Caleb (31 page)

A
tear spilled to her cheek, a silver beacon for his attention. He let the
moisture spread across his lips, a salty bridge between sadness and hope. “Me,
too.”

She
held herself so still, as if she was afraid to move because to do so would be
to shatter the possibility she hoped for so desperately. “I’d like a little boy
with your eyes.”

“I’ve
got my heart set on a little girl with your spirit and smile.”

“We’re
probably just kidding ourselves that vampires can get pregnant.”

“Probably.”

“What
kind of parents would we be?”

He
pulled her higher against him, opening his hand and pressing down, wanting.
“The best we learned how to be.”

“I’d
make mistakes.”

“Then
I’d help fix them.”

“And
when you screwed up?”

His
right eyebrow rose, and the easy smile he was getting reac quainted with since
meeting her tugged at his mouth. “What makes you think I’d screw up?”

Allie
leaned back, letting him catch her weight as she slid far enough to the side to
see his face. The trust implicit in the move touched him.

“It’s
a given, Johnson. With you as a father and me as a mother, she’s bound to have
a wild side. Combine that with your penchant for wrapping the people around you
in cotton wool, and there’s going to be some clashes.”

“Damn
straight she’d be protected. I’m not having any weres or vamps sniffing around
my little girl.”

She
looked at him with those big blue eyes and a slightly mocking smile. “The way
you sniffed around theirs?”

Caleb
shook his head and touched the corner of that smile. If their child was a girl,
sure enough he was going to have his work cut out for him keeping the boys
away. He ran his finger along her cheekbone. So much intrepid spirit contained
within such a soft body. If her daughter had half her appeal he was going to
need reinforcements. “Exactly.”

“Which
will just mean I’ll have to run defense around you so she gets to have a life.”

“I
don’t think so.”

Her
eyes narrowed. “Count on it. Girls are entitled to just as much freedom as
boys.”

“Little
girls are vulnerable in ways boys aren’t.”

“Then
we’ll teach her karate.”

“Karate
won’t give her a man’s strength.”

“I
didn’t need karate to save you.”

He
nodded. “True enough. Teaching her to shoot is definitely a plan.”

But
he was still not letting her out without protection. Ever.

Allie
frowned up at him, her lips compressing. He might not have guarded that last
thought as well as he’d thought.

“We
are in the twenty-first century.”

She
was always tossing that at him as if time changed the basic instincts of males
and females. “I noticed.”

She
didn’t take her eyes off him, watching him like a hawk. “Before we have any
children, you need to accept that.”

“What
makes you think I haven’t?”

“Your
archaic opinions on men and women.”

“Time
might change the way people talk to each other, but it doesn’t change the
impulses under the skin.”

Her
lip slid between her teeth. There was a long pause in which he counted the
pulse in her throat. When he got to twelve, she blew out a breath. “We’re so
different”

“Not
where it counts.”

“Where
would that be?”

“In
what we value. Loyalty. Honesty. Courage.”

She
blinked. “We are alike there, aren’t we?”

He
brushed his lips across her brow, needing to connect. Although he held her in
his arms, he had a feeling she was slipping away. “Like two peas in a pod.”

Her
teeth sank deeper into her lip. He could feel the resolution inside her
strengthening in a steady push of energy against the intimacy he was building.

“What
is it?”

Allie’s
palm rubbed the back of his hand, the one sheltering the possibility of their
child.

“I
just want you to know that if I’d had the opportunity to pick a father for my
baby, it would have been someone like you.”

Son
of a bitch! She about cut his feet out from under him when she said things like
that. He cupped her head, careful not to stress her muscles, tipped her chin up
with his thumb. “You did pick me.”

“Not
completely.”

“Completely.”
Utterly, with an instinctive understanding she didn’t trust, but she’d chosen
him. Caleb wouldn’t let her forget that. He brought his mouth to hers.
Carefully, so very carefully, feeling her surprise in the breath that puffed
over his lips, the whisper of his name . . . A tilt of his head and her mouth
was under his, soft and feminine, as giving as her soul, letting him linger
where he wanted, caress as he needed, encouraging him to find the words he
couldn’t voice.

“Allie
girl . . .”

Her
hands came around his neck. “I know.”

And
even without touching minds, he knew she did. He didn’t want to break the
moment, but there were things she had to know. For her protection and maybe
their child’s, he had to warn her. He broke off the kiss, readying her for the
seriousness of the conversation with a stroke of his thumb across her mouth.

She
sighed and kissed the pad. “You’re going to ruin the moment, aren’t you?”

“Sorry.”

Hitching
herself higher she shook her head. “We are definitely going to have to work on
your killjoy factor along with your chauvinistic tendencies.”

“Uh-huh.”
He didn’t let her leave his arms. The scare she’d given him was too recent for
him to totally let her go.

When
she settled herself in a semi-upright position, she waved her hand. “Spill it
if you must.”

There
was no other way to say it but to be blunt. “Whatever came here wants you.”

She
didn’t even blink, which told him she’d already figured that out. “For what?”

“I
wish I knew.”

“Are
you sure it’s not the Sanctuary people?”

“They’ve
never shown the inclination or power before.” But that didn’t get them off the
hook.

She
blew her bangs off her head. “Rats.”

“Slade’s
working on it. Derek and his pack, too.”

“Really?”

“This
last little visit gave us all a kick-in-the-pants scare.”

Allie
just bet it had. The Circle J had been invaded, by a mental enemy, but an enemy
all the same. That had to shake everyone up. For her part, she couldn’t
remember anything beyond a slimy presence invading her soul, and she still
shuddered. She’d had no illusion of safety or control whereas Caleb was on the
opposite side of the spectrum, always assuming everything he saw was under his
dominion.

