Sire (16 page)

Garret just looked at her, and Bethany wished that he would just say something. Finally, he spoke. "You aren't making too much of this, Bethany. I mean, sure, this is all happening fast, but I really like you. You're smarter than most of the girls I've hung out with. And you've got that sexy librarian thing going on." Bethany blushed. "I didn't expect to be in a relationship so soon, either, but I'm glad that I am."

"So this is a relationship?"

"Um, we're kinda naked right now."

"Yeah, but does that make this a relationship? Or is it just a hookup? Are we friends with benefits, or something more?

Garret smiled at her, and she remembered why she fell for him in the first place. That smile could melt the snow. "Yeah," he said, "we're something more."

Bethany snuggled against him. "Good," she said.

"What about you? You sure you're not just checking 'date a hot black guy' off your to-do list?"

Bethany laughed. "I don't even have a list."

"And you're not just getting back at your father?"

"No." She thought for a moment. "Though he'd probably kill me if he found out. His mind isn't exactly open."

"So I guess we're not going home for Thanksgiving together."

"God no," Bethany said. "I'd never do that to you."

For a while they just lay there, held in each other's arms, watching the candle light play on the ceiling. Then Bethany took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. "So. Vampires."

"Yeah. Vampires." He paused. "Wanna go again?"

Bethany rolled over on top of him. "Damn right I do."

***

Caitlin had stayed up long after everyone else went to bed—so late that it was probably closer to "morning" than "night." Her brain had been going a million miles an hour, and she had started reading one of her trashy romance novels to distract herself. But she was still going to have to get up in the morning, so eventually she climbed into bed.

She could still see when she turned the light off. That was kind of cool. A little bit freaky, but cool. She wondered what else Michael's blood had done to her.

She felt Michael's presence before anything else. There's no other way to describe it. The same way you feel happy or nervous or sad, she
felt
Michael. Caitlin looked up, and sure enough, there he was, standing by the window.

"Really? Another sex dream?"

"What?" Michael asked.

"Look, these are fun and all, but they always end up with me getting bit and waking up drenched in sweat, and I'd just like to skip that tonight, if we could."

"Caitlin, are you feeling okay? What the hell are you talking about?"

"The sex dreams. The sex dreams that I have every time I drink your blood. Which really needs to stop happening, by the way. I can see in the dark now, and I don't want to start having dental issues."

Michael stared at her, like he wasn't sure she was being serious. "Caitlin, if this was a sex dream, would you be wearing pajamas with pigs on them?"

Caitlin looked down at herself. "Right. Not a sex dream." Her face turned red. "Okay then, why are you here? I mean, it's not like I'm unhappy to see you, but ... you usually only turn up when I'm in grave mortal danger. Am I in grave mortal danger? Is there asbestos in the walls? Is that it?"

Michael chuckled and shook his head. He picked up her novel, which was still lying open on the bed. "You read these?" he asked. "'Thighs like white towers?' Really? 'Throbbing?'"

Caitlin snatched the book back. "Hey," she said with a grin, "you boys have your girlie mags, we have these. Don't judge."

Michael smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Great. I can't sleep, because I've got vampire in me, but otherwise I'm doing fine. So is Olivia, by the way. She ended up going to the campus nurse. Said a squirrel freaked out and threw itself at her."

"That's probably not the strangest story she's heard," Michael said.

"So ... why didn't you heal her, too?"

Michael made a face. "I don't want that ... I don't want her in my head."

"So you
do
want me in your head?"

"I didn't have a choice with you. You were hurt pretty bad, both times. But ... no. I don't mind you."

Caitlin smiled. "So, did you mean what you said to Alexis? That you were here to protect me?"

"Yeah."

"Why? Why are you so good to me?"

Michael shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe I just feel guilty. About what happened to Sarah. Maybe some part of me thinks I can make up for it, if I save you."

Caitlin's face fell. "So this isn't about me at all."

