chapter 8
Amber pulled into her driveway and shut off the engine. She dropped her head against the headrest and sighed. Reid’s sympathy was going to drive her over the edge. When they left Travers’ house, Reid had been more interested in discussing her past than the case. She responded by asking about his past.
That shut him up. But changing the subject hadn’t solved anything. There was still nothing to connect Dr. Steve Weldon to the murders. He’d worked with Tina Gallagher and Megan Harper at Baldwin Industries but there was no proof he was involved in Gallagher’s murder. And there was no evidence to suggest vampires. Even if she found evidence, she couldn’t share it. Who’d believe it? Gerard was the only one she could talk honestly with about the case. And he was a vampire himself.
Can we say “conflict of interest?”
With a frustrated sigh, she slid from behind the steering wheel and slammed the car door. Then she turned into a solid wall of muscle.
“Whoa!” Gerard gripped her arms to steady her, his hands sliding upward until his warm fingers curled over her shoulders. His face was just inches from hers, his mouth close enough to kiss.
Need jolted her. Her body flamed.
“What the hell are you doing sneaking up on me like that?” she snipped, irritated with the inappropriate hot rush of desire that nearly cooked her insides. “You’re lucky I didn’t put another bullet in you.”
His smile was sexy enough to tempt an angel. And she was no angel.
“Mon Dieu, woman. Do you always react so violently when startled?”
The open collar of a pale blue polo revealed the strong, thick column of his neck and that sexy little notch at the base of his throat where his collarbones met. Her mouth went dry.
Muscled forearms flexed and bulged when he gently squeezed her shoulders before releasing her. “Well?”
She blinked. “Well what?” Crap! Get your mind out from between the sheets and concentrate.
“Is your first reaction always to shoot first and ask questions later?”
Now, that just pissed her off. Any lingering lust she felt from having his hard body pressed against hers faded. “If it was, you’d be dead. Again.”
He threw back his head and laughed. The low rumble sent hot tingles racing down her spine.
“Touché chérie,” he said in a husky voice that made her melt.
Despite her annoyance, she smiled. She was used to the prickly banter she shared with Reid. But Gerard’s easy nature and sense of humor not only surprised her, it was a delicious aphrodisiac.
Weren’t vampires supposed to be dark and brooding? Like Maxwell? She shook her head and tried lightening her tone. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on an ex-soldier? It can be hazardous to your health.”
His smile faded as if she’d insulted him when all she was trying to do was make a joke to ease the tension between them.
“I wasn’t sneaking,” he said, his brow furrowed. “I was waiting patiently by the tree for you to get out of your car. When you just sat there, I came over to tap on your window. But you jumped out, slamming into me so hard I was afraid you’d fall. So I caught you.”
His grudging admission made her feel safe. And that scared the hell out of her. She didn’t want or need his protection. She’d been looking after herself for a long time.
So, why did she feel all warm and tingly?
Her heart jumped. I’m in deep shit now. A man like Gerard could make a girl feel special…if he wasn’t a vampire.
“I’m sorry I snapped. I had a rough day.” Rough wasn’t the word for it. A depressing waste of time more aptly described how she felt about her job at the moment. She glanced toward the street, looking for a distraction. “Where’s your car?”
Another smile tugged at the corners of that lush mouth. “I don’t drive. I could if I wanted to. I know how. I mean…I’ve driven before. But why bother when I can get where I need to go faster on my own.”
“That’s right. You fly.” A chill shivered over her skin raising the fine hairs along her forearms.
“Not really.” He glanced around the yard, checking out the street and the neighbors’ houses. “Can we take this conversation inside please?”
Why hadn’t she thought of that? She didn’t know her neighbor’s well, but Mrs. Vanderbeek was nosey as hell. No telling what the woman had witnessed over the past couple of days.
She turned and marched toward the house without replying. Gerard followed at a human pace.
“You are in a mood today,” he said as he entered the foyer behind her and shut the door. “Want to talk about it?”
Yeah. Right. Like I’m going to talk about my sexual attraction to a creature of the night. “Not particularly.”
She headed for the kitchen and went straight for the fridge, reaching inside for a dark German beer.
“Could I have one?” Gerard asked.
Rising slowly with beer in hand, she turned to face him. “I thought you could only drink red wine and bl…”
She couldn’t even say it.
