Everlasting Desire (19 page)

“Exactly,” Rhys said.

And that, Megan thought glumly, was that.

On Monday night, Rhys thanked Erik and Daisy for their help. Megan had expected them to be anxious to return to Boston, so she was surprised when Daisy said she wanted to stay for another week or so.

“I haven't been to Beverly Hills yet,” she explained with a sidelong glance at Erik.

“I'll be broke by the time I get her out of those shops,” Erik complained, but he was smiling when he said it.

Daisy just grinned. “Let's go find a nice hotel,” she suggested. She gave Megan a hug and Rhys a kiss on the cheek, then with a final wave, she and Erik left the house.

The next few days passed peacefully enough. Rhys continued to drive Megan back and forth to work. He kept watch from outside while she was at Shore's, and slept by her side until dawn.

Megan hadn't heard anything more from Shirl. In spite of everything, Megan missed her roommate. Good friends were hard to find. She wondered if they could ever be friends again now that Shirl had been turned and she was living with Villagrande. She still had a faint hope that it might be possible once Shirl learned to control her thirst. After all, Megan thought, who was she to judge Shirl's choice of men when she, herself, had a vampire lover?

As far as Megan knew, Rhys hadn't heard from Villagrande. She couldn't decide if that was good or bad.

“Maybe he changed his mind,” Megan suggested when Rhys drove her to work on Saturday night.

“No, he's still here. He's up to something, I just don't know what.” Rhys drummed his fingertips on the steering wheel. Villagrande had threatened to destroy the members of the Vampire Council one by one and then come for Rhys. But he seemed to have backed off since destroying Adams. Maybe it was only a reprieve while Villagrande dallied with Shirl. Or maybe Megan was right and Villagrande had indeed had a change of heart.

When they reached Shore's, Rhys parked the car, then walked Megan across the parking lot to the back entrance.

“Do you really think it's necessary for you to stay here every night?” she asked. “I mean, it must be terribly boring, watching me all night long.”

“Not at all.” He slipped his hands around her waist and kissed the tip of her nose. “I can't think of anything else I'd rather do.”

“Right.”

“Time doesn't have the same meaning for me that it does for you,” he reminded her.

She supposed that was true. What were a few wasted hours when he had centuries ahead of him?

He kissed her again, then opened the back door. “Send a smile my way now and then.”

It was near the end of her shift when Mr. Parker poked his head out of the office, a sour expression on his face. “Phone for you.”

Megan nodded. Mr. Parker was a sweetheart about most things, but the one thing he frowned on was personal calls at work, so Megan always kept her cell phone off.

Mr. Parker left the office, giving Megan her privacy.

“Hello?”

“Megan, it's Shirl.”

“Shirl, this is a surprise. Is everything all right?”

“Of course.”

“So, do you still like being…” Megan paused and peered out the door to make sure no one could overhear her conversation. “A vampire.”

“It's wonderful, Meggie. I wish you'd think about it.”

“Are you kidding? No way!”

“Well, I'll keep hoping. Think how much fun we could have. We could room together again.”

And hunt together.
Megan frowned. Had Shirl spoken those words aloud?

“There's so much to do,” Shirl was saying. “So much to see. Everything is new and exciting. Megan, you can't believe how wonderful it is. I have so much energy, and I'm never tired, and—”

“I'm glad you're happy. Are you still with Villagrande?”

“Yes, but he scares me a little. He can be really intense at times.”

“Is he still planning to take over Rhys's territory?”

“I don't know. He's out of town right now.”

“Oh? Where did he go?”

“He told me but I don't remember,” Shirl said. “He said he had some kind of vampire business to take care of. I don't suppose you'd consider getting together tomorrow night, maybe go see a movie.”

“I don't know.”

“I guess you still don't trust me.”

Megan stared into the distance. Neither one of them had family nearby and so, in good times or bad, they had always turned to each other. She remembered the fun times, the silly times, all the laughs they had shared. And the sad times, when they had comforted one another. Once, she would have trusted Shirl with her life. But now…how could she, when her roommate was so changed?

