by Lynsay Sands
Elvi cried out, her hips shifting to meet the caress, and then cried out again as his mouth slid down her throat to her breast, his teeth grazing her nipple before he closed his mouth and began to suckle, his finger slipping away then thrusting into her again.
Elvi was on the edge of exploding from the pleasure. Her body was as tight as a bow string, her mind a confusion of need, sound was thundering in her ears and then—Victor suddenly jumped away from her like a rat abandoning ship.
Without his support, her trembling legs gave out and Elvi fell to her knees on the kitchen floor, a mass of confusion and frustration.
“There you are, Victor.”
Elvi heard Edward Kenric’s voice through her own panting and immediately understood that the thundering had been his jogging lightly down the stairs. She also understood why Victor was now standing wide-eyed at the end of the counter, a guilty look on his face. They’d nearly been caught misbehaving in the kitchen. Actually, they still might be caught, Elvi realized, when she spotted her torn panties lying on the floor next to the spilled bag of blood a few feet away.
If Edward came around the counter…
“I have a question for you,” Kenric continued and much to her horror his voice was moving along the counter toward the end.
Panicking, she scrambled forward on all fours to snatch up her panties.
“Have you—Oh, Elvi.”
She’d just stuffed her panties in the pocket of her robe, tied it closed, and snatched up the paper towel she’d dropped earlier when Edward came around the counter to join Victor.
“Hello, Edward.” Forcing an innocent smile, Elvi began to swipe at the drying blood on the floor, then paused to snatch up the empty blood bag and toss it up and—she hoped—into the sink, before continuing to clean up the mess on the floor as if that’s what she’d been doing all along.
“I didn’t realize you were here as well. Can I help you with that?” he asked, moving closer.
“No, no. It’s almost done. You go on and talk to Victor. Take him out on the deck if you want privacy,” she encouraged. “I’ll be done here in just a moment.”
“If you’re sure,” he said politely, then turned to Victor and said, “If you wouldn’t mind?”
Victor hesitated, then gave in to the inevitable and led the way out onto the deck.
Elvi sagged where she knelt, feeling as wrung out as a dishcloth. She only allowed herself a moment’s respite, however, then quickly finished wiping up the blood on the floor. Once done, she stood and threw out the paper towel, then grabbed the empty blood bag from the sink and tossed it as well before moving to the refrigerator to collect a fresh bag of blood for herself. It was the reason she’d been headed downstairs in the first place, but she’d allowed herself to be distracted.
Her gaze slid to the counter where she’d almost had her first orgasm as a…well…not dead person.
Elvi took her bag with her and fled the kitchen. Now that the passion had passed she was embarrassed and unsure how to act with Victor. Dear Lord, she barely knew the man and had nearly had sex with him right there on the kitchen counter for anyone to walk in and catch them at it. What was the matter with her?
What’s wrong with us? Elvi corrected silently as she moved past Mabel’s room and heard the sounds coming from inside. She felt a moment’s envy and had a brief flash in her mind of her and Victor making love in her…coffin, she ended the thought with a grimace as she recalled she didn’t yet have a bed, then pushed the image away with a shake of the head.
For God’s sake she—and Mabel—were both sixty-two-year-old women, practically senior citizens, both of whom had lived sedate, conservative lives. They were small-town girls who’d married their childhood sweethearts. She’d had no other lover other than her husband and knew the same was true of Mabel, and yet here they were acting like a couple of tramps.
Elvi managed not to roll her eyes at her own thoughts. She knew it was an old-fashioned term and that her thinking, too, was old-fashioned. But that was what she was, an old-fashioned, small-town girl who suddenly found herself behaving completely out of character.
Worse yet, while Elvi was aware she should be grateful that Edward had interrupted before things had gone any further, she really wished the annoying man had just stuck to his damned room and not interrupted at all. She’d had a taste of the delights Victor could show her and wanted more.
