Night's Master (23 page)

“It’s beautiful,” I murmured, enchanted by the fairy-like wonder of the place.

“Feel like a swim?” Rafe asked.

I glanced dubiously at the pool. “Isn’t it a little cold for that?” I asked, but Rafe was already undressing.

A familiar excitement unfurled deep within me as more and more of his body was revealed to my gaze. Had there ever been a man with shoulders that wide, a chest so irresistibly touchable, a belly so hard and flat and muscular? My cheeks warmed as he stepped out of a pair of black briefs and stood fully naked before me.

He flashed a knowing grin and then dove into the pool. He swam to the other side and back, then, treading water in the middle of the pool, he lifted a hand, beckoning me to join him.

At his look, heat flooded my body. A chilly dip to cool my heated flesh suddenly sounded very inviting. Besides, how could I resist a chance to be in his arms?

Acutely aware that Rafe was watching my every move, and feeling suddenly daring, I undressed as slowly and provocatively as I knew how. I had never done anything like it before, had never dreamed of such a thing, but now, with Rafe watching, it came as naturally as breathing. I only wished I was wearing something a little sexier than a pair of blue and white pajama bottoms, a T-shirt, plain white bikini panties, and fuzzy blue slippers. But if the look in Rafe’s eyes was any indication, he didn’t seem to mind.

Naked, I stood poised on the edge of the pool, took a deep breath, and dove in.

Expecting to plunge into cold water, I was pleased to find it was bathtub warm.

When I came up, Rafe’s arms enfolded me. What a wondrous feeling, to feel his body next to mine, the sensuous slide of wet skin against wet skin.

With one arm wrapped around my waist, he kept me afloat easily. His free hand played over my body while he rained kisses on my cheeks, my brow, my chin, the tip of my nose. I tilted my head back, affording myself a view of the stars overhead while granting Rafe access to my throat. I shivered with anticipation at the feel of his tongue against my skin, tangled my fingers in his long hair at the touch of his fangs.

Pleasure shot through me from head to foot. Weightless, buoyant, I closed my eyes and gave myself over to the myriad sensations his kisses aroused.

“I want you.” His voice rumbled in my ear, deep and husky with desire.

I looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “Do you?”

He growled low in his throat. “Don’t tease me, woman.”

“How much do you want me?”

He pressed his body against mine, letting me feel his erection.

“Ohhh,” I purred. “That much?”

He growled again, lower, deeper. “Do you know what happens when you tease a Vampire?”

“No,” I said, stifling a grin. “What happens?”

“This.” He carried me out of the pool and into the cave, showering me with kisses every step of the way.

When we reached the blankets, he sat down, holding me so that my legs straddled his thighs and then, very slowly, he reclined, drawing me down with him so that my body covered his.

He stroked my cheek, ran his fingertips over my lips. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured.

“So are you.” His body was firm, his skin was unlined, his hair was black and thick, and he would always look this way. When I was gray and wrinkled, he would still be beautiful. When I grew old and feeble, he would still be young and strong. I tried to shake the troublesome thoughts aside, told myself it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to think about such things now, when I was in his arms, but I couldn’t stop. He would never change, never grow old or frail. Would I start to hate him when I began to age and he didn’t?

“Ah, Kathy, it doesn’t have to be that way.”

“Yes, it does.” I knew he was thinking about Susie. She liked being a Vampire, and that was fine for Susie, but she’d had no choice in the matter. I did, and I didn’t want to be a Vampire.

“Do you want to live with one?” Rafe asked quietly.

“Is there any way for me to keep you out of my mind?” I asked, exasperated that he read my thoughts so easily.

“You can try.”

“How do I do it?”

“Erect a wall around your thoughts.”

“How do I do that?”

“Imagine it in your mind. Build it a brick at a time, as high and as thick as you like.”

“And that will keep you out?”

“If it’s strong enough.” He stroked my cheek with his fingers. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I don’t know.” Tears stung my eyes. Only moments ago, I had been sure Rafe was everything I had ever wanted, but now…Tears of doubt dripped down my cheeks and fell on Rafe’s face. He didn’t wipe them away, only looked up at me through fathomless black eyes, waiting for me to go on. “Make love to me, Rafe. Hold me tight and don’t let me go.”

Desperate and afraid to face the future, I needed to be held, needed to feel his arms around me, to hear his voice telling me that he loved me, that everything would be all right.

