Chapter 2
“Good evening,” the vampire said in an abysmal imitation of Bella Lugosi’s famous words of greeting.
Her mouth dropped open and she tried to speak but nothing came out.
Yep. It was the man she’d seen tied to a bed, ready and waiting just for her.
Holy son of a buckster.
Few women had a fantasy step right into their line of sight, attainable or unattainable. Having this delectable man appear from nowhere made her knees weaken and her heart quiver with an intoxicating cocktail of fear and excitement.
Lust rose inside her in an unexpected surge, and her entire mind and body went on high alert. Vampire or not, dangerous or not, the hunk in front of her inspired undiluted female appreciation that spread from her breasts down to her loins. Men this gorgeous were rarities. Even if he didn’t look like her secret fantasy, she couldn’t have denied his appeal.
Dark, delectable, and intriguing.
The man’s stunning smile faded, and he removed the pointy teeth. Without the horrifying fangs, his handsome face overruled trepidation for a moment. He towered over her small frame, at least six feet tall. Whiskey brown eyes twinkled with a hot glow.
For a wild, frightening second, she thought that glow went yellow, like an unrelenting lion’s gaze pinioned on a tasty meal.
Then he blinked and the illusion disappeared.
He stuffed his fingers through his hair, and the thick blue-black strands fell in a shiny, tousled wave just over his collar. His lips were carved with sin in mind, not too thin and not too thick. Along the right side of his neck were two small scars, visible enough to pique her interest. The man wore an ankle length black cape over a black turtleneck and black jeans. She glanced down and saw even his cowboy boots were black. A vampire in cowboy boots?
My God, he’s the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. I wonder what he really looks like naked—
A wide, unrepentant grin touched his mouth, and that devastating smile made her insides feel warm. “What’s the matter? Vampire got your tongue, lass?”
His voice held more than a smidgen of Scotland, and a rich, husky flavor that stirred warmth inside her. The unabashed smile on his mouth said he knew every lascivious thought running through her head at that minute. His voice also sounded like the second voice she’d heard outside—the one that urged her to escape the darkness and get into the library.
No. That can’t be.
“If you’re going to stake me with that, I hope it is silver,” he said when she didn’t speak.
Erin realized she held the letter opener in her fist as if she might skewer him any moment. She tightened her grip on the instrument. She cleared her throat. “Wooden stake.”
“What?”
“You need a wooden stake to kill a vampire.”
The smile that charmed her disappeared, his gaze turning serious. “That’s what everyone thinks.”
Sexy or not, she wouldn’t give this man another inch until he explained himself. “Who are you and why are you lurking around outside in that…that costume?”
He bowed at the waist, a gallant gesture that spoke old world and appropriate for him. “Lachlan Tavish.”
Lachlan. The name rolled off his lips with an unmistakable lilt.
“Well, Mr. Tavish, that doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“Didn’t Gilda ring you up? She said she tried several times but didn’t get an answer on your cell phone.”
“No, I didn’t get any calls on my phone.”
He frowned. “She ran off to the hospital with her little boy and she called me at the last minute to fill in for her.”
Caution still running in her veins, Erin asked, “Oh, my God, what happened to Mark?”
“Apparently he fell down at band practice and landed on his elbow and cracked it.”
“Thank goodness it wasn’t worse.” An awkward silence flooded the area as an icy wind floated around the front steps, teasing the man’s ankles and making his cape flutter about his body. “How do I know you’re who you say you are?”
Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, he extracted a wallet and handed it to her. “See for yourself. I’m on holiday visiting Gilda and her husband and searching for property.”
Then she recalled Gilda saying something about a man visiting, an old friend they had met a couple of years ago in Scotland. Her trepidation eased the slightest bit.
She flipped open his wallet and located all the usual items, including an I.D. card for a company called Tavish International. The card identified him as Lachlan Tavish, CEO.
“Looking for property? Immigrating here?”
“On the hunt.”
