“That’s an interesting thought. So how would I do this blood exchange? I don’t have any fangs.” Gareth patted the seat beside him, but Kira continued her pacing. She had more to explain.
“Let’s just say you would need fangs to share in the experience.”
“What?”
“Okay, the only way to say this is to just spit it out. You would have to be turned into a vampire. This is the tidbit I should have told you last night so you could make a choice. It’s traditionally done on the wedding night if one of the soul mates is mortal. I kinda forgot.”
“Hmm, well, we were preoccupied.”
“I know, and I loved every minute.”
This time when Gareth patted the sofa, Kira joined him.
“So…what do you think?”
“I think I need time to think about it. What would it entail?”
Kira couldn’t believe he wasn’t vetoing the idea right off, but thank God for small blessings.
“First, I’d have to suck all your blood, or most of it, out of your body and then give you mine. You would virtually be dead for just a bit, and then, when you awaken, you’d have fangs, and an appetite for blood.”
Gareth pulled Kira back to rest against him. She allowed herself to relax. Maybe things would be all right.
“What is to prevent me from going crazy, wanting to take blood from everyone?”
“That could be a problem, but with my grandfather’s serum, you wouldn’t have the craving for blood most turned vampires experience. It’s just in the first few moments we would need to make sure your thirst is quenched. We could do it by an intravenous feed.”
“Malachi said something about that when your throat was cut.”
“Yes, things are different now than they were in the old days, or so I’ve been told.”
Gareth dropped a kiss on her lips. “What I’d like to do is give this plenty of thought. I’ll let you know in a few days, okay?”
Kira’s disappointment overshadowed the knowledge Gareth had not said no. She’d be patient, but she would love to have him turned before the assassin tried again.
“I understand. I’ll try not to bug you about this, but keep in mind, once you’re a vampire, it’ll be harder to kill you. That’s one of the perks, and a perk that would do you and this nation good if the killer tries again.”
“Good point, but I still want to think it over. I know you want an answer now. It’s not that I’m totally repulsed by the process. It’s just…I can’t explain it. It’s not something you would expect to have happen in a normal lifetime. I’m not saying no—just give me some time to think this through, okay?
“Now, I suggest you stop worrying so much about my decision. Let’s go back to bed. If the press is waiting on tidbits of gossip, let’s give them something to think about.”
“You mean a president with a sex drive that equals a twenty-year-old?”
“Actually, I was thinking more on the lines of how many rooms in the White House we can christen before we have to go back to work.”
Kira giggled as Gareth stood up, tugged her off the couch, and tossed her over his shoulder. His idea definitely had possibilities.
* * * *
“No, Gareth. No more. I don’t think I can take any more of your brand of loving.” Kira panted her protest after coming down from a mind-blowing, body-trembling orgasm.
“Are you saying I win?”
“Win what? We didn’t have a bet.”
“Maybe not, but you didn’t believe we could christen every room.”
She envied Gareth’s humor. How he could even breathe, let alone tease her, after the last few days, she had no idea.
“We only made love in every room in the private quarters, not the entire White House. Thank God.” The last two words were just a whisper.
“What was that last part?”
“Nothing, but seriously, I’m not sure I can even get up out of bed, not to mention walk.” Kira turned on her stomach and frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, except do you know how hard it is not to take blood from you every time we make love? It’s a part of a vampire’s mode of operation with a soul mate.”
Gareth’s smile dimmed a bit. “I’m sorry, I never thought…I know you think I’m being obstinate, but this would be a life-changing—or is it a death-changing—experience for me.”
Kira’s sigh exploded into the silence. “I know. I don’t mean to rush you. It’s just I never knew it would be this way. It’s all new to me also.”
“How about we grab a shower, some food, and then see what’s going on in the West Wing? Malachi’s text messages leave a lot to be desired. I have to rack my brain to figure out what he’s saying.”
“Lucky you, at least you didn’t have to teach him how to text in the first place.”
Gareth aimed and then tossed a pillow at Kira’s head. “So, I have you to blame for all the gobbledygook he’s sending.”
Kira dodged the pillow and grabbed hers, smacking Gareth in the chest. “Blame yourself. You made him head of the Secret Service.”
“Don’t remind me,” Gareth tossed over his shoulder as he strolled naked into the adjoining bath.
Kira waited all of two seconds before she followed. Blood or no blood, there were numerous parts of the man’s body she could turn into a meal.
* * * *
Kira gingerly made her way to the Oval Office. Gareth had left about an hour before and told her to take her time. As if she could do anything else. Taking a shower with the man had almost killed her. His idea of showering amounted to her being soaped, rinsed, and nailed against the tiled wall.
She was dressed in what she deemed her uniform. Black on black. If she owned a turtleneck, she’d have thrown it on also, to hide the stubble burn on her neck and above her tank’s neckline.
A group of suits were coming down the corridor from the Oval Office. She did her best to emulate her usual stalk and walk and threw her hand up in a don’t bother me, I’m busy greeting. A sigh of relief flew from her lips as she reached out for the doorknob. Maybe, just maybe, she could grab a seat on the two-seater and put her legs up.
