Summit at Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 3) (5 page)

He chuckled, shaking his head, while Katrina observed the pair with a good-humored expression.

“And somebody smells particularly tasty,” Paige observed with a sly expression. Her bright blue eyes gleamed as his scent generated a strong urge for his blood.

“Sounds like somebody’s hungry,” he countered and eyed his mate. “Want anything, Kat?”

“Just you,” she suggested. “But heat up a type A for each of us, I suppose.”

“My favorite,” Paige remarked with approval.

“Gee, I wouldn’t have guessed,” Katrina mocked.

“Two type As coming up, m’ladies,” Caleb crisply snapped.

Minutes later, he returned from the kitchen with two glasses of warmed blood. He placed one glass on the end table next to the recliner where Paige sat and handed the remaining glass to Katrina as she reclined on the couch.

“Thank you, my love,” his mate offered appreciatively.

“Thanks, kiddo,” Paige remarked and made a small space on her recliner. “Have a seat, and take a load off.”

But Katrina gently cleared her throat and motioned to the empty cushion next to her. Caleb shook his head slightly at his mate’s rather possessive response and wearily plopped down on the couch next to her. Truth was, he was too tired to care where he sat.

However, Paige briefly stuck her tongue out at Katrina, who scowled in silent reply.

“You’re up early,” Katrina absently observed before taking a sip from her glass.

“Yeah, couldn’t get back to sleep,” he replied with a tired sigh.

“Don’t you have to teach later this morning?” Paige asked.

“Thankfully, no. The semester just ended, and I’m taking the summer off,” he explained.

Katrina procured a small pillow next to her, placed it on her lap, and lightly patted it with her hand. “Why not lay your head down?” she suggested.

He shrugged and lay prone with his head on the pillow as he stared at Paige. “I thought we wouldn’t see you until later in the summer. What brings you to town?”

“I’m actually headed to my contract job, but thought it would be nice to visit for a few days on my way there. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” Katrina insisted. “We’re happy to see you.”

“You’re always welcome here,” Caleb added with a yawn, to which Paige appreciatively winked at him.

Katrina sat her glass down on the end table to her right and pulled a comforter from across the back of the couch. She smoothly unfolded it and draped it over him. “Tell us what you’ve been up to,” she prompted as she soothed her fingertips through Caleb’s hair.

As Paige recounted her packing activities at her home in California, the preparations for her contract job, and a host of other information, Caleb was lulled into a comfortable state. Somewhere during the drone of Paige’s conversation, his eyelids grew heavy, and he effortlessly fell asleep.

As Katrina waited for Paige to finish speaking, she momentarily reassessed Caleb’s state of consciousness before looking at the young vampire across from her with a curious expression.

“Now that Caleb’s asleep, why don’t you tell me why you’re really here? Not that you’re not welcome here, of course, but we’ve known each other a long time, and I recognize when something’s up with you.”

The edges of Paige’s mouth upturned slightly with amusement at her friend’s direct query.
Always looking for the angle, aren’t you, Red?
The truth was that she felt slightly uneasy about her reason for being there. Her feelings weren’t something she was used to laying out for everyone to see. “Remember the conversation you and I had with Caleb at my townhouse back in March?” she asked.

Katrina nodded.
How could I forget
? Y
ou confessed some strong feelings for my mate that night.

While not entirely surprised over the revelation, she had felt a little uncomfortable with it. Still, Paige had been very open and honest with her, which had reassured her somewhat.

“Caleb said I had nothing keeping me in California anymore,” Paige offered, and then paused to look over at the young man across from her to assess his state of slumber. “Well, after you both left, I didn’t think too much about it. Then the past couple of weeks, I’ve been mulling those thoughts over a little bit. Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little lost without you two around. So, I figured I would stop by on my way overseas. I wouldn’t mind spending a little time with our boy, in fact. Maybe scope out some of the houses that he’s been nice enough to check into for me?”

Katrina was reassured that her friend seemed to be laying everything out on the table in a straightforward manner. A sardonic smile crossed her lips.

“It’s silly, but it almost sounds as if we’re negotiating joint custody over him, doesn’t it?”

“Aren’t we?” Paige insisted.

“Fair enough,” Katrina amicably conceded as she continued to run her fingers lightly through Caleb’s hair. “Naturally, I’m sorry if I seemed a little suspicious.”

