Never Have A Vampire's Baby (4 page)

              Luke let out a hearty laugh, and Kim felt a pleasant tug in her chest as the sound hit her ears. “I like that name. We’re going to have to consider changing it.”

              Kim grinned, feeling as though she were floating instead of sitting in her car. “Just make sure to give me credit, okay? And don’t forget to keep me updated on any other changes.”

              Luke laughed again. “I think I’ve learned not to keep things from you by now. I’ll never keep you out of the loop again.”

Chapter Three

The Fiat wouldn’t start when Kim got behind the wheel.

              “What’s wrong?” Luke ducked his head into the window after hearing Kim’s loud groan of defeat.

              “I don’t know,” she said, eyeing the crowd of curious vampires in her rear view mirror. “Maybe it’s the starter?” She pushed her bangs back from her misty forehead. “I think I’m going to need to call a tow truck.”

              “Nonsense,” Luke said firmly. Kim saw that his eyes were sparkling; they were friendly and warm in a way they hadn’t been since the night they met. “Did you pass any auto body shops on the way in?”

              Kim frowned. “I think so. But wouldn’t you know? Didn’t you come the same way?”

              Someone in the crowd behind them laughed; they could apparently still hear her even though she was back in the car. Luke shot a silencing look behind him.

              “Not exactly,” he said. “I didn’t need to use roads, since I didn’t travel by car. I just ran right through.”

              Kim blinked slowly. “Ran? Through the desert? Forty-five minutes outside of town?”

              Luke nodded. “Vampire, remember? We’re much sturdier than humans. A few dozen miles is nothing to us.” He looked around him and then up at the sky. “I can push you to the shop. It’ll be a few minutes.”

              Kim burst out laughing. “Okay, Luke. Now I know you’re messing with me.”

              But Luke had already moved behind her car. Kim turned around in her seat and watched in disbelief as Luke placed both hands on her trunk, set his square jaw in a look of concentration, and started to push. The car started to roll forward quickly, as if Kim had actually managed to turn it on and put her foot on the gas; they were moving faster than she’d thought possible; by the time the car got near the first turn of the narrow path, the Fiat was moving at least fifteen miles an hour.

              This isn’t happening,
she thought.
There’s no way vampires are this strong.

              “Turn around and steer!” Luke shouted. His voice gave no sign of strain.

              Kim jumped, snapping herself out of her trance in time to grip the wheel and turn the tires so the car moved out onto the main road. Once on the blacktop, the car started to move even faster; Kim kept looking in the rear view mirror, watching the column of smoke drop back behind them in between long glances at Luke’s muscular arms. His t-shirt was clinging to his torso, and it took her a while to realize that it wasn’t because of sweat – the wind was whipping at his body and pulling the clothes tighter. Kim felt a surge of lust uncurl inside her; she forced herself to keep her eyes in front of her, not wanting to be caught staring at him like some lovelorn teenager.

              After five minutes, a small building took shape in the distance. Kim was surprised to find that she could read the sign perfectly:
Buddy’s Automotive
. She could even see that one of the shades was drawn at the side of the building, even though she’d normally need her contact lenses to be able to pick out such detail.
Is it smoggier in the city? Maybe desert air makes things sharper.
As they drew closer, she saw cars parked behind the shop, placed seemingly at random; there were no parking spaces, and some of the cars were sitting perpendicular to others while others were grouped together in tight rows.

             
“Get ready to turn!” Luke shouted.

              He slowed as they turned into shop’s driveway, and Kim applied her brakes just in time to roll to a stop twenty feet from the door. Somewhere on the property, a dog started barking, striking the high desert air like the crack of a whip. Kim finally located the animal in one of the shop’s windows – a fat corgi with a bright red collar clasped around its furry neck.

              Luke strolled around to open the driver’s side for her, grinning at the look of wonder on her face.

              “Wow,” she said. “You don’t look like you pushed a car twenty miles.”

              “Fifteen,” Luke said modestly. “And of course not. I’ve done plenty of things that are a lot more challenging in my time.”

              Kim cocked her head and looked at him curiously. “Like what?”

              Luke studied her carefully. Kim felt his gaze on her, but it wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

              After a moment, he shook his head. “Maybe later.”

              “Why not now?” Kim asked stubbornly. “What are you--”

              “Hello?”

              Both of them jumped and turned toward the shop to see where the gruff voice had come from. A squat man with a red baseball cap and a wild black beard was watching them, a soiled rag hanging from the front pocket of his coveralls. “Help you folks?”

              Kim walked toward him as she spoke. “Hello. My engine has some damage, and the car won’t start anymore. Can you help me figure out what’s wrong?”

              The man grunted, bending the brim of his already worn cap with one hand. “Pop your hood for me.”


              Kim lifted her hood and propped it open, uncomfortably aware that the man had been staring at Luke for the entire exchange. Luke either didn’t notice or didn’t care; he put his hands in his jean pockets and started whistling, casting glances around them as if he were a tourist at a mildly interesting landmark. At the sound of Luke’s whistle, the other man’s body seemed to stiffen. He shot a few dark glances over at him in between fiddling with the engine.

              She decided to try and break the tension. “Are you Buddy?”

              “Nope. I’m Herbert,” the man said shortly. He jerked his head behind him, toward the still-barking dog in the window. “That’s Buddy. Well, Buddy the Third.”

              “Oh,” Kim said. “Do you get many customers out here?”

              Herbert grunted and threw another hostile glance at Luke, who was still whistling.

              Kim walked over to Luke and put a hand on his bicep. “Are you going to head back to...your friends?” She caught herself before saying
the other vampires;
she was sure that Herbert had a thing against non-humans.

