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Edith smiled and caressed his cheek gently. "Remind me to write Saidh and thank her."
"All right," Niels said slowly, a little confused by the abrupt change of subject, and then he tilted his head and asked with curiosity, "What do ye need to thank her for?"
"For you," she said solemnly. "Her sending ye to check on me was the greatest gift o' me life."
Swallowing a sudden lump in his throat, Niels scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. But the whole way he was thinking that perhaps he'd write his sister a "thank ye" too. Because Edith was a gift to him as well, one he would enjoy unwrapping all the days of his life.
An Excerpt from Twice Bitten
Keep reading for a sneak peek of
New York Times bestselling author
Lynsay Sands' next Argeneau novel,
TWICE BITTEN
Available April 2018!
Twice Bitten
Elspeth blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to adjust to the much dimmer interior of the Night Club as she stumbled to the bar along the back. Her eyes weren't adjusting as quickly as they should, a result of her being low on blood, so she switched to rubbing her eyes in an effort to move the process along. She sensed, rather than saw, the bartender approach.
"A Virgin Mary without the Worcestershire, Tabasco, or lemon," she requested quietly.
"So . . . blood?" the bartender asked, his deep voice full of amusement.
Elspeth nodded with a sigh and breathed, "Yes, please," as she gave up on her eyes and sank onto the nearest barstool. She was staring wearily at the black stone countertop of the bar when a tall, blue tinted glass of red liquid was set in front of her. Elspeth pounced on it like a starving person on food and quickly gulped it down.
"Another?" the bartender asked as she lowered the now empty glass.
Nodding, Elspeth braced her hands on the bar top as the blood hit her system. She was struck with a brief light-headedness and a sense of being off kilter. It was like standing on a listing ship and trying to keep your balance, an effect of her system rushing to collect the blood in her stomach and redistribute it.
"Here you are, El," the bartender said, setting a fresh glass in front of her.
She glanced up with surprise on hearing her name and then stilled, her eyes widening incredulously as she gaped at the giant on the other side of the bar. Six foot seven with a twelve-inch, green Mohawk that took him to seven foot seven, the man was as wide as a linebacker with his padding on, and awash in tattoos and piercings. G.G. She'd encountered him many times at the Night Club back in London, an establishment that, like this one, was geared toward immortals and had a doorman who usually steered mortals away. It was a place for her kind to relax and enjoy blood-based mixed drinks in the company of other immortals. Her parents had taken her and her sisters to the Night Club in London to celebrate special occasions like birthdays, graduations, et cetera, but Elspeth had also been there many times on her own while at university. G.G. had always manned the door, and had always been very nice to her. He'd often even joined her inside and chatted with her about life and such on her visits.
"G.G.," she breathed with amazement. "What are you doing here?"
"I own the place now," he said with pride.
"Really? How? Why?" she asked with amazement. "Did you sell the Night Club in London?"
G.G. shook his head. "I still own it, and I've done well there. So, when Lucern called up saying he was interested in selling the Night Club here, I jumped at it."
"Wait a minute. Lucern owned this place?" she asked with confusion. "My cousin, Lucern Argeneau?"
G.G. chuckled at her expression, but nodded.
"I had no idea," Elspeth admitted, her eyes wide.
"I guess no one knew," G.G. said with a shrug. "I gather he was afraid certain relatives might take advantage if they knew he was the owner."
Amusement curved Elspeth's lips. "I can see that. Thomas probably would have before he met Inez. If for no other reason than that it would have annoyed Lucern."
"I suspect he was more concerned about Jean Claude than anyone else," G.G. said quietly.
"Oh, yes," Elspeth said, frowning as she thought of her now dead uncle. There was nothing more unpleasant than an immortal with a drinking problem, unless it was one with a drinking problem who was mean as a snake after consuming a drunk's blood. Although, to be fair, Jean Claude had been mean as a snake when sober too. Pushing thoughts of that unpleasant man away, she forced a smile and said, "So you bought it, but still own the Night Club in London too?"
G.G. nodded again. "I like London. But this is a good investment. Besides, my parents will soon have to move out of London again for that whole 'decade thing' you immortals got going on, to keep mortals from noticing you aren't aging, and they were talking about Canada as a possible destination for the next ten years, so this seemed fortuitous. I can travel back and forth between England and Canada, keep an eye on both places, and visit my parents while doing it whether they're there or here. It's all good."
