Chapter 5
When Tiffany arrived at work the next morning, the receptionist, Grace, greeted her with a friendly smile at the front desk where patients checked in and told her the partners had arranged an office for her, just as Christian promised.
HR had given her a black card about the sized of a credit card to admit her into the operations side of the clinic. It was a security swiper which the lady from HR explained would get her into any employee entrances and main internal doors like this one, but not into restricted areas such as the lab, private offices, etc.
She found Katie waiting for her in her office in order to give her a tour of the clinic. Christian asked her to do so in his stead because he was tied up with patients, Katie claimed. Tiffany understood completely. She believed Christian when he’d told her nothing would change their friendship. He was busy, that was all, but to keep his promise to show her around the clinic, he’d used Katie. No big deal. She hoped.
The trek was pleasant, educational. Katie showed her which areas were which, hallways containing exam rooms, the lab, ex-ray rooms, the business offices, cafeteria, supply rooms and so on. She also introduced her to a few staff members along the way.
Wow! The place was huge, far bigger than it looked from outside, but two floors were subterranean. Katie had termed those two floors as the hospital. Vampire maternity patients had birthing rooms there. She’d also pointed out the surgery section, the nursery and NICU, recovery rooms and other areas relating to patient care.
After Katie left her at her office door, Tiffany thanked her and swiped a hand over her swank, gold and silver name plate with her title and position. It read: Tiffany J. Peebles, V clinic, IT. She was officially a somebody here, she thought with a modicum of pride, then strolled inside to begin investigating her surroundings.
They were basic. She’d been given a faux wood top desk with metal legs, a nice, high-backed plush office chair and two black vinyl ones in front, plus a couple of shelf units and several file cabinets. A box of office supplies had been placed on top of her desk. There was a little closet too, which had a few hangers on a rack, but otherwise it was empty. In time she’d spruce up her space, bring in some of her personal, happy things. However, working ambiance was the least of her concerns at the moment.
She’d slept maybe two hours last night after that insane, intimate encounter with Christian, which had stirred up so many conflicting emotions. Making vampire love to Christian had been one of the best experiences of her life. It was everything she’d ever imagined and more. Much more.
As expected he physically rocked her senseless, emotionally he’d nearly rendered her catatonic. She’d loved feeling his thoughts caressing the inside of her mind, knowing just exactly what her body, touch, kisses did to him. It hadn’t lasted long, but any more would have been beyond what her body and mind could have absorbed—it was that immense.
He was at once tender and bold in his touch. Emotionally, his feelings may have been more explosive than her own. She swore his passion, his desire for her literally reached into the heart of her soul squeezing it like a fist. She thought only two vampire life mates could read each other’s minds, attain that level of emotion. Maybe it was completely normal in a sexual context. She didn’t know, except if she thought about this much more, she may just melt into a puddle of Tiffany goo.
Those beautiful moments were without compare the most memorable of her life. There was just one problem. If she’d felt his emotions, heard his thoughts, that meant he’d felt her feelings and heard her thoughts.
Tiffany didn’t do vulnerable and her attraction for Christian would never alter that fact. She couldn’t afford to allow him access to her mind again. He might accidentally view the bitter, angry, wounded her, which cropped up more often than she cared to admit. God, she’d die a thousand deaths if he saw the cauldron of hate brewing in her soul for her dad and Reanna. Worse yet she had a deep-seated jealously regarding her half-brother, Tate. And that was sick. The little guy was only seven years old.
“Oooh, no.” If Christian caught wind of any of that while in her mind he’d be so disgusted.
Hell, she disgusted herself.
Every time Chelsie or Dannie mentioned a visit with her father and their half-brother, Tate, she wanted to puke. She’d never even met the boy. Worst yet, she didn’t want to. Sure the kid was innocent in all this, but laying eyes on her father and that little boy, especially Reanna would resurrect every sick and twisted memory of the demise of her own family unit.
She winced remembering Christian’s stunned, deflated expression when she’d told him they shouldn’t jump into anything. Well, what else could she have done? She couldn’t very well tell him why intimacy scared her. Daddy hurt me. Even to her own ears she sounded like a whinny little snot. No one knew how deep those scars had rent her soul and only God Himself would ever view them. This she’d sworn to herself and not even Christian would change her mind on that front. So no more vampire sex and mind meshing. She hadn’t made that clear to Christian last night, but she intended to if the subject arose.
Hopefully she was just making mountains out of molehills and Christian would see that further intimate encounters could affect their friendship because it would have to end one day.
She winced again recalling that friends with benefits comment she’d made. As good as the last night had been, she wouldn’t be opposed to a temporary friends with benefits arrangement, but deep down Tiffany knew it wouldn’t be a good idea. Sex with Christian was just too intense. With her luck she’d fall in love with him and wind up with a broken heart the size of the Grand Canyon.
