Sheree spoke to everyone present, biding her time until Derek was deep in conversation with Roshan and Logan before she took Pearl aside.
“What is it, dear?” Pearl asked.
“I don’t want to be a vampire,” Sheree said, glancing left and right to make sure they were still alone. “Can you make more of your serum for me? Not the one you made for Derek, but the other one. The one you said worked on newly turned vampires.”
“Yes, of course, but are you sure that’s what you want?”
“I’m sure. Will you make me some?”
“Have you discussed this with Derek?”
“No, and I don’t want you to mention it to him or anyone else. Not even Edna.”
“I’ll have to think it over, dear. Derek . . .”
“He turned me without asking if it was what I wanted,” Sheree said. “I don’t need his permission to undo it.”
“It will take me a week or so,” Pearl said. “I’ll be in touch. Thank you for inviting us, but I think we’ll be going now.”
A week or two, Sheree thought. All she had to do now was keep Derek from finding out.
The party lasted until well past midnight. After changing out of her wedding gown, Sheree thanked Mara for everything, and then she and Derek drove her parents back to the Marchand. Her father had a meeting late the next afternoon and they were flying home in the morning.
“Don’t be strangers, you two,” her father said, giving her a hug.
“We won’t.”
Shaking Derek’s hand, her father said, “Take good care of my little girl.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sheree hugged her mother. “If you ever need to come home,” Meredith whispered, “don’t be too proud to do so.”
“Thanks, Mom. I love you, too.”
A last hug for her father and Sheree got into the car. She hated to see her parents leave but she was glad the evening was over. She’d been stressed out all night, afraid someone would do or say something that would arouse her parents’ suspicion.
“Stop worrying,” Derek said as he pulled away from the curb. “They didn’t suspect a thing.”
“I know, but I was worried when Mom remarked that everyone looked as if they’d stepped out of a fashion magazine. I could see her checking Kathy’s skin, looking for signs of a facelift. And I almost slipped up and introduced Vince as Rafe’s father instead of his brother. It would have been hard to explain they’re father and son, but look the same age.”
“All’s well that ends well,” Derek said, chuckling. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Yours or mine?”
He ran his hand along her thigh. “Mine is closer,” he purred, “and we are on our honeymoon.”
It was hard to remember she was angry with him when he was so near, when his scent, the mere touch of his hand, stirred her desire. Not willing to let that anger go, she thought about all she had lost when he turned her into a vampire. His being a vampire hadn’t been a problem. She had been willing to make adjustments in her own lifestyle to accommodate his. He preferred the night. He drank blood. She could accept those things. But, even though she was perfectly happy to have a husband who was a vampire, that didn’t mean she wanted to be one, too.
Jerking his hand from her thigh, he growled, “Would you rather I had let you die?”
“Stop reading my mind! And for your information, I wanted to find a vampire. I never wanted to be one!”
When he braked for a red light, she jumped out of the car and dashed into the darkness, running away from a decision she hadn’t made. Like a petulant child, she blamed Derek for her unhappiness, for turning her without asking her permission. She was being irrational and she knew it; even if he had asked her, she had been incapable of a response. What would her answer have been?
Derek swore a vile oath as Sheree disappeared from sight. He swerved in front of the car beside him, pulled over to the curb, killed the engine, and went after her.
Sheree ran effortlessly, jumping over block walls without even thinking about it. And all the while, in the back of her mind, she heard his voice asking if she would rather be dead.
She vaulted over a parked car. Of course she didn’t want to be dead, but she didn’t want to be a vampire, either. All she wanted was her old life back, and she would have it in two weeks.
Slowing, she glanced around. She had no idea where she was. Old buildings hemmed her in on both sides. Most had boarded-up windows. Many were spray painted with gang signs and symbols.
She stopped at the sound of voices. Drunken voices. Coming from the building across the street.