Days of Redemption (The Firsts Book 6) (20 page)

NINETEEN
             

The air was its usual salty wetness.   This was the first time Lauren had lived near the sea, and she loved it.  In spite of the heat that was typical in this overcrowded city, once she got back out away from the population, back to the ocean, the sweet air and warmth wrapped around her skin like a lover’s touch. 

It was very welcome, a reminder of months ago when she actually discovered how beautiful a lover’s touch could be.  She hadn’t forgotten a moment of her time with him.  
She
missed him, every day
.

Here, though, Lauren had finally found
her place, and she was happy.  Here, she had been able to make a difference, use some of her training, and find redemption for some of the bad choices she had made in her life. 
She’d found peace
.

Sipping on a sweetened tea,
leaning back in a ratty beach chair, she had her feet up and her hair tied into a messy bun on top of her head.  Because of the temperature, she’d opted for a loose-fitting sari, and nothing else.

Lauren was tired, but it was a
good
tired.  She had just flown back home after a week on one of the smaller islands, where they had treated mostly children.  Nothing made her feel better than making the children smile and helping them to feel better again.  She had joined a crew of six, two doctors, and four nurses and techs to help care for the patients and run triage.  The International Care Team, the ICT, went wherever they were needed, a free mobile clinic that treated anyone for any injury or illness they could.  

The medical relief organization provided physicians, pharmaceuticals,
pilots, and staff, some paid, mostly volunteer, to 30 teams positioned around the globe.

Lauren
felt blessed to have found them.  She blushed when she remembered Dr. Osborne telling her how blessed the organization was to have found
her.

She did what she could.  Because she had a strong work ethic, excellent organizational skills, and a great medical background, that was quite a lot.
 

After another long sip of the cold tea, she laid her head back and closed her eyes.  Dr. Osborne, Michael, was handsome, and she enjoyed his company.
  He found her attractive, she knew that.  They’d had some of those moments, when fingers touched, or celebratory events when they’d saved a life, and hugged in victory.

He was handsome. 
And human
.   With her eyes closed now, Lauren pictured the man she had found common ground with, and the possibility of a relationship for the first time in her life.  Blonde hair almost shoulder length, hazel eyes and the sweetest smile.  Nice muscled arms, but born of frequent workouts instead of genetic predisposition.  He was smart, and kind.  She could see herself with him someday, if the universe ever forgave her.

A breeze came off the sea suddenly, a welcome coolness from the air that was increasingly warm.  Suddenly,
even with her eyes closed, something shaded the sun.   Surprised, she opened them because there hadn’t been a cloud in the sky.

A shadow fell across her. 
A man’s shadow, backlit by the brightness.  Lauren lifted a hand to shade her eyes as the man stepped to the side.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t startle you, did I?”

Lauren smiled.  “No.”  She paused, the smile widened.  “Not at all.  Hi.”

He squatted down, and rested a hand on the edge of the beach chair.

“Anna, I wondered if you would like to join me for dinner tonight?”

Lauren drew a deep breath.  Michael, on her beach
, in front of her, and he was asking her for a dinner date.  Seemed the universe might be ready to forgive her after all.  She’d changed her name completely this time, concerned that keeping her first name the last time might have been a mistake.  He knew her as Anna Knight.

Michael was wearing short shorts and a sleeveless tee shirt, his tanned body well displayed as he crouched beside her.  She couldn’t keep her eyes from roaming across him as another heavy breeze came through and lifted her sari up, exposing her privates, just inche
s from his face.

“Oh!”  Lauren exclaimed,
embarrassed, and reached down to cover herself, but Michael’s hand was already there, smoothing the fabric back over her legs.  His fingers lingered lightly on her thigh.

“Well, that was a nice surprise.  It seems that the gods of the sea think you should say yes, and see where this leads,” he said. 

Unbidden, a sexual urgency swelled up, driving her respiration higher, and a tickle began between her legs. It had been a while, yet her sex drive hadn’t waned.   She wanted to grab him, throw him down right there, and get on top of him.  God, she knew it would shock him. 

Instead, she leaned back
, away from him.  Although she got control of herself and wouldn’t attack him right now, she was going to accept the invitation on the expectation that they might be heading exactly there.

“Um, yeah.
  I would love that.”

“Splendid. 
Now that I know where to pick you up, how about tonight at seven?”

“Okay.”

He stood, and his eyes wandered back to the area he’d covered for her.  “I really look forward to our…dinner.”

As he walked away, Lauren rolled her eyes.  What a beginning!   At least there was no doubt in her mind now.  The sexual tension between them just now
had been thick enough to cut with a hot butter knife.

She took a deep breath again, and leaned back, her arms over her head and grinned. 
Tonight.  Wow, she was dating like a normal girl.

Once again, a breeze blew her sari up, nearly to her belly this time,
stopped only by the belt.  This time, Lauren laughed out loud.

“Maybe he’s right.  Maybe the sea gods think it’s time I get back on the horse.”

Michael had good taste and it seemed he was out to impress her.
  He’d chosen a small, family owned bistro with local cuisine and a private dining area on a deck with an Oceanside view.  Tiki torches lit the area, and with the moon’s image glistening on the rolling waters, it was as romantic as any woman could desire.  So was Michael, who wore dress shorts and a white shirt, unbuttoned halfway, with two rows of white shell necklaces starkly bright against his tanned chest.

