At first, they hadn’t been sure of what was happening, but it turned out it was connected to the mate thing. She smiled, as she remembered when they first met and the passion it had unleashed in her body. A passion she still felt each and every day and that she knew would not fade with time. A passion she could no longer live without, and she was pretty sure her mate felt the same.
“I do,” he whispered into her ear, and his breath on her skin made her quiver in his arms.
“I love you,” she said quietly, as she leaned back into his body.
“I know, baby, I love you, too. We’ll get through this, just wait, it’ll soon be over and we can get back to our lives in Vegas.”
She hoped so, she desperately wanted things back to the way they had been. They may not have what many would call a conventional life, but they were happy, ecstatically so, and she couldn’t wait to get home.
Kyle stiffened at her back, his head moving around, as if looking for something. She caught a fleeting sense of fear from him, and she stood up straighter and moved away slightly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, all the while looking around, but it was almost dark, so she couldn’t see much. Kyle obviously could because of his Vampire sight.
“I’m not sure, I thought I felt something, but it’s gone now.” His head was still roving around, and she started to walk back to the house.
“Let’s go inside, I’m not so sure I like it out here in the dark,” he caught up to her in two long strides, and they made their way back inside. She noted that Kyle made sure the door was locked securely at their back.
“I’m just going to go check that everything’s secure, why don’t you go up,” he was already moving away from her and picked up his speed, so that she could barely make him out.
There were a lot of windows and several sturdy doors, so she didn’t wait on him, but went on up to their room. As she undressed, she again wished they were back home in their own room and house.
She was in a t-shirt, sitting in bed reading, when he walked in. “You okay?” He asked, as he started to undress.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to getting out tomorrow, kinda feels like I’m a prisoner here.” She muttered, as she closed the book and laid it on the side table.
“I know, but I need to keep you safe and the closer you are to Boyd, the safer you are. I’ll get you some nice things tomorrow, what about some jewelry, too?”
She shook her head, “No jewelry, I don’t wear it that often and I’ve already got too much. I won’t say no to some nice sandals, though.”
“I bet you won’t, okay, sandals it is.”
As he slipped under the covers, she noticed he was naked, again. The man just didn’t like wearing anything in bed. He moved over closer to her and brought her into his arms and his legs intertwined with hers. She was sure she felt his arousal, but as soon as she thought it, he was shaking his head.
“Not tonight, you’re tired, I can sense it. Go to sleep, babe, and get a good rest. I’ve a feeling you’ll have us doing a lot of walking tomorrow.”
She smiled, as she realized he was probably right, she did like to shop, and Kyle liked to spoil her, so they could spend hours looking for things tomorrow.
She would really like a pair of silver, strappy, thong sandals. She had seen a pair in a magazine on the airplane coming back from Florida to Denver, and she wondered if she could get something similar. Her mind was thinking of the sandals, as she fell over into sleep and Kyle held her close to his body.
Chapter 18
She was still in his arms, when she rose from the darkness of sleep. Her first thought was that she was pretty sure her mate was awake, mainly because something very hard was digging into her stomach. “Morning,” she smiled and opened her eyes.
His eyes were right there, looking into hers, “Morning, sexy, you slept well.”
“I know, did you?” she asked, but somehow knew he hadn’t.
“I just dozed, that feeling from outside last night kept niggling, so I couldn’t rest. Anyway, enough about me, scrap that, what about me?” He asked this while moving his hips, probing her with his hardness.
“I take it you’re in the mood?” She laughed, and he gave her that sexy smile that always made her heart beat quicker and her stomach fill with butterflies.
“Hell yeah,” he said, as his lips took hers, he took his time, making sure that the pleasure he gave was mind-blowing. As he finally pierced her skin with his long, white fangs, she all but dissolved into a quivering mess, as floods of sensations overwhelmed her system, her throat was dry, as she screamed his name.
Finally her mind started to work again, once the pleasure had dampened down a bit, and she hoped that nobody had heard her scream, blushing just at the thought that Boyd or Petre had heard her. Jeez, Kyle turned her into a wanton little hussy.
“Just the way I like you,” he murmured, as he left little kisses along the side of her neck.
“You are so bad,” she giggled, as he finally pulled away and got out of bed.
“Come on, we’ve got some shopping to do,” he threw her over his shoulder, as he made his way to the shower, where she joined him a moment later.
The shower was quicker than usual, but they didn’t want to be late and keep Boyd waiting. She was pretty sure nobody kept Boyd waiting.
She pulled on a pair of shorts that came to her mid-thigh. Then she pulled out a floaty, halter-neck top and some underwear, using a bikini top instead of a bra, as it was more comfortable. She was glad she had brought it, she had not done any swimming or sunbathing, but it came in handy under tops like this one.
As she tied the top around the back of her neck, she saw Kyle was ready, holding the Ruger in his hand. Her stomach clenched, as he came towards her, he turned her around and placed the gun in the small of her back in her waistband. It felt strange and cold against her skin, and it felt heavier somehow than it did when she held it in her hands. Kyle pulled her top out and over the back of her shorts and walked around her, looking from several angles before nodding his head.
