Night's Kiss

by Amanda Ashley

  "Yes." Brenna scooped Morgana into her arms. "Is your house nearby?"

  "Not nearly close enough," he muttered.

  She gasped when he wrapped her in his embrace once more. "What are you doing?"

  "Taking you to my place, I hope."

  "But…"

  "Be still, girl, I need to concentrate."

  Closing his eyes, he pictured his house as it had looked in the moonlight the night he had left. He focused all his energy on the house and the yard and his desire to be there, and all the while he imagined himself being propelled forward through time and space, each breath carrying him closer to home, closer to the safety of his lair.

  Once again he felt himself moving through a long black tunnel, going forward in time, spinning through each century, watching humanity's achievements and failures as mankind endeavored to learn more about the world in which they lived and the people who shared it.

  As he had before, he felt an abrupt cessation of movement, followed by a rush of dizziness.

  When he opened his eyes, he was standing in the front yard of his residence. Brenna was clinging to him, her eyes closed, her heart pounding. The cat opened its eyes and hissed at him, then bounded out of Brenna's grasp.

  "Brenna?"

  Slowly, she opened her eyes. Slowly, she looked around. "What happened? Where are we? I saw things…" She shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion and doubt.

  "Welcome to the future, Brenna Flanagan."

  She stared at him in disbelief, and then she fainted.

  With a shake of his head, Roshan carried her up the porch steps, the cat trailing at his heels, hissing all the while.

  A thought opened the carved front door and he carried Brenna into the house, up the winding staircase, and down the hallway to the only bedroom that was furnished. It was a large room, with a marble fireplace in one corner. There were windows on three sides. They were covered with heavy dark blue draperies. The bed was a huge old four-poster covered with a patchwork quilt in shades of blue and brown and gray. He kept his T-shirts, socks, and briefs in the dresser across from the bed; his pants, shirts, and coats hung in the closet; his shoes were on the floor. A sitting room adjoined the bedroom. The bathroom was accessible from the hallway or the bedroom.

  Turning back the covers on the bed, he lowered Brenna onto the mattress.

  Meowing loudly, Morgana jumped up on the bed, circled twice, and curled up beside her mistress, her unblinking gaze focused on Roshan, a low growl rumbling in her throat.

  Roshan lifted one brow as he scowled at the cat. You could fool people, but you couldn't fool animals. They knew him for what he was.

  Brenna woke a moment later, her eyes wide and a little scared as she glanced around the room, noting the, windows and the window seat, the high ceilings, the striped paper on the walls.

  "Where am I?"

  "My bedroom."

  She glanced around the room again. She could have put her whole cottage inside and had space left over.

  And then his words sank in. "Your bedroom!" she exclaimed. She was out of the bed and headed for the door before she finished speaking.

  She skidded to a halt, a wordless cry erupting from her lips when she reached the door and found Roshan standing there, his arms folded over his chest.

  "Calm down, Brenna."

  She backed away from him and kept backing up until she bumped against the edge of the bed. "Who are you?"

  "I mean you no harm."

  "Who are you?" she repeated.

  He took a step toward her, one hand outstretched.

  Fear for her life made her reckless. She wasn't certain her magick would be effective when she felt so panicky. Hurried spells had backfired on her in the past, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Summoning her fear and the anger generated by it, Brenna pointed her finger in Roshan's direction, and muttered a hurried incantation.

  Morgana hissed, the hairs raising along her back.

  Roshan swore a vile oath as Brenna's spell slammed into him, driving him backward. He grunted as his shoulder struck the doorjamb. Her power sizzled over his skin, momentarily holding him in place. And then he was striding toward her again.

  Brenna gasped. Any mortal man would have been rendered unconscious by her incantation. Before she could call forth the power necessary to try again, he was on her.

  He glared down at her, his hands imprisoning her arms at her sides.

  "Don't do that again." He bit off each word.

  "Let me go."

  He shook her until her teeth rattled. "Dammit, woman, I'm not going to hurt you."

  She glanced pointedly at his hands gripping her arms, his fingers digging into her flesh.

  He relaxed his hold ever so slightly but he didn't let her go.

  She stared up at him, her jaw jutting out, refusing to give an inch even though he knew she was scared. The scent of her fear, mingled with the underlying scent of her blood, inflamed his hunger. His gaze slid down, over the smooth skin of her neck, lower still, to the rise and fall of her breasts.

  Her eyes widened, her breath quickening under his regard. "Let me go." It wasn't a demand now, but a plea.

  "Brenna…"

  "Please."

  Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes lest she see the hunger lurking in their depths. He didn't want to frighten her more than she already was. He felt the prick of his fangs against his tongue, knew he was perilously close to not only losing control of his desire but control over the beast within him as well.

  It had been a mistake to bring her here.

  With a low growl, he shoved her away from him, jerked open the door, and stalked out of the room without a backward glance. The sound of the lock turning echoed loudly in his ears.

  The house was too small to contain the wealth of emotions fomenting within him. He needed to go out, to put some distance between himself and Brenna Flanagan, but he knew himself too well, knew that if he went out now, he might not be able to control his hunger, and when he was out of control, people died.

