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“I will.” Vance turned his head to flash him a murderous glare. “After I talk to Karli alone. This has nothing to do with you.”
Okay, I had enough of their pissing match. “Christ, you two!” I said. “Can’t you take a break for even one minute? Leo, thank you for everything you’ve done for me tonight. If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Vance alone for a while.”
“Of course, my love.” He said smugly. “I’ll be downstairs in the bar if you need me.” He walked over to me and bent down to kiss my cheek, pausing a little for effect. As he was heading out the door he said, “Be nice to her detective, or I will come looking for you.”
As soon as the front door closed, Vance turned towards me. His face was beet red from Leo’s threat. He took my face in his hands again and leaned his forehead against mine. “God Karli, I would have died if I lost you. I promise you, I will find this thing and put an end to it. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I actually feel really good. Strong even.” I replied.
He pulled back and looked away. “Drinking vampire blood will do that to you.” He whispered.
Okay, the guilt was really getting to me now. “Vance, I really am sorry but I had no other choice. I couldn’t even move while the poison was in me. I was completely paralyzed. Trust me, I thought about the risks, but I was facing death anyway. I did what I had to do.”
“How much of your blood did he have to take?” He asked. “Did he seem out of control at any point?”
“He didn’t take much at all.” Just enough to rock my world. “The poison didn’t have enough time to spread very far. He was in complete control the whole time.” I was the one who made it get a little out of hand.
He reached out and pulled me into a tight embrace. “Please don’t ever scare me like that again Karli. I wouldn’t be able to go on if I didn’t have you in my life.”
“I thought you were wrong about me.” I snapped. “Wrong about us. Which one is it? You either want me or you don’t Vance. You can’t have it both ways.”
He held me even tighter. “I’ll always want you Karli. I was hurt, and I reacted poorly.” He pulled back to look me in the eyes. “I know we haven’t known each other for very long. I never thought I’d feel this way again but I have no doubts. I want you…. and I…. love you. I’m in this for the long haul if you’ll have me.” He kissed me lightly on the lips and pulled back, anxiously awaiting a response.
Surprised by his admission, I just sat there for a moment taking everything in. “Vance, I honestly don’t know what to do with that. You and I have this connection that I have no way of articulating. I feel like part of me is missing when you’re not around. But I can’t keep riding this emotional roller coaster with you. I just can’t. It’s too exhausting, and it’s not fair to either one of us.”
“I know Karli.” He agreed. “I don’t know how, but we’ll make this work. I promise.”
“Even if Leo is in my life?” I asked.
A muscle worked in his jaw. “What’s the story between you two anyway?”
“I could ask you the same question. In fact, I have…. yet neither one of you will answer me.”
He sighed. “Karli, if the alternative is not having you at all, then I will deal with the Leo situation.”
“Deal, how?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” He said. “Can we at least try to make this work?”
Now it was my turn to sigh. “I don’t know Vance. I’m going to have to think about this. Look, it’s been a really long night and I want to get some rest. Leo can give you more details than I can about my attack. I’ll call you when I get home tomorrow, okay?”
Taking my cue, he stood up to leave. As he was walking out the door he paused. “Goodnight Karli.” He said. “Please don’t give up on me. Please give this some serious thought. I need you.”
*********************
Leo returned a half hour later after giving Vance his statement. He stepped into the closet for a moment, and came out wearing a pair of Nike warm up pants. “Look, I’m behaving.” He teased. He sat on the bed and put his arm around my shoulders, kissing my forehead. “How did everything go with Vance?”
“It was exhausting,” I sighed. “But I’ll be fine.”
“How are you doing?” He asked. “Do you feel stronger?”
“Yeah, I feel really good actually. Kinda like I want to leap across tall buildings or start bench pressing cars.”
He chuckled. “Well, don’t take it too far, my sweet. The high will wear off soon enough.”
Blushing I said, “So……I guess this means you won’t need to make a trip to the blood bank anytime soon, huh?”
He pulled me closer, lightly nipping the tip of my ear. “No, I won’t and I can’t say I’m disappointed in the least.” He moved lower, grazing his fangs against the curve of my neck, sending little tremors down to my toes.
