She had stared up at him. “You told me you didn’t kill anyone,” she had said, her voice shaking.
“I haven’t,” he had replied with a feral grin. “Yet.”
Once again, the sound of her own cries had awakened her.
How much longer did he expect her to stay imprisoned in this house? If she didn’t get out soon, she would go insane.
She tapped her fingertips on the sill as she considered her options. Her life was in danger, there was no doubt of that. She could either stay here, hiding away like some coward, or she could go home and face her fears. Her mother and father hadn’t run away from danger. They had both hunted Vampires.
Yes, a little voice murmured in the back of her mind, and they had both been killed by Vampires.
Rane thought she should stay here, but what was the point? The Werewolf’s appearance proved that her whereabouts were no longer a secret. What made Rane think that staying here was any safer than going home? Another Werewolf could show up here tomorrow. Mara could return at any time. Just because Rane said it was all right for them to be here didn’t make it so. Mara might have other ideas about an uninvited mortal staying in her lair. Savanah knew good and well that she was no match for a Vampire like Mara.
She wanted to go home, and that was what she was going to do. She would fortify her house as best she could and let the chips fall where they may. She had made her first kill, and while it had sickened her, she had proved she could do it. Her parents hadn’t shunned the fight, and neither would she.
Her decision brought with it a sense of peace. When she saw Rane, she would tell him what she had decided, the consequences be damned.
Humming softly, she went into the kitchen to make a sandwich. Carrying it with her, she went down to the rec room in search of something to read. There was no telling when Rane would wake. Until then, she needed something to occupy her time.
The storm didn’t sound so loud in the playroom. Standing in front of the bookshelf, she scanned the titles. Mara had a vast library, everything from the works of Shakespeare, Dickens, and Milton to Erma Bombeck and Gary Larsen. It would have taken several lifetimes to collect so many books. Had Mara read them all, Savanah wondered, or did she just like to collect them?
Plucking a copy of Wuthering Heights from the shelf, Savanah curled up in one of the chairs and opened the book, only to stare into the distance, thinking about last night. She hadn’t said anything to Rane, but he had known what she was thinking. Big surprise. The man could read her mind. He had told her he hadn’t killed anyone, but the way he said it…Maybe he hadn’t taken a life, but she would have bet everything she owned that he had wanted to.
She nibbled on the sandwich while she tried to imagine what it was like to be constantly at the mercy of such an insidious craving. She was addicted to chocolate; there was no doubt about that. What woman wasn’t? But she could go without it if she had to. And if she went without it long enough, the craving went away. She had gone a week without any chocolate once, just to see if she could do it, and she had survived with no ill effects. But Rane’s insatiable lust for blood never went away. No matter how often he fed, the hunger was still there the next day and the next, and if he didn’t feed, the hunger grew a little worse each day until the pain became excruciating.
Shaking off her gruesome thoughts, she looked down at the book in her lap. Where were her mother’s books? What would she do if Rane refused to give them to her?
She had made her first kill. The thought was exciting and repulsive at the same time. But, having done it, she felt the need to record it. If she only knew the Werewolf’s name, she could enter it in the book. And her name beside it as the hunter who had destroyed it.
Rane woke late in the afternoon. Staring into the darkness, he assessed his injuries. The bites and scratches inflicted by the Werewolf had healed; the flesh burned by the sun pained him only a little less than it had the day before. It would be days, perhaps weeks, before the worst of his injuries were fully healed. He had forgotten how painful the touch of the sun’s light could be, but he would willingly endure that and more to protect Savanah.
A harsh laugh escaped his lips. He hadn’t done such a great job of protecting her. Now that whoever was after the books knew where she was, she wouldn’t be safe here any longer. She was a smart girl. No doubt that fact had already occurred to her.
He took a deep breath, and Mara’s scent filled his nostrils. He had felt the brush of her mind against his briefly last night. No other Vampire he knew of possessed the power to reach across continents and oceans. Truly, Mara was a law unto herself, a creature with Supernatural abilities that bordered on the divine. The inhabitants of the earth could count themselves fortunate that she had no desire to dominate them.
He opened his senses as his thoughts drifted to the other woman in his life. He could hear Savanah moving about in the kitchen upstairs, no doubt preparing something to eat. The thought of food aroused his own hunger. He needed to feed again. It was the only way to ease the pain that burned through him with every breath.
Sitting up, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The movement, slight as it was, made his wounds sing. Hands clenched, he took several slow, deep breaths. Damn, why hadn’t he said yes when Mara offered him her blood? Had he done so, he wouldn’t be hurting so badly now. One thing was for certain, if she made him the same offer again, he wouldn’t refuse.
He grunted softly. Little good that did him now.
Rising, he went into the bathroom and turned on the water in the bathtub. He ran his hands over his face, wincing as his fingers brushed singed flesh. For the first time, he was grateful that he couldn’t see his reflection. Imagining how he must look, he found it rather surprising that Savanah hadn’t run screaming from the sight.
