Bite of Envy (Just One Bite #4) (5 page)

She felt calm and collected, and peace filled her to the
brim. Wiping her eyes, she was unsurprised to find RaeLynn's hand on her knee.
She scooped the nearly 7-month-old baby onto her lap and rubbed her chin over
the soft curls. "Hey, baby girl," she said softly. "And I'm
sorry the most for how I treated you. I love you, sweetness."

A tinkling of bells sounded in her head as a high, sweet
voice said,
I love you, Mommy
.
Lizbeth let out a shriek, careful to tighten her grip so she didn’t drop Rae.

"What?" Diandra demanded, as her whole body tensed,
prepared to defend her loved ones. "What's the problem?"

Lizbeth held a hand up, asking for a moment. Tentatively she
tried to broadcast her thoughts to that tiny pulse she could almost see in her
head. The pulsing glowed lavender and she knew instinctively that was RaeLynn.
Baby girl, was that you?
Her only
response was another tinkling sound followed by a very familiar giggle.

"Start talking," Diandra demanded as she tapped
her fingernails impatiently on the table top. She knew something was going on
that she didn't understand, and her posture relaxed slightly. She knew Lizbeth
never would have gestured for her to be quiet if there was an actual problem
she could defend them against, but she didn't like not knowing what was going
on.

"Well, it appears RaeLynn has another talent I didn't
expect," Lizbeth said dryly, bouncing the baby on her knee and making her
giggle. "She was just speaking to me."

Everyone just stared at her, as though what she said didn't
make sense to them. "I didn't hear anything," Diandra said, her
confusion written across her pretty face.

"That's because she chose to talk in my head, the way
you used to, and the way Eamon did earlier." Lizbeth was grinning widely,
every inch the proud parent as she kissed the top of RaeLynn's head.

Eamon, Adrian and Diandra stared at the baby as if they were
waiting for her to give them confirmation. Never one to disappoint, she gave a
big baby grin and broadcast her thoughts to the room. "
I love you
!" Tears of joy streamed
down Diandra's face as she doubled over with laughter. Eamon and Adrian
laughed, too, and everyone ran to the baby at once, each wanting to be the one
to hold her. For now, all serious conversation had ended. There were too many
things to celebrate to worry about petty insecurities and the pressing weight
of doubt. Lizbeth was never more grateful for a change in conversation as she
was at that moment.

"You're not off the hook so easily, Lizbeth,"
Eamon admonished her as she attempted to slip from the room unnoticed.
"That's only part of the story, and we all know it."

Lizbeth opened her mouth to protest but Adrian cut her off. "It's
eating you inside, like cancer," he said quietly. "Why not let us put
our heads together and help you? You don't need to do it all yourself, you
know. You said you're nothing- to all of us here, you're everything. None of us
would be the same if we lost you, so please, come sit back down and let us
help."

Diandra just glared at her over the top of RaeLynn's head,
having won the fight over who got to hold her first. Defeated, Lizbeth returned
to her seat and picked up her now-cold coffee, sipping at it and making a face.
Adrian chuckled as he went to dump her cold brew out and bring her fresh. Everyone
waited quietly for him to return, and the silence weighed heavily on Lizbeth.
She squirmed uncomfortably in her chair, hating being the center of attention,
especially when the reason wasn't a pleasant one. Even after Adrian came back
and took a seat the silence continued.

Unable to take it anymore, Lizbeth broke the silence.
"What do you people want from me?" she burst out. "I've told you
everything. There's nothing left. Why can't you leave me alone?" She
sipped at her coffee, clutching it with both hands to prevent it from slopping
when she realized her hands were shaking. They were pushing her too hard, she
thought a bit frantically. They expected too much from her, and she didn't know
how to deal with it anymore.

"Baby, there's more," Diandra corrected her
gently. "What made you feel like you weren't good enough? What can we do
to make you feel better?"

Lizbeth glared at her, but there was no heat in it.
"Can you make me more powerful? Can you make me a stronger vampire? Can
you make me as good as you, or as good as Eamon? No, you can't, so just back
the fuck off. I've said all there is to say."

