Blood From a Stone Read online

  Samson opened the passenger door for her, helped her in and then got in on his own side, cranked up the engine and headed down the ramp toward the road, and Chico’s.

  A few minutes later they pulled up and hurried inside out of the cold, and he slid next to her in the booth the waitress had offered them.

  “You don’t mind if I sit next to you do you?” he said. “Or is it not acceptable to sit next to some guy from a bar?” He elbowed her lightly.

  She blushed. “You were not supposed to hear that. That’s what you get for eavesdropping.”

  He supposed she was right. He was in fact, just some guy from a bar. Only a few hours ago, he’d been planning his night of debauchery. But, all day long he’d felt this nagging urge and despite his efforts to resist, somewhere between getting the license and renting the apartment, all his big plans had gone out the window and were replaced instead with this gentlemanly show of taking Willow out for coffee.

  He had been tempted to stop by the pharmacy and pick up a thermometer because he was beginning to wonder if the curse was breaking after all and he was getting sick! Giving up booze and bedtime fun for a cup of coffee with a woman who yelled at him from the minute she met him? No prospect of getting laid which might make him forget about everything for a few hours? There was, in fact, absolutely nothing in it for him but the cup of coffee and some food. Shit! The angels must be singing because hell had surely frozen over! But something drove him to want to be here. And so, by God or the Devil, here he was.

  “So what have you been up to all day? Did you go to work this morning?” she asked him, changing the subject to cover her embarrassment over him hearing her and Sasha talking about him.

  “Yeah, I did some work today and then took care of a few errands.” He took a sip of the coffee the waitress had poured into his mug. “What about you?”

  “Nothing too exciting. We took care of the dog, and then left to go pick up the car…and then went to work. It was kind of a rough night tonight, though. We had a couple of kids just out of surgery and you know sometimes they have pain.”

  She poured some cream into her coffee mug. “It really hits me in the heart to watch them hurting like that,” she added taking a sip of the wonderfully warm liquid.

  Samson nodded. “I can only imagine. But, someone has to do that job. And they have to be competent and ready to sit through it all and get them through anything. You are a brave soul to be willing to do that.”

  He knew what it was like to be in pain and have no one be able to stop it or help you. He remembered all too well the searing pain coursing through his veins as he’d undergone his first change. He’d wished for death so it would stop but all he’d gotten was a slow, agonizing conversion into a block of stone that took weeks or maybe even months to complete. He had no way to gauge time, but he sure as hell remembered the torture of being unable to move and feeling barely anything though his eyes still could see at least some and his mind could still think before it fully shut down.

  He remembered too, his own pain of seeing Dania crying in front of his cold, stone body thinking he was dead, and he had no way to reach out or speak and tell her that he was indeed still alive before his eyes finally lost most of their sight and his senses shut down. There was no way to tell her that he was sorry for what he’d done to her. That he wished he could take it all back. It had been too late and he was damned for eternity.

  He felt Willow’s hand on his own. “Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” she said noticing his faraway expression.

  “Nah. It‘s nothing. I was just remembering back when I was a kid and I got the flu,” he lied. “I thought that was bad, but it‘s nothing compared to a little kid having to go through a major surgery.”

  She nodded and seemed satisfied with the answer. He stared at her for a moment, wishing for once he could be honest about his thoughts. Yeah. Right. He could only imagine in his dreams how it would feel to let his story and all the heartache that came with it come pouring out and have someone listen and understand. But that was, he supposed part of the torture of the curse. He had to bear it completely alone.

  “So, tell me more about your business…your traveling,” she said, cheerfully.

  “Well,” he shrugged. “Like I told you yesterday, I travel a lot. I go to auctions and estate sales all over the country and overseas to either buy or sell. Most of the pieces I pick up for resale are unique. One of a kind. It can be lonely sometimes being on the road so much, but…that’s life. You do what you have to.”

  She nodded. “Are your parents still alive? Do you have any family you visit or who can go on the road with you sometimes?

