by Candy Crum
He smiled and nodded. “You’re doing surprisingly well. Definitely adjusting a lot faster than I would have imagined. You’ve had a tough road. But don’t worry about it. It’s no problem at all. That’s what we’re here for.”
As he finished his sentence, his eyes slowly wandered up and down her body. She noticed immediately, but curiosity kept her from saying anything. She felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze in nothing more than a thin robe, but she also found it exciting.
She cleared her throat again, forcing down the anxiety rising in her belly. “Well, I should probably get changed and get to bed. I need to get up really early.” She forced a nervous smile.
He nodded and slowly stood from the bed. His eyes never left her as he made his way toward the door that was conveniently located directly behind Kailah.
As she turned to open the door for him, she was startled to feel that it wouldn’t budge. She looked up to see his large hand planted flat against it. Her breath immediately caught in her throat only a second before he spun her around, his face no more than an inch or two away from hers.
“Aeric.” It was nothing more than a choked whisper. It had been so long since she’d been in such a situation, and she wasn’t sure how to respond. Especially knowing she was his mortal enemy. “What are you doing?”
He smiled as one of his hands gently moved to her hip. Once again, she was reminded of just how little she was wearing as she immediately felt the heat from his hand pass through the thin fabric. She opened her mouth to speak, but he was much faster than her.
He pressed her tighter against the door, his large body pinning her against the wood as he covered her mouth with his own. Passion ignited between them. She had never been kissed in such a way, and she had certainly never felt such attraction. She wondered if it was organic or if it was partly due to the forbidden fruit aspect of it all.
She tried to push him away, but it had nothing to do with not wanting him. The sudden desperation she felt brought intense pressure pulsing between her legs, and she found herself quickly wanting much more than she thought should happen between them.
His lips continued to move against hers, and she deepened the kiss. He tasted sweet, and his lips were soft and skilled. She felt the heat moving through her body as her heart raced and her breaths quickened.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer to her and moaned as his tongue caressed her lower lip. He placed his hands on the back of her thighs and easily picked her up. Her legs encircled his waist as he ground himself against her wetness.
Aeric pulled away from her as he kissed his way down her jaw to her neck, his tongue licking and tasting her along the way. He worked his way to the hollow of her throat before making his way up to her earlobe. There was no stopping the next moan that escaped her as he pulled it into her mouth and nibbled the sensitive flesh, sucking lightly.
“Kailah,” he said.
“Hmm?” It was all she could manage, but she did her best. His deep, accented voice was enough to drive her mad, too.
“Kailah, are you okay?” he asked.
“Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked.
Her eyes opened, and then they widened. Reality set in, and she was pulled back to herself so quickly it felt like she’d had a bucket of ice water dumped on her.
The first thing she noticed was that she was actually standing in the hallway—not her bedroom. She hadn’t even made it that far from the bathroom yet. The second thing that she noticed was that in one hand, she had a bag full of toiletries, and in the other, a hairbrush.
Not a Vampire.
The third thing she noticed was that Aeric had one hand on each of her shoulders, more than likely trying to shake her awake. He wore a concerned look on his face, and she couldn’t say that she blamed him.
But the biggest and most important thing that occurred to her right then was that he was a Vampire with telepathy, and he more than likely saw every last second of that. In fact, she knew that he did.
“Oh, shit,” she said.
“What’s wrong?” He looked completely oblivious, and she almost sighed in relief. Hope radiated through her that he hadn’t seen it after all.
“Uh, nothing. Nothing at all,” she lied. “Thanks for checking.”
He nodded. “Okay then. I laid your pajamas on the bed and hung up your clothes for you. It seems they bought you some new scrubs. Sayen knew you’d be asking to go back to work.”
“Of course, she did,” Kailah replied. “But that was very sweet of her. And thank you, too.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Ugh! God, yes! I’m fine, okay? It’s just—no offense or anything—but you’re kind of the last person I want to be around right now.” And there it was. Her anxiety had raised out of embarrassment, and it instantly weakened the control she had over her Immortal filter, or lack thereof.
She felt appalled at herself for lashing out right then, especially after he’d gone to the trouble to make her feel as comfortable as possible. Awkward situations shut her down and made her feel almost scared, but that was no excuse. He didn’t deserve to be treated like shit because she’d had a random—what?
Fantasy?
Vision?
Momentary lapse in judgment?
Worried she might say or do something else she would regret, Kailah darted around Aeric and ran into her room before shutting the door behind her. As soon as the door latched, she heard him softly call her name.
“What?” Her impatience would have been obvious to anyone with ears. She opened the door a little and looked out into the hall.
Aeric was standing there with a smile. “I just wanted to say good night. I would say sweet dreams, but I suppose it’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”
She looked at him with confusion for a moment before realization struck her. “You bastard!”
His smile widened. “Visions and dreams are a little harder to ignore than normal thoughts. They come from the subconscious and are far louder. I can’t really say if the same is true for fantasies or not, but I certainly saw that one.” He winked.
