my head for the brief moments until he replied.

  “No. I’ll nod off too.” As if to prove he had every intention of doing so, he stopped caressing me.

  “Right. You’re not going in. Following a lead…” There was his opening, and I hoped he took it. I was fully aware of the irony of my wanting him to come clean with me when I was in fact deceiving him. But to me, it was about self-preservation. It was about making sure I didn’t trust someone else who’d lie to me, and that was my first priority. There would be time later for me to feel bad about it.

  He didn’t take it. “Yeah.” The single word was uttered in a whisper, sounding regretful.

  With any guy before Alex, I’d have let them go on, dig a bigger hole for when I dumped their asses into it. Always expecting to be lied to, since Constantine had made me trust him and then duped me, I regard men lying as the norm; it fits perfectly into my world theory. For Alex, however, I did something completely out of character, considering my insecurities. I gave up my efforts toward an Oscar-winning performance and said, “I heard you. On the phone.”

  I’d expected him to make some sort of excuse or be upset I’d eavesdropped. I couldn’t blame him if he were, but was relieved when instead, he said, “I just didn’t want you to have to worry about me too, not with everything else happening. Wanted you to think I had things under control.”

  I turned within his embrace. “I only heard what you said. Wanna talk about it?”

  “Roebuck wouldn’t let me investigate what I found out if I didn’t let him in on it. I said I had a source I couldn’t reveal, that it’s big and lives are at stake if the department is involved, but he’s stubborn. He wanted to come by and talk about it. I can’t drag more people into this.” He cupped my cheek, the tips of his fingers tucking my hair behind my ear. “T
hought about asking for a leave, but I can’t take days off in the middle of a case. Finally told him to suspend me, so I could do what I wanted.”

  “But he wouldn’t.” I walked my index and middle finger up his torso, then along his collarbone. It wasn’t a sexual touch, more an “I’m here” one. If my touch afforded him half the comfort his afforded me, it would help him open up easier.

  He shook his head and closed his hand around mine, stopping me. “He refused to. Said they needed me. So I had to play dirty. First I threatened to quit, and then I reminded him he owed me. It was a low blow.” He rubbed his face with his free hand. “I can’t believe I did that. I’m such a prick.”

  “You’re not.” Leaning in, I kissed his cheek.

  He turned away. “I shouldn’t have said what I did. It’s not even true.”

  I didn’t ask. Going against my nature, I remained silent until he began talking again.

  “Roebuck was my partner. I was going through my dark phase when promotions were up. It was too soon after my breakup with Marion.” I assumed that was the ex. “Anyway.” He sighed and wet his lips. My gaze was automatically drawn to his mouth before I returned it to his eyes, feeling guilty for thinking naughty thoughts at a time like that. “We’d scored close enough on the test, but my performance had taken a plunge. Roebuck got the promotion to lieutenant and deserved it, but he’s felt bad about it since. And now, like the asshole I am, I rubbed it in.”

  I couldn’t watch his self-kicking any longer. “You did it for him. If he got involved—if anyone got involved—there’d be more people missing. Dying.”

  “I’m still an asshole.”

  I batted his shoulder lightly. “That’s irrelevant.”

  His lips twitched, and then he did what I’d been hoping for: he smiled. “You always know the right thing to say, huh?” Before I could come up with a self-satisfied reply, he tickled me and kept tickling until I squealed.

  * * * *

  Alex had brought Mexican food, which was spicy as hell, and I’d taken immense pleasure in his terrified response when I’d offered to blow him after having stuffed my mouth with what seemed like my body weight in jalapenos.

  Those moments of intimacy that had more to do with enjoying each other’s company and wit than with sex were the moments I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was half in love with him already. I loved the tiny little wrinkles that showed around his eyes when he smiled. I loved the long lashes that shaded his prominent cheekbones. I loved how he lowered his eyelids coyly just before saying something raunchy that would have made me blush furiously if I had blood circulation. I loved the way he spoke with his entire upper body, his shoulders, arms, and long fingers stressing his points as eloquently as his deep voice.

  Those moments were the moments that made me want to cry. The way I felt about him was why I should leave him. I wouldn’t be able to stand watching him grow closer to death every day, and the idea of turning him, which I admit crossed my mind, was preposterous. Alex’s humanity was part of him. To take that away, to take away his chances of fathering children that would turn out as wonderful as he was, was something only a monster would do.

  So I focused on the now and the time we had together until the case was solved, but as the hours passed, I could feel him become antsy. Strangely enough, I also loved that his mind never veered too far from the case; his sense of honor wouldn’t allow him to have fun at the expense of people in danger. Spending time with me while waiting for a clue was one thing. Wasting time with me while a clue had landed in our laps was another. After a point, he began taking trips upstairs to check if the sun had gone down, as if he couldn’t trust the Internet any more than he could my inner clock.

  I, on the other hand, was in no hurry for dusk to come.

  I was in no hurry to have Sheena admit she’d had something to do with my turning. She’d been someone I trusted, the first person to be genuinely nice to me when I’d moved to the city. She’d found me the apartment I’d lived in before I died, and had booked my jobs both as a model and in the…other industry in which I’d tried to make a name for myself. For a long time, I’d felt bad about not telling her I was still around, and now it was most probable that she’d been involved in what had happened to me. I didn’t want to know for sure, but I couldn’t let Alex deal with her alone. It might be dangerous.

