She ate lunch at the MGM Grand, stopped at The Mirage to wander through Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, spent a few moments playing Blackjack at the Excalibur. And yet, no matter where she was or what she was doing, she couldn't help wishing Dominic were with her, couldn't help wishing she could hurry the sun across the sky.
How many vampires were there in Vegas? In the world?
Where had Dominic gone to spend the day?
Where did the others go?
In the movie Dracula, the vampire had been required to sleep on his native soil. Obviously that was Hollywood fiction since Dominic hadn't mentioned such a thing, but thinking about it made her wonder how many other vampire myths were fantasy and how many were fact. Would he be repelled by garlic? A cross? Would pure silver or holy water burn him? She would have to ask him later.
She was crossing the lobby of Caesar's Palace when she suddenly remembered Bryan. Hurrying up to her room, she dropped her packages on the bed, which had been made in her absence, and quickly dialed his number.
He didn't answer, so she left a message, telling him where she was and giving him her room number. It was only when she hung up the receiver that she realized he was probably down at the beach.
At least she hoped that's where he was. She couldn't shake the feeling that something horrible had happened. She couldn't help worrying that Kitana might have brought Bryan across, or that he was helplessly in thrall to her. She shook off a quick mental image of Bryan lying in a coffin beside Kitana, his lips stained with blood. If anything happened to him, it would be all her fault. Knowing how Bryan felt about vampires, how would she live with herself if Kitana forced the Dark Gift on him?
As much as she wanted to spend another night here, it was time to go home. She had to get in touch with Bryan, had to know that he was safe.
She glanced out the window, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the sun was low in the sky.
Dominic would be rising soon.
Chapter 30
Kitana came awake the moment the sun began its slow descent below the horizon. Instantly alert, she sat up and stretched her arms over her head. As always, she was filled with a sense of indomitable power and well-being. She had been a sickly child. While her brothers and sisters were outside playing in the sun, she spent her days indoors, staring out the window. Unable to run and play with the others, she had been confined to her bed. Any exertion wearied her. Sometimes the mere act of eating had exhausted her.
She was nineteen years old the night the stranger came to her parents' inn. She had been sitting on a chair in the common room in front of the fire, blankets swathed around her. Summer or winter, she was always cold.
The man's gaze had settled on her face for a long time. His eyes had been a blue so pale they seemed almost colorless. But, for all that, they mesmerized her with their intensity. When he looked away, she felt as though she had lost something precious.
She had risen early the next morning, hoping to see him again. She had waited in the common room all day, but he had never made an appearance. And then, just when she was beginning to think she would never see him again, he had glided into the room. She couldn't help staring. Never before had she seen a man like him. His clothing—fawn-colored breeches, a white lawn shirt, soft leather boots—was impeccable. Unlike the people of her small village, his skin was clear and smooth. His pale blond hair fell to his shoulders.
She stared at him, hoping to be noticed, and when he looked her way, a rush of warmth flooded through her, chasing away the cold that was ever a part of her.
Her eyes had widened as the stranger moved toward her.
When he reached her side, he inclined his head. "Good evening, my pretty one."
Pleasure filled her at his words. "Good evening, kind sir."
"Will you walk with me?"
She had swallowed hard. "Me? You want me to walk with you?"
He held out his hand. "Will you do me that honor?"
She hadn't known what to say. No man had ever noticed her before. She glanced around the common room, looking for her mother but, for once, there was no one else in sight.
Filled with a sudden sense of adventure, she had thrown back the quilt that covered her and placed her hand in his.
With easy strength, he had helped her to her feet. Placing her hand on his arm, he had escorted her from the inn.
Outside, night had fallen. A slice of butter-yellow moon kept company with the stars.
Kitana shivered, though she wasn't sure if it was her illness or the cool air that made her tremble. The stranger seemed to tower above her though he was only a few inches taller than she.
"How long have you been ill?" he asked.
"All my life, sir."
"Have you seen a physician?"
"Yes. None of them has been able to help."
"I can help you."
Pausing, she had peered up at him. He looked back at her, his eyes glowing like pale sapphires in the darkness. "Are you a doctor, sir?"
"No."
She shivered again, frightened now without knowing why. "I think I should go back. My mother…"
"Do not be afraid, mein kleines."
She drew her hand from his arm and backed away. "Good night, sir."
She didn't see him move, but the next thing she knew, his fingers were digging into her forearm and he was dragging her into the trees. She struggled in his grasp, kicking and scratching. Her nails raked his face, but to no avail.
When they were well away from the inn, he came to a stop.
Kitana looked up at him, her heart drumming in her ears. "What… what are you going to do to me?"
"I am going to give you a gift that was given to me centuries ago."
"A gift?" she asked skeptically. "What kind of gift?"
He looked past her into the distance. "I am the last of my kind."
"Your kind?" Some of her fear dissipated in the face of her curiosity.
"I am Vampyr."
"Vampyr?' She repeated the word, then gasped. "You mean vampire? You're a vampire?"
