Romance with a Bite

by Tamsin Baker

  I aped Ben’s movements. I rather liked the sound of a stake rolled into my hair. I could see myself pulling it out and using it, successfully, of course, on the next vampire who threatened me.

  Ben’s stretching displayed impressive muscles in his thighs, arms and shoulders. He was much taller than me, wider and stronger. I’d watched countless YouTube videos showing smaller fighters taking down much bigger opponents. So far I’d only practiced on invisible opponents in my bedroom, with Snuggles watching like a Sphinx. I rolled my shoulders. How hard could it be?

  Ben gave the signal to start and we approached one another cautiously. My only chance was taking him by surprise.

  When we met in the center of the mat, I made sure to keep myself side on. I grabbed his arm and pinned it to his body and at the same time, I delivered an upward palm strike beneath his chin. It worked! His head and shoulders dropped farther back than his waist and he flailed his free arm to try and regain his balance.

  On a high, I swung my leg forward, hooked it behind his knee, and pushed his head to the ground. He stumbled backwards, and I tumbled on top of him. Sitting astride his hips, I mimed staking his heart.

  My joy didn’t last long.

  He grabbed my shoulders, bucked, and had me underneath him in a nanosecond. “Not bad. Where did you learn that move?”

  “YouTube.”

  He burst out laughing, stood and pulled me up.

  “What’s so funny?” I jammed my fists onto my hips. “If I’d really had a pointy stick in my hand you would be dead, or at least damaged.”

  “That’s what’s so funny, cousin.” He grinned and tweaked my nose. “Back to your corner. We’re beyond basics now.”

  Oh, oh. I may have bitten off more than I can chew.

  Chapter Eleven

  A fifteen-minute break between lessons wasn't long enough to do much, but in spite of it only being mid-week in my second week on the job, I craved a large, double chocolate, hot cocoa from my favorite bakery around the corner from the school. Four nights of solid training left me stiff, sore and ravenous.

  I couldn’t ignore the chocolate croissants, but I used up reserves of willpower to get a mini rather than the full-sized, monster pastry. Feeling quite proud of myself, I tucked the goodie in my bag. With umbrella in one hand, drink in the other, and the pastry safe from the rain, I stepped from the warm bakery to the wintery street.

  My hair flapped wildly around my face. Rain, almost horizontal, threatened to rip the umbrella from my hands. I muttered under my breath. Any other day I might have waited out the storm, but second week on the job I didn’t want to get back late.

  As I set off with my head bowed into the wind, an extra strong gust blew the umbrella inside out. With grim determination, I darted under an awning to try and right it. At this rate, I’d arrive at my Wednesday afternoon study hall late, bedraggled and exhausted.

  “It's the right weather for ducks and frogs."

  The honeyed baritone voice brought a smile to my face.

  “Nic." In spite of the sleet-induced numbness I gave him a full smile.

  He touched his cheek to mine and made small kissing sounds, three times, in the European way of greeting.

  In a designer trench coat that draped over his fabulous body and his hair tousled like a kid playing in the snow, he looked every bit the devilishly handsome, rich man about town. Of course, I couldn’t help thinking about what Ben told me, and I’d confirmed in Tilly’s journals. An old vampire male and a powerful dhampir female could produce a vampire child—one who might develop into a devastatingly powerful adult vampire. If Nic knew about my parentage, then he knew more than me. Our attraction to one another was real, I would bet on it.

  Nic waited with his head cocked to one side. My expression had no doubt traveled through every emotion that surged and welled within me. It's not as if I hadn't thought about children, but I definitely hadn't foreseen a vampire child on the horizon. Besides, in spite of the whole blood-drinking thing and the best sex ever, I hardly knew the man.

  He pulled me closer to the wall and out of the way of people scurrying to keep out of the rain. “Are you not teaching today?"

  I lifted the hot chocolate. “Just on a break. A short one, unfortunately.”

