Empath (Book 1 of the Empath Trilogy) (32 page)

He rolled his eyes and growled.  “I’ll make this quick.  You are acting like a thirsty vampire and it is because of me.  You are channeling my thirst and I can’t keep it from happening.  I don’t have any sources for donor blood here so we have a few choices.  I can excuse myself and go hunting, or,” he struggled with the second option, “or I can take the edge off right now.”

I wrestled with the choices, neither one was appealing.  My mother would never forgive us leaving now and she would think James completely rude if he left me in the middle of the reception regardless of the reason I gave, and what if he was caught hunting in town?  It was too risky.  Making up my mind, I sat up tall on my pile of boxes and stuck out my arm offering him my wrist.  “You can feed off of me.  That seems to make the most sense.”  I figured he could hear my breath and pulse quicken so I didn’t try to hide my anxiety as I asked, “Will it hurt?”  Wincing at the break in my voice, I felt him tucking away his self-loathing.

Rethinking things he frowned at my wrist, both of us stared at the thin line of blue near the surface.  “You don’t have to do this.  I can say an emergency came up and go hunt outside of town.  It shouldn’t take too long.”

Shaking my head, I disagreed.  “You can’t go hunting on strange grounds.  What if you get caught or go too far and now we have a body on our hands?  This makes the most sense.  I won’t be weak will I?”

“No, with dinner on its way you will begin to feel better quickly.  And, I have a theory that with us linked the way we are you will get stronger when I do.”  James was already regretting what he was about to do.   “I know it is a lot to decide all at once and I am sorry.  I will make this up to you, I promise.”  His expression was pained.

My vision wavered and I could feel the fog creeping back in.  “Let’s hurry up so we aren’t missed.  We are supposed to be getting Mom a drink, remember?”  Never having seen someone bitten before, I was nervous about all the blood and how to hide the mark.  I was trying to imagine what kind of neckerchief or wristband I could make out of duct tape or a napkin and chuckled to myself.  I caught the queer look James shot my way.

“It’s wearing off.”  He looked apprehensive again and reached back to tie the door shut with some cording, hooking it onto a steel rack nearby.  As the fog crept in so did the fire in my throat and lower.  I shifted in my seat.  James stroked my cheek.  “Love, I can make this so it doesn’t hurt if you look at me first.”

My thoughts were growing fuzzy again.  I tried to focus on his eyes obediently.  As I stared, I felt strangely floaty and light.  He pushed me back on the boxes so I was lying down on my back and my legs were bared as he pushed my dress up.   I moaned in anticipation.  One hand came up to press against my chest as the other pulled my right leg aside.  It was only in the second before he did it that I realized where he was going to bite me.  He was right it was not painful as he bit down high on the inside of my thigh.  The same liquid warmth that his voice washed me with was now coursing through my veins, making the experience sensual.  My flesh tingled, accompanied by a warm wave every time he moved his mouth to draw more blood from the wound he’d created.

There was a sense of loss as James removed his mouth and gently licked his bite marks.  Gasping, I felt my body tighten at the pleasantness of the sensation.  He brought his hand up to wipe his palm against his mouth.  Fortunately, I didn’t see any blood on either of us.   Holding out a hand for me he helped me up as his other smoothed my dress back into place. 

Expecting to be lightheaded I carefully took his hand, shocked at the rush of strength that flowed through me instead.  Tentatively, James asked, “Are you alright?”

Mentally taking inventory, I nodded.  “I think so.  My head is much clearer.  Do I look okay?  Not pale or anything?  You’re more pink.”

He’d been appraising me since he took my hand, and he shook his head, looking relieved.  “You look beautiful.  Let’s get back before we’re missed.”

I snorted.  “Fat chance.  My mom’s probably given up on her drink by now.”

James looked at his watch and shook his head.  “No, we’ve only been gone ten minutes.”  With that, he lifted me down catching my eye.  “What, is something wrong?”

“I’m okay with being your emergency donor when you need it as long as you don’t change me or mark me or anything.  Deal?”

Jaw tight, he ducked his eyes and agreed.  “Deal.”

Ch. 38

When we got back to the table everyone was still milling and standing just as we’d left them with the exception of the suspicious cast to my mother’s features, demanding an explanation.  James took the lead.  “My apologies,” he looked at my dad and then Mom.  “My editor called about some last minute details and I had to take the call.”

Dad looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Did you need to speak to the editor as well?”

Seeing my stricken expression James answered for me.  “Actually, she did.”  He squeezed my hand and smiled warmly.  “I need a woman’s perspective on my trip and I’ve invited Claire to go on my next travel assignment with me.”

Squeezing his hand back, I voiced my objection.  His shoulders came up and I saw an apology in his eyes.  He was right of course, his explanation panned out and opened the door for everything else we wanted to say to my parents, just moving things forward a little faster than either of us preferred. 

Taking up the torch, I chimed in.  “Yes, James and I were talking about his trip to Scotland and I mentioned that I’ve always wanted to go there so he invited me.  I hope that’s okay with you two.”  I looked nervously from Mom to Dad.

Mom was concerned.  “James, is that okay with your paper?  Inviting someone else?”

Mentioning nothing about his argument with his office on that very subject, James lied flawlessly.  “Actually yes, I am allowed to bring a companion on occasion.”  He caught my eyes.  “This is a first for me, however.” 

I felt my heart give a flutter.

