"Sorry." Holly tipped her head back to peer at him and managed a smile. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
"That's all right," he responded. His voice deepened a bit as he said that, but she barely noticed. She was too distracted by the scent filling her nostrils.
She'd noticed before that Justin smelled delicious, and now she inhaled deeply, holding the aroma in her lungs. God! It was incredible, irresistible, soooo . . . yummy, she could just eat him all up.
Holly rose up on her tiptoes and leaned toward him on that thought, her hands knotting in the front of his shirt to pull him to her as she did.
Justin went willingly when Holly tugged at him, his heart racing, and mind awhirl. Finally! Finally, he thought. She was experiencing the life mate attraction and ready to give up her old life for her new one with him. He'd known she would. Nothing could beat life mate sex and she was hungry for it. He could see that in her eyes and he couldn't even be accused of influencing her in any way. In fact, he decided to let her do all the work and seduce him so that if his memories were read, it would be known she was the aggressor . . . and she was definitely the aggressor here. The woman was lusting after him like a cat in heat and he was more than happy to fulfill her needs, he thought, and closed his eyes, then started to let his hands slide down her arms but she was suddenly gone.
Blinking his eyes open, he found himself staring out at the sea. Confusion rising within him, he whirled to see Dante walking back toward the house, holding Holly by the waist, well out in front of him as if she were a baby with a dirty diaper.
"She wasn't lusting after you so much as your blood," the other man announced over his shoulder and it was only then that Justin realized why the man was holding her as he was. Her fangs were out and she was clawing at his hands and twisting her head this way and that, blindly seeking something, or someone to bite into. She was in the throes of blood lust again . . . and a bit mad with it, he noted with a frown. The realization made him quickly work out how long it had been since she'd fed. They'd given her blood along with the sedative while she was sleeping after they'd first got here. That was hours ago now though, he realized, glancing at his wristwatch. Nearly twelve hours ago in fact.
No, it had been longer than that, Justin thought as he followed Dante and Holly back to the house. While they'd hooked up Holly to both the sedative and blood when they'd first got her here, they hadn't replaced that bag of blood when it had run out. As a new turn she needed to feed more than that.
"She needs to feed a lot more than that," Dante announced, pausing at the door to wait for Justin to open it for him. "She was diabetic while mortal. No doubt there was a lot of damage to different systems over the years for the nanos to repair. She'll probably need a lot of blood for quite a while to mend everything."
"Of course," Justin said with a sigh, as he pulled the door open for him to enter. Holly had calmed down somewhat now. At least she wasn't twisting her head about anymore.
"I'll get her a bag of blood," Justin said as he followed him inside and pulled the door closed.
"You better grab several of them," Dante advised as he set Holly in a chair at the kitchen table and held her there with his hands on her shoulders.
Justin nodded and moved to the fridge. He retrieved six bags of blood, set four on the counter and took the other two with him to the table. One glance showed him that her fangs had retreated during the walk inside and he expected to have to cut his finger or something to bring them back out. New turns usually had to have their fangs coaxed out in such a way, but he had barely raised his hand in front of her face with the intent to do so when she inhaled deeply and her mouth dropped open, her fangs suddenly sliding out.
Eyebrows rising, he immediately popped one of the bags to her upper fangs and prevented her attempt to push it away. It was just an instinctual reaction. After a moment, she calmed and let her hands drop. When the first bag was empty and he replaced it, she raised her hands again, but this time to hold it herself.
Nodding, Justin offered her a half smile and returned to the counter for the rest of the bags. When he saw that Dante was no longer having to hold Holly in the chair, he offered him a bag, then popped one to his own mouth.
"I'm sorry," Holly murmured, avoiding Justin's gaze as she pulled the now empty bag from her mouth a moment later. "I don't know what I was thinking."
"You were not thinking. You were in the throes of blood lust," Dante said after removing his own bag. "It is difficult to think at that stage."
