Wicked Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 4) (11 page)

I wondered why we hadn’t sat down to have this frank conversation before; or at least, a hell of a lot sooner.

How many disagreements could we have avoided?

“I just don’t want to lose myself,” he said with a haunted look in his eyes. “I don’t want to disappear.”

That surprised me.

“You’re not going to lose yourself,” I said. “I love you too much to let that happen. I’ll give you what you need, without erasing who you are. I love the man that you’ve become too much to lose you.”

He took a deep, steadying breath. “I want you so badly,” he said. “I don’t care how other people see it; I can’t be without you.”

His words overwhelmed me, boiling my blood with desire.

The essence of his love courses through my bloodstream.

“You have me, now and for as long as you want me,” I said. “Now, my love, tell me why you need me in this special way that only I can fulfill.”

I didn’t know what prompted me to say that. However, it was something that I had mulled from time to time; something that I meant to ask but never found the courage to broach.

At first, he had a blank expression, but then appeared to be deep in thought.

Finally, he looked me in the eyes. “Before I met you, there was a desperation inside me; a place that scared me…a place that formed when I was young where I sought to escape,” he said. “But you made me feel safe and you fulfilled something missing in me; something I couldn’t provide myself with. And, over time, you’ve helped me to cope with that desperate place inside of me, helped me confront it.

“Your strength, your dominance, is sometimes intimidating to me. But it’s also reassuring and protective. You make me feel safe and secure, and loved, and I love you for that,” he said.

My dominance protects him. And I make him feel safe, secure, and loved.

My heart practically melted.

You have such a wonderful way with words, Caleb.

Of course, the irony wasn’t lost on me that somehow a vampire like me, a predator who loved him yet craved the sweet blood running through his veins, could somehow make him feel safe and secure.

It touched me deeply, and in ways I couldn’t have imagined just a couple of years ago.

Oh, God, how I love this man!

I kissed him softly on the lips, and ran my fingernails along the side of his face.

A visible shiver coursed through his body, which pleased me to no end.

“Today I abused my responsibility to you. And I overreacted,” I said. “I’m so very sorry, my love. Please, forgive me.”

“I’ll forgive you,” he whispered.

I closed my eyes with relief. When I opened them again, he was smiling at me.

What are you thinking now, my wonderfully sexy man?

“Yes?”

“Just so you know, I think you’re absolutely ravishing right now,” he said.

As if the priceless look on his face when I walked into this place didn’t tell me everything I needed to know.

I reached out to cup my hand around the nape of his neck and pulled him to me, passionately kissing him. His lips were amazing.

“Thank you,” I said. “It pleases me to please you; to fulfill you.”

He appeared vastly relieved as I smiled back at him. He appeared reflective and sat back to take a big swig of his beer.

There, that wasn’t so difficult, now was it?

Oh, hell, who was I kidding? I thought I’d lost him for a time there.

No, let’s not repeat this kind of intensity anytime soon. It’s far too exhausting.

Despite the unusual venue surrounding us, and the intensity of our conversation, I nevertheless felt relieved.

For the first time that evening, I sat back and took in my surroundings with a degree of appreciation.

It really wasn’t such a bad little club, after all. Although I was amused at the notion of Caleb wandering into this place on pure happenstance.

He certainly has a penchant for the curious and unusual.

He ran into me, after all.

It was yet another one of the many qualities I loved and adored so much about him.

Ellie wandered over to our table with a look that bordered on embarrassment, as if she were intruding on our intimacy.

Any earlier and you certainly would’ve been intruding.

“May I get another drink for you?” she asked tentatively.

“Yes, another of the same, thank you.”

Her eyes lingered on me, and I sensed a hint of arousal in her. Yet, she said nothing more and carefully retrieved my nearly empty glass before retreating back to the bar.

I’m flattered, but I’ve never had an interest in other women.

I glanced across the table at Caleb.

Now, him; he’s another topic altogether. I simply can’t get enough of him.

A familiar yearning rose within me.

Or his blood.

My gaze resumed its circuit, playing across the faces of the people gathered around me. I easily recognized a look of either subdued longing or desire, or both, on a number of faces who peered back at me.

Well, this place is teeming with the willing or the submissive. Alas, I only have eyes and heart for one, in particular.

I reached out to grasp Caleb’s hand in mine and flashed him a playful look, which he responded to in kind.

Then I noticed Paige writhing on the dance floor with both a young man and young woman, alternating her attention between them.

She breaks a lot of hearts, too.

Her attention turned serious as she pointedly stared at the bartender serving some patrons.

Once my eyes targeted him, I understood why.

“A vampire,” I said.

Chapter 9

Katrina

Caleb squeezed my hand, but I kept staring at the bar. The bartender looked at Paige with the unmistakable recognition of seeing his own kind. His eyes quickly scanned the room and settled on me.

“What’s wrong?” Caleb asked, moving his face close to mine.

I spared him a sharp glance. “Why didn’t you tell me there were other vampires in here?”

“What?” he asked.

“The bartender,” I said.

My dear, oblivious mate.

He looked toward the bar with a surprised expression. “That’s Frankie,” he said. “I think he owns this place; seems like a really nice guy.”

“Um, vampire? Pale features, penetrating gray eyes?” I prompted.

“Listen, Kat, I didn’t even realize it at the time,” he said. “Look around at everyone else. I mean, hell, it’s a Goth club. Most everybody’s got pale faces, and some are wearing those costume contacts. What was I supposed to think?”

Admittedly, he made a valid point.

“Stay here,” I said, rising from my seat.

