Desire the Night

by Amanda Ashley

  Being half werewolf and half human, Kay wasn’t sure if she would take after her mother, who was forty-three and looked it, or her father, who was in his mid-seventies and looked twenty-five. She was hoping the latter.

  As a child, Kay hadn’t stopped to wonder why her mother aged and her father didn’t. She hadn’t really given it any thought until she turned twenty and realized that her father didn’t look much older than she did, which had made her wonder what it was like for her mother, being married to a man who looked so much younger.

  Kay remembered asking her mother once if it bothered her that she looked older than her husband. Dorothy had shrugged, then said, “Of course it bothers me, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

  The bitter edge in her mother’s voice had squelched any further questions on Kay’s part. At the time, Kay recalled wondering if one of the reasons her mother never left the compound was that people who saw the three of them together would likely assume that Kay and her father were siblings and that Dorothy was their mother, or perhaps assume that Kay’s father was her husband.

  Rising, Kay went into the bathroom and closed the door. Slipping out of her nightgown, she turned on the taps in the shower and stepped into the stall, her thoughts still on her mother. Maybe Gideon could change Dorothy into a vampire, she thought, pulling the door closed behind her. Not exactly the best solution in the world, but it would keep her mother from growing any older.

  Kay shook her head, horrified by the turn of her thoughts. Her gentle, soft-spoken mother, a vampire? She almost laughed out loud as she tried to visualize her mom with red eyes and fangs, stalking the night for prey. And then she did laugh. What on earth was she thinking? No doubt about it, hanging around with Gideon had definitely warped her mind. It was a moot point, anyway. Neither her mother nor her father would ever consider or consent to such a thing.

  When she was clean from head to foot, Kay stepped out of the shower, dried off, and shrugged into the plush white robe the hotel had provided. A glance at her cell phone showed it was only eleven-thirty in the morning. What was she supposed to do all day while Gideon slept?

  A rumble in her stomach made the decision for her. “Breakfast first.” Calling room service, she ordered French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, orange juice, coffee, and the morning paper.

  With that done, she settled back on the sofa and turned on the TV. Switching through the channels, she was appalled by her choices—insipid game shows, silly soap operas, movies that were older than she was, and news, news, news, none of it good. Jobs were at an all-time low. The Dow was down five hundred points. The deficit was up another billion or trillion—who could keep track? The price of gas and groceries was rising every day. And Israel was at war again.

  She had just settled on an old Clint Eastwood movie when her breakfast arrived. She thanked the young man who delivered it and signed Gideon’s name to the bill. Resuming her seat on the sofa, she ate slowly to prolong the meal.

  When she was finished, she set the tray aside, then sat there, impatiently tapping her foot. Did she dare go downstairs and browse the hotel gift shops? It would only take a few minutes. She could buy a candy bar and a book and come right back. But even as she considered it, she heard Gideon’s voice in the back of her mind. I don’t want you to leave the room. Not for anything. Understand?

  He was right, of course. Even though Kay was fairly certain Verah wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity, discretion was, after all, the better part of valor. Besides, there was always a chance, however slim, that she was wrong. For all she knew, the witch could be prowling around the lobby right now. Having been the witch’s captive once, Kay wasn’t willing to take the chance.

  Bored, she forced herself to watch the movie until the end of the credits. When it was over, she called the front desk and asked if someone could please send up an assortment of snacks and a couple of the latest paperback novels.

  She spent the rest of the afternoon indulging her love for chocolate, her nose buried in the latest New York Times bestseller.

  She ordered lunch when she finished the first book.

  She was halfway through the second novel when she dozed off.

  Gideon came fully, instantly, awake with the setting of the sun. A quick check of his preternatural senses told him Kay was asleep in the other room. The lingering scents of bread, bacon, eggs, roast beef, French fries, orange juice, and coffee hung in the air. And chocolate, he noted with a grin. Lots of chocolate.

  Rising, he took a quick shower, then pulled on a pair of well-worn blue jeans and a black T-shirt. Barefooted, he padded into the other room where he roused his sleeping beauty with a kiss.

  “I was dreaming of you,” Kay murmured. Twining her arms around his neck, she pulled him down on the sofa.

  “Were you?” He stretched out beside her, one arm drawing her close. “What were you dreaming about?”

  “We were making love on a deserted beach at midnight. It was so quiet and peaceful, with the man in the moon smiling down on us, and the sound of the waves lapping against the shore. It was like there was nothing and no one else in the whole world, just you and me on a white sandy beach that stretched away into infinity.”

  He chuckled softly. “No beaches around here, I’m afraid. But if you really want to make love in the sand …”

  She cupped his cheek in her hand. “You don’t have to whisk us away to the ocean. The sofa works just fine for me.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Slipping his hand under her robe, he started at her ankle and caressed his way up her calf to her thigh. Her skin was warm with life, silky smooth beneath his fingertips.

  “Oh, my.” She breathed the word on a shuddering sigh as his hand moved higher.

  “Something wrong?” he asked with a wicked grin.

  “Yes.” She gasped as his hand made lazy circles over her bare belly. “I’ll give you an hour to stop that.”

