Iris
Josef and Alana exited the hospital building, walking together to the parking lot. They paused just a few feet from the door where Alana's red Lexus was parked. Josef, excited by the prospect of driving Alana's car, raced towards the shiny red vehicle.
Alana smirked and made her way towards the four hundred year old vampire, who was behaving more like a sixteen year old who'd just gotten his license. She slipped her hand into her purse and sighed as she approached.
"Ye'll be needin' these ta drive." she informed him holding up her keys by the custom. 'I Tolerate Me Cat' keychain.
Josef looked at her and smiled.
"Unless yer planin' on hotwirin' me car."
Josef made a face and shook his head. "Of course not." he assured her.
Alana then tossed him the keys. "Good. If ye put so much as one scratch on me car, Josef, ye'll be comin' face ta face with the end of yer existence."
Josef caught the keys in his hand and smirked at the Irish woman. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll be careful. I'll treat it like it was my own car."
Alana raised her hand. "No, ye'll treat it like it's me car. I've seen what ye do ta yer own cars."
Josef just looked at the red head. "Do you want me to sign something?"
Alana shook her head. "Haven't ye signed enough paperwork tanight? That won't be necessary. If ye so much as scrape one fleck of paint… I'll jest make ye pay ta have the new parts made. I know where ye work. I know where ye live." she reminded him.
"I'll treat it like you treat my black card." he promised.
Alana gave the vampire, who was standing in front of her car, a look of warning. Sexy, brilliant, powerful, Josef Kostan was about to get behind the wheel of her car. It would have been the perfect picture except… "Yer not dressed ta drive me car."
Josef paused, his hand on the car door. He turned and looked at her. "You sure have a lot of rules for driving." His hands went to his belt and began loosening the buckle.
Alana giggled. "Now would not be an appropriate time ta remove yer pants." She helpfully pointed out. She tilted her head and waved her hand transforming Josef's business suit into suitable driving attire. (A black leather motorcycle jacket, black fitted t-shirt, dark blue boot cut jeans and black boots.) "That's better." she commented eyeing the vampire appreciatively from head to toe.
Josef looked down at his new clothing. He lifted his hand to his chest feeling the fabric of his shirt. "This is nice." he replied with a smile.
Alana bit her bottom lip. Nice wasn't the word for how Josef looked. He looked good in anything. In a business suit he looked powerful, handsome and confident. He played the role of multimillionaire, hedge fund trader well, but there was just something so right about how he looked right now standing in front of her. Wearing jeans, a t-shirt, a black leather jacket and boots he was sexy, dangerous and bad. It embodied his whole personality; his true self.
"So, where did my four thousand dollar, custom made, Armani suit disappear to?"
"Yer still wearin' it." Alana informed the vampire. "I jest altered it."
Josef looked at his secretary, a confused expression on his face. "You altered it? How?"
"Magic." She smiled. "It's like when ye take cocoa and turn it inta brownies. The cocoa is the same, but different."
Josef looked at her, his brows knit in confusion.
"But ye can't turn brownies back inta cocoa, so I guess that's a bad example. I can turn the jeans and t-shirt back inta yer suit later if ye like."
Josef smiled. "And if I wanted to keep these clothes? I have a hundred suits…"
"Ye can leave them as they are. How do ye think I can afford ta dress so well? I know ye've noticed I never wear the same thin' twice. Or do I?" she asked before turning around, her hair falling around her shoulders, her hips swaying seductively as she walked away.
Josef watched Alana as she sauntered off.
"I'll see ye at Mick and Beth's in ten minutes, if ye can keep up." she taunted from across the parking lot.
Josef shook his head as he opened the door to Alana's Lexus. The red head was delusional if she thought that she was going to get all the way across town in ten minutes in a Prius. Unless she could make it fly, she'd be lucky to get there in thirty. He'd show her what it meant to fly he thought to himself as he slid into the soft, white, leather seat of the only Lexus LF-A Roadster in existence. He closed the door, buckled his seat belt and stuck the key in the ignition. The music from Alana's radio, which began playing the moment he started the car, filled the vehicle, and cut through the silence of the parking lot.
A male singer, Josef did not recognize, sang, what he knew from the beat, to be Rock and Roll, which he despised. He pressed random buttons on the lighted dashboard hoping it would silence Alana's music. He only succeeded in starting the song over.
Frustrated, Josef hit a few more buttons. Finally the music ceased and the disk popped out of the center console. He searched the car for a place to put the offending compact disk, and stumbled upon a leopard printed case which contained several CDs. Alana had quite a collection of music; Hinder, Blue October, Nickelback, Mozart; now that was something he could listen to. He quickly flipped through the case looking for an empty sleeve in which to place the CD, titled 'Grease The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'. The CD player, evil as it was, sucked the disk back in and began playing the very moment Josef found somewhere to put it.
Sighing, Josef shifted the vehicle into drive. There was no use fighting with technology. He did his best to ignore the God awful music as he drove. As he pulled out of the parking lot he found himself humming along. He sped through the streets of Los Angeles listening to Greased Lightnin', which he discovered was about a car; very appropriate for the mood he was in. He was singing along by the time the song had played a few times, and didn't even notice the cop pull up behind him.
