-Chapter Four-
This time, when Mina unlocked the door to her flat, Vlad stayed long enough for her to invite him in. He accepted, and turned his attention to her rather spartan accommodations.
"Do you need an invitation to enter a house?" she asked, as she closed the door.
"No. That, too, is a myth. I only know of one of my kind who was bound by a threshold, and that is the one who created me."
Vlad put his hand to his shoulder and fingered a hole in his coat. "Oh," he said.
"What is it?" Mina saw the hole, knew immediately what it was. "Why didn't you tell me you were shot?"
"I didn't notice?"
Without waiting for his permission, Mina tugged at his coat and shirt, removing first one, then the other, to have a look. It had healed, but the lead bullet was an obvious lump against his collarbone.
"You need that out," she said. "You weren't kidding about healing quickly, were you?"
Vlad shrugged. "It was healed within seconds. I truly did not notice until just now."
She made a derisive noise. "That must be nice, to be able to ignore being shot."
"I was more concerned for your safety," he reminded her.
Mina sobered at the reminder. "I'll be right back."
She hurried to her apartment's small kitchen and retrieved a hand towel and a small, sharp knife. She wasn't looking forward to performing surgery on a vampire, but it was in a difficult position for him to get himself. How her evening had gone from expecting a nice dinner date to this . . .
She returned in moments to find Vlad looking at the handful of photos she had on her mantel. He held up the one picture of Jonathan she'd brought with her.
"Is this your fiancé?" he asked, turning as she came back in.
"Yes, that's Jon. That picture was taken not long before he died." She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Speaking of Jon to Vlad felt wrong. Not because she was betraying Jon's memory or anything, but because she didn't want to give Vlad the wrong impression. She was still very much interested in the man, vampire though he might be.
Mina gestured to the sofa. "Have a seat, and we'll get that bullet out."
It was quick work, just a slice and a push of her fingers and the little lead lump popped out. He healed before she'd even got a good grip on the thing with her hand towel, and there was only a trickle of blood.
"Handy, that," she commented.
"It can be."
She ran her fingers over the spot where the bullet had been. There was no sign he'd ever been shot.
His chest, she noticed, was covered with crisp, dark hair. Not enough to be fur, but certainly more than Jonathan had had. When Vlad caught her hand, she realised she'd been trailing her finger down, over his chest.
Mina looked up to apologise for being so bold, but found him staring at her mouth. Her lips parted, but she had nothing to say in response to the expression on his face.
All at once, he reached out, gathered her close, and lowered his mouth to hers for the most searing kiss she'd ever experienced.
She tossed the knife on the floor and buried her fingers in his dark hair, kissing him with equal fervour. It was even more passionate than she'd imagined, especially when he hauled her into his lap.
"Vlad," she breathed against his mouth, and he groaned.
"Make me stop, Mina," he growled.
"Why?"
She had no idea why she was so eager for this. Mina had never felt so swept away in her life. And kissing Vlad felt right, more right than anything else ever had. She didn't want to stop.
Vlad pulled back, cupping her face in his hands. "Mina," he murmured. "I don't want to rush you."
Sighing, she slid off his lap. "I don't feel it's rushing anything. I know you feel . . . something."
He caught her hand, kissed her palm. "I want you more than you can know," he whispered. "But not yet."
She'd never felt so frustrated. Every nerve cried out for him. Mina almost felt like she knew what it was like to make love with him, just as she felt she'd known him forever.
"I want it to be right, iubita mea," he told her. "Not rushed like this."
"I understand. Can't say I'm happy about it, but I understand."
Vlad laughed. "I will make it worth the wait."
"You had better, because I'm not . . . prone to throwing myself at men."
"I should leave," he said. He retrieved his shirt from the sofa and put it on, bullet hole and all. "Lock your door behind me, Mina."
She rose when he did, and followed him to the door. "One of these times, we'll have a date that doesn't involve bloodshed," she joked.
He quirked a smile. "The next one, I promise."
Then he left, and Mina stood for a moment by the locked door.
After an eternity's debate, she went to take a cold shower.
In the aftermath of the mugging, Mina decided she needed to take a self defence class. There was one offered on campus, and she enrolled in it on Monday. There was talk on campus about the body that had been found with its throat ripped out on Friday night. Mina tried to ignore the talk as she conducted her classes, but it was difficult. She kept flashing back to the moment when Vlad had bitten the man.
A single red rose arrived for her at lunch time. The card said, simply, "Missing you. V."
It turned out that the self defence class was good for getting rid of pent up sexual frustration, too. And she had a lot of that at present. No man had ever affected her the way Vlad did. Even knowing he was Vlad the bloody Impaler did nothing to assuage the need for him that had been sparked in her.
When Mina left that evening's self defence class, she saw Vlad was waiting for her. She smiled broadly at the sight of him.
"This is a nice surprise. How did you find me?" she asked.
"I asked for directions." He offered his arm. She happily took it.
"I should be grading papers tonight," she told him. "I think you have other plans, though."
He led her out to the parking lot, where a sleek black car waited. "You need dinner," he pointed out. "And I wanted to make up for Friday."
"There's no need to make up for all of Friday," she said coyly. "Some parts were rather enjoyable."
Mina didn't mind that he opened the car door for her. His chivalry wasn't an affectation. It was simply the way Vlad was. She climbed in, and he closed the door after her.
"I had to throw away the purse," she told him as he got in the car. "There was blood on it."
"I'll get you a new one," he said.
"There's no need-"
"I ruined your purse," he told her firmly. "I'll get you a new one."
She knew not to argue. It was the same tone he'd used when talking about his wife's death. If he wanted to replace the purse, fine. He obviously had the money to, judging from the car.
"This is a nice car," she said, changing the subject.
"Thank you. I don't usually have need of it, but I thought tonight we'd go a little afield."
"Oh? Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
Vlad's control of the car was smooth and practised. He'd probably been driving the vehicles since their invention, Mina mused, which was an odd thought. If he'd been born in 1431, he was well over five hundred and eighty years old. He'd seen the invention of so many things. And yet, he didn't look any older than his mid-thirties.
They drove through the dark city, and out into the countryside. Vlad took the 71 north, and Mina realised they were going to Târgoviște, and likely to his vineyard.
They way Vlad drove, it took less than an hour to get to the vineyard. There wasn't much to see at night, but there was a pleasant old house set in the middle of the property, away from the wine processing facility itself.
"Is this where you live?" Mina asked, of the house, as they drove up.
"Primarily. I keep a loft in the city, but yes, this is my residence."
The house was two stories, built of stone, with balconies and an upper gallery, and a central turret with windows open to the elements. Mina instantly fell in love with it.
"It's lovely," she told him.
"It's a far cry from the castle I lived in," he said, gazing through the windshield at his home. "But it suits my needs."
He got out of the car and came around to Mina's. As she stepped out, she had a good look around the small courtyard. "You've got an orchard, too."
"Just a few trees. Most of the acreage is devoted to the wine grapes, but there's also a garden out back. Come, let me give you a tour."
She took his offered hand and followed him into the manor house.