For a minute, I thought he would refuse, but then he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me, slowly, deeply, each kiss longer and more intense than the last. Closing my eyes, I surrendered to his kisses, to the sweet seduction of his hands moving over my damp skin, large hands that gently caressed me. His voice moved over me like rough velvet as he whispered love words in my ear, sometimes in English, sometimes in a language I didn’t understand.

I clung to him, holding him tight, tighter, afraid that if I let go, I’d be lost. When I was ready for him, when I was sure I couldn’t wait another minute, he wrapped one arm around me and rolled over, carrying me with him, so that he was on top. I cried out with pleasure as his body merged with mine.

And even then, I knew he was saying good-bye.

When I woke in the morning, Rafe was gone. The words
gone for good
echoed in the back of my mind, and I knew I had lost him and it was nobody’s fault but my own. Even though I loved him, I didn’t have enough faith in myself, or in our love, to believe it would last. I wasn’t brave enough to face the future at his side. I couldn’t keep from thinking that the day would come when he would turn to someone younger and prettier, or worse, to a Vampire who could share his whole life, who would understand him in ways that I never could or would.

I sat up, noting that Rafe had covered me with a blanket and left the candles burning. His thoughtfulness brought quick tears to my eyes.

I spent the day in the cave. When I wasn’t crying, I swam in the pool or napped in the shade. Late in the afternoon, I rummaged in the sack to see what Rafe had brought. I found apples and oranges, some string cheese, a box of crackers, a couple of bottles of water, and several of my favorite candy bars.

Toward evening, I got dressed, and after gathering up the food sack and my handbag, I left the cave, wondering how I’d get back to town.

I should have known Rafe wouldn’t leave me stranded out in the middle of nowhere. His car was still parked at the bottom of the hill.

Driving home, all I could think was, how had things gone so bad so fast? One minute everything had been wonderful, and the next, I was pushing Rafe away because I couldn’t stand the thought that he would never change. People in love always talked about growing old together, and while I wasn’t looking forward to growing old, I knew I didn’t want to grow old by myself. But did I want to grow old without Rafe? It seemed a moot point now.

It was still early when I pulled up in front of my house. I sat there for a minute, staring blankly out the windshield. There was nothing here for me now, I thought. I would put the house up for sale and close up the store, maybe go home and spend some time with my folks.

With my mind made up, I got out of the car.

At the front door, I put my key in the lock, but there was no need. The door swung open on its own. A closer look showed the lock had been broken.

Turning on my heels, I ran down the stairs and climbed into Rafe’s car. I didn’t know who had broken into my house, but I had a pretty good idea. I doubted if they were still inside, waiting for me, but I wasn’t about to find out.

Without a backward glance, I drove out of Oak Hollow just as fast as I could.

I drove until I reached River’s Edge, and then I pulled into the parking lot of the first motel I saw.

Five minutes later, I locked myself in Room 9. I pulled the drapes over the windows before I turned on the lights. I stood there a minute, wondering if I had overreacted, but my mother had always said it was better to err on the side of caution than wake up dead in a ditch.

I smiled at the memory, then sat on the edge of the bed and switched on the TV. I was surfing through the channels when I heard a reporter say, “This just in from Oak Hollow.”

As I listened to his report, I knew that leaving Oak Hollow had been the smart thing to do.

Two photographs were flashed on the screen. I recognized Jennifer and Gary immediately, listened with mounting horror as the reporter related how the two had been found dead in their homes, both dispatched by a single gunshot to the back of the head while they slept.

Pulling my cell phone from my bag, I quickly punched in Susie’s number. She answered on the second ring. “Kathy?”

“Hi, are you all right?”

“We’re fine. I just heard about Gary and Jennifer on the radio. Where are you?”

“I’m at a motel in River’s Edge. Where are you?”

“With Joe. We’re on our way to pick up my kids, and then we’re getting out of town.”

She was probably smart to take her kids. I doubted if either Edna or Pearl would have any scruples about using three innocent kids to get to Susie.

“What about your folks?” I asked. “They could be in danger, too.”

“I convinced them to take a little vacation.”

“Good. Listen, we need to warn those two men that were with us that they’re in danger,” I said, “but how? I don’t even know their names.”

“I don’t know. Joe thinks it’s probably too late.”

Just then, pictures of the two men appeared on the screen.

“Local police are calling the killings the work of a serial killer,” the reporter said. “If you have any information…”

I turned the volume down. “Cagin was right,” I said. “We’re too late.”

“Joe wants to know if you’re with Rafe. He wants to ask him…”

“I don’t know where he is.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Susie said, “Keep in touch, all right?”

