The Vampire Next Door

by Ashlyn Chase

  “Morgaine, if you have something to say, just say it.”

  “I could say the same to you,” she snapped.

  “Shhh…” He looked over at the other visitors, but they continued reading, hopefully tuning out the argument. “Excuse me?”

  Leaning toward him as if wanting to get her point across while she tried to keep her voice down, she said, “This isn’t about my magick, is it? It’s about my phone-sex business.”

  He shrugged. “I just don’t understand why you’d continue doing that if you had another option.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe I’m talented in more than one area.”

  What was going on? Did she like talking dirty to strangers? Sly had been thinking of discussing marriage with her, but now he wasn’t so sure. He let out an exasperated breath.

  Maybe she was just used to relying on this type of interaction to feel attractive to the opposite sex. Well, he’d have to let her know she didn’t have to. He’d more than fill that bill.

  “Morgaine, I don’t want to fight. I love you.”

  She sighed. “I know. I love you too. I suppose it’s normal to feel a little jealous of my customers.”

  “Jealous? Don’t be ridiculous.” He laughed.

  She jumped to her feet and began to walk away. Her eyes looked like storm clouds had just rolled in.

  Uh-oh. That was the wrong reaction. “Morgaine… honey.” He rose and strolled toward her. Then his head spun and the odd sensation of falling into a hole engulfed him.

  * * * *

  “Sly! Oh, my Goddess.” What happened?

  He had been walking toward her when suddenly he’d swayed and sunk to the floor. The other people watched as she rushed over to him. One of them rose and joined her.

  “Is he all right?”

  The Vampire Vintage must have worn off—and it’s sunrise. But how could she explain that to strangers? Before she could think of an explanation, the gentleman grabbed Sly’s wrist and checked for a pulse.

  “Uh-oh. Your friend’s in trouble. I’ll stay with him. Go call a nurse.”

  “No, you go. I’ll stay with him.”

  The man looked puzzled, but he got up and strode out of the waiting room in the direction of the nurse’s station.

  Now what? Thank the Goddess he hadn’t landed directly in the shaft of sunlight filtering through the windows, but he was near enough to make her nervous. She grabbed Sly’s arms and dragged his lifeless body toward the restroom.

  The remaining woman rose. “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to move someone after a fall.”

  Stay out of it, lady, Morgaine thought. What do you know about vampirism?

  A “code blue” was announced over the loudspeaker, and a nurse came running. She kneeled next to Sly, tilted his head back, and placed two fingers on one side of his neck. Another nurse joined her shortly, towing a large red cart. When she plopped a container with paddles onto the floor next to Sly’s lifeless body, Morgaine figured out what it was for.

  Oh, no. A defibrillator. What would that do to him?

  She had to think quickly, yet her mind was frozen. The nurse with the defibrillator had turned it on and was poised over Sly’s chest with paddles in hand.

  At last Morgaine came up with something. “Stop! He’s a Christian Scientist. And he has a living will. He doesn’t want any medical treatment, even in an emergency.”

  The nurse without the paddles had opened the cart and was retrieving something with a plastic mask and a large oblong balloon attached to it. She stared at her.

  “But we might be able to save him. Don’t you want us to try?”

  Yeah, they might be able to kill him too. Morgaine bit her bottom lip. “I-I think he’d want us to respect his wishes.”

  The nurses looked at each other openmouthed.

  I could kick myself. We were so focused on Merry that I never thought about Sly’s condition. Dearest Goddess, please let Nathan be working in the morgue tonight.

  * * * *

  Nathan Nourie flew to his workplace carrying a pillowcase containing a bottle of wine in his strong beak. Luckily, Sly had left in such a hurry, he hadn’t locked his door and Morgaine was able to direct Nathan to the briefcase holding the stuff Sly needed.

  And everyone says self-medicating with alcohol is a bad thing.

