Chapter 55

Dermott's private plane was like sitting in someone's comfortable living room, except for the discreet seat belts on the cream leather chairs. The main sitting area consisted of four oversized recliners, grouped in a rectangle, with tables that could be folded out between them. Behind, two sofas faced each other, and a plasma screen TV hung on the wall leading to the rear section. Dermott handed me into one of the recliners. With a smile, he lowered his long, lean frame into the one across from me. Less than an hour had passed since the end of the auction. There'd been no hassles, no lines - maybe I should think about chartering a plane next time I had to travel. A steward, a handsome...werewolf?...offered me my choice of beverages or food before he discreetly vanished into the rear of the plane.
"I think you'll find your friends packed you a bag for the flight as well as a suitcase," Dermott said. There was just a hint of a grin curving his wide, mobile lips, and his deep, rich baritone felt like a caress. "There are some novels and such inside. They were very determined to keep you away from anything work-related."
"I can't believe they confiscated my briefcase," I grumbled, trying to focus on anything but the incredibly hot male seated just two feet away. "I feel naked without my laptop." It also felt very strange to be traveling in an evening gown. They'd thoughtfully provided me with a wrap for the trip to the airport, which the steward whisked away when we boarded the plane.
Dermott reached across the space between our chairs and touched my chin with one long finger. "Your friends are really quite concerned that you're overdoing. They didn't decide to do this on a whim. Even I can see the difference in you now and when we last met three weeks ago. How long has it been since you had a full day's sleep?"
I shrugged. "Yes, I've been busy. But honestly, I'm a vampire. It's not like I'm going to drop dead of exhaustion."
"Even we need rest now and again," he said in that silky voice that made me wet. "I knew someone - years ago - who thought he was invincible, until he fell into a coma so deep that he never heard the mob coming to his door." He grimaced, and the skin around his brown eyes crinkled just slightly - he hadn't been too young when he was turned - there had already been the start of some maturity showing in his face, which was oddly appealing. "I know I've done it to myself. Jessamy, I fell into an unwakable sleep for several weeks. When I woke, I was so starved and dehydrated, I was a danger to the people around me. It was only by a stroke of genius that one of them got behind a cow. After I finished shredding the poor animal, I had enough consciousness not to kill a man who'd been my friend for years."
"I - I'm sorry." I didn't know what to say to that. Being a vampire didn't always come with an instruction manual, not unless the vampire who'd turned someone stuck around to help out. My sire had been my husband and friend, but he'd never known his, so most of Douglas' knowledge had been gained the hard way.
He smiled sadly. "It was a long time ago. But I did learn from the experience."
The engines on the jet fired, and we both fastened our seat belts. My fingers twitched to open my laptop, which was back in Chicago. Exhausted as I was, I was still too wired from the auction, and from being with Dermott to even think about sleep, so I decided to get to know my housemate for the next few days.
"So have you always lived in Ireland?"
"Aye, but don't worry, I don't hold a grudge against the English, not anymore." He cast me a wicked grin and dropped the thickened brogue for his normal, cultured accent. "Actually that isn't true. I've spent a few decades in London or New York, but Erin will always be home."
"May I ask how old you are?" It wasn't the most polite question among immortals, but knowing when and where a person came from could often give away a lot about them.
"I was born in Wexford in 1649," he said. "A wee bit early as my mother went into labor during Cromwell's massacre. She died, but an aunt and uncle fled to Connaught with the other survivors and took me with them."
I raised one eyebrow. "I'm surprised to hear you're not still holding a grudge. If it helps, I think my ancestors were royalists who fought against the Roundheads too."
"So tell me more about you? Where are you from?"
"Surrey. 1796." I didn't elaborate.
"And was it Lady Jessamy or the Honourable Miss?" His lazy grin practically dared me to lie and say I was a farmer's daughter or a servant. Somehow, I'd never quite gotten the knack of hiding my strictly proper upbringing.
"The Honourable Miss Jessamine Charlotte Rose Warfield-Hughes." I couldn't help a small chuckle. "A mouthful, isn't it? My sister mispronounced it when she was little, so it became Jessamy among my siblings - besides, it was a better fit with Cecily and Felicity. My father was the third son of an earl. My mother was a shipping heiress, but since her family had been gentry back to the days of the Conqueror, there was no stigma attached to the money."
We paused briefly for the remarkably smooth take-off, after which he unbuckled his seat belt and continued. "So how did a proper Regency debutante end up as an American vampire?"
I curled my legs under me in the recliner and leaned my chin on a hand before I answered. "It's not a pretty story."
"Are they ever?" He raised one black eyebrow. "I know mine isn't. I fought against the English, like most of my countrymen. War was - well, brutal doesn't quite cover it. But it was even worse when one of the British generals brought a pair of vampires with his troops. They found the camp where we slept and killed all but two of us. When it looked as if we'd be able to successfully turn, they took us with them, kept us starved and used us to kill our own people until the madness passed."
"Jesus. Monsters come in every race, don't they?" I bit my lower lip. It took all my willpower not to reach out and touch him. "How long?"
"Only a week or so. To be fair, as soon as the madness of turning passed, Sean and I took out their entire squad, vampires and all. We put a good dent in the bastard's forces over the next several years."
"I'll bet. Compared to that, my story sounds rather civilized."
"Tell me."