Night's Pleasure (29 page)

Barefooted, he padded down the hallway into the living room.

Savanah was sitting on the sofa with her back toward him. Lamplight shimmered in her hair, turning the silver to gold, bathing her skin with a soft rosy glow. She was beautiful, desirable in every way, and she was his. All his. For the taking.

She gasped, startled when he appeared on the sofa beside her. “Rane!” She pressed her hand over her heart. “I'm so glad to see you. How are you feeling?”

He didn't answer, merely continued to watch her.

Like a cat at a mouse hole, she thought. A very big, very hungry cat. And she was the mouse. Small and helpless. Prey for the cat.

Fear made her heart beat faster. She knew by the sudden glow in Rane's eyes that he was aware of what she was feeling. He had told her once that he could smell fear; no doubt she reeked of it.

“Mara said you would need to feed,” Savanah said, her words tripping over themselves. “Maybe you should go out for a while.” What was she saying? Sending Rane out now was like signing someone else's death warrant.

Rane's lips peeled back, revealing his fangs. “No need to go out.”

Savanah's heart skipped a beat. “Rane…”

Lifting one hand, he stroked her cheek. “You saved me,” he said. “It wasn't Rafe's blood, or Mara's, but yours.” His eyes, red as flames, burned into hers.

“Rane, please…don't.”

He ran his knuckles along her neck, up and down, slowly, up and down.

“Rane…”

He recoiled from the stark fear in her eyes, fear that he had put there. Filled with self-loathing, he lurched to his feet.

“Tell me to get out,” he said, his voice gruff. “Now, before it's too late, rescind your invitation.”

“I do,” she said. “I rescind it now.”

And just like that, he was gone, and she was alone.

Rane stalked the dark streets, his anger and self-loathing growing with his hunger. He had been a fool, a fool to think he could stay with her, near her, and never hurt her. A fool to think he could continue to deny what he was. He was a hunter, a predator, meant to roam the world alone. Forever alone. He had managed to keep the monster inside him under control for the last few months, but now…He slammed his fist into the side of a building, leaving a hole six inches deep in the stucco. Pain splintered through his hand. It hurt, but not enough.

He left Kelton behind and headed for the city, his destination the slums where the dregs of society gathered. He took the first mortal who crossed his path, bent over her neck, and drank. He drank enough to satisfy his hunger, then released the woman from his thrall and sent her on her way. He watched her stagger down the street. He was no better than the drug dealers and pimps who frequented this part of the city, he thought glumly. Driven by an insatiable need, he, too, preyed on the weak and the helpless.

The thought brought him up short. That might have been true once, but no more. He had not taken a human life since he met Savanah, nor had he been tempted to drain his last victim dry. In Savanah's house, it hadn't been the uncontrollable monster he feared rising up in him again, but simply a need for nourishment.

He swore softly. He had frightened Savanah away for nothing.

 

Savanah slept in her father's room that night. It seemed fitting somehow. The only two men she had ever loved had stayed in this room, slept in this bed. She had lost them both, but, somehow, sleeping where they had slept gave her a small measure of comfort. Her father was dead, and she would never see him again. In his own way, Rane was also lost to her.

“Rane,” she murmured, “where are you now?”

She had been afraid of him earlier, even though, in her heart of hearts, she had been certain he would never hurt her; yet, at his bidding, she had sent him away. She wished now that she had refused. She should have made him stay so they could face their fears together because she knew, as surely as the sun would rise in the morning, that it had been Rane's fear for her life that had driven him away.

Turning onto her side, she closed her eyes, wondering how long it would take him to realize the truth, and what she would do if he didn't.

 

Rane stood in the late-afternoon shadows across the street from Savanah's house, his thoughts in turmoil. It had been three weeks since he had walked out on her. Three weeks that seemed like three years. He hadn't killed any of the women he had preyed upon in all that time, nor had he taken the life of the mortal male he had preyed upon less than an hour ago. The knowledge replayed itself in his mind over and over again. He hadn't killed any of them, nor did he have any inclination to do so. Why? That was the question that plagued him. Why?