“Damn,” Elvi muttered. She never should have come down for a bag of blood before retiring. And what had happened to the “I’m not ready to date?” feelings that had first attacked her on hearing these men were here. Now she didn’t care about dating, she wanted to sleep with one of them. She supposed that was a good thing at least. There was only one she was interested in sleeping with.
A passionate scream drew her gaze back over her shoulder to Mabel’s door as she slid into her own room. Elvi wished she could talk to the woman, but, of course, that was impossible right now. It looked like she would just have to wait until DJ left. In the meantime, she’d take a cold shower, change into her nightgown, and probably relive every moment in the kitchen in great detail. Damn, the man could kiss.
Thirteen
Elvi woke Monday evening with a smile on her face as she stretched luxuriously in her lovely new bed. Sunday had been a great day. She’d woken late and gone below to find that her bed had been delivered. Not willing to disturb her, they’d made the delivery men put it in the foyer to await her rising.
The moment she made an appearance, they’d moved her coffin out and carried her bed up. When asked what she wanted done with the casket, Elvi had grimaced and muttered, “Burn it.” The men had taken her at her word. While Victor and Edward had set up the plain metal frame that came with the bed, Alessandro and Harper had taken axes to her coffin, turning it into tinder.
They’d then built a fire, roasting hotdogs over the flaming remains of her casket. When it began to rain later in the evening, Elvi and the men had moved indoors and turned to a deck of cards for their entertainment. On learning that Elvi had never played poker, they’d decided to teach her and they’d spent an enjoyable evening laughing, talking, and taking all her chips.
Elvi stretched again on her lovely new bed and opened her eyes with a little sigh. While Sunday had been nice for the most part, she’d found it a bit stressful as well—as she worked to avoid being alone with Victor. It had been an act of pure cowardice on her part. She didn’t know how she should act around him after the episode in the kitchen and so avoided any situation where she couldn’t treat him as anything but one of the “guys.”
Now she had another day of doing that ahead of her.
Making a face at the ceiling, Elvi reluctantly pushed the sheets off and climbed out of her lovely new bed. She’d slept like a dream. Too well actually. Elvi had hoped to get up early enough today to spend some time out in daylight for the first time in five years. She’d hoped to look over her garden and enjoy the sun on her face, but could tell from one glance at the window that the sun had already set.
It was her own fault, Elvi supposed; she’d retired to her room early, but stayed up waiting for Mabel and DJ to get home from the restaurant so she could finally talk to the woman. She’d never got the chance on Saturday night. DJ simply hadn’t left Mabel’s room, from what she could tell. At least he hadn’t by the time she’d given up and fallen asleep. Then Sunday the couple had already been up and gone when she got up. Hopefully, she’d get the chance to talk to her today. Elvi could use some advice on how to deal with Victor. She couldn’t avoid him indefinitely.
Elvi didn’t bother drying her hair when she got out of the shower, instead she simply brushed it back and left it to dry on its own, then quickly dressed in a peasant blouse and festive cotton Mexican skirt and headed below. Normally, she’d be heading to the restaurant tonight, but she wasn’t sure at this point what would be expected of her. They had houseguests after all. Once she knew what she was doing, she could change accordingly.
&
nbsp; When Elvi first made her way downstairs and glanced around, she thought she was the only one there, then the door to the deck opened and Victor stepped inside.
He paused on first spotting her, then murmured a greeting and moved to the refrigerator. Retrieving a bag of blood, he held it out and asked, “How was the new bed?”
Despite her uncertainty, Elvi felt a smile stretch her mouth. “Marvelous.”
“Glad to hear it.” His smile pulled into a grin as she took the blood.
“Where is everyone?” she asked.
“The men all went to a play at the school with your neighbors…Mark and Sharon is it?”
“Mike and Karen,” Elvi corrected, not at all surprised the couple had extended an invitation. The Knights were a lovely couple. They were always offering help with things around the house, or inviting her and Mabel places. Elvi wasn’t surprised they were generous enough to extend those invitations to include the men. Their generosity and thoughtfulness were part of why they were so popular in town and why their son Owen’s birthday celebration had been so well attended.
