A Fire in the Blood

  Few things had surprised him since becoming a vampire, but he was totally astonished when the apartment door opened and Tessa stood there.

  “Andrei.”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I’m not sure.” It wasn’t quite the truth. She had felt his presence, and how weird was that? And yet there was no denying it. She’d been sitting on the sofa, trying to read the latest book by her favorite author, when something had told her he was there. “What are you doing here?”

  He shook his head. “I was out walking and the next thing I knew, I was here. I’ve missed you, Tessa. You have no idea how much.”

  “I’ve missed you, too,” she said, her throat clogged with emotion. “I tried not to. I told myself it would never work, but . . .” She looked up at him, her gaze drinking him in, her whole being yearning toward him.

  “Tess.”

  The longing in his voice reached deep inside her, drawing her across the threshold and into his embrace. For a moment, she simply stood there, her cheek pressed against his chest, her arms around his waist. This was what home felt like, she thought. Warm, secure, and so right.

  He held her tight, his chin resting lightly on the top of her head. He had no idea what he had done to deserve her trust, had been certain he would never hold her close again.

  After a moment, Tessa lifted her head. “Maybe we should go inside.” She tugged lightly on his hand and he followed her into the house, obligingly shut the door.

  Tessa took a deep breath. Being alone in the house with Andrei suddenly made her feel as if someone had sucked all the air out of the room. She had missed him, but now that he was here, he seemed larger than life. His presence filled the room.

  He was a vampire—incredibly old, incredibly strong and powerful. And yet, in the deepest parts of her heart and soul, she knew he would never hurt her.

  The question now, she thought, was where did they go from here?

  Andrei stroked her cheek with his fingertips, his touch featherlight, yet she felt it in every nerve and fiber of her body. “I guess that’s up to you.”

  She reminded herself once again that he could read her mind. Why did she keep forgetting that?

  Moving to the sofa, she motioned for him to join her. “I don’t want to rush into anything, if you know what I mean.”

  “Hmm. I’m guessing that means you don’t want to be intimate until we know each other better.”

  Cheeks flushing, Tessa nodded. “I’ve never had a casual affair and I don’t intend to start now.” The truth was, she’d never had an affair of any kind.

  “That’s very wise of you,” he said, amusement evident in his tone.

  “You’re making fun of me.”

  “No, never. Just tell me what the rules are.”

  “There aren’t any ‘rules’ exactly. Just certain boundaries I’m not willing to cross just yet.”

  Andrei nodded. “If I start to cross a line, just tell me to stop.”

  “You drank my blood.”

  He nodded again.

  “That’s crossing the line big-time.”

  “Would you deny me that pleasure?”

  She glared at him. “It might be pleasurable for you. Not for me.”

  “How do you know?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let me show you.” His fingertips caressed her neck, then came to rest just below her ear.

  Tessa’s heart skipped a beat. His fingers were cool against her skin, yet she suddenly felt warm all over.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked quietly.

  “I don’t know. Should I?”

  “I promise I won’t hurt you, and I’ll stop immediately if you tell me to.”

  Tessa stared at him. Who in their right mind invited a vampire to bite them? And what if he didn’t stop? There was no knight in shining armor waiting to come to her rescue.

  Leaning forward, he brushed a kiss across her lips. “Trust me, Tessa. Let me show you what pleasure is.”

  “You promise you’ll stop if I don’t like it?”

  “On my word of honor.”

  Did vampires have honor? She searched his face. If they were going to have any kind of relationship, she had to be able to trust him.

  Reading the answer in her eyes, he smiled as he drew her into his arms. “Relax. It won’t hurt at all.”

  Was he kidding? How was she going to relax when he was going to . . . she gasped at the touch of his fangs against her skin, closed her eyes as warmth flooded her, curling deep inside of her, filling her with a rush of pleasure. All thought of resistance fled as she sagged in his arms, her whole being tingling with sensual awareness.

  All too soon, he lifted his head. “Tessa?”

  “Hmm?” Her eyelids fluttered open. “Why did you stop?”

  He chuckled softly. “One of us has to know when to quit.”

  “How can anything so . . . so . . . I mean, letting you drink from me should be repugnant. I should be freaking out instead of wanting you to do it again.”

  “Did I not say you would like it?”

  “Why didn’t it hurt?”

  “Because I didn’t want it to.”

  She pondered that a moment. Then, with a sigh, she snuggled against his chest, wondering what Jilly would say when she learned her best friend had welcomed Andrei back into her life.

  * * *

  Tessa waited until lunch on Monday to break the news to Jileen, figuring that her friend wouldn’t go ballistic in the middle of the cafeteria. As Tessa had expected, Jilly was horrified by the news.

  “Are you crazy?’ Jileen exclaimed. “Like, totally insane?”

  “I guess so.” Tessa sipped her latte, then picked up her sandwich.

  “You must be, because, seriously, there’s really no other explanation.” Jileen glanced around the cafeteria, then leaned forward. “You need to be careful,” she whispered. “Luke staked a vampire last night, but his companion got away.”

