“you’re far more than food to me. Far more. I like you. I like being with you. I like arguing with you. In fact, I like you too damn much for the good of either of us.”
With that she had to be content, she supposed. At least he wasn’t just after her blood, as he so amply proved in the next hour as he made love to her all over again, this time without bonds, this time without ceremony or ritual. This time he held her still only by gripping her wrists gently.
He still managed to carry her to the stars as he united them in the mystery of love.
Caro collapsed on the couch at Jude’s office, having agreed to do nothing foolish during the day. Chloe greeted that promise with a snort, but Caro ignored her. Tonight they would face the bokor. That was enough to keep her in line until later. Regardless of her promise to Damien, she knew for a fact that she had no intention of taking any unnecessary risk until the right time.
Chloe ordered them some breakfast, and remarked that Caro looked exhausted.
“Just sleepy. I was up all night.”
“Why do I find that easy to believe? Vampires.” But her tone was teasing. “Actually, I’m going to need some sleep today, too, since I gather tonight is the night. Jude will want everyone on deck.”
Caro hesitated. “What’s your view of working with a vampire? Or living with one.”
“Uh-oh,” Chloe said.
“What
“Another one bites the dust. In the past year I’ve seen three women fall for vampires.”
“And?”
“They’re all married to them now. Don’t ask me how it works. I only see enough of Terri and Jude to figure out how they work it out. Basically, Terri took permanent night duty at the M.E.’s office, so they work the same hours and fit everything else in around the sun. Seems to make them happy enough.”
“And the others?”
“So far so good. A few months isn’t a great sample, though.”
Caro nodded, taking it in. “Were they claimed?”
“Oh, sweetie,” Chloe said, “now that’s the thing.”
“Why?”
“Because they were all claimings. And you have absolutely no idea how hard vampires fight it. One of our friends, Luc? He totally lost his mind when his claimed mate died. He was so far gone he kidnapped me and kidnapped another woman too to try to get his vengeance.”
“No.”
“Yes. He was willing to do just about anything to end his pain, including asking another vampire to kill him.”
“What happened?”
“Well...” Chloe smiled faintly. “However unwillingly, he got involved in a dustup we had here a few months ago. Some rogues—vampires who don’t want to obey the rules about not treating humans as cattle and slaves— tried to take over the city and run Jude out. Luc came to give us a warning and the next thing I knew, he was up to his eyeballs in another claiming. Maybe you’ll meet her. Dani.”
“And they’re married, too?”
“Yup.”
“How the heck does a vampire get married?” She knew the rules. Birth certificates, residency, filling out forms in offices that were closed by dark.
“I do a little computer magic, make the legal licenses, and then Father Dan marries them.”
“
“Hang around with us for a while,” Chloe suggested. “Jude fights demons. He has a few clergy who work with him.”
“And they know he’s a vampire?”
“Yes.” Chloe’s eyes danced. “Not everyone thinks they’re soulless killers. Father Dan just considers it to be one of the mysteries, and I heard him tell Jude once that God has an odd sense of humor.”
“Apparently so.” Caro pondered all this new information. “I was thinking that I may not be so happy being an ordinary detective after this. Do you think Jude might want some part-time help? I mean, I’d still have to keep my regular job, but...” She hesitated.
“You’ve got a taste for the supernatural now. I get it. It’s part of what drew me in.” Chloe dropped her perkiness and showed an unusual intensity. “What I’ve seen working with Jude? People have no idea how much danger there is out there, or how lucky they are to have someone like Jude fighting for them.”
“And Damien,” Caro added.
“Damien for now,” Chloe said. “Every so often he talks about going back to Germany. Would you even consider going with him?”
Well, that was the rub, wasn’t it? Caro thought. Could she give up everything to follow him back to his life? And hadn’t he said something about too many sacrifices killing love? “I don’t know.”
“Well, he could always stay here.” Chloe shrugged. “You never know.”
“There’s nothing definite,” Caro said, more to remind herself than Chloe. “Nothing at all.”
“There never is until there is” was Chloe’s philosophical comment. Then she added, “You know, they have to move every ten to fifteen years anyway. So maybe it’s not as difficult for them.”
“How come?”
“People start to notice that they’re not aging. Sooner or later, they’ve got to move to a new place or risk outing themselves. So Damien’s roots in Cologne might not be all that deep. I know when Jude decides its time to move on, he plans to follow wherever Terri can get a job. Assuming, of course, the place isn’t already overpopulated by vampires.”
“How so?”
“Didn’t Damien tell you? They’re territorial, first of all. And second, gathering in large numbers could make folks aware of them. Admittedly that’s not as likely these days between vampire fetishists and the real vamps drinking canned blood. But there are four of them in this town right now, and sometimes I get the sense they might feel a bit crowded.”
Which would probably drive Damien back to Cologne, Caro thought. She stifled a sigh, afraid of how Chloe would interpret it.
It was a relief when their breakfast arrived and she could turn the topic to something far safer. Damien had warned her that he couldn’t be ordinary for her, and now she had to live with the consequences of that, however it came out.
She didn’t think it was going to come out well for her.
With effort, she pushed all such thoughts aside. The important thing was to stop this bokor before someone else died. She was a cop, after all, and while these methods might be unorthodox, they were the only methods available to save lives.
She was dedicated to that, wasn’t she? Totally and completely. Saving lives and catching criminals to make the public safer. She’d never counted the cost to herself before, and now would be a lousy time to start.
She knew all too well what could happen if you answered a call with your mind all mixed up or filled with irrational fear for yourself. That was a helluva good way to wind up dead.
The training of years took over and pushed aside the things that could weaken her or distract her. She finished eating, determined to catch enough sleep to make her feel fresh tonight.
She went to the bathroom before stretching out on the couch, and while there she tried what Damien had taught her.
She closed her eyes, imagining the white heat of power at her center, then directing it to flow along her arm. When she opened her eyes, she could see it. It worked.
She smiled, sure she was as ready as she could be for tonight.
Caro slept long and deeply on the couch that proved to be as comfortable as any bed. She awoke to hear Chloe ordering dinner and guessed that it couldn’t be long until sunset.
She rose, stretched and headed for the bathroom to shower and change.
