Snow nipped at their ankles as they hailed a cab. As they settled into the cab, Erin continued her mind communication. We must talk.
Only after you’ve rested. There is plenty of time tomorrow. Don’t be afraid. I’ll be with you all night. I’ll hold you and soothe you in any way you need.
As his arm slipped around her shoulders, and he tucked her close, she half expected him to kiss her.
Is that what you want, Erin?
No. I want to know what’s going on.
He didn’t answer.
She leaned her head on his shoulder. Heat from his body seeped into her, taking away some of the tension from her coiled muscles. She felt like she would never unwind again, never walk into that library without seeing that hideous gargoyle grinning down on her from the high ceiling. How could she forget that other voice in her head, the one she understood now wasn’t Lachlan?
As another shiver slipped through her body, Lachlan’s voice came again. It can’t hurt you, lass, if I am with you.
It?
Evil.
What is it? Did I really see it? Did I see a gargoyle face?
Yes, you did.
Oh, sweet God. It’s a real gargoyle?
Not exactly.
When she looked up at him, more relentless tears in her eyes, he kissed her nose. There. A small token of how I feel.
How do you feel?
Later, lass. I’ll show you later.
They asked the cabbie to stop at his room at the guesthouse to pick up his things. At the checkout desk, the proprietor, Mrs. Drummond, looked at them with keen curiosity.
“Sorry I have to check out early,” Lachlan said to Mrs. Drummond.
Mrs. Drummond, a rickety, sometimes rough-around-the-edges sort, said, “You’re leavin’ town?”
He glanced at Erin and then winked at Mrs. Drummond. The older woman blushed. “No. I just have other accommodations for the rest of the time I’m here.”
Mrs. Drummond’s thick eyebrows shot up. She pushed back her waist-length gray hair. “Hope it wasn’t our service that drove you out.”
“Not at all. Everyone here has been great.”
Mrs. Drummond eyed Erin, and Erin wanted to tell the lady to mind her own business. “Stayin’ with Miss Greenway?”
Lachlan’s smile turned to a sly grin. He slipped his arm around Erin’s shoulders and said, “Now, that’s a secret.”
Mrs. Drummond didn’t seem too eager for them to leave. Her gaze darted around the small lobby as if she expected the boogey man to jump out. “Sounds like the Gunn place is going to have a new innkeeper before Halloween.”
“Really?” Erin asked.
“Yeah. A lady named Micky Gunn. Guess she’s the niece of Carl Gunn who died a couple of months ago,” Mrs. Drummond said. Lachlan didn’t seem interested, but the woman continued. “Sounds like she’s got some idea of making the old place into a high class bed and breakfast.” Mrs. Drummond’s words thickened with a scarcely concealed scorn. “Can’t see any reason for a place like that around here, can you?”
Not wanting to get into a snipping contest with the woman, Erin smiled. “Guess there’s room enough in town for everyone.”
Mrs. Drummond sniffed and gave them a distinct glare. “Well, there’ll be trouble if that woman tries to mess with the old pile. God only knows what’s in the place. It’s probably infested wall to wall with demons by now.”
Wonderful. Erin wanted to get out of here, but either Lachlan didn’t seem to feel urgency, or he hid it well.
He gave Mrs. Drummond one of those grins that usually made Erin’s knees weaken. “More likely it’s infested with rats. See you around, Mrs. Drummond.” Lachlan turned his smile on Erin. “Come on, lass, let’s get my clothes.”
As they trudged upstairs in the small Victorian establishment, Erin whispered, “Was that really necessary?”
“What?” he asked as he unlocked the first door on the right at the top of the stairs.
They went into the room, and she noted right away how tidy it appeared. He closed the door with a click.
“Calling me lass,” Erin said. “Mrs. Drummond has loose lips. She’ll have the whole town thinking there’s something going on between us.”
“There is something going on between us.” His voice caressed her like the softest velvet against her ears. “Why are you denying something you know is true?”
