"I'm going to go check again."
Lucian glanced up from the notes he was making, his mouth curving with amusement as Leigh tossed aside the book she'd been trying to read and headed for the library door. They'd been home exactly one hour and twenty-one minutes and she'd already gone to look out the front window to see if the courier was coming up the drive at least thirty times. The woman was up and down like a jack-in-the-box.
Shaking his head, Lucian glanced back at the notes he was making for his next conversation with Mortimer and read over what he'd written. He'd decided to give the men a break and not call them while they were sleeping today. Mortimer didn't make much sense when half asleep anyway, and Lucian had a lot of questions to ask, so he was making a list of those questions and any ideas he could think of to help the hunt along.
He made another note and smiled to himself. Oddly enough, he no longer resented not being on the hunt. At the moment, he'd much rather make notes, give them suggestions to follow up, and go shopping with Leigh. But then, he was finding the woman much more exciting than he'd found hunts in a while.
Lucian sat back in his chair and thought back to breakfast. He'd enjoyed that. The food, the company... the sex. His mouth curved at the memory of what he'd done at the table. He hadn't meant to... or perhaps it was more accurate to say he simply hadn't been able to help himself. There had been something seductive about Leigh feeding him, and when she'd dropped the bit of sausage on the table and reached to pick it up, he hadn't even thought, but simply grabbed her hand and started to pull it to his mouth to take the sausage from her fingers. But then his eyes had found hers as his mouth had closed around her flesh. He'd heard the soft puff of air that slipped from her parting lips, heard the way her breathing accelerated with excitement, and seen the way her eyes drooped to half-mast before closing all the way. He hadn't been able to stop the images that flashed though his own mind of the two of them together... in the shower, on his bed, right there in the restaurant. And he'd projected them out at her.
While true life mates couldn't read each other, they could send their thoughts to each other once they'd both turned, though usually that kind of bond didn't happen until a couple had been together for a while. But Lucian was positive that Leigh had received the images he'd projected. She'd jerked as if startled, then sat completely still, her breathing becoming more labored, and small sighs and one soft moan slipping from her lips. He had been affected himself, and might have done something silly if the waitress hadn't arrived to throw cold water over the moment.
Lucian glanced toward the door as it opened and Leigh moved unhappily back into the room.
"You're as impatient as a child," he teased as she began to pace, not even pretending to return to her book.
Leigh turned a sharp eye his way and sniffed. "So? You're as grumpy as an old man."
It wasn't the first time he'd been accused of being grumpy, but he didn't think he was at the moment. "I am not grumpy."
Leigh shrugged. "It's all right, I'm used to it." Lucian's eyes narrowed as she went on, "I grew up with my grandfather. He was a grumpy, crusty old soul, too."
His mouth dropped open at being compared to her grandfather, then he caught the sparkle in her eyes and realized she was teasing him. He was debating how to get her back when the telephone rang and he snatched up the receiver.
"Yes?" he barked.
"Uncle Lucian?"
He sat a little straighter at the sound of Bastien's voice. His nephew wouldn't call unless something had happened. Morgan getting caught was the something he was hoping for.
"Yes, Bastien," he said, then glanced toward Leigh as the doorbell rang.
"My purse!" she squealed, and was out the door like a shot, leaving him smiling after her. He'd never seen a woman so excited just to get something of her own back, he thought absently as he listened to her footsteps rush up the hall and heard the front door open. Now, if it were a gift she was getting -- like, say, a diamond choker -- he'd understand.
That thought made him pause as he considered that Leigh would look lovely in a diamond choker.
"Uncle?" Bastien's voice drew his attention back to the phone.
"Yes," he repeated. "What was that? I missed whatever you said."
"I was just apologizing for forgetting to tell you about Donny. I hadn't had much sleep, and with all the distraction of Leigh and the cleaners and everything that happened yesterday, I just forgot."
"Forgot to tell me what about Donny?" Lucian asked with a frown.
"That when my man went to the restaurant to alter the memories of Leigh's staff, he found out from Milly, the day manager, that Donny had called, asking for Leigh, and she told him that Leigh was visiting friends in Canada."
Lucian's eyebrows flew up at this news.
"I didn't think anything of it at the time," Bastien said, "but now... "
"Now what?" Lucian asked.
