Paranormal Friends with Benefits Read online

  Instead, she grew very aware of her heartbeat as anxiety bounced through her like a living thing. They were in Washington, DC. Tomorrow they’d be going to the Smithsonian. And there, they’d either find what they were looking for or not.

  No. She couldn’t think like that. It might take a few days to search the whole place, but they were going to find it. The way to make her human again. Because despite what she had said to Jonathon earlier in the day, she knew the truth. Being a vampire made her a monster.

  She didn’t hold the same for all vampires, of course. But for her, yes. Because she wasn’t changed willingly, things were… different. Hungers came on stronger, harder. It was far easier for her to lose control than someone who had willingly become a vampire. In fact, she was one of the lucky ones in that she didn’t turn completely feral.

  It also meant she needed to drink straight from the vein more often.

  Maggie let out a soft noise of self-disgust as she remembered the taste of Mike’s blood. She had been expecting the rush of desire, the need to do more than just drink his blood. She’d felt his desire against her thigh as she laid half-over him. But as she sucked hard, gulping down his blood, all she could feel was anger that Jonathon would treat her that way.

  She’d let Mike feel her up, hoping that would at least elicit some sexual arousal. It didn’t. Had drinking from Jonathon, getting aroused by the taste of his blood, knowing that he was aroused with her, ruined her chances to be with another man again? She had to admit that she was glad that things hadn’t gotten too terribly sexual with Mike—though he’d been disappointed when she stopped—but at the same time, if a man as hot as Mike wasn’t going to get her engines going…

  Maybe it wasn’t about Jonathon at all. Maybe it was just the shame of it. After all, she hadn’t known Mike for more than a day!

  Jonathon didn’t know Clarissa for more than five minutes. Why should I be ashamed and him not? Maggie shook her head, knowing that those thoughts weren’t actually helpful in the least. She and Jonathon weren’t a couple. Besides that, his actions didn’t give her license to do whatever she wanted. Maggie had never been a fan of casual sex. She preferred a close relationship before any of it. And maybe that’s why I wasn’t aroused by Mike. Maybe I’m just demisexual after all and hotness isn’t even a factor in it.

  But tomorrow. Tomorrow they were going to find whatever it was that they were looking for. Jonathan had been rather vague about the details. Vague enough that at times she had the traitorous thought that maybe he was lying to her. That there was no magical thing that could turn her human again. That he had made it up so that they could go on this road trip together. Hadn’t they been talking about it for years?

  Now, though, they were here. If Jonathon hadn’t been telling her the truth when they started out, then he would have mentioned it at some point during this trip. Besides which, Jonathon wasn’t one to lie. Not to her at least. Not about anything big.

  So they were going to find the thing (she’d ask for more details when he came out of the shower) and then she could be human again. And things would finally be back to normal.

  Only… would they?

  Jonathon had stuck with her from the beginning of this. He’d never made her feel like a monster. But she knew how he felt about vampires, and she had seen the flashes of disgust in his eyes when he saw her fangs, even when he tried to hide it. And she hated seeing that look directed at her. She knew he still cared, knew he was a true friend because even though he had a strong dislike of vampires, he hadn’t turned away from her.

  But drinking from him. The sexual charge that shot between them when she did… could she go back to her normal life, acting like she had never felt that draw to him? Acting like she didn’t love for them to join together. That she didn’t want them to be a real father and mother to those three kids she spent every day all day with? She loved them and she loved him. He was her best friend and she wanted him to be her life-long companion, too.

  She couldn’t say that, though. No, it would make things far too awkward and difficult. Besides that, if they were to be a couple? Secrets she had kept from him would have to be revealed. Secrets that would destroy him. She didn’t know if they would be able to come back from that.

  The sound of the shower stopped, and Maggie rolled over, getting herself comfortable on the mattress. It was late, she was tired. And still emotional. Talking about anything could wait until the following day. Sure, she would like to know more about what they were looking for, but she was the one who hadn’t asked before. It was fine to wait until tomorrow.

