by Lisa Kessler
Kate gnawed at her bottom lip. “Could you hear everything else I was thinking?”
“I could, but I have always respected your privacy.” Calisto stripped off his jeans and stepped into the spacious bathtub behind her. He lifted her onto his lap, sliding his arms around her waist. “Unless your mind reaches for mine, your thoughts are your own.”
Tipping her head back to look at him, she smiled. “That’s probably a good thing. I had some pretty impure thoughts going.”
He held her tighter and kissed along her shoulder. “Sounds very… intriguing.”
She turned around to face him, her legs straddling his waist. Calisto claimed her lips, and she moaned into the kiss. His tongue tangled with hers, teasing her with the faint taste of blood. Something foreign stirred inside of her, animalistic and urgent.
Kate broke the kiss, gasping for breath as she rested her forehead against his. She wet her lips. “I’m really thirsty. I think I need some water.”
He held her a little tighter, kissing her hair. “It is not water you thirst for.”
She looked up at him with a crease in her brow. “What are you saying?”
Calisto caressed her cheek. “You are a Night Walker now. To live you must feed on life.”
She pulled back from his arms. “You make it sound noble, but what you’re really trying to tell me is that I need to drink people’s blood. That I’m… thirsty for it.” She shook her head, her eyes downcast. “I don’t think I could bite someone. I can’t imagine drinking… ” She shuddered, her voice fading away.
He grasped her chin, tilting her head so their gazes met. “I am sorry, Kate. I wish there had been some other way. I never wanted this life for you.”
Guilt and worry filled his gaze.
“This isn’t your fault. I didn’t want to leave you. I understood what you were doing, and I’ll deal with all of this. I will.” Somehow. She pressed her lips together, fighting the hunger brewing inside of her. Though she tried to imagine biting someone, she could only envision herself in a cape with fangs. Ridiculous. She grinned. “I don’t think I’m ready for blood-sucking vampire lessons just yet.”
Calisto rolled his eyes and laughed. When he relaxed against her, she traced his chest muscles. “We are not blood-sucking vampires,” he said.
“I know.” She rubbed her pelvis against his and kissed him. “I just wanted to see you smile again.”
Calisto bit her lower lip lightly, teasing her new heightened senses. “How did I live so long without your kisses?”
She parted her lips, and her tongue tangled with his. He cupped the back of her head and moaned into the kiss. She shifted her hips, and he pressed against her opening.
He thrust up, sinking himself deep inside of her. She dropped her head back with a gasp. Calisto bent to take her exposed breast into his mouth, enjoying the way her fingernails dug into his shoulders.
He licked over her nipple slowly, slid his hands down her wet body, gripped her waist, ground against her, and claimed her.
The candlelight flickered around them, bathing them in a warm glow as the water teased her cool, sensitive skin. All of her senses seemed more acute, more intense. She could feel every sensation, every curve, every inch of his body caressing hers. He thrust into her, slowly at first, his eyes locked with hers.
Staring into his eyes, she felt her mind instinctively slip into his. She felt his heated desire and love for her, his concern over her transformation, and finally…
Before she could identify the emotion, his mind was closed to hers.
Kate brought her hands up from his shoulders to cup his face. “No more secrets. Please, Calisto.”
His thrusts slowed and his eyes sparkled. Something was happening with his eyes. They were changing. Her heart pounded. His dark eyes now glowed crimson. She’d never seen anything like it, but she wasn’t afraid.
“What’s wrong?”
He wet his lips. “Nothing is wrong.”
“But your eyes.” She searched his face for any other changes.
He brought a hand up from her hip, trailing a wet finger along the curve of her neck. “Your blood calls to me.”
She turned to kiss his finger before meeting his eyes again. “Is it because I’m a Night Walker now?”
He shook his head slowly. “No. Your blood has been a temptation for me every time we made love.”
“But your eyes never changed before.”