Holly shook her head unhappily. "I was hungry when I got up, but I thought it was just for food, so I grabbed an apple and . . ." She shrugged helplessly.
"Then that will be our first lesson," Dante announced. "Teaching you to recognize the difference between hunger for food and blood hunger."
Holly nodded solemnly, and accepted the third bag of blood Justin offered. This time, she popped it to her own mouth. He smiled encouragingly at her, and watched her feed, his mind now considering ways to woo her. It seemed Decker and Anders explaining about life mates hadn't made much difference in her reaction to him. At least she hadn't broached the subject with him and wasn't treating him any differently. Which meant he would have to woo the woman. The next time she grabbed him and rose up on her toes, he wanted it to be because she was hungry for him, not his blood.
Anders had said she liked fish, flowers, wine, puppies, kittens, picnics, documentaries, nature shows and anything to do with nature, he recalled and ran through the list slowly in his head. Well, it was too late to get her flowers, take a picnic, or find a pet store, but there was plenty of wine here at Jackie and Vincent's. They'd got it in for Tiny while he was still mortal, but then he'd turned and so it sat languishing in a rack. He could make dinner and serve her wine to start and impress her with the knowledge that he knew how to cook. That was a newer skill. He'd always been more of an eater than a cook, but after trying to help Cale Argeneau claim his mate, Alex, who owned a pair of fine dining restaurants in Toronto, Justin had found he was interested in cooking. He'd been terrible at it at first, but between watching the Food Network and helping Sam at the house, he'd picked up some skills and was sure he could manage to cook Holly a meal that would impress her.
Justin was smiling widely at the thought, when he noted that Dante was looking at him with one eyebrow raised dubiously.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," the other man said and took a fourth bag of blood from him to replace the one Holly was tearing away. "Nothing at all."
Justin frowned at him, then set the remaining bag on the table and turned to start searching the kitchen. They hadn't bought any fish when they'd been shopping, but with any luck, Jackie and Vincent might have some in the freezer or something. They were newly mated and both ate and he'd been here before and knew they had a huge freezer. Surely they'd have at least one fish in it, he hoped. He needed a cookbook too, though, or a computer so that he could find a recipe. Something gourmet, he thought, his mind planning feverishly.
Nine
A loud crash came muffled from the back of the house and Holly tore her gaze from the action movie Dante and Tomasso had put on the television to glance toward the door to the hall. Her instinct was to go see if Justin was all right or needed any help, but he'd turned her away the last three times she'd checked on him after such sounds, so she remained where she was seated and forced her gaze back to the television. The man was determined to cook a meal for them and had refused all offers of assistance. But the crashes and bangs coming from the room were a bit alarming. It sounded like he was pitching pots across the kitchen or something. The curses that had occasionally sounded were no more encouraging and she suspected the meal was going to be a complete mess.
Biting her lip, Holly glanced toward the door to the hall again. It had been just after ten P.M. when she'd woken up, well past dinnertime . . . and Justin had been working in the kitchen for what seemed like hours now. It had to be after midnight. She'd been absolutely starve
d when she'd woken, but enough time had passed that her hunger had turned to nausea now. As a diabetic she had always had to eat on a strict regimen. Skipping meals had not been allowed, so she was not used to it. That thought made her glance to Gia who was seated on the couch next to her.
As if sensing her attention, the woman turned to her in question.
Holly hesitated and then said, "I haven't tested my blood since . . ."
"You are no longer a diabetic," Gia assured her solemnly. "The nanos will have repaired your system, removing all illnesses or lack in your system. You will no longer need to test your blood or take insulin anymore."
Holly stared at her as those words drifted around inside her head. No more shots of insulin, or poking her fingers to test her blood sugars. No more watching every little thing she ate, or strict regimens for mealtimes. She was normal.
Normal, she thought faintly, and the concept was sweet. Like other people, she could now eat what and when she wanted. She savored that thought for a moment, until it occurred to her that she wasn't really normal at all. She had to have blood now instead of insulin, she reminded herself and frowned.
