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Kissing with Fangs

Page 14

by Ashlyn Chase


  One of the men smirked, while the other guy and the woman looked uncomfortable. “Depends on what you call ‘all right.’ The food is edible, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Just edible?”

  “I assume it’s great. I haven’t eaten yet. I’ve been…distracted.”

  “Oh? Does your distraction have to do with that little box you’re studying?”

  He grinned. “You could say that.”

  “May I ask what it is?”

  The other guy gave him a head shake, but the cocky one kept on talking.

  “It measures paranormal activity, and this place is a hotbed of it.”

  Anthony straightened. “I don’t know what you mean. Are you saying our building is haunted?” He leaned over the object, and it made a ping sound.

  “Oh really? You really don’t know what I mean?” He moved toward him and lowered his voice. “Does Claudia know?”

  “Know what?”

  The guy folded his arms. “You can drop the innocent act.”

  But Anthony couldn’t. His only defense was denial, or blaming his abilities on something else. “I’m not acting. I really don’t know what—”

  “Let me spell it out for you. You and your friend over there”—he nodded toward Nick—“set off our EMF device the minute you walked in.”

  “Hmmm.” Anthony tipped his head and tried to look confused. “I’m sorry. I think your machine that goes ‘ping’ must be broken.”

  The guy snorted.

  ***

  Anthony rejoined Claudia in the office, and as soon as he’d shut the door, he leaned against it.

  “What’s wrong? You look like…well, like you’re nervous. I’ve never seen you nervous before. Ever. What did he say?”

  Anthony held up one finger. How the hell am I going to explain this? I need to talk to Nick, but not while Claudia’s in here. On the other hand, how can I let her go out there, knowing the “researchers” might tell her something that will scare the daylights out of her? Shit. I knew I’d have to tell her someday, but they’ve just forced my hand.

  “Claudia, honey. There’s something I need to tell you, but this isn’t the place. Maybe we can close early tonight.”

  “Close early? But Sadie has a client scheduled. Not to mention it’s bad for business—”

  “I don’t give a shit about the business!” Anthony paced and raked his fingers through his hair. At last he took a deep breath and dropped into one of the chairs. If only we hadn’t given up the extra office space for the kitchen. I’d still have the couch and maybe I could get her naked on it. At least it would keep her from leaving the office.

  Claudia didn’t look ready to leave the office, though. She sat in the chair next to him and laid a hand on his arm. “What’s wrong, babe? Whatever it is, I’m here for you.”

  Yeah, but would you stay here if I told you I was a vampire? He wished he could revel in the fact that she’d just used an endearment for the first time. Instead he was so pissed off and worried that he had to put his mental energy toward damage control.

  She angled her body toward him, reached out, and took both of his hands in hers. The gesture nearly did him in. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of him. Not yet, but he couldn’t kid himself anymore. The beautiful little bubble he’d been living in was about to burst.

  “Claudia. I—”

  The door opened and the weasel poked his head in. “Uh, Claudia. We should speak.”

  “Get out, Maynard,” she said.

  Wow. That’s not how Claudia would have acted toward a customer in the past. Even a troublesome ex. Brava, darling.

  Maynard’s jaw dropped. When she glared at him, he retreated but left the door ajar. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”

  “I don’t need you—for anything. Please, leave.”

  Anthony rose and shut the door. For good measure, he turned the lock. When it clicked into place, Claudia looked even more concerned, if that were possible.

  “What’s going on, Anthony? I want to hear it from you.” She rose and strolled over to him. Her arms slipped around his waist, and she held him while searching his face for answers.

  If only I could mesmerize her…

  He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. Inhaling her minty shampoo, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time.

  A loud knock sounded on the door again.

  “Oh, for the love of…” Claudia marched over to it. “This crap is not good for my serenity.” She closed her eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths before unlocking and opening the door.

  “If you don’t leave me al—Oh! Hi, Nick.”

  Nick tipped his head in confusion. “Bad timing?”

  “Sorry. I was being pestered, but not by you. What’s up?”

  “Three of your customers just walked out without paying. Angie wanted to run after them, but I stopped her.”

  “Good,” Anthony said.

  Angie’s voice from behind the door said, “Can you put me down now?”

  Claudia swung the door open wide, revealing the six-foot-three ex-cop holding the diminutive waitress under his arm like a football.

  Claudia covered her mouth as she tried not to chuckle.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Nick said and set Angie on her feet.

  Angie set a hand on her hip and addressed both of her bosses. “Are you just going to let customers leave without paying? Because word will get around that we’re serving free food.”

  “I doubt it,” Claudia said. She faced Nick and continued, “Maynard is an old boyfriend of mine, and when he kept bothering me, I practically tossed him out on his ass.”

  “Oh.” Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Did you say, ‘Maynard’?”

  “Yes. May-nerd. Emphasis on the ‘nerd.’ Why?”

  “What’s his last name?”

  “Wisenheimer. Oh, wait. That’s just what we called him. It’s really Oppenheimer.”

  “Shit. That’s the guy I’m looking for!” Nick took off and almost mowed Sadie down as she was coming in. He mumbled, “Sorry, Sadie,” and charged out the door.

