Cool Miami Nights

Chapter Three

"Calleigh, it's time to wake up." Horatio rubbed her back gently.

"I slept the whole time? I never sleep this well. It must be the company." She smiled and kissed him softly.

"Your body is tired from lack of blood. We'll need to find you an all night drug store and get some vitamins tonight."

"Haven't you been giving me blood?"

"Yes, but it's nowhere near enough to replace what I've taken."

"Wait, I took more from you than you took from me…didn't I?"

"Yes, but our bodies react differently to the loss of blood. Come, let's get you up and ready for work."

"I need to take a quick shower…care to join me?" She held out her hand to him, leaving him little room to decline.

Thirty minutes later after making love and bathing, they were dressed for work. "Am I driving you?"

"No, Sweetheart, I have my own car, I'll be leaving before you do."

"Am I ever going to be able to spend the day sleeping with you?"

"As soon as my guest room in the basement is finished." He smiled at her confused look. "You don't think I sleep in a coffin do you?"

"Well, considering my vast experience with vampires, I have no idea what to think."

"Right now I sleep on a cot in my basement with no windows. I have contractors that come at night…I tell them I want them to work when I'm at work…and they are building me a small guest room, complete with a nice king sized bed. Once that is completed, you are welcome to spend the day any time you want. You and Ray will be the only ones who know where I rest."

"I'll carry the secret to my grave."

"Let's hope it never comes to that, Calleigh." He put his arms around her and kissed her softly. "Let me walk you to your car."

"Ever the gentleman." They walked hand in hand to her car. Horatio stopped and looked around, moving closer to her. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure, just a bad feeling. Get in and drive straight to work, I'll see you there soon."

She nodded and climbed into her car, started it up and sped off. Horatio stood in her driveway and smelled the air. It wasn't danger, but trouble nonetheless. He got into his car quickly and followed Calleigh to the police station. She was still in the parking garage when he pulled in. "Everything all right now?"

"Yes…I just had the feeling that we were about to have some trouble."

"You think it might have been Eric again? His car isn't here."

"I'm not sure, but I intend to keep an eye on you tonight, Sweetheart." He took her by the hand and led her into the building. Once in the elevator he leaned into her body for another kiss. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her neck, tilting it to one side to give him better access. He kissed her neck softly, and then pulled back. "Not right now, my beautiful temptress, if we stop the elevator now it will attract too much attention."

"Oh, right, I didn't think about that. I just thought that you might need to feed before we go out on a call, you know, keep up your strength and all that."

"I have a small refrigerator and microwave in my office. I keep a supply of blood in it at all times."

"Aren't you afraid someone will find it?"

"It's locked, and I have the only key."

The elevator stopped on their floor, and they pulled apart quickly before the doors opened. They allowed their hands to brush gently before parting. Once Horatio got to the top of his stairs he turned to watch Calleigh make her way to her lab. He stepped in to his office to find his brother waiting for him.

"So, brother, are you going to share your new toy? It's hard to believe you got her so quickly, maybe she'd like some diversity."

"Calleigh is mine, Raymond."

"I can always order you to share her."

Horatio's bared his fangs and hissed at his brother. "She is mine!"

"Well, well, this is new for you, little brother." Ray laughed. "I never get tired of calling you that. That's the only good thing father did for me…he made me, knowing that I would make you."

"Are you here for anything special, or just to be your normal annoying self?"

"No, nothing special. I've just been watching you with the female, and wondering what there was about her that made you choose her so quickly. She IS quite beautiful, brother."

"She is also very loyal, Ray. Leave her alone."

"How much does she know?"

"Almost everything…I don't intend to lie to her or glamour her. She's special." He put his hand up to silence his brother. "She's coming."

Ray nodded as Calleigh poked her head inside Horatio's office. "Hi, you must be Raymond. I'm Calleigh." She extended her hand to him, and as he took it he looked into her eyes in an attempt to read her mind. She snatched her hand back quickly. "Don't you try that with me! Horatio is the only one allowed in my mind." She moved over behind the desk and pushed her body close to Horatio's.

"I told you she's loyal, Raymond."

You did? That's so sweet, Horatio.

It's the truth, Calleigh. He ran his hand down her arm.

"Oh, please, you're both making me ill."

