Kiss of the Vampire

by Terry Spear

  He stalked underneath the covered walkways, looking for Caitlin, but didn’t see her. He couldn’t have been that far behind her. Where had she gone? He headed down the stairs.

  When he reached her room, he listened at the door. He heard nothing. He knocked.

  No answer. “Caitlin, I’m sorry. Let me in, and we’ll talk.”

  Though he didn’t know what he’d say. That he wanted to kill Dylan for terrifying her. That he would kill him if he threatened her again. He’d seen enough killing, enough bloodshed that he’d had enough for several lifetimes, but he wouldn’t let anyone hurt Caitlin if he could help it.

  He knocked more gently this time and leaned up against the door. “Caitlin, if you’re in there, will you talk to me?”

  No response.

  Taking a ragged breath, he paced. Either she was ignoring him, or she wasn’t in there. He fought the urge to appear in her room to find out for sure. If she was, how would he explain his sudden appearance?

  Clenching his teeth, he walked away. From one end of the ship to the other, he searched. He checked all the lounges, the restrooms—as much as he could—the dining facilities, the game rooms, the theater. As big as the ship was, she could have been moving from place to place like he was, and he could have just missed her.

  Though the idea Dylan might have hurt her again soured his stomach.

  When the dinner hour arrived, his friends met up with him near the dining room. Arman shook his head. “I don’t know where she is. We searched in a line straight across the ship from deck to deck. But like you said, she could have been moving around on a lower deck, or even visiting with someone in their room.”

  “Or she could have been in her own room,” Ruric said. “You admitted yourself that she could have been sleeping in her stateroom for a couple of hours and didn’t even hear your entreaty.”

  “Or heard it and ignored you,” Stasio said. “You did badger her a bit to tell you what had happened with Dylan.”

  Levka scowled. “Caitlin’s not shown up for dinner. Neither have Dylan, Lynne, or Alicia. I don’t like this.”

  Arman shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “They could have eaten at one of the buffet lines. No one has to eat in the formal dining room.”

  “Stasio, you sit at our dining table and let me know if she or any of the others arrive. Ruric, you check the buffet line on the deck below us. Arman, you check out the one above us. I’ll go to Caitlin’s room and see if she’s there.”

  Levka stalked off toward the stairs. How could one small mortal girl turn his world upside down as much as she did? A world traveler, a guy who’d lived for eons, a prince in his world and hers. How could Caitlin McEvin turn him inside out?

  Chapter 10

  After taking a nice long nap and going on a tour of the kitchen and the crew’s quarters with other passengers—just like a tourist would on their first cruise—Caitlin returned to her room. Since it was time for dinner, she slipped into her bathing suit, intending to swim in the pool while most of the passengers were at the evening meal.

  She couldn’t help harboring a grudge against Levka for forcing the issue about what had happened between her and Dylan. Too late to do anything about it now, she’d try to make the most of her trip. Tomorrow, the ship would arrive at the first of the islands, and she had every intention of enjoying a visit to the rum factory and caves. If Dylan or any of his friends bothered her, she’d let them have it.

  When someone knocked on the door, she grabbed her shirt and threw it over her bathing suit.

  “Caitlin? It’s me, Levka.”

  She knew that. Everyone’s telepathic voice was like the human voice, distinctive. Just like handwriting, though she hadn’t known this about telepathic communication until she’d met Levka and his friends, having only had communicated with Vlad and her parents before that.

  “Caitlin, if you’re in there, I want you to know I’m sorry for upsetting you. Will you join us for dinner? It won’t be the same without you.”

  She wanted him to go away. She was going to try to swim, but she didn’t want anyone watching her.

  When he didn’t say anything more, she waited another twenty minutes, not trusting that he wouldn’t still be standing outside of her door. Finally, she held her breath and opened the door.

  She was almost disappointed to see the hallway empty. Yet, she truly wanted to try to overcome her fear of the water alone. With a hurried step, she headed for the stairs before she changed her mind.