  “Then let me walk you back while we talk. I'm glad we've bumped into one another." He flashed me an impish smile. “How about dinner this weekend? Are you free on Saturday?"

  "I'm sure I am.” And if not, I would make it so. I might not know him well yet, but I had every intention of getting to know him better.

  He folded my umbrella correctly and tucked it under his arm. His own umbrella was much larger and he held it in front of us like a shield. He gripped my elbow and guided me, at a speed I could not have managed on my own, to the school portico.

  “Do you have a favorite restaurant?”

  “I haven’t been here long enough to eat at many.” Actually, the speakeasy party was the only place I’d visited since drinks with my colleagues over a week ago. Nic didn’t need to know how much of a home-body I was, though. Not yet, at least.

  “Then I will take you to one of my favorites. Shall I pick you up at seven?”

  “Perfect.” Except for Ben’s reaction when I told him I’d be taking Saturday afternoon off training to get ready for dinner with Nic. But Ben was a big boy. He’d have to deal with it.

  Nic still held my umbrella, so I had one hand free and I put it to good use on Nic’s shoulder. I pulled him close and brushed my lips against his. Just a quick touch, I forced myself to pull away quickly. If one of my students saw us, I’d never hear the end of it.

  Nic had other ideas, though. With one hand behind my head, he pulled me back and lowered his mouth to mine. I couldn’t help reacting and parted my lips, letting in his tongue. Tangling my hand in his hair, I invaded his mouth.

  I felt his fangs slide out and let out a small gasp. “Might be wise to wait until we are away from here.”

  “Agreed.”

  Just one simple word, yet so seductively growled, he set off tremors across my shoulders. He touched his fingertip to his mouth and then my lips. “Until Saturday, then.”

  He walked away with the unhurried grace of a predator at the peak of his game. I, on the other hand, needed to get my head back into my teaching persona and raced to my classroom. Study hall was typically used for students to complete projects or homework, but the allocated teacher was required to be there for the entire two periods. I hung my coat in the closet, took a few long sips of my now not so hot, but still delicious, hot chocolate and dashed as quickly as I dared up the stairs.

  Only four minutes late and students still meandered in. I sipped quietly while the last of class settled in their chairs.

  I leaned back on the desk at the front of the class. “Does everyone have work to do?”

  Half the students responded, the rest pulled out books and laptops and busied themselves with something.

  “I’ll walk around in a moment to see if anyone needs help.” And to make sure they were all working and not playing games or online shopping. Not that I doubted their ability to switch from whatever to work in a nanosecond as I walked behind them. Speaking of online shopping, I had nothing elegant enough to wear to Nic's favorite restaurant. If I ordered today and paid for two-day shipping, I’d no doubt get a package delivered on Friday or Saturday. But what if his favorite restaurant was a more casual affair? I had papers to mark but this was more important, for my sanity as well as my love life.

  I sat at the desk, switched on my own laptop and started opening my favorite retail sites. But two empty chairs filled my line of sight. I did a double take around the room. Neither Faith nor Cindy had joined us in class. They’d both been here this morning, I was sure of it. I messaged the guidance counselor to see if the girls had booked the afternoon off, but she quickly responded to let me know that no they hadn’t, nor had their parents called to collect them.

  “Has anyone heard from Faith or
Cindy?”

  Heads shook around the room.

  “Didn’t even see them at lunch, Ms. Thompson.” Veronica twirled her hair.

  “Did anyone see them at lunchtime?” Concern spiked in my chest. It was a small school, and difficult for anyone to hide.

  More head shaking, this time from everyone.

  “Pair of nerds are probably in the library. I can go and check?” Jake tossed a stress ball into the air, caught it and lobbed it Veronica’s head.

  Veronica screeched and I blew out a sigh. They acted like eight-year-olds instead of eighteen-year-olds sometimes. “Quiet down, Veronica, it was a small foam ball, not a baseball. I'll have that, thank you, and no one needs to go to the library.”