  Muttering a vile oath, he paced the length of the long hall between the living room and the back of the house. The hunger rose within him, overpowering every other thought, every other need as it clawed at his vitals, clouding his vision with a blood-red haze.

  He didn't have to go out. There was fresh prey upstairs. A mortal woman from another century. He could take her at his will, savor each drop as he drained her of blood and life. He could easily dispose of her body. She had no one to mourn her, no one to miss her.

  Ah, he thought. There was the rub, because he would miss her, his little witch.

  What was there about Brenna Flanagan that drew him so? But for her, he would be naught but ancient ash by now, his remains scattered by an uncaring wind. One look at her portrait and he had been captivated. On the brink of seeking death, he had known he couldn't end his existence until he knew more about her. No matter what the cost, he'd had to find her.

  He slammed his fist into the wall in an effort to diffuse his rage. He had traveled through time to save her from a horrible death. And was she grateful? No! She was afraid of him, had locked the door against him. Foolish woman! As if a lock and some puny slab of oak could keep him out!

  He laughed, the harsh, bitter sound echoing off the walls in the quiet house. She should be afraid. Her very life was in his hands.

  With an oath, he turned and headed for the staircase, only to pause halfway up. He stared up at the landing, his preternatural senses bringing him the scent of her blood, the rapid beating of her heart, the stink of fear that clung to her skin.

  His hands curled into tight fists as he fought against the urge to break down the door she had locked against him even as the hunger whispered in his ear.

  Sweet, it whispered. She'll be all the sweeter for the fear running in her veins. You know you want her. Take her! She's yours, yours for the taking.

  "No!" He roared the word as he turned on his heel, grabbed a long black cloak,
and bolted from the house.

  Someone would die this night, but it would not be Brenna Flanagan.

  Driven by the urgent need to hunt, he prowled the dark streets, his body quivering with the insatiable hunger that drove him relentlessly. He had been a vampire for two hundred and eighty-six years and in all that time he had been unable to completely subdue the beast within him. Try as he might to fight it, sooner or later his hellish hunger prevailed, overcoming whatever shred of self-restraint he had thought he'd gained, proving to him yet again that he was still a slave to the dark hunger that dwelled within him.

  Knowing he was near the breaking point, he fled the city and headed toward the dark underbelly of the town where the drug lords and the pimps plied their trade. Every city had such a place, an area where the city's less favorable citizens banded together. Though Roshan usually preferred hunting in more pleasant surroundings, it was here that he came when his tenuous control shattered and the hunger would not be denied. Death was not unknown here. It often came swiftly in the ongoing struggle for power.

  The sound of angry whispers drew Roshan's attention. Pausing, he lifted his head and sniffed the air, his nostrils filling with the scent of greed and whiskey.

  There. Down the alley across the street.

  His cloak billowed behind him like the shadow of death as he followed the scent of his prey, his whole body vibrating with a need that would no longer be denied.

  Brenna pressed one ear to the door, listening for some sound that would tell her Roshan's whereabouts. At first, she heard nothing, and then she heard the slam of a door. She knew immediately that he had left the house and the slamming of the door had nothing to do with that knowledge. She felt a sudden void in the house and knew he was gone. The fact that she could be so aware of his absence frightened her in away nothing else had.

  For what seemed like the hundredth time, she found herself wondering who he was. What he was. He was no mortal man, of that she was sure. But if he wasn't mortal, what was he? She had grown up on tales of otherworldly creatures. Granny O'Connell had believed in all manner of supernatural beings—fairies and trolls, gnomes and goblins, werewolves and vampires, and a host of other frightening folk. Brenna had refused to believe in such beings. If they existed, where were they? Why had she never seen one? But Granny had believed and often posed the question, "If there be witches and warlocks, why not werewolves or other fey folk? 'Tis only another form of magick, after all."

  Except for her own mother and her maternal grandmother, Brenna had never encountered any other magical or mystical folk. She didn't know what manner of creature Roshan DeLongpre might be but she knew, in the deepest part of her soul, that he was like no other man she had ever met.

  Biting down on the inside of her lower lip, she pondered the wisdom of venturing outside his bedroom. She glanced over her shoulder and a sigh shuddered through her. His bedroom. His bed. What did he intend to do with her? Why had he brought her here? He didn't even know her. Why had he traveled through time to find her?

  So many troubling questions—questions for which she had no answers.

  One thing she knew, she could not stay here, in his house, in his bedroom.

  Muttering, "Come, Morgana," she unlocked the door. After looking up and down the hallway, she hurried down the stairs, out of the house, and down the long road that led to a huge, elaborately carved wrought iron gate set in a high stone wall. She wasn't surprised to find that the gate was locked.

  Lifting the hem of her dress to keep it out of the damp grass, Brenna followed the high stone wall, looking for another way out. Morgana trailed at her heels, meowing softly.

  Brenna had never seen such a vast holding in her whole life. The house, bigger by far than any she had ever seen, seemed dwarfed by the grounds that surrounded it. There were trees and bushes everywhere. In the back of the house, she found a maze and strange trees cut in the shapes of animals both real and mythical.

