Blood of the Maple (6 page)

She watched him walk away, drawn to his strong shoulders and sculpted ass. “Oh boy.” She drifted back into the house and curled up on top of the covers, barely remembering to kick off her shoes first. The memory of Parker’s touch lingered as she tried to drift off.

She had a
date.
With someone who didn’t have to be blackmailed first.

It shouldn’t have surprised her when she smiled, but it did.

“I have a date tonight.”

“The pretty next door? What did you do, use your freaky vampire powers and cloud her mind until she said yes?”

Parker ignored Brian’s choked-off chuckle. Already Brian and Greg had teamed up against him, damn them, and it had only been a day. “No, I did not use my freaky vampire powers. I used my freaky
British
powers. I speak, and women fall in droves.” He struck a dramatic pose and waited.

“Yeah, they do. Fall on their asses laughing.”

Brian looked up from the mail he was sorting. He’d taken over the kitchen table temporarily until Parker could get him a desk. No way was Brian taking over his. Parker had everything exactly the way he wanted it, so the Renfield would need his own workspace. “I’ve always been a sucker for an accent.” He shivered and waggled his brows. “There’s something about a man drawling naughty words in an Aussie accent while he—Ahem. Never mind.” Brian bit his lip and fingered the mail. Parker didn’t want to know what Brian was remembering. It might scar him for life.

Greg’s low snarl made Brian grin secretively. Brian buried himself back in the mail, but not before Parker caught his quickly hidden look of satisfaction.

Why Parker was getting mail all of a sudden was a mystery, since he’d had none since he moved in. Maybe the city council had held on to it until his lackey—er,
Renfield—
was properly in place. While Parker slept, Brian had quietly moved into the bedroom next to his office. When Parker had gotten up that evening and headed to the kitchen in nothing but a pair of boxers, Brian had already been sitting at his kitchen table and flirting with his ghost.

Parker smoothed his hair one last time, eager to begin his date. “How do I look?”

“Edible.”

Parker rolled his eyes as Brian once more choked off a laugh. “Thank you. I think.” Greg had never commented on his looks when he was alive. He wondered if Brian’s presence had anything to do with the change. “What time does MM Night start again?”

Brian looked at his watch. “You have half an hour. Do you need a bite before you go?”

“Might not be a bad idea. I wouldn’t want to try to munch a philodendron on the way. Might confuse my date.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Brian pulled out a bottle of maple syrup and poured it into the blender. The familiar routine sent a pang through Parker. He remembered Greg standing just so, smirking as he prepared Parker’s nightly meal. “Carnations or roses tonight?”

“Roses, I think.” Parker snipped some leaves and added them to the syrup.

Brian picked up the lancet pen and pricked his finger with practiced ease, then added a few drops of blood to the mixture. “Anything else?”

“That should do it.”

Brian put the lid on the blender. “Look, there’s something you need to know about Amara.”

Brian’s concern was worrisome. “What’s wrong?” Parker was ready to dash next store and check on her.

“She’s…different.” He sighed. “Look, not everyone in town likes her. She’s—damn it, how do I say this?”

“Please tell me she’s not crazy.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “No, far from it. But Glinda kept her kind of isolated, and she’s had a rough time because of it. She doesn’t have a lot of friends, despite being one of the sweetest women I know. I don’t claim to understand what Glinda was thinking, but I do know she adored Amara, so she was trying to protect her somehow.”

“Was Amara in danger?” Parker leaned against the countertop and stared out the window at the Victorian.

Brian tapped the top of the blender. “Glinda never married or had children of her own. She was pretty old when Amara came into her life, and she saw Amara as her daughter. It’s possible she was protecting her from a threat that wasn’t real. Of all the people I know, Amara is the one I trust most to take care of herself, but you’ve seen her. She looks like a stiff breeze would blow her away.”

“Has anyone laid a hand on her?” Parker’s beast rumbled, ready to shed blood for her.

Brian bit his lip. “Not that I’m aware of.” He sighed. “Look, I just thought you should know you might encounter some problems when you go out tonight.”

Parker smiled viciously. “No. I won’t.” He’d make sure Amara had the best time possible tonight, even if he had to bang a few heads together.

