It was past sundown, and he was already hungry again. He opened the fridge for a snack and dragged out a selection of meat the size of his arm.
Troubled, Xander didn't bother taking his snack to the table but wolfed it down over the sink, too troubled to care about the mess he made.
*****
Jessi arrived fifteen minutes early the next day, in case Xander or Ingrid called in a substitute after she quit. She ascended the stairwell, unwilling to beg for her job back and hoping Xander didn't make her. Assuming he would, she had rehearsed a plea in the car on the way over. The thought of saying it out loud to him made her want to throw things.
Not that she should do the begging. The damn vampire bit her. If anything, he should apologize in order for her to work for him again.
To her surprise, he sat on the porch overlooking the beach. The door to his bedroom was open, and there was a note on the iPad that sat within plain view on the kitchen counter nearest the stairs. Jessi waited for him to tell her to leave or worse. She tiptoed to the iPad and peered at the note.
Told you so. Waiting for my coffee. - X
Relief and anger left her silent and speechless. Finally, she released a long, slow breath. At least she wasn't fired. She'd play his little games - as long as he didn't bite her - if it meant she had a second chance to get her hands on that necklace.
Jessi glared at the back of his head. He had to hear the coffee maker but didn't bother to check to see it was her. He already knew, which pissed her off.
She crossed to his room, startled to see a woman in his bed that wasn't Toni. Had he gone through Toni and this one?
She muttered curses. She went to the bed and woke the sleeping brunette.
The woman stared at her, eyes glazed. Jessi shook her as the woman faded into sleep again. There were two small scars on her neck. Jessi started to reach for her own before she winced at the pain. Her forearm was still swollen, Jonny's fingers clearly outlined in black-purple bruises on her skin.
"Come on. Time to go home," Jessi said. She didn't know why these women were so pliant when Xander was done with them. The girl yesterday offered no resistance. They were dazed when they left, smiling, happy, glowing. As if they'd had the best night of their lives.
Jessi was miserable. She took enough pain meds to numb a horse, but her arm still hurt, and her head was woolly from the drugs.