“L’amor means love doesn’t it?” she asked suspiciously.
“Yes.”
“What is cielo?”
“Sky,” she answered.
“So you said for the love of the sky?”
“Dio mio!” Gia said impatiently. “Stop stalling and feed or I will send them away.”
“I’m not stalling,” Holly said at once.
“Yes, you are,” she said more gently. “You’re nervous. This is all still new to you. But you can do this. You did it at the club.”
“Right,” Holly breathed, forcing herself to relax as she realized she was nervous and stalling. While she’d practiced feeding on mortals at the club, that had been two weeks ago, and these were cops, for heaven’s sake. It was bad to assault cops.
“Think of them as blood donors,” Gia instructed.
“Blood donors,” Holly murmured and turned to survey her meal. The two men had settled side by side and straight backed on the couch. She considered them briefly, and then moved in front of the blond and bent over, but she couldn’t quite reach his neck.
Muttering under her breath about the inconvenience of being so darned short, she climbed onto him and settled on his lap with her knees on either side of his legs. Clasping his head, she pulled him forward, and then paused to glance to Gia, who was now punching in numbers. “Are you going to control him while I feed or—?”
“I have them, go ahead,” Gia said, sounding a little distracted.
Shrugging, Holly turned to the blond and urged him back against the couch again. She then leaned against him and planted her face in his neck. Hungry as she was, she had absolutely no difficulty locating the vein, and she released a little sigh of relief and let her fangs slide out.
The moment Holly’s fangs pierced his skin, the man moaned and slid his arms around her waist to pull her close. She ignored that and the way his hands were now roving over her back as she concentrated on counting to thirty. This time it seemed like no time at all had passed before she reached thirty, but Holly reluctantly retracted her fangs and released the man.
Rather than go to all the trouble of climbing from one lap to the other, she then just turned and caught the second officer by the front of the shirt and pulled him closer. Burying the fingers of her free hand in his hair, she used it to control his head and quickly sniffed out his vein. Like the first man, this one moaned when her teeth slid into his throat. He also reached to embrace her, but at this angle instead of wrapping his arms around her, one slid around her front, the hand stopping on her right breast, while his other hand snaked around her back landing low enough to nearly be cupping her ass. Holly gasped in surprise and lost count for a second, but then forced herself to ignore it and quickly went back to counting.
“This reminds me of a porn my cousins once made me watch.” Gia’s voice was filled with laughter, Holly noted. “Il Poliziotto Con Il Grosso Bastone. ‘The Cop with the Big Stick,’ ” she translated.
Much to Holly’s relief she reached thirty then. Retracting her teeth, she quickly scrambled off the blond and turned to scowl at the other woman. “Ha ha. You were the one controlling them. Why’d you have him grab me like that?”
“I wasn’t controlling what he did, piccola. Just what he felt,” Gia said with amusement and then walked forward to give her a hug. “Is all right. You look much better already and a delivery is on its way to get you back to one hundred percent.”
Holly sighed and hugged her back briefly, then stepped away and glanced to the police officers.
“I will handle them,” Gia assured her. “Go upstairs and check on your husband. I will be up in a moment.”
Nodding, Holly turned and slipped out of the room. She actually walked up the stairs rather than having to drag herself this time, which was nice. She even felt well enough that the idea of showering sounded pleasant rather than an exhausting trial as it had all night until now. Maybe she could grab one after Gia came upstairs. It would be nice to strip out of her bloodstained clothes and wash away the dried blood of both herself and her husband.
Holly opened the door to the bedroom and walked inside for the first time in hours. She had been in such dire need of blood before this she hadn’t trusted herself alone with Earl, so had done little more than open the door and peek in to be sure her husband had not escaped his bindings. Now, she walked up to the bed and peered down at him with concern. James had stopped screaming and thrashing hours ago. He’d lain in a dead silence ever since, his face gray, and his body unmoving. Not that he could have moved much what with the—
“Duct tape?”
Holly glanced over her shoulder at that squawk from Gia. Apparently she’d been quick about handling the policemen. Noting Gia’s dismayed expression as she approached the bedside, Holly glanced back to James.
“Dio mio, cara,” Gia said on a laugh. “What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I was starting to feel like an abusing spouse every time I knocked him out. That I didn’t have any chain, and that duct tape is super hard to break.” She pursed her lips as she peered at her husband in his silver cocoon. The only thing that wasn’t completely covered was his head. She’d left him untaped from the neck to his forehead and then run several lengths of tape over him there as well. “I used six rolls of the stuff. He’s not going anywhere until I cut him free.”
“No, I guess not,” Gia said with amusement.
A whimper from the corner made them both glance that way.
“Gia, this is Earl,” Holly announced. “He was kind enough to drive James and me home tonight after the accident.”
“Why is he whimpering?” Gia asked curiously.
“You can’t read him?” Holly asked with surprised.
“He’s panicked to the point where his thoughts make no sense. He seems to think you’re some kind of sex fiend crossed with a wild dog or something.” She paused and then added thoughtfully, “Or maybe he’s thinking you’re a bitch in heat. My English is not always perfect.”
Holly gave a snort of laughter and shook her head. “James attacked him while I was down getting the blood. He got knocked out when I pulled James off of him and then he woke up while James and I were wrestling after your call,” Holly explained with a grimace. “He saw my fangs.”
When Gia arched her eyebrows, Holly grimaced and shrugged. “My fangs came out while we were wrestling.”
“I will take care of Earl. Why don’t you go take a shower?” she suggested. “Better yet, a bath. You look like you could use a little time to yourself to relax.”
“Thank you. I think I will,” Holly said, turning toward the door.
“Oh, by the way,” Gia said suddenly, bringing her to a halt. “While the blood got lost, they did collect your car. They said it was a wreck though. They’ll handle the insurance claim and everything for you. In the meantime, they are sending you a rental.”
Holly nodded slowly, but then asked, “Who are they exactly?”
Gia hesitated and then said, “Technically the money will come from the Enforcers. You are still under their purview. But Argeneau Enterprises handles all the details.”
“Why would I still be under the Enforcers’ purview?”
“Because you were mortally injured and turned on their watch due to their actions,” she pointed out.
“Yes, but I’m done with my training,” Holly pointed out.
“Yes, but immortals have been around long enough that they know there is a certain period of adjustment.”
“They didn’t cause the car accident. I did,” Holly said quietly.
“You did when you flashed your fangs which you couldn’t have done if you hadn’t been turned,” Gia pointed out.
“How do you know how the accident happened?” Holly asked, and then rolled her eyes. “You read my mind.”
“As soon as I got here,” Gia confirmed.