Moonlight (12 page)

In the morning, she woke with a smile on her face, a sense
of well-being flooding her soul.

“Navarre,” she murmured. “Navarre. Navarre!”

She giggled out loud as she bounded out of bed, eager to
face the new day. Never in all her life had she felt like this. No schoolgirl
crush had ever had her dancing around her room, laughing for no reason at all
while she got dressed.

She was too excited to eat, so she settled for a quick cup
of coffee, brushed her teeth, and went to work two hours early to stock the
shelves.

She sang in the car, she sang while she opened cartons and
placed the new romance novels on display on the rack in the front of the store.
There was a definite trend toward paranormal romances these days, she mused as
she read the titles. Ordinary heroes had been replaced by ghosts and
werewolves, aliens and vampires.

Vampires.

Navarre had cast no reflection in her mirror.

With a shake of her head, she put the thought from her.

A moment later, she was driving toward Cliff House.

She sat in the car, her fingers curled over the steering
wheel, staring at the old house. The place was spooky, even in the light of
day.

Resolutely, she stepped out of the car, telling herself
there was nothing to be afraid of. She didn’t believe in vampires. And even if
such loathsome creatures did exist, everyone knew they slept in their coffins
during the day, so there was nothing to fear.

Clutching her car keys, she climbed the stairs and knocked
on the door.

Her heart jumped into her throat when the door opened and
Navarre stood there, looking dark and dangerous in a pair of tight black jeans
and a black sweatshirt.

“Adrianna!” Navarre exclaimed, and then he smiled. “What are
you doing here?”

She stared up at him, wondering what she could say.

Navarre frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“No. No, I…I just wanted to see you.”

“Come in.”

She hesitated, her gaze darting past him, sweeping over the
interior of the house.

“Adrianna?”

She murmured a quick thank you and stepped inside, wondering
if she had just made what could be a fatal mistake. But that was silly. There
was no such thing as vampires. She was simply letting her imagination get the
best of her.
That’s what comes of reading too many paranormal romances,
she mused.
You start to see monsters in the closet and under the bed.

She shivered as his arms slid around her. Were his hands unusually
cold, or was it just that her skin was suddenly so warm?

“I’m glad you came,” Navarre said, his lips brushing the top
of her head. “Would you care for a cup of coffee?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Relief seeped through her. Everyone knew that vampires couldn’t
consume normal food. “It’s instant,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind?”

“No, that’s fine.”

She followed him down the hallway into the kitchen. Glancing
into each room they passed, she noticed that all the drapes were drawn against
the morning sun.

She sat at the table while he filled a teapot with water and
set it on the stove to heat.

“It’s dark in here,” she remarked. “Why don’t you open the
curtains?”

“Bad for the furniture.” Navarre shrugged. “I can’t afford
to have the fabric on some of those old pieces fade any more than they already
have.”

Adrianna grunted softly. Of course! Why hadn’t she thought
of that herself? Her grandmother had always kept her house dark, claiming the
sunlight faded the carpets.

She felt a flutter of excitement in the pit of her stomach
as she watched him move around the kitchen, taking a delicate china cup from
the shelf, adding a spoonful of instant coffee, filling the cup with water.

“Do you take cream or sugar?” he asked.

“Both, please.”

It was only when he placed the cup before her that she
realized he wasn’t having any.

“I don’t care for coffee,” he said in answer to her unspoken
question. “I only keep it on hand for company.”

“Oh.”

“Are you taking the day off?”

“No.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ll have to go soon. The store
opens at ten.”

His gaze moved over her face in a soft caress. “Would you
care to go for a walk along the beach?”

His question put the last of her doubts to mind. “That
sounds wonderful.”

He smiled as he slipped on a pair of dark glasses, then took
her hand in his. “Ready?”

The next hour was magical. Adrianna kicked off her shoes and
they walked hand in hand along the beach, watching the early morning sun dance
on the water, listening to the quiet whisper of the waves against the shore,
watching the gulls wheel and soar against the cloudless sky.

Later, sitting in the shade of the cliff, she told him how
she’d bought the bookstore, and how one of these days she was going to have to
sit down and go through all the old boxes that she had found in bookstore’s
attic.

“The previous owner was an old gypsy woman. I don’t think
she ever threw anything away.” Adrianna laughed softly. “My great-grandmother
didn’t either. I inherited a huge old trunk when Nana passed away. I started to
go through it a couple of times, but it made me sad, somehow, going through her
things, so I just locked it up and put it away.”

