Seduced by the Night

by Robin T. Popp

  He made no effort to steer around the charging group. Several of the creatures lunged to the side to get out of the way. One, however, leaped at the vehicle as it shot past, and Dirk heard the thump as the creature cleared the hood and landed on the roof.

  There was no time to worry about their unwanted passenger, so Dirk concentrated on getting out of the garage as expediently as possible.

  Reaching the end of the floor, Dirk hit the brake as he spun the wheel, taking the corner practically on two tires. The exit ramp to the next level was straight ahead now, at the opposite end. Scanning the area for errant humans, grateful none were about, Dirk sped up and when they reached the ramp, he took the sharp half-circle curve without slowing down.

  When they shot onto the floor below, they were moving so fast that Dirk thought they’d be lucky not to crash. It took his entire focused attention to drive.

  They were on the third floor, about to take the next ramp down when he heard the squeal of tires. Then a large black car appeared behind them and quickly began closing the distance between them.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Beth look back over her shoulder. Then she turned and gaped at him. “They’re chasing us—in a car.” She sounded stunned. “I didn’t think they could drive.”

  “Yeah? Well, guess what?” They hit the ramp, barely slowing enough to make the curve to the bottom.

  They entered the second level and still the black car gained on them. When it was close enough, it rammed the rear of the Expedition and Dirk fought to control the wheel. Above him, he heard scraping sounds, reminding him that a vampire still clung to the roof. Dirk knew he was going to have to do some fast thinking and sharp driving to get out of this one.

  “Hang on.” He stamped on the accelerator and the Expedition shot forward. The small lead Dirk and Beth had was soon lost as the black car also sped up. “That’s right, asshole. Be sure to keep up,” Dirk muttered.

  The Expedition hit the down ramp at a dangerously high speed. Dirk gripped the steering wheel more firmly as he fought to control the SUV as it made the tight curve. Behind them came the squeal of tires followed by the chalkboardlike scraping of metal along concrete as their pursuers’ car hugged the wall.

  But still they came.

  The Expedition barreled onto the street level and Dirk barely managed to straighten the wheel before they smashed into a support column.

  The vampires weren’t as lucky and as Dirk and Beth raced for the exit, they heard the satisfying crunch of metal as the black car smashed into the same support column Dirk had narrowly avoided.

  Dirk didn’t slow down. The exit was dead ahead and they had almost reached it when another black car, similar to the first one, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked their escape.

  Bethany gasped. They were trapped and yet the Expedition barreled forward, Dirk seemingly unaware of the problem. “Dirk,” she screamed, bracing for the inevitable collision. “We’re going to cra—”

  At the last second, Dirk swerved and the SUV shot out the entrance gate. There were four sharp explosions as the one-way tracks blew out their tires, but Dirk kept going, turning onto the street.

  Bethany cast a nervous glance out the rearview window, too afraid to let go of the support handle she was gripping. “I don’t see anyone behind us. Maybe we lost them.” Her dry throat gave the words a rough-sounding edge.

  “Not yet. Brace your feet against the dashboard—and tighten your seat belt.”

  Wary, she did as instructed. Dirk slammed on the brakes and she lurched forward, but the seat belt and her feet braced against the dash kept her from flying through the windshield. Dirk fought to control the wheel as the SUV started to dovetail, the screeching of the tire rims scraping across the asphalt filling the eerie silence. Then Bethany heard the sound of something large hitting the hood.

  She looked up just in time to see a vampire bounce off the hood and disappear under the front of the vehicle, which then heaved like it’d hit a speed bump, but kept on going.

  Her mind froze as she remembered the vampire on the roof. She knew her eyes must be as round as saucers as she stared at Dirk in horror. “Is he . . . it . . . dead?”

  His expression was solemn as he focused on the road. “Do we care?” He continued to drive for another two blocks, gradually slowing the SUV until he could wrench the wheel enough to turn into the moderately full parking lot of a nightclub.

  He didn’t so much park the car as let it come to a stop along the side of the building. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “A little shaken, but for the most part—yeah, I’m fine. You?”

  “Yeah. Come on.” He undid his seat belt and climbed out of the SUV. Bethany hesitated a moment and then followed suit. She nervously glanced around, expecting vampires to jump out at them, but except for one or two “humans” heading into the bar, they were alone.

  She hurried around the vehicle to stand by Dirk, who was talking on his cell phone.

  “They hit the lab again. Yeah, we’re fine—for now.” He looked up at the name on the nearby sign. “We’re at The Dark Velvet nightclub. All right. See you then.”

  “Mac’s on his way,” he told her, disconnecting the call. “It’ll take him about an hour to get here.”

  Panic hit Bethany. “What are we supposed to do until then? We can’t just wait out here.”

  Dirk studied her face for a moment and she thought she saw a slight softening of his expression before he turned his head to scan the area. Then he looked back at her.

  “Feel like a drink?”

  She glanced nervously at the bar, skeptical of its run-down appearance, and imagined the type of patrons it attracted. “I don’t know. We might be safer with the vampires,” she muttered. “Maybe we should wait here for Mac.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to fight the chill of the evening—and fear.

