Forever Night Sins (8 page)

“You have cream and sugar?”

Egan’s friend who now owned the Carmichael had provided groceries. Food was expensive, making it difficult for the working class. While Harper was his guest, Egan planned to spoil her. “I have both.”

“I’ll take both.”

“Would you like something to eat? I have steak.”

Harper’s eyes widened. “I’ve never eaten steak. No one has steak.”

“Steak and fresh tomatoes and carrots.”

“Fresh? Not canned?”

Egan nodded.

“How does a vampire get steak and fresh vegetables?”

“I still have human friends, far fewer than I used to have but we help one another. Are you hungry?”

“Very.”

Egan walked into the closet and selected a white long sleeve shirt. He had little use for the racks of tailored clothes and handmade shoes, but he enjoyed looking at them. The clothing reminded him of the time when Egan Carmichael was part of society instead of a prisoner of the Cemetery. Back in the bedroom, he held out the shirt for Harper.

“Move slowly. I don’t want the cuts on your back to bleed.”

Harper slipped her arms inside the sleeves and buttoned the shirt. “This must be difficult for you.”

“Not as difficult as seeing what those street vampires did to you.” Hearing her cry out in pain had torn Egan apart.

“I love you, Egan. Thanks for saving my ass.”

“It just so happens I love your ass.” He kissed the top of her head. “In a couple of days you’ll be well enough to go home. You shouldn’t go on patrol until those wounds are healed.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I can’t go back, Egan.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The night of the riot we were called in to take out the vampires attacking the crowd. I froze. It used to be easy to take out your kind. I never questioned the right or wrong of it, but now I find myself asking is this a good vampire or a bad one. I’m already scheduled for evaluation. I’ll never pass the physical. If my friend, Danik, sees these new bites and the cuts on my back, he’ll turn me in.” Her hand shaking she rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. “Or worse.”

What did she mean by worse? “If he’s your friend why would he turn you in?”

“If you make me a cup of coffee, I’ll tell you the whole story.”

Egan took Harper’s hand and helped her out of the bed. “Come into the kitchen. You talk. I’ll brew the coffee.”

Her confrontation with Danik concerned Egan. He handed her a cup of coffee and grinned as she dumped in cream and sugar.

She sipped the coffee and sighed. “Thanks.”

When Harper told him how Danik’s sister had met her end, Egan shuddered. A vampire’s greatest fear was the sun.

As he cooked her steak and vegetables, she told him about her bus ride and her trek across the city. She was lucky to have survived. “I can’t go back. I can’t trust Danik not to turn me in, and I can’t go to my father. I have no money, no assets. I would have been better off if those street vamps had finished me off.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I can’t even be a vampire. I’m DSA. Totally screwed.”

“I have money.” With no means of earning money, Egan’s funds were steadily draining, but not exhausted. Egan had known the day would come when he’d have to give up the penthouse and accept an existence inside the Cemetery. That day had arrived. “You can go anywhere you want and start a new life.”

“Where would we go?”

“Not we. You.”

“I’m in this situation because I want to be with you. If I wanted to go it alone, I wouldn’t have lied to my friend and walked across the city in the middle of the fucking night.”

Egan wanted to be with Harper. Over the decades, he’d had relationships, but mostly he’d been alone. “We can’t stay here, and I can’t go with you.”

“There has to be a way.”

“I can’t live among normal people and you can’t live with vampires.” He plated her meal and set it before her. “Eat. No more discussion.” He sat down at the table to make sure she consumed every bite. “Eat. Enjoy.”

Egan expected her to dig in and devour the food. Instead, she cut the steak into small pieces and savored every bite. “My grandmother used to talk about the old days when common folk had real food instead of the processed stuff. Now I understand. I’ve never tasted anything so good.” After she finished the vegetables, Harper leveled a thoughtful gaze at him. “It’s like the difference between animal and human blood, isn’t it?”

“An excellent analogy. But human blood straight from the source is like a drug.”

“I heard in the old days the rich vampires got all the human blood they wanted.”

