The Accidental Vampire(31)

"Oh, damn. I forgot about the fire," Mabel muttered. "I can't leave it unattended."

"That's okay," Elvi assured her. "I can drive myself. I won't be long."

"You won't be driving your car. The garage door is blocked by my car," Victor

announced, moving toward her. "I'll take you. DJ can stay here and help Mabel with

the fire."

"I don't need any damned help with the fire," Mabel said with irritation.

"I'm sure you don't," DJ said soothingly, then grinned and added, "but I bet between

the two of us, we can make it burn hotter."

Silence fell briefly in the room. Mabel appeared too stunned by the suggestive

comment to respond. Victor appeared a bit surprised himself. As for Elvi, while she was

a little startled by it as well, the thought of food was on her mind and crowding out

every thing else. She wasn't going to get into whatever was going on between DJ and

Mabel, and she wasn't going to argue about Victor driving her to the store either.

"Let's go," Elvi said abruptly and charged out of the house. She felt absolutely no guilt

at abandoning Mabel to DJ's tender mercies. It was Mabel who five years ago had

pointed out that vampires don't eat and insisted Elvi not even try because she didn't

want to " hold her head when she vomited it back up." At that moment, she was

blaming Mabel for five years of missed cheesecake, ice cream, and chocolate.

"Cheesecake, ice cream, chocolate," she muttered, charging through the garage and to

the side door.

"Is that your grocery list?" Victor asked, sounding amused as he followed her out onto

the sidewalk that ran around the garage to the driveway.

"Part of it," Elvi acknowledged, scurrying around to the driveway, only to come to an

abrupt halt. The car she supposed must be his was there, a big, silver BMW. But two

more cars were presently pulling into the driveway. The Italian and the German were

back and blocking in his car.

Victor took one look at Elvi's face and moved past her to the driver's door of the car

behind his.

"Harper, don't turn off the engine," he said, pulling the driver's door open. "This is an

emergency. We need to get this lady to A&P, but you're blocking my car and I don't

think she can wait for you to move it. Will you drive us?"

"Of course." Harper smiled at Elvi through the window and redid the seat belt he'd just

undone.

"Thanks." Slamming the door closed, Victor waved Elvi forward and moved to open the

back door.

"I'm coming too," the Italian announced as he got out of his own car. She didn't care.

They could all come if they wished… so long as they didn't slow her down. The very

idea of something sweet and silky filling her mouth, coating her taste buds and sliding

down her throat to her barren stomach, was threatening to make her drool like a baby.

"What kind of emergency is it?" the Italian asked, slipping into the back seat on the

passenger's side even as Elvi climbed in through the opposite door.

"Cheesecake," she answered abruptly, squeezing up against the man to make room as

Victor followed her into the back seat.

"Comfy?" Harper asked dryly, peering at them in the rearview mirror from where he

sat alone in the front.

Elvi grimaced, but didn't complain or suggest anyone move to the front so Harper

wasn't left alone like a chauffeur. She just wanted to get moving.

Harper shrugged and shifted the car into gear, started to reverse, then stopped

abruptly as another car pulled in behind them, cutting them off.

"Edward," Victor muttered craning his neck to peer out the back window. He gestured

to the man through the window and yelled, "Get out of the way!"

Rather than do as instructed, the man got out of his car.

"Where is everyone going?" he asked politely, eyes sharpening as he peered into the

backseat and saw Elvi there.

"We have to get to the A&P," Harper told him. "Move your car so we can get out."

Edward hesitated, and then said. "Wouldn't it be easier just to take my car? It's got

larger seats."

"Fine!" Elvi said with exasperation. It would probably be just as quick as waiting for him

to get back in the car and back out anyway, she thought. Elvi would have crawled right

over Victor to get out of the claustrophobic vehicle if he weren't already heaving a sigh

and opening the door. She waited impatiently for him to get out, scrambled out behind

him and hurried after him to the vehicle blocking Harper's.

It was a BMW like Victor's but black. It was also huge and definitely had more seating

room. Elvi crawled in, meeting the Italian again as he too climbed into the backseat.