Single White Vampire

Chapter Two
"Shopping!"

Kate laughed at Lucern's disgusted mutter as they entered the 24-hour grocery store. He'd been repeating it every few minutes since leaving the house. At first he'd said the word as if he couldn't believe he'd agreed to go. Then, as they'd driven here in his BMW, that dismay had turned to disgust. You'd think the man had never gone food shopping before now! Of course, judging by how empty his cupboards were, Kate supposed he hadn't. And when she'd commented on the lack of food in his home on the way out of the house, he'd muttered something about not having replaced his housekeeper yet. Kate presumed that meant he ate out a lot in the meantime.

She hadn't bothered to inquire as to what had become of his previous housekeeper. His personality was answer enough. No doubt the poor woman had quit. Kate herself would have, she knew.

She led him to the rows of empty shopping carts. As she started to pull one out, Lucern grunted something that might have been "Allow me," but could just as easily have been "Get the hell out of the way." He then took over the chore.

In Kate's experience, men always preferred to do the drivingwhether it was a car, a golf cart, or a shopping basket. She suspected it was a control issue, but either way it was handy; it meant she was free to fill the thing up.

She began to make a mental list of what she should get as she led the way toward the dairy section. She would have to be sure she got lots of fruits and vegetables for Lucern. The man was big and muscular, but far too pale. It seemed obvious to her that he was in dire need of some green leafy vegetables.

Maybe vegetables would improve his mood, too.

Lucern needed blood. That was the one thought pulsing through his mind as he followed Kate C. Leever through the dairy section, the frozen-food section, and now down the coffee aisle. The cart was filling up quickly. Kate had already tossed various yogurts, cheeses, eggs and a ton of frozen gourmet dinners in it. Now she paused in the coffee aisle and considered the various packages before turning to ask, "What brand do you prefer?"

He stared at her blankly. "Brand?"

"Of coffee? What do you normally drink?"

Lucern shrugged. "I do not drink coffee."

"Oh. Tea, then?"

"I do not drink tea."

"But you," She narrowed her eyes. "Hot chocolate? Espresso? Capuccino?" When he shook his head at all her suggestions, she asked with exasperation: "Well, what do you drink then? Kool-Aid?"

A titter of amusement drew Lucern's attention to a plump young woman pushing a cart up the aisle toward them. She was the first shopper they'd come across since entering the store. Between the debacles with the blood bags, the tea in the living room, and the bit of time Kate had taken to settle in and change, it was now nearly midnight. The grocery store wasn't very busy at this hour.

Now that her giggle had caught his attention, the shopper batted her eyelashes at Lucern and he found himself smiling back, his gaze fixed on the pulse at the base of her throat. He imagined sinking his teeth there and drawing the warm, sweet blood out of her. She was his favorite sort to drink. Plump, pink women always had the best, richest blood. Thick and heady and

"Mr. Argeneau? Earth calling Lucern!"

Luc's pleasant imaginings shattered. He turned reluctantly back to his editor. "Yes?"

"What do you like to drink?" she repeated.

He glanced back at the shopper. "Er coffee's fine."

"You said you don't drink cofNever mind. What brand?"

Lucern surveyed the choices. His eyes settled on a dark red can with the name Tim Hortons. He'd always thought that was a donut shop or something. Still, it was the only name he recognized, so he pointed at it.

"The most expensive one, of course," Kate muttered. She picked up a can of fine grind.

Lucern hadn't noticed the price. "Stop complaining. I am paying for the groceries."

"No. I said I'd pay and I will."

Had she said she'd pay when she'd mentioned it earlier? he wondered. He couldn't recall; he hadn't been paying much attention at the time. His thoughts had been on other things, like the blood dripping down the sink and not into his parched mouth.