Meanwhile, Alana stood beside Beth's Prius, which she'd parked in the lot below Mick's home. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and looked at the time. Thanks to magic it'd taken her only ten minutes to get Drexel Avenue just as she'd told Josef. Yet he, the one driving a car that was capable of traveling two hundred plus miles an hour, was nowhere in sight.
In her hand, her cell phone chimed alerting her to a new text message.
Alana where is my wallet?
Alana read the message, giggled aloud to herself and texted Josef back. Earlier, when she was searching her purse for her hair brush and lip gloss, she'd happened to find Josef's wallet. She wasn't sure why it had made it's way there when she'd altered his clothing, but it now seemed clear to her that it was meant to be some sort of cosmic joke on Josef.
I have it. Tis in me purse. : ) 3 xoxo
Josef, who had just given Officer Bullens the registration of a vehicle that was not his, read her message. A smiley, a heart, hugs and kisses. He needed his wallet, not smiles, hearts, hugs and kisses.
Please bring it to me now. The vampire responded.
Alana closed her eyes, sensing that Josef was still in downtown LA, and that he was in trouble. She quickly sent him a message in reply, got back into the Prius and sped off to rescue the vampire from what was probably a well deserved speeding ticket.
"This car isn't registered to you, whoever you are." Officer Matt Bullens, a large, balding man, told the gentlemen he'd just pulled over for speeding.
"Josef Kostan. It's not my car. It belongs to my secretary." the vampire explained.
"Your secretary?" the officer questioned in disbelief.
"Yes, my secretary, Alana Dawson. Her name is on the registration."
The officer looked at the man strangely. Alana Dawson was the name the vehicle was registered to. "Well if this Alana Dawson, the owner of the car, is your secretary, I'm gonna turn in my badge and come work for you Mr. Kostan." He smiled.
Josef grinned. "I could always use more security."
The cop's smile faded. "Step out of the car." he ordered.
Josef sighed, but did as he was asked, trying to remain calm. Alana was on her way. "Officer, my secretary will be here, with my wallet, to explain any minute." the vampire insisted.
"Yeah? Is she going to explain why you were going one-ten in a sixty mile per hour zone too? Keep your hands where I can see them. This car isn't even supposed to exist." he told the man as he walked back to his police car.
Alana arrived a moment later, pulled up behind the officer and parked the car. She got out of Beth's vehicle, mindful of the mini skirt she was wearing, and closed the car door calling attention to herself. "What seems ta be the trouble Officer?" she asked, her voice musical.
Josef turned and looked at the red head who looked like pure sex in her red, skin tight, cleavage baring, lace top and short, black, leather, mini skirt. On her feet were red high heeled shoes that elongated her legs and added height to her petite frame.
The officer took one look at the woman, and instead of jumping to his normal conclusions, that she was a prostitute, he found her alluring. She made him forget he was married. "Uh…" he wiped the drool from his mouth. "Can I help you?"
"I sure hope so." she teased. "A friend of mine sent me a message, Josef Kostan. He's over there. Ye see, he's drivin' me car this evenin'." she explained pointing. "I lost that last hand of poker." she said shaking her head.
"You're Alana Dawson?" the cop questioned. In his hand he held a copy of her license. The woman in the picture was her alright, but looked more like a librarian than the sex kitten standing in front of him.
"Aye, the one and only."
"You don't look like any secretary I've ever met." Officer Bullens informed the red head.
Alana laughed. "What's a secretry supposed ta look like?"
"I don't know." he replied.
Alana took out her wallet and showed him her license, her social security card, her library card and her credit card. They were all proof of he identity. "I have Josef's wallet. He left it on the table." She held it up showing it to the officer.
"It was nice of you to come out here, Miss Dawson, but your friend here, is in a bit of trouble. He was speeding and driving a car without a license. I'm going to have to book him and impound the vehicle."
Alana sighed and pouted. "Oh." She glanced at Josef, who was watching the whole scene in disbelief, his mouth wide open. "Do ye have ta? I know he was speedin', but no one was hurt. No harm done." She smiled. "He's me boss. If ye arrest him, I'm goin' ta be out of a job. I'll lose me house and me insurance. I won't even have me car ta live in, because ye impounded it. I'll be a destitute woman. Ye don't want ta be responsible fer makin' me a destitute youn' woman do ye Officer Bullens?" she purred her voice sexy.
"Well no…" the police officer began.
"I've always had great respect fer eny man who upholds the law." she told him placing her hand on his chest. "Isn't there enythin' ye can do? Can't we work somethin' out?" she asked sweetly, teasingly running a finger down the front of Officer Bullens shirt.
Josef almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Alana, sweet, beautiful Alana, trying to con a Los Angeles police officer into letting him off? Yeah, that was his Alana. He wanted to step in and intervene, but a quick glance at the red head told him to hang back and let her work her magic.
"Well Miss Dawson, I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. You haven't done anything wrong after all." Officer Bullens answered.
"And ye don't really want ta spend the night fillin' out all that paperwork. I know about paperwork, trust me."
"I have to at least issue Mr. Kostan a speeding ticket of one hundred dollars minimum." the cop informed her.
"I think that's more than fair." Alana agreed.
