Devoured: Brides of the Kindred 11 (20 page)

The hotel had provided a couple of those
disposable plastic toothbrushes that had the toothpaste already in them so she
took a quick minute to brush her teeth.
Not
like I’m going to be kissing him,
she told herself sternly.
But still, it’s nice to have fresh breath.

When she was satisfied she looked okay,
she came out of the bathroom and gave Garron a smile.

“Okay now, what were you saying about
first…what was it?”

“First fare. I believe your people call it
breakfast?” He nodded at the tiny writing desk in the far corner of the room
and Tess saw that a Styrofoam take out container was sitting there. “Apparently
the price of our room also included what the clerk called a ‘buffet’ but they
were going to dismantle it at a certain hour. I didn’t want to bother you so I
brought you some to have when you woke up.”

“Oh, Garron…” She felt her heart give a
little leap as she sat down at the desk and reached for the first plate.
“That’s so…” She opened the take-out box and stared for a long moment before
she could finish. “So thoughtful,” she finished weakly.

Sitting in the Styrofoam container was
what looked like a mish-mash of every Southern breakfast food imaginable. On
the bottom was a crispy Belgian waffle, which would have been perfect…except
that it was piled with scrambled eggs and cheese. Scrambled eggs and cheese
with little flecks of onion and ham and jalapeño in them, Tess saw with dismay.
On top of the eggs was a layer of grits and on top of that, a generous serving
of sausage gravy which was dripping its creamy, meaty goodness everywhere.

All of that might have been okay—after
all, it was no more bizarre than some of the breakfast skillet combos you could
buy at Denny’s or any greasy spoon. But there was one last layer that covered
everything—a thin, sticky film of what appeared to be blueberry syrup.

The cloyingly sweet scent of artificial
blueberries mixed with jalapeno cheese eggs and salty sausage gravy rose to
assault her nose and her stomach rolled. Tess had to fight hard not to make a
face.
Ugh!

“Is this the correct configuration?” The
big Kindred sounded anxious. “I saw a human male make a plate just like this so
I assumed it must be the right thing to do.”

“It’s…it looks great.” Tess swallowed hard
and picked up the plastic fork he had thoughtfully provided. “So you say you
saw a guy making a plate just like this one?”

Garron nodded. “Except for the sweet,
sticky sauce. He said he couldn’t eat it because of a medical condition which
does not allow him to have sugary substances. But I knew you were perfectly
healthy so I thought…” He trailed off, frowning. “I did it wrong, didn’t I? I
should have added the orange liquid too. But look—I did bring some.”

He took the lid off a covered cup and Tess
saw orange juice sloshing inside. He was about to pour it over the contents of
the Styrofoam box but she hastily put a hand on his wrist to stop him.

“No, no—this is fine!” She stabbed the
fork in and took a big bite to prove it. The flavors of blueberry syrup,
sausage gravy, and scrambled eggs with cheese and jalapenos assaulted her
tongue all at once, making her nearly gag. The waffle and the grits were
mercifully bland but they
did
add to
the strange mixture of textures in her mouth. Somehow she managed to swallow.

Garron was frowning as he watched. “You’re
certain you don’t want the orange liquid?”

“That’s orange juice—you drink it,” she
said in a strangled voice. “Here, let me…” She took the cup from his hand and
took a big drink to wash away the taste of the other breakfast food. “Mmm…” She
tried to smile at him. “Delicious. Thank you so much.”

Garron smiled. “I am glad I got the
configuration right after all. We still have a little time before we need to be
out of the room—I’m going to take a shower while you finish your first fare
meal.”

“Of course—go. Enjoy yourself.” Tess
smiled, hoping he would leave her alone so she could dispose of the weird
conglomeration of breakfast foods.

“I will but first, do you mind if I have a
bite? I’m intrigued—I haven’t eaten much Earth food other than the baked goods
Becca’s friend, Lauren provides.”

“Um, sure…” Tess pushed the container
towards him. “Help yourself.”

Garron picked up another fork and got a
large bite, making sure to get a bit of every layer of his breakfast creation.
Then he stuck it in his mouth and started to chew.

It didn’t take long for his face to turn
red and he swallowed with an obvious effort.

“Ugh—that was—”

“Here.” Tess shoved the orange juice at
him. “This will wash the taste away.”

He gulped thirstily but when he lowered
the cup he was frowning.