“Enough thinking. God!” She’d never get any work done if she didn’t reign in her thoughts.
Tiffany opened her backpack and dug out her cell and holotop in order to get online and ferret out prices for hard and software. She’d have to hotspot it because the place didn’t even have wifi. Getting that squared away needed to be priority number one today. Why were these vampire doctors so challenged with communication technology? she wondered. They certainly seemed to have a state of the art medical facility. Well, she was here now to solve their problem. Daylight was burning and Tiffany she figured she’d best get to work.
After several hours, Tiffany had secured an internet provider, scheduling an appointment for next Monday. She’d made good head way on her pricing project too. The best price for most of the hardware she’d need could be purchased here in the city at Better Buy. Other things such as specific software and specialty items she intended to order on line.
She’d just taken a break to put away the box of office supplies she’d been provided when a knock sounded. “Come in,” she called out.
Katie opened the door and stepped inside. “Are you busy?”
She wore pink scrubs and a cheery smile. Katie was cute in a girl-next-door sort of way and appeared to be about the same age as she. Tiffany offered her a welcoming one in return and waved her in. “Not really. What’s up?”
“Nothing important. I haven’t seen you all morning. Is there anything you need? Coffee? More supplies? Post it notes?”
Tiffany chuckled. “I think I’m solid on the post it notes.” She held up a twelve pack. “Now the coffee, I could use, but I’ll get that myself. I don’t need anyone secretarying for me.”
Katie took a few steps her way and said, “I’m so incredibly glad the doctors hired you. How soon do you think we’ll have this new system up and running?”
Tiffany sighed because it was going to be awhile. “Getting the system live won’t take me long. It’s the data transfer that will be an endless nightmare. I’ll have to scan every page of your hard copy patient files one by one. I don’t even want to think about how many there are.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Oh God. No you do not. There are thousands. Of course the doctors aren’t currently seeing all of them regularly.”
Tiffany had suspected as much based on what she’d learned about Christian and his partners’ practice. “Then I’ll start with current patients, do the others as I can or hire some temp staff. I’ll figure it out.”
She nodded and gave her a quizzical smile. “Blake told me that you and Dr. La Mond are family friends.”
Tiffany chuckled because she knew the girl was fishing for office fodder. What the hell. She’d give her a fun nugget to play with. “Yeah. Christian was my mother’s pretend husband for about a week after she turned vampire.”
Her cornflower blue eyes widened with the intrigue of a woman who respected a slice of juicy gossip. “What? Really? What happened if I may ask?”
Tiffany gestured toward one of the chairs in front of her desk, then settled into her own. “Long story short, a nasty feral female got the best of her. She was my stepdad’s sire. I’m guessing working in a vampire environment, you understand the term feral?”
She nodded, her expression turning grim. “Oh yes, I understand that term quite well. Feral vampires are evil, vicious and dangerous as hell.”
Whoa. The way she ground out those last three adjectives sounded like she or someone she knew had a run in with one, Tiffany thought. “Yeah, she was evil and vicious all right, but my mom survived. Christian took care of her and helped her through the turning process and they became good friends, which is how we became friends.” Tiffany bit her lower lip, worried about the state of their friendship after last night.
“You said Dr. La Mond was your mother’s pretend husband?” Her eyes were round with intrigue and a bit of confusion.
“Not exactly.” She waved her hand dismissively. “My mom just didn’t want me or my sisters to know what had happened. She had no idea how to tell us she’d turned vampire. At the time she’d been a patient at Christian’s country lodge or I guess you call it the mothers’ retreat now. The story was just a cover up. She’d been turned against her will and hadn’t even known vampires existed, so obviously she’d been freaking. When we all showed up in New Orleans unexpectedly to hunt her down because she’d gone off the radar, she and Christian concocted the story. She’s very protective and old fashioned. She didn’t want us thinking she was living with a guy outside of marriage.”
“Well, I’m glad she survived and that Dr. La Mond helped her. I haven’t known him that long, but I can tell he’s a very kind, compassionate person. Anyone would be lucky to be his friend.”
“Yes they would,” she agreed. She just hoped she hadn't screwed the pooch on that one. Tiffany knew every time she looked at him that amazing experience would roll through her head. Probably his too.
When Tiffany looked back at Katie she noticed her staring at Christian’s bite marks. They were tiny puncture wounds, non-painful, but there was a bit of bruising around them, like a hickey. She’d tried make-up and concealer on the bruise, but judging from the widening of Katie’s eyes and the uneasy silence following, her cosmetic attempts had failed.
Not that she was complaining, but he had gotten a little wild there for a few moments. The memory made her tingle and grow wet in a place that hadn’t received hands on attention from anyone, even her own in a very long time. She kind of wished they’d had real sex instead but that might have been more than she could have handled. She still simmered from the memory of his touch and the emotional encounter last night.