“The loss of a loved one is never easy,” Navarre remarked, “but
time is a great healer.”

“You sound as though you’re speaking from experience.”

“Yes.”

He glanced out at the ocean, and Adrianna knew intuitively
that he was thinking of another woman in another place.

“Would you care to talk about it?” she asked.

His gaze moved back to her face, and he shook his head. “No.
It was a long time ago.”

“I’ve been doing all the talking,” Adrianna said, forcing a
note of cheerfulness into her voice. “Tell me about you. Where did you live
before you came to Moreno Bay?”

“Many places.”

“Really? Like where? I’ve never lived anywhere but here.”

Navarre blew out a deep breath. “Europe, mostly.”

“Have you been to Paris? And Italy? Oh, I’d love to go to
Italy. Is it wonderful?”

“I suppose so.”

“You suppose so! Tell me, what’s Europe like? Did you see
the Eiffel Tower and the Tower of London? Did you go to Venice?”

Navarre nodded.

Adrianna sighed. “I guess I’ll never get there.”

“Anything is possible,” Navarre remarked. He glanced up at
the sun, still amazed and inordinately pleased that he could endure the weak
winter sunlight for short periods of time. He could feel the heat penetrating
the heavy sweatshirt and pants he wore, making his skin tingle. Soon, he would
have to go inside, but not yet. He wanted to spend a few more minutes sitting
on the beach with Adrianna, pretending he was no different than any other man
she knew.

“Do you have family here?” she asked.

“No. Do you?”

Adrianna nodded. “Well, not really
here
. My dad’s
company transferred him to California during my senior year.”

“Why didn’t you go with them?”

“I wanted to graduate with my friends. My great-grandma said
I could stay with her, and my mom thought it was a good idea, since Nana was so
old. It’s her house I’m living in. She left it to me in her will, along with
enough money to buy the bookstore.”

“Do you have brothers or sisters?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve got two brothers. Todd is fifteen, and Troy
is sixteen. They came to stay with me last summer. At least they said it was to
see me. I suspect they just wanted to check out the girls in town and see if
they’d missed anything while they were gone. I suppose next year I’ll go there.”

“Of course,” he said quietly, though he disliked the thought
of her leaving town, even for a day. “Family is important. You should stay
close to them.”

She looked at Navarre, wondering if she was imagining the
longing, the loneliness, she saw in his eyes.

Navarre glanced up at the sun again, his eyes narrowing
against the brightness that burned his eyes in spite of the dark glasses.

Rising to his feet, he pulled Adrianna up beside him. “As
much as I’ve enjoyed this, I have to go.”

“Of course. I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time.”
She pulled her hand from his. “I really should be getting to work.”

“Annie, don’t.” He drew her into his arms and kissed her
cheek. Her skin was as smooth and warm as a sun-kissed peach. “I’d rather be
here, with you, than anywhere else.”

“Navarre…”

“I wish I didn’t have to go.” With a low groan, he kissed
her, ignoring the heat of the sun that burned through his clothing and seared
his flesh.

Breathless, Adrianna gazed up at him. “I don’t have to go to
work,” she murmured.

“But I do.” He kissed her again, deeply, passionately. “Annie,
I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll see you tonight,” he said and then, after one
last kiss, he ran down the beach to the path that led up to Cliff House.

Adrianna frowned as she watched Navarre run effortlessly up
the steep slope until he was out of sight. He was in a hurry, all right, there
was no doubt of that.

Picking up her shoes, she made her way up the path, hoping,
as she did so, that Navarre had left the door open so she could get her keys,
which she’d left on the kitchen table.

The door was unlocked, the house quiet, when she stepped
into the kitchen. “Navarre?”

She picked up her keys, then walked through the rooms
downstairs. There was something about Cliff House that made her walk softly,
that made her feel that she wasn’t alone even though it seemed apparent that
the house was empty. And yet, strange as it seemed, she couldn’t help feeling
that Navarre was nearby. She felt his presence all around her.

She glanced up the stairway, and then, after a moment’s
hesitation, she climbed the stairs to the second floor, wandering slowly from
room to room. Where had he gone in such a hurry? A narrow set of stairs led to
what she assumed was the attic. A narrow chain stretched from one side of the
banister to the other. A neatly lettered wooden sign, with the words PRIVATE,
KEEP OUT, hung from the center of the chain.

Adrianna’s felt her pulse quicken as she stepped over the
chain. On tiptoe, she climbed the stairs which led to a solid oak door.

