by C. L. Quinn
“You spoil me, my friends, thank you. I promise I’m home for at least the next six weeks and I’ll pitch in and make up for my absence. I meant it, leaving that baby is awful. She’s growing so quickly.”
“I know. Sometimes I stop and stare at her just to see if I can tell what’s going to change next.”
Naji reached for the menu as she looked into Sarah’s eyes. “She’s prettier every day.”
“I agree. We’ll be fighting the boys off too soon. Ah, Nikolai, get that waiter over here right away, I’m dying for a Hurricane Splash!”
They perused the menus, ordered four entrees to share, and several cocktails unique only to Shay’s.
Halfway through the meal, relaxed, her arm over the back of her chair, Sarah laughed at one of Naji’s many tales of extreme wealth and overindulgence. Her head back, she pushed a long curl over her ear as she glanced toward the water. Her eyes caught a man seated at the bar, his back to her, but she could see part of his profile.
The profile, the hair, the width of his back, all looked familiar. She kept staring.
Naji started another story, Nikolai leaned in to hear every word, but Sarah was still distracted by the man. She’d been watching him as she listened to Naji and once, when he turned his face a little more to the left, she caught a better glimpse of it.
Why was the face familiar, and why did it disturb her?
In a lightning flash, it came to her, and shocked, she set her glass back down on the table.
She knew now why he looked so familiar. The man looked like the injured environmental activist she’d cared for in the hospital before he died. Just like him!
“Sarah?” Nikolai interrupted her thoughts. “What has your attention?”
She couldn’t stop herself, she had to see him closer.
“Um, I’m not sure. A patient, maybe. I’ll be right back.”
Pushing back her chair, Sarah started to get up when Naji handed her a bright pink cocktail.
“Don’t go empty handed.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you in a second.”
Naji grabbed Nikolai’s face and Sarah grinned because she knew that they wouldn’t miss her.
The man she approached still had his back to her, a strong muscular back clad in a champagne-colored dress shirt that clearly showed his exceptional shape. Close enough now to him, she caught his attention, and he turned toward her, pastel green eyes so light they nearly glowed landed on her and locked like a guided missile. He looked shocked to see her.
“Hi,” Sarah said, her voice barely above a whisper because it was true, this man looked exactly like the skydiver who died several nights ago.
“Hello,” he responded, his voice deep, sensual. It went right to her core, surprising her further.
“Uh, forgive me, but you look exactly like someone else that I know.”
“I get that all the time,” he said.
Sarah took a quick sip of her drink, something to break the tension, because she could feel her libido spike.
“I doubt that. You’re not…common.”
“That might be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. And I’ve been around for a long time.”
With no warning, Sarah’s head felt light, she knew that her balance wavered. What he said, it was something that Mies had said to her, and for some reason, the comment hit her emotions hard.
Mies couldn’t believe she was here, in front of him, her respiration rapid, so he knew that, even in this body, she responded to his sensuality. The feeling’s that they’d felt from the first time they met in the hospital were coming again. He really shouldn’t have come here.
He’d followed them, then raced to the bar before they were seated, and tried to remain obscure. He shouldn’t have. But gods in the heavens, now that she was this near, how had he ever thought that he could see her again and then leave her?
When she started to weave and her eyes slammed shut, without thinking about it, he reached for her.
And destroyed his hard-won resolve. Now, with his hands on her, he was lost. She opened her eyes then, looked into his, and grabbed his forearms. Everything he felt for her was in his eyes, he knew it was, nothing could have stopped the swell of pure love and need for her now that they touched. And he knew that she saw it all.
The dizziness subsided the moment he touched her. Her eyes dropped to where his fingers curled around her upper arms, supporting her, heating her. They gripped her like they would never let her go. What the hell was this?
She looked up into the face of a stranger that she knew should be dead, only this time, there was something there, something that she did recognize, something that couldn’t be…
“Mies?”
The man dropped his hands. “I’m sorry, miss, what was that?”
