Always the Vampire

“Thanks.”


I moved to my side of the bed by the double window. I paused to adjust the fall of the blackout curtains then settled cross-legged at the end of the mattress. And, yes, I tucked my nightshirt around my knees. Now was not the time to flash my darling.

Not that he would’ve noticed. He stared into his orange juice for a full minute before he spoke.

“What did I say in my sleep?”

The question came out low and steady, but a nuance in his voice sliced my skin like a cat scratch.

“You mentioned burns. You said to get out and run.”

He took a gulp of juice. Then another. I folded my hands. Waited.

“About twenty years ago, I tracked a vampire to a residence. He held a man, a woman, and two teenaged girls hostage, locked in the attic. It should have been easy to go in at first light, execute the vamp, and free the family.”

He sipped then put the glass on the napkin. I waited.

“I broke into the house, but the vampire wasn’t resting in the dark. He stood on the second-floor landing with a baseball in one hand. He said that I wouldn’t catch him. That he was going out in a blaze of glory. Then he opened the door to the attic stairs, and tossed the ball. The house exploded.”

A picture of Saber being blown into a wall flashed in my mind’s eye, his shirt peppered with burning debris, welts forming on his chest and arms. My stomach roiled, and I clenched my hands so tightly, my knuckles cracked.

“The vampire died, but so did the family. I learned later that the vamp had been Special Forces in Vietnam. His expertise was disarming and arming booby traps.”

I swallowed bile. “Saber, there was no way you could have known.”

“No, but this time, the dream was different. The vampire was in the house, but you were outside the back door being consumed by the Void. I lost the innocent family, and I lost you, too.”

“You’re not losing me, you hear?”

I unfolded my legs and crawled to him. I needed to touch him whether he wanted it or not. Thankfully, he lifted his arm so I could snuggle into his side.

“We’re not in this alone, Saber,” I said as I laid my hand over his heart. “We have allies, plus we have the VPA and the COA to ferret information from. We will kick ass and take names. We’ll come out of this alive and well.”

“Oh, yeah?” He put his other arm around me. “What happened to my little vampire pacifist?”

I tilted my head to meet his gaze. “She wants her normal afterlife back, and she’s mad enough to mow down anything in her way to get it.”

He smiled, just a quirk of his sexy mouth. “I love a take-charge woman.”

“Thank you.” I stretched up to give him a smacking, noisy kiss. “Now, what time do we get Lia at the airport?”

“She lands at four eighteen.”

“And it’s ten minutes to the airport. I’ll be up by three.” I slanted him a mock-stern glower. “If I get my beauty sleep.”

He brushed back my hair and sighed a kiss against my lips.

“Just let me hold you.”





I left Saber only twice, and only long enough to snag Triton’s clothes and my swimsuit from my car, and then to launder them with my cutoffs and tee and the sheets I’d stripped from the bed. Though I doubted that Saber would forget the incident any time soon, I didn’t want him to see—or smell—the sheets in the basket and be reminded of the nightmare.

When dawn broke, and Saber’s breathing had remained deep and even through the rest of the night, I allowed myself to relax and drift to sleep with Snowball curled between us.

At three on the dot Monday afternoon, I blinked awake. Saber was gone from the bed, of course, but I heard him in the kitchen. Whistling. Thank God. Maybe he didn’t have the nightmare hangover I’d feared he would.

What to wear to meet a sorceress? Let’s face it, I had a limited wardrobe in limited colors. Heck, before Maggie had chosen burgundy for the maid of honor dress, I’d seldom worn reds or pinks at all. Since then, I’d added more color variety, and sure, I owned a few dresses and a skirt or two. But shorts, capris, jeans, and various mix-and-match camis, blouses, and tees dominated my closet. And, eeks, I’d forgotten to take the sheets and Triton’s clothes out of the dryer.

I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and made the bed before heading for the laundry room. Saber half turned from the sink he was scrubbing as I entered the kitchen.

“Hey, honey.”

“Hey, yourself hot stuff. You feeling all right today?”

“I’m good. Oh, and I have your laundry on the steam cycle and a load of my clothes in the washer.”

He smiled, and though it didn’t quite chase all the shadows from his eyes, I let it ride.

I crossed to lay a big kiss on him. “Do you know what a keeper you are?”

“Glad you think so. I figure we’ll be slammed with training this week, so I got some chores taken care of.”

“Like what?”