The Vampiric Housewife (10 page)

    
“So what is my husband working on now, Dr. Venjamin? He hasn’t had a chance to tell me. Or is it top secret?” she teased with a smile.

    
Dr. Venjamin smiled. “He is coming in on our fertilization studies. I think Charlie is going to bring vital skills to our quest in ending barrenness. Of course, I cannot go into details for security and confidentiality reasons, but I think we’re going to see some major breakthroughs in the next few years. Miraculous breakthroughs.”

     
“That’s wonderful news.” She thought of Betsy in the Blood Market from the other day. Maybe in a few years she would have her baby. Valerie smiled at that thought.

    
Marie took Rhett’s hand. “Speaking of wonderful news, we have some of our own.” She looked over at her husband.

    
“Marie’s pregnant. Bobby’s going to have a little brother or sister!”

    
“Oh my gosh! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you, honey.” Valerie rushed to give her a hug.

    
“We weren’t even trying. We decided to be happy with Bobby years ago. Then . . .” She shrugged her shoulders, her smile radiating. “I may finally get my little girl.”

    
“It’ll be a little longer before we can determine the sex,” Dr. Henrick said with a smile. “Don’t get too far ahead of yourself.”

    
“How far are you?” Valerie asked.

    
“Six weeks. It’s still early . . .” and the women continued to talk about the baby—swapping pregnancy stories, possible names, old wives tales about conception tricks. The men began discussing the boys’ basketball team, home renovations, and the upcoming hunting excursion. Charlie rubbed his temples, snippets from both conversations irritating his headache. It was obvious he wasn’t paying attention to either discussion, but no one was paying attention to him either. He had no time left. He had to come to a decision tonight. All in or all out, on either side. There was not a day to sleep on it. There was no time to think about it. Tonight was all he had.

    
There was a knock at the front door.
 
Laughing over something said, Valerie went to answer it.

   
“Hello Drew. Good to see you. Come in.”

    
Charlie suddenly became alert as Drew Sanders walked in dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, his white blonde hair greased back except for that defiant strand falling into his cold eyes. He never had a problem with Drew being friends with his son. John needed someone in his life who’d break the rules a little, let him have some fun. John could be almost too good of a kid. But he knew what kind of vampire Drew was. He knew about the work he did with Dr. Venjamin. Charlie certainly didn’t want him going out with his daughter.

   
 
“Hello Mrs. Murray. Mr. Murray,” Drew said coming over to shake his hand. Charlie stood. He did not like the smile on the boy’s face.

    
“John! Amelia! Drew’s here!” Valerie called down the hall. “So what’s the plan tonight?”

    
“A movie at the drive-in then stopping at the malt shop,” Drew said. “Don’t worry, I’ll have Amelia home at a descent hour.”

    
That thought did not comfort Charlie. There were three hours until the kids’ curfew. That was ample time to get his daughter into the worst kind of trouble. The only reason Charlie did not object to the date right this moment—besides Dr. Venjamin’s presence—was knowing that John would be there to watch and protect his little sister, and that Amelia really liked the boy. If Charlie had forbidden the date, he would have broken his daughter’s heart.

    
His son came down the hall all cleaned up wearing his letterman jacket. Behind him, Amelia emerged. She wasn’t his little girl anymore. She was suddenly all grown up wearing her mother’s clothing and looking . . . stunning. Her face flushed as all eyes were on her, especially Drew’s. Not even in his wildest imagination did he know Amelia Murray could look like that. Charlie couldn’t believe Valerie had let her wear that dress. It showed way too much cleavage, hugged a little too snug to her hips. That sweater hardly covered anything. But he wasn’t about to embarrass her in front of everyone by making her change. Charlie wouldn’t do that to his children.

    
“Wow, Amelia, you look . . .” Drew’s eyes went down her body than back up again slowly taking in every inch of her. “There aren’t any words for how you look.”

    
“Thank you.”

    
John had a frown on his face. He didn’t seem to like Drew’s admiration of her anymore than Charlie. “We have to pick up Lisa. We won’t be out late.”

    
“Have fun, sweetheart,” Valerie told her daughter.

    
Amelia didn’t say anything.

    
But no one moved to leave. They were all staring at Charlie.

    
“Dad, keys?” John said.

    
“Right,” he said. “Not a scratch.” He smiled. The condition of the car was about the last thing he was worried about tonight.

    
“Thanks Dad.”

    
Once all the young people were out the door, Marie said, “My, Amelia has turned into quite the head turner. Drew’s a lucky boy.”

    
“I’m starved. How about dinner?” Charlie said.

    
“Ah, a father’s worst nightmare come true: the night his daughter has her first date,” Rhett teased.

    
“It doesn’t get any easier,” Dr. Henrick said. “My daughter is married, and I still don’t like her going to bed every night with that man.”

  
  
“No. We like Drew,” Valerie said. “But dinner sounds good to me too. I have hearts and a human. Who’s hungry?”

