The Vampire's Curse (12 page)

"Just tell me already."

"It's a kiss."

Kyle pulled the cell from his ear when the crash hit. Tom dropped his phone.

"What?" he asked when he got back on, and Kyle resented the laughter in his voice. "You sure you're not being scammed?"

Kyle chuckled. Trust his big brother to worry that someone might be picking on little Kyle. "Trust me, I'm not. She's not charging me any money, she’s done it before, and it worked. I spent the last two nights as a normal person and was able to get some real sleep." He decided not to tell him that he'd only gotten one night of good sleep because during the other he was being interrogated and held in an uncomfortable cell until his release.

"So, if she can cure you for one night why can't she cure you for every night?"

"You're asking the wrong guy, but what I know so far is that magic is nowhere near as simple as we thought it was. Today I spoke to two witches, one of whom is a full-time vampire, and a mind reader, and no one can figure out how a curse can do what it did to me."

Tom groaned. “You’re nowhere near a cure then.”

Kyle wasn’t about to let him drain away his good mood. "The good news is that cursing is illegal."

He could picture Tom's eyes widening. "Wow, really? Strange to think there’re laws for all this."

"Yeah, which means that the second I find Sarah, right after making her change me back, I can send her straight to prison and get my life back."

“Harsh. You think she’s around then?”

“She’s got to be. People here are secretive. It would explain why even you couldn’t find her if no one could even find this city without help.”

“Hmm, think the agency will take you back when this is done?"

Kyle heaved a sigh at the reminder of how he’d been when he left. "Probably not, but there're others." Which was true, and if that didn't work out, there were other things he could do with his life. He could start his own agency like he’d always wanted.

He loved his work, but being a bodyguard wasn't always so thrilling anyway, especially when he was assigned to Sarah. He'd been more like her butler than a bodyguard. She just wanted a man in a suit who wore a gun following her around to show everyone how important she was. There was no one, not even troublesome fans, to protect her from. So being the man in charge might be a nice change of pace.

Yet here he was, protecting someone else, only this time the woman in question was worth protecting.

"Anyway, I'm making some contacts here. They only need a little help with a few things and in return these people will look into my problem for me."

He was glad when Tom didn't realize he was hiding half the story from him, or that he didn’t seem insulted the people here could do what he, as a P.I., could not. "That's great, but where are you again?"

"Griffon City, it's ... pretty interesting."

There was a pause and some clicking. "I'm sitting at my computer and nothing's coming up. You weren’t kidding when you said no one could find it without help. What state are you in?"

"This place is like its own state. The people here are pretty secretive about this place. I only found it because a vampire in a bar told me about it. I guess it's where all the witches and werewolves and whatnot live.”

Tom snorted a short laugh. "It’s weird hearing you talk about vampires and witches as if it was normal.”

A low growl rumbled through Kyle’s voice. “Don’t start. I nearly bit you, didn't I?”

It killed him that he almost did it. Tom had come over to his place one night to check on him. One little argument over how he was ignoring calls from his family and Kyle lost it and lunged.

It was the first time Tom had seen him for what he was, and he offered him whatever help he could in finding a cure. He even kept his secret from their mother.

Tom ignored the warning in his voice, and the regret, as he continued the conversation as if Kyle hadn’t said a word. “So I guess me coming to see you is out of the question."

Even if it weren't, Kyle didn't want Tom driving here with their mother if there were so many dangerous creatures running around. "No, I guess not." Kyle heard a shuffle in Jackie's apartment. "Listen, I need to go, there's something I gotta take care of."

"Remember to call mom."

"Don't worry, I will." Kyle hung up his phone and stood up to inch his way back to the window. The one good thing about being a vampire was that he'd lost his fear of heights with his abilities to jump so high and scale buildings. Making his way back to the window at a quick jog didn't have him sweating.

Just as he made it to his destination the window lifted, and Jackie stuck her head out.

Her eyes found his and he froze.

"I can't sleep, want to keep me company?"

Her hair curled in all directions, but the just-rolled-out-of-bed-look with her glasses and thin little white tank top was incredibly sexy.

He allowed his eyes to lower to her breasts. Either her dream was still fresh in her mind or the cold air was taking its toll.

She moved out of the way when he lowered himself into her dark room, his voice coming out in a soft purr. "I'd love to."

***

Jackie didn't know what she was thinking, other than she didn't want to be alone. She woke up shaking with what she felt in her dream, unsatisfied and wanting nothing more than the company of the real man and not the hallucination.

It was just like last night.

Even now, in real life he still gave her that hungry look. She could almost feel the things he wanted to do to her, wanted her to do to him.

She had to remind herself that despite what Evey said, Jackie wasn't a vampire and Kyle really wasn’t one either. The dreams were just a product of attraction, and if she had a perfect match out there somewhere she would be the one to choose him.

And even then
, she thought dejectedly,
that doesn't mean he won't take one look at Carly and decide she’d be a better fit. Just like all the rest
.

Jackie cleared her throat and looked away.

"What's wrong?"

She looked back at him, the heat in his eyes gone, which was good, but replaced with a curious pity, which was bad. She'd forgotten he could sense her emotions, but she hadn't forgotten to avoid eye contact with him when he looked at her like that.

"You don't know everything there is to know about vampires yet. When you look into someone's eyes, try not to picture what you want them to do for you in your mind."

He cocked his head. "Why?"

