Senses which were telling him that a vampire was very near. His stake in hand, he looked around the darkened street, trying to pinpoint the monster’s exact location.
A snarl alerted him to the vampire’s presence, and a very pale, naked man swooped in front of him. In the dim light offered through the church’s windows he could see ugly scars crisscrossing his face and body, the results of being splashed with holy water. What’s one more? Edgar thought. He thumbed the lid off one of the small bottles and flung it at the monster.
It hit the vampire in the face. He screamed, a high-pitched, keening sound that set Edgar’s teeth on edge and probably woke half the neighborhood. It distracted the vampire long enough for Edgar to leap on him, stake in hand, and knock him to the ground.
They tussled for a moment, the vampire still strong and determined despite the agony the holy water had to be causing him. The smell of burning, undead flesh assaulted Edgar’s nostrils and he desperately wanted to gag, but he couldn’t allow himself such a distraction. He tried to aim his stake at the vampire, but the monster’s grip on his wrist was more of a hindrance than he expected.
Edgar dug his knee into the vampire’s stomach, distracting him enough to gain the upper hand again. The vampire fell to the ground, hissing, fangs gleaming in the church light. Edgar raised his stake but the vampire leapt to his feet again, quickly scrubbing at his ruined face. Flakes of skin rolled off and drifted to the street, one of the more disgusting things Edgar had seen lately.
Edgar quickly unstopped another bottle of holy water and threw it in the vampire’s direction, this time splashing his naked chest. The motion tore another scream from the monster, but he still advanced on Edgar.
Light spilled on to the street as the church’s doors opened, and Molly’s enraged yelp had both Edgar and the vampire looking in her direction. “Agate!”
This was the vampire that had held Molly in that cellar? Fresh anger poured through Edgar, and he threw himself at the naked vampire, knocking him back down to the ground. He saw Molly’s shadow move as she ran into the fray. “Get back in!” he said gruffly.
“No!”
Something heavy, wrapped in her shawl, came crashing down on Agate’s skull, inches from Edgar’s own head. It wasn’t enough to kill the vampire, but it stunned him enough so Edgar could sink his stake into his chest. Edgar leapt up just as the vampire’s remains crumbled into dust.
He turned to Molly, who still held the shawl-wrapped thing in her hand. Shock was written across her face. “He’s really dead this time?”
“He’s really dead this time,” Edgar said. “Molly, what were you thinking?”
“I heard screaming.”
“That was the vampire!” Now that the immediate danger had passed—and Edgar could not sense any other vampires in their vicinity—indignation swamped him. “You could have been killed!”
“So could you!”
Well, that was a possibility; it always was in his line of work. “All right,” he said, conceding. “That doesn’t excuse your doing something incredibly dangerous.”
“What did you expect me to do? Just sit there? I can’t do that anymore.”
She wasn’t afraid anymore, he realized.
He wrapped an arm around her, bringing her closer to him. “No, I don’t suppose you can,” he said. “It’s hard to sit by and do nothing when you know there are these horrible things wandering the night and what they can do.” He looked at her weapon. “What’s that?”
She extricated herself from Edgar’s hold and unwrapped the weapon. “There was a stopped clock in the vestibule,” she said, handing it to him. His hand sagged with its unexpected heft. It was indeed a heavy brass clock, weighing about four pounds. He wound it up, setting the hands to the correct time.
“Impressive, and a good choice of weapon.” He kissed her temple. “But don’t ever do that again.”
Molly returned the clock to the church’s vestibule, and they walked into the street. “Now what?” she said.
A steam cab clattered along the street, the first one they’d seen in hours. Edgar led her to the curb and waved at the driver to stop it. “We go home,” he said.
****
They returned to the Burgess family home, creeping up the stairs so as not to wake Francis and Beth. Edgar paused outside his bedroom door, as if he thought Molly might be having second thoughts. “Are you sure?” he whispered.
