Authors: Amanda Ashley
Bound By Blood (6 page)
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-one.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“August the fourth.”
“A Leo,” she said, smiling.
He nodded. “You?”
“I’m an Aries.”
“Both fire signs,” he mused.
“Are you into astrology?”
“No, not really.”
“Do you read your horoscope every day?”
“No,” he said, laughing. “Why, do you?”
“No. Well, not every day.”
“How old are you?”
Grinning, she said, “Don’t you know it isn’t polite to ask a woman her age?”
“At least tell me you’re over twenty-one.”
Kaitlyn laughed. “No worries. I turned twenty-one on my last birthday.”
“Just a baby.” He wondered what she would think if she knew how old he really was. “Do you have brothers and sisters?”
“No. My mom wanted more children, but . . .” She shrugged. “I would have liked a brother or a sister, but it wasn’t meant to be. My dad comes from a really large family though, so I have lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. Of course, there was a plus side to being an only child,” she said, grinning. “My parents spoiled me rotten when I was growing up.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass, her expression thoughtful. “They still spoil me rotten.”
Zack nodded. He would love to pamper her, to give her everything her heart desired, to show her all the wonders of the modern world. To introduce her to the magic between a man and a woman.
“Why did you call me Katy?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone?”
“No. No one.” She smiled a shy smile. “I like it.”
He leaned toward her, his gaze resting on her face. “Come home with me, Katy.”
“Zack . . . I can’t.”
“Just my luck,” he said with a good-natured grin. “You’re a good girl.”
“’Fraid so.” She couldn’t blame him for having thought otherwise, considering the sexy “come and get me” outfit she was wearing.
He nodded. He might be a lot of things, but he had never forced a woman into his bed, or taken advantage of a virgin, although Kaitlyn tempted him sorely. He was about to refill their glasses when his cell phone rang.
Murmuring, “Excuse me,” he put the phone to his ear. “What is it?” He listened a moment, then slipped the phone back into his pocket. “I need to take care of something in the casino. I’ll be back shortly.”
“All right.” Lifting her glass, she watched him walk swiftly toward a door marked STAIRWAY.
She sat there a moment, thinking about Zack. He wanted her; there was no doubt about that. And she wanted him. There was no doubt about that, either. She glanced at her watch, drummed her fingertips on the table as she wondered what kind of emergency—if that’s what it was—had called him away. Too curious to wait any longer, she took the elevator down to the main floor.
The first thing she noticed was the silence. Standing in the doorway, she glanced around, searching for Zack. She gasped when she saw him. He was standing in front of one of the poker tables. On the other side of the table, a man wearing a Hell’s Angel leather jacket stood holding the edge of a knife to the dealer’s throat. The dealer’s face was paper-white, a vivid contrast to the angry red flush on the face of the Hell’s Angel wielding the blade.
“He cheated!” the man declared, his voice carrying throughout the casino. “He’s dealing from the bottom of the deck!”
“Put the knife down,” Zack said. “And we’ll talk about it.”
The man shook his head. “I want my money back! And I want this cheat fired!”
Zack looked at the dealer. “Were you cheating, Henry?”
Kaitlyn frowned as a ripple of power raised the hair along her arms. Was that coming from Zack? It felt much like the preternatural power her father possessed.
“No, sir,” Henry said, his voice laced with fear. “He’s just a sore loser.”
“He’s lying!” the man insisted.
Kaitlyn couldn’t see Zack’s face. He stood there, unmoving, as that same ripple of power washed over her.
When he spoke again, his words were slow and distinct, and there was a peculiar edge to his voice. “I want you to put the knife down, Farris, and follow me outside.”
Kaitlyn frowned, wondering how Zack knew the troublemaker’s name. Was he a regular at the casino?
Farris glared at Zack for stretched seconds, then he dropped the knife on the table and followed Zack out of the casino.
Kaitlyn waited until Zack and Farris were outside, then hurried after them. She paused just beyond the entrance, her gaze darting left and right, but there was no sign of either man.
How had they disappeared so quickly? Puzzled, she left the casino. She had a lot to think about and she couldn’t do it here.