  Soon enough, Jonathon was in his sleeping bag. The mattress sagged in his direction and Maggie rolled herself forward slightly, to keep herself from falling back on him. His clean, smoky scent filled her nostrils and her mouth watered, betraying her. She could just imagine what he looked like fresh from the shower, skin glistening with water as he toweled himself off.

  Stop it. That’s my best friend you’re thinking about, she scolded herself. Let’s try not to objectify him, okay?

  Jonathon’s friendship was worth more to her than anything else. She could not risk losing him, not for anything. It was clear from the way he would leave so fast after she drank from him that he didn’t enjoy it, that he didn’t have the same attraction toward her as she did for him. And that was fine. Not what she wanted, maybe, but she loved him and didn’t want to force any sort of discomfort on him because of her.

  “You still awake?” Jonathon asked softly as he settled down.

  The wise thing to say would have been no, but Maggie rarely considered herself overly wise. “Yeah. Just thinking about tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, me, too and—”

  “And last night.” Maggie shook her head. To hell with it. The kids were sleeping, and they needed to have this out. Sure, she was tired and emotional but not so tired and emotional she couldn’t have a halfway decent conversation. She turned over to face Jonathon, unsurprised to find a guilty look on his face. “Did you even think about me before you left with that woman?”

  Jonathon flinched. “I… I saw you at the bar with Mike. You looked like you were having a good time, so…”

  “So, it was the kids you didn’t think about, then?”

  “I didn’t think I was going to be that long. I thought I’d be good for just a quickie. I did come back out to check at one point. You were sleeping in the front, so I… I guess I figured everything was okay. I’m sorry.”

  Knowing that he came to check made her feel a bit better, if only a bit. She studied him for a moment before she nodded. “I wish you had told me before you left. Or better yet, not left at all.”

  “You were thinking of sleeping with Mike.”

  “I was thinking of drinking from Mike,” she corrected swiftly, though pink tinged her cheeks. It wasn’t entirely truthful that she wasn’t thinking of sleeping with him. “And that’s because I know you hate it when I drink from you. I hoped that I’d be able to hold off from drinking from you any time soon. And yes, I was thinking sex might be part of it but… but honestly? I haven’t had sex in years, Jonathon. Not since Mackenzie left me. You have sex all the time. So why is it that you freak out at me for thinking I might like to have sex with a hot guy because of time constraints or because you’re worried about my mental state but you go off to have sex with a hot chick without even thinking that maybe I didn’t want to spend my night in a van?”

  Jonathon let out a heavy sigh. “I was irresponsible, and it was selfish. I’m sorry, Maggie. I don’t have any good reason for what I did. I don’t have any reason at all. Just that I’m sorry.”

  Maggie sighed as well and laid her head down. “Well, I’m glad that you’re apologizing. I can’t say that I forgive you yet, though. I’m still upset. But we’ll see about it tomorrow when I’m not so tired.”

  “Yeah. Sounds good. Night.”

  “Night.”

  Maggie closed her eyes and listened to the breathing, the beating hearts around
her. It helped the beating of her own heart feel more natural, and she slowly started to drift off. Jonathon’s soft breathing soothed her, and soon enough she was on the verge of sleep.

  Only to be snatched back from the edge when something ripped from her arms. She jerked upright, a question on her lips even as her brain tried to muddle together what was happening. Jonathon yanked on his jacket and was out the door before she knew it.

  And only then did she realize that she was lying half on his side of the mattress. That at some point, she had rolled over against him and put her arms around his chest.

  Maggie buried her face in her hands, embarrassment raging through her. “Oh, fuck!”

  ***

  If he had realized what was happening, he would have stopped it before it went too far.