“Tess…” His deep voice was stern. “This is
terrible. You cannot tell me this is what you eat for first fare here.”

“Well…” She bit her lip. “We do…we just don’t
pile it all up like that.”

“But the male in front of me—”

“Was some kind of weirdo,” Tess assured
him. “But actually, most of what you have here is salty—it wouldn’t have been
too bad if you hadn’t topped it off with blueberry syrup.”

“But I thought…” He sighed and shook his
head. “Never mind what I thought—obviously I was wrong. But you should have
told me.”

Tess bit her lip. “I didn’t want to hurt
your feelings. It was such a nice gesture.”

“I would rather you be honest with me and
risk injuring my feelings than tell me a lie just to make me feel good.”

Tess squirmed in the tiny, hard hotel
chair. If only he knew…

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking away. “It’s
just…been a long time since anyone thought enough to bring me breakfast. I
didn’t want to spoil it by complaining.”

“Oh, Tess…” Garron ran a hand through his
hair and sighed. “I just wanted to provide for you, I’m sorry if I did it
wrongly. It is…” He looked down. “It is a Kindred warrior’s instinct to provide
for a female he is protecting. To feed and nourish her and be certain she’s
comfortable. But I failed.”

His words touched her heart and she stood
to face him.

“Garron, honey, I don’t care about this
crazy blueberry-sausage-gravy-waffle surprise thing you whipped up. You sold
the shirt off your back to make sure we had enough money! And you’re staying
here instead of going back to the Mother Ship just because you feel guilty that
Pierce—”

“It’s not guilt,” he interrupted her, his
eyes flashing turquoise fire. “I still intend to live up to my vow but I
want
to stay with you, Tess. And I’ll do
whatever is necessary to be certain you’re provided for and safe.”

“Thank you.” Her heart swelled at his
words. Impulsively, she stood on her tiptoes and flung her arms around his
neck. “Thank you so much, Garron.”

For a moment he just stood there, arms
hanging by his sides as though he wasn’t certain what to do. Then he put them
around her, pulling her close until every angle of his hard, firm body was
pressed against hers.

“Gods, you’re so beautiful and soft,” he
murmured into her hair. “I’ve been wanting to hold you like this again,
body-to-body, ever since I had to let you go aboard the Mother Ship.”

“Oh, I…”
Tess felt a little shiver of desire and fear go through her as his
hot breath stirred the hair at the sensitive side of her neck.
There’s no casual hugging on his planet,
she
reminded herself.
He probably thinks I’m
coming on to him.

If the long, hard ridge she felt digging
into her belly was any indication, that was exactly what Garron thought. She
tried to move away from it, but somehow she found herself pressing against it
instead. Was he for real with the size of that thing? Surely no one could be
that
well endowed. She had a mental image
of letting one of her hands trail down to cup his hot length and see for
herself…but no—that was wrong. Dangerous. She needed to put a lid on this.

Before she could say or do anything
though, he pushed her gently away.

“Forgive me.” He took a deep breath. “I
swore to myself last night that I would keep the vow I made to remember
Nella—that I would try not to touch you again. But I seem to have made a bad
start.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Tess
cleared her throat. “I just wanted to give you a hug to say thank you—for being
so considerate and thoughtful.”

“Oh, of course.” He nodded briefly and
looked away. “A hug.”

“I’m sorry if it seemed like…if I…” Tess
didn’t know how to finish. She took a step back, feeling hot all over with
embarrassment.
Did he think she was
leading him on? Trying to seduce him? He said he was trying to keep his vow and
here I go hanging all over him wearing nothing but my nightshirt and panties.
God, what he must think of me…

Slut,
whispered Pierce’s voice in her head.
You little whore.
She took another step
back, biting her lip.

Garron sighed. “Well, I suppose I should
take my shower now. We have to leave here soon.”

“Oh. Of course.” Tess nodded quickly. No
matter what she seemed to feel between them, the big Kindred was off limits.
She would do well to remember that.

Garron gave her one last, intense look
that seemed to burn her up from the inside out, and then headed for the
bathroom.

Tess watched him go, feeling like her
entire body was blushing. God, why did he affect her so strongly? And how was
she going to manage being holed up with him in a little cabin in the woods for
who knew how long?

Chapter
Twenty

“Think hard, Maria…I know you were on duty
last night. Were there any unidentified Kindred who came down after I left with
my suspect?” Pierce stared at the little desk clerk intently, giving her his
best intimidating cop face.