“True. We didn’t go around attacking people. We hired staff to supply us daily. We paid them well, but humans can get as hooked on the giving as the vampires do on the receiving. Bonds can form.”

“Ever happen to you?”

“I never let things get that far until recently.”

“You think we’ve bonded because you sucked my blood.”

“Sex and blood is a powerful combination.”

“Is that all it is? You stop tasting my blood and this thing we have will be over?” She reached out and took his hand. “The truth, Egan. My situation is too serious for you not to be brutally honest.”

“I love you, Harper. Not just for your blood.”

“We’ve got to make this work.”

“I need blood to survive. The government delivers to the Cemetery, but outside the walls humans become the source. It’s different outside the cities. There are places where the vampires breed cattle and horses, providing their own nourishment.”

“I thought vampires only wanted human blood.”

“It’s the best, but top quality animal blood can sustain a vampire population. We used to buy it before the government forced us into the Cemetery.”

“Is it really bad inside?”

“Being a poor human is better than being a rich vampire. When I was alive I loved riding and sailing, feeling the sun on my face and the taste of salt in the air. It’s been so long, I can’t recall the sensations.”

“But you existed for over two hundred years. The things you must have seen and done.”

He lifted her uninjured hand and kissed her palm. “If I could have a wish granted, I’d wish for one year with you as a human.”

“We could have eternity.”

Egan dropped her hand and pushed away from the table. “No. Never. You can have a good life. Husband. Children. Old age. Natural death.”

“You think it’s wonderful for us, but most humans I know are miserable. I live in an apartment that would fit inside your bedroom. My biggest pleasure is an afternoon flick once a month and a beer after work a few days a week. I don’t have much of a life to go back to.”

Egan raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m offering you a new one.”

“One without you.”

“I can’t see you in a place like the Cemetery,” he said, pacing the room. “It’s dark, gray and crowded. It’s violent. Rapes. Turf wars. You’re given a pint of blood every couple of days, just enough to sustain you. I hate every moment I spend in that place.”

She rose from the table and fisted the front of his shirt. “I love you, Egan. More than anyone or anything. More than life. Let’s leave the city, find a place together. Can’t we go to the place where the vampires raise cattle and horses? I’ve never seen a horse or a cow.”

“Have you thought about drinking blood? Never eating again. Never greeting the dawn or walking in the sunlight. Think about forever in the darkness.”

“I’ve worked nights for the last five years. The question is, do you love me?”

He loved her. He’d walked this Earth for a long time and he understood the depth of his feelings. That was precisely why he couldn’t rob her of life.

For more years than he wanted to count, Egan had longed for someone to share his existence. Someone to love and to cherish. Someone who would love him in return. Having Harper at his side would make forever endurable. Taking away her humanity and destroying her soul for his personal happiness was more than an indulgence in night sins, it was immoral. “I love you, but I won’t turn you into a vampire.”

She released his shirt. “I’m leaving.”

“You’re not well.”

“Not your problem.” She looked around. “Where are my clothes?”

“I’m not letting you go.”

“What are you going to do, chain me to the wall?”

Egan followed her into the bedroom. She picked up her pants and pulled them on.

“You think I’m going to let you leave?”

“You may be stronger than me, but there’s one thing I can do that you can’t. Walk outside in the sunlight.”

It was close to dawn. Although the apartment was without windows, Egan sensed the change in light, a skill that had aided him many times. He could force himself to remain awake for just so long. At midday when the sun was high, he’d fall into a deep slumber and wouldn’t awaken until sundown.

She grabbed her shoes and stuffed her feet in them.

“Don’t leave me, Harper.” He had to convince her to stay until she was stronger. Maybe she’d give up this foolish notion.

“You’ll consider my plan?”

He nodded. “Yes, and I have chocolates.”

“Pull off my boots. I’m staying.”

Harper awoke before sundown. She reached out and touched Egan’s chest. He was lying on his back next to her. She ran her fingers over his cool skin, down to his belly and back again, but he didn’t awaken from his vampire sleep.

She’d slept lying on her stomach. Carefully, she rose from the bed. Her back was sore and her wrist throbbed.

