“You’re breathing, aren’t you?” She held a hand an inch below his nostrils.
No air.
She rested her hand on his chest. Hard as a rock. Dead as a rock?
“Come on, wake up.” She shoved at his chest. “You can’t be dead. It’s not possible.”
She touched his cheek. Cool. The dark whiskers prickled her fingertips. “You’re just too pretty, you know that?”
She glanced at his eyes again. “Sexy rascal. Shall I have my way with you?”
No response. Wouldn’t a normal guy stop faking it and make a grab for her?
But he wasn’t normal. She pressed her fingers against his carotid artery, but his high, ruffled neckline was in the way.
“Well, this should wake you up.” She unbuttoned the top three buttons of his nightshirt, then slid her hand to his neck to feel his pulse.
Nothing.
“This can’t be.” She felt the other side. Damn. He didn’t have a pulse.
With her own pulse racing and fingers trembling, she unfastened more buttons. She peeled back his shirt and froze. This was the last thing she expected. A green and purple dragon curled over his right shoulder and down toward his chest. The mouth was wide open, breathing red and orange flames. An Oriental-style dragon, colorful and fierce. She placed her hand on the fire etched over his heart.
Nothing. She lay her head on his chest to listen. His skin was cool against her cheek.
No heartbeat.
“Oh God,” she whispered, straightening. Should she attempt CPR? Would that even work on a vampire? It was almost two in the afternoon. He could have been dead since sunrise that morning.
“Dougal.” She pulled the edges of his nightshirt together and looked at his handsome face. He couldn’t be gone for good. He had to come back at sunset, right? Wasn’t that what vampires did?
Her eyes burned with tears. “You will come back, won’t you?”
Why was she feeling so drawn to this man? He couldn’t be doing some sort of hocus-pocus glamour on her, not when he was dead. So that could only mean her attraction was real.
“Really crazy,” she muttered, blinking away the tears. If she had any sense, she would avoid this man like the plague.
She rushed from the room, closing the door behind her and not looking back.
Dougal jolted back to life right after sunset. His vision adjusted quickly to the dark room. This wasn’t the opulent basement of Jean-Luc’s house in Texas but the old, familiar basement in Roman’s townhouse. And tonight, he started his new job. If he was lucky, he’d see Leah again. He might even get to teleport her to Romatech.
He still felt bad about eavesdropping on her the night before, but his guilt was overshadowed now by his admiration for her. She’d remained so strong and brave while her safe world had crumbled around her. And then she’d shown even more courage with her decision to stay. Even though she was wary of Vamps, she was still willing to work with them in order to save lives.
She had a good, honorable heart. And she was bright, beautiful, and brave. Just thinking about her made him smile. He hadn’t felt this excited in years. Centuries. He wanted to know more about her. What made her happy? What were her dreams? Could she fall for someone like him?
As he sat up, he noticed his nightshirt was unbuttoned and gaping open. Who? He glanced around quickly, but the room was empty. He peered into the billiards room, but it was empty, too. Whoever had unbuttoned his shirt was gone.
He caught a slight whiff of perfume. Jasmine. His heart raced. Could it have been Leah? Was she curious enough about him that she’d examined him during his death-sleep?
He jumped in the shower as he considered other possible culprits. Heather Echarpe? No way. Fidelia? He shuddered at the thought. The woman was always trying to peek under his kilt whenever he levitated.
It had to have been Leah. He winced, imagining her reaction to his old-fashioned nightshirt. Maybe he should do as Gregori suggested and go to that fancy stylist over at DVN. The other guys always teased him about his old nightshirt. They had modernized to the point that most of them slept in underwear or less. He clung to the old shirt because it completely covered his tattoo, and he didn’t want to answer any questions about it.
Leah must have seen it. He groaned at the thought. How could he explain it to her?
When he stepped out of the shower, he turned on the digital camera and monitor so he could see to shave. Normally, he didn’t bother much with his appearance, but tonight he might see Leah again.
Would she confess to unbuttoning his shirt? If not, how could he ask if she had? By the way, lass, did ye molest me during my death-sleep?
Before dawn, he had teleported back to Jean-Luc’s house to gather up his belongings: his clothes, tartan blanket, bagpipes, Uilleann pipes, and old tin whistle. So now he was able to dress in a fresh white shirt and kilt and tie his damp hair back with a new leather strip.
Upstairs, he found Jean-Luc in the kitchen, drinking a bottle of synthetic blood while his family ate dinner.
“Félicitations, mon ami.” Jean-Luc handed Dougal a bottle from the fridge. “You start tonight?”
“Aye.” Dougal popped the bottle into the microwave.
Bethany gazed at him sadly, her bottom lip sticking out. “I’m going to miss you.”
“Och, lass.” He patted her shoulder. “Ye’ll be fine.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” Fidelia winked at him.
He stiffened. Had she been the one unbuttoning his clothes? He removed his bottle from the microwave and took a sip. “Where is Leah?”
“She left over an hour ago,” Heather replied.
“I watched a movie with her when the twins were taking a nap,” Fidelia added. “She had to go to work and couldn’t finish it, but she said she’s seen it a jillion times.”
Heather stood and gave him a hug. “We’ll miss you, but we’re happy about your promotion. I know you’ll do great!”
With a smile, Dougal nodded. “Thank you.” He stepped back, his bottle in hand. “I should be going now.”
He went back to the basement to slip his dagger into the sheath beneath his knee sock. So Leah had spent the afternoon watching something she’d seen many times before? What kind of movie would inspire such devotion?
Upstairs, he ventured into the parlor. It was empty, the television turned off. On top of the DVD player he found a plastic case. An Affair to Remember.
Curious, he read the synopsis on the back of the case. It sounded a bit sappy to him, but at least she wasn’t watching a movie about slaying vampires.
He teleported to the side door at Romatech, then pressed his palm against the sensor to unlock the door. An alarm system had been installed years ago that detected anyone teleporting into the facility, so he and the other Vamps routinely teleported to one of the entrances.
He strode down the hall, drinking from his bottle. Outside the MacKay security office, he punched in the code to unlock the door. Inside, Austin was putting on his coat.
“Hey, Dougal.” Austin slapped him on the shoulder. “It’s good to have you back.”
“ ’Tis good to be here.” Dougal glanced at the monitors. Leah and Abby were in a lab, hunched over some papers on a table. The captive soldier was still in the silver room. Tino was on the basketball court, playing with his father, Angus, and Carlos.
Dougal’s gaze shifted back to Leah, and his tattoo itched. She seemed even more beautiful tonight. “How’s everything?”
“Good. Freemont’s making the rounds right now.” Austin grabbed his keys off the desk. “I gotta run. Matthew has soccer practice tonight.”
“I understand.”
“See ya tomorrow.” With a smile, Austin left.
Dougal finished his bottle of breakfast blood while he watched the monitors. Austin was hurrying out the side door to his car in the parking lot. He lived nearby in White Plains with his wife and kids.