“I’d be surprised if you weren’t, Red.” She was all too aware of her friend’s tendency for suspicion, and possessiveness, when it came to Caleb.

“Caleb was correct when he said that you’re always welcome here, Paige,” Katrina insisted. “Your timing’s pretty good, actually. Caleb’s been rather stir-crazy around here as of late with all the spare time on his hands.”

Paige smirked, content with her friend’s more settled manner. “Oh, I think I can take care of that for you.”

*    *    *    *

Chapter 2: Messengers

When Caleb awoke, he immediately recognized two things. First, the room that he was in was dark except for the dim illumination of a digital clock on the nightstand. Second, he was lying in a bed rather than on the living room couch. Still groggy and feeling somewhat dazed and disoriented, he rolled over in bed to find Katrina staring back at him with a beguiling expression.

“Good morning, sleepy-head,” she wryly offered. She could tell by the expression on his face that he was confused, which amused her to no end.

“Wha..?”

“Our bed,” she supplied with a soft voice. “No, it wasn’t a dream. No, you didn’t walk; I carried you. And finally, you’re welcome.”

He took a moment to comprehend everything that she said. For one, he couldn’t believe she had transported him to the bedroom without waking him. Never mind the thought of her carrying a grown man to bed seemed utterly silly, if not embarrassing. He imagined that Paige would tease him to no end about it, of course. Finally, he wondered what he was supposed to be grateful for.

“I’m welcome? For what?”

“Helping you get back to sleep, of course.”

“Oh. Thanks. I think.”

He squinted at his watch, noting it was almost nine o’clock, and yawned. “Well, I want you to stop carrying me to bed like some oversized rag doll,” he grumbled.

She affectionately kissed the tip of his nose. “What’s on your agenda for today?”

He pursed his lips. “Well, if it’s a nice day, I thought I might go for a jog. Otherwise, I’m pretty open to suggestions. Why?”

“No reason. Paige would like to spend some time with you, I think.”

“That would be great. You okay with that?”

“Well, she is your surrogate vampire and guardian, after all. So, yes, I’m okay with it.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he pressed, “Why do I get the feeling that you two negotiated the terms on this already?”

“Caleb, I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Why don’t you get dressed, and I’ll see about getting breakfast ready.” She slipped from beneath the sheets in a single, fluid motion.

Before he could inquire further, she had dressed and was exiting through the doorway leading to the first floor hallway. He stared after her curiously for a few moments before finally getting out of bed.

He shaved, dressed, and went upstairs to find Katrina cooking breakfast for him while Paige sat at the kitchen counter watching her with a lazy expression. She immediately perked up as he walked into the room.

Not wanting to pass her by and seem rude, he exchanged a quick kiss on the cheek with Paige before hugging Katrina from behind. He breathed in the scent of sausage links and eggs as they sizzled away in a large pan on the stovetop.

“Good morning, Cookie,” he teased.

“Cookie?” Katrina paused with a spatula in her hand.

He almost winced from her tone. “Um, it’s just a historic nickname for the wagon trail cooks who used to feed the cowpokes on the cattle drives.”

“Let’s just stick with Kat, shall we?” she suggested.

“Right. Sorry, Kat,” he apologized. He rose up on his toes and kissed the back of her neck.

“Much better,” she responded, neatly slipping the cooked food from the skillet onto a nearby plate.

“I don’t know how you stomach cooking dead meat for him,” Paige bleakly observed while shriveling her nose. “The smell’s horrible.”

“I’m actually getting used to it in small quantities. Still, you do that when you love your mate. Sometimes the small sacrifices are the most meaningful,” Katrina said.

She glimpsed at Paige over her shoulder with a pointed expression.

Caleb discreetly peered at the two women as he filled a glass with ice water at the refrigerator.

“Yeah, makes sense,” Paige off-handedly conceded.

During breakfast, Caleb and Paige discussed their plans for the day. Once sunset arrived, Paige wanted to drive by a couple of local houses that were for sale. She also mentioned taking him out to dinner at a restaurant of his choice after they ran a special errand, about which she was tight-lipped.