Officer Bullens wrote out the ticket, flipped the pad to the next page and quickly wrote something on it. He tore out the page and handed it to the red head.
"Thank ye, Officer Bullens." Alana said with a smile.
"That's my cell phone number. If you ever want to go out for coffee, I've got lots of life and death stories to tell you about what its really like working for the LAPD." he informed her.
"I'll give ye a call sometime." Alana grinned lying through her teeth.
Officer Bullens turned and walked back to the driver he had pulled over, a smile on his face. He handed him his ticket. "You're free to go son. Drive carefully, and no more speeding. If I catch you again, I won't be so generous." he told him. He didn't wait for a reply. He just got back into his police car, waved at Alana and drove off.
As soon as officer Bullens was out of sight Alana changed her clothes back into what she was wearing earlier and made her way over to Josef. "Yer welcome." she said with a smile.
Josef looked at the ticket in his hand. It was a one hundred dollar speeding ticket for driving seventy miles an hour in a sixty five mile per hour zone. He laughed. He was definitely driving more than seventy miles an hour, but who was he to argue. "Thank you." he said as he slipped the ticket into the pocket of his jeans.
Alana smiled and handed him his wallet. "I really should make ye drive the Prius back ta Mick and Beth's, but I'm givin' ye one more chance. Follow me ta Drexel Avenue, and do not go above the speed limit." she warned before walking away.
Josef nodded, but said nothing even though he was being scolded like a naughty child. He got back into Alana's car, waited for her to pull back onto the highway and followed behind, just as she'd asked.
They dropped off Beth's car without a problem and Alana even allowed Josef to drive the Lexus to his house. They rode in silence, except for the music on the radio, which Alana was surprised to hear; her Grease soundtrack.
When Josef pulled up to his estate he parked the car and turned off the ignition, but did not get out of the vehicle.
"Okay Josef, ye've had yer fun drivin' me car. Now get out so I can get home. Tis late and I'm beyond famished. I haven't the time ta sit here and fuss with ye."
"Would you be willing to sell this car?" Josef questioned.
"NO." Alana replied shortly. "There isn't an amount of money in the world."
"How much did you pay for it? I'll double it… no, triple it!"
"Twas a gift."
"A gift?" Josef questioned.
"Aye, from the CEO of Lexus." she explained matter-of-factly.
Josef didn't question her explanation any further. He just shook his head.
"Besides, I already did somethin' nice fer ye earlier. Now go on. Get out of me car and go join yer harem. It's movie night and they're probably jest startin' their second film now."
"What about dinner?" the vampire asked.
"Rain check. I've got ta get home and feed Lysander, wash me hair, do some laundry…"
"I thought you just said you were hungry?" Josef wondered aloud.
"I am. I was plannin' on meetin' up with ye later, but it's already 9:30. I'll jest grab somethin' from Burger King on me way home."
"That's ridiculous! There's gourmet food here! Your hair looks fine, your laundry can wait and Lysander isn't going to eat the couch if you don't feed him his Nine Lives." Josef argued.
"Alley Cat." she replied
"I thought he was a house cat?" Josef commented.
"Alley Cat is the brand of food he eats." she answered losing patience with the vampire. "Josef, remember how ye said earlier ye didn't want ta push me temper?" she reminded him.
"You'll feel better once you eat something. Francis is on an Italian kick lately, but he'll make you anything you want." He assured her.
Alana sighed in defeat. Josef knew she couldn't say no to Francis' cooking. "Alright, I'll stay fer dinner."
"Wonderful." Josef smiled, got out of the car and walked to Alana's side to help her out of the vehicle.
The pair entered the house, only to be greeted by Lydia, who was very happy to see Josef.
"See, I told you I heard a car! Josef's home!" Lydia shouted in the direction of the theater room.
"Josef!" squealed Christy, Autumn, Gretchen, Zoe, Dana and Tawny. They were all dressed in what was their idea of pajamas; skimpy, colorful, Victoria's Secret lingerie.
"You're just in time for the movie!" Zoe informed him with a smile.
"We're watching Hairspray because Zac Efron from High School Musical is in it." Tawny told the vampire.
Josef managed a half hearted smile. "That's nice."
"Alana, you can join us too if you want. We have plenty of popcorn; it's fat free of course." Gretchen told the red head.
Josef opened his mouth to reply, but Alana stopped him. "Oh thank ye girls, but I'm not stayin'. I jest came by ta drop off Josef and grab some paperwork." Alana replied with a smile.
"Oh Bummer! Are you sure? Mackenzie flaked on us earlier. She's writing this-this thing for school so there's room on the couch." Autumn pointed out.
This time Josef spoke up. "Thank you for the offer ladies, but we won't be joining you for a movie this evening." Josef told the girls who responded with pouts and sad sighs.
"Maybe some other time then?" Christy asked close to tears.
"Some other time." Alana assured the emotional young woman.
"We should probably go watch our movie now. We only have it for one night. Hollywood Video charges late fees, like that place where you rent books from." Tawny informed the red head.
The rest of the girls nodded in agreement. "Yeah it's tragic." Dana added.
"I won't keep you then. Could you please tell Kim I'm looking for her?" Josef questioned.