He twitched one eyebrow, and the predatory male flickered to life in his stance and his gaze. He stalked toward her, but Erin backed up a step and bumped into the small desk. Lachlan bristled with a tension in his expression that said everything without a word.
If they didn’t have a cab waiting, they’d be making love right now. The force of his need and hers would obliterate everything else in the world. Nothing would matter but here and now and their feelings.
She blushed and almost said something. Nothing came out. Instead, her gaze ate up the sight of him. Fierce man, clad in a form-fitting red Italian-made sweater and ass-hugging jeans, stood before her with a wild, unstoppable desire to keep her safe.
Her heart contracted with fierce love.
Everything inside her wanted him near her. In her heart and in her body.
Lachlan took that last step and his hands came up to cup her face. He took her gaze and held it, and again she saw the dark fire come alive in his eyes. He leaned in and traced her lips with an exquisitely soft kiss that sent fire into her veins, wiping out anxiety, fear, and mistrust with one flame. And the inferno licked higher, consuming her. Aching body aside, she shifted nearer until his arms went around her and drew her tight against every inch of his hard body. As she felt his arousal grow hard against her, she plunged her fingers into his hair, greedy to have everything and anything she could in a moment.
His tongue took her, relearning the heat of her mouth and stimulating deep passions and longings as if he hadn’t touched her in a thousand years. When the kiss threatened to lose control, he pulled back gently.
As Erin stared at him and he stared at her, she felt the connection between them broaden and grow. Tonight she would discover the truth, once and for all, so she could bathe her soul in this glorious excitement that couldn’t be denied. She wanted his love and desire.
As he moved away from her, he spoke with a voice that had gone hoarse with desire. “We need to get you home.”
He gathered his clothing and other items and packed them quickly.
“Lachlan, so much has happened. What are we going to do about this…this thing or whatever it is?”
“Don’t worry about it now. You’ve been through too much tonight.”
She paced the room. “How can I take it easy? First I learn that you and I can read each other’s minds. Then some man—if he can be called that—attacks me in my workplace. Then, somehow you’re there—wait a minute. How did you know I needed help?”
“I’ll clarify when we get to your house.”
Exasperated with the mystery surrounding Lachlan, she tried to stay patient. An image crept into her head, scary and unrelenting in force. “Then there was that gargoyle. A nasty gargoyle.”
He continued packing. “Let it go for a moment, sweetheart. And when we reach your house, I’ll tell you all about the gargoyle.”
Chapter 21
Hot chocolate seemed right, mixed with a little brandy, to remove the edge on Erin’s fears and calm her mind. As she sipped the hot liquid, Lachlan settled on the couch next to her. With him beside her the fears that had lingered subsided.
“Tell me about the gargoyle,” she said. “Tell me everything you know about these assaults around town.” She took a big breath and forced the next words. “Tell me now, or I’ll ask you to leave and not come back.”
For a few seconds she saw reluctance marked in his eyes. At the same time, she knew he didn’t want her to banish him. “Lass, even if you sent me away, I’d still watch over you. Forever.”
Forever. He whispered again in her mind.
His husky promise excited her in a way more primitive and uncontrollable than any emotion she’d experienced before. She resisted a temptation to lean over and kiss him. She wanted his touch so much, and at the same time she knew control was a must.
“Don’t try clouding my mind, Lachlan. Just tell me what I want to know. It’s important to me.”
You thought the attacker was me at first, didn’t you?
Shame ran through her. Yes.
She chose to speak out loud. “I know now you wouldn’t hurt me.” Without thinking about it, she touched his arm and felt the muscle move beneath her fingers. “How can I thank you for saving my life?”
With a gentle grin, he put his hand over hers, holding her fingers to his hard forearm. His touch heated her palm with a pleasant tingle. “Repay me with a kiss.”
She returned his smile, hard-pressed not to comply with his seductive request. “Later. I need my thoughts clear. Why didn’t the man kill me or Gilda like he did Mrs. Pickles and Jessie?”