  Never had he thought his job as a morgue attendant would help save someone. Least of all a friend. It occurred to him that for the first time in a long time, he had friends—not just acquaintances. Sly was someone he’d plow through snowy sidewalks for. And he knew Sly or Morgaine would do the same for him. And Gwyneth… just thinking about her made him smile.

  He had to shift into human form and dress quickly. Fortunately, he had found a spot outside the hospital where he could keep a change of clothes. There were the inevitable days when he overslept and had to literally fly to work to get there on time.

  Nathan dug his clothing out of the hidey-hole and hopped into his black pants. He struggled into his shirt and ran toward the entrance, still buttoning.

  Morgaine had sounded frantic. As he skidded around the corridor, he hoped he’d arrived in time to prevent the daytime attendant from doing any damage. He strong-armed the door to the morgue and strode inside.

  Morgaine was draped over a sheet-covered body, wailing. The attendant seemed perturbed and was trying to pry her hands off the gurney.

  “Stop,” Nathan ordered.

  They both looked up at him, openmouthed. Morgaine’s cheeks were streaked with real tears. She wasn’t just acting.

  Oh, no. Am I too late?

  Morgaine gazed at the ceiling and said, “Thank the Goddess!”

  “Nathan? What are you doing here?” the attendant asked.

  “Taking over.” Nathan grabbed a pair of latex gloves on his way to the supply cabinet. He gathered what he’d need to infuse the wine intravenously. On his way to the hospital, he’d realized that would be the only way to get some of it into Sly’s system.

  The other attendant scowled at him. “What the hell are you up to?”

  “Saving this man’s life.” Nathan pushed him aside and peeled back the sheet.

  Sly lay there immobile and pale. Nathan worked quickly before the other attendant could call anyone or interfere. Fortunately, he didn’t move. He simply stared at Nathan as if he’d lost his mind. Perhaps he had. How would he explain this later?

  There was no time to worry about that. Nathan shoved Sly’s sleeve up and located the large medial vein in the crook of his arm. He quickly took a syringe with the longest, thickest needle he could find and stuck it right through the cork. Then he drew the syringe full of wine and injected it directly into Sly’s vein.

  Nothing happened for a few seconds. Just as Nathan was beginning to despair, Sly sat up and opened his eyes.

  The other attendant reeled backward. “Jesus Christ!”

  Sly blinked a few times and looked around. Then he glanced down at his bare torso and the sheet covering him from the waist down. He yanked the sheet up over his bare feet and saw the toe tag. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”

  He slid off the gurney and walked, butt naked, toward the frightened attendant.

  “What the hell are you, man? A zombie?”

  Sly held the attendant’s gaze for a moment, and the guy’s jaw went slack. “You did not see a body on that gurney. You did not see a woman or one of your coworkers here this morning. Everything is as it should be on this quiet morning in the morgue.”

  He turned toward Nathan. “Now, where are my clothes?”

  Nathan pointed at what amounted to a laundry hamper. Sly walked over to it, fished out his clothes, and put them on.

  “Thanks, Nathan. Morgaine, I assume you were responsible for calling him, so I owe you a debt of gratitude too.”

  She burst into tears and hugged him. Then she rushed to Nathan and hugged him too. He gave her a few awkward pats on her back.

  “There, there.” Isn’t that what people were sup
posed to say after a crisis? What else should he say? “Everything’s all right now.”

  “Thank you,” she whimpered. “Thank you so much. I’ll never forget this.”

  “Please don’t get mushy.” He didn’t know what to do with that. He had never saved anyone before. It felt pretty good though. Damn good, in fact.

  Chapter 21

  Back at their building, Sly had to make a difficult phone call. He didn’t know what Jason and Merry might have been told about his highly exaggerated demise.

  Oh, well. I shouldn’t put this off.

  Nathan couldn’t wait to tell Gwyneth about his heroism, so he pivoted left at the top of the stairs while Sly and Morgaine entered her apartment on the right.

  “Is it okay if I borrow your sex phone to make a local call? I mean, it won’t come up as 1-900-Sex-Kitty or anything, will it?”

  She snorted. “No. It’ll come up as a private number.”