He nodded. "All the others are gone. Those who were not destroyed by the hunters have taken their own lives."
She tugged against his hold, her gaze darting from side to side. "But I have no wish to be a vampire."
"I have never brought anyone across. My blood is pure, my powers strong." His gaze settled on her face again. "I have what you need," he said quietly. "But be warned, the gift I am about to give you carries great risk and great responsibility."
She stared up at him, the taste of fear bitter on her tongue, as he lowered his head toward her. She tried to fight him, her struggles increasing when she felt his teeth at her throat. And then, abruptly, she was filled with a sense of warmth and well-being. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, all thought of resistance swallowed up in the sense of euphoria that engulfed her.
"Kitana. Kitana, child, you must drink."
Feeling drugged, she blinked up at him.
He thrust his wrist in front of her, pushed it against her lips. "Drink!"
Staring into the endless depths of his eyes, she did as she was told. And when he tried to draw his arm away, she clung to him, hungry for more. Strength flowed into her with every swallow. Energy pulsed through her with every breath. For the first time that she could remember, she felt healthy and strong, felt as though she could run and never grow weary, climb a tree, swim the river.
Muttering an oath, he wrested his arm from her grasp.
She stood on her own, looking up at him, her brow furrowed in confusion. Though it was late night, she could see clearly. The veins in the leaves on the trees. The individual threads in the stranger's coat. The thin plume of smoke rising from the inn.
She looked at him and laughed out loud; then, extending her arms out to her sides, she twirled around and around.
"Vampire!" She shouted it to the stars. "I am vampire!"
That night, the stranger, whose name was Wolfric,
told her all she needed to know to survive. She listened intently, though now and then her attention was drawn away. It was difficult to concentrate on one thing when there was so much to see, to hear. Every sense was heightened, sharpened.
When, near dawn, he rose to leave her, she clung to his hand, begging him not to go.
He had smiled down at her and for the first time she noted how very weary he looked.
"Enjoy your new life, mein kleines," he had said kindly.
Tears filled her eyes, dripped onto her hand, as red as blood.
Tenderly, he had stroked her cheek. "Remember me."
"Please do not leave me. I am afraid."
"There is nothing to fear."
"Where are you going? Will I ever see you again?"
Rising, he had drawn her up against him and kissed her cheek. "Auf wiedersehen."
"Wait!"
Even before the word left her lips, he was gone in a twinkling of silver mist.
And she had known, on some deep instinctive level, that he had gone to meet the sun.
Rising, she bathed, then dressed with care. Like many newly made vampires, the lust for blood had been overpowering. In the beginning, the hunger had been unbearable and she had taken lives, perhaps more than necessary. Back then, she had lacked the patience to feed slowly and in her haste and hunger, she had killed indiscriminately. In time, she had learned to control the hunger, to feed at her leisure. She had learned it was not necessary to kill to survive, that she could leave her prey alive, if she chose, though she rarely did so.
There was, after all, no end of handsome young men to feast upon. Though she had bewitched many of them through the years, she had bequeathed the Dark Gift to but a few. Like Dominic. Even after all these centuries, she regretted her foolishness in letting him get away. But she had still been a young vampire then, easily amused, quickly bored.
Of the mortals she had turned, Petrina was the most like Kitana. Not every mortal could handle immortality, but Petrina had been a vampire at heart even before the change. She was a relentless hunter. She delighted in keeping her prey alive, toying with them as a cat played with a mouse, taking the blood of her victims a little at a time, all the while letting them know that death awaited them.
Ah, Petrina. She far excelled Kitana in cruelty and blood-letting. And she had set herself against Dominic. Kitana frowned. Sooner or later, her two fledglings would again seek to destroy one another. And while she was fond of Petrina, it was Dominic who had ever been her favorite. Perhaps she could find a way to arrange a peace between them before they destroyed each other. She did not wish to lose them both.
Long ago she had vowed to bring Dominic to his knees, but they had been words spoken in anger. Though she had told him she could destroy him, she was no longer certain it was true. Power radiated from him, power perhaps equal to her own. And while she would have enjoyed his company through the ages, she was no longer certain of her ability to control him. He was a proud man, arrogant in his preternatural strength,
But tonight was not a night for thinking of the past. Tonight was a night for romance.
Smiling, she ran a hand through her hair, filled with an almost girlish excitement at the prospect of seeing the boy, Bryan, again.
Chapter 31
Tracy knew the moment he entered the room. One minute she was alone, staring out at the lights that lit up the city, and the next, she was aware of a subtle shift in the atmosphere and Dominic was standing behind her, his arms around her waist, his lips nuzzling her neck.
She leaned against his chest, overcome by a sense of completeness now that he was there.
It had been in her mind to ask him to take her home but now she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms. Just for a little while, she told herself. The night was young. They had plenty of time.
His tongue laved the sensitive skin behind her ear. "Did you miss me, my best beloved one?"