It took only moments to navigate the path home. Kicking off her shoes, she went into the kitchen and fixed a cup of hot chocolate, then curled up on the sofa, the cup cradled in her hands as her mind replayed the scene at the poker table. She hadn’t imagined the power that rippled through the air when Zack spoke. She had felt it too often in the past to mistake it for anything but what it was—the same kind of preternatural power that her father and others of their kind were able to command. Was it possible that Zack Ravenscroft was one of them? She had never seen him eat, but that didn’t prove anything. At dinner the other night, he had said he’d already eaten. She’d had no reason to disbelieve him then, and none tonight. He drank wine, but so did millions of other people. He possessed a strong aura of danger, but, again, that didn’t prove anything. But that rush of preternatural power—no mortal possessed that kind of supernatural energy.
What if Zack really was a vampire?
Kaitlyn shook her head. If that was true, it changed everything.
Chapter 7
Standing in the shadows, the watcher followed Kaitlyn home. His first task was to learn all he could about her. Thus far, he hadn’t accomplished much of his goal. All he knew was that she was able to abide the sun, a fact he had learned while he lurked outside her house at sunset and saw her walking up the path, a grocery sack tucked under one arm. It was obvious she had left the house earlier in the day. He presumed she was able to walk by day because of her tainted blood. The second thing he had learned was that she could still eat mortal food, something that should no longer have been possible for her.
She was also very beautiful, a dark-haired angel with pale golden skin and sky-blue eyes.
He thrust the thought away. Lovely or ugly, it mattered not. He had a job to do, and he would do it. To fail was to incur his mother’s wrath, and that was worse than death itself.
Chapter 8
As soon as Zack returned to the casino, he knew that Kaitlyn had gone. Frowning, he went to the bar and ordered a drink from his special blend. Why had she left without a word?
Standing with his back to the bar, he perused the room. The patrons had returned to their games of chance as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He grinned inwardly. Mortals had ridiculously short memories.
With a sigh, he sipped his drink, a tasty concoction of chardonnay and type O, as his thoughts returned to Kaitlyn. Had she been bothered by the earlier disturbance? He considered that possibility a moment, then shook his head. She wasn’t the type to be spooked by anything so trivial. Had she grown tired of waiting for his return? He shook his head again. He hadn’t been gone that long. It hadn’t taken more than a few minutes to wipe his compulsion from the man’s mind and send him on his way with no memory of what had occurred. So, what had prompted her to leave without a word of farewell or explanation?
He drained his glass and left it on the bar; then, as was his wont at least once a night, he strolled through the casino. All of his employees were mortal save for the fledgling, Scherry, who was the night bartender, and two of the dealers.
Zack had sired Scherry six months ago at her request. She had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. She hadn’t wanted to face a lingering death and she had told him, candidly, that she didn’t have the nerve to take her own life. He had never turned anyone before, but he liked Scherry. After warning her that there were no guarantees, he had taken her up to his lair late one night and brought her across. It had been an interesting experience. Other than a desperate effort to save the life of someone he loved, he had never drained anyone to the point of death before. It had been an incredible high. He still wasn’t sure where he had found the willpower to stop before it was too late. But he had. And then he had given her his blood. And watched in amazement as the color returned to her cheeks, and the spark of life returned to her eyes.
The other two—Steve Walls and Jackson Lautner—had been vampires for several years. The three of them worked at the casino with the understanding that they would not prey on his customers or hunt in his territory, and the sure conviction that Zack would destroy them without a qualm if they did.
Assured that all was well on the casino floor, Zack started toward his office on the second level, then turned on his heel and left the club. Late or not, he needed to see Kaitlyn, needed to know why she hadn’t waited for him to return.
Kaitlyn was watching a late movie when someone knocked on the door. She frowned when she glanced at her watch. It was a little after one
A.M.
Who would come calling at such an hour?
A.M.
Who would come calling at such an hour?
Silly question. Since she only knew one person in town, the answer was obvious.