It all sounded like fun to him, but he couldn’t help wondering what the errand might be. The last time she had taken him on a mysterious errand, he had been forced to interact with a vampire who had nearly beaten him to death. Granted, that meeting had turned out better than he had expected.

Katrina left the pair to their own devices and occupied herself with activities in her office. Caleb couldn’t help wondering if that might have been part of some arrangement between the two vampires, but he couldn’t say for certain. After breakfast, he talked Paige into joining him to play a medieval role-playing game on the console in the theater room. While he already had a character drawn up for use, Paige needed to create one.

Caleb queued up his iPod on the stereo system, and Bear McCreary’s “Passacaglia” began to play. Paige looked up curiously as he returned to his seat.

“You have your own soundtrack music?”

“Bear McCreary is far better than the game’s music. Trust me.”

Paige rolled her eyes at him.

As she scrolled through the game’s available avatars, she noticed a pre-saved character called Kat, which predictably was a red-haired Amazon warrior. She adopted a wry expression and selected a petite elf archer-mage for herself.

“Cute choice,” he noted as he stared up at the character images on the wall-sized screen before them.

“Cute?” she retorted. “We can’t all be tall Amazon warriors, kiddo, but I can still get the job done. Perky people can be deadly too, you know.”

He stared sidelong at his friend. “What’s that all about?”

Her pale blue eyes darted to him then returned to configuring her avatar. “I’m just sayin’.”

He stared back at her in confusion, which she noticed. She focused a piercing gaze upon him.

“What is it with you and tall, imposing women, anyway?” she pressed with a hint of annoyance. “You defy most standards, my friend. I mean, most guys that I know like women their own height or shorter, and a lot less demanding.”

“What’s your beef with me?” he demanded, pointing to himself with his thumb. “I’m the happy one here. You’re the one who sounds annoyed.”

His attention reverted to the screen before him. “And yeah, it’s true that most of the women I dated in the past were my height or shorter, but what the hell does that have to do with anything? It’s the nature of the person rather than their physical stature.”

She dryly observed, “Yeah, right. Like you don’t melt before her when she towers over you. I think it’s a turn-on for you. Face it, you like imposing women.”

“Imposing? Kat’s not –” He broke off, flustered. “I mean, yeah, she can be, I suppose. But she’s kind, loving, and --”

“I get it. You like ‘em tall, angry, and mysterious.”

“She’s not
angry
. She’s, well,
protective
.”

“Uh-huh,” she noted in a dubious tone. “I can be protective.”

He stared at her in confusion.
Where the hell did this conversation come from anyway?

“You’re protective,” he finally observed in a quiet voice. “Listen, you’ve saved my life on no less than two occasions since I’ve known you. I cherish your role as a guardian in my life, Paige, as well as my best friend.”

She turned to mark him with a penetrating expression. The corners of her mouth upturned slightly with satisfaction, and she moved in a blur to close the distance between them, lightly kissing him on the check before returning to her original location next to him. It startled him, but he was nevertheless pleased.

“Okay, Harry Potter, let’s go kill some trolls,” she relented while saving her avatar settings.

He rolled his eyes. “My guy’s a holy warrior, not a magician. And I think we’re fighting Orcs.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You’re such a nerd,” she teased. “Nothing complex here. Just some ugly little dudes with clubs who need slayin’.”

They thoroughly enjoyed the remainder of the day with no more uncomfortable topics.

By late afternoon, they looked through printouts of houses for her to consider visiting. A couple of hours later, the sun had dropped below the horizon, and Katrina raised the metal shutters on the windows around the house to reveal the colorful hues of the evening sky. It was one of the few near-daylight conditions that a vampire’s physiology could safely endure.

“Hey,” Caleb prompted Paige as he appreciated the view of the manicured front yard via the sitting room window. “It’s almost sunset. I’ll race you!”

She smirked. In a blur she was opening the front door before he even got up from the couch. They both walked outside onto the front lawn, and he admired Paige’s pale skin in the final moments of dusk. While a vampire’s skin was pale under artificial lighting, it took on a nearly ghostly appearance at dusk or pre-dawn. He stared at her thoughtfully, finding her pallor just as eerily beautiful as Katrina’s.

She acknowledged his attention, cheerfully recognizing the sense of awe in his eyes.

“Careful staring at vampires, Caleb,” she warned with mock-seriousness. “We’re mean and always raring for a meal.”