              Luke smiled. “I think that’s probably best. Herbie doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

              Kim laughed despite the tension. “Maybe he’s jealous.” She stepped closer to him and slipped her arms around his shoulders.

              Luke put his arms around her waist automatically, his gaze traveling over her features like he was trying to memorize them. “Let’s give him something to be jealous about.”

              He pulled her against him and bent his head forward to kiss her. Kim’s body reacted immediately; a pulse of electricity spread through her, starting from where their lips met and coiling around her spine until she felt like she was being heated from the inside out. Luke’s tongue gently separated her lips, lightly massaging hers as one of his hands slipped lower on her back to rest on the curve of her ass. Kim let out a soft moan and pressed her hips into his, her desire building to a crescendo faster than it ever had before.

              Luke pulled away abruptly, his eyes dancing with lust. Kim could see that it had taken a tremendous amount of effort to pull away; she knew now that their bond really wasn’t one-sided, and that was almost enough to satisfy her.

              “I should go,” Luke said under his breath. “I do have to get back to...my friends.”

              “Okay.” Kim didn’t try to hide her disappointment, but she stopped short of asking him to stay, partially because of Herbert’s prejudice.

              She let out a dry chuckle.
Wow. I have a vampire boyfriend. It still feels unreal.

              Luke’s gaze lingered on her a moment longer. “You okay?”

              Kim nodded, a blush creeping into her cheeks. “Yeah. Just having a pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming moment.”

              The smile on his face was understanding, but the look was tinted with something else Kim couldn’t quite identify. “I know what you mean. I’ll pinch you later, okay?”

              Before she could answer, he turned and set off running – though Kim wasn’t sure running was the best term; his feet didn’t kick up any dust even though he was moving at least thirty miles an hour.
How fast can he go?
His outline seemed to be gaining speed, judging by the way it was shrinking more rapidly as the moment wore on.

              The feeling of unreality deepened as she watched his shape shrink to a pinprick on the horizon-- until he was a just a tiny dot cutting diagonally across the desert toward the slim column of smoke where the other vampires waiting for him, or did they resume their fighting? Would they ask Luke about the loud human who interrupted their sparring? What were they fighting for, anyway?

              A loud cough broke Kim out of her trance. She turned around to see that Herbert was standing with his hands on his hips, lips pressed together in a thin line.

              “This’ll need to stay overnight. Get it to you tomorrow.”

              Somehow, his words seemed even less friendly than before.

              “How much will the repairs be?”

              Herbert was silent for a long time, and Kim wondered if he was thinking of a way to scam her.

              “'Bout two hunnerd,” he said finally. “Parts and labor.”

              She groaned inwardly.
I’m sure my vampire boyfriend had nothing to do with your estimate. “
Okay. I can call a cab or something. Mind if I wait in your shop?”

              Herbert gave another non-committal grunt and turned around to hit a switch beside the door. An ear-splitting whine split the air as a garage door Kim hadn’t noticed before began to slowly rise, revealing a messy workshop and a lone set of tracks. Kim hurried inside the shop and saw that it was nearly as dusty as the desert outside; she wiped the seat of a cracked leather armchair before gingerly perching on it, hoping someone could come and get her before the dust covered her, too.

              She was lucky it was Suzanna’s day off. On the phone, Kim made her best friend promise not to ask questions until she got to the automotive shop; she knew Herbert probably couldn’t hear her, but she didn’t want to risk somehow offending him with more details of her personal life. The shop was so quiet during the half hour she waited that she kept clearing her throat just to make sure she hadn’t gone deaf. Soon it was nightfall, and no noise beside Herbert’s tinkering had reached her ears.
Is it this quiet here all the time? Maybe that’s why he’s such a grouch. He never gets any customers.

              Suzanna’s blue sedan pulled up just as Kim was getting antsy. She bolted to the passenger side and got in without a backward glance, barely remembering to close the door before she put on her seatbelt.

              “Where’s the fire?” Suzanna asked in surprise.

              “In that grumpy old man’s eyes,” Kim said as they pulled out onto the road.

              Suzanna laughed. “Am I allowed to ask you real questions now?”

              Kim sighed. “I guess so, but it’s going to sound unbelievable to you, too.”

              Her best friend turned her head toward the passenger seat, sending her curly, dirty-blonde ponytail whipping against the window. Her eyes narrowed.

              “What do you mean ‘too’?” She frowned and turned back to the road. “...Wait. This has something to do with your vampire boytoy, doesn’t it?”

              Kim took a deep breath. “You know how I keep running into him at random places? It turns out there’s a reason for that.” 

              Suzanna looked at her sharply again, and Kim shifted in her seat, feeling as though she were under a spotlight.
Even the vampires weren’t this intense.

              “We have some kind of...metaphysical bond,” she continued. It’s drawing us together, so we keep finding each other even when we’re trying not to.”

              “I thought bonds only happened if a vampire bit you, or turned you?” Suzanna said blankly. When she spoke again, there was a note of panic in her voice. “Oh my god! Did he bite you that night?”

              “No!” Kim said quickly. “I definitely would have told you if I’d been bitten. I have no idea how this bond formed.
He
has no idea how this bond formed,” she admitted. “But it’s there, and it hasn’t gone away.”

              Suzanna’s face was as pale as Kim had ever seen it, but her voice was steady as she spoke. “So you drove twenty miles out of the city because your body told you to?”

              “It’s closer to forty, actually,” Kim said. “Luke pushed my car to that shop.”

              Suzanna laughed, and the sound had an edge of hysteria. “Okay, no. No way. He didn’t push two thousand pounds of metal twenty miles.”

              “He did,” Kim said bluntly. “I sat in the car while he did it. He wasn’t even a little tired...and then I watched him run right back.”