She stood there for several moments, her hand hovering over
the doorknob, her heartbeat pounding in her ears, and then, overcome by a
sudden irrational fear, she turned and ran down the stairs and out of the
house.

* * * * *

Lying in his bed, hovering in the shadow world between
awareness and oblivion, Navarre listened to Adrianna’s footsteps as she moved
from room to room, as she climbed the stairs to the attic. He could hear the
frantic beating of her heart as she stood outside the door, then the quick
tattoo of her footsteps as she ran out of the house, suddenly afraid without
knowing why.

But he knew why. A primal instinct buried deep in her
subconscious had recognized the danger that lurked beyond the door.

He took a deep breath when he heard her drive away. He
grimaced against the pain that stalked his body, caused by his exposure to the
sun. But the pain was of no consequence when compared to the pleasure of
walking along the beach with Adrianna, of seeing her face in the full light of
day, of watching the sunlight dance in the wealth of her hair.

Closing his eyes, he waited for the darkness to descend,
waited for the blackness that would carry him into oblivion; the blessed
darkness that would heal him while his body took its unholy rest; the cursed
darkness that kept him from sharing the daylight hours with the woman he loved.

He groaned softly, the pain in his heart rivaling the pain
in his flesh. He had no right to love her, no right to let her love him.

And as the blackness washed over him, he knew he would have
to let her go.

“Not tonight, Marty,” Adrianna said. “I really don’t feel
like going out.”

“Come on, babe,” he coaxed. “It’s Friday. A movie and a show
is just what you need.”

“I don’t think so.” She gazed out the front window of the
bookstore, watching the rain come down. “I just want to go home and curl up
with a good book.”

“You’re sure?”

“Afraid so.”

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line, and
then a sigh.

“Listen, Addie, tell me the truth. Am I wasting my time? If
I am, just say the word and I won’t bother you anymore.”

“Do we have to talk about this now?”

“Yeah. Just tell me the truth, Addie. I’m a grown man. I can
take it.”

“We’re friends, Marty. We’ve been friends for a long time,
and I’m afraid that’s all we’ll ever be.”

“Sure you won’t reconsider? I’m a heck of a catch.”

“I know. I’m sorry, really, but…”

“Hey, don’t sweat it.” He laughed, a hollow, forced sound. “We
can still be friends, and if you ever change your mind, well, like they say, I’ll
be around.”

“Thanks, Marty. Goodbye.”

“So long.”

Adrianna hung up the receiver, then sat back in her chair
and stared out at the rain again. It was the first big storm of the year, and
she loved it. She loved the thunder, the rain, the lightning that lit up the
sky.

Another couple of hours and she could close up shop, go home
and take a hot bath. Later, she’d curl up on the sofa with a pepperoni pizza
and a good book.

The idea wasn’t as appealing as she’d made it sound. What
she really wanted was to see Navarre. She had spent every minute of the last
four days waiting for him to call, yearning to see him again.

Why hadn’t he called? She closed her eyes, reliving the hour
they had spent on the beach. Had she read more into his words, his kiss, than
he’d intended? She remembered the night he had come to her house, remembered
the sound of his voice when he’d told her he needed her. Had it all been a lie?
If so, what had he hoped to gain?

She slammed her palm against the desk top. It made a
satisfying
smack
. If only she had Nancy’s confidence! A dozen times in
the last four days, she had reached for the phone, only to hang up. She couldn’t
call him. She had chased him too many times already. This time, it was up to
him.

And what if he never calls?

“Then he never calls!” The words hung in the air. How had
she fallen for the man so fast? She hardly knew him, hardly knew anything about
him. But the thought of never seeing him again sat like a lead weight in the
pit of her stomach.

“Damn you, Navarre, why don’t you call me? Please call me…”

Muttering a very unladylike oath, she jumped to her feet.
She wouldn’t chase after him anymore. It was Friday, and she was going out! She
didn’t need Mr. V. Navarre.

She glanced at the sign behind her desk, and read the words
aloud: “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”

With a nod, she picked up a stack of books and carried them
out to the front of the store. She’d fill the “New in SciFi” section, and then
close up early. So what if it was only four-thirty? That was one of the
advantages of being the owner, she thought as she arranged the books. You could
go home whenever you wanted.

She grimaced as she heard the bell over the door ring,
announcing a customer in the shop. Darn! So much for quitting early.

Pasting a smile on her face, she turned around, her breath
catching in her throat when she saw Navarre standing inside the door.

His gaze reached out to her, probing, searching, and then he
held out his arms. “Annie?”