“I’m
glad it’s all a blur for me.”

The
hand on her stomach contracted. “You don’t remember anything?”

“Trust
me, I’m doing my best to eradicate even the sensation of a memory.”

Caleb
turned her in his arms, draping her thighs across his, tilting her face up to
his. Faint gold lights swirled behind his pupils as he said, “I’m afraid I
can’t let you do that.”

Allie
sighed. “I had a feeling you were going to say that.”

“But
I’m not going to ask you to remember right this minute.”

“That
is a relief.”

Caleb
touched the corner of her mouth. “You need to feed.”

“I’m
not hungry.”

“Slade
thinks that letting the hunger get too bad weakens your mental shields and
creates an opportunity for trespassers.”

“How
so?”

“You’re
an empath, Allie girl. That means unless you close it, there’s an open path
from everyone around you to you.”

She
gripped her arms tighter, wishing she had the strength to lift her head.
“You’re not making my day.”

His
lips ruffled her hair. “I’m not exactly dancing a jig.”

“Any
chance I can exchange this gift?”

“I’m
afraid not.”

“First,
you’re a vampire. Next, you’re a walking invitation to a freak-fest. I swear,
Caleb, if you don’t start waking me with better news, I’m dumping your ass.”

He
opened his shirt and sliced his nail through his skin. Blood flowed, scenting
the air, drawing their passion around them in a cocoon as soft as the
understanding in his voice. “I’ll work on it.”

APPARENTLY
for Caleb, working on it meant keeping her blood intake high and her
stimulation level low. Allie paced to the window, drew back the curtains, and
stared into the moonlit yard. Men moved within the shadows, fading into one
before moving on to the next. Powerful men. Weres called in to protect her.
From something they didn’t recognize. Something they couldn’t see. Something
that attacked mentally. Something that needed her. She wished she knew for
what.

No
matter how hard Allie tried to remember that night, the details remained buried
behind a haze she couldn’t penetrate. Lingering in her mind like a cancer,
deadly and invisible, hiding the identity of the stalker who’d attacked her.
But somewhere in the darkness beyond the window it lurked, getting stronger.

She
dropped the curtain back in exasperation. She might not know what that thing
was, but she knew damn well that waiting was wrong. That thing, that threat,
had the edge, and if they didn’t know what they needed soon, they were all
dead. Convincing Caleb of that was the hard part. He didn’t have as much faith
in her gut as she. Or it might be better to say he didn’t care if her gut was
right or wrong. His first priority was her immediate safety, and that of their
possible baby. Her priorities were a little more broadscale. She wanted a home
to bring her baby to when it was born.

While
Caleb and everyone else felt she needed to stay here, that these walls somehow
protected her, they were wrong. Way down deep in her gut, she knew they were
wrong. That much knowledge had been gained from the visitor, which was an
interesting twist on the transmitter/receiver aspect of her empathic abilities.
Apparently, when anything scanned her, she was also able to scan it. Some
ability seemed to be instinctive, but she’d discovered it definitely got better
with the daily practice-makes-perfect drill sessions Jared and Caleb put her
through.

The
harder part was not letting the scanner know that she was taking sneak peeks of
her own. She wasn’t so good at that. Which was why she’d been so excited to see
the invitation made out exclusively to her that had arrived from the Sanctuary
two days ago. Talking with Sanctuary members might give her the vital
information she needed to be able to protect herself.

Caleb
hadn’t shared her enthusiasm. Hypersensitive, on full alert since the psychotic
attack, he had wanted to burn the invitation immediately. Jared had wanted to
go in and wipe the place out for the insult. In his opinion, overlooking
Caleb’s position as her mate was a killable offense. Slade had been more sane.
He thought they should first analyze the invitation, find out how they’d known
about Allie, and then wipe the Sanctuary out for what to him was the equivalent
of propositioning his brother’s wife.

Her
logical suggestion of accepting the invitation and then having an equally
logical discussion with people who had spent their lives learning all they
could about what they’d discovered about vampirism hadn’t even been considered.
She’d gone off in a huff, but something had made her take the invitation with
her. And something kept making her come back to it over and over. Instinct said
she needed to accept the invitation. Needed the missing piece of the puzzle
that was locked in her mind. If there was a chance the members of the Sanctuary
could provide her with the skills she needed to solve the puzzle, she needed to
go.

She
peeked out the window again. To that end, tonight she was going to force a
couple hands. She grabbed her pack off the bed and opened the window. Thanks to
the greasing she’d given it earlier, it slid smoothly. Cool air rushed in.
Along with it came a chill. She tugged her coat around her and funneled more
energy into her mind shield as Caleb had taught her. She couldn’t afford to be
detected. She placed her pack on the roof and slid her leg over the sill. Doing
her best to be quiet, she stepped out onto the roof. Her foot didn’t slip and
when she put her weight on it, didn’t go through the shingles. So far so good.

She
stood and stretched her spine, breathing deeply of the fresh air, the first
she’d had in the last week. Since the last “visit” Caleb had assigned her a
guard, and since he feared the accessibility of the outdoors, kept her inside.

Creeping
down the roof wasn’t as hard as she’d feared. Hopefully, evading the guards
wouldn’t be either. She glanced at her watch. She figured she had two hours
before Caleb returned. A woman could go a good distance in two hours. Enough
distance so he wouldn’t be able to force her to go back before dawn for fear of
her being caught in the sun. Enough distance that, hopefully, he’d be forced to
cooperate.