In truth, Holly supposed she'd traded in one ailment for another. Instead of not producing enough insulin, her body now could not produce enough blood to support the nanos that had invaded it. Instead of taking insulin shots, she had to take in blood, either intravenously or through her teeth.
While teaching her how to recognize the difference between a hunger for food and the hunger for blood, Dante and Tomasso had said she could even drink blood if necessary and that immortals without fangs did that. The thought of drinking it, though, was terribly unappealing. Holly wasn't sure why that was, when she'd nearly attacked her husband and then Justin both twice in search of the tinny substance. It certainly hadn't seemed unappealing then. Well, to be fair, it wasn't like she'd been imagining biting their throats and allowing their warm blood to flow over her tongue and down her throat, she thought now. Actually, she wasn't even sure that would have happened if she'd bitten them. Certainly, she didn't get any blood in her mouth when she bit the bags. Her new fangs seemed to suck it up like straws without her ever having to taste it.
So . . . she was no longer diabetic, but still not normal.
"I have lived a long time, Holly," Gia said suddenly, her voice soft so as not to prevent Dante and Tomasso from being able to hear the television. "And if there is one thing I have learned in all that time, it is that no one is this supposed normal you are thinking of. Everyone is a different creature with different flukes or tics whether they are physical or mental." She paused briefly, and then grinned and added, "Besides, this normal thing is like sanity, it's vastly overrated. Embrace your differences, they make you who you are and I like you."
Holly smiled faintly, and then glanced to the door at the sound of someone clearing their throat.
"Dinner is ready," Justin announced when her gaze found him in the doorway.
Her eyes widened as she peered at the man. His face was flushed, his hair disheveled as if he'd been running his hands repeatedly through it, and his clothes were splattered with various foodstuffs. But he also had an air of banked excitement about him. He was obviously eager for them to see the results of his hard work.
"Well, great," Holly said with a smile as she got up. "I'm beyond starved."
There were rumbles of agreement from Dante and Tomasso as they turned off the television and stood as well, though she couldn't help noticing that they were a little less enthusiastic than her. Still, they were playing along and even Gia got up to follow Justin to the kitchen, though Holly knew the woman was old enough that she no longer bothered much with food.
A heavy curry scent hit her as Justin opened the kitchen door and Holly's stomach, already nauseous, rebelled somewhat. Swallowing, she assured herself that her stomach would settle once she had something in it, and moved to the table to peer over it curiously. Justin had gone all out, using what she guessed was their hosts' good china and even folding napkins into fancy little figures she suspected might be birds. There were candles and covered warming plates and it looked amazing.
"Sit, sit," Justin said, releasing the door once Gia and the boys followed her in. He rushed forward to pull out a chair for her.
Holly settled in the chair, murmuring a thank-you as he eased it forward, but she was mostly concentrating on breathing slowly in and out through her mouth rather than her nose in the hopes of easing the nausea roiling through her stomach. It wasn't that the food smelled bad, it was just that she was so nauseous with hunger she wasn't handling the spicy smells assaulting her.
She really should have had another apple or something while they'd waited for Justin to finish cooking, Holly thought unhappily. He had gone to so much effort and was obviously excited, acting like a kid who had made something for his mother in art class and was presenting it, eager for her reaction.
"It all looks beautiful," she praised, and that was certainly true. Crystal wineglasses sparkled in the candlelight, and the silver covers on the serving dishes in the center of the table gleamed.
"Wine," Justin announced, picking up an already open bottle with a flourish and pouring some into her glass.
Holly bit her lip to keep from refusing the offering. She didn't care for wine. The taste had never appealed to her, which was a good thing since she always seemed to get a shooting pain at the base of her skull with the first sip or two when she drank it. Still, she smiled her thanks to Justin and picked up the glass as if to drink from it, but then merely held it until he moved on to pour wine for Dante and Tomasso as well. Setting the glass back then, she swallowed and continued to breathe slowly in and out to manage her nausea as her gaze moved curiously to the covered serving plates.