His gaze slid back to the plump, pulsing-veined shopper who continued past him. He imagined he looked like a starving man watching a buffet being wheeled past. He was hard-pressed not to throw himself onto it. Warm, fresh blood much nicer than that cold bagged stuff he and his family had taken to ingesting. He hadn't realized how much he missed the old-fashioned way of feeding.

"Lucern?" There was a touch of irritation in Kate Leever's voice, and it made him scowl as he turned back. She wasn't where she'd last stood, but had moved on down the aisle and was waiting for him. She wore an annoyed expression, which in turn annoyed him. What did she have to be irritable about? She wasn't the one starving.

Then he had a vague recollection of her saying she hadn't eaten since breakfast, and he supposed she was hungry too and therefore had just as much right to be grouchy. It was a grudging admission.

"I am paying," he announced firmly as he pushed the cart forward. "You are a guest in my home. I will feed you." As opposed to feeding on you, he thought, which was what he most wanted to do. Well, not what he most wanted to do. He'd rather feed on the plump little brunette behind him. He had always found the blood of sleek, blond creatures like Kate C. Leever to be thin and bland. Plump-girl blood was better-tasting, more flavorful, fuller-bodied.

Of course, he couldn't feed on anyone. It was too dangerous nowadays, and even if he himself was willing to take the risk, he wouldn't risk the safety of his family just for a few moments of culinary pleasure.

It didn't mean he couldn't dream about it, though, so Lucern spent the next few moments trailing Kate around the canned food and dry goods aisles, absently agreeing with everything she said while he fondly recalled meals he'd enjoyed in the past.

"Do you like Mexican?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," he murmured, the question immediately bringing to mind a perky little Mexican girl he'd feasted on in Tampico. She'd been a tasty little bundle. Warm and sweet-smelling in his arms, little enjoyable moans issuing from her throat as he'd plunged both his body and teeth into her Oh, yes. Feeding could be a full-body experience.

"What about Italian?"

"Italian is delicious too," he said agreeably, his memories immediately switching to a pleasing little peasant on the Amalfi coast. That had been his first feeding on his own. A man always remembered his first. And just the thought of his sweet little Maria made him warm all over. Such deep, dark eyes and long, wavy, midnight hair. He recalled tangling his hands in that hair and the deep groan of pleasure she'd breathed into his ear as he'd given her his virginity and taken her blood at the same time. Truly, it had been a sweet and memorable experience.

"Do you like steak?"

Lucern was once again drawn from his thoughts, this time by a package of raw meat suddenly shoved under his nose, interrupting his fond memories. It was steak, nice and bloody, and though he normally preferred human bloodeven cold bagged human blood to bovinethe blood-soaked steak smelled good at the moment. He found himself inhaling deeply and letting his breath out on a slow sigh.

The package was jerked away. "Or do you prefer white meat?"

"Oh, no. No. Red meat is better." He moved closer to the meat counter she'd led him to and peered around with his first real interest since they'd entered the market. He had always been a meat-and-potatoes man. Rare meat, as a rule.

"A carnivore, I take it," Kate commented dryly as he reached for a particularly bloody package of steak. The blood was dripping, and he almost licked his lips. Then, afraid he might do something distressing in his present state, like lick the package, he stepped back and set the meat down. Taking hold of the cart, he began moving it along, hoping to get to a less tempting section.

"Hang on," Kate called, but Lucern kept walking, almost moaning when she rushed up with several packages of steak in her arms that she dumped in the cart.

Great! Now the temptation would follow him. He really needed to feed. He had to contact Bastien or Etienne and see about borrowing some blood. Perhaps he could make a quick stop at Bastien's on the way home. He could leave the unshakable Kate Leever in the car with the groceries, run in, gulp down a bit of nourishment and

Dear God! He sounded like a junkie!

"Fruits and vegetables next, I think," Kate said beside him. "You're obviously in serious need of vitamins. Have you ever considered going to a tanning salon?"

"I can't. I have an er, skin condition. And I'm allergic to the sun, too."