"But now it looks like Morgan and Donny are heading your way," he answered grimly.
Lucian wasn't terribly surprised at this news. He'd suspected as much when he heard the path they were taking in the rental car, and said so now. "I thought that might be the case, but it seems a stupid move, and just because they were driving north didn't mean they had to be headed this way. I take it they've done something that makes you think they are?" he queried quietly.
"I'm afraid so." Bastien's voice was equally quiet and grim. "Two charges popped up on Stobie's credit card this morning. A gas station in Iowa -- "
"He's continuing north," Lucian interrupted to murmur.
"Faster than you think," Bastien said grimly. "The second charge was for two plane tickets from Des Moines to Toronto."
Des Moines to Toronto. The words were still ringing in Lucian's ears when Leigh let out a shriek from the front of the house.
The phone slipped forgotten from his fingers as Lucian lunged to his feet and raced from the room. He exploded into the hall, expecting to find Leigh fighting off Morgan's grasping hands or being dragged from the house by the man and the redheaded Donny. Instead he arrived to see Leigh standing in the ruins of brown wrapping paper and a ripped-open box, a purse clasped to her chest as she did a little dance in the entry and squealed with glee.
Lucian slumped with relief, a small smile tugging at his lips as he watched her do her happy little dance, then his gaze slid to the man standing by the door and his smile morphed to a scowl. The courier was five-ten, well-built and good-looking in the tall, dark, and handsome sort of way women gushed over. He stood grinning at Leigh with an interest that was purely male and vastly annoying to Lucian.
"Man, I love my job," the courier murmured, his eyes glued to Leigh's lightly bouncing chest as she danced around.
Every cell in Lucian's body was screaming out in possessive rage at the man's leering smile as he ogled his woman. While he had the restraint to keep from swooping on the courier and ripping his throat out for the impertinence, he couldn't keep back the low growl that slid from his lips. It was a deep, soft sound of warning. Leigh didn't appear to hear it as she stopped her dancing to open her purse and paw through its contents, but the courier did. Stiffening, the man turned slowly, as if expecting to find himself facing a wild dog. He didn't look much relieved to find himself facing a furious Lucian. Without a word he nodded slowly, as if to acknowledge Lucian's alpha status, then eased backward out of the door before turning to hurry to his waiting truck.
Lucian stalked to the door and closed it, then turned to Leigh, his expression softening as she exclaimed while going through the purse's contents.
"Ooh, a brush. I can brush my hair. And lipstick!"
Feeling the last of the adrenaline slip from his body, Lucian managed a smile and asked, "Is everything there?"
"It looks like it." Leigh glanced up to beam at him, then asked eagerly, "Can we go shopping?"
Lucian's mouth twitched at her expression. Dear God, she was so adorable. No child at Christmas looked as eager as this woman at the prospect of buying toothpaste and other hygiene products. "Yes, of course."
"Wonderful," she exclaimed, and did a little twirl in the middle of the hall.
Lucian shook his head and chuckled under his breath, then realized it wasn't something he did often. He suspected he'd be doing it more often with this woman in his life.
"Oh!" Leigh stopped suddenly, her eyes wide. "I'd better feed before we go."
"That would probably be good."
Turning, she headed for the stairs, no doubt headed for her room and the blood in the refrigerator there. Lucian was about to tell her she needn't go up to get it, that there was some in the kitchen refrigerator now, but before he could, the sound of a car coming up the driveway made him pause.
Leigh apparently also heard it. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, she turned back, eyes wide in question.
"Go upstairs, Leigh," Lucian said grimly, recalling the news that Bastien had dispatched just before Leigh's screams had dragged him from the phone.
Morgan had bought two plane tickets to Canada.
Lucian hadn't managed to learn on what flight or when he might arrive before Leigh's scream had drawn him out here. His first thought as he'd raced from the library had been that the rogue vampire had arrived. It was the first thought that occurred to him now, too, and his immediate response was to keep Leigh out of harm's way. She wasn't cooperating, however. Ignoring his order, something no one else had ever dared do with him, she scampered lightly back to the door and peered out.
"It's Rachel and Etienne," she announced without glancing around to see the scowl on Lucian's face as he rushed protectively to her side. By the time he reached her, she was already pulling the door open.