He undressed while the tub filled, his hands exploring the burned flesh on his arms, neck, and back. Only his legs had escaped the sun’s wrath.
With a sigh, he stepped into the tub, sank into the blessedly cool water, and closed his eyes.
Savanah glanced at the clock. It was after four. Rane was usually up by now. Of course, being badly hurt, he probably needed more rest than usual. And more blood, she thought with a shudder. She wondered what he would say when she told him she had decided to go home. Would he agree, try to convince her to stay here, or simply refuse to let her go?
She fixed a glass of iced tea, then went down to the rec room, kicked off her shoes, and turned on the satellite screen. Picking up the remote, she flipped through the channels until she found a movie she hadn’t seen, then settled back on the sofa. Try as she might, she couldn’t concentrate on the screen. Instead, she kept glancing over her shoulder, expecting Rane to appear at any minute. Where was he? She drummed her fingertips on the arm of the sofa. Had he been injured worse than she thought? Maybe he lacked the strength to rise.
She sipped her tea, her anxiety growing with every passing moment. Where the heck was he? A sudden coldness clenched her insides. What if he had died in the night? No! She shook her head. That was impossible.
But what if he had?
She was thinking about going down to the subbasement to see if she could get into Mara’s private quarters when Rane walked into the room. She couldn’t help staring at him.
“I’d tell you it looks worse than it feels,” he said dryly, “but it would be a lie.”
“Are you all right, otherwise?”
He shrugged. Because he hadn’t trusted himself to be with Savanah until after he’d fed, he had gone hunting earlier, something made possible by the heavy cloud cover that obscured the sun. He had preyed upon four young men he had found camped a few miles farther up the mountain. They had all been strong and healthy, football players by the look of them, and he had fed, and fed well.
Still feeling the need to keep his distance from Savanah, he sat in the chair across from the sofa. He had never been vain about his looks; he knew women found him attractive, but he felt strangely embarrassed by his mo
nstrous appearance. That in itself was odd, he thought, since he was a monster on the inside no matter what his outward appearance might be.
“What did you do with the Werewolf?” Savanah asked.
“I dumped his body in a deep ravine at the top of the mountain.”
“Did you know him?”
“No. Why?”
“I just wondered. I’ve never killed anyone before, you know.” She shrugged. “I didn’t even know his name.”
“His legal name was Samuel Jefferson, according to his driver’s license. Does that make you feel any better about it?”
“Of course not!” she retorted. “I killed a man. Taking a life may be old hat to you, but it’s a new experience for me.”
Rane dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice gruff. “I didn’t mean…”
“It’s all right. I know you didn’t mean it. We’ve both been under a lot of pressure in the last few weeks.”
“That’s no excuse. I know how difficult this must be for you.”
“Do you?”
“Maybe not. I was no longer mortal when I made my first kill. It came easily to me,” he said quietly. “Perhaps too easily.”
“I’m not sorry for what I did,” she said, a note of defiance creeping into her voice. “He meant to kill us, but…”
“But it’s an awesome and troubling responsibility, the taking of a life.”
“Yes. But given the same circumstances, I’d do it again.”
Rane smiled in spite of himself. She had the face of an angel and the courage of a mama bear defending her young.
“I’ve decided to go home,” Savanah said.
“Indeed?”
She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Yes, tomorrow night. I’ll be needing my mother’s books, so I can pack them.”
“I see. And if I think you and the books should stay here?”
“I’m going home, Rane. My whereabouts are no longer a secret.”
“I haven’t done a very good job of protecting you, have I?”
“I didn’t say that.”
He regarded her a moment, the tension in the air building until it hummed like a hot wire between them. And then he blew out a sigh. “I’ll take you home, if that’s what you want.”
“Will you stay with me for a while?”
“Stay, as in stay in the city, or…?”
“Stay with me, at my house, only if you want to, of course.”
“What do you think?”
A flush rose in her cheeks. “I’m new to all this…Vampire hunting,” she clarified before he could say anything. “I could use your help.”
“Are you sure you want to team up with me?”
“I think we’ve done all right together so far. That Werewolf would have killed me if it wasn’t for you.”
He shrugged, reluctant to admit it even though he knew it was true. “He was after the books, wasn’t he?”
Savanah nodded. Maybe Rane was right. Maybe she should just burn the damn things. She stared into the distance, remembering the horror of the afternoon, reliving her fear, not only for her own life, but for Rane’s as well.
Rane drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. “I just wish I knew who sent him.”
“What makes you think he was working for someone else?” The idea chilled her to the bone. She wanted to believe that, with the Werewolf’s death, her worries were over.
“Just a hunch. I keep asking myself why a Werewolf would want the books, and why a Werewolf and a Vampire are working together.”
“So he wasn’t the Werewolf you smelled at my house?”
“No.” Rane ran a hand over his jaw. “I can understand why a Vampire would want the books, but a Werewolf…?” He shook his head. “Unless…”
“Unless?”
