Everlasting Embrace

by Amanda Ashley

  “Are you out of your mind? Bringing that creature into our home?”

  “Is Mom there?” she asked, kicking off her shoes. “Is she all right?”

  “I doubt if your mother will ever be all right again. What the hell were you thinking?”

  “I love him.”

  “Love,” her father sneered. “He’s a vampire.”

  “He wasn’t always one.”

  “You can’t marry him,” her father said flatly. “I forbid it.”

  “I don’t need your permission or your approval,” Rylee said. “But I’d very much like both.”

  “It’s never going to happen. Good Lord, don’t you read the papers? Until a month or so ago, the police in Los Angeles were finding bodies drained of blood on the city streets. Dozens of bodies. I’ve seen a few of them with my own eyes and I can tell you it’s not a pretty sight. Dammit, Rylee, for all you know, he’s the one responsible.”

  “He’s not like that!”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I just know,” she said, and realized how lame that sounded. How childish.

  “If you marry him, you’re no longer my daughter.”

  “Brian!” Her mother’s voice came over the extension. “You don’t mean that!”

  “I do mean it.” There was a loud click as he hung up.

  Rylee stared into the distance, unable to believe her ears. She had always been so close to her father, confided in him, looked up to him.

  “Rylee, however did you meet a … a vampire?” her mother asked quietly.

  “He wasn’t a vampire when I met him, Mom. Just a guy.”

  “He’s the man you mentioned before, isn’t he? The one you met in L.A.?”

  “Yes.” As succinctly as possible, Rylee related how she had met Alex, how she’d tried to stay away from him. She neglected to mention Magdalena and Rhys. “What am I going to do about Dad?”

  “I don’t know, dear. I only hope you know what you’re doing. Just remember, I love you, no matter what.”

  “I love you, too. Night, Mom.”

  Rylee fell back on the sofa, her thoughts troubled. How was she supposed to choose between the father she adored and the man she loved?

  Rhys materialized beside Alex shortly after he reached the penthouse. “The course of true love never runs smooth,” he remarked with a wry grin.

  “Fat lot of help you are. Her folks are never going to accept me.”

  Rhys shrugged. “There are ways to arrange that. A suggestion planted here, a memory planted there.”

  “Forget it. I’m not going to mess with their minds.”

  “It’s the easiest solution all the way around. If you don’t tell Rylee about it, she’ll never know.”

  Alex huffed a sigh, afraid that Costain was probably right.

  CHAPTER 38

  Alex rose, smiling, only to have it turn to a frown when he wondered if Rylee’s parents had called her last night and talked her out of marrying him. He’d heard her tell his parents he was a vampire after he left the house.

  He showered and dressed, then grabbed his phone.

  She answered on the second ring, a smile in her voice. “Hi!”

  “You sound a lot more cheerful than I thought you would. Have you talked to your Dad since last night?”

  “Yes. He’s…upset.” An understatement, she thought.

  “I’m not surprised.”

  “My mom thinks he’ll come around.” She decided not to mention her father’s ultimatum.

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  Rylee blew out a sigh, the hurt still fresh. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Alex paused a moment, tempted to read her mind to discover what she was holding back, but decided against it. Changing the subject, he said, “So, what are your plans for the day? Or the night?”

  “I’m just finishing up a shoot near Monterey and then I’m flying down to L.A. I have a meeting with Mr. Sommerville at eight and I can’t put him off any longer. I need his business.”

  “Can’t you do it over the phone?”

  “Not this time. I should be done around nine.”

  “How about if I meet you afterwards, say at La Mort Rouge?”

  “Do you think it’s safe?”

  “A hell of a lot safer than you running around alone in Monterey,” he muttered. “I think we’ll be all right. No one’s seen or heard from Magdalena in months. No dead bodies in the city. Besides, it would be suicide for her to go anywhere near Rhys or his place.”

  Rylee hesitated a moment, then said, “Okay. I should be there around ten, ten-thirty.”

  “We can meet somewhere else, if you like.”

  “No, the club’s fine.” He was right, she thought. Magdalena would be a fool to confront them on Costain’s turf.

  “See you soon.” Alex shoved his phone in his back pocket. He had plenty of time to hunt before Rylee arrived.

  Rhys looked askance when Alex materialized inside the club. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be curled up in my lair with the future Mrs. O’Donnell.”

  “Very funny. You know it’s not safe for me go there. She’s meeting me here later.”

  “Ah.”

  “Where do you think Magdalena’s gone?”

  “Beats the hell out of me. She’s not in town. I’m sure of that.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Intuition?”

  “Why would she leave?”

  Rhys shrugged. “Maybe things got too hot. I’ve never seen so many hunters in one town at the same time in my life. And that covers a lot of years.”

  “Well, I hope she stays gone.”

  “Don’t count on it. No need for her to be in a hurry, you know. Barring accidents, she’s got centuries to avenge her mate.”

  Centuries. Damn, Alex thought. He had never really considered that possibility. Sure, he knew vampires lived a long time, but he had never applied it to himself. What would he be like in a hundred years? Two? Three? What would the world be like? And then he frowned. Rylee might live another sixty years. Maybe seventy if she was lucky. It wasn’t nearly long enough. He couldn’t imagine his life without her.

