Argeneau Family - Vampires Are Forever Part 3

"Where is she?" Bastien asked, a frown evident in his voice.

"Amsterdam."

"Amsterdam?" Bastien echoed with disbelief. "No. That can't be right. Have them double check-"

"I did have it double checked, Bastien," Thomas a.s.sured him with annoyance. "Both times it came back Amsterdam, though from two different locations in the city," he admitted reluctantly.

"Amsterdam," Bastien repeated, obviously not pleased with the results of the tracking. "Italy I would have believed, and anywhere in England, but Amsterdam?"

Thomas could picture Bastien shaking his head as he said the word. He spoke the name of the old city as if it were tantamount to Babylon. Rolling his eyes, he pointed out, "She and Tiny are here in Europe looking for Christian's birth mother. Maybe the woman lives there now."

"That's possible, I guess," Bastien said reluctantly. "So, you need me to arrange a flight-"

"I've already done that," Thomas interrupted with exasperation. "I figured the company jet would have returned to Canada after dropping me here, so when the second tracking confirmed she was in Amsterdam, I booked myself a flight over."

"You did?" he asked and then grumbled, "Well you should have called me, I could have arranged the flight for you."

"Bastien, I am not helpless. I can book a flight," Thomas said grimly. "I leave at six-fifty P.M."

"I know you're not helpless, but I could have booked it through the company. You're doing this for the family. You shouldn't have to foot the bill alone. I could have-Did you say six-fifty?" Bastien suddenly interrupted himself to ask.

"Yeah," Thomas said with amus.e.m.e.nt. "Why?"

"Isn't England five hours ahead of Toronto? I'm sure it's-"

"Yes. England is five hours ahead of you guys back there in Canada," Thomas said patiently, wondering what time it was exactly.

Inez was supposed to wake him after her bath so it couldn't be much after eight in the morning. Actually, he'd taken so long about his calls earlier that when he'd finally laid down he'd felt sure he'd barely drift off to sleep before she was waking him.

Turning slowly, he peered around the room, searching for a clock. Thomas never wore a watch. It wasn't usually a problem, but at that moment he wished he did. He'd just spotted the clock on the mantel over the fireplace when Bastien squawked, "Then it's four-thirty there, Thomas!"

"Yeah, I see that," Thomas muttered, wondering why Inez hadn't woken him after her bath. "I'd better get off the phone and get moving. It's an hour to the airport and I have to be there an hour before the flight leaves."

"But the blood isn't there yet," Bastien protested. "It isn't to be delivered until sunset."

Frowning, Thomas walked to the curtained windows lining one wall of the room and tugged the heavy material aside to peer out, wincing as late afternoon sunlight splashed over him. He let the drapes fall quickly back into place. "Well, it won't be sunset for another couple hours by my guess, so unless you can arrange it to get here in the next twenty minutes, I'll just have to go without."

"There's no way a courier could get across town to the Dorchester within twenty minutes. Not with London traffic the way it is.

And you are not going without."

"Bastien, if you can't get blood here before I leave, I have little choice. My flight leaves at six-fifty. I have to leave here by four-fifty if I want to get there on time," he pointed out patiently, but wasn't terribly happy to say so himself. He normally had three or four bags of blood a day, and there had been a full mini fridge of blood on the company jet that had brought him to England, but- distracted with his worry for Aunt Marguerite-he'd only consumed one bag. Now Thomas was feeling the hunger.

"Well..." Bastien hesitated, and then asked, "Is Inez still there?"

"Inez?" Thomas echoed with confusion, unsure what one thing had to do with the other. Turning, he walked through the suite, checking each room for the woman as he went. "No, I don't think so. I expected her to wake me up when she got out of her bath, but that would have been hours ago."

"I presume you didn't tell her about the search moving to Amsterdam. She probably decided to let you sleep while she arranged for my car with the treated windows."

Thomas grunted at this news as he crossed the dining room. The car hardly mattered now since he was headed to Amsterdam.

"It's a shame she isn't there," Bastien continued. "I was going to suggest you feed from her before heading to the airport."

"What?" Thomas gasped, coming to a halt outside the bathroom door.

"Don't sound so shocked," Bastien said with irritation. "You have to feed."

"Yes, but, this is hardly an emergency situation yet," Thomas pointed out. "The council would have my head if I-"

"You're in England, Thomas," Bastien reminded him. "The European council has different rules than us. A lot of the older immortals reside there. They like their traditions and dislike change. Many of them refused to even consider banning feeding off the hoof. It's still allowed there within reason."

"Yes, but our council-"

"Can't penalize you for behavior that's completely acceptable where you are," Bastien said firmly. "And you're going to have to feed."

