Eternal Service (36 page)

Instantly his hands went to his crotch as he whimpered, “yes.”

A knock sounded on the door and the assistant entered. This time a young woman in a dress accompanied him.

Raymond smiled as they left the room. “Have a good night Justice McCade.”

The car windshield wipers sloshed from side to side as Alex drove home. The sun had set a good hour ago, and her headlights pierced through the downpour leading her safely home. Her stomach rumbled in protest at all the sugar she had consumed. She regretted not having picked up some fast–food, or anything else, for dinner. After these back–to–back trips, she wasn’t sure what she had in her kitchen in terms of anything edible. She’d have to make a grocery run during the day tomorrow at some point, but for tonight she’d have to rely on a protein shake.

She turned down her neighborhood street; her thoughts still on her time spent at Fang Manor. Alex enjoyed talking with Jackie. It had been a long time since she had had any ‘girl time’ with a friend. Even though she had just met the woman, she felt close to her. Jackie was easy to talk to, and Alex had not realized she had spent hours at the mansion. Of course, the two of them had baked two pans of brownies and had made some fudge … so that should have been a good indication of the time, but it wasn’t. The truth was, Alex envied Jackie. She was living Alex’s dream — the love of a good husband, a family, a child in her womb, and … Alex stopped just shy of saying vampire.

She sighed heavily. With one hand, she rubbed her temple and considered that thought. A lifetime with the man you love, and then some. What would it be like to live forever? To be with someone for centuries? It was hard to wrap her mind around the idea. If given the chance, would she make the same choice Jackie had?

And, what would such a decision mean for her career? She couldn’t be the Director of the Colony if she were to be a vampire. The description “human liaison” was reality enough for her to know being a vampire, and keeping the promotion, wasn’t an option. Her career meant everything to her. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had always said a husband and family were her priority, but she never lived up to that self–made promise. She knew being a bachelor was not what she wanted, and she could visually imagine her eggs being depleted and menopause looming around the corner. If only there could be a sign.

She pulled into her neighborhood and drove down the familiar streets. The evening grew late enough that the small children were inside their homes being safely tucked in by their parents. Families filled the neighborhood, and she had originally bought her home believing she would one day fit in. If only.

Driving past her mailbox she made a mental note to get the mail tomorrow during the daylight hours when rain wasn’t pouring dow. She kept driving until she reached her driveway. There she noticed a familiar Jag parked out front. The car sat empty, and her house lights were on. Perhaps the dogs’ caretaker was here later than usual and she had let Raymond in. Of course, she wasn’t allowed to let people into the house. Maybe Raymond compelled her to let him in? She shook her head. No. That didn’t seem likely. In any event, he was here, at her house – and neither of them had a flight to catch the next day. They had the whole night for one another. She pulled her car slowly up the driveway.

She turned off the headlights and pulled the key from the ignition. Was she really excited about the prospect of an entire night, especially when the prospect of centuries lingered in the air? She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles grew white trying to gather her thoughts. One word kept coming to her mind – “centuries.” Only a short time ago she didn’t even know vampires existed. Now, she had not only fallen in love with one, but she was actually considering becoming one and living forever.

Was she in love?

Yes. She did love the man, but would that love be enough? She thought back to what Micki had said –love comes with no guarantees. Alex’s stomach ached, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of hunger, too much sugar, or just butterflies.

She took a few moments in the car to gather herself. The windshield filled with raindrops now the wipers no longer swished them aside. Alex could barely make out the front door of her house through the soaked windshield when she unlocked the car, pulled on the door latch and exited the car. Rain sprayed into her eyes, and soaked her jacket. She pulled the hood over her head for protection and walked down the curved walkway to her house. She had walked this path countless times, but tonight each step felt momentous. Raymond was in her house, and she was comfortable with that. It felt right.

She unlocked the door and her dogs welcomed her by barking loudly. She carefully pushed them aside with her legs so she could escape the rain and come into the house. Before she even closed the door, she had reached down to pet the furry family she had assembled. “Hey guys, Mommy’s home.” She patted each one of them as she closed the door behind her. Once each was greeted, she took the jacket off and draped it across the back of a chair. The dogs sniffed the jacket and her footsteps on the floor, and then followed her into the living room.

Alex looked around for Raymond. The unopened mail still lay on the coffee table where it had sat for most of the week. A basket of laundry still sat in a corner waiting to be folded and put away. A few stray dog toys were strewn about on the floor bringing the point home. But no Raymond.

Her stomach rumbled again once she realized the smell of Mexican food lingered in the air. She took in a long, hard whiff. It was definitely Mexican food, and that was her favorite. She crossed over to the kitchen where she discovered Raymond trying not to burn something in the oven. He looked so out of place as he focused on his cooking. With a great big smile, she asked, “Raymond, what are you doing here?”

She caught him off guard. It was late enough that he should have been expecting her, but he must have lost track of time.

He set the steaming casserole dish on top of the stove burners. “I’m cooking.” His smile gave way to a slight frown as he closed the oven door. “What? Am I doing it wrong? The food doesn’t even look edible does it?”

There was a smudge of food on his forehead, as if he had wiped his brow with food covered hands. His dark hair was tussled in such a school–boyish way, it made him look hot and sexy – in a domestic kind of way.

She glanced over at the three bowls which sat on the island. The largest bowl contained brown rice, with chopped tomatoes and guacamole in the other two. Next to them sat a cutting board with what looked like finely sliced lettuce and onions. Noting that only four food items rested on the counter, she wondered why her sink overflowed with dirty dishes. Pots and pans claimed most of the space in the sink, utensils and dirty bowls lined the countertop, and why was her blender out? He gave her a sheepish grin as she inspected the place. “It smells delicious,” she finally said. She grabbed a towel hanging off the refrigerator door and took a step closer to him. “I’m starving, and I appreciate you cooking for me. But, how did you get in here?” she asked wiping off his forehead.