“I was careful, hiding my true nature as best I could.” Calisto slid his hand back into her hair as he kissed her lips, and Kate couldn’t help but wonder if he had fangs now. Calisto met her eyes again. “Do I frighten you now?”
“No.” She hesitated. “Are my eyes glowing too?”
“Not yet.” Calisto wrapped his arms around her, his kiss demanding her submission. She moaned as his tongue claimed hers. His hips worked slow and deep, rendering her incapable of coherent thought. Tilting her head, she deepened the kiss until she tasted blood.
She jerked back from the kiss, shocked to feel her pulse race at the sight of blood coloring Calisto’s lips. He reached up to wipe it away, but she caught his hand. This was the blood that saved her life and changed every part of her. She leaned forward and kissed him, her tongue tasting his lower lip.
“Did I cut you?” She whispered against his lips.
“Yes.”
She shivered at the desire in his voice. “You liked it?”
He nodded, meeting her eyes. “Very much.” His lips curved into a dangerous, sexy smile. “I have never made love with another Night Walker.”
Kate wet her lips, feeling truly desirable for the first time ever. She didn’t know if it was because she was a Night Walker, or knowing that she’d loved Calisto for lifetimes.
At the moment, she didn’t care.
Kate smiled and leaned in close, her lips brushing against his ear. “I have.” She drew back and rested her forehead against his with a satisfied grin. “I’ll be gentle with you.”
Calisto smiled and wrapped his arms around her, fusing their lips together. Kate clung to him, no longer sure where her body ended and Calisto’s began. Her mind slipped into his once more, and in that moment she’d never felt closer to another soul. They were one.
Almost, my love. Calisto’s voice whispered through her mind. Drink from me.
Kate’s heart fluttered, but he responded, slamming into her harder and faster, driving conscious thought from her mind as he kissed and nibbled his way down her neck to her shoulder. She felt his sharp teeth brush over her skin, but instead of tensing, her pulse quickened. Her skin felt hot, hungry. His lips caressed her shoulder and his mind reached out to her again.
Please Kate. Be one with me.
Kissing along the muscle of his shoulder, she surrendered herself to the passion. She sucked at his skin, her teeth teasing his flesh. One of his hands sank lower in the water, between them, stroking her and urging her even closer to the edge. With her body on fire, aching for release, she sank her teeth into his shoulder.
Lightning shot through Calisto’s body the moment Kate burst through the final barrier between their souls. The pull at his veins as she drank him into herself sent waves of hot, erotic pleasure through his entire body. He kissed along her perfect ivory shoulder until he could no longer fight the temptation.
He moaned against her skin when he tasted her blood on his tongue. Making love to her, sharing her body, her blood, her soul, he’d never felt passion like this before. He could feel her love for him, her acceptance of their new destiny and life together. Her hunger and desire for him.
The water splashed around them, out onto the floor, but he didn’t care. He needed her now. All of her.
I’m yours. She gasped into his mind as her body clenched around him, taking him over the edge with her. He didn’t loosen his hold on her as he kissed over his bite, watching the pinpricks close on her skin.
“And I am yours, my love.” He drew back just enough to meet her eyes. “I love y
ou.”
She smiled, and he felt his spirit soar. “I love you too.” Kate kissed him and whispered against his lips. “Always.”
Epilogue
The moonlight sparkled on the water. Calisto lay on the beach, leaning back on his elbows, laughing as he watched Kate practice calling fish onto the shore.
“You could help me, you know.” She grinned over her shoulder, struggling to catch the jumping fish before the tide pulled them back into the water.
“I could, but watching is much more fun.” He smiled.
She amazed him more with each passing night. Over the past two weeks she had already embraced so many changes, in her body and her mind. He tried to introduce her new powers slowly, to ease the transition, but Kate took to her newfound talents and abilities with a natural grace that astonished him.
What pleased him most, in spite of all of the changes she faced, deep down she remained the same spirit, his mortal love, Kate. The moon still shone in her eyes, and she never missed an opportunity to laugh.
And as impossible as it seemed, he loved her more with each passing night.