"Of course." She turned in his embrace and smiled up at him. "I even bought you a present."
"Indeed?"
She nodded. "Two, actually." Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him, then slipped out of his arms.
Going into the closet, she withdrew a shopping bag and handed it to him.
Dominic looked at her, then delved into the bag and withdrew a midnight blue robe with black silk piping.
"Do you like it?" she asked.
He ran his hand over the velvet, then reached out to cup her cheek. "Thank you, querida," he said, then frowned. "It must have cost a great deal."
"Almost as much as this room," she said, grinning, "but it was worth it."
His gaze caressed her face and then he drew her into his arms once more. "I love you, my wife, more than you will ever know."
"Oh, Dominic," she murmured. "I love you, too."
"You mentioned two presents," he reminded her.
A faint blush pinked her cheeks. "So I did. I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"Just into the bathroom for a minute."
Going to the closet, she picked up a bag, then went into the bathroom and closed the door.
Dominic stared after her, then, after removing his shirt, he put on the robe. It was a luxurious garment, he thought, fit for a king.
He looked at the bathroom door, wondering what she was doing in there, felt his breath catch in his throat when the door opened and she stepped out clad in a diaphanous white nightgown that was so light, so sheer, it looked as though it had been fashioned of dreams and moonbeams. Her glorious honey-gold hair fell down her back and over her shoulders in soft waves.
She blushed under his frankly admiring gaze.
"You bought that for me?" he asked with a faint grin.
"Do you like it?"
"Very much. And it is just my size."
Soft laughter filled the room as she walked toward him. He could see the faint outline of her figure beneath the whisper-soft silk. The scent of her perfume trailed behind her but it was the scent of the woman that intoxicated him. Desire swelled within him. She was his. He could scarcely believe it. After countless years, she was in his arms, warm and willing. The wonder of it, the reality of it, was almost more than he could bear.
With a low cry, he swept her into his arms. Trembling with need, he carried her to bed and laid her on the mattress. Stretching out beside her, he drew her into his arms. With an air of reverence, like a supplicant at the altar, he worshipped her with his hands and his lips, whispering that he loved her, had always loved her.
And she caressed him in return, telling him with every touch, every kiss, that she was his, would always be his.
Her nearness, the intensity of their lovemaking, intensified his power. It swelled within him, cocooning them in a world of preternatural sensations.
Tracy moaned softly as her senses grew and expanded. His feelings, his pleasure, were tangled up with her own until she couldn't tell one from the other. She felt his hunger, as well, and when his fangs grazed her neck, she turned her head to the side, a wordless sound of acquiescence rising in her throat.
Her eyelids fluttered down as his body merged with hers and then she was lost—wonderfully, deliciously lost in Dominic's embrace.
Dominic held Tracy close, her back tucked against his chest, his arms tight around her, their legs entwined. He had waited centuries for this woman, he thought, and would willingly endure them all again for this moment.
She was his woman now, his wife, at last.
Her scent filled his nostrils. The sweetness of her essence lingered on his tongue.
Only one thing remained, he thought, and wondered if, in this life, she would accept the gift he had offered her countless times before.
He loosened his hold when she stirred in his arms. "Is something wrong?"
"No, but…" She rolled over and smiled at him. "I didn't have dinner and I'm hungry. And I'm worried about Bryan."
"I do not understand why you worry so over that boy."
"I can't help
it. He was my son in a past life, I'm sure of it."
"Ah, Jacob."
"Yes. Would you mind terribly if we went home?"
"Whatever you wish, querida."
"I hate to leave, but…"
He placed one finger over her lips. "It is all right, my best beloved one." He kissed her tenderly. "We can go home whenever you like."
Tracy ordered room service and while they waited for it to arrive, they made love again, then showered together.
She laughed as she washed Dominic's back. "It never occurred to me that vampires bathed."
He glanced over his shoulder, one brow arched in wry amusement. "Indeed?"
She shrugged. "I guess I just never thought of vampires doing normal things, you know?"
"Just skulking around in the shadows, preying on innocent women?"
"Well, something like that. Of course, I never really believed in vampires, either, until I met you. Now I'm wondering if there are really ghosts and werewolves." She frowned at him, irritated by the amusement in his eyes. "Are there?"
"Not that I know of."
"Well, that's a relief."
They were drying each other off when there was a knock at the door.
"I will get it," Dominic said. Wrapping a towel around his middle, he went to answer the door.
He dressed while she ate, prowled the room restlessly while she dressed and got her things together.
She took a last look around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.
"Ready?" he asked.
She nodded. "Thank you for a wonderful honeymoon."
"Thank you," he said quietly, "for marrying me."
They were the sweetest words she had ever heard.
Dominic held out his hand. "Ready?" he asked again, and she put her hand in his.
A moment later, they were back in Nightingale House.
Tracy put her bags down on the floor inside the door, then moved through the downstairs rooms, turning on the lights.
When she returned to the living room, Dominic was standing where she had left him.
A Whisper of Eternity Page 24