Trust Me When the Sun Goes Down (5 page)

Hanna rose to her feet, wiping her nose on her sleeve.  “I think I’ll take you up on borrowing a car if it’s not a big deal.”

“Of course, it’s totally fine.  I can always send someone out to collect it later once you find your car, or you can keep it for as long as you need it.”

“Thank you, oh mighty Elder,” Hanna said, placing her palms together and giving me a deep bow.  “Look at you, giving out cars like they’re candy.”  She shook her head.  “Daddy would blow a gasket if he heard you talk like that.”

“Dad’s already exploded where I’m concerned, I think an extra car or two at my disposal is small potatoes compared to his last visit.  Is there anything else I can do for you before you go?  A change of clothes, some money?  Your dog, maybe?”

“Oh God, Mason’s still got Skittles, doesn’t he?”

“Yep, he’s been taking care of him like he was his own.”  I could see it pained her to think about dealing with it and I hastened to set her mind at ease.  “I can have someone bring your dog back when they pick up the car if you’re not ready to see him yet.  But maybe hold off for a day or two and see if that’s not a bad excuse to see him again.”

“Anja…”

My hands came up in a supplicating gesture.  “Sorry, I’ll stop pushing.  I just want you to be happy.”

“Are you happy?”

For the first time in a long while I didn’t have to stop and think about the answer.  “At the risk of being a bad sister, yes.”

Her brow puckered in confusion as she reached the top of the attic stairs.  “Why would that make you a bad sister?”

“Because it’s not fair, me getting to be with Rob now right in the middle of things falling apart for you.”

“Honey, I would never begrudge you that happiness.  Speaking of, where is your muscled man?”  Her voice sounded almost like the Hanna I knew, and as we stepped down into the second floor hallway, her eyes were clear and tear-free.

“He’s downstairs, still getting his beauty sleep.” 

“Really?  The sun went down over an hour ago.  You must’ve completely worn him out last night.”

A telltale blush stole into my cheeks, and I ignored the tease, knowing we hadn’t been at all discreet the night before.  “Yep, that’s what it’s like for most newbies.  He’s early to bed and late to rise.  It’ll get better with time.  But I’m glad, because it gave us this time to talk.”

“Me too.” She smiled with more warmth.  “It did help you know, those things you said.  I might not be ready to hear them yet, but eventually they’ll sink in.” 

“Call me if you need anything, no matter how small.  I will totally blow off this Elder thing if you want to sit around and watch
Steel Magnolias
and ugly cry, just say the word.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.  I love you, Anja.  I’m glad everything worked out for you.”

“I love you too, Hanna,” I said, pulling her into another hug.  It would have to be enough for now. 

Rob stumbled into the kitchen about a half hour after Hanna left, his face set into grim lines as he put the kettle on for tea.  Offering little more than a grunt when I breezed in and kissed him on the cheek, he shuffled around, not quite awake and I perched on one of the stools at the breakfast bar to watch him. 

“What?” he demanded when I smiled at him for the fourth time without saying a word.

“Nothing, just taking a break to be with my sweetie pie.  Is there anything wrong with that?”  No matter how grumpycakes he was he couldn’t ruin my mood. 

“No, nothing wrong there,” he allowed, leaning in to kiss my neck on his way to the table with his cup.  There was even a faint smile on his lips until he stubbed his foot on the table leg and let out a string of expletives so convoluted I couldn’t follow. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he growled, sitting down heavily.  “Was just hoping that’d be better by now.  It’s almost two hours past sundown, I should’ve been up ages ago, not bodging my way through the kitchen, busting up the furniture.”

Was that all?  “It hasn’t been all that long, Rob, it’s perfectly natural for you to sleep in so late.  Give it some time.”

He ran his hands over his face, a tired sigh escaping as he tried to wake himself up, but there was no fighting his vampire metabolism.  “Anyone could stroll through that door right now and I’d be no more use to you than a bloody human.”

“And they’d be immediately tackled by Lee or all the security we have outside the house,” I pointed out.  “Security that is largely unnecessary with Lodinn gone, I might add.”  In fact, maybe it was time to start rethinking my security needs altogether.  With Gunnar coming home, Lee during the day and Rob by my side all the time, did I need so many people hanging around outside all day long?

“All the same, I don’t like thinking of you vulnerable during the day.  I’ll put in a call to my sister to come out and re-consecrate the house.”

“That’s a great idea, I’d love to see Leila again!” I seized upon the idea with enthusiasm.  “She left so quickly last time and we didn’t get to visit with her for very long at all in England.”

“Had other things on our minds at the time as I recall it,” he rumbled, his reflexes warming up enough to tumble me onto his lap before I realized what he was doing.  Rob nuzzled close, his scruff tickling my neck. 

Instinctively, I started to pull away before I remembered we didn’t have to hide and relaxed.  Instead, I leaned close to his ear, my lips brushing against the outer whorl.  “I can think of a few things to get your body up to full speed,” I whispered, enjoying the ripple that went through him at the touch.  I could definitely get used to this!

