Runaway Vampire(69)

Once Mary started to eat again, Dante picked up his own fork to continue eating. They were both silent for a bit, and then Mary said, “Everything smells so . . . much,” she ended finally, because she couldn’t think of another way to put it. The good smells still smelled good, but were stronger, and it was the same for bad smells. Mary had never cared for blue cheese, the smell had always bothered her, and there was a very small, thin slice of it on a steak on a plate in the center of the table, probably more as a garnish than anything, but it smelled to her like there was a pound of blue cheese under her nose.

It was just one of the scents assaulting her, though. Mary could smell everything as if it were concentrated and set directly under her nose . . . including Dante. He had a deep, almost smoky scent combined with a higher note that was slightly coppery. It was quite wonderful, and to her, smelled more delicious than any of the food on the table.

“I did tell you that the nanos improved skills and senses,” Dante reminded her softly.

“You said they improved speed, strength, eyesight and hearing,” she countered. “You did not mention smell.”

“Ah.” He shrugged. “I was born immortal, so have never experienced the difference myself. I can only tell you what I was told by others,” he pointed out. “I suspect the truth is the nanos improve pretty much everything.”

“Hmm,” Mary murmured and turned back to her food. After a moment, however, she jerked her eyes to him again and said, “This means I won’t need my glasses anymore, doesn’t it?”

Dante’s eyebrows rose. “You wore glasses?”

“Oh.” She flushed, and dropped her gaze. “I only needed them for reading. I never needed them when I was younger. I had better than twenty-twenty vision then. It was only as I got older that I started having trouble with reading and such.”

“I see. Well, you will not need glasses anymore,” he said softly, and then grinned and added, “Although that might be a shame. I suspect you were sexy in glasses.”

Mary laughed at his teasing, but merely shook her head and returned to eating. Between the two of them they finished off everything on the table, and still she was hungry.

Giving a little dissatisfied sigh, Mary set her fork back on her plate and leaned back in her seat, her gaze shifting to Dante. Now that all the food was gone, the smells in the room had been reduced a great deal. The primary smell filling her nose now was Dante, and he did smell delicious.

“Your eyes are glowing,” Dante announced quietly after a moment.

“Are they?” Mary asked with disinterest. Then she smiled seductively and stood to walk around to where he sat. Pausing in front of him, she whispered, “I must be feeling passionate then.”

Dante stood at once, but rather than take her in his arms as she’d hoped, he moved around her and walked toward the small fridge in the entertainment center, asking, “Are you thirsty? Would you like something to drink?”

Mary scowled at his back. No she didn’t want a bloody drink. She wanted him to take her in his arms so that she could lay her head on his shoulder, bury her face in his neck and lick, nuzzle and nip her way along the vein pulsing there and—

“Dear God!” Mary gasped and turned away in horror.

Hearing Dante approaching from behind her, she turned, mouth opening to warn him to stay away. She never got the words out; the moment she turned to warn him, he slapped a bag of blood at her mouth. Mary blinked in surprise, automatically reaching for the bag, but he dumped the other two bags he’d brought with him onto the table and caught her hand with his now free one as he held the bag in place with the other.

“Relax,” he instructed. “Your fangs will do all the work.”

Mary tried to relax, but it was the oddest sensation. She could feel the cold liquid moving up her fangs. She couldn’t feel it after that, but she could feel it in her fangs and she wasn’t sure she liked it. In fact, she was quite sure she didn’t. It was blood after all. She was consuming blood. She was a vampire. One of those horrid creatures that fed on mortals like a leech, filling its belly on blood from people like her friends, her children and grandchildren.

Mary’s eyes widened with horror as it occurred to her to wonder how this would affect her life in more ways than just her looks. How was she to explain this to her children and grandchildren? How was she—?

“Mary,” Dante moved closer.

She glanced to him and saw the concern on his face. It seemed pretty obvious that he could see her mounting distress. Sliding one arm around her, he pulled her close, and then tugged the blood bag from her teeth. She waited to be splashed with the red liquid, but wasn’t. The bag was already empty, she saw with surprise as he tossed it to the table. Dante then caught her chin in his hand, turned her face back to his, and kissed her.