"That must make life difficult at times," she commented. Peering at him wide-eyed she asked, "Is that why you are so difficult about book signings and other promo stuff?"

He shrugged. As she began picking up all sorts of green things, he grimaced. In defense, he picked up a twenty-pound bag of potatoes to fill the cart, but it was soon covered in green: little round green things, big round green things, long green stalks. Dear God, the woman had a green fetish!

Lucern started moving the cart along a little more quickly, forcing Kate to hurry as she started on other colors. Orange, red and yellow vegetables flew into the cart and were followed by orange, red and purple fruit before Lucern managed to at last force her to the cash register.

The moment he stopped the cart, Kate began throwing things on the conveyor belt. He was watching her absently when the plump shopper pushed her cart by. She smiled and batted her eyelashes again, then gave him a little wave. Lucern smiled back, his gaze affixed to the pulse beating in her neck. He could practically hear the thump-thump of her heart, the rushing sound of blood, the

"Lucern? Mr. Argeneau. Where are you going?"

Pausing, Lucern blinked his eyes, realizing only at Kate's question that he'd started to follow the plump shopper like a horse walking after a dangling carrot. His possible dinner looked back and smiled again before disappearing down the frozen-foods aisle. Lucern started after her. "We forgot ice cream."

"Ice cream?" He heard the confusion in Kate's voice, but he couldn't have stopped to answer had he wished. He hurried to the frozen-foods aisle only to find another shopper there in addition to his plump lovely. They hadn't crossed paths with any but the plump shopper all night, yet now there was another one present, hindering him from a quick bite! Sighing inwardly, he moved to the ice cream section and glanced distractedly, over the options. Chocolate, cherry, Rocky Road.

He glanced toward his plump lovely. She was watching him and giving coquettish smiles. She looked like a big, smiling steak on legs. Damned woman! It's not nice to tease, he thought unhappily and opened the cooler wider as he stared.

She approached, smiling widely as he pulled ice cream out of the cooler. She didn't say a word, just smiled naughtily as she walked past, her arm brushing against him.

Lucern inhaled deeply, nearly dizzy from the scent of her. Oh yes, her blood was sweet. Or was that the ice cream he held? He grabbed another carton and watched her disappear around the corner with a sigh. He wanted to follow. He could use his brain-control trick to lure her into the back of the store for a little suck. But if he was caught

Sighing, he gave up on the idea and grabbed some Rocky Road ice cream. He could hold out a little while longer. Just a little while more, and he would be free to escape to Bastien's or Etienne's. Surely Kate C. Leever was exhausted after her workday and flight, and would want to make a night of it.

"My, you do like ice cream," Kate commented as he returned.

Lucern glanced down at the four cartons he held and dumped them onto the conveyor belt with a shrug. He had no idea what flavors several of them were, and in his distraction hadn't even realized he'd grabbed so many, but it didn't matter. They'd get eaten eventually.

Kate protested his paying, but Lucern insisted. It was a man thing. His pride wouldn't allow a woman to pay for food intended for his home. Kate opened a bag of rice cakes to munch on the way back. She offered him some, but he merely sneered and shook his head. Rice cakes. Dear God.

Lucern managed to not stop at either of his brothers' houses. He was rather proud of his self-restraint. He and Kate carted the groceries inside his home; then he insisted she start cooking while he put them away. This made him look helpful and useful, when in truth he just wanted her to cook her damned meal, eat it, and go to bed so that he could go in search of what he needed. Not that he couldn't enjoy food, too. A little food wouldn't go amiss, but regular food wouldn't help his main hunger. His people could survive without food, but not without blood.

Fortunately, Kate C. Leever was apparently ravenous, because she made a quick meal, grilling a couple of steaks and then throwing together a bowl of a bunch of green stuff with some sort of sauce on it. Lucern had never seen the attraction of salads. Rabbits ate greens. Humans ate meat, and Lucern ate meat and blood. He was not a rabbit. However, he kept his opinions to himself and finished up with the unpacking at nearly the same time as Kate finished cooking; then they sat down to eat.

