A Fire in the Blood(22)

He nodded. “Only a small taste.”

It was the last straw. She bolted out of the car and raced up the stairs. Her hands were shaking so badly when she reached the landing, she couldn’t get the key in the lock.

She let out a hoarse cry when Andrei suddenly appeared beside her. Taking the key from her, he unlocked the door, then dropped the key in her hand.

Heart pounding, she crossed the threshold and slammed the door in his face.

Andrei whistled softly as he returned to his car.

Unless she withdrew her former invitation, no lock could keep him out.

But she didn’t know that. And he saw no reason to tell her.

* * *

Trembling uncontrollably, Tessa stood with her back pressed against the door.

Andrei was a vampire.

He had tasted her blood.

And that fortune-teller, Madame Murga . . . why on earth was she spreading such an outlandish rumor? Tessa didn’t believe for a minute that it was her blood drawing vampires to Cutter’s Corner.

She needed to get in touch with the fortune-teller and make her stop spreading that ridiculous lie. Because it couldn’t be true. Could it?

She did a quick search on the Internet. There was only one Madame Murga listed. She had passed away in her sleep three weeks ago. Of natural causes? Or the result of another mysterious accident?

Tessa jumped when her cell phone rang, blew out a sigh of relief when she recognized Jileen’s number.

“Tessa? Are you all right? Is he there?”

“I’m alone and I’m fine.” She dropped down on the sofa and pulled an afghan over her. “Jilly, he drank my blood.”

“What? Just now?”

“No. I’m not sure when. He said he only took a little, but that’s how he knows that vampires are after me.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to believe him, but what if it’s true?”

“I don’t know, Tess. It’s like a nightmare. Maybe we’ll wake up in the morning and find out one of us is just having a really bad dream.”

“I wish!”

“The only answer is to . . . you know . . .”

“Kill him? Jilly, he saved my life more than once. Without him, I’d be dead now.”

“I don’t know what the answer is, but having Andrei protect you from other vampires is kind of like hiring a wolf to protect a lamb from the pack. I’m just not sure you can trust him.”

“You could be right.”

“I know I am. Maybe Luke . . .”

“No! Luke’s a great guy and all that. He might even turn out to be a great hunter when he’s had more experience. But he’s no match for a seven-hundred-year-old vampire. You know I’m right, don’t you?”

Jilly’s sigh of resignation was audible. “Try to get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Sleep, Tessa thought after disconnecting the call. She wasn’t sure she would ever sleep again.

* * *

Tessa woke late in the morning. Feeling as if she’d hardly slept at all, she staggered into the kitchen and plugged in the coffeemaker, then went through the apartment and turned off the lights. It had been childish, perhaps, leaving all the lights burning, but, childish or not, there was no way she was going to sleep in the dark.

Last night had been a night she would never forget. After all, how many women discovered the man they were dating was a vampire?

And on Halloween, no less.

Vampire.

The word repeated itself in her mind as she showered and dressed. While she fixed breakfast. While she rinsed the dishes.

Vampire.

She had seen movies depicting the undead, read books, been attacked twice, and yet she really knew very little about what being a vampire entailed other than the obvious—they didn’t grow old, they drank blood to survive, they were hard to kill.

She thought about Andrei—how could she not? He had held her in his arms. He had kissed her. He had tasted her blood.

Try as she might, she couldn’t decide how she felt about him now. Logically, she knew she should hate him, avoid him. She should feel disgust because he had kissed her. Because she had eagerly and willingly kissed him back.

Why didn’t she?

Because he was tall, dark, and handsome?

Because he made her feel beautiful, desirable?

Determined to banish him from her mind, she grabbed her earbuds, pumped up the volume, and plunged into housecleaning with a vengeance. Dishes, laundry, dusting, vacuuming. She even washed the windows and scrubbed the toilet, two jobs she loathed.

As long as she was busy, she managed to keep Andrei out of her thoughts, but the minute she started fixing dinner, his handsome face popped into her mind, his eyes dark and filled with mystery, his smile sensual. Damn the man!

She jumped when the phone rang, afraid it might be him.