CHAPTER FOURTEEN - The Date
Joef Kostan paced back and forth in his office, phone to his ear, listening intently.
"So that's all you've been able to come up with so far? They must be deep under cover.. . . Yes, I understand." He listened again, choosing a different path to pace. "So, Victor, what do you suggest? Money is no object, of course, and I want them found, and I want them found NOW!" More pacing. "Put it all in place and get back to me in the next forty-eight hours." Silence. "Of course. Good-bye, Victor." He snapped his phone shut and looked out of his window, thinking, 'well, that's one problem we're working on—now for this infernal LIST!'
He was wishing his friend Mick could be here to help figure this one out, but Mick was now somewhere in the middle of the ocean enjoying moonlit nights with his new wife. WIFE! And now Simone was hinting around! And she expected him to just turn her as soon as Mick and Beth got home!
"Complications," he muttered under his breath. "I HATE complications!"
--
I woke up to afternoon sun. I had slept all day! Wow, I needed it! All I'd done is get up occasionally for bathroom breaks and water chugging. I was always thirsty these days—and hungry! I looked at the note Mick had left me along with another rose on my pillow. I had gone to check and had seen that the note was true—there really was a freezer in the other bedroom. I assumed he was still sleeping in it. I put on a robe, brushed my hair and teeth, and went off to find the kitchen in this spacious palace of a suite. I followed the smell of food.
I walked into the kitchen, and there was Mick in his white Silkies, cooking something that smelled great! My breath caught in my throat just looking at him, half naked, cooking me breakfast! Would the wonder of knowing he was mine ever go away? Did every bride feel like this? I walked up to him and put my arms around his waist. He put down the spatula and turned to kiss me. We smiled shyly at each other. Last night had been so incredible! And here we were the next day feeling shy! I leaned my head on his chest. Body contact always seemed to bring us back to ourselves. His hands slid up my back, and one of his hands rubbed the back of my neck.
"How did you sleep?"
"Oh, gosh, Mick—I slept like the dead!"
"Well, that's excellent news. I figured you'd be up soon and that you'd be starving, so—how about eggs Benedict?"
"You made eggs Benedict?"
"No, I ordered them—they'll be here in a minute. I wasn't sure you liked them, so I'm just making you some French toast too."
"Mick! I can't eat all that!"
"Eat what you like—after last night, you need a lot of calories!"
He smiled and pulled my face up by the chin. "You look well rested. Now let's feed you." He bent down and kissed me tenderly as the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it, Mick—you keep doing what you're doing—"
As I was enjoying my enormous feast of French toast, milk, eggs Benedict, juice, fresh fruit, tea, looking at Mick(!), we discussed our plans for tonight.
"Want to go out on the town? Do it up right? Make up for when you stood me up in New York City?"
I squinted my eyes and glared at him. "You aren't being nice. I had to go home that night." I was trying not to talk with my mouth full, but the food was so good!
"No, you didn't, and I AM being nice, and since you did bail out on me in New York, I'm saying I want to take you out on the town now—maybe we can make up for that missed experience."
We looked at each other. I swallowed and took a sip of my orange juice. "Mick—I—if I could do that night over, I'd stay with you."
He was still looking at me. "I know. And—I know why you left. You were afraid you'd sleep with me."
I looked down at my plate, then back at him. "You're right. I was, and I would have, and I wasn't ready."
He blew out a breath. "I know that too. Maybe I wasn't ready either, but now—that's all behind us. Beth, let me show you how fun I can be on a date." He looked kind of pleadingly at me and I laughed. He laughed too.
"You're right—we really should date a little longer before we have sex!" We were both laughing in earnest now.
"I'm apologizing for not dating you longer, although we might have been dating a lot longer if you'd stayed with me in New York. . ."
"Enough about New York already! Yes! Let's go out! I'm up for it, and I can't wait to see how you act on a real date!"
He was smiling beguilingly. "Well, now that we have established that I'm sorry I didn't date you longer, and that we should actually start dating tonight, I just want to make a point."
I raised my eyebrows and his eyes twinkled at me. I sat back and folded my arms, still chewing.
"Fine. Make your point. I'm listening."
"All right. I would have suggested we go out on a real date, you know, that night, but you took off my pants before I could get a word out."
