It was soothing, somehow, sitting there watching Kaiden cut the grass. Bathed in silver moonlight, he looked like some kind of otherworldly creature and she imagined that he was a humanoid version of E.T., a tall, dark, sexy alien being from some distant planet who had inadvertently been left behind and had had to learn to adapt to life on Earth.
She laughed softly, amused by the whimsical turn of her thoughts. Otherworldly, indeed. And yet, there was something inherently mysterious about Kaiden that didn’t make her fantastical thoughts seem all that far-fetched.
Feeling the need to look into his eyes, to hear her name on his lips, she decided he needed a cup of coffee to warm him up. It would give her the perfect excuse to go over there. After all, it was cold outside.
Hurrying into the kitchen, she quickly poured him a cup of hot coffee, added milk and a heaping teaspoon of sugar, and carried it across the street.
He looked up, surprised, when she approached him. “Sky! What are you doing here?”
“It’s cold. You’re working hard.” She shrugged as she offered him the cup. “I thought you could use this.”
“Thanks.” Thorne kept his features carefully impassive. Only days ago, he had loved the strong smell of freshly brewed coffee. Now, it was all he could do not to grimace with distaste. Drinking it was out of the question. “I think I’ll finish the yard first, if you don’t mind.”
“No, of course not.” She smiled up at him. “Maybe I’ll drink this cup and bring you a fresh one later.”
“Good idea.” He returned the mug, wondering how he could refuse the next cup without hurting her feelings.
“Mind if I stay and watch?”
“Not at all,” he said with a teasing grin, “but I’d have to charge admission.” He had sensed her watching him before he had looked across the street and glimpsed her in the window. “You might be more comfortable watching from the window. Like you said, it’s cold out here.” For her, anyway. The cold no longer bothered him.
Sky felt a rush of heat climb up her neck to her cheeks. How had he known? She had done her best to stay out of sight.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Next time turn the lights off behind you,” he suggested, and her humiliation was complete.
“I’ll just go crawl in a hole now,” she said, her gaze sliding away from his.
“Don’t go,” Thorne said, chuckling. “I’m about through here anyway. Instead of coffee, why don’t you come in for a glass of wine?”
“Sounds wonderful,” she said, thinking that her eager acceptance was just one more sign of how badly smitten she was with Kaiden.
While he parked the mower alongside the garage, she poured the coffee into the gutter, then followed Kaiden into the house and took a seat on the sofa while he filled two glasses with wine. It was becoming a habit, she thought, sharing a glass of port with Kaiden, a habit she thoroughly enjoyed.
Sky placed her empty cup on the end table, smiled when Kaiden handed her a glass, then joined her on the sofa. She glanced at him, then looked away. Something was different about him. She studied him surreptitiously for a few moments, and then frowned. He looked as handsome and virile as always, and yet, more so. His hair looked thicker, blacker, his voice seemed deeper, more resonant. How was that possible?
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“No,” she said quickly, hating the quaver in her voice. “Why should anything be wrong?”
He cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing.
Unable to think of anything to say, Sky sipped her wine, wondering why she suddenly felt on edge, like a rabbit who had stumbled into a lion’s den.
Thorne leaned back against the sofa, his mind brushing hers. It took only a moment to realize what was bothering her. His preternatural powers had returned in full. Without realizing it, her subconscious had sensed the change in him, the subtle alterations in his appearance, the inherent glamour that was part of being a vampire. She was also wondering why he had started mowing the yard after dark again. In the summer, he could have used the heat as an excuse, but it was late fall now and the days and nights were cool.
“More wine?” he asked.
“Yes, please.” Sky worried her lower lip with her teeth as he refilled her glass. Maybe she was imagining things.
Thorne resumed his seat. Her nearness tempted him, her blood sang to him. The fact that she had once had a crush on him was flattering. Knowing that she wanted him now was more exhilarating than the wine.
“Skylynn.”
When she looked up at him, he caught and held her gaze with his. Taking the glass from her hand, he set it on the end table beside his own.
Holding out his hand, he murmured, “Come to me, Sky.”
She scooted closer to him without question, her gaze slightly unfocused.
He kissed her, his lips gentle on hers, and then kissed her again. The taste of the wine that lingered on her sweet lips was a potent combination. He stroked her back with one hand while the other slid up into her hair.
“Ah, Sky, what am I to do with you?”
Trapped in the web of his gaze, she remained pliant in his embrace. At his command, she closed her eyes and slept.
Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to the pulse beating slow and steady in the hollow of her throat and then, unable to resist, he ran his tongue along the side of her neck, just below her ear.
Filled with soul-deep regret for what he was about to do, he murmured, “Forgive me,” and then he took that which he so desperately craved.
Sweet. Warm. Ambrosia for a starving man.
It required every ounce of willpower he possessed to draw back. He brushed a wisp of hair from her cheek, wondering if he dared risk taking one more taste.
He was still debating when her eyelids fluttered open. She stared up at him, her expression confused. “What happened?”