Chapter Ten

Planet of the Humans

    
John kept a disapproving eye on the rearview mirror as he drove the foursome to the Sangre Valley Drive-in Theater. He did not like the way Amelia looked. He did not like the way Drew looked at her. And he did not like the way they looked together in the backseat—Amelia with her hands and eyes in her lap, Drew with his eyes down the front of her dress and his arm not-so-causally on the back of the seat. Lisa seemed just as uncomfortable with the situation. She hadn’t liked the way Amelia looked either. Her eyes had looked her up and down too, but brewing with something other than lust. John wasn’t sure what. Surprise? Jealousy? He could only guess.

    
“Wow, Amelia, you look . . . amazing. A little dressy for the drive-in though,” she said with a smirk. John had to admit that Lisa wasn’t the most attractive at that moment in her pettiness. But Lisa was still pretty hot at him for the whole double date thing. Maybe she was just taking it out a little on Amelia.

    
But when they parked in front of the big screen and Lisa snuggled up to him, John’s eyes checked the rearview mirror less frequently. When he felt Lisa’s lips on his neck, her hand on his thigh, he forgot all about his little sister and best friend in the backseat.

    
Amelia couldn’t watch the movie. She couldn’t even bring her eyes up from her lap. She could feel Drew watching her instead of the screen. She had dreamed for Drew to look at her just as he was looking at her now. To have him next to her. Be on a date together. But it wasn’t at all like she imagined it. She was supposed to feel comfortable. She was supposed to charm him, make him laugh. He was supposed to tell her how he wished he would have realized what a smart, pretty girl she was sooner. He would brush her hair out of her face, touch her cheek, tell her how beautiful she was, and kiss her. But here she was in the back of her father’s car, her brother making out with his bimbo girlfriend, and as always, Amelia was tongue tied. She knew she was blowing it.

   
 
“Why don’t you move a little bit closer? You can’t possible see the movie from behind John and Lisa tongue wrestling. Come a little closer, I won’t bite, promise.”

    
She slid over—just a little. His arm immediately came off the back of the seat and wrapped around her shoulders pulling her even closer. He had a metallic blood scent to him; his arm was cold and hard. His long, slender finger trailed up and down the side of her arm giving her a chill.

    
“Can you see now?” he asked considerately.

    
She nodded not even feigning to look at the screen. She did not need another picture of her brother sticking his tongue down his girlfriend’s throat.

    
“Not your type of movie?” he asked.

    
“Not really.”

    
“I knew you’d have better taste than some sci-fi flick about a spaceship landing on a planet run by humans with vampires as slaves.”

    
She didn’t know what to say to that.

    
“Thank you for dressing up for me. I wish I could show you off. All the boys and girls would be jealous.”

    
“You don’t think I’m too dressed up for the movies?” She looked down at herself.

    
He smiled. “Like I said, you’d make all the boys and
girls
jealous. Don’t listen to Lisa.” His arm tightened around her so their thighs were now pressed together. She tried to put a little distance between them but his grip was too strong. Her eyes flickered up to the front seat. Her brother was engrossed in Lisa. Was his hand up her shirt?!

    
“So . . . so I noticed you know a lot about history. Do you read a lot about it?” she attempted.

    
He laughed quietly, throwing his head back. He had a habit of throwing his head back when he laughed. “No. I’m not much of a reader. I just pick things up as I go.”

    
“You just pick up history about the Napoleonic wars? From where?”

    
He frowned and his grip loosened. She was half relieved, half saddened.

    
“Relatives. My people are from Denmark-Norway. Nearly starved to death with the alliance to Napoleon. Heard the stories so often . . . it was as if I lived through it too. So yeah, I just picked it up.” He sounded upset.

    
“I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know.”
    

    
“It’s alright, baby. Do you like history? Because I can tell you happy stories too. I can tell you about cold nights in the Swedish Alps. Some places where Einstein liked to hang out. I can tell you about hot nights in New Orleans just as the city was coming to life. Would you like to hear about those hot nights, Amelia?” He was whispering now. “You look so pretty in your dress, Amelia. You really do.” His cool lips touched hers. Just a brush at first. Soon as he felt her body turn towards him, the kiss became hard, his lips bruising hers, his tongue prying its way inside her mouth. She tried to pull back, but his arms were around her, holding her too tight. “Your body is so warm. I can feel your blood racing just under your skin. Your heart’s pounding, Amelia.” Before she could tell him to slow down, all of his weight was down upon her, and she was suddenly on her back. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t scream, he was smothering her.

   
 
“Please stop. Please—“ she protested, her voice muffled by his mouth over hers. “Drew—“ There was a hand squeezing her breast then feeling its way down her body, pulling up the fabric of her mother’s dress. Suddenly his mouth was off of hers. His face was buried in her neck, kissing it, then she felt pain, his canines sinking into the pallor flesh.

    
“No!” she screamed. With a strength she never realized she possessed, she pushed him off of her so hard he slammed into the side of the backseat denting it and cracking the window.