La Vida Vampire

“No,” I said, wielding the mascara wand. “You just got home. Saber cleaned your suite, and I put fresh sheets on the bed. I’m sure you have things to do before work tomorrow.”


“What are you doing after the tour?”

“You might want to make that who am I doing.” I opened the face powder and waited for my wording to sink in. Maggie’s eyes went saucer round. “Oh. My. God. That’s why you were blushing. You’ve had sex. With Saber. Oh. My. God. How did it happen?”

“Well, first, it happened with him on top.”

“Too much information, smart-ass,” Maggie said and lightly slapped my arm. “Come on, you know what I mean. Thursday you didn’t want anything to do with him, and now you’re an item? What changed?”

“I’m not sure exactly,” I said, sweeping the powder brush over my face. “He kissed me on our way back from the tour last night, and then when I was—”

I caught myself before I said “shot,” put the powder brush down, and locked gazes with Maggie.

“The good news is I’m fine. Well, you can see that, right?”

“Spit it out, Cesca.”

“I was shot last night, but,” I said, holding up a hand to keep her from interrupting, “it wasn’t Gorman, because he was in the hospital. The cops don’t know who did it.”

“You were shot?” Maggie’s eyes slitted.

“In the back of my right shoulder in front of the building, ” I confirmed. “The paramedics took me to Flagler, but I was already healing by the time the doc saw me.”

I rounded out the event by telling her that the sheriff’s office and the city police were investigating.

“You were shot last night, but you’re traipsing off to do another tour tonight when Saber’s not going to be there to protect you?”

“He couldn’t protect me last night, Maggie. Neither of us saw it coming, but I wasn’t in a crowd then,” I said as I packed away my makeup. “Tonight I will be, and Saber’s going to catch up to the tour by nine.”

Maggie took a deep breath and unballed her clenched fists. “Let’s skip over this and get to the good stuff. What happened with Saber? Not the intimate details,” she said, giving me a wicked grin, “just the overview.”

I laughed. “You know, I’m not sure.” I grabbed my Regency outfit from the closet and filled her in as she helped me into the gown. “After the detectives left, we were watching the Monk DVDs I ordered, and he kissed me again. Then, this afternoon, he took the dressing off my shoulder and things just happened.”

“Good things, I take it?”

“I thought so,” I said, trying not to sound dreamy.

“That’s all that counts. And Saber’s coming back tonight?”

“Well, maybe not here to the condo.”

“Ah, so you may not be home until the wee hours? If then?”

I waggled my brows. “I can only hope.”

Maggie was quiet a minute, then said, “Do you think this is a good idea? You’ll have challenges most couples don’t have.”

“In the first place,” I said as I put my slippers on, “we’re not exactly a couple.”

“But you trusted him enough to sleep with him.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

I gazed at the bed, smiling what was probably a goofy smile, but Maggie was right. I had trusted Saber. I did trust him.

“Are you both ignoring the vampire issue?”

I shrugged. “He is, and I finally feel desirable. Right now, I’m letting that be enough.”



I strolled north on St. George headed for the tour substation, cell phone and key in my reticule, a spring in my step. Okay, so I lied to Maggie, but only a little. I did wonder where Saber and I were going, if anywhere. I was in like with the guy, and most definitely in lust. I might be a romantic, but I’m a practical one. Love takes time. More than the four days I’d known Saber—except maybe in old wartime movies where the guy and girl meet and marry days before he ships out. For all I knew, Saber would hightail it back to Daytona and never visit. Never invite me to visit him. Or he could be off investigating all over the state and see me once in a blue moon. And never call in between times. Shoot. Now I was depressing myself.

A man on a red Vespa zipped by on Treasury Street, and I stopped in my tracks. Note to self: Knock it off. A week ago I had a new job and the itch for a man. Four tours from hell and a dead body later, I still had a job and a very hot guy who was hot for me. Saber made my teeth sweat, sure, but just because he was my first didn’t mean he’d be my last. One step at a time.