  “Hey, it’ll be all right.” His sympathetic tone was a balm to her frayed nerves and when he gathered her close, she let him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his chest. He made her feel safe and it wasn’t until that moment that she realized just how frightened she’d really been.

  “They’re never going to give up.” She fought against the tears stinging her eyes.

  “They will, eventually.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “They’ll just keep attacking—and each time they do, someone else will die. Another guard; another innocent victim. And it’s all my fault.” Her arms tightened around him. “I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.” She’d barely whispered the words, but he’d heard her anyway.

  “Beth?” When she refused to meet his eyes, he put his finger under her chin and tilted her face up. “Your safety is the most important thing to me. I’ll do whatever I have to, to keep you safe. But if something happens to me, it’s not your fault, okay? None of this is your fault. Understand?”

  She gazed into his eyes, losing herself in their hidden depths, searching for answers to questions she didn’t know she had. When they started to glow with their strange inner red light, she knew neither one of them was thinking about vampires anymore.

  She longed to feel his lips on hers and tried to use the strength of her own desire to will him to kiss her. Her breasts grew heavy and where their bodies touched, flames seemed to ignite. The light in his eyes grew brighter, like an inferno, evidence of his own heightened emotion, and she felt herself being consumed by their heat.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” he begged in a voice grown husky with need. “We’re already walking a thin line here and I’m real close to not giving a damn that you’re engaged to someone else.”

  He dropped his arms and stepped away from her. Bethany struggled for composure. He was right, but that didn’t make his actions feel any less like rejection.

  “Let’s go inside,” he suggested after a minute. “I think we could both use that drink.”

  Inside the bar, Dirk placed their order and the
n found them a nice quiet table in the back where they could sit and wait. The noise in the place precluded them from talking, so they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Neither made an effort to rekindle what had started between them outside, which was just as well because Bethany was more confused than ever about her feelings for Dirk and Miles.

  When Mac arrived forty-five minutes later, she was glad to leave, and when they finally arrived back at the mansion, she went immediately to her room where she slipped gratefully into bed and fell into an exhausted sleep.

  Dirk woke up that evening as the sun started to set. The day’s sleep hadn’t put him in any better a mood than he’d been when he’d gone to bed earlier that day, and learning that Miles Van Horne had been invited to dinner just made things worse.

  Throughout the immeasurably long meal, he sat quietly, answering only the questions directed to him and ignoring the rest of the inane chitchat. Too often, his gaze, like his thoughts, strayed to Beth sitting across from him.

  She had no idea how close she’d come to ending up in the back of his Expedition. He’d wanted her with the lust of a hormone-ridden teenager. And he didn’t think making love to her once was going to be enough. It was better to have no taste of her at all than to know what Miles could enjoy whenever he wanted.

  The thought of Beth’s fiancé burned with an impotent rage and he hated having the man there in the admiral’s house, sitting next to his wo— Not his woman, Dirk forcefully corrected himself.

  Taking a deep breath, he brought his attention back to the dinner table and endured the rest of the meal. Finally, it ended and the group retired to the living room for drinks. If Dirk thought he was uncomfortable at dinner, it was nothing compared to the feeling he got sitting in an armchair off by himself while everyone else, either by design or by accident, paired off. Mac sat on the arm of Lanie’s chair, the admiral and Julia sat together on the sofa, and Miles and Bethany sat on the adjacent love seat.

  “Charles, that was a delightful meal,” Miles said.

  “Yes, it was, but I had nothing to do with it. Julia made all the arrangements for me,” the admiral replied, bestowing a proud smile on the woman sitting beside him.

  Julia’s smile beamed back at him. “It was nothing, really.”

  The others voiced their appreciation for the meal, causing the woman to blush daintily, and Dirk wasn’t surprised when the admiral reached over and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. He and Mac exchanged meaningful glances. It was the first time since they’d known the admiral that he’d shown an interest in anyone. Dirk thought it might be a good idea to spend a little extra time getting to know the woman who had captured his mentor’s attention.

  As the conversation hit another lull, Miles cleared his throat, drawing all eyes to him. “As you may know, tomorrow is the Rod O’Connor Award dinner and ceremony.” He draped an arm about Bethany and hugged her close. “You are all invited to be our guests.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Dirk said. “None of us will be going—including Beth.” He looked at her, feeling like a heel, hoping she’d understand once he explained. “I know this is a big honor for you, Beth, but it would be extremely dangerous for you to attend that ceremony.”

  “Why?” Miles sounded indignant.

  “Because everyone will be expecting her to make an appearance,” Dirk explained. “She’ll be an easy target and I’m not willing to risk her safety for the sake of an award.” He glared at Miles. “Are you?”

  Miles had the decency to look abashed. “No, of course not. I would never place her in danger.” He turned to Bethany and his face softened. “I’m sorry, my dear. I suppose they’re right, it’s too dangerous. If you’d like, I will go to the ceremony and accept the award on your behalf.”

  Dirk saw the disappointment in her eyes when she reluctantly nodded to Miles and he vowed that somehow he’d make it up to her.

