"For the length of time it lasted, that was something," he breathed and kissed my neck. His arms were around me too, which was really nice. I let my forehead sink against his chest, relaxing for the first time in a very long time.
He tried to convince me to come to his condo, but I wasn't ready for that. I didn't know if I would ever be ready for that. Thanks, FVM.
We kissed a little more in the parking lot when he dropped me off near the Cadillac, and then I drove home. Tony wanted a commitment for another date, but I told him I didn't know when my next day off was, and I didn't.
Gavin didn't say a word when I walked into our apartment. Maybe he couldn't tell I'd been near another man, but Winkler certainly could and it was a good bet that if I'd had sex, (heaven forbid) he sure as hell would have known about that. I took a shower and hung up my clothes, promising myself I'd have them cleaned as soon as possible.
My job commenced the following evening and instead of having to work with Leon, Gavin passed me on his rounds. Maybe I was dreaming, but I imagined that he wanted to growl and pounce every time he walked by. Glen let me know that Winkler wanted to see me when he and Phil took over around five the next morning. Winkler was having breakfast and a cup of coffee with Davis when I walked inside the beach house.
"Lissa," Winkler pointed me toward a seat at the end of the breakfast table. I sat. "Lissa," he repeated, "it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you came up behind those f**kers and took out most of them before they ever made it to the wall. While I appreciate that, things like the bent rocket launcher don't go unnoticed. We had to explain that away, Lissa."
"I know." I hung my head a little. It was stupid. I just hadn't known what else to do at the moment.
"And Gavin tells me you're dating someone. That you've seen him twice, now." Winkler buttered a roll and bit into it.
Great. Now Gavin was spying on me and reporting it. "Do you pay him extra, just to keep tabs on me? Is that what you do?" I was standing and furious in the space of a heartbeat. "I keep your f**king house from getting blown to bits, and try to keep as many of those bumbling things you call security guards from getting killed and what do I get? I get reprimanded. And then, on top of everything else, Carnac out there is spying on me when I decide to go out and talk to somebody who doesn't mind smiling once in a while. Somebody who isn't blackmailing me, or threatening me, or who thinks I'm a bloodsucking leech. Is there something wrong with that? I don't bite him, for f**k's sake! I pretend to eat dinner, or sip a drink and we talk. Suddenly, I'm a whore? Well, Mr. I pick my women up in bars, you can take this out of my salary." I lifted the chair I'd been sitting in, twisting the metal frame into a pretzel. Tossing it in the floor, I stalked out the French door, slamming it so hard I broke two of the small glass panes.
Gavin was standing inside the guesthouse door when I came inside. Angrily I shoved him aside and nearly ran for my bedroom. I slammed that door, too. Fortunately it didn't break. My blood serum tears were falling when I slumped in the floor between the two twin beds. I always slept in the one closest to the door, giving me a clear path in case I needed to leave in a hurry. Don used to have a saying: No good deed goes unpunished. I was learning all about that—in spades. I heard shuffling outside my door but it went away after a few seconds. Just as well, dawn arrived and I didn't even have time to crawl into bed. I dropped over, right there in the floor.
"Shirley Walker is coming for dinner tomorrow, so Winkler wants you to cook," Davis was the one sent to inform me the following evening.
"What does he want?" I didn't slow my angry trek around the property and Davis had to trot just to keep up.
"He doesn't care, just something good."
"Shirley Walker," I turned to look at Davis as I walked, "never lifted a finger when the Grand Master was attacked. Neither did the rest of them, except Martin Walters and Thomas Williams. I don't think much of Shirley right now. She and Winkler might get a bowl of oatmeal." I jerked my gaze away and focused on the path again.
Davis coughed a little. "That's uh, just the way things are," he said. "When a challenge is made, if it's not the Second that's challenging, well, that's the only one who's allowed to interfere. Granted, the challenger and his second are supposed to be the only ones fighting."
"You guys have some f**ked up rules," I snapped. "What would happen if Weldon had lost and Lester Briggs had won? You'd be at war right now with the vampires. Is that what you want? For things to go back to that? Sometimes, you have to stand up and defend what you believe in. Fucking wolves," I muttered.
"Hey, now," Davis said. "I've never heard you talk like that."
"That's because I've never held your race in such contempt before. Do you know how many times I heard the phrase leech, bloodsucker or f**king vampire while Weldon walked through those werewolves? Do you? It's sort of hard to keep a smile plastered on your face while that's going on."
"I've never thought of you in those terms."
"I know." I slowed down and patted Davis on the arm. "I'm sorry. That remark wasn't aimed at you."
"Can you make lasagna? That's one of my favorites." We were back to the meal.
"I know how to make lasagna," I said. "I just need to buy the ingredients ahead of time. It takes a while to make it properly."
"Then go now. The store is still open in Port A and I'll watch things until you get back."
"All right," I sighed. "Thanks, Davis."
The Cadillac was almost out of gas so I filled it up while I was in town and then bought what I needed to make lasagna, garlic bread and a nice salad. Everything was in the fridge before I went back to guard the perimeter. Winkler silently watched as I put things away, his expression betraying a desire say something. Wisely, he didn't and I certainly wasn't about to start a conversation.
"You'll get your lasagna," I told Davis when I took over guard duty again.
"Winkler's just a little jealous," Davis said before he walked away. "He can't stand it that somebody else is interested." Davis waved as he strode toward the house.
The lasagna was perfect. I baked a huge pan and every bit of it disappeared. Shirley Walker didn't say a word to me as I set dinner on the table for her and Winkler. Phil, Glen and Davis ate with them. Leon was out working my shift while I cooked and cleaned up.
I never said a word to any of them and went out right after I finished with the kitchen. Gavin still looked like a thundercloud whenever we passed on our rounds and almost growled at me a time or two. Well, he could go to hell. He'd had his chance. He still smelled like heaven on earth to me but that couldn't be everything. There were other things one might want in a love interest and speaking once in a while constituted a big part of that.