  He shook the gloomy thought from his mind when the door opened and Rylee stepped inside, bringing the scent of the night and the fragrance that was hers and hers alone.

  She smiled when she saw him.

  “Hey,” he said. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too.”

  “Can I get you a drink?” Rhys asked.

  “Not right now, thanks.”

  Rhys waved the bartender over. “If they change their mind, give them anything they want. It’s on the house. Nice to see you again, Rylee. Room number six is free if you two want to be alone.”

  Alex glanced at Rylee. “What do you say?”

  She took a quick look around, then nodded. It made her uncomfortable, knowing there were vampires in the club, but she’d have to get used to that, she thought. After all, Alex had a sister and a brother-in-law who were vampires. And then there was Rhys. And Megan.

  Room number six looked just as she had imagined, Rylee thought when Alex opened the door for her. It was clean and neat, the furnishings simple but expensive, with a king-sized bed, a small mahogany table, muted lighting, and a bathroom. Nothing but the necessities.

  “Have you heard anymore from your folks?” Alex asked, closing the door.

  “The secret’s out of the bag now. Disappearing from the living room like that left no doubt about what you are,” Rylee said, and then she grinned. “Maybe I should have said you were a magician.” Sobering, she said, “My father said he would disown me if I married you.”

  Shit “I don’t want to come between you and your parents, love. Maybe you should think it over.”

  “That’s all I’ve done since we met. I love my Dad, but I can’t let him make my decisions for me. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

  “I’ll say.” Grinning, he sat beside her and drew
her into his arms. “I love you, Rylee. I will always love you. But if you change your mind, I’ll understand. I never want to cause you pain or unhappiness.”

  “I love you, too. My Dad will come around one of these days. Probably.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  “It’s not all bad. My mother still loves me, no matter what.” Cupping his face in her palms, she kissed him. “Everything will work out,” she murmured. “You’ll see.”

  “How long are you going to be in town?”

  “I’m leaving in the morning.”

  Alex fell back on the bed and pulled her down on top of him. His gaze searched hers as his tongue swept across her lower lip and then he kissed her, long and slow and deep, again and again, until he was on fire for her. He groaned softly as his hunger sparked to life, ignited by her nearness and his desire for her. “Rylee?”

  She heard the question in his voice, the need, and knew what he wanted. Murmuring assent, she lifted her hair away from her neck. His bite was ever so gentle, the heat of it pulsing through her in warm, sensual waves of pleasure.

  It took every ounce of Alex’s self-control to let her go. Easing her onto the mattress, he sat up. “Come on, let’s go find an all-night movie or something. You’re far too tempting and this bed is way too handy.”

  Laughing softly, she sat up and ran a hand over her hair. For the first time, she was sure that everything really would work out.

  Summer gave way to fall and there were signs of Halloween everywhere—pumpkins and scarecrows, witches and fairies. And vampires, of course. As usual, along with decorations for All Hallow’s Eve, there were copious decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas in the stores, as well.

  Rylee was swamped with job offers, which made the days pass quickly, but that was okay, because she lived for the nights and the hours she spent with Alex. For once, his being a vampire was a plus, since he could transport them anyplace they wanted to go—usually to hotels in other states, where she ordered room service for dinner and they spent the night watching movies and talking. The more time she spent with Alex, the more she loved him.

  Her father remained cold and unrelenting. He refused to speak to her on the phone. Her mother assured her that, sooner or later, he would come around, but Rylee was beginning to doubt it.

  The building contractor called in early November saying he wanted to meet her for a walk-through at the house the following morning. After agreeing on a time, she called Rhys.

  “Hey, girl, what can I do for you?”

  “I need a favor.”

  With Rhys acting as her bodyguard, Rylee met the contractor at the appointed time. The house was going to be perfect, she thought. With Magdalena in mind, she had taken the third little pig’s advice and built her house of reinforced brick and concrete. Best of all, the builder was right on schedule and expected the house to be ready for occupancy near the end of the month.

  “It’s a nice place,” Costain remarked after transporting then back to Granite Hills.

  “Yes. I just hope I get to live in it before I’m old and gray.”

  Rhys chuckled. “Magdalena’s bound to make a move sooner or later.”

  “I’m hoping for sooner. I feel like my whole life is on hold. Anyway, thanks for going with me.”

  “My pleasure,” he said with a wink. “Hang in there, Rylee. You’ll have your happy ending yet.”

  “I understand you’re in a hurry to move into your new house,” Alex said when she told him the news that night. “But it’s not a good idea and you know it.” They were curled up on the sofa in a hotel in Salt Lake City.

  “I know. But I’m getting tired of traveling to a different place every night. And I’m sure Rhys would like to have his house back.”

  “I doubt that. They’ve taken up residence in some cozy hacienda he owns in Mexico.”

  “Mexico!” She started to say that was a long way to travel to La Mort Rouge and back but then she remembered that distance meant nothing to vampires. “How many houses does he have, anyway?”

  “I think he’s got three or four in the states, the one in Mexico, and another somewhere in Italy.”

