Single White Vampire (Argeneau #3)(48)

Kathryn Falk turned to give him a hug, and the crowd broke into applause.

Relief coursed through Kate. Lady Barrow had saved the day! Then she noticed how Lucern's nostrils were flaring, and that he lowered his face to the woman's neck. Even more disconcerting was the silver glow that had come into his eyes. His lips moved along Lady Barrow's skin in search of a pulsing vein.

Kate's eyes widened in horror. He was about to bite Lady Barrow right there on the damned stage!

"No!" The shriek left Kate's lips as she saw Lucern's teeth extend. It was a loud shriek. The entire room fell into stunned silence. But Kate didn't care, because Lady Barrow jerked out of Lucern's arms and whirled around in amazement. Lucern scowled at her for the interruption of his meal.

"Er…" Kate said into the deafening silence. Moving to the microphone, she added, "No. There's… er… no need to thank him. Lucern is… he's just grateful he… er… had this opportunity to thank you all. Er… thank you."

The crowd began to clap again, but Kate hardly noticed. Lucern was moving closer to the unsuspecting Lady Barrow, that hungry look still in his eyes. Forcing a smile, Kate snatched his arm and marched him away.

"You were going to bite her," she accused.

"I just wanted a bit." He sounded sullen.

"Just a bit?" she exclaimed. "Right there on the stage for all to see?"

"They would have thought it a publicity stunt," he defended himself. Then he sighed and admitted miserably, "I couldn't help myself. She has strong, sweet blood."

Kate stared at him. "You didn't—"

"No, you stopped me in time. But I can tell by the smell."

Kate grimaced, then noted that the lines around his eyes had deepened and were around his mouth as well. "How bad is the hunger right now?" It was a stupid question. The man had nearly bitten Lady Barrow onstage. The hunger was bad. What she really wanted to know was, "I mean, are you in pain?"

He nodded grimly.

"That little bit of sunlight yesterday caused this much trouble?" she asked. If so, it seemed to her that vampires were weaker than humans in some ways. Rather fragile, in this respect at least.

"That little bit of sunlight yesterday, the guy seated next to me on the plane with a cold who kept coughing at me, the—"

"Being around sick people uses up more blood?" Kate asked with alarm. They were in a hotel with a couple thousand people—germs were probably rampant here. No wonder he was such a shut-in.

"Yes." Lucern nodded. "The nanos apparently surround disease and kill it off, but it takes up more—"

"Blood," Kate finished unhappily.

"Yes. And then there is the sunlight in here today."

Kate peered around the bright room with surprise. The walls were solid without windows, but there were skylights overhead. They were frosted skylights, and it hadn't occurred to her that they might be a problem. She should have thought of it. Her gaze moved to the table they sat at, and Kate almost groaned as she realized that she had chosen a table positioned directly under a skylight.

"The alcohol last night didn't help either," Lucern continued. "It dehydrates the body, too."

Kate frowned. She'd noted the crushed beer cans, empty pizza box and piles of peanut shells around the coffee table in front of the television this morning. It looked as if Chris and Lucern had enjoyed a boys' night. Now Luc was paying for it in spades. It seemed his state was a result of a lot of things. The latest reason was her fault, however.

They had nearly reached the table. Kate steered Lucern away from it and toward one of the exits. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" He sounded confused.

"To find you food." She stepped out of the reception hall and peered around. There really wasn't time to go to their suite. Somewhere closer was needed. She dragged him toward the men's room.

"Go inside and see if it's empty," she suggested. "If it isn't, make whoever's in there leave. You can do that, can't you? You know, control their mind and—"

"Yes. But—"

"Just do it," Kate insisted.

Lucern shook his head, but pushed through the door. A couple minutes later, the door opened and a man walked out. Kate recognized him as one of the male models. She smiled nervously at him, but he didn't smile back—he didn't even seem to notice her standing there. His eyes were glazed, his expression blank.

She watched him walk away, then slid into the bathroom, relieved to find Lucern alone.

"Okay." She walked determinedly to him. "Let's do it."

Lucern shook his head as she held out her wrist. "I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?" she snapped in exasperation. "You've already bitten Chris and me once, so of course you can. Just get your teeth out."

"Kate, I can't. It would hurt."

"It didn't hurt last night," she pointed out.

"That was because you were overwhelmed with sexual desire."

Kate flushed, but didn't bother denying it. She had been rather hot and bothered. "What's that got to do with it?" Her eyes narrowed. "Chris wasn't—"

"Of course not." He was starting to sound impatient. "But I can control his mind."