The Vampire Next Door

Cherie Marks-3

She flung her door wide and stepped out, standing in the vee made by the door and the car.

“Excuse me! Hey! You’re blocking me in.”

They didn’t even pause in their strides, just continued to walk toward the apartment next door to hers. She growled in frustration and slammed her car door a little hard as she gritted her teeth and braved the sunshine again to stomp after them.

“Hey! Could you move your truck? I have to be somewhere, like, now.”

They finally turned and stared wide-eyed as she made her way toward them, and at the same moment, the door to the apartment opened. Mia stopped in her tracks at the sight in the doorway. Arms crossed over his black t-shirt pulled tight across a muscled chest, his gaze met hers immediately, like he’d known she was there before he’d opened the door. His eyes were golden-green, so focused on her, she could almost feel his stare, and there was intelligence there, as if he already knew all her secrets. The thought he was nothing like other men jumped to the forefront of her mind. Like a lord of the underworld, he gave off the most dangerous vibe she’d ever felt, and in that moment, the urge to run was strong. It didn’t help that the sun was burning her skin to a crisp, and she needed to be driving away at this very moment anyway.

“Something wrong?” His voice was rich and smooth, like cool water over her parched skin, and her feet moved toward him without thought until she stood between the two deliverymen. He gently gripped her upper arm, sending wild, electrical pulses chasing throughout her body, and pulled her through the door of his apartment. The relief from the sun was instant. “Maybe I can help you.”

She nodded and for the first time, noticed features other than his eyes. He was tall, probably well over six-feet. His blond hair was a little long, falling soft and straight to his ears and to the back of his collar, and the thought of feeling the silk of his hair sliding through her hands sent a thrill through her mid-section. His sculpted cheekbones paired perfectly with his aristocratic nose and his prominent jaw, highlighting the symmetry of his tasty mouth. She wanted to lick his lips and see if they felt as soft to her tongue as they looked to her eyes. The thought brought a rush of heat across her chest and up her neck. This time she couldn’t blame it on the sun.

He’d asked her something in a deep timbre and clearly expected a response from her, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what she’d needed from him. He smelled so good. Her nose filled with a rich, delicious spice that was familiar, and she couldn’t get enough of it as she pulled it into her nostrils again and again. Like the worst kind of chick flick, all she could do was stare, and a little laugh escaped at the picture of the surreal movie-moment she was currently living popped into her head. This was so unlike her. She didn’t get rattled by anything. She rattled other people first.

“Did you need me to move our truck, sweetheart?”

The spell broke at the gruff sound of the stout mover’s voice. She finally looked away from the gorgeousness before her and acknowledged the men on the other side of the threshold,

“What? Oh, yeah.” She looked at the watch on her wrist and then toward the truck. “You’re blocking my car, and I have to be on campus in about thirty minutes.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind letting you out before they start unloading my furniture. Would you, guys?”

“We’re on it.” The thinner mover was already heading back toward the truck as he answered. The stout one followed.

“Sorry about that. Moving in today, but didn’t mean to hold you up in the process. ”

She made the mistake of looking directly at the fine specimen of gorgeousness in front of her and had to shake herself free of his spell again before saying, “Thanks. Timing is everything, right?”

“Right. Campbell Reid.” He extended his hand and she took it, feeling the same electric pulses she’d felt when he’d pulled her out of the sun earlier. Interesting. It had been awhile since she’d felt this level of attraction to a man. And he was moving in right next door to her. Maybe things were turning around after all.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Mia Alexander.” She pulled back and slipped her hands into her pockets.

“Do you live around here?”

“Next door.” She pointed to the apartment directly to the left of his, and his face rolled into a smile that made her heart skip a beat. He could be a model. For all she knew he was and had absolutely no problem finding available women to fall for him everywhere he went.

A knowing look glowed in his eyes again, and she got the feeling he was reeling in a big fish, and the taste of his bait was that of irresistibly rich, delicious chocolate dangling before her.

It was irritating to say the least. He’d find out real quick that she wasn’t that easy. As a matter of fact, she was downright distrustful of...well...everyone. Her grandmother had made sure of that. “Trust no one, Mia. It’s the only way to protect yourself from those who would hurt you.” A little paranoid, but so far, advice that had served her well and kept her safe.

Besides, the more she thought about it, the more getting it on with her next door neighbor seemed like a bad idea. What if he was bad in bed or annoyingly clingy? It wouldn’t be just throwing away a phone number. She’d have to see him each and every day. She wasn’t being pessimistic, just realistic. Despite what her friends would say.

“How about I take you to dinner tonight? You know, to make up for blocking your car in and all.”

And there it was. Yep, he’d expected her to instantly fall for his usual game, but now that she had her wits about her again, he was in for a rude awakening.

“Look, I’m sure we can let bygones be bygones. It’s not that big a deal, and I’m pretty particular about my food lately. I don’t eat out a lot.”

His face fell, and she almost grinned as his eyebrows pushed into a confused vee in the middle of his forehead. He hadn’t expected that, had he? She stepped back outside and felt the heat immediately. The sun really, really was stronger today.