"My purse just got here!" she announced gleefully by way of greeting, blissfully unaware of the glare Lucian was sending her way.
Rachel and Etienne paused abruptly at the sight of the two of them in the doorway, their worried expressions giving way to relief. Then Rachel managed to force a weary smile as she led Etienne forward to join them in the foyer.
"So you'll be shopping today?" she asked quietly as Etienne pushed the door closed behind them.
"Yes!" Leigh said with excitement. "Do you want to come?"
Rachel shook her head. "It would be fun, but I worked last night and need to sleep. Maybe next time."
"I hope you aren't wearing that t-shirt out shopping," Etienne murmured, slipping an arm around his exhausted wife and pulling her to lean against his chest.
Leigh glanced down at herself, her eyes widening with horror as she saw that she was still wearing his joggers and cyber sex t-shirt.
"Oh, pooh! I forgot to change," she exclaimed with alarm. "And I was going to shower, too. Ten minutes," she told Lucian, and rushed upstairs, clutching her purse in a death grip.
Lucian watched her go, torn between tender amusement at her excitement and fury that she'd ignored his order to go upstairs earlier.
"I take it Leigh's screaming was just excitement over the arrival of her purse," Etienne said quietly once Leigh had disappeared from sight and they heard her bedroom door bang closed.
Lucian glanced at his nephew with surprise. "Her screaming?"
"Bastien called," Etienne explained. "He was all in a panic. He said he was talking to you on the phone when Leigh started screaming. He said you dropped the phone and took off and he couldn't get through to find out what was happening. He pretty much ordered me to get over here and see that everything was all right."
"Yes. She was just excited about her purse," Lucian admitted, then grimaced apologetically. "I'm sorry you had to come rushing over here. You both look dead on your feet and this is usually your sleeping time."
"It's your usual sleeping time, too. Why don't you look tired?" Rachel asked almost resentfully.
Lucian shrugged. "My hours are all buggered up from sleeping all day yesterday. I napped for an hour or so this morning, too."
"Hmm."
They were all silent before Etienne commented, "So I gather Bastien thinks Morgan is on his way here?"
"It would seem so," Lucian said with a frown, suddenly rethinking this planned shopping trip. "Maybe I shouldn't take Leigh out shopping until this is over and Morgan is caught."
"Oh no," Rachel protested. "Leigh is so excited about it. Besides, you have to at least get her food."
"Rachel's right," Etienne said quietly. "And surely it's safe for now. It will take at least another day or more for him to drive up here, won't it?"
Lucian blinked in surprise at the comment. "Didn't Bastien tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Etienne asked.
Lucian ran a hand through his hair. "Well, it seems Morgan bought two plane tickets from Des Moines to Toronto. He's definitely headed this way, or here already. I didn't get the chance to find out what time the flight was supposed to land."
"Des Moines?" Rachel asked with surprise. "I thought they were in Missouri."
"Bastien told me Iowa," Lucian said with a shrug.
"It could be a red herring," Etienne murmured, and Lucian blinked at him with surprise.
"Why would he buy plane tickets here as a red herring?"
"Well, why would he head here where you are waiting to catch him?" Etienne pointed out, then added, "Besides, it's hard to believe Morgan would fly here, he has a phobia to flying."
"What?" Lucian asked with amazement.
"He and Dad were friends," Etienne reminded him. "And I heard Dad teasing him about it once. I gather he had a bad experience while with someone named... " He paused to think and then said uncertainly, "Cayley?"
"George Cayley," Lucian murmured. "He came up with the first fixed-wing aircraft. A glider, really."
"Well, from what I overheard that day, Morgan tested one of his first gliders for him and it didn't go well. He's refused to fly ever since."
Lucian nodded. It fit. Morgan had lived in the Yorkshire area of England several times between 1700 and when he'd caught a ship to America in 1875 and George Cayley had been born, lived, and done his experiments there somewhere in that time. His shoulders began to relax. "Okay, so he wouldn't fly, the tickets are probably a red herring to confuse us, and he probably isn't heading this way at all."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Rachel murmured. "I think Morgan wants Leigh."
Lucian's eyes narrowed. "Why? From the conversation we overheard in the kitchen, it was the redhead, Donny, who wanted her turned in the first place."
"Would Morgan be willing to come up here to get Leigh for this Donny?" Etienne asked with a frown.
