by Various
“You seem to be doing okay,” Laney offered tentatively.
Houston gave her a sympathetic look over a shoulder from where he stood preparing steaks on the black, flattop stove. “Tani, you scared the shit out of all of us. And even if you have doubts, you are alive. I saw you when he took you from that house.” Houston let his hands fall to his sides. “You were going to die. I know that without a doubt.”
He twisted to work over the stove, his voice subdued. “Believe me, when I pictured you meeting someone, I wasn’t expecting this. But I have to believe he would do anything for you because he has. So he’s a vampire. Like Laney said, we’ll just make the whole family weird.”
Titania scrubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes. “But is it worth it? I can’t sing anymore. Tenorio is hunting me, Brakka would like to skewer me. God, how do I find so much trouble?” she moaned.
“You have a natural talent for it,” Houston offered glibly, smiling.
She looked around her feet. “Where’s that damn ball of paper at?”
Laney put a light hand on Titania’s arm, bringing her up again from searching for the paper missile. “But is it bad enough to end everything? He loves you. I know if you go, he’ll go with you. I can feel his conviction to be with you regardless of where you are. That is a pretty strong emotion if you ask me.”
Titania crossed her arms and thunked her head onto them, slumped over the bar. “That’s just it. I’m a coward. I never would have considered suicide before this, but that’s what it would be.”
“Give it a chance,” Laney told her sagely. “Looking at you, no one would know.”
“Cara, do not forget to call your parents.”
“Thank you.”
She slid from her seat. “Look, you guys eat. I have to call Mom and try to explain the cancellation.”
They both nodded, and Titania went down the hall to a room that could have been called a den. She paused in the doorway, surprised to see an up–to-date computer along with a huge sound system in the corner. On opposing walls were two tall bookcases filled to the ceiling with books.
She spotted the phone on the desk. Her fingers shook as she dialed and waited pensively. Sitting down in his chair, she sank into plush leather. The man wasn’t kidding. He was spoiled. She sighed in relief when the phone was answered after several heart-stopping seconds. Secretly, she realized she was frightened no one would be there at all.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Titania!” She had to yank the phone from her ear. It was a high, squealed shriek who could have only been her mother. “Frank, get in here! It’s Tani! Honey, where are you? What happened? What happened to the tour? We’ve been so worried.” Her mother began to choke up.
“I know. I’m sorry. I haven’t been well enough to call.” Her mother shrieked again. Oops, wrong thing to say. “Breathe, Mom, and I’ll tell you what I can.” Her mother had always been prone to drama.
She gave her a bland description of her abduction, leaving out the problems she had with the shot overdose. “Diego is a bodyguard I hired a few weeks ago, and he found me. I’ve been recuperating outside of the media’s reach at his house.” Somewhere during her explanation, she had heard her father pick up the second phone.
“Why didn’t he take you to a doctor?” was her father’s immediate demand.
“Because he didn’t want to let the abduction get into the news,” she said slowly, hating to lie.
“Are you all right with him, alone?” her mother asked.
“I’m fine. In fact, Laney and Houston arrived this evening. I think they’ll be staying for a while.”
“Thank heavens,” her mother said. “Is he the one Houston hinted at?”
“Yes, Mother.” She palmed her forehead, leaning on an elbow. Tears burned at her eyes. She managed a few more minutes of questions and answers before they let her off the phone. She burst into tears, the phone missing its cradle when it slid from her fingers.
“Cara.” Strong arms lifted her, pulled her into his embrace. “What is wrong?”
“I realized I can’t tell them! I’m going to see them die,” she wailed.
Diego stroked her back. “Honey, children succeed their parents naturally. You have not lost them.” He tucked her into chest, his arms wrapping around her, comforting. “It may be best if you do not tell them everything. They may not, most likely, understand.”
She caressed her cheek against the skin-warmed silk of his shirt. “I know. I’m just feeling overwhelmed.”
“You did remarkably well with Houston and Laney. I am very proud of you.” He rubbed his chin into her hair. “Time, cara. That is all you need.”
“I guess I need to accept this, then. There really is no going back.” Melancholy colored her voice.
“No, cara. I know you have lost many things. I hope to show you just how much you have gained. In truth, you are a miracle to me to have survived. When I brought you home, all I had was hope you would live through the conversion. I have never cursed another soul with this life, and I did not know if being a woman would be an issue.”
She sighed, closing her eyes, just letting him hold her. The steady beat of his heart beneath her ear resounded through her. Fresh blood. It coursed beneath his skin, and she could feel it, feel the heat. This time when the hunger hit, she didn’t fight it. She studied it, examined the way her body reacted, the way her body craved.
She found the scent of his skin when she took a deep breath. She moved restlessly against him, hunger for what he could give and more beating more insistently against her senses. He tilted her to his mouth, sipping gently. Her arms lifted, caressed broad shoulders, threaded through the thick, loose curls of his hair.
A low, vibrating growl grew in his chest when she nipped at heated skin. A hand weaved loosely into her hair, encouraging her. She realized how sensual the act of sharing was, how aroused she was, as was he.
