Scarlet Heat Read online

  “No,” I said. “I mean, that’s not what I need. Not what I’m hungry for.”

  She blew out a breath. “Well, if it’s Victor’s blood you want, then we need to turn around and get this whole mess figured out. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding and once you explain—”

  “I’m not going back there,” I said. “And blood isn’t what I’m hungry for.”

  “Taylor, you’re a vampire,” she said. “What else could you possibly want? A glass of red wine? Maybe some tea? A freaking Bloody Mary?”

  “Is that…?” I rolled down my window a crack and sniffed the air. “Do you smell French fries?”

  Addison looked at me doubtfully. “Uh, sure, I guess. I mean, we are in the parking lot of Checkers.”

  “Go through the drive-thru,” I ordered eagerly. “Get me a double—no, a triple order of fries. I don’t have any money but I swear I’ll pay you back. And hurry, Addison—I feel like I’m going to faint or throw up if I don’t get something now.”

  She’d been sitting there staring at me like I was crazy but that got her into gear. “All right,” she said, putting the car into drive and pulling into the drive-thru line. “But I don’t know what I’m going to do with all this food when you can’t eat it. You know I’m on a diet right now.”

  “You shouldn’t be,” I said absently, scanning the big lighted drive-thru menu. “You know Corbin likes you just the way you are.”

  “Well, I like me a good ten pounds lighter,” she said. “You see what you want or is it just fries?”

  “Fries and a chocolate milkshake,” I said, my mouth watering so much I could hardly speak. “Oh—and a double cheeseburger too. With extra pickles and onions. And barbeque sauce on the side.”

  She looked at me like I was crazy. “You’re sure about this now?”

  “Hello, may I take your order?” The bored voice of a teenager forced to work the night shift came buzzing out of the speaker.

  “Yes!” I made motions at her with my hands. “Go! Order!”

  Doubtfully, Addison placed my entire huge order and then drove around to pay and get the food. As she passed the warm, greasy bags to me, I felt my stomach twist painfully. God, I was so hungry. And not thirsty like I was when I wanted blood—actually starving for food. Real food.

  This is crazy, I told myself as I pulled three piping hot fries out of the bag and crammed them into my mouth.

  Back when I was first born to darkness, the very first time I visited Addison, she had tried to feed me. I had been so upset about being turned into a vampire I had wanted to try human food again, even though it didn’t smell appetizing at all. To my heartbreak, it had tasted like nothing—like sand. Even placing the most luscious chocolate truffle on my tongue and letting it melt was like trying to swallow a clod of dirt. It had made me sick as a dog and I had been more upset than ever.

  But now, for some reason, things seemed to be completely different. The French fries in my mouth tasted like…French fries. Hot and salty and greasy and good, they coated my mouth with their flavor, their crisp outsides popping open between my teeth to let out the delicious fluffy center.

  The burger was the same way—salty and fattening, the cheese dripping down my chin, the onions crunching, the tangy pickles…So good, was all I could think. Oh my God, so good, so good!

  And then I tried the shake.

  Creamy, rich, chocolaty and cold—so icy and sweet it made my teeth ache. It was good—more than good—amazing!

  I looked up at Addison who was watching me with wide eyes.

  “Addy,” I whispered, reaching for another fry. “It’s…food. It tastes like food again. I can’t believe it.”

  “Neither can I,” she said flatly. “Taylor, are you sure you’re not hurting yourself?”

  “Hurting myself? I’m in Heaven.” I finished another container of fries and then a sudden wave of shame hit me. “Oh God, Addison—I’m horrible. I shouldn’t be eating this way, not after what I did to Victor.”

  “No, hon, you shouldn’t be eating this way because you’re a vampire.” She shook her head. “I just don’t understand—are you cured or something? Can somebody just spontaneously stop being a vamp?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said doubtfully. “I mean, I never heard of anything like that.” It would have given me hope if I had—I’d never particularly enjoyed being a vampire. It wasn’t anything I would have chosen if I had been given a choice.

  “Open your mouth,” Addison commanded. “Let’s see if you still have fangs.”

  “I do,” I said.

  “Well, let me see.”

  I swallowed and opened my mouth dutifully while she flipped on the overhead light and peered inside. After a moment, she nodded.

  “Yup, still there.”

  “Told you.” I touched the tip of my tongue to one sharp point and thought again of all the awful bite marks I’d seen on Victor’s body. My newfound appetite abruptly disappeared.

  “Well,” she said, putting the car into gear. “Maybe Corbin will know something about it. Come on—let’s go ask him.”

  “No, Addison, please,” I begged, crumpling up the empty bags. “I don’t want to see him now.” Corbin had entrusted me to Victor and made him promise not to hurt me. But he hadn’t said anything about me not hurting Victor. “I can’t stand to see Corbin right now and admit…admit what I did,” I said. “Not now. Not yet.”

  “I still don’t think you did half as much damage as you think you did,” she said, frowning. “But fine, I’ll take you to my place. You can hang out there until the two of you come to your senses and get back together.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” I said in a low voice.

  Addison didn’t answer—she knows when to stop talking and leave me alone. Another good quality in a friend. She just raised an eyebrow at me and stole one of the few remaining fries.

  Addison had a nice little condo in Hyde Park—one of the more fashionable areas in South Tampa. The dusty little Ford Escort she used to drive was parked in the driveway with her parking sticker from the VAB—the Vampire Auditing Bureau—still in the corner of the windshield. She didn’t work there anymore although she did still do some freelance consulting for them. Mostly, she was working on her thesis in Eighteenth Century English Literature and hoping to teach somewhere when she was done.

  It was good to see her softening up a little and enjoying life again. Being a VAB agent had made her tough and hard in a way that made me sad when I remembered the sweet, happy girl she’d been in college. Now that Corbin was in her life, I could see that girl coming back again, a little at a time. But she was still eminently practical, which I appreciated.

  “Come on,” she said, letting me into the condo. “You can stay here as long as you need and I think I still have some of your old clothes in the closet as well as the dresses I brought over last night. Of course, your regular clothes will be six years out of date now but oh well.”

  “Oh well,” I echoed with a sigh. Her little condo was clean but it seemed dusty and disused and there was a stale smell in the air. Addison never had time for pets after our cat, Samikin, had run away, so the place felt completely empty and cold.

  “Ugh.” Addison looked around with a frown. “I need to get over more often and clean. Sorry it’s so musty.”

  “It’s fine,” I said, switching on a lamp. “And the bedroom is light tight—that’s all I need.”

  “That and blood,” she said doubtfully. “Or do you?”

  “I don’t know,” I said calmly. “But I do know one thing—I won’t be taking any more from Victor if I do need some.”

  “What?” She frowned. “Look, Taylor, just because you’ve suddenly developed the capacity to inhale junk food by the carload doesn’t mean you don’t need blood. I mean, you’re a vampire—remember?”

  “Look, I’ll be okay, all right?” I said. “I just need…a little time to myself. That’s all.”

  Addison sighed. “All right. I