  “Must be nice,” she murmured and then, as Alex wrapped his arms around her, she forgot all about Costain and everything else.

  In the nights that followed, Rylee took a cab to a different, designated place in the city and Alex met her there. Rylee made a game of deciding where they would go for the night. She gave each state a number and put the numbers in a bowl. Whichever state she drew was where they spent the evening. Alex picked the hotels. Although it would have been nicer if he could have come to the house in Granite Hills, it didn’t really matter where they were, so long as they were together.

  But always, no matter where they were, the threat of Magdalena was never far from her mind.

  CHAPTER 39

  “Guess what?” Rylee exclaimed as they settled onto the sofa in a New York City hotel room. “My house is almost finished! They installed the carpets and drapes this morning. All I need now are towels and dishes and bedding and furniture.” And a wedding dress, she thought with a smile.

  “Rylee…”

  “I know, I know. It isn’t safe for me to move in. But can’t we at least go take a look at it?”

  Alex grinned. She looked so eager, so excited, how could he refuse?

  The following night, Rylee took a cab to a restaurant. She met Alex in the parking lot and he transported the two of them to her new house.

  It was beautiful, she thought as they walked up the flagstone path. Fresh white paint covered the exterior, the trim was sage green, the front door a dark-red. She pictured how it would look once the lawn was in and there were flowers growing near the porch.

  Feeling a sense of coming home, Rylee unlocked the door and stepped inside. Never before had she owned a brand new house, she mused as she switched on the light in the entry way. Glancing over her shoulder, she said, “Come in, Alex,” and felt again that peculiar shimmer in the air as he crossed the threshold.

  “Nice,” he said, glancing around. The carpets and drapers were a light beige, the walls a slightly darker shade.

  “I can’t wait to go shopping for furniture. The sofa will go there,” Rylee said, gesturing at the wall to the left. “Maybe a love seat and chair there. And a coffee table, of course.” She hurried down the hallway to the master bedroom, which had a built-in fireplace and a large, walk-in closet.

  Alex trailed behind her. There were two bedrooms on either side of a wide hallway. One room, which he assumed would be her office, had built-in shelves of various sizes. A window offered a view of the backyard.

  He paused in the doorway of the master bedroom, one shoulder propped against the jamb, while she looked around, obviously pleased.

  “Do you think we could go shopping?” she asked.

  “If you make it quick.”

  Fortunately, she had a good idea of what she wanted and no trouble finding it. After arranging to have the furniture delivered, Alex transported them back to a café in San Francisco, stood beside her on the curb while they waited for her ride.

  “I hate leaving you every night,” he murmured. “Damn Magdalena. I wish she’d make her move and get it over with.”

  After Rylee was safely on her way to Granite Hills, Alex returned to Costain’s building. He stood on the sidewalk, hands shoved in his pockets. It was too early to go to bed but not too late to hunt.

  Leaving the apartment behind, he strolled down the sidewalk. Luck was with him and he found his prey in an alley lighting up a joint. He fed quickly and sent the young man on his way.

  Alex stood there a moment then decided to take a walk around the block before returning to the penthouse. It seemed safe enough. There hadn’t been any bodies drained of blood in months and as far as he knew, most—if not all—of the hunters had left town.

  The streets were deserted, the night dark and quiet. Gray clouds hung low in the sky, promising rain before morning. />
  Alex didn’t know what alerted him, but he whirled around in time to see a hunter creeping up behind him, stake in hand. Alex wasn’t sure who was more surprised, and for a moment, neither of them moved. The guy was huge, with massive shoulders and legs like tree trunks. Hatred gleamed in his close-set eyes.

  After the space of a heartbeat, the hunter lunged forward.

  The guy was big, but he was slow. Alex swore as he ducked out of the way, then darted to the side. The hunter turned and charged at him again, one hand grabbing hold of Alex’s coattail.

  Alex quickly slid out of his jacket, then shot forward. Grabbing the Hulk by the neck, he called on every ounce of preternatural power he possessed and broke the man’s neck with one, savage twist.

  Rhys was beside him before the body hit the ground. “What the hell? I thought they’d all left town.”

  “Apparently one stayed behind.”

  “Apparently. You okay?”

  “Yeah.” Alex jerked his chin toward the body sprawled on the sidewalk. “What about him?”

  “The cops will pick him up sooner or later,” Rhys said with a shrug. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Alex turned and headed back toward the penthouse.

  Rhys fell into step beside him. “You and Rylee getting along all right?”

  “So far, so good. Her new house is ready and she’s anxious to move in. I’m getting tired of asking this, but have you heard anything about Magdalena?”

  “Not a damn thing.”

  “You don’t suppose some hunter took her head, do you?”

  “I doubt it. I was on my way to a council meeting. Why don’t you come along?”

  Alex shrugged. He had nothing better to do, though he couldn’t help wondering if Rhys had business with the council, or if he just met with them from time to time to weigh their loyalty. He didn’t think any of them had the guts or the ability to defeat Rhys in battle, but there was always a chance. Few vampires liked being kept in subjugation to another, but there was safety in numbers and in being under the protection of a master vampire as old and powerful as Costain.