She remained quiet, meeting my gaze with neither a nod nor a shake of her head. “I don’t know. Let’s get her properly tested first before you start turning over the different doomsday scenarios in your head. It could also just be a side effect of her DNA makeup. The ability to still change into a tiger could be screwing with the tests.”
Irritation snaked into my blood and I stood, crossing to the sliders, choosing to stare out at the back yard instead of snapping at Valerie. She was just trying to keep me informed, but I would have much preferred being in the dark on this one.
I knew without a doubt Naomi would choose the baby and I glanced at the stars spattering the early spring sky wondering just how many times we could face death before it claimed us.
“It’s your turn,” Valerie said after a few minutes.
“I know.” I didn’t return to the game yet, contemplating moves between the chessboard and my life. With a sigh, I walked back and moved my king, giving Valerie a half-hearted shrug before leaving her with my sacrifice.
***
The Aston-Martin still wasn’t running as smoothly as I wanted, especially after the joy ride Naomi took it on when she saved my ass from Lucifer; I always ended up in the garage when something was eating at me. It was better than tossing and turning in bed and disrupting Naomi’s sleep.
Valerie didn’t bother following me into the basement and I’m glad. I needed time to figure out exactly what options I had. The more I fiddled under the hood, the more I realized it was as much of a crapshoot as stepping off our property into the unprotected world.
The one thing mortality gave me was perspective.
My time was finite now and I wanted a long happy life with Naomi, and a hoard of children. The light flickered above me and I glanced up from the underside of the hood, catching the sway of the single bulb.
I leaned to the side, and caught her blank stare.
“What are you doing?” Naomi asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“Tinkering.” I grabbed the hand cloth and wiped the grease off my fingers, stepping around the engine into full view.
“Why?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” I answered and tossed the rag onto the side of the engine block.
Worry bloomed in her eyes and I crossed the distance between us. I stopped and stared down into her upturned face, wondering how in the world I would survive without her. Instead of voicing my concerns, I leaned down, pressing my lips to hers in a soft kiss.
“What are you doing up at this hour?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I had a nightmare.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and shivered. “It seemed so real and when I woke up, you weren’t there.”
I knew what that was like. Our nightmares were a blend of the near death experiences and Lucifer’s promises. She sometimes woke screaming, trying to unwrap from the blanket like they were the beasts assaulting her. Those were the ones that made my blood boil. Even though Lucifer never made good on his promise to make her his whore, it still played havoc with both our minds. The rest of them involved seeing each other die in various excruciating ways. I didn’t know which flavor she had tonight and I really didn’t want to know. Not after the real-world news I’d been turning over in my head the last couple of hours.
“Sorry, babe,” I said and lead her back to the stairwell leading to the underground tunnel. I grabbed the flashlight before flipping the switch off on the overhead bulb. Drenched in darkness, I reached for her, finding her hand before flipping the flashlight on.
She didn’t speak as I led her back to the bedroom in the main house and I didn’t press her for details. We both still had nightmares and only the word was necessary.
“You died,” she said when we reached our room and I closed the door.
Naomi couldn’t shake that nightmare. She described it once, saying her blood left me like it had the other vampire and she crumbled, unable to fight Lucifer. It always ended with her scream of terror as he came for her.
I ran my palm over her cheek and pulled her to my chest. My nightmares didn’t end with her dying. In mine, I lived long enough for the sun to burn and Lucifer to ravage her before I turned to dust.
“It wasn’t the usual.”
Her tone surprised me and I searched the shadows of her gaze looking for insight but found none. I lifted my eyebrows waiting for her to enlighten me.
She shook her head. “Just go clean up and come to bed,” she said and who was I to argue.
After washing my hands and brushing my teeth, I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into the bed. Her back was to me and I curved around her, pulling her to my chest and planting a kiss on her shoulder.
“Are you all right?” I asked when silence blanketed the room.
I thought she had fallen asleep, but she shifted and sighed.
“I’m not sure.”
I waited, knowing if I pushed her, she’d just clam up until she was ready. Finally, when she didn’t continue, I propped myself up on my elbow and leaned over her, getting a glimpse of her face in the splintered moonlight. The glistening paths on her cheeks gave me a start.
“Are you crying?”
Naomi met my gaze and the gloss filling her eyes confirmed my question and tugged at my heart.