  With the subject of the ceremony put to rest, the conversation returned to more of the chatter that Dirk hated so much. After listening for what seemed an eternity, he finally stood up.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. Julia, the meal was spectacular.” He gave the others a curt nod and then let his gaze travel over to Bethany. “I’m sorry, Beth. I hope you understand why I can’t let you go to the ceremony.”

  She nodded, even though disappointment showed in her eyes. Knowing there was nothing he could do about it right then, he turned and walked from the room.

  Bethany watched Dirk leave and wondered where he was going. He hadn’t talked much through the meal and she’d gotten the impression that he hadn’t wanted to be there at all. Well, she could understand that. Even she was wishing the night were over. She’d been under so much stress lately that she just wanted a chance to relax. Heaving a silent sigh, she wondered when Miles would go home.

  Glancing at him, she realized it was going to be a long night. Miles and the admiral had ventured onto the topic of financial investments and both men were in their element. Bethany leaned back against the couch and though she found the topic extremely dry, she politely listened.

  After what had to be an hour, Bethany heard a small noise from across the room. Looking over, she saw Lanie stifling a yawn that might not have been totally authentic. “Oh, pardon me,” Lanie apologized. “I didn’t realize how tired I was.”

  “Oh, dear.” Miles looked at his watch. “It is late, I’m sorry to have kept you up.” He smiled at them indulgently. “I keep forgetting that not everyone is the night owl that I am.”

  Bethany had to swallow her smile, grateful when the admiral drew attention away from her when he rose to his feet. “Miles, it was nice visiting with you,” he said.

  “Thank you, Charles, for inviting me.”

  Bethany allowed Miles to pull her to her feet and then followed dutifully along as Admiral Winslow walked Miles to the door. There, he made his farewell and left them alone.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow, all right?” Miles said, his hands on her shoulders.

  She nodded.

  “And don’t worry about the lab,” he continued. “I’ll have the maintenance crew clean it up, again. I’m just grateful you weren’t hurt last night.”

  “Thank you, Miles. I appreciate that.”

  “Good night, my dear.” He leaned forward to kiss her, but suddenly Bethany couldn’t do it. She turned her head at the last minute and the kiss landed on her cheek. Miles gave her a funny look, but said nothing.

  Bethany closed the door after he left and went back into the family room. By now, she was alone. Thinking everyone else must have gone to bed—or was otherwise occupied—she headed for the study in hopes of finding a book to read. She’d taken only a few steps in that direction when she heard the sound of a television.

  Following the noise down the main hallway, she stopped in front of a door and knocked.

  “It’s open,” a voice grunted from within.

  She opened the door and stepped inside. The minute she saw who it was, though, she quickly stammered her apologies and started to back out.

  “Where are you going?” Dirk asked.

  “I, uh, didn’t mean to intrude.”

  He gave an impatient sigh. “You’re not. What do you want?”

  “Nothing. I heard the television, that’s all.”

  He gestured to the set before him. “The only set in this entire mansion. Come on in.”

  She eyed the small couch, the only available seat in the room, and memories of the night before came rushing back with all the force of a small explosion. “I’d better not.”

  “Afraid?” he taunted her. “I promise not to bite, unless you want me to.”

  She felt the heat rush to her cheeks and couldn’t bring herself to move from her spot. Apparently seeing her indecision, Dirk sighed, stood up, and walked over to her.

  “Beth, what happened last night—at the lab and then later—my fault and it won’t happen again. I promise.”

 
She studied his face, trying to decide if he was sincere, and saw his frustration.

  “Please, Beth. The last thing in the world I want is for you to be uncomfortable around me. Tell you what. I’ll leave. You can stay here and watch TV. I’ll go read a book or something.”

  She smiled at the thought of this always-on-the-go man sitting long enough to read a novel. He caught her smile and gave her a look of mock disdain. “I can read, you know.”

  “Well,” she countered sweetly. “I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself.”

  “Ouch.” He chuckled and Bethany felt some of the tension between them ease.

  “Is there anything good on?” she asked.

  He handed her the remote. “See for yourself.”

  She took it from him, went over to sit on the couch, and brought up the online guide. Then she noticed that Dirk was still standing at the door. She looked up and caught an almost wistful expression on his face that quickly disappeared as soon as he noticed her looking at him.

  “Find something worth watching?” he asked.

  “What you had on is fine. Aren’t you going to finish watching it?”

  “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

  She smiled. “I’m sure.” Turning her attention back to the television, Bethany was soon lost in the story unfolding before her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to simply sit and relax. It felt wonderful.

  When the show ended, neither made a move to leave. Instead, feeling much at ease, Bethany kicked off her shoes and tucked her legs up under her. As a movie came on, Dirk stood up.

  “Don’t move,” he ordered as he walked to the back of the room. Curious, she turned and saw him cross to a stack of afghans folded on a chair beside the bookshelf stacked full of paperback novels. He grabbed several off the top and brought them back to the love seat where he proceeded to spread one across her lap and drape another around her shoulders. “Better?”

  “Mmm. Much better.” She hadn’t noticed the chill in the air until the blanket enveloped her. “Thank you.”

  He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  As the movie played, the release of stress and the blanket’s warmth soon had her fighting to stay awake.