“If you say so.” Brian hit Liquefy, stifling any further conversation until the loud sounds of the blender died down. Brian poured the concoction into a mug and handed it to him with a flourish. “Drink up.”

Parker took the first sip. “It’s good.” He swallowed some more, enjoying the energy that raced through him. “Thank you.” Brian flushed with pleasure. “You’ve done something like this before.”

Brian smiled. “Usually they want my neck, not my blender skills. But yeah, I was a Renfield for another vamp, however he decided he’d rather have someone else.”

“Why?”

Brian cupped his hands in front of his chest. “My tits weren’t big enough.”

“Ah.” Parker finished off his drink and rinsed out the mug. “Will you be at MM Night?”

“I certainly will. I promised to show Greg around town afterward if you don’t need us.”

Parker blinked. “Really?”

Was Brian…
blushing?
“Really.”

“All right, then.” Parker hoped his astonishment wasn’t written all over his face. “I’m off to pick up Amara. Do me a favor and put the blender in the dishwasher before you go, and I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Parker.”

“Have a good time. I know I will.”

Once again he’d swear Brian was blushing. “Oh dear.” Parker left and headed toward Amara’s, determined to put the vision of Brian making out with thin air out of his head. He didn’t understand how a relationship between them would work. Greg was completely dead, not mostly dead like Parker. They couldn’t hold each other or make love to each other.

Greg’s heart was going to get broken, and Parker didn’t know how to prevent it.

Hell. Greg would have to figure it out for himself. If Greg had met someone who was willing to overlook his handicap, who was Parker to interfere?

Maybe he’d even met that
one
he’d spent his whole life looking for and never found. If that turned out to be true, Parker would happily live with comments about his ass for the rest of his days. Hell, he’d turn the Renfield so both men would be with him for eternity. He grinned, pleased with the thought that he’d never have to go through losing Greg again.

He walked up to Amara’s door and paused. If he were capable of it, his palms would have been sweating. “I have a date.” An entire herd of moose stampeded through his stomach. For a moment he wondered if Brian had slipped some cactus into his nightly meal.

He checked around, using all his senses. He had to keep Amara safe, which meant doubling his efforts to keep Terri away from her. If Terri found out how much he wanted Amara, she’d find a way to make the woman suffer.

Instant rage, familiar and deadly, filled him at the thought of Terri touching her. His beast would rip the witch limb from limb if anything happened to her.

He rapped on the door and did his best to ignore the disturbing urge to hunt Terri down and keep her from ever placing a cursed hand on Amara.

Amara jumped at the sound of the knock. Parker was here.

She had a
date.

She was going to hyperventilate. What the hell was she thinking? These things never worked out, not once her dates found out who Amara
really
was. Few people fully accepted her, and the ones who did were outcasts of one kind or another. Rock was an earth elemental who rarely left the mountains and his quiet home. Brian was a sensitive who could sense, see
and
touch ghosts, an ability that freaked out even the most powerful psychics. And she couldn’t begin to describe Selena’s freaky powers or Dragos’s unique issues.

How could she expect Parker, a normal, average vampire, to understand her special needs? She should send him home. Or better yet, find some other female to amuse him for a while. Hell, maybe he’d fall in love with that other female. Maybe they’d bond, forming that unique, magical vampire marriage that was so rare and special.

And maybe Amara would find that female and bury her where she’d never be found. She knew
lots
of places to stash a body.

She bit her lip, shocked at her thoughts. There was something more than just a simple date going on here.

The knock came again, more insistent this time. Parker wouldn’t wait forever.

Did she open the door, deal with the man on the other side and wait to get her heart broken? Or did she let him think she wasn’t home, let him leave for the movie, maybe even commune with her tree once more until he forgot all about her and found someone else?

Her fists clenched without conscious thought. No way could she let Parker find someone else. She didn’t know why, but the thought brought out the same instincts those fucking tree-choking weeds did. She’d obliterate anyone who laid hands on her Parker.

She stepped back, thoroughly scared.
Her
Parker?

