About a Vampire

Nodding, Justin offered her a half smile and returned to the counter for the rest of the bags. When he saw that Dante was no longer having to hold Holly in the chair, he offered him a bag, then popped one to his own mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Holly murmured, avoiding Justin’s gaze as she pulled the now empty bag from her mouth a moment later. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You were not thinking. You were in the throes of blood lust,” Dante said after removing his own bag. “It is difficult to think at that stage.”

Holly shook her head unhappily. “I was hungry when I got up, but I thought it was just for food, so I grabbed an apple and . . .” She shrugged helplessly.

“Then that will be our first lesson,” Dante a

Holly nodded solemnly, and accepted the third bag of blood Justin offered. This time, she popped it to her own mouth. He smiled encouragingly at her, and watched her feed, his mind now considering ways to woo her. It seemed Decker and Anders explaining about life mates hadn’t made much difference in her reaction to him. At least she hadn’t broached the subject with him and wasn’t treating him any differently. Which meant he would have to woo the woman. The next time she grabbed him and rose up on her toes, he wanted it to be because she was hungry for him, not his blood.

Anders had said she liked fish, flowers, wine, puppies, kittens, picnics, documentaries, nature shows and anything to do with nature, he recalled and ran through the list slowly in his head. Well, it was too late to get her flowers, take a picnic, or find a pet store, but there was plenty of wine here at Jackie and Vincent’s. They’d got it in for Tiny while he was still mortal, but then he’d turned and so it sat languishing in a rack. He could make di

Justin was smiling widely at the thought, when he noted that Dante was looking at him with one eyebrow raised dubiously.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” the other man said and took a fourth bag of blood from him to replace the one Holly was tearing away. “Nothing at all.”

Justin frowned at him, then set the remaining bag on the table and turned to start searching the kitchen. They hadn’t bought any fish when they’d been shopping, but with any luck, Jackie and Vincent might have some in the freezer or something. They were newly mated and both ate and he’d been here before and knew they had a huge freezer. Surely they’d have at least one fish in it, he hoped. He needed a cookbook too, though, or a computer so that he could find a recipe. Something gourmet, he thought, his mind pla

Nine

A loud crash came muffled from the back of the house and Holly tore her gaze from the action movie Dante and Tomasso had put on the television to glance toward the door to the hall. Her instinct was to go see if Justin was all right or needed any help, but he’d turned her away the last three times she’d checked on him after such sounds, so she remained where she was seated and forced her gaze back to the television. The man was determined to cook a meal for them and had refused all offers of assistance. But the crashes and bangs coming from the room were a bit alarming. It sounded like he was pitching pots across the kitchen or something. The curses that had occasionally sounded were no more encouraging and she suspected the meal was going to be a complete mess.

Biting her lip, Holly glanced toward the door to the hall again. It had been just after ten P.M. when she’d woken up, well past di

As if sensing her attention, the woman turned to her in question.

Holly hesitated and then said, “I haven’t tested my blood since . . .”

“You are no longer a diabetic,” Gia assured her solemnly. “The nanos will have repaired your system, removing all illnesses or lack in your system. You will no longer need to test your blood or take insulin anymore.”

Holly stared at her as those words drifted around inside her head. No more shots of insulin, or poking her fingers to test her blood sugars. No more watching every little thing she ate, or strict regimens for mealtimes. She was normal.

Normal, she thought faintly, and the concept was sweet. Like other ­people, she could now eat what and when she wanted. She savored that thought for a moment, until it occurred to her that she wasn’t really normal at all. She had to have blood now instead of insulin, she reminded herself and frowned.

In truth, Holly supposed she’d traded in one ailment for another. Instead of not producing enough insulin, her body now could not produce enough blood to support the nanos that had invaded it. Instead of taking insulin shots, she had to take in blood, either intravenously or through her teeth.

While teaching her how to recognize the difference between a hunger for food and the hunger for blood, Dante and Tomasso had said she could even drink blood if necessary and that immortals without fangs did that. The thought of drinking it, though, was terribly unappealing. Holly wasn’t sure why that was, when she’d nearly attacked her husband and then Justin both twice in search of the ti

So . . . she was no longer diabetic, but still not normal.

“I have lived a long time, Holly,” Gia said suddenly, her voice soft so as not to prevent Dante and Tomasso from being able to hear the television. “And if there is one thing I have learned in all that time, it is that no one is this supposed normal you are thinking of. Everyone is a different creature with different flukes or tics whether they are physical or mental.” She paused briefly, and then gri

Holly smiled faintly, and then glanced to the door at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

“Di

Her eyes widened as she peered at the man. His face was flushed, his hair disheveled as if he’d been ru

“Well, great,” Holly said with a smile as she got up. “I’m beyond starved.”

There were rumbles of agreement from Dante and Tomasso as they turned off the television and stood as well, though she couldn’t help noticing that they were a little less enthusiastic than her. Still, they were playing along and even Gia got up to follow Justin to the kitchen, though Holly knew the woman was old enough that she no longer bothered much with food.