Blood Lust (2 page)

Making a wide berth around Rowan, Dominic offered a bottle of very expensive champagne to Darby. “I would like to borrow my nephews, just for a moment, if you don’t mind. I’ve something I must speak to them about immediately.”

“Well, sit down, Mr. Larson, and join us,” Darby said as she jumped out of her chair. “Let me get you a place setting and a chair.”

Dominic smiled at her gesture and said, “I’m sorry, Miss, this is a private family matter and I just couldn’t possibly stay. You understand, don’t you?” He said this dismissively as if speaking to a servant; polite, but not sincere.

Darby could see that Devon was irritated by his uncle’s rude behavior and was about to say something, when Blake jumped out of his chair and said, “Sure, Dominic.” Grabbing his uncle’s coat and other items, he continued, “they understand.” He glanced at the others at the table and gave Devon an imploring look, all the while helping his uncle with his coat. “We’ll speak in the front yard, Dominic. Go back to your meal, enjoy! We’ll only be a minute,” Blake said rather apologetically to Darby who was still standing, stunned, in front of her seat.

Darby looked at the rest of the people at the table and said, “I’ll go get some champagne flutes, to enjoy our lovely gift.” She excused herself as Devon and Blake led Dominic to the front yard.

They were almost to the black limousine, when Dominic turned to the boys and began to speak. “I’m in need of your help, boys. Anton is terribly sick and I would like you both to come to Connecticut with me, to help me determine what it is that is ailing him.”

“I’m very sorry Anton is sick, but that does not excuse your…” Devon started.

“What Devon is trying to say, Dominic,” Blake interrupted, “is that we are not boys any longer. We have lives here; jobs, commitments, significant others. We can’t just up and leave.”

“Yes, I can see you’ve hooked up with a lively bunch of hooligans. Eating at a table with witches and werewolf swine. How could you? So what, you with your Darby girl, and you with the werewolf crossbreed creature? Both witches, I presume?”

“Yes. I am with Rowan, but you don’t understand, Dominic,” Blake said.

Dominic’s eyes grew large. “How despicable, boy! Didn’t I teach you anything? Didn’t you listen to a word I told you? Your mother must be turning in her grave in shame. We are a family of noble vampire blood. What a disgrace to your heritage. Vile. Disgusting!”

“That’s enough, Dominic. You are wrong about werewolves, like many are wrong about vampires. You are mistaken…” Devon defended.

“How dare you? I am a professor of science. I most definitely am not mistaken. I saw, with my own two eyes, the horrific act of a werewolf. They are animals, not people.”

“You’re wrong, Dominic, very wrong. These are good and decent people. They’ve risked their lives for us on numerous occasions…” Blake tried to explain.

“Don’t bother explaining, Blake. He won’t change his mind. He has his view, and that is the only view he’ll ever see,” Devon said.

“I see your manners have been severely degraded by the company you keep. I demand you come to Connecticut immediately. Maybe you’ll find your manners there and remember your place in society.”

“I’m not leaving. Not for you and most definitely not for Anton,” Devon said.

“Oh, grow up, boy. That was ages ago. Let bygones be bygones already. I won’t take no for an answer. You will both march in there, pack your things, and come home.”

“Connecticut is not our home. This is our home, Oljone, California. Right here, with a bunch of great friends that are waiting for us to continue our Thanksgiving feast,” Devon said as he turned and headed back to the house.

“Wait, Devon,” Blake said. Devon stopped and slowly turned around. “Dominic, won’t you please join us for dinner. Get to know these people. They are like family to us.”

Devon said, “Don’t bother wasting your breath, Blake. He’s already made up his mind about them.”

“It’s Thanksgiving. You said yourself, Devon, that Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for family, friends and loved ones. Dominic and Anton are our only blood relatives.”

“Fine. You’re right, Blake, I did say that. Dominic, would you please join us for dinner?”

“Thank you for the offer but no. I can’t. No, I won’t sit at a table with two werewolves. I am staying at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco. Here are your tickets. We are leaving at 10:50 A.M. tomorrow. I expect to see you on the plane.” He handed each of them a first class ticket.

“Whoa, wait a minute. I can’t go, Dominic. I have to work. I have a project due, deadlines, I just can’t up and leave,” Blake insisted.

“Fine, you will join us when you are done with your commitments.”

“I’m not going either, Dominic. This is my home, here with Darby. There is no love lost between Anton and me. I’m sure he doesn’t want to see me any more than I want to see him. I’m sorry he’s sick, but for God’s sake, he’s a vampire, he’ll heal. I’m sure he will be fine.”

“No, Devon. He won’t. He is rapidly declining. You must help me. I demand that you help me.”

“You demand that I help you? There’s nothing I can do for him. I’m not a doctor; you are. I’m a software engineer. So’s Blake. What could we possibly do for him?”

“You’re his family. You can be his family. Maybe he will confide in you.”

“What makes you think if he hasn’t confided in you, that he would do such a thing with me or Blake?”

“Because…you are his age. You speak his language. You’re more understanding, like your mother was.”

“Not where he’s concerned,” Devon muttered under his breath.

“You must do this!” Dominic was yelling and turning red in the face, pounding a fist into his other hand and tears were welling up in his ferociously angry eyes.