Only one answer came to mind. Savanah had given him her blood when he needed it most, given it to him of her own free will because she loved him. He had tasted her blood before, but he had never taken as much as he had when he lay trapped in the darkness with holy water sizzling through his veins like liquid fire. He didn't know if it was her blood that had healed him, or the fact that she loved him, but it didn't matter. She had saved his life and in so doing, she had somehow tamed the beast he had been fighting for the last ninety years. His only fear now was that he had frightened her so badly, she would never trust him again.

He was trying to summon his courage to knock on the front door when Rafe appeared beside him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Rane asked.

“I'm happy to see you, too,” Rafe said dryly.

“You didn't answer my question.”

“I wanted to make sure you had healed. Now that I see you have, I'll say good-bye.”

“Don't go. I appreciate what you did for me, you and Mara.”

“You owe us nothing,” Rafe said. “It was the woman who saved you.”

“But you came.” Rane frowned at his brother. “How did you know where I was?”

“When you were ill, I felt your pain, and I followed it.”

“Some good came out of it, then,” Rane muttered.

Rafe nodded. “I tried to sense your presence before, but there was only emptiness where our bond used to be.”

Rane flinched at the unspoken accusation in his brother's voice. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, but…”

“Why, Rane, why did you block the bond between us? Why did you cut me out of your life?”

Rane took a deep breath, then loosed it in a long, slow sigh. “I was afraid if I stayed, the old man would find out what I'd done. That Mom would find out.” He met his brother's gaze. “That you'd find out.”

“Find out what?” Rafe asked, frowning.

“That I wasn't like you! That first night when the old man took us hunting, I went out later, alone, and…” Even now, all these years later, he couldn't say it, couldn't tell his brother what he had done.

“Is this about the woman you killed the night we were turned?” Rafe asked.

“How do you know about that?”

“How could you think I wouldn't know?”

Rane stared at his brother in disbelief. “You've known about her all this time?”

“Of course.”

Rane searched his brother's mind, looking for some sign of disgust or disappointment. He found neither. “What about Mom and Dad? Did you tell them?”

“No, although I think Dad knew, or at least suspected.”

Rane grunted softly. “We never could put anything over on the old man,” he muttered ruefully.

Rafe laughed softly. “I missed you.”

“No more than I missed you.” With tears stinging his eyes, Rane embraced his brother, thinking that he had stayed away from his family all these years for nothing. “They're all okay? Mom and the old man? The grandparents?”

Rafe nodded.

“And Kathy? You're still happy with her?”

“Yes. So,” Rafe said, his voice gruff, “what are you going to do about your woman?”

Rane looked at the house across the street. Through the open window, he could see Savanah sitting at the desk in the living room, her back toward him. Sunlight shimmered in her hair. “I don't know. I'm afraid…”

“She loves you, brother. Any fool can see that.”

“Yeah, but is love enough? She wants to be a Vampire hunter, like her mother before her. I can't help thinking that if she pursues that line of work, it's going to drive us apart, sooner or later. I've never had any feelings of loyalty to others of our kind. Hell, I've killed a few of them myself, but…” He shook his head. “I don't know, Rafe. I just don't know.”

“There's only one way to find out,” Rafe said, shrugging. “You love her. She loves you. Can you picture living the rest of your life without her?”

“No.”

“I think that's your answer.”

Rane clapped his brother on the shoulder. “I think you're right. If she says yes, I'll want you to be my best man.”

“I have always been the best man,” Rafe said, grinning. “Now, go see your woman.”

 

Savanah closed the old photograph album and dropped it back into the bottom desk drawer. Hardly anyone printed pictures these days, preferring to look at them on their computers or satellite screens. One of these days, she intended to electronically convert the photos in her grandmother's album so she could view them on the computer. Still, there was something very satisfying about being able to hold the album in her hands, to run her fingertips over pictures taken of her mother when she was a little girl.

Pushing away from the desk, Savanah gained her feet, then stood there, at a loss for something to do. She really needed to get those books from Rane, she thought, though she had no idea how she would accomplish that now. Still, she couldn't very well hunt Vampires if she didn't know who they were, or where they might be found.