  “Only an hour?” he asked, his voice growing husky.

  “Maybe two or … oh!” she exclaimed as his hand slid seductively upward to cover her breast. “Better make it three.”

  * * *

  Chapter 17

  Holding Rama in her arms, Verah gazed, unblinking, into the ebony bowl on the table. The surface of the water, as smooth and black as midnight, should have revealed the wolf girl’s whereabouts. Instead, there was only confusion, the marker shifting from one place to another.

  Turning away from the bowl, Verah stroked her familiar’s head.

  “She knows we’re after her,” Verah mumured. “She’s on the run, heading west.”

  Rama answered with a throaty “Meow.”

  Verah smiled. “Be patient, my sweet. She’ll have to stop sooner or later. And then we’ll have her. With luck, we’ll have them both.”

  Still carrying the cat, Verah climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Before Gideon, she had covered every window in the house, every mirror, every reflective surface, to ensure that she couldn’t see her reflection. She had refused to leave her house or to see anyone. But that had quickly grown old so that, whenever she left the house, she had invoked a spell that gave her the illusion of youth and beauty. But the illusion only worked on her outward appearance. Her body had still ached with the weight of her years, her steps remained unsteady, her voice creaky with age.

  But Gideon’s blood had changed all that, restoring her youth and her beauty.

  Verah paced the bedroom floor, growing more desperate with each passing hour. What if she couldn’t find the girl? What if she found the girl and the vampire wasn’t with her?

  She had gone out several times, hoping to find another vampire lurking somewhere in the shadows, but to no avail.

  Taking a deep breath, she yanked the cloth away from the mirror over her dresser, her stomach churning at the sight of the hideous creature that stared back at her—the wrinkled papery skin, the ugly purple veins, the triple chin, the rheumy eyes, and the sunken cheeks.

  “I have to find her,” she
said, hating the raspy croak in her voice. “It’s the only hope we have of catching that damn vampire!”

  * * *

  Chapter 18

  Kay stood at the hotel window, staring down at the street below. Another boring day loomed before her. True, this day wouldn’t be as long as yesterday, since she had slept until almost two in the afternoon, due, no doubt, to the fact that Gideon was the most amazing lover in the world. Slow and gentle one minute, rough and intense the next, he had aroused her and brought her to fulfillment time after time. Thanks to her werewolf side, she had the stamina to keep up with him. Each time they made love had been better than the last.

  They had shared the shower, taking turns washing each other, which had turned into another lusty bout of lovemaking that started in the shower and ended on the bathroom floor.

  Had she been human, she thought with a grin, she probably wouldn’t have been able to walk after all that incredibly acrobatic, soul-searing, breathtaking loving.

  How was she ever going to let him go?

  How was she going to marry Victor and bear his children when she loved someone else?

  How was she going to endure another day in this blasted hotel? They should have left last night, but all that lovemaking got in the way, and then it was too close to sunrise to hit the road. Which meant another day in the hotel. But another boring day was a small price to pay for a night in Gideon’s arms.

  She ordered a big breakfast; then, not in the mood to read or watch TV, she went into the bedroom. She stood beside the bed a moment, watching Gideon sleep. She wished she could kiss him awake and they could spend the day making love. Just thinking about it made her cheeks grow warm with the memory of the night before.

  Shrugging out of her robe, she slid under the covers. If she had to spend another day locked up in a hotel, what better way to spend it than with Gideon, even if he didn’t know she was there?

  Propping herself up on one elbow, she studied his face, her fingers lightly tracing his brow, his nose, the line of his mouth. She stroked his neck, ran her hand along his shoulder, down his arm. She rested her palm on his chest, then walked her fingers down his flat belly to his waist.

  A startled gasp erupted from her throat when his hand closed over hers.

  “Some of us are trying to sleep here,” he muttered, gazing at her through narrowed eyes.

  “I thought you only woke up when your life was in danger?”

  “Your thoughts woke me.” Heat flared in his eyes. “No man, living or dead, could ignore the siren song of your desire.”

  Kay felt herself blushing at his words, which were almost poetic, but it was the touch of his hand sliding up and down her thigh that made her cheeks grow hot and her toes curl with pleasure.

  “After last night, I expected you to sleep the day away.”

  “I was bored.”

  “I’m sorry, love, but I don’t have the energy to entertain you now.”

  “Too bad.” She kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep.”

  When she tried to withdraw her hand, he tightened his grip. “Stay with me. I like having you here.”

  And she liked being there, with him.

  Sighing, she snuggled against his side and closed her eyes. If they left tonight, they would be in Wyoming tomorrow before sunrise. They would find a place to spend the day, so Gideon could rest. By tomorrow night, she would be home.

  What then? Would Gideon stay with her? Would her father allow him to stay? Would the pack accept him?

  How was she to go on without him?

  The question followed her to sleep.

  They left the hotel as soon as the sun went down. Kay had awakened an hour before Gideon. She showered, pulled on a pair of jeans and her favorite aqua sweater, and brushed her hair. When that was done, she ordered a late lunch from room service, and was ready to go when Gideon awoke at sundown.

