Sunrise at Sunset (30 page)

“Good morning,” she greeted in a slow, sweet voice. “Sorry it took so long, my love.”

“Good morning,” he replied as his irritation subsided from the warm greeting she gave him.

She effortlessly pulled him from the couch and onto the floor so that he stood before her, and he turned towards her and kissed her again.

“Did you have to lock the door?” he asked suspiciously.

“I didn’t want you to be disturbed,” she said smoothly.

He narrowed his eyes, not believing a word of it. “Why won’t you just tell me what you’re doing?” he murmured with exasperation.

She regarded him sympathetically before her smile faded somewhat. “I was merely trying to be nice, but fine. We were discussing some important matters that I didn’t want you overhearing or getting involved in. Does that make you feel better?”

He considered her explanation and conceded, “No, not better. But at least it’s an honest answer.”

She nodded, and asked, “Are you angry with me?”
Please
don’t be mad. I’m really not trying to aggravate you
, she considered silently.

He folded his arms before his chest. “I’m not angry, just a little disappointed, that’s all.”

“We talked about this once before, Caleb,” she gently tried to remind him.
I understand how hard it is to give up control, but you have to trust me
. She felt a small degree of guilt as she realized that trust was hard for her as well.

He recalled the conversation, or rather confrontation, Katrina referenced all too well, having been on the losing end of it. “I know, I know,” he retorted offhandedly while walking past her to go upstairs to get breakfast. “Alpha vampire running the show right now. Got it.”

She smirked as she watched him depart.
Well, at least he’s learning
.

He walked into the kitchen and noticed Paige standing at the kitchen counter making a cold cut sandwich. It appeared a very normal-looking scene as she stood in her khaki capris, floral cotton shirt, and sandals and cut the sandwich in half. The fact that she had seemed to be an edgy vampire the night before suddenly seemed odd to him.

Paige pulled a handful of potato chips from a foil bag and casually dropped them onto the plate, which she set on the counter near him. She licked the stray salt from her fingers as she walked to the refrigerator and filled a glass with ice water.

She sat the glass near the plate of food and offered with a sly smile, “Morning, kiddo. It’s close enough to lunchtime, and since I don’t cook, I hope you won’t mind the sandwich.”

He stared at her with near shock at the completely unexpected circumstances. She seemed to appreciate the expression on his face because her smile brightened noticeably.

“Well, dig in,” she suggested.

He raised an eyebrow as he sat on a barstool at the counter. “Thanks, but to what do I owe this particular honor?”

She smirked with genuine amusement. “Peace offering. Besides, Katrina said you’d probably be hungry because she left you for longer than she intended. It was her idea, really.”

His eyebrow rose curiously.

“Honestly, I think she’s just trying to kick-start things with us a little bit,” she added with a conspiratorial whisper.

“Nice start,” he replied with a smirk. He picked up the ham and cheese sandwich and took a bite, noting that it had his favorite garnish, mustard, on it. After realizing how hungry he really was, he began alternating between bites of sandwich and potato chips. He was particularly aware that the short, blonde-haired vampire seemed amused watching him.

“Wow, you can really put it away, can’t you?” she noted with a grin.

His face flushed a little as warmth rose to his cheeks while he chewed. That seemed to amuse her even further. He decided to break his silence by asking how she liked Los Angeles. He had never visited the west coast himself.

“I like the people well enough,” she answered fondly. “It’s a place where both the strange and unusual can feel at home. I fit right in! Way too much sunshine out there, though.”

He almost chuckled, but was politely mindful of the mouthful of sandwich that he was chewing at the time.

She described the wonderful scenery and plethora of diversions that she enjoyed in southern California, including rock concerts, parties, clubs, shopping, and a host of other activities that he hadn’t considered, such as motorcycle rallies and nighttime surfing parties.

As he finished eating his sandwich and chips, Alton cleared his throat from the kitchen entrance behind him. The sound warned Caleb of his presence without startling him, which he appreciatively noted as he glanced over his shoulder.

“Oh, hi, Alton,” Caleb greeted as he reached for his water glass.

The tall vampire moved to sit on a stool next to him and asked, “Would you mind if we had a brief chat?”

Caleb shrugged and took a final bite of his sandwich. He was beginning to like the stately vampire. Alton sounded like a member of the English gentry, those aristocratic gentlemen of property from Jane Austen novels, but without the characteristic air of superiority. He fleetingly anticipated that his English accent was likely popular with the ladies. “Sure,” he agreed amiably.

Paige nodded to Alton and moved to depart.

“Thanks for lunch, Paige,” Caleb said.

“Aw, you’re welcome,” she replied with a smile before disappearing from sight.

Caleb was happy for his pleasant reintroduction to Paige. He liked the version that he had started getting to know that morning.

Alton silently paused for a few moments to observe the young man. “So, Katrina told me about your brief experiences with Chimalma, but I’d like to hear your recollections firsthand. It may provide helpful insights that may have been overlooked initially.”

Caleb nodded and recounted his experiences, including any dialogue with Alondra and Maddox, to the best of his ability. The process took a little longer because Alton interjected occasionally to ask for clarifications and further details. Caleb noted once again how politely and congenially Alton presented himself. When he had finished, Alton sat silently for a few minutes in contemplation. But Caleb had a question of his own to ask.

“I’m a little curious about when Alondra, um, Chimalma mentioned that Katrina was possessive in her past,” he ventured carefully.

Alton murmured, “Mm, yes. Well, vampires are possessive at times with their mates, particularly the human ones.”

