Moonlight (16 page)

Shaylyn walked down Moreno Bay’s narrow main street,
heedless of the rain that soaked her skin and clothes.

He had refused her. For a mortal! It was beyond
comprehension. No man had ever refused her. No vampire, either. Except for
Navarre. From the moment she had first seen him in the temple on Mikos almost
two thousand years ago, she had wanted him, wanted him so badly she had
bestowed the Dark Gift upon him. And that night, he had turned his back on her,
preferring to go off on his own rather than accompany her on a voyage of discovery.

And because she was proud, too proud to admit she should
have killed him as she had killed all the others, she had abandoned him to his
fate, certain he would never survive on his own.

But he had survived. Survived and grown strong.

She recalled the months they had spent together eons ago.

He had been everything she had desired in a companion,
everything she needed in a lover. He could be strong. He could be tender.
Sometimes he had been cruel, and she had gloried in it. In all of it. There had
been times when she had taunted him without mercy, purposefully stirring his
rage, delighting in his anger. Their joining, always satisfying, had often been
violent, but never dull. He had only one shortcoming, and it was that one
weakness that had ruined their relationship.

Shaylyn crossed the street and kept walking, heading toward
the beach, cursing Navarre’s unfailing sympathy for the puny mortals who
provided his sustenance. Shaylyn had no qualms about taking what she needed.
She was a predator in thought and action. The blood of mortals fueled her
existence, and she took it with a single-mindedness that left no room for
compassion or pity. At times, she took them quickly and painlessly; at other
times, she toyed with them, amused by their puny cries for mercy. Not so
Navarre. He took only what he needed and left his victims happily alive.

Hands clenched, she walked along the beach, oblivious to the
chill wind and the rain. Lightning flashed across the heavens, and still she
walked, her thoughts turned inward. Navarre.

His strength troubled her. How could one who drank so
sparingly of the sustenance of life grow so strong? Pausing, she stared out at
the roiling ocean. Had he grown strong enough to destroy her?

In her time, she had vanquished dozens of vampires, some
made by her own hand. She had killed them without a thought the very instant
she began to suspect that their strength, or their cunning, might be a threat.

Perhaps it would be wise to destroy Navarre, as well.

* * * * *

Cloaked from mortal eyes, Shaylyn entered the bookstore. For
a time, she stood in the shadows, watching Navarre’s mortal lover as she moved
around the store, chatting with customers, opening boxes, placing books on the
shelf.

Did Adrianna know where Navarre took his rest?

Shaylyn glanced outside. It would be dusk soon. She had
spent most of the day searching for Navarre’s resting place. She had gone to
Cliff House first, even though she had known he would not be there. The woman’s
house had seemed the next likely place, though Shaylyn didn’t expect to find
him there, either, and, indeed, she hadn’t.

She had spent hours exploring the town, poking into deserted
beach houses, checking the cemetery, an abandoned warehouse, the cellar of an
old church. All in vain. She had detected no sign of Navarre. Had he grown
strong enough to cloak his presence from the one who had made him? If so, he
was more dangerous than she had imagined.

She waited until Adrianna closed the shop, then materialized
in front of the woman’s startled gaze.

“Good evening, my dear,” Shaylyn said, pleased by the very
real fear she read in the girl’s eyes.

“Wh-what do you want?”

“Want? What makes you think I want anything?”

Adrianna took a step backward, intimated by the fearful glow
in the other woman’s eyes, by the evil that radiated from her like smoke from a
fire.

“You needn’t be afraid,” Shaylyn said, backing Adrianna into
a corner. “I mean you no harm.”

“You don’t?”

“Of course not. You’re Navarre’s friend, aren’t you?”

Adrianna nodded.

“Of course you are! You needn’t worry. I just wanted to see
him for a few days. Navarre and I are old friends. Very old friends.”

Adrianna cowered against the wall, her gaze trapped in the
web of Shaylyn’s stare.

“Nothing to be afraid of,” Shaylyn purred as she took
Adrianna’s hand in hers. “Such lovely hands,” she mused, rolling up the sleeve
of Adrianna’s sweater. “Such smooth skin. Nothing at all to be afraid of, my
dear. We’re going to be good friends, you and I.”

