A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) (25 page)

“No, thank you,” she replied and released her arm from around him so he could rise. Once he disappeared into the kitchen, Katrina focused her attention on Paige fully. “Why did you take him there without me?” she demanded in a whisper.

Paige positioned herself next to the couch, planting both hands atop her slim hips. “Think about it, Red. You’re already in the doghouse for the agreement with Archibald in the first place. This way, I got to meet him, and Caleb didn’t have to blame you for dragging him there. I get to be the bad guy instead of you for a change. Or are you so ready to be back on the skids with him so soon after your romantic redemption last night?”

Katrina was taken aback by her frank assessment, but she conceded that her friend made some good points. It was true that she was very happy with how things had gone between her and Caleb the previous night, and she didn’t want things to change. “Okay, points well made, actually,” she admitted. “I suppose thanks are in order.”

“None needed, Red,” Paige countered with a shrug. “It was nice to spend time alone with him, actually.”

Katrina nodded. She knew how much Paige adored Caleb, and a little time alone with him was probably reasonable. “By the way, tomorrow’s the day I’m announcing my territorial claim, and I’m pronouncing you and Devon as Caleb’s protectors.”

Paige nodded. She was fully aware that Katrina and Alton were working on that, but was still a little surprised that Katrina was willing to make such a public declaration given how private and reclusive she had been over the years in the vampire community.

“By the way, where’s Gil?” Paige asked.

“In the theater room,” Katrina replied. “He was bored and wanted to watch some new vampire movie that Caleb recently added to my film collection.”

Paige rolled her eyes, not typically a fan of Hollywood vampire films. Although, she admitted the romantic one with the young male vampire who fell in love with the clumsy brunette teenager was rather endearing. Although that one also had werewolves, and everyone knew that werewolves weren’t real. She plopped down on a nearby upholstered chair with a sigh, draping one leg lazily over the arm rest.

After a few minutes, Caleb returned with a glass of heated blood for Paige, who gratefully accepted it. “Thanks, kiddo.”

He slipped his shoes off and went to lie down beside Katrina on the oversized couch. The red-haired vampire smiled gratefully, wrapped her arm around him, and even handed him the remote control.

“Surf away,” she remarked and kissed him on the cheek.

“Yeah, but no vampire movies tonight, okay, sport?” Paige remarked before sipping from her glass and reflecting on the evening’s events. “Pizza buffet, of all places,” she mumbled sourly, only to hear Caleb chuckle in response.

* * * *

On Tuesday, Caleb was once more at work teaching history classes, meeting with students, and mingling with the daytime world over which humanity presided. During occasional free moments, he considered the meeting the previous evening between him, Paige, and Devon. The towering vampire had surprised him somewhat by providing access to an entirely different side of his personality, as well as by sharing his intriguing life story. He had been quite critical of Katrina’s decision to spare Devon’s life, but he felt a glimmer of sympathy for the vampire. At the very least, he was willing to wait and see how things progressed.

During the early afternoon, he checked his personal email account for messages. Among the usual spam was a message with the header, “Declaration of Territorial Claim,” which Katrina had BCC’d him on. As he read the message, he found himself holding his breath.

Greetings Fellow Night Dwellers,

I bid you peace and well wishes from Atlanta, Georgia. In the interest of good relations and cooperation, I hereby inform you that I am officially claiming and declaring the city of Mableton, Georgia, as sovereign territory under my personal jurisdiction, including a small portion of the city proper in downtown Atlanta. The specific area claimed downtown relates to the campus of Robert Fulton Community College and an area of two miles radius surrounding the campus property. Individuals under my sanction and protection include my human mate, Mr. Caleb Taylor, and his vampire protectors, Ms. Paige Turner, and Mr. Devon Archibald. In addition, the culling of humans within and around my stated territories should be curtailed to avoid unnecessary scrutiny and/or visibility to myself and our kind.

I appreciate your cooperation in observing my claim, and I welcome advance notification of planned visits into or through my territory to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. Thank you, and may your hunting by fruitful.