“I think he only kills women who resist him.”
“But I did resist him.”
He nodded. “One piece of the puzzle I don’t understand, other than the fact he seems to treasure you. As I said before, he wants you for his own, beyond all other women.”
“He said something very strange at one point. That he would drain my blood, and I would die and return as the vampire Dasoria.”
Lachlan’s eyebrows twitched up, his brow furrowing as he tried to understand this new development. “I’m not sure what that means.”
A horrifying thought made it through her mind. “What about Gilda? You think she didn’t resist him?”
“His persuasive methods sometimes seduce women so they’ll do what he wants. But you’re a very strong woman, Erin.”
She kept her grip on his arm. She allowed her gaze to tangle with his and saw warmth, concern and something hot flare inside his eyes. He cupped her chin as he surveyed her with an intensity that seared her right down into her soul. A heady, strange feeling narrowed her world to his gaze. He tilted her chin up and gave her a quick, sweet peck on the lips.
Heat poured through her stomach when he brushed his lips over hers. In a million years she never would have imagined a swift brushing of lips would cause her heart to jackhammer and her pulse to throb. Then there was the strange, floating sensation that wrapped around her when he looked into her eyes right before he kissed her. The man was so damned delicious and dangerous all at one time.
She thought back to when she’d made hot chocolate. Lachlan had gone into the guest bedroom to dump his luggage, then he’d started checking the window locks around the house.
When she’d stood in the kitchen with its warm dark oak cabinets, glass fronts showing her collection of milky white plates and cups, she realized she felt safe. She never could have imagined a stranger coming into her life that could have made her feel secure in every way.
Correction…not in every way. I feel out of control and crazed with a strange hunger whenever I’m in his proximity. Nothing safe about that.
“Life isn’t safe,” he said, bringing her back to the present.
A blush burned her face, and she gave him a nervous smile. “Can’t a girl get any privacy in her own mind?”
“Can’t help it. It comes and goes with you. I can’t control when I hear your thoughts. I don’t even have to be near you.”
She gave him a mock glare. “Okay, buster, what is this expression telling you?”
Lachlan chuckled. “That I’m driving you out of your mind and you want to hit me?”
Enjoying the lightness of their banter, she didn’t want to think about the bad things that prowled in the night and the creature wanting to possess her for his own. “Good guess. Now stop stalling and explain what’s going on.”
Lachlan’s long legs sprawled out in typical male fashion. He commanded a big section of the furniture, his body and sheer presence of personality enveloping all around him. She imagined lying in bed with him, relaxing in the residual fever of mating. Despite her need to understand the bizarre events happening in Pine Forest, she wanted his arms cuddling her tight and his hairy, muscular legs entwined around hers. His next words broke her from the fantasy.
“I’m worried, Erin.”
Lachlan Tavish? It didn’t seem possible. He possessed more confidence than any man she knew. “About what?”
“You may turn away from me if I tell you everything that happened the night my parents were murdered, and the reason my fiancé decided she didn’t wish to marry me.”
A chill raced along her arms. “Why?”
“It’s beyond the norm. Beyond what most people in their right mind would believe. If it hadn’t happened to me, I wouldn’t believe it either. The gargoyle you saw isn’t a gargoyle in a true sense. It is one form this beast can take.”
“Beast?”
“Let me start at the beginning.” He sighed. “The night my parents were murdered they were alone in the castle. All the servants were gone and because the place was in renovation, we had no guests. The creature you saw, the gargoyle, stalks Pine Forest this minute. That bastard killed those women and harmed Gilda and you. That thing murdered my parents.”
“You’re saying he followed you from Scotland?” She heard her voice go up and recognized anger edging into her tone.
“No. I followed him from Scotland to the United States. He’s an illusive force. He isn’t entirely of this world.” Lachlan reached for her left hand and tucked it within both of his. “He’s a night visitor and needs blood to survive.”