“And Mabel and DJ are at the restaurant,” Victor continued. “She said to tell you you’re not expected there tonight. She wanted you to pick one of the men and spend the evening getting to know him.”
Elvi blinked. “But you said the guys went to a play.”
“Yes. As you weren’t up, I made an arbitrary decision for you and told the others tonight you were getting to know me,” he announced unapologetically. “I thought that way I could finally tell you our laws and rules.”
“Oh.” Elvi bit her lip. So much for being able to avoid him.
“Feed,” Victor ordered, gesturing to the bag she still held in her hand.
Relieved at the distraction, Elvi allowed her teeth to slip out and popped the bag into her mouth, then avoided Victor’s eyes as she tried to sort out what to do. It was her gaze sliding over the fireplace in the living room that did it. It was a very ornate fireplace with ceramic tiles up each side and a carved wooden mantel. There was also a mirror in a beautifully carved frame that belonged above it, but it had been removed and stored in the garage five years ago. Now the empty space gave Elvi an idea.
She waited until she’d finished a second bag of blood, then grabbed her purse and announced, “Well, that’s fine, but we’ll have to talk while shopping.”
“What?” Victor asked with surprise.
“I need to go shopping,” Elvi said patiently as she moved toward the garage door.
“Mabel and DJ took the car,” Victor announced, bringing her to a halt, and then added, “we’ll have to take my car. I had the men move theirs so I could park at the back in case we need it.”
Relieved he wasn’t arguing, Elvi smiled and continued out of the house.
“So, what are we shopping for this time?” Victor asked as he parked in the local Wal-Mart parking lot several minutes later.
“A mirror,” Elvi said. “I haven’t been able to use one in five years. It would be nice to be able to see that my hair isn’t standing on end, and to do my makeup.”
They fell silent as they entered the store and sought out the section they needed. Elvi wanted a full-length mirror. Actually, eventually she wanted a proper bathroom mirror too, as well as to have the mirror in the garage put back over the mantel and so on. But for the moment, a full-length mirror seemed the more sensible buy. Reaching the aisle where the mirrors were displayed, Elvi approached slowly, almost afraid at what she would find, but then she steeled herself and forced herself to walk in front of the first one, only to pause with amazement.
She was staring at a woman with long, vibrant red hair that fell around a lovely face in soft waves. Her complexion was perfect, and so was her figure.
Damn, she was a fox, Elvi realized with amazement. She looked like Casey. How had she never noticed that her daughter had taken so much after her?
Movement in the mirror caught her eye and Elvi managed to tear her gaze from herself to focus on Victor as he stepped up behind her so they stood framed in the mirror, a handsome couple. They seemed to complement each other.
“So,” she murmured, forcing her eyes away from him and continuing along the selection of mirrors. “What about these laws?”
Victor frowned at her question. “I don’t know if Wal-Mart is quite the right place to be discussing—”
“Why not?” Elvi interrupted with amusement as she peered over the various mirrors offered. “Everyone in town knows about me, and these are laws you’re going to tell me, not the facts of life.”
“Yes, but what if someone from out of town is shopping here?” he said grimly.
Elvi shrugged. “Then talk quietly. We’re alone in this aisle right now. If someone joins us, stop.”
Victor hesitated, then she heard him let out a breath before he said, “Very well.” Still, he paused for a moment to glance around before saying uncomfortably, “Well, you know the most important one.”
“No biting mortals,” Elvi recited, amused by his discomfort. She supposed he was used to keeping everything secret and clandestine and thought she was probably lucky she hadn’t had to. When Victor remained silent, she murmured, “So far I like the laws. At least that one, it gives me an excuse to put an end to the Birthday Bite celebrations. They’ve always been more trouble than anything else, but they were expected and I didn’t want to disappoint.”
She saw Victor’s mouth tighten as he moved past her and wondered what she’d said to upset him. Before she could ask, he was stopping at a mirror. He ran one hand down the dark wood frame, his fingers gliding over intricate carving. “This one would suit the house.”