Caleb nodded.

Alton stared at him intently. “But don’t confuse possessive with protective, Caleb. Katrina cares for you more than you likely realize. And as a human, you’re particularly vulnerable if another vampire wanted to target you.”
A thought occurred to him as the restaurant conversation between Katrina and Chimalma replayed in his mind. “I told Chimalma about how much Katrina meant to me before she arrived to retrieve me,” he absently recalled. “Then Chimalma told her to ‘keep an eye on her pet.’”

Alton nodded. “She was deliberately pushing Katrina’s buttons,” he ventured. “The more Katrina has to focus on protecting you, the less she can focus on Chimalma directly. It’s good that Paige and I arrived when we did.”

Katrina and Paige silently appeared in the kitchen entryway from the main hallway, though Caleb realized that he probably wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t already been facing in their direction.

“I’m glad you’re here to help protect Katrina in all of this,” he commented to Alton with a note of appreciation as he caught Katrina’s eyes.

But Alton’s features reflected amusement, and he actually chuckled. Paige also smiled slightly, while Katrina arched an eyebrow at her former mentor. Caleb looked at Alton with a puzzled expression.

“My dear boy,” Alton corrected him, “I’m not here to protect
her
. She’s more than capable of protecting herself. She’s the heavy artillery in this mission. I’m merely accompanying to aid in directing the hunt, as well as to provide assistance where needed.”

Caleb turned to stare at Katrina and demanded, “What’s he talking about?”

But Alton spoke up before she could respond. “Your mate happens to be one of the most lethal vampires I’ve ever known. She’s earned quite a remarkable reputation among our kind, actually.”

Katrina frowned. She was uncomfortable discussing the levels of violence that she was capable of. She didn’t want Caleb to be afraid of her, either.
What can I say
? she wondered.

Caleb’s eyes widened as his gaze shot back to Alton, and he recalled, “But you’re her mentor. Katrina said that you taught her how to fight. And you just said that you and Paige arrived at just the right time.”

One of Alton’s eyebrows arched as he explained, “You misunderstand, Caleb. I was her mentor in showing her the safest practices of a vampire, and I helped shape her mastery of financial matters. But I only taught her the art of sword fighting to broaden her skill set. She was an expert in her own right in other forms of melee combat when I first met her. She’s an efficient killing machine, even for a vampire. And as for arriving on time, I merely meant that Chimalma’s trail will be easier to follow since her appearance was so recent.”

Caleb wasn’t sure how to react to Alton’s revelations.

“What we plan to do is find Chimalma and bring an end to her rampage,” Alton continued.

“You’re going hunting,” Caleb ventured with chilling insight.

“A predator seeking a predator,” Alton ventured as he glanced at Katrina. “And the fiercest one I know is your mate. Having seen her firsthand with Maddox, you should realize just how deadly she really is.”

Caleb shivered slightly while looking at Katrina, and his heart rate increased noticeably.

“Alton,” Katrina sharply interrupted. “That’s enough.”
Damn it, you’re scaring him
, she tried to convey with a steely expression at her former mentor.

My God
, Caleb thought as the recent steak house conversation with Katrina resurfaced in his mind.
She really is a great white shark among sharks then
. He thought that she had been exaggerating when she made that comment, or was simply analogizing the dangerous nature of vampires.

Katrina was concerned as she took in his expression.

All three vampires in the room stared at him, having heard the noticeable increase in his heart rate. He swallowed once and decided to leave the room rather than be the center of such rapt attention. He slid off the stool and started to walk into the hallway leading to other parts of the house. But as he began to pass Katrina, she extended one arm and caught him at the waist, leaving her arm in place as a bar rather than drawing him to her.

“Remember what I said about fear, Caleb,” she muttered very softly as her green eyes gazed into his pale blue ones.

“A little fear is good,” he replied, having recalled their past conversation at the steak house.

“But not from me,” she amended, “or this won’t work between us.”

As a matter of fact, he did recall that point having been made.

“Come here,” she whispered, “but not in fear.” She removed her arm from barring his passage, dropping it to her side.

He paused before slowly moving to wrap his arms around her slim waist. He felt her arms gently enfold him in response, and she bent her head downwards to nestle her nose into the side of his warm neck.

Thank you, my love
, she thought with relief.

His eyes scanned the room to look at Alton and Paige, but they had already quietly disappeared from view.

Katrina breathed in his scent, heard his heartbeat, and felt his pulse against her soft lips. She kissed him softly once, twice, a third time.

He considered her affectionate nature, coupled with her propensity to be somewhat authoritative recently. He also recalled the light-hearted times they had shared together with both of them laughing and appreciating each other’s company. His memory went back to the night at the restaurant with Chimalma and the attack from Harry Maddox. There were so many dichotomies in Katrina’s personality. The distance between her caring nature and her violent nature seemed threadbare at times. But he loved her nevertheless and was beginning to realize just how much she loved him as well.

The two of them stood in each other’s arms as time seemed to stand still.

But time was cruel, and their embrace didn’t last long enough for either of them before she reluctantly released him to attend to additional preparations for what lay ahead.

Eventually, the afternoon gave way to evening, merely the turning of a clock from Caleb’s perspective. He tried distracting himself with a film in the theater room. He absently watched the imagery from the ceiling-mounted projector play across the screen, his thoughts focused on what Katrina was planning to do next. To his aggravation, the three vampires overtly left him out of those conversations. The event led to another brief, heated exchange with Katrina earlier that day after his lunch chat with Alton, resulting in his current sulk in the theater room.