Kindling Flames: Flying Sparks (The Ancient Fire Series Book 2) (9 page)

The nurse pushed in. “Good morning.” She sat a tray on the table. “I have your breakfast.”

“Thank you.” Vicky turned over so she could sit up to eat.

The nurse raised the head of the bed and looked up at the empty IV bag. “So, how are you this morning?”

“Fine,” Vicky answered.

Nodding, the nurse punched some buttons on the blue box and unhooked the IV line from the port in Vicky’s arm. “Let me know if you feel any pain,” she warned as she packed up the equipment. “The doctor thinks you should be fine without the medication.”

Vicky smiled at her. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“It’s probably all the tender loving care your boyfriend has been giving you,” she said with a giggle.

Vicky blushed. The woman had hit the nail on the head. “He’s not my boyfriend,” Vicky protested weakly, looking at her food.

“Don’t give me that,” the woman huffed. “That kiss he gave you when you first came in was far too passionate to come from anyone other than a lover. It made even
my
toes curl.”

Vicky looked up at the woman as she tried to think about a kiss Darien had given her. The only one that might have been misconstrued as passionate was the kiss he placed on her temple, but no one had seen that one.

“Then again, you might not remember it,” the woman went on. “You hadn’t woken up yet.”

Vicky raised her fingers to her mouth and felt her lips.

“The doctor will be in after a bit to check on you,” the nurse said as she rolled the IV stand out of the room.

Vicky was too deep in thought to hear the nurse’s words or see her leave. Her insides flopped around like a fish out of water, and she was suddenly not hungry anymore. Had Darien stolen a kiss while she was asleep? What did it mean? Was it to heal her, or was it something else? She thought over Darien’s actions since she had discovered he was a vampire. He had spent a lot of time invading her personal space, but she also found it didn’t bother her as much as it should have. Her mind wobbled on her growing feelings and what they meant for her job. Would she be able to handle working so closely with someone who had such a profound effect on her heart?

Vicky recalled Vanessa’s teasing about what could be done in a closed office with a large desk and slammed the thought down before it could even get off the ground. Picking up her fork, she started working food into her mouth. She needed to eat, no matter how her insides were squirming. Dealing with Darien would have to come later.

Vicky looked over at Darien settling into the driver’s seat of his DB9. He had spent the morning rearranging his schedule so he could take her home when Dr. Urnkalther released her.

The doctor had been astounded by how quickly the burns had healed. She happily informed Vicky that she no longer needed to stay there. Dr. Urnkalther had even pulled the stitches out of the mostly healed cuts. The good doctor had given Darien strict instructions that Vicky was not to exert herself until the wounds were fully healed. She would have made Vicky take at least a week off work, but there was no precedent for her case. Darien assured her he wouldn’t let Vicky do anything strenuous until she was well again.

Vicky was ready to get back to her life. There were things she needed to do. As Darien drove them out of the parking garage, she looked out the window at the grayed-out world. Clouds had moved in to block out the sun, and a light drizzle had just started to fall.

“What’s going to happen to the flowers?” she asked as Darien pulled out onto the wet street. Her backpack lay at her feet, but he told her not to worry about the plants as Karl pushed her out in the wheelchair. Vicky hadn’t felt she’d needed a wheelchair, but Dr. Urnkalther had insisted she not walk on the freshly healed wounds.

“Since there were so many, I’ve made arrangements to have them picked up and delivered,” Darien replied as he maneuvered through the afternoon traffic. “There wasn’t room in here for them all.”

Vicky laughed a little at the understatement. Twenty-three vases of flowers had arrived. It would take a van to get them all out of the hospital.

She looked back out the window at the rain-washed world. They were getting closer to the center of town. “Were we going to stop at my apartment?” Vicky asked. She still needed to see if there was anything salvageable, or if she needed to buy new clothing.

“I hadn’t planned on it.” Darien looked over at her. “The doctor said you should stay off your feet until you are fully healed.”

Vicky met his green eyes for a moment before he turned back to the road. She could have sworn she saw amusement hidden in their depths.

“Anyway, the arson unit still has your place roped off while they investigate the cause of the fire.
Detective Baily said you should be able to get in there on Thursday.”

She nodded at this information. So she would need new clothes. “You talked to Detective Baily?” Vicky looked over at Darien’s profile. The edges of his mouth had tightened into the barest hint of a smile.

“Of course.” He glanced at her. “I needed to find out when they would be done so I could schedule the salvage crew to go in.”

“A salvage crew?” Vicky questioned. How much did a salvage crew cost? She’d planned to call the girls over on the weekend.

“Don’t worry about it,” Darien answered. “They’ll take good care of your things. I’ll have everything delivered to the warehouse on Balling Ave. so you can go through it later.”

“Balling Avenue?” Vicky asked. She knew he had many businesses across the city, but she wasn’t aware of one on Balling Avenue. That was a fair distance out of town.

“That’s my private storage building,” he answered.

Vicky let out a deep sigh and leaned her head forwards to rest her face on her palms. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. She was used to being an independent woman, but she suddenly felt like the pet so many people thought she was.

Darien watched her from the corner of his eye. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

Vicky sat up properly with a sigh. “Yes,” she said. “I’m just a little overwhelmed by everything. I was expecting to have to go look through the apartment myself.”

“I can call the crew and tell them to hold off if you want,” Darien told her, “but it will be next weekend before you can get over there.”