Titania wanted this. She knew it, admitted it. When her incisors lengthened, she didn’t startle at the knowledge. She could smell the beckoning scent of blood and unbuttoned his shirt with decisive fingers. His chest quivered under seeking sweeps of fingertips.
She licked a warm, damp path across his chest, and his hand fisted into her hair. “Cara.” This growl was deeper, hungrier, needing. Teeth scraped across the artery over his heart and he stiffened, a slow hiss escaping through a tight jaw.
Lightning arced when she pierced through, the first rush of life a euphoric, heady, spiced fire that raced through her veins. Flames burned beneath skin. She felt the changes as she took in what he offered, could feel her body grow warm, feel strong again.
He shuddered when she dragged her tongue over the small wounds.
“I think I’m getting the hang of this,” she said, looking up at him, a slow, sexy smile on her mouth. Diego swooped down and claimed her lips, swiping his tongue hungrily between them.
His pale eyes glittered with a sensual heat when he said, “If that is a sign of your acceptance, I am in a world of trouble.” Her laugh was throaty, carefree, and she began to think maybe she could do this.
Laney smiled when they came into the kitchen arm in arm. “That sounded good.”
“I think I’ve decided to deal with it and move on,” Titania replied. She could work through her doubts one at a time.
Laney’s expression was relieved. She reached for Titania’s hand and squeezed once. “Thank God. So now what?”
“I don’t know, honestly. With the tour ended, I just don’t know.”
“You are welcome to stay here,” Diego invited Houston and Laney. “There are two upper bedrooms, both furnished. You have your choice. A word of warning, though. Once the chamber is locked, it is deadly to enter during the day. I have several safeguards that I use.”
“Warning noted,” Houston said with a nod. “It might be a good idea to hide out for a while, see where Tenorio is going to take this, and how far. He lost millions in that fire.” He clasped his hands on the bar top, empty
plates pushed to the side. “His research, fifty-seven men, and two scientists, both biogenetic engineers. They don’t grow on trees. From the reports, there really wasn’t much left even for the arson investigators to sift through.”
“What about the lab? Surely someone questioned a hidden lab?” She still felt the chill of the memory, thinking about waking up in that God-awful place.
“It was destroyed in the fire. So was all his paperwork, his computer bank. Everything.”
Diego grew thoughtful. “I wonder where his base of operations is. If he had a lab at his home, a highly secured home, he must have another location, someplace where he can do more extensive research. Even as large as it was, it could not house the amount of men he is planning on working with. He has been experimenting with reproducing the genetic codes of people like Titania, then splicing the DNA into clone-based strands.” At Laney’s dropped mouth, he added in a succinct voice, “Sometimes it pays to know what others are thinking.”
“But how could what I do be used like that?” Titania wondered.
“You are a natural telekinetic. The emotional broadcast could be used to instill fear, uncertainty, defeat. Without the telekinesis, that alone could undermine a large force. You sing to forty thousand without a thought. Imagine creating a wave of fear to a force that size. A small country could be overtaken in a day.”
“Or a large one,” Houston murmured. “I can see how it could be done.”
“Thank you. If I never said it, thank you.” And she meant it deeply.
“You are quite welcome, cara,” he replied with an easy caress in her mind. He slipped his arm upward, his palm curving around her nape, his thumb stroking lazily at her pulse.
“Would you like to take a walk, cara? The moon is almost full.” He bent lower, his warm lips tantalizing the skin near her ear.
Titania looked at Houston, then Laney. It was Laney who spoke up. “We’ll be fine. We’ll catch a movie, then go to bed.”
“You’re sure? You just got here.” Titania didn’t want to ignore them, but Laney was determined.
Laney waved them off, gathering the dishes they had used for their dinner. “And we’ll be here tomorrow. He’s right,” she said, peering through the window. “The moon is almost full. It’s gorgeous. Go have a date or something.” She shot Titania a wink, then started running the water.
She shrugged and followed Diego outside. “If I didn’t know any better, I would swear she really wanted us out of there,” she said once they were out of earshot.
“I would have to agree, but whether it was for our privacy or theirs, I could not say.” Diego’s eyes were sparkling in the moonlight. She still thought he had the most unbelievable eyes.
Titania questioned the man who had captured her heart. “Diego, what if you weren’t the only one like you?”
“How do you mean?” He twined strong fingers through hers, guiding her along a narrow animal track leading from the house.
“If we could find others like you, would you want to? I think the way you have lived has a lot to do with it.”
He glanced at her, his expression thoughtful, considering her query seriously. “How do you see that?”
“Well, you told me you never took a life to live. That must mean something. Everyone knows vampires are wholly evil, living on depravity, yet you never did, and Laney knew it the same as I.”
He swept her up into his chest without warning to carry her over a small stream. Actually floating over it was a better description. Her eyes were huge when they touched down on the other side.
“Could you warn me when you are about to do something like that?” She smacked him on the chest, chastising him.
He placed her on the ground beside him with a slight smirk ghosting over his lips. “Sorry, cara. I was thinking about what you said. I will try to remember.” He started walking again.
