The Comanche Vampire (30 page)

Ned
perched on the room’s single straight-backed chair and let her comb his hair,
then braid it tight.
 
By the time she’d
finished, it was after four-thirty.
 
“If
we’re going to grab a bite, let’s go.”

Even
at the early hour, every eating spot at the casino teemed full, from the snack
bars to the formal restaurant.
 
Although
the bar appeared just as crowded, Ned led Anne inside and found a table tucked
away in a rear corner.
 
He ordered surf
and turf, the evening special and since the server knew him, their food came in
a reasonable amount of time.
 
Ned seldom
ate seafood, but he knew Anne loved it so he conceded to her tastes.
 
“Thank you.” Her smile said more than her
words could and he delighted in watching her enjoy the lobster tail.

As
they dined, the crowds increased and by the time he left Anne after a quick
kiss to report to the tables, Ned noticed long lines at all the eateries and at
some of the machines.
 
He waded through
the gamblers to reach his station and Mindy greeted him with relief. “Oh, I’m
glad you’re here,” she cried. “I’ve been here all day and I’m ready to go
home.”

“I
bet. Do you have a date?”

Mindy
grinned. “Just with my son and a stack of Disney movies,” she replied. “What
about you?”
 

Ned
pointed over to a one of the machines. “My lady’s here tonight.”

Mindy’s
eyes widened with surprise. “You’re a sneaky one, Ned.
 
I didn’t even know you were dating anyone.
It’s about time!” After more than a century, he thought so too.
 

Mindy
left, card players crowded his table and time crawled.
 
Although he focused on the cards he dealt,
Ned remained aware of Anne’s presence.
 
Even when dealing he knew where he’d find her if he happened to glance
out into the crowds.
 
In the dim light
and smoke-filled environment her hair glistened bright.
 
In the few moments he could spare, he watched
her as she flitted from one machine to another like a brilliant butterfly.
 

Distracted
by Anne, busier than any other night of the year, Ned also needed blood.
 
Breaks ran late due to the crowds but when
the pit boss sent him for his first, brief one, he pegged Anne’s location.
 
She sat on one of the stools, her body
leaning in as she focused on the game.
 
Ned ambled toward the front exit with lithe grace and the speed of a
panther on the prowl.
 
He stepped out
into the chill night.
 
Sleet skittered
down from a heavy sky onto the sidewalks, and despite the rock salt the maintenance
crew had tossed onto the surfaces, Ned found it slick underfoot.
 
With careful steps he moved away from the
building and deeper into the dark.
 
Despite the weather he spotted several people approaching the building
so he headed farther into the parking area.
 

Ned
shied away from groups and couples, but when he spotted a lone female teetering
toward the casino on stiletto heels, he moved in her direction.
 
As he came within a few feet, she lost her
footing on the icy pavement and would’ve taken a header if he hadn’t leapt
forward.
 
He caught her in his arms, and
in her shocked surprise, she clung to him.
 
Her powerful floral perfume wafted into his face and her body heat
roared toward him in a wave but she didn’t appeal to him as anything more than
a blood donor.
 
As he righted her, Ned
leaned forward and bit behind her left ear, his fangs sinking into her
vein.
 
She assumed he kissed her and
giggled, her hands tightening their grip on him.
 
He drank more than his usual quota, aware he
might need a larger amount to restore his strength, and to make it through the
hectic night.
 
“Oh, sugar,” the woman
cried. “I like you.
 
Are you alone? If
you are, would you escort me tonight?”

He
shook his head and released her. “I can’t.
 
But please, watch your step.
 
It’s
pretty slippery underfoot.
 
I’m working
and my lady’s waiting to meet me at midnight.” Ned untangled from the woman and
turned to head back inside.
 
Two paces
later he saw Anne.
 
She stood and
shivered without a coat, eyes round with horror and dark with hurt.
 
“What’re you
doin
’
out here, honey?” he asked as he put an arm around her. “You’re
gonna
freeze or fall.”

Anne
shrugged him away. “You kissed her! I saw you.”

“Anne,
I didn’t. It’s not what it looked like.” For one terrible moment he thought
he’d puke up the blood he’d just drank.
 
Her
expression made him sick because he’d caused it.
 
“I wasn’t kissing her, I swear.”

“Then
what was it? I saw you leave your table and I followed you so we could have a
minute or two together.
 
I wondered why
you’d come outside.
 
Silly old me, I
thought you might be checking on the weather, but I watched you head straight
to that woman.
 
And I saw you kiss her,
Ned!”

“No,
you didn’t.” He managed to speak with calm patience. “Anne, I came out here
because I needed blood.
 
You said you
wanted to keep an open mind and I’m tired of hiding the truth. I don’t want to
kiss anyone but you, honey.”

Her
lips pursed into a pout. “Do you know her?”

“I
never saw her until tonight.”

Anne
glared at him.
 
He thought she was about
to burst into tears until she pounded his shoulder with one fist. “I don’t know
what to think.
 
Do I believe the vampire
shit or go with the idea you’d sneak out to kiss some bitch? Maybe I should
just go home.
 
I’m not sure how I feel or
what I believe, Ned.”

Since
she seldom swore, he knew how mad she must be. His first reaction had been
regret she’d seen him in the act but his anger rose in response to hers. “Do
you really think I’d smooch some stranger? C’mon, Anne, give me credit for
being better than that.”

She
shot him a smoldering gaze and then cocked her head.
 
Anne reached out and touched his upper lip
with the end of her pinky.
 