Calleigh frowned at him. "Well, then, you can always leave. Were you invited here?"

"Nice try, Calleigh. This isn't a private home, I don't need an invitation."

"Fine, we're leaving anyway. That's what I came to tell you, Horatio, we have a call. From what they told me, you might want to…" she glanced at his refrigerator…"before we leave."

"Oh, how sweet, brother, she even tells you when to eat."

"I think you'd better leave, you'll be wanted on this call, too. It IS a homicide, after all."

"I'll see you soon, Horatio."

Calleigh turned to see Horatio sipping a warm beverage from a large coffee mug. "Is that…?" He nodded. "What's it taste like?"

"They all taste different, this one is particularly salty, but I take what I can get."

She looked down at the floor. "Um, what about mine?"

"Yours isn't salty at all. You must drink plenty of water…and it's also slightly sweet, probably from all the coffee you drink." He took another sip and put the mug back in his refrigerator, snapping the lock shut. "Ready to go?" She nodded. "We'll take my Hummer."

They drove quietly out to the glades where the murders had occurred. Calleigh got out first and after grabbing her kit, hurried over to the other investigators. Seeing the gruesome sight in front of her, she knew she needed to warn Horatio. She turned to hurry and catch him, but it was too late, she ran right into his chest. "Sorry, I was coming to warn you."

"It's fine, Calleigh, let's get to work." They had only been on the scene about thirty minutes when Calleigh began to get the feeling that Horatio was in trouble. She stopped working and looked over at him.

Go feed, Horatio.

It's too late for that, Calleigh.

Then, you know what you have to do, Handsome.

He walked over and grasped her arm, and then pulled her away from the scene. "Get in the back seat." He looked around to make sure no one noticed that they were missing, and then followed her into the Hummer. He kissed her deeply as he lowered her onto the seat, and then gently sank his teeth into her neck. She moaned with pleasure as his soft hands caressed her body as he drank from her.

"Oh, God, Horatio…more."

"No, Love, we have to get back." He opened his wrist for her, allowing her to replenish her blood supply as he closed her wound. As he opened the door, they found Raymond waiting for them.

"You are feeding her? You know we don't allow our females to feed!"

"She is mine, and I'll do with her as I please, Ray."

Calleigh exited the Hummer and moved in front of Horatio. "Yes, I AM his, and he'll do with me what I ALLOW him to do!"

Raymond reached out and stroked Calleigh's cheek. "Horatio, you've certainly picked a feisty one."

Calleigh was fuming. "You wanna see feisty?" She stepped forward and punched Raymond in the face. "Now, leave us alone, Ray. Oh, and if you ever think of touching me again…remember that I have silver bullets in my gun and a sharpened stake with your name on it!"

Raymond showed her his fangs, surprised when she didn't show fear. "I'll deal with you later, brother." He looked at the couple over his shoulder as he returned to the crime scene.

"You shouldn't have done that, Sweetheart."

"He's not going to touch me, Horatio. Wait, you don't pass your women around, do you?"

"Not as a rule, no…but he's told me he wants you for himself."

"You're not going to …"

"No, I've already told him that you belong to me, which means you are untouchable. The hard part is that his woman is after me. In his warped mine, the easiest thing is just to share."

"That is disgusting. So who's this woman, so when I see her coming I can scratch her eyes out?"

He laughed, stroked her arm gently, and then pointed to the crime scene. "She's over there, by the patrol car, with the long brown hair."

"Yelena? Yelena Salas belongs to Ray?"

"So you're friends?"

"I didn't say that…I know her, but we've never been friendly. Now that I know she wants you, it's gonna get ugly if she comes around." She laughed. "You know, I've never been the possessive type before. Now, I even think of someone looking at you twice I want to…is that from your blood?"

"Yes, everything is enhanced. All your senses will be heightened, and your feelings will be stronger. You will love and hate more deeply, be more protective and possessive of those you care about, and be much stronger…which is why you weren't injured when you hit my brother. To a normal mortal, hitting a vampire is like punching a statue."

"So I'm more like you now, just still breathing. That must be why I crave your blood."

"No, that means you're hungry for something else. Bloodlust is a powerful thing." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Let's get this crime scene processed so we can get back to the lab and have a little alone time."

"Sounds wonderful, Handsome. Lead the way."