Blood of the Son (Book #1 in the Skye Morrison Vampire Series) (Skye Morrison Series) (21 page)

“Welcome back,” Archer said, pouring me a glass of wine as I sat down on the bench across from him.

I smiled and gratefully accepted the glass, taking a sip. “This is pretty good.”

“Aye,” he said, taking a sip from his glass.  “You smell amazing, by the way.”

“Oh, um…thank you,” I said, my cheeks blushing a little.  “So, how did your interviews go today?”

Archer set his wine glass down and relaxed back into his seat, sighing.  “They went well.  We have 15 new dancers and I hired five others to assist with cleaning and stocking.”  He paused for a few seconds and then resumed.  “I will be leaving for four days starting tomorrow, so I’ll need you to give them the grand tour, make up their schedules for the next month, and train them in whatever areas you deem appropriate.”  He took in my wide eyes and worried expression and chuckled.  “Don’t fret.  Jameson will be there to help you.  Also, I will be bringing back additional staff to work the bars and doors.  You need not worry about their schedules.  I will personally take care of that myself.”

“Of course,” I replied automatically. 
He sure is trusting me with a lot, and so soon, too.
  I stopped fiddling with my napkin and looked up at him.  He was staring off into the crowd that was gathered by the stage.  He looked a little worn out and preoccupied.  I wondered why he was leaving and if he was alright.

“I’m fine,” Archer replied dismissively.  “I just have to tend to some business, that’s all.  Do not worry yourself.”

I nodded my head and resumed sipping my wine.  Something was bothering Archer, but I knew better than to press him for details.  I had never seen him like this before and it worried me.  I silently hoped that whatever it was worked itself out soon. 

Just then, the Manky Langer took the stage to ecstatic cheers from an increasingly rowdy crowd.  Jameson was last to enter.  He was wearing a pair of tight, ripped Levi’s and his studded leather biker jacket.  He walked up to the mike, said a few welcoming words to the crowd, and immediately broke into a fast song. 

My position in the booth was not ideal for watching the show, so I got up and scooted in on Archer’s side, next to him.   He looked over at me and smiled, a little surprised.   I shrugged one shoulder, met his smile with my own, and then returned my attention to the stage.

I finished my wine as the third song ended.  I asked Archer if he wanted to dance with me, but he declined, saying he preferred to watch me tonight instead.  I gave him my best pouty look, but he wouldn’t budge, so I left him there with the rest of his bottle of wine and made my way over to the bar.

“Can I get a glass of Irish whiskey, straight up?” I asked Nikki, when she finally made her way over to me.  The bar was swamped with customers vying for an empty space to stand in, some not waiting very patiently for current customers to exit theirs before they tried filling it.

“Why is it that every time this band plays, it ends up being a complete mad-house in here?” she asked, sounding annoyed.

I laughed as I paid for the drink.  “It’s because they rock, Nik.  They are the hottest band in Austin right now.  What else do you expect?” 

She grumbled unintelligibly as I picked up the glass and made my way over to the side of the stage. Once the song was over, I let out a loud whistle to get Jameson’s attention.  He immediately turned to me, gave me a heart stopping smile, and sauntered over to me.

“Well, hello, beautiful.  Is that for me?” he asked, taking off his jacket and squatting down in front of me.

My eyes went immediately to his bare chest and I fought to look away.  His pecks and abs were lightly glistening with sweat and he smelled so incredibly good.  My lower abdomen tightened.  “Y…yes.  I am.  I mean…it…it is,” I stumbled, embarrassed at my display. 

Jameson laughed, amused, and gratefully accepted the drink.  He downed it in two big gulps, handed the glass back to me, and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on my forehead.  “Thank you, love.  That was very sweet of you.”

“Anytime…” I managed to say as he stood up and made his way back over to the mike.  I clutched the empty glass to my chest and took a few deep breaths. 
Why does being around Jameson and Archer make me feel this way,…like a bumbling, horny fool?
I silently wondered. 
Will it be this way forever
?  On my way back over to the bar, I noticed Archer following me with his eyes.  I tried my best to clear my mind and not think about either of the vampires, but I didn’t know how good of a job I was doing.   It was so awkward knowing that Archer could hear my every thought.

