Jonathon pressed his hands flat to the ground. “Who are you working for? How do you know we were looking for a cure?”
“It’s not a cure,” the vampire hissed in fury. “It’s a toxin. A death threat. And we will kill to protect ourselves. Go home Jonathon Crew. Take Maggie Roxton and your children back to where you came from. You will not get another warning.”
Jonathon snarled.
The vampire removed the knife from throat, but before Jonathon could attack again, his face had been slammed twice into the pavement. As he lay groaning and disoriented, he heard the patter of feet running away. He lay still, heart pounding and a bad taste in his mouth as pain washed through him.
Well fuck. What was he going to do now?
Chapter Five
Maggie dozed lightly, half of her brain still waiting to hear the door open and for Jonathon to come back in. Her brain supplied weird half-dreams that she wasn’t quite in control of. When the door did open and a splash of light fell over her eyes, it jogged her out of her sleep.
Not wanting to deal with anything that would come with being awake, Maggie turned over. As she did so though, the scent hit her. Blood. Fresh, pure, clean. Smelling delicious, as tempting as a chocolate cake with whipped icing. Her mouth watered and she was sitting up before she even realized it.
Jonathon closed the door behind himself, his face in shadow. Maggie watched him. Her fangs throbbed with the desire to puncture his skin and taste that delicious scent flowing down her throat. Her hands clenched in the sleeping bag as she struggled with it. Would it hurt to have one little taste? One lick, just to have the taste on her tongue?
Ronnie flopped over on the bed, grumbling in her sleep about something.
Get yourself under control, Maggie ordered herself. It wasn’t bad enough that she was getting so thirsty for Jonathon when he didn’t want any of this, but now she was even forgetting when the kids were there? Letting out a shuddering breath, she popped out of bed and marched to the bathroom. If she smelled blood, it meant he was bleeding.
“Come in here so I can clean you up,” she groused at him and flinched at her tone. He’d gotten hurt, there was no reason for her to start snapping! Clearing her throat, she attempted to soften her tone. “I mean if you want me to.”
Silently, Jonathon followed her into the bathroom. He sat on the toilet as she wet a cloth and started cleaning up the abrasion on his lip. She frowned as she took in his injuries. Bruises, scrapes. And was that a loose tooth?
“What happened?”
“Got mugged. At least, they tried to mug me.” Jonathon gave her a cocky grin. “They didn’t know they were dealing with a dragon.”
Her heart leapt to her throat. Mugged! “You shouldn’t have been out there that late. You should have stayed here.”
“You need some fresh blood,” Jonathon breathed. “And I will do anything that you need, Maggie. I need you to know that, okay? You are more important to me than anything, except the kids. I can’t just sit around not doing anything when it’s in my power to help you.”
The soft sincerity of Jonathon’s voice made tears come to her eyes. Her heart warmed with affection for him. Maybe he didn’t always understand what was going on or think things through, but Jonathon had a good heart. He always had. It was what drew her to him in the first place when they were kids. These days, it was what made her fall in love with him.
And she did need fresh blood. She hadn’t taken nearly enough from Mike. It had just felt so wrong. And it killed her that she could feel so devoted to Jonathon that she couldn’t have her own needs fulfilled when he didn’t think the same way about her. It put so much pressure on him, to accept her drinking from him when he hated it.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, as she washed the blood from his cheek.
Jonathon frowned. “Sorry? For what?”
Maggie struggled to put her feelings into words. “If I had somebody else I could drink from, you wouldn’t have to do it. I know that it makes you uncomfortable. I know that you wish I didn’t…”
“Oh.” He lowered his gaze, not meeting her eye. “I wish that you weren’t a vampire. I wish that you didn’t have to do something you didn’t want to. I’m sorry that I can’t be of more help. I’m sorry that I left you with the kids. I’m sorry—”
“You shouldn’t have to put your life on hold for me,” Maggie grunted, bending her head as the tears threatened to fall. “Just because I’m a vampire doesn’t mean you should have to drop everything for me all the time.”
“Okay… but that has nothing to do with me leaving you with the kids in a parking lot. It was selfish. I’m sorry about that.” Jonathon swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “And I know that it can’t have felt good for me to leave as abruptly as I did earlier.”
Maggie flinched this time. He’d left because she had been all over him in her sleep. Well. Half-sleeping. Had she said something as well? “No, I understand that… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Jonathon shrugged, taking the cloth from her and peering into the mirror. The cuts had scabbed, and the bruises were already faded away. “I know. I know that it’s just the vampirism coming out. But that’s why I left. I didn’t want things to get… awkward.”
What did he mean by that? Awkward? She shook her head, not dwelling on that one word. It was already awkward and for him to have to gently rebuff her would have been even more awkward. That was all he meant. What she really wanted to do was admit the truth. Tell him that it wasn’t because she was a vampire that she’d rolled over to him in her sleep.
I love you. I have loved you for years, and I wish I was brave enough to say it.
