Kill Me (16 page)

“Patience, we have the rest of the night,” Bette soothed. “But first, I need to shower.”

I pulled Bette to her feet. “Please do. All I can smell is Miss Georgia-peach.”

Chapter 17

I awoke to cool sheets in an otherwise empty bed. Bette was gone and while I was disappointed, I didn’t let it get me down. I lay there for several minutes, stretching my body across the bed and plumping the goose-down pillow under my head. I let the events of the night before skip across my memory.

Gregor and the steamy, hot feeding. Blush worthy, for sure.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’d never had a one-night stand; I did go to college after all. But I’d never in a gazillion years ever thought I’d find myself boinking a hot Vamp with other strange people in the room in full view. What kind of freak had I become?

I shook my head and forced myself to think of anything else but my eventual stoning. Rewinding the night back to getting dropped in the parking lot of the club seemed a safer place to start. I chuckled at the memory of walking into my very first strip club; if the other soccer moms could have seen me—well, they’d probably stake me. After gleaning all the juicy details, that is.

Goodbye, prudish-me. Hello.... well, something entirely different.

I’d always thought of nudie-bars as places that lonely, perverted men frequented in search of temporary affection. While that may be true, it’s so much more than that. For starters, it’s the one place where appreciation of the female body is openly accepted. Other than stuffy museums or art galleries, where else can you do that without someone judging you?

Maybe it was the tiny bits of vampire DNA that had merged with my own, but I felt much more open-minded. As a recently separated, newly-bisexual career woman with some sort of psychic talents and a penchant for drinking blood, I really couldn’t afford to throw stones, you know?

I glanced at the clock. It was a quarter to eight in the morning. I’d only been asleep for a couple of hours. Despite that, I felt great. Hopefully, being all vampy meant not needing to sleep your life away just to be pleasant around others. Maybe, if I was exceedingly lucky, my dreams would stay gone as well. I hadn’t had one since the night-I-don’t-remember, so I had high hopes.

I eased out of bed and crossed to the table at the corner of the room. A single crisp sheet of paper lay beside a silver ice bucket. A dark bottle was nestled deep in the melting ice cubes. I picked up the note and read it aloud, imitating Bette’s luscious accent.

Good morning, I hope you had a pleasant rest. I have some business to attend to, but I left for you something to eat, in the event you are hungry. I shall return near lunch and perhaps we can go to the convention for a few hours. ~ Elizabetta

I placed the note down and lifted the bottle out of the bucket. Errant water droplets splashed to the table and I wiped them away with my hand. I twisted off the silver cap and inhaled the tangy scent of blood. It tickled my nose and I wanted to gulp all of it down. Instead, I recapped the bottle and dropped it back into its ice bath.

I felt too much like a junkie seeking a score. I wasn’t even hungry. Besides, I didn’t seem to be like the other vampires, so it was time I tested myself to see just how different I was. I’d skip the blood drinking for however long I could without going scary-hungry. I was taking the
Stay Thirsty, My Friend
commercial a little too seriously.

Maybe I’d try out the sun thing. I remembered Bette’s warning about not going out in the sun on an empty stomach, but I wasn’t worried. I felt fine, actually, I felt more than fine. I felt fabulous.

I slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower to wash away the grime from the night before. I thought about everything I’d seen and heard. I thought about everything I’d done. I didn’t even let the morality of any of it weigh on my mind. What was morality anyway, but someone else’s ideals shoved down the throats of others? I was intelligent enough to make my own decisions about right and wrong, thank you very much.

Besides, it was done. I couldn’t rewind time and change my actions. The best I could do was to try and do better in the future.

After showering and drying myself off, I decided to go ahead and dress for the day even though I was beginning to like walking around nude for no reason. Silly, I know, but it made me feel sexy and mysterious.

I chose a low-cut pair of fitted jeans, a strapless bra and a turquoise embroidered halter top for the day. Normally, I feel too self-conscious about my body to wear anything that showed that much skin. I mean, I wasn’t overweight or out of shape. It was my chest.

I’d developed earlier than my friends and long after they had settled into B’s, I was busting out the seams in my C-cups. As an adult, I hid my D-cups with carefully selected clothing, but something more revealing, like the tube-top I slid on, left little to the imagination, especially when juxtaposed with rest of my hourglass body.

