Feeling a nudge at her leg, she glanced down to see Charlie peering up at her worriedly. The dog always got that look when she was upset. He seemed to pick up on the emotion and it stressed him out. Jo forced herself to relax and bent to pet him even as she urged him away from the open door. "Come on, buddy. I suspect we'll be evicted if you're seen without Nicholas around; back in the room."
Charlie turned in the doorway and moved back into the room, and Jo followed, letting the door close behind her. She then peered around the room again. A small single-cup coffeepot sat on a table beside a large armoire that she suspected held a television. Jo opened the front double doors to find she was right. She grabbed the remote and hit the button to turn on the television as she dropped onto the bed. It was that or pace, Jo thought, glancing to Charlie, who was sitting on the floor beside the bed, eyeing her hopefully. She patted the mattress beside her. "Come on, you can keep me company. You've had a rough day."
Charlie was on the bed in a heartbeat, settling beside her. Jo petted him absently as she flipped through the channels and discovered there was very little on at four-thirty. When the Sunday afternoon Disney movie flashed on the screen, she stopped. It would do. Jo set the remote on the bedside table, rearranged her pillows, and settled in to watch the show, realizing just how tense she'd been when her muscles all slowly began to relax.
Charlie wasn't the only one who'd had a rough day, Jo acknowledged, stifling a yawn.
CHAPTER 8
Nicholas eased his teeth from the neck of the chambermaid and released her. He then turned her to face the bathroom of the suite he'd found her working in and stepped back as he withdrew from her mind. Once free of his control, the woman stood still for a moment, and then moved forward to continue the work he'd interrupted, with no memory of his arrival or her ever having stopped her work.
Nicholas slid away then, exiting as silently as he'd entered and continuing on to the elevators. As he waited for it to arrive, he considered what to do about food for Jo. Having to buy a new van and incidentals had really eaten into his funds, and the hotel on top of it all had nearly wiped him out. He had less than fifty bucks in his pocket. Surely that was enough to buy her something nice for dinner? And then tomorrow morning, he'd have to head straight to the bank to get money from his security box to feed her breakfast.
The elevator arrived and Nicholas stepped on board, absently rubbing his stomach as he went. The maid was the first feeding he'd had since the morning before. In his usual cautious manner, he'd taken only a little bit of blood, and while it had helped, it hadn't helped much. The cramps that had been attacking him since that morning had gone from almost unbearable to just really painful.
Another bite was in order before he returned to Jo. Otherwise, he risked snacking on her without meaning to. Nicholas had no idea where he'd get the next meal, but had no doubt an opportunity would come up before he got back to the room. He was very good at feeding off the hoof. He knew most immortals in North America now fed on bagged blood, but for a rogue, ordering a delivery of blood from the Argeneau Blood Bank was out of the question.
Nicholas left the hotel on foot, eyes scanning the street ahead. Every other storefront seemed to be a restaurant or fast-food joint of some sort, and he hadn't a clue which were good and which were bad. They hadn't had this variety when he'd last eaten. A lot appeared to have changed on the cuisine front since then. Nicholas had been vaguely aware of it on the periphery of his consciousness, but hadn't eaten a bite of food since Annie's death and hadn't paid close attention to the changing face of the food industry. Being confronted by it now was rather frustrating. He should have asked Jo what she wanted before leaving, but he'd worried she'd insist on coming with him and he wouldn't be able to feed.
That thought made Nicholas decide to feed now and worry about what to get Jo after. Perhaps he'd be able to think more clearly if he wasn't so distracted by his cramping body. His gaze shifted from the business fronts to the people on the sidewalks. Most people were in groups of two or three, but he spotted one lone woman hurrying along. Middle-aged, with pink cheeks and some meat on her bones, she was rushing up the street, hands full of bags.
Nicholas focused on her briefly, slipping into her mind to ensure she wasn't ill or coming down with anything. It did little good to ingest blood from someone ailing; bad blood would just have to be removed from his system, using up what little blood he presently had to do so. She was fine, however, healthy and robust.
Nicholas kept his distance at first to prevent catching her attention and alarming her. He'd followed her for a block when she turned down a side street. Shortly after that, she started up the sidewalk to an apartment building. He then began to close the distance between them and was almost on her heels when she entered the lobby.