The suggestion in his voice was unmistakable. “More than I’ve ever been,” she said.
He opened the door and switched on a flameless lamp, revealing a spartan, uncluttered space that was the opposite of the organized chaos of his sister Ada’s chamber. Molly eased the door shut behind them, unsure of how to proceed. On the one hand, it had been a long night for both of them; on the other, she wasn’t the least bit tired yet.
Judging from the way Edgar’s eyes roved over her, he was thinking along the same lines she was.
“You’ll stay the night here?” he asked.
“It’s a bit late for me to be changing my mind.”
“If you did, you could sleep in Ada’s room.”
He was offering her a way out, letting her know she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to. It was sweet of him, but unnecessary. That brief distraction in the automatic church was just a tease; it hadn’t been nearly enough.
She wanted Edgar Burgess every way she could get him. “I’m staying,” she said firmly. Emboldened by those words, she reached for the buttons that marched down the front of her dress, flicking them apart. Edgar sucked in a harsh breath. “Aren’t you going to help?” she asked. “My getting undressed is a bigger production than yours is.”
He crossed the room in half a second and had her shrugging out of her dress almost as quickly. He bent down to unlace her boots, tossing them aside in front of the closed door. He ran his thumb along her sensitive insole, prompting a squeak from Molly—always a little ticklish; her response drew a promising look from Edgar.
His hand rested on her calf, sliding up the back of her knee. “May I?”
Molly’s senses were on fire from those simple, light touches. His hand skimmed up her leg, under her chemise, to the top of her stocking and slowly peeled it down, then the other one.
He rose to his feet, taking in the sight of her in the dim light offered by the flameless candles. Under his scrutiny, she felt her nipples stiffen and slickness between her legs as she remembered what had happened in the automatic church pew. She noticed his breath becoming more ragged and his hands shook when they reached for her. His lips touched the side of her neck, near one of her newly-acquired scars, and kissed it like it wasn’t the ugliest thing in the world.
Maybe it wasn’t. She certainly didn’t feel ugly when she was with him.
“Wait,” she said.
He immediately stilled. “Molly?” he said against her neck.
She ran her hands over his shirt. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
He relaxed against her and clasped her hip, plucking at her chemise. “So are you.” But he quickly unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the floor. He was all lean muscle as she’d always suspected, healed scars crisscrossing his body from old bites. He was the most delectable man Molly had ever laid eyes on.
He took her face in his hands, now a gesture she would always associate with him, and kissed her. Then he led her a little closer to the bed in the middle of the room. “I’ve dreamed of this dozens of times,” he said. His fingertips lightly touched her face, as if he was committing her features to memory. “Molly…”
“I’m here, Ed,” she said. “I’m not leaving. You don’t have to flatter me.” Too late, she realized how that comment might be construed, and she opened her mouth to clarify what she meant.
But that earned a soft chuckle from Edgar. “It’s not flattery,” he said. “And how I feel about you isn’t strictly physical.” Molly looked down at the bulge in his trousers, then back at him wordlessly, suppressing a smile. �
��All right, part of it’s physical. But you’re so much more than that.” He stilled. “I started looking for you as soon as I found out you were missing. I knew you were out there, still alive.”
“And if I hadn’t been? What if Agate had turned me into one of them?” It was a question that had lingered in the back of her mind since he lifted her out of that trunk.
“I don’t know what I would have done.” Edgar leaned his forehead against hers and brought her hands to his bare chest. “I hoped I wouldn’t have to find out, and I can’t tell you how relieved I was to know I never had to make that decision.”
They both knew what he referred to, and Molly was again grateful that Edgar found her when he did. What if she had been turned against her will? It didn’t bear thinking about, especially not now. She’d survived, and that was what mattered.
Those thoughts flew from her mind when he kissed her again, teasing her lips apart. His body pressed against hers, erection heavy against her hip, and she felt her own center throb in response. She stepped away from him long enough to pull her chemise over her head and let it drift to the floor. She stood before him, totally naked. She couldn’t help but preen a little at Edgar’s widened eyes.