Thorne frowned. No one had ever roused before he’d awakened them. “You fell asleep.”
“I did?” Easing out of his arms, she blinked several times. “That wine must be stronger than I thought. What time is it?”
“A little after ten.”
“I should go home.” She levered herself off the sofa, then swayed unsteadily.
Thorne rose quickly, one arm snaking around her waist to steady her.
After easing her onto the sofa again, he thrust one of the wineglasses into her hand. “Drink this.”
“Hair of the dog?” she murmured with a wry grin.
“Something like that. Just drink it.”
She took several sips, her gaze fixed on his face, her brow furrowed.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I had the weirdest dream.”
“Oh?” He lifted one brow. “Care to share it?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. It was silly.”
“I could use a good laugh,” he muttered, sitting on the arm of the sofa.
She blinked several times, then lifted her shoulders and let them fall. “I dreamed you were a vampire.”
She had expected him to laugh; instead, he looked at her sharply. “Go on.”
“It was such a strange dream.” She ran her hand along the side of her neck. “Do you remember that Halloween when I came trick-or-treating at your house after Sam told me you were a vampire? I must have been thinking about that before I fell asleep.”
He nodded. “That would explain it.”
“I guess so,” she agreed, and then frowned. “It seemed so real when you bit me. Things like that aren’t supposed to hurt in a dream.”
“And it hurt when your dream vampire bit you?”
“Not exactly.” She stared at him, a faint smile playing over her lips. “You’re beautiful, you know.” She laughed softly, her gaze sliding away from his as she set the glass aside. “I know the preferred word is handsome, but ...” She shrugged. “I had such a crush on you when I was a teenager.”
He grinned inwardly, remembering the
notebook covered with red hearts.
“While my girlfriends were fantasizing about Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp, I daydreamed about making love to you.” She gazed into his eyes, deep dark eyes, while she ran her fingertips along the line of his jaw.
“If you keep looking at me like that, we’re going to make love for real,” he said, his voice tight. “Right here, right now.”
“I’d like that.”
He stared at her, wondering if it was the wine making her so bold. He could think of a hundred reasons why making love to Skylynn would be a bad idea, but none of them seemed to matter, not when she was so close, so willing. He had waited such a long time for this moment.
He slid down onto the sofa beside her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. She leaned into him and then, cupping his face in her hands, she pressed her lips to his, ever so gently. Her lips were warm, her tongue sweet with the taste of the wine. The scent of musk rose from her heated skin. Her hair carried the lingering fragrance of sunshine and strawberry shampoo.
With a low growl, he swept her into his arms and carried her swiftly up the winding staircase and down the carpeted hallway to the master bedroom. A thought lit a fire in the hearth. Cradling her to his chest with one arm, he used his free hand to pull down the covers on the bed, then lowered her onto the mattress.
His gaze met hers, one brow arched as he gave her one last chance to change her mind. When she didn’t say anything, he stripped down to his briefs, then waited to see if her wine-induced courage would desert her.
Sky’s gaze moved over him. Mercy, but he was gorgeous. She had seen him without his shirt before, seen him in nothing but a pair of trunks, but this was different. Never before had she realized how broad his shoulders were, or how muscular he was. He gave new meaning to the words six-pack abs. The black briefs he wore did nothing to disguise his burgeoning desire.
Thorne watched as Sky rose to her knees and began to undress, her cheeks growing pinker by the minute. He thought it odd that she was embarrassed. After all, she had been married once, however briefly. He wondered if her husband had been her first lover and felt an unmistakable rush of jealousy at the thought of another man holding her, touching her.
She was beautiful, more beautiful than any woman he had ever known. His yearning grew stronger, hotter, with each newly revealed expanse of satiny skin.
When she finished undressing, she quickly slid under the covers. “Are you going to stand there all night? It’s lonely in this big old bed.”
She didn’t have to ask him twice. Removing his briefs, he joined her under the covers and drew her into his arms.
“I’ve waited a long time for this,” she murmured, snuggling against him.
“Not as long as I have.”
She smiled up at him. “I never thought this would happen.” Her hands slid over his skin, measuring the width of his shoulders before sliding down his arms. She smiled when he flexed his biceps.
Thorne drew her closer, molding her body to his. She was soft, supple, her skin smooth, warm against the coolness of his own. He stroked her lightly from shoulder to thigh, caressing each curve, lingering on the swell of her breasts, the smooth contours of her hips. Every stroke, every caress, aroused his desire and his hunger. He told himself to go slow. He wasn’t yet in full control of his vampire nature; if he wasn’t careful, he was liable to go too far, take too much, but with each kiss, his self-control grew weaker, his insatiable hunger stronger.
With a low growl, he rose over her, his only thought to satisfy his desire, to quench his raging thirst.
Caught up in the sheer ecstasy of Kaiden’s caresses, Sky writhed beneath him, wanting to be closer, closer. She basked in the touch of his hands, reveled in his kisses, which were sometimes sweet and tender and sometimes more ardent.