"Yeah sure. I think she's in the kitchen. She got some new diet cook book and was trying to get Francis to make salmon pancakes. She says they're supposed to make you look younger." Lydia explained before she and the girls walked off.
"Salmon pancakes, fat free pop corn and movies starrin' one of the Disney kids. Sounds like ye already have a full night Josef. I think I'm jest goin' ta get goin'." Alana commented as she turned around to leave.
"Oh Josef, you're home!" Kim shrieked from the top of the stairs. She shielded her eyes with her hand and squinted down into the lobby. "And you brought the help with you. That's so sweet."
Alana turned towards the voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. She'd recognize it anywhere.
Like the other girls, Kim was wearing her idea of night wear; a black sheer feathery peignoir, over a black and red teddy and a pair of red marabou high heeled slippers on her feet. She raced down the stairs towards the vampire.
Josef ignored the blonde and turned his attention back to Alana. "Don't leave." he pleaded.
Kim came up behind Josef wrapping her arms around him. She looked at the red head. "Yes, please stay. The toilet upstairs is clogged." she snickered.
"Kim." Josef replied in a warning tone.
"What? She's dressed for her new job. I thought you brought her home to help out." she pouted.
"They didn't teach ye how ta use a plunger in beauty school?" Alana countered. "I might be considered help, but I'm not yer help."
Kim made a face. "You sure fooled me. What's up with the sweatpants? Too much cheesecake? Are they the only thing you can fit into?"
Josef ,who was caught in the middle, turned to Kim. He flashed his eyes and fangs at her menacingly. "That's enough Kimberly. Alana is a guest in my home. You will treat her with respect."
Kim pouted and gave Alana a dirty look. "Why do you have to work tonight?" she whined. "It's movie night and we haven't had any alone time in such a long while. I bought this new ensemble just for you. She can do paperwork without you. Fat girls are supposed to be really smart:" she giggled motioning to the hundred and five pound red head standing across from her.
'Fat, huh?' Alana thought to herself wishing she'd stayed in the sexy clothes she had on earlier. She hadn't gained a pound in over one hundred years.
"C'mon let's go to my room now. We'll be quiet. The girls won't even have time to miss us." Kim suggested seductively.
Josef removed the blonde that was clinging to him. "I have other plans tonight Kim." he replied coldly. He had only wanted her to fulfill one of his basic vampire needs. It was clear that was not all she was willing to offer, and fighting her off would be a waste of his time; especially since Alana was there. "Why don't you go watch the movie with the rest of the girls, but before you do, would you please tell Mackenzie I'd like to speak with her?"
Kim shot an evil look at Alana who was ruining her plans for the evening. "Fine, I'll go tell her." she told Josef before walking away.
Josef turned to Alana. He wanted to apologize for Kim's behavior, but Alana's laughter interrupted him.
"Tis such a shame when food spoils." she chuckled shaking her head. Changing her mind about whether or not she was staying, she turned and began walking towards the kitchen. "I throw out me rotten food, put it down the garbage disposal. No sense keepin' it around ta stink up the place. Not even Lysander will touch it. That's how ye know it's really bad." She walked into the kitchen, disappearing from Josef's view.
Mackenzie appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Hi Josef. Was that Alana I just heard?"
Josef nodded. "Yes, she just headed off to the kitchen. I told her Francis made Italian. It's her favorite."
"Oh. I hope Francis got the salmon smell out from earlier. That will surely kill her appetite." she commented. "Is she going to be here for a little while? I wanted to give her back the book I borrowed from her."
"I know she's staying for something to eat. Speaking of eating…" Josef approached her.
Mackenzie smiled. "Don't take this the wrong way Josef, but can we make this fast? I have a twelve page English thesis due on Tuesday, and I'm not even half way done."
"Of course. I'm only interested in dinner tonight." he assured the young woman. Josef smiled, took Mackenzie by the hand and escorted her upstairs to one of the guest rooms.
Josef, figuring that Alana would be occupied with finding something to eat, had his own dinner and then quickly showered. He wanted to remove the stench of hospital from his otherwise clean body. After he was showered and dressed Josef went in search of the red head, who he thought was still in the kitchen. He walked into the dark, empty kitchen which smelled strongly of citrus; no Alana.
He peeked into the theater room, thinking maybe she'd decided to join the girls after all, but found that only Lydia, Autumn, Tawny, Zoe and Gretchen were watching the movie. They waved politely. Josef smiled and continued his search for Alana.
He finally found her in the office he was forced to redecorate. She was fast asleep on the couch, a pile of papers in her hand. Josef entered the room, being careful not to wake her. He began to remove the papers from her hand.
Alana jolted awake throwing them everywhere. She looked at the vampire who was eye level with her. "I wasn't sleepin'!" she insisted. "I was…" she looked down at the couch cushion beside her. "on hold with Indonesia for thirteen minutes."
Josef smiled and held out his hand to help her up. "Thirteen minutes? That's going to cost you. Why didn't you use the phone on the desk?"
Alana took Josef's hand rising from the couch. "I like me phone. Yer phone's over there." she pointed groggily.
Josef grinned and shook his head. "Maybe you should get some sleep."
