by Karen Ranney
That’s me, Marcie Montgomery, world renowned conversationalist.
“Do you have a minute?”
“What for?”
I was also charming and gracious. Okay, maybe not.
“We need to talk.”
Oh, no. Not one of these we need to talk meetings. They never turned out well.
He was going to tell me that he was engaged to someone and he loved her beyond measure. The interlude in the shooting range/target practice room - whatever he called the place - was a mistake, should never have happened, and he bitterly regretted it. Would I please not allude to it or tell anyone what happened when I met the fiancée on Thanksgiving?
Or I was being drummed out of the castle because I dared to walk away from Janet, essentially disrespecting Dan’s mother.
Or he’d decided that it was just too much effort to be the protector of a Dirugu, and I was on my own. Bye-bye, so long, sayonara.
Or Mike had died because the transfusion hadn’t worked.
I didn’t wait for him to tell me that.
“Is Mike all right?”
“The last time I checked, yes. He’s still stable, but the doctor sounds a little more hopeful than he did last night.”
Thank God. If Dan kicked me out of the castle, it wouldn’t be because I’d failed to save his friend.
Could I get my rent pro-rated and where would I ever find an apartment that was vampire proof, yet friendly to this particular vampire? Maybe if I begged, he’d give me a few days to look. I’d never seen a homeless vampire before, but I was kind of breaking the mold as I went.
Marcie Montgomery, Vagabond Vampire. Disconnected Dirugu.
I stepped back, opened the door reluctantly and wished I’d changed into something slinky and provocative. If the truth be told, however, I was still a little drained from the test and now I was heading straight toward anxiety.
I just hoped I had enough reserves left to handle whatever he said. I didn’t want to whimper. I had my pride, if nothing else.
I walked to the window. I hadn’t yet closed the drapes and my reflection revealed a tense face. I ignored myself and stared out at the lake with its gazebo framed in subdued lights. If I were anyone else other than who I was, I’d open the door and sit on one of the chairs on the wide balcony. But Maddock was still out there and although there were drones and sensors to protect me, I never underestimated Niccolo Maddock.
Turning, I faced Dan. The time had come - my mind reverted to Lewis Carroll - the walrus said to talk of many things: of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings.
I wasn’t totally losing it, I was just freebasing mentally.
I’ve called this room a suite before and the area with the chaise and reading lamp a sitting room. It isn’t actually a separate room as much as an alcove off the bedroom. It was designed to be a cozy retreat and it was, but one very large former Ranger made it feel smaller.
Dan retrieved the chair from the vanity and sat beside the chaise, his hands on his knees, his eyes intent.
Oh, dear. This really was going to be one of those we have to talk moments.
I sat on the chaise, drew my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, the better to be as small a target as possible.
I waited, but he didn't say anything, only kept regarding me in that Dan way of his.
"Well?" I finally said. "So we’re just going to stare at each other?"
He might have me beat when it came to patience. I didn't know anybody else as Sphinx-like as Dan.
Even now, he wasn't in a hurry to speak. That meant this conversation was going to be really difficult.
"Look, if you want me to move out, just say it, okay? And if you're engaged to someone, that's okay, too. I won't make a scene at Thanksgiving. Will your mother be there?”
He nodded. “It won’t be easy for her,” he said. “Not with Nancy still missing.”
I felt like a worm.
“I’ll be very understanding. The interlude at the gun range didn't happen.” I made a gesture with my left hand wiping the air from the right to the left. "There, it's erased from my memory. It never happened."
He sat back in the chair, folded his arms, and frowned at me.
"Why do you always do this, Marcie? I know what the hell I'm going to say, and then you open your mouth and you just blow it out of the water. You’re the most confusing damn woman I've ever met, never mind that you’re a vampire or whatever else you are. You're confusing enough as a woman."
I could feel my eyebrows heading toward my hairline.
"Well, thank you very much, Mr. Travis."
Maybe I was feeling just a little too emotional at the moment. I wasn't in the mood to be told how weird I was. Hell, I already knew that.
"Do you really feel that way about what happened between us?"
I was imagining things, I knew I was. Dan sounded hurt. He'd never sounded hurt before.
"Have you really forgotten it?"
"Are you engaged? Are you madly in love with some other woman?"
"What kind of guy do you think I am? Do you think I would have pinned you to the floor if I was?"
I was feeling a little uncomfortable, especially in light of his glare. There was nobody who could depict anger quite as well as Dan Travis.
I was on shaky ground here. I didn't want to reveal too much, but neither did I want to come off as the Slut of the Southwest.
"No," I said, deciding to fall back on the truth, "I haven't forgotten it. I don't act like that normally."
"Neither do I. And I'm not engaged."
"Are you madly in love with some other woman?"
"At the moment I'm not feeling all that excited about the emotion. Or about women in general, and one in particular."
"Me?" When had I started squeaking like a mouse?
"You."
"Is that what you came here to talk about, how annoyed you are with me?"
"No," he said, "but it will do to begin the conversation."
"You can be exceedingly rude," I said in my best Southern Belle impression.
"So can you."
