I looked to find him settling down next to me with a tray of food in his hands.
“What’re you up to now?” I asked him suspiciously.
“You want to relax, and your food is going to get cold, so I’m going to help you do both at the same time.” He picked up a fork, stabbing it into a heaping pile of eggs and held it out.
“Vance,” I said with a sigh. “I’m perfectly capable of feeding myself.”
“I know, but this is my breakfast too, and I wanted to share it with you. And unlike you, I abhor cold eggs. Now eat up.” He shoved the food laden utensil closer.
I opened my mouth dutifully and took the bite, chewing while he had several of his own.
“I though breakfast would’ve been over hours ago,” I said after I swallowed. “Didn’t you say it’s past noon?”
“Yes, I did. But I managed to convince your mom and Earl to cook us something special while they were making lunch for the others.”
“You’re so spoiled,” I said to him as he lifted another forkful.
He laughed. “It must be all my demonic charm.”
“Either that or poor Earl is scared to death of you,” I replied sarcastically. “You put on quite a show for everyone down there last night with your little temper tantrum.”
“Hmmm,” was all he said to that comment, and I knew he wasn’t repentant one little bit.
We both continued on in silence for a few moments before I spoke again. “I wonder if it’s possible to get stomach cramps in a bathtub. You know … that whole don’t swim after eating rule.”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Guess we’d better get you out of there soon, just in case. Don’t want you to get too wrinkled now, do we?”
Laughing, I lifted a hand. “Too late. I’m already sufficiently pruned. The water just felt so good I didn’t want to get out. My muscles haven’t been this relaxed in weeks.”
“I can imagine. You’ve been through a lot.” He lifted a piece of crisp bacon for me now. “I’m not exaggerating when I tell you this whole thing can’t be over soon enough. I wish we could force Shelly to have another vision. All this waiting around is driving me insane.”
“Well, I guess I could pop back over to the Arkansas estate and see if I can glean some more information somehow. What do you think about that?”
“I think I don’t want you anywhere near that place,” he said, picking up a piece of toast slathered with grape jelly. “Putting you anywhere around my dad is dangerous. You know that.” He took a bite of the toast.
“What if you came with me?” I asked, pulling the plug in the tub and carefully standing up. The water sluiced off me, bubbles sliding down my wet skin, and his eyes followed the path they made. He kept eating as I reached for the towel he’d laid out for me earlier, but I knew he wasn’t unaffected because of the red streaks that appeared.
He didn’t answer, standing up instead and carrying the tray into the other room while I dried off and wrapped the big towel around me, tucking in a fold of it to keep it in place.
Vance reappeared, offering a hand to help me out of the slippery tub.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I reminded, as he followed me into the bedroom. I plopped onto the bed next to the breakfast tray, picking up a piece of sausage and chewing on it.
“I’ll think about it,” he replied. “I think we should give Shelly a couple of days to try to come up with something. She’s been trying really hard to tap into things again this morning, but nothing so far.”
“Maybe your dad isn’t doing anything at the moment.”
“That’s possible too, I guess. But whatever the reason, I think you should take full advantage of the recuperation time.”
“So should you.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. “I feel fine.”
“Yes, you do now because you just fed. But you haven’t been doing it often enough because you’ve been trying to protect me. Take advantage and help yourself a little more often. No sense in letting the bloodlust drive you insane.”
He stared at me, and I continued to eat as if I didn’t notice. The silence stretched between us until I finished the food and downed a glass of orange juice too.
“I don’t feed from you as often because I don’t like hurting you. And in order to not hurt you as badly I have to pursue … other avenues to relax you. If I did that every time I craved blood, then you and I would never get out of bed. Which, while that is an entirely enticing scenario for me—I don’t want you thinking I’m some sex-crazed maniac either.”
I laughed out loud at this comment and reached out to grab him by the shirt, pulling him up next to me.
“Vance Mangum, I hate to break it to you, but you are a sex-crazed maniac … and I like it.” I pressed my lips firmly against his.