Dad floored me with his response.  “Claire, I’m proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone and going.”

“Doug, what are you saying?”  My mom gaped at him.

Dad serenely stared down my mother, challenging her to argue.  Seeing she wasn’t going to, he grinned at me.  “It’s true.  Jeanette, we’ve talked about this for years.  Claire you have always been so careful.   Don’t get me wrong, we are happy that you have always gotten good grades and grown up so well despite all of our moves and changes.  I don’t know what has gotten in to you,” his eyes rested squarely on James and I crooked my neck to see James meeting my dad’s gaze unflinching.  “But I for one am happy to see you living your own life, finally.”

My jaw dropped.  I had never heard my father talk so much in my whole life.  “Are you serious?”

Nodding, Dad assured me.  “Honey, you are nineteen years old and intelligent enough to make your own decisions.  You aren’t traipsing across the world following a rock band.  James, as a military man you have to make snap judgments about people’s characters and you seem reasonably trustworthy.”  The look that passed between them was pure male.  “Don’t prove me wrong.”

“Doug, I guarantee that I always have your daughter’s safety in mind.”  I watched Dad accept his word and Mom drain her second glass of champagne.

Thankfully, someone tapped the microphone and the toasting began, halting our bizarre interplay for the time being.  Finally, someone in a wait staff uniform walked to the father of the bride and whispered something.  I was guessing they wanted to serve dinner since it was already seven and they could only hold chicken and fish for so long. 

My instincts proved correct and we were all sitting and being served dinner shortly thereafter, which was good.  My blood letting and champagne were beginning to take their collective toll.  Our table got along really well, James was an excellent conversationalist and I enjoyed hearing him tell stories about his work for the paper and travels around the world.  Again, he proved to be a great bridge builder and he got everyone talking about their own travels.  I learned a lot about my parents’ trips before I was born and Dad’s transfers when I was much younger.  Angie thought James’ job was glamorous and I could tell it bothered Brad, but he was too good a guy to point it out in front of everyone.  I was guessing there would be some discussion later when they were alone. 

Both of my parents watched James like a hawk although Mom was more obvious.  I actually caught her gaping at him with her fork hovering, forgotten by her mouth a few times.  I had spent so much of my life pushing my mother away, I hadn’t taken the time to see how clued in to me she was.  Now that I could be near her, it touched me how well she knew me.  She knew something was different, even if she could never have guessed what it was. 

James hid the fact that he wasn’t eating by cutting up his food and pushing it around his plate.  Given the number of questions he was answering, I don’t think anyone even noticed that nothing passed through his lips.  The entertainment for the night was setting up as we were finishing our dry chicken and over poached fish.  I saw cases for a guitar, bass and drums come out with microphones and amps and got excited.

When dinner was finished, the groom stood and took the microphone.  His slurred words hinted at who was responsible for most of the empty champagne bottles at the head table.  “Vanessa and I wanted to thank everyone for being here with us tonight and invite you to enjoy the rest of the night with some more friends of mine.”  With that, the band kicked off into a short but enthusiastic wedding march.  Travis laughed and returned to sit with his new wife while the rest of the plates were being cleared away.  It wasn’t long afterward that the wedding ritual moved to its next phase.  The first dance between husband and wife flowed into one for the whole wedding party and then other couples began to trickle onto the floor, while some of the wedding party less into dancing wandered off. 

The first song was a slow one and James stood, looking around the table before settling on my parents.  “If you don’t mind, I have been waiting patiently all night for this.”  When his eyes and smile rested on me, I took his hand and rose from the table.

Once we reached the dance floor James spun me effortlessly into his arms, poised to lead.  The hand against the small of my back pressed me close to him.  It didn’t matter that a number of eyes followed us, mine were fixed.

“They seem to really like you.” 

His brow furrowed for a moment before he answered.  “I’m not so sure about your parents.  I think your dad is excited to see you doing well but your mother is very protective.”

I nodded and answered thoughtfully.  “I think she isn’t sure how to take it all in.  She sees you as the reason I’m different all of a sudden.”  I patted his arm.  “We just need to convince her that’s a good thing.” 

Grinning, he stepped into a more formal distance from me for emphasis.  “I’m doing my best to be a gentleman.” 

Pulling myself back in to him, I teased.  “How can anyone resist you?”

“I don’t know.  I’ve never met anyone who could.”  He sounded so sincere, I leaned back to study his eyes.  He laughed with an unusual glint in his eye.  “Maybe I could give a little suggestion to Jeannette.  She’d never know what hit her and she would be our biggest supporter.”

I sucked in my breath seeing my mother’s glazed expression in my mind’s eye.  He could bespell her so easily.

“You wouldn’t!”  I gawked in shock to hear him say it.

James shook off his dark joke.  “I would never do that to someone, I told you that.”  We both were quiet and I knew we were thinking about the same thing.  He pulled me close, whispering in my ear, “You know I did that because I couldn’t make the decision for you.”  Moving so that he could see my face, “It was that or have to explain to you after the fact that I’d taken your blood without asking.”  I saw the genuine concern on his face.  “Are you still okay with it?”  He referred to the decision more than my body’s performance, though I found the latter easier to speak to.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”  I answered honestly.  “I’m clear headed and can move around without holding on to you all the time.  Not that I minded having you near me so much.  It kept all those other girls off of you.”  I teased.

I saw him duck his head to hide his smirk and his arm tightened around my back, holding me close as we danced.