Thomas frowned with displeasure at his words. "Can't you get blood to me in Amsterdam?"

"Yes. But that's hours away. Thomas, I don't like the idea of your being on a plane full of people when you're hungry."

"I'll be fine."

"You only had one bag of blood on the plane."

Thomas grimaced. "Checking up on me?"

"Never mind that," Bastien said, sounding uncomfortable. "The point is, you only had one bag and if Inez isn't there-" "I wouldn't have bitten Inez anyway," Thomas a.s.sured him.

"Why not?" Bastien asked and Thomas frowned at the interest in his voice.

"Because she seems nice," he answered vaguely.

"Nice? She berated the h.e.l.l out of you when she got to the hotel," Bastien said with amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Yes, but she looked cute while doing it," Thomas muttered, and then added, "Besides I somehow don't think that's under her list of duties in her job description."

"No, it isn't," Bastien agreed on a sigh. "And I normally wouldn't even consider it, but Mother is missing and the longer the delay...

Besides, it wouldn't harm Inez. And it is kind of an emergency." When Thomas didn't say anything, Bastien sighed in defeat and said, "You'll have to rebook a later flight."

"No," he protested at once. "I'll be all right, Bastien. I can hold out until I get to Amsterdam."

"What if you have someone afraid of flying seated beside you?" he asked. "They'll be nervous and sweating, their smell taunting you. And what if the stewardess cuts a finger or something? h.e.l.l, what if someone in the airport itself has a b.l.o.o.d.y nose while you're waiting to board your flight? No. It's too risky, Thomas."

"Bastien," Thomas began grimly, but paused as a light popped on in the bedroom. Frowning, he took the two steps necessary to bring him to the door of the room and peered in. His eyes widened as he saw Inez seated at a small table in the dying light of the day. Obviously, she'd worked by sunlight until now, but that was dimming as the sun slid lower in the sky and she'd turned on the lamp on the table to better see what she was writing as she spoke rapidly on the hotel phone.

"What?" Bastien asked.

Inez glanced toward the door and spotted him, offering a smile as she spoke. Thomas forced a smile in return, and then spun out of the doorway and took several steps away. "She's here."

"Mother?" Bastien asked with sudden excitement.

"No, Inez," Thomas explained.

"Oh... Well... Good. Feed off her. Just enough to make it through the flight without being tempted to feed off a seat mate," he added quickly before Thomas could protest again. "And then wipe her memory and head for the airport."

When Thomas was silent, he sighed and said, "I know you don't want to do it, Thomas. But you know better than to surround yourself with mortals when you hunger."

"Right." Thomas sighed, giving in. "Okay."

He didn't wait to see if Bastien had more to say, but snapped the phone closed and then simply stood there, considering what he had to do. Thomas actually found himself grimacing at the idea of biting Inez. He was a vampire. He used to feed off the hoof all the time before blood banks had come into existence, but that had been a good fifty years ago. All of his meals since then had been bagged and he found himself nervous at the idea of having to bite someone now. Not the actual doing of it, but enjoying it.

Thomas very much feared he would enjoy it. Bagged blood was cold and pretty much tasteless compared to the real thing. It had none of the scent of the owner, none of the individuality, and none of the pleasure of warm, pulsing blood pouring into your mouth and body. It was rather like the difference between the much-loathed airplane food compared to a home-cooked meal.

Oh sure, his kind could go to the Night Club to get specialized drinks that still bore some of the characteristics of the donor.

Diabetics had sweet blood and so on, but it was still cold and really not as flavorful as blood from the source... And it had been a long time. What if he drank too much, or had lost the technique to share the pleasure and prevent her feeling pain?"Thomas?"

Turning abruptly, he found Inez standing in the doorway to the bedroom peering at him curiously. When her eyes widened at the sight of his expression, he suspected that his guilt was plain to see there and tried to replace it with a smile.

"I didn't know you were still here," he said to distract her from what he suspected was a sickly smile, and then changed it to a scowl as he added, "You were supposed to wake me after your bath."

"Yes, I know, but I thought you were probably exhausted after your flight. Besides, we couldn't both use the phone at the same time, so I let you sleep," she explained. "I've spent the day making calls; first trying the various hotels in the city to find out if Marguerite didn't just move to another hotel, and when that didn't turn up anything, I started on the car rental agencies, but there's been no luck yet."

She frowned. "It occurred to me, though, that they might have booked under the name of the man she's working with, but all I know him as is Tiny. I didn't know his last name, and I didn't think that was probably even his real first name so couldn't ask about him."

"Actually, his first name really is Tiny. He's Tiny McGraw. At least I think that's his name," Thomas said with a frown, wondering if the Tiny was really just a nickname.

