His Dark Embrace (22 page)
Chapter 30
Girard prowled the shadows outside the McNamara house. Why had he waited so long to embrace the dark side of life? The longer he was a vampire, the more he reveled in it. His physical strength and speed were incredible. He might look like an old man, but he had the vitality and staying power of a stud horse. His increased senses were remarkable.
He knew there were two mortals inside the house. He could hear the slow, steady beating of their hearts, the shallow breathing that told him they were sleeping soundly. A third heart—a vampire heart—beat more slowly. Thorne was also in the house.
Girard lifted his head. An indrawn breath carried the scent of musk and fresh blood. So, the vampire had used his whore and then fed on her.
Girard turned away from the house. Melting into the darkness, he reappeared several blocks away. He had never been a patient man, but time was no longer his enemy. No matter how much it galled him to do so, he would abide by Cassandra’s decree because he had no other choice, at least for now. He was not fool enough to pit his fledgling strength against that of an ancient vampire, and so he would not harm Kaiden Thorne in the foreseeable future.
Girard smiled into the darkness. There was no need to hurry. He had time to wait for the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge, and when it came, he would savor every delicious moment. He could picture it clearly in his mind, taste it on his tongue, as he imagined killing the woman. He would not make her suffer too long. He was not a monster, after all, and she was only a means to an end. He trembled with the realization that avenging Marie’s death was almost in reach. Only then would he find peace.
But there was no rush now. He would wait until Thorne and the woman lowered their guard. Wait until they thought the danger was past. And then, when the woman was alone and vulnerable, her defenses down, he would strike.
Retribution would be swift and final for the woman, but her death would torment Kaiden Thorne for the remainder of his existence.
Ah, vengeance was indeed a dish best served cold.
Whistling softly, Girard left the town in search of prey.
Chapter 31
An hour before dawn, Thorne dressed and left Skylynn’s place. Even though she had willingly allowed him to drink from her, the little he had taken had only whet his appetite for more. He was beginning to think that abstaining from his natural instincts for so long had made satisfying the return of his hellish thirst impossible.
As he descended the porch steps, he wondered if there would ever again come a time when he didn’t feel the need to hunt every night.
He had almost reached the corner when he caught a scent that made his hackles rise. Desmarais had been there, loitering beneath the tree near Skylynn’s bedroom window, and not so long ago.
Swearing softly, Thorne retraced his footsteps. Crossing the street, he walked around Skylynn’s house. There was no indication that Desmarais had gone into the backyard or approached any of the doors. Still, his presence so close to Skylynn was unsettling.
Dissolving into mist, Thorne returned to Skylynn’s bedroom. She slept on her side, her cheek pillowed on her hand, a faint smile on her lips. A smile he had put there.
Resuming his own form, he went to check on Sam. The boy was sprawled facedown on the mattress, one leg sticking out of the covers, one arm hanging over the edge of the bed.
Kaiden stood there a moment, then, opening his senses, he moved through Sam’s mind. The boy wasn’t hiding from anything; his amnesia had been caused by a hard blow to the back of his head. He would let Sky know tomorrow.
Satisfied that neither of the McNamaras were in imminent danger, Thorne walked down the hallway toward the master bedroom. Hunting would have to wait until tonight. No way was he going to leave Skylynn and Sam alone while they were asleep and vulnerable, not when Desmarais had been sniffing around.
The master bedroom was a large square room done in shades of brown and green with lots of ruffles and lace. It was obvious that Paddy hadn’t changed a thing since Maureen passed away. Several family photos were scattered across the top of the chest of drawers. A frame on the wall next to the bed held the image of two tiny handprints. A sewing basket sat next to a pair of glasses on one of the bedside tables; a long blue nightgown hung from the back of the door.
It seemed almost indecent to even think of sleeping in the bed Paddy had shared with his wife, but it couldn’t be helped. It would be dawn soon. He needed a place to spend the daylight hours, but taking his rest in Sky’s bed was out of the question now that Sam was home. And even though the odds were slim that anything would happen during the day, he intended to stay nearby, just in case.
After locking the door, Thorne slipped off his running shoes, stripped down to his briefs, and slid under the covers. He could feel the lethargy stealing over his body, leeching his strength, drawing him down into the thick, velvet blackness that was like death.
Sky was in the kitchen trying to decide what to have for breakfast when Sam shuffled into the room. His surly expression and the dark shadows under his eyes were ample proof that he’d had a rough night.
“You got any coffee?” he asked, slumping onto a chair.
“Of course. Do you still take it black?”
He snorted. “It ain’t coffee any other way.”
Ignoring his gruff tone, she poured a cup for Sam and one for herself, then sat at the table across from him. Feeling like a child defying authority, she laced her coffee with two teaspoons of sugar and a healthy dollop of milk.
“What happened last night?” he asked. “How’d I get home?”
“Kaiden brought you back. You were dead drunk.”
Sam’s gaze slid away from hers. “I don’t remember,” he said, his tone surly. “But what the hell, I don’t remember much of anything else, either.”
“Drinking like a fish won’t bring your memory back.”
“I’m sorry, Skylynn,” he muttered. “I know I’m behaving like a jerk, but ...”
“Hey,” she said, smiling. “You can’t help it.”
“Are you saying I was always a jerk?” he asked with a wry grin.
Sky felt a rush of hope at the familiar banter. “Not always.”
“Just most of the time?”
He sounded so much like the old Sam, she wanted to kiss him. Instead, she asked him what he wanted for breakfast.
Later, while loading the dishwasher, Skylynn wondered where Kaiden had gone. After the night they had shared, she had expected to wake up beside him. But then, her vampire rarely did what she expected.