Eamon cleared his throat, trying to avoid speaking to her
silently so that everyone could be part of the conversation. "She might
not be able to, but I know I can. That all depends on you, though."

Lizbeth stared at him, all her anger gone as surprise filled
her. "What do you mean?" Suspicion was on her face, but he looked
past it and saw through to the cautious hope in her eyes.

Eamon smiled at her. "You haven't practiced. Not
everyone is a natural like Diandra here. Remember how I acted on her first
day?" Lizbeth nodded. "Well, it was because she was doing everything
one hundred times quicker than I did. It took me nearly a hundred years to get
to the level I'm at, and even now I find myself a little quicker, a little
stronger, and little more powerful. It takes practice, and you haven't
bothered."

Lizbeth merely stared at him, surprised that it had never
even occurred to her. She had simply assumed that she would be at full strength
right away. If she believed she could do it, then she could. It was like that
for Diandra, so why not for her?

Eamon whispered quietly in her mind.
You were at a disadvantage, seeing Dia just do things instead of having
to work at it. She's special, somehow. No one knows quite why, but I guess it
might be because of the pregnancy. Not all of us take to it as she did. You
don't know you're weak- you may grow to be stronger than me one day. But you'll
never know until you try.

Continuing out loud, he said, "We don't know what
you're capable of, because we haven’t practiced. And you're not weak- I can't
heal nearly as fast as you can, and you're quieter than I am. I always make
noise when I move, even if no one but another vamp can hear it." He came
around the table and laid a supportive hand on Lizzie's shoulder. "My
point is, we just don't know what you're capable of yet, and we won't know if
you don't practice. So what do you say? Want to get some practice in since you
have the day off?"

Lizbeth looked around the table at the faces of her loved
ones. She saw nothing but support as they looked back at her. She gazed up at
Eamon last, and his expression was the gentlest she'd ever seen from him. She
smiled at him as she replied, "Well, I'm already dressed for it- why
not?"

Lizbeth stood on the beach waiting for Eamon's instruction
to begin. She'd begged Adrian and Diandra to stay inside- she just wasn't ready
for an audience just yet. She knew they were gathered in front of the sliding
glass door looking out onto the sand, but she shook that off. She'd done the
same to Diandra, she knew, so she chose to ignore it and move on.

"First thing's first," Eamon said. "We need
to know how fast you are, so let's start by sprinting to the waterline and
back." Lizbeth took a breath, rolled her neck and shoulders once, and
nodded that she was ready. Without warning, Eamon took off, running full speed
as he kicked sand up behind him.

"Son of a bitch," Lizbeth muttered as she followed
him. She ran as fast as she could, dismayed when she realized she was still
much slower than he was. Angry with herself, she told herself she was faster
than that. She thought it, repeated it like a mantra, and managed to reach the
water just as he turned around to head back. Kicking up her speed to the next
gear, she passed him on the return trip, finishing the lap only inches ahead of
him. Letting out a breathless laugh, she pumped one fist in the air.

"Not bad," Eamon chuckled, nodding his head at
her. He was barely winded, but she wasn't used to running like that and it
would take a while before her breathing adjusted to the new speeds. "What
were you thinking when you sped up?"

Lizzie looked up at him, flashing a small grin. "I told
myself I was faster than that, and I repeated it until I believed it," she
said simply.

"Well done," he said. "You remembered what I
told Dia. That's the key to doing anything with your new powers. You have to
believe it, or it won't work, no matter how hard you want it to." Judging
that she'd had enough time to bask in her victory, he pointed to the line of
boulders nearby. "You know the drill."

Lizbeth gulped audibly, doubting her ability to lift any of
them. She wasn't any stronger than she used to be. She couldn't do this.
If you think like that, you won't
, Eamon
reminded her.
So why not convince
yourself you can, and get your ass in gear
. She nodded to him to show she
understood, and started psyching herself up for it. She told herself over and
over again how strong she was, and that she could do this. Of course she could,
she was no mere human anymore. She repeated it until she felt the glow of pride
inside that let her know she truly believed it.