Lucern dug into his steak with fervor, ignoring the rabbit bowl. He'd asked for the meat rare, and he supposed it was rare to most peoplebut rare to him was rare. Still, it was tender and juicy, and he ate it quickly.

He watched Kate finish, but shook his head when she offered him salad. "You really should eat some," she lectured with a frown. "It's full of vitamins and nutrients, and you're still awfully pale."

He presumed she feared that his pallor was due to his supposed head injury. It was due to lack of blood, however, which reminded Lucern that he should see if Bastien was home. Excusing himself, he left the room and went to his office.

Much to his disappointment, when he called his brother, there was no answer. Bastien was either out on a date or had gone back to Argeneau Industries. Like Lucern, Bastien preferred working at night when everyone else was sleeping. The habits of a couple hundred years were hard to break.

Lucern returned to the kitchen, to find that Kate Leever had finished eating and had already rinsed off most of the dishes and set them in the dishwasher.

"I shall finish that," he said at once. "You must be exhausted and ready for bed."

Kate glanced at Lucern with surprise. It was hard to believe this was the same man who had written those short "nos" in response to her letters and been so rude when she'd first arrived. His helping her unload groceries and apparent consideration now made her suspicious. The hopeful look on his face didn't help much, either. However, she was tired. It had been a long day, so she reluctantly admitted, "I am tired, actually."

In the next moment, she found her arm grasped in a firm hand and herself being propelled out of the kitchen.

"It's to bed with you!" Argeneau sounded cheerful at the prospect, and he rushed her up the hall and then the stairs. "Sleep as late as you like. I shall probably work all night as usual and sleep most of the day. If you rise before me, eat whatever you wish, drink whatever you wish, but do not poke around." The last was said in a hard tone that sounded more like the rude man she expected.

"I would hardly poke around," she said quickly, annoyed. "I brought a manuscript with me to edit. I'll just do that until you get up."

"Good, good. Good night." He pushed her into the yellow guest room she'd chosen earlier and pulled the door closed with a snap.

Kate turned slowly toward it, almost expecting to hear the door's lock click into place. She was relieved when that didn't happen. Shaking her head at her own suspicious mind, she moved to her suitcase to find her nightgown, then went into the en suite bathroom to shower. She was just crawling into bed when she recalled the excuse she'd used to get to stay here. She paused to glance around.

Spotting the small digital clock on the bedside table, she picked it up and set it to ring in an hour. She had every intention of getting up to check to be sure that Lucern hadn't fallen asleepand that if he had, he could still wake up.

Kate set the alarm back on the table and crawled under the covers, thinking of those few panicked moments in the kitchen. She drew a deep breath through her nose, recalling Lucern Argeneau standing before her, blood streaming down his head and face. Dear God, she'd never actually seen a head injury before. She'd heard they could be bloody, of course, and that they often looked worse than they truly were, but there had been so much blood.

She shuddered and swallowed a knot of anxiety. Kate hardly knew the man, and he'd been nothing but rude to her since her arrival, but despite the fact that it would serve him right after his behavior, she really didn't want to see him dead. How was she going to impress her boss that way? She could see it now. "No, Allison, I wasn't able to convince him to do the newspaper interviews. No, nor the television shows. Er no, he won't be doing signings either. Actually, I might have been able to convince him, except I killed him instead. It was an accident, Allison. I know he is our latest cash cow, and I truly didn't mean to kill him despite the fact that he's a rude, pigheaded No, really, it was an accident! Yes, I do realize I'm fired. No, I don't blame you at all for not giving me a reference. Yes, if you'll excuse me I'll just go apply at McDonald's now that my publishing career is ruined."

Sighing, she shook her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. Thank goodness Argeneau seemed healthyexcept for the pallor. She sat up in bed, concern eating at her again. He really had been awfully pale.

