“Well, we sort of came to that conclusion.” Jessica jumped off the stool, circled around the workbench and pointed a harsh finger at Ricard when he moved to follow. “Stay.”
Ricard bristled. She was barking commands at him like he was one of the rescue dogs running around the lab.
“Serge, what was Ricard talking about with the pillaging and ravaging and plucking?” She gave Ricard a sideways glance.
Commands from his mate or not, Ricard was not sitting back and letting her walk right into an interrogation trap that might cause him to kill one of his brethren. As it was, at that very moment he wanted nothing more than to physically remove Serge from the lab. The very sight of the vampire leader made him insane with…jealousy.
Jealous? I’m jealous?
The realization that he was experiencing jealousy was possibly more shocking than the actual jealousy.
“This is outrageous,” Ricard said in a voice much louder than he’d intended.
Jessica and Serge turned to look at him.
“Stay,” she repeated and once again pointed her finger.
“Rico, remain focused on our goal. Do not let your situation get the better of you,” Serge said.
Ricard was always calm. Logical. Never emotional. He was a very focused man, possibly more focused than even Serge. He cared about people and things and justice.
Jessica and Serge turned back toward the whiteboard.
The safety of others was a supreme cause in Ricard’s mind. And, as such, he was never, ever emotional about things. He simply did not get emotional. He hadn’t gotten choked up in years. Hundreds of years. He hadn’t had a moment of resentment or envy in so long he didn’t remember what that felt like.
But at this moment, seeing Serge standing only inches from his mate, talking to her about her family and what had happened, and explaining the information he’d like to recover from her and how that would work, was more than Ricard could tolerate.
His lip curled up to expose his fangs.
When Serge swore to her she would be safe with any member of The Vampire Guard, especially under the watchful eye of her mate, Ricard nearly attacked.
Comforting Jessica was Ricard’s job. He could no longer stand by and watch Serge explain.
Staying was out of the question. He plowed to the spot between Jessica and Serge, forcing them both to step back from each other. “I think I can explain what’s going to happen from this point. Thank you.” He cast a warning glare at Serge, who gave a very slight nod and stepped back.
“What’s to explain? You’re going to ask me questions that consciously I don’t know the answer to. You’re going to try to influence me, but since we’re mates, you won’t be able to accomplish that and someone else like Serge or Rafe will have to do it.” Jessica frowned. “And you’ll hang around, hovering like a nervous Neil getting PO’d over the entire episode, which might have been made slightly more comfortable if we had actually done the deed that we didn’t do.” She held the frown and shrugged.
“Did you tell her all that?” Ricard glanced over his shoulder at Serge, realizing he’d been so damn lost in his emotions he couldn’t recall any of the conversation between them.
“No, he didn’t. I added that last part on my own.” She looked every bit as annoyed as he felt.
“In the end, you will thank me for—” Ricard said.
“Doubt it,” she said and did not look away from his face. The little bullet stared straight into his eyes as though he was not a vampire.
This new experience of being stared down by a human was very off-putting. Ricard never used his vampire persona to intimidate people. Of course, he used his skill to provide nourishment but never more than that.
He never used his influence to proposition women. Never. Any women he dated never knew he was a vampire, but they agreed to encounters of their own volition. He never influenced them. He also made it very clear it was a date or a night of fun, but nothing more.
Ricard held very firm to the belief people should enter into relationships fully aware of the consequences. This belief had landed him in the very embarrassing spot of not bonding with his mate, whom he felt had simply agreed, not fully understanding the level of the commitment.
In front of another vampire his mate was clearly disappointed in him and not trusting. This night was not turning out the way a vampire would hope.
“Let’s not debate that now. We can discuss it more clearly after we’ve done this other thing.” Ricard scratched his head, then rubbed his temples, wishing there was a pill to cure vampire headaches brought on by the complications of bonding with one’s mate.
“Right, the other thing.” She stepped around Ricard, keeping that same annoyed look on her face. “Should we call Rafe to come now so that when Ricard can’t get the information we can just go straight into the whole vampire inquisition?” Her head moved and crazy curls bounced around her face.
“No. No, we shouldn’t,” Ricard said, struggling to keep from picking her up and running from the room with her. If he had his druthers, she’d be sound asleep in his bed where no one could possibly touch her.
“Fine. But, we’re just wasting time. If he was here, we’d be able to keep this ball rolling, then we could move onto the good part,” she said.
“The good part?” Serge asked.
“Yes, the part where we design our plan for finding Rollins, killing him, and destroying the laboratory.” She cuffed the lab coat sleeves up to her elbows, then folded her arms over her fully covered, yet clearly noticeable chest. “So, when are we going to start?”
Never had Ricard heard a more matter-of-fact tone spoken. The little curly-topped pipsqueak was certain about her intention to participate in Panthera’s demise.
“I see,” Serge said.
Sharp pains darted through Ricard’s chest. Rubbing the muscles, he used the tips of his fingers to try to force the pain to subside. But the reality was it was not a muscular issue.
