“I think he’s a vampire,” I whisper-yelled. My heart was racing. God, what do I do now? The guy that I was in love with was a vampire?In love? Stop it, psycho.
“Uh, duh. I tried to tell you.”
“What if he tries to bite my neck?”
“He won’t do it in front of all these people. He’d lure you somewhere more private. And I won’t let that happen. Besides, we’re not sure yet. We have to narrow down the possibilities. It’s time for test #3.”
“But…his office is kind of private. He could just close the blinds and have his way with me.”
“I hope he does. In the sexy way. Not the murder way. But right now you need to focus, you scoundrel.” She tossed me a takeout bag. “And don’t forget about the werewolf test.”
I took a deep breath. I could do this. “Got it.” I returned to Tanner’s office. “Sorry about that. You hungry?”
“I already had lunch…” he started.
I ignored him and dumped the food on his desk. “Let’s see…we’ve gotgarlicfried-rice.Garlicbread. Oh, and that Papa John’s dipping sauce. You know, thegarlicbutter stuff.”
“I’m seeing a theme here,” he said with a smile.
“What’s that? All the best foods in the world?”
“No. Garlic.”
“Huh, what a weird coincidence. Is garlic a problem for you?” I unwrapped the food and slid it across his desk. The smell of garlic was practically unbearable, even for my non-vampire self. I could hardly imagine how he felt. He was probably moments away from melting.
“Nope, no problem.” He grabbed the bread and took a big bite. And then he scooped up some of the rice.
Very interesting.So he wasn’t afraid of garlic. But all of it was cooked garlic. Maybe vampires were only allergic to raw garlic? I’d have to consult the literature after work. But in the meantime, I had a few other tests to run.
I loosened one of my earrings and then shook my head to make it fall out. But it didn’t work, so I shook harder.
“Are you having a seizure?” he asked.
“No. I’m just…damn! My earring fell out.” I fumbled with it to try to get it back in but purposefully failed. “Would you mind?” I held the earring out for him.
“Sure.”
“Thesesilverearrings are great, but they’re so loose.” I stared at him hard as I said the word silver. If he was a werewolf, touching silver would be like putting his hand on a hot stove. Or something like that.Burn, baby, burn.
He didn’t flinch, though. He just grabbed the earring and walked over behind my chair. A chill ran down my spine as he gently pushed my hair out of the way. For a moment I forgot the fact that I was supposed to be figuring out his secret. All I wanted was for him to keep his hands on me. But as soon as I thought it, they fell away.
Maybe I had it all wrong. Maybe he was just a mind reader. Or maybe he kept backing away from me because it was hard to control himself around the sweet scent of my blood. I swallowed hard.
“You’re a lifesaver,” I said. “By the way, do you want some water?” I took a bottle out of my purse and set it on his desk. “I have the best trick. Rather than paying for stupid bottled water, I always just fill it up at the church on the way to work. They have this pool of free water that they say has been blessed. How cool is that?”And this holy water is going to disintegrate you, foul demon.
“You know people put their hands in that, right?”
I shrugged. But really I was dying inside. Even going near the holy water had given me the willies. SO. MANY. GERMS. I was fully prepared to toss my bottle in the trash as soon as this test was over. “Is that why it tastes so flavorful?”Barf.
“I’m not going to drink that. But you can pour it on me if you’re worried that I’m an evil demon.”
“Say what now?” I pretended to be shocked by his accusation.
“You really think I don’t know what you’re doing?”
“Before you say anything else ridiculous, I have a present for you.” I pulled a wrapped package out of my purse and tossed it to him.
He caught it. “I’m somewhat terrified to see what’s in here.”
