Eternal Service (13 page)

Many people these days choose to have children out of wedlock so Raymond decided to ask his next question. “Do you have children?”

“No.”

It was a short answer, very curt. Definitely some strong mental patterns wafted from across the table. “Do you want to have children one day?”

“That’s a personal question, Raymond. … I guess if I found the right person, was married one day, sure. I would love to have children.”

She played with her hair. He kept track of how many times she did so, and the count was over a dozen times since they first sat down. He loved watching her. Her hair appeared to be soft and he wanted to touch it. Even over the horrible smell of the pizza, he could smell her hair and the fragrance coming off her skin.

He needed to know something about her, and he needed to know the answer now. The question was not proper, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t sure what he would do if the answer to his next question was ‘yes’. He prayed that it would be a ‘no’. “Are you involved with someone?”

“Am I dating?” Her eyes grew wide.

“Yes. Are you currently romantically involved with someone?” He tried to phrase the question as nonchalantly as possible.

Visibly her guard went up. “That’s another personal question. I don’t see why you need to know the answer.”

“It's standard procedure, Alex. When Dixon joined the team he was married. Trust me, security checked out his wife as is standard protocol. If you are romantically involved with someone, who may be at your home, have access to personal and private files about us … we would need to know so we could run a check on him.”

She nodded and her expression softened. “No. I have not had a man in my life for quite a while now.”

Raymond hid his smile by taking his napkin and pretending to wipe some wine off his lips. He liked the answer, it was the right one to him.

They continued chatting as Alex finished her meal. The waitress swung by the table to see if they wanted any desserts. “No. I think we’re good. Thank you,” Alex said.

Miss?” Raymond caught the waitress before she left the table. “An order of chocolate cake please. One fork.” When the waitress left, Raymond added, “You can enjoy the chocolate for both of us.”

Dinner
, Alex thought, now that she returned home – alone. Raymond had asked her out to dinner as they left the restaurant. Granted, his job was to answer her questions, but it still felt good to have dinner plans again this week with such a handsome man … er, individual. Of course, their time together centered around business. Otherwise, this would be considered speed dating. She’d gone out more with Raymond than any dates over the last few months.

“God, I’m helpless.” Alex found it ridiculous to be attracted to a creature she would have run from only a few days ago. Why did he have to be so handsome and charming? Of course, many of the Hollywood vampires were gorgeous hunks as well. Women would flock to them in the movies. Those women were in their twenties, not knocking on the door of 40 in just a year. Plus, that was Hollywood, not real life.

Alex couldn’t read Raymond very well. He joked about compelling her to remove her clothes, but then said he did not want her to be undressed. At lunch earlier he had looked spaced out, like he wasn’t even paying attention to her. And, of course, she had rambled on about her boring life. Then there was the comment about garlic breath and not intending to kiss her. Yep, that was a decisive statement right there.

Men, and she guessed vampires as well, were never attracted to the older woman with the boring stories. Boy, she fit that bill well today. He didn’t get a word in edgewise!

Admittedly she was very interested in a world where vampires existed. Honestly, they had always remained her favorite monsters when she was growing up. Mummys. Werewolves. Frankenstein. So many others. Yep, vampires were the monster she would most likely want in her world if given a choice.

She never liked the scary, ugly vampire stories. She preferred the sexier vampire stories. God, if Hollywood only knew how sexy and handsome real vampires were, they’d never be able to cast actors in those roles. No man could hold a candle to Raymond’s good looks.

And he was good–looking. She had forbidden herself from falling for a coworker long ago. But that was before she met Raymond. Was it morally right to have the hots for someone she will be working with for decades?

She realized that his beauty would still exist decades from now. In her opinion, her looks had already faded. Her bubble burst. He didn’t seem like the playboy type. He probably dated many women – and all at the same time. God. He probably has dated hundreds of women in his lifetime! She knew she’d pale in comparison.

She remembered his comment about being widowed. Thinking back to their meal, she had noticed a ring on his finger. Engaged. Of course he was taken.

Alex wished she had a girlfriend to talk to about all of this. Of course, she was close with her therapist, Micki. Alex sighed as she realized that she needed to schedule a session, and quick. She needed to talk things out and keep Raymond off–limits.

Raymond checked the Jag’s clock as he pulled up to Alex’s single story red brick house. The well manicured yard had a large shade tree in front. A white picket fence outlined the lush grass and gave the home a charming touch.

He checked his pocket watch. Five o’clock sharp, right on time. The drive to the house was pleasant and she lived in a quiet neighborhood. Big trees lined the sidewalks and offered plenty of shade for taking walks. Shade was always good. He parked his Jag in the driveway, opened the white gate, and walked down the pathway circling the garden leading to her front door.

Before reaching the door, Raymond noticed a red rose bush in her garden. It bloomed with red flowers which shined brilliantly in the fading sunlight. Raymond paused mid–stride. Roses. Not only that, but red roses. Identical with Wilma’s roses. He wasn’t one to read into signs, but if he were, what would this be telling him? Should he not knock on the door? Or, did the sign indicate potential happiness again for him? He knew he was attracted to Alex. He wanted to spend more time with her and reminded himself that his being here wasn’t a betrayal to Wilma. He forged ahead and continued up the walk.

The doorbell chimed setting off a barrage of noise. Raymond heard dogs barking, an alarm unit being turned off, the sliding of a chain lock and the chamber of a doorknob being unlocked.

“Hi, Raymond. I welcome you to my home.” Instantly, three little dogs greeted him and the door slammed in his face. Raymond heard her voice through the door. “Are dogs okay? Can you be around them without anyone getting hurt?”