“How’s about we go back downstairs and you show me what you have in mind?” he growled, his fangs scraping against my neck.  It sent a thrill of anticipation through me until I remembered what it meant.  Uncontrollable pop of fangs in a newbie usually equaled the need to feed. 

“You need to eat.” I realized with a frown, pulling back to look at him. 

“I’m hungry, right enough,” he grinned, shifting me in his lap so I could feel his hardness below.

“Me too, which is why we should probably go out hunting tonight.  Last night kinda zapped my strength.”

His face instantly clouded, losing the sexy twist of his lips in favor of a self-recriminating scowl.  “Did I take too much when we was…?”

“It’s fine, you know it was better than fine,” I assured him quickly.  “I’d probably be okay sticking with bagged blood today, but I’m trying to find that balance between bagged and fresh blood, you know?”  Too much of the bagged and it left me particularly susceptible to ACBT, too much hunting and… well, I couldn’t prove it, but I felt like the more I drank from a live human being, the more danger I was in of losing my humanity.  “If we go back downstairs for a snack first, you’re liable to wear me out and I won’t feel like doing anything else.” 

“You know I’m always up for a spot of hunting to get the blood pumping,” he agreed easily enough.  “Right then, where shall we go?  Lady’s choice.”

“How about we keep it simple?  Let’s hit one of Jarrod and Leander’s bars and leave the docks for another night when I don’t have to get back and tackle a mountain of paperwork I’ve been putting off with all the Lodinn drama?”

“That’s easily done.  How about Smoke and Mirrors?  We can take advantage of the back rooms and be done in a wink.”

Of course it took longer to get us out the door than I’d hoped once the decision was made.  Lee insisted on coming along, and Maggie decided to tag along as well.  After she’d been so down in the dumps following Marcus’ death, I couldn’t say no when I saw the light of interest come into her eyes. 

Smoke and Mirrors was one of the premiere vampire nightclubs in town – not that most residents in San Francisco had a clue.  The requisite smoke and mirrors gave the place an otherworldly, futuristic feel, as though we’d stepped into an episode of
Buck Rogers
, but with better music.   

I thought maybe Lee might feel uncomfortable in such a place with his cowboy boots and his Wrangler jeans.  To my surprise, he chatted easily with vamps and humans alike, not a single raise of his bushy brows over the array of brightly colored, tattooed and pierced characters.  Maggie was whisked off to the dance floor right after we claimed one of the tiny round tables in the corner of the room, her laughter cascading over the throb of music.  Only Rob seemed less eager to party, his eyes scanning the room for unseen dangers.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” I asked, when he finished one scan and started back the other way again without looking once in
my
actual direction.  “You’re not expecting trouble, are you?”  Besides Lee and Rob with me at the table, we had two other guys in the room and one out by the car. 

“Crowds make me nervous.”

“They never seemed to bother you before.”  The last time we’d been there, just the two of us, he hadn’t been so intent on the threat of danger. 

“Never had so much to lose before.”

I gave his hand a squeeze at that, and then pulled him close for a deep, longing kiss, staking my claim on him for anyone who happened to notice.  “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” I smiled and his lips twisted into a wry grin.

“More likely you’ll distract me.”

“If I’m distracting you anyway, how about we dance?” I asked as a new song came on. 

Rob fixed me with a pointed look.  “We both know that’s not a good idea, leastwise not in public.  But ask me again when we get home.”

“Where I’m from, a lady asks you to dance, you dance, son,” Lee drawled.  “But seein’ as how we ain’t there…”  He rose to his feet with agile grace despite his years.  “How’s about a dance, little lady?”

“I’d love to,” I smiled, tossing Rob a silly smile as he led me to the dance floor.  Rob watched in amusement as Lee squired me into a sort of Texas two-step unlike anything I’d danced to before.  It wasn’t hard to follow his lead though, and soon he had us circling the dance floor.  When we came upon Maggie dancing with Leander, Lee swung me out and we changed partners for a while, changing back as the song ended and a new one began. 

I’d been laughing so hard and having such a good time, I hadn’t realized when Rob left the table, but he wasn’t there when I glanced over, ready to wave him over.  Lee didn’t seem to notice, pulling me closer for a slow song, but after I couldn’t spot him, I asked, “Did you see where Rob went?”

“No, darlin’, can’t say as I did.  Why, you getting tired of dancin’ with an old fogey like me?”  He spun me out and back again, his smile lines deeply creasing. 

“No, of course not!  It just seems strange that he… Oh, there he is.”  I spotted him at the end of the bar, chatting amiably with a guy in a red leather jacket straight out of Michael Jackson’s
Beat It
video.  That guy had to be a vampire for sure, no one else in the club was so stuck in the eighties. 

“Go on and be with yer man.  I think I’m gonna grab somethin’ to wet my whistle.”

I flashed him a grateful smile as we approached the bar, him seeking the bartender and me listening to the end of a conversation about cars that went way over my head.  Rob noticed me right away, wrapping an arm around my waist to draw me close, but didn’t stop chatting until the man moved off.  