This was his heart. Again. This woman was literally giving him a heart attack. If he’d been human, she’d have killed him by now.
“Ricard?” Serge asked.
“I’m fine.” He bent over to rest his hands on his knees and breathe.
“Is it your heart?” Jessica’s hand came to his back, gently rubbing up and down. “I think he has a bad heart. This happened last night, too.”
She bent so that chestnut ringlets bobbed beside his head. “Should you see a doctor? Does this happen all the time? You’re making me nervous.”
“No, I don’t need a doctor and this does not happen all the time.”
“You could have fooled me.” She pulled a chair up behind Ricard. “Sit. You should rest.” Walking to the cabinet near the fridge, she passed Serge and whispered, “I’m worried about him. I don’t think he’s well. Maybe this situation is too much stress for him.”
She didn’t wait for a response but grabbed a cup from the cabinet and yanked open the fridge. “Maybe some jui…”
She froze. The interior light lit her face, making her eyes sparkle. Her attention was riveted on the side of the fridge stocked with six bags of blood.
“There’s no juice,” she said and slowly reached for a bag. “I…maybe, you’d like this?” She turned and held the bag toward him.
“I’m fine.” Ricard could have used a drink. He could have used the blood and something stronger, but the last thing he wanted to do was freak her out by drinking in front of her.
She ignored what he said and carried the bag to him, keeping her arm out straight and the blood as far away from her body as possible. “You should drink. You look thirsty.”
Placing the blood on the counter beside Ricard, she slid the cup to him. “Do you need a straw?” She pointed toward the container beside the fridge.
“No. This is fine.” Ricard had no intention of allowing her to witness him drink before they had bonded. For whatever reason it made him worry that the sight of him drinking blood would burn itself
into her memory and terrify her.
He rose from the seat, took a deep cleansing breath and smiled. “I’m fine.” He swore to himself he would not allow anything else she said or did put him off his guard. He would not react in a way that indicated he was worried and he would not permit his reactions to be the reason she worried.
“You’re certain you’re okay?” She moved closer, looking up into his eyes. “I worry about you. Something makes me worry. This thing between us, I think.” She smoothed her hands over his chest.
The feel of her gentle caress was enough to soothe Ricard’s heart. He wanted to scoop her against him and hold her for the rest of the night.
“I’m fine. Truly. Thank you.” He smiled.
Over the many years he’d had friends. He had The Vampire Guard. They all cared for each other, but not since Genevieve had a woman cared for him in the way a lover or wife cares for a man.
He’d always been aware he missed this connection. But until this moment he had not realized just how much he had needed it. Stepping around her, he brought the bag back to the fridge.
“Well, if you’re sure you’re feeling better, let’s get back on track. We need information I may have, and it sounds like the only way we’re really going to be able to get it is for someone who isn’t Ricard to go after it. I like Rafe. I was comfortable with him and not afraid. I don’t see why we shouldn’t ask him to join us. That way we can keep this moving,” she said.
Closing the refrigerator door with more force than intended, Ricard turned to face them both. “We shouldn’t ask him, and the reason is because I would be more comfortable using Serge. He’s more skilled. He’s older, wiser. He’s a safer bet.” Ricard had been practicing this answer since the moment he’d realized Rafe was influencing his mate.
He’d known eventually he’d have to defend his behavior. This was the best answer he’d been able to muster in order to avoid the truth.
The truth was not a viable answer because admitting he was overtaken by a rage of jealousy-fueled vengeance was not happening, even if it had been obvious to everyone else.
“Is it really about your comfort? What about mine?” Jessica tilted her head to the left and a long curly cue dropped between her eyes. “Why should I have to let two different vampires poke around in my brain?” Her fingers plunged into her hair, pushing curls up and over and back. None of it helped to organize them.
Ricard’s attention on the subject at hand faltered when she blinked those big sparkling eyes at him. Her lips formed the slightest pout, and he was absolutely lost.
“If it pleases you, love. We’ll ask Rafe to join us.” He heard the words with everyone else. In fact he practically had an out-of-body experience, watching his mesmerized face ogle at this woman. She could have asked him to go stake himself in the midday sun, and he’d have done it.
“Then it’s settled. Serge, please call Rafe. I want to get this done.”
The enormity of this realization jolted Ricard back to the moment. “Wait,” he said, but the word was barely a whisper, choked by his desire to please her.
No longer able to consider what Jessica might think of what she was about to see, Ricard whirled around, jerked open the fridge and grabbed two bags of blood.
Damn the straws.
Chapter Fourteen
Jessie sat cross-legged in a comfy seat located in the office behind the lab, holding Canella. The sweet little dog made squealing whiny noises as she played with a stuffed monkey.
Hundreds of photos covered two walls. All were taken indoors or at night. Jessie deduced that a vampire must have been in each picture. She recognized Alice and Maddie in a few.
In the corner sat three giant pots from which large plants grew up the walls and onto the ceiling. One even pushed a ceiling tile aside. The desk held a computer, phone, and several piles of paper. Charts were strewn across the work area as though they’d been studied over and over.
