Chapter Twenty-three
"Abby, is that you?" Madison asked on the phone. "Are you in China?"
"I was about thirty minutes ago. Is Mom okay?"
"She's asleep, so I answered her phone. I'm in her hospital room. Where are you?"
"I'm close to Tokyo," Abigail explained. "Kyo's place. I needed to use the bathroom, and Gregori said I could either try the bamboo forest or he'd teleport me to a real bathroom. Guess which one I chose?"
Madison laughed. "That teleporting sure does come in handy."
"Yes." Abigail suspected Gregori had a hidden motive for offering to take her back to Kyo's house. The guys were worried about the accursed Demon Herb. Instead of spending the rest of the night going after the plant, they were trying to keep her safely ensconced at Kyo's luxurious estate.
She leaned back in the Jacuzzi tub. "You wouldn't believe the size of this bathtub I'm in."
Madison giggled. "Are you alone?"
Abigail snorted. "Yes." She'd locked the door so she could enjoy a long hot soak in the tub. "This place is beautiful. Full of art and antiques. And the garden outside is heavenly. Kyo must be awfully wealthy."
"Really?" Madison sounded impressed. "Can I meet him?"
Abigail laughed.
Gregori suddenly materialized inside the room. She gasped and nearly dropped the phone in the water.
"Something wrong?" Madison asked.
"I . . . dropped the soap." So much for locking a vampire out.
Gregori winked at her, then pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
She watched as his trousers hit the floor. Then his underwear. Good Lord, could any man be more gorgeous?
"Abby? Are you still there?"
"Yeah." Abigail sat up so she could observe Gregori in the glass shower stall. "Tell Mom and Dad I'm fine."
"Okay. What about the plants?"
What plants? Abigail watched as Gregori soaped up his body. Oh God, he was lathering up his groin.
"Abby? Hello? I think there's something wrong with our connection. Did you look for your plants?"
Oh, plants! "Yes! We're making excellent progress. We've already collected one and we know the location of the second."
"Wow! That's awesome!"
"Yes. Awesome," she murmured as Gregori rinsed off. He turned his back to her, and rivulets of white lather slid down his back, then over his muscular buttocks and down his legs. "I need to go now, Maddie. Tell everyone I'm fine." She hung up and dropped her phone on a white bathrobe she'd left on a nearby bench.
Gregori stepped out of the shower and smiled at her, his dimples showing. "Did you enjoy the show?"
"Yes." Her gaze lowered to his groin. Wow. He was already semi-aroused.
He walked toward her. "That's an awfully big tub."
"Yes." She sighed. "Totally selfish of me to keep it all to myself."
"Naughty girl." He grinned as he climbed in.
She moved over to make room for him, but he pulled her close into his arms. His eyes darkened to a red glow as he skimmed his hands over her rump.
"There's something I need to tell you," he began. "I don't want you to get scared later."
"You want me to stay here, don't you?" She ran her fingers along his whiskered jaw.
"In the tub? Actually, I thought we might move to a bed."
She poked a finger in one of his dimples. "I meant you want to keep me here in Japan."
"Ah." He teased the crevice between her buttocks. "You have to admit it's much more pleasant here than a cave."
"The plants are over there."
"Yeah, but you're safer here." His eyes returned to their normal grayish-green. "Why not let us do the dangerous stuff?"
"How can it be dangerous? I have three Vamps, a tiger, and a bear to keep me safe."
He gave her a dubious look.
"I can be very persuasive." She smoothed her hand down his chest to his abs. "What can I do to convince you?"
He sucked in a breath when her hand circled his penis. "You're on the right track." His eyes turned red again.
"Well, it's a big track." She tugged gently. "Hard to miss."
He winced. "You're too smart for me, Scholar. I came in here to seduce you into staying, and you . . . you . . ." With a groan, he leaned his head back.
"Shame on you." She kissed his ear. "Using sex to persuade me."
He snorted. "And you're not?" He grabbed her, and everything went black.
He tumbled her onto a bed. "We'll see who can be more persuasive."