Too late. Pain already radiated from Raymond’s nose. Maybe he misread the sign of the roses. A bloody nose seemed to be another sign, a bad one, but he chose to ignore the potential omen. “Yeah, dogs are fine. I like dogs.” Pain shot through his face and blood dripped down to his lips.

The door opened and she saw the mess that was now his face. “You’re bleeding! I’m so sorry. I give you permission to enter my home. Come in while I get you some ice.” She scurried the dogs from the door and back into the kitchen. She returned with an ice pack and towel to find him still standing in the entry way of her home.

“Here you go.” She handed Raymond the ice pack and towel. “You can come in. I said it was okay.” As he put the ice pack up to his nose, his eyebrow rose inquisitively behind it. “Don’t you have to be invited in to enter someone’s home?” she asked.

“No. We can go anywhere humans can go. I’m standing in your entryway because I don’t want to bleed on your carpet.”

“Oh. That’s kind of you.” Raymond noticed a blush overtake her beautiful face. She became flushed with embarrassment. “Here, the bathroom is right down this hallway.” She led him past her bedroom and into the smallest room of the house. “I’ll be in the living room. Let me know if you need anything else. Again, I’m so sorry.” She closed the door and left.

Raymond had chosen not to eat this morning. Hunger pains tugged at his stomach as he lost more blood. This minor nose bashing was not a huge ordeal since he knew he would heal, but he hadn’t expected to have to spend energy on healing himself right now. He appeared late twenties and knew he could fast much longer if needed. Feeding right now would bring on more urges, and his already aroused body didn’t need any help.

He assumed her bedroom was the closed door they had passed when walking down the hall. He couldn’t ignore what he had on his mind. He used the towel to wash himself. His nose healed by the time he finished washing his face. He placed the towel on the sink and headed out to meet Alex.

She eyed him from across the room, and before he realized what she was doing; she had crossed the room and stood mere inches from his face. She inspected his nose, amazed at the healing. “How fast do you heal?” she touched the bloodstains on his shirt.

She felt too close, or maybe not close enough. She inspected his bloodstains, and her hand on his chest excited him in such a way that made him catch his breath. Her body heat radiated towards him, and he enjoyed the heat. “The more blood a vampire has in their body the faster they heal. My current alias has me feed several times a day, so minor injuries like this heal quickly.”

She stood even closer to inspect the blood. “It's red, but just slightly darker than human blood.” Her body warmth radiated off her and her scent filled the air. Raymond became aware of her smooth skin only inches away. He wanted to draw her closer to him, but shed his impulsive thought and decided to explain to her the reason behind his slightly darkened blood color.

“Yes. I feed often. The color would be red for me. Very similar to the color of human blood, but slightly darker.” She smelled so good, and a ringlet of her hair had fallen onto his chest. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but resisted. Temptation was not going to win this time. “My blood is close to human–red because I have fresh blood in my body. We don’t have the luxury of producing blood ourselves, so we consume human blood and have that coursing in our veins. The less often we drink, the more our bodies must recycle the blood using it over and over again. That’s why our cells age and we appear older. Eventually the blood turns to a dark purple, nearly black goo. When that happens the vampire is aged quite a lot. The blood stops circulating and the vampire will starve to death. My blood is just slightly darker than human, but still red, because I always have a fresh supply of blood in my system.”

Being so close to her tortured him.

He watched her as she studied his face. Her emerald eyes focused on his nose, her hair gently cascading down her face as she pushed a loose strand behind her ear. She wrinkled her nose as she touched his, perhaps in sympathy as to what she thought he was feeling. He forced himself to think of sports, something from the multiplication table, old nuns … anything that would soothe his arousal to the beautiful woman mere inches from him. “You’re looking older today Raymond. Do you feel different as you age?”

He cleared his throat. He felt like a coward and could barely speak. He knew he should have taken a step back to give himself distance between them, but he basked in her body warmth. “I feel the same whether I am 22 or 72. The more blood I have in my system, the younger I appear. When I’ve eaten a good, let’s call it a meal, my body takes on the warmth and the blood courses through my veins. It feels better the more sated I am with blood. My body always aches for blood since I can’t produce it on my own. I can keep the cravings down easier when I appear my youngest because I’m staying well–fed.” Cravings? Hell, more like desperation right now.

“I see.” She looked directly in his eyes. “You eat several times a day. How? I know you don’t attack humans, but …”

He blinked his eyes and looked towards the ground. His eyes were going to be jet–black any minute with her looking into them like that. “We receive bagged human blood from the government. The bags are difficult and messy to eat from. I feed myself with syringes. I usually carry a couple with me during the day; I keep some in my car for emergencies.” He looked up at her to see if her eyes were still focused directly on him. “You will probably have some emergency bags and syringes here when you accept the promotion. I know Dixon always had a supply for us.”

Alex appeared a bit anxious on her next question. He thought it showed in the way she didn’t make eye contact with him. “When you feed from a human, do you kill them?”

Raymond’s eyes nearly popped from his head. “Alex, feeding and killing are different. I have not personally fed from a human in some time, but I can assure you I have never killed anyone while feeding. Now if you are asking about vampires in general, we are civilized creatures. We don’t even feed ourselves on blood until our twenties, at which time we’ve adapted to living among humans.” He took a cleansing breath. “We don’t have to kill to eat. … But yes, if a vampire were dying, desperate for blood, they could drain a human dry. I’m sure it happens, but no one on my team has ever done so. … Even you humans have murderers, but humanity as a whole is deemed to be worthy.”

Relief blew across Alex’s face. “I see.” She thought about her next question as she eyed Raymond from head to toe.”So, are you hungry now?”

He closed his eyes slightly and looked away from her. His lips pursed and then he said, “I’m always hungry.”