She held out
the finger and stared at the smidgen of blood. “I’ll be damned,” she said and
stared at him.
 

He
met her eyes without flinching. “I told you.”

“You
did.” Her voice carried less heat but her tone wasn’t happy. “I still don’t
know what to think.
 
Maybe you weren’t
kissing her.
 
I’ll give you the benefit
of the doubt because I don’t want to ruin New Year’s Eve.
 
How long’s your break?”

“Ten,
fifteen minutes, tops.
 
I’m late now.”
Ned offered Anne his hand and after a brief hesitation, she took it.
 
A sigh escaped her tight lips and she walked
back inside.
 
Ned stopped before he
reached the card area and kissed her, swift and deep. “I’ll see you about a
quarter to twelve, you hear?”

Anne
nodded.
 
She caressed his cheek, then
cupped it.
 
“All right,” she told him.
“I’ll meet you here but I’m still not very happy.”

He
dealt poker for the next few hours, five-card draw, five-card stud, and Texas
Hold ‘
Em
.
 
As
he shuffled and slapped down cards on the tables, Ned remained aware of Anne’s
location and her presence. Judging by her expression, anger flirted around the
edges of her consciousness but she wanted to believe him.
 
His spirits lifted at the idea.
 
By eleven forty-five, the crowds
thickened.
 
Ned noticed many of the patrons
hovered around the bar and others sat tight on their stools but they weren’t
playing.
 
He shut down his table and made
his way to Anne.
 
She moved through the
throngs toward him and he caught her by the hand.
 
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go outside.”

“What?”
she shouted over the noise.

Ned
repeated himself and added, “I know it’s cold but I’d rather greet the New Year
together without so much company.”

She
nodded and he led her toward the front exit.
 
They emerged into the chill darkness but the sleet had stopped.
 
Frost and a thin layer of ice coated every
surface he saw but above, the thick clouds parted to reveal an almost full
moon.
 
The silver tinged light filtered
down and lit everything with a beautiful radiance.
 
Anne’s breath puffed white and she shivered
so he put an arm around her bare shoulders. “Still mad at me?” he asked.
 

She
dredged a sigh up from the depths and shook her head. “I should be,” she said.
“But I’m not.
 
I decided to believe you
since it’s never happened before.
 
Or,
not that I’m aware of and I’d rather not start out the coming year with anger
or something negative between us because we have enough to deal with as it is.”

“You
mean that I’m a vampire.” He’d never been one to make resolutions but if he
did, Ned determined his would be sticking to the truth.
 
He wasn’t going to pussyfoot around it any
longer.
 

Anne
leaned into him and nodded. “Yes, I do.
 
I’m trying, Ned, to understand and to be open-minded, to accept if
necessary but it’s a struggle.”

Ned
touched his lips to the soft nape of her neck and kissed, keeping his fangs
back with effort. “I’m glad you’re making it,” he told her. “It means a lot,
Anne.”

Before
he could gather his assorted thoughts and turn them into additional words, a
cheer echoed inside the casino, loud and powerful enough to be heard. Many
voices chanted together as they counted down the last seconds of the year:
ten, nine, eight, seven
... “Ring out the
old, ring in the new,” Anne said as she whirled to face him. “Kiss me, Ned, on
the stroke of midnight.”
  

He
didn’t need any prompting.
 
Ned wrapped
his arms around her and lowered his lips onto hers.
 
At the same moment a chorus of, ‘Happy New
Year’s!’ roared within, he feasted on her mouth.
 
Ned worked his lips across hers in a hungry
kiss.
 
Her mouth yielded to his, warm and
pliant.
 
He tasted her lipstick and the
lingering flavor of the drink she’d had.
 
Ned inhaled Anne’s fragrance, her perfume along with her natural aroma,
a heady combination of woman, skin, shampoo, and soap.
 
Her pulse beat resonated through him.

Power
rippled between them, strengthened with love.
 
If possible, Ned would’ve taken her right there, but he didn’t and
couldn’t.
 
So he savored Anne’s kiss and
her presence.
 
When they broke apart,
Anne touched his mouth, then caressed his cheek. “Happy New Year, Ned,” she
said. “I hope it’s the best ever for us.”

“Me,
too.” A year ago, he didn’t even know she existed.
 
It’d just been the start of one more season
among more than a hundred, another year he’d expected to be the same as all
those before.
 
Time hadn’t mattered, but
now it did.
 
Ned couldn’t shake the
feeling he was living on borrowed time.
 
Anne’s offer to stay until her semester began had pleased him, but he
hadn’t seen any progress.
 
There was no
doubt she loved him but she didn’t believe him and he doubted she ever would.

All
he could do now was wait and hope, but he found himself short on patience and
low on hope.
 
Ned tried to enjoy the time
he had left with Anne, but unless something changed, he knew she’d go and it
would take all the light, the joy from his existence.
 
He’d return to the endless cycle of days and
nights, loneliness and blood, without end.

Maybe,
he thought, he was wrong and it would be different.

Maybe.

Chapter Fifteen

On
the last weekend before Anne’s classes would begin, Ned decided to do something
he’d wanted to share with her but hadn’t.
 
Although they remained in harmony and their sex continued to be fantastic,
they’d made no progress toward Anne’s acceptance of his reality.
 
Ned talked about it or tried, but she wasn’t
listening because she didn’t want to hear it.
 
He told her when he went out for blood and she nodded, but said
nothing.
 

They
lay in bed, limbs twined together after a beautiful night of sleep and
lovemaking, as dawn broke over the horizon Sunday morning.