The Power

by Cynthia Roberts

  “The law is too lenient on these criminals. Child molesters are set free after mere months of jail time, and most end up harming more children. The same with rapists and even murderers!” Lillian pulled free of Jack’s arms and stood. “I’m sorry. I need to get home.” she said suddenly, and Jack laughed, causing her to look back at him. He was amused by her!

  “You’ve got some fire in you, don’t ya?” he grinned up at her. “Look, baby, you don’t have to tell me what I already know. Yes, the law is too lenient. If it were up to me, these bastards would all be jailed for life, the worst of the bunch sent to the chair, but again I work for the law. I live by the law.” he reminded. He was smiling when he stood, and came to her. Lillian tilted her head back so she could meet his handsome gaze. “Stay?” he grasped her hands, and tenderly smoothed her fingers with his own. She could read his thoughts, and the heat of what he was thinking of doing to her swept through her like an electrical current. How could she refuse such an invitation?

  “For a while.” she agreed, and she went to him, surrendering the fight at least for tonight.

  With Jack lying beneath her, Lillian moved over his hard body, feeling the sweat gather against his heated skin as she continued to make love to him. The scent of his masculine body washed over her, and she leaned down kissing his neck as ecstasy trapped her within its grasp. Her name escaped his lips, bathing her ears with delight as her hands clung tightly to his above his head. She could feel him moving beneath her, within her body, and she closed her eyes and surrendered to the overwhelming passion. Her stomach tightened into a hard knot, and she knew that she would soon find her release. She leaned down, tasting the skin of his neck with the tip of her tongue, with her lips and then gently, her teeth scraped against the giving flesh. Moaning, deep in rapture, she felt when the incisors slipped past her bottom lip, felt them scrape against the sensitive flesh of Jack’s neck.

  “Easy there, baby.” Jack laughed out, his hands sliding down her back and back up again. Lillian froze. This couldn’t be happening! Not now! Recalling her nightmare concerning Jack with vivid detail, she bolted upright, making sure to keep her face, which she was sure was not presentable, angled away from Jack as she ran for the bathroom that adjoined the bedroom, and locked herself within. It was dark within the cramped bathroom as Lillian kept her eyes closed, and tried to will the demon within her to go away. She heard Jack call her name in concern, and then his hand rested on the outside of the door.

  “Lilly?” he called through the door. “What is it? Did I do something wrong? You can bite my neck anytime you want!” he teased with an amused chuckle. Lillian paled if that was possible. Gripping the sink with tight knuckles, she looked up into the mirror mounted above, and stared straight into a pair of shocking, white eyes. This was who she was, she told herself, never having really taken a good look at herself before when she had been transformed, but the looking glass did not lie. She was staring at the face of a demon, the face of evil. It was pale, looking dead and lifeless, but the veins beneath the nearly translucent skin seemed to pulse to the same beat of the strong heartbeat she could hear through the thin, bathroom door. “Lilly?” Jack called worriedly, and Lillian turned away from the snarled nose, the protruding fangs, the glowing eyes, the monster that she had become.

  “Could you hand me my clothes, Jack.” She called through the door.

  “Your clothes?”

  “Please.” she pleaded. God, it had been so close! She couldn’t do this anymore! She couldn’t be this close to him. She wanted him. In every way, she wanted him! Tears spilled from her white eyes.

  “Lilly?” Jack called, his hand banging lightly on the door. “I’ve got your clothes.” he said, sounding hurt that she was hiding from him. And then, “What did I do?”

  “Nothing, Jack.” Lillian looked to the mirror, to the fading white eyes, the pale skin, the incisors as they began to recede. “It’s not you. It’s me.” She said the hated words. “It’s me.” she whispered painfully.

  Jack was seated on the bed in only his jeans when Lilly at last let herself out of his bathroom. Her blonde head was bowed as if she was ashamed of something, and Jack didn’t know what to think of it, of her. What was going on? His heart beat hard against his ribs as if he knew what was about to happen.

  “I need to leave town for a while.” She said, and Jack stood instantly, going to her.