Kate splashed through the water, groaning as the last fish got away. “I give up!” She walked up and plopped down onto the sand beside him. “What good is using telepathy to call the fish to me if I can’t get them to stay still once they’re up on the sand?”
Calisto shook his head with a smile. “I never did like fish anyway.”
“I was just practicing. I’m new to this Night Walker thing, remember?” She smiled and kissed him. “Ready to dance with me?”
He raised a brow. “Are you finished calling the fish?”
“Would you stop that?”
“Stop what?” He struggled to keep from smiling.
“Answering my questions with another question.”
“Will this do instead?” Calisto sat up, kissing her deeply as he rose from the sand and pulled her up into his arms. Slowly he drew back, lost in the dark beauty of the moonlight shining in her eyes.
“You can answer me with kisses anytime,” she whispered with a smile.
“Good.” He took her hand, walking out into the waves. He hadn’t waltzed in centuries, but with Kate in his arms, it was easy. Her laughter, her smile, just hearing her say his name made his heart soar.
Eternity was theirs to share.
The marine layer floated in from the ocean tide, surrounding them until the moonlight became an iridescent glow. The waves lapped at their ankles while they turned in each other’s arms, laughing together. Calisto smiled down at her, stealing a kiss.
The lifetimes he spent waiting for her spirit to enter this world were worth every second.
…
Overhead, wings glided silently on the night breeze. A white-headed eagle with intelligent eyes soared above them, watching from a distance.
Finally, his plan had begun to unfold. She was immortal. Again. He had waited thousands of years for this night, had been the instrument of fate to ensure they would come together. The world would be his once more. But he had to be patient. Tonight, he would only watch them. Watch and wait.
For now.
Acknowledgements
There are so many people I want to thank that I’m not sure where to start. I’d like to thank the entire crew at Entangled Publishing for welcoming me into the family. Liz Pelletier, who invited me to submit my book, and Heather Howland, for making me the perfect cover and capturing the heart of the book in the tagline, I can’t thank you two enough.
I also want to thank Kelley Armstrong and Barbara Vey, who encouraged me to join RWA and pursue my publishing dream. Your encouragement has meant the world to me!
I also owe the last chapter to Angie Fox, who thought Calisto and Kate deserved it. Thanks for all your valuable feedback and guidance!
To my fabulous editor KL Grady, thank you so much for coming on this journey with me! It’s still surreal to me that we ended up working together again on my first novel! How cool is that?
Thanks to my wonderful publicist, Roxanne Rhoads, for helping me to get the word out about the book, and keeping the schedule organized for me.
I could not have pulled off the medical references in the book without the input of Dr. D.P. Lyle.
Lastly, I have to thank my husband, Ken Kessler, and my mom, Ally Benbrook, who have read Night Walker in all its versions and never complained. Thanks for always making the time to read and give me your feedback! Through all the ups and downs on this publishing journey, you never stopped supporting me and believing this book would be published. I couldn’t have done this without you.
Keep reading for a sample chapter of
OUT IN BLUE
book one in Sarah Gilman’s Return to Sanctuary series…
In a violent world where fallen archangels are hunted for their valuable plumage, Wren knows one thing for certain: the human woman who saved him from a poacher attack will die if she stays with him. The demon responsible for his parents’ gruesome deaths two decades ago pines for the chance to rip apart any woman who stands under Wren’s wing.
Wren doesn’t expect Ginger to stay by his side once she discovers his ability to drain life with a mere touch, yet she lingers. When an unusual talent of her own reveals the location of Wren’s father, Wren’s isolated world implodes. With the help of the demon protectors he’s sworn never to trust again, Wren risks everything to rescue his father, confront the demon who stalks his and Ginger’s every step, and claim his eternity with the most courageous woman he’s ever known.
Chapter One
The tattoo of a bloody knife and scattered feathers caught Ginger Magellan’s attention. Her stomach curdled at the sight of the archangel poachers’ insignia. The bearer of the gruesome illustration ordered an espresso from the petite girl behind the bar.