"That's what I intend ta do. After I go home, try not ta fall asleep in the shower and call Mr. Takimoto. Now give me, me keys. Yer not keepin' me car." she informed him,
"I meant here. You're in no condition to drive." Josef insisted.
"Although yer new couch is very comfortable, I'd prefer me own bed, and I'm not bunkin' in the freshie dorms, but thanks." she replied lowering herself to the floor to pick up the fallen papers.
Josef too knelt down to help. "You don't have to sleep on the couch or in any of the freshies' rooms."
"Where would ye have me sleep then?" she asked looking up at him.
"Wherever you want. There's plenty of guest rooms. There's my room." he added.
Alana tilted her head and quirked a brow at the vampire. She shook her head. "It may be a wee bit cold in there Josef, especially since I sleep naked." she teased gathering the papers into a neat stack. She rose from the floor.
"So do I." replied Josef. "What a coincidence." he grinned. "I wasn't talking about my freezer room. I have a room with a bed, a bedroom."
Alana made a face. "Ye do?" she commented. "Why?" She thought for a moment. "Never mind. Don't answer that. I'm really not interested in what goes on in yer love den."
Josef chuckled. "Well you have to sleep somewhere. I'm not letting you drive home tonight."
The red head sighed and crossed her arms. She found it odd that Josef was acting concerned for her well being. She'd driven home late from the office before and he'd never even questioned it. "Out with it Josef. Not that I don't appreciate it, but what's with the sudden concern?"
"You were nice enough to save my ass with that police officer earlier. I thought I'd return the favor." he answered rising from the floor.
"Ye don't owe me enythin'. I can take care of meself." Alana replied moving to retrieve her purse from the table. "I have a million and one thin's ta do before work tomorrow, especially if the boss is plannin' on takin' some time off." She slipped her purse on her shoulder and held out her hand. "May I please have me keys?"
"I already told you, I'm not letting you drive home. You don't have to worry about work tomorrow. You're staying at the bosses' house. I'm sure he won't mind if you come in late." Josef said with a grin.
"I have ta call Mr. Takimoto and reschedule all yer business meetin's. There's that luncheon ye were supposed ta attend. Ye already RSVPed so I have ta call them."
"I haven't even decided if I'm going away yet." Josef argued, knowing very well that he had already decided he was going to take a week off to visit a friend in Andorra.
"All the more reason fer me ta go home and get some sleep. I'm goin' ta need me energy if I'm goin' ta run Kostan industries while yer gone." Alana reminded him.
"I have this new technology here. It's called a computer. I have several right here in the my house, phones too." Josef teased. "Maybe I'll just close the office tomorrow. You can work from here."
"Ye really want me ta stay?" She questioned, surprised he'd even suggest closing the office. "If ye weren't a vampire, I'd think ye were comin' down with somethin'."
Josef smiled. Part of him wanted to tell her the real reason he wanted her to stay. After the events of the day and Sarah's death the night before, he just didn't want to be alone. Josef was hardly alone with nine women living in his house at his beck and call, but he didn't want any of them; he wanted Alana. He wanted to be close enough to hear her heartbeat. Close enough to know she was safe.
"Fine. I'll stay." She finally agreed. "Where am I sleepin'?"
Josef smiled, took her by the hand and without saying a word escorted her out of the room, and up the stairs to the third floor of his house. He opened a door to one of the many rooms and brought Alana inside. The room was under decorated, cold and dark; barely lit except for the lamps that hung on the walls. In the center of the room was an industrial freezer, a shower and a place to hang clothes, but no bed.
"So this is where ye sleep?" Alana asked. She had always been curious to see where Josef retreated to after a long day at the office. "It's nice."
Josef smirked. "No, actually this is just for show." he explained.
"I can see why. Tis quite impressive." She stifled a laugh not wanting to offend the vampire. "Thanks fer showin' it ta me."
Josef again said nothing. He took Alana by the hand and brought her over to the wall where there was a panel that she assumed was used to control the temperature of the room.
"This isn't what I wanted to show you." he answered with a grin as he opened the panel to reveal a square plate of glass with the outline of a palm print etched on it.
Alana watched as the vampire pressed his hand to the plate. It lit up and opened the wall beside it. She had suspected Josef was a bit of a security freak, being a vampire he had to be, but this was something straight out of a James Bond movie.
"I want to show you something I've never shown anyone before," Josef explained. "because I trust you."
Alana adjusted her purse on her shoulder.
"I need you to trust me too, because once you go past this wall, no one can hear us, no one can see us, no one will be able to find us."
Alana laughed nervously. "Um…" she looked at the vampire. "Okay. Why not? I trust ye. Let's go live in the wall. It'll be like that Edgar Allen Poe story, except I'll have company."
Josef just shook his head. He pressed a button next to the glass panel and lifted the red head's hand, which he was still holding in his own, to the glass. "I'm not holding you prisoner. I'm just giving you access to a part of the house no one knows about. You're welcome up here anytime. I just programmed your hand print so the passage will open."
Alana looked down at her hand which was still on the hand print scanner and then back at the vampire. "No one else knows about this?" she questioned. "Not even Mick?" She was surprised that he was not only letting her in on the secret, but giving her access to it. She removed her hand from the scanner.
"No one except you and I… and, well, the contractors who built the addition." he replied.