Lucian shook his head impatiently. "Morgan won't give a damn what Donny wants."
"I read her thoughts," Rachel said quietly. "I saw that night in her memories. Morgan couldn't completely control her. She seems to have a strong mind. He could control what she did, but not what she thought. It fascinated him... enough that I think he'd come after her."
Etienne frowned, then asked his uncle, "Does Morgan know where you live?"
Lucian grimaced. "As you say, he used to be friends with Jean Claude. He spent a lot of time in the Toronto area for a while and they visited my home together several times."
"But he doesn't know you're here at Marguerite's," Rachel said.
"No. He does know the address, though, and if he gets to my place and finds I'm not there, this would probably be his next stop."
"If he's headed this way anyway, why not have Bricker and Mortimer fly here and wait for him at the airport?" Rachel suggested.
When both men turned to peer at her, she shrugged. "Well, they know what he looks like. They could catch him when he steps off the plane. What flight were the tickets for?"
"I don't know," Lucian admitted. "Bastien hadn't told me that when Leigh started screaming. For all I know, the flight could have already landed."
Etienne shook his head. "If that were the case, Bastien would have said Morgan was here in Toronto, not that he was headed this way."
"That's true," Rachel agreed, then smiled at Lucian. "Which means you don't have to disappoint Leigh. It should be perfectly safe for you to take her shopping."
Lucian hesitated, part of him not wanting to disappoint Leigh and wanting to be sure she had the things she needed to be comfortable, but the other part telling him he had other responsibilities, too. Finally he shook his head. "I should call Bastien and find out what flight Morgan is booked on and when it should arrive, then arrange for one of the company planes to pick up Mortimer and Bricker and get them up here."
He knew that the flight Morgan had bought tickets for must already have left, otherwise Bastien simply would have arranged for Mortimer and Bricker to get to the airport and catch Morgan and Donny before they boarded the flight. The rogue would be smart enough not to buy the tickets until the last minute. He had to know they would be tracking the credit card. Morgan had been friends with Jean Claude for centuries and had heard the tales of Lucian's exploits in rogue hunting. He knew all the tricks.
"I'm ready."
The trio glanced toward the stairs as Leigh bounded down. She'd showered in record time. Her damp hair was slicked back, and she'd borrowed a pair of Lissianna's jeans that fit her in the hips but were obviously too long. She'd rolled them up to keep from treading on the hems. She was also wearing a red t-shirt with a scooped neck that was a bit tight and emphasized her generous breasts.
She looked mouth-watering to Lucian, and he was embarrassed to note that his brain wasn't the only part of his anatomy that had taken notice. His penis shifted in his jeans as he got a semierection just at the sight of her.
He'd definitely been too long without a woman, if this was how he was going to react, he thought. He didn't even recall being this bad as a hormone-ridden teenager in Atlantis. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd missed that stage. Now, it appeared he was going to suffer it... with a vengeance.
Bad timing, Lucian thought grimly. He was supposed to take it slow and sneak up on her, but now that he'd decided to go ahead, it was as if his body had slipped some mental chain he'd placed on it. It was loping around like a panting dog with its tongue hanging out... semi stiff.
"We should head out," Rachel announced, and Lucian turned narrowed eyes to her. She'd sounded terribly amused, obvious laughter underscoring her tone. She had read his mind again. And so had Etienne, he realized, as he saw the amusement on his face as well.
Sighing, Lucian waved them on to the door. "Go on then. Leave."
"I'd be happy to make those phone calls for you so you can go shopping," Etienne said as he opened the front door. "Do you want me to?"
Lucian blinked in surprise at the offer. No one had ever offered to help him before.
"You've never seemed to need it," Etienne said, obviously reading his mind once more. "Or asked for it."
"Or wanted it," Rachel added dryly, seeming to suggest he'd been too proud.
Lucian chose to ignore her. They appeared to be getting along well at the moment and he didn't want to ruin that. Gaze firmly on Etienne, Lucian did the hardest thing he'd had to do in a long time and accepted help. "I'd appreciate your making the calls for me. I'd do it, but -- "
"But you promised Leigh you'd go shopping." Etienne grinned.
"Is there something you need to do before we go, Lucian?" Leigh asked anxiously, having overheard them as she approached. "If there is, we can put off shopping until you're done."