“I will. If you hear anything…”

“We’ll let you know. Joe wants to know if you want to meet us somewhere tomorrow. He thinks we should stick together.”

Safety in numbers. Ordinarily, it was a good idea, but I couldn’t help wondering if that was true now. “I’ll let you know tomorrow,” I said. “How’s your face?”

“It burns like the very devil, but at least it won’t leave any scars. Be careful, Kathy.”

“You, too.”

I watched the rest of the news, relieved that there was no mention of Jimmy and Gina or Rafe, and then switched off the set.

Of the twelve people who had been subjected to Pearl’s formula, two of the Werewolves had died from the injection. Four of the others had been executed. There was no doubt in my mind that Edna and Pearl were behind the killings. Clearly, the women intended to do away with those of us who had survived as quickly as possible so there would be no witnesses, no one left to go to the police.

Where was Rafe? Had he left town? Did he know what was happening? I wished he was with me. Closing my eyes, I tried to find the link that we shared, but either he was blocking me, or I was too far away to contact him. Or…I refused to consider the possibility that he was dead. I would know it if he was. I was sure of it. After all we had shared, I would know.

Sitting there, with the phone still in my hand, I wondered where it would all end.

Rafe prowled the outskirts of the town. He had fed earlier, but it had done nothing to ease his inner torment. He should have known it wouldn’t last, but he had let himself believe that Kathy was different, that she was strong enough and brave enough to share his life. How could he have been such a fool? No matter how hard he pretended otherwise, he was a Vampire, Nosferatu, Undead. He was a hunter, a killer by nature, a drinker of blood. He might play at being mortal, but that didn’t make it so, would never make it so.

Giving free rein to his anger and his hurt, he stalked the shadows. The night closed around him, clouds gathered overhead, lightning scorched the skies, and a cold, bitter wind whipped the land.

And once again, he was alone, as he had been alone since Rane disappeared.

Ah, Rane,
he thought,
where are you now?
His brother had long ago ceased pretending to be anything other than what he was. Rafe had followed him one night, stood in the dark, and watched his brother drain the blood and the life from some streetwalker. He had watched, and had been sorely tempted to push his brother aside and take the woman for himself, but he had not. He had known his mother would not approve, that his father would be disappointed. His grandfather had understood and sympathized with him.

He remembered sharing his thoughts while walking with his grandfather late one night.

“You can be man or monster,” Roshan had said quietly. “It’s up to you.”

“You’ve killed,” Rafe had said. “Many times.”

His grandfather had nodded. “In the course of my existence, I have killed many men, sometimes in self-defense, sometimes because the temptation to drink my fill and ease the pain was more than I could bear. I have often wondered if I’ll be called to account for all the lives I’ve taken.”

“Judgment?” Rafe had asked. “Damnation?”

His grandfather had nodded again. “I’ve often wondered if I’ll writhe in the flames of an unforgiving hell forever, or if there might be redemption for someone like me.”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

“I don’t know.” Roshan had laughed softly. “In all these centuries, I’ve not found an answer. I didn’t ask for the Dark Gift. It seems unfair somehow that I should be punished for doing what I did to survive. And yet, the people I killed are just as dead. What right did I have to take their lives to prolong my own?”

“A Vampire with a conscience,” Rafe had murmured. “A rare thing indeed.”

And yet, in Rafe’s family, not so rare, except for Rane.
Ah, Rane,
he thought again,
where are you now?

But it was Kathy he yearned to see. His mind replayed every moment they had spent together, from the night he had first walked into her bookstore to that last night in the cave. He missed her smile, the sound of her voice, the love in her eyes, the touch of her body against his. His heart, his dead heart, twisted inside his chest. How long would it take to forget her? A century? An eternity? Where was she now? He knew she had left Oak Hollow, no doubt for good. For a moment, he was sorely tempted to open the link between them, but he shook it aside. She had left him, left town. He would not go after her, would not beg for her love and hope she would take pity on him.

He paused to stare into the darkness. The raging storm called to something primal within him, something dark and feral that yearned to be set free.

A jagged spear of lightning pierced the clouds, unleashing a torrent of rain. A rumble of thunder shook the earth beneath his feet.

He lifted his head to the rain, rain that soaked the ground around him even as the voice of thunder rolled across the heavens.

“Go,” it seemed to say. “Go and be what you were born to be.”

Muttering an oath, he pivoted on his heel and headed back toward the town. He couldn’t get Kathy out of his heart, but maybe he could drown her memory in blood.