“Hi, Malachi. Morning, Mr. President.”
Gareth and Malachi both looked askance at her greeting.
“Oops, old habits die hard. Morning, darling.”
“Morning, babe.” Gareth’s endearment sent a heat wave through her body, ending in her cheeks.
“Behave, or I’ll make you sleep on the couch.”
“I like the couch. I thought you did too.”
Kira needed no reminder of what they’d done on and off the aforementioned furniture. What she needed was to get her mind off of bone-melting sex and back on the job.
“Okay, enough.” She turned her gaze to Malachi, who sat there like a bucket of piss, grinning like there was no tomorrow.
“That goes for you too, boss, or I’ll make sure you get a bad batch of serum next time. It would truly be a shame to see your handsome face get burned in the daylight.”
“My, my, Kira, you act like you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”
“I just wish I’d gotten to sleep in a bed part of the night.”
Gareth and Malachi’s laughter should have ticked her off. Instead, for some strange reason, it felt good.
“All right, you’ve had your fun. So, what’s new on the killer?”
Malachi’s expression did a complete turnaround. The frown he now wore caused her hackles to rise.
“We’ve had no success in finding the would-be assassin or the vampire killer. And your attacker at the press conference was no help. He didn’t even realize what he’d done. Someone, possibly the dead vampire, put that command into his head, and once the deed was done the man’s mind was programmed to forget it.”
“I thought they were one and the same.”
“I think so too, but we can’t prove any of this. We just have Gareth out there like a sitting duck and no clue
as to who is trying to kill him.”
“Whew, don’t soften the truth on my account, Malachi.”
“Sorry, Gareth, but I’m past worried. While you two were honeymooning, I was helping the press secretary field questions from the press on your wedding, news about the assassination attempts, and how this might affect you riding in the motorcade for the Memorial Day festivities at the Arlington National Cemetery.”
“Well, I hope you told them nothing short of being dead is going to keep me from placing the wreath on the Unknown Soldiers’ Tomb.”
“Gareth, you might want to rethink that. Although you’ll be in a closed car, there are going to be multitudes of people in close proximity.”
“No, I need to show the people of America our government won’t stop running because of threats. I’m not standing down because some pantywaist wants to kill me. That’s why I have you Malachi and your people—guard me. So, you do your job, and I’ll do mine.”
Kira knew no amount of arguing would change his mind. The man defined the word stubborn. Well, so was she.
“Fine, then I’m riding with you.”
“No!”
“No!”
The two sets of negatives almost deafened Kira. She would have her work cut out to convince both men she wouldn’t stand down either.
“Hey, it’s my job, and I’m doing it.” Kira threw Gareth’s words back in his face.
He took a step toward the couch, and she actually shrank back. The scowl he wore pulled his brows together, and the green of his eyes turned stormy.
“No. You’re. Not!”
“Yes. I. Am!” Kira’s declaration only made Gareth angrier. His nostrils flared, his lips went tight, and he advanced even closer.
She glanced at Malachi. He shrugged his shoulders. No help there. She had to get a handle on the situation. All the press needed was a president running amuck in the Oval Office.
Maybe a flash of fangs would get his attention. No, it would probably set him off even more. Think, girl, you have to get him to calm down.
Her husband continued to stalk her way, but Kira waited until he stood within a few inches of the couch before she stood up, locked her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
The kiss, meant to smother his anger, set up a flame of want inside Kira so intense she wanted to crawl her husband’s bones right then and there. Gareth felt the same way, for as she deepened the kiss, she heard his thoughts in her mind.
“Damn woman thinks she can get my mind off of her riding in the limo. Well, it’s not going to work, not at all. I’ll just let her kiss me and then go back to my argument. I’ll do that right now. No, in a moment or two, or…”
“Stop cursing me, Gareth, or you’ll be hugging the couch tonight.”
Gareth pulled back so rapidly, Kira felt the loss all the way to her toes.
“You read my mind again!” His words were as shaky as the hand he raked through his hair.
“Well, I couldn’t really help it. You were practically screaming at me.” Kira resisted the urge to giggle at how cute he looked in his angst.
He, in turn, turned toward Malachi, who shrugged his shoulders again.
“Malachi, please tell him you didn’t read his mind.”
“All right, I’ll tell him, but Gareth you need to broadcast a bit more quietly, my friend.” This time the vampire’s lips twisted into a smirk. “Or else any vampire in the vicinity with the capability of reading minds will know just how much you love your wife.”
Gareth’s face flushed and then went pale. “Hell, this is going to get annoying after a while.”
Kira hoped he didn’t mean their marriage. Time to change the subject. “So, are we on key?”
“About what? The kiss?”
“No, me riding with you in the limo.” Kira held up a hand to forestall Gareth. “Look, you forgot one simple thing. As the First Lady, I’m expected to be with you. Now, the plus side is I can also guard you at the same time.”