Michael seemed to be actually considering the question. "It wasn't, not at first. I mean, I'd known you for five minutes when Liam took you. That was just my Knight in Shining Armor thing taking over. And when we talked that first night? I thought you were some Meyerpire fangirl. But ..."

Michael looked at her intently. "What you did tonight. What you did for Olivia. And the way you came looking for me, when you felt Liam attack me. You put yourself in danger for us. There's more to you than I gave you credit for."

"Well, thanks for the almost compliment," Caitlin said, but she was smiling. She was used to having people look at her as a set of breasts on top of a pair of legs, and that was
so
frustrating. It was nice when someone saw beyond that, and started appreciating her for
her.

"We still need to figure out how to keep you safe," Michael said. "I know Liam, and I know that he isn't going to give up. You're still in danger."

"Well, you could start spending the night with me. I mean, the bed is kind of tiny, but Bethany and Garret make it work, and I promise not to get fangirl all over you."

Michael grinned. "That's tempting, but it would be all awkward in the morning. Especially when I lit on fire."

Caitlin's eyes went wide. "Oh, right. Sorry."

"I can't convince you to leave?"

"Why are you so eager to get rid of me?"

"I'm not!" Michael started pacing. "I'm sorry. I just ... I feel so helpless, and I hate that. And I don't know what else to do. I can't take on Liam, and Angelica isn't going to be any help. I don't see any other answer."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere until my friends are safe."

"Your friends are idiots. They should leave, too."

"You'll have to take that up with them, Michael."

Michael walked to the window, shaking his head. "I don't even know. I'll think of something. Just be careful." He reached up to the window, ready to leave.

"Wait," Caitlin said. She got out of bed and walked over to him. "Everything with Angelica, I ... look, I'm not going to share you. I have more respect for myself than that. But ..."

She stood on her toes and brushed her lips gently against his. For real this time.

Michael stared at her. His face was a mask, and Caitlin desperately wished she knew what he was thinking. Was he happy she had kissed him? Upset? Indifferent? He wasn't giving anything away.

"Goodnight, Caitlin," he said, and disappeared.

Chapter Ten

Caitlin, Alexis, and Bethany ate breakfast together the next morning. The topic of conversation was obvious.

"Were you afraid?" Bethany asked.

"Of course I was," Caitlin replied. "I mean, I thought I was going to die. And then all the screaming started ... I thought it was Liam, I thought he was ... but then Michael kicked the door down, and he was standing there, like some kind of an I don't even know what. And the first thing he said to me? 'It's all right, Caitlin. You don't have to be afraid anymore.'"

"Aw, that's so sweet," Bethany said.

"Yeah, it's awesome," Alexis said. "You know I'm still not a fan of him."

"I know," Caitlin said, "but the whole thing with Angelica really is a lot more complex than—oh, hi Olivia. Do you have time for some breakfast?"

Olivia had just walked out of her bedroom. She had a light scarf tied around her neck, but that was the only indication of what she had suffered the night before. Her skin had a much healthier color, and she was walking tall and proud again.

She lowered her sunglasses just enough to look over them. "Okay, let's get something straight," she said. "We? Are not friends. And this whole little let's be besties thing? Is not happening."

The girls were dumbstruck, but Olivia wasn't done talking yet. "Look, I'm grateful for what you did last night. But the way I see it, the only reason I was in any danger at all is because I had the bad luck of getting stuck in a dorm with you.

"I'm a cheerleader, Caitlin. I date football players. I don't fight vampires. And the best way for me to save my own neck is to stay the hell away from you, so that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Olivia pushed her sunglasses back on and walked out the door.

"Wow, she really is a bitch," Alexis said.

Bethany agreed. "Maybe you should just let Liam eat her next time."

"I'll take that into consideration," Caitlin said. "Pass me the orange juice?"

***

The taxi dropped Caitlin off at Michael's mansion just before sunset. The huge stone structure looked even more like it belonged in some old Gothic novel, back-lit with fiery reds and stormy purples the way it was. The trees, which were starting to turn, seemed to loom over her, like they were crouched and ready to pounce. The main entrance, easily twice her own height, gave off a distinctly inhospitable air.