Blake said, “Hang on, now. You both need to cool off a bit. Dominic, you’re going to blow a gasket. Relax. Devon, if Darby went with you to Connecticut, would you be willing to go and at least talk to Anton? See if maybe he would confide in you? You never know. And if he’s really that sick, don’t you think one of us should be there? We’re family, after all.”

“If Darby were politely invited to come, and treated appropriately, yes, I may consider going to Connecticut,” Devon said.

“Dominic, would you be willing to accept Darby as a guest in your home, treating her as such, for Devon?”

He mulled this over, taking longer than Devon would have liked, but he reluctantly agreed.

“As long as her mutant sister does not come. Yes, I would accept her as a guest in my home providing she behaved in a proper manner.”

“What the he…” Devon started. Blake could see he was about to blow his top and interrupted.

“See, I knew this could be worked out. Now, would you at least join us for a glass of champagne and invite Darby properly, Dominic?”

Dominic grumbled something inaudible and nodded his head. They walked back up the porch stairs and opened the door to an absolutely quiet room of guests sitting at the table, not eating.

Darby had brought out seven glasses and all but one was filled. Blake picked up the glass, filled it, and handed it to his unhappy looking uncle. Blake grabbed his glass and raised it as he had done earlier. Everyone else followed along, grabbing their glasses and holding them in the air. Blake said, “To family!” They all repeated, “To family,” albeit a little less enthusiastically.

Dominic downed is glass and said, “Miss Darby, I would like to invite you as a guest to accompany my nephew Devon to my home in Connecticut. I would be most honored if you would oblige me this request.”

Shocked and surprised, Darby answered, “I’d be delighted. Thank you, Mr. Larsen.”

Feeling he had fulfilled his obligatory duty, he spun on his heels and was out the door before anyone could say a word.

Chapter 2

The limousine outside sped away as they began eating again. Devon was silent through the rest of dinner. Blake tried to make up for it with conversation and joking, but the mood had drastically changed and did not recover from the brief introduction of Mr. Dominic Larsen.

Darby felt that somehow his visit had changed everything forever. It was a feeling that made her shiver to her bones. Devon’s demeanor had altered and everyone had noticed. It was as if the wind had suddenly changed direction.

Eventually the evening was over and the dishes were washed and put away. Darby decided to start packing. She went to the garage to get her suitcase, dusting it off as she brought it into the house, and set it on the chair in the bedroom. She started a load of laundry, hoping to give Devon options for what to pack. He didn’t speak a word to her the rest of the night and she felt that she had done something wrong. Should she not have accepted Dominic’s request? Had she somehow overstepped her bounds with Devon? She didn’t know, and he didn’t say. Why wouldn’t he talk to her about this trip they were taking? Why was she invited, if he didn’t want her to go? Confusion surrounded her and her mind raced. She felt so very alone in a house full of people.

When it was time to go to sleep, he got into bed and turned away from Darby, turning off his light wordlessly. The silence was killing her. She finally whispered, “Devon, have I done something to upset you? Should I have not accepted your uncle’s invitation? Did you want to make this trip without me?”

“No. You’re the only reason I’m going.”

“I don’t understand. Why do you seem so angry?”

“It’s nothing you’ve done. Everything is just fine. Don’t worry about it. Get some sleep. We have a long day on the plane tomorrow.”

“But don’t you think we should talk about this? I don’t even know why we are going. Is something wrong?”

“I really am tired, Darby. Can we talk about this some other time, please?”

“Sure, if that’s what you want, sure. I love you. Sleep well.”

There was only silence from the other side of the bed, until Harry jumped up between them and started purring as Darby stroked him. She lay there in the dark, wanting so much to hold Devon and ease his . . . whatever it was that was bothering him. Hot tears rolled across her nose and dripped on her pillow as she stared at his back in the dark.
Sometimes the loneliest place in the world is lying next to the one you love.
They had been through so much since they’d met in June, but in one visit from Mr. Larsen, all that seemed to have been erased in a single swipe.

She lay there for several hours staring at nothing in the darkness of the room. She could hear Devon’s steady breathing and could see his silhouette rise and fall with each breath. She couldn’t sleep, so she silently got up and closed the bedroom door and went into the kitchen, only turning on the light above the burners of the stove. She pulled out the pumpkin pie from the refrigerator and cut a slice. She added some whipped cream from a can and put everything but her plate of pie back into the fridge. She sat at the kitchen table and took a bite. It was good. She thought about how lovely this holiday had started off. How carefree and happy everyone had been. She picked at the whipping cream as she sat in the near darkness.

She heard a noise coming down the hall, the shuffling of feet.
Blake must be ready for a midnight snack of turkey
, she thought, and she quickly wiped her eyes of any remaining tears. He was startled to find her there sitting in the dark.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. You’re sitting in the dark with an uneaten piece of pie that looks like it’s been mutilated.” She looked down and he was right. It looked nothing like the piece of pie she’d placed there a few minutes ago.

“Can I ask you something?” she said.

“Sure, as long as you don’t mind me eating while you ask.” He pulled out the Tupperware with turkey from the fridge, set it on the table, and started picking pieces out to eat.

“What’s going on? Your brother hasn’t said but a handful of words since your uncle left. Should I have not accepted his invitation? Is Devon mad that I’m going? Why are we going to Connecticut?”

“Wow! That’s a lot more than one something,” he joked. “Devon hasn’t said anything to you about why you’re going there?”

“The only thing he said was that I am the only reason he’s going, but for some reason, I feel guilty about that.”