“Oh! You bastard! Stay out of my head. You need to focus on minding your own damn business. Concentrate until you die for all I care, you arrogant…” She bit her tongue to stop the last curse from forming and slammed the door with a loud grunt.
She hated that she’d lost her temper again, but he’d earned that one.
Sweet dreams, he said telepathically with obvious humor.
She groaned.
Suddenly, she couldn’t wait to get up and get to work in the morning. She just hoped that her real dreams were uneventful. The last thing she wanted was that smartass thinking she wanted him and using it to ridicule her. She wasn’t exactly sure why she had that vision, but she knew it was not a fantasy as Aeric suggested—asshat.
Though… If it wasn’t a fantasy, that meant it could have been destined to happen.
Nope. Never, she thought coldly, the sound of laughter echoing in her mind.
Chapter Seven
As always, that damnable alarm came way too soon for Kailah, especially after the night before. The instant consciousness found her, she remembered the embarrassing moment with Aeric, and it made her want to pass back out—forever.
The bed had been amazing, but she was more than happy to get up and get out of the house as soon as possible. As comfortable as she’d been, sleeping had been nearly impossible. She tossed and turned as intrusive thoughts kept her awake, and once she fell asleep, the dreams came. Several of those had varied on the heat scale with obscene acts performed with a certain Vampire she wanted to go back to hating.
She wondered how much of it was natural and how much of it was him messing with her. Deep down, she hoped it was him influencing her dreams to be a dick and not the other way around.
After debating for longer than what she’d wanted, Kailah finally decided to jump in the shower. She was someone who frequently grew t
ired on long car trips, and she had an hour drive ahead of her—with no traffic. Once she hit traffic, she was looking at no less than thirty minutes extra for her already long commute from Louisville, Kentucky to Seymour, Indiana.
Once she finished with her shower, she threw her hair in a wet, messy bun and grabbed some scrubs from the closet. Amanda must have helped because they were Cherokee brand. Those were Kailah’s favorite. They were the only ones that fit right around the waist and hips and were long in the legs.
She threw them on, gathered her things, and rushed downstairs. Aeric was awake and looked like he hadn’t even been to sleep.
“What are you doing up?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I knew you didn’t sleep well, so I didn’t think you’d wake up early enough to eat.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “How did you know I didn’t sleep well?”
Waving his hand, he said, “No, no. I heard you tossing and turning, and you whimpered a lot in your sleep. Yes, I was curious, but no, I didn’t look. I was a good boy. Anyway, I made this for you.”
He reached over to the counter and grabbed a perfectly wrapped burrito, from the looks of it.
“It’s a breakfast burrito. Sausage, eggs, and a whole lot of awesomeness I think you’ll like.” He winked.
“Thank you,” she said. “You’re right. I didn’t wake up early enough to eat. Well, I did, but then I laid there forever trying to figure out if I wanted to shower or not. But this smells amazing, and it’s still warm.”
“You’re welcome. You better run, or you’re going to be late,” he said.
“Oh!” she exclaimed before running toward the door. “I’m so scatterbrained that I can talk about being late while forgetting I’m going to be late.”
“Take mine,” he said. She turned to look at him with confusion, but he’d moved at inhuman speeds. He was now standing by the front door holding his keys. “Take the Charger. I know you’ve been wanting to drive it since you saw it. Plus, it’s a lot faster than the Cruze.”
She smiled. They still hadn’t retrieved her car from Seymour, and she hoped it hadn’t been towed by then, not that it would be a big deal to get it back. Instead, she’d been driving Rachel’s Cruze around town.
She really had been wanting to drive the Dodge Charger—Khanae’s Challenger, too—but taking Aeric’s car to work seemed odd to her. Then again… She was definitely running late, and she would definitely need to make up some time.
“Thank you!” she said quickly, grabbing his keys. “I’ll make it up to you later!” That last bit was said as she slammed the door behind her.
I’ll hold you to that, Aeric responded telepathically. She thought there was something amusing in the tone of his mental voice, but she let it go. She didn’t have time to get feisty about it.
And just as suspected, she hit traffic just a few miles outside of Seymour. It was completely clustered, but she got off the interstate and took backroads. Normally, it would have taken more time, but she had no doubt it saved her ass that morning.
Walking into work felt familiar to her, and it pleased her. The evidence of the battle with Khia had all been erased. What had been left of the tree had been removed, and another had been planted in its place. The building was fully intact, and everything seemed… normal.
No one seemed to have any recollection of anything that had happened, and she knew that must have been Sydney’s doing. After asking around, she discovered that Sydney had “taken a more promising position elsewhere.” In other words, her job was finished there, and she got the hell out of town.
Kailah wanted to thank her properly for saving her life that day, but she had a feeling that wasn’t the last she’d see of her. If she was close to the queen, she’d be back at some point.
Kailah had been replaced temporarily in the ER, so she was sent up to the third floor to work in Medical/Surgical. Anyone admitted from the ER, surgery, or from a nursing home would be sent up to the third floor because that was also where the ICU was located.