Lauren, fresh off of the embarrassment of her exposure, played it a little safer with a halter-topped dress, which left nice cleavage, but was very securely
tied around her neck.  The skirt was split, and allowed her now tanned legs to peek through, but she’d worn brightly colored bathing suit bottoms, just in case the wind decided to get naughty again tonight.  While she was attracted to Michael, she felt it was too early to be giving up all of her charms like she did with Bryn so soon. 

No regrets
.  Bryn, sex with him, had been incredible, but this time, perhaps prudence would serve her better.  It struck her that she hadn’t wanted to delay with Bryn, that she’d wanted him immediately.  That was then, this would be different.

Dinner
went perfectly, Michael every bit as charming and sexy as she knew he would be.  The casual relationship they had developed over the past few months would segue perfectly into a romantic one.  He kept reaching for Lauren’s hand and feeding her bites of different choices from an appetizer tray the waiter had left early in the evening.  Her favorite was a local treat called
pisang epe
, a pressed banana covered with palm sugar sauce.

“Umm,” Lauren moaned, and glanced up at Michael.

“You have beautiful eyes,” Michael told her as they finished the meal.  “That was the first thing about you that mesmerized me.”

“Mesmerized?”

“Yeah.  I couldn’t stop thinking about you that first day we worked together.  You kind of stand out, you know.”

“Well, I am about three feet taller than most of the people we work with.”

Michael laughed.  “Maybe.  But no, that’s not it.  There is an electricity about you.  You don’t take yourself seriously, but everything else, you do.  Everything is relevant and important, and you get it.  You live mindfully, like you know it all matters. I find that very attractive.”  He lifted his wine glass and sipped, looking at her over the rim, his eyes sparkling.  “Doesn’t hurt that you have a killer body, too.”

“You are a kind and brilliant man, Dr. Osborne,” Lauren teased, and
upturned her wine glass.  She had a nice buzz started, and she liked where this evening was going.

“Come on, I want to show you something,” he said as he stood, and took her hand.

Lauren followed him down a path made of wooden planks towards the ocean, the tiki torches lighting the way until they stepped off the planks onto the sandy beach.

“Hand me your shoes,” Michael requested.

Lauren slipped off her high-heeled slides and handed them over, the wine glass she’d filled before she followed him perched carefully on a large rock.  She picked it back up and drained it.

Michael took her hand in his again.  “Now, I would like to walk along the beach with my lovely date, and since it’s pretty deserted, we can see where this takes us.  Okay?”

Nodding, Lauren followed him onto the beach, squeezing her toes into the cool sand.  As they walked along, she kept looking up at him.  He was exactly the right man for her.  Someone who would fit perfectly in genetic scientist Lauren’s life. 

Ten minutes passed before Michael stopped and turned to Lauren.

“Anna, I hope this isn’t too soon.  Tell me if it is.”

Then he pulled her to him and kissed her, softly at first, playing with her lips,
then deeper.  His tongue explored Lauren’s mouth and she stayed up with him, seeking that extraordinary thrill she’d felt when Bryn kissed her.  The kiss was nice, but that thrill didn’t come.

They finished the kiss and Michael pulled away first, but he kept his hands on her face.

“Whew.  I liked that.  I knew we’d fit.”

Lauren smiled and nodded.  “I think we do.  But is this going to be a problem with working together?”

“Hell, no.  We’ll always take care of the patients, but we have to take care of ourselves, too.  This can be a lonely life, isolated out here, away from our families.  I think it’s quite special to find someone to share it with.”

Lauren nodded again.  “I agree.  Life goes so quickly, doesn’t it?  We humans don’t have a lot of years.”

Michael grinned.  “No.  No, we
humans
have very limited time.  So, let me try that again.”

This time, he picked her up and laid her down on the sand to cover her with his body, his hands sliding sensuously along her sides until he caressed her upper arms.  He kissed her again, and Lauren closed her eyes to allow herself to just feel the moment, his body, his lips,
his tongue moving against hers.

God, he was sexy.  She should be completely turned on, barely able to keep her hands off of him. 
It wasn’t happening, not like it did with Bryn, but he was vampire, she had to remember that, and as such, he had skills no human man could match.

This would come, with Michael, the sexual
desire, it just needed time to develop.  Meanwhile, his body felt nice lying against hers.

They walked back to the restaurant t
wenty minutes later, and after Michael rescued her shoes, he called a
becak
to take them back to Lauren’s tiny house on the beach. The pedicab dropped them both at the rear entrance to her home.

Michael paid the man for the transport and sent him on his way.

“I came in the mission bus, so I’ll take it back to the city.  Thank you for such a lovely evening, Anna.”

He stepped forward to kiss her goodnight, and Lauren threw herself into the kiss, determined it was going to be hot and erotic.  She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close
.  At one point, she thought she might be actually attacking him a little bit, so she backed off.

“Are
ya finished assaultin’ the man, Lauren?”

Lauren whirled at the sound of a
voice she was sure she would never hear again.

“Bryn,” she whispered.

The big vampire came out of the shadows up under the awning that covered her back entrance.

She laid a hand on her chest, afraid her heart would explode
as it began to pound.   She tried to speak, but words wouldn’t come. 
Why was he here?

Suddenly, she felt Michael’s hand on her shoulder.

“Anna, do you know this man?”

Bryn shifted his gaze from Lauren to Michael.  He stared him down before he spoke.  “She knows me.”

Lauren finally got her voice back.  “Michael, I’m sorry, it’s best if you go.”