Caressed by Night (15 page)

Kerstyn began to drift off to sleep when she felt like she was being watched. She opened one eye to find Dimitri standing above her.

She smiled and sat up, her breasts concealed by the bubbles.

“I can think of no better sight to welcome me home,” Dimitri said, his voice thick with lust.

She gave him a wink. “Did your meetings go well?” He lowered his large frame and sat on the edge of the spa, his legs stretched out, his arms crossed over his chest. “We have finalized the details and signed the contracts and my museum in New York is currently working on preparing the artifacts for transportation. How was your day?”

“I hunted the Internet for jobs, submitted my résumé to so many places that I’ve lost count, then I began unpacking and organizing my things. I also made cookies.”

“I ate two on my way out.”

“They were burnt.”

“Crispy, which is the way I like them.”

Kerstyn laughed, “I think you’re just saying that.”

“No, I am being completely honest. I like them crunchy; they hold up better when accompanied by ice cream.”

“I think we will have to put that to the test.” Dimitri smiled. He reached down and brushed the damp curls away from her neck, his fingers skimming the water just above Kerstyn’s shoulder causing her to shiver beneath the warmth of the water.

Clearing her throat, she dropped her gaze to the bubbles, “I sort of talked to my mom today.”

“Sort of?” he asked, raising a brow at her choice of words.

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“Yeah, she emailed me. She heard that I was no longer living with Denise.”

“Does she know why?”

“I don’t think so and it doesn’t matter.”

“How did she find out?”

“Denise’s mom must have told her,” Kerstyn shrugged. “It was a short email.”

“Did you reply?”

Kerstyn turned her eyes back up to Dimitri. “Aren’t you supposed to know everything?” she teased.

“Not everything.”

“Well, I replied and I told her that I am now living with my boyfriend. That will blow her away. My parents swore up and down that I would be an old maid until I died and they would never have grandchildren. Though, I highly doubt they would know what to do with a grandchild since they didn’t know what to do with their own daughter.” Kerstyn snapped her mouth shut.

“Yes, I detected the bitterness in your voice.”

“It dripped from every word, didn’t it?” She sighed, “I can’t help it sometimes.”

“There is no need to apologize.”

Kerstyn shook her head. “If I ever have children, I will be there for everything.” She smiled. “I’ll probably be the smothering type they need to escape from. They will want to attend out-of-state colleges to get away from me, but they’ll know I love them.”

“You will be a wonderful mother.”

Her smile faded. Being a vampire, he was unable to breed. She wished he could be the father of her children. No one else had ever made her feel so special and safe. He had been the one to awaken her sexual hunger. Damn it, Dimitri was the man she wanted, forever.

She was about to change the subject when Dimitri slowly said,

“I think my mother was exceptionally caring, though I cannot remember.”

Kerstyn’s gaze once again dropped. She could add Dimitri to the list of those who had it worse than she did. The man could not remember his childhood, his family, or his friends. She could not even
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begin to imagine how that must feel. She knew he had to feel lost with his past being such a mysterious black hole.

“I’m sorry.”

Dimitri bent down and cupped her face. “You needn’t feel sorry for me. The truth is, I made myself forget. In the beginning, I thought it would be easier to not know them, to erase them from my memory. Being what I am, I knew I could never see them again. I could not trust myself around them.”

“You forced yourself to forget in order to protect them?”

“Them and myself. The pain of knowing what one has lost is excruciating. I believed it would be easier to live without my memories.” He placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Now, I regret what I have done. I wish I could remember them, but no magic in the world could help me regain what I have lost.”

“Do you remember when you were changed?”

Dimitri took in a deep breath as a chill sprinted down his spine.

“I remember that night with unbelievable clarity. No matter how hard I tried, I could never push those memories aside.”

“Will you tell me about it?”

He brushed his lips against hers in a tender, fleeting kiss that sparked her blood.