The ice around her heart melted at the sound of his voice.
With a sigh, she flew to his arms like a bird to its nest.

“Navarre, it’s been four days. I thought…” She bit the words
off. She wouldn’t ask questions. He was here, and that was all that mattered.

Arms locked tight around her waist, he rested his forehead
against hers. “I’m no good for you, Annie,” he whispered. “Tell me to go away
before it’s too late.”

“No!”

“I’m so afraid,” he said, his voice thick with anguish. “So
afraid I’ll hurt you.”

“You won’t.”

Her words were like acid, eating at his heart. “You don’t
know…”

She lifted her hand to his mouth, stilling his words. “I
missed you.”

He groaned low in his throat. He shouldn’t have come here.
He could hurt her in ways she couldn’t begin to imagine. The thought of what he
was capable of sickened him, yet he lacked the willpower to stay away from her.
He’d tried. Oh, how he’d tried, but her memory haunted his nights and tormented
his days, until he could think of nothing but Annie—Annie, in his arms. The
scent and the taste and the touch of her. Annie…

“Just let me close up,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Then
we can go to my place. I’ll fix dinner and we can watch a movie or something.”

Helpless to resist, he watched her lock up the store.

“Where did you park?” she asked.

“I walked.” It had been wonderful, walking in the rain.
Bundled up in a heavy jacket and a scarf, with the clouds hiding the sun, he
had relished the opportunity to be outside, to tread the damp ground in the
daylight, as if he were a mortal man.

“We’ll take my car then,” Adrianna said, “and I’ll drive you
home later.”

She couldn’t stop looking at him, couldn’t stop touching
him, assuring herself he was really there, in the car beside her. The day,
which had seemed gloomy in spite of her love for the rain, suddenly seemed
bright and filled with possibilities.

“I love winter,” Adrianna remarked as she pulled into the
driveway. “It’s my favorite time of the year.”

Navarre nodded. “Mine, too.” A wonderful time of year,
winter, he mused. The sun was less intense, the days were shorter, the nights
longer.

Adrianna switched off the engine, then smiled up at Navarre
as he slid out of the car and came around to open her door. Hand in hand, they
ran up the stairs to the porch.

“What would you like for dinner?” Adrianna asked as she
unlocked the door.

Dinner! What did people eat these days? “I don’t care,”
Navarre said with studied nonchalance. “Whatever you like.”

“I was thinking of ordering in a pizza. I’ve got a good
bottle of wine I’ve been saving for a special occasion.”

“Pizza will be fine.”

“Great!”

He watched her go through the house, turning on lights,
drawing the curtains. He glanced quickly around the living room, relaxing when
he saw there were no mirrors in evidence.

“Here, let me take your coat.”

He shrugged out of the heavy jacket, removed the scarf, and
handed them to her.

“Make yourself at home,” she invited. “I’ll just go hang
these wet things in the bathroom.”

He was sitting on the sofa when she returned to the living
room. “I called for the pizza,” she said, sitting down beside him. “I hope you
like cheese with everything.”

Navarre nodded, wondering just what “everything” included.

“Should we have a fire?”

“If you like.”

She started to get up, but he put a restraining hand on her
arm. “I’ll do it.”

“Okay.”

She loved to watch him. She had never known a man who moved
the way he did, always in control, each movement seemingly light and without
effort. He walked that way, too, hardly making a sound, as if his feet barely
touched the ground.

He knelt in front of the fireplace, deftly arranging the
wood before striking a match. There was a quiet
whoosh
, followed by the
crackle of flames, and then a warm glow filled the room.

Adrianna smiled at him as he sat down beside her. “Cozy,”
she remarked.

Navarre nodded. There was something primitive about the
sound of the rain combined with the heat of the flames. He could smell the wood
and the fire and the rain.

And the woman.

Hunger rose up within her. A hunger that had nothing to do
with food, and everything to do with Adrianna.

He stared into the flames, feeling the hunger swell within
him, feeling his desire flare to life, as hot as the fire blazing in the
hearth.

The sound of the doorbell came as a relief.

Adrianna jumped up off the sofa and went to pay for the
pizza.

Minutes later, she had dished it up and poured two glasses
of wine.

“To us,” she said, lifting her glass in a toast.

“To us,” he repeated.

Adrianna sipped her wine. It was warm and smooth, but not
near as intoxicating as Navarre’s gaze. His dark gray eyes seemed to glow as
though lit from within, the heat reaching out to caress her skin. She blinked,
startled by the force of his gaze, by the unshakable impression that he
had
touched her, that his hand had stroked her cheek even though she hadn’t seen
him move.