Once I deposited the empty glass on the bar, I went out onto the dance floor and started moving and rocking my body to the beat.  After the song ended, Jameson turned up the heat with my favorite song, “Knackered Jacks”.   He was just getting to my favorite part, when I felt a hand tap my shoulder.  I stopped dancing and slowly turned around, almost afraid of whom I’d find. 

“Well, look who it is!” Gavin shouted over the music.  “I’m surprised to see you here.”  

I clutched my chest in relief. 
Thank you, God
.  It wasn’t Jesse this time.  Gavin was dressed in dark wash blue jeans and a Manky Langer t-shirt.  He had a beer in his hand and a huge smile on his face. 

“Hey!  Gavin, right?” I asked, smiling.

“Yep!  You remembered,” he said, nodding his head then taking a sip of beer.  “What brings you out here?”

I smiled and resumed moving to the music.  “I work here, remember?”

He looked confused for a few moments, then his face lit up and he hit his forehead with the palm of his right hand.  “The business card.  That’s right!  Duh!” 

I couldn’t help but laugh at the silly gesture.  “Yeah, well, technically, I’m not working right now.  I stayed after to see the band.  It’s my new favorite,” I said, leaning into him so he could hear me over the music. 

“Mine, too,” he said, beginning to dance.  “I saw them six weeks ago at Harry’s Hole In The Wall.  They were really awesome…I’ve been trying to catch every show since.”

I stopped dancing and studied him for a few seconds.  “I wouldn’t have figured that you’d be the type who liked hard-core Irish punk.”

He laughed, took a step back, and motioned to my outfit with his free hand.  “I wouldn’t have figured you’d be either.”

I laughed and started dancing again.  “I guess we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, then, huh?  Looks CAN be deceiving.”

Gavin nodded his head in agreement as he drained the last few sips out of his beer bottle.  “Hey, I’ll be right back,” Gavin said seriously, holding up one finger and smiling.  “Don’t go anywhere.”

I laughed and agreed, then turned my attention back to the stage.  Jameson was gripping the mike tightly, screaming into it about government control to the crowd, but his eyes were only for me.  They were dazzlingly green, so captivating and penetrating.  I stared into them as he skillfully screaked out the anarchistic track.  I felt myself blush at the attention and I reluctantly dropped my gaze.  Seeing him up on the stage, surrounded by screaming women, and knowing his gaze is only for me made my heart pound in excitement.  I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out, silently willing my heart to slow down. 

“Here you go,” Gavin said, returning, and handing me a bottle of local beer from the bar.  I smiled, clinked bottles with him, and took a long drink.  The dark liquid felt good as it slid down my parched throat.  I held the cold bottle to my forehead and rolled it across.  It was getting so hot in here. 

Gavin grabbed my hand.  “Come dance with me,” he said as he tried to lead me closer to the stage.

“I think I’m going to sit this one out, Gavin.  But you go ahead.  I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

Gavin looked reluctant to leave me, but finally nodded his head and started to weave his way through the tight crowd towards the front of the stage. 

I turned around and slowly made my way back to Archer’s booth.  When I finally made it through the crowd, I noticed that Archer wasn’t alone.  Two girls were sitting at his table and another three were lingering only a couple of feet away, stealing seductive glances at him.  The two girls in the booth were positively fawning all over Archer.  One was sitting next to him, rubbing her hands up and down his thigh, and whispering in his ear.  The other one was bent over the table, insuring him the best view of her substantially augmented breasts, while she ran her fingers through his hair. 

I stopped in my tracks and watched as Archer sat there letting the two women touch him.  He didn’t seem to mind and that upset me a little.  I know that Archer and I will never be a couple, but I couldn’t help the way my body felt about him.  As I watched the girl sitting next to him run her fingers over his chest, I silently wondered if this was the way I acted when I was around Archer and Jameson.  It was a disgusting display of his vampire pheromones hard at work. 

I shook my head and reminded myself that I didn’t care what or who Archer did.  I downed my beer as I turned and made my way over to the bar. 