“Apparently, the anti-vampiric injections have alleviated yet another symptom of the virus. Vincent told me last night he was able to drink beer again. I tasted his and then waited, but I never experienced the pain I used to get when I tried to eat or drink as if I were still…normal.” His face flushed.
Amber dropped her gaze. “What about food? Besides red meat and pork, can you eat real food again?”
A soul-deep sigh made her lift her gaze once more.
“Apparently, I still lack many of the enzymes needed to digest most foods. But at least I can eat meat.”
His own variation of the Atkins’ Diet.
Fighting a tug of sympathy she didn’t want to feel, she reached back into the refrigerator and pulled out a second beer. He took it almost reverently, holding the bottle and staring at the liquid through the dark glass. Then he uncapped it with his bare hands and turned it up.
A deep appreciative groan sent heat pooling between Amber’s thighs.
She watched his Adam’s apple bobble as he took another long hard pull on the bottle. He looked and sounded like a man in the throes of an orgasm. Her stomach cramped. She could almost envision those full, firm lips on her breasts—tasting them as heartily as he pulled on that bottle.
Her nipples hardened. A hot flush scalded her cheeks.
She turned away, groping the side of the refrigerator for the bottle opener. The second she popped off the cap, she turned up the beer and guzzled it like a dehydrated sailor on shore leave.
Gerard wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and gently placed the empty bottle on the counter. “Bon Sang! That was good.”
Amber took another long drag from her beer before replying. “Glad you liked it.” Her voice cracked. Her flush deepened.
Damn Gerard. His eyes sparkled as if he knew exactly what she was feeling. So did the smile he bestowed upon her.
“Thank you,” he said in a deep, husky murmur that sent a shaft of heat straight to her middle.
Amber coughed into the neck of her bottle and took another sip. She lowered the beer, looked at Gerard’s sexy face, and turned it up again, drinking the last of the dark brew in one long, swallow.
“Yeah. Whatever.” She picked up the empties and put them in the glass recycle container beside the trash. Then she brushed by Gerard and walked on unsteady legs to the living room.
She would have glanced over her shoulder to see if he followed but she was afraid he’d mistake her curiosity for a come-hither look. And she didn’t want him to come-hither. Hell, she didn’t want him coming hither or otherwise.
Otherwise raised intriguing possibilities.
She swallowed hard and sat on the sofa. Gerard eased down beside her, keeping his distance.
“So, explain this flying thing to me,” she said, trying to pretend his presence wasn’t a heady distraction.
He raised a brow. “I told you. We don’t fly. Vampires just move at incredible speeds. Our feet do occasionally leave the ground, but it isn’t flying.”
“No wonder you don’t have a car,” she said with a smile. “You probably save a fortune in gas. And you could book vacations without worrying about airfare.”
She was rambling like a love-struck teenager. She should be concentrating on the case, but she’d never been so physically attracted to anyone in her life. And she didn’t like it. Or trust it.
Her skin flushed. Her breasts ached to be touched. For all she knew, her physical response to Gerard was some manifestation of his power over mortals.
“I don’t really take vacations,” he said with a frown. “If I did, I’d probably go back to France—see how much it’s changed since I left.” His voice echoed with a soul-deep longing.
How long had it been since he’d seen his homeland? Did memories of his past haunt him? Did watching those he’d loved age and die keep him away? Surely, everyone he’d ever loved in life had long since passed away.
Compassion squeezed her chest. Her heart thumped. “How long has it been since you left?”
He shrugged. “A half century—give or take a decade.”
“So, why not just go? It’s not like you have to book a flight.”
“I wouldn’t fly commercially. Too risky,” he added with the briefest of smiles. “But I couldn’t get there on my own either. Vampires can’t sustain flight or move over large bodies of water. When I first came to this country after becoming vampire, I traveled by ship. A servant protected me during the day while I was in the regenerative sleep.”
Had he bitten some poor sap’s neck and turned him into a mindless zombie?
Images of black and white vampire films sprang to mind. She shivered in revulsion. That was one way to turn down the lust. It was like throwing a bucket of ice water over her head.
Not wanting to insult him or falsely accuse him, she said, “I thought you’d never turned anyone. So, how did you get him to—um—cooperate?”
