Blood Therapy (Kismet Knight, Ph.D., Vampire Psychologist) (27 page)

“What?”

“Never mind. I’ll tell you about Ham some other time.”

“Ham?”

“Focus, Mulder. Why would Lucifer snatch me then drop me in the park?”

Alan mimed stroking an invisible beard. “You said he looked surprised. Maybe he blinked out when you touched him and you just went along for the ride. What if he hadn’t intended to take you anywhere?”

That actually made sense.

“I think you’re onto something. But why would he bother stalking me in the nightclub if he wasn’t going to do anything?”

“Who knows anything about the behaviors of a demented vampire? But now that I think about it, why did he take you to that bloody mausoleum before Halloween and just leave you there? Why didn’t he stick around to do any number of things? Maybe he’s conflicted, like other DID patients. One part takes charge then gives over to another, each with its own agenda.”

“That’s a good thought, Alan. You might be right.” I shifted slightly and turned toward him. “So it’s possible he just wanted to scare me. Something about those actions makes sense in his fragmented mind. I’ll have to think about the implications of this new information.”

When I moved, the robe spread at the neck, exposing the tops of my breasts. The pentagram and cross necklaces rested between them. So much for Devereux sensing my emotions through the cross. Unless I’d been too drunk to be a clear sender.

Alan’s gaze tracked to my cleavage, and he slid a finger down to my nipple.

“What are you doing?” I pushed his finger away. “I’ve just had a trauma, on top of being inebriated.”

“You don’t seem inebriated to me.” He tugged at the robe’s belt, loosening it. “I think the trip to the park and the stomach cleanse have sobered you up.” His eyes twinkled. “I feel it’s my duty to make you feel safe and cared-for after your trauma. What kind of friend-with-benefits would I be if I didn’t?” He untied the belt and tugged the robe apart, then pushed the terrycloth down my shoulders.

“Hey, cut it out!” I said, without out much conviction.

He lifted the cross and studied it. “What’s this? I didn’t know you were religious.”

I pulled it from his hands. “It’s Devereux’s. A family heirloom. It was supposed to signal him if my emotions shifted toward the negative. Apparently it doesn’t work.”

He smiled and stared at my uncovered breasts.

“You’re not seriously thinking I’ll have sex with you now, are you? After the night I’ve had?”

“Why not? What better way to distract and soothe you?”

He stood and held out his hand, his expression serious.

Should I? After all, Devereux isn’t in the picture anymore. We broke up. Why shouldn’t I have sex with Alan?

I let him pull me up from the couch, and the robe pooled at my feet. We’d been naked together after Lucifer kidnapped me the first time. We hadn’t exactly enjoyed official sex with each other then—we’d been disturbed by the police letting themselves into my unlocked house—but he’d been very generous with me. I knew what it felt like to have his hands on me. And we’d been circling each other ever since.

Gently he eased his arms around me and hugged me to his chest.

“Wait—aren’t you going to tell me what happened with your mother? I really do want to know. You were so upset before.”
Am I stalling?

“I’ll tell you later.” He pressed his lips to mine.

I surrendered to the good feelings and kissed him back.

“Aren’t you supposed to be looking for Colin?” I said when we paused for breath.

“I
am
looking for him. I’ve put the word out on the vampire grapevine. There’s nothing else I can do for the moment. Except this.” He kissed me again, pulling me tighter against him. “Maybe
I
need a little tender loving care.”

“Er …”
Why am I not feeling more enthusiastic about this?

“Shall I be gallant and scoop you up into my arms, and deposit you on the bed?” he said. “Or would you rather just walk under your own steam?”

“Ah, yes. Now I remember. Still the incurable romantic.”

“I
am
romantic. Wait and see.”

Oddly reluctant, I walked to the bed and pulled down the covers. What was up with me? I found Alan attractive. He was a great guy. What was the problem? Just before I climbed between the sheets I felt a twinge of fear, thinking about Lucifer popping into the room. Goose bumps rose on my skin.

