Wicked Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 4) (27 page)

“Ethan, I want you to know you can trust me to do the right thing,” I said.

His eyebrows rose.

“I know that. As long as the two of you don’t get locked in a vault together, you’ll both be just fine,” he said.

I felt heat rise in my cheeks. In truth, I still felt periodic bouts of shame over what had transpired in the Slovene hotel vault between her and me; not just on behalf of Ethan, but also for Kat.

I should feel even more ashamed for really enjoying it.

“You’re half-right about that,” I said sheepishly.

He knew about our confinement, but probably not about the heated emotions exchanged between us inside that vault.

However, he gave me a reassuring look. “I’m
fully
right about that. Paige told me everything; the blood, the kiss. Everything.”

I felt the color drain from my face.

“Oh,” I said.

“But I’m okay with it,” he said. “It was unusual circumstances, and she and I hadn’t formed the bond that we’re forming now.”

“Listen, I
really
want to see things work out between you and her,” I said with more emphasis than I’d planned. “And I don’t want to be a source of additional strain in that area.”

“Ah,” he said, as the corners of his mouth upturned slightly.

“This amuses you?” I asked with a frown.

He leaned forward, grasped my shoulder with one hand, and looked into my eyes with a compassionate expression.

“Listen to me, Caleb,” he said. “You’ve been so supportive of us from the very start; hell, you introduced us, and I appreciate that immensely. But whether she and I either succeed or fail, it’ll be because of the two of us, our commitment to each other, and our ability to confront and overcome conflicts or challenges. It’s no different than between you and Katrina. What will be, will be.”

He paused, as if in reflection. “You know, I haven’t told you this, but the moment I met you at the Slovene conference I knew you were someone special,” he said. “I’ve found you to be an honest and honorable person, and I can’t imagine anyone I’d trust more to support the important lady in my life during my absence than you.”

I felt both relieved and humbled, and I swallowed to ease the tension that had formed in my throat.

Wow, this guy’s amazing.

“Thank you,” I said. “You’re very kind and extremely understanding, Ethan.”

“Think nothing of it. And don’t worry, I’ve got quite a bit to keep me busy here while you’re both away,” he said. “And, just so you know, I plan to come to visit as frequently as possible. In truth, this situation will provide some helpful pacing for Paige and me. It’d be really easy to rush into things will her.”

“She’s wildfire in a bottle, isn’t she?” I asked.

He sat back and laughed. “Precisely. Explosive, passionate, and occasionally too hot to handle; but that’s definitely part of her allure, and I adore her.”

I grinned.

Yep, that’s Paige.

He rose from his seat.

“I appreciate you coming by to visit with me; it’s yet another reason why I respect you so much, Caleb,” he said.

I stood and extended my hand to shake his.

“Call me if you need anything at all, okay?” he asked. “I’ll be there for both of you.”

“Thanks, Ethan,” I said. “You don’t know how happy and grateful I am to hear you say that.”

His cell phone beeped, and he swept it into his hand with a flourish, gazing down at the screen.

“Anything wrong?” I asked.

“Just a text. It appears I have an impromptu surgical assist to prepare for this afternoon, as well as two patients waiting to see me,” he said. “You see? Boredom simply isn’t an issue around here.”

He smiled warmly and accompanied me to the elevators.

As I walked through the parking lot, I felt greatly relieved about some of the things that’d been weighing upon me.

Maybe the prospects of Yale didn’t loom as large on the horizon as it did an hour ago.

I can do this.

Part II

New Haven

Chapter 22

Caleb

In amazing time, Kat had secured a relatively spacious three-story colonial style home in New Haven, conveniently located just a few blocks east of the Yale campus. It was prime real estate, to say the least.

Despite the darkness outside, the exterior lighting was ample enough to discern that the house had been well maintained. The white bannisters accenting the covered front porch was charmingly rustic looking.

My new home appeared to be one of the nicest houses on the block, in fact.

While the design was of an older architecture, which I was impressed by on a purely historical level, there’d been a remarkable amount of remodeling done on the inside to modernize it with all of the latest amenities and décor.

To say the entire effort must’ve cost a fortune would’ve been an understatement.

“Really nice, but kinda’ pricey, I bet,” I said to Kat.

She arched her brow at me. “This is your second home of sorts, and likely will be for some time, so I want you to be comfortable here. Besides, it needs to be fully functional for a vampire’s needs.”

That meant the basement had been converted to a veritable shelter-like condition, complete with reinforced doors and blocked windows.

In addition, the third floor, which had essentially been an oversized attic, had been remodeled into a storage room and small bedroom with half bathroom.

There were already three regular-sized bedrooms on the second floor and a master suite.

“Expecting company?” I asked during my initial walk-thru with her.

“Well, the master suite is yours, as well as mine when I visit. Paige can have her pick of one of the second floor bedrooms, and that leaves three bedrooms in the house for guests and staff.”

“Staff?” I asked with a sharp look at her.

“Security, maids, whichever,” she said.

“I have Paige for security, thank you,” I said.