“Good, can’t see a thing,” he said, with a smile and she wiggled about, making sure the thing was secure. She certainly didn’t want it falling out.
“Now reach around and pull it out, try it a few times, you need to be able to do it in one fluid movement.”
Kyle watched, as she did as he told her, the first time was a disaster, as she dropped the gun on the floor. After about a dozen times, she felt more comfortable, both with where it was and in her ability to reach it quickly.
“I told you it wouldn’t be so bad,” he smiled at her and she had to agree, it didn’t feel as weird now, and she was surprised at how comforting it was to have the gun so close.
“We better get moving, Boyd will be waiting.” Kyle walked out into the hallway, with her on his heels.
Breakfast was waiting on her, as they arrived, Boyd was sitting in his usual chair drinking a cup of coffee. She went to the coffeemaker and poured herself a cup. She wasn’t very hungry, so she settled for toast and a couple of boiled eggs. She had long given up worrying about the waste of the extra food. Kyle poured some fresh orange juice for both him and her, and she took a good long drink of the delicious cool liquid.
“We’ll leave when you’re ready,” Boyd said, as she started to eat, she tried not to rush and give herself indigestion.
“Boyd, did you feel something last night – something...off...that’s the only word I can come up with. I couldn’t quite grasp it, but I felt something was not quite right.”
Boyd looked at Kyle, his head to the side a little, “I did, but like you, I couldn’t place it.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t just me,” Kyle replied, a frown now on his face.
“If it was something to do with Raige, we would’ve felt the warning the Witch put in place,” Boyd answered Kyle, and she looked between the two, also wondering what it was
that they had both felt.
“I suppose,” Kyle murmured, still annoyed that he couldn’t figure out what it was.
“I’m done,” she said, after only a slice of toast, the talk of Raige made her stomach roil.
“You’ve hardly eaten anything, don’t rush on my account,” Boyd said, as she stood up.
“It’s okay, I’m not hungry. I’ll get something later, when we’re out.”
Kyle stood and took her hand, rubbing his thumb on it, as he held it. He had obviously felt her unease at the mention of Raige.
The large sedan they rode in from the airport waited on them, and she and Kyle got in the back, as Boyd got in to drive.
Soon they were driving along through the countryside, and she finally got to see a glimpse of Italy. It looked lovely, peaceful even, as they meandered through small villages and lush green land. The sun wasn’t high in the sky yet, but it was already pretty warm and she rolled her window down a little bit to get some fresh air, the wind blew her unruly hair. All thoughts of Raige left her, as she settled back and enjoyed the ride.
“I feel a tad like a chauffeur,” Boyd remarked, and Kyle laughed.
“You are so far removed from a chauffeur, it’s like chalk and cheese,” he replied, and she smiled, wondering what Boyd would look like with one of those caps on his head that a lot of chauffeurs wore.
“You will never see me in one of those,” Boyd answered her thoughts, and she giggled, as the picture of him wearing one wouldn’t leave her mind.
Kyle joined in, “We might see if we can buy one today for the return journey.”
“I think not,” Boyd said dryly, as she and Kyle laughed.
As they got closer to town, there were more homes and shops, and she could even see glimpses of water, then as they drove up a hill and crested the top, she inhaled sharply. There in front of them was, what she assumed, was Lake Como and the view was incredible. They could see almost all of the lake from their vantage at the top of the hill, but lost it as they drove down towards a small town.
“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” Boyd said quietly, and she could only agree with him.
“It certainly is. I would drive here every day, just to come over the top of that hill. The view is outstanding, Boyd, really outstanding.”
She kept her eyes peeled now, hoping to catch more of the lake, but so far there were too many buildings in the way, or they were too low for a decent view. It was another half hour before they were in a position to see it again, and she marvelled at the scene. Breath taking was the word that came to mind, she definitely wanted to visit the area again, only next time it would be a proper holiday.
Boyd drove expertly, as he maneuvered the large vehicle through some very tight and tiny streets. These streets, she thought, were built for horses and carts, not large cars. He didn’t seem to mind and didn’t get flustered, as she knew she would, he drove with care and attention and even waved to a couple of people on the way. The closer they got to the water, the more shops there were. The place was already busy with people. Some were obviously tourists, but a lot were locals, and it was very easy to tell them apart.
“There’s a car park near the shore, there’s usually spaces, because it costs a fortune to park, so we’ll stop there. One of my favorite little places to stop for coffee is nearby, and so are most of the shops, including the designers. I’ll wait there for you, and then we’ll go along the shore a little to a place I know. I am told the food is excellent, but I go there for the view. It’s set right on the shore and sometimes you can see the flamingos.”
She had read about the flamingos, but hadn’t been sure if they were real. She couldn’t imagine Boyd sitting and watching flamingos.