“What do you think?” she asked.
He swallowed. “That this is better than I thought it would be.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed. “We haven’t even started yet.”
Those words were all that were needed to galvanize Edgar into action. He crossed the short distance between them and pushed her back on to the bed, his body covering hers. The fabric of his pants was rough against Molly’s skin, his skin hot against hers. She reached between their bodies and fumbled for the placket on his trousers. This time Edgar let her and helped her push them down his hips. She wrapped her hand around his cock, eliciting a sharp hiss of pleasure from him.
He moved her hand away. “If you keep doing that, it’s going to be over before it starts.” He nipped at her neck, then breathed a hot trail down her throat to her breast, taking one stiff nipple in his mouth. Molly gasped, back arching, as his hand teased her other breast.
“Ed,” she said, not bothering to hide the urgency in her voice. The memory of the church was too strong to ignore right now when he was here. She needed so much more.
Her legs fell apart and he nestled between them, shaft hot against her thigh. It nudged against her entrance and she clung tighter to Edgar, urging him to continue. He did, with agonizing slowness, drawing out a frustrated moan from her, until he was fully seated inside her.
She locked her ankles around his back as he started to move. His thrusts started off slow but sure, stoking a fire that had been building inside her for hours. He laced his fingers through hers, pinning them above her head into the mattress, and lightly bit at her neck, a passionate gesture that didn’t revile her as she thought it might. Instead it set her senses aflame and she moved her hips in tempo to his body.
Already she could feel her orgasm growing, and Edgar seemed to sense that. He shifted his body a few degrees, changing his angle just enough to bring her closer to the edge, hips meeting hers. The motions teased a whimper from her throat, and that was all the encouragement Edgar needed. He increased his pace and Molly felt herself come apart. His mouth covered hers to muffle her cry, and a few seconds later he pulled out of her, hand working his cock. He spilled onto the blanket, his breath loud and heavy in the room.
Molly lay back in a boneless heap, totally wrung out. Edgar pushed the soiled blanket off the bed and lay back next to her, draping a clean bedsheet over them. He tucked her into his arms and she leaned her head against his chest.
He dropped a kiss to her forehead. “You’re amazing,” he said.
She giggled and snuggled in closer to him.
“I meant every word I’ve ever said to you,” he said. “I love you, Molly.”
This time, the words didn’t fill her with panic. And when she thought about it, they didn’t the first time he said them, either. She’d been exhausted and frightened after her ordeal with the vampires, physically ill from drinking animal blood to replace her own, and had never considered before then that she might have found love again. She never allowed herself to think of it. Molly McKillip had always done everything right, including widowhood, to the point of putting aside her own hopes and happiness.
Edgar forced her to look outside those restrictions, and thank God for that. His saving her was more than just a rescue from vampires.
She levered herself up on an elbow to get a better look at him. “Ed,” she said, “That’s good, because I love you, too.”
His dark eyes met hers, nothing but tenderness there in the flickering light offered by the candles. She settled back against him. “Marry me,” he said.
The words sent a little thrill through her, but they were still unexpected. “What?”
“I’m serious, Molly. I want to marry you. Whenever you say so.”
She slid an arm across his chest, all the more to get closer to him. “Yes.”
Epilogue
The sun still shone brightly at a quarter past six on the evening of May thirtieth, and Edgar hated that he and Molly kept getting stalled by the thick crowds at the New York City Airfield. Ada’s dirigible had docked fifteen minutes prior, and she had to be getting impatient waiting for them. He held on to Molly’s hand as they finally approached the dock where the German-built dirigible rested and scanned the faces around them, looking for his sister and her mysterious new beau.
People were everywhere. Edgar hated this particular airfield more than any other, and wished its Brooklyn counterpart accepted international flights.
“Ed! Over here!”