Abigail smiled as she reached for him. He tried for several hours to persuade her, but in the end, she teleported back to the cave with him.
She woke hours later, cuddled beside Gregori on their sleeping bags. It seemed dark in the back of the cave, but then she noticed a wooden screen had been stretched across the cave, piding it in half and blocking any sunlight that filtered through the entrance.
Back in the dark recesses of the cave, J.L. and Russell were in their sleeping bags sound asleep. It had to be daylight outside. The numbers on her digital watch glowed two-fifteen P.M. Good Lord, she'd slept most of the day away. Her body no longer knew night from day.
"Good afternoon," she murmured to Gregori, wondering just how deeply a vampire could sleep. She kissed his cheek. Goodness, he was cold.
"How can you sleep like that?" He'd left his blanket in a pile at his feet. She covered him up, then added her blanket on top.
"Is that better?" She tucked it in around his chin.
He didn't seem to be breathing.
"Gregori?" She leaned over him, but felt no air escaping his mouth. "Hey." She patted his cheeks.
No response.
She yanked the blankets down and ripped open his shirt. No heartbeat.
"Gregori!" Panic seized her. She forced his mouth open, felt around inside, then breathed into him.
She planted her hands over his heart and pushed.
"What are you doing?" Howard slipped around the screen and started toward her.
"CPR! He's dying!"
"He's already dead."
"Don't say that!" She pinched his nose and breathed into his mouth again.
"Miss Tucker!" Howard knelt beside her. "There's no point in doing that."
"I'm not giving up on him!" She went back to pressing against his heart.
"Abby! The Vamps always die at sunrise. This is their death-sleep!"
She sat back on her heels. "Their what?"
"Death-sleep. Gregori didn't tell you they go into a death-sleep?"
Tears stung her eyes. "He - he's really dead?"
"Yeah, but don't worry. He'll wake again at sunset."
She swallowed hard. "He's really . . . dead?"
Howard nodded. "But it's just temporary, you know."
"How can death be temporary?"
Howard shrugged. "I don't know. It's a vampire thing."
She looked at Gregori, and a tear ran down her cheek. "Oh my God! He's really dead?"
"Well, Undead is more accurate, I guess, considering that he wakes up again." Howard gave her a curious look. "He didn't tell you?"
"No." Or did he? She thought back to when they'd returned to the cave. She'd been worn out from their lovemaking and gone straight to the sleeping bag. He'd stretched out beside her.
"I need to warn you," he had whispered. "I sleep like I'm dead."
"Me too," she'd mumbled before slipping into a deep sleep.
"Oh my gosh," she whispered. He'd meant it literally.
A rush of anger swept over her. "That's how you tell me?" She yanked the blankets back up to his chin, then slapped him on the chest. "You scared the hell out of me! I thought I'd lost you!"
Tears streamed down her face. "He can't hear me, can he?"
"No, ma'am." Howard rose to his feet.
She stood and wiped her cheeks. "I'll have to wait till sunset to vent my rage."
Howard nodded. "Good plan." He shifted his weight. "You want a donut?"
A burst of laughter escaped her. "Oh God, I'm going crazy."
Howard stepped back with a worried look.
"Not really crazy," she assured him, then took a deep breath. Good Lord, it was after two in the afternoon. She'd cuddled up to a dead body for hours. "I need to get out of here."
"This way." Howard led her around the screen. "We put the screen up as a safety precaution. If any sunlight hits the Vamps, they'll die for real."
She shook her head. Death-sleep. Gregori had always inferred that he spent the day sleeping in the usual fashion. Why did he lie to her?
He was really dead. The poor guy had actually died while she'd slept next to him. Had he suffered any pain? He must have. She shuddered. It was terrible to even think about.
Howard pulled the bamboo door away from the cave entrance so they could slip outside.
"Miss Abby!" Rajiv waved at her. He had a fire going and a big pot suspended over it. "I make you hot pot."
"Thank you." She walked over for a closer look. "It smells wonderful."
He looked at her and frowned. "Miss Abby cry?"