I finished the tour of the rest of the house and was currently sitting—well, sprawling actually—on a sofa in the gathering room of the basement with a book spread out on my lap. I’d long lost interest in reading the western period novel about the Pony Express and was instead staring at Shelly.
She was sitting next to me, her face wrinkled up in distaste as she perused though a book of her own,
Alien Anatomy
, that sported an illustration of a little green man with a big head standing next to a flying saucer on the cover.
“I would die before I would let any of these goo dripping tentacles touch me in any sort of manner, let alone a reproductive one,” she said with a slight gag.
“Good thing Brad isn’t an alien then,” I laughed, as she slammed the book closed in disgust.
“Well, that’s debatable,” Vance added from his chair across the room where he was devouring a book on demonic cultures of the middle ages.
“Hey,” Brad replied from the floor, reaching out to slam his fist against one of Vance’s boots. He moved too quickly, causing Brad’s hand to hit the rug under his feet instead.
He chuckled as Brad groaned. “You’re gonna have to try harder than that, buddy,” Vance said with a grin.
Brad sat up, running his hands through his sandy blond hair. “I can’t take it anymore. I’ve got to get out of here and do something physical for a while. Is anyone interested in hiking around the area with me?”
“I’ll go,” I piped up, anxious to be anywhere but here at the moment. “Just let me go get my shoes on.”
“Awesome.” Brad smiled.
“I’ll be back in a little while,” I said to Vance as I strode over to his chair, kissing him on the cheek. “Enjoy your book.”
“What stretch of the imagination has led you to believe I’d allow you to wander off alone with this depraved guy?” Vance asked, tipping his head at Brad.
Brad looked back, completely unscathed. “That’s right. Look who the blood drinker is calling depraved,” he ribbed. “But don’t you worry, I’ll take
really
good care of your girl.”
“That’s it!” Vance said, slamming his book shut in feigned disgust. “I’m coming with you!” He stomped across the room with purpose reaching out and grabbing Shelly by the arm, yanking her flush against him. “You can be my date, pretty lady,” he said with a smoldering look at her. “We can’t let these two have all the fun together.”
Shelly blushed furiously, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud as Brad grabbed me by the arm, thrusting me toward Vance and grabbing Shelly away from him in the processes.
“You’ve already seduced one girl here with your charms—you don’t need to add mine to the list.” Brad put his arm protectively around Shelly.
“Then quite playing a game you can’t possibly hope to win,” Vance countered with a smirked. “You keep your girl too starved for affection. She can’t help but notice my charm.”
Brad snorted. “You have no idea about what she is or isn’t starved for.”
Shelly blushed even harder.
“Oh, I think I do, my friend, and you’re just as bad off as she is,” Vance taunted.
“Enough!” I said with a laugh, jumping in to intervene before Brad felt the need to prove himself right there in front of us. “Quit being such a merciless tease,” I said to Vance.
“Just trying to keep things interesting, baby.” He smiled, pulling me in for a quick kiss. “Hurry up and get your shoes on so we can get out of here.”
I popped upstairs and grabbed a pair shoes, and met the others by the back door.
“We’re going hiking,” Vance informed the group sitting around the kitchen table together playing a game of cards to pass the time.
“Okay. Be careful, but have fun!” Grandma called, not even looking up.
“If you walk about a dozen yards past the wards, you’ll find a trail that’ll lead out to a waterfall. It’s not a bad hike, around a couple of miles I’d say. It’s a pretty little place if you want to go check it out,” Earl suggested.
“Oh, that sounds wonderful,” I replied, giving him a grateful smile.
Krista got up and moved to Vance. “It looks like it might rain though. Do you want to take a jacket?” she asked in a motherly fashion, and he smiled tenderly toward her.
“No thanks, Mom. I’ll be okay.” He touched her cheek lightly. “Go play your game and have a good time. Unless you’d rather come with us?”
“I’ll stay here.” She smiled. “Thanks for the invite though. I don’t want to spoil the fun of you young people.”
“That would never happen. And quit calling yourself old. You’re perfect.”
“Here, here!” my mom called out raising her glass of juice towards us. “She’s the same age I am, and I’m definitely not old!”
