Kiss of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Realm Book 2) (9 page)

“I won’t,” she said with a giggle. And then there was the sound of more kissing.

When it had seemed like Brandi’s new boyfriend was going to be a jerk, my mouth started watering. I was half disappointed that he’d agreed to lay off. I needed food, but it didn’t seem like it was going to be him. I wasn’t sure that I thought he was an ideal mate for Brandi, but his actions didn’t obviously warrant any intervention.

My stomach growled. Where were all the sleazy guys? Someone had to be acting like a jerk somewhere. Why had I put Tommy off until the next night? I could have been dining on his blood in the back seat of his mother’s Mercury Sable instead trolling the streets.

Then a distant exclamation caught my attention. It sounded like a female had just cried out in anger or maybe pain. I cocked my head to listen. Everything was quiet. And then I heard a woman say, “Would you please just let me out of the car?” in an elevated voice.

Gliding through the shadows, I hurried in the direction of the voice. Down the block and around the corner was a cream colored convertible with the top up that appeared to have two people inside.

“Oh, come on. You want it,” the guy was saying.

“No,” she assured him “I don’t.”

“Then why did you come out here with me?” he demanded.

“Because you said you had a song you wanted me to hear. I thought that meant we were going to listen to a song. I didn’t think it meant you thought I was agreeing to have sex with you.”

“God, you’re so uptight,” the guy told her.

“I guess I am,” she said, not falling for his why-don’t-you-prove-me-wrong strategy. “Now would you get your hand off the door?”

“The least you could do is blow me,” he insisted.

“What?” she exclaimed. “Why in the hell would I want to do that?” She sounded justifiably incredulous.

“If you weren’t so uptight you wouldn’t leave me hanging. It’s just not cool.” From the sound of things, he really felt entitled.

I have never understood why some men expected a blowjob as a consolation prize. If I wasn’t interested in being intimate with a guy, why would I want his penis anywhere near my mouth? The woman in the car seemed to be like minded. “Listen, I don’t care if you think I’m uptight. And I don’t care about your erection,” she told him. “You being horny is not my responsibility. Now get your hand off the damn door and let me out of this car.”

She could probably have handled it. She wasn’t giving in to him or worried about what he thought of her. And she also wasn’t trying to be the “nice girl” by not being clear about her feelings, so that was a good sign. But he was definitely a sleaze and my belly was growling so I walked over to the convertible and knocked on the driver’s side window. I may have knocked just a tiny bit too hard because a spider web of cracks appeared where my hand had struck the glass.

“Is everything okay in there?” I asked, giving them both a perky smile as I bent to look inside the car. “I thought I heard a struggle.”

“What the fuck, lady? What did you do to my window?” the guy yelled, instantly leaping out of the vehicle.

“Your friend said she wanted out of the car and was having trouble opening the door,” I explained. “I just thought I’d offer to help her out.”

The woman came bursting out of the passenger’s side door and put a good ten yards between her and the man. “You’re a real asshole. You know that Terry?”

“Oh, come on. You’re making too big of a deal out of it,” he insisted.

“No I’m not.” She was sputtering mad. “You were preventing me from getting out of the car. And trying to force me to blow you.”

“I was just kidding around,” he told her. “You need to learn how to take a joke.”

“And you need to learn that when I say I want to get out of the car, what I mean is, I want to get out of the car.”

I was impressed. She was refusing to back down.

The man examined the damaged I had done to his window. “Holy shit! What the hell did you do? Hit is with a rock or something?”

“I didn’t do anything,” I told him. “It was like that when I walked over.”

“No it wasn’t!” he yelled. “You’re going to pay for this.”

“Hmmm…” I pretended to think it over. “I don’t have any money.” Then I flashed Terry a lusty grin. “But maybe we could work something out.”

The woman moved closer to me. “That is a bad idea,” she told me in a lowered voice. “You don’t want to be anywhere near that dirtball.”

Turning my head away from the man, I fixed the woman with my eyes. “I’ll be alright,” I told her. “But you want to be a little more careful about men. Especially when you’ve been drinking. And you’re going to warn all of your friends that Terry is a jerk. Facebook about it. Really get the word out.”

“I will.” She nodded, her eyes transfixed on mine.

“So you need to go home now,” I told her. “If you don’t have a car then you need to call a taxi and wait in a bar until it arrives.”

“I will,” she said. “But I still don’t want to leave you alone with him.”

I was extra impressed. Not only did the woman know her own mind, but she also had a nice protective streak for other women. “I’ll be alright,” I said again. “I promise.” Then I flashed her a quick grin. “But I can’t say the same for Terry.”

She nodded. “Sounds good. I guess I should be going now.” And then she turned and walked down the street. I had to assume she knew where she was going.

“So how you gonna pay me back?” the man asked, looking me over. I swear I could see him licking his chops.

“Why don’t we get inside your car and we’ll work something out?” I suggested. I could scarcely keep myself from drooling while ogling the jugular vein on the side of his neck.

“You got a deal there, sweet cheeks,” the man said, grinning from ear to ear. “But I have to warn you, I’m going to expect top dollar.”

I looked him in the eye. “You’re going to get everything you deserve and more,” I assured him. Eagerly I opened the door to the convertible and climbed inside. I couldn’t wait to eat.

Chapter 12

Dorian

I had absolutely no idea what to make of Miss Haley Scott. First she barges into my family home beseeching me for help. And then when I offer it, like a gentleman, she flies into a rage and storms off the property. Her behavior was very perplexing. Honestly, she was making me rather insane. It seemed there was no pleasing the girl no matter what I did.