A knock interrupted the awkward silence. An older nurse with short salt and pepper hair, wearing a friendly smile and a pair of yellow maternity scrubs sporting kittens and puppies stood in the open doorway. “Hello. I’m Betty. I’m one of the RN’s here. You must be Tiffany. All of us have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. Welcome.”
She returned one. “That would be me. Nice to meet you, Betty. Thanks. It’s good to finally be here.”
The older nurse’s gaze darted between her and Katie with warmth. “Everyone’s decided to order pizza for lunch. Are either of you girls interested?”
Tiffany felt her stomach rumble at the offer. “Yeah, that sounds awesome. Count me in. How much?”
“It shouldn’t be more than five or six dollars, but I’ll let you know after it arrives.”
“I’m in.”
Katie grinned and said, “Me too.”
“Pepperoni?”
Betty smiled. “Of course.”
Once Betty left, Katie stood and said, “I guess I should get back to work.”
“Me too, but I think I’ll snag another cup of coffee.”
Tiffany followed her out of her office and down the hall, her destination the break room. Katie’s had been too. She beat Tiffany to the coffee pot and poured them both a cup, then slid one her way. Enjoy and if you need anything or have a question about where something is located don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be in or around the nurse’s station.”
“Thanks.”
Katie flashed a warm smile, picked up her coffee cup and left. Tiffany didn’t miss the last judgmental look she shot at her neck as she exited the room. No doubt about it, by days end every employee in the building would know she’d been bitten by a vampire. And not a soul would have a question as to who’d done the biting.
Dang it, Christian! Couldn’t we have just had regular sex like normal people? Human people?
Not when your lover is a vampire. You knew what you were getting into.
“Ugh!” she exclaimed as she doctored her cup, so sick of ‘Christian’ thinking. She snatched a couple of brownies from a plate on the counter beside the microwave then headed for her office. She’d just taken a bite of one as she rounded a corner in the maze of halls and ran smack dab into the neck biting doctor of her dreams, which caused hot coffee to slosh onto her hand. “Ouch,” she muttered around a mouthful of brownie.
But her hand wasn’t the only thing burning. The site of him, his incredible scent had her female parts bursting into flames as hot as a creosote flue fire. Damn! How was she supposed to control herself around him?
Sex really did change things.
“Sorry, Darlin’. Are you okay?” Christian frowned at her, his gorgeous honey-gold eyes ripe with concern.
Tiffany swallowed then tamped down her lust. “I’m fine, but I think ya’ll need to install stop lights at some of these intersections.”
He grinned and pointed above her head to a dome shaped mirror attached to the ceiling. “We have them, but it was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.” He glanced at the open chart in his hands, then at the snack cache she held and sniffed. “Yum.”
“Yeah, well… There’s more in the break room if you want some. You’re nurse Betty is ordering pizza for lunch if you wanna get in on the deal. I did, but I hope ya’ll don’t eat like this every day or I’m going to need to join a gym real quick.”
He chuckled and closed the file, tucking it under his left arm. “No, once or twice a week we order take out, but normally we eat the cafeteria food which offers mostly healthy options. As far as the ‘yum’ comment, I wasn’t just talking about the brownies. I was also talking about you.” He flashed a playful grin, stepped toward her and stroked the back of his fingers across her cheek. “I’m parched and you know how I love the way you smell…and taste.”
His gaze slid down her neck and he brushed a finger across his bite marks, instantly resurrecting every delicious detail from last night.
God Almighty. Someone call the fire department!
He must have been memory cruising too because he inhaled a sharp breath then let out a very low, soft vampire growl. “You’re not experiencing any discomfort?”
“Of course not.” Not the way he meant anyway. She wanted to haul ass far away from the man but the lust pumping through her system had an affect similar to vampire venom. She couldn’t move and her heart beat so hard, it must have been deafening to Christian’s ears.
He cleared his throat, then said, “Sorry, but I haven’t been able to get last night out of my mind.
Join the club, she thought. “Let’s not go there, Christian. It happened, but it can’t again. We aren’t looking for the same things in life.”
“What sort of same things are you talking about?”
“I know the way it goes with your kind. You’re looking for a vampire life mate. I’m looking for—. It doesn’t matter. The more I’ve thought about it, I began to realize the kind of crazy we shared last night very well could have a negative impact on our friendship.”
His features tightened with irritation. “Thats bull, Tiffany. We’re both mature adults. If we had sex every night for the next year straight it would never lessen my respect for you as a person or my love for you as a friend.”
She couldn’t argue with his brand of logic, but then he obviously didn’t realize how easily she could fall in love with him. For all she knew she might already be a little in love with him. A crush could often be a cover up for the budding of amorous emotions.
