Bite Me if You Can (25 page)

“Centuries,” she murmured, and shuddered.

Lucian glanced at her as he braked at a red light, then reached out to pat her hand where it lay on her leg. “It’s better to have the skill whether you intend to use it or not, than to need it and not have it.”

Leigh let out a shaky breath and nodded. “All right. But I’m not going to like it.”

Lucian smiled faintly and pressed his foot down on the gas as the light changed, then explained, “Learning it is actually more for their sake than yours. I don’t know what you recall of Morgan’s biting you, but—”

“I remember it all.”

“Did you feel a sudden euphoria or pleasure?” Lucian asked, and catching sight of her blush, he nodded. “Well, that’s a trick to veil the pain. We can control their minds so they don’t feel anything, or let them feel our pleasure so that all they come away with is a memory of passion, or a planted memory of a talk even. While there are occasions where feeding off the hoof is necessary, there’s never any excuse for letting a host suffer.”

“Off the hoof,” she murmured. “That’s the second time you’ve called it that.”

He shrugged. “It’s a common term among our people.”

“Do you really think of mortals as nothing more than cattle?”

Lucian frowned. He rarely thought of mortals at all, if the truth were told. When he called the cleaners, it wasn’t in his thoughts that he would call in the mortal cleaners, they were just the cleaners. But there had been a time—before blood banks—when they had fed directly from the source and they’d used such terms to distance themselves emotionally from the fact that they had to dine on their neighbors and sometimes friends. It could be difficult at times living and walking among mortals you needed to feed off of to survive. He tried to explain that to Leigh, and thought from her expression when he finished that she understood.

They’d reached the mall by then and they both fell silent as they got out of the car and made their way through the parking lot to the mall entrance.

“Where to first?” Lucian asked as he followed her inside the bright, bustling building.

Leigh hesitated, then glanced at him uncertainly. “Was there somewhere you wanted to go while I shop? We could meet up in the food court afterward if they have one here.”

“No. I’m at your service,” he said simply, and noted she looked less than pleased at the news. He fretted over why that might be as he followed her to the first clothing store.

Leigh rifled through the clothes on the rack, but her mind wasn’t on what she was doing. She was terribly aware of Lucian standing a couple of feet behind her, patiently waiting. She hadn’t considered that he might actually come into the stores with her. He was a man, and men were notorious for hating to shop.

“You’d look good in that.”

She glanced at the shirt she’d been blankly sliding along the rod, her eyes narrowing with doubt. A pale pink jersey, it had a cowl neck and flared sleeves. The cowl neck wasn’t a style that looked good on her. She was too busty, and it seemed to emphasize that.

“Try it on,” Lucian suggested.

She shook her head. “I don’t look good in cowl necks.”

The next top was a plain, V-necked jersey in off-white. Leigh looked for her size, found it, and took it off the rack, then froze as Lucian reached over her and quickly slid aside several of the pale pink cowl tops until he found one in the same size as the blouse she’d just pulled.

“Try it on,” he said firmly, and she was feeling rebellion well up within her when he added, “Please. If it doesn’t look good, I won’t suggest another thing.”

Leigh considered him briefly, then took the top and turned away to head to the dressing room. “Okay. But it won’t look good.”

“We’ll see,” he said, following her.

The blonde in charge of the changing room glanced up from where she bent over a note she was making in a book, and smiled widely as Leigh and Lucian stopped at the counter. “Did you want to try that on?”

When Leigh made a face that spoke of her lack of enthusiasm, Lucian answered for her, “Yes, she does.”

“Okay.” The blonde straightened and stepped around the counter, and Leigh found herself looking up. The girl was an Amazon, almost as tall as Lucian and willowy to boot. Some days Leigh hated being short and rounded. This was one of them.

“If you and your husband would follow me.” The girl smiled again and started to lead the way up the row of changing rooms.

“He’s not my husband,” Leigh said quickly, and felt the flare of embarrassment flushing her cheeks.

“I’ll just wait out here,” Lucian announced at almost the same moment, and the changing room girl smiled at him with interest over Leigh’s head. She felt like the child between two adults.