He looked at me as though he was very serious. I almost choked. Good thing I had swallowed!
"WHAT!? I did what?" I had to take a drink to push the food down.
He looked down at the table where his arms rested, then back up at me. "It's like I said—I would have dated you for a very long time, if you'd let me, but I can't help it if you undressed me and had your way with me before I could take you out."
My mouth was hanging open.
"See? You have no defense. You sit mute. Guilty as accused."
I got up and lunged for him. "MICK! You take that back!"
He stood up quickly and caught me under the arms, then swung me around, threw me over his shoulder carried me off.
"Hey, put me down!" I yelled ineffectively.
"I plan to do just that!" He laid me out gently on one of the leather sofas in the media room, then got on top of me and pressed me into the cushions. I noticed that he was aroused, but then, so was I. He looked into my eyes and I couldn't miss the wicked twinkle in his. "I won't take it back. I said I loved you and then you practically tore my clothes off."
"I did not! You seduced ME!"
"I don't think so. I just wanted to kiss you." He smiled at my outrage. "Say you seduced me."
"I will not!" I began wiggling underneath him, but he was solidly on top of me. I couldn't escape.
He looked serious now. "Say it or you'll be in big trouble. BIG trouble."
His body was pressing on me in all the right places, and my breasts, which had been very tender until his "treatment" last night, were squashed between us. He was much bigger than me, and I calculated my odds of escaping as pretty much nil.
"Okay." I said as I wiggled under him. "I'll admit it--I wanted you."
"And?"
"And WHAT! I said it!"
"No, I want you to say exactly what you wanted to do to me. Tell me."
His sweet breath caressed my face, and his body lying on top of me was making me hot all over. His eyes were so close to mine that they looked like one eye. Cyclops was on top of me! He just waited.
"Okay," I began, taking a breath, "you said you loved me and I went all weak inside and then we kissed, and as soon as we kissed, all I could think about was getting you to take me to bed. I wanted you to make mad, passionate love to me. There. That's how it went."
"Exactly. That is how it went, and that's how we both wanted it to go, and that was the beginning of my LIFE, Beth. And I don't know if we could have started it in New York or not, but I'm so glad we started it. It's never going to end, you know. I'll love you endlessly."
"Me too," I said, barely getting it out before his mouth completely covered mine and we showed each other again how glad we were that this love had begun.
After a while, we were back at the table, smiling at each other. I ate my fruit cup because Mick insisted that the baby needed it.
"Okay, let's take a shower and get dressed to go out. I can make reservations for dinner, if you'd like that—there are lots of really great restaurants here! How about a show? What would you like to do?"
"No—let's just wing it. Let's walk around and see what we find."
"Ah! You like unplanned dates! I did not know this about you!"
"See? We're learning as we go here. But I think it would be fun to just go 'out on the town,' as you like to put it, and let's see where we end up!"
"As you like! Remember it's miles between each casino around here, though, so put on sensible shoes!"
"Will do!" I polished off my fruit and smiled at Mick smiling at me. "I love watching you watching me, Mick. Thanks for the great ah, breakfast? Breakfast with benefits is it?"
"Hey! We're in Vegas! Breakfast is 24 hours a day here! And as for the benefits, well, I do try to please." He sort of smirked at me, then looked at his watch. I smiled back. "It's only 3:30 in the afternoon. Great time for breakfast!"
"Whoa! We did sleep a while, huh?"
He grinned. "We needed to crash, Sweetie—I don't think you fell asleep until about four in the morning."
"Oh, I'm aware of that!" I must have looked kind of dreamy as I forked one more bite of French toast and thought about why we had stayed up so late. "It was a perfect honeymoon night, Mick." He watched me lick syrup off of my lips.
"It was that and more." I could tell his mind was going back over the details too. I was hot again just thinking about him—us—last night! "I usually don't have any trouble getting to sleep, but my arms felt so empty without you in them! I might have to work out a deal where I can sleep in a freezer next to you with my arms sticking out to hold you."
I smiled. "Sounds good to me. I always miss you when you're not with me." We were quiet, thinking about how great it would feel to actually sleep together every night! "Maybe I just need to get a sleeping bag, you know, the kind they use on Mount Everest? Then I could get in the freezer with you!"