Regards,

Katrina Rawlings of Mableton/Atlanta, Georgia, United States

After he finished reading the message, he sat back in his desk chair and looked out his office window. The human world beyond continued on its merry way though life, completely oblivious to the fact that part of their city had just been claimed by a vampire. The very thought seemed surreal to him. However, in the same manner that he had become accustomed to the idea of his having been claimed by a vampire, so too would he to this latest revelation. The question was, would others kindly observe Katrina’s declaration? More to the point, what would happen if they didn’t? He tried not to contemplate the latter question at length. Instead, he picked up his desk phone and dialed the estate. On the first ring, the phone was picked up.

“Hello?” Katrina inquired.

He smiled at the sound of his mate’s voice. “Hi, Kat. I just read your message a few minutes ago, very nicely written,” he said, closing the door to his office.

“Thank you, my love,” she responded with a pleased tone. “Were you surprised?”

“Actually, yes, I was,” he said. “It’s somewhat eerie to think about everybody’s being oblivious to the declaration. It’s like secretly asserting that someone has just claimed your property, and you’re completely oblivious to it.”

She chuckled at his analogy. “Sorry that we didn’t have a chance to discuss it beforehand, but Alton conveyed a sense of urgency about getting that out. He believes the recent notoriety of our experience with Chimalma will encourage additional unexpected visitors unless we quickly establish some ground rules.”

“Hmm, that’s a good point, I suppose. But I have a quick question or two,” he said. “What about vampires who don’t have email? And what about vampires whose addresses you didn’t have access to?”

There was a silent pause.

“Excellent questions, my love. There’s always the possibility of an occasional transient visitor from the off-line ranks of our kind. But at least an effort has been made on my part. The Internet makes things so much easier for us, as a matter of fact. And as for those whose addresses I didn’t have access to, some of the recipients may pass my email along to others. But I’ll also post the message on some of the secure blogs and chat rooms that our kind utilize.”

“You have chat rooms?” he inquired with surprise. “What next, vampire dating services?”

“Very funny, my love,” she replied dryly. “But yes, we’re quite active online despite being a diverse and often reclusive community.”

“Do vampires Tweet?”

“Tweet? Oh, ugh, I
hate
Twitter.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”

“How’s your day?” she asked.

“Oh, okay, I suppose,” he replied. “But I wish I were home with you right now.”

“I wish you were here too,” she purred.

“Well, I’ll be home right after class tonight,” he promised.

“Great,” she replied. “And I’ll have some paperwork for you to sign, as well.”

“Paperwork?”

“Later. Have a good remainder of the day, my love,” she replied and hung up.

He frowned as he pulled the handset away from his head and stared at it with a bland expression.
I hate it when she does that
.

* * * *

Later that evening, once Caleb had arrived home, he dropped his backpack next to a chair in the dining room. He glanced into the living room and noticed Paige lying peacefully on the couch with her hands folded across her stomach as a black and white classic movie played on the television. He observed the steady rise and fall of her chest, wondering if she were asleep. It would have been the first time he had ever caught a vampire sleeping.

He moved slowly and quietly towards the end of the couch until he neared where her head rested. From his vantage he was able to see that her eyes were closed. He reached out to grasp at her shoulders to startle her, but at the last moment her hands darted out to grab him by the lower arms. She propelled him forward, pivoting his body in a semi-circle until he landed on top of her.

“Gotcha’!” she hollered as her hands tickled him about the stomach and ribs mercilessly.

He laughed and thrashed, desperately trying to wriggle from atop her and onto the floor. Seconds later, he was having trouble catching his breath, and she stopped abruptly. The petite vampire swiveled into a sitting position and pulled him next to her on the couch. He finally managed to inhale a deep breath and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“I thought I had you there for a minute,” he said once he caught his breath. “You looked completely asleep.”

“Actually, I was napping,” she conceded. “But I heard you the minute you entered from the garage. Still, I’m a pretty good actress, eh?”

“Academy Award-winning,” he agreed. “Hey, where’s Gil?”