The dizziness returned and he moved closer.
“Are you all right? I think you’ve had too much to drink. Perhaps you should sit down?”
“No, I haven’t had too much to drink. Who are you?”
“My name’s, uh, Steve.”
Sarah stared at him. Eyes the color of moss, long hair tied back like Mies had worn his, but a buttery soft mass that framed a hard square jaw. A handsome face, but it wasn’t Mies. She remembered then, that the face she thought of as Mies’s hadn’t been his either.
There was something here, something not right, and so perfectly right at the same time. She pulled him closer. She knew, somehow, that the name was wrong, that it didn’t fit, that it wasn’t who he was.
“No, it isn’t. I see someone who cannot be here. Not just the man you were in this body, but another man who couldn’t be here either. Neither of you, and yet…”
Desperation took over and she looked into the eyes again and saw beyond. Mies…she knew it now.
“Mies, oh, my God…”
The big hands moved from her arms to her face, curving along both cheeks, covering the side of her head. Heat licked into her skin and she felt tingling in her eyes, chest, and below.
“This was a mistake,” he said.
Moments later, he made another. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, the tiniest of pressure, before his tongue slid into her mouth to touch hers and he pulled back. “Forgive me.”
He was gone.
Sarah, shocked, couldn’t move.
Naji nipped Nikolai’s ear, and started to whisper something when she felt him pull away.
“Son of a bitch!” he yelled. “That’s the crazy-ass guy who tried to break into the museum the other night!”
Nikolai shot out of his seat, raced towards the bar as he saw the stranger kiss Sarah and then disappear off the edge of the deck. Fast. Vampire fast.
“Sarah!”
He watched her head swivel to face him, her eyes bathed in glistening moisture, unmoving.
“It was Mies.”
“What?”
“That man, I saw him, last Sunday night, in the E.R. and he died. Just now, I looked into his eyes, and I saw Mies. I’m not crazy, Nik!”
Nikolai’s gaze went to the beach below the deck, poorly lit, but he knew that he wouldn’t find him anyway.
Nodding, he brushed away tears that had slid onto her cheeks. “I know you’re not. That’s the guy who I saw in the lobby of the museum. Remember the guy I told you was staring at me? He said that the door was unlocked. I’m an idiot! The door wasn’t unlocked. Not to a vampire.”
Both dropped onto barstools, their eyes downcast, searching the air in thought. Slowly, Sarah lifted her head.
“He’s back.”
Nikolai couldn’t believe what they were thinking, what she was saying, and yet through all that, he knew the truth.
“My God, he is. Mies has been sent again.”
Shaking her head, Sarah held out her hands. “But why would he take off? Why wouldn’t he let us know that he was back? He has to know we missed him and need him. Nik, what the hell is going on?”
“I’m in the dark house, too, Sarah. I…I don’t know.
Now that I think about it, at the museum, I felt something when I got near him, a kind of dizziness. Then when I touched him, something odd. I think my body recognized him, Sarah. I think he knew that. Wait!”
Hanging on that word, she did, as she watched Nikolai sort something in his mind…a memory, she thought.
“He asked me if I was happy, if my life was normal. I didn’t know at the time, but now I understand. He tried to compel me to forget him, but it didn’t work. Of course not, this body knew him. I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to be magnanimous. He’s giving us the normal, happy, supernatural-free life that he thinks you want.”
“Running away from me? Leaving us? He thinks he’s doing this for us?”
“I’m sure of it.”
“I don’t understand. He has to know that we need him. I need him.” The moisture welled again. “His daughter needs him.”
“Sweetheart, he can’t know about Zia. If he did, I don’t think all the powers in the universe could stop him from coming to her.”
“Why wouldn’t he do that for me? How can he not know that I fell hard for his sorry vampire ass?”
The bartender, who’d been wiping some glasses nearby, looked up when she said the word vampire.
Nikolai grinned. “She just means all men are blood-suckers. You know women.”