“Friends,” Adrianna repeated.

“Yes,” Shaylyn said. “Relax, Adrianna. It will be over in a
moment, and you will remember nothing save that I came here to ask for your
friendship.”

“My friendship.” Adrianna felt a sharp prick as Shaylyn bent
over the bend of her elbow.

“That’s right, my dear. We’re going to be good friends now,
aren’t we?”

Adrianna blinked at the other woman, then shook her head. “I’m
sorry, did you say something?”

“Only that I must be going. I’m so glad we’ve cleared things
up between us. Give my love to Navarre when you see him.”

“Yes, I will.”

“And tell him I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see him
again, but I’ve decided to go to Paris. My plane leaves at seven.”

“Seven.”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll tell him,” Adrianna said, but she was talking to the
air. The woman was already gone.

* * * * *

“She said what?”

“She said to tell you she was going to Paris, and that she
was sorry she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”

Navarre frowned. Could it possibly be true? Had Shaylyn
really left town? It seemed unlikely, and yet… “Did she say anything about
coming back?”

“No.” Adrianna smiled up at him. “I missed you today.”

“I missed you, too.”

“I’m going to get a cup of coffee,” she said, taking him by
the hand and walking down the hallway toward the kitchen. “Would you like a
glass of wine?”

Navarre nodded. Sitting down at the table, he watched
Adrianna move about the tiny kitchen. After pouring him a glass of wine, she
nuked a cup of instant coffee, then sat down at the table across from him.

“So,” he said, his gaze intent upon her face, “what did you
do today?”

Adrianna shrugged. “Nothing much. It was slow for a Friday.
Have you given any more thought to what we talked about the other night?”

“You mean my becoming human again?”

“Uh-huh.”

“No. I’m not sure it’s something I want.”

“Oh.” She looked away, but not before he saw the hurt, the
disappointment, in her eyes.

“Annie…”

“Maybe we’d better stop seeing each other.”

“Annie!”

She shook her head, annoyed by the tears that filled her
eyes. “I can’t just be your lover, Navarre. I want something more out of a
relationship than just…just sex.”

“Dammit, Annie, we have more than that, and you know it.”

“I know.” She looked up at him then, her eyes dark with
tears. “But I’m going to grow old. What then? How will you feel when I start to
look like your mother?”

“Annie, dammit, Annie, I…”

“I couldn’t stand that, Navarre. I’d rather end it now.”

Navarre stood up, his hands clenched at his sides. She was
right, he thought bitterly. It was better to end it now, before she got hurt.

“Goodbye, Adrianna,” he said quietly.

She stared after him, too numb to think, and then a voice
echoed inside her mind, sharp and demanding.
You little fool! Don’t let him
go. Tell him you love him, that you want to be like him. Ask him to show you
where he sleeps. Tell him you want the Dark Gift so that you can be his
forever.

His hand was at the front door, reaching for the latch, when
he heard her voice calling his name.

“Navarre! Navarre! Wait, don’t go!”

He turned around, opening his arms to catch her as she flew
down the hallway toward him.

“Don’t leave me!” she cried. “I didn’t mean it!”

“Annie!” His arms closed around her, holding her tight,
pressing her against him so that their bodies touched from shoulder to thigh.

“We can work it out,” she said. She lifted her face to his,
her eyes awash with tears. “Make me what you are,” she whispered. “I want to be
with you, only you, forever.”

“Annie, no.”

“Yes! Please, Navarre, do it now!”

Eyes narrowed, he stared down at her, his mind probing hers,
but he detected no sign that she had been initiated. And still he hesitated. He
would be a fool to underestimate Shaylyn.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Do you mean it?”

Her reply was quick and certain. “I’m sure.”

Frowning, Navarre brushed her hair aside, his gaze skimming
her throat. No puncture marks marred the perfection of her skin.

“Please, Navarre?”

It was hard to resist when she was looking at him like that,
her eyes dewy with tears, her lips slightly parted, her expression filled with
trust and desire.

