"Quiet, kitty," she murmured to the small creature.
An odd thought crossed her mind. She stopped at the top of the stairs and lifted the cat. Its eyes were the same color red as Xander's. Was it a vampire, too?
"Forget something?"
She jumped and faced him. Xander stood near the railing overlooking the first floor, her phone in his hand. In his other: the sticky note on which she'd written her hasty resignation.
Jessi set the cat down, uncertain if she was scared or furious. She crossed to him cautiously and held out her hand for the phone.
She wanted to run, but her phone was her lifeline. He held it out, and she took a few steps back.
His fangs were out.
"I'm not coming back."
"I got the point," he said and crumpled the note. "You'll be back."
"No, I won't. Whatever sick game or alternate reality this is, I'm not playing anymore!"
"I didn't hurt you."
"You bit me. On what planet is that acceptable?"
"I gave you advance warning."
"Are you for real?" she demanded. "What is wrong with you vampires? You go around biting people and think it's okay?"
He tilted his head to the side in a signal she now knew was one of interest.
"If you ever come near me again, Xander, I swear I'll … whatever. Just … I'm quitting!" She turned to leave.
"Vampires. Plural. You've run into another one."
"None of your damn business."
"It is." He took her arm.
She whirled and slapped him. He released her.
"Back. Off. Xander," she ordered. "You even turned your cat into a vampire, didn't you? Who does that?"
"For future reference, I consider a slap foreplay."
"Unbelievable! You can't be decent for two seconds, can you?"
She stormed out, shaking as much from the day as how much she wanted to stay the minute he touched her. Jessi strode to her waiting car and threw herself into the driver's seat. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Psycho or vampire, she was calling Jonny when she got home and telling him there had to be a better way to do this.
"You're really upset," Gerry said as he sank into the passenger seat.
She forced a smile. "Just never worked for someone like that before."
"They've all got egos. Some of them don't know the difference between who they play on TV and who they are in real life," he said. "It's just the way this place is."
"Yeah, well, I'm not going to deal with it."
His gaze was concerned. She found herself relaxing as they drove away from Xander's. Gerry was the opposite of the crazy vampire: warm, sunny, smiling, good. She liked that about Gerry while wondering if he was able to make her blood burn as Xander had. She touched her neck absently. How had he not severed an artery or killed her with those four inch incisors?