  Jonathon increased his speed as he jogged down the sidewalk, the light from passing cars and spluttering streetlights making everything gaudy somehow. The cool air was welcome, working to clear his head when there was so much heat from his burning flames. Why had he let things go so far with Maggie? At first, it felt just like the normal thing. They often cuddled a bit while watching TV or some other thing, but it was always perfectly innocent. It never brought up any sort of sexual feelings. Never.

  Until tonight.

  The feeling of her body pressed up against his, even with their sleeping bags between them, had made everything… intense. His fires flared, his body tightened, and he’d wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her until neither of them had any breath left. When she put her hand up his shirt and ran her fingers over his pecs, her thumb brushing one of his nipples, he’d nearly done it. For a moment, he had even forgotten that the kids were right there.

  His hand was already on her hip, turning her toward him when everything hit him. What was happening, what he was doing, what the risks here were.

  He knew what it was. Maggie had been half-asleep and, in that state, her vampirism had attacked full force. She hadn’t meant it, hadn’t known what she was doing. It was just the lust of her vampire body. Demanding more. It wasn’t her; it wasn’t what she wanted.

  And so, the only thing for him to do was to get out of there. Run away, before she learned what state he was in. Before she woke up enough to realize that he was taking advantage of her vulnerable state. Before he ruined everything.

  He knew she was going to be furious with him for leaving her alone with the kids for the second night in a row. That fury wasn’t as bad as the regret and sorrow that would have come had he stayed. He’d think of something to tell her. Besides which, he wasn’t going to leave the whole night. He’d be back before the kids woke up in the morning, and he’d fix breakfast and get them all ready for the day. Let Maggie go spend some more time in the pool.

  The feel of her hands came back to him and he pushed himself to run harder, trying to concentrate on one foot then the other pounding the pavement. He passed by closed businesses, people walking along the street, once even a couple making out at a bus stop. If he could just put Maggie from his mind for a little bit, reset himself and erase what had been born inside of him…

  But that feeling, it kept coming back to him. Even when his chest heaved and sweat dripped down his back and he was forced to stop. The thought that kept coming back again and again was that he wished he could have taken her to bed the previous night, rather than running off with Clarissa for some meaningless, emotionless sex. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed being with Clarissa. He just thought he’d enjoy being with Maggie a hell of a lot more.

  He slowed to a walk, his body telling him he was at breaking point. His legs were a little shaky, his breathing heavy, but at least he was now tired enough that if he went back to the hotel, he’d fall right asleep. He wasn’t going back to the mattress though. He’d sleep on the floor. It wasn’t that uncomfortable.

  The thing was, it was the vampire stuff. That’s it. She wasn’t interested in him. She never showed any interest in him before becoming a vampire, so anything that could be possibly indicative of interest since she became a vampire had to be happening because she was a vampire. It was simple logic.

  Which meant that she must not have drunk enough from Mike. If she was being so affected now… Come to think of it, the stores were getting pretty low. And they were getting old, too. So, clearly, he needed to go get some blood for her.

  Well… it wasn’t exactly like that. Getting blood wasn’t as easy as waltzing into the corner store. There were places where vampires could go to buy it, but those places were quite limited. The easiest way to procure blood for Maggie was for him to buy the bags and set it all up so he was filling them himself. They didn’t have the equipment but that was easy enough to find. At least, it should be. This was a pretty big city, after all.

  All he had to do was look up on his phone and voila! There it was. A twenty-four-hour store.

  It was far enough that he needed the van, so he returned to the hotel. He took the elevator to the room, already wondering if this was the best use of his time when he was so tired. When he got to the room, he saw Maggie awake, sitting on a chair reading. The light was turned down low. She didn’t look at him when he crossed the room until he picked up his keys.

  “Where are you going?” she asked, her voice tight with accusation.

  “The blood that we have left for you isn’t that great anymore,” he muttered. “Since we didn’t plan on having to get any new stuff, I thought I’d pick up some more equipment. Does it count as from the vein if it’s going direct from me to your mouth rather than a bag?”