Everyone laughed, and we turned to walk out the door.
“That’s sweet your mom’s still so protective of you, Vance,” Shelly said.
“I think she missed all those years of mothering me since we’ve been apart.” Vance smiled, turning to walk toward the pump house. “It doesn’t bother me. I missed her too. Marsha was very good to me, but no one can ever take the place of one’s own mother.”
“Where are you going?” I asked him.
“First rule of hiking, Portia, always carry plenty of water with you. I found a supply of canteens in here on a shelf when I was looking around earlier,” he said as he pulled the door open.
I shrugged at his comment. “I figured I would just pop us back here if we got thirsty.”
“And what if it were a water emergency?” his voice echoed back to me.
“A water emergency? Like what?” I laughed, as he emerged from the shed carrying four canteens. “We are hiking to a waterfall after all. I would assume we’d have plenty.”
“I just want to be prepared.” He smiled, handing me one before passing the others along to Brad and Shelly. We filled them quickly, and set out on our way.
Vance casually grabbed hold of my hand as we wound our way through the thick foliage together. The light in the forest was dim, due to the overcast weather, giving an almost other-worldly feel to the lush surroundings.
“I could live out here forever, I think,” Shelly said, breaking the silence as she traveled next to Brad. “It’s so peaceful and untouched.”
Brad snorted. “You would only last until you felt the urge to go shopping somewhere. Then that platinum credit card would call you back to civilization like a siren’s song.”
Shelly sighed. “That’s true, I guess. But I could always come here to vacation and get away from it all. Build a nice cabin. Just something small, two or three stories with a spa and a great library for reading.”
“Good luck with that.” Brad laughed. “You realize this land is protected so it will stay this way.”
“Fine, Brad.” Shelly pouted. “I will come and vacation with Earl. Is that what you want to hear?”
“Or you could build your dream house and magic it with wards the same way, so no one would know it was here,” Vance suggested.
“That’s cheating, Vance,” I chided him. “Earl’s house was built here when it was legal.”
“I know,” Vance replied. “Just offering up a suggestion.” He smiled and squeezed my hand. “Surely Shelly wouldn’t be that detrimental to the environment.”
Brad snorted again, and Shelly elbowed him in the ribs.
“Ouch!” he exclaimed, rubbing the spot with his hand.
“Keep your snorts to yourself,” Shelly said brushing ahead of him.
Vance chuckled under his breath.
“What?” Brad asked, glaring at him suspiciously.
“I don’t know what to think about a guy who can’t control his woman,” he answered barbarically.
I mimicked Shelly’s motion, elbowing him in the ribs as well. “Don’t be a pig,” I said and made to push past him towards Shelly.
He laughed, letting me fall into step beside her, and I hooked my arm through hers.
“Looks like you aren’t any better than I am,” Brad grumbled behind us.
“Wanna bet?” Vance challenged. He reached forward and grabbed me, turning me to him.
I opened my mouth to protest, but he smashed his lips to mine, sinking his tongue between my open lips, circling me in his arms and holding me close.
Sparks of fire exploded through me, and I wrapped my arms around him, kissing him back. I knew he was taunting Brad, but I couldn’t make myself pull away, falling completely under his spell.
The forest around us melted away, and there was only him—the feel of him, the taste of him, and the sound of his heavy breathing mixing with mine. It was like someone threw a switch that polarized us, drawing us together like magnets that couldn’t break apart.
His slid his hands up to grasp the sides of my face, and he pulled away slightly, staring down at me.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” I replied, looking back into his flaming eyes.
The air around us was completely silent as we stared at each other. Vance leaned down and kissed my lips lightly again.
“We’re making a scene.”
“No.” He shook his head slightly and smiled. “The two of them slipped off through the trees together.”
“How do you know?” I glanced around. “You didn’t even look.”
Sure enough, Brad and Shelly were gone.
“How’d you know they’d left?” I asked.
“I heard them. Brad grabbed Shelly as soon as I started kissing you, and they took off.” He cocked his head to the side, listening. “They’re up the path just a bit.” A grin stole over his face. “And he’s kissing her.”