“Yes.” Elvi paused to examine the mirror. The carving was very similar to the woodwork in her house. It would suit very well indeed.
Victor watched her walk around the standing mirror, and then continued with the lesson. “One of the other more important laws to you as a woman is that you’re allowed to have only one child every hundred years.”
Elvi froze, her gaze searching out his face in the mirror. “What?”
Victor’s reflection grimaced. “I know it seems harsh, but we need to keep the population down. If we didn’t, with our life expectancy we’d quickly outnumber our blood source.”
Elvi waved that away impatiently. She couldn’t care less about the reasons behind the law. “Are you saying we can have children?”
“Yes.” Victor tilted his head, examining her expression.
Elvi bit her lip, then asked more specifically, “What about if we couldn’t, or had trouble having them as mortals?”
Victor examined her face, and then murmured, “Brunswick said your daughter died in a car accident. Did you have trouble conceiving her?”
Elvi moved away, pretending to look at another mirror, but in truth she wasn’t seeing anything in the store just then. She was seeing the past.
“I always wanted a lot of children,” she admitted quietly. “Five or six at least. But I had six miscarriages before Casey was born, and then nearly died giving birth to her. They said no more children.”
Elvi didn’t hear Victor approach, but he was suddenly there, his hand moving soothingly up and down her back as she continued, “Casey was doubly precious because of that. She was the perfect baby; always good tempered, rarely cried, and she started sleeping through the night almost at once. And she stayed perfect, every parent’s dream. She grew into a beautiful young woman, never going wild or breaking curfew. She got good grades, had lots of friends, was a hard worker, and got a scholarship to university.”
“Casey,” Victor murmured. “You named Casey Cottage after her.”
Elvi nodded.
“She’s dead,” he said quietly.
It wasn’t a question, but Elvi treated it as if it were. Nodding, she said, “She used to come home from university on weekends. Usually I picked her up from the train station, but the last time it was Harry, my husband, who went to get her while I stayed home making a speci
al dinner for her.” Her hand tightened on the mirror frame. “Halfway home, he suffered a stroke and they crashed. The stroke killed Harry at once they think, but Casey—” Elvi paused and bit her lip when her voice broke, then took a deep breath and, ignoring the tears suddenly veiling her eyes, said, “Casey was trapped in the car. They had to use the Jaws of Life. She was awake and in terrible pain, but lost consciousness by the time they got her out. She died in the hospital that night.”
“I’m sorry,” Victor murmured. Sliding his arms around her waist from behind, he rested his chin on her head and held her as she wept silently. Then she pulled free and turned to face him.
“Are you saying I might be able to have another child?” A new baby wouldn’t replace Casey, but it might help to fill the hole her loss left behind.
Victor nodded solemnly. “If you wish it. You won’t have problems conceiving. The nanos will already have seen to it that your reproductive system is in perfect order. And they’ll be immortal children.”
Elvi closed her eyes as silent sobs shuddered through her. She’d never imagined she’d ever again hold a baby in her arms. Not her own. Now he was not only telling her she could, but that it would be an immortal baby she wouldn’t need fear losing to childhood illness, or drowning, or car accidents.
If only she’d been turned before the accident, Elvi thought suddenly. If only she’d been able to turn her daughter. If only…
“Elvi?”
Giving a start of surprise. Elvi blinked her tears away and turned to peer at the woman moving up the aisle toward her. Louise Ascot. She was the same age as Elvi, but an inch or two shorter and thin as a bird with short salt-and-pepper hair and a look of concern on her face.
“Are you all right?” she asked, stopping beside Elvi. “Why are you crying?”
Elvi groaned inwardly. Louise had gone to school with Mabel and Elvi and had been a huge gossip even then. She’d only got worse with age. She was the worst possible person to run into in Wal-Mart while sobbing like a baby. The story would be all over town within fifteen minutes.