She glanced out the window. There were still a few hours of daylight left. Maybe she'd go out in the back and do a little weeding. She hadn't gone out there since the night Rane had fought Clive.

After pulling on a pair of old jeans and a short-sleeved sweatshirt, she shoved a stake in her waistband, slid a bottle of holy water into her pocket and then, grabbing her mPod, she marched out the back door, studiously avoiding the far side of the yard where torn-up grass and dark brown stains bore mute evidence of a deadly battle.

With the latest hits playing in the background, she lost herself in the simple task of pulling weeds. The air was warm; perspiration trickled down her back as she moved from one flower bed to another. There was something enormously satisfying in getting her hands dirty.

After an hour, she stood and wiped her hands on her jeans, intending to go inside and make some lemonade.

She had only taken a few steps toward the back door when she realized she wasn't alone.

Stake in hand, she whirled around, and came face-to-face with Rane. Excitement sprang up within her and with it, the urge to run into his arms and tell him how much she had missed him. And then, as a drop of sweat trickled down her neck, her initial excitement quickly turned to panic. It was broad daylight.

“What are you doing out here?” She looked up at the clear blue sky and then back at Rane, expecting him to go up in flames at any moment. “Are you crazy? Get inside, quick!”

“I'm all right, Savanah.”

“But…” She glanced at the sky again. The last time he had ventured out in the daylight, his clothing had caught fire. “How? I don't understand.”

“I owe it to Mara. Her ancient blood…” He shrugged. “I can endure the sun's light for short periods of time now. Within a year or so, it won't bother me at all.”

“Well, that's…amazing. Come on in. I'd feel better if we were inside.”

“As you wish.”

He followed her into the kitchen, waited while she dropped the stake on the table and then went to the sink to wash the dirt from her hands.

“Let's go into the living room, shall we?” Savanah asked, pleased that her voice sounded so calm when she was anything but calm on the inside.

She sat down on the sofa. Rane settled into the chair across from her. She could tell nothing from his expression. Why had he come here?

His gaze moved over her, long and slow, as if to memorize every line and curve. Had he come to tell her goodbye forever? It wouldn't surprise her, not after the way they had parted the last time. She folded her arms over her breasts, her heart pounding with dread.

“How have you been, Savanah?” he asked quietly.

“I'm okay.” She didn't have to ask how he was. Judging from the way he looked, and the fact that he could now move about in the sun's light, he was better than okay. It had been three weeks since she had seen him last, she thought, blinking back her tears, yet it seemed like forever.

“Savanah, I…”

Feeling suddenly cold, she ran her hands up and down her arms. “Just say it and be done with it.”

“Will you marry me?”

“What?”

“Will you marry me?”

She stared at him, speechless. She loved him. She ached for him in all the lost, lonely regions of her heart and soul. But…marriage? She had considered it, of course, wondered what it would be like to be the only mortal in a family of Vampires, but she had never dreamed it was a possibility. She came from a long line of Vampire hunters. He was a Vampire.

“Savanah?”

“I don't know…I never expected…I thought you came here to tell me good-bye.”

He slid from the chair to kneel before her. “I know it won't be easy for you,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I'm not the easiest guy in the world to live with. I have a lot of baggage, but I don't think I can go on without you.” His thumb stroked the back of her hand. “I haven't taken a life in a long time, although the temptation has always been there, until you gave me your blood. I don't know what happened. I can't explain it, but for the first time since I became a Vampire, I feel like I'm really in control. You did that.”

“You don't have to marry me because you're grateful, or because you want a lifetime supply of my blood.”

“Savanah, if all I wanted was your blood, I could take it any time I wished.” Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed her palm. “I love you. I think I've loved you for years.”

“Oh, Rane…” She slid off the sofa into his lap, her arms twining around his neck. “I love you, too!”

“Then you'll marry me?”

“Yes, oh, yes!”

“Do you think you'd like to be a magician's assistant? It might be good for my act to have a pretty woman on stage.”

“I'll be whatever you want me to be.”

Murmuring her name, he buried his face in the wealth of her hair, his arms holding her close, his throat tight with unshed tears. “I'll do my best to make you happy.”