Alana thought about what Josef just told her. He was showing her a secret passageway that led to what? Only he knew. She wanted to ask why. Why was he sharing this with her? But she wasn't sure if it would upset him. He had his reasons. Who was she to question them?
"Ladies first." Josef said with a smile moving away from the wall so that Alana could pass through. "Watch your step." he cautioned.
Alana looked at the vampire before she walked through the secret doorway, cautious of where she was stepping, as Josef had instructed.
Josef followed the red head, the wall closing behind them.
Alana stepped up onto a platform which was at the bottom of a massive staircase. She clutched her purse to her shoulder, and without turning around to look at Josef, began climbing the stairs.
"When you get to the top of the stairs, just open the door."
Alana made her way up to the landing and opened the heavy, ornately carved, double doors.
They opened to a spacious well lit room. It was a bedroom with a huge walk-in closet, lush carpeted floors and a super king sized, Tudor four poster bed with matching bed side tables. In the corner of the room there was a desk and a chair. Across the room on the wall there hung a flat screen plasma television. The whole room was decorated by someone masculine; someone who had expensive taste.
"This is yer room?" Alana asked, her eyes wide.
"This is my bedroom." Josef said proudly. "There's a bathroom through there if you'd like to shower."
"Sure." Alana said, a look of awe on her face.
"I'll get you something to wear." Josef told her disappearing through the closet doors.
Alana stood in the middle of the room, taking in her surroundings. So this was Josef's bedroom? Of course it was. It screamed Josef Kostan; from the soft carpet on the floor, to the dark red comforter on the bed. The bed, which had probably previously belonged to some royal family, looked so inviting. She wanted nothing more than to run over to it and jump right in, but she was sweaty from running around earlier, and since she was a guest in Josef's bedroom the last thing she wanted to do was dirty the sheets. Besides, there was a part of her that was really curious to see what Josef's personal bathroom looked like.
The vampire returned with an armful of clothing; one of his dress shirts, a pair of boxer shorts and white socks. "There are clean towels in the bathroom." Josef told her as he handed her the clothes.
Alana accepted Josef's clothing with a smile. "Thank ye."
"You're welcome."
She turned and walked in the direction of what she thought was the bathroom.
"That's my freezer room. The bathroom is right through there." He pointed to the door nearest to the closet.
Alana nodded, changed her direction and walked into the bathroom closing the door behind her with a soft click. The bathroom was as extravagant as she'd expected it to be. The tiles on the wall were black with gold flecks, matching the marble counter top that surrounded the double sink. The floor, like the walls was tile, but instead of black and gold, it was simply white. There was a massive shower with several shower heads in the corner of the room, large enough to fit a whole football team at once. The toilet was beside the shower, hidden by a privacy wall. Clean red towels were stacked neatly on the built in shelves.
Josef walked back over to the closet in search of something comfortable to lounge in. He selected a pair of blue silk pajama pants and quickly changed into them. He then returned to the bedroom. He picked up the television remote from the bedside table and turned the television on to the Bloomberg report, muting the sound. He settled himself on the bed and laid back against the pillows, one arm above his head, one across his bare chest.
Alana set the clean clothes between the sinks on the marble counter top, and made her way to the shower. She opened the glass door, turned on the tap and watched with fascination as water cascaded down from the several large shower heads. She closed the door and began removing her clothing.
Josef, bored with what was on TV, found himself listening to the sounds Alana was making inside the bathroom. She had turned on the shower and was getting undressed. He didn't have to see her to know that she was removing her clothing piece by piece. Each item made its own distinct sound as it fell to the floor.
Josef grew frustrated thinking about the red head standing in the middle of his bathroom, naked as the day she was born. He heard the sound of delicate feet as she padded across the tile floor to the shower. The glass door, creaking softly, alerted him that Alana had stepped inside.
The red head sighed as she moved beneath the hot spray of water that rained down on her body. She tilted her head back wetting her hair and face. She turned so that her back was to the glass door of the shower and reached for the soap and wash cloth.
Josef closed his eyes listening to the soft noises Alana made. He could hear the water as it fell from the shower heads and trickled down her body. It enticed and aroused him. He opened his eyes, rose from the bed and made his way to the bathroom door. He stood in front of it, able to feel the heat within the bathroom. His hand went to the door knob as if it had a mind of it's own. He found himself turning the knob against his better judgment. 'I'm just going to make sure she's alright.' he rationalized. He opened the door, allowing some of the steam that was rising to the ceiling to escape from the bathroom. Alana was standing beneath one of the shower heads, her pale skin soapy and rosy from the temperature of the water. She stood facing away from him, her back, shoulders and perfectly rounded rear in view. Her hair, which was wet, fell down her shoulders in loose curls. He had never noticed how long it actually was. He imagined it would cover her breasts if she were facing him. He had never seen anything more captivating or beautiful in his life. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.
Sensing Josef was not only at the door, but was watching her shower, Alana continued to face the wall. She finished soaping herself up, and thoroughly rinsed her body. She washed her hair with Josef's shampoo and rinsed her red locks until the suds dissipated.
"Josef." Alana stated over the sound of the water. "If ye wish ta maintain the illusion of yer stealthy vampire abilities, I'd exit the bathroom now. I'm jest about finished, and I know ye wouldn't want me ta know ye were in here."