“One day, I will,” he whispered, his breath caressing her cheek as he slowly pulled away.

Kerstyn nodded. She would not push him. When he was ready to share his dark secrets, she would listen.

“Would you like to join me?”

Dimitri let out a groan as their separate fantasies merged into one in his mind.

“I would love to join you, but there are a few calls I must make.”

Kerstyn stuck her bottom lip out.

“Later,” he said, brushing the pad of his thumb over her jutting lip.

“Tonight?” she asked.

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Dimitri chuckled, the deep sound vibrating through her, “Yes, I promise.” He stood and descended the steps to the patio.

“I guess tonight is better anyway. I’m turning into a prune in here.”

“Do you need a towel?”

“I didn’t really think this whole skinny-dipping idea through,” she admitted, looking around.

Dimitri walked over to the brick grilling island and pulled open a drawer, pulling out a large, white bath towel. “I keep spare towels in here.”

Kerstyn waited for Dimitri to come back to the spa before standing. Dimitri held the towel out for her, enjoying the instant chill that hardened her nipples and pricked her skin.

Kerstyn quickly dried off before wrapping the soft, fluffy material about herself.

“Thank you,” she said, stepping close to Dimitri, seeking his heat, thankful he was not cold like the myth.

Dimitri circled her slender shoulders with his arm and drew her against his side as they walked into the house.

Kerstyn rubbed her cheek against his chest and sighed. An overwhelming sense of belonging and joy washed over her. In this vampire’s arms, she was home.

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Tonight. Everything was going to fall into place tonight.

Rain pounded the ground and dimpled the pool while wind whipped across the barren land, leaving the air heavy with the sweet scent of damp wilderness.

Dimitri stood, gazing out the open French doors of the kitchen, the extensive roof of the patio sheltering him from the angry wind and irate rain. The storm matched his mood, though he was calm on the outside, always schooling his features, he never showed how he truly felt. On the inside, his emotions were as wild and unrelenting as the wind that howled across the desert landscape.

His brow furrowed as his thoughts once again turned to the past few days. Everything had been arranged and his plan for Ven was smoothly falling into place. Gabriel and Gannon would attack Ven’s holdings and everything Dimitri had been working towards for the last four hundred years would speed into motion. Ven would be in Las Vegas by the end of the month, giving Dimitri two weeks to find a way to save Kerstyn.

The sound of a gunshot echoed in his head as images of blood and rain played in his mind’s eye. Kerstyn was going to die. His fists clenched behind his back. For one reason or another, Fate loathed him.

Unlike the Shaw, who viewed their gift of foresight as a blessing, he believed it to be a curse. A punishment cast upon him for his sins.

Now that he had found his mate, he would not let anyone, not even destiny, take her from him. He had been alone and in the dark for far too long to relinquish his newfound light. She was his mate, created for him, intended only for him. She was his life, his very happiness. He knew if she met her end, he would join her. There would no longer be any reason for him to exist. All those centuries he had waited for her, knowing one day she would come. He had continued to live, to suffer, so that he could be with her.

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There had to be some way to save her, something other than the only two ways he knew. He had vowed to himself and to the Shaw when the curse had claimed his mortal life that he would never create another like him. He would have no fledglings. The thought of Kerstyn with soulless, black eyes and greedy, sharp fangs made his skin crawl.

Though he could not deny that he craved to feel her lips against his pulse as she fed from him.

He let out a disgusted snort as he violently shoved his thoughts aside. Changing her was not a possibility, but he could save her by binding her to him. Dorian Vlakhos, the king of the Mylonas Clan of vampires, had succeeded in binding his mate, Victoria, to him. Victoria lived with all the advantages of a vampire without any of the drawbacks. She never aged, never became ill, and never thirsted for blood. If he explained the bonding ceremony to Kerstyn, how it would affect her, surely she would want to bind her life force with his.

