But the truth was, she didn’t really miss mortal food and drink. In the beginning, she had missed the sunlight, but she had quickly discovered that the moon’s light was equally beautiful. She and Bobbie Sue remained the best of friends. They saw each other often, though long lunches were out of the question.
Antonio had been right, Vicki thought with a grin. She had been born to be a vampire. She loved staying up late at night. She loved the fact that she no longer had to work. Best of all, she loved Antonio, because he was willing to let her explore her new lifestyle. If she felt the need to be alone, he understood, because there were nights when he, too, needed time alone. But those times were few.
Vickie hadn’t thought that she and Antonio would have any social life to speak of. All the books and movies implied that vampires were solitary creatures who did little more than drink their victims dry and sleep in coffins. And while she knew that wasn’t true, she hadn’t expected to have vampire friends. To her surprise, Antonio, Grigori, and Ramsey had become friends, which worked out well, because Marisa, Kelly, and Vicki had also become good friends. The six of them got together several times a week to watch movies or play cards. Sometimes the men got together to watch football while the women went to the mall to shop. At other times, they all got together to play croquet in the moonlight. That was another good thing about being a vampire, Vicki thought. Traveling long distances wasn’t a problem. Even though they all lived in different parts of the country, they were able to get together whenever they wished.
Vicki had to laugh sometimes when they were all gathered together doing something as human as playing canasta. Who would have thought that vampires did anything so mundane?
She had talked Antonio into getting a telephone. It made getting in touch with the others so much easier, plus it meant they could have a computer.
Vicki had only one real regret, and that was that she and Antonio couldn’t have children. She didn’t know how she was ever going to accept that part, especially now, when Bobbie Sue was pregnant with twin girls. Still, Vicki was happy for Bobbie Sue and Tom and contented herself with the fact that she was going to be a godmother to Bobbie Sue’s children. If she couldn’t have a child of her own, Vicki thought, then being a godmother was the next best thing. She would be part of the twins’ lives. She would be able to buy the girls presents on holidays and birthdays, and watch them grow.
Vicki’s steps slowed when she heard Antonio coming up behind her. No mere mortal would have heard him, she thought with a smug smile.
Coming up beside her, he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Are you tired of walking yet, my sweet?”
“Not really. It’s so beautiful out here. Was there something you wanted me for?”
“Several somethings,” he replied with a wicked grin. “Shall I whisper them in your ear?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “Why don’t you just show me instead?”
“Even better.”
Swinging her into his arms, Antonio carried her swiftly into the castle and up the stairs, his nostrils filling with the fragrant scent of her skin and her hair. He would have been able to find her in the dark, he thought, even without the benefit of his vampire senses.
He carried her into the bedroom and nudged the door closed with his heel. He undressed her slowly, marveling anew that she was his, would always be his.
He made love to her for hours, worshipping her with every touch, every breath.
As always, dawn’s early light came all too soon. They showered together, then returned to bed. He hadn’t slept in his coffin since Victoria was turned. Though she had taken to every other aspect of vampire life with enthusiasm, she had refused to sleep in a coffin of her own, or share his. But he didn’t mind. Sleeping beside her in bed was infinitely better. Her beloved face was the last thing he saw before the Dark Sleep carried him into oblivion, the first thing he saw when he awoke. And should they wish to make love on waking, they were already in bed. What man could ask for more?
Slipping his arm around her, Antonio drew Victoria close to his side. “Rest well,” he murmured, brushing a kiss over her cheek.
“As always, with you beside me.”
Vicki snuggled against him, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm draped across his waist.
With a sigh of utter contentment, Victoria Lynn Battista closed her eyes.
The future stretched before her, endless nights of discovery to be shared before sunrise with the man she adored.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2006 by Madeline Baker
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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ISBN: 1-4201-1166-3
Desire After Dark Page 29