  When she reached the upper deck, she found the pool still filled with swimmers. Why weren’t they all eating? She threw her towel on a chaise lounge, then sat down and took off her flip-flops. She couldn’t stand the idea of getting into the turbulent water. The ship’s rolling created waves in the pool even on the calmest of seas, but she couldn’t handle the kids splashing and acting like wild terrors.

  Maybe they’d clear out after a while.

  She lay down on the chaise lounge. The sun was already setting, leaving a wash of pink sky behind. For a while, she enjoyed the sunset and forgot everything else. Then the day turned to night, and though the lights hanging around the deck should have looked festive or romantic, the atmosphere felt oppressive and dark. Swimmers gave way to a Caribbean dance and food on the deck. She frowned when passengers began to snake around the pool and deck, dancing to the steel drums, guitars, and maracas.

  Feeling like a freak still dressed in her bathing suit, lying on a lounge chair, not swimming, and 'sunning' under swinging paper lanterns in the dark, she climbed off the lounger and headed back to her room. When the noise died down from the Caribbean dance, she’d try to go swimming again.

  As soon as she reached her room, she stuck the key in the door, but then she heard laughing inside. She paused and listened. “Dylan and Alicia.” She closed her eyes and shook her head.

  If she disturbed them again, Dylan was sure to toss her off the balcony this time.

  The air conditioned hall felt cold. Letting out her breath in exasperation, she left the hallway and found another deck where there was no music, just a great view of—the ocean. She continued to search for a place to stay until she could safely return to her room. Chairs were situated all along the upper deck so passengers could view the ocean. The bow had the most wind and the ship rose into the waves and crashed the hardest here. She couldn’t wear a bathing suit in the lounges, and even if she wanted to try and sneak by with it, they were air conditioned and too cold.

  Luckily, she hadn’t run into Levka or his friends who would probably think she was an idiot, wandering around looking for a safe, quiet place to while away the hours. Her stomach tightened with concern. If Levka found out she couldn’t return to her room because Dylan was there…

  She didn’t want to even think of what he might do.

  ***

  “Now where is she?” Arman asked from the Blue Lounge.

  "Sitting across from a lifeboat." Levka watched Caitlin, wondering what she was up to. First, he’d found her lying by the pool. She never went in, and the sun was already setting so she wasn’t sunning. She looked beautiful though, a raven-haired, blue-eyed mermaid in a silvery blue bikini.

  He thought the pool was too crowded for her, and that she intended to try and swim. But then the band started up, and she left. Thinking she would return to her room and change, he was surprised to see her wandering the decks, back and forth, all around and back again. Just watching her strange antics made him dizzy.

  “Why don’t you ask her to play cards with us?” Stasio asked.

  “She’s not properly dressed.”

  “Fine with me,” Ruric said.

  “I thought you’d said she returned to her room to change,” Arman said.

  “Apparently, she changed her mind.”

  “We have business to take care of a little later,” Ruric said, “but call us if you need our help.”

  For now, Levka didn’t mind watching her in this way. Not finding her earlier, had been an
tagonizing and maddening. But knowing she was safe, settled his mind some. Though he still couldn’t fathom what she was up to.

  In nine hundred years, he still hadn’t figured women out one bit.

  Well after midnight, Caitlin moved again. She walked around the running track ten times, and following her, Levka felt he’d gotten enough exercise for the night, even if she hadn’t. He’d kept his distance at times, drew close when he wanted to feel her warmth and smell her jasmine fragrance, but always remained invisible.

  Then she headed down the stairs, and he assumed she was finally returning to her room. Instead, she stalked toward the pool. She couldn’t have planned on swimming. The Caribbean band had closed up for the night, the dancers gone. Many of the lights had been extinguished. The place looked dark and eerie like the factory warehouse district where he’d been shot.

  Caitlin stood by one of the lounge chairs and jerked off her shirt and shoes, then stepped over to the pool.

  It’s closed, Levka wanted to tell her. You can’t go in. He couldn’t help her if she panicked. He couldn’t swim. None of his friends could.

  “I think she’s going to try to swim,” Levka told his friends.

  “Pool’s closed at this hour,” Arman said, always a stickler for the rules.