Dimitri sighed and shook his head. He would not force her to do this. Kerstyn had been through so much in the past two weeks. She was human, delicate, and fragile. Even though she had proven herself capable of handling this sudden awareness of supernatural creatures, he was unsure she could accept being bound to one for all eternity. She cared for him, but he wanted, needed, her to love him.

Love takes time to grow
, he reminded himself.

She was his mate but being unable to claim her was beginning to drive him mad. His skin itched with the need to mark her and his fangs tingled with the desire to sink into her flesh. He groaned as he thought about how sweet her blood would taste.

No. He would wait. Now was not the time for him to tell her she was his mate. She had been through enough. He would be patient and allow their relationship to grow, while he prayed night and day for a better solution. She could not leave him to live in this cold, unforgiving world of darkness alone.

Dimitri’s head snapped to the side when he heard the garage door open, then close. His heart thundered as lightning creased the gray sky. Turning, he went inside to pour Kerstyn a cup of coffee.

She had been gone for hours, determined to put in an application and submit her résumé everywhere that was hiring. She would be wet, cold, and exhausted.

“What is with this weather?” she demanded, tossing her purse on the black granite countertop. “This is a desert, for goodness sake.

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It’s been raining for almost a week straight.” She fell onto a barstool with a humph. “All this water is making job hunting difficult.” Dimitri set the large, heavy, ceramic mug in front of her and Kerstyn instantly wrapped her chilled fingers around it.

“I finally talked to the guy at the shop about my car.” Her scowl was adorable. Her eyes squinted, her lips drawn together in an alluring pucker.

“And?” he prompted when she did not continue.

“It’s what I was afraid of, a lost cause. The poor thing finally gave out.” She sighed, her shoulders drooping. “I’ve had that car since high school. I’m going to miss that rust bucket.”

“Did you fare better today on the job market?”

“I applied at Vail in Vamped, just so that you and Silvie can stop hounding me about it. I seriously doubt I’ll get the job.”

“You never know, luck could strike.”

Kerstyn rolled her eyes at his optimism. “The receptionist said the owner will be back on Monday and will go over all the applications.

I applied at a few more places too.” She sighed. “Right now, any job is better than none.”

Dimitri leaned down, pulled open a cabinet and removed a bottle of mint-flavored Bailey’s Irish Cream, caught up a spoon, and grabbed a can of whipped cream from the refrigerator. He plucked her mug from her grasp, poured the liqueur into her coffee, and gave it a quick stir. Then topped it with a mountain of whipped cream.

Kerstyn’s eyes grew wide and a small, grateful smile graced her lips when he handed her back the mug. She took a slow sip and hummed with enjoyment, “This is exactly what I need.” She brought the mug to her lips again, this time licking at the sweet topping. Heat spread through Dimitri’s body as he watched her tiny, pink tongue delicately scoop up the cream.

“What kind of whipped cream is this?”

“Alcoholic, vanilla-flavored whipped cream.”

She smiled. “We may need to move it from the kitchen to the bedroom.”

Dimitri raised a brow at the thought, enjoying the erotic images that filled her mind.

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A musical chime sounded, effectively ending their moment.

Kerstyn rummaged through her purse for her phone. Glancing at the text message, she groaned, “Denise,” before tossing her phone back in her bag.

“Are you going to reply?”

She shrugged and took another sip of the delicious coffee.

“That’s the third text message she’s sent me today. I guess she wants to talk. I just don’t know what to say to her. I’m still mad she kicked me out and took her loser boyfriend’s word over mine.”

“Understandable.”

“She is drama that I don’t need right now. I have enough to deal with in my life. Job hunting and now my car.”

“You may use my car for as long as you need.”

Kerstyn frowned and slumped back in her seat. “I appreciate you helping me out, Dimitri, but it makes me feel like a bum. You don’t charge me rent, you let me borrow a top-of-the-line luxury car, and you cook. It’s not right. I feel like I should be contributing in some way.”