“I…uh…” She looked at him uncertainly.
“I’m trying to think.”

“Just take your time.” Pierce switched at
once to his charming good cop persona. He patted her arm though what he really
wanted to do—what the little bitch deserved—was grab it and twist it roughly
until she shrieked the information he needed.

“There
was
someone. A big guy—well, they’re all big guys.” Her hands fluttered
expressively.

“They sure are. Put any pro linebacker to
shame.” Pierce laughed heartily and the girl joined in, a little hesitantly.
“Do you remember what he looked like?”

“Uh, yes. Yes I do.” She smiled, obviously
more relaxed. “He had black hair—like so black it was almost blue, you know?
And eyes like…” She shook her head. “I’ve never seen eyes that color. Not even
on a Kindred.”

“What color?” Pierce fought to keep the
jovial smile on his face.
Hurry up you
little bitch! Hurry the fuck up!

“Turquoise.” The girl got a slightly
dreamy expression on her moderately pretty face that made Pierce want to slap
her. “A really pure, clear turquoise—like the color of the water in a tropical
ocean by a coral reef—you know?”

“Right—sounds really distinctive.” He
nodded helpfully. “And that’s the only Kindred that came through last night?”

She nodded. “He seemed to be looking for
something or someone. But he never came and asked for help—not from me,
anyway.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, though, he
did
talk to Di—she’s one of the supervisors. She deals with…”

Yeah,
I know what that meddling old bitch deals with,
Pierce thought, keeping his face blank as the girl
rattled on and on.
She deals with
stealing my fucking wife away.
The bitch had done it once before—Pierce was
certain she was the one who had helped Tess get up the courage to walk out on
him after she lost the…after the incident. And he was pretty sure she was the
one who had loaned Tess the money to get an apartment so she had someplace to
stay that wasn’t
Chez Hughes.
Oh,
yes—he had known he would find Di at the bottom of this if he kept digging. It
was a fucking foregone conclusion.

“So your supervisor—Di—she left with this
big Kindred with the blue eyes?”

“Yes, they left together. But his eyes
were Blue-green.
Turquoise.”
The girl
had that dreamy look on her face again that Pierce wanted to wipe off with his
fist.

“Yeah, all right. Turquoise.” He curled
his hand into a fist at his side and smiled charmingly while his nails bit into
the meat of his palm. “Did you hear them say where they were going?”

“No, but Di’s in her office now. I can get
her if you want to ask.” The girl started to go but Pierce stopped her with a
hand on her forearm.

“No, that’s not necessary.” He couldn’t
talk to Di here—not in public. Not where other people could hear him. It would
be easier to catch her at her house. He could be so much more…
persuasive
there. “I think I have
everything I need. Oh, except the Kindred’s name—I know you must keep a log of
everyone who comes and goes. Can you give me that?”

“Sure.” The girl was already tapping away
at her computer. “Just a second…here we go. Garron.” She looked up. “No last
name but they don’t always have them. Just Garron. Sounds almost French, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”
Sounds like the alien bastard who’s fucking my wife.

“Of course it’s not French—it’s
Kindred—that goes without saying. But some of them have such unusual—”

“Hate to cut you short, my dear, but I
need to run.” Pierce flashed her another charming smile. “But I tell you what,
let’s just keep this little conversation between you and me—okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded eagerly.

“Good.” Pierce patted her hand. “You’ve
been very helpful. Thanks so much.”

“You’re welcome, Detective Hughes.” She
blushed and smiled. “See you around.”

“I’m sure you will, honey.” He winked at
her and sauntered out of the HKR building as though he didn’t have a care in
the world. Inside, though, he was seething.

Fucking
my wife…Running off with my property…Goddamn alien scum!
His palms were going to be bloody hamburger but Pierce
welcomed the pain. It helped him focus on what was important—getting Tess back
and punishing her so well she could
never
leave him again. And as for the Kindred son-of-a-bitch who she had taken as a
lover…

You’re
going to pay, my friend. Oh, how you’re going to fucking pay…

Yes, but first Pierce had a little bone to
pick with that meddling bitch, Di. As soon as she got off work, he was going to
be waiting for her. It was time he had a friendly little chat with his wife’s
best friend.

Pierce’s nails dug into his skin again.

Or maybe
not
so friendly.