“He went out for cigarettes about an hour ago,” she recalled. “I’m sure he’s trying to find his way back about now.”

He shook his head and offered with a sigh, “Should I go looking for him?”

“Nah, he’ll call when he’s desperate enough,” she said. “Besides, Red’s waiting for you in the study. Something about paperwork. Better be careful, kiddo; she seemed pretty angry.”

He looked at her sharply. “Angry?”

“Yep, you better take her a glass of blood as a peace offering,” she advised. “Maybe a little massage on her shoulders when you go in. After all, couldn’t hurt to start off on a positive note.”

He nodded as his mind raced as to why Kat might be angry with him. “Yeah, good idea. Thanks.”

He rose from the couch, made his way down to the wine basement to retrieve a packet of blood and heated it in a glass in the microwave. After a few minutes, he went down the dark central hallway on the first floor until he reached the outer door to Katrina’s study. The door was slightly ajar, and he could see enough to determine that she was sitting at her desk looking over some paperwork. But instead of just entering unannounced, he knocked on the door frame politely.

“Caleb?” she asked. “Please come in.”

She smiled up at him when he entered, and he offered the best hopeful expression that he could muster as he walked towards her desk. Unfortunately, his heart was beating more rapidly than normal, though he was certain she had already determined that before he entered. Once again, she had the advantage over him.

He sat the glass down carefully, making sure to avoid any of the papers strewn across the desktop. He moved to stand behind her and reached out to massage her shoulders gently between his fingertips. She leaned her head back and moaned with pleasure from his efforts.

“How was the rest of your day after I spoke with you?” he asked carefully.
She didn’t sound angry earlier today
.

Katrina frowned. “Caleb, is everything okay?”

“Me? Sure, just fine,” he reassured her, his fingers rubbing a little harder as he tried to discern why she would be upset with him, although she didn’t seem terribly upset with him at the moment.

She reached up to grasp his hands and swiveled in her leather chair to face him, looking up at him with a curious expression. “Is there something I should know, my love?”

His mind raced as he swallowed hard and replied, “Um, I don’t think so.”

She narrowed her eyes as she continued to hold his hands in hers.

He rolled his eyes and conceded, “Look, I don’t know what I did, but I’ll confess if you’ll just tell me what I did wrong. Can we just get this over with, please?”

She looked at him as if he were insane. “What are you talking about?” she demanded.

He looked into her eyes with his mouth agape, saw the confusion on her face and asked, “Aren’t you angry with me for something? Paige said --”

She interrupted him with an amused expression, “Paige is having some fun with you, my love. I’m not angry at all. But thank you for the massage, as well as the warm blood. I was getting a little hungry.”

The feeling of relief surged through him like a blast of cold air on a hot summer day. A new mission flashed in his mind, and he tried to pull his hands away from Katrina’s, growling, “Oh, I am so going to kill her!”

But she laughed, held onto his hands, and stood up from her chair. “Okay, okay, you can kill her in just a minute. While you’re here, I want you to sign some things for me.”

He stopped tugging and let her steer him into the chair. She picked up the glass of blood, took a sip of it, and pointed to some papers on the desk before him. “Just sign those two where you see the yellow highlight,” she instructed him, resting her left hand atop his shoulder.

He picked up the ink pen lying to the side of the papers and looked over them for a moment. “What am I signing?” he asked.

She savored another sip of blood and replied, “I’m adding you onto one of my bank accounts as a co-owner, as well as requesting you to be added to one of my credit cards as joint-owner. It will make things so much easier for you when we go to Europe.”

He looked up at her and shook his head. “You don’t have to do that, Kat,” he insisted. “I don’t want your money.”

She smiled down at him fondly. None of her previous mates had ever refused her gifts, particularly the monetary kind. But Caleb was in a different class altogether, making all the previous ones seem like frauds and interlopers. The sole exception was her human husband, Samuel Lawnder, of whom Caleb reminded her a great deal.
Sometimes it takes five hundred years to find true love again
, she mused as she licked her lips and set the glass on the desk.