The Single Undead Moms(79)

“Let’s just . . . we need to take things slow in the ‘getting to know you’ area, OK?”

His lips quirked. “Does that cover occasional kissing?”

“It might,” I said. “But not in front of Danny, because he’s six, and kissing in all forms grosses him out.”

Finn nodded. “Cootie-phobia.”

“Exactly.” I giggled as he leaned in, brushing his mouth against mine. That same feeling from my dreams, the emotions I’d experienced when I was turned—acceptance, excitement, a thrill of fear—all came rushing back to me. It was a shockingly gentle kiss, questing, searching for some bit of softness in a world that had been just a bit too hard on him. I worried that he might be able to smell Wade on my skin, taste him in my kiss. But Finn simply pulled me into his lap, nibbling on my bottom lip as his hands traced the lines of my back. And then I recalled the feeling of Wade’s lips against mine, and I clutched at Finn’s shirt, prepared to shove him back.

But he retreated on his own, sliding his hand along my arm as he settled back in the seat. “So how’s my favorite vampire accountant?”

“I am doing well,” I said.

“Still have plans for the weekend?”

“Yes,” I told him. My date with Wade was cemented, with babysitters and everything. If nothing else, I really wanted a romantic outing with him that didn’t involve a death barn. “I’m assuming this is an unsanctioned visit?” I asked.

“I left Jane a voice mail,” Finn promised. “Which she will not get, because according to Dick, she doesn’t understand how to use her voice mail.”

I sighed, letting my head drop to his shoulder. “Why do you risk pissing her off just to see me? Why do I risk pissing her off just to see you? Is it just that you’re my sire? Is this why I feel drawn to you?”

“No,” he said, stroking his thumb along my cheek. “At first, there is an instinctual bond between the sire and the childe, to help the new vampire trust their mentor enough to get them through the transition. But it fades once the new vampire feels more settled in their new life. Most of the sire’s privileges after that? Rules designed by the Council to keep older vampires in power and younger vampires in line. Look it up in any of the guidebooks.”

“Oh, trust me, I will,” I told him. “Maybe your influence over me got extended because we didn’t get that time together at first? Maybe that explains the warm fuzzy feelings and the dreams.”

“Dreams? There were dreams?” Finn’s smile widened.

“I will never recap them.”

“Mom!” Danny yelled from upstairs. “I can’t find my ninja pajamas!”

At the sound of my son’s voice, I slid out of Finn’s lap. “Well, of course you can’t, they’re ninja pajamas! No one sees ninja pajamas.”

I got silence from upstairs. Finn stared at me.

“I thought it was funny,” I told him before calling to Danny. “I put them in your top drawer.”

“I’m still a little stung by the refusal to recap. I’m really not so bad as all that, am I?”

“Yes!” I exclaimed, laughing. “You are completely untrustworthy. You haven’t told me why you answered my ad. You haven’t even told me why you’ve stuck around and continued to see me, despite Jane threatening you with some very creative retribution.”

“I told you, your ad made you sound like a good person. I wanted to help you.”

I stared at him, silent and stone-faced.

Finn cleared his throat. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“No.”

He sighed. “OK, cards on the table. I turned you because of your talent.”

“You needed a discreet bookkeeper?”

He chuckled and cupped my cheek in his palm, settling a very serious gaze on my face. “Your vampiric gift.”

“I don’t have a vampiric gift,” I told him. “Jane said it would probably manifest itself within a few months of my changing. But nothing so far, and for some reason, she can’t get a read off me. “

“That’s because you’re a stabilizer.”

“What?”

“When you’re around, you suppress the gifts of the vampires around you. Jane can’t always read your mind. I’d bet she couldn’t read the mind of any human or vampire within twenty yards when you’re around. She’s just so focused on trying to read you that she hasn’t noticed.”

“Well, that’s a crappy power!” I exclaimed, unable to contain the disappointment of being told I was the psychic equivalent of a candle snuffer. “I was hoping for something cool, like telepathy. I would have settled for the squirrel thing!”