He really didn't get it.

She moved passed him into kitchen. He followed and then stopped a few feet away as she put on a pot of coffee. If only she'd been a gifted decorator so he’d have something other than white walls to look at.

"You almost got me because I'm still a little tired, but as a vampire, you can stare someone in the eyes and manipulate them."

She eyed him briefly on her way to the fridge. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and his mouth open, but that same mouth quickly twisted into a playful smirk. "I didn't know that."

She pulled a bottle of blood out of her fridge and handed it to him. He took it and gave her a curious stare.

She smiled. "Evey stays over some nights. I don't think she'll mind considering I gave her a lifetime supply of it."

He shrugged, twisted the cap off and took a swig. She laughed at the face he made. First of shock and then a twist of his mouth in disgust.

“Ugh, didn’t think blood would taste like that.”

She laughed again and held out her hand. "Give it back, I'll warm it up for you."

He did and she popped the glass bottle in the microwave. He leaned against the counter next to her. "So, if I just looked a random stranger in the eyes and pictured that they would give me their wallet, they would do it?"

She tried to ignore the heat he created between them just by being so close. She didn't dare inch away to show him how strangely uncomfortable that wonderful feeling was.

"It all depends, on the person's magic, if any, whether or not they have a strong will, that sort of thing. Think of it like Star Wars. You have the Force."

He blinked at her. "I have the Force?"

She nodded, hating that a better analogy didn’t exist.

He grinned again, and when the microwave beeped she tore open the door and handed him his warm blood. He continued to grin at her over the lip of the bottle and then took a cautious drink.

His eyes widened before they slid shut to savor the taste. Evey had once described it to her as being the perfect mix of delicate spice and flavor that danced before making slow love to her taste buds.

Kyle certainly looked like he was enjoying it. "This is better. I guess warm blood is the only thing that makes sense."

She nodded and sat at her small table while waiting for the coffee. He sat across from her with his bottle. "I'm sorry about phoning Mike on you."

He lowered the bottle and wiped his mouth. "You already apologized for that."

"I know, but I wanted to say it again. I guess I didn't sympathize enough with your situation, and when Mike told me about the murder and how you were a suspect ... I guess for a little while I thought you'd actually done it."

She didn't want to mention that she'd also overheard him talking to his brother on his cell. How sad it made her that he had to be separated from him, a brother whom it sounded like he got along with quite well. Unlike Carly and her.

Then there was the feint mention of a woman. Relative or new love interest?

He leaned back in his chair, one arm slung over the back, as though he'd sat in that chair dozens of times before. "Don't worry about it. You'd have to be the most trusting, and therefore, stupid person on the planet to hear that a man you just met is a suspect in a murder and trust him unconditionally."

There was no anger in his voice. No judgment. Jackie smiled.

The sharp scent of coffee touched her nose before fogging her brain, and Jackie got up to make herself a cup with just a touch of milk and four spoonfuls of sugar.

"Sweet girl." She looked over her shoulder, her hand frozen over the cup and waiting to put in the fifth spoon of sugar.

She blushed and put the spoon away, taking her coffee and sitting down. "I guess I am."

"So, Gorgeous" He thumbed the mouth of his bottle, holding it like a man would hold his beer. "Do you have a boyfriend or anything?"

She couldn't help but smile through the irritation of hearing his pet name again. Not to mention she was sure she didn't look in the least bit seductive. "Don’t call me that. And not for a while … You?"

"Boyfriend? No. Guys don't communicate so I decided to switch teams."

Jackie nearly snorted hot coffee through her nose. She got up and ran for the paper towels with her hand over her mouth, ripping one off the rack across the kitchen and cleaning up before allowing herself to freely laugh.

Kyle was laughing too, at her, she could tell, but she wasn't bothered by it.

"Are you alright?"

She waved her hand and exhaled deeply, a giant grin still on her face. "Fine, fine. I guess that answers that question, doesn't it?"

He raised his bottle. "You got that right, Sweetheart."

She raised a brow. “Sweetheart?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “You don’t like Gorgeous. And because you’re so sugary I figured Sweetheart fit better.”

She waved her hand at him “I might as well just let you do what you want.”

“Doing what I want with you sounds perfect.”

She blushed, not sure how he meant for that to sound. The purr in his voice certainly made her suspicious. But knowing that he didn't have a girlfriend was enough to lighten her mood.

It should have made her more aware of the fact that they were obviously attracted to each other and alone in her apartment, but in the last few minutes he'd managed to get her to forget her problems. From her sister visiting, to the wreck that was now the store, even the fact that someone was purposely sending out feral vampires to kill her. All of it gone.

She checked her watch, hating herself for searching for an excuse, but she needed a kiss.

"The sun rises in an hour. If I was going to be attacked it would’ve happened by now."

His grip on the bottle tightened as his golden eyes turned dark. "That's very true."

She couldn't stop herself from babbling. "And if I was to be attacked you would still have your gun, and you could probably use the sleep—"

His vampire speed had him up with his mouth on hers before she could finish.

She inhaled sharply, her eyes sliding shut when Kyle’s hands found her waist. He lifted her from the floor and kissed her back into the bland wall.

The heat returned to his flesh as the magic tingled through her lips, but even as his temporary cure was finished he didn't stop massaging her lips with his. It didn't stop him from slipping his tongue across her lips or stop her from opening her mouth to let him slide in.