  “Why?” he asked urgently, brushing her arms with a sweeping motion of his hands. “To get away from me?” he asked, knowing it.

  “It isn’t safe for you to be with me, Jack.” she said, and his brow furrowed.

  “Not safe?” he repeated, but she didn’t answer. Instead, she swept past him, making a b-line for the front door. “Stop! Damn you! Stop now!” he lost it, and shouted after her. He was tired, so damned tired of her secrets. He watched as she came to a halt, but she kept her back to him. “What’s going on?” he asked point blank, and her shoulders sagged. “Why are you running away?”

  “Because you deserve better than me.” she whispered painfully.

  “We’ve already been over that. I told you it doesn’t matter to me. There are other ways for us to have children, Lilly. I just want you. You.” he voiced strongly, and she laughed sarcastically.

  “You don’t know what you’re saying.” Lilly turned slowly to face him. Her swimming blue eyes met, and held his gaze, and he could see so much pain within their depths.

  “What is it? What are you hiding?” He pleaded with her to tell him the truth at last.

  “Just a few days, Jack, and then I’ll come back. I’ll tell you everything.” She vowed, and he stared at her long and hard.

  “I’m not sure I can last that long.” Jack said thoughtfully, and she came to him. Gently, she stood on tip-toe, and she touched his mouth in a tender kiss. She backed away, holding his gaze locked with hers. “I love you too, Jack.” She said, and her words slammed hard, right into his heart. “I’m just not sure that I’m right for you.” she touched his jaw. “I don’t want to hurt you.” she whispered. Jack stood there, not sure what to say or what to do to convince her otherwise.

  “Then this is one-sided. I feel more than you do?” He asked tightly as his chest constricted.

  “No. Never.” she smiled through her tears. “I love you, Jack. I have always loved you. I…I just have some things to think about. Can you wait, please, just a few days?” she seemed to be begging of him.

  “I can wait forever for you if you need me to.” Jack spoke honestly from the heart. “But I don’t want to. I want to be with you, night and day for the rest of our lives.”

  She smiled, but her head dropped as if something he had said had made her feel lowly.

  “I’ll be back, Jack, in a few days time.” she promised. “I have some things to share with you, things that I have never told another human being.” she said.

  “So tell me now.” Jack encouraged. She smiled. She kissed him again.

  “I can’t. I have something that I need to do first.” she said dismissively. “I have to go.” she said, backing to the door. “Be careful out there?” she seemed to need an answer from him, so Jack nodded his head. She had reached the door. Her hand was on the knob, ready to leave him, possibly forever. Jack rushed forward, grabbing her to him, he pulled her flush against his body and held her so tightly in his arms. He never wanted to let her go.

  “Whatever it is, Lilly, I’ll understand. I’ll stand by you, I swear it!” he vowed, and he pulled her back, kissing her lips soundly, passionately.

  “We’ll see.” she replied, and she touched his face one last time. “Always remember that I love you, Jack?”

  “Always.” he breathed out huskily. “And you always remember that I love you?”

  “Always.” she smiled painfully, and then she was gone. Jack stepped to the door, watching as she walked slowly down the hall, boarded the elevator, watched until those silver doors closed, and then he fell back against his doorframe. “Damn it!” He cu
rsed, and he hit the opposite side of the door with a hard fist. “Don’t make me come looking for you, Lilly.” he cursed beneath his breath. “I’ll make a damn fool of myself over you, I know I will.” he shook his dark blonde head in confusion and pain, and then he straightened to his tall height, came back into his apartment, and shut and locked the door. Whatever was going on with her, she had promised that she would be back. In a few short days, she had promised to share her secrets with him at last.

  Chapter twenty-nine

  She lay there naked in the bed beside him, a conquest conquered in three short evenings. She was no different then the others, Ewan decided with regret, and fuming with anger at his own naivety! Hadn’t Martin warned him that he would not be satisfied with the woman? What a fool he had been!

