Blood Ties (20 page)

As I got ready for bed, my thoughts kept turning to him and how I wished I was in his arms. Two hundred years apart and now, I couldn’t stand a few hours away from him. 

Chapter 13

Michael was head down in front of his laptop when I walked in. He’d taken his jacket off and his red sweater molded his upper body like a second skin. “Morning Ms. Aldridge,” he said lightly as he looked up, giving me a warm smile. Then he looked back down to his laptop.

It hadn’t been what I’d expected. On the other hand, I didn’t know what to expect. My hurt at his casual indifference was quickly replaced by fear. Fear I’d dreamt everything. Fear I hadn’t and he’d decided it was too dangerous for me, that it would be for the best to pretend nothing had happened. My heart wrenched. I couldn’t go back.

He cleared his throat. I gave him a weak smile, not saying anything. I sat down and pulled out my laptop, opened it and turned it on, watching it light up. After a few moments, the logon popup displayed. I stared blindly at it. My eyes wouldn’t focus; they were filled with too many tears.

The door quietly locked and then
I felt a touch on my shoulder. “Liz.” I turned away. “Liz, look at me,” he demanded softly. “What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t speak. I wouldn’t cry
, I wouldn’t. He raised my chin with one cool finger. He groaned.

“Liz, I’m sorry about yesterday, I shouldn’t have frightened you.”

I choked back a sob. “You’re going to push me away … you don’t feel the same as yesterday.” I could barely get the words out, “You think you’ll hurt me.” My breath caught on a sob.

He was silent for a moment and then brushed at my tears. “Liz, I love you, can’t you see that? I loved you the moment I saw you. How could I not, my dearest Alisé. I have always loved you
, I will always love you. I cannot, will not, put you in any danger … from myself.”

I felt another stab of pain deep inside. “Please don’t be sad,” he said. He thought for a moment. “This isn’t the place. Tonight, when things have quieted down at
your apartment building, I’ll come see you. We can talk then. Everything will be all right. There is nothing to worry about my love.”

He stroked my cheek. “Better?”

I nodded. He handed me a tissue. He watched as I calmed down, his hand resting on my shoulder. After a while, I took a deep breath and smiled. He returned it with a dazzling one of his own.

“Come, let’s continue with our work. We wouldn’t want to cause a scandal. Professor and his Assistant, would we?” He grinned crookedly and winked. It was heaven, watching him smile. He walked to the door and unlocked it.

I logged into my laptop, relieved. I don’t think I could have recovered if he hadn’t suggested seeing each other this evening. I thanked God my worst fears hadn’t been realized.

We worked steadily into the afternoon. Michael kept the atmosphere light and casual. He teased about the students that flirted with me in his office and tried a few jokes he’d heard. He struggled to get them right, blowing the punch lines. It was just, so not him. He was way too serious. Well, most of the time.

I tried out the gym’s track after I left his office, keeping to my promise to stay out of the woods. Unfortunately, running around a track like a hamster on a wheel certainly wasn’t lacking in monotony.

Once I finished
my rodent run, I ran home in the failing light and went up the stairs two at a time. I unlocked my door.

“Where have you been, eh?”

Logan stood behind me, barefoot in sweatpants and a sloppy jersey. He had put something on his hair to freeze it into a windblown, tousled look. He looked like a cute puppy that wanted to come home with you. He wanted something. He was just too cute.

“Around. How about you? How was your trip to Toronto? How are your folks?”

“They’re great. My sister’s getting married.” I heard the excitement in his voice. He was probably already thinking about the bachelor party.

“
Well, tell her congrats from me,” I added brightly, digging my fingernails painfully into my palm at the “M” word.

“So are you ready for midterms next week?”

That stopped me. I’d been the last thing on my mind these last few weeks. “Wow ... so soon?” I teased, trying not to sound as if I really had forgotten – which was a lie.

“Want some help in your stats class? I can quiz you on what he might have on his test.”

“Sure, I’d like that.” I pushed into my apartment. “Why don’t you come in for a while?” I threw my backpack on a chair and went to the kitchen, rummaging in the fridge for some water. “I have spring water, diet soda and it looks like I have a beer left, do you want it?”

“Sure.”

I walked out onto the balcony with my water, Logan trailing behind me with his beer. I cracked it open and sucked back half of it, then leaned over the balcony. I took a deep breath. “I just can’t get over how wonderful the ocean air is … it’s exhilarating.”

“Wow, you’re in a good mood with all the cramming you’ll be doing this week.”

“I don’t know, this semester has just been … pretty wonderful.”

Logan leaned over the balcony and bumped into me in an intentional nudge. “I hope I’ve contributed, in a small way, in making this semester fun?”

Shit. I was psychic.

“Sure, of course.” I nudged him back, not to be coy but to give me enough time to think, to strategize.

We stared out towards the fringe of trees in an uncomfortable silence.

“So, Liz, I was going to ask you, I mean would you go to the party with me, the one they’re having at the
Alpha Tau house on Friday after midterms.”

Crap.

“There’ll be an alternative band, free beer … everyone’s going.” I felt the heat of his gaze.

I took a drink of water and searched for an appropriate thing to say without hurting his feelings. There would never be anyone else but Michael
and the reality was that our relationship could never be made public. As far as everyone knew, I was free and clear. Nor did I want Jen to get suspicious, especially after my trip to Sydney. Plus, Logan was a good friend and I couldn’t very well come out and tell him “No” without a good reason.

“Maybe,” I replied
, dragging the word out slowly. “I will definitely think about it.”

Logan gave me a wide grin. I could tell he thought it was a “Yes”. I gritted my teeth. Logan chugged back his beer. “Well, hey Liz, I gotta go, midterms are calling.” He made a motion with his hand to his ear and backed away
from the sliding glass doors.

