That was the question of the day. Toni fingered the heart pendant on her chest. "I'm hoping that it won't be an either/or situation. That Sabrina will come around in time."
Carlos nodded. "Sometimes you must dare to believe."
Toni went to her bedroom, repeating those words to herself. Dare to believe. She loved Bri, and she loved Ian. She had to believe it would all work out.
She overslept in the morning, and didn't wake until she heard Carlos banging on her door.
"I'll be right down," she called out. Damn, damn, damn. She hated these early mornings. She rushed through her shower and threw on her uniform. She was hurrying down the stairs, pulling her damp ponytail through a scrunchie, when she spotted Zoltan Czakvar and Giacomo di Venezia, aka Jack, coming up the stairs.
"Bellissima, you are as lovely as ever." Jack bowed.
Boy was he full of it. Toni appreciated the compliment, but she knew her male uniform was baggy and ugly, and she was wearing very little makeup. "You guys retiring for the night—I mean, day?"
"Yes. We'll be in guest rooms on the fourth floor," Zoltan said. Between his yawn and his Hungarian accent, he was hard to understand.
"Bellissima, will you check on me personally?" Jack's brown eyes twinkled.
"If you like. Sure."
"Molto bene. Ciao, bellissima." Jack started up another flight of stairs.
Zoltan trudged behind him. "You're planning to sleep in the nude, aren't you?"
Jack chuckled.
Toni rolled her eyes, then ran down the stairs. Hopefully, Ian was still awake. In the foyer, she met Dougal and Phineas heading down to the basement.
Phineas yawned. "Good night, sweetness."
"Good night. Or morning." These guys were confusing her. "Have you seen Ian?"
"Already gone to bed." Dougal shut the cellar door behind him.
Too late. Dammit. It was hard having a boyfriend on the graveyard shift. She trudged into the kitchen.
"Good morning." Howard sat smiling at the kitchen table, munching on a bear claw.
Doughnuts, again? If she kept eating those, she'd be as big as a bear. She noticed Carlos was spooning something from a bowl into his mouth. It looked a bit healthier. "What are you eating? Meow Mix?"
Howard snorted with laughter, while Carlos gave her a bland look.
Toni smiled sweetly. "I hear they have a new anti-hairball formula."
"It's cereal." Carlos showed her the box.
"Hmm, Special K for kitties? Can I have some?" She fetched a bowl.
"If you'll stop being catty," Carlos grumbled.
"Sorry." She patted him on the head. She knew she was being ornery. She was just so disappointed about not seeing Ian. It would be a long, long time till sundown.
After breakfast, she offered to go check on him. "Is he on the fifth floor?"
"Yes." Howard finished his cup of tea. With extra honey, no doubt. "What do you say, Carlos? Are you up to a martial arts session? I want to see how well you can fight."
"You're on." Carlos and Howard headed down the basement stairs, while Toni started the long climb to the fifth floor.
She was breathing a bit heavily by the time she reached the fifth-floor office. The room was dark, the aluminum shutters closed. An empty blood bottle sat in the sink at the wet bar. Ian must have had a snack before going to bed.
She opened the double doors leading into the bedroom. Light spilled from the partially closed bathroom.
"You left the light on. Shame on you." She approached the left side of the bed.
Ian was lying there in his white T-shirt and plaid flannel pajama bottoms. He'd folded back the tan suede comforter to lie on the cool cotton sheets. His black hair was loose from its leather thong and made a dramatic contrast to the white pillowcase.
He was in the usual position he assumed for his death-sleep. Flat on his back, big feet pointed to the ceiling, hands clasped neatly over his flat stomach. He'd probably learned this position from centuries of sleeping in a coffin.
Toni did a double take to the area below his clasped hands. There was a definite bulge in his pajama bottoms. She leaned over for a closer look. Good grief, he'd fallen into his death-sleep with a hard-on. Was it possible for a stiff to be that stiff?
She straightened with a deep breath. "Naughty boy," she whispered and glanced at his handsome face. A shadow of dark whiskers lined his strong jaw. His black eyelashes were so thick. She would hate him if she didn't love him so much. She reached out to touch the cute dimple in his chin.
His eyes suddenly opened. She jumped. A hand locked around her wrist in a tight grip. She gasped.
"Surprise." He seized her by the arms and rolled her onto the bed.
CHAPTER 24
He'd certainly surprised her. She lay on the bed, her bonnie mouth dropped open. He rolled onto his side to face her and propped himself up on an elbow.
"You—you're not dead," she whispered.
He smiled. "No' at the moment."
"How? You took that drug? The Stay-Awake drug?"
"Aye. I know where it's hidden."
She sat up. "But Ian, it makes you grow older."
"One year for each day." He shrugged one shoulder. "So I'll look twenty-eight instead of twenty-seven."
Her mouth fell open again. "You were willing to age a year?"
"To spend a day with you, aye."
"That's so sweet." She stretched out, facing him. "But are you sure you should be sweet? I mean, you're awake, and the bad guys are asleep."
His smile widened. She was as much a warrior as he was. "So ye want to slaughter them while they're unable to defend themselves?"
She winced. "I realize it's not a very honorable thing to do, but they would do it to you in a second."
"Aye, they would, so we'll have to make sure they never get that drug." He reached out to brush a tendril of damp hair off her cheek. "Actually, I would be tempted to kill them all and be done with this mess, but they have about twenty Russian mafia guys guarding them with high-powered assault rifles."
"Oh." She made a face. "That would be nasty."
"Aye, verra nasty. Ever since Roman visited them during the day, they've been extra vigilant." He trailed a finger along the line of her jaw. "And then there's the problem of me burning to a crisp if I go out in the sun."
"I guess we'll have to stay inside."
"Aye." He skimmed his finger over her ear.
"I guess we could think of something to pass the time." Her eyes twinkled as she glanced at his pajama bottoms. "It looks like you've been thinking ahead of me."
He smiled wryly. "A man should never be unprepared."
It was true that while he lay in bed, waiting for her to arrive, he'd grown aroused just thinking about making love to her. He knew his eyes were turning red now. A red tint shaded the room, making Toni's skin look pink and ripe with blood. It would be a challenge to keep control. He'd purposely filled up with synthetic blood to make it easier.
The way she'd looked at him when he'd unleashed all his Vamp power in Dr. Proctor's library—that had stretched his control to the max. He'd heard her heart racing. He'd smelled the scent of her arousal. He'd wanted to leap on her and sink his fangs into her neck.
His gums tingled, and he collapsed on his back, squeezing his eyes shut.Control. He didn't dare make love to her if he couldn't control himself.
"Are you all right?" she whispered.
"I doona want to influence you in any way. If ye stay in my bed, it should be yer decision. But know that I will make love to you."
"Well, I was sorta counting on that." Her voice sounded muffled, then something soft fell on his face.
He brushed it aside and opened his eyes. There was a navy polo shirt in his hand. Her shirt. She sat beside him, sliding her bra straps off her shoulders. The heart pendant he'd given her was nestled between her breasts.