  I stood to collect the ball, but one of Jake’s friends grabbed it and tossed it to him. With a huge smirk, Jake whirled the ball at me. I surprised everyone in the classroom, and most of all me, when I caught it one-handed in front of my face. When Ben told me that my reaction times would speed up, I hadn’t believed him, but I did now. I grinned back at Jake. Better reflexes could be quite useful.

  I took a perverse pleasure in the shock on his face. “Have you always been partial to detention, Jake Williams?”

  He recovered quickly. “Only now you have detention duty, Louisa Thompson." He drew out my name with a fake Southern drawl, and made kissy noises into the palm of his hand. Damn. Obviously, he, or one of his cronies, had spotted Nic and myself in the portico. It would be all around school by the end of the day. I willed myself not to blush, folded my arms across my chest, and returned his stare.

  "I can always make sure your detention is scheduled when Ms. Merriweather is on duty, and I will be reporting your actions. You know better than throwing items at anyone.”

  He muttered something about cruel punishment, which got a laugh from his friends, but luckily the class settled down. I messaged the librarian and she graciously checked the large library for me. Unfortunately, she saw no sign of either Faith or Cindy.

  I’d give them another half-hour, but if they still hadn't shown up, I’d have to report them to the headmistress and they could well be joining Jake for his detention.

  #

  “Come in, Louisa.” Ms. Merryweather—I still hadn’t called her Penelope to her face yet—turned away from her computer screen to give me her full attention. “Sit down. You have settled in well, I know. Is there anything I can help you with?”

  “Thank you. I’m enjoying it here. It’s possible Faith and Cindy are missing. They haven’t missed any other class as far as I know, and it looks like they may not have been here since sometime in the morning.”

  I talked her through the meagre information I had. She agreed it was very unusual behavior and called both girls’ parents on speaker while I sat in the office. Neither were concerned. The mature and reliable eighteen-year-olds often slept over each at other’s places, and both girls had considerable freedom.

  “You don’t look happy, Louisa.” Ms. Merryweather tilted her head.

  I couldn’t explain the slow tightening in my muscles. But something didn’t feel right. I had no classes with them on Thursday. I shook the feeling off. “I’ll be happier when I see them on Friday.”

  She pulled up their schedule for Thursday. “I will follow up with their teachers tomorrow. Try not to worry.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I arrived home on Thursday evening after overseeing detention and deflecting Jake’s snide remarks to find a parcel at my front door. I raced inside, greeted Snuggles and ripped the packaging open. The dress fit perfectly. The ocean-colored ombre-style looked even prettier than it had in the photos online and it would be the easiest thing in the world to dress up with pashmina and high heels, or dress down with boots and a jacket.

  I was in the kitchen making dinner when Ben called. I put him on speaker so I could continue whisking eggs for the frittata.

  "I'm making enough dinner for a quartet. You’re welcome to join me before practice if you’re free."

  It sounded like he was driving. “That's an offer I wouldn't normally refuse, but practice is off for tonight."

  “No problem. You’re entitled to an evening off.”

  "I wish it were that simple. Your missing students are now officially missing. Neither of them came home last night. I've called in some extra deputies for the search. “

  My stomach hardened and I slumped into a chair. “Faith and Cindy? They’ve been missing since Wednesday, lunchtime. We should have been looking last night—”

  “Yeah, Faith and Cindy. Each girl told their parents they were sleeping over with the other, and apparently, they did it so often no one checked this time and assumed they’d gone to school as normal. Gotta go. I'm here and have to brief my new deputies.”

  “Good luck. I wish I could help.”

  “Be careful what you wish for, and pray that what started for you last Friday night wasn’t the start of something bigger.”

  Ben disconnected the call. I wiped at my face to remove tiny beads of sweat from the top of my lips. Snuggles jumped into my lap and head-butted my chest. His purring ramped up as I scrunched my fingertips around his ears.

  “I’ve lost my appetite, bubs. Where on earth are the girls?”