“I don’t know. Vampire hunters have been disappearing, but I haven’t heard of any Vampire or Vampires who’ve suddenly gone on a killing spree. For one thing, Mara wouldn’t stand for it. So that leaves the Werewolves and the shape-shifters.” He shook his head again. “I’d rule out the shifters, so that leaves the Wolves. Maybe they want to start another war. Maybe…hell, I don’t know.”
“You never answered my question,” Savanah reminded him after a moment. “Will you stay with me?”
Savanah felt a flutter of excitement low in her belly when he gained his feet and walked toward her, his movements slow and deliberate as he closed the short distance between them. He loomed over her, tall and dark and dangerous, his eyes glinting with desire. Her body warmed to his gaze.
“What do you think?” he asked again.
There was a lot to be said for being in love with a Vampire, Savanah thought as Rane lifted her into his arms. Cradling her to his chest with one hand, he slipped his other hand under her sweater to caress her belly. It sent shivers of anticipation racing down her spine. A moment later, her sweater was gone and he was kissing her breasts, his breath burning through her bra to warm the skin beneath as he carried her upstairs.
The bedroom was dark, the drapes drawn across the windows.
After setting her on her feet, he quickly divested Savanah of her bra, jeans, and panties; then, sitting on the edge of the bed, he drew her into the vee of his thighs.
“Beautiful,” he murmured.
Reaching up, he cupped her face in his hands. Drawing her head down, he kissed her eyelids, her cheeks, the pulse throbbing in her throat, careful to avoid the chain around her neck. No doubt it would burn him when they made love, but he dared not ask her to remove it. His tongue swept over her lips, parting them, then delved inside. The touch of his tongue against her own filled her with a sharp stab of desire.
When she thought she might explode with needing him, he fell back on the bed. Drawing her down on top of him, he kissed her again, long and deep. She groaned softly, certain she would expire on the spot if he didn’t make love to her.
He showered her with kisses. His hands moved over her body as if for the first time, fondling, exploring, as if he had never touched her before. He worshiped her with his gaze, with his lips, each touch of his hands stroking skin that yearned for more.
Her own hands were trembling as she pulled his T-shirt over his head. She winced when her fingertips brushed against the ugly burn on his neck. After she dropped his T-shirt on the floor, he obligingly removed his sweatpants and tossed them aside, and then stretched out beside her, his skin cool against her heated flesh.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked. “It won’t hurt you to…”
“It will hurt more not to.”
She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms, careful not to touch his singed flesh, fascinated by the rock-hard muscles of his biceps. “It was a brave thing you did, coming outside when the sun was up.”
“I’d do it again, for you.” And so saying, he covered her mouth with his.
The touch of his lips on hers drove everything from her mind but the need to taste him, caress him. Tears burned her eyes when she thought of how close she had come to losing him forever.
“Hey, what’s this?” he asked, capturing one of her tears on the tip of his finger.
“Nothing.”
He drew back, his gaze moving over her face. “You’re crying. Why?”
“You could have been killed.”
“But I wasn’t.” He drew her into his embrace, his hand lightly stroking her hair. Her concern touched him as nothing else could. Since leaving home, no one had worried about him or cared whether he lived or died. Closing his eyes, he kissed his way along the smooth, warm flesh below her ear, cursed inwardly as his hunger flared to life.
Jackknifing into a sitting position, he turned his back to her. What was he doing? He couldn’t hold her, make love to her, and not taste her. And he was sorely afraid a taste wouldn’t be enough. Not now, when he hurt like hell. Perhaps never.
He flinched at the touch of her hand on his shoulder.
“Rane? What is it? Wha
t’s wrong?”
He shook his head. “I can’t do this.” He shivered as her fingers stroked his nape. Her touch stoked his desire and his hunger. It would be so easy to take her, to sheathe himself in her softness, to bury his fangs in her tender flesh, to drink and drink…
Muttering an oath, he gained his feet and stalked toward the window. His senses told him the storm had passed. Soon, the sun would set. If he drew back the heavy drapes and leaned out the window, how long would it take for the setting sun to turn his body to a pile of smoldering ash?
He took a step forward, watched his hand move toward one of the drapes…
“Stop it!” Savanah grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the window. “What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”
He stared down at her, at the pulse beating rapidly in the hollow of her throat.
“Rane, please…” She laid a gentle hand against his singed cheek. “I love you. I can only imagine what you’re going through, how painful this must be…”
“You can’t imagine it! No one can. I can’t look at you without wanting you, without wanting to drink and drink until there’s nothing left! Why do you stay with me? You should be running for your life. You’re in danger, Savanah, more than you know.”
His words, the intensity of his gaze, frightened her to the depths of her being and yet she couldn’t leave him, couldn’t run, not even to save her own life. He was hurting, suffering, and it was all her fault. If she hadn’t gone outside, none of this would have happened.
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