  He shook his head, “No. My parents both passed away. And I don‘t have any brothers or sisters.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry. That must really be pretty lonely having no one else. Unless you have aunts and uncles…cousins?”

  “I never see them, And as for being alone…well, I’m used to it,” he said. “I’ve never known what it was like to have any family, so I can’t say I miss it.” But in truth, he remembered all too well the brother, sister and parents he’d left behind five centuries ago, And even now, how he missed them.

  “Yeah, you’ve got a point there, I suppose,” she nodded. “What is Europe like? Is the culture really a lot different than ours? I know it’s beautiful with all the historical sites and castles. But what is everyday life like?”

  “Well, it‘s definitely different than here. As far as customs, it depends where you go.”

  The waitress whisked by their table and he flagged her down quickly. This was a good time to get the subject off him and his non-existent work and life and onto something else more benign that focused on her.

  “So, then. I take it you don’t like the dog?” he said casually changing the subject, before ordering a cinnamon danish to go with his coffee.

  “You want anything else?” he turned to Willow. “Yeah. I guess I’ll have one too,” she said to the waitress. “May as well get a good sugar and caffeine buzz going.” She leveled her gaze at Samson, “Who says I don’t like the dog?”

  “Well, you keep reminding me that he’s my dog,” he pointed out.

  “Well, he is your dog! You’re the one who brought him home with us!” Home with us. It sounded more intimate than it should, but she liked it.

  “Okay, you have me there,” he conceded. “So yeah, I brought him home with us, and we all agreed it was okay. So what are we going to name him?” He raised his eyebrows.

  “Oh, so now it’s WE? And he’s OUR dog? My, you are very clever at figuring out….no, make that plotting on how to trick me into ownership, even if it’s only in part.”

  He laughed and gulped down a big swallow of coffee as the waitress returned with their sweets. He took a huge bite of his danish, followed by several more, which he seemingly inhaled.

  “You’re on to me. Smart cookie. So, then what are we going to name him?”

  He wasn’t letting up for second. He wiped the crumbs off his lips and sucked the sticky sugar off his thumb.

  Willow was having trouble concentrating as she watched and had to resist the urge to take his finger and lick the last of the gooey confection from it herself. Damn. That would not be the way to make a very lady-like impression now would it? Focus. Now where were they? Oh, yes. The dog.

  “Well. he is a smart cookie. We could call him ‘Cookie’?” Willow offered.

  “Cookie? HELL no. We are not calling him that.

  It’s not…manly enough.” Samson started laughing and Willow couldn’t help following suit.

  “Yeah….you‘re right. It’s definitely not very masculine. How about something simple like Max or maybe Duke?”

  “Nah. Everyone names their dog that. We need something different, cause he’s a different dog. Look how we ended up with him!” Samson’s eyes narrowed as he sat trying to think of something with meaning.

  “How about Cisco?” he said suddenly. “The box I put
him to sleep in after you yelled at me to call Animal Control said “Sysco” on it, spelled S-Y-S-C-O. We could call him that but spell it different, like The Cisco Kid instead.” He took another swig of his coffee waiting for her response.

  “Hmmm…Cisco. I like it” She paused for a moment and then added very matter-of-factly, “I did not yell at you, by the way. I quietly ordered you to call the pound. There’s a difference, you know.” She lifted her cup in a toast.

  “Okay, so you didn’t yell. You quietly barked your orders. But then, having a beautiful woman order you around isn’t always a bad thing.” He smiled.

  Their eyes met and he wanted to reach out push back the lock of hair that had fallen down the side of her face.

  What was it about this one? She was pretty. He’d been with plenty of pretty ones. Smart and witty too. But there was just something about the way she smiled and the flush that crept into her cheeks when she looked at him. There was no doubt he desired her, but not in the insane and selfish way he’d wanted Dania.