Within minutes, the trees began to thin, a wide meadow opening up before them. She gasped in appreciation. An expanse of green carpet with softly rolling hills and valleys spread before her. The flowers were asleep, but she could still find their heady fragrance filling the nighttime air.
“Is that your only theory?”
“Huh? Oh no.” She followed his lead easily. “There’s your reflection, the church. What about silver? Can you touch silver? It’s supposed to have a debilitating effect on vampires.”
“That one I do not know. I own none.” He was looking at her with that sinful grin again. A slow burn was building in response.
She frowned. “Quit trying to distract me. I hate the idea that you’ve been alone for so long.” She planted a fist on her hip.
“Honey,” he said, cradling her chin, his touch feather light. “I am not alone now. That is all that matters to me.”
“But what if it’s possible? What if others are out there? What you know could save them, could keep them from becoming what Brakka is.”
He tilted his head, searching her expression. “You are serious? You would wish to actively search for others?”
“Well…” She glanced down, realizing it would be a serious undertaking, and dangerous. “I guess it does sound crazy. But you have been alone for so long. I will do my best to figure this out, but think of the ones who could be like you and don’t have someone like me? How lonely their lives are?”
“It was a living hell,” he agreed reluctantly.
She spread her palms across his chest. “I have seen your memories. Long, endless nights. Not a word spoken. It tears me apart.”
He bundled her into his chest. “You are a compassionate woman.” His gaze flowed over her face, as gentle as a caress. “And I have a feeling you are going to be the largest challenge to my peace of mind.”
“Does that mean we will try?”
“It will be dangerous. Vampires are territorial,” he explained, hesitant.
“You’re not doing too badly with Houston around,” she pointed out with a quirked brow.
“I thought you did not know,” he replied, a surprised question to it.
“I don’t know exactly, but I know he is different. Like me, like Laney. Powers attract.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my God! That has to be it.”
“What, cara?” His smile widened with her excitement.
“Did you have any ability, anything, before Brakka changed you?” She was almost jumping with excitement.
Broad shoulders rolled. “I could not say. It was so long ago. Now everything is second nature.”
She refused to let his reserve dampen her spirits. “I bet that is it. You must have been born with a gift, something to help combat the darker, persuasive force of being a vampire.”
“Do you realize how rare it would be to find that combination in another? And the decision would have to be made to live honorably, if that is what made this possible. I do not believe there is a margin for error in this.”
“Well, there’s the both of us.”
“And it took me almost five hundred years to find you.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Cara…”
Her excitement ebbed with a concession that he was very likely right. “You’re probably right. I was just thinking. You never gave this life to another, excepting me. It does make sense if you think about it. Power attracts.” She folded against his chest, his arms tucking her close.
He sighed once. “After I know you are safe. Not before.”
“Which means?” she asked hopefully.
“When Brakka and Tenorio have been eliminated. I refuse to let you save lonely vampires with them still looking for you. One catastrophe at a time, please.” He tilted her upward to catch her gaze. “Have you thought about what you will do with these lost souls if you find any? I will not share you.” He locked her against his chest in strong arms to make his point.
“Not really. I don’t know of any others like myself.”
Diego lowered to nibble on exposed skin. Flames rose in his wake. “Then perhaps you should reconsider. Vampires are very dangerous. The Br
ethren do not congregate out of friendship. It would be very difficult to pursue such an endeavor without having to deal with those I would rather not let near you.”
“All right,” she allowed. “I will rethink this.” Lashes drifted closed when his hands moved beneath her blouse. Sweet heat spread when he cupped a breast in his hand. Desire spiked as he rubbed over a peaked nipple. “Diego?”
“Hmm?” he murmured, nipping along her shoulder.
“Is this kind of wanting normal?” Her hands had tugged his shirt from his jeans, giving room for fingers to dance across smooth skin. “I can’t seem to stop thinking about you like this.” Her head rocked loosely on her neck when he skated down the front of her throat to the hollow, his tongue doing delicious things to the nerves there.
“Cara, I want you like this every minute I am awake.” Desire made his voice low, rich, and it wound over her ears. His mouth curved. “Well, not like this. More like this,” he told her with a wicked timbre. The next instant her clothes were gone and she was lying on a bed of grass with him next to her, kissing and lapping at exposed skin, making nerves sizzle.
“That is so not fair,” she cried. “How did you do that?”
“Would this help?” His clothes disappeared.
A sensuous smile found its way to her mouth. “That at least evens the score.” Light laughter was obliterated when his damp tongue found the taut point of her breast.
Chapter Eighteen
“I want to know how you fly,” Titania said, contentment settling over her. She lay pillowed on Diego’s shoulder, watching the stars overhead. Moon glow bathed the meadow, creating soft shadows, and blue-black depths romantically enshrouded the woods surrounding them. Fingers tugged easily through the length of her hair while she drew lazy patterns across his stomach. “You don’t turn into a bat, do you?” She lifted partially, seeing his eyes blink, right before laughter erupted from him.
