Night's Pleasure

by Amanda Ashley

  “You must have questions you’d like to ask,” Mara said, “if not about me, then about Vampires in general, or perhaps about Rane, in particular.”

  “How did you get into my house last night without an invitation?”

  “All those silly rules no longer have any effect on me,” Mara said. “I come and go as I please, when I please, where I please.”

  “Rane said you were truly immortal.”

  “As close as you can get,” Mara said with a faint grin.

  “So, you can’t be destroyed?”

  “Are you planning to try?”

  Mara’s tone was mild, but Savanah heard the steel underneath.

  “No, I’m just curious. If you’re immortal, then I guess that means that holy water doesn’t have any effect on you the way it does on Rane, and that a stake through your heart is just a minor injury.”

  “Something like that,” Mara allowed, her grin widening.

  “Rane said you were born in the time of Cleopatra.”

  “Actually, I was made the same year she became Egypt’s queen. I spent my early years as a slave in the house of Chuma, one of the King’s advisors, until he gave me to one of his trusted allies. Shortly thereafter, a Vampire brought me across against my will. I killed him for it and gained my freedom. As for Cleopatra, I admired her greatly, and so I arranged to meet her. She was a beautiful, intelligent woman only a few years younger than I when she became the ruler of Egypt. To adhere to the law of the time, she was forced to have a consort while she reigned, either a son or a brother, and so it was that she married her brother Ptolemy when he was twelve. Of course, everyone knows the story, how she refused to share her throne, how she captivated Caesar and bore him a son, how she seduced Mark Antony after Caesar was killed.”

  Mara paused a moment, her thoughts obviously turned inward. “It was a sad day when Antony was defeated. Soon after, Cleopatra was taken to Octavian. He informed her that he had no interest in any relationship with her, personal or otherwise. He intended to place her in chains and display her in all the cities she had once ruled over. I offered to bring her across, but the heart had gone out of her. Caesar was dead and Antony was dead and her son, Caesarion, had been killed. And so it was that she chose to die by the bite of an asp, believing, as the Egyptians did, that those who died by snakebite would never be forgotten.” Mara sighed. “In that, at least, she succeeded.”

  Savanah stared at the Vampire. If what Mara said was true, she was over two thousand years old. It was inconceivable.

  Savanah was about to ask Mara about Rane’s parents when Rafe entered the room.

  “He looks much better,” Rafe said, taking a seat beside Mara. “The pain is gone. I think Savanah’s blood was just what he needed.”

  Mara nodded. “Amazing, what love can do,” she remarked, her words tinged with a hint of wonder. “I’ve never really understood it.”

  “Haven’t you ever been in love?” Savanah asked in amazement. Surely, in two thousand years, Mara must have been in love at least once.

  “Mara?” Rafe looked at her, one brow arched, as he waited for her answer.

  “There was a man, a long time ago…” She shook her head, as if to dispel the memory. “I’ve never let myself care too much for any of the mortal lovers that I’ve taken in the past. I’ve never trusted those of my own kind….”

  “Not even me?” Rafe asked with a teasing grin.

  Mara ignored him. “I’m not sure I’m capable of love, not in the way you love Kathy, or the way Savanah seems to care for Rane, but now…”

  Rafe glanced at Savanah and winked before nudging Mara in the side. “Go on.”

  “I met a man in Egypt,” she said with a wistful smile. “Perhaps he’s the one I’ve been waiting for. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go check on Rane.”

  Before either of them could ask her more questions, Mara flowed out of the room. There really was no other word for the way she moved, Savanah thought. It was as if her feet didn’t touch the floor.

  “She’s quite remarkable,” Savanah mused.

  “Do you think she’s finally fallen in love?”

  “You know her better than I do. What do you think?”

  “He would have to be quite a guy. So, are you going to marry my brother?”

  “I don’t know. He hasn’t asked me.”

  “And if he did?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to be what he is, and as much as I love him, I’m not sure we’d ever be truly happy together. We’ve only known each other a short time.”

  And for most of that time, her life had been in danger. They had been on the run, hiding from those who had killed her father. It had added a touch of danger to their lovemaking, made everything seem more urgent. Now that Clive was dead and the books were safe, she couldn’t help wondering what effect it would have on her relationship with Rane. Was it really love she felt for him, or just a lingering crush on the magician who had so fascinated her when she’d been a little girl? Or maybe gratitude because he had been there when she needed someone to lean on, someone to dry her tears and help her find her way in a world that had turned upside down?

  “I don’t know,” she said again. “How did your wife cope with having a Vampire husband?”

  “You would have to ask her,” Rafe said, chuckling. “We had some pretty hairy times, ourselves.”

  “Of course, the war was going on then.”

  Rafe nodded. “We had some close calls with a couple of grandmothers.”

  “Grandmothers!” Savanah exclaimed. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Not at all,” Rafe said, grinning. “They were Vampire hunters who were also involved in some pretty wild experiments. They invented a drug they hoped would destroy the Undead and cure the Werewolves.”

  “What were they planning to do, go from house to house and inoculate the Supernatural community?”

  “No, they were going to add it to the water supply. I can tell you from personal experience that it didn’t work.”

