"Crap!" Jo repeated more loudly, and leaped out of her chair and away from Nicholas.
"Jo, wait a minute," he said quickly, grabbing for her arm as she tried to rush for the door.
"Don't touch me," she gasped, jerking away from his hold and facing him as she backed toward the door now.
"Okay," Nicholas said soothingly, hands rising, palms open in the traditional calming manner. "It's okay. I won't touch you. Just calm down. You're safe. I'm a good vampire," he added, and then grimaced as if he couldn't believe he'd spoken the words. Sighing, Nicholas tried a different tactic, saying, "I saved you, remember? From Ernie? Twice?"
Jo had backed into the small entry hall, but Charlie was still lying on the carpet under the table. The German shepherd was peering uncertainly from her to Nicholas as if unsure what they were up to. He didn't look especially worried, however, just kind of curious, like he was wondering what her problem was. Jo slowed to a halt as she realized she couldn't leave the dog behind, and then slowly considered Nicholas's words. He had saved her twice, she acknowledged, eyeing him warily, and if he'd wanted to hurt her…
Her eyes narrowed and her hand rose to her neck, running lightly over the puncture wounds there. They didn't hurt, and while she had a vague recollection of feeling a slight nip while they were… well, earlier on the bed, it hadn't really hurt then either. Still… "You bit me?"
Nicholas grimaced. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just got a little too excited and…" He shrugged unhappily. "I am sorry, Jo."
She relaxed a little, and then shook her head and said with disbelief. "A good vampire?"
"That wasn't maybe the best way to start off," he acknowledged on a sigh.
"You think?" she asked sarcastically.
"Yeah," Nicholas said wryly, and then added, "And I'm not really a vampire anyway, it's just what others like to call us."
Jo propped her hands on her hips. "Right. Sure. Tell me you're a vampire, flash some fang to prove it, and then tell me you're not a vamp? I saw the fangs and the bite, Nicholas. I mean—Oh, hang on," she interrupted herself suddenly. "You were running around under the sun today when you got me out of the apartment. Vampires can't go out in sunlight." Jo scowled. "What's the deal here? Are those fake teeth? Did you bite me with some kind of weird, trick Goth dentures?"
"No," Nicholas assured her solemnly. He then hesitated and suggested, "Why don't you come sit down again and I'll explain everything?"
Jo glanced to the table, and then to Charlie. The German shepherd had apparently gotten bored with their drama. He'd laid his head back down, his eyes closed. Her gaze slid back to Nicholas.
"You're perfectly safe with me," Nicholas promised, and then pointed out, "I was going to leave you at the clinic and have Bricker and Anders collect you to keep you safe. I'd hardly harm you now."
Jo felt herself relax a little. She kept forgetting that the first time she'd met the man was when he'd saved her from Bad-Breath Boy Ernie. She'd met him again today the same way. Why would Nicholas save her, just to turn around and hurt her?
"Fine," Jo said at last, and gestured to the table. "Sit down and I'll come join you."
Nicholas glanced from her to the door, and then to the table, no doubt worrying that she would flee the room when he turned his back to claim his chair. However, he nodded solemnly and did so.
CHAPTER 10
Jo waited until Nicholas had scooted his chair in and glanced her way before giving up her position by the door and slowly crossing the room to reclaim her seat. She peered at him silently, and then merely raised her eyebrows in question. "So? Are you a vampire, or not?"
Nicholas hesitated. "Not in the traditional sense."
"Uh huh, and how does that work?" Jo asked dryly. "You see, to me that's kind of like an expectant mother saying she isn't pregnant in the traditional sense. Either she's preggers or she isn't, and either you're a vampire or you're not. Which is it?"
Nicholas frowned and picked up his glass to take a drink. His expression thoughtful, he swallowed, set down the glass, and said, "See now, I started this wrong. I started at the back end of the horse rather than the front."
Jo simply raised an eyebrow.
"Our vampirism is scientifically based."
Jo raised her other eyebrow.
"One of my ancestors was a scientist," he began, "and he was messing around with nanos and bioengineering, trying to find a way to repair injuries and cure disease from inside the body without the need for surgery. These nanos would be injected into the person and do the work… Kind of like—Have you seen that movie where they shrink this group of people and inject them into a sick guy in a shrunken ship?"