Death's Excellent Vacation (Sookie Stackhouse 9.5)

FOR the first time in a long time, Jess felt her sexuality awaken with a roar. What had always been a dull ache or a dream- state want was now a beast. Justin stood in the hotel lobby, stalling, the same way she was. They'd long since sopped up grits and gravy with Grand's buttermilk biscuits, done dishes, and talked strategy and laughed together. She felt like she'd known Justin Cambridge all her born days, and the short walk in the humid evening air from Grand's apartment over the shop to the hotel made her feel like she was floating on air. Drawing on everything her momma had taught her, she finally dredged up the strength to say good night. This one was a keeper and was old school, like her. It wouldn't do to just ask him up to her room and be brazenly bold. But dang, he was so fine, so kind . . . Just sexy as hell. "I'd better go, " she said with a slight smile. "Yeah . . . You'd better, " he murmured, but he didn't move. "I have to come by the shop tomorrow to get all that stuff Grand was saying I'd need. " "We'd need, " Justin corrected. "I hadn't realized I said that, " Jessica said, covering her mouth. "I--" "It was fine, " Justin said, placing both hands on her upper arms. Warmth soaked into Jessica's skin and practically melted her bones. Her breath hitched when she tried to speak. "I'd better go, " he said with a widening smile. "I want you to think I'm a gentleman. " She smiled and arched an eyebrow. "Want me to think that you're a gentleman?" He gave her a dashingly sexy grin. "Uh-huh. " She couldn't help laughing at the mischief she saw in his eyes. "So, what changed your normal ungentlemanly behavior?" "You, " he said, his smile fading. "Gotta be a gentleman around a true lady. " He leaned in, kissed her forehead, and stepped back. "So, I'ma go, okay?" He made the hand gesture that said he'd call her on her cell and left her with a wink. "Yeah, " she murmured, and gave him a little wave as he turned slowly, looked back once, and loped away.

SHE woke up with the sun, tangled in the sheets. All she could think about was Justin's voice, his sexy smile, his body . . . His beautiful locks . . . And then oddly she could suddenly envision his huge black dog. For some strange reason, the big, lovable animal made her smile and made her want to hug it like a big teddy bear. A chime on her cell phone practically made her fall out of her bed. She quickly grabbed it off the nightstand and opened it, then smiled. The message was brief, but she read it over and over again before answering. Know it's early--couldn't sleep. Wanna get breakfast? Jessica laughed and sent back a smiley face with one word, OK.

SHE greeted Justin with a big smile as he walked across the hotel lobby. "Good morning. " "Good morning yourself, " she said with a chuckle, then yawned. "Couldn't sleep, either?" He waggled his eyebrows and she looked away. "I slept all right. " Her wide grin told on her. "Yeah, okay . . . I didn't. " "Then you need some coffee, " she said, laughing, skirting the subject he was fixated on. "That ain't all, but I'm a patient man. " She whirled on him and opened her mouth. "You did not go there. " "My bad, my bad, " he said, laughing, leaning away from her. "I thought women appreciated honesty, especially those who could see. " "We do, but dang. " Jessica began walking again, peeping at him over her shoulder as he bounded toward her and then loped a few paces behind her, smiling. There was just something about him that she couldn't define--something very primal and different yet honest and dear. After they'd settled at a table and ordered, Justin's expression sobered. "I brought you something, but not to be used here. This is a going-away present for when you head back to Port Arthur, all right?" She didn't know what to say as he dug into his jeans pocket and produced a handful of silver bullets. "Justin . . . " "You take these home, you hear, " he said in an urgent rush. "I can lay the brick dust and all of that . . . If I would have done what I was supposed to years ago, maybe your momma would still be here. But I don't want you in harm's way. " "But if this woman killed my momma and my daddy--" Justin held up his hand. "I've got Grand on my side, " he said with a mischievous smile. There was no arguing that Grand was a formidable force, no less than she could argue about the way Justin made her feel. "Believe me, I'm not trying to send you home . . . Far from it, " Justin said quietly, leaning even closer. "But I want you safe. Cool?" She nodded but didn't answer; that's as much as she could commit to right now. The full moon was a few days away, and she wanted closure. But her money was only going to hold out long enough to keep her around for the balance of the weekend. Tuesday night was when she'd predicted to Sheriff Moore that all hell would break loose . . . And now the last person she wanted caught up in that madness was Justin. "You be careful, too, " she finally said over a sip of coffee. "I'm cool, " he said, then chugged his orange juice. "I want you to be more than cool. I want you to be safe, Justin. " Her voice had come out soft like a tender brush against his cheek. He stared at her for a moment and then reached across the table to take up her hand. Sure, he'd had a lot of girls, mostly booty calls--nothing serious. But he was so tired of hiding, tired of the double life he was leading. Tired of not being able to share his heart and soul. "Tell me what she did to you, " Jessica said quietly. "That witch. Did she make a spell against you that closed you off from the spirit realm?" Justin looked down and studied Jessica's hands. How did one even begin to describe what she'd done to him, in terms that wouldn't make her run? "You've lost so much . . . " Jessica whispered, shaking her head. "Even your dog; how could she attack an innocent animal?" Justin pulled away and sat back, then raked his fingers through his locks. "What's wrong?" Confused, Jessica sat forward. "Nothing . . . It's just a real raw subject, is all. " He looked out the window, hoping she'd believe him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried . . . It's just that I get the sense that this woman really damaged you--taking everything from you. It had to be a joy-stealing spell. " His shoulders slumped two inches from relief. "Yeah . . . It was something like that. "

SAYING good-bye got harder and harder to do. All day Saturday he'd taken her around town and then got her to relent and hang out at the movies. Sunday morning he skipped church, instead going to breakfast with her and trying to get her to come back to Grand's for dinner, but wisely she said no. He knew the inevitable was near--sooner or later Jessica had to go back to Port Arthur. But he'd made her a bag of protection and had loaded her down with everything she could want or need to keep her safe at home. Still, standing by her old rusted- out Jeep Wrangler, the last thing he wanted to do was tell her good-bye. "I'ma call you, all right?" he said, giving her a hug and opening the door. "You'd better. " She beamed up at him and melted his soul. "I will. " He touched the edge of her jaw with the pad of his thumb. "Did you have a good time in New Orleans?" She nodded, her smile fading a bit as her eyes took on that open gaze that was always his undoing. "This is the best vacation I've ever had. " "Good, then I did my job, " he said, trying to make jokes to cover his nervousness. "Oh, so now I'm work, huh?" He laughed. "Yeah, you are. Silver bullets, half a storeroom of supplies, and a crazy mission . . . Yeah, girl, you're work. " She touched his chest and became serious. "You be careful. " He couldn't stand it. Maybe it was the heat, the way she looked at him, or the sound of her voice, but one moment he was thinking of what to say and the next he'd lowered his face to hers to brush her lips. She deepened the kiss, much to his surprise and completely to his pleasure. The next thing he knew, he'd backed her up against the car. "You sure you don't want me to drive behind you to Port Arthur?" he said, breaking the kiss on a quiet gasp. "Like . . . I could come over and help you put down all the protective barriers, make sure the place was tight--then I could come back. " She didn't answer fast enough, seemed semidazed, and before she could change her mind, he was out. "Get in, I'll follow you. " "But--" "No . . . It's cool. I'll be right behind you. "