She took a deep breath and gazed up at the blue sky. "I'm all right now. Thank you."
"She didn't know Gregori would be dead," Howard grumbled.
"Oh." Rajiv grimaced. "That's bad."
Abby nodded and motioned toward the other end of the island. "I'll be over there for a little while."
Rajiv nodded.
She went behind the hill and found a place to relieve herself. She washed her hands in the lake, then straightened and gasped. Now that it was daylight, she could see the south side of the lake. Gray stone stalagmites jutted up from a flat field. She'd read about karsts in her research, but hadn't realized how unearthly they would look. She stared at them for a while, then headed back to the shifters.
Howard had rolled up his pants and was standing knee-deep in the lake. He leaned over, concentrating, then suddenly swoosh! He scooped a fish out and tossed it onto the beach.
Abigail smiled. He fished just like a bear.
Soon he had a dozen fish on the beach.
"Are we supposed to eat all of these?" she asked.
Rajiv grinned. "Howard is big bear. He eat eight."
The were-bear lumbered out of the lake, then pulled a knife from his belt and hacked the heads off the fish.
"Fish heads!" Rajiv grabbed two heads and rinsed them out in the lake. "Good for hot pot." He dropped them into the pot with the chicken feet.
Howard beheaded all the fish while Rajiv insisted he was throwing away the best part.
"I have noodles." Rajiv ran into the cave and came back with a bag of noodles he dumped into the pot. Howard retrieved a frying pan and some oil from the cave.
Late that afternoon, they feasted on Rajiv's noodle soup and Howard's fried fish.
Abigail sat on the beach, propped up against a boulder, gazing at the karsts on the south side of the lake. "I'd like to see those close up."
"We have a boat," Rajiv said.
"We do? I didn't see it."
Rajiv smiled. "We hide it good. You want to go across the lake?"
"No," Howard said sharply. "She can't leave the island."
She winced. It was happening again. She was being told what she wasn't allowed to do. The Vamps had wanted her to stay in Japan. She'd had a hard time convincing Gregori to bring her back here, and now she was just sitting here spinning her wheels.
She motioned to the sun, which was lowering in the west. "Don't we need to go to the village over there?"
Howard nodded. "It's three miles across the hills. The Vamps haven't been there before, so we'll have to hike."
"In the dark?" That might not bother the Vamps, but she preferred hiking in sunlight. "Why don't we hike over there now, then when the sun sets, we can call the Vamps and they'll teleport over?"
Howard frowned. "I'm sorry, but you're not leaving this island until the Vamps wake up."
She clenched her fists and released them. Was this what life would be like with Gregori? Always waiting for him to wake up?
She stood. "I'm taking a walk."
She paced around the island, feeling more and more trapped, more and more upset. Why did Gregori lie about his death-sleep? Was there anything else he was hiding from her?
She made a complete circle and sat on a boulder by the cave entrance. Rajiv washed his pot in the lake, then doused the fire. Howard retrieved his box of donuts from the cave and gave her one as a peace offering.
She ate and watched the sun lower on the horizon. The lake sparkled. The sunset painted the sky with shades of pink, orange, and gold. It was absolutely beautiful. It was something she could never share with Gregori.
Tears came to her eyes. That was what really had her upset. She was completely, totally in love with Gregori. She'd realized that when she thought she'd lost him.
But what kind of life could she have with someone who was literally dead all day long? Would she end up wishing away her days, putting her life on hold, while she waited for him to wake up?
Her parents would never approve. She sighed. More people telling her what she couldn't do.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, and the temperature dropped a few degrees. She zipped up her jacket.
"I'll go see if they're up." Howard went inside the cave.
She turned toward the entrance. She could barely see it in the moonlight, but she heard some mumbling voices inside. A loud voice shouted, Gregori's voice.
"What? Shit!"
She winced. Howard must have told him.
Gregori ran outside, a bottle of blood in his hand. He paused on the beach, facing her.
Rajiv stalked toward him. "You make Miss Abby cry," he growled, then strode inside the cave, leaving her alone with Gregori.