Her vampire. The thought made her stomach curl with pleasure. Last night, after they made love, he had asked if he could drink from her. After what they had shared, there was no way she could have refused. Not that she had wanted to.
She lifted a hand to her neck, thinking how strange it was that something that sounded so hideously repulsive could be so gratifying. Was she being foolish to trust him not to take too much? He had admitted he didn’t trust himself to stop while they were making love, though she wasn’t sure why that made a difference. She pondered the question for a few minutes. Giving him her blood had been an unexpectedly sensual experience. Was it the same for him? Would she die if he took too much? Or, worse, become what he was? Maybe she would ask him about that later.
In the old movie,
Love at First Bite,
it had taken three bites for George Hamilton’s Dracula to turn the girl into a vampire. In
Twilight
, becoming a vampire had been described as a horribly painful process that took days, certainly not something Sky would ever want to experience. In other books she had read, an exchange of blood had been necessary for the transformation.
Love at First Bite,
it had taken three bites for George Hamilton’s Dracula to turn the girl into a vampire. In
Twilight
, becoming a vampire had been described as a horribly painful process that took days, certainly not something Sky would ever want to experience. In other books she had read, an exchange of blood had been necessary for the transformation.
No matter how it happened, there was always biting and blood involved.
The drone of the lawn mower drew her gaze to the backyard. Looking out the kitchen window, she smiled when Sam waved at her. Once again, she felt a rush of hope that, with time, everything would be all right.
She dried her hands after starting the dishwasher, then went upstairs to change the sheets on her bed. At the top of the stairs, a strange vibration in the air drew her down the hallway to Granda’s bedroom. She paused a moment before trying the door, only to discover it was locked.
She frowned a moment, then called, “Kaiden, are you in there?”
There was no answer, of course. If he was in there, he would be asleep. And then, to her surprise, she heard his voice inside her head asking if she was all right.
After assuring him all was well, she went into her own room. Humming softly, she pulled the sheets off her bed and carried them down to the laundry room. She dumped the bedding into the washer, added soap and fabric softener, selected the setting she wanted, and closed the lid.
Leaving the laundry room, she went down to Granda’s lab. It still hurt to believe he was gone. It was so easy to imagine him sitting at his desk, his glasses perched on the end of his nose while he pored over his journals, or muttering to himself as he tried to solve some complicated formula. How long had it taken him to come up with the potion he had concocted for Kaiden? And how would they ever find the missing ingredient?
She wandered aimlessly around Granda’s lab. It had taken hours to put everything to rights again after Desmarais’ break-in. Thinking of Desmarais sent a chill down her spine. Where was he now? She could only hope he had left town.
She ran her hand over one of the file cabinets. She really should do something with her grandfather’s journals and notebooks, but what? Donate them to a medical research library? Give them to the hospital where he used to practice? Destroy them so no one else could have them?
Spooked by thoughts that the hunter-turned-vampire might return, she hurried up the stairs to find Sam in the kitchen poking around in the fridge.
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “There’s nothing to eat.”
“There is, too.”
“Well, nothing that looks good. Let’s go out and grab a bite.”
“All right. I’m going to go change my clothes first. I’ll meet you down here in ten minutes.”
“Make it twenty. I need a shower after mowing that jungle out there.”
They decided on hamburgers for lunch. Skylynn took it as a good sign when Sam ordered his favorite sweet potato fries. It wasn’t a breakthrough, but it was something.
Sam fidgeted while they waited for their order to arrive. He couldn’t seem to sit still and he was either drumming his fingers on the tabletop, tapping his foot, or rearranging the salt and pepper shakers. When the waitress brought their drinks, he drank half of his in one long swallow.
“Are you all right?” Sky asked when he started shredding his napkin.
“Yeah, fine. I’m just feeling sort of edgy. I don’t know why.”
“Maybe it’s the weather.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He took another drink, then ran his finger around the rim of the glass. “I guess I should be looking for a job.”
“That makes two of us. It’s a good thing the house is paid for, but taxes will be due in a few months. I think I have enough saved for the first half.”
“What kind of job are you looking for?”
“Right now, anything I can get,” she said glumly. “But nobody in town seems to be hiring.”
“Maybe you’ll have to look in that town I passed on the way here.”
“Maybe.” She had been hoping to find something a little closer to home. Grover was twenty miles away.
While they ate, Skylynn reminisced about Sam’s past. “You used to love to go fishing and hiking with Granda. Do you remember the time you went deep-sea fishing and caught a tuna?”
“No.”
“Do you remember when you were ten and fell down the stairs and broke your arm? You were thrilled because you got to miss two days of school.”
He shook his head, his expression pensive, making Sky wonder if bringing up old memories was such a good idea.
After lunch, Sam suggested they take in a movie, and Sky agreed. After all, it was hours until dark. Hours until she saw Kaiden again.
On the drive home, they talked about the movie for a few minutes before Sam said, “When I was in the hospital, Boyle said I have a VW. Do I?”
“Yeah. It’s in the garage.”
“Maybe I’ll take it out and see if it still runs.”
“Of course it runs.”
“How do you know?” he asked, and then his eyes widened in alarm. “You drove my Bug?”
“Geez, don’t go ballistic. I only drove it once a week or so, just to keep the battery charged. You should be thanking me.”
“Yeah,” he said, looking properly contrite. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You should get a new car,” he said, breaking for a red light. “This Lincoln is ancient.”
“I know, but it belonged to Granda.” Skylynn ran her hand lovingly over the dashboard. “Besides, it’s in good shape.”
“Don’t you want a car of your own?”
She shrugged. “I was leasing one in Chicago. I don’t know, maybe I’ll buy a new one, now that I’m here to stay. If I ever find a job.”
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