“I didn’t enslave him, if that’s what you’re implying,” he said with disgust. “A vampire’s bite cannot turn a mortal into a zombie. Subtle mind control works but not well enough to mentally enslave anyone. That’s a Hollywood notion with no basis in reality. I bought Etienne’s loyalty with cold hard cash.”
Embarrassment flushed her skin. She was still relying on memories of old movies for vampire facts instead of asking Gerard. Obviously, trust was still an issue. In her heart, she wanted to trust him, but some deeply ingrained instinct warned against it.
The Hollywood influence? Or something more reliable?
She swallowed her pride. “I’m sorry. You’ve done nothing to warrant my antagonism. But this isn’t easy for me. I’m trying to accept the impossible as not only plausible but real. At the same time, I’m trying to solve a murder. If I find the vampire who helped Weldon, how will you react?” She met his gaze and held it. “Will you try to make me forget what I know? Or will you help bring the creature to justice? What if the vampire is someone you know—someone you want to protect? I have to know how far you’ll go to guard your secret.”
“Fair enough.” Gerard leaned forward, resting his forearms on those muscled thighs. He glanced at the floor between his feet. Then he snapped his head to the side and looked at her with such intensity her pulse skyrocketed. “I want justice for Tina. I want to see Weldon put away or put down, and I want to stop the vampire who’s helping him. But—I will not allow you to expose Vincent or me as vampires. If I have to manipulate your thoughts or your words to stop you from ruining the lives we’ve built here, I will. Otherwise, your mind and thoughts are safe.”
But what about my body?
Her skin tingled when he looked at her with those hooded blue eyes. Oh yeah. Gerard was a threat. He just didn’t know the kind of threat he posed.
“If you’re not a threat to humanity, I don’t see any reason to expose you. It’s not like anyone would believe me without evidence. And I can’t even find enough evidence to solve this case.”
Gerard smiled. “So, we’ll solve it together.”
And leave her partner out of the loop. Her stomach knotted. “When? I can’t quit my day job and you can’t venture out until after sunset.”
“We’ll figure something out,” he said with an understanding smile. “Thanks to the anti-vampiric injections Megan—Dr. Harper—created, I can move about before sunset and stay up an hour or two beyond sunrise—as long as I use sunblock.”
“Could other vampires acquire this ability if they started taking the injections?”
He frowned. “I suppose—but other than Vincent, I don’t know any other vampire taking the vaccine. No one has contacted us despite Sonia getting the word out in the vampire community.”
She couldn’t deal with knowing a secret society infected with the vampire virus lived in darkness among mortals. Anarchy in the shadows—an entire population living outside the norm—a population unfettered by the rules of society.
A total loss of control.
She swallowed her fear, forcing herself to concentrate on the case. Weldon was continuing Colonel Timmons’s research. He wanted to create vampires—not cure them. But if he’d been bitten, he’d want to find a cure.
“Does curing a vampire weaken him?” Imagine the possibilities if vampires could venture out in the sunlight, move at the speed of light, and survive bullet wounds to the chest.
The perfect soldier. Or an unstoppable enemy.
“The vaccine isn’t a cure,” Gerard said with a heart-wrenching sigh. “It’s just a treatment to help alleviate some of the symptoms. The nutrients every vampire needs to survive are in blood, but since starting the treatments, I only need about eight ounces a week.”
“And before the injections?” Her heart beat against her ribs. How much human blood had Gerard consumed over his very long life?
His gaze slid away. “I needed four to six ounces a day. But a vampire who engorges on warm, fresh blood can go weeks between feedings.”
Revulsion turned her skin to ice. “Like a damn bedbug.” She shivered, feeling queasy. “Or like the monster who killed Richard Baxter.”
And my mother and Andrew.
He dragged his gaze upward from the floor. A deep sadness filled his eyes. “The fresher the blood and the larger the amount consumed, the longer a vampire can go between feedings. In ancient times, it allowed vampires to move from city to city without raising suspicion.”
“And now?”
His shoulders rose and fell on an indrawn breath. “It’s a matter of fear and control. In this day and time, there’s no other reason for a vampire to kill.”
“Not even for survival?” Not that she’d accept that defense. But would Gerard?
Sitting up straighter, he looked her square in the eye. “Why kill that which we can control? If I wanted to, I could taste your blood tonight and make you forget you ever met me. I don’t because I wish to live among mortals. But a vampire who kills so violently has no desire to live as human.”