I folded my arms, mimicking his pose. I'm sure we looked like two stubborn people to anyone else. But they wouldn’t realize the dynamics percolating just beneath the surface. I might be pregnant with this man's child. I didn't want to be repudiated or rebuffed by him because my emotions were involved. What I felt for him was difficult to identify. I was grateful. I was attracted, both emotionally and sexually. I felt safe in his company. He kissed like a demon. I wanted to care for and comfort him. I wanted to ease his mind, not give him problems. Pat all that together into one big snowball and it meant that this confrontation was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
“Why did you lie to me?” he finally said.
That question silenced me immediately. I had lied to him in the past. Maybe not lied exactly, but I'd certainly omitted the truth here and there. I was doing the same thing right now. I hadn't told him about the baby. Nor did I have any intention of doing so for a little while, at least until I was sure of the paternity.
I decided to push my luck.
"About what?"
“I talked to Kenisha this morning.”
I didn’t understand.
“You never told me that Maddock raped you.”
Of all the things he could have said to me, that was the one comment I hadn’t expected.
“I thought you knew. Or had figured it out.”
“You should have told me.”
I nodded. I probably should have, but I was embarrassed and humiliated. Plus, I didn’t want Dan to go after Maddock. In a lot of ways, Dan was very chivalrous. Maybe it came from living at Arthur’s Folly with all the knights around to remind him.
“I wouldn’t have been a caveman if you’d told me,” he said.
Another comment I hadn’t expected.
“I do have some savoire faire. Not that I’ve demon
strated any of it to you.”
“Trust me,” I said. “I have no complaints.”
When he just looked at me, I explained.
“I’m glad about what happened in the gun room.” I hadn’t had a chance to be self-conscious or to worry about sex the way I might have if he’d treated me as if I were a wounded bird.
“Are you?”
He was no longer scowling, which was a relief. However, he’d gotten that twinkle back in his eyes, the look that was decidedly dangerous for me. It warmed me from the inside out, made parts of my body tingle in anticipation.
Uh, oh.
“What happened the other night?”
I should have quit when I was ahead, marched him to the door, and bid him goodnight. Instead, he was looking at me like he was undressing me. The worst part is that I wanted him to.
“The other night?”
“When the witches were here. Who was the phone call from?”
“My gynecologist. Apologizing for Maddock.”
Sometimes, the best lie is based on the truth. Dr. Stallings had called me. She had been regretful about Maddock, but she’d had more news. It was that part I wasn’t going to mention.
“So the mention of Maddock made you leave? Is that what happened?”
“In a way. Does it matter now?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Does it? Does he?”
I blew out a breath. “I’m no fan of his. I’d just as soon he’d turn into a mouth foaming monster, the quicker the better.”
He stood, came to the chaise and held out his hand. He was going to pull me up into his arms and I had a feeling we were going to kiss. I could pretend ignorance, but I very much wanted to kiss him, be held by him, lose myself in him for a little while.
I put my hand in his and draped my legs over the side of the chaise.
“Are you sure you don’t have any girlfriends coming to Thanksgiving dinner?”
“No girlfriends.”
I was right. He pulled me into his arms. I was right about something else. I desperately wanted to kiss him. His mouth on mine summoned a moan almost immediately, as if I’d come home after a long time away.
I wound my arms up over his chest, linked my hands behind his neck and allowed myself to sag against him. Had I ever fit anyone the way I fit Dan?
His lips were warm, his tongue teasing. He angled his head to deepen the kiss while tendrils of sensation traveled throughout my body.
I was so grateful Opie wasn’t here to witness my capitulation.
Let’s face it, I surrendered. He didn’t even have to crook his little finger and I caved. I didn’t stand on principle. I didn’t refuse him. I wanted him so much I think I led the way to my bed.
I climbed over the mattress on hands and knees, turning and grabbing him because he was too slow to accompany me. We still had our clothes on and suddenly we were clawing at each other. Buttons were pulled loose, garments were dragged over heads. At one point, my bra hooks got tangled in my hair and we both laughed as we tried to extricate me.
Finally, finally, he was naked and I could look my fill. My hands skimmed over his skin, making him swear softly. I explored his chest, fingers splaying through the soft hair, thumbs stroking over his nipples. The hair at his groin wasn’t nearly as soft. His hips arched as my hands came close to his erection.
I didn’t smile at my mastery. His hands were busy, too, stroking my breasts, giving extra attention to my nipples.
We tormented each other for hours, it seemed, although it was only minutes.
I didn’t have to confess I wanted him. My body declared that for me. He was as hard as I was wet.
I pulled him over me as I lay back on the bed, wanting his mouth on mine. He gave into my demands with no reluctance, surprising me by slipping into me with such grace that he might have been a professional lover.
Any comment I might have made, any thought of speaking was suddenly and abruptly taken from me. He slid his hands beneath my bottom, raised me up to meet him. The orgasm startled me with its suddenness and ferocity.
I wanted to scream, but my mouth was caught again in a kiss. I bit his lip and heard his smothered chuckle.