The offer was sincere and sweet and obviously reluctantly offered. Lucian smiled at her pained expression.
"No," he assured her firmly. "Etienne will make the calls for me."
She looked so relieved he wanted to kiss her.
"We're out of here," Etienne announced, ushering Rachel ahead of him. "I'll call you later."
"Thank you." The words came out stiff and awkward. Lucian wasn't used to having to say them. Shaking his head at himself, he stepped to the door to watch them walk to their car, then closed the door as they drove away.
"Aren't we going shopping?" Leigh asked with surprise as he locked the door.
"Yes," Lucian said patiently. "But I thought you'd rather take the car than walk twenty miles to the nearest mall."
"Oh. Right." She grinned, clearly overjoyed at the prospect of shopping.
Typical woman, he thought with amusement, then promptly took the thought back. There was nothing typical about his Leigh.
Turning, he led her into the kitchen.
"Well, that's new," Leigh said when he opened the refrigerator door to reveal stacks of bagged blood.
"I had it delivered last night after the cleaners left," Lucian explained, retrieving two bags.
"Hmm. Good thing it wasn't there when the cleaners were here."
"That's why I waited to order it," Lucian said wryly as he handed her one of the bags.
She wrinkled her nose at him as he popped his own bag to his teeth.
Leigh hesitated, then her mouth opened and he saw her tongue run over her teeth. It wasn't until then he realized that he'd forgotten that she couldn't yet bring on her own teeth. It was one of the things he had to train her to do. Then he frowned as he realized that the only time he'd helped her bring on her teeth was the first time he'd fed her after she'd awakened. But then he knew her bloody nose in the kitchen had brought them on yesterday afternoon. Her teeth had been showing as she'd rushed past them in the hall on the way upstairs to binge feed on blood.
As for this morning, she said she'd fed, but he had no idea how she'd brought on her teeth. He was thinking he'd have to bring her teeth on for her after he finished his bag when she suddenly relaxed. A second later his eyes widened as he saw them slide down.
Leigh smiled, obviously pleased with herself, then slapped the bag to her mouth.
Lucian stared at her over his own bag, both amazed and impressed that she'd managed to figure out how to control her teeth without any training at all. This was seriously impressive. And Morgan, he reminded himself, hadn't been able to control her completely. According to Rachel, he'd been able to control her actions but not her thoughts. Leigh appeared to have some impressive abilities.
They had three bags each. Leigh would have gone for a fourth, but he assured her it wasn't necessary. They were headed for the door when she stopped with a squeal of, "My purse! I left it up in the room."
"I'll be in the garage," Lucian called after her with a chuckle as she whirled and flew out of the kitchen. His smiled faded, though, as he realized he'd forgotten something himself. Shaking his head, he moved to fetch the portable cooler out of the closet, then quickly filled it with blood from the refrigerator. He was about to take it to the car when scratching at the back door made him stop. Setting the cooler on the table, he moved to the door, opened it and smiled wryly as Julius cantered in. He had put the dog out a few minutes before the phone call from Bastien and forgotten about him.
"Good thing you scratched when you did, buddy, or you'd have been stuck out there while we went shopping."
Lucian gave the dog a scratch under the chin, then patted his back before straightening to collect the cooler.
"Behave while we're gone. No tearing through the house with garbage," he said, then took the cooler out to the car.
He was closing the trunk when Leigh joined him.
"Ready to go?" he asked as he opened the passenger door for her.
"All set." She patted her purse happily and slid into the car.
"So," he said, sliding behind the steering wheel a moment later. "Where do you want to shop? Is a mall all right? Or would you prefer the boutiques in downtown Toronto?"
Lucian reached for the remote on the dashboard of Marguerite's little red sports car to press the button to open the garage door, then started the engine before glancing at Leigh to see why she wasn't answering. He stilled when he saw the disbelieving look on her face.
"What?" he asked with bewilderment.
"Do I look like a boutique kind of girl?" she asked, her voice half dry and half amused.
Lucian let his gaze drop over her, taking in Lissianna's clothes on her curvaceous body, then lifted his eyes back to her heart-shaped face. Her eyes were a pure gold now, and were reflecting light in the dim garage. Her lashes were long, her nose a turned-up little button, her lips full and pouty and sensuous. She didn't have a lick of makeup on but was more beautiful than most women with makeup. The gods had been kind when creating her.