He didn’t follow her out. He stopped just inside the door but leaned over the threshold just a little. “Are you sure? We could order in.”

The delicious aroma of him filled her nostrils once again, and she had the strangest feeling she’d smelled it somewhere before. The thought tickled her brain, but she couldn’t place it, and she shook the notion away, along with the rogue idea she should go back inside and wrap herself around his sexy body. But reality’s sharp teeth bit hard sometimes, and she knew she didn’t need the complication of dating her hot neighbor right now.

Mia couldn’t keep the smirk off her lips. He really was good-looking, and power was heady, and by the sound of desperation in his voice, she had most of it right now. Of course, her grandmother, who’d raised her from a baby, taught her to treat people as people, so she didn’t press her position, didn’t turn it into a game. Instead, she called over her shoulder, “Tonight’s a no, but maybe another time.”

And, funny thing, she kind of meant it.

* * *CAMPBELL RUBBED HIS eyes and yawned as he stood in the shadows of Mia’s bedroom. He was tired. He hadn’t gotten much rest this evening before starting his nightly vigil over the exceedingly attractive and possibly mutant fledgling in front of him. The deliverymen had taken longer than he’d liked to carry in the furniture the council purchased for him to use on this detail. To their credit, it was an apartment-full, but if he was being honest, the two men were a little free with the number of breaks they took between carries.

He could have handled that though and still gotten a good amount of rest, but after they left Spencer called on the secure phone for an update. Needless to say, he hadn’t been impressed with Campbell’s strike-out. He’d had quite an earful to say about it actually.

To be honest, Campbell still couldn’t believe she’d turned him down. No woman could resist him. He wasn’t conceited, just armed to the gills with attractive weapons. It was part of being a vampire. His eyes, his voice, even his smell were all meant to draw others in. They were another thing that came with the package when his evil-b***h creator turned him hundreds of years ago. If he turned on his charms, there wasn’t a single person in the world who could resist him. Except her. It was damn freaky.

Maybe it was part of her mutation. Super-rejection powers. Not that he took it personally.

Okay, maybe a little bit, but the point was she shouldn’t have been able to walk away from him until he’d released her. But she’d shaken his weapons off like they were broken. He’d thought they might be, so once the sun was down, he’d woken early and gone out to a bar in the shopping center next to the apartment complex to test them out. Every woman, even the supernatural females he’d encountered, succumbed to the irresistibility. As soon as he was satisfied, he’d released them and walked away, still scratching his head as to what made Mia different. He had to admit though, despite the cut to his ego, he admired her strength. Whatever she was, he was impressed.

Now he was back on guard-duty, going crazy himself as he tried to resist her weapons-ofmass-attraction. It didn’t help she’d worn a nearly see-through tank top and a pair of flouncy, barely-there shorts to bed tonight instead of her usual t-shirt, and the silky garments left nothing to the imagination in the moonlight. Her covers had been kicked off not long after she’d nodded off, and for his sanity, he needed to get the blanket back over her from head to toe and was willing to risk alerting her to his presence to do it. But he remained strong, stood in place, and pulled up the most mundane thoughts he could muster. He went back over the earlier conversation with his commander, trying anything to keep his mind off this attraction he was hard-pressed to fight.

One thing about the dialogue still bothered him. Spencer made it clear the council had given Campbell a week to find out the identity of the creator and what exactly Mia was changing into. The information that followed is what he found difficult to digest. If he failed, the council had given the order for her to be put down. Because they weren’t exactly sure what she’d be capable of when she’d changed fully, they didn’t know if they’d be able to kill her after her transformation. With that in mind, they didn’t want to risk any dangerous outcomes. She’d have to die. To say the least, the thought didn’t sit well with him.

Now he was determined to ferret out the information as quickly as possible. Though he had to continue his guard duty at night, tonight there were other agents he trusted checking out the research facility where she’d volunteered, and he was sure her creator would be coming for her soon. It was usually just a matter of time before he or she showed up and harvested what had been sown. Of course, normally the makers simply feasted on the fledglings, absorbing the immunities stirring in their half-human, half-otherworldly blood. Most creators never planned for the fledgling to make it through the entire transformation. However, Campbell didn’t think Mia’s originator wanted that. He was sure her maker had bigger plans, and it was up to Campbell to find out exactly what he or she was up to before it was too late for Mia.

Chapter 3

WHY DID A RARE STEAK suddenly sound like it would hit the spot? Mia was in her kitchen, debating another peanut butter and jelly when the charcoal smell of a grill heating up drifted in. She followed her nose to the back patio and stepped out of her apartment. The wooden divider between the parallel patios was more ceremonial than an actual separator. It was only about five and a half feet tall, so a much taller Campbell swiveled his head in her direction the minute she stepped out, pinning her still for just a moment with those mesmerizing eyes. Wild energy danced in her mid-section at the sight of him. It was unnerving how beautiful he was, and as he stood there in the body-hugging, long-sleeve t-shirt he wore, images of the delineated muscles underneath invaded her mind. Would his skin feel as smooth as it looked?