She stepped up to the smallest of the boulders before her-
it looked to weigh about 200 pounds and she knew she could lift it without too
much difficulty. Catching her thoughts, she told herself she could lift it
without any difficulty- the boulder was nothing compared to her, and she was
strong enough to lift more than just one of them. Lizbeth was small in stature,
standing about 5'8" but weighing only 125 pounds at her heaviest. Still,
she knew that this was not beyond her- she could do it. Bending down, she
grabbed the rock and hoisted it over her head, as effortlessly as if it had all
the weight of a feather. For one startled moment she held her pose, and Eamon
had to laugh at the expression on her face. Then she set it down gently so as
not to make too much noise before entertaining herself for the next fifteen
minutes picking up rocks and encouraging Eamon to do it, too. He shook his head
but gave in, hanging in there until she couldn't go any longer. Her top weight
seemed to be around 600 pounds according to Eamon, only 150 pounds less than he
could lift easily.

"Still feeling like you don't measure up?" he
asked her, half teasing and half hoping she was truly over her insecurities.
They were sitting back to back on the beach, and he could feel the motion as
she shook her head.

"No, I guess not. I feel stupid for it, but damnit,
I've felt like a lesser being from the moment I first met Dia, and I felt like
this was one more area where I wasn't good enough." Lizbeth was drained,
but feeling good about all she had accomplished, so it was easier for her to
open up and talk, especially since Eamon never seemed to judge her. He knew it
was hard for her to talk about some things, and he left her alone when it
wasn't necessary to pick her mind.

Eamon sat quietly, trying to think of what he could say to
help her without revealing his own sordid past. There would be time for that
later, but today was not the day. "You know no one views you as lesser
except for you. We all love you in our ways, even Adrian," he said with a
smirk. He had nothing against the guy, but how could you trust someone so
fucking nice? There had to be something bad about him somewhere, even if the
background checks didn't catch it. Just because it didn't pop on a check meant
nothing- it just meant he hadn't gotten caught. That's what experience had
taught him, and he learned his lessons well.

As if reading his mind Lizbeth asked, "What do you have
against him, anyway? Dia treated him the same way when he interviewed for the
job. He hasn't done anything to you that I'm aware of."

Eamon sighed as he ran a hand through his thick ivory hair.
"No, but experience is a painful teacher," he answered cryptically.

Lizbeth turned onto her side in the sand so she could look
at him directly. "Is there something I need to know?" She was wearing
her "cop face" now, and he knew he'd piqued her interest.

Laughing, Eamon stood up and pulled her to her feet in one
fluid motion. "Only that you've rested long enough- back to work,
Liz." He kicked sand at her and took off down the beach, not even minding
when she tackled him to the sand after only a few feet. She would work harder
happier than she would if she was depressed, and he was determined to keep her
smiling.

"I said no more," Lizbeth grumbled after an hour,
kicking sand at Eamon. "I've had enough of this bullshit for one
day." She collapsed in a heap on the beach, growing cooler beneath her
body as the heat of the day vanished with the setting sun. Her yoga pants
instantly picked up a heap of sand, drawn by the sweat that was attempting to
dry.

Eamon walked over to stand beside her. "Get up,"
he growled at her, the threat clear in his tone. When she merely flipped him
off in response, he kicked sand into her face, jumping back from her as she
snarled, jumped to her feet and attempted to grab him.

"What the fuck, Eamon?" Lizbeth said, spitting
sand out and wiping at her stinging face. "I don't think that was freaking
necessary."

Eamon stared at her for a moment, then grabbed her arm and,
with no ceremony, flipped her over his back to thump onto hers in the sand once
more. "You'll be worse than useless if you don't attempt to learn
something sometime soon. Now get off your ass and try to pay me back," he
said simply, his voice brooking no argument.

Lizbeth snarled once more and lunged, blinking stupidly up
at him as she hit the sand again. "Do it again, and this time think
first," he said to her. Again, she ran at him only to hit the sand for a
third time.