  Images of what could be flashed through my mind. I’d reported their failure to show up at the Wednesday afternoon study hall. They were both eighteen, though, and normally such good students everyone probably assumed they were off working on a project together. Snuggles nudged my hand to let me know I’d forgotten to pet him.

  Stroking him from head to tail calmed my racing pulse and I silently prayed to the universe and Mother Earth with every fiber in my being. We sat like that for a long time. It was completely dark when Ben called back.

  I grabbed the phone. “You found them?”

  “No. I’m on my way to get you. You need to see Faith’s bedroom.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Better for you to see everything with your own viewpoint unbiased by mine. Be there in five.”

  No time to change. My teacher clothes would have to do.

  #

  A dark-haired, broad-shouldered deputy greeted us at the front door of Faith’s home. He nodded at Ben and returned to his post at the end of the hall. A policewoman sat with a crying woman and a red-faced man in the living room. Probably her parents. I stopped for a second and the man glanced at me, a spark of recognition in his eyes.

  “Mr. Hewitt.” I stepped forward and took his hand. “I’m Faith’s teacher. We met at the start of the year. I’m so sorry about Faith and will help in any way I can.”

  He squished his eyebrows together as if struggling to remember, before nodding and turning back to his wife.

  Ben nudged me toward the deputy. He nodded at Ben, looked me up and down, and opened the door to let us into Faith’s bedroom.

  I mouthed a wow. It looked like the command center from a low-budget cop show.

  A large map, hand drawn on a length of peach-colored butcher paper, was taped along one wall. Five red push pins clustered together close to the rapids area on the river. Six or seven others led from the rapids, past the Gravier mansion, towards town. Cards crowded with writing hung from photographs stuck to the wall, strands of crimson cotton spread from each red pin to one or more of the photos.

  Struck mute, I stared at the photographs. A blurry shot of Adrian Boardman caught my eye and I edged closer to read the details Faith had collected about him. I didn’t read a word of it however, because as I got closer, I noticed the top of the board. There, stabbed through with what looked like a wickedly sharp letter opener, shone a clear photo of Nic laughing at a cocktail party.

  I yanked it off the wall. A brunette in a clingy red dress, exposing most of a boob job that must have cost a fortune, whispered in his ear. At least she looked close enough to whisper. Jealousy burned in my chest. I forced my jaw to relax. Unwarranted. Nic was so hot, he came with a high fire danger warning. Of cours
e, women threw themselves at him, and he’d probably caught a few, too.

  Caught more than a few, no doubt. He’d caught me and I hadn’t even realized I’d tossed my hat into the ring to compete for him. I corralled my racing emotions. Yes, we’d smooched, and yes, he was a hell of a kisser. And yes, we’d had sex—the man was sex on a stick for heaven’s sake—and he knew his way around a woman’s body like carnal sin personified. Still, I had no justification for the rush of green that clouded my vision.

  “What do you see?” Ben’s voice sounded close to my shoulder.

  It took me a moment to realize that he meant Faith’s whole room, not just the curling photograph I held in my hand.

  He blew out a sigh. “Might have known you would hone in on his picture, cousin dearest.

  “Of course.” I found a red push pin on Faith’s desk and returned the photo to the board. Hopefully Ben hadn’t noticed the flush in my cheeks or the slight tremor in my voice. This wasn’t about me and Nic, or me, Nic and Ben. “Nic is the head of the vampire clan around here, isn’t he?”

  “For now.”

  “What do you mean? Is he due for re-election or something?”

  “Or something.” Ben gave my ponytail a pull. Gentle enough for fun, but his mouth didn’t quirk into even a half-smile. “Vampire society is not democratic. Nic will lose his mantle, probably his life, as soon as someone challenges and beats him.”

  I shivered as an ice-cold lump took up residence in my core and an overwhelming sense of dread filled my head. I focused on sucking in enough oxygen and caught Ben watching me with his eyebrows drawing together.

  When I got my breathing under control I continued with my questions. “I thought that was only a shifter thing.”

  “No.” Ben shook his head and looked away. “It’s a predator thing.”