She ran a hand over her hair and tightened the belt on her robe before she opened the door. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Four and a half minutes after one. Can I come in?”
With a sigh, she moved out of the way, felt her heart skip a beat when he stepped inside.
He closed the door behind him, then followed her into the living room, stood there while she switched off the TV.
She turned to face him, her arms crossed. “So, what brings you here at this time of the morning?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Take a pill.”
He felt his anger stir at her flippant reply. “Why did you leave?”
“Excuse me?”
“Tonight. Why didn’t you wait for me?”
She sat on the sofa, her hands folded in her lap, her head tilted back slightly so she could see his face. “It was late. I didn’t know how long you were going to be gone, so”—she shrugged one shoulder—“I came home. No law against it, is there?”
“Hey, I’m sorry if I offended you or . . .” He blew out an impatient breath. “Look, I just wanted to make sure you got home all right and you did, so I’ll say good night.”
Kaitlyn bit down on the inside corner of her lower lip as she watched him turn and walk away. What was she doing? If she didn’t say something, he would leave. Did she want him to go? What if she never saw him again?
“Zack, wait!” Jumping to her feet, she hurried after him.
He stood on the porch, his expression implacable.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, not quite meeting his gaze. “I don’t know what came over me. I . . .” She tapped her foot nervously, uncertain of what she wanted to say, not knowing how to phrase it. If he wasn’t a vampire and she asked him if he was, he would think she was some kind of nut. On the other hand, if he was, she wanted—needed—to know.
“Listen, Katy, you don’t owe me any apologies, or anything else. We had some laughs. If you want to end it—”
“No! I mean . . . no.” She clasped her hands to her chest. “Tonight, at the casino, when you were confronting that man . . .”
“Yeah, what about it?” he asked, then paused, his eyes narrowing. “How do you know about that?”
“I followed you downstairs.”
“Is that right?”
She shrugged. “I got tired of waiting.”
He regarded her a moment. “So, you were saying?”
“What? Oh, when you were confronting that man, I thought . . . that is, I felt something . . . peculiar.”
“Peculiar? In what way?” He cursed his inability to read her mind. Knowing what she was really thinking would make everything so much easier.
“Never mind. I probably just imagined it.” She slid her hands into the pockets of her robe and curled them into fists. Why was it, whenever he was close to her, all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him? What strange power did he have, that his presence should affect her so strongly? She had dated other handsome men, been held in their arms, tasted their kisses, and been unmoved. Yet a simple look from Zack, a smile, a word, and she wanted to be in his arms, naked in his bed.
She told herself again that it was nothing more than a bad case of lust, but it was getting harder and harder to convince herself that there was nothing more to it than that. “It’s late. Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow night.”
“Sure, Katy, whatever you want.”
She smiled, thinking her nickname sounded like an endearment when he said it. She looked up at him, waiting, hoping he would kiss her good night. Just when she had given up hope, he pulled her into his embrace and lowered his head to hers.
She folded her hands over his shoulders as his mouth claimed hers in a tantalizing kiss that aroused every cell and nerve ending in her body. She pressed herself shamelessly against him, wanting to be closer, to feel the hard length of his body against hers. He tasted so good, smelled so good. Felt so good. She was sorely tempted to exert her preternatural power over him, to invite him back inside and have her way with him, and then wipe the memory of it from his mind. She had never done such a thing before—never even considered it—but there was a first time for everything. She pondered the wisdom of it another few moments, then sighed. The fact that she couldn’t read his mind gave her pause. Perhaps it wouldn’t work. There was no doubt she could get him into her bed. He was a man, after all. He wasn’t likely to say no. But if she couldn’t read his mind, maybe she wouldn’t be able to erase the memory.
When he kissed her a second time, she wondered if that even mattered.
They were both breathless when, at last, he eased away from her.
“Whoa, girl,” he muttered. “Unless you want me to ravish you on the porch, right here, right now, you’d better tell me to go.”
She hesitated only a moment but then, as common sense overrode desire, she murmured, “Good night, Zack.”
Stepping back inside, she quietly closed and locked the door.
And instantly regretted it.
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