  He had seduced her by the look of himself, the scent. Everything about him had called out to her, had pulled her in, and she had come willingly, had practically begged him to make love to her. He had done so, thinking of Lillian the entire time. He knew now what he had always known. He didn’t want a replacement. He wanted the real thing! He wanted Lillian. In his mind’s eye he could see her eyes so pale a blue staring up at him with love and trust shining brightly within them. He could feel her sweet hands clinging to his arm as she had walked with him on the deck of the ship that they had traveled on together headed for America. Why had he given into his needs? Why couldn’t he have waited? He could have kept that side of himself a secret from her. She would have never known, and she would have always loved him! Damn Gina! The vampire had been a problem from the very beginning. Gina had known his true colors. He had played her once upon a time after all. Yes, Gina had known all about him. Why couldn’t he keep her from his mind! He was thinking of Lillian again. He wanted her back, but he didn’t have a clue where to look for her.

  Rising, he dressed quickly, hearing the woman’s soft breathing as she slept. He turned and stared down at her. She was pretty as mortals went, he decided. Her wild strawberry locks were very long and curled about her pale, freckled shoulders. If he turned her, her beauty would intensify, but she would never measure up, he decided. Leaning over her sleeping form, he thought of taking her, of drinking her dry. It would make him feel somewhat better, he reasoned. She deserved to die because she had disappointed him severely. He had waited for her, for all of these years, and she had not grown into the woman of his desires! She did not even come close to Lillian! Carefully, he reached out, his long nails sliding tenderly down the sleekness of her long, exposed neck. Moving in, he drew in her scent, his nose pressed to the soft flesh. He could smell her blood moving just beneath the skin. Her heart beat in his ears in slow rhythm. It had been difficult not to take her blood when he had taken her body, but somehow, he had managed to keep himself under control. Images of making love to Lillian filled his mind, and lust swarmed him like a rush of fire, shaking his body. He could still taste her, the blood as it had pooled on his tongue as his fangs had sank into the giving flesh of her breast. No one would ever replace his Lillian. Slowly, he straightened, and without a backwards glance, he walked from the room. He sat on the floral print sofa to pull on his loafers, when his moss green eyes fell to the coffee table before him. A brown, leather-bound book set amidst varies magazines. It was old and worn and familiar to him.

  “Well bloody hell.” he muttered, grinning as he lifted the familiar tomb into his hands, and opened the pages. “Lillian.” he whispered lowly as a new hope expanded his chest. “At last, you’ve come home to me.”

  Tucking the journal into his jacket pocket he left the apartment, leaving the front door wide open. Right then he didn’t care if the devil himself came for Dr. Harold. Hell, the whore would probably seduce the devil! He grinned at the thought, and he proceeded toward the elevator. Tonight was definitely looking up!

  “Where exactly are we going?” Troy inquired curiously as Lillian stepped into the black Porsche with him. Troy glanced over at her pale, beautiful face, and lost his breath. She had come home tonight in an upset. There was only four hours left until sunrise. Wherever they were going, they needed to make it there and back fast!

  “Drive toward the country.” she said, and Troy’s dark brow rose in confusion as he stared over at her as if she had lost her mind.

  “The country?” he asked skeptically. Lillian frowned over at him then. She was looking worse for wear if that were possible among her kind. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent. He could pick out tiny, blue veins beneath the skin of her face, and her lips, that were usually a fleshy color, appeared pale and lifeless. Her eyes had dark circles beneath them. “You haven’t fed since Boston.” Troy stated more than asked.

  “No.” she agreed.

  “Damn it. I should have suggested we leave the city long ago.” Troy groaned guiltily as he started the car and backed out of the garage.

  “It isn’t your fault. I had other things on my mind as well.” Lillian said, letting him off the hook, but Troy still felt guilty as hell.

  “Why the country? And why did you send Josh to spy on your detective friend armed with a bag full of stakes and a twelve inch blade?” Troy inquired as they started down the dark street heading for the fastest way Troy knew how to get out of the city. They would be cutting it close, he thought worriedly as he stared over at Lillian. Did her hair seem paler as well, did it lack its usual luster?