He laughed softly. "We'll have a lifetime to work it out. There should be someone figuring out some kind of vamp/human sleeping accommodations by now!"
I drank my milk when Mick pointed to it. I guessed he was going to become my dietitian now. I looked at him over the rim of my glass. His eyes hadn't strayed from watching me for a long time. Suddenly I felt a little self-conscious. I could only imagine what our little roll on the sofa had done to my hair!
"Do I look just awful?" I asked, trying to smooth down the mass of straw that was masquerading as my hair.
"Ah, Beth, stop. You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You just kind of—glow. It's like it comes from inside. I'm charmed and smitten. Hopelessly." He gave me a look like he was helpless. Now I was charmed!
"You say the nicest things! You know, it's said that brides glow, and also that pregnant women glow. I don't think I've ever observed that unusual phenomenon."
"So you have a double glow! No wonder you look so fetching!"
"Well, I feel like I need a shower! I must have a sort of dirty-headlights kind of glow!"
"Well, dirty, yes, but not that way—in a good way—the best way." His eyes were crinkling around the edges. I wanted to jump on him, but I thought maybe we should try to pace ourselves.
"Mick?"
"Yes darling."
"Can I ask you something?"
"You can always ask me anything."
"Where are we going tomorrow on the jet?"
"I said you could ASK, but I didn't promise an answer!"
"You cad."
"You want to open your presents before Christmas?"
"Yes."
"Oh, you ARE a naughty girl. I never knew that about you either!"
"See what you learn on a date?"
"We aren't on our date yet, and it's really very naughty to peek at your Christmas presents before Christmas, you know.
"I opened you up and peeked at you before we got married. Does that qualify as naughty?"
"Only in the very best way."
"So you aren't telling where you're taking me?"
"Only if you torture me."
"Aha! There IS a way to get you to talk! I just might have to resort to torture, but later—right now I need that shower!"
"Wanna hit the shower with your husband?"
"Definitely. Especially when he's such a dirty husband!" I noticed that his smile was turning into a leer. I got up out of my chair very quickly and started running through the place, hoping to find our bathroom before Mick did.
"First one in gets a special treat!" I shouted!
We were under the pouring water, having soaped each other, rinsed each other and washed each other's hair. I was on my knees. Why would I EVER think I could beat a vampire in a race?
--
We dressed and headed out. It was a warm night, but due to the dry, desert air, it wasn't too hot. We walked to the Venetian, which was kind of next door, next to the place we had gotten our wedding attire only a few days ago! We saw Madame Tussaud's wax museum and the art gallery, and got a peek at the Phantom theater as they were doing some work in there. That was spectacular. We decided we'd definitely have to come back here to see that show!
We took a cab north up to the Stratosphere and had dinner in the revolving restaurant at "The Top of the World," then went up to the observation deck. It was a pretty clear night, and we could see practically to LA. It was amazingly beautiful looking at all the lights everywhere. We spent some time picking out landmarks, then headed back down to the cabs.
Mick took me to the Paris for a Chai tea, and he had a Scotch. We played some slot machines and then Mick decided we should play some craps. I got on a hot streak with the dice and made the entire table happy! We won a few thousand, and that was really fun! Everyone clapped and cheered when we told them we had just gotten married, and they all wanted to see us kiss, so we kissed for them—Mick hammed it up a bit by bending me over his arm backwards and nailing me good right on the mouth. The crowd loved it!
Toward midnight, we went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower and watched as the Bellagio fountain danced to the song "God Bless the U.S.A." It was so lovely with the colored lights! Mick told me the lights were white until the midnight show, and then they turned on the colored lights for the last song of the day. It was pretty cool with people singing along and watching the water shoot and twirl and dance to the music! Kissing at the top of the Eiffel Tower was really great too.
We held hands and walked the sidewalks on the Strip. There were still a lot of sight-seers out, and it was quite warm, even this late. Mick stopped and bought me a huge bottle of cold water. It was gone by the time our cab brought us back to the Wynn. I told him on the way back to our suite that I'd had a really good time.
"So you think I'm not so bad on a date?"
"Not bad at all! In fact, I'd go on a date with you any day!"
"I'm so glad to hear that!" he said as he squeezed my hand. "Makes me feel a little better now, I mean that we're officially dating. I don't feel quite as bad about New York, and I definitely would like to ask you out again!"