She had been a virgin when she’d married Nick. With no one to compare him to, she had assumed that all men made love the way her husband did. He had rarely satisfied her, but, being inexperienced, she had blamed herself for the lack of fire in their relationship. And so had Nick. There had been no one in her bed since her divorce.
She closed her eyes, moaning softly as Kaiden rained butterfly kisses along the side of her neck. She had never known lovemaking could be so wonderful, never dreamed she was capable of such passion. With Nick, she had been shy, inhibited, and unfulfilled.
With Kaiden, she felt free, alive. Desirable. There was no need to be afraid or embarrassed to tell him that she needed him, that she wanted him more than her next breath. Love, she thought, this was what love felt like. Warm and safe with nothing held back. She ran her hands over his arms, his back, his chest, reveling in the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips, the way his muscles flexed at her touch, his low groan of pleasure as she caressed him.
She whispered his name, and then, wanting to see his face as his body melded with hers, she opened her eyes.
For a moment, she could only stare at him, too stunned to move, too dumbfounded to believe what she was seeing.
“Your eyes,” she gasped. “They’re ... they’re red!” She blinked, certain she must be seeing things. “Red,” she repeated. “And glowing!”
“Skylynn ...”
She might have dismissed the strange glow in his eyes as a trick of the light from the flames, but his fangs ... yes, real fangs ... couldn’t be explained away. With sudden clarity, she realized that the fangs she had seen on that long-ago Halloween night hadn’t been plastic.
“Skylynn, listen. I can explain ...”
She shook her head in disbelief. There was no need for an explanation, not with the truth staring her in the face. Sam had been right all the time!
With a shriek, she brought her knee up, hard and fast, catching Kaiden square in the groin.
He let out a harsh groan and rolled onto his side.
Scrambling out of the bed, Sky ran out of the bedroom as if all the hounds of hell were snapping at her heels. She descended the stairs two at a time and hit the first floor running. She paused in the entry only long enough to grab Kaiden’s long black coat and wrap it around her nakedness before she bolted out the door and ran across the street.
Safely inside her own house, Sky shut the door and turned the lock, then stood there, her heart pounding, her breath coming in painful gasps, while the word vampire screamed in her mind, over and over again.
Grimacing, Thorne sat up. Well, the cat was out of the bag now, he thought bleakly. And all because he couldn’t control his lust or his hellish thirst. He groaned as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Damn! She sure knew where and how to cool a man’s ardor. If he had been a normal man, he would probably never get an erection again.
Grunting softly, he eased off the mattress and limped into the bathroom. In the shower, he turned on the taps and let the hot water sluice over his back and shoulders while he considered his options. He could pack up and leave town and never see her again. He could get dressed and go across the street and try to explain. Or he could simply wipe everything that had happened between them from her mind.
Leaving town held no appeal.
Explaining the last eight years might take a lot of ... explaining.
As for erasing everything that had happened between them since he’d returned to town, he decided to keep that option open until he had tried door number two.
Stepping out of the shower, he went to the bedroom window and glanced at the house across the street.
It looked like every light in the place was on. All the curtains in the front of the house were closed. He was pretty sure all the doors and windows were locked up tight, too. Well, he couldn’t blame her for being scared. She was only human, after all, reacting the way any mortal would when confronted with a monster.
Not much point in going over there tonight, he thought with a rueful grin. She would never invite him in. Of course, since she had invited him in once, he didn’t have to ask for her permission. Or go through the door. But it was unlikely she was aware of that
.
Thorne raked his fingers through his hair. He could just imagine Sky’s reaction if he suddenly appeared in her living room. Especially in his current state of undress!
Dammit! He had known better than to take her to bed, known it would be dangerous when he wasn’t fully in control of his restored vampiric powers, his thirst, or much of anything else. But it was hard to think straight when the beat of her heart sang to him, when the scent of her blood enflamed him, when a single kiss went through him like chain lightning.
How was he ever going to repair the damage he’d done?
Sky went through the house a second time, making sure all the doors and windows were locked, then paced the living room floor, trying to remember everything she had ever heard about vampires, but all she could recall was that they drank blood and slept in coffins.
Only one place to find the answers, she thought. Thank goodness for Google! Sitting at her computer, she quickly typed “vampire” into the search engine, then sat back, stunned by the number of hits that came up. Good grief, there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of vampire Web sites.
She picked one at random, clicked on vampire traits, and quickly scanned the list. Vampires could transform themselves into mist, bats, and wolves. They couldn’t cross running water, were repelled by garlic and crosses, were burned by silver and holy water, and didn’t cast a reflection in a mirror.
She frowned. That couldn’t be true. She had seen Kaiden’s reflection when they danced together.
Another site noted that the Undead couldn’t enter a dwelling without an invitation. A footnote at the bottom of the page explained that such an invitation could be revoked by merely saying the words.
“Could it be that easy?” Sky muttered. Feeling a little foolish, she took a deep breath, then murmured, “Kaiden Thorne, I hereby revoke any and all invitations, past and present, whether extended by myself or my grandfather ...”
His Dark Embrace Page 10