Boyd was driving at a snail’s pace to allow for the other cars and people, most of whom showed a total disregard for the cars. The shore came into view and he took a left turn, which brought them to the car park, as he had predicted, there were quite a few spaces. He parked perfectly and they all got out, the heat and noise hit them right away. For a small place, the noise level was surprising, there was a lot of shouting and arms waving all over the place.
“That’s the Italians, raised voices and talking with their hands, it’s fun to watch,” Boyd almost laughed, but stopped himself, she wondered why. He looked a handsome, when he laughed.
Kyle coughed and she looked at him, he cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. Ooops, he had obviously heard her thoughts.
“Stop it, I’m sure you could block it, if you wanted to,” she grinned, but he chose to ignore her comment.
“That little café there, on the corner, that’s where I’ll be, if you go up that street, you will find designer shops galore,” and with that Boyd walked in the direction of the café.
Kyle moved a hand to her back, checking the gun was secure. She placed her own hand back there to double check. Yup, still secure and still covered by her top, so they set off towards the street Boyd had pointed out. She felt a bit like a spy on a mission with her hunky man on her arm and a gun at her back.
“You’ve got some imagination there, little miss, first it was Boyd in a chauffeurs hat, then it was that he looked handsome when he laughed, now I'm your ‘hunky man’ and you're a spy?”
“Better than a woman with a psychopathic Vampire hunting her,” she looked at his face and saw it tighten at her words, and she wished she hadn't said them. Sometimes she should think before speaking.
“I didn't mean it like that, Kyle, I was trying to make a joke, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, it just fucking annoys me, everything about him annoys me, but we’re not thinking about him today. Today is ‘spoil Sabrina day’ so come on, let’s get started.”
He pulled her along and she skipped a few steps to keep up with him, smiling widely as they went. In less than a minute, she was almost laughing, Boyd had been right, there were plenty of shops for Kyle to spoil her in.
“Silver, strappy, sandals, with a one to two inch wedge heel, I saw them in the magazine on the flight from Florida to Denver. Help me look,” she started looking in windows, shoes and bags, lots of the latest fashions displayed for her to drool over. She noticed there were no price tags visible, did they think it too crass to actually have a price showing?
“Anything?” Kyle asked, looking over her shoulder and into the window.
“Nope,” she answered and moved on to the next shop, she was so lucky her mate liked to shop, most guys would run a mile in the other direction, but Kyle seemed to like shopping with her and buying her things, just as much as she liked shopping for him. He was a little picky when it came to clothes, though, and she usually only got him something if they were together, maybe she would see something they both liked today.
“Why don’t we go inside, they’ll have stock that’s not in the display,” he was now pulling her in the doorway, and she knew it was futile to try and stop him.
They were in that one shop for over an hour, as the two very well dressed, well-manicured salesgirls pandered to them mercilessly. She was sure they brought out every single pair of footwear they had in stock, and it was only at the very end that she found the silver strappy sandals with a small wedge heel. She absolutely loved them and once she put them on, she refused to take them off.
“I love them, Kyle, just what I was looking for. They’re almost identical to the pair I saw in that magazine.” Her face was flush with excitement and she saw the smile on his face.
He genuinely loved giving her things.
“Okay, what about you? I like that shirt,” she pointed to a pale pink dress shirt that was behind him on a mannequin.
“What? Are you kidding? Pink? No way,” he laughed, and she scowled, she thought he would look great in pink.
“Scared you won’t look manly enough in it?" She teased, and he stared back at her with a smile.
“Oh, I'm man enough, I just know how jealous you
get, and the women would be falling at my feet, if I wore that.”
She looked into his eyes, trying to figure out how much of that was a joke. Jealousy was something that reared its head with her from time to time, when she saw the stares and sometimes-blatant come-ons from women, when they were out. On one occasion, she had been ready to slap the bitch that was coming onto him while they were at the tables in Vegas playing Blackjack.
Kyle took the situation in hand by pulling Sabrina into his arms while the woman was still talking, and kissing her with an abandoned passion that was probably not socially acceptable. When he finally let her go, she was pleased to see the blush on the woman's face and the angry tight line of her lips.
“Hmm low blow, Kyle, but I’ll give you that, though, you better be joking, buster,” she prodded him in the ribs, and they moved to pay for her sandals. She placed her old ones in the stylish shop tote and felt a little foolish for carrying them around in something that probably cost more than the shoes.
“You may not have liked the pink shirt, but we are definitely getting you something, so start looking, or I’ll just go back and buy that pink one.” She smirked up at him, as they moved onto the next shop.
Another hour spent shopping, in which she picked out a small handbag in less than ten minutes, it took the rest of the time for Kyle to make up his mind over a shirt. Every one she liked, he didn’t, every one he liked, she didn’t, the salesgirl looked as if she was ready to tear her hair out before they finally agreed on a t-shirt rather than a shirt. Designer, of course, so it cost an arm and a leg, but both of them liked it, so the deed was done.
As they paid the bill, her stomach rumbled, she only had a slice of toast that morning, so she was now rather hungry.
Sabrina's Vampire Series Boxed Set Page 36