They said that when a vampire drank from another person, a mental bond grew between them. Part of Maggie had hoped that she and Jonathon would develop some similar thing, so they could know what each other was thinking and feeling. Then, at least, he would know without her having to say anything at all.
But that would make it even worse. For him to know and to have that pressure of knowing… it was best, she knew, if she just buried her feelings deep inside and didn’t risk their friendship.
Although now that they were talking about things… “I didn’t get enough blood from Mike,” she admitted reluctantly. “I, uh… I didn’t like the taste of his blood.”
A pink tinge grew in Jonathon’s cheeks. He grunted something and then pulled a tubing from the bag that Maggie had just noticed. Her heart sank when she saw it was transfusion tubing. She tried to push aside her disappointment, though. If this would work, it would save Jonathon a lot of discomfort.
They quickly set it up, and Maggie seated herself on the edge of the tub as she put the other end of the tubing in her mouth. She watched his blood move down it like a milkshake up a straw, and then it hit her tongue. She sucked hard but that only made the tubing collapse, so she eased off, letting the blood flow into her mouth rather than trying to drink it.
More than once she tried to suck it down and cut off the flow entirely. After fifteen minutes went by, Maggie was feeling unsatisfied and frustrated. It didn’t taste right, it didn’t feel right and it was far too slow. Jonathon watched her as he cleaned up, the question on his brow.
“I’ll have to get used to it,” she said, not meeting his gaze. This was the first time; it was too early to tell whether or not it was close enough to drinking straight from the vein to sustain her. “If it keeps being like this, though, I don’t think it will work.”
Jonathon put a bracing hand on her shoulder. He smiled, but it looked stiff, not at all like his normal smile of sunlight and warmth. Her heart sank a little more and she turned her face away. Why couldn’t it just be like it used to be? Back when they were best friends, facing the world together and sharing everything. Back before she developed these complex emotions. She didn’t even just wish away her vampirism.
If she had never fallen in love with him, all of this wouldn’t be so hard now. It'd be awkward to have these sexual feelings awoken
when she drank from him, but at least she wouldn’t be wishing that he would turn over and crush her in his arms while they did. They could joke about it, rather than the silences that stood between them.
Tears filled her eyes and she brushed them away quickly, hoping Jonathon wouldn’t mention them.
“It’s going to be okay,” he murmured to her. “It’s not going to be this way for much longer. I promise. I will find the cure for you, no matter what it takes. And as for this,” he waved the tube around, “just give it time.”
“Time we don’t have right now. I need to drink from you,” she told him bluntly, “straight from the vein. I’m in an emotionally unstable state, and I need to steady myself. I’m sorry, I really am. I don’t want to do this anymore than you do but—”
“Hey.” Jonathon pulled her into his arms. He clasped her so tight to his chest that she could feel the beating of his hears. She buried her face into his shoulder, whimpering and choking on her tears even as she tried to banish them. Jonathon’s strong embrace gave her strength. “We’ll find a time when you can drink from me. But not today. The kids are starting to stir, and I don’t want to have to explain this to them.”
Now that he mentioned it, she could hear the kids starting to move around in the main room. Maggie bit back a sigh. No, they didn’t want her to be drinking from him now. Not with the kids so close. Even Ronnie was old enough to start understanding what was going on, on some level at least.
Maggie inhaled deeply as she tossed the bloody cloth into the sink and turned on the cold water to rinse it out. Then she checked Jonathon’s face. The only signs of injuries were faint and quickly disappearing.
“Right. We should get going on the day, then,” she told him, trying to sound bright. “You still okay getting the kids ready while I go to the pool?”
Jonathon seemed to be hesitant, and Maggie frowned at him. Was he having second thoughts? She wouldn’t blame him if he was, but at the same time… If that was what was happening what was she going to do without him?
No. He promised. He’s not going to back out now. There isn’t any reason to.
“I was thinking. With all the other stuff that’s happening,” he said slowly, lowering his voice as the kids started to say good morning to each other, “once we’re done with the Smithsonian, we should take the kids back to stay with my mom. We don’t know if this is going to be the answer or if we’re going to have to find more places to go. And if we do find the cure here, what the process will be to get you back to human and how it could affect you. It could be that you go through something similar to what you went through when you became a vampire.”
A shiver ran down Maggie’s spine. She hadn’t thought of that. Would the cure put her through that intense bloodlust again?
“And, I hate to say it, but we would have made it here a lot sooner if we weren’t dragging the kids around with us. This road trip had been enough for them, right?” His gaze remained on her face. “And maybe it’ll be best if you stay with them, too. There is a lot that’s been happening and maybe you need a break—”
“What?” Maggie stiffened. “This is my quest, Jonathon. I’m the one who has been changed into something I’m not, and I’m the one who suffers the most if it should fail. I’m not about to sit on my ass twiddling my thumbs while you’re off running around, trying to find my cure.”
Jonathon ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe it’s dangerous.”
She frowned at him. “Is this about last night?”