“Megan?”

“How can I trust you when you lied to me the other night?”

Shirl was quiet for a long moment, so long that Megan wondered if she was still on the line.

“I couldn't help it,” Shirl said. “Tomás told me to.”

“Do you do everything he says?”

“No, but—”

“I can't talk anymore. I have to get back to work. Why don't you call me tomorrow night?”

“All right,” Shirl agreed.

Megan felt a twinge of guilt when she heard the disappointment in Shirl's voice.

“I miss you, girlfriend,” Shirl said quietly.

“I miss you, too. Good night.”

Megan hung up the receiver, then stood there, replaying the conversation in her mind, until Mr. Parker knocked on the door.

“You through in here?” he asked. “Clark's out front waiting for you.”

With a nod, Megan pasted a smile on her face and went out to wait on her least favorite client.

 

Later that night, on the way home from work, Megan told Rhys about her conversation with Shirl. “I told her to call me tomorrow night.” She looked at Rhys and shook her head. “I don't know what to do.”

“She said Villagrande's out of town?”

“Yes. Is that important?”

“I don't know. Did she say how long he's going to be gone or where he was going?”

“No. So, do you think I should see her?”

Rhys pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. “What does your gut tell you?”

“I don't know. I miss my friend, but I don't know if I trust the vampire. What should I do?”

“It's up to you.”

“You don't trust her, do you?”

“Right now, I don't trust anyone.”

Megan heaved a sigh. “I think I have to see her.”

Rhys nodded. He wanted to see Shirl, too. He was beginning to think bringing her across had been a mistake. “Whatever you decide, I'll be there with you. Wait here.”

As he had every night, Rhys got out of the car, his senses probing the night. Only when he was certain that Villagrande hadn't been there did he pull into the garage.

Inside the house, Megan turned on the lights, dropped down on the sofa, and kicked off her shoes.

Seeing the look on her face, Rhys sat beside her. “Give me your foot.”

She turned sideways on the sofa and obligingly placed her left foot in his hand. She sighed as he began to massage her ankle. “That feels wonderful.” She closed her eyes, reveling in the soothing touch of his hands.

A few minutes later, he lifted her other foot.

“You're in the wrong business,” she murmured. “You should be a masseur.”

“Is that right?” His hand moved up, his fingers kneading her calf.

“I'll give you an hour to stop that.”

“Only an hour?”

“I'm easy,” she said. “Take two.”

His hand slid farther up her leg, stroking the tender flesh of her inner thigh. “Two hours should be just about right.” And so saying, he swung her into his arms and carried her swiftly up the stairs to her room.

The light came on, seemingly of its own accord, as he laid her on the bed. His clothing disappeared as if by magic, and then he stretched out beside her, his hands and lips teasing, touching, tasting, as he undressed her.

She clung to him, every nerve humming with anticipation, her heart beating in time with his, her hands restless as she caressed him in return.

“Open to me, Megan.” His voice washed over her, softly entreating. He was asking for more than her physical surrender. Wanting to please him, she lowered every inhibition, letting their minds merge so that each caress was shared. She knew his thoughts, sensed his pleasure when she rained kisses on his cheeks, his neck, his chest. She experienced his desire, so different from her own, and yet the perfect complement to hers.

She writhed beneath him, lost in his touch, yearning for more, more. She cried his name as he rose over her, his eyes dark, glowing with need, with a craving she would never understand or share.

“Let me.” His voice was ragged with longing, with a need she couldn't begin to imagine.

And because she loved him, because she wanted to please him, she turned her head to the side, giving him access to her throat. She moaned softly when he bit her, the faint sting swallowed up in the sensual pleasure that exploded through her as his body melded with hers. The sheer wonder of it was almost more than she could bear as she experienced his climax as well as her own.