  She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she made her way back to the front of the house. She stared at the gate, wondering what magick she could use to open it. Calling Morgana, she held the cat in her arms while she tried a simple revocation spell, and then a nullification spell, but to no avail. Brenna tapped one foot on the ground, then frowned as a horrible thought crossed her mind. Was it possible that her magick was of no effect in this new time and place? That couldn't be it. Her magick had worked against him earlier. Had he used some magick of his own to thwart her escape? Perhaps she needed her wand to help her focus?

  One thing was for certain. She did not want to be here when he returned. She glanced around, hoping to find a place to hide. If she ducked behind the bushes beside the gates, she might be able to sneak through, unnoticed, when he returned, yet even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew it wouldn't work.

  Feeling pressure on her bladder, she glanced around the yard, wondering where the privy was. She didn't remember seeing one in the backyard, but surely in such a house as grand as this, some provision had been made! Putting Morgana down, she circled the house a second time until, unable to hold it any longer, she went behind a bush. Morgana followed, staring at her through wide yellow eyes.

  Putting her clothes to rights again, Brenna picked up the cat and made her way back to the front of the house. When she put Morgana down, the cat immediately ran off into the shadows, no doubt in search of prey. She was a fearless hunter, and the bane of the birds, mice, and rabbits back home.

  "Morgana, come back here! Morgana!" Brenna started after the cat and then, with a shrug, she went inside, leaving the front door open a little so the cat could get in when she was ready.

  With nothing else to do, Brenna explored the rooms on the first floor of the house. The place was like nothing she had ever seen before, and not just because it was such a large house, but because of all the strange things it held, things for which she had no name. Things she was reluctant to touch for fear Roshan might return and be angry at finding her wandering through his grand manor. Of course, if he didn't want her poking around, he shouldn't have brought her here in the first place, or left her to fend for herself!

  One room had numerous cupboards. There was a small round table and two chairs. It must be the kitchen, she thought, though it looked like no kitchen she had ever seen before. Feeling as though she was snooping, which she supposed she was, she opened the cupboards. All were bare. Perhaps, in this strange new world, people kept their food somewhere else.

  She peeked into several other rooms—a parlor, a library with bookshelves that lined three walls from floor to ceiling, a room that was empty save for more bookshelves. He had more books than she had ever dreamed existed. She wondered why he had so many. Surely he could not have read them all!

  And then she came upon the room she had seen in her scrying mirror. There, on a large desk, was the peculiar square window where she had seen her image. Only the window was black now. Was he a wizard, then? Did the strange dark glass act the same way as her scrying mirror? Moving closer, she peered at it intently, but she felt no power radiating from it, no whisper of magical energy.

  Making her way up the stairs, she moved from room to room. She assumed they were bedchambers, though it was hard to say since all were empty of anything except more floor-to-ceiling bookcases and large comfortable chairs. The only furnished bedroom was the one that was his.

  So. She had nowhere to go and no place to hide. No weapons with which to fight him save her magick. And that, she knew, would not be strong enough. How could she fight him if she couldn't even remove something as simple as a spell on a gate?

  Returning to his room, she turned the key in the lock, then climbed into the bed, fully clothed except for her shoes. She drew the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes, but as soon as she did so, her mind filled with images of men with torches surrounding her. Men from families she had known all her life. Their faces looked grotesque in the light cast by their torches as they set fire to the kindling at her feet. The sm
oke stung her nostrils. The flames licked her skin. If Roshan hadn't arrived when he had, she would have died in the flames…

  She opened her eyes and the images faded from her mind.

  She was still awake when he returned to the house. Though she heard no sound, she knew the moment he entered the dwelling. Sitting up in the bed—his bed—she stared at the door. The door that she had locked against him.

  The door that now swung open, revealing Roshan standing in the corridor. He loomed in the doorway, a tall dark shape swathed in a long black cloak that fell to his ankles.

  Clutching the blankets to her chest, she cringed against the headboard as he walked into the room. There was a ruddy glow to his skin that had not been there before.

  "And so," he said quietly. "You are still here."

  She glared at him. "I would not be here if you had not locked the gate against me."

  He regarded her for a long moment. His steady gaze made her uncomfortable but she refused to look away. Silently defiant, she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.

  He grinned, his expression clearly telling her that he knew she was afraid.

  "I want to go home," she said. "Back to my own time." It annoyed her that she sounded like a little girl frightened of the dark.

  "Is that right? Anxious to go back to the stake, are you?"

  She shuddered at the memory she had been visualizing only moments earlier. "Of course not. I shall go somewhere else, to another town, someplace where no one knows who I am." She didn't want to stay here, where everything was strange. Didn't want to stay here, with him. He frightened her in ways she did not understand.

  She recoiled when he sat down on the foot of the bed.

  "Dammit, stop that," he said irritably. "I'm not going to hurt you."

  "I do not believe you. Why did you seek me out? Why did you bring me here?"

  "Because I want you."

  A maiden she might be, but she recognized the heat in his eyes, the longing in his voice. Ah, his voice, as dark as midnight, as deep as eternity. It reminded her of Granny O'Connell's homemade whiskey, warming her from the inside out.