Kate ignored his question and raised her hand to caress his cheek. The clean bandage on her wrist surprised her. "Did you—?"
"Yes." He caught her hand and drew it to his mouth. Again he pressed a kiss on her palm just above the edge of the bandage. There was a flicker of anger in his eyes. "Did he do this?"
"No. I did," she admitted. "To help you."
His gaze followed hers to his chest, and realization dawned on his face. It softened the anger of a moment before.
"Kate," he began, his voice husky. But she didn't want his gratitude. She hadn't done it wholly for him. Her reasons were much more complex and partially selfish. She had done it for herself. Because she couldn't imagine a world without him in it. She didn't want to, and she didn't want a thank you. She wanted to give him the chance to take the blood he no doubt needed, and she wanted him.
"I want you," she admitted. "You're one of my writers, a vampire in serious need of blood, you nearly died last night, we both could have died, and yet now, this morning, I don't care about any of that. I want to push you back on the bed, crawl on top of you and take you inside me."
Lucern stared at Kate, his mind blanked by her words, filled with the image she painted. He could see her pushing him back, dragging the sheets and blankets aside, shrugging out of the bulky terrycloth robe she wore, then shifting over him and reaching down to guide him into her.
A moment before, what she suggested would have been impossible. His body would not have cooperated. Now, however, he was awake and peering expectantly up from under the blankets. Damn, he thought with mild amazement, there was definitely something to be said for modern, aggressive women.
Clearing his throat, Lucern managed a smile. "I think that idea shows merit," he said.
Oddly, his gruff formal words had the effect of making Kate burst out laughing. Lucern was trying to decide if he should join her or be affronted when she suddenly sobered, straightened beside him on the bed, and untied her robe. She slipped it off her shoulders. As it pooled around her waist, she said solemnly, "I hope you have a condom."
Lucern stared at the pale creamy flesh of her body. He had gotten her almost naked just days before in this very room, but he hadn't had the view he had now. Kate was slender and shapely, her curves generous but not overly so. She had rosy nipples, which topped breasts pointing at him like a pair of binoculars. He wanted to reach out and grasp them as he would binoculars, but rather than look through them, he wanted desperately to lick and suck and…
"A condom?" he asked, as if he'd never heard the word before. Fortunately, his mind cleared enough for him to grasp the meaning: she was concerned about the sexual diseases of the day. "Oh. Not to worry; diseases can't survive in my body."
He smiled one of his rare smiles, pleased to be able to pass along the information. Not having a condom wouldn't be a problem. Besides, at that moment, he was positive that a condom wouldn't be sufficient. Many would be needed. Many, many, he thought as he reached out to run his finger over one of her erect nipples.
He glanced up with a start when Kate slapped his hand away. Much to his dismay, she didn't appear impressed with his announcement. She was frowning.
"But don't vampires have sperm?"
Lucern had to think about that question for a moment before his poor besotted mind understood. Sperm? Sex. Babies. Oh!
"Oh!" He glanced wildly around the room, his mind working frantically. He didn't have a condom. He didn't use condoms. STD's weren't a fear to him, and pregnancy had never been much of a concern. It was rare for a human and his sort to manage a baby. His cousin, the mad scientist of the clan, had explained why to him, but he couldn't remember at the moment. Still, he didn't think Kate would take that rare chance. He needed a condom.
"Uh, just a minute. Just… uh…" Sweeping the blankets aside, he leapt from the bed and grabbed the bloodstained pants he'd removed last night. He began searching through the pockets. When he found his wallet, he took it out and smiled at her—an admittedly pained smile. "I just have to… er… just one minute."
He ran out of the room and into the living room. He paused halfway to the door to the hall when she shouted, "You don't plan on going to buy some, do you? You're naked, Luc!"
That stopped him.
"Luc?"
"No. No, I'm not—Just a minute," he finished at last, his mind feverish. He considered dressing, but then an image of Kate rose in his mind. No, there wasn't time to dress. What if she changed her mind? Had second thoughts? He couldn't risk that. It would be faster if…
Hurrying to the phone, he snatched it up and dialed the front desk.
"Good morning," a cheerful female voice sang. "Front desk. Can I help you?"
"Condoms," Lucern blurted.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"Condoms. I need condoms," he barked.
"I see, sir." The cheerfulness went out of the voice. "What size?"