I breakfasted alone. The blood was excellent, but I felt the sting of disappointment with each swallow. I had expected Haley would be with me as my guest. There was so much I wanted to show her and share with her. I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out what had caused her to storm off without even a cup of blood to fill her belly.

Once I’d had my meal, I was a bit at loose ends. It was strange being in the castle without my family around me. I didn’t know any of the local vampires. If there even were any, besides the ones with a last name of Vanderlind. I half decided I would fly back to Europe. The only thing preventing me was the concern that I would be taking the coward’s way out. And I was no coward.

“Hugo,” I said when the giant came in to clear away my breakfast glass. I had made a decision.

“Yes, Mr. Wanderlind,” he said in his deep, echoing voice.

“I’ll be staying in Tiburon for some time and I will need a few more of my personal effects. He’ll know what I need.”

“Wery good, Mr. Wanderlind,” Hugo said with a nod.

I had an excellent valet, Ferguson, who had been in my employ for the last twenty years. I didn’t bring him with me very often when I traveled, but it was nice to have someone at home who could anticipate my needs. I wouldn’t even have to make a list of the things I wanted. My man would just sense what was necessary. I would stay in Tiburon for as long as I pleased. I would show Miss Scott that I wasn’t to be chased out of town with my tail between my legs.

But was Haley’s good opinion something I really needed to be concern about? I’d done my best by the girl and I was brutally rebuffed. Half the undead I knew would have staked the fledgling already and been done with it. There was a prevailing belief that some mortals just weren’t meant to be vampires. Haley, of course, made an excellent vampire. Her self control was extraordinary. I would die rather than let anyone harm one hair on her head. But that meant I was playing the fool again. I was the pet bear dancing for treats.

“Hugo,” I called out as I saw the giant pass by the entrance to the dining room.

“Yes, Mr. Wanderlind?” he asked, pausing mid-stride to attend me.

I was on the verge of cancelling my original order of sending for my things. Haley cared nothing for me and by hanging around I was just leaving myself open for more heartache and probably more headaches.

“I…” I began and then trailed off.

Hugo regarded me with his impassive eyes, giving no indication if he felt any impatience with my indecisiveness.

“Never mind,” I snapped, and then regretted my peevishness. I was annoyed but it wasn’t the fault of the servant.

Haley Scott was maddening. Her every action made it clear that she in no way enjoyed my company. And I did not enjoy hanging about, playing the fool to be used as her safety net every time she ran into a rough patch of road. But I couldn’t leave. My brain knew that leaving was essential to my sanity, but my body wouldn’t let me go. I had to see Haley again. I had to try to win her. There had been a moment ― hell, maybe even a few moments ― when I had seen something in Miss Scott’s eyes. For a few fleeting seconds in the ballroom I had felt that maybe she could be persuaded to love me. I just wasn’t used to having to work so hard to win the admiration of a young lady.

I headed out back of the castle and then took off from the patio. A good flight down the Tiburon River would clear my head. And then I would search for Haley.

I felt much better after feeling the wind in my hair for a good couple of hours. I didn’t know why I was letting Haley drive me so insane. I was Dorian Vanderlind, for crying out loud. Over the last century I had won the heart of every sultry vampiress from New York to St. Petersburg. Haley was very young and still a victim to her tempestuous adolescent emotions. Physically I was still eighteen, but I had been around for nearly a century. I was obviously the adult in our particular situation and it was about time I started acting like one.

I decided that I would focus my energies on following Haley. Not like an obsessed stalker. I would be more like a private eye. If I could figure out her motivation for staying in Tiburon, then I would have a better chance of talking some sense into her. With that in mind, I headed for Darlene’s Diner to see if Haley was working a shift. It was just so embarrassing having my progeny work as a waitress. Especially in a small town diner. It would still have been embarrassing if she was working at The Ritz, but at least it would make more sense. Haley was meant to wear diamonds and command servants to do her bidding; not sling hash for tips. I didn’t have any problem with a mortal earning an honest living as a waitress, but it was unbecoming in a vampire. You didn’t expect a Rockefeller to be working at a stand shining shoes.

I must have flown the river for longer than I thought because by the time I got to Darlene’s it was closed. I immediately thought of the strip of bars where I had last found Haley feeding. Was she really so foolish as to use the same hunting grounds night after night? The answer was yes. It only took me ten minutes to find her, just as she was climbing into a car with another sleazeball. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe she was willing to degrade herself in that way for a meal when she could have all of the blood that Vanderlind Castle had to offer.

I suppose she thought she was a crusader or something, feeding off the blood of sleazy men. She probably felt she was making the world a better place, one scumbag at a time. But the world was full of unsavory people, so she had a long road ahead of her. But at least she would never go hungry.

“What is the little game that you two are playing?” a female voice asked.

I was crouching on a rooftop and so engrossed in watching Haley that I hadn’t noticed another vampire had come to join me. “Ilona,” I exclaimed, whipping my head around. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same thing,” she said as she slinked her way over to me. “I’ve been spending a lot of time in Tiburon lately. Apparently it’s becoming a new hot spot for the undead.”

“Seriously Ilona. Why are you here?” I pressed. I couldn’t imagine her presence wouldn’t in some way spell trouble.

The vampiress gave a little sniff. “After listening to you pour your heart out about your little progeny, I thought I’d come and see who was causing all the trouble.”

“I’m sorry about that,” I told her. “I’m really quite embarrassed. I was having a low moment. I should have never burdened you with my inconsequential troubles. And there really aren’t any troubles,” I hastily added. “Everything’s just fine.”

“I can see that.” She nodded toward the car, her red curls bobbing. “Is this how you two get your kicks? You spy on your progeny while she feeds off of strange men?” She raised her immaculate eyebrows. “Kinky.”