She looked up at him, confused.

“You should take it easy for the next few days as you recover, and there’s something important I’ll need you for this weekend.”

“Oh, okay,” Vicky agreed, though she didn’t remember seeing anything written in his calendar for this upcoming weekend.

Darien pulled into a parking spot along the edge of the road. “We’re here.”

Vicky looked out the window at the tall buildings lining the street. These buildings weren’t as tall as the ones downtown, but they still made her feel very small.

Darien pulled the messenger bag from the back seat and slung it across his chest as he rounded the car to help Vicky out. “Give me your bag.” He held his hand out so she could hand the black backpack up to him. Slipping his arms through the straps, he settled it on his back.

Vicky went to climb out of the car, glad the rain had almost stopped, but Darien stopped her before her feet could touch the ground. She squeaked as he lifted her from the car and kicked the door shut. Surprised at the swift movements, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Snickering, Darien bounced her in his arms lightly to settle her in for the trip.

“I can walk,” she complained. She didn’t know if she liked being in his arms like this.

“The doctor said to stay off your feet,” Darien teased as he turned towards the main entrance of a classical stone building. “Anyway, you don’t have any shoes on.”

Vicky looked down at her hospital socks. There was a lovely pair of sandals in the backpack that matched the dress Darien had provided, but the doctor had been insistent that she not stand on the healing wounds. Vicky gasped as they entered a grand foyer with white marble floors and a set of sweeping steps that curled up to the second floor. There was a stunningly large, crystal chandelier sparkling in the center of the room. A man stood behind a counter made of some dark wood and topped with the same white stone as the floor.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Ritter,” the man greeted Darien as he walked in.

“Good afternoon, Ethan.” Darien nodded.

Vicky ticked this man off as human.

“This is Miss Westernly. She’ll be staying with me for a while.”

She tried not to squirm as the man looked her over.

“Good afternoon, Miss Westernly,” Ethan said in greeting before turning his attention back to Darien. “I’ll make a note for security.”

“Very good.” Darien thanked him and headed past the desk and down the hall leading to the elevators.

“Have a nice day,” Ethan called after them.

Vicky was thoroughly embarrassed by the encounter. “You really can put me down now,” she complained. She felt a little weird being carried. “I must be heavy.”

Darien grinned as he hit the button for the elevator. “Not as heavy as the last time I carried you,” he teased again.

Surprised crossed Vicky’s face. She didn’t remember him carrying her before today. Her mind whirled as she tried to remember when he had picked her up. She blushed when she realized it must have been on Monday evening, after Goth Night. Vicky had woken up in her bed on Tuesday with a killer hangover, unable to remember how she’d gotten there. “You put me to bed after clubbing last Monday?” she asked him, trying to verify her suspicions.

He shrugged. “You fell asleep in the car,” he said, stepping into the elevator. She held him tightly as he moved the hand under her back to the control panel and punched in a code.

“You could’ve woken me up,” she grumbled.

Darien chuckled and leaned his shoulder against the wall as the doors slid shut and the elevator started off towards his floor. “But I like watching you sleep.” He grinned mischievously.

Vicky tensed in his arms. That was one of the creepiest things he had ever said.

“Relax. It’s just that no one falls asleep around me very often.”

She gave him a puzzled look. “Why not?”

Darien gave her a little squeeze. He liked that innocent streak in her. “It’s the whole sharp teeth, blood drinking thing.” He smiled.

Vicky’s eyes widened in surprise; she hadn’t even thought about how dangerous falling asleep around Darien could be. “Um… should
I be worried?” She was starting to think she’d made a bad decision
in agreeing to stay with him. Maybe it wasn’t too late to see if Vanessa had that spare room.

“If I’d wanted to take your blood, I could have done so a long time ago.” Darien chuckled. “You would be easy prey.”

Vicky fidgeted in his arms a little. Now she was really uncomfortable being so close to him.

“Don’t worry.” He calmed her. “I have no intention of letting anyone bite you again. I’ve lost one good PA already this year. I’m going to do my best to not lose another.” He could see the confusion in her eyes and went on to explain. “I need someone sharp and attentive to run my life. Blood loss makes one tired and absentminded.”

Vicky gave him a slow ‘ah ha’ as she thought about his answer. When the elevator door opened, she was pulled from her thoughts as Darien pushed away from the wall. She held on a little tighter as they stepped out into a foyer.

He made a short jog to the left, past the end of a set of steps and into a large living room. Setting Vicky down on a deep, blue sofa, Darien dropped the bags he was carrying to the floor and pulled off his jacket, folding it over one end of the couch.

Darien’s living room was huge, with a fireplace on one side and three tall windows on the other. The furnishing was modest. Two large couches and a matching love seat surrounding a glass coffee table. Two floor lamps sat at the ends of either couch to add some extra lighting. There were a couple of curio cabinets near the windows, but they were too far away for Vicky to see.

She felt the material of the couch and found that it was a soft slipcover. The wall around the fireplace was tiled with angel stone and had a large shelf built into it. A variety of old books were lined up, waiting for someone’s attention. The floor was made of a honey-colored hardwood, and there was a large area rug underneath the couches. Overall, the room was a relaxing mixture of deep blues and browns.

Darien sat on the couch next to Vicky as she looked around at what would be her home for a while. “Let’s see what we can do about the rest of your wounds,” he said as he twisted her on the couch so she was facing away from him.