Sunrise at Sunset (29 page)

Caleb’s eyes darted to stare at Katrina with a degree of silent shock. But his mind began to work over what was just said, and he blinked slowly as his gaze drilled into Katrina’s with intensity.

“That’s enough, Paige,” Alton warned in a harsh voice.

“I bet he feeds in front of you, Katrina,” Paige ventured with mild annoyance.

“How many hardy men balked at discovering your true nature?” Katrina demanded.

“None that lived,” Paige countered. “However, he already knows you’re a vampire.”

Caleb turned his level gaze upon Paige as his body’s muscles tensed. “I apologize for my ignorance,” he stated flatly. “I’m not allowed to offer you my blood, but I’ll be happy to retrieve some for you, if Katrina would just point me to the proper location.”
Alton’s expression reflected momentary surprise, but then he gazed upon Caleb with approval. However, Katrina’s face grew concerned as she saw the tense series of emotions playing across her mate’s face.

“I’ll show them –” Katrina began.

“No,” Caleb interrupted coldly. “I want to take care of it.”

Katrina said nothing, but reached out for Caleb’s hand, which she grasped gently in hers, and led him through the kitchen to a nearby door leading down into her small wine cellar. A long series of descending concrete steps led to a concrete room surrounded by storage shelves, a couple of workbenches, and a portion of the far wall containing a series of wine storage shelves stocked with a variety of bottles of wine. Immediately at the bottom of the stairs and to the right was a medium-sized white refrigerator.

Katrina opened the refrigerator to reveal shelves lined with a large variety of plastic bags of human blood. There were a variety of blood types, and each was labeled in the same manner one would see in a hospital or surgery center. Caleb estimated the combined total of blood would likely constitute a sizable quantity of human bodies.

“Each blood type has a somewhat different flavor to a vampire, but just like wine, each packet of blood may have a unique taste all its own,” Katrina explained softly. She glanced at his face to find him just staring and taking the information in.

“Its own vintage,” he ventured quietly, recalling the word Paige’s earlier comment.

She nodded after a brief pause and agreed, “Yes, something like that.”

“Which ones do I take?” he asked.

“Just randomly pick one of each for them,” she stated with a sigh. “They’ll let you know if they want something specific.”

He grabbed two of the chilled pints of blood before pausing to ask, “Do you want one?”

“No,” she replied quietly. “Thank you.” She shut the refrigerator door, and he turned to walk back upstairs. But she reached out and pulled him into her arms protectively. He seemed so vulnerable to her, just like the little eight-year-old boy she remembered.

“It’s okay,” he muttered absently. “I’m okay with this.” He sounded as if he were trying to convince himself.
Is this like a cow who’s been asked to bring a steak to a human?
he wondered.

She shook her head slightly. “It’s my fault. Perhaps I’ve sheltered you too much. But I was afraid.”

It dawned on him what she was getting at. “You were afraid I’d be too unsettled by all this?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said and kissed the top of his head. “So many new things are coming at you quickly. How much is too much for you?”
I don’t want to frighten you away, my love
.

He formulated an answer as she stood with her arms wrapped securely around him. “You scare me. You all scare me,” he replied earnestly. “But I love you, and I’ll do what I have to do.”

She silently considered him and sighed. She was relieved to hear his resolve. “Then I suppose you can stink up the house with a cooked dead bird or pig at Christmas, if you want,” she conceded.

He smiled wanly. “Deal, but it’s going to be a big, dead bird this time.”

She chuckled and released him from her grasp, and they walked upstairs together.

Paige and Alton sat in chairs in the spacious living room drinking warmed blood from tall glasses while Katrina and Caleb sat together on the couch. Caleb leaned back, stretching his arms across the back cushions as Katrina curled up next to him. She wrapped one arm behind him while the other lazily draped across his waist.

“Alton’s my oldest friend,” Katrina began. “He was also an important mentor in my life. He helped me better understand and adapt to my vampire nature after being abandoned by the one who turned me. Alton shaped my understanding of financial matters and expanded my fighting skills. I’m forever indebted to him.”

Alton nodded his head appreciatively, but corrected her with a smirk, “Hardly. Forever is too long. Perhaps for another century or two.”

Paige and Katrina both grinned.

“Well, I could never abandon you, Kat,” Caleb proclaimed, cognizant of how strongly he was drawn to her.

She smiled and warmly kissed him on the cheek.
I hope not. It’s more than I could bear
.

“It happens from time to time,” Alton noted absently before sipping blood from his crystal glass.

Caleb was hungry for more details, hoping to understand Katrina and her background better, but she seemed satisfied to quit the topic. Alton seemed to notice as well, because he subtly raised a curious eyebrow.

“As for Paige,” Katrina explained with a smirk. “She happened into my life purely by accident. I helped to mentor her in her vampire nature at an important time in her life. My experience with Alton came in quite handy, it seems. Paige and I became quite close friends, almost like sisters, and we’ve remained close ever since.”

Paige smiled with satisfaction.

The conversation turned to the journey to reach Katrina’s estate for each of the visiting vampires. Alton came directly from his investigations in Europe once he learned Chimalma had surfaced in Atlanta. Paige was in Los Angeles and made the journey once Katrina decided how to proceed.

“I’m surprised really,” Paige admitted with an amused glance at Caleb. “He hasn’t even asked about my arrival in the trunk.”

Caleb regarded the vampire briefly and turned to look at Alton.

“Katrina’s idea, really,” Alton said to Caleb, noting pointedly: “She does everything for a reason.”