  Tessa dropped the sandwich back onto her plate, her appetite gone.

  “I’m sorry,” Jilly said. “I didn’t mean to spoil your lunch, but I thought you should know. Luke’s going to come by and drive you home tonight, then I’ll bring him back here to pick up his car.”

  Tessa started to say that wouldn’t be necessary, then changed her mind. Better safe than sorry. The last thing she wanted was to be driving home alone when there was a vampire in the area. “Thanks, Jilly.”

  Whenever Tessa had a quiet moment the rest of the day, she wondered if she should quit her job and move to a new town. Sometimes she thought that would be the smart thing to do. And yet, if vampires from all over believed her blood had some magic power, moving really wouldn’t solve the problem. Sooner or later, they would find her again. Try as she might, she could find no permanent solution to the matter. Unless she could somehow get all new blood . . . She shuddered at the thought. Even if such a thing was feasible, there was no way to be certain that would work, either.

  “Miss Blackburn?”

  “What?” She looked up to see a deliveryman standing on the other side of her desk. “Yes. Can I help you?”

  “These are for you.”

  “For me?” Rising, Tessa reached for the flowers—a beautiful bouquet of pink roses and pink and white lilies in a tall, crystal vase. “Thank you.” When she reached for her purse, intending to tip the man, he waved her off.

  “Already taken care of,” he said, smiling. “Enjoy your day.”

  “Thank you.” After placing the vase on the corner of her desk, she reached for the card, which she read aloud. “To let you know I’m thinking of you.” It was signed A. D.

  Andrei.

  How could she even think of leaving town when he was here? If anyone could protect her, it was Andrei. Luke might be a hunter, but he wasn’t nearly as strong or powerful or as experienced as Andrei.

  Jilly came by her office a few minutes before five. “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah, just let me gra
b my bag.”

  “Nice flowers,” Jilly remarked. “I’ll bet I can guess who they’re from.”

  “I’ll bet you’d be right.”

  “Tess . . .”

  “Not here,” Tessa said as they made their way to the elevators. “We’ll talk later at my place.”

  Luke was waiting for them on the main floor when the elevator doors opened.

  And so was Andrei.

  Jileen tugged on Tessa’s arm. “What’s he doing here?”

  “I don’t know.” But I’m really glad to see him. When Andrei smiled, she knew he’d read her thoughts. Again.

  Luke glanced at Jileen. “I thought you said she needed a ride home?”

  “She does,” Andrei said. “And I’m it.”

  “Tess, are you sure?” Jileen asked.

  “I’m sure,” she replied, moving to Andrei’s side. “Thanks for coming, Luke, but I’m going with Andrei.”

  “Yeah, well, I hope you don’t regret it.”

  “I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow, Jilly.”

  Jilly nodded, her expression sour.

  “Your friends are afraid for your safety,” Andrei remarked as they left the building. “They don’t trust me.”

  “Can you blame them?”

  “All things considered? I guess not.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Tessa said. “I trust you.” Reaching into her handbag, she withdrew her keys and pressed them into his hand. “Thank you for the flowers.”

  “You’re welcome.” He opened the door for her, closed it gently, and went around to the driver’s side.

  She waited until they were on the road before saying, “Jilly told me that Luke found two vampires last night. He staked one, but the other one got away.”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Andrei slid a glance in her direction.

  “You were there?”

  “Luke destroyed the fledgling. His companion was older, not so easily taken. Had Luke pursued him, the vampire would have killed him.”

  “But . . .” Tessa frowned. “If the other vampire was older, why didn’t he kill Luke?”

  “We are not all indiscriminate killers, dragostea mea.”

  “You’ve called me that before. What does it mean?”

  He glanced at her, his gaze dark and intense, his voice quietly compelling. “My love.”

  My love. The words sent a shiver down Tessa’s spine. But surely it was just an expression.

  Andrei pulled over to the side of the road and killed the engine. “Is that what you think?”

  “But . . . we’ve only known each other a short time.”

  He shrugged. “Time is irrelevant. I’ve waited an eternity for you.”

  “Andrei . . . I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. I know you care for me. I know you’re attracted to me. Love may come, in time.”

  “And if it doesn’t?” She turned to stare out the side window. He could read minds. Could he compel her to love him?

  “Tessa.” When she turned to face him, his fingers lightly stroked her cheek, then came to rest in the hollow of her throat. Her pulse beat against his fingertips, fluttering wildly like a bird in flight. “Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know. Could you? Make me love you?”

  “No. I can compel you to do whatever I desire. But I can’t make you fall in love with me.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “If you wish to be rid of me, you have only to say so.”

  “And you’ll leave, just like that?”

  He nodded. “I will pack up the shattered pieces of my broken heart and leave the city.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “So am I.” His hand curled around her nape. “You said you weren’t ready to be intimate,” he murmured, “but how do you feel about making out with a very old vampire?”

  “Here?” she asked, unable to keep the smile out of her voice. “Now?”

