Page 12 of The Vampire Always Rises
“I didn’t do this,” I said, getting to my feet, holding my robe tight across my front.
“Esme, dear,” Allie said, her voice light and apparently unconcerned. “Why don’t you take the girls upstairs to their room, and help them into their jammies.”
“What an excellent idea,” the woman named Esme answered, nodding so fast her fat gray sausage curls positively bounced. “Come along, Julia. Iris, dear, leave the dead man alone. You don’t know where he’s been.”
She left, accompanied by the two little girls, both of whom started chattering about what they were going to do when Mr. Woogums had kittens.
“My darlings, I’ll leave that talk to your parents,” was all that Esme said as their voices drifted away.
“The woman killed the evil one?” the Elizabethan man asked, eyeing me with a combination of speculation and lust. “I shall punish ’er for you. Slowly. With my hands. And possibly my mouth.”
“And that’s it for you tonight, Antonio,” Allie said, glaring at the man. “Go away and let us deal with this.”
“But I am your protector!” he protested.
“Go,” she said, but there was a note of steel in her voice.
“You cannot just disperse me like I am nothing but the poof of steam,” he said, sniffing.
“Look, we took you and Esme with us tonight because you guys said you wanted a night out in Prague, but that doesn’t mean we need you underfoot now. Go watch a movie, or visit with your friends out in the mausoleum, or do something, so long as it’s not here.”
He looked like he was going to protest, but before he could, Christian Dante strode over, and waved his hand in the air. To my surprise, the Elizabethan faded away into nothing.
“Thank you,” Allie said, giving her husband a smile.
“You could have done that yourself,” he pointed out.
“I know, but it always feels so rude. Now, about this man ... who is he?”
They both turned back to the man before the fire.
“I don’t know. I found him like that,” I answered, assuming she was talking to me.
“I’ll tell you later,” Christian said in a low voice, turning to face me. “What exactly happened here?”
“Nothing!” I spread my hands and tried to look like I hadn’t just enjoyed the single most erotic experience of my life with the unconscious man on the floor behind me.
“What do you mean, nothing?” Christian frowned and suddenly realized his son was still in the room. “Jakob, it is past your bedtime.”
“I’m hungry,” the boy said, his eyes grave as they considered me.
“Then you may go out to the stable and drink from one of the cows, but do not play with your pony.”
“Awww,” the boy said, and did a good approximation of a dirt kick.
“And put on your coat,” Allie said absently, her eyes on the man before us. She knelt and touched his wrist. “It’s chilly outside, and I don’t need you getting a cold.”
“I’ve told you ever since he was born that he can’t get sick with mortal illnesses,” Christian said, addressing his wife. “Why do you persist on ignoring that fact?”
“Because I’m a mother, and as such, I’m legally obligated to say things like that. Tempest, when you said that nothing happened here—”
“I meant that. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. He was just ... uh ... there. And I was here. We weren’t together. Not even remotely. And ... that’s all.” I coughed and wondered if it was possible to die of shame. Perhaps my father and his cult had been right all along. Perhaps I really would go to hell for having sex.
With a vampire.
One I hadn’t even met.
I sighed, and felt my shoulders slump.