The front door opened, and Parker stepped inside, incredibly sexy in a red silk shirt and dark-washed jeans. His eyes gleamed, and his lips curled in a sensuous smile as his heated gaze drifted down her body like a caress. “Your door was unlocked.”

No, it wasn’t. She distinctly remembered locking it before taking her shower. She didn’t know who might decide to drop in. Both Rock and Dragos had the disturbing habit of showing up on her couch unannounced. If she didn’t know them so well, she’d have thought they were interested in her, but Rock was in love with a shy water elemental, and Dragos was involved with a bitch Amara couldn’t stand. “That door was locked, Parker.”

He blinked, the innocence he strove for completely lacking, thanks to the grin that threatened to overwhelm him. “Was it?”

She bit her lip. Somehow she knew he wasn’t there to hurt her. If Glinda could hear Amara’s thoughts, she would have her hide, but on this one she was going to go on instinct. “Don’t I have to invite you in?”

He chuckled and shut the door. “Monster Movie Night, remember? We mock how much Hollywood gets wrong. That’s one you should definitely giggle at.” He stood before her, touching his chest to hers, curling his fingers around hers. “You look exquisite.”

She was trembling. Why was she trembling? “So do you.”

She’d swear he was laughing at her, but when she started to glare up at him, his expression was solemn. “Thank you.” He lifted first one hand, then the other, placing soft kisses on her fingertips, and her knees damn near gave out. “Are you ready, my sweet?”

She nodded before she could stop herself.

“Good. I look forward to seeing the movie. Do you know what’s playing tonight?” He reached over to her coatrack and wrapped her favorite sweater around her shoulders.

“
The Howling.
The weres insisted, since last month was
The Haunting of Hill House
and the month before that was
The Craft.
Next month we’re probably going to do
The Guardian
again, although my vote is for
The Day of the Triffids.
”

“What about
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes?
”

“The theater won’t show it anymore. It took forever to get the stains out.”

He paused before pulling her door shut. He took the keys from her and locked it. “Stains?”

“We started throwing tomatoes at the screen, the projector, each other. By the time the movie was over, the theater looked like Little Italy had puked all over it.”

He shook his head and held out his elbow. “Shall we?”

She took his arm and began walking. “It’s about five blocks to Main, then another three to the theater.”

“A lovely stroll with a lovely woman,” he whispered in her ear. She’d have thought he was just being polite if not for the fact that he nibbled on her earlobe when he was done.

She shrugged, brushing him off. “Do I need some Vamp-Be-Gone?”

He gasped. “I’m wounded. Again. And here I am, taking you to the theater, making sure you aren’t molested—”

“—by anyone other than you.” She was beginning to enjoy this. He was flirting with her.

With
her!

She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

“That should be obvious.” He sniffed arrogantly, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or scream for help.

“Tell me something.” They turned onto Main, and she knew she wouldn’t have much time, but the question had been circling in her mind ever since he’d asked her to movie night.

“Anything.”

“Why me?” When his steps faltered, she continued. “I’m curious. I mean, most vamps take one sniff, wrinkle their noses and move on to the O-positive set. You have to know I’m not human, so why me?”

“Will you answer my question if I answer yours?”

She nodded. Everyone in town knew who and
what
she was, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t find out, now that he’d been accepted by the council.

“What can I say? To me, you smell divine.” She opened her mouth to protest his lame answer, but he placed his finger over her lips. He halted and gently asked, “What are you?”

She huffed out a breath. “I’m a dryad.” Another dryad saw her coming and, as usual, crossed the street without acknowledging her. She hid her wince and hoped Parker hadn’t noticed.

His eyes grew wide and wild. “Really,” he breathed. It was like she’d handed him Christmas, his birthday and an all-you-can-eat porn star rolled into one. From the way he swallowed, he might have started drooling.

I am in big trouble.
“Yes, really.”

“Well. That explains quite a bit.” He started walking forward again, a curiously satisfied expression. “I was cursed by a witch to drink only green, leafy blood.”

This time she was the one who drew to a halt. She ignored the man behind her who muttered “Freak” before walking around her, instead focusing on what Parker had just said. “That’s…different. How did she manage that, and why aren’t you dead of starvation?”