Sarah wiped her nose with a napkin and squinted at Nikolai. “Really? Misogynist crap?”
“Sorry.” He took Sarah’s hand and led her away from the curious bartender. “You said the V word, not me.”
“I did? I’m sorry, I’m a bit distraught. We have to find him.”
“We’ll find him.”
Naji stood as they approached the table when she saw Sarah’s face. “Have you been crying? Nik, what did that man do to her?”
“Family, let’s finish our dinner, then we’ll go back to the apartment to discuss the fact that Mies is back.”
His eyes on Naji when he said that, he watched as understanding hit.
“Oh,” she said and sat down wordlessly.
“Yes, this is not the place.”
“I can’t eat,” Sarah said, looking at the empty plate in front of her that was waiting for some of the special food in four large dishes in the center of the table.
Naji picked up Sarah’s plate and began to fill it. “You’ll eat, and you’ll enjoy it. We don’t let men spoil our good times, and Mies is, essentially, just a man. So, we are going to celebrate my return and then we’ll talk about the suddenly not AWOL you-know-what.”
Coughing on a laugh, Sarah hesitated, shook her head, picked up her fork and stabbed a thin piece of beef.
“You never fail to amaze me. You guys are right, we’ll find him. I am so hungry, and I don’t want to ruin this.”
“Right. So we enjoy our dinner, and then we deal with all the crazy vampire shit when we get home.” Naji filled her plate even higher than Sarah’s.
Miles from Shay’s, Mies slowed to a walk, the sand cool under his bare feet. He’d slung his shoes over his shoulder, laces tied, and rolled up the bottom of his jeans to walk in the low surf.
He wanted her. Worse than ever. Why would they put him back here when all he would do was hurt her? Two nights ago he’d decided to leave this country and he wished he had done so. Once he established a friendship with a vampire in this century, he would send that vampire to remove Mies from her and Nikolai’s memories, and fix this forever.
“Live happily and love deeply, Sarah,” he whispered.
For the next hour he wandered along the gentle waters as the cold waves kissed his feet. This new body had adapted well, had adjusted to the power moving through it, and was ready to resume life as a vampire. Mies was ready, after all of the pain that last visit created, and the new hurt he’d unwittingly caused tonight to both himself and the woman he loved, to just live again in the new world.
He came upon an area where someone had carved stone seats into the solid rock wall that lined the edge of the water. A big man sat in one, the darkness barely illuminating him, but as Mies moved closer, he didn’t need to see him to know that the man was vampire, and first blood as well. The unexpectedness of finding a first blood vampire here left Mies cautious.
The man looked up, eyes glittering in the limited light, and Mies knew that he had been tagged too.
“Good evenin’,” the vampire said as Mies approached.
An obvious Scottish accent helped Mies place his origin. He didn’t know him, but he doubted he would. It was unlikely anyone from his time had survived the six millennia that had passed since then.
“Good evening.” Mies carefully dropped into one of the stone cutouts several feet from the vampire.
“How do ya find yerself on this stretch of lonely beach this night? It’s highly unusual to find a first blood in America, let alone two in one place lookin’ at the sea.”
“Troubles of a long life, but I think you would understand.”
The man sighed. “Aye.” After a pause, he held out his hand. “I’m Xavier, from Paris.”
“Paris?”
“Aye. Not my birthplace, no, but it’s where my clan mostly resides. Easier there to maintain anonymity. And where might ya be from sir?”
Mies wasn’t ready to declare himself. Truly, he wasn’t sure he knew what to declare. He was new and that meant he had to build his world from scratch. So he chose convenience and caution.
“Nick. I travel a great deal, and don’t declare one place home.”
“That sounds genuinely brilliant. Responsibilities are exhaustin’. I’m here on family duty and now I’m done, so I’m headin’ to a pub for some libation before I get back into that tin can. Would ya like to join me?”
It would be good for him to reconnect with a first blood, anything to take his mind from his Sarah. He needed to purge his desire for her.