  Angie’s eyes were wide. “That’s the guy who kidnapped Tory?”

  “Anthony, why on earth would a Cambridge researcher kidnap an ex-NFL player?”

  Anthony shrugged. Should I make up something stupid like he might be studying the effects of steroids on head injuries? In the end, he opted for silence.

  “Maybe the nerd wanted a muscle transplant.” Angie shook her head. “I can’t believe I waited on him…and was nice to him despite what an ass—Oh sorry, Claudia. I didn’t mean to call your old boyfriend an ass.”

  “Don’t worry. He deserves it.”

  “I hope Nick tracks down the ass, then. If he’s got Tory…” Angie’s lips thinned and her eyes shimmered.

  Claudia grabbed and hugged her. “Nick will find him. Don’t worry.”

  Anthony wanted to get Claudia out of there before there was any more speculation. He also didn’t know how much Claudia had heard regarding their scientific equipment. If Maynard called her later… Shit. I have to tell her.

  “Claudia, you’ve had a rough day. Why don’t you go upstairs and I’ll take over here. Don’t go anywhere, though. I need to talk to you.”

  “But I was going to…” She glanced at Angie who was still standing there, listening intently. “Never mind. I can cancel. Come up as soon as you can.”

  ***

  Ordinarily Claudia would have refused to leave in the middle of a situation, but she was emotionally spent. AA taught her not to get too hungry, angry, upset, or tired. They called it HALT. Wait a minute…what she’d spelled was HAUT. Okay…so it was hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. Either way, it seemed appropriate to go to her apartment and take a load off.

  She was supposed to meet her spon
sor later and go to a meeting with her, but Anthony said he needed to talk. Considering his earlier reaction, she felt she needed to be there for him.

  She could say she wasn’t feeling well but she was a terrible liar, so she decided to sell it by holding her nose as she spoke to her sponsor on the phone.

  “Gaye. I’b sick. I can’ go out todight.”

  “Oh, no. I’m sorry to hear that. You seemed fine yesterday.”

  “Yeah, it cabe on sudd’nly.”

  “Would you like a visit? We could have our own meeting in your living room.”

  “Uh’d no. I’b contagious an jus’ wanna go to bed.”

  “Okay…”

  Somehow Gaye didn’t sound convinced, and Claudia got the impression that her sponsor suspected there was more to it.

  The program asked members to be rigorously honest with themselves and implied that they should be honest with other human beings too, and yet there was that little loophole…“except when to do so would injure them or others.”

  She’d fess up later.

  She signed off with a polite “Good ’ight” and told herself that when she found out what was bothering Anthony, she could tell Gaye.

  She had just decided to make two cups of hot cocoa when a knock sounded at the door. She thought it was too early for Anthony, so she looked through the peephole. Anthony stood there, gazing at the floor with a pensive expression on his face.

  She opened it and stood aside. “Why didn’t you use your key?”

  “I figured I’d give you the option of letting me in or not. It’s your place, after all.”

  She chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I let you in?”

  He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “You might not after you hear what I have to say.”

  A ripple of uneasiness made her nerves tingle. “Why don’t you have a seat? I was going to make some cocoa. Do you want some?”

  “No. My stomach is too upset.” He sat on the sofa. “Go ahead and make some for yourself, though.”

  She decided to skip the beverage and sat next to him. “Babe, what is it? You’re making me nervous.”

  He stared straight ahead and his spine stiffened as if facing a firing squad. “I lied to you.”

  She leaned away and studied his face. He seemed perfectly serious. What on earth could he have lied about? His feelings for her? Did he want her to go back to Maynard? Did he want to go back to Ruxandra? She told herself that was ridiculous, but the longer she waited, the crazier her ideas became.

  “Well, don’t stop there. What did you lie about?”

  “I don’t have Xeroderma pigmentosum.” He dropped his gaze to the floor and his posture slumped.

  “Oh. Isn’t that good news? Why do you still look so sad?”

  Uh-oh. Maybe he really was spending his days with Ruxandra. Any minute now he’s going to tell me he’s in love with her, and adios, Claudia.

  “You may not believe me, but I swear what I’m about to tell you is the gods’ honest truth.”

  She waited for what seemed like days. The anticipation was killing her. Suddenly she wanted a chocolate martini, not a hot cocoa. Stop that right now, she told herself. Whatever it is can’t be that bad.

  “You and I have been through a lot together,” he began.

  She nodded.

  “You’ve always been the bright spot in my…life.”

  She cocked her head, still not sure where he was going.

  “But even though…” He stopped and raked his hands through his hair. “I’m afraid there’s no way to sugarcoat it.”

  “Anthony, honey, whatever it is, I want you to tell me.”

  He took a deep breath, turned, and looked directly into her eyes. “I’m a vampire.” His eyes searched hers as if waiting for some kind of condemnation.

  Of all the things he could have said, that was not what she was expecting. “Um… You’re a what?”

  “A vampire. Creature of the night. One of the undead.”