Coming from the lab three voices debated what questions would be asked of her by whom and in what order. It was clear from the tone of Ricard’s voice the entire situation upset him.
Jessie didn’t understand his angst. She hardly knew him, but she certainly could tell he hated Rafe, which seemed an extreme response.
Footsteps approached the room, and she recognized Ricard’s gait. A swell of excitement fluttered in her chest. She hadn’t felt this way about anyone in years, and she liked it. Twisting to the side to see him coming, she smiled, but was surprised to be met by glaring eyes and a scowl.
She turned back toward the desk.
Behind her the door shut. Ricard moved to the chair at the desk. Sitting before her, his hands resting on his legs, eyes scanning the desk in quick motion, he didn’t seem to notice her sitting there.
For what seemed like several minutes they sat in silence, Canella’s happy whimpers the only sound in the room. She was just about to stand and leave when Ricard finally spoke.
“I must be completely honest with you.” He sat back, looking at her. “I have not been to this point, and I believe it is what’s making me crazy.”
Jessie felt an impending doom hang above her head. This was exactly how she felt nearly every time she took Joshua to an appointment. In the beginning there was fear, then hope, then nothing but dread. At this moment dread was all she felt.
Was he about to say he didn’t want her? Did he not care for her as he’d said? It was plausible. Why should either of them be forced to “mate”? They didn’t even know each other.
It was ludicrous to think they should simply spend the rest of their lives together for the sheer fact that some invisible silliness made them feel compelled to one another.
Let’s not forget Jessie had issues. Her family’s ties to Panthera would be nothing but a problem for Ricard, not to mention Jessie was probably wanted. She was probably next in line for the Panthera experimental fun ride. Why would Ricard want to be associated with that? Why should he? She could not condemn him to all this trouble.
“I know what you’re going to say. I understand. I have a lot of baggage.” She sighed and cuddled Canella close to her chest. “It’s foolish for you to tie yourself down with me.”
She stood. She’d walk out with her head held high. She would not let him break it off with her, whatever it really was. She’d always heard you should be the one to break things off rather than be the recipient of the breakup. Apparently, the breaker-upper always felt better than the breakee-upped.
“I love Canella, and thank you for giving her to me. However, I can’t keep her. I can’t have a pup to worry about. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to leave her here with you. She’ll get better care here than living in my home.”
Jessie bent to place Canella on the chair.
“What are you doing?” Ricard jumped up, hurdled the desk, scooped the dog against Jessie’s chest, and pulled them both down into his lap. “You don’t think I was going to ask you to leave, do you? Because I was not. Let me be direct and without question clear. I never want you to leave me. I know this is weird. This whole thing.” He waved a circle above them with his hand.
“I get it. This vampire-mating thing is peculiar. I agree. It’s not conventional and honestly, as you can see from all the pictures and charts and diagrams in this office I have tried without success to explain it or to at least understand it. But scientifically, it makes no damn sense. It is absolutely illogical.”
He paused and leaned into Jessie’s hair. From the corner of her eye she watched him. He closed his eyes and inhaled. “Raindrops at sunrise. That’s what you smell like. When the sun has barely kissed the horizon there’s a certain feeling in the world. Night has left everyone in slumber, the people, the plants, many of the animals.” He moved his face, and curls rolled along his skin.
The most innocent of smiles curved his mouth. “Those that spent the night awake begin to transition, and a lovely haze descends. That moment when the starry sky brightens and for a split second everything everywh
ere stops.”
When he opened his eyes, Jessie had all she could do to keep from crying. For years she’d been waking at night, called from sound sleep to witness the last few moments of twilight. “I love that moment. All of time stands still in that one moment. It’s so peaceful, so beautiful. Even in Central City that moment is perfect.”
“Like you,” he said.
Was it possible her soul had been communing with Ricard’s for all these years? Was that why she was drawn to that perfect moment each day?
“This equation of mating is inexplicable. It flies in the face of all modern and ancient theory. There is no way to confirm any basis of rational origin.” He brushed several locks of hair from her face. “I no longer want to explain it. I don’t care what the answer is. But I never want to lose this feeling. I never want to let you go.”
“You don’t have to lose this,” she said.
This man who seemed to have fallen right out of the sky at a time when Jessie needed him most was the one thing in the world she knew she could not live without. She never wanted to be away from him and all his quirky ways. She wanted to lie with him each day and rise with him each night.
There was nothing more in the world that could possibly fulfill her life after Ricard.
“There is so much for me to say. My life was empty for so long before I met you. My world was dark, though I did not notice. I kept myself busy with work and friends but had no idea I was alone.”
Jessie could not wait another second. She understood and believed all that he said because she felt all those things as well. But, she still wondered just how dense her vampire-scientist was.
“Now, you are here, and I must explain things that I had not thought of or even known I knew, which is an interesting, though very confounding fact. You see, Jessica—”
“You do know this is the exact moment when you should kiss me instead of talking, right?” She cuddled in closer. “Like right now. No more words. Just kiss me.”
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