“There isn’t a fallen archangel around here, is there?” The barista’s voice rose.
“Not for much longer, there won’t be.” He turned away and pulled out his cell phone.
From where she sat in the café, Ginger wrapped her hands around her coffee and stared into the dark brew, eavesdropping on the poacher’s conversation.
“The house has been abandoned for years, but it’s the right place. I saw him fly in the fog this morning. Devil has a balcony entrance on the third floor.”
Devil. Ginger hid a snort of disgust under a fake cough.
The poacher continued after a moment. “Yeah, white wings, black markings. It’s Wren, for certain. And not a Guardian in sight. He’s all ours.”
Ginger tensed. No Guardians? Why would an archangel be without his demon bodyguards?
“Meet you there in thirty? He’ll be back before the fog clears.” The poacher accepted his drink from the barista with a charming grin. She refused his payment and wished him luck. He blew her a kiss and left the café.
Clenching her teeth, Ginger tucked a twenty under her coffee and rushed for the exit without waiting for change. She stepped into the foggy autumn morning, shivered, and buried her hands in her pockets. Two police officers chatted next to their cruiser, but she turned and hurried in the other direction. Archangel poaching, though technically illegal, was applauded and encouraged by most of the human population. She couldn’t trust the police.
She’d warn this “Wren” herself.
Ginger couldn’t let the poachers hunt and kill Wren like an animal. Neither the demons nor the fallen archangels were the Lucifer-like monsters most humans feared them to be—even though she’d never seen an archangel, they were so rare after centuries of poaching. A demon had raised her as his own and remained her best friend as much as her “father,” twenty-eight years later. She needed to call him; he’d know what to do.
Ginger jumped into her little Chevy, shut the door, and pulled out her cell phone. Why would an archangel be living around here? And without Guardians? Even Vermont was too populated for a being with a twenty-foot wingspan to hide. Was this archangel out of his damned mind?
Her fathe
r answered on the second ring, despite the predawn hour in Alaska.
“Hi, honey,” he said, his voice alert.
“Devin, I just ran into a poacher in town.”
He growled, a sound that reminded Ginger of a cougar. “Just stay away from him, Ginny. Like all the other tourists, he’ll move on soon.”
“No, Dev, he and at least one other are hunting an archangel in the area.”
A beat of silence passed. “They’re going to be disappointed, because there are no archangels in Vermont.”
As a Guardian, he would know; that’s why she’d called him. But her instincts churned in protest.
“Are you sure? They’ve seen him. White wings with black markings. His name is Wren. They said he has no Guardians.”
The silence stretched out so long Ginger checked her signal. “Dev?”
“Raphael’s son.” Devin’s voice sounded thin.
Raphael. Recognition and surprise forced the air from her lungs. The last of the original fallen archangels had been killed when Ginger was a child, along with his human mate. Most of humanity had hailed the death as a step forward in cleansing the earth of the demon and fallen archangel menace. Ginger cringed at the memory.
“Wren has refused our protection since his parents’ deaths,” Devin said. “A Guardian betrayed and murdered his family. It’s been years since we’ve had any news of Wren.”
Heartache burned Ginger’s chest. “I’m going to warn him.”
“Ginny.” Devin’s voice deepened. “Out of the question. The poachers—”
“I wouldn’t be your daughter if I sat by and did nothing, Dev.”
A pause. “I know. I’m sending Guardians from Sanctuary. Wait for them.”
She chewed her lip. Sanctuary, Vermont’s demon colony, was three hours away. Wren didn’t have three hours.
“Tell them to hurry. Love you.” She disconnected the call.
Ginger pulled the car into traffic and headed south out of town toward the only abandoned house in the area. After miles of dirt roads and thick forest, she drove by the crumbling remains of a Victorian. She continued past the forlorn structure and hid her car in thick vegetation, then ran back down the road and up the overgrown driveway on foot.