She handed the wallet back to him. “What?”
“For a good bed and breakfast. Do you know of any?”
His ability to change directions unnerved her, but she stepped back from the door and allowed him inside. He seemed harmless enough, but she kept the letter opener in hand.
As he walked by her, a sandalwood scent teased her nose, and she inhaled deeply. Down in her belly a primitive and uncontrollable reaction started. She clenched her muscles in a Kegel maneuver. Heat sluiced through her body, despite the coolness of the room. God, he’s sexy.
“The Gunn Inn just closed temporarily,” she said. “The owner died a few weeks back and the woman inheriting it hasn’t moved into town yet. There’s Jekyl’s down on Hyde Street
not far from here.”
Without a smile he said, “Jekyl’s on Hyde Street
. You’re joking.”
She couldn’t help but grin. “No. A little macabre, don’t you think?”
He nodded. “A lot of that going on around here.”
Once again she noted his assertion something odd plagued Pine Forest. “I’ve only been here a few weeks myself. So I couldn’t tell you the best places in town to stay. Not like there’s much choice in a place so small.”
Small, but big enough for a resident vampire, she guessed.
Correction. A vampire wannabe.
Lachlan continued into the room, pausing near the front counter. He looked around the room as if appraising everything about the structure. “Magnificent place.”
She agreed, staring at him without remorse as he turned his back on her. His lush, curling hair drew her appreciation; the sides had been trimmed shorter, though they still covered his ears. His sideburns were a bit long, but instead of looking strange, they gave his face definition and enhanced the dark and dangerous aura. As he turned back to her, he smiled again. A fresh wave of heat swept through her.
Disconcerted, she asked, “How do you know Gilda?”
“We met when Gilda and her husband taught at the university where I did research. In Edinburgh.”
She nodded. “The teacher’s exchange. I remember her telling me about it. You’re originally from Edinburgh?”
“I had a home not far from there.” He abandoned his intense survey of the room. He pinned her with those eyes, and her breath seized up for a second. “I’m here to take care of a little business. And you’re right, I may move to the United States. It depends on several factors, actually.”
She wanted to relax, but something about him kept her on alert, ready to flee if she caught the slightest hint of subterfuge. “Well, since Gilda’s not here, I have to make sure upstairs is set up. And you won’t mind if I call Gilda first and confirm you are who you say you are?”
“Of course not. Call away.” Lachlan walked toward her, his shoulders wide and intimidating. The cape, with its blood red lining fluttering around and behind him, added to his vampire illusion. “She said she put up all the decorations before she got the call about her son. How can I help?”
She spied the big grandfather clock. “The kids should start coming in any time. If you could stay down here and greet them, I’d appreciate it. They should get a kick out of your costume.”
Another loud, obnoxious groan radiated from the building. Lachlan frowned, crease lines show
ing between his thick dark brows. “What the bloody hell was that?”
Shrugging, Erin reached for the phone at the front counter and started dialing Gilda’s home number. “I’ve heard it three times now this evening and your guess is as good as mine. I was investigating when you showed up.” She almost blurted out about the snarling noise, then decided that Mr. Tavish would think she was one chess piece short of a set.
He took a couple of steps toward the staircase, his gaze narrowing. “Sounds like the whole building’s about to collapse.”
“Lovely thought.” She paused as the phone rang and rang in her ear. Once she reached the answering machine she left her name and number. “They must not be home from the hospital yet.”
“Then don’t worry. I’ll be right here and direct the kids up to your story time.” When she gave him a skeptical look, he said, “You don’t trust me.”
Time to come straight out with it. “No, I don’t. In case you haven’t heard, a woman was attacked in the park.”
He nodded, his eyes grave. “I heard. I don’t blame you for being cautious. You’re a smart woman.” He moved a little closer, and she took a step back. He held his hands up as if she’d asked him to surrender. “It’s all right. I won’t come any closer.”
Another knock sounded on the front door, and Erin realized she hadn’t fixed the release on the door that would allow it to stay unlocked.
