Moonlight (13 page)

Caught up in the wonder of his touch, Adrianna made a soft
sound in the back of her throat as she turned her head, exposing her throat to
his hungry gaze as she writhed against him.

She gasped with mingled pleasure and pain as she felt his
teeth scrape against the tender flesh of her neck.

Navarre froze, the awareness of what he’d almost done
chilling him to the depths of his soul. Never, in all the years since Shaylyn
had forced the Dark Gift upon him, had he stooped to taking the blood of one so
young, so innocent.

“Navarre?” She called his name, her voice was drugged with
passion.

Abruptly, he sat up and buried his face in his hands. He
could feel the hunger raging through him, knew his eyes betrayed the same
unholy lust he had often seen in Shaylyn’s. He ran his tongue over his fangs,
sickened to think of what he had almost done. He’d been a fool to come here, a
fool to think he could be near her and not want her. All these years, he had
congratulated himself on his ability to control the hunger. Only now did he
realize he had been kidding himself, that he hadn’t controlled it at all. It
hadn’t been the hunger that was controlled, but himself. He had refused to put
himself in any situation that might get out of hand. He had kept his distance
from mortals, never letting himself care too deeply, never letting himself get
close for fear he wouldn’t be able to take a woman’s love without taking her
very life, as well.

“Navarre?”

He felt her stir beside him, felt her hand stroke his back. “Is
something wrong?”

“Annie, go to your room and lock the door.”

“What?”

“Please, just do it.”

“I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”

“Do it!”

His voice echoed of the walls like the crack of doom.
Frightened, she jumped off the sofa and ran down the hall. He heard the sound
of her door slam shut, the harsh rasp of the lock falling into place.

In the next instant, he was out the front door, running down
the rain-slick sidewalk.

Foolish man
, he thought as he darted across the
street.
Try as you might, you can’t outrun what you are.

Adrianna cowered against the door, her heart pounding, her
breath coming in ragged gasps. What had happened out there? One minute Navarre
had been kissing her until she was drowning in ecstasy, and the next he was
ordering her to her room as if she were a naughty child.

For a moment, she held her breath, her ears straining for
some sound from the other room. Nothing. Adrenaline pumping, she began to pace
the floor. Never in all her life had she heard a voice like that, felt such
menace. Try as she might, she could find no explanation for his peculiar
behavior and as the minutes ticked by, she began to wonder if she hadn’t
overreacted, or perhaps imagined the whole thing.

She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Twenty
minutes had passed.

On silent feet, she crossed the room, turned the lock, and
opened the door. “Navarre?”

He didn’t answer, but his name seemed to hover in the air,
repeating itself over and over again.
Navarre, Navarre, Navarre…

She took a cautious step down the hallway, her heart beating
triple time as she paused to listen, but all she heard was the pounding of her
own heart, and the steady drip of the rain.

Her throat was dry, her palms damp, when she reached the
doorway to the living room. “Navarre?”

She glanced around the room, then checked the kitchen and
the den. He was gone.

The breath she’d been holding escaped in a long sigh. She
didn’t know if it was disappointment, or relief.

She moved through the house, double-checking to make sure
all the doors and windows were locked, wondering at her sudden compulsion to
check them yet a third time. Moreno Bay was a small town. Nothing ever happened
here. There was no crime to speak of. The last offense of any note had occurred
when Milt Evans got drunk and drove his pickup through the front window of
Mavis Harper’s dress shop, she thought. And then she remembered the lady on the
news. The one who had babbled about Dracula.

As she drew the shade over the kitchen window, Adrianna
couldn’t shake off the feeling that something evil was lurking outside in the
shadows.

* * * * *

Navarre stood on the balcony of Cliff House, his hands
clenched at his sides, his face turned up to the sky. He closed his eyes as the
cold rain pelted his face and chest.

For the first time in years, he wished he had the right to
pray, to plead with a loving God to protect Adrianna, to keep her safe. From
himself.

He should leave here, he thought, leave tonight while the
memory of what he had almost done was still fresh in his mind. But all he could
think of was how good it had been to hold her in his arms, the way her hands
had felt as they caressed him. For the first time in centuries he had felt
loved, cared for. For one brief moment, he had dared to hope that he could
spend time with her without destroying her.

But he couldn’t leave town now, not until he learned who, or
what, had attacked the woman in the alley.