"Oh. McGraw?"

Thomas blinked the thought away and glanced to Inez as she suddenly whirled to rush back across the bedroom and out of sight.

Frowning, he stepped into the doorway to see that she'd returned to the table where she'd been working when he'd spotted her earlier. He hesitated briefly in the doorway, and then followed.

Thomas stopped a step behind Inez, his nose quivering as her scent hit him. She wore no perfume, having had none here to use after her bath. The only fragrance masking her natural scent was the faint whiff of the hotel soap and bubble bath, but it was a very faint scent after the whole day spent making calls in the hotel room. Most of what was reaching his nose was her natural scent, a sweet musky aroma that made his nose quiver.

His gaze slid over her back and up to her neck as she bent over a notepad and scribbled Tiny McGraw's name and added a note beside it. Her hair had fallen to curtain her face, leaving him a peak of just a bit of the back and side of her neck. The skin there was smooth and unblemished, a perfect swath of skin stretched over the muscles and veins of her throat. It was the vein though that caught his interest. He could almost see it throbbing with the blood rushing through it.

When Thomas realized he was licking his lips hungrily at the sight and smells. .h.i.tting him, and that the hunger in him was ramping up just at the thought of biting her, he knew Bastien had been right. He couldn't travel in a busy airport, or sit on a crowded plane, with countless mortals and not be tempted to lure one to a quiet corner for a quick bite. It was a foolish thing even to contemplate in this day and age of security cameras and watchful eyes everywhere on the lookout for possible terrorist activities.

Inez straightened suddenly and stepped back from the table, stiffening with surprise when her back pressed into his chest.

"Oh." Stepping away, Inez turned swiftly, eyes wide as she peered up at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."

Her words faded as she peered at his face. Thomas knew his expression was probably hungry, so wasn't surprised by the sudden uncertainty that flickered on her face and the way her heartbeat sped up. It was a natural response to a predator, and he was definitely that, he acknowledged. The very fact that he was suddenly aware of her heartbeat spoke of the fact that his old predator instincts were kicking in. The extra sensitive hearing his people enjoyed was a useful skill when on the hunt, but he normally blocked out much of the sounds it brought him, or had since blood banks had come into existence.

Now her heartbeat played like a concerto in his head, the dance of the hunted. He couldn't resist stepping closer again and invading her s.p.a.ce. Thomas found himself smiling as her heart fluttered and skipped a beat, and then settled into a rapid tattoo. He saw her eyes dart nervously toward the huge king-sized bed before skittering away, and he smiled as her scent changed. The pheromones coming off of her now were a combination of the sharp tang of fear and the deep musk of desire. Inez was nervous of him, but she wanted him and the two emotions were battling inside her.

"You haven't had your tea yet."

Thomas raised his eyebrows as Inez suddenly blurted that statement, then she was hurrying away across the room. He immediately followed, her scent making it impossible for him not to stalk her. She was a doe on the run, and he was the wolf, instinct sending him after his prey. Thomas allowed her to think she was fleeing toward freedom until she was out of the bedroom. Her anxiety level dropped a great deal the moment she was out of sight of the bed and that's when he caught her arm and drew her back around.

Inez gasped in surprise and opened her mouth to speak as Thomas swung her back to face him, but she never got the chance to say the words of confusion burbling on the edge of her mind. Her mouth was suddenly covered by his, his lips and tongue moving over her. She caught at his arms to keep her balance and stiffened under the onslaught, her mind a confused jumble, but then his arms closed around her. He pressed her body against his with one hand firm on her backside even as his other hand slid into the wild mane of curls at her head and tilted it to a better position as he kissed her.

Inez moaned as her resistance melted away. He was overwhelming her senses. She was breathing in his scent through her nose, tasting him on her tongue and her body, was soaking up the touch of his like an eager sponge.

Groaning deep in her throat, Inez slid her own hands up around his shoulders, allowing the fingers of one hand to dive into his soft, dark hair, and curl closed around a handful of it. She then held on for dear life.

Inez had never had this strong or swift a response to a man before. Her body was tingling everywhere, liquid desire already pooling low in her belly.

Normally cautious and constantly a.s.sessing every situation, Inez was incapable of it this time. She didn't care that this was her boss's cousin, or that she could be involving herself in something that might be ultimately damaging to her career. Her body was humming, her mind bouncing around inside her skull like a useless rubber ball as he slid a thigh between both of hers and rubbed it against her core.

When Thomas broke the kiss, she moaned her disappointment and then gasped as his hand on her behind lifted her slightly so that her thigh pressed against the hardness between his legs even as she rode his own. Then his lips slid across her cheek and tarried briefly at her ear before dropping down over her throat. Inez groaned and let her head drop back and to the side, her eyes blinking briefly open.

