Yours for Eternity
Page 26
The large hulking figure he had spied from the window stood in Grace’s bedroom. Phillip would have attacked him before he even finished speaking if he did not have Grace in his arms. But he did. Her entire body tensed with fear due to this man’s presence and she clung to him. Phillip knew nothing could harm her while he was there, but Grace did not know that. Yet.
“You erred on more than one account, then,” Phillip stated in a commanding voice.
The man ignored Phillip’s comment. His eyes glittered as he stared at Grace. “I gather you are the Lord Radcliffe everyone has been referring to this evening. Permit me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Neville Vickers and I can assure you with all medical authority that this woman is a danger to herself and needs proper psychiatric attention. Consider yourself fortunate that you discovered the truth of her mental instability before you rushed into a marriage with her. She is now under my personal care.”
“Like hell she is.”
Doctor Vickers took a small step back at Phillip’s words. Clearly affronted, he took a moment to reassess the situation.
Phillip grinned. The man had no idea what he was up against.
“You need to leave this house now,” Doctor Vickers declared with indignation. “And Grace stays here.”
“No. Grace is leaving with me.” Phillip moved Grace protectively behind his body, holding her hand. She squeezed tightly.
Doctor Vickers shook his head. “I’m afraid I cannot let you do that.”
“If you wish to live past dawn, then I suggest you turn around and go back to your room and lock yourself in,” Phillip threatened calmly.
“How dare you come into this house and threaten me?” His eyes narrowed through the wire-framed spectacles.
“Get out of my way,” Phillip commanded.
Doctor Vickers squared his shoulders, blocking the doorway with his bulky body.
Phillip clenched and unclenched his hand. They needed to get out of the house soon. His body thrummed with the urge to rip into the one who endangered Grace’s safety. If he fought with the idiot doctor, the noise would rouse the entire house. On the other hand, he could silence the man permanently without making a sound. He hated to do that in front of Grace, but perhaps she was better off seeing him for what he truly was. A killer. A creature of the night.
A vampire.
Phillip faced her. She looked up at him with worry in her eyes. He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry.” He forced her to take some steps back and released her hand. He turned his full attention to the doctor.
“I must insist you leave the premises. Without Grace,” the doctor commanded. Again he gazed at Grace as if she were a tasty morsel he couldn’t wait to devour.
This was going to be a pleasure for Phillip. In an instant, Phillip was behind the doctor and closed the door. The bulky man spun around, but it was already too late. With his back to Grace, Phillip had bared his teeth. As usual, his movements were so fleeting, so skilled, there was no chance for his victim to struggle. Centuries of honing his lethal moves had made him an efficient killer.
The doctor’s eyes widened in horror but he had no time to scream before Phillip grabbed his thick neck and sank his fangs deep within the white flesh.
The hot rush of blood slowly began to slake the thirst in his throat. Soon, too soon, the doctor’s body slackened and slumped to the carpet, completely drained of its life’s blood.
It took but a few silent moments and it was over. Doctor Neville Vickers was dead. With a shaking hand, Phillip wiped his mouth. Slowly he turned back to face the woman he loved, dreading the expression of horror in her eyes he was certain to see when he did so.
Chapter Nine
Grace could not control the wild hammering of her heart and the rush of noise in her ears. Her whole body trembled, but not with fear. Phillip had just killed Doctor Vickers in front of her very eyes. Thrilled that the vile doctor was gone for good, she felt no remorse at all at his passing. She had no doubt what he intended by having her under his “personal care.” Grace was only shocked by the quickness of the act. Perhaps Mary was right. Maybe Grace was full of sin and doomed to hell.
But that was only if she remained mortal.
She sought Phillip’s warm brown eyes. She smiled at him.
He came to her side, pulling her close. There was incredulous relief in his voice. “You don’t loathe me?”
Grace shook her head and touched his smooth cheek with her fingers. How could she hate the man who had spent a century searching for her? Who had killed to protect her? Who loved her enough for two lifetimes? She had loved him for longer than she could remember, for it had always been him. “I love you.”
He covered her mouth in a searing kiss, before grabbing her hand firmly in his. “We have to leave here now, Grace. There is no more time.”
Without hesitation she nodded and followed him. She would follow him anywhere. Her parents had died when she was young. Her husband had left her in a selfish act of cowardice. Her only other relation had just tried to have her sent to an asylum for the insane.
No, Grace had no one left whom she cared for anymore. Her life was with Phillip now.
They fled her bedroom, closing the door on the lifeless body that lay on the floor. On quiet feet they exited the still-sleeping house. Once again the predawn light was shrouded in thick gray mist. Grace realized she had forgotten her coat. Indeed, she had taken nothing with her. Shivering, she held tight to Phillip’s hand. As if he read her mind, Philip removed his black cape and wrapped it snugly around her shoulders. Grace breathed in the warmth of him. They hurried through the garden gate and into the narrow alley.
By the time they reached his plush carriage, the rain was falling in a torrential downpour. The carriage took off quickly.
“You know we must leave London immediately,” he said calmly. “They will be searching for us both.”
“I have never lived anywhere but here, so I don’t care where we go, as long as we are together.” And truly, all that mattered to her was being with the man she loved. Even if he was a vampire.
The smile that lit his handsome face made her heart turn over in her chest.
“We shall make a quick stop at my house, for papers and money, and we’ll be on our way.”
“To where?”
“Paris?” he suggested.
“Why not?” She laughed at the outrageousness of it all.
He kissed her mouth and her blood raced.
“There is one thing we must do first,” she said. “Today.”
Phillip stared at her.
She looked into his dark eyes, wanting nothing more than to be with this man for all eternity. No matter what the cost. She leaned back into the crook of his arm, her auburn curls falling to the side, exposing the soft, white skin of her neck.
“Please,” Grace whispered softly, echoing the words Gráinne had uttered to him a century ago. “Make me what you are.”
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Compilation copyright © 2010 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
“Highland Blood” copyright © 2010 by Hannah Howell
“Taken by Darkness” copyright © 2010 by Debbie Raleigh
“Immortal Dreams” copyright © 2010 by by Kathleen M. Milmore
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-6240-0
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