He unlocked our door and we walked into the dark, expansive space. I grabbed his hand. "I really did have a great time, Mick! I accept your invitation--I'll go on a date with you any day."
He reached around and grabbed my ass, a two-handed grab, and he pressed his body against me in such a way that I had to put my arms around his neck to keep from falling over. "Oh, I think dating you is going to be so much fun! I have it on good authority that you put out, so I can justify buying you dinner when I know there's sex coming afterward!"
"You'd better watch what you say, Mr. St. John, or your wife might have a ruined reputation, and that might reflect badly on you, but I still want to date you. Not dating you was terribly frustrating. I think at least two dates a week might be good?"
"That's a done deal, Mrs. St. John. You've got it, and you most certainly have got me. I'll take you anywhere you want to go. In fact, stay with me tonight, and you might just get to see fireworks! I guarantee--they'll be better than the fountain at the Bellagio!"
By this time, we had found our way back to the bedroom where we took our time undressing each other, then we made love very slowly, deliberately and passionately. I fell asleep so soundly that I didn't even feel Mick leave. It had been a perfect date! And he was right! The fireworks were spectacular!
The next morning I had a wonderful room service breakfast of pancakes and sausages, and then we packed up and left for the airport. Sure enough—there was the beautiful jet just waiting for us! I was so excited to see where we were going that I kept looking out the window, leaning across Mick's lap, trying to get a grasp on which direction we were headed, but I didn't have a clue. Oh well! I was sure wherever it was, we'd have a good time!
The steward came and asked if I'd like anything from the galley, so I ordered a sandwich and some milk and fruit. Mick thought he had used up the last of his A-negative this morning, but found one more packet to carry in his duffel. He asked the steward for a glass.
My light meal was served to me at the dining table. Mick stayed over in the comfy chairs on the other side of the cabin. He poured his drink into the glass and looked over at me as I took a bite. Mick was just sipping and staring at me, smiling as he watched me eat.
"You know, you're kind of a nerd that way, Mick, watching me stuff my face all of the time!"
"I suppose. It's just that you just look so cute, I can't help myself! And I'm thinking 'Wow! You're feeding our baby!' I can't get over that, Beth! It just blows my mind!"
I raised my eyebrows. "Your mind! How about mine? A few weeks ago I was just a single woman with no family, and look at me now!"
"I am looking at you now, and I absolutely love what I see."
"I guess there's no hope for us, then."
Mick sat up straight. "What do you mean? No hope for what?"
"For ever getting on with life. You spend your time imagining me naked, and I do the same with you. How will we ever be productive citizens again?"
"I'm not worried." He smiled slyly and sat back in the comfy chair. I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Josef seemed to take our news well—I'm surprised," Mick said.
"Oh, really? Why? Vampires aren't supposed to have children, I suppose—well, they really can't, can they! So—what? He thinks you're an idiot?"
"Oh, well, yeah, he always thinks I'm an idiot, I guess—"
"He does not! He respects you, Mick! I'll bet he's missing you terribly right now!"
"Well, I'd be missing him too if it weren't for you keeping me so busy!" I squinted at him trying to look dangerous. "But no, he's not thinking our having a baby is stupid. In fact, just the opposite!"
"You think he's happy for us?"
"I think he is insanely jealous, is what I think."
"WHAT? Why would you assume that he's jealous of us having a baby, Mick? I mean, he's Josef! Of all the people in the world, he'd win my vote for 'Most Satisfied With My Life!'" I can't imagine our playboy friend would want to be tied down with children!
Mick just looked at me. He was sitting casually in a pair of older jeans, dark tan, a bit worn, and a cream colored Henley. He sat with his legs apart, looking very manly, and he had sandals on. Nice change from his work shoes, I thought!
Just looking at him spread out in that chair made my mouth water. This was bad. He might have been reading my thoughts with the little knowing smile he gave me. I told my mind to snap out of this habit of looking at him as a plaything all of the time! He turned and looked out of his window for a few seconds, then turned back to face me again. I kept chewing as he spoke.
"Well, he sure surprised me when we talked about having kids. Remember when I was looking for my pre-vamp DNA? I had my footlocker out, the one from the war, and I found that razor in it that we took to BioNalysis?"