Before he could respond, a pile of russet-colored hair tickled his nose as his sister wrapped him in a hug. He squeezed back, surprised at how much he’d missed her, and swallowed back a lump that had formed in his throat.
“I missed you,” she said. “I missed everyone so much.”
“We missed you, too.” He planted a kiss on the top of her head.
Ada pulled away from him and regarded Molly, her dark eyes mischievous. Edgar dearly hoped that she wasn’t about to embarrass him. “He finally told you,” she said, and hugged Molly. “Welcome to the family.”
Well, it could have been worse.
Ada stepped back and placed a hand on the arm of a tall, well-dressed man with sandy hair and blue eyes. “Edgar, Molly, this is Maximilian Sterling,” she said, pride in her voice. “He’s a writer and honorary Searcher, soon to be a real one. Max, this is my brother, Edgar Burgess, and our neighbor that he’s been in love with for years, Molly McKillip.”
There was that charming younger sister commentary, after all. Edgar held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“You as well.” Maximilian Sterling had a firm handshake and an unmistakable high class English accent. Now that Edgar could get a good look at him and Ada, he saw his sister was better turned out than she had been before she left for Dresden. Even he could tell that her dress wasn’t an automaton-produced readymade. But she wore the same bright, easy smile she always did, and her hair was still a wild, curly mess. She was still Adaline Burgess, dhampir-descended vampire hunter from Brooklyn.
“Max writes the Captain Reed stories we like,” Ada said.
That raised his opinion of Max Sterling a little higher. “Welcome to the family as well, then.”
“I’m relieved to hear that. I was somewhat worried that you and your brother might be waiting to kill me.”
“I already told you, Max, we don’t do that in America,” Ada said. To Edgar, she said, “You received my letters and cables? Frank and Beth are expecting us?”
Edgar nodded. “They’re excited to see you.” They were also looking forward to telling Ada about her being an aunt in a few months, but he didn’t mention that. “We won’t be staying at the house much longer,” he said, with a look at Molly.
Ada arched a brow and crossed her arms over her
chest, an expression so much like their late mother when she was irritated. “Why would that be?”
“We’re getting married,” Edgar said.
Ada shrieked, a noise that drew the attention of passersby and made Edgar and Max wince. She threw her arms around Molly. “Oh, my God, that’s wonderful! When?”
“In the summer.” They hadn’t picked a date just yet. “We’ve already found a flat closer to the Searcher headquarters.” Ada let go of Molly long enough to squeeze Edgar with a strength that belied her smaller size. “Oof! My ribs, Ada!”
Ada let him go. “I beg your pardon for being happy that you’re finally settling down.”
This time, it was Edgar’s turn to arch an eyebrow at his sister. “You’re doing the same.”
The adoring look Max and Ada shared was unmistakable, and without looking back at Edgar, she said, “I suppose I am.”
Shadows fell over the airfield as another, smaller dirigible prepared to land alongside the larger German airship. They all looked up. “I think we should leave,” she said. “It’s about to get much more crowded here, and I can’t see any porters anyway.”
“We don’t have much,” Ada said. She held her much-loved satchel that Edgar knew would contain few personal effects, including the stake and mallet she never traveled without. Max had also packed lightly, judging by his own, newer bag similar to Ada’s.
Molly linked her arm through Edgar’s. “Let’s find a steam cab.”
Max and Ada walked alongside them. “They’re nicer than the ones in Paris,” Ada told Max. “But dirtier than London’s or Bern’s. It isn’t a long trip, anyway.”
“That isn’t saying a great deal as to their cleanliness,” Max said.
But Molly wasn’t paying attention to their chatter. “You really meant it when you said you wanted to be married by summer?” she said, her voice a whisper.
“I did. I meant every word I’ve ever said to you. What about the sixth of July? We could honeymoon in Niagara Falls.”
“Is Niagara Falls vampire-free?”
“I don’t know. I’ll still bring my stake and mallet. It’s the smart thing to do.”
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