He headed toward the stairs again, “I’ll go and see if I can figure out what’s making that noise upstairs, and I’ll be right back.”
She murmured, “You do that, Dracula.”
Erin couldn’t help but stare as he walked, intrigued by his stride that screamed confidence, casualness, and sex. As if he could feel her attention, Lachlan glanced back. His grin, big and full of sensual promise, overflowed her center with heat. He winked.
Boy howdy.
She took one step toward the door when a bizarre feeling swept over her. In her mind’s eye she saw that big cape flowing around Lachlan’s aroused, one-hundred percent naked body.
The pounding on the door increased. She shook her head and tried to regain her control. There you go again, Erin. Thinking about sex. Refrain for a moment and get the door.
When she opened the door, two blonde girls stepped into the library and smiled. Behind them stood their mother, Jessie Huxley, an equally blonde, tall, and somewhat chesty woman with a round face and a bright smile. Divorced about a year ago, it appeared Jessie was already on the prowl for new meat.
“Hi, Miss Greenway.” The oldest and tallest of the girls, Carrie, came toward Erin. “Where is everyone?”
“Should be here any moment.”
“Where’s Mrs. Jefferson?” The youngest girl, Patty, asked Erin.
Erin explained about Gilda’s son while she took their coats. Carrie shivered and looked up at her mother. “This place gives me the creeps.”
“It’s just an old house, dear,” her mother said, sounding unconvinced.
Once upstairs, Erin saw Gilda had decorated with paper pumpkins, black cats, bats, and scarecrows. Autumn touches of brown, gold and yellow graced the room and gave it a perfect festive feeling.
“Good evening,” a powerful, deep voice said from the shadows. “I am here to drink your blood.”
Lachlan stepped out from behind a bookshelf, fangs bared and hands held up in a position of mock attack. Patty and Carrie squealed in half fright and delight, backing up against Jessie for protection. Lachlan smiled and let out a booming laugh. The little girls giggled again and their mother joined in. Erin watched the display as he introduced himself to the two small females and their gaping mother. Amazing how he could change from serious to humor-filled in a few short seconds.
Jessie’s long, artificially dark eyelashes blinked and blinked again. “Um…well, hello.” Her gaze did a slow foray over his body. “That’s a great costume. Where did you find it?”
Lachlan removed his fangs again and shook her hand. “Who says it’s a costume?” Again he made the bow and put on a heavy Scottish accent. “Lachlan Tavish at your service. If you’ve got the blood, I’ve got the time, lass.”
Jessie’s giggle almost matched her daughter’s on the silly scale. Amused, Erin joined in the fun. “Mr. Tavish is a friend of Gilda and Tom. He’ll direct the kids up here for story time.”
Jessie’s eyes went wide and admiring. “Is the accent real?”
“Aye.” Lachlan winked. “All of it.”
“Were you born and bred in the Highlands?” Jessie asked with a hopeful tone.
Born and bred, eh? Erin pictured Lachlan running around a stable half-naked like an animal. She tried banning the picture from her consciousness before she started doing something ridiculous like slobbering.
Lachlan’s chuckle, deep and husky, stirred new pleasure inside Erin. “I was born and raised in Edinburgh.”
The single mother of two seemed a little disappointed around the edges. “Pity. I always wanted to meet a Highlander.”
Erin sighed in mock sympathy. “Pity.” She put her hands on hips. “But as vampires go, I think he’ll do in a pinch.”
I can do more than pinch.
Erin almost came out of her shoes as the voice filled her head. Heat flooded her face as the husky intonation continued. Save me from this woman, will you, Erin?
Shocked, Erin’s mouth dropped open and she looked straight at Lachlan. He smiled, and the full-scale effect of his wide grin made her heart do a triple flip. As his gaze swept over her, she felt his appraisal like a touch.
Hot. Appreciative. Longing.
Wanting her with a serious heat.