  “It’s dark outside,” Alex yelled from the top of the stairs. I bit the words back and barely groused at all on my way up.

  To his credit, he was holding the door for me when I got there.

  * * * *

  “I can fly us over, you know.” As much as I dreaded meeting my old agent and friend, I knew a forty-five-minute drive would only fray my nerves more.

  Alex, who was locking the front door, froze mid key turn. “You can fly?”

  “I didn’t mention that, did I?”

  He finished locking and looked at me. “No, you didn’t. How?”

  “I don’t know the mechanics of it. No sprouting bat wings or anything. I just want to take off and I do. An open mind is essential, the handbook said.”

  “I see. While that sinks in, let’s take the car.” He pressed the button on his car key, and the car’s lights flashed twice. “I don’t like flying,” he said simply, getting the car door for me. That he admitted to not liking flying instead of coming up with a lame excuse gained him extra brownie points but still wasn’t enough for me to admit I was afraid of what we might soon find out. I folded all of my five-feet-four into the passenger seat, and he shut the door gently.

  We hit traffic almost immediately. Insert frustrated groan.

  Stillness isn’t something that comes naturally for me. I know, I know, vampires are supposed to have perfected stillness. I think it’s something paranormal romance writers have come up with to add mysterious allure to their heroes and heroines. Or maybe the notion came from someone who’s met Constantine. Either way I don’t do still; I’m a fidgeter. I play with my hair, the hem of my top, the belt loop of my jeans, my jewelry, and occasionally tap my foot and/or fingers on the nearest available surface, which, at present, was the casing of the car window.

  My nails aren’t very long, but they’re always manicured—yay to having been turned the day after full-body pampering—and they’re noisy. Disturbing was the word Alex used.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to get on your nerves.” I stopped tapping my fingers, but soon my foot began twitching and, from time to time, connecting with the middle column.

  “Okay, what’s wrong?” Alex peeked at me briefly before returning his attention to the road. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you so jittery.”

  “Yeah, well, you haven’t seen all that much of me, have you?” Nice, Cherry. I gave him a sheepish look. “I’m sorry. I’m being a bitch.”

  “That’s irrelevant.”

  “Smooth, Marsden.” Still, I felt more relaxed with his attempt at humor.

  At the traffic light, he put his hand on my thigh, his warmth doing nothing for the cold I felt inside. “Seriously, what’s the matter?”

  Closing my eyes, I let my head roll to the side until my forehead leaned against the cool glass.

  I was just off my shift at the bakery and was helping myself to a doughnut with extra glaze on it when I heard a woman say, “I’d really enjoy that if I were you, honey. If you’re to work for me, which you are, and are going to love, that’s the last one of those babies you’re ever gonna have.”

  I turned to bitch slap whoever dared come between me and my dessert, but the smile on her lips stopped me in my tracks.

  “I bet you want to be a model, don’t you?” she asked. “Or an actress? Isn’t that why you came to the city?”

  Mara, the bitchy waif who had the evening shift, snorted. That made my decision for me. I took a big bite of my doughnut. “What can you offer me?” I asked.

  The woman’s smile widened. “The world, darling. And I’ll start with a ride away from this place.”

 
I opened my eyes again and focused on the here and now. “Sheena,” I said. “If she just handed me to them… It hurts.” I blew out my breath noisily, fogging the window. “I know it’s silly. It’s been so long, but—” I inhaled deeply and let the air whistle out of my pursed lips. At least she had let me keep having doughnuts for a while.

  “I get it.” He squeezed my leg, and I knew he wasn’t just saying that. He got me.

  A look at him and I was back in swooning mode, the knot in my stomach temporarily forgotten. Even if Sheena had betrayed me, Alex wouldn’t. He got me.

  But for how long?

  Chapter Nine

  For all my anticipation and dread, reaching the modeling agency proved anticlimactic.

  I’d imagined Alex ringing the doorbell and moving to the side, allowing me to step forward. Sheena would open the door, dressed in a colorful—possibly purple—pantsuit, professional smile in place. When she’d see me, that smile would waver until it was replaced by a look of shock and fear. She might try to slam the door in my face, but I’d be faster. Sticking my foot into the opening of the door, I’d say, Hello, darling, my voice cool as a cucumber.

  I should have let Alex in on my fantasy confrontation. Since I hadn’t, he got it wrong from the start, ringing the bell but not budging an inch, so that I had to stand on tiptoe to be barely visible over his shoulder. The door was thrown open by a blonde I’d never seen before, wearing a distinct expression of disinterest on her face. “Can I help you?”

  Yup. Anticlimactic.

  I mean, don’t get me wrong; the sight of Alex flashing his badge at the girl, who introduced herself as Barbara Greg, Sheena’s assistant, and telling her we had some questions was a thrill in and of itself. He ought to have turned the badge and his weapon in already, but he was being naughty about it and I didn’t mind that naughtiness at all. I wished we were alone. Seeing him like that, jaw clenched, shoulders squared, body posture imposing, made me want him to take me right there, on Sheena’s Models’ doorstep. Or I could jump him.