"And why not?" she asked herself. It looked as if he'd lost a quart of blood. Or at least a pint. Maybe she should check on him now. Kate considered the matter briefly, partly wanting to check on him, partly reluctant to have him bark at her for interrupting him at whatever he was doing. He was surely going to bark enough when she checked on him every hour through the night. But he had been terribly pale after hitting his head.

On the other hand, she had noticed his pallor on the porch before he'd ever hit his head. Or had that been the lighting? It had been nighttime, and the light on the porch had been one of those neon jobbies. That might have simply made him appear pale.

She mulled over the matter briefly, started to slip her feet off the bed to go check on him before she went to sleep, but then she paused at the sound of a closing door. Stiffening, Kate listened to the soft pad of feet down the hall, then forced herself to relax and lie back down. The footsteps had been soft, but otherwise normal. Lucern didn't sound to be staggering or unduly slow. He was fine. She would stick to her plan to check him in an hour.

Relaxing, she lay back and closed her eyes. She wasn't going to get much sleep tonight and knew it. In truth, she'd really rather be in a hotel somewhere sleeping soundly. And she would behead wound or no head woundif she weren't so afraid that once he got her out of the house, Lucern Argeneau wasn't likely to let her back in. Kate couldn't risk that; she just had to convince him to do one of the publicity appearances. Any one of them would do. She very much feared that keeping her new position as editor depended on it.

"You're kidding? She really thought all that blood was from a little bump on the head?" Etienne gave a disbelieving laugh.

"Well, she would hardly imagine it came from a bag of blood in his fridge," Bastien pointed out, but he was chuckling too.

Lucern ignored his brothers' amusement and sank his teeth into the second bag of blood Rachel brought him. He'd already ingested the first. He had insisted on doing so before explaining why he'd shown up at Etienne's home pleading to be fed. The first bag had allowed him to get over his surprise that Bastien was there. It had also given his brothers time to explain that Bastien had come by to help sort out some last-minute problems with the wedding. Which explained nicely why Lucern hadn't been able to reach him.

"What I don't understand," Bastien said as Lucern finished off the second bag and retracted his teeth, "is why you didn't simply get into her head and suggest she leave."

"I tried," Lucern admitted wearily. He placed both empty bags in the hand Rachel held out, then watched her walk out of the room to dispose of them. "But I could not get into her mind."

The silence that followed was as effective as great gusty gasps would have been from anyone else. Etienne and Bastien stared at him, stunned.

"You're kidding," Bastien said at last.

When Lucern shook his head, Etienne dropped onto the chair across from him and said, "Well, don't tell Mother if you don't want her pushing you two together. The minute she heard that I couldn't read Rachel's mind was the minute she decided we'd make a good couple." He paused thoughtfully. "Of course, she was right."

Lucern grunted in digust. "Well, Ms. Kate C. Leever is not perfect for me. The woman is as annoying as a gnat flying about your head. Stubborn as a mule, and pushy as hell. The damned woman has not given me a moment's peace since pushing her way over my doorstep."

"Not true," Bastien argued with amusement. "You managed to give her the slip long enough to come here."

"That is only because she was tired and went to bed. She" He paused suddenly and sat up straight, recalling her promise to check on him every hour to be sure his head injury hadn't done more damage than he believed. Would she really do that? He glanced sharply at his brothers. "How long have I been here?"

Bastien's eyebrows rose curiously, but he glanced at his watch and said: "I'm not positive, but I'd guess you've been here about forty, forty-five minutes."

"Damn." Lucern was on his feet at once and heading for the door. "I have to go. My thanks for the drinks, Rachel," he called loudly at the other room.

"Wait. What ?"