Keep looking at me like that, Erin, and I’ll have to do something about it later.
Without a doubt, she recognized the second voice as belonging to him.
Chapter 3
This is too ridiculous. Lachlan Tavish is not speaking to me telepathically.
Erin decided she would keep telling herself that until she got it through her head, and believed it.
“Looks like Mr. Vampire needs to go downstairs and watch for tasty children,” Erin said with an evil lilt to her voice. She waggled her eyebrows at the kids and they laughed. “Have a seat, girls.” The little ones scampered to find chairs. Erin smiled at Jessie. “That goes for you, too.”
Jessie grinned and headed for an adult-sized chair.
“What do you say here in the U.S.?” Lachlan asked as he headed for the stairway. “I’m outta here.” Before he started downward he added, “Can I have a moment of your time, Erin.”
“Hurry back,” Jessie said. “We can wait.”
Jessie winked and Erin felt the blush in her face turn into an inferno. “I’ll be right back.”
Once downstairs, she asked, “What is it? I’ve got a couple of things to do before the kids start arriving in droves.”
Clasping her right arm, he drew her between two rows of bookshelves and stepped close. Way too close for someone of short acquaintance. She would have been indignant, but a feathery feeling in her head invaded her common sense and wiped it away. It moved within her, this odd impression of something heady and mind-boggling and irrational invading her will.
She dared look into his eyes.
Big mistake.
Erin noticed, to her rising fascination, that once again his eyes seemed filled with dark gold fire at the center. Those highlights enveloped her within their embrace and captured her in a prison she didn’t wish to escape. The dots formed a mesmerizing circle of light.
Drawn to the intriguing illumination, she leaned a little closer to him. She tore her gaze from his hypnotic eyes and pondered his mouth. Her eyelids felt heavy, drooping as a wave of uncontrollable desire rolled through her. Heaven help her, she liked being this close to him.
What would it be like to kiss him?
As if he could read her mind, he shifted closer. She stepped back and bumped into the bookcase behind her. His fingers came up and brushed under her chin, then passed over her th
robbing right temple with a quick caress. She gasped as a slight tingling passed through her head, then the headache disappeared like a puff of smoke.
“How…” She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Didn’t want to believe it.
“Are you all right?” His eyebrows lowered, punctuating his frown. “You look a bit dazed.”
“I think I am,” she said. She swallowed hard and yanked out of the incomprehensible thrall. “I’ve never seen women drool over a man like that before. I mean, not in person. Could get a little messy.”
His smile, gentle and wicked around the edges, made her breath catch again. “Drooling?”
She cleared her throat as embarrassment filled her face with heat. “The little girls loved you and Jessie about…uh…swallowed her tongue when she saw you. I thought I was going to have to look for bibs.”
Lachlan smiled wryly. “Women usually run screaming from me in abject terror. The sight of my hideous face appalls them. It’s the undead thing, you know.”
She let out a soft laugh. “Right. Have you ever thought of taking this act on the road?”
He chuckled, and the sound ran over her skin like hot liquid. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re funny?”
She shook her head. “Never.”
“Well, that’s a shame.” He brushed his index finger over her nose in a light caress. “We’re going to have to change that, now, aren’t we?” His gaze turned intent and his voice dropped to a husky whisper. “Has anyone told you that you’re pretty, lass? Your hair is like dark black silk, and your eyes are platinum gray.”
Appreciation and surprise trickled over her. “Maybe once or twice guys told me I was pretty, but they were trying to get something from me. They didn’t mean it.”
“They may have tried to get something from you, but that doesn’t mean they were lying.” His gentle grin turned sultry as his gaze slipped down to her breasts for a second, then back to her face. “And you are pretty. Damned pretty.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she wanted to run from a man and at the same time wanted to be near him. After a compliment like that, she couldn’t think straight. She’d always been suspicious of a man who could verbalize pretty words like black silk and platinum gray.
Deep is the Night: Dark Fire Page 2