  He stopped fighting the urge and finally reached out and put the little tassel of hair behind her ear and then lightly traced his fingertip down the side of her cheek. She didn’t say a word but just smiled at him, never taking her eyes from his. And she felt that damn heat creeping up her neck again.

  At the same moment Samson swore he felt a strange electric-like chill on the back of his neck. Again. This was definitely different than the feeling he’d felt when the dog bit him. He turned around in the booth narrowing his eyes. What was that? A couple had walked out a few minutes earlier. Maybe it was the wind lingering from the door. It was, after all, almost freezing outside.

  But The Watcher Adrielle knew better as her sleeve brushed Samson’s collar when she had shimmered by. She cloaked the woman with her energy and could feel the good heart that dwelled there. She was sure this woman he had been drawn to and the action he‘d taken with the animal, would help him to solve his own puzzle. Adrielle drifted by and somehow the Changeling had perceived her before she shimmered out. His senses were getting stronger. This was a good sign as well.

  Samson turned back to Willow. “Did you feel that?” Willow blushed even more, afraid that he somehow could feel the heat in her face and the way he made her heart pound when he smiled.

  “Feel what?” she answered innocently.

  “That chill. Damn….I swear every hair on the back of my neck is standing on end.” His eyes bored into hers.

  “Oh, so I give you the chills now? That’s a lame pick up line.” She smirked.

  “No offense but it wasn’t you. I mean this was….something else. Maybe it was the wind or something.” He settled back into his seat.

  “Jeez. Thanks. I have that effect on men,” she said dryly.

  “Don’t ever underestimate the effect you have on men….on me. And I don‘t just mean physical. There’s just

  something about you.”

  She smirked. “Well at least that one was a lot more complimentary but only slightly less lame.”

  “I know it sounds like a stupid pick-up line that I’m sure you’ve heard before…shit who hasn’[t heard that one before.” He laughed. “It’s lousy. I know. But hey, I’m just being honest. Take it or leave it.”

  “Okay. I believe you,” she conceded. “You have the same effect on me. It‘s crazy because I don’t even know you very well…at least not yet. And I hope you don’t make me regret disclosing that to you too soon!” She shifted uncomfortably. “Now, it’s getting late. Jesus! We blew a good hour and a half here and I guess I’d better get my butt home.”

  He took her hand in one of his own as they slid out of the booth. He threw five bucks down on the table for a tip and picked up their bill before they walked to the cash register to pay.

  He looked back over his shoulder with an uneasy feeling he couldn’t put his finger on as he led her out the door to his vehicle, even though the chill he’d felt was gone.

  That feeling was soon forgotten a few moments later when they were basking in both the warmth of the SUV’s heater and easy-going conversation on the short ten minute drive to her house.

  They pulled up and he wondered whether he should just go ahead and kiss her the way he had wanted to last night or leave it be.

  “Do you want to come in and get Cisco and take him home with you tonight? He would probably be really glad to see you.”

  “Yeah, I guess I’d better at least come inside and say hi,” he said, realizing the timing wasn’t right for that kiss he was hoping for. Then again, maybe her inviting him in was a good sign? Would she invite him to stay the night? Not likely.

  He turned off the ignition and followed her inside the warmth of the house. Cisco came bounding up the second they walked in the door, perched on his hind legs and began licking Samson’s face like he had been gone for a century instead of a day.

  “Well, I guess you missed me, didn’t you?” he laughed.

  Willow walked to the living room where Sasha was passed out on the chair, and turned to Samson, putting her fingers to her lips to make a silent “shhh” gesture.

  Samson nodded and looked down at Cisco and whispered, “You’d better be quiet, young man.” Cisco got down and wagged his tail as if he understood every word. Willow was impressed.

  “That is just amazing the way he seems to understand you. How do you do that?”

  “I have no idea. I guess he just likes me,” Samson said, trying to keep his voice as low as possible so as not wake Sasha. But he did have some theory that perhaps when the dog bit him they’d developed some kind of bond. Not sure how, but he could sort of feel the dog’s essence and personality in a vague way. And he was guessing that somehow it might work both ways. He could also feel the youth and vitality that were surging through the dog’s veins…maybe it was yet another side-effect.