He stood there until dawn, oblivious to the cold and the
rain, his thoughts turned inward. Eons ago he had resigned himself to what he
was. He had learned to appreciate his supernatural powers, to enjoy the
increased physical strength, the constant good health. He didn’t age. He was
never sick. He had traveled the world time and time again. And when he grew
weary of living, when the loneliness grew too great, he had only to go to
ground for a decade or a century, and when he surfaced, the world was new
again, fresh again. Perhaps he should go to ground now and sleep away the years
of her life.

Heedless of the passing hours, he stood there, gazing in the
direction of Adrianna’s house, picturing her asleep in the bed that had once
been his, imagining a lifestyle he had never known.

The rain stopped with the coming of the dawn, and still he
stood on the balcony, staring at the rainbow that stretched across the sky. He
watched the sun rise, a brilliant burst of color that painted the horizon with
vivid slashes of ocher and crimson.

With a sigh, he turned away and went into the house. Feeling
drained of all hope, he changed into a pair of jeans and a black turtleneck
sweater. Barefoot, he wandered through the house. He took a deep breath, and
the faint floral scent of Adrianna’s perfume filled his nostrils. Adrianna…

And even as her image rose in his mind, he sensed her
presence, heard her knock at the door.

He swore under his breath, wondering what madness had
brought her here. Had she no sense of self-preservation?

“Navarre? Navarre! Open the door. I know you’re in there.”

Angry that she had dared to seek him out, he stalked to the
door and flung it open.

Adrianna took a step back, alarmed by the rage that
glittered in his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

“I…” She took another step backward, then straightened her
shoulders and stood firm. “I had to see you.”

“Go home, Adrianna. You’re not safe here. You’re not safe
with me.”

“Why?” She gazed up at him, her blue eyes shining with
unshed tears. “Tell me what’s wrong? What have I done?”

“Done?” He groaned deep in his throat. “You’ve done nothing.
Please, Annie, please go home where you belong.”

Her concern for her own safety dissolved when she heard the
anguish in his voice, saw the pain in his eyes.

“Please tell me what’s wrong?” she urged. “Let me help you.”

“You can’t help me. No one can.” He stared past her, judging
the time, knowing he would have to seek his rest soon.

“I’m not leaving, Navarre. Whether you want to admit it or
not, there’s something special between us, something I don’t want to lose.” She
laid her hand on his forearm, felt his muscle flex and tighten at her touch. “I’m
falling in love with you.”

“No!”

It wasn’t the reaction she had hoped for. She had expected
him to be surprised, perhaps disbelieving, since they had known each other such
a short time. A part of her had hoped he would be happy, that he would sweep
her into his arms and confess that he loved her, too.

But there was no joy in his expression, only a soul-deep
misery. She felt suddenly foolish and a little embarrassed. She had never
thrown herself at a man before, never realized how devastating unrequited love
could be.

She stared up at him, wanting to run away, to crawl into a
hole and hide, but she seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to
think of anything but the way she had felt in his arms the night before, the
way he had held her and kissed her.

“What happened last night?” she asked. “Just tell me that,
and I’ll go away and never bother you again.”

“Come in,” he said, and turned away without waiting to see
if she followed him or not.

A shiver crept up her spine as she entered the house. As
usual, all the drapes were drawn and the interior of the house was dark and
cool.

She followed Navarre into the front parlor, sat down on the
edge of the Early American sofa, her hands folded tightly in her lap.

Navarre stood at the hearth with his back to her. “I’m going
to tell you something you probably won’t believe,” he said, still not facing
her. “And then I want you to leave. No questions asked.”

Hardly daring to breathe, she waited for him to go on.

He could feel her watching him, and he stared into the
fireplace, wondering how to tell her the truth. Should he just blurt it out? Or
should he let her see him as he really was?

“Navarre?”

“Do you believe in the supernatural, Adrianna?”

“The supernatural? You mean like ESP and psychic phenomena,
stuff like that?”

Slowly, he shook his head, and then he turned around to face
her. “I’m not like you,” he said flatly. “I’m not mortal.”

She started to laugh at the absurdity of what he was saying,
but then she looked into his eyes, and in their fathomless depths, she saw that
he was telling the truth, or at least what he believed to be the truth.

“I was born almost two thousand years ago, on a small island
off the coast of Greece.” He lifted his hand in a broad gesture that
encompassed the house and its contents. “All this furniture, the bed you
bought, is mine, collected over a hundred lifetimes.”

“No.” She shook her head. “That’s impossible.”

“Sometimes I wish it was.”

“So you’re trying to tell me you’re immortal?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true nonetheless.”

“You want me to believe you’ve lived for almost two thousand
years?”