  “What happened to the grandmothers?”

  “I brought them across.”

  Savanah blinked at him. “You turned them? Against their will?”

  He nodded. “And I would do it again.”

  “But…”

  “Would you rather I had killed them?”

  “No, but…”

  “If I had let them go, they would have continued their experiments. As it was, they had already killed several innocent people. They had to be stopped. I did it the best way I knew how, short of taking their lives.”

  “But you’ve killed people?”

  “A time or two, in self-defense.”

  Savanah took a deep breath. “And Rane? Has he taken many lives?”

  Rafe regarded her for a long moment, then said, “I think that is a question you should ask him yourself.” He lifted one brow. “I find it curious that you haven’t asked him already.”

  “I don’t think I wanted to know the answer.”

  “And now?”

  “I need to know. If we’re to have any kind of lasting relationship, I need to know everything.”

  Rafe nodded. “I only know of one life that he’s taken. It happened the night we became Vampires. He thinks no one in the family knows what he did, but I know, just as I know that it preys on his mind. I believe it’s his guilt over that death that drove him away from us.”

  “Why would he feel guilty? It’s what Vampires do, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I…” She stared at Rafe. She hadn’t meant to speak the words aloud, was surprised by the barely suppressed accusation in her voice.

  “Yes,” Rafe said, his own voice tight. “It is.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said again. “Please forgive me. It’s just that Vampires killed both of my parents and I…I’m supposed to be a hunter, like my mother. It’s supposed to be in my blood, and…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Rafe again. “I’m rambling, forgive me.”

 
; “There’s nothing to forgive. It can’t be easy, loving a Vampire. There are many adjustments that must be made on both sides. Not every mortal can accept us for who and what we are.”

  “Nor can every Vampire accept what he or she becomes,” Mara said, entering the room. “Many destroy themselves.” She paused beside Savanah. “Rane will most likely awaken when the sun goes down. He’ll need to feed, and he’ll need more than you can offer. If you’re smart, you won’t offer him anything.”

  “Because he might not be able to stop?” Savanah asked.

  “Exactly. And now I must take my leave.”

  “Going back to Egypt?” Rafe asked with a knowing grin.

  “Perhaps. It was interesting meeting you, Savanah Gentry. I wish you well, but leave you with this warning: if you hurt Rane, I’ll come after you. His family is my family. Do you understand?”

  Savanah nodded, unable to speak past the icy lump in her throat. She understood Mara perfectly.

  Rafe stood and gave his godmother a hug. “Keep in touch.”

  “Of course. Give Kathy and your parents my love when you see them again.”

  “I will.”

  A wave of her hand, and the Vampire queen was gone.

  “I suppose I should also be going,” Rafe said. “Tell Rane if he wants to see me, I’ll be close by.”

  “All right. Thank you for everything.”

  “I hope we will meet again.”

  “Me, too,” Savanah said, and then sighed as Rafe vanished from her sight. She would never get used to that, she thought, and went into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee.

  It was like rising from the depths of hell a layer at a time, Rane thought as he fought his way out of the smothering darkness. He didn’t know how much time had passed, how many days and nights he had been trapped in his deathlike sleep, unable to move, unable to speak.

  Sitting up, he glanced around. Though the room was dark, he could see clearly, knew he was in Savanah’s house, in her father’s bed. He took a deep breath, his senses expanding, searching. Mara and his brother were gone; Savanah was in the house alone.

  Savanah, with the smile of a heavenly angel and a body to drive him mad. Savanah, whose blood had put out the unbearable fire in his veins. The thought of her blood aroused his hellish thirst. His tongue brushed his fangs. He needed nourishment and it waited for him in the living room.

  Hunger drove him from the bed; consideration for Savanah sent him to her father’s closet in hopes she had not yet disposed of her father’s clothes. He pulled a pair of black sweatpants from a hanger, found a T-shirt in a dresser drawer. The pants were a trifle short, the T-shirt a little snug, but they would do for now. He didn’t know what she had done with the clothes he’d been wearing, but wouldn’t be surprised if she had disposed of them.

  Barefooted, he padded down the hallway into the living room.

  Savanah was sitting on the sofa with her back toward him. Lamplight shimmered in her hair, turning the silver to gold, bathing her skin with a soft rosy glow. She was beautiful, desirable in every way, and she was his. All his. For the taking.

  She gasped, startled when he appeared on the sofa beside her. “Rane!” She pressed her hand over her heart. “I’m so glad to see you. How are you feeling?”

  He didn’t answer, merely continued to watch her.

  Like a cat at a mouse hole, she thought. A very big, very hungry cat. And she was the mouse. Small and helpless. Prey for the cat.

  Fear made her heart beat faster. She knew by the sudden glow in Rane’s eyes that he was aware of what she was feeling. He had told her once that he could smell fear; no doubt she reeked of it.

  “Mara said you would need to feed,” Savanah said, her words tripping over themselves. “Maybe you should go out for a while.” What was she saying? Sending Rane out now was like signing someone else’s death warrant.

  Rane’s lips peeled back, revealing his fangs. “No need to go out.”