  Now, she glanced at him curiously. To her knowledge, he hadn’t eaten anything in the last day or so. But maybe he didn’t need anything. He had told her he only needed to feed once a week, though he usually fed more often. “Are you … ?”

  “Hungry? Not really,” he said, sending her a sidelong glance. “But I can always use a snack.”

  Kay shook her head. It was exasperating, having him read her mind.

  He shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “Yeah, right.” She stared out the window, watching the scenery fly past, hating that each hour carried her closer to home, to a man she despised and a marriage she didn’t want.

  She looked over at Gideon when he covered her hand with his. “It’ll be okay, Kiya. I won’t leave you unless you tell me to go.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that. But it isn’t up to you.”

  “I’m not afraid of your father.”

  “Then you’re the only one who isn’t.” She loved her father. She knew he loved her, in his own way. But he wasn’t just her father. He was her Alpha and like the rest of the pack, she had no choice but to do what he said, or suffer the consequences.

  At eleven, Gideon pulled into a restaurant parking lot. He escorted Kay inside, waited until her food arrived, and then left to go in search of a meal of his own.

  He found what he was looking for at a gas station—a stocky, jeans and T-shirt-clad middle-aged woman just emerging from the restroom behind the station. Reluctant to leave Kay alone too long, Gideon took a few quick swallows, wiped the incident from the woman’s mind, and was back at the restaurant before Kay’s dinner had arrived.

  She lifted one brow when he slid into the booth across from her. “I guess you really weren’t very hungry.” She took a dinner roll from the basket in the center of the table and cut it in half.

  “It was a meal, but not a banquet.”

  Kay stared at him. “A banquet? Of blood?” she asked, grimacing.

  He shrugged. “A stranger on the street, taken quickly, is just a meal. A woman I care for, savored slowly, is a banquet.” His gaze moved to the pulse throbbing in the hollow of her throat. “In spite of the slight bitterness in your blood, you, my furry friend, are a feast.”

  It was the oddest compliment she had ever received but, for all that, Kay felt a faint flush creep up her neck. Lowering her gaze, she buttered the roll and took a bite.

  “You’re blushing,” Gideon said. “Why?”

  “Why do you think?”

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t ask.”

  At least he wasn’t reading her mind. She shook her head, and then she grinned. “No one’s ever called me a feast before. It just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

  His gaze moved over her, lingering on her lips, the pulse in her throat. “You are indeed a feast in every way, Kiya Marie Alissano.”

  Kay was searching for a reply when her dinner came.

  Gideon sat back, leaving her to enjoy her meal in silence. She had ordered prime rib—rare and big enough for two—a baked potato, broccoli, and a Coke. He eyed the juice pooled beneath the meat. The color made his mouth water.

  She ate with gusto. It was one of the things he liked best about her.

  Kay heaved a sigh when she pushed the plate away.

  “No seconds tonight?” he asked, grinning.

  “Not tonight. I’m stuffed.” And then, seeing the dessert cart, she said, “But I think I might have just enough room for a little chocolate mousse.”

  Noticing that Kay was growing increasingly more withdrawn as they neared their destination, Gideon pulled off the highway. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I just don’t want to go home, that’s all. I still have a few months of freedom left.” It surprised her to find that it wasn’t the compound she thought of when she spoke of home, but her apartment back in Custer. Would she ever see it again?

  “I thought we agreed that staying with your father was the safest thing to do.”

  “I know,” she said glumly.

  “Maybe we could sp
end a few days somewhere close by,” he suggested.

  “I’d like that.” A sudden smile lit her face. “Bondurant isn’t far.”

  “What’s there?”

  “Not much. It’s just a small community named for the man who established a ranch in Hoback Canyon early in the 1900s. Later, he built a store and a post office. It’s a pretty place. Probably not more than a hundred people live there year-round.”

  “Okay, Bondurant it is.”

  Kay leaned back against the seat. She loved Bondurant. In years past, she had attended the annual barbeques held in June, and Heritage Days in August. Best of all, the Gros Ventre Wilderness area was close by; remote and relatively unknown, it was one of her favorite places to hunt, second only to the Black Hills.

  They reached the town just after midnight. All the houses and businesses were dark save for a quaint bed-and-breakfast at the south end of town. A single light burned in one of the downstairs windows; a small neon sign indicated a vacancy.

  Gideon parked the car in the driveway, pulled their suitcases from the trunk, and followed Kay up the steps. A handwritten sign on the front door invited them in.

  Gideon hesitated, wondering if a welcome sign from the owners of the house would be invitation enough to allow him inside. He opened the door for Kay, felt a faint shimmer of subdued power when he stepped warily across the threshold.

  Inside, he glanced around. A small office was located to the left of the stairway. It was empty. “Nobody here.”

  “Look.” Kay pointed to a wooden sign sitting on a small table. “It says to take the key and check in tomorrow.”

  “Awfully trusting, aren’t they?”

  “Well, it’s a small town. Not much to steal, I guess.”

  “Good thing I’m just a vampire and not a thief or a mass murderer,” Gideon muttered.

  With a shake of her head, Kay plucked the key from the table and started up the stairs.