Navarre held her gaze a moment more, and then looked away,
breaking the bond between them. How easily she succumbed to the force of the
dark power he possessed! How easy it would be to steal into her heart and mind,
to make her long for his touch. She had no weapons with which to fight him, no
inkling of the monster who shared her table.

The knowledge that he should not be there struck him with
the force of a blow. She was a young, vibrant woman with her whole life ahead
of her. He was not of her world, and he had no right to make himself a part of
her life, no guarantee that he could be with her and not destroy her.

Adrianna placed two slices of pizza on his plate. The smell
of cooked meat and cheese and tomatoes sickened him.

“Dig in,” Adrianna said, smiling at him. “Tony’s makes the
best pizza in town.”

He stared at his plate a moment. It would be so easy to bend
her mind to his, to plant the illusion that he was eating while he disposed of
the nauseating mess on his plate, but he couldn’t bring himself to play games
with her mind, couldn’t bring himself to exert his power over her. If he was
going to dwell in her world, then he would play by her rules.

Lifting a slice of pizza, he took a bite. It was the first
solid food he had consumed in almost two thousand years, and it took all his
formidable self-control to chew and swallow.

“How do you like it?” Adrianna asked.

“It’s the best pizza I’ve ever had,” Navarre replied,
thinking it was the first, and last, he would ever eat.

They spoke of inconsequential things as they ate. He was
relieved when the meal was over. He waited until Adrianna carried the dishes
into the kitchen, and then he went into the bathroom, shut the door, and
retched.

When he returned to the front room, Adrianna was sitting on
the sofa watching the local news.

“It’s awful, isn’t it?” she said, gesturing at the
television screen. “They found a lady huddling in an alley near one of the
beach shacks last night. She’d lost a lot of blood, and she kept babbling about
a monster who had bitten her neck, just like Dracula.”

Navarre went suddenly still as he stared at the screen. He
had never taken blood from anyone who lived in Moreno Bay. Always, he went to a
neighboring town, choosing his victims with care, always making certain that he
erased all memory of his presence from their minds.

“Navarre? Are you okay?”

“Yes, fine.”

He slipped his arm around Adrianna’s shoulders and drew her
close. Was it just a bizarre coincidence, or was there another vampire in
Moreno Bay?

Adrianna snuggled against him, then lifted her face to his. “Aren’t
you…” She bit down on her lower lip to keep from asking him to kiss her.

“What?”

She stared up at him, mute, the wanting evident in the
depths of her clear blue eyes.

“Annie.” He pressed her head to his chest and held her
tight, a sudden nameless fear knifing through him.

He felt her hand caress his cheek, then slide down his neck
to rest on his chest. “Don’t make me beg, Navarre,” she whispered.

His arms tightened around her as he gazed out the window. It
was still raining, a hard, steady rain. The sky was a cold, leaden gray. He
stroked Adrianna’s hair while his mind probed the darkness, but he had no sense
of another vampire in the area. And yet, that, in itself, proved nothing. There
were vampires older than he who could shield their presence from his mind. He
tried to tell himself the woman had been the victim of some drug-crazed maniac,
but he knew, deep inside, that he was no longer the only vampire in Moreno Bay.

Adrianna moved restlessly in his embrace, the warmth of her
body pressing against his, her nearness, her heat, chasing every other thought
from his mind.

With a low groan, he slanted his mouth over hers and kissed
her, and at that moment, there was nothing else in all the world but the woman
in his arms, her lips parted in gentle surrender, her hands moving over his
chest and back, kneading the muscles in his arms. Her hands were warm against
his skin and he luxuriated in her touch, basking in the sensations that rippled
through him. So long, he thought, so long since he had allowed the touch of a
human hand.

He stretched out on the sofa and drew her close, molding her
body to his, marveling anew at how well they fit together. He rained kisses on
her brow, her cheeks, the tip of her nose, before he claimed her lips again.
Sweet, he mused, so sweet. She moaned softly as she pressed herself against his
arousal. Desire shot through him, hotter than any flame, and he knew he had to
let her go, now, before it was too late.

And even as the thought crossed his mind, he felt his body’s
response, felt the sharp prick of his fangs against his tongue as the urge to
make love to her warred with the need to sink his teeth into her throat and
drain her of life.

The scent of her desire mingled with the scent of her blood.
With a low groan, he began to kiss her neck, his tongue lingering over the
pulse that throbbed there. He had fed before he came to her, and yet the need
to drink from her, to taste her, spiraled through him.