Alan came over and ran his hands up and down my arms. “What’s the matter? Your body just tensed—are you sensing something? Is your intuition sending up a warning?”

“Not exactly. It just occurred to me that Lucifer could pop in here as easily as anywhere else. Do we have any sharpened stakes or flamethrowers handy?”

He laughed. “Let me check my coat pockets. I’m sure I brought something to ward off insane vampires.”

“You’re making jokes, but Lucifer is a violent psychopath. If he decides to take me, there’s really nothing I can do. I hate feeling powerless.”

“Would it help if I said I’d protect you?”

“And how would you do that?”

“Hell if I know, but at least if we’re having sex when he arrives, maybe he’ll take both of us and the odds will be better. Two against one.”

“Right. Two puny humans against one maniacal bloodsucker.” I climbed into the bed and pulled the covers over my chest. “I can’t talk about this anymore. My brain is going to explode.” Out of nervousness, I grabbed the remote and clicked on the television.

He stood staring down at me, frowning.

“What?”

“Television? Really? Aren’t you going to watch me undress?”

“I
am
watching you,” I said, shifting my eyes back and forth from him to the political argument on the screen.
I’m stalling.

“No, you’re not. You’re watching idiots yell at one another. Now who’s being unromantic?”

Not unromantic. Confused.

He had such an annoyed look on his face that I had to laugh.

I turned off the television and rolled on my side, facing him. “Okay. I’m watching.”

He locked his gaze on mine, unbuttoned his shirt, slowly drew the fabric down his arms, then threw it across the room. The muscles in his smooth chest flexed.

I made hooting noises. “Take it off! Take it all off!”

“First things first.” He pulled a condom out of his pocket, tossed it onto the nightstand, then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. “I’ve waited a long time for this.” His expression was now serious and intense. He pushed his pants down his long legs, and kicked them aside.

I smiled at his purple Fruit of the Looms.

“You like these? I bet you’ll like this better.” He peeled of the underwear and stood there in all his naked glory. The memory of the last time I’d seen that erection sent a hot rush up my body.

He playfully jumped on the bed next to me, jiggling the mattress.

Suddenly the world tilted, my stomach roiled, and all adult activities were forgotten. Heat rushed up my body, and I knew I had mere seconds before the tea I’d drunk would be projected out onto the nearest surface.

“Oh no!” I mumbled as I scrambled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I ran inside, slammed the door, and grabbed my hair nanoseconds before heaving the remaining contents of my stomach, plus what felt like various organs, into the sink.

“Kismet?” He knocked on the door. “Are you okay?”

I made a “gak” sound.

“I guess not. Is there anything I can do? Should I come in?”

“No,” I moaned.

I leaned over the sink until the dry spasms stopped, then turned on the water and splashed my face. As if everything in my life wasn’t already a big enough mess, I had to poison myself and fog my brain.
Brilliant, Kismet.
At least the do-I-want-to-sleep-with-Alan question had been taken off the table for the moment.

Alan knocked again. “Are you alive in there?”

“That’s open to debate. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay.”

I splashed more water, wiped my face with a towel, then struggled to spread toothpaste onto the brush so I could clean my teeth. After a couple of false starts, I managed the task and stared at myself, acknowledging that I looked like death barely warmed over. “Not one of your best days, Kismet.”

I shuffled out of the bathroom.

Alan was sitting on the edge of the bed in his purple shorts, shaking his head. “Not to make this all about me, but we really have some shitty sex karma. I’m starting to think the planets have lined up against us.”

That made me laugh, which caused my head to throb. “You might be right.” I crawled into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin.

“You’re looking a little shaky there, Doctor Knight. Would you like me to leave so you can get some sleep?”

I thought for a few seconds. “No. I’d like you to hang around for a little while, if you don’t mind. The combination of too much alcohol mixed with too much fear is making me feel weird. I’d appreciate the company.” I pulled down the covers next to me.

“Okay.” He peeled off his colorful shorts. “But I want you to know that not every guy’s confident enough to crawl into bed with a woman who barfed at the sight of his naked body.”