He didn’t answer, not that she needed him to. The guilty look in his eyes was enough. Her hands clenched into fists. So, was the mugging connected to them trying to find a cure or had something else happened? She wanted to demand of him what happened, but when Summer sidled into the bathroom, doing the little dance she did when she needed to use the toilet but was too embarrassed to say, Maggie knew she couldn’t ask him now. Not when the kids were awake.
“We can take the kids to your mom’s house when we leave DC,” she told him under her breath as they both stepped out to give Summer her privacy. “But I’m not going anywhere. Do you understand me?”
Jonathon looked like he wanted to argue but instead, he gave her that smile that never failed to start her heart beating a little faster. “Sure. I understand. Now, why don’t you go down to the pool while I get these ragamuffins ready to go? You need relaxation.”
Maggie nodded. She didn’t feel like going to the pool, not now, but she did want some time alone. To think. To figure out what she was going to ask Jonathon and how she was going to get him to tell her what was really going on.
***
The kids were eager to see everything in the Smithsonian and had to check out everything twice over to make sure they saw everything. Jonathon loved seeing how excited they were about the whole thing and determined that they should do this sort of thing more often. His children were growing up, and he wanted to give them experiences that he never was able to have. Summer had been born when he was only seventeen. He had determined then, when her mother signed away all parental rights, that he was going to be the best father he possibly could.
He knew that he fell short, but he also knew that as long as he could push forward and try to be the man he wanted to be… well, one day he’d be able to look back and say that he did the best he could. Having kids was hard. If it wasn’t for his mom and Maggie, he didn’t think he’d have been able to care for them. He certainly wouldn’t have graduated high school or gotten into college.
A sigh escaped him, making Maggie turn a questioning look on him. He forced a quick smile and shook his head, not wanting to burden her with the thoughts in his head. He just wished he could be a better man all around, better at looking after the people in his life rather than needing so much help himself. At this time, he knew what he could do to help.
He knew he needed to tell Maggie everything that happened the previous night, with the threat and everything else, but so far, they hadn’t had any time when they could talk without the kids overhearing. At least not since he decided that he couldn’t just turn her from her quest and that she needed to know for herself what all the stakes were.
“We’re not going to find it,” he said, and he almost hoped that it was true. Because then at least they wouldn’t have to deal with these death threats.
“Jonathon.” Maggie’s brow pulled together. “It’s right there.”
Jonathon blinked in surprise and looked at what she was gesturing to. Sure enough, in front of them was a brass globe. Well, globe was a strong word for it. There was a rough sketch of the new world on it, stretched from east to west rather than north to south. Several wicked-looking spikes came off it from every side. He bent down to take a closer look at it.
“Think they’ll let us handle it?” Jonathon asked. “It says it’s made by vampires and you’re a vampire. They might.”
Maggie shrugged doubtfully but didn’t respond. They found a curator and made their request. Jonathon made sure to give her the best of all his dimples, but though the woman smiled and told them it was great that they wanted to get hands-on in educating their children, she couldn’t let them handle such a valuable artifact.
“It was found in southern California after an earthquake and a fire,” she told them. “The other artifacts with it were dated to ten thousand years ago. It makes this find even more exciting because brass, like this instrument is made from, was only really used about two thousand five hundred years ago. Everything had strong vampire iconography, which means either brass works were developed and then lost long ago or there was a vampire who gathered together various artifacts that related to themselves… It’s possible,” she continued, her eyes shining, “that it was the same vampire that made all of these artifacts.”
Maggie made a noise in her throat. “Where are the other artifacts, then? And what would you do if the vampire who made them showed up and wanted to claim them?”
The curator blinked, as though surprised by the question
. “Are you the vampire?”
“No. I was only recently turned. But I was told about this by another vampire who—”
“If you think you know the identity of the artist, I’d love to meet them,” the curator interrupted, looking excited. “Someone that old would be a treasure trove of history and information. We could learn so much about early civilizations from them. Here, let me give you my card.”
Jonathon frowned. He wanted to argue that they had every right to see the whole collection and take a closer look at this brass ball, but he could see by the possessive tilt of the woman’s head when she caught him getting too close for her comfort that it wasn’t going to happen.
They finished going through the museum and by that time all three of the kids were getting tired and hungry, so they headed back to the hotel. Once there, Jonathon had made a decision. They weren’t going to get their hands on that artifact. Not legally at least. And seeing the disappointment creasing Maggie’s face and the way her shoulders kept shaking, he knew he couldn’t just let it go.
Who knew, maybe the curator was working for the same vampires that had attacked him. Well, he wasn’t about to let this end in defeat. They’d finish up their vacation—the kids were already super excited about going back once they all had a rest—but after they were back home… Well. He would just have to figure out how to get back there and get that brass ball.
Because if anybody deserved it, it was the vampires who wanted to find a way to cure themselves. It wasn’t a museum where it would just sit there, looking tarnished for people to look at and move on without understanding the first thing about it.
***
Maggie was subdued and quiet when they drove back home. At night, they tried to talk about what their plans could be from here on out, how they could possibly find out the information on the artifact without alerting the vampires who’d had Jonathon attacked.
Paranormal Friends with Benefits Page 6