Justin had refused to say what he planned to make for dinner, insisting that it was to be a surprise, but there were three covered dishes on the table, a basket with buns, and a large bowl of a mixed salad. The sight of that cheered her. If nothing else, she could eat the buns and salad to get something in her stomach and ease her nausea before moving on to trying whatever it was he'd cooked for them.
"There we are," Justin said drawing her attention back to him as he finished off by pouring wine into his own glass and then set the bottle aside. "Now, for the piece de resistance."
Like a magician performing an amazing trick, Justin grasped the silver cover on the largest serving dish, which was right in front of Holly, and whisked it off with a grandiose gesture bursting with pride and expectation.
Holly stared . . . and their dinner stared back. What he had uncovered was some sort of very large fish, roasted and covered with lemons and what appeared to be julienned green onions. There was even what might have been a clove of garlic or something similar protruding from its gaping mouth. Its still present mouth in its still present head. It also still had its skin and fins. Holly's already roiling stomach rebelled and she jumped up from the table, heaving as she rushed out of the room, desperate to find a bathroom before she tossed up whatever she did have in her stomach. Mostly bile, with a couple of chunks of apple, she was sure.
"I don't think she likes fish," Dante said into the silence.
Justin tore his gaze from the door Holly had just disappeared through and peered at the man with blank dismay. "But she does. She likes fish. Anders said so."
"Hmmm," Dante said, and exchanged a glance with his twin that made Justin frown.
Gia distracted him from wondering about that look by suggesting gently, "Perhaps she is not used to it being served with the head and tail still attached. It was quite common a couple hundred years ago, but is less so now."
Justin sagged at that observation; all the excitement and eagerness he'd been swimming in as he'd set the table and laid out his offerings were now dust in his mouth. He'd made the woman sick, for God's sake. They could all hear her retching in the bathroom up the hall.
He dropped the cover back on the fish, then turned and headed out of the kit
chen. The guest bathroom was halfway up the hall. Justin paused outside of it, listened briefly and when the retching paused, asked, "Holly? Are you all right?"
"Fine." There was a good cheer in her tone that he was quite sure was forced.
Justin sighed and leaned his head against the doorjamb. "I'm sorry. I guess I should have made something else."
"No, no," she said quickly through the door. "I just . . . er . . . have a tummy bug or something. It looked . . . er . . . lovely. Really."
Yeah, and if he bought that, she had a bridge in the swamps of Florida that she could sell him too. The woman was a terrible liar, he thought and then stepped quickly back when the door opened.
Holly stepped out, face pale and hair disheveled, but a stiff smile pinned to her face. "You go back and enjoy your meal. I think I'll just go lie down until my tummy settles."
Justin remained silent and simply watched her walk away up the hall until she disappeared upstairs. Then he turned and moved slowly back to the kitchen.
"It's good," Tomasso announced when he entered the room.
Justin glanced to the table to see that the twins had split the fish down the middle, each taking half. They'd also piled their plates with the curried rice and brussels sprouts he'd made as well and were demolishing it all.
"It is good," Dante assured him. "We left the head for you."
Justin peered at the head still on the platter and then just turned around and walked out again. All that work and the twins would have it gone in seconds . . . and Holly hadn't touched a bite of it.
"Bricker?"
Pausing halfway up the hall, he glanced over his shoulder to see Gia walking toward him.
"It all looked very impressive," the woman said quietly, patting his arm as she reached him. "And you obviously worked hard. I'm sure she appreciated that."
"Yeah, I wasn't sensing a lot of appreciation as she hung over the toilet," he said wearily.
She smiled sympathetically and shrugged. "I suspect she just is not used to her food looking back at her."
Justin shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I suppose I should go back in and start cleaning up. I made a hell of a mess in the kitchen and--"