  “The country has farm animals.” she returned. “I need to feed, and quite a bit by this time, but I can not take the life of another mortal in this city.” She explained urgently. “At the same time I do not want to leave Jack unprotected either. I should have thought of this before.”

  “Farm animals? You intend to feed on a cow?” Troy took a hard left, but Lillian didn’t complain. She simply hung on. “And you trust Josh to watch out for Detective Stone?”

  “As far as I know Jack is in his bed sleeping, and not out on the streets tonight. Josh will have to do nothing but watch the apartment while I am away.” she said thoughtfully, and she actually slumped down in the leather seat. Troy had never seen her behave so, well, human.

  “You’re tired?” he asked quietly.

  “It happens when I haven’t been able to feed for some time. I also change more quickly at the scent of blood. It is harder to control. My bloodlust is heightened.” she told him, and she turned tossing him a quick smile. “If I say I want to kiss your neck, please, don’t believe me.” she said. Was that a joke? Troy was taken aback. Troy grinned over at her.

  “It might be worth it.” he countered, and she rolled her beautiful eyes. Silently, Troy wondered if it would be worth it. He had often wondered what it would be like if she turned him. He had fantasized about the two of them together as lovers, as immortal lovers, but that dream had gone to hell in a hand basket when Jack Stone had come around. He wasn’t bitter though. Well, not anymore. He loved Lillian. He always had. More than anything, he just wanted her to be happy.

  Over an hour later, Lillian found herself leaning against a white, wooden fence staring out at a field filled with a herd of black and white milk cows. The cows were sleeping, she realized, but some still lifted their large heads, and mooed in her general direction. Recalling the rats from the Elisabeth II, and the other times that Gina and she had been desperate enough to resort to such tricks, Lillian wrinkled her nose in distaste.

  “Don’t watch me, okay?” she whispered as she stepped up onto the fence, and jumped a little clumsily into the muddied pasture. Or was that manure? Gross! If this didn’t dehumanize her, she didn’t know what would!

  “Ya need a minute?” Troy grinned, leaning against the fence, ignoring her request.

  “I asked you not to watch me.” Lillian hissed, and Troy chuckled from behind her.

  “I don’t know, Lillian, taking down a fifteen hundred pound animal could take a little more work than say, a two hundred pound man. Ya need some help?” Troy was leaping over the fence before she could stop him. Lillian sent him a warning scowl. He didn’t b
link at her white eyes. “Mighty big animals.” he said with a shake of his head.

  “You don’t think I can do it?” Lillian knew a challenge when she heard one.

  “You’re awfully weak. You haven’t fed in quite a while.” Troy reminded.

  “I could take you down with a flick of my wrist.” Lillian retorted hotly. Troy nodded his head in total agreement.

  “Now, that, I don’t doubt, but I thought you were going to let me be?” he cocked a dark brow.

  “You’re enjoying this!” Lillian accused, and Troy flashed an amused, white-toothed smile.

  “I just never thought I’d see the night you were reduced to eating beef.” Troy joked, and Lillian sent him a good scowl for making her the butt of his joke.

  “Well, I prefer the mortals, Troy.” she stepped up so close to him that he sucked in his breath. She could smell his skin, his aftershave, the shampoo that he used, and even the blood that pushed through his veins beneath his skin. Her white eyes glowing like two, full moons she tilted her chin upward as her incisors slipped lovingly over her bottom lip. Fully transformed, she allowed the man to see her close up and personal. His dark eyes met and held her gaze. She could hear that his heart had sped up, but she did not read fear within him. No, what she did read was a strong longing. “You want to be liken unto me.” She announced, having read it of his thoughts.

  “Who wouldn’t want to stay young and beautiful forever?” He taunted, and he smiled even as his heart beat away from him.

  “It’s a curse!” Lillian hissed. She was surprised when Troy’s large fingers reached out and gently stroked her transformed face.

  “I never…ever…want to be like my grandfather.” He said lowly.

  “Your grandfather is a great man!” Lillian protested.