"Sure. Why not?" he said finally, and forced himself to turn his gaze forward again before his little Lucian was startled awake. He shifted the car into gear and drove out of the garage, hitting the remote to close the door behind them as he headed up the driveway.
"A mall will be fine. All I need are jeans and t-shirts, really. It's not like I'll be going anywhere," Leigh said quietly, then he sensed her eyes sharp on him as she asked, "Will I?"
"Yes," Lucian said slowly, his mind slipping over the lessons he was to give her over the next few days. "Once you have full control of your teeth, we'll have to go out for you to practice reading minds and then controlling mortals."
"But I don't want to read minds and control people," she said with displeasure.
"I'm afraid you'll have to."
"Why?" She sounded rebellious. "I don't want to take advantage of others just because -- "
"It's a skill you'll need," Lucian interrupted.
"Why?" she repeated.
He felt impatience rear inside him, then suddenly relaxed and smiled. She had this effect on him, but even the impatience was better than being emotionally dead.
Shaking his head, he said, "Because should you find yourself in an emergency where you have to feed off the hoof, you'll want to be able to control their minds so they don't suffer pain or recall the event."
Before she could ask why again, Lucian added, "If they recall the event, they'll have to be dealt with."
"You mean killed," Leigh accused.
"No, I mean dealt with," he said patiently. "Their memories erased, or their recollection of the events altered. Death is only ever used as a last resort."
"Oh." Leigh was silent for a moment, then said, "Well, I have no intention of biting anyone, so it won't be necessary for me to learn -- "
"I know you don't intend to, or want to, but you might not be able to stop yourself. Remember what you felt in the kitchen with the cleaner?"
"I resisted," Leigh said, but sounded shaken.
"You resisted this time. What if you're in an accident? There's blood everywhere. You've been injured and bled a lot before the nanos stopped the bleeding and repaired the damage and you need blood. There's no one around for miles, no blood to be had but for the other driver, and he's bleeding copious amounts, the smell taunting you."
"It sounds like you're describing something that actually happened to you," Leigh said quietly.
Lucian shrugged. "I've been alive a very long time. Many things have happened to me. And many things will happen to you in the coming centuries as well."
"Centuries," she murmured, and shuddered.
Lucian glanced at her as he braked at a red light, then reached out to pat her hand where it lay on her leg. "It's better to have the skill whether you intend to use it or not, than to need it and not have it."
Leigh let out a shaky breath and nodded. "All right. But I'm not going to like it."
Lucian smiled faintly and pressed his foot down on the gas as the light changed, then explained, "Learning it is actually more for their sake than yours. I don't know what you recall of Morgan's biting you, but -- "
"I remember it all."
"Did you feel a sudden euphoria or pleasure?" Lucian asked, and catching sight of her blush, he nodded. "Well, that's a trick to veil the pain. We can control their minds so they don't feel anything, or let them feel our pleasure so that all they come away with is a memory of passion, or a planted memory of a talk even. While there are occasions where feeding off the hoof is necessary, there's never any excuse for letting a host suffer."
"Off the hoof," she murmured. "That's the second time you've called it that."
He shrugged. "It's a common term among our people."
"Do you really think of mortals as nothing more than cattle?"
Lucian frowned. He rarely thought of mortals at all, if the truth were told. When he called the cleaners, it wasn't in his thoughts that he would call in the mortal cleaners, they were just the cleaners. But there had been a time -- before blood banks -- when they had fed directly from the source and they'd used such terms to distance themselves emotionally from the fact that they had to dine on their neighbors and sometimes friends. It could be difficult at times living and walking among mortals you needed to feed off of to survive. He tried to explain that to Leigh, and thought from her expression when he finished that she understood.
They'd reached the mall by then and they both fell silent as they got out of the car and made their way through the parking lot to the mall entrance.
"Where to first?" Lucian asked as he followed her inside the bright, bustling building.
Leigh hesitated, then glanced at him uncertainly. "Was there somewhere you wanted to go while I shop? We could meet up in the food court afterward if they have one here."
"No. I'm at your service," he said simply, and noted she looked less than pleased at the news. He fretted over why that might be as he followed her to the first clothing store.