Sexiest Vampire Alive (JK-NM)

Chapter 6

"Excuse me?" Melinda gave her nurse an indignant look.

Nancy exchanged a grin with Boram, then patted her mom on the shoulder. "We can't all be brunette like you."

Her smile faded when she noted strands of silver in her mother's hair. When had that happened? Even Boram's short and tidy Hershey cut had acquired hints of gray among the black.

She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her lab coat so her clenched fists wouldn't show. Time was flying by, and she'd hardly made any progress at all. Her chest tightened with the same fear that had haunted her for a dozen years. Failure is not an option. Failure means your mother dies.

"Take a seat." Melinda motioned to the chair beside her. "The good part's coming up."

Nancy perched on the edge of the chair and gripped her jeans-clad knees. She needed to relax and enjoy the time she had with her mother. And not feel guilty that she wasn't at the lab.

"Are you ready for me, my love?" he whispered.

"Oh yes, Maxim! Take me. I need to feel your manly rod of steel deep inside me."

Nancy snorted. "I think he has a penile prosthesis."

Boram laughed.

Melinda scowled at them both.

Maxim caressed her face, then sliced through her nightgown with his claw.

"What?" Nancy sat back. "His claw?"

Belinda nodded. "I told you he was sexy."

Boram rolled her eyes. "Only a blonde would be stupid enough - "

"He's got a claw?" Nancy jumped to her feet and picked up the case for the audio book. "Wild and Wicked Nights with a Werewolf? You mean Maxim has hairy palms and never cuts his nails?"

Melinda sighed. "You might as well turn it off. You've really destroyed the mood now."

"Who could ever be in the mood for a claw?" Nancy punched the off button and dropped the CD case on the table. "What happened to the Korean billionaire tycoon and his secretary?"

Melinda shrugged. "I wanted to branch out. Try something new. I never get out of the house, you know. I can at least let my imagination roam free."

Nancy swallowed hard. "You're right. I'm sorry." Even though the house in question was the Blue House, it was still a prison for her mom.

"Hi, guys!" a cheerful voice greeted them from the doorway. A dog yipped.

"Brenda?" Melinda squinted, then smiled. "Well, don't you look lovely! Is that a new dress?"

"Yes!" Brenda waltzed into the clinic, carrying a pink rhinestone-encrusted dog bag.

She twirled, and her pink, sparkly cocktail dress swirled around her long, lean, perfectly tanned legs. "Isn't it gorgeous? It's a Versace. Oh, sorry, Dolly darling!" She patted the head of her toy poodle. "Little schnookums gets motion sickness, don't you, poor baby?"

"If that rat's going to puke, take it out of here," Boram grumbled.

Brenda gave the nurse an annoyed look, then aimed her high-wattage smile at her mom and sister. "Guess what? I have the most exciting news ever!"

"There's a sale at Bloomingdale's?" Nancy muttered.

Brenda gasped. "Is there? Oh." She waved a dismissive hand with perfect pink nails. "I can do that tomorrow. What's happening tonight is actually more important."

Melinda exchanged an amused look with Nancy. "How shocking."

"It is. Quite shocking." Brenda set her dog bag on the carpet, then pressed a hand to her chest. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just blurt it out. Boram, be sure to monitor my mother's blood pressure. This may be . . . too shocking."