Bastien and Etienne got up to follow, questions slipping from their lips, but Lucern didn't stop to answer. He'd locked his office door before leaving the house, and Kate might assume that meant he was in there, but if she really did check on him hourly and got no answer when she knocked on the door, the damned woman might decide he'd died or something and call the police or an ambulance. She might even break down his office door herself. There was just no telling what that woman might do.

He came up with a couple of doozies as he hurried home.

Fortunately, she hadn't done any of them by the time he returned. She was up and trying to rouse him, thoughthat much was obvious the moment he opened the front door. He could hear her shouting and banging on his office door all the way downstairs. Rolling his eyes at the racket she was making and the panic in her voice as she called his name, Lucern pocketed his house keys and jogged upstairs. He came to an abrupt halt at the top of the steps.

Dear God, the woman didn't just eat rabbit food, she wore rabbit slippers.

Lucern gawked at the ears flopping over the furry pink bunny slippers she wore, then let his gaze slide up over her heavy, also pink and fuzzy, housecoat. If he didn't already know she had a nice figure, he wouldn't know now. Then he caught a glimpse of her hair and winced. She'd gone to bed with wet hair and had obviously tossed around a lot in her sleep; her hair was standing on end in every direction.

On the bright side, she obviously didn't intend on stooping to seducing him into doing any of those publicity things she was so fired up for him to do. Oddly enough, Lucern actually felt a touch of regret at that realization. He didn't understand why. He didn't even like the woman. Still, he might have been open to a little seduction.

"Good evening," he said when she paused in her yelling to take a breath. He found himself gaping again, as Kate C. Leever whirled around to face him.

"You! I thought" She turned to the locked office door, then back to him. "This door is locked. I thought you were in there, and when you didn't answer, I" Her voice trailed away as she took in his expression. Suddenly self-conscious, she pulled the edges of her ratty old robe together as if he might be trying to catch a better look at the flannel nightgown showing at the neckline. "Is something wrong?"

Lucern couldn't help it; he knew it was rude, but he couldn't stop the words from blurting through his lips. "Dear God! What is that goop on your face?"

Kate immediately let go of her robe and pressed both hands to her face, her mouth forming an alarmed "Oh" as she recalled and tried to hide the dry green mask.

It was obviously some sort of beauty treatment, Lucern deduced, but Kate didn't stick around to explain exactly what sort. Turning on her heel, she fled back to the guest room and closed the door. After a heartbeat, she called in a strained voice, "I'm glad you're all right. Mostly. I was worried when you didn't answer my knock. I'll check on you again in an hour."

Silence then filled the hall.

Lucern waited a moment, but when he didn't hear the sound of footsteps moving away from the door, he decided she was waiting for some sort of response. "No" was the first response that came to mind. He didn't want her checking on him. He didn't want her here at all. But he found he couldn't tell her that. She'd appeared terribly embarrassed to be caught looking as she had, and really he couldn't blame her; she'd looked awful in a cute, bunny type way.

He smiled to himself at the memory of her standing there in his hall looking like hell. Kate had looked badbut in the sort of adorable way that made him want to hug her until he'd seen the cracking green mask on her face.

Lucern decided not to further distress her with the "no" she no doubt expected and instead called out "Good-night" in an uncomfortably gruff voice. As he moved to his office door and unlocked it, he heard a little sigh from the other side of her door, then a very small "good-night" in return. Her soft footsteps padded away. She was going to bed, he thought.

There came a snap, and light fingered its way out from under the guest room door. Lucern paused. Why were the lights on? Was she resetting her alarm clock for an hour from now? The silly woman really did intend to check on him every hour!

Shaking his head, he stepped into his office and flicked on the lights. He'd give her fifteen minutes to fall asleep and then go in and turn off the alarm clock. The last thing he needed was for her to be pestering him all night. Although it did occur to him that if she didn't sleep much tonight, she would probably sleep longer in the morning to make up for it, which would give her less time to nose around on her own while he was sleeping.

No, he decided. She'd said she wouldn't poke around, and he believed her.

Mostly.