  “So, can I use it to call Jason? I imagine Merry’s a little busy right now.”

  “Of course. How are you going to tell him what happened? It’s not like you can mesmerize him over the phone…” Her eyes rounded. “Can you?”

  He smiled. “No, I can’t. And I don’t know what to say, but I want to know how Merry is.”

  She sighed. “I understand. Why don’t you let me call? At least the nurses won’t flip out if they hear my voice.”

  “I was going to call Jason’s cell phone.”

  “Oh, do you think he left it on?”

  “If not, I can leave a message. That might be better since I wouldn’t have to explain anything until they get back…”

  “And then you can erase their memories,” she finished for him.

  “Yeah.”

  She led him to the phone and said, “Mind if I listen in?”

  “If you want.”

  She didn’t say anything else, but just perched on the arm of the chair after he sat and dialed.

  They waited through three rings, and at last Jason picked up.

  “Falco,” he said.

  “Jason, it’s Sly.”

  “Sly? Why are you calling? Aren’t you in the waiting room?”

  Morgaine smiled and said telepathically, “Thank the Goddess, he doesn’t know.”

  Sly nodded to her. “No, we had to get home.”

  “Oh. Well, you’ll want to know that Merry’s in the recovery room and doing well.”

  “The recovery room? What happened?”

  “As soon as you left, the nurse checked her and confirmed that our son was double breech. Upside down and backwards. She had a C-section.”

  “A son? Is he all right?”

  “Perfectly. They said if they hadn’t performed an emergency C-section, he might have broken a shoulder on the way out. I hope he’s not always this uncooperative.”

  Sly laughed. “I hope not too. But if you ever need a break from the little guy, let me know. I’d be more than happy to baby-sit.”

  Morgaine grinned. She leaned toward the phone. “What are you naming him?”

  “Max, after Merry’s father. I mean—her other father.” Jason sounded vaguely uncomfortable, but Sly couldn’t be happier. Not only because he had a biological grandson, but because his son-in-law seemed to finally accept that Sly was Merry’s real father, despite looking so much younger than he should.

  “Her dad’s nickname is Mac—for MacKenzie,” Jason finished.

  “I remember Merry telling me that. I like the name Max. It’s a good strong name.”

  “I’m glad you approve. Merry’s other dad is on his way here now. He and her younger brother had to wait until the roads were cleared.”

  Sly heard Merry in the background asking, “Is that Sly?”

  “Yes, would you like to talk to him?”

  “Please,” she said. A moment later, he heard her loud and clear. “Hi, Gramps.”

  “Hi, honey.” Despite the lump in his throat, he asked, “How are you feeling?”

  “Like a wrung-out dishrag.”

  He laughed. “Good.”

  “Good?”

  “Yeah. If you didn’t say something like that, I’d know you were lying.”

  “I’d never lie to you, Sly. Just like I won’t keep things from my husband.”

  A jolt of panic whipped through him. “But, that would mean he knows I’m a…”

  “Vampire? Yes, he knows.”

  Sly was so shocked he didn’t know what to say.

  Jason returned to the phone. “So, you have to admit… that trip to the morgue was pretty funny.”

  Morgaine’s jaw dropped. “The hell it was!”

  Sly chuckled. “I don’t think Morgaine would agree with you.”

  “True. I wasn’t there. Someday you’ll have to tell us exactly what happened.”

  “Just that the sun came up. What did the nurses tell you?”

  “A doctor pulled me into the hallway and said my dear father-in-law had died from a heart attack, and not to tell Merry until everything was over.”

  “And you thought that was funny?”

  “Considering…”

  Sly snorted. Then it occurred to him that Jason was taking his condition fairly casually. “So, you’re okay with a vampire in the family?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be? Merry says you take care of your needs elsewhere and keep the city’s crime rate down at the same time.”

  “That’s true. How about my living in your building? Is that a problem?”

  “If I had a problem with every paranormal and strange neighbor in my building, I’d have to evict everyone—with the possible exception of Merry.”