Josef, ashamed and shocked that Alana had caught him doing something as disrespectful as peeping in on her in the shower, quickly closed the bathroom door and moved swiftly back to the bedroom.
Hearing the door close, Alana chuckled softly to herself. She finished showering, turned off the water and stepped out into the steamy bathroom.
Josef sat on the bed confused by what had just happened. Alana had known all along that he was standing there. How? Why had he even peeked in on her in the first place? He made it a point to give women the respect and privacy they deserved. Sure he'd done some peeping in his younger days, but it wasn't something he did now, especially to Alana.
Alana dried off, dressed in the clothes that Josef had given her, with one tiny alteration, and wrapped her hair in a towel. She exited the bathroom and walked into the bedroom. Sensing Josef's embarrassment about being caught spying on her, she decided she wouldn't mention it. She wasn't angry with him or embarrassed. She was flattered.
Josef, who was lying on the bed watching the television, purposely had his back towards the bathroom door.
Alana walked to the other side of the bed, sat down at the edge of the mattress and looked at the vampire. "What are ye watchin'?" she asked hoping to avoid an awkward silence.
Josef slid the remote towards her. "Whatever you want to watch." he told her with a smile.
Alana took the remote, scooted back on the bed and began flipping through the channels. She could feel Josef looking at her again. She settled on a re-run of Saturday Night Live and set the remote down on the bedside table.
Josef couldn't help but steal a glance at the redhead who was sitting beside him. She was sitting on his bed, wearing his shirt. She smelled like his soap and his shampoo from showering in his bathroom. Normally, Josef did not think like a Neanderthal. He chastised Mick for being so possessive of Beth, but yet, here he was, doing the same thing with Alana, all because she was wearing his shirt, which looked very good on her.
Alana chewed her bottom lip while she watched a funny sketch between guest host Britney Spears and one of the old cast members of Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Fallon. She glanced over at Josef, who again was looking at her. "What is it Josef? Have I grown enother head and yer afraid ta tell me?" she asked removing the towel from her hair.
"No." Josef answered. "Your head is fine. It's just…you're wearing my shirt." he pointed out.
Alana looked down at the blue dress shirt she was wearing and back up at the vampire. "Aye, I am. Ye gave it ta me ta wear, didn't ye?" she questioned a bit confused.
"I thought maybe you'd want to change it into something else." he answered motioning with his hand.
"Well, I could tell ye that every time I use me magic, it drains me. Since I've been usin' it a lot lately, I'm knackered, and didn't want ta use enymore of me energy." she explained. "Which isn't a lie."
Josef watched her face as she spoke.
"The real reason is a wee bit embarrassin'." she continued her cheeks pink.
"Well?" Josef prodded, curious to know why she was wearing his shirt.
"I wanted ta wear yer shirt..." she began. "becauseIwantedtafeelclosetaye." she muttered, her words all strung together.
Josef chuckled, unable to make out the words the red head had just said. "What did you just say?" he asked.
Alana covered her face with her hands and looked down at the comforter. "Josef, I beg ye, please don't make me repeat it." she managed swallowing hard.
"I didn't hear it the first time." he reminded her.
Alana sighed and dropped her hands from her face. She turned to look at him. "I said, I'm wearin' yer shirt because I wanted ta feel close ta ye."
"Oh. Well that's fine." Josef told the red head nonchalantly, not wanting to give her anymore reason for embarrassment. He was surprised and thrilled by her answer. There was that possessive feeling again.
"Yer socks are back in yer dresser. I don't wear socks ta bed." she stated looking at the TV for a moment.
So she was wearing his shirt and his boxers. He quickly glanced down at the red head's long legs. He didn't see his boxers.
"I changed yer boxer shorts inta somethin' a little more suitable." she replied catching Josef's gaze as he looked up from her thigh. No longer embarrassed, she lifted the hem of the shirt teasingly to reveal a glimpse of something white and lacy. "I'll launder them, and change them back before I return them, of course."
Josef, seeing what Alana had changed his boxers into nearly growled as he pounced on the redhead. "Keep them." he said huskily before covering her mouth with his own.
Alana kissed the vampire back, surprised but happy by his reaction to what she was wearing. She invited his tongue into the warm depths of her mouth, kissing him hungrily. Josef continued his assault on Alana's lips, his hands moving up her body. Alana's hands roamed over Josef's pale bare back and shoulders holding onto him as they made out like a couple of hormonal teenagers.
Josef pushed the fabric of the shirt Alana was wearing up, his hand brushing against her soft creamy skin. Alana moaned softly against the vampire's mouth, relishing in the feeling of his skin against hers.
Josef, frustrated by the barrier of the shirt, quickly moved his fingers to the buttons, undoing them and pulling the fabric apart to reveal more of Alana's pale flesh.
Alana sighed contentedly as Josef moved the shirt away from her body and brought his hands to her breasts, massaging them gently. It was all so right. It felt perfect, almost fated for them to be together like this. All rational thoughts left her mind, all she could focus on was Josef and how badly she wanted him. How desperately she needed him. She was grateful and thankful that he was holding her again, kissing her again. Something that she never thought she'd get to experience after their separation so long ago. Yet, here they were.