  She bit her lip. Any minute now he’s going to crack a smile, and the joke will be on me. But why would he do that? Then she remembered a documentary she’d seen once. Apparently there are people who think they’re vampires. They sleep in coffins during the day, cut themselves or each other, and drink blood…ewww. But on some level, they know they’re not really undead.

  “Are you saying you belong to some cult where people act like vampires?”

  He sighed. “No.”

  “Okay, maybe ‘cult’ is the wrong word. I know there are people who sleep in coffins and drink blood. Usually they wear goth makeup to make their skin white.” She swiped his cheek and checked her finger. No makeup. Not that she thought he wore any. His skin was naturally pale and she blamed that on his “condition,” which she now knew he didn’t have. Apparently he just reversed his sleep patterns.

  She shrugged. “I’m okay with it, Anthony. I mean, you gotta be who you gotta be. Right?”

  His posture straightened. “Are you serious?”

  She cupped his cheek in a loving gesture. He turned into it and kissed her palm.

  “I can’t believe how well you’re taking this. I mean, I expected the very worst. I thought you’d scream. Run from me. Never want to see me again.”

  She chuckled. “Of course not, silly. I…” She stopped herself half a second before she said, I love you. For one thing, she wanted him to say it first, and for another…

  He swept her into a tight embrace, and as his lips crushed hers, she forgot what she was thinking. All she could do was feel.

  Chapter 11

  Gods, I love this woman, and it’s time to tell her so.

  As soon as he broke the kiss, he cupped her face and said, “I love you. Truly. So much.”

  She smiled and her expression grew into a grin. “I love you too. I have for years.”

  “Really?” He scrutinized her and saw nothing but complete sincerity. “Is that why you didn’t date anyone seriously?” He caught himself. That was assuming a lot. “Well, not that it was any of my business. I wasn’t keeping track of what you did every minute of every day.”

  Her gaze dropped. “I tried to. I told myself it was useless waiting for you to notice me. You had Ruxandra.”

  He snorted. “Since the day I met you, I’ve wanted no one but you. I held off as long as I did because of her. I didn’t know if I could keep you safe, and I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you because of my former relationship with her.”

  “Are you saying you and she haven’t been together since we met?”

  “Yes. That’s what I’m saying. Furthermore, I moved to Boston to get away from her, but somehow she tracked me here.”

  “Tracked you?”

  “Yes. Vampires have superior senses of smell, vision, and hearing. I thought taking a train from New Orleans would mask my scent. Perhaps it did. Maybe Boston was just a lucky guess on her part. After all, she knew I lived here in the seventeenth century.”

  Claudia leaned away, and confusion wrinkled her pretty brow. “You mean it was so long ago that it felt like the seventeenth century. Right?”

  After a long pause, her eyes widened. “Right?” she repeated a little louder.

  “Uh, no. I actually lived in the seventeenth century. I was born in Avon, England. I sailed to America as an indentured servant in sixteen-seventy-two. You should have seen the seventies, back then. Waaaay different.” He attempted a smile, but she didn’t move a muscle. Her jaw hung slack, and he had to snap his fingers to be sure he hadn’t accidentally mesmerized her. She blinked.

  “I, um…” She never finished her sentence. She just turned away and appeared to be pondering deeply.

  “I suppose I should have mentioned that vampires are immortal. Did you not know that?”

  She bit her lip and stared at him.

  “
Claudia, say something.”

  “What do you want me to say?”

  “Say that you believe me. I’m telling you the gods’ honest truth. Say you don’t hate me just because I revealed what I am. Say you know I’d never hurt you.”

  “I…”

  Apparently she couldn’t say any of those things. Or anything else. Anthony took a deep breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I shouldn’t have told you so much and expected you to accept everything all at once.”

  “No. It’s not that…”

  “Then what is it?”

  “I—I don’t know what to do. I’ve never had to tell someone they needed professional help before.”

  He straightened his spine. “Professional help? Oh, my gods. You think I’m delusional?”

  “Well…” She gave a little shrug and blushed. “Lil’ bit.”

  He let out that deep breath he’d taken in a whoosh. “I knew you were accepting this too easily. Did you believe any of it?”

  “Some. You said you’re a creature of the night, and since I’ve never seen you during the day, I figured that was true. I’ve never seen you drink blood, but I was willing to give you that one. I figured it was probably tomato juice that you pretend is blood. Or wine. Superior senses? Okay. But immortality? Really?”

  “Really.”

  “I, um…”

  “What?”

  “I need to talk to my sponsor about this.”

  “No!” He regretted shouting immediately.

  She jumped backward about a foot. “I’m sorry, but I have to. Don’t I? I’m supposed to tell her everything that might affect my sobriety.”

  His jaw dropped. “You’re going to drink? Because of me?”

  “No. Of course not.”

  “Then why should you tell your sponsor? Would you tell her if you got a letter in the mail?”

  “If that letter said something life-altering, yes. If it was another sale flyer or credit card offer, or a charity begging for money I don’t have, then no. I’d toss those letters in the trash and never give them a second thought.”

  He rose and paced. “Claudia, you cannot tell Gaye. It’s not your secret to tell.”

  “Oh,” she said quietly.

 

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