It was calm and relaxed up there. She would make rounds and pass meds and chart. Most of the time, it was much calmer than the constant go-go-go of the busy emergency room, and she welcomed it for her first day back. Working with the elderly usually admitted there also reminded her of the time she worked with Amanda at a long-term care facility in Brownstown, the next town over.
Even in the new work environment, Kailah felt more at home at the hospital than she did at La Casa Dei Vampiri, though that wasn’t to say she didn’t feel comfortable there. It just always seemed to be a roller coaster of emotion. Highs and lows. Safety and danger. Happiness and anger. Aeric only complicated things further.
She forced away all thoughts of what she would have to return to when she went back to Louisville and focused on work. She got reports from the last shift and read charts before starting her rounds.
At the start of her shift, she would only have four patients to worry about. It was rare for her to have so few, so she kind of welcomed it. The patients’ meds were in order, and their labs checked out okay, so she wasn’t in for much.
One of her patients was an elderly man with pneumonia and dehydration. He was hospice and would be sent home soon. Another patient was a surprise—a infection following an appendectomy. She didn’t seem to be bad enough for admittance, and all her labs checked out great, but the hospital took admissions very seriously. It wasn’t done unless it was absolutely necessary, so she trusted their word.
The other two patients were also elderly. One was a fall who would be sent back to the long-term care facility later that day, and the other was being monitored for chest pain.
As Kailah passed one of the other nurses on duty, the woman barely even noticed her presence. Kailah, however, remembered her from the last time she’d worked with her. It was brief, only a couple of days during nursing clinicals before Kailah was officially hired on as a tech, which was the hospital’s title for a CNA.
Calli had been very rude. She refused to look Kailah in the eye, spoke down to her, and she’d even heard Calli bad mouthing the baby nurses in the breakroom while walking by to check on Calli’s patients.
Once Kailah hired on, she learned just how seriously her facility took interpersonal communications. The hospital wanted everything to move fluidly and everyone to work together without issue. Even with as much mandatory sensitivity training they had for working with co-workers, patients, families, and anything else you might come across, it was still possible for a stray to slip through.
That stray was Calli—and it looked like increased training hadn’t done her any good.
Kailah shook her head and ignored her. There was another tech on the floor, but Kailah had finished her duties for the time being and decided to give her a hand. The tech on that floor bounced back and forth between their Med/Surg unit and the ICU, so she would be very busy.
Nurse Kailah went to the rescue, delivering supplies for baths and showers, bed linen changes, and answering lights. When she made her way back to the nurse’s station, Calli’s eyes briefly lifted, and Kailah took the opportunity to smile at her. There wasn’t even a flicker of a response.
Well, this should be a hell of a fun day, Kailah thought to herself.
Shaking her head, Kailah sat down and opened the tech’s charts and filled in that she’d already passed ice and essentials to the patients. It would save the CNA some time when she returned.
“Hey, you. CNA. Kerri.”
Kailah’s nostrils immediately flared as she heard Calli’s emotionless and condescending voice. She forced herself to calm before turning to face the woman who looked at her expectantly.
“Yeah, you’re not going to last around here if you piss me off,” Calli said. “I’m your boss.”
Kailah’s eyes narrowed. Calli had seniority, but Kailah had rank. Kailah had a bachelors and was working towards her masters. Calli, however, was an LPN. While there was nothing wrong with that, when it came to who was boss, it went
by credentials in their facility, and Kailah was the only one with an RN.
“My name… Is Kailah. What can I help you with?” Her voice shook with anger, but she tried to hold it back.
Calli smiled, but it was a mean-girl smile. The type the perfect girls in school give to their victim right before destroying them in front of the whole school.
“Thanks, Tech. Anyway, as I was about to say, four is about to go home. I need help removing an IV.”
Kailah spun her chair around to face Calli. The woman was grating on her nerves hard, and she was about to lose it. “And by help… I’m betting that you mean you want me to go do it. Right?”
Calli smiled and sat back. “Boy… Look at you, smart girl. You got this all figured out.”
I hate you, she thought as she looked at the woman. However, since it was her first day back, she forced herself to nod. “No problem. And for future reference, I’m not a—”
“Thanks, Kelcey,” Calli said, not bothering to let Kailah respond.
At that moment, Kailah decided it was best if she kept her distance from the almighty Calli. She was too perfect to see the error of her ways.
After removing the IV like princess had asked her to, she went to the kitchenette area located in the center of the unit. It housed all the refreshments given to patients and patient visitors between meal times.
She pulled a Sprite from the mini-fridge and replaced it with another. She had just placed it in the back when a Coke fell from the top shelf and landed hard on the floor. The can burst open and sprayed sticky soda all over her calves, ankles, and shoes, soaking the floor.
“Damn it!” she shrieked before grabbing a towel from under the sink. She silently cursed her clumsiness as she cleaned up the mess.
When she stood, a cold chill ripped through her, one that was very familiar. She’d only felt it on one occasion, but it was something she’d never forget. Her body suddenly felt as though thousands of tiny shards of ice were climbing down her body. There was no nausea and no real fear, although she fully understood just how powerful the being was.