At the moment, I didn’t care what anyone thought of me. It felt great. Dressed and makeup done, I slipped on a pair of silver sandals to match the clunky silver bangle I slid over my wrist and left my room to do a little bit of exploring.

The hotel lobby was bustling. I assumed it was due to this being the last day of the conference. Everybody
was up and at ‘em
to make the most of the last day. I didn’t feel the same pressure. My first two days had proven very successful and this last day was one that I wanted to enjoy.

I entered the little coffee shop attached to the hotel and ordered a mocha latte from a mousey barista sporting a severe bun. I took my steaming hot cup and seated myself at a dark corner table, not ready to test out my sunlight vulnerability yet. Of course after I’d taken my first sip, I realized that Vampires probably don’t drink coffee, and for good reason. The caramel colored liquid was super-sweet on my tongue, so much so that I gagged just a little.

It made sense, though. Vampire senses were supposedly heightened and that must include taste buds too. Still, I couldn’t just sit around a coffee shop and drink nothing. That would look odd. Better to master food and drink now, where nobody was around to eyeball me, than to wait until I got home where it would be more noticeable to people who see me every day.

“Well there you are!” A lilting voice said behind me.

Cassidy plopped down in the chair beside mine and dropped her hemp tote bag on the table.

“I’ve been looking all over for you. Did you forget that we were supposed to have breakfast this morning?” She said.

Shit. I
had
forgotten. It felt like ages since I’d last talked to her, even though it had only been a handful of hours. “Of course not,” I said, “I was waiting for you here, like we decided.”

Confusion swept over Cassidy’s face, but it cleared just as quickly. “Geesh, I can be such a blonde sometimes!” She flipped her ringlets of red hair with a wave of her hand and laughed.

“Do you want to eat here, or go someplace else?” she asked.

Someplace else meant going outside, which was something I needed to test out alone. “Here is fine, if you don’t mind. I’ve already got my latte.” I raise the cup to my lips and took the tiniest of sips, trying to mask my revulsion at the taste.

“Sure, no problem. Let me just get something for myself and I’ll tell you what I’ve learned. You want anything?”

I shook my head and Cassidy went to order whatever she was into. I’d forgotten that she’d promised to do some research. Well, good. Maybe she’d been able to find out something helpful. Bonus points if her answers didn’t beg more questions. I had too many of those already.

While waiting for Cassidy to return, I thought back to my heightened taste buds. I wondered if my other senses were working better than normal. I hadn’t noticed any changes like that, but then again, I hadn’t exactly been paying attention. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, letting nearby scents co-mingle in my nose. Typical coffee-shop aromas were dominant, but underneath those were more delicate scents. I picked up grapefruit, strawberries, and blood. Lots and lots of blood.

“Long night?” Cassidy sat down with her bowl-full of fruit and a glass of juice.

I sighed. Well, that was a mostly failed experiment. Cassidy had probably been standing there with her breakfast under my nose. But the blood I could smell ten-fold. It was everywhere. Sitting beside me, walking behind me, teasing me from the table by the window.

“Hello, Claire.” Cassidy waived a napkin in front of my face.

“Sorry, I guess the night’s finally catching up to me.” I needed to make this breakfast fast. My hunger was increasing by the minute and I was beginning to feel exhausted to.

“M’kay.” Cassidy popped a strawberry into her mouth and then continued. “Let me tell you what I’ve learned.”

I tried to concentrate, I really did. But for every word she spoke, I heard the beat of ten different hearts.

“So you’re probably empathetic. That’s how you can feel what other people are feeling.” Claire said. “Think of an Empath like a sponge...they can soak up excess emotions. The stronger the emotions someone projects the easier it should be for you to pick up on. Like anger, lust, love, jealousy, etc.”

Okay, that made sense. It was what had happened with Domino. “Is there any way to control it? Or block it?” I asked.

“Yes, I can help with that. I’ll teach you techniques that you can practice and help you hone and control your gifts when you use them. And there are certain stones and amulets that can help in the meantime.”