I laughed, which twisted my stomach. I braced for another dash to the bathroom and was relieved when nothing happened. “Don’t jiggle the bed.”

He lifted the covers, inched himself in, and sighed contentedly. “Smooth landing, as requested.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry I got sick. And you know very well it had nothing to do with your naked body.”

“That’s good to hear. So where do we stand now?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Do we still have the makings of an
item
?”

My lips spread into a spontaneous smile. “I thought you told me a couple of months ago that you don’t
do
relationships. Does being an ‘item’ mean we’re in a relationship?”

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

“I think you’re caught up in the rush of almost-sex. We both know that neither one of us is good commitment material. We’re both career-driven. I have a lot of vampire problems, and you have to figure out what you’re going to do now that your mother’s come back into your life. I’d say that changes your focus, because up to this point you’ve been looking for her.” I gingerly rolled on my side and pushed a stray clump of hair out of his eyes. “Tell me what happened after your mother popped the two of you out of my room.”

He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my finger. “We went to the apartment she shares with Colin. It’s immense—half of the top floor of one of those old Gothic buildings in a swanky, moneyed section of the city. She has real antiques in there. I don’t know where all the cash came from, but they didn’t skimp on the furnishings. And you have to see the rooftop entertainment area. You won’t believe it. Every kind of perk you can imagine. I’ll take you there when things settle down.”

Will things ever settle down? What does that even mean?

“How’s your mother doing? She was pretty distraught over Colin going missing. Have you heard anything about him?”

He closed his eyes and flung one arm across them. “She really loves the guy. After listening to her talk about him for a couple of hours, I had to admit I probably leaped to some wrong conclusions. He might be a fuck-up, but he’d never hurt her.” He uncovered his eyes and rolled on his side to face me. “Mom gave me the names of some of the vampires who would likely snatch Colin because he’d done one stupid thing or another to them, or owed them money, and we went to stake them out, so to speak. I hoped she’d be powerful enough to be able to read their minds, but she’s too young a vampire for that. So I’m going to have to find someone else who’s strong enough to read them and see what I can find out.”

“Do you actually have vampire friends you could ask for help?”

“Sort of. At least vampires who won’t automatically try to drain me.” He frowned. “Remember my mom said Devereux had put a protective spell on me when I was a kid? Well, that explains a lot. Even that weird situation I told you about when I first encountered a real vampire—Ian, the British bloodsucker who first attacked me, then backed off. I couldn’t figure out why he suddenly gave up and didn’t eat me. Not to mention all the situations with evil humans who’ve tried to take me down. Some of the guys at the Bureau say I’ve got nine lives. That doesn’t sound too far off. And that spell Devereux cast on me is probably why I’ve been able to hang around with vampires without becoming dinner.”

We need to stop talking about Devereux now.

“Nine lives can come in handy. What’s your gut telling you, Agent Stevens? Is Colin still among the living—as much as a vampire can be?”

“Are you asking because you’re picking up something from me? You know—using your psychic juju?”

“I did get the feeling you aren’t optimistic about Colin’s chances.”

“That’s probably true. I tried to convince Mom that everything would work out, but I think even she—as much as she wants him back—didn’t buy it. I do have a sense that he’s toast, and I don’t know what she’ll do without him.”

“Did the two of you talk about your future as a family? Is she open to that idea? Or does she fear you’re still in danger if you hang around with her?”

“She’s starting to realize that I really can take care of myself. Well, with the help of your bloodsucking boyfriend’s spell, of course, but I’m not a helpless mortal. We talked about spending some time together to get to know each other.”

“I think that’s great. Are you still committed to the FBI now you’ve found her? You said before that you joined so you could have access to resources to track her.”

“That’s a good question. I haven’t had time to think about it yet. I’m just so relieved to have discovered the truth and to have her back in my life.”

He leaned in again and gave me a soft kiss. “I hope we’ll have a chance to find out if the third time is the charm.”

There was a loud
pop
sound, and the blankets flew off the bed.

We both bolted up, expecting Lucifer.

“What is the meaning of this?” Devereux demanded.