After a quick bathroom visit, Harper headed for the kitchen. She made a cup of coffee and reviewed her options. If she went home, Danik would discover her new bites. Nothing would convince him that Egan wasn’t responsible for the attack. If she reported for work, she’d never pass the physical. If she took Egan up on his offer, she’d have to leave the city and build a new life.

For years she’d wanted to leave Blight and find a place where cool winds blew, and people weren’t crowded into buildings like ants. Egan was giving her that chance, but she’d be alone.

Harper had spent her whole life alone. No one had loved her. Not the woman who bore her or the father who raised her. Not any of the boys or men she’d shared her body with. Even Danik had preferred friendship. Only Egan loved her.

Maybe it was time to remind him.

She finished her coffee and walked back into the bathroom. She removed the bandage on her wrist and picked at the wounds until they bled. After replacing the bandage, Harper turned her attention to the cut on her lip.

Egan was still sleeping, but soon the sun would set and he would rise from his slumber. Harper turned on the bedside lamp and climbed into bed. She straddled Egan’s thighs and waited for sunset.

Egan’s eyes opened. He looked at her and smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Harper wriggled her butt. “Lots better.”

“You should save your energy.”

Harper grinned. His cock had jerked to attention. “I’ll ride. You can do all the work.”

He ran his fingertips along her bare thighs. “Promise?”

She fisted his cock and rose to her knees. “Promise.”

Then she sank down on him, relishing each hard inch. She rocked back, slowly taking him all the way in. “Fuck me.”

He gripped her ass and lifted his hips, thrusting up.

Harper moaned. She loved the way they fit together, hungered for the amazing sensations they shared.

He moaned. “You feel so good.”

Harper rolled her hips, sliding back and forth along his length, her soreness and pain long forgotten as the pleasure built to a magnificent crescendo. She leaned forward. Egan’s eyes were closed and he was on the verge of climax. Now was the moment to strike. She bit down on her lip and pressed her lips to his.

He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and suckled.

Then his body jerked and he pushed her away, breaking the kiss. “No!”

She ripped the bandage off her wrist and smeared blood on his chest. “Make me yours, forever.”

His nostrils quivered, the scent of her blood enthralling.

Harper tried to kiss him, but Egan grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back. Blood beaded on her lip and dropped on his face. He licked the blood from the edge of his mouth, the drop a taste of heaven. Thirst, intense and compelling, extended his fangs.

Harper smiled and raised her hand. Blood ran down her arm, bright red against her fair skin. “Don’t waste it. Lick it off.”

Egan understood her game, but he was too thirsty to turn away. He’d missed his government ration, and the fresh blood running down Harper’s arm was more than he could resist. Ravenous, he licked. The sweet tang of her blood hit his tongue and his cock stretched.

Harper jerked her hips. “Fuck me.”

The sex changed from a slow, cautious rhythm to a wild bucking of hips.

She shoved her wrist against his lips. “Suck me.”

Egan sank his fangs into her flesh and sucked the blood from her veins, the combination of fucking and feeding pure erotic ecstasy. Harper cried out, her sensual wail penetrating Egan’s frenzied brain.

He opened his eyes, and terror replaced pleasure. He’d given in and lost control. Harper was too weak to feed him.

Harper’s eyes fluttered. She licked her lips. “Take it, take it all.”

Egan pulled out his fangs. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”

She looked at him, her hips stilling. “I know what I want. I want you. I want this, forever.”

“You don’t know what you’re giving up.”

“For the first time in my life, someone loves me and I love them. I don’t want to lose that.”

The tangy taste of her blood was still on his tongue. She was playing with fire, tempting him.

“You’ll move on with your life. In a few years I’ll be a memory, nothing more.”

“You see life as precious and wonderful. For me, it’s filled with a lot of pain.” She pressed her lips together and fisted her hands. Then she looked at him, pain written on her face and burning in her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone anymore. I love you, Egan, and I won’t give up until we’re together.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks, falling hot and damp on his chest. Seeing her kick-ass attitude dissolve and her shoulders shaking was Egan’s undoing. “We’d have to leave the city.”