“Sir, that is exactly what I need.”
“I don’t know Boston well, but I can’t imagine two first bloods can’t find a bar or two here. I’ve a car on the street out there.”
Xavier stood. “Shall we go?”
Mies tore his eyes off the beach that led back to Shay’s, and followed Xavier to his car.
“Och, this city welcomes the visitor. I’ve had four lovely ladies since I’ve been here and they’ve all been very hospitable. Ya should choose a pretty blonde and find a place to get together.”
“You’re right,” Mies commented. His head felt too heavy. Both men had partaken liberally of various alcohols since they arrived an hour ago. “Have you ever been in love, Xavier?”
Shaking his head, Xavier finished off a glass of locally brewed beer. “Nay. It’s my opinion that no one woman can keep me happy indefinitely.”
“That’s probably wise. I need to get there.”
“I noticed, my friend. Ye’re in love and it isn’t reciprocated?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. She’s human and doesn’t want anything to do with vampires. I’m trying to stay away from her.”
“Ye’ve a big problem then. This is the real reason I don’t stick around long enough to fall in love. I’ve seen love tear a strong man to pieces, and it’s not pretty. By lovin’ the way that I do, I’ve never suffered the pain of loss. One woman moves on and another takes her place.”
“You have little respect for women?”
“Ah, no, lad! I’ve a great deal of respect! They’re beautiful, all of them, inside and out. Ya know that they are every bit as satisfied afterward as I am. I don’t use compulsion for sexual conquests, just to wipe memories when we’re finished.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Mies raised a glass of Scotch. “You’re a good man, Xavier. I would be proud to call you friend.”
“Ya can never have too many. To new friends, Nick. If ya ever need a place in France to rest yer head, ye’re always welcome at my keep.”
“Much appreciated.”
After toasting their new friendship, Xavier grinned and raised up his eyebrows. “Now that’s what I
’m talkin’ about. See that little blonde in the corner over there? She’s been lookin’ at ya for a while. Go get ya some, lad. Nothin’ makes a man feel better than buryin’ his cock in a fine warm place.”
Mies agreed. The blonde Xavier pointed out was indeed fine, but she wasn’t what he wanted. He shook his head.
Xavier set his drink down and touched Mies’s hand.
“Ya have it bad.”
“It may take some time before I can be with a woman again. I’m in love, and I have to get out of this country and leave her behind where she’ll make love with another man. What can hurt more?”
Xavier tried to use impression to help his new buddy feel better, but from first blood to first blood, it usually didn’t work. Some of the women in his clan had the talent, but he didn’t.
“Let’s get stinkin’ drunk, forget all this shite, and collapse until sundown. Aye?”
“Aye.”
When the sun began to rise, it couldn’t penetrate the basement room where two first blood males lay passed out. Mies slept, free of dreams and memories, for the first time since he’d returned.
While Mies was using alcohol to numb his pain, Sarah held her baby in her arms as she stood on the balcony of her home watching a rising moon, and sent a prayer to the powers of the earth and sky.
“Bring him to us, please. You brought him to me to give this little girl life, so let us have her father to help guide her. I am not what she needs, not alone, so please, bring him home.”
She kissed Crezia’s brow. After she carried the child into their bedroom, she eased onto her bed, her usual nightgown abandoned at the foot. In the darkness, she visualized the face that Mies now wore.
Handsome, more so because she saw him inside, his touch had started the fire at her core again. For months, she’d had no sexual need, not even battery-powered. Now, strong spasms pushed through her. The need was back, intense, but she didn’t want anyone but Mies, in whatever body he’d been placed.
Her mother slept, finally, Zia could feel her rest, her breathing even. Abstract thoughts and ideas assaulted her mind from all the input that came at her daily, but something new, something important, came to her through the air. It traveled along the spiritual plane and reached for her. Father. What she knew was that he did not know she waited for him, so she let her mind and spirit wander and reached out to him.