  He heard her laugh.

  Sly chuckled. “You’re one in a million, Jason. I’m glad Merry found you.”

  “Me too.” He heard the smile in his son-in-law’s voice and then a loud kiss between the happy new parents.

  * * * *

  As soon as they hung up, Sly scooped Morgaine into his arms and carried her to her bedroom. She couldn’t help giggling at the way he took charge.

  “I think it’s time we christened your bed with our lovemaking, don’t you?”

  She chuckled. “You’re constantly horny, aren’t you?”

  “Are you saying you don’t want to?”

  “Heck, no! Of course I want to. I was just teasing.”

  He smiled and laid her on the bed. “Whew. I’m glad your sense of humor is returning, but I was afraid you were tired of me.”

  “I’ll never get tired of you, Sly. I love everything about you.”

  The hunger in his eyes spoke for him as he unbuttoned her blouse. She reached for his belt buckle, and they undressed each other simultaneously.

  When at last they lay next to each other, skin to skin, he cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes. “Those were real tears you shed this morning. Were you afraid something would happen to me when I was incapacitated?”

  “Are you kidding? I was terrified. I figured if I didn’t stop them, they’d try to perform an autopsy.”

  “But you didn’t let them.”

  Her brows knit as she remembered just how tightly she had held on to the gurney all the way to the morgue. “The orderly tried to convince me to let you go, but I wasn’t about to leave your side until and unless they pried me off with a crowbar.”

  He chuckled. “I knew I could depend on you to keep me safe. And I’ll always protect you too. We’re good together, don’t you think?”

  “Yes, I do. In all kinds of ways.”

  He captured her lips in a long, deep kiss. Meanwhile, his fingers traced a path down the column of her neck to her chest and kneaded her breast. She moaned into his mouth.

  He broke their lip-lock and kissed his way down the same path his hand had taken until he latched onto a nipple and suckled her.

  She arched and moaned. The deep sensations rippled through her and tugged at her core as if he’d pulled an invisible string.

  His hand and mouth traded places so that he cupped and squ
eezed the breast he’d been sucking and paid equal attention to the other one.

  How she loved this man… vampire… no, man. Whatever he was didn’t matter. He was hers.

  He inched his way down her torso, feathering more kisses along her heated skin. When he reached her thighs, he ran his tongue along the ridges of her labia. She shivered.

  “Cold?”

  “Not hardly.”

  He chuckled and went to work licking, nipping, and sucking her most sensitive area.

  As the fever built, she anticipated an earth-shattering orgasm.

  “Oh, Sly!”

  Each time they coupled, she thought she couldn’t possibly feel more satisfied than the time before, yet somehow he managed to top his performance without trying. Perhaps it had to do with how much more she fell in love with him each day.

  Before she knew it, Morgaine’s climax crashed over her, taking her on the ride of her life. She cried out and grabbed the sheets with both hands as if she might levitate any second. He didn’t stop until he had wrung every last aftershock out of her.

  Panting for breath, she said, “Wow.”

  He grinned. “I’m glad I can still wow you.”

  When she could speak again, she giggled and said, “…and how.” As she reached for him, he scooted up beside her and leaned into her embrace.

  “I love you, Morgaine. I never thought I’d love someone this much again.”

  “I never thought I’d love someone this much at all.”

  As he kissed her, she felt a shared deep emotional connection. She could have let him kiss her all day and night, but it was his turn for satisfaction and she dearly wanted to give it to him.

  At last, Sly broke the kiss and tapped her knees. She parted them. He climbed over one leg and kneeled in the V she made for him. She held his hooded gaze as he entered her. An unspoken bond had them moving together in one fluid motion.

  How did I get so lucky? I found the love of my life right under my nose.

  Sly’s rhythm sped up and she knew he was close. She twined her legs around his back and let him take her however he wanted to.

  Eventually his motions became irregular and his gasp told her he had found his peak. He stilled, then collapsed on top of her.

  “Thank you,” he whispered in her ear.