  Savanah’s heart skipped a beat. “Rane…”

  Lifting one hand, he stroked her cheek. “You saved me,” he said. “It wasn’t Rafe’s blood, or Mara’s, but yours.” His eyes, red as flames, burned into hers.

  “Rane, please…don’t.”

  He ran his knuckles along her neck, up and down, slowly, up and down.

  “Rane…”

  He recoiled from the stark fear in her eyes, fear that he had put there. Filled with self-loathing, he lurched to his feet.

  “Tell me to get out,” he said, his voice gruff. “Now, before it’s too late, rescind your invitation.”

  “I do,” she said. “I rescind it now.”

  And just like that, he was gone, and she was alone.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Rane stalked the dark streets, his anger and self-loathing growing with his hunger. He had been a fool, a fool to think he could stay with her, near her, and never hurt her. A fool to think he could continue to deny what he was. He was a hunter, a predator, meant to roam the world alone. Forever alone. He had managed to keep the monster inside him under control for the last few months, but now…He slammed his fist into the side of a building, leaving a hole six inches deep in the stucco. Pain splintered through his hand. It hurt, but not enough.

  He left Kelton behind and headed for the city, his destination the slums where the dregs of society gathered. He took the first mortal who crossed his path, bent over her neck, and drank. He drank enough to satisfy his hunger, then released the woman from his thrall and sent her on her way. He watched her stagger down the street. He was no better than the drug dealers and pimps who frequented this part of the city, he thought glumly. Driven by an insatiable need, he, too, preyed on the weak and the helpless.

  The thought brought him up short. That might have been true once, but no more. He had not taken a human life since he met Savanah, nor had he been tempted to drain his last victim dry. In Savanah’s house, it hadn’t been the uncontrollable monster he feared rising up in him again, but simply a need for nourishment.

  He swore softly. He had frightened Savanah away for nothing.

  Savanah slept in her father’s room that night. It seemed fitting somehow. The only two men she had ever loved had stayed in this room, slept in this bed. She had lost them both, but, somehow, sleeping where they had slept gave her a small measure of comfort. Her father was dead, and she would never see him again. In his own way, Rane was also lost to her.

  “Rane,” she murmured, “where are you now?”

  She had been afraid of him earlier, even though, in her heart of hearts, she had been certain he would never hurt her; yet, at his bidding, she had sent him away. She wished now that she had refused. She should have made him stay so they could face their fears together because she knew, as surely as the sun would rise in the morning, that it had been Rane’s fear for her life that had driven him away.

  Turning onto her side, she closed her eyes, wondering how long it would take him to realize the truth, and what she would do if he didn’t.

  Rane stood in the late-afternoon shadows across the street from Savanah’s house, his thoughts in turmoil. It had been three weeks since he had walked out on her. Three weeks that seemed like three years. He hadn’t killed any of the women he had preyed upon in all that time, nor had he taken the life of the mortal male he had preyed upon less than an hour ago. The knowledge replayed itself in his mind over and over again. He hadn’t killed any of them, nor did he have any inclination to do so. Why? That was the question that plagued him. Why?

  Only one answer came to mind. Savanah had given him her blood when he needed it most, given it to him of her own free will because she loved him. He had tasted her blood before, but he had never taken as much as he had when he lay trapped in the darkness with holy water sizzling through his veins like liquid fire. He didn’t know if it was her blood that had healed him, or the fact that she loved him, but it didn’t matter. She had saved his life and in so doing, she had somehow tamed the beast he had been fighti
ng for the last ninety years. His only fear now was that he had frightened her so badly, she would never trust him again.

  He was trying to summon his courage to knock on the front door when Rafe appeared beside him.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Rane asked.

  “I’m happy to see you, too,” Rafe said dryly.

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “I wanted to make sure you had healed. Now that I see you have, I’ll say good-bye.”

  “Don’t go. I appreciate what you did for me, you and Mara.”

  “You owe us nothing,” Rafe said. “It was the woman who saved you.”

  “But you came.” Rane frowned at his brother. “How did you know where I was?”

  “When you were ill, I felt your pain, and I followed it.”

  “Some good came out of it, then,” Rane muttered.

  Rafe nodded. “I tried to sense your presence before, but there was only emptiness where our bond used to be.”

  Rane flinched at the unspoken accusation in his brother’s voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but…”

  “Why, Rane, why did you block the bond between us? Why did you cut me out of your life?”

  Rane took a deep breath, then loosed it in a long, slow sigh. “I was afraid if I stayed, the old man would find out what I’d done. That Mom would find out.” He met his brother’s gaze. “That you’d find out.”

  “Find out what?” Rafe asked, frowning.

  “That I wasn’t like you! That first night when the old man took us hunting, I went out later, alone, and…” Even now, all these years later, he couldn’t say it, couldn’t tell his brother what he had done.

  “Is this about the woman you killed the night we were turned?” Rafe asked.

  “How do you know about that?”

  “How could you think I wouldn’t know?”

  Rane stared at his brother in disbelief. “You’ve known about her all this time?”

  “Of course.”

  Rane searched his brother’s mind, looking for some sign of disgust or disappointment. He found neither. “What about Mom and Dad? Did you tell them?”