Tall, Dark, and Vampire

Chapter 6

Olivia leaned against the door as her fangs broke free, and she let out a sound that fell somewhere between a growl and a groan. How could she be so irresponsible? What in the hell was wrong with her? First, she lets him kiss her. Kiss her? Hell, he jumped her bones—and she loved every second.

She made out with him like the lust-starved woman she was, and kissing him almost made her orgasm.

“Shit.”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she ran her tongue along her smooth fangs as the taste of him lingered, a vivid reminder of the brief tussle they’d shared. The office looked the same as it had ten minutes ago, but everything else had changed, and she was allowing it to happen like some silly youngling vampire.

She had to stop this nonsense. She would not pull Doug into the vampire world, no matter how much she wanted him. It simply would not be fair. Hell, she had gone three hundred years without sex and survived. Olivia could not allow this to continue. The only fair choice would be to glamour Doug and make him forget everything.

Tonight, after they hunted for the rogue, she would find Doug and glamour him face to face. Attempting to do it in the dreamscape was a chickenshit way out, and it obviously didn’t work. Shortcuts never work, and if she had not been all fucked up on a high of knee-bending lust, she would have thought to erase his memory while he was here in her office.

What if glamouring him in person didn’t work either?

Olivia’s fangs retracted, and she smoothed the front of her jacket as she made the deal with herself. It would work. It had to work. She would make him forget all of it, and she would live the rest of her existence… alone.

“What a mess.” She sighed and was met with a soft meow.

“Hey,” she said with a faint smile as she scooped up her latest charge. “You sure did pick a hell of a time to join this crazy coven.” She kissed the top of its black and white head as it continued to meow. “I know. I have more important problems than my own drama, don’t I?”

Van Helsing barked and sat at her feet with an accusing look.

“I know, I know.” She reached down and patted his head. “You try running this coven sometime, mister.”

On top of her personal drama, she still had the rogue vampire nonsense to deal with, which had only gotten worse. Moriarty’s date from the other night was dead, and she’d bet the same rogue was to blame.

“No more dicking around.”

Olivia closed her eyes and reached out to Pete. The rogue took out another victim. Doug and his partner were here again asking questions. The girl they found was here with Moriarty last night and had the club’s stamp on her hand. See if you can get a look at the body, and get a DNA sample to Millicent ASAP. Glamour whomever you have to—but get those samples—I want confirmation that it’s the same rogue that took out Ronald Davis. This psycho is messing with my business, and it’s really pissing me off.

Consider it done, Pete replied.

Both were killed in the village so the rogue vamp that did this is likely hanging around here. I want to find this asshole before it slaughters anyone else.

Van Helsing yipped at her feet and wagged his tail happily as he tried to sniff at his new friend again.

“Yes.” Olivia sighed and ruffled him behind his ears. “We’re going downstairs. Come on, boy. We’ll get Oreo settled in the apartment.”

Olivia needed to eat and had to change her clothes. Donna Karan was great for her civilian life but not for the bloody shit she would likely participate in tonight. Olivia went to the back wall of her office and pressed the button behind the sunset painting. A moment later, half of the wall slid open, revealing the passage to the apartments beneath the club. She and Van stepped through the threshold, and as soon as the door slid shut, the motion-sensitive lights came on and lit the stone stairwell down to her home.

At the bottom of the staircase was the front hall of their underground apartment complex. The simple, soft white lights were spaced evenly around the circular entry hall, creating a surprisingly warm entryway. Olivia caught sight of her reflection in the gilded mirror that hung above the black lacquer table but didn’t linger on it. Seeing her reflection was a blatant reminder that she was frozen in time while the rest of the world wasn’t.

Olivia’s apartment door was farthest to the left, and the other three led to Trixie, Maya, and Sadie’s apartments. The black lacquered apartment doors were identical, but the spaces inside were as different as the girls themselves. Olivia hadn’t been in Maya or Trixie’s places lately, and it was probably better that way. Trixie was a slob and had clothing hanging from every piece of furniture, and Maya’s place was bathed in bubble-gum pink. Both apartments made her dizzy.

Olivia turned the brass knob and swung her apartment door open, and Van ran past before she could get in. He raced across the dark wood floors and skidded around the black leather couch as he headed directly for his food dish in the kitchen.

“Hungry, buddy?” Olivia asked as she shut the door.

The enormous German shepherd picked up the blue bowl in his mouth and looked at her through big brown eyes.

“I guess so,” she said with a laugh.

Olivia placed Oreo on the floor and watched as the kitten investigated the kitchen, while she took the bowl from Van and tugged open the tall white kitchen cabinet. She made quick work of getting dinner for Van, pouring a bowl of milk for Oreo, and whipping up a large mug of blood for herself. She leaned against the edge of the marble countertop and surveyed the space as she waited for the microwave to do its job.

It looked like any other apartment in Manhattan, except for the noticeable lack of windows. She didn’t need a kitchen, but she liked having one because she enjoyed cooking for Marianna or Damien from time to time. Her fridge was bare except for pints of blood and some milk and leftover lasagna from having Damien over for dinner last Sunday.

The microwave dinged loudly, announcing the job was complete. Olivia snagged her mug and took a sip. The warm liquid coated her throat and instantly warmed her body. She chugged back the rest and quickly washed the mug before heading back to her bedroom to get ready. She knew better than anyone that she would need all of her wits about her when hunting the rogue.

Olivia passed the guest bedroom and hall bathroom, noting she still hadn’t picked that room up since Pete and Marianna stayed with her a few months ago.

Olivia swung open the double doors to the master bedroom and let out a contented sigh. She loved her bedroom. The walls were painted the lightest shade of blue that she could find and reminded her of a summer sky. The king-size bed with the black leather headboard took up much of the room, but it was the softest bed on the planet, and it sure beat the hell out of a coffin. The apple-green comforter looked ridiculously welcoming, especially since she hadn’t gotten a full day’s sleep. However, she resisted the urge to dive on the bed and headed for her closet.

The only thing Olivia adored more than her bedroom was her closet. She wasn’t exactly a clotheshorse, but there was no denying a hot pair of high heels or a well-fitting suit made her feel powerful, in control, and sexy.

She promptly stripped down to her white bra and lace thong. She draped her suit over the hamper and put her Louboutins on the one empty space of the shoe rack, which was really more of a shoe wall. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t a clotheshorse but could probably be accused of hoarding shoes.

Van Helsing trotted into the room with the kitten behind him desperately trying to capture his tail. Olivia smiled when she saw that the milk had perked the little girl up. Van barked and hopped onto the tufted bench at the foot of her bed. The minute he got up there, Oreo started mewling to join him.

“Conspiring against me already?” she said through a laugh.

Olivia hoisted the kitten and placed her next to Van. She promptly did three circles in a row before curling up next to her new protector. Van made a satisfied snuffling noise before placing his head on his front paws and watching Olivia’s every move.