  Maggie shrugged. “Guess we can find out. But the blood we’ve got isn’t bad. It’s fine. Most of the bags are still frozen. I did plan for this, you know.”

  “I know. I just… it’s getting old.”

  She shut her book and narrowed her eyes at him.

  Jonathon let out a sigh as he put the keys in his pocket. “I’m having trouble relaxing. I’ll be back shortly, I promise. And I am going to take care of all the kids in the morning. I thought you might enjoy having some extra time in the pool.”

  Maggie traced her fingers along the edge of her book. “Yeah. Yeah, I would like that.”

  “Good. Good. So I’ll just pick up that stuff, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “Alright. Alright, fine. I am going back to bed.”

  Jonathon could hear the pain in her voice. His brow furrowed as he stepped toward her. The thought of what must be going through her head made him reach out. “I am just running to get this stuff. There’s no woman.”

  Maggie’s expression grew startled. “What? I didn’t think there was.”

  “Oh.” So, the pain in her tone was something else. He watched a moment uncertain before he lit on another theory. It was because she was a vampire. She didn’t want to drink blood. She didn’t want him to have to run out to get equipment so she could drink. Maybe even was ashamed of herself for how she acted earlier.

  She would be human again.

  “I’ll be back soon,” he promised once more and headed out.

  It was sometime later before he found the store and picked up the equipment. It was more expensive than he had anticipated, but when he thought about how it’d help Maggie out, it made the cost worth it. They could try to see if using the tube would allow Maggie to drink straight from the vein without the unfortunate side effects… Although, he suspected that if it would work, there’d be something on the internet about it.

  He was just getting into the van when someone was suddenly there.

  The door slammed shut on him. He was thrown into the side of the van, and then the door was ripped away. Pain flared through him and he whirled, striking out at his attacker. They jumped aside so fast his knuckles scraped nothing but air. The scent of vampire, that stale, almost rotting scent, hit his nose. A punch slammed into his back and threw him forward.

  No way was he letting some bloodsucking creep get the better of him.

  With a roar, Jonathon turned again. H
e ground his heels into the pavement and punched out rapidly at the darkened figured. It grunted in pain and surprise when his fist connected with a face. Jonathon let out a puff of fire, eating away the darkness around them. The vampire, a male, flinched back. He stumbled and Jonathon followed up the attack.

  The vampire blocked his first blow, dodged under the second and followed the third with a punch of his own. Both opponents struck the other square in the face. Both stumbled back. Jonathon clutched at his nose, growling as pain caused bright splotches to blink before his vision.

  “Give it up,” he taunted as he straightened and rolled back into an offensive stance. “I’m a dragon. I’m not going to be brought down so easily.”

  The vampire charged forward. Jonathon seized him and threw him into the side of the van causing it to rock up on two wheels. The vampire pushed off, fangs flashing in the light of the streetlamps. He grabbed hold of Jonathon’s shoulders and pressed his feet against the side of the van. The force sent Jonathon flying backward.

  He hit the ground hard, his head cracking against the pavement. He let out another breath of fire. The vampire rolled off him, but as Jonathon rolled over to spring at him the vampire was back on his feet.

  The vampire stomped hard into Jonathon’s back and slammed him back down. As Jonathon grunted, the vampire dropped down on him. A hand grabbed the back of his head, yanking it back. A knife pressed to his throat and Jonathon gasped sharply. He reached for the hand holding the knife, but it pressed harder, and he stilled.

  “This knife is silver,” the vampire hissed in his ear. “Do you know what that means?”

  “It’s a soft, ineffective weapon.”

  “It can kill your vampire friend as easily as it can kill you.”

  Jonathon’s blood ran cold.

  “We don’t care how you found about the toxin. We don’t care why you are looking for it. But you are going to stop your search unless you want to die. We will kill her, too, if she is a threat to us. Don’t make your children grow up orphans. As one myself, I know what sort of hell that is.”