A flash of surprise slid through her as she found herself peering straight through the open bathroom door and at their reflected image. They stood sideways to the mirror, and there was something erotic about seeing their bodies entwined. Inez just wished she could see more of Thomas's face as his lips moved down her throat. A shudder went through her as his teeth sc.r.a.ped over her sensitive flesh and Inez let her eyes drift closed as pa.s.sion washed through her, and then she stiffened and clutched at him with surprise as a needle-sharp pain struck her neck. Before Inez could quite grasp that pain or respond to it, the unpleasant sensation was gone, replaced by a wellspring of pleasure and pa.s.sion that exploded in her mind, blanketing every thought.

Inez was aware she was panting, could hear a soft keening and knew it was her own as her body shuddered and writhed in his embrace. She wanted to tug at his hair and pull his face back to kiss her again, but couldn't seem to move. Like a kitten picked up by the scruff of the neck, she was paralyzed in his arms, her body able only to experience the pleasure trembling through her.

It was only the ringing of the phone that roused her from the fever pa.s.sion. Blinking her eyes open with confusion, Inez found herself peering at their reflected image in the mirror again. The sight of their embracing bodies ratcheted her need up another notch despite the annoying sound of the phone, and then Thomas eased his hold on her and began to pull away. His mouth was open as he lifted his head, and for one brief second she caught a glimpse of two, long, blood-stained fangs protruding from that open mouth and then they seemed to slide away and disappear and he closed his lips. Her eyes shifted immediately to her own throat, but his mouth had been working on the side of her throat away from the mirror. She couldn't see it, and then Thomas was easing her back to her feet on the floor and shifting his hands to either side of her head, holding her still as his gaze focused on her face. No, not her face, Inez realized with confusion. He seemed to be staring at a spot in the middle of her forehead, as if he could see into her mind. She'd barely had that thought when he began to frown. Thomas gave his head a shake, and refocused his attention on her forehead again, but she could tell by his expression that something was wrong. Not that she cared what he thought was wrong. Now that he was no longer embracing her, her mind was beginning to function again and it was going a little wild. She had seen fangs. Like a Vampire's fangs. b.l.o.o.d.y fangs. Her blood? Was Thomas Argeneau a vampire?

The thought was a mad one, Inez knew, but suddenly she was seeing some things in a different light. Thomas had an "allergy" to the sun, and while he'd ordered breakfast for her that morning, he hadn't got himself anything, not even a cup of tea. But Bastien had an allergy to the sun as well, she realized. While her boss would attend day meetings with the higher-ups of other companies if he couldn't schedule it later, other than that, he worked at night. And she'd never seen Bastien Argeneau eat. Oh, he toyed with and picked at food when it was brought to the few business meetings she'd been to with him on his infrequent trips here to England, but she never really saw him eat more than a bite or two. And then there was Marguerite's not looking a day over twenty-five, but with four grown children.

None of that really mattered, Inez acknowledged. The facts were that Thomas had fangs and she was pretty sure he'd bitten her.

That said vampire to her. Inez's mind immediately tried the rational route, reminding her that vampires were mythological creatures that existed only in movies. But it carried little weight when she was becoming aware of a burning sting; in her neck at exactly the point where Thomas had been concentrating his attention.

"What the h.e.l.l?" Thomas whispered the words with a sort of horrified amazement and Inez gave up her thoughts and scowled at him, thinking he really didn't have any right to either emotion at the moment. She was the one who had been bitten. Maybe.

Wanting to know for sure, Inez pulled free of his hold and rushed into the bathroom. Standing before the mirror, she tugged her hair out of the way and stared at her throat. Sure enough, there were two nasty holes in the skin.

"Inez?" Thomas asked, his voice sounding worried and uncertain.

She immediately whirled from the mirror to glare at him. "You bit me!"

He opened his mouth, but rather than say anything, snapped it closed looking for all the world like a lost puppy. The man was a ravening vampire, but honest to G.o.d he was standing there looking at a complete loss as if he didn't know what to say or do.

For some reason that infuriated her. Probably because some part of her wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything would be all right. A foolish response. That was what he should be doing to her right then, she thought with irritation. She immediately burst into a rant, hardly even aware of what she was saying as she waved a finger under his nose and began to back him out of the bathroom.

His cell phone began to ring again as he backed into the hall, and Thomas reached for it almost with relief.

"That will be Bastien," he said over her words, his own definitely relief soaked. "He'll know what to do."

Inez stopped her rant and stared at him with amazement "What to do? What to do? You bit me!" she snapped furiously, and then slammed the door in his face and locked it.

Chapter Three.