Drifting, floating somewhere between worlds, she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms, marveling at the latent strength that flexed beneath her questing fingertips. His hair, soft and silky, brushed her cheek as he lowered his head to kiss her, a long, slow kiss that had her wanting him again.

“So soon?” He nuzzled her neck, his tongue hot against her cooling flesh.

“Only if you want to.”

“Silly question,” he murmured, and then he was moving inside her again, carrying her away to heights only he could climb, evoking sensations only he could arouse.

 

He was gone in the morning, but she was used to that by now. At loose ends, nervous at the thought of seeing Shirl later, Megan did something she hadn't done in months. She went to church.

Not wanting to talk to anyone, she arrived a few minutes late. Slipping into the back row, she closed her eyes and listened to the choir. They were singing “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” which was one of her favorite hymns. The words soothed her.

When the hymn ended, the reverend began to preach. He spoke of the resurrection, when the soul and the body would be reunited, never to be separated again. Did vampires have souls? Or did the soul leave the body when a person was turned? But that didn't seem right. Wasn't it the soul that kept the body alive? What happened to vampires when they were destroyed? She knew Rhys had killed to survive. Would he find forgiveness in the next life? And what about hunters? If vampires didn't have souls, was killing them a sin?

Megan pressed her hands to her temples. Maybe coming to church hadn't been such a good idea after all.

When the service was over, she went for a walk in the park across the street from the church. Here, with the touch of the sun on her face and a gentle breeze stirring the leaves on the trees, it was hard to believe that vampires were real, or that anyone would choose to become one. And yet, Shirl didn't seem to have any regrets. Was it that easy to go from human to vampire? To exchange warm sunny days for endless night? To give up strawberry sundaes and bread fresh from the oven for a warm liquid diet? To give up the chance to marry and have children and grandchildren and instead, live long enough to watch everyone you knew and loved pass on?

Driving home from the park, she thought about Rhys. He had lived alone for centuries. When you had no family, no one to share your life with, what was the point in living at all?

Overcome by a sudden longing to hear her mother's voice, Megan called her parents when she reached home. She felt better as soon as she heard her mother's “hello.”

“Hi, Mom, it's me.”

“Megan! Is something wrong?”

“No, of course not. I know I haven't called in a while. I'm sorry. I just wanted to say hi and see how you are.”

“We're fine,” her mother said, relief evident in her tone. “Your dad's been very busy with the Boy's Club. It's fund-raising time, you know. We've hardly been home at all this last month or so.” Megan's father was Ways and Means Chairman of a local organization that supported a homeless shelter for teenage boys. “So, how are you doing, Meg?”

“I'm good. Busy at work, as usual.”

“How's Shirl?”

Megan hesitated before saying, “She's fine.”

“Tell her hello for me. Listen, sweetie, I hate to cut this short, but your dad's waiting for me out in the car. We were just leaving.”

“That's okay, Mom. I didn't want anything special. I just wanted to say hi. Give my love to Dad.”

“I will. Come see us when you can. We miss you.”

“I miss you, too. Love you.”

“Love you more, sweetie. Bye.”

Megan sighed as she closed her phone. She really needed to call home more often. It grounded her in a way nothing else could, reminded her that, no matter what other craziness was going on in her life, there were two people in the world who loved her unconditionally.

It was near dusk when Megan's cell phone rang. Caller ID showed it was Shirl. After taking a deep breath, Megan answered.

“So,” Shirl asked, getting right to the point. “What have you decided?”

Memories of good times, shared times, flashed through Megan's mind. “Why don't you come over later? Say around seven thirty?”

“Sounds good! I'll see you then.”

Doubts assailed Megan as soon as she ended the call. Was she making a mistake? How could she trust Shirl as long as Villagrande was in the picture? Still, she felt she owed it to Shirl and the friendship they had once shared to give her friend one more chance.

She managed to shake off her melancholy mood before Rhys arrived that evening. As always, when she knew he was coming, she dressed with care. Tonight, she wore a pair of slinky black pants and a hot pink, off-the-shoulder blouse.