Caleb’s mind began considering all that happened in the garage that evening. Two things stood out. “You were trying to hide her,” he ventured. “Nobody would see her, only Alton.”
Katrina smiled as she listened to Caleb’s assessment.

“Way to go, Sherlock,” Paige complimented with a smirk.

But Caleb frowned and continued, “Wait. She also let me go into the garage with the door open when you arrived. Yet she hasn’t even allowed me to open a window.”

Alton raised an eyebrow, while Katrina’s expression turned introspective.

“So?” Paige countered.

Caleb looked at the youthful vampire. “So, she does everything for a reason, just as Alton said, which means she wanted someone to see me in the garage with her. And that’s why she was so irritable when she saw me considering a short walk out to the driveway. I was only to be seen briefly and with a minimum of exposure. So Katrina thinks someone’s probably watching the house.”

“Most likely,” Alton offered.

“Katrina wants our numbers to be underestimated so we have a stronger balance of power,” Caleb ventured with a small grin. “Or so she can act with Paige and hold an element of surprise.”

Katrina smiled and muttered, “Well done.” She was very impressed with Caleb’s deductive reasoning skills, particularly why she was stern with him in the garage
. Perhaps I underestimate him at times
, she considered thoughtfully.

Paige’s expression brightened for the first time since meeting Caleb in the garage. “Katrina said you’re pretty intelligent.”

Caleb inclined his head in silent appreciation.

“And,” Paige hesitated, “though I don’t know why I’m bothering, I suppose I should apologize for the whole blood episode in the kitchen. I obviously didn’t fully realize the situation with you two.”

The edges of Caleb’s mouth upturned slightly. “Apology accepted.”

Katrina inclined her face up to Caleb’s neck and placed a delicate kiss upon his soft skin. She was very proud of him. His first exposure to other vampires wasn’t entirely without issues, but things were working out nicely.

Alton noted Katrina’s action with approval, while Paige grinned mischievously.

“Congratulations, Caleb,” Paige offered in a perky tone. “You’ve made the feral tiger purr.”

Caleb blushed, while Katrina glared at Paige with a withering expression.
That was in the past. I’m trying to change into something less feral lately
, she resolved.
But it’s hard for me after so long
. She quickly changed the subject.

“It’s getting late, and I think Caleb and I will turn in,” Katrina suggested. “Please make yourselves comfortable, and let me know if you need anything. And help yourself to the blood supply. Otherwise, I’ll rise early, and we can discuss plans and arrangements.”

Alton offered, “Good evening to you both.”

Paige nodded with a smirk.

Katrina rose and took Caleb by the hand to lead him from the room to the sublevel and manually shut the hidden door sealing off the room from the rest of the house.

Once they were close to the bed, she pulled him onto it, kissing him warmly on the lips. He appreciated her display of affection, but his mind still yearned for more information about her after having been baited earlier.

“Why won’t you tell me more about yourself?” he urged between kisses. “I’m dying to know all about you and your past.”

I love you, and I’m building my trust with you, but please be patient with me
, she wanted to tell him.
I’ve already been hurt and betrayed by too many in my lifetime
. But something vulnerable kept her from revealing even those thoughts to him at the moment. Instead, she smiled slyly and muttered, “In time, my love. A girl can’t give all of her secrets away at once.”

Hardly a girl, but a powerful feminine force of nature
, he silently countered. He sighed with resignation that more of her background wasn’t forthcoming that night, although she effectively distracted him again with additional slow kisses.

“I’m proud of you tonight, my love,” she complimented.

“Well, I’m trying,” he replied sincerely.

“Better yet,” she noted presciently and with a satisfied smile. “You’re succeeding.”

The next morning, Katrina rose well before Caleb woke. She showered, dressed in jeans and a black sweater, and quietly left him sealed in the room by himself as she met with Alton and Paige concerning their final plans.

Later that morning when Caleb finally stirred, he noticed with a start that Katrina was gone. He yawned and looked over to find a glass of ice water on the nightstand, along with a note from Katrina.

Dearest Caleb,

I didn’t want you to be disturbed while you slept. I’ll be back to check on you before breakfast. Please drink the glass of water. Remember what I said about hydration.

Love,

Kat

He sighed with resignation, put the note back on the nightstand, and drank the glass of water, leaving only the unmelted ice. He immediately realized his thirst once the first gulp of water had gone down his throat.

He stretched and went into the nearby bathroom to shower, shave, and brush his teeth. Afterwards, he slipped on a pair of jeans and a Georgia State sweatshirt. Forgoing shoes, he padded up the stairs to the sealed exit door leading into the rest of the house. He was unable to slide the door open and looked at the keypad next to the door frame to see a red LED marking the door as locked.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” he mumbled, realizing that he couldn’t even use a phone to call her for help because the phones were disabled by a code. And Katrina still had possession of his cell phone.

He irritably smacked the door with the flat of his palm and proceeded down the stairs over to the couch set before the large, wall-mounted TV. He plopped down to contemplate how frustrated he was getting with the whole security arrangement he had endured lately. He felt a little like a prisoner in a gilded cage. Finally, he lay on the couch and channel-surfed for a time.

Within an hour, he heard the door at the top of the stairs behind him slide open, but nothing more. He frowned and sat up on his knees to look over the high back of the couch. Seeing nobody, he tilted his head slightly.

Strong arms enveloped him from behind, and he jolted with surprise. The arms quickly tightened around him and he saw the profile of Katrina’s face peer around from his right. He turned his face to hers, and she kissed him warmly.