I giggled. “Just go!” He let me push him out the door, walking backwards with huge grin on his face. I heard him calling out down the hall in a comical voice, “I’m coming my little darlings … please be patient.”

In ten minutes, the mess that was called my apartment had been shoved into closets or under sinks. A wipe-down and a thick coat of Febreze and I was ready.

I kicked off my shoes, grabbed a stack of books and got down on the floor shoving a pillow under my stomach, my favorite position for studying. Maybe he would somehow cause a power failure and then glide right in. Nope, that would cause too much excitement in the building.
I snickered. Too bad vampires couldn’t turn all misty and slide under doors inconspicuously. There was only one remaining access point – the patio doors.

I kept tabs on the noise in the building. It became hard to concentrate.
A gut wrenching tingling grew in my stomach as everything began to quiet. I kicked my legs back and forth behind me and puffed air out of my cheeks.

I went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth for the second time and scrutinized myself in the mirror. My summer tan had faded. I performed a quick ritual of mourning. It was unlikely I’d see any color for the next few years. Sunshine was a scarce commodity along the coast. I ran a comb through my hair and tried to think of something to keep me busy while I waited. Dinner. Nope, I was too nervous to eat.

I lay down on the floor again, drumming a yellow highlighter on a page. I rolled over and stretched. I heard silence. My stomach lurched. I got up and stepped out onto the balcony. The windows were dark except for a few to the left on the third floor. I went back inside and turned off all the lights except the one in the bathroom. I didn’t want anyone seeing anything unusual if they looked up to my balcony.

I turned and
ran straight into him. I gasped, “Geeze Michael, that’s one way to give me a heart attack.”

He laughed under his breath. “Now that’s the last thing I would want to do.
”

I gazed at his gorgeous face in the dim light. The shadows accentuated the hollows under his high cheekbones and seemed to lengthen the heavy fringe of his eyelashes. His sensuous mouth pulled me towards him like a magnet. I rose up on my tiptoes and
kissed him. I think I growled, I wasn’t sure, but I dug my fingers into his broad shoulders and kissed him as if I were starving.

He laughed softly into my mouth and picked me up. He carried me to the couch and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close.

“Now, what should we talk about, where would you like to start?” he crooned. He reached down and kissed me gently on the top of my head.

I sighed.

He sighed with me.

“You’re teasing.”

“Perhaps,” he chuckled.

I was quiet for a minute, trying to think of which question I should ask first, listening to his soft, even breaths. He played with my fingers, waiting patiently. I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking
, then the flood came.

“So, how can you do it …be around all those students in that amphitheatre and all of them that come into your office
? How do you stay out of the sun on campus? Are there many of you? How long do you live? Can anything hurt you? How often do you need to ... feed?” I winced on that last one.

He laughed. “Please, one at a time.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Sorry.” He gave me a small squeeze.

He took a deep breath. “Starting with your first question. After so many years it gets easier.” He shrugged. “I’ve had to learn to live with it ... to cope.” He looked away
, towards the sliding glass doors. “Sometimes it’s not easy. Sometimes … it can be difficult.”

“And my next question?”

“Usually there’s no difficulty staying out of the sun, it’s frequently overcast and the fog doesn’t lift until around noon. During these times, I can move about freely. Of course, when I’m inside it’s not an issue. For other times, there are service tunnels to and from each of the buildings. Then there is the underground faculty parking.”

He raised my fingers to his lips and kissed them. “No, there aren’t many of us, a few here and there. We can hear each other’s thoughts.”

“Really?” I breathed.

“Yes, but just from the near vicinity, around ten miles or so.” He smiled at my awe. It was pretty cool after all. “Let’s see. I suppose we live forever, as immortals, assuming we’re not killed. None of my kind
really knows. I’ve come across a few ancients, but it’s all still speculation.” He took a deep breath and continued, “Yes, we can be hurt and even killed. It’s not easily done. We heal quickly but decapitation or fire does it nicely.”

He drew his fingernail across
his wrist, cutting it. Clear liquid oozed from the deep gash. I reached out and timidly touched it. It was cool and had the same consistency as blood. The wound began to disappear. I raised his wrist to peer at it in the dim light. It had completely healed. He wrapped his hand around mine and put my finger to his lips, gently cleaning the blood away with his tongue.

I imagined those sexy lips and cool tongue moving over every inch of my body. Oh God. A heated rush raced directly to my inner core. I clamped down hard on it.

I heard a soft chuckle. I cleared my throat. “And my last question?” My heart began to beat a little faster.

He waited until my pulse slowed, t
hen gently pulled my hand to his face. He parted his lips and placed my forefinger on the face of one of his eyeteeth. It felt normal, exactly like mine. His breaths began to quicken. I looked into his eyes; they were frightening in their blackness.

I felt a movement and his tooth extended down about an inch or so. He seemed to be holding his breath. I moved my finger down to touch the tip.

Instantly his hand encircled my wrist, pulling it away from his face. Not releasing his grip, he turned away from me and lowered his head, his dark hair falling across his face.

After several minutes, he began breathing again. He turned to look at me, his eyes no longer frightening, but his face was serious.

“Liz, you can never touch the tips. When they extend, they are razor sharp. They emit a chemical, similar to a snake’s poison. Any touch, it would cut your skin, your blood would be contaminated … and,” he took a labored breath, “I would taste, smell your blood … and I would … I don’t know if …” His voice trailed off.

Adrenaline shot through me and in tha
t same instant, he disappeared. He stood in the open patio door, his back to me, struggling with his breathing. I watched him for a few moments then some of the sadness I’d felt this morning returned, taking the place of my fear.