She was being silly, Caitlin told herself. Sure, she hadn't technically been invited, but Michael had shown up in her bedroom unexpected, too. And she had a legitimate reason for being there. She was sure Michael wouldn't mind.

She just wished the house wasn't so damn
creepy.

A giant knocker, shaped like some kind of a demon's head with a giant ring through its nose, hung in the middle of the door. Caitlin stared at it for a moment before pushing the doorbell instead. Of course it sounded like an old church bell.

The sound finally stopped echoing, and Caitlin waited in the gathering dark. Finally, she heard the sound of latches being thrown, and the door began to creak open. William, Michael's butler, stuck his head through the opening and peered out at her.

"Oh, Miss Manning," he said, relief on his face. "Forgive my manners, I wasn't told to expect you."

"It's kind of a surprise visit," Caitlin said. "I need to ask Michael a favor. I guess you guys don't get visitors very often?"

The butler pulled the door open and ushered Caitlin inside. "There is always a certain amount of traffic through this place," he said. "But it's still too early for his normal visitors to be moving about, and the staff has been instructed to be ... careful about any unannounced guests."

Michael was worried about Liam, that much was obvious. But why would William be nervous during the day, when Liam as out of commission? Well, Michael would be out for the count, too, which would make him vulnerable. So ... the wolves. Michael was worried that Liam would send his wolves after him while he slept. Caitlin shuddered.

"Master McKenna should be waking in a few minutes," William said. "You may wait in the living room, if you like."

"Thanks, William."

Caitlin sat on one of the plush couches and watched the sun setting through the window, but that only held her attention for a minute or two. She got up and started looking at all of the stuff that decorated the place. Paintings, sculptures, weaponry, and enough books that the living room almost counted as a library itself. The place must have cost a fortune to furnish. Of course, if you had centuries to save up, that probably wasn't a big deal.

She wondered if Michael liked it here. The place was beautiful, if a little creepy, but she wasn't sure that it was really
Michael.
Had he picked this place out for himself, or had Angelica assigned it to him? Was this the kind of place where he wanted to live, or was it the kind of place where
she
wanted him to live?

Caitlin sat back down, but she was restless. The sun still hung stubbornly in the sky, keeping Michael ... where? In bed? In the ground? In a coffin somewhere? Wherever he was, he wasn't there, and Caitlin was getting antsy. She got up and started wandering through the house.

The place was full of twisty passages, and it wasn't long until she was lost. She came to a cramped stairway that must have been for servants and climbed up to the second floor. Maybe the layout up there was easier to understand.

Caitlin found herself in what was probably the servant's quarters, a series of small, lightly furnished bedrooms. She followed the hallway to the end, and opened the door. It led back to the main section of the house, a wide area that was probably the main hallway.

There was a door in the middle of the back wall. From the way it was positioned, so central to the layout, and the way it was decorated, with ornate, richly detailed carvings, she assumed that she was looking at the master bedroom. She walked up to it and ran her fingers over the wood, then over the doorknob. She hesitated, and looked around. Then slowly, carefully, she turned the handle. The door opened silently.

She slipped inside. She recognized the room from her vision, from where Michael and Angelica had ... but it was hard to make out the details. The windows were all covered with blank panels that looked like they slid into the walls themselves, and the only light came from the hallway.

The bed sat at the far end of the room. Caitlin walked over, as quietly as she could, even though that was ridiculous. She could never be quiet enough to evade a vampire's ears, and she wasn't even sure a vampire could hear during the day.

Michael was sprawled out on the bed, sleeping on top of the covers. He seemed dead to the world, absolutely still, not even breathing.

And he wasn't wearing very much.

Miles of skin were visible, and Caitlin stared at his sweeping chest, his etched stomach, his powerful arms, his long legs. Almost every inch of him was on display. He wore just a snug pair of boxer briefs, which were of course black, and which left very little to the imagination.

And her imagination was very capable of filling in the missing details.