His words didn’t make sense at first, too astonishing to believe. “What are you saying?”
“He’s a vampire, Erin. A vampire.”
“That’s even more insane than El Chupacabra.”
Lachlan’s expression turned grim and determined. “I know that it seems impossible, but there are vampires among living humans. Pine Forest is host to but one of these beings.”
Stunned into silence, she felt his warm hands engulfing hers. How can it be? This is insane.
Believe me, sweet Erin. As I said, I would never lie to you.
I’m sorry. It’s just that this doesn’t seem real. I know telepathy is real now that I have experienced it first hand. Yet the rest of this is too incredible.
She snapped into the realization they conversed in their minds once again. “I’ve been fighting with the idea of ghosts and now this? I know there are people who are wannabe vampires. In fact, when we first met, I thought maybe that was the case with you.”
“I knew this would be difficult for you to believe.” He smiled weakly, as if trying to hide his disappointment. “I have two things to apologize for. I could have told you about the vampire when we were at Ricardo’s, or even better, when I first met you.”
She sniffed. “Like I would have believed you then.”
He managed a smile at her light tone. Then his face went back to serious. “When I came to Pine Forest, I was on the trail of an elusive killer. I’ve traveled the world trying to find this bloodsucker.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you a cop?”
He smiled. “I wish I was at this point. It would have given me some contacts and authority. No, I’m simply a businessman.” He put his mug down on the big dark chest that served as a coffee table. “I also must apologize for not realizing his plan. My guess is that he either wants to spirit you away, or he wishes to make you his and stay right here in Pine Forest where he can feed off the psychic and spiritual energies. You are the one he needs.” He leaned forward and balanced his forearms on his legs. The pose said casual and alert all at one time. “The other women were to amuse him and for sustenance. He believes you are an ideal mate.”
Simultaneous emotions battled inside her for supremacy. Horror, skepticism, amazement. She recalled the words of her attacker. I am yours to command, Erin. You are the birth, the death, and the life.
“That’s what he said?” Lachlan asked, moving closer
to her.
“Yes. He seemed capable of controlling my breathing. I was so weak around him and couldn’t move even before he clasped me tight. Why would he want me?”
Lachlan remained silent long enough that Erin almost screamed in frustration. Before she demanded answers he continued. “Because he sees you as capable of sustaining a life with him in eternity as a vampire. He wants to make you a vampire, lass. He wants to feed not only on your blood, but on the extra energy inside you.”
Disbelief continued to reign supreme inside her. “How do you know he thinks this way about me?”
His drink forgotten, his attention riveted on her. “I sometimes hear his thoughts, just as I do yours. Not enough to tell me where he is or how I might stop him, only enough to know his evil intent.” His hands soothed over hers, staving off the chill that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her bones. “He doesn’t just think he’s a vampire. He is a vampire.”
“So this vampire is mixed right in with the so-called ghosts here.”
“Right again. This place has the biggest infestation of ghosts per square mile that I’ve encountered in my travels. One side effect of being in contact with this vampire is that I can now see ghosts, just as I can sometimes hear his thoughts.”
Feeling dazed by this crazy information, she groaned. “Great, now you’re telling me you can see ghosts, too?”
“I’d never seen a ghost in my entire life until after I came in contact with the vampire.” Exasperation crossed his face. “What reasons do you have for finding this so hard to believe now?”
She pulled her hands from his because the feeling of his palm sliding over hers was starting to distract her. “I only need one reason, Lachlan. Sure, I think there are probably some weird vibes here. But I think that most of it is hallucination and fabrication. What else does this little place have? Tourist trade and those passing through to other more exotic places on the trail. It’s an old mining town just like a lot of places in Colorado. Urban legends grow up around these areas. That doesn’t make them true, no matter how many times you tell them.”
He shrugged. “Many falsehoods are mixed with the truth. When the reality does come out, people don’t always recognize it.”
Deep is the Night: Dark Fire Page 23