Grimacing to herself, she followed the girl to the very last of several empty changing rooms and waited as she stepped in to hang the top on the hook.

“There you are,” she said cheerfully, stepping back out. “Take your time.”

Leigh’s eyebrows flew up, but the woman didn’t notice; she was moving back up the way they’d come... toward Lucian. Leigh couldn’t help noticing she walked with a hip-rolling animal grace that spoke of a predator approaching its prey.

Wondering why it bothered her, Leigh slid into the changing room and closed the door. She was out of her borrowed t-shirt and into the cowl-necked jersey in no time, then stood frowning at herself with disgust. As she’d known, she didn’t wear cowls well.

Sighing, she opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Lucian stood by the counter at the entrance, his expression bored as he listened to something the changing room girl was saying. He straightened and looked more alive the moment he spotted Leigh.

“See?” she said triumphantly as he moved down the hall to meet her. “I told you I don’t—”

She snapped her mouth closed with surprise as he stepped toward her, reached out to catch the wide cowl neck and tug it down off her shoulders. He fussed with it a bit, then turned her to face the full-length mirror on the wall at the end of the aisle. Leigh blinked at herself in amazement. He’d turned the cowl neck into an off-the-shoulder top that showed off her slender neck while showing her figure to good effect.

She touched the collar with amazement. “But it’s not supposed to be worn like this, is it?”

“Oh yes. These can be worn either way, though this looks much better on you.” The changing room girl was suddenly reflected in the mirror beside them, then she turned to Lucian and said, “You have an eye for fashion.”

“I know what I like,” he said with a shrug, and turned to head up the aisle. “I’ll bring more tops.”

Leigh watched him go, the blonde hurrying after him, then she stepped back into her changing room, closed the door, and stared at herself in the mirror. She never would have thought to wear it like this. She hadn’t known you could wear it like this. It looked good, though.

She had barely slid the top off and reached for her own t-shirt when the blonde knocked on the door, then slid it open to hand three more tops in to her.

“Lucian said to bring you these. He’s finding more for you.”

“Oh.” Leigh stared at them with surprise, then took the tops and hung them on the hook where she’d just placed the cowl. She supposed she should be surprised at the speed he’d shown in hunting them up, but she wasn’t. I know what I like, he’d said, and she was now willing to see if what he liked looked good on her.

Leigh spent the next hour trying on clothes Lucian chose. Tops, blouses, sweaters, pants... he sent them in, in groups of three. There were colors she never would have thought to try, even styles she’d always assumed wouldn’t look good, but every single thing looked good on her. None of them made her taller or less curvy, but they made the height and figure she did have look their best. The man really did have an eye for fashion.

By the time she finished, her problem was one she wasn’t used to. She generally couldn’t find things she liked, but now she liked everything and couldn’t decide what to choose.

“How are we doing?” the blonde asked as Leigh staggered up the aisle with her arms full of the clothes she’d tried on.

“Good. Too good. I can’t decide what to take and what not to take,” she admitted wryly as Lucian and the blonde moved to help unburden her.

“Why not take them all?” Lucian asked.

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Leigh said, glancing at him askance. When her grandfather took her in, he’d been on a pension and refused to touch her inheritance from her parents, insisting it was for college. She’d gone through her teens with little money and always had to be cautious and sparing in her clothing purchases. It was a habit she hadn’t broken in the years since then.

“Why?” Lucian asked, seeming truly bewildered. “If it’s money, I could—”

“No, it’s not money,” Leigh said quickly, and blinked as she realized it was true. She could afford to buy everything here if she liked. Coco’s was successful. It did a booming business. She also had investments. She was far from poor and could easily afford the clothes. It was just her conscience and natural caution holding her back.

Raising her chin, she nodded and opened her purse to grab her credit card. “Fine. I want it all.”

“How are you feeling?” Lucian asked later, as he led her out of the store, both of them laden with bags.

“Er... ” She shook her head, trembly and faint as she considered what she’d spent, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. It was silly, really.