“I get what you’re saying, but I’ve made up my mind. It was a one time thing. So let’s just put it behind us and get back to the way things used to be. I thought that’s what we agreed on if one or the other said no more.”
He shot her a smug, conniving look. “If memory serves, I recall you mentioning something about us now being friends with benefits? I could agree on that. Reneging on the offer?”
Her mouth popped open. He couldn’t be serious! The ornery gleam in his eyes told her he toyed with her. That pissed her off almost as much as that stupid comment she’d made. “It was a heat of the moment thing Christian. I wasn’t thinking clearly. That’s all. I don’t regret last night but we can’t do it again.” Obviously, he could, which was more reason than ever to halt this affair. He wasn’t getting emotionally entangled. She was.
His eyes narrowed with dissatisfaction. “Why? I want the truth not some silly reason like species differences.”
“Isn’t that a huge enough difference? Geez, Christian. Are you hard of hearing? I’m not a vampire nor do I desire whatsoever under any circumstances to become one.” He looked troubled by her statement. She didn’t know what to make of that.
“That’s fine. I have no idea what makes you think I’d have some reason to insist you turn?”
“Because, well, I just assumed that if something happened, that was like….”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” she whined, fed up with this conversation that was backfiring on her like a can of hairspray stuck in a the tail pipe of a muffler.
“What’s the real reason, Tiffany?”
“I have my reasons. Namely our friendship.”
“That’s going nowhere. We’ll always be friends. Try again.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she snarled.
“That’s really what you want?”
“It is.”
He harrumphed then an uncomfortable silence ensued for several moments.
“Well I guess--”
“I was wondering--” he said at the same time as she.
“Sorry go ahead,” Tiffany said.
“Would you like to get together for dinner again tonight?”
“Seriously?”
He nodded briskly. “Yeah, seriously. We have to eat. We’re friends. Why not do it together.”
Damn it! Was he not listening to anything coming out of her mouth?
The way she felt now, Tiffany’s first thought was absolutely not. Then she thought better of that notion. If they had any hope of getting their relationship back to the way it used to be, avoiding him socially would be counter-productive. She had part in this mess and had to take responsibility in helping clean it up. “Okay sure.”
He appeared a bit surprised for a second, but a pleased smile covered up the look. “Perfect.” He glanced down the adjoining halls, then leaned forward and slowly brushed his lips across her right cheek.
It was a kiss between friends, she knew that’s what he meant it to be, but he’d stayed there just a little too long, applied just a bit too much warmth from his lips and breath. The soft contact made her tingled then shiver; an affect opposite of a chaste kiss between friends. She knew the gesture had been meant to entice her and he’d succeeded because her knees nearly buckled, and she stumbled, causing coffee to slosh onto her hand again. Thank God the wall had been mere inches behind her or she would have hit the floor like a felled tree.
This affect he had on her made her boil, that and the fact he played her this way when she’d made her intentions firm. Apparently, she’d have to spell things out more clearly.
She sucked in a fortifying breath then sidestepped him, putting a good, safe distance between them. “Stop it Christian. No more of that shit if you want me in your life in any aspect. I mean it. And this is your last warning. I’ll be out of here so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
“So you’re definitely reneging on the friends with benefits suggestion?”
She blinked at him, studying his features for a glint of humor, but his poker face was fully intact. The fact the could remain so aloof after a comment like that made her even madder.
“It was an off the cuff comment, Christian. I didn’t really mean it.” Needing a distraction, she popped the remaining brownie in her mouth, then raked her fingers through her hair. At the moment she was so flustered, she didn’t know what she’d meant.
Once she swallowed, she said, “You’re wearing me thin, Christian. I’m about two seconds from tossing this coffee in your face.”
His answer was as harsh as the scowl he shot her before he replied. “Fine. We’ll do this your way for now, but not indefinitely. You want this thing happening between us as badly as I.”
No she didn’t.
Actually she did but wasn’t willing to pay the price.
“Well?”
“Well, what?” She was so befuddled, she had no idea what he asked.
He let out a disgusted huff. “Never mind. Dinner it is. Nothing more. As I said, we’ll play it your way for now.”
For now? That was no comfort. Apparently he intended to seduce her at some point in the future.
And when he did?
Yup, she would cave. She almost had a minute ago.
“Alright. Then it’s a date. I’ll get in touch with you later, Darlin’.”
“It’s not a date!”
He lifted his hands in a defensive gesture. “Fine. Not a date. A get together. A social engagement. Two people sharing a meal and hanging out.”
“Whatever, smart ass. Later,” she muttered sourly, then stalked off toward her office.
What the hell had she been thinking last night when she knew nothing about male/female relationships? Better question, how was she going to get herself out of this mess she’d created?