“What about Sonia?” She lived on the fringes of mortal society. Could she be working with Weldon? She’d dealt with him in the past. “If she’s not a threat, then why isn’t she taking the antivirus?”
“Like I said before, she relishes her nature.”
“Enough to kill to protect her secret?” There was no evidence to prove the vampire was male. Hell, there was precious little evidence at all. “Maybe she wants to stop production of the vaccine. Maybe she let Weldon inside and then killed him after she got the vaccine. Is it possible she’s the perp we’re looking for?”
Gerard scrubbed his face with his hands before meeting her gaze. “If she is, you’ll never prove it. Sonia’s too good at manipulating both minds and evidence. She’s a genius with computers and anything electronic.”
“That makes her a suspect.” The intensity in his blue eyes drew her closer. She leaned in, inhaling the crisp clean scent of some sexy, masculine cologne.
“I’ve thought of that,” he said in a low tone that heated her insides. “But Vincent would know if she’d been in contact with Weldon. He would have sensed it. Unless…” He sighed and clenched his fists. “No. It’s not possible. Vincent wouldn’t protect a killer. And Weldon wouldn’t trust Sonia. She helped destroy his lab at Baldwin Industries.”
The cadence of his voice drew her even closer. Their shoulders touched. Heat shot straight to her womb. She swallowed, trying to coat her suddenly dry throat. “What else have you thought of?”
“This.” And without warning, he touched his lips to hers.
Lightning struck inside her chest. Her pulse quickened. She gasped, inhaling his very breath. And when she didn’t protest or push away, he slid his arms around her shoulders and slipped his tongue past her lips.
Flames licked her skin, setting her body aflame. She melted against him, not just accepting the kiss but returning it with a smoldering passion.
His tongue plunged deep, tasting her, tempting her beyond reason. She slid her fingers into his thick hair, holding him close, savoring his mouth’s caress.
Their lips mated, his kiss robbing her of thought, emptying her mind of everything but the delicious sensations he stirred. His arms banded around her more tightly, his hands sliding over her back in an erotic rhythm that sent her senses spiraling out of control.
Gasping, tasting, licking, she slid her hands down the sides of his neck and over his shoulders to feel the hardness of his chest.
“Dear God,” she whispered against his mouth.
Gerard gentled the kiss and pulled away. She felt as if she’d been abandoned in combat.
Lost—desolate, she hugged herself. Heart pounding, eyes taking in every inch of his face, she said, “That shouldn’t have happened.”
“I’m sorry.” With a sigh, he dropped his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes. “I feel like I’m cheating on Tina, and we never really dated.”
Her heart plummeted to her stomach. She was about to go up in flames and he felt guilty. Her burning lust fizzled and died.
“I’m sorry I enticed you to sin,” she whispered.
A smile teased the corners of his mouth. “You’d entice a saint to sin.”
Dear Lord! He still wanted her. She felt it with every breath she took. “Then why apologize?” The way she said it sounded like an invitation to sin again.
I’ve gone off the deep end. Officially. I’m trying to entice a vampire into my bed.
He opened his eyes and met her gaze. “Trust me. You don’t need me in your life, Amber. I’m a soulless, blood sucking vampire.”
Pity filled her. He looked so lost and lonely in that moment she couldn’t resist raising her hand to cup his cheek. “The eyes are the window to the soul, Gerard. And no one with eyes as expressive as yours can be soulless. I see your heart in yours every time you mention Tina. And I see your concern for me now.”
He kissed her palm. Warmth filled her. Not the hot rush of desire she’d felt only moments ago, but something deeper—and much more dangerous.
She shivered.
“This has to be about the investigation,” he said. “I don’t want you giving into desires now and blaming vampire glamour later.”
“Is it glamour? Is what I felt when I kissed you part of your vampire charm? Or is it real?”
She watched the slide of his Adam’s apple when he swallowed. His eyes burned hotly. “I guess that depends on what you felt.”
Her insides curled into delicious knots. Had she ever wanted a man as badly as she wanted Gerard?
“Confusion,” she whispered. “I don’t trust what I feel.”
Sadness seeped into his smile. “I understand. And I don’t blame you.” He sighed and straightened. “I want you Amber, but I’d rather have your trust.”