He moved to stand next to her and reached up with one hand to touch the side of her face lightly. Her skin was soft and warm to his touch, and he smiled at her.

“Don’t kid yourself. Some vampires are genuinely wonderful beings,” he observed as he withdrew his hand.

Her eyes widened in momentary surprise. “So are some humans,” she softly amended as her gaze met his.

Then the front door opened, and he turned to see Katrina standing at the top of the porch stairs. He stared at the beautiful woman before him.

My mate, my vampire.

She moved in a blur to stand next to him, and one arm gently draped around his waist. He swallowed hard as he appreciated her beautiful eyes in the faint glow of daylight from the horizon.

I love you so very much
, he thought. The woman before him had not only saved his life as an adult, but had killed his abusive father when he was merely a child. Those memories, so recently restored, flooded back through his mind in a raging torrent. He recalled the formerly short-haired brunette named Amber who had ended his years of abuse when he was merely eight years old.
Angel Amber
, he recalled.

Katrina must have read the adoring expression either on his face or in his eyes, because she pulled him to her as she bent down slightly to kiss him on the lips. He responded only once so as not to make Paige feel uncomfortable.

Still, the blonde vampire discreetly observed the exchange.

Rub it in, Red
, she thought.

“Beautiful evening,” Katrina congenially observed as she looked to the faint glow remaining on the horizon.

“Yep, and night’s finally arrived,” Paige agreed as both the sky and western horizon continued to darken.

Caleb stole a fleeting glimpse of both vampires and felt immediate contentment. He realized at that moment how fortunate he was to have each of them in his life and how completely happy it made him.

“Life is good,” he whispered.

Both vampires turned to look at him with satisfied expressions.

“C’mon, tiger, it’s time to go out on the town,” Paige insisted as she hooked one arm through his.

But Katrina maintained her grip around his waist and bent to place a final warm kiss on his lips. It was a somewhat possessive gesture, but she wanted to make a point to Paige. Caleb responded to her kiss in kind, and Katrina tossed a set of car keys to Paige.

“You two have fun tonight. Take the Audi.”

“Thanks, Red,” Paige replied as she tugged on Caleb’s arm.
Message received
.

“We’ll try to stay out of trouble, Kat,” Caleb gently offered. “See you later tonight?”

“Sure,” Katrina responded as she reluctantly released her grip on him. “Be careful.”

As Paige pulled him behind her up the porch stairs to enter the house, she quipped, “Don’t worry, you overgrown Amazon. The elf archer-mage is on top of everything.”

Katrina’s expression turned slightly confused. “What?”

“Never mind. I’ll tell you later,” Caleb called back with a chuckle before being pulled into the house behind the short vampire.

*    *    *    *

Paige changed into a pair of jeans and red camisole and slipped into a black leather jacket as she bounced down the stairs. Caleb met her in the kitchen, and she took a long look at him in his jeans and fitted black t-shirt that accentuated the definition of his chest. She flashed him a look of approval.

“Grab your leather jacket,” she advised as she stuffed her license, credit cards, and cash into her jacket pockets.

Minutes later, they were on the road. Caleb thoroughly enjoyed the drive around town with Paige in Katrina’s Audi. The car was an impressive piece of automotive machinery and effortlessly glided down the road. She noted his enthusiasm, silently appreciating the happiness emanating from him.

They had only driven a block from the addition before he was able to convince her that he should drive, since he knew the locations of the houses that they planned to see. The spunky vampire was happy to indulge him, doubting that Katrina let him drive very often. She knew that the red-haired vampire was a control freak, which likely extended to her driving habits.

However, their house-hunting wasn’t as satisfying as Caleb’s appreciation for driving was. It only took Paige a few minutes at each of the four prospects to determine they just weren’t for her. The first was much larger than she wanted, and the second was in a neighborhood that she didn’t care for. The third house had a nice layout from what she could see through the windows, but didn’t have a basement. She wanted a sublevel room, though not one as elaborate as Katrina’s. The final home on their tour was too far across town, nearly outside the county.

“Expecting trouble?” he asked when she voiced her concern.

“Babysitter’s always expecting trouble,” she dryly observed. “Especially when it comes to you. You seem to attract it.”