  “Here.” He pushed his seat back as far as it would go, then lifted her onto his lap so that she was facing him. “Now,” he said, and covered her mouth with his.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I love him, I love him not . . .” Tessa glanced at the vase of red roses sitting on her desk across from the vase of pink ones. The red ones had arrived first thing in the morning. “My office is beginning to look like a florist shop.” She burst into giggles as she plucked the last petal from the rose in her hand. “I love him.”

  She hadn’t been able to stop smiling or stop thinking about Andrei since last night. Her boss, Mr. Ambrose, had cast several curious glances in her direction. Three of her coworkers had asked if she’d won the lottery.

  If what she was feeling wasn’t love, Tessa mused, dropping the denuded stem into the wastebasket beside her desk, it was darn close. Even though she knew it was impossible, she would have sworn she could still feel his lips on hers, his arms around her. Still hear his voice murmuring that she was beautiful, desirable.

  That he loved her.

  Sighing, she refocused her attention on the file in front of her, but her gaze kept straying to the time in the lower corner of her computer screen.

  Barely noon. Hours to go until she would see Andrei again.

  * * *

  Jileen was even more upset than Tessa had expected.

  “I can’t believe you let him take you home last night! What is it with you? Have you got a death wish or something?” Jilly added sugar substitute to her iced tea, then stirred it so vigorously it slopped over onto the table.

  “I think having him around is the best thing ever,” Tessa said, helping Jilly mop up the mess. “I haven’t been attacked in days. I think word that he’s protecting me is spreading.”

  Jileen shook her head. “You’ve lost it, haven’t you?” Leaning forward, she tapped Tessa on the forehead with the end of her spoon. “Come back to the real world, Tess. And if, as you say, he’s keeping the other vampi . . .” She glanced warily around the cafeteria. “. . . keeping the others away, I’m sure it’s only because he wants you all to himself.”

  “Jilly, I appreciate your concern, really I do. But I’ve got to see where this thing with Andrei goes. I think I might be in love with him.”

  Jilly’s look of horror would have been comical under other circumstances. “You’re in love with him? A man you’ve known for what? Less than a month? A man who just happens to be a . . . you-know-what?” She sighed dramatically. “I give up.”

  “I have to trust my instincts,” Tessa said. “And I know I can trust him.”

  “It’s your life,” Jilly said. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

  * * *

  When Tessa told Andrei about Jileen’s reaction at home later that night, he wasn’t the least bit surprised.

  “She’s worried about you. It’s only natural. Think about it. She’s dating a hunter. I’m a vampire. The enemy.”

  “She thinks you’re driving the other vampires away because you want me all to yourself.”

  “Well,” he drawled, pulling her into his arms, “she’s partially right. I definitely want you all to myself.”

  * * *

  Jileen’s attitude toward Tessa was several degrees cooler at work the next day. She usually popped into Tessa’s office a couple of times before noon, but not today.

  As Tessa left her office, she wondered if Jilly would meet her for lunch.

  In the cafeteria, she feared she might have lost her best friend when she didn’t see Jilly at their customary table. Sighing, she went through the line, thinking, yet again, how complicated her life had become since she met Andrei. And how much she’d miss Jilly if they couldn’t mend the rift between them.

  She was halfway through her sandwich when Jilly slid into the chair across from her. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “I was afraid you weren’t coming.”

  “I wasn’t.” Jilly picked up her fork a
nd pushed the salad around on her plate. “But then I decided I wasn’t going to let a man come between us. Even if that man is a . . . you know.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Well, it’s not just me. Luke thinks you’re crazy to go out with him too.”

  Tessa laughed as the tension between them dissolved.

  “Would we be tempting fate if we tried another double date?”

  “I think maybe you’re crazy,” Tessa said.

  Jilly blew out a heavy sigh. “It’s probably not the best idea I’ve ever had, but . . .”

  “Have you talked to Luke about it?”

  “Not yet, but I will.”

  “Okay. I’ll mention it to Andrei and see what he says.”

  * * *

  Tessa brought up the subject when Andrei was taking his leave from her place later that night.

  He lifted one brow in an expression that was becoming familiar. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Tessa shrugged. “It was just a thought.”

  “A surprising one, all things considered. But if it’s what you want, I’m game to try one more time.”

  “You mean it?”

  “I said it, didn’t I?”

  “Where should we go?” Tessa asked.

  “I’ll leave that up to you and your friend.”

  “Do you have many friends?”

  He hesitated a moment before saying, “None still living.”

  * * *

  Tessa found herself thinking about what Andrei had said while she changed into her pj’s and climbed into bed. None still living. Did vampires make friends? Besides herself, who in their right mind would want to associate with one of the undead?

  Assuming vampires made friends, she supposed they sought out others of their own kind. After all, it might be difficult to hang out with someone who was also prey.

  She was still turning that over in her mind when her cell phone rang.

  It was Jilly. “So, did you talk to Andrei?”

  “Yes. He’s willing to try again.”

  “Really? I’m surprised he agreed. Not just because of what happened last time, but, you know, it’s just hard to imagine vampires dating.”