He rested his brow on the top of her head. “Think about it
for a while, Annie,” he remarked softly. “There’s no hurry.”

“But I want to be like you. I want to sleep where you sleep,
and wake up in your arms.”

It was tempting, so tempting. In two thousand years, he had
never made another vampire. Never loved a woman other than Katlaina.

He closed his eyes as he imagined what it would be like to
have Adrianna forever at his side. Together, they could roam the world. He
could show her all the wonders of the ancient world; together, they could
explore the future. Ah, the lure of having her share his dark sleep, of waking
each day with her in his arms. With Adrianna by his side, he would never again
be alone.

Lowering his head, he let his tongue slide over the pulse
beating in her throat, felt his fangs lengthen at the thought of piercing her
tender flesh. One quick bite was all it would take. And then the ecstasy of
drinking her sweetness, drinking until her essence filled him, flooded him.
Listening to her heartbeat fluttering wildly, like a frightened bird, slowing,
slowing, to the brink of death, and then the magic of bringing her back,
changed to a creature who would be forever young, forever beautiful.

Forever cursed, as he was cursed.

He drew back, his gaze moving over her face, imagining her
eyes glowing with the lust for blood, her full pink lips stained crimson.

“Navarre?”

“Not tonight, Annie.” He placed his hands on her shoulders
and held her away from him. “Let me think on it.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t.”

She moved into his embrace again, her head resting on his
chest. “Are we going to make love?”

Her voice was soft and low, with a husky, sensual quality
that sent healing spiraling through him to pool in his groin like hot lava. His
arms tightened around her, a low groan rumbling deep in his throat as her breasts
were crushed to his chest. She thrust her hips forward in silent invitation,
and he knew he was lost.

Sweeping her into his arms, he carried her down the hall to
her bedroom. He made short work of removing her clothes and his. There was no
patience in him now, no tenderness, little gentleness, only an urgent need that
refused to be ignored, a hunger that went deeper than desire.

He cradled her to him, clinging to her as the world spun out
of focus. She wanted him. He needed her. She had begged him to give her the
Dark Gift. Did she know what she was asking? He sheathed himself deep within
her, wanting only to bury himself in her sweetness, to forget everything but
the woman in his arms, but the questions would not be denied. Why had she asked
him to bring her over? She had never mentioned it before, never hinted that she
would welcome the Dark Gift.

“Navarre!” She cried his name as she found fulfillment.

A moment later, he forgot everything as he found his own
release. And then, for a long while, they lay wrapped in each other’s arms.

Later, he made love to her again, slower this time, taking
her to the peak again and again before he carried her over the top.

He was almost asleep when he sensed the dawning of a new
day. Gently, he extricated himself from her arms.

“Where are you going?” she murmured sleepily.

“It’s near dawn,” he said, pressing a kiss to her brow. “I’ve
got to go.”

“No, stay.”

“I can’t.”

“Then take me with you.”

“No.”

Insist on it!
the voice inside her head demanded.
Don’t
let him leave you behind.

“Please, Navarre. I want to stay with you all day.”

“No, Annie. I don’t want you to… I don’t want to frighten
you.”

“You won’t.”

“Annie, don’t ask this of me.”

“I am asking.” She looked up at him, her eyes filling with
tears. “Please don’t leave me. I’m so afraid when you’re gone.”

Her eyes went blank for a moment, and then she smiled. “Please,
Navarre, this will give me a chance to see what it’s like for you during the
day. Please?”

Everything within him warned him to say no, but he couldn’t
help thinking it might be a good idea for her to see, firsthand, how he spent
the day, the deathlike sleep that held him in its power. And if she got scared,
she could always leave.

Knowing he might be making a terrible mistake, he wrapped
her in a blanket, lifted her into his arms, closed his eyes, and willed himself
to the place where he rested during the day.

Adrianna blinked, and blinked again, bewildered by the
sudden change of surroundings. “Where are we?”

“An ancient underground graveyard.”

“Are we still in Moreno Bay?”

“No.” Gently, he put her down. A blink of his eye brought a
fat white candle sputtering to life.