He gave me a cross look. “Seriously? More ordering already?”

I rolled my eyes. “Pretty please?”

“Oh, fine,” he said, exasperation evident in his voice. “Go intimidate the friendly vampire.”

I bent down until my lips nearly touched his ear. “We’re doing so well, but my inner dominatrix is quickly surfacing, my love.”

“Hey, you’re supposed to be
nice
to me right now, remember?” he said.

“I’m only nice when you
need
nice,” I said with a crafty look.

The satisfied look on his face was priceless.

Oh, I feel so powerful right now.

“Now, be good and I’ll return for you shortly.”

I playfully nipped at his earlobe and walked away.

On my way to the bar, I overheard a man’s voice in the background, “Whoa, man, you are one lucky bastard.”

“Thanks,” Caleb said. “I couldn’t agree more.”

A fleeting smile crossed my lips before I replaced it with a steely expression, refocusing my attention at the vampire looming ahead at the bar.

Paige felt in alongside me and caught my arm to halt my advance.

“Just what have you been grilling our boy about over there? He looks spent,” she said in a hushed tone. “And a little horny, actually.”

“We’ve made amazing progress in a very short time. Right now, he’s reconciling the balance of his needs against his previously self-imposed limits,” I said, casting a side-glance at the bartender. “Ultimately, he’s coming to terms with who he is, which is better for both of us.”

“He can’t do all that in just one hour,” she said.

“Paige, this is a really bad time to discuss this,” I said with a meaningful nod toward the bar.

“Okay, okay, Miss Dark-and-Snarky,” she said.

I frowned at her.

“I’m just sayin’,” she said.

As we approached the vampire, he regarded us with a sense of trepidation, but remained steadfast as he placed his hands on top of the bar. A young woman standing close to him looked at us warily as she reached out to place her hand at the vampire’s back.

“Hello. I didn’t see you when I came in,” I said.

“I was in the back storage area receiving a late shipment and doing inventory,” he said. “Frank Raven. Call me Frankie.”

My eyes went to the twenty-something human woman standing beside him.

“My girlfriend, Heather,” he said. “Listen, I don’t want any trouble here. If I’m in your territory---”

I held up my hand. “I’m Katrina Rawlings,” I said. “My friend is Paige Turner. And no, you’re not encroaching on my territory.”

He nodded with a frown and exchanged glances with me and Paige.

“Katrina…your name sounds kinda’ familiar for some reason,” he said. “But then, I don’t really keep up with vampire politics.”

He gestured with one hand toward the far, unoccupied end of the bar.

We obliged him.

“And the young guy over there that I met—Caleb?—is your boyfriend?” he asked.

“My mate,” I corrected him.

He seemed slightly surprised by that but didn’t press the matter. Instead, he turned his attention to Heather.

“Please go check on Caleb,” he said. “Make sure that he gets our VIP treatment.”

“Sure,” she replied with a tentative glance at Paige and me. She proceeded out into the main area among the patrons.

“Thank you,” I said.

“My pleasure,” he said.

“How long have you been here?” Paige asked.

“I bought this place when I moved from Newark to Atlanta about six months ago,” he said.

Paige looked at me. “Interesting. And just what’re the odds of our boy wandering into the only vampire-operated place in town?”

I had to admit, it was ironic.

Frankie gave me a hard look. “You’re kidding, right?”

“About what?” I asked.

“Well, vampires are hardly exclusive around here,” he said. “That is, there’s at least four other vampire-owned or operated businesses here in the metro area within five miles or so of my place.”

Paige and I exchanged bewildered glances.

“You don’t get out of Mableton much, do you?” he asked.

My gaze turned to stone, which appeared to make him nervous. “How did you know we’re from Mableton?”

“Hey, no offense. Your mate said that,” he said.

My sometimes overly-affable, chatty mate.

I suppressed a sigh and made a mental note to talk to Caleb later about that.

“I see,” I said. “No offense taken.”

He appeared visibly relieved.

“Do you get many vampires in here?” Paige asked.

“Nah, it’s kind of cliché, if you know what I mean,” he said. “Hell, we’re still building our human clientele. There are two other well-established Goth bars that’s our primary competition. Still, I’m hoping we’ll compete better over time. I’ve got some ideas, but I’ll need more capital before that.”

Given that, he might be a relatively young vampire. Most of the older vampires I knew had accumulated reasonable sums of wealth. Conversely, perhaps he was just poor at handling money.

“Well, I hope everything works out for you,” I said.

I intended to do a background check on Frankie once I returned to the estate. And a call to Alton was in order, as well.

Since Chimalma, Atlanta had fallen on my priority list. I really needed to take a larger interest in local developments.

But since the Slovene conference, developments in vampire alliances were teeming on a worldwide scale. Where would I find the time?

“I think I’d like to settle our tab now,” I said. “Caleb and I need to be leaving soon.”

“Um, I’m also on your tab, Red,” Paige said.

I frowned at her but nodded my assent to Frankie.

“Nice to meet you, Frankie,” I said, reaching out to shake his hand.

“The pleasure’s all mine,” he said. “You’re welcome here anytime. I’ll bring your tab to your table.”

“I’ll catch ya’ later, Red,” Paige said. “I still have a few more questions for Frankie.”

As I walked back to our table, I noticed a dark-haired woman in a leather dress and stilettos sitting across from Caleb. Despite the loud music, my vampire hearing easily discerned part of their conversation as I drew closer.

“…she looks kind of dangerous, Caleb. Trust me, you need to be careful,” the woman said.