Things between the pair were starting to get intense, too intense, Josef realized. Not that he didn't want things between them to be intense. He wanted nothing more than to give into everything he was feeling right now; to show Alana how he was feeling. It overwhelmed him.
Instead of there being the expected awkward feeling between them like new lovers usually experience, there was a sense of déjà vu; a familiar feeling. To the vampire, kissing Alana, touching Alana, being with Alana felt like coming home to something he had been away from; something he'd forgotten.
Alana raised her hand to Josef's torso pressing her palm flat against his abdomen. With urgency she moved it lower, lower, lower until she reached the silk pants he was wearing. Looking up at him, with passion in her eyes, she slid her hand beneath the waistband.
Josef separated himself from the red head. She was panting, her face was flushed, her lips swollen from his kisses, her wet hair clinging to her forehead. The shirt she wore was unbuttoned and had ridden up to expose the lacy underwear she'd turned his boxers into. "We have to stop." Josef told her, though that was the last thing he wanted at the moment.
Alana, who was breathless from their heated make out session, nodded, brought her hands to the shirt she was wearing, and began to button it up. "Right. You're right." she agreed.
"I don't want to." Josef admitted sounding a little bit whiny.
"But yer me boss and even though we've been on a date and we've kissed and ye've now seen me topless ye've decided it's wrong and inappropriate fer us ta see each other?" she questioned.
"No." Josef replied adamantly. "I don't think it's wrong or inappropriate for us to see each other. I'd like to see more of you. I really would." he eyed her appreciatively. "It's just… I'm going out of town tomorrow and I don't want to leave you like this." he explained running a hand through his hair. "I don't want you to feel like this is just a one time thing." he sighed. He wasn't explaining himself well enough.
Alana held up her hand to stop the flustered vampire. "Josef, I understand." she told him. "Ye don't need ta explain. We'll jest call it bad timin'." she replied. She hadn't wanted to stop either, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Instead she decided to change the subject. "How long are ye goin' ta be gone?"
"A week, maybe two at the most. I thought about what you said about taking some time off. I made arrangements to leave in the morning."
"Ye made arrangements ta leave in the mornin'? Ye told me earlier that ye didn't know if ye were goin' or not, and fer some reason ye wanted me ta stay here tanight." she groaned. "Josef, do ye know how much work I'm goin' ta have ta do tomorrow?" She took a deep breath.
"I already called Mr. Takimoto and explained that I will not be here for his visit. I told him that my very beautiful, very capable secretary will be overseeing our business transaction." Josef informed her. "I called and sent my regards for the luncheon with the Mayor. I also sent him a sizable donation to the city, or his daughter's new nose, or whatever he decides to do with it." he smirked.
Alana couldn't help but laugh at his comment about the shady mayor. She didn't want to be angry with Josef, especially since being so close to him made her feel so happy. Although, he'd waited til practically the last minute to tell her he was going away he had taken care of everything. "I guess I can't be mad at ye. Ye already thought of everythin'. I'm jest curious… if ye knew all this, why'd ye ask me ta stay?"
Josef smiled. "The same reason you're wearing my shirt." he confessed rising from the bed.
Alana grinned to herself, Josef's answer making her feel all warm and tingly.
The vampire walked to Alana's side of the bed. He bent down and kissed her softly. "We'll pick up where we left off when I return." he promised as he turned and walked towards his freezer room. He wanted to stay with her, to hold her until she fell asleep, but he didn't trust himself to keep his hands to himself.
"I'm lookin' forward ta it." Alana responded watching him as he walked away.
Josef paused at the door. He really needed to get into his sub zero and it wasn't because he was tired. "Goodnight Alana." he told the red head before disappearing into his freezer room.
"G'night." Alana responded. She lifted her hands to her lips which were still swollen from Josef's kisses and smiled. She just sat there for a moment on the bed thinking about what could have happened between them, what was going to happen between them when Josef returned from his trip.
She reached over to the bedside table for the remote, turned off the TV and pulled the covers back from the bed. Alana slid beneath the soft sheets which were also red, pulled the covers up and laid her head down on the pillow. She was in Josef's bed in Josef's secret bedroom, wearing Josef's shirt. It couldn't get any better than that! She closed her eyes and gave into the feeling of sleep that overcame her.
Around 3am Josef was awoken by the sound of Alana crying. Fearing something was wrong, he opened the door of his freezer, got out, put on his pants and made his way to the four poster bed she was sleeping in. Upon closer inspection he saw that Alana was having a nightmare.
"Mo Leanbh!" the red head sobbed, tears running down her cheeks. "Mo Leanbh!"
Josef climbed onto the bed, and careful not to frighten Alana, he wrapped his arms around her holding her until her sobs subsided. He wasn't sure what to make of her fitful nightmare. From the way she was crying and screaming in Gaelic, Josef had a feeling it wasn't just a nightmare, but something Alana had experienced before. It worried him.
Once he was sure she was alright, he unwrapped his arms from around her, got off the bed and retuned to his freezer room. He climbed back into his freezer, but didn't sleep. He spent the rest of the night listening to Alana's heartbeat and wondering what could have happened to cause her so much pain.