  “Are you sure that she’s going swimming, Levka?” Stasio asked. “She doesn’t seem like the type to break the rules.”

  “I think she’s trying to prove to herself she can do it without a lot of people around.”

  “I’m coming,” Ruric said.

  “Me, too,” Arman and Stasio said at the same time.

  For nearly an hour, Caitlin stood at the edge of the pool, staring down into the rolling waves. Levka wanted to hold her tight, to help her fight the terror she must experience every time she looked into the water. His friends stood with him, silently watching from the shadows.

  “Maybe she won’t go in,” Arman said.

  Caitlin shook her head, turned, and jerked her shirt back on. Walking away from the pool, she headed to a water fountain.

  Levka sighed with relief. At least during the day if she tried this foolishness, someone could rescue her if she got scared. Again, the feeling of utter uselessness washed over him.

  “Come on,” Stasio said. “I had a winning hand. Let’s go back to the game. Levka, are you coming?”

  “In a little while.”

  “After he tucks her into bed.” Ruric winked.

  Caitlin headed for the door to the elevators and stairs. Lynne wearing a pink bikini suddenly walked out. Now Levka could see her disobeying the rules. She neared the pool, then dove in.

  Caitlin watched her. Did she wish she could swim like that again?

  Suddenly, Lynne turned her attention on Caitlin. “What are you doing here? Go away. I’m meeting someone. And he won’t like it if you’re here, too.” She squeezed her manicured brows together. “You want him to threaten you, too?”

  Caitlin didn’t say anything, just sat down on a chaise lounge to watch. Lekva couldn’t tell how she felt, but he could have wrung Lynne’s neck for saying what she did to Caitlin. He couldn’t help being proud of Caitlin for standing her ground. If some other jerk threatened her, there’d be less one passenger come morning.

  Lynne glowered at her, then she turned around and kicked water in Caitlin’s direction. The water fell at Caitlin’s feet. She smiled.

  For several minutes, Lynne did her best to chase Caitlin away. But suddenly, Lynne shrieked. And went under.

  Caitlin jumped up from her chair and stared into the pool. “Lynne! Lynne!”

  Lynne broke the surface of the water, gasped for air, then went under again.

  Caitlin ran for a round life preserver and tossed it to her. “Grab on!”

  The life preserver landed in the water by Lynne, but she didn’t grab it.

  Caitlin yanked a pole off its hook and stretched it out to Lynne. “Grab the pole, and I’ll pull you in.”

  Lynne grabbed it, but released it and went under again.

  “Lynne!” Throwing down the pole, Caitlin jumped into the pool.

  “She’s in the pool,” Levka said, panicked. “She’s trying to save Lynne.”

  Ruric swore. “Of all the people worth saving, she’s not the one.”

  Stasio grabbed Levka’s arm just as he was about to jump in. “We can’t swim, Levka.”

  It couldn’t be that hard. It didn’t look that bad.

  Arman seized Levka’s free arm. “You’d drown.”

  “Caitlin will drown.” Levka yanked free and grabbed the pole that Caitlin had tried to use. Shoving it near her, he stretched it out and shouted, “Caitlin, grab the pole.”

  “Just a minute!” Caitlin shouted.

  Lynne clawed her way on top of Caitlin’s head, shoving her under. Caitlin rose to the surface, coughing. Seizing the preserver, she tried to grab Lynne’s arm, but the girl pulled her loose from the preserver. They both went under.

  Somehow Caitlin managed to free herself and hooked the rope tied to the preserver onto the pole. Then she dove under and grabbed Lynne. When she reached the surface, she captured the preserver again. “Pull, Levka!”

  With one arm wrapped around Lynne’s neck, she held onto the preserver with the other. Levka hauled them toward the stairs. Lynne dragged Caitlin down again. Both came up coughing. Arman and Stasio leaned over the pool and pulled Lynne, sputtering and gagging, out of the water. Ruric and Levka helped Caitlin out.