"Yes," Elspeth agreed with a nod, and then shook her head and said, "I can't believe Lucern owned it. He isn't the Night Club type."
"It was one of his investments," G.G. said with a shrug. "But now that he and Kate are going to start a family, he's decided to divest himself of some of his businesses. This is one he felt needed more time than he might have in the near future."
"He and Kate are pregnant?" she asked with amazement. Good Lord, the man knew more about her family than she did.
"Not yet," he said at once. "But Kate is retiring from Roundhouse Publishing later this year and they're going to start trying for a baby then."
"Oh." Elspeth nodded, not surprised to hear Kate was retiring. She'd worked at Roundhouse when she'd met Lucern and been turned, and it had been more than the usual ten years since then. It was time for her to move on. Otherwise she risked someone picking up on the fact that she wasn't aging.
"So, I'd heard you'd moved here to Canada," G.G. said with a grin. "Good for you. I think getting away from your mother will be good for you."
"You heard?" Elspeth asked with amazement. She hadn't told him. She hadn't been to the Night Club in London the last four years. Not since the family had moved out of London for the family home in York. But she supposed she shouldn't be surprised he knew about her move. The immortal grapevine was faster and more efficient than the mortal grape vine. Everyone seemed to know everyone's business.
"Yes, Lissianna and Jeanne Louise came in a few weeks ago for a girl's night and invited me to sit with them to catch up on things. They mentioned it, and were planning to drag you out with them on their next girl's night. They said you were busy getting settled in and they'd bring you next time."
"Oh," Elspeth smiled. Lissianna had invited her out about three weeks ago, but she'd been expecting her furniture to be delivered, and after three weeks living in a mostly empty apartment, she hadn't wanted to reschedule. Lissianna had offered to change the outing date but Elspeth hadn't wanted to disrupt her plans and had said no. She'd join them next time. And she would . . . if her mother didn't try to prevent it, she thought grimly, and then glanced to her purse with a frown as her phone began to ring. Sliding the leather bag off her shoulder, she set it on the bar and quickly dug out her phone. She wasn't surprised to see "Mother" listed as the caller. She'd been out of Martine's sight for half an hour. Of course, she'd call.
Hitting decline, Elspeth dropped her phone back in her purse and then glanced up to see G.G.'s raised eyebrows. He'd obviously noted who the caller was. Forcing a smile, she tried to steer his thoughts away from the call.
"So," she said brightly, "You work the bar here instead of the door?"
G.G. shook his head.
"No, I work the door here too . . . when we're open."
Elspeth blinked at him with confusion, and then turned to peer around the club. She was the only person there. The Night Club had other rooms, of course, but she suddenly suspected they were probably empty too as she realized it was just a little after seven. The sun was still up and would be for at least another hour. The Night Club was only for immortals, and so was run differently than the average bar or nightclub. For one thing, it was only open from sunset to sunrise. Everyone knew that.
"Oh, crap," she muttered and turned back to G.G. with dismay. "I'm so sorry."
"It's fine," G.G. said with good humor. "My own fault. The phone was ringing when I came in and I rushed to answer it and forgot to go back and lock the door."
"Yes, but I know the club's hours, I can't believe I didn't think of that when I headed here." She began scrambling through her purse for her wallet. "You should have just sent me on my way. I just--Why on earth did you give me my drinks?"
"Because you were pale as death and looked like you needed the blood," he said quietly. "And you don't look much better after just the one glass, so stop fussing with your wallet and drink. You can pay me after."
"Thank you," she said with a sigh, and set her wallet down so that she could pick up the glass of blood and take a long swallow.
"Rough day?" G.G. asked, leaning his arms on the counter and offering her a sympathetic smile.
"The worst," Elspeth admitted with a grimace. "I got home this morning to find Mother and my sisters had decided on a surprise visit. They were already in bed. Mom in the guest room and the twins in my bed," she added with disgust.
"Pretty presumptuous of them," G.G. commented.
"I know, right?" she said, glad to have the support.
"Did you kick them out of your apartment?" he asked.
"No, but I kicked the twins out of my bed. Made them sleep on the air mattress in the living room. They weren't too happy about it though, and drank me out of blood before I got up."
