will of their own, her hand snaked up to touch his long eye lashes. They were so soft. Once the curiosity of her fingers was sated, they explored the cold skin of the vampire, touching cheekbones, nose, and lips. The feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
She traced the scar above his mouth, her fingers lingering on his full lips. Boldly she inserted a finger to trace his teeth and fangs then traveled down to his strong jaws.
Sainvire couldn’t take anymore of the girl’s exploring fingers. He touched her hair, still wet from the shower and caressed a curl. He lowered his mouth and kissed her partly open lips.
Poe had never experienced anything like this first kiss. It was like eating good hot food after living off expired canned sardines for a decade. The kiss started out slow then deepened into an urgent need to hold, clutch, and embrace. When his cold tongue penetrated her mouth, Poe balked, not because it was cold, but because it felt too different, foreign. It was like tonguing sashimi. All she’d ever had in her mouth was food, utensils, gum, and toothbrush.
With much reluctance, her mouth allowed tongueplay. The soft caresses of his hands as they explored her smooth tummy felt too much like cold cuts skimming her flesh. She would have been a liar to say she didn’t feel a thing. Sainvire’s large hand cupping her breast left a trail of cold heat on her body, but it wasn’t nearly scalding enough to let the matter go any further.
The cold call of distress doused the languid, mercurial heat inside her belly as the image of Sister 189
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Ann’s and Goss’ dead bodies suddenly raided her thoughts. It was too much, too soon. Poe broke the kiss, shoving Sainvire away. She breathed heavily as if she had been underwater too long.
“I’m sorry,” Sainvire apologized. “This isn’t exactly what I intended. I’m old enough to know better than to lose control.” The vampire forced a smile, albeit an apologetic one, and was gone.
I don’t know if I can sleep with something dead, she thought with a shiver under the blanket. It just feels wrong.
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CHAPTER 7–THE BICYCLE
POE WRESTLED WITH DOGGED images of the past days that would not give her rest. When she fell into an uneasy sleep, she did not quite reach the peace of mind she was after. The dream was the same thread of faces and events that made up an epic six-hour movie, full of beheadings, blood drinking, and fornicating nuns with breasts like Shady Melons.
She dreamed the night and day away, feeling more exhausted with each breath. Her body screamed to be woken at the slightest excuse.
Wake up!
The familiar voice she’d tagged as her utterly reliable half interrupted her dream. At once, Poe quickly snapped out of her slumber and sat up. The voice had never let her down before. Blinking awake, she barely registered a man hurrying out of the room before he completely disappeared.
“Who, who the heck was that?”
At first she thought it was Sainvire, but the man was inches shorter. The realization gave her a troubling feeling. She waved away the disturbing events from the night before and headed straight for the bathroom, taking her clothes, weapons, and pack with her.
In less than ten minutes, Poe came out decked in her vampire executioner outfit of olive green army pants and a Pixies t-shirt. She had twenty pairs of the 191
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same clothing in her bunker since she had found that bright colors gave her migraines. Her collection came in handy for someone who hated shopping despite the fact that everything in town was free.
“Not again, Poe,” she reprimanded herself as she crouched down to check if she had double-knotted her Adidas. She knew she really had to stop that nonsense.
Up she stood.
Penny’s worried gaze silently followed her every move. Poe bent to look eye-to-eye at the dog.
“Hey there, doggy,” Poe said awkwardly. The dog looked away, perhaps sensing the girl’s discomfort.
“Look, Penny,” she started, not knowing what to say. “It’s just you and me now. Sorry about kicking you that one time. And for calling you ratty.”
The dog stared into her eyes. “Once you can handle being carried, I’ll take you to my house.” Poe sighed. “I’ll need company since I probably won’t be able to kill vampires or turn cattle loose anymore.
“I’m retired, I guess. If I hunt, I’ll be putting Sainvire and his people in danger.” She kissed the dog’s head that smelled like popcorn. “There’s only foraging