“Gareth, maybe Kira’s right.” Malachi unfolded his tall frame from the chair next to the desk. “You have to have someone with you. I’ll be on the cemetery grounds after we get there, but you have stated over and over to the press Kira’s an exceptional agent. To blackball her from riding with you would be a mistake. They’ll have a field day. I can see it now: President Hayes has a double standard now that he’s married. It’s okay for another agent to die protecting him, but not his wife.”
Kira waited for the outburst, but it never came. Instead, Gareth moved back behind his desk and took a seat. “You’re right. It is a double standard, but I can’t seem to help myself. I know it’s not politically correct, but I’m so afraid whoever is after me will try again to kill Kira.”
Gareth’s words melted her heart.
“I’ll be fine. I think whoever they are will know it’s not easy to take me out. I believe they’ll try harder to get you. You just concentrate on staying safe, and I’ll guard your back.” If Gareth feared for her, her fear for him was tenfold.
The look he gave her reeked of disgust, but also contained tenderness. “I don’t like it, but if I don’t agree, you’ll do something crazy, won’t you?”
“Oh yes! Anything to keep you from getting killed. Which would be a lot harder if you allowed the binding ritual.” Kira clenched her hands.
“Let’s not do this now.” Gareth dropped a hard kiss on her lips. “I’ve got work to do.”
“So that’s it? The honeymoon is over?” Kira’s teasing tone couldn’t cut through a bit of hurt. She wasn’t ready for their days and nights together to end. It was too soon. No matter what she told him or herself, she would rather stay inside the PQ and never allow Gareth out of her sight or arms.
“Yes, my love. I have a speech I need to go over, meetings I should catch up on before the three-day weekend coming up. Not to mention finding a new vice president.”
“Fine, I’ll just go pester Claude for some food. He’s still here at the White House, isn’t he, Malachi?”
“Oh yes, the man said he wasn’t going anywhere until he knew you and Gareth would be safe. So go. Once you feed your voracious appetite, get some sleep. You look like you’ve been up for days.”
“Blame it on Gareth.” She shot her husband a saucy look and then escaped before he could retaliate.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Kira!”
Caleb! She should have taken the back way to the kitchen. She counted to ten in her head and then turned to face the other vampire.
“Hi, Caleb. I didn’t know you were back in town.”
“I got in about an hour ago. DC’s buzzing about your marriage. When did that happen, or should I ask how long did it take you to seduce him into marrying you?”
Kira’s vision went red. She had to control herself. There were numerous staff going up and down the halls. Now more than ever, she was watched like a diva.
“Look, I’ll be happy to talk to you, but not here. I’m on my way to the kitchen. If you want to talk, you can follow me.”
Caleb’s brown eyes glared with a hint of red. His smile was nothing more than a snarl, which she chose to ignore.
The vamp fell into step beside her, and Kira made her way to the elevator, stepped in, and pushed the ground-floor button.
“Now, do you want to explain your remarks, or do I just knock the shit out of you here and now?”
“Hey, I know the score. You saw an easy in and took it.”
Kira so wanted to knock the crap out of the creature taking up space, but she knew it would cause nothing but a stink. A smell that would end up as front-page headlines or on national television.
“And just how did I do that, Caleb? If you bothered to do your research, you’d know Gareth and I are in love. And here’s another tidbit for you. He’s my soul mate.”
Caleb’s face actually glossed pasty white. His mouth opened and closed for a moment before he spit out, “Good one, Kira. We all know you were never destined for a soul mate. You’
re too much of a man yourself to allow one into your life.”
Lord, give me the strength not to kill him here and now, please.
“Well, whoever you all are, you’re wrong. Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m just as surprised.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. How did you convince the big guy you were destined to be together? Did you entice him with your body?”
Her vision went red again, her nails grew longer, and her fangs made a nice popping sound as they descended rapidly. She reached toward Caleb, and the elevator stopped. If she had any sense, she’d get off right now, tell him to kiss her First Lady ass, and forget his hurtful and slanderous remarks.
Smart wasn’t something she wanted to be at the moment. One talon pressed the door-close button. She then turned fully and wrathfully toward the vampire.
“I’ve had about enough of you. You’ve tormented me for years with your remarks, and you’ve tried your best to sniff up my skirt in the hopes I’d take you to my bed. You just wanted the serum Granddaddy invented. When you didn’t get it, you tried to undermine me every way you could. Well, guess what? It ain’t gonna happen again.”
Kira leaned forward. Caleb leaned slightly back. “I’ve killed men on the field of battle with just a knife, not using any of my vampire strength. I’ve also honed my skills over the years in the military. I could take you out right here, even with you being an immortal, before you could flash a fang. You don’t want to mess with me. I’ll take you down, and it won’t be pretty. Now, anything else you want to ask me before I wipe this elevator with your ass?”
His face went even paler than before, but he managed to get out some guttural words. “Are you going to turn the president into one of us?”
“That’s definitely none of your business. It concerns Gareth and myself only. I suggest you let it go, Caleb. You could be a great agent if you weren’t filled with so much jealously.” Her vision began to turn pink, and then cleared completely. She looked down, and her nails were once again short.
Smith, Faith V. - Presidential Heat [Vampire Government Protectors] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Page 18