  She kept coughing, but as soon as she stood on the deck, Levka wrapped his arms around her in a hard embrace. He reminded himself he couldn’t have her, but his heart told him otherwise. No matter what the league wanted, he wanted her for all eternity. He wanted her, no matter what she wanted even. The darkness inside him was speaking, and he feared the bloodlust would take over. Even now as he held her against his chest, he listened to her pounding heart, heard the blood rushing through her veins, calling to him to take his fill.

  “Hey!” a crewmember shouted from an upper deck. “Pool’s closed for the night.”

  “Right.” Levka kissed Caitlin on the forehead. “You got in the water.”

  She hugged him back, but didn’t say a word.

  A guy came out of the building wearing swim trunks. Lynne’s date for the night? “What’s going on here?”

  “I got a leg cramp,” Lynne whined. “And I nearly drowned. Where were you?”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have been kicking so much of the water out of the pool,” Caitlin said, her voice still gravely from coughing. “It might have killed you.”

  Lynne glared at her, but Caitlin ignored her and snuggled closer to Levka.

  “Can I take you back to your room, Caitlin?” Levka asked, not wanting to let her go.

  “Yeah, thanks, I’d like that.”

  “Need us?” Ruric asked.

  Levka shook his head.

  “I’m sorry about what happened earlier today, Caitlin. I wanted to know what had happened, but I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “I didn’t want you or your friends to get hurt, Levka.”

  She shivered when they reached the air conditioned hall, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her.

  For a moment, she listened at the door.

  “If anyone’s in there that shouldn’t be, I’ll toss him out.”

  She shook her head. “And make him madder.”

  Levka lifted her chin. “He wasn’t here earlier, was he?”

  She looked away from him.

  That’s why she hadn’t changed her clothes earlier. “He’s not going to keep you out of your own room, Caitlin.”

  She opened the door and stepped inside. She couldn’t see anything because of the darkness of the room, but Levka saw Dylan sleeping with Alicia in one of the beds.

  “Why don’t you take a shower and get warmed up?” Levka asked Caitlin.

  “What’s wrong?”

  How could he tell her he could see people in the dark when mortals couldn�
�t? “I heard Dylan snoring," he lied. "I’ll get him out of here, but I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  She hesitated.

  “Go, Caitlin. Please. I know martial arts.”

  When she closed the door to the bathroom, Levka said, “Start the shower. Maybe if they hear it, Dylan will sneak out without my having to make him leave.”

  The shower began to run. “Be careful, Levka.”

  Dylan glanced up from the bed when he heard the shower. “She’s come back. She can find somewhere else to sleep.” He climbed out of bed without a strip of clothes on and headed for the bathroom.

  No, she won’t, Levka said privately to himself. Instantly, his fangs extended, though in the dark stateroom, Dylan couldn’t see the terror he had unleashed.

  Levka swooped across the room with vampiric speed and seized Dylan’s throat. Dylan cried out in fright.

  Alicia stirred. “Dylan?”

  “Sleep, Alicia,” Levka compelled her.

  When she plopped her head back on her pillow, Levka captured Dylan’s mind, as the jerk tried to wriggle free, his tongue silent. “Be still, mortal, and it will hurt less. Or struggle, and you shall feel my centuries-old wrath.”

  Dylan stood still like a mannequin while Levka bit into the creep’s neck and drank deeply, enough to make the bastard weak for a couple of days. His blood tasted heavily of rum, and Levka cursed inwardly. Disgusted, he finished feasting and sealed the wounds. In the next instant, he wiped Dylan’s memory of having been with Alicia, of knowing her, of knowing Caitlin. Then Levka opened the door to the stateroom and tossed Dylan—more like a rag doll now than a menace to anyone—into the hallway.

  Let him explain what he was doing sleeping naked on the floor later that morning.

  Levka grabbed up Dylan’s clothes, walked onto the balcony, and tossed them over the railing into the ocean. On his way back through the stateroom, he ensured Alicia was still asleep.

  “Do you need anything more of me?” he asked Caitlin before he left.

  “Is he gone?” Caitlin shut the shower off.

  “He’s gone and will be no more trouble to you.”

  “I guess I don’t need anything else then. Thanks so much for everything, for helping me save Lynne in the pool, for getting rid of Dylan. Thanks.”