“A daughter,” Paul said with a nod. “Livy. She’s five.”
“Oh, my Kirsten will be happy about that. A girl to play with instead of all the boys,” he said with a chuckle.
“I’m sure Livy would love to meet her tomorrow,” Jeanne Louise said when Paul hesitated. “She’s sleeping now though.”
“Yeah, my wife’s putting the kids to bed right now too. All the fresh air and play knocks ’em right out,” Russell said with a grin that suggested that wasn’t a bad thing. “After we get the kids down though, we adults were thinking to build a fire and relax with a couple drinks. Are you two up for that?”
“Yes,” Jeanne Louise said when Paul glanced her way uncertainly.
“Good, good.” Russell glanced back to his cottage and then toward the Corbys’, and Jeanne Louise read what he was thinking. A fire in front of the cottage she and Paul were in would be best, made it equidistant from both the Jacksons’ cottage and the Corbys’ so that everyone could keep an ear out for their kids.
“We could have the fire here in front of our cottage if you like? Couldn’t we, honey?” Jeanne Louise suggested for Russell when she read his hesitation to be so forward.
Paul nodded at once. Not only was it equidistant to the other cottages, but it kept them close to hear Livy, she knew.
“That’s a fine idea,” Russell said, grinning. “I’ll just go tell John. Corby,” he added since he hadn’t given them his first name before this. “I’ll go tell him and then head back to the cottage to tell the wife and pack some drinks and snacks in a cooler. We’ll meet you back here in . . . say . . . half an hour?” he suggested.
“Sounds good,” Paul said at once.
Nodding, Russell moved off toward the Corbys’ cottage.
“We’d best go inside and see to the feeding now then,” Paul said quietly, taking her arm to usher her to the cottage.
“That’s all right, Paul. It can wait until after we come back in,” Jeanie said at once, but didn’t pull free. If they were going to sit around a bonfire with other couples, she wanted to put on one of the T-shirts and pairs of shorts she’d picked up while in town.
“Are you sure?” Paul asked as he opened the cottage screen door and held it for her.
“Positive,” Jeanne Louise answered as she moved past him to enter the kitchen, and she was. As hungry as she was and as carried away as she got when he kissed and caressed her, she’d rather wait and see if she couldn’t manage a snack on one of their neighbors first to ease the worst of her hunger. The last thing she wanted was to accidentally kill Paul. Pushing that unpleasant thought away, she headed for her room saying, “I’m going to change.”
“Okay. I’ll get some drinks and snacks together for us,” Paul said, moving to the refrigerator.
Jeanne Louise was quick about changing and was back in the kitchen to help Paul before he finished gathering what they needed. She then helped him carry it down to the beach. While Paul started a bonfire, she gathered six of the eight lawn chairs that belonged to the cottages and set them up around it.
“Look at that. You build one hell of a fire, Paul,” Russell greeted as he approached out of the darkness with a cooler in hand and a petite brunette on his heels. The woman had a plate of cheese in one hand and a couple bags of chips in the other. “This is my wife, Cecily. Cecily, Paul and Jeanie Williams.”
“Hi,” Jeanne Louise said and hurried forward to take the chips as one of the bags started to slip from the brunette’s clutches.
“Thank you,” Cecily said with a grin. “And hello.”
Jeanne Louise chuckled and followed her to the two chairs Russell set the cooler between.
“I have some sausage cut up and crackers inside still,” Cecily announced as she set the cheese plate on the cooler. “I won’t be a minute.”
“Do you need a hand?” Jeanne Louise offered.
“Actually, yes, if you don’t mind,” Cecily said with a smile. “I need to grab some glasses too.”
“I don’t mind at all,” Jeanne Louise assured her, setting the bags of chips down by the cooler and following her back to the cottage the Jacksons had rented.
“I was relieved when Russell said you two had a little girl about our daughter’s age. Not that the boys haven’t been including our daughter, Kirsten, in their play, but I know she’ll have more fun with another little girl to play with,” Cecily said as they approached the cottage.
“I’m sure Livy will be happy to have a friend too,” Jeanne Louise assured her, eyeing the woman’s long hair and thinking it would hide the marks from her bite. At least it would hide them from Paul. She’d have to put it in the woman’s head that they were mosquito bites to explain them away to her husband, though, in case he saw them. The punctures wouldn’t be that big, but they would be there.
“Here we are,” Cecily said, leading her into the cottage. It was set up much the same as the one they were in, and it was decorated just as attractively, Jeanne Louise noted, and then glanced to Cecily, slid into her thoughts, and moved up behind her for a quick bite. It was always best to bite same sex donors from behind. Most people’s memory was visual. If they saw nothing but blank wall during the biting it made it less likely that seeing something or someone would bring back the memory of being bitten.
Jeanne Louise was careful not to take too much blood. It was easy to do when you weren’t overexcited and in the throes of passion. She then helped Cecily collect the remaining items she’d wanted and carry them back out to the fire.
The Corbys had arrived by the time they reached the bonfire. Russell introduced John Corby and his wife, Sharon, to Jeanne Louise and then the group all settled around the fire and began to get acquainted.