“Great. I’d do anything to keep from sliding into Vera’s head again.” I shook away the heebie-jeebies and laughed.

Cassidy laughed too, “Totally understandable.” She washed down the last bit of her fruit with some juice. “Hey, why aren’t you wearing the necklace I gave you last night?”

I touched my throat instinctively. Why wasn’t I wearing it? Oh, right—because something about it was bad for vampires. I shrugged, “I felt funny wearing it, like it didn’t agree with me.”

She eyed me curiously, which made me nervous. It was like she was on to my secret. I decided to change the subject.

“Can an Empath take the energy absorbed from another and use it somehow?” I asked.

“I guess...I mean if someone is sad, then you would be sad if you let them get to you.” she said. “Is that what you mean?”

“Not exactly,” I paused, choosing my words carefully. I didn’t want to give too much information away. “What if someone was angry, could I take that anger, and multiply it somehow, then use it?”

“Use it? I’m not following you.” Cassidy studied me again. “Did something happen to make you ask that?”

I backtracked and tried not to breathe too deeply. I was so thirsty. “No, nothing happened. It just seems like I can feel an emotion much stronger than the person it came from did. Just wondering if it could be useful, that’s all.”

“Oh, well then, in theory, I guess you could be amplifying emotions somehow. Or maybe your gift is just so strong that emotions are condensed into a stronger beam.” Cassidy finished her juice and pushed the empty plate away from her. “Like how bouncing sunlight off of a mirror can start a fire.”

That was logical enough. I nodded to myself. “Ok, but can an Empath look into a person and see a memory?”

“Not that I’m aware of, why?” she asked.

I blushed slightly. “Well, say I was talking to someone and I clearly pictured them working in a garden, digging the soil, and then picking a cherry tomato and eating it?”

Cassidy smiled, poking me in the arm. “Were you in my head?”

“Not on purpose, I swear. And that was the first time I’ve ever seen something that clear. And that’s not all...” I let my voice trail off, teasing her.

“Maybe that makes you psychic too?” She asked, “Wait, what do you mean that’s not all?”

“When I saw you eat the tomato, I could taste it. I hate tomatoes… it was so gross I had to take a shot to get rid of the taste in my mouth.” I made a disgusted face.

“I’ve never heard of that, but I’ll do some more digging. Anything else I need to research?” She laughed, mocking me and my strange abilities. Clearly, she was enjoying my freakish nature much more than I was.

“Well, while we’re on the subject...Sometimes I touch things and little bolts of light shoot out from my fingertips. I just thought it was static, but I’ve noticed, now that I’m looking closer, that sometimes the light is blue, sometimes it’s white, and it’s even been red a time or two.”

“Telekinesis maybe? Can you move things with your mind? Have you tried?” she asked.

I shook my head no, choosing to forget about the whole Domino incident. I was feeling far too drained to try and explain that one.

“Maybe it’s like little power discharges. You know, since you haven’t been using your gifts, maybe things build up until some of it has to be released. Like steam from a pressure cooker.” Cassidy held up her juice glass for several seconds, waiting patiently on the last drop to slide off into her mouth. The girl really liked her juice.

“That would make sense,” I agreed and took a fake sip of my latte. I sure was going to miss enjoying them—that and a lot of other things. Brownies. Fettuccini Alfredo. Pizza. Anything with chocolate or peanut butter. Sigh.

“Well,” Cassidy clucked her tongue, “You’re just a little pot-luck of psychic abilities, aren’t you Claire?”

If she only knew about the rest of my twisted talents. “Thank you Cassidy, for giving me way too much to think about.”

She laughed and placed her hand over mine. I could feel her pulse bounding where our skin touched. I gulped and fought the urge to make Cassidy my brunch. It might hamper our blossoming friendship.

“Don’t worry; we’ll get you figured out.” She withdrew her hand and I felt my blood lust quiet. “I’m headed out tonight, back to L.A.” Cassidy stood and picked up her bag. She pulled out a folded stack of papers. “I’ve got to get over to the convention for the wrap up, but I brought you some bedtime reading.”

I took the papers, unfolded them and scanned through the stack. She’d printed me over a dozen articles on everything from “Blocking Exercises for Empaths” to “Understanding Your Gifts.”