“Hey,” I said once I had his full attention.  “Did you eat?”

“Naw, I wanted to wait and share that with you.  Ready?”

“Um, sure.”  We still hadn’t fed together, and I wasn’t sure it was a habit I wanted to get into.  Bishop hadn’t wanted to share meals, because he’d wanted our intimacies to be private.  Then again, he hadn’t wanted me to feed from men at all and we’d made that agreement between us.  Whereas Jakob hadn’t minded in the least, the one and only time we’d fed together had nearly turned into a threesome in an alley and I wasn’t sure I wanted to repeat such an experience with Rob. 

“What sounds good?  Take your pick,” he said with a gesture to the crowd.  What did I want?  I knew what I didn’t want, which was to worry about a dead body in the club.  That meant no stick-thin girls or lanky guys, so I focused on finding the biggest guy in there, a burly brute with bulging biceps and thighs like tree trunks.

“What about the big guy with the buzz cut?  Think we can handle him?”

“Easy peasey, luv.  You want to go fetch him, or shall I?”

I thought about it for a second.  “Why don’t you practice your compulsion?  I’ll follow along just in case.” 

It was easily done, and before I knew it, the three of us stood in one of the feeding rooms in the back, the cube shaped room feeling claustrophobic with so much muscle in it.  There was no decoration in there, the lights subdued, the beat of the music muffled, nothing but a red vinyl couch and the drain in the center of the floor that reminded me of the last time I’d been in one of the rooms with Rob and Serena.  It wasn’t one of my favorite memories. 

The guy waited patiently, watching us both thanks to the compulsion, and I gave Rob a shrug.  “How do you want to do this?  Do you want to eat first?  Do you want to try it together?” 

“I’ve got another idea,” Rob said, pushing lightly on the guy’s chest so that he plopped down on the center of the vinyl couch.  “How’s about you go ahead and get started with him.”

Surprised by the suggestion, I moved closer to the man, whose neck I could now easily reach thanks to his seated position.  “What about you?  You’re the one who needs to feed more than I do.” 

“Never you mind about me,” he replied with the hint of a smile. 

“Alrighty then,” I breathed, stepping between the guy’s legs, a ribbon of trepidation curling my stomach.  I wasn’t sure what Rob had in mind, but it was clear he had some kind of plan.  Maybe he wanted to watch first and then jump in?  Or maybe he was being overly protective of me and wanted to make sure I got enough?  Either way, I offered the guy a smile. 

“Hi, what’s your name?” 

“Clayton Waldrup,” he replied equably, his voice deep, with a hint of a Boston accent. 

For some reason it always made me feel better to know who I was about to snack on.  “Nice to meet you, Clay.  Now, I don’t want you to be nervous at all.  This isn’t going to hurt one bit,” I promised, darting a look over my shoulder to Rob.  “You sure you want me to…”

“Go ahead, Anja.  I ain’t worried about what’s to come.”

“Okay,” I breathed, hoping he didn’t come to regret those words.  Making sure I had Clay on the hook, I took hold of his massive shoulders and leaned in close, my fangs descending once I felt the throb at his neck.  My sharp teeth easily pierced his skin, and I allowed myself that one glorious pull against his flesh where I focused on nothing but the life that pulsed between us before I began the count.  Clay was positively bursting with vigor, and I drew harder on the wound, encouraged by his groan of pleasure.  His thick arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer as I drank.

In the back of my mind I knew it might bother Rob, but that didn’t stop me from pressing up against the guy, my body’s instincts kicking in despite the detached count I tried to keep straight in my head.  I’d intended to stop before I had my fill, knowing Rob would need more than I would.  When I felt Rob step up behind me, I released my hold on Clay, but he kept me in place. 

“Shh, don’t stop on my account,” he rumbled near my ear, the sound reverberating through his chest and down my back. 

“But you need to feed too,” I protested, even as Clayton gave a desperate moan of loss. 

Instead, he brushed the hair away from my neck to place a soft kiss behind my ear.
 
“And I shall,” Rob whispered, his hands wrapping around to smooth down the tops of my thighs.  “Drink.”

His voice was almost like a compulsion of its own, and I happily returned to my feast, more than a little distracted by Rob’s touch as I drank.  I’d barely begun the count again when I felt the sting of his teeth at my neck, his mouth pulling at my pulse even as I pulled from Clay’s.  All the while his clever hands kept up their tender assault, driving me mad with their teasing promise of pleasure. 

Leaving off from touching Clayton except where my mouth was fastened to his neck, I reached back to touch Rob in kind, stroking his rigid length through the rough denim.  The cool air kissed my bare flesh as he lifted my skirt higher, a sharp snap of elastic making me squeal as he tore my panties away.  It was too much, we were going too far.  I wasn’t sure whose hands were on me anymore.  I was drunk on the sensation of Rob’s mouth setting my veins on fire, the quickening beat of Clay’s lifeblood into me sending a corresponding throb deep below, the count forgotten.