She cast one of her best dominatrix-esque stares at me. “Security is whomever I dictate as such for you.”

I rolled my eyes and proceeded on our tour of the house. There was even a small den on the first floor, just beyond the living room.

While not nearly as spacious as our estate in Atlanta, it was nevertheless roomy enough for our needs. Besides, I’d be home for holidays and the summer, so it was really just a spring and fall home.

I never imagined having a second home before. If my old college friends could see me now…

I considered that for a moment.

Yeah, they’d probably tease the crap out of me.

I walked into the attached single car garage, which was the plainest-looking facet of the property.

“I’ll let Paige select a vehicle for you two,” Kat said. “She can at least pay for that much.”

“This is a great location; we’re walking distance to the main campus, actually. And I’ll be able to hang a bicycle on that far wall,” I said, pointing. “Of course, I also noticed there’s a bus stop just on the corner. Wasn’t that at Lincoln and Trumbull?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

I turned to wrap my arms around her waist and pulled her close against me. “Thank you for arranging all of this on short notice,” I said. “I love it. And I love you.”

I placed a warm kiss on her lips, which she responded to in kind.

“I hope you enjoy living here while you’re in college,” she said.

“I’d enjoy it better if you were here, too,” I said.

She sighed. “I know. I’m sorry, but Alton needs me in London.”

“Sure. But I’m already worrying about you,” I said.

She’d explained to me that Alton wanted her to serve as a leader for his forces. The idea of a vampire army, complete with a cadre of humans, was a bit larger scale than I would’ve expected.

The fact that the world was being divvied up between two large opposing vampire factions wasn’t very encouraging, either.

Frankly, the entire scenario sounded like the latest script for some blockbuster Hollywood film. The words ‘dangerous’ and ‘lethal’ both factored into my vision, as well.

Suddenly, I felt very protective and possessive of her.

“Promise me you’ll visit as much as possible,” I said. “Or, I could come to London periodically.”

She hugged me tighter in her embrace. “Of course, I’ll try. But we’re going to be busier than you think, and time will pass very quickly for both of us. And I’ll call you, and we could video chat over your computer.”

A brief wave of melancholy washed over me.

I didn’t want to be separated from her for very long. And the thought of possibly losing her in the growing conflict was harder than I could bear.

“Be safe,” I said. “Come back to me.”

“It’ll be my number one priority,” she said.

Paige abruptly appeared in the garage, startling me. “Hey, you smoochers, break it up. A big truck just pulled up outside with new furniture, and I don’t have a clue where most of this stuff goes.”

That was pretty much the extent of my quality time with Kat before she left for London.

She left via taxi the next evening, though not before the arrival of a tall, dark-haired man of Asian lineage earlier that evening.

Paige and I stood in the living room as the man stepped through the front door, nodding deferentially to Kat.

“Caleb, this is Roman Lee,” Kat said. “He’s an ex-Navy SEAL who’s been employed by Alton for a number of years. He’s also your new bodyguard.”

I politely shook hands with him, sizing him up and noting his firm handshake.

“Hello, Caleb,” he said. “Pleased to meet you and I look forward to getting to know you better over the next few days.”

Paige exchanged introductions with him as I gave Kat a hard look.

She arched her eyebrows and mouthed,
be nice
.

“I’ll give you a quick tour of the house and you can select one of the available bedrooms for yourself,” Kat said.

He selected the solitary one with the three quarter bath that had been recently renovated on the third floor. Kat later said he told her he wanted to make his stay as unobtrusive as possible.

I hoped he felt that way when he was shadowing me everywhere.

This time, a daylight-friendly goon to watch over me.

Later, I walked arm in arm with Kat to the taxi that was parked in the street before the house.

“I’ll miss you,” I told her.

“I’ll miss you more,” she responded.

We shared a lingering kiss, followed by some smaller ones as the driver loaded her two suitcases into the trunk.

“He’s on a meter, you know,” Paige called from the front porch.

Kat and I both gave her a dirty look and shared a final kiss. I held the taxi’s door open for her.

Then I leaned inside and kissed her again.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you, too,” she said with a flash of her green eyes.

Then I watched the taxi drive away until it turned the corner at Trumbull and was gone.

I miss her already.

Paige was savvy enough not to say a word as I quietly ascended the short set of porch stairs and stepped inside the house.

* * *

The next week was spent busily preparing for my classes, including reading a number of books that were prerequisite readings. Fortunately, I was able to download all of them onto my new iPad.

I also met with the professor who was recently assigned by Dr. Eddings to be my dissertation chair and research advisor, Professor Samuel Gowan.

Dr. Gowan was a pleasant-natured man in his mid-fifties who seemed to have an affinity for bow ties. His attire reminded me of something out of the
Nutty Professor
’s wardrobe, in fact.

He asked that I consider my interests for a dissertation topic, and meet again with him in a couple of weeks.

Kat had been correct in that the days went by like a speeding train. I was so preoccupied that I rarely noticed Roman following me around. Often, I lost sight of him altogether.