"Yes, I do remember. Josef was there watching you and you two were talking." I flashed a smile at him. "That was the day he said we couldn't have a baby together."
"That's the day!" Now he was smiling. "That's also the day you told me that if we slept together it might not be any good."
I snorted and grabbed my napkin as milk came out of my nose. Geez! Attractive! I was coughing and laughing and Mick was just shaking his head and laughing out loud. I got myself cleaned up, but tears were coming down my face. I was literally hooting!
"Boy, could I have been more wrong?!" I managed to say before going into peals of laughter again. Mick got up out of his chair and came over to me where I was sitting at the table. He pulled me up out of my chair and looked straight into my eyes.
"I knew you were wrong, Beth. As soon as you said that, you laughed, but I felt a tug in my gut and down below, and I knew right then we'd be magic together."
"And we are," I said softly, looking at his full, wonderful lips, willing them to come to me, which they did. Before long, we were seriously kissing, so Mick picked me up and took me over to the fur-covered chaise that sat in a corner of the cabin. We cuddled and made out for a while, realizing we couldn't really DO anything with Josef's staff on board. So after several long minutes, we simply laid our heads down on the soft fur cover, looking at each other.
"I am seriously in love with you, Mrs. St. John."
"I'm very happy to hear that, Mr. St. John." I said it kind of matter-of-factly, but my insides felt all squishy. I still couldn't even comprehend being here with him in our own magic little world where I now had free access to him, to touch him, kiss him, make love to him! I still felt I was living in some kind of a dream.
"You're thinking, Beth," he said softly. "Tell me what you're thinking."
"I'm thinking I'm living in some kind of fantasy world and I'm afraid reality will set in any time! I mean, after all the months of feeling so—drawn to you—and trying so hard to deny those feelings, and now here I am with you, and I can touch you and kiss you and make love to you, and I'm so amazed. I'm SO amazed."
He grasped my hand in his. "It's amazing to me too, honey. That's why we're here. We need to get used to the fact that we hit the big jackpot. I got you—that makes me a winner!"
I held his hand tightly. "I love knowing your secrets and sharing secrets with you. It's just so wonderful to be with you! I can't help but wonder if I'll wake up from this dream and be heartbroken! Maybe you're still back in LA trying to stay away from me because I'm human."
He kissed my fingers one by one. "No dream. This is it—we get to live our dreams, Beth, and not that many people are granted that kind of deal."
"I know! We are so lucky!"
"No kidding" He looked thoughtful, then said, "I wonder if this is what Josef wants with Simone."
"Oh! That's right! We were talking about Josef and got off the subject! So why would Josef be jealous, Mick? You're the one who wanted a family so badly! I'd think he would be happy for you!"
"Oh, he is—no doubt about that! He was happy for me when I thought Robert was my son! He called him "my last contribution to the human gene pool."
"Well? Where does jealousy come in then?"
"I thought he'd be laughing at me when I told him I was looking for DNA evidence and that Robert might be mine. I expected Josef to laugh and give me a hard time about it, but he really surprised me! He said that not having kids was his one regret, and that he didn't believe in regrets. I couldn't believe he said that!"
"Wow! That surprises me too!" I looked at our hands, joined, and smiled.
"You know, if Josef somehow could get a hold of the cure, I think he'd try to do what we're doing—having a baby, I mean."
"Really? You think he'd do that?"
"I do. In fact, it just occurred to me that he might be looking for Coraline right now—and if he should find her, or any more of the cure, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he tries to copy us."
"Wow!" I was shocked. "But I wonder who he'd get to carry the baby for him—he'd have to get a human pregnant, and Simone wouldn't be up for that job!"
Mick looked at me, puzzled. "Why not Simone? It sounds as though he's in love with her! He wants to turn her! That's a huge commitment! Probably even bigger than marriage, since it's forever!"
I must have looked at Mick strangely. He kissed my hand and said, "What?"
I took a breath. "Well, Simone told me a while ago that to vampires, we humans were just a—how did she say it—a "blip" on your radar screen? I believe that's what she said. She said that for you to love a human was to watch us die."