“I’m not alive, Adrianna. I’ve been dead for close to two
thousand years.”

One of them was insane, she thought, not certain which of
them it was. Him for speaking such nonsense, or her for listening, and almost
believing.

“Why are you doing this?” She fisted the tears from her
eyes. “If you don’t want to see me again, just say so! You don’t have to make
up some outrageous lie!”

“I’m not lying. Look at me, Adrianna.”

Reluctantly, she met his gaze, felt the blood in her veins
turn to ice as his eyes took on an eerie red glow and his lips drew back,
exposing two long teeth that could only be called fangs.

“Now do you believe?”

“It can’t be. There’s no such thing as…as a…”

“I believe vampire is the word you’re searching for, and I
can assure you, they do exist.”

She blinked, and he was beside her, his hand closing on her
arm. She felt the steel-like strength of his grip, the coolness of his skin, as
he guided her into the next room.

A muscle throbbed in his jaw as he placed her in front of a
large oval mirror, then stood beside her and removed the cloth that had covered
the surface.

Adrianna stared at her reflection, hardly recognizing the
face that stared back at her, her eyes wide and afraid, her lips parted as she
drew in a shaky breath.

Navarre cast no reflection at all.

“But…but it’s daylight, and you’re awake.” She shook her
head, her mind refusing to believe what she knew to be true. “I saw you eat… We
walked on the beach…”

She turned to look at him, then glanced at the mirror again,
and all the color drained from her face.

He watched her expression turn to one of horror and
disbelief, and then, with a wordless cry, she fainted.

He caught her in his arms, held her effortlessly to his
chest. He would hold her for just a minute, he thought, then take her outside
and put her in her car. He glanced around the room, knowing he dared not stay
at Cliff House any longer. If he left now, he would have time to find a place
to go to ground before the heat of the sun became unbearable.

But one minute stretched into two, and then three, and still
he held her close, his heart aching at the thought of never seeing her again.
Would she betray him, now that she knew what he was? And if she did, who would
believe her?

Thunder rumbled across the sky. A jagged bolt of lightning
ripped through the clouds. He couldn’t leave her in her car, not now.

Instead, he carried her upstairs and put her to bed in his
bed. Unable to help himself, he laid down beside her and gathered her into his
arms. He would hold her close a few minutes more, and then he would leave.

But the sun stayed hidden in the clouds, giving him a
reprieve, and he continued to hold her, his gaze never leaving her face.

“Forgive me,” he murmured. “I never meant to cause you pain.”

She stirred at the sound of his voice. He watched her
eyelids flutter open, saw the confusion in her eyes turn to fear when she
looked at him.

“Tell me it isn’t true.”

“I wish I could.”

“Are you… Did you…?” She licked her lips, then raised a
trembling hand to the side of her neck.

“You’re fine, Adrianna. You fainted, that’s all.”

She looked up at him through eyes filled with terror. It was
an expression he had seen on countless faces when the one he had chosen to
drink from realized what he was.

“What are you going to do to me?”

Fear. He could smell it on her. It sickened him that he was
the cause of it. “Nothing.”

He brushed a wisp of hair from her brow, a muscle flexing in
his jaw when she recoiled from his touch.

Slowly and deliberately, he put her from him and stood up. “You
can stay here until the rain stops,” he said, unable to keep the bitterness
from his voice.

“Where are you going?”

“Out.”

“Where?”

“I need to find a place to spend the day.”

She glanced around the room. It was large, but sparsely
furnished, containing only a large dresser, a chest of black lacquer, and the
bed. “I thought vampires slept in coffins.”

“Some do,” he said, his voice gruff. “I don’t care for it.”

He saw the questions in her eyes, the doubts that lingered
even in the face of reality. “Goodbye, Adrianna.”

The words were soft, and final. He was leaving, and she knew
if she let him go, she would never see him again.

She watched him turn away. Now, she understood the
loneliness she had so often seen in his eyes, heard in his voice. She had a
sudden, inexplicable need to hold him, to comfort him.

He opened the door, and she saw him hesitate, take a deep
breath, and then take the first step that would carry him away from her
forever.

“Navarre! Wait!” Jumping out of bed, she ran after him. “Wait!
Please wait!”

He stiffened as he felt her arms wrap around his waist, felt
the warmth of her body pressing against his back.

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Annie, you don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I don’t care what you are. I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t want to go.” The words came from deep within, as if
they had been dredged from the very bottom of his soul.

“Then don’t go.” She dragged him around to face her. “I love
you. I’ve never loved anyone before.”