“Your key.”

“My key?”

“I borrowed your spare key the night before we flew to Florida and accidentally neglected to return it. I didn’t even realize I still had the key until this morning when I saw it in my change holder in the Jag. That’s what inspired me to surprise you tonight.” He gave her a huge smile as he pointed out all the food.

She set her purse down on the cluttered counter, making sure to avoid a spill of some kind. “How’d you get past my alarm? Did the dog walker forget to set it?

He shook his head. “The alarm was set.”

“But how? Did you compel her to tell you the code?”

“Of course not. I didn’t even see her. I don’t think humans realize that about 90% of the time when they punch in access codes, or unlock a combination lock, that they mentally say the numbers in their heads. I simply heard you say the access code mentally when we were here last. I didn’t mean to overhear your thoughts, but when a human focuses on something specific, and routine like that, thoughts do tend to be loud.”

Alex tilted her head and thought about that. She did always say the numbers in her head.

He turned off the stove. “You’re in time too. I just finished.” He moved the contents over to the table, which was set for one. “Please eat.”

A single red rose, probably from her garden, was in a bud vase on the table. “I have to get my stuff out of the car. I left everything when I saw the lights on.”

“I’ll get your bags. Just sit and relax.”

As he pulled the chair out for her, she leaned in and claimed a kiss. “I’ve missed you, Raymond.”

His smile excited her. “I missed you too. I’ll bring in your bags.”

Even though it rained, she let her dogs out for a bathroom break. She then gave her dog Gracie her medicine as she surveyed the kitchen. Could a kitchen get messier than this? Probably not. She smiled as Raymond walked back into the kitchen. He looked adorable wearing her hot pink apron with the slogan, “Kitchen Diva.” His hair was now drenched, the apron dripping wet by the rain. If his car hadn’t been blocking her garage she would have parked in its dry shelter, possibly even had unpacked the car tomorrow morning. She looked at his broad shoulders and suspected that he had gathered all of her bags in just one trip. Big. Strong. Chivalrous. Desirable.

He gestured back towards the dinner table.

“You know you didn’t have to cook me dinner, Raymond.” She walked back to the breakfast nook. The man wasn’t just drop–dead gorgeous, he could also cook. Whether or not the food tasted good, he deserved an A+ in the wanting–to–please department. He was ranking a high score in all the departments that mattered to her.

“I didn’t know when you’d be home, but since it's past the dinner hour I thought I’d make you something to eat.” He served her an enchilada and some rice, placing the cut vegetables and guacamole on the table as well.

She sat down and took a deep sniff of the food on the plate in front of her. “You didn’t have to make all of this from scratch. They do sell frozen dinners.” She eyed the mess on the countertops once again. “It would have been easier than using up every dish in the house.”

Sheepishly he responded, “This
is
a frozen dinner.”

“Oh.” Alex laughed. “I appreciate the food. I really do.”

He removed the apron and set it on the back of one of the dining chairs to drip–dry. “You don’t want to see my earlier attempt. The dogs wouldn’t even eat it to dispose of the evidence. It was bad.” He smiled at her. “So please, Alex. Eat. The words on the box indicated this was gourmet Mexican cuisine.”

“Oh? You found a gourmet one?” she laughed. She suspected Raymond didn’t realize that all frozen dinners claimed to be gourmet. Overall the food did look tasty. With her fork, she sectioned off a small corner of the enchilada and scooped up some rice. She blew on the food before she took a bite. “It's good. Thank you.”

“I have no idea what wine goes with Mexican food.” He held up a blue bottle with a fancy label. “This one is red. And the label is in Spanish.”

Enjoying her second bite, she covered her mouth and murmured, “I’m sure it's fine.”

Raymond poured the wine while Alex talked about her trip. The conversation stayed on a professional level until Raymond finally said, “I should explain about the Offering Parties.” He watched as Alex’s body stiffened.

She shrugged her shoulders. “You don’t have to explain. You had to eat.” Focusing on her plate of food she quickly stuffed another bite into her mouth, not making eye contact with Raymond. She had wondered if he would ever tell her the truth about those parties. She so wished that she had never even heard of them. She had a mental image of his naked body pressed up against another woman, one after the other. The thought made her want to scream.

“Alex,” he said softly.

Alex finished off the rice and non–burnt area of her enchilada and decided to leave the rest. Raymond remained silent as he watched her push the food around on her plate. “How did you know I knew about them,” she asked.

“Sulie told me. She thought I’d be upset that she told you about them.”

“Oh.” Generally, sex with other women might fall under full disclosure when you enter a relationship with someone. At least Sulie had told her the truth. “Are you upset with her for telling me?”

He reached across and gently touched her hand. “I care that this information might have upset you. But, no. Sulie was fine in telling you about them. I see it as tantamount to any sister sharing embarrassing stuff to her brother’s girlfriend. I have no nude baby pictures lying around, so what else was she going to share.” He shook his head and glanced up at her.

Girlfriend? That sounded nice.
“I wasn’t upset by them. Not really.” She did her best not to mentally project any hurt feelings that Raymond might pick up on. She suspected she wasn’t completely successful.

“I planned to tell you.”

She looked into his soft teal eyes and nodded. He was a good man. She believed he would have eventually told her if Sulie hadn’t beaten him to the punch. Taking a deep breath, she glanced down at her mostly eaten meal. She bit her lip, wondering what to say next. Should she say that she was hurt? That she wished he had had better restraint? The man needed to eat … even if it was from truckloads of hookers that were wheeled into Fang Manor occasionally by dear old Uncle Sam.