Dan was just coming out of the stockroom carrying two huge cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon.  I managed to grab his attention and order a beer before another patron had the chance.  I smiled at my small victory.  Dan handed me two beers with an exhausted smile and refused my ten dollar bill.  “It’s on the house, doll.”

I thanked him and made my way back over to the dance floor.  I snuck a quick glance in Archer’s direction and was a little startled to see the booth now occupied by four guys.  I glanced around the bar and didn’t see him anywhere.  “
Odd
…” I thought.  “
He must have left for the night
.” 

“Hey!  There you are,” Gavin called from behind me.  “I was just going up to the bar.  Can I get you anything?” 

I smiled at his courteousness.  “I’ll do you one better, friend.  Have a PBR on me.”

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” he said happily as I tossed the can to him. 

We both popped the tops on our beers and took a long sip.  “Ahhh,” Gavin sighed.  “That’s some damn good beer.  Thank you!”

“Anytime.” 

I heard the tempo slow down as a new song began.  I grabbed Gavin’s hand and playfully pulled him toward the dance floor.  “I think I’ll have that dance now.  What do you say?”

Gavin’s eyebrows rose in surprise and a smile quickly spread out on his lips.  “I say, Hell yes!”

We found an open spot on the dance floor and started rocking to the beat.  I closed my eyes and allowed myself to get lost in the song.  My body swayed as my hair whipped about.  I felt the vibrations of the Bodhran drums in my chest, and saw the bright pattern of the stage lights through my closed lids.  I sighed.  I was happiest when I was dancing.  I felt a smile creep across my face.

“Wow.  You look so happy,” I heard Gavin say to me. 

I opened my eyes and saw him standing right in front of me, smiling.  “I am happy,” I said, downing the last of my beer and putting the empty in a nearby trash can. 

The song ended and I heard Jameson’s voice come across the mike.  “This is a song I wrote the other day.  It was the best breakfast I’ve ever had.  I hope you like it.”

I looked up at Jameson and smiled.  He gave me a quick wink and turned back to the band. 

The new song started and this one was uncharacteristically slower than all of the others.  It was a ballad about coffee-free breakfasts in bed with someone special.  I especially liked the line “She’ll have her sort of breakfast, and I’ll have mine. I could tell right away that she was one of a kind.”

I laughed and resumed dancing with Gavin.  He put his hand on my hip and I looked down, surprised, but didn’t pull away.  I let him twirl me around and dip me a few times.  I couldn’t help but blush.  I didn’t ever dance like this and the way he expertly maneuvered my body around made me giggle.  He was a really good dancer and I wondered if he took lessons in ballroom or something. 

“Get your fucking hands off of her,” someone suddenly snarled from behind me.

Gavin stopped dancing and let go of me.  There was a look of sheer confusion on his face.  “Are you talking to me?” he asked.

I turned around and took a step backward into Gavin.  Jesse Prescott, my ex-boyfriend turned creepy stalker, was standing there.  He had his arms down by his sides; his fists clenched tight, a look of pure rage on his face.  Seeing him this close to me, and this pissed off, scared the hell out of me.  I remembered our last meeting at Afterburner’s where he pushed me down into my chair.  I was terrified of what he might do next.  There was obviously no telling anymore.  I had never seen him so enraged.

I took another step back as Gavin put his arm around me and maneuvered my body slightly behind his.  “Look here, dude.  I don’t know who you are, and I don’t really care, but Skye here is free to dance with whomever she pleases.  I don’t believe she has to check in with you beforehand.”

Jesse took a step closer, towering over Gavin.  He lifted his hand and jammed a finger into Gavin’s chest.  “That’s MY GIRLFRIEND!”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a quick flash.  I turned to find Archer making his way over to us, fighting his way through the crowd.  I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves.  Archer was on his way and he’d make everything okay.

Gavin turned his head to look at me, his face full of question.  I shook my head and quietly told him that Jesse wasn’t my boyfriend.  Gavin’s face became severe with anger.  He turned back to Jesse and started to say something, when Jesse suddenly lunged forward and grabbed a fist full of my hair, pulling me away from Gavin.