  He looked healthier, brighter and it was as if he’d gained weight and his fur had turned glossy overnight. This was not the same skinny, sad sack he’d lured from the dumpster less than 24 hours ago! Come to think of it, he himself felt some sort of renewed vitality. Nothing earth- shattering, but just an ever-so-slight little lift. It came shortly after he’d felt the surge of electricity when he was bitten. He hadn’t noticed it so much earlier, but now here next to the dog, and being close enough to sense the dog’s essence he could definitely feel and identify it more.

  Strange. Then again, maybe he was just imagining it and it was just the caffeine from the couple of cups of coffee, though not likely. It was only two cups. Drugs, booze, caffeine…none of it had much effect on him unless taken in massive quantities, which of course he’d done on many occasions in nearly every Awakening. Much more than any human could consume without dying.

  Samson noted the digital clock on the cable box said it was well past 1 am. “Well, I guess I’d better be going home now so you can get some sleep and I can get up to go to work tomorrow.”

  Work? Hmmm…Well, he did in fact have work to do. More prep work, paper work and laying aside what he’d need for the next time he awoke from his damnable fate. And then he did like to get in a good workout every day and a run, to keep his body in the shape it was in when he’d Changed.

  Back in his own time, he’d hefted a broadsword training with his father for several hours a day and he was not only strong as a horse, but built like one of today’s top athletes. He intended to keep it that way…although aging and physical breakdown seemed not to be of concern. Nonetheless, he figured that if he was going live forever like one of Zeus’s own, he was going to make sure he looked the part. It hadn’t hurt him when it came to getting the ladies into his bed either….they seemed more than happy with his physical attributes.

  Of course, he’d also known that he could just decide to be a bum and it really wouldn’t matter. But then again, he’d tried that one once, and as they said in today’s eloquent words; it ‘sucked‘. He’d much rather do the paperwork, workouts, and other tasks to make things more comfortable and pleasur
able while he was human.

  He called softly to Cisco, “Come on boy, let’s go to my place tonight,” but Cisco wasn’t budging from his place on the floor next to the chair. “So much for him listening to me or understanding what I have to say!” He laughed softly Samson whispered, “Do you mind too much if he sleeps here again? He really just doesn’t want to get up and move. He’s warm and…well, why would he want to leave when he could stay here with you? Lucky damned dog.” He smiled.

  Willow nodded. “Yeah, it’s okay.” She looked over at his soft brown furry body, so peaceful next to the chair.

  She moved closer to Samson and walked with him to the door. He reached out and put his arm around her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder as they walked.

  Damn. There was opportunity knocking and he figured what the hell. He pulled her to him and in one slow-motion instant, his lips were on hers. She must not have minded because a second later, her arms wound around his neck as he enveloped her. She was as soft and sweet as he’d imagined.

  He deepened the kiss pulling her closer as his hands traced the curve of her back and found their way into her hair. After the fifty years of deep sleep, darkness and cold that he‘d just awakened from, her body felt so warm…so alive next to his own. It was like an elixir pulsing through his veins…addictive, seductive….irresistible. And he could tell that she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. Dammit! There was nothing more that he wanted right now than to just sweep her up in his arms and carry her to the bedroom and give her a night she wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon. To tear the clothes from her sweet body and taste every inch of her from head to foot and back up again. His pulse pounded in his head hard and fast as visions of his tongue working its way down the curve of her tight belly to the sweet juncture of her thighs and of burying himself in the warmth of her soft wetness blossomed in his mind.

  But, Willow wasn’t some cheap hussy he’d picked up in a bar, and despite his body’s insistence, and the fact he was at least partly sure, or maybe just hoping she wouldn’t say no, something drove him to hold back and do his best to be a gentleman.