Mick shut his eyes momentarily, then opened them. "I suppose that's how some see it. I don't. I've lived for a while now as a vampire, and you certainly are more than a "blip" to me! But maybe she's right about that as far as Josef is concerned. After 400 years, he's seen so many people die. Maybe he's just more cynical. Well, I KNOW he's cynical."
"And maybe that's why Simone wants him to turn her—she wants to be more than a "blip." I mean, Sarah was important to him, and he tried to turn her to be with her forever. Stands to reason he'd want to do that with any other woman he might fall in love with."
"That could be true. But why do you think Simone wouldn't be a good mother for their child?" His forehead was wrinkled, wondering. I hadn't told him anything Simone told me when we had stayed together in our hotel room.
"I'm not sure how well Josef knows Simone. I hope he won't rush into anything with her."
"Why? I thought you liked her!"
"Well, I do—I like her a lot! It's just that I'm not sure she would be right for Josef!"
Mick just looked at me with a look that said, 'so what do YOU know?'
I hesitated, but only for a moment. "All right, she didn't tell me not to say anything, so I can tell you and then you can either tell Josef or not." He was looking at me, waiting. "First of all, she said she would never want to have children, and that was one of the reasons she wanted Josef to turn her—she'd never have to think about it again."
Mick raised his eyebrows. "Oh really! Now that is a revelation, isn't it? Hmmmm. I wonder if she's told that to Josef? Maybe she has."
"Maybe, but it would be important only if there is still a cure, and she doesn't know about that, right?"
Mick said, "I wouldn't think she'd know about the cure. Josef would have no reason to tell her unless he finds it. But then, he might not know about her not wanting a baby. I wonder how much she loves Josef? I mean, if she really loves him, she might reconsider."
"I don't think she does, Mick. She loves what he is, she loves his fun-loving personality and his generosity. I'm sure she's not 'in love' with him."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I asked her. I asked if she loved him, and she just said, 'well, everybody loves Josef!' like that. And I said, 'no, I mean like the I'll love you forever' kind of love."
"And what did she say?"
"That they didn't have the kind of love WE have, but it was more mutual respect! And as the wedding went on, she kind of got more emotional, I noticed, and I told her to hold out for her own Prince Charming. I'm sure Josef isn't her Prince—at least not yet."
"Wow. And Josef would turn her even with that little commitment on her part? I really wonder if he knows how she feels."
"Well, if I were Josef, I'd want to know. Simone is all ready to be turned when we get home! What if Josef is having second thoughts about turning her because he's going to try to find the cure, and he thinks he could get her pregnant? This could get somebody hurt."
"Wow. Oh wow. You're right." Mick looked like he was deep in thought.
"Penny for your thoughts," I finally said.
He took his arm and placed it over me and pulled me to him. Our faces were almost touching.
"Beth! Have I said 'thank you' to you for being willing to carry my baby? To have OUR baby? When you weren't even thinking of being a mother! You're pretty amazing. I am one very lucky guy."
"No," I said, lips touching his, "I'm the lucky one, Mick. I get to have your baby and no other woman in the world is as lucky as me."
Our kiss was so sweet, so giving, so loving. I couldn't imagine anything more wonderful than being just the three of us, right here, right now.
--
Ben Talbot sat in his office drumming the eraser end of a pencil on his desk. It bothered him to think about Beth. Every time he thought about her with St. John he wanted to hit something! He knew damn well in his gut that there was something really wrong about that guy! And he didn't figure out what was going on with the two of them until it was too late! He was fuming mad and tired of thinking about it. Not sleeping was taking its toll on his normally sunny personality! His phone rang and he picked it up impatiently.
"Talbot!" he barked into the receiver.
A muffled voice at the other end said, "Still have that list?"
Talbot bolted upright in his chair, suddenly on high alert.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"Tomorrow you will receive the time and place of our next meeting. Be there."
"Not unless you tell me—" Ben replaced the receiver, then muttered, "That bastard hung up on me!"
Now the dilemma. Go? Or ignore the call? It might be dangerous. Maybe it was a setup. Too risky, he thought. Well, he'd wait and see where the meeting was, and he'd decide later. St. John was on that list. He should go—it might save Beth. But what if someone had plans to get the ADA out of the way? You never knew what creep out there held a grudge! He felt even more stressed out now!
He picked up the pencil without thinking, and broke it in half.