“You’ve gone pale,” Lucian announced with a frown, then glanced around. “Here, sit down.”

Leigh let him lead her to a table in the food court and settled in one of the chairs with a sigh.

“I put a cooler in the car earlier,” Lucian announced abruptly as he set her purchases on the empty chairs of the four chair table, then settled in the seat across from her. “After you’ve rested for a minute, I think we should go out and have a nip.”

Leigh was slow to catch on to what he was talking about, and once she did, gave a little laugh. “That isn’t the problem. I’m just feeling a little light-headed over spending so much in one shot. I’ve never done that before.”

“Hmm,” Lucian said slowly, but asked, “How’s your stomach? Are you experiencing any kind of cramping, or almost an acidic biting sensation?”

Leigh blinked. “Well, yes... but... ”

He nodded as if it was what he’d expected. “We’ll make a quick nip out. It will only take a minute. Besides, this way we can put the bags in the car so we don’t have to carry them around.”

“But I only fed just before we left,” she protested. “That was only an hour or so ago.”

“More than two hours ago,” Lucian corrected with a glance at his watch. “And it’s a sunny day, you were exposed to the sun for about twenty minutes in the car on the way here, then on the walk across the parking lot. And, as I told you, for the next little while you’ll need to feed often.”

Leigh frowned, then asked, “Do all new turns have to feed this often?”

Lucian shrugged. “It’s different for different people. It just depends on the individual.”

Her frown deepened. “How often will I have to feed once the turning is done?”

He considered the question, then shrugged again. “That differs between people, too. Some need to feed every four hours or so, some can have two or three bags when they wake up and not need to feed again until just before they retire for the night. “Of course, those who work jobs where they have to be up and about in the daylight tend to need to feed more.”

Leigh smiled faintly. “Then I guess I should be glad I’ve always been a night owl and like to work the night shift.”

Lucian peered at her curiously. “How did you end up owning a bar?”

She smiled faintly at his expression. Most men were surprised she owned it. For some reason, people expected a bar owner to be male... or a crusty old broad with pink hair. She had no idea why.

“Leigh?”

“Oh, sorry,” she murmured, cleared her throat, opened her mouth to answer his question, then hesitated, unsure where to start. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“In that case... ” He stood up and collected his half of the bags again. “Let’s go put these in the car, grab a bag, then go to a restaurant for some lunch.”

“Lunch?” she asked with surprise as she stood to gather half of the purchases. “It’s too early for lunch.”

“Brunch, then,” Lucian said with a shrug. “I’m hungry.”

“I thought you didn’t eat,” she said with amusement as she walked with him out of the mall.

Lucian shrugged and said, “Things change.”

“I guess they do,” she agreed wryly, thinking how much her own life had changed in the last few days.

Lucian carried the tray carefully, his nose twitching as he inhaled the scent of the cappuccinos and hot cinnamon buns Leigh had assured him were good. They’d put her purchases in the trunk, sat in the car while Leigh had two bags of blood, then returned to the mall.

Lucian had tried to steer her to a restaurant, but she convinced him they could go to one for a late lunch later if they had a cappuccino and sticky bun now. She’d assured him they were yummy, and he had to admit the bun smelled good, but the cappuccino smelled just like coffee to him, though it was topped with some foamy substance.

“How’s this?”

Lucian glanced up to see Leigh had chosen a table amidst a selection of empty ones. They could talk there without anyone overhearing them. He nodded. “Fine.”

“Good?” Leigh asked after he’d taken his first bite of the bun.

Lucian nodded. “You were right.”

She beamed at the compliment, small though it had been, and he decided that she mustn’t have heard many in her life to be so pleased. But then, she’d been in an abusive relationship, Lucian reminded himself. Compliments would have been sparse in her marriage. He’d have to be sure to give her lots of compliments.

Swallowing the bite of bun, he prodded, “So? The bar?”

Leigh nearly choked on her own bun, then swallowed and chuckled. “I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”

“Why?”

“To explain it I have to touch on... ” She paused and frowned, then simply said, “When I left Kenny, my husband, I had to hide.”