When he erupted, it summoned another climax from me, so strong that it was like a claim. I was a country that had just been conquered. I was no longer just Marcie Montgomery. A flag had been stuck in my soil. A flag belonging to Dan Travis.
Chapter Fifteen
The Man Still Had A Marvelous Butt
I woke to find myself pressed up against a warm body. At first I thought that Charlie, contrary to my rules and regulations, had jumped up onto the bed in the wee hours of the morning. But this body wasn't as hairy. Nor did he have a tail. Instead, there was this delightful long and heated object being pressed against my nether regions.
I placed my hand on his flank, not all that sure if this was a dream, one that I was experiencing with all my senses or if I’d been given a Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas present early. I let my eyes flutter shut, but I couldn't do anything about the smile. It simply refused to go away.
He inched closer. I blessed the powers that allowed me to wake in the dawn light. I'd never left the curtain opened before, or at least I can't remember when.
If I had known about this spectacular sunrise, I might never have closed them, Maddock be damned. Streaks of pink and orange stretched across the horizon like a modernist painting.
I wondered, idly, if there were angels. If so, did God give those with artistic flair a chance to color each sunrise? Tuesday was Jeremy's turn. Wednesday was Henry's. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday belonged to the triplets: Sarah, Clara, and Vera.
If there could be werewolves and shape shifters and elves and fairies, why couldn't there be angels?
I turned to face Dan.
Once again, I blessed the dawn light and my ability to be awake in it. Would the same traits be transferred to Mike? For that matter, would he survive?
It wasn’t the least bit romantic, but he was on my mind.
“Will you let me know if there’s a change in Mike’s condition?” I said, curving my hand around the edge of Dan’s face.
The man was just too good looking. He posed a danger to any red blooded American woman. Or any vampire turned goddess.
“I will,” he said softly.
In the soft haze of dawn we watched each other.
I didn’t try to hide what I was feeling. Sexual contentment oozed from every pore, but more than that, I was happy. Genuinely happy, as if that ounce of time had been put inside a crystal jar and saved just for me.
My thumb stroked his bottom lip, curved in a smile like my own.
Words weren’t necessary and might have even been intrusive. Besides, I didn’t know what to say or how to say it.
My heart was open and overflowing.
He leaned over and kissed me. I knew I would remember that kiss for a very long time and each time I did, the sweetness of the moment would nearly bring me to tears.
He rolled to his back, taking me with him. I lay my head on his chest and stretched my arm over his waist.
I should get up, invent a reason, a deadline, a necessity. I shouldn’t lay here in the dawn light, as skeins bound me even tighter to Dan. One by one they wound themselves around me: peace, harmony, joy, laughter, delight, sensuality, charm, pleasure. He brought me all of these and more.
Soon, it would be impossible to leave him.
“I have a meeting this morning,” he said.
I immediately sat up, but he pulled me back.
"Not right this minute," he said.
"I want to go to the archives this morning. If I'm going to meet with the Brethren, I need to know more about them."
"That's who I’m meeting with this morning."
"Oh? Last minute details or problems in paranormal paradise? Is someone objecting to attending a meeting with a goddess?"
"There is a slight problem with hierarchy. You'll find that it's a problem among the four
legged shape shifters, especially. God forbid you put a jackal above a coyote or either one of them in front of a werewolf."
“That's because their alpha male is god," I said.
He raised one eyebrow, Dan speak for: what the hell are you talking about?
“If you don't have a higher power or a belief in a being outside of yourself, someone you call God, then who becomes God? The most powerful one in the group, the alpha male. Power becomes divinity. Divinity is power. You don’t slight their god.”
He stared at the ceiling for a minute or two.
"You're right. It does make sense, especially in how they treat the alpha male. They show him a marked respect."
"He's god to his people, or creatures." I glanced at him again. "I would guess that they see you as alpha male, don't they? God of Arthur's Folly."
"I sincerely hope not," he said with a small smile. "There are enough complications to my life without being considered a deity."
"You're halfway there already," I said, matching his smile. "You grant wishes effortlessly. You're the answer to a maiden's prayer. You control the environment, at least here at the castle."
He pulled me over on top of him. No fair being that effortlessly powerful. I could have added that to his godlike attributes, but I didn't want to give him a big head.
"So I'm the answer to a maiden's prayer, am I?"
"Don't ask me. I'm not exactly a maiden."
I folded my arms and rested my chin on them.
"The least you could do, however, is look surly and scruffy in the morning. Your beard only makes you look like an attractive pirate. Even the whites of your eyes are bright, not bloodshot."
"I got a good night’s sleep," he said, his smile broadening. “You look all warm and cozy and I like your hair around your face like that.”
He was stroking my bottom with his hands. I was almost like a cat, wanting to curl toward him. Heaven knows I wanted to purr.
The phone vibrating on the end table put an end to any thought I might have had about curling up with Dan for another hour or so.
He apologized, reached for the phone, and answered it with a curt, "Travis."
I wondered if it was news about Mike. While we had been enjoying ourselves, Mike had been fighting for his life. I shared a glance with Dan, and although I don’t have ESP, I knew he was thinking the same thing.
