After Sundown: Redemption (5 page)

He would not lose control. Long ago he had learned that without it, he was nothing more than a monster. Now was neither the time nor the place for this. Walking over to his office window, Christian once more stared out into the darkness. He ached to turn around and look at Alyssa, but he needed to calm himself first. What was happening to him? This possessiveness he felt was new and not altogether comfortable. No other mortal had affected him like this since before he had been become a vampire. Why did she?

Elena.

Just the name of his ex-fiancé brought pain and guilt rushing back to him. Although over two hundred years had passed since he last saw her alive, time hadn’t changed those feelings. That’s what must have drawn him to Alyssa so quickly. Her straight dark hair, pert little nose, plump lips, intelligent eyes and delicately arched eyebrows reminded him of Elena. Other than the fact that Elena had brown eyes and Alyssa had blue ones, they looked almost exactly alike.

Relief coursed through him. Now he knew why he had been acting out of character. The two women looked so much alike that his ability to behave professionally with Alyssa was impaired. That was about to change. From now on, it would be all business between them. He would get her through her last three speaking engagements. Protect her from harm. Say goodbye. That would be that.

Alyssa floated in a sea of passion. Christian’s lips moved expertly over hers. Sensations tingled from her mouth, down her body, all the way to her toes. She felt so alive. Every one of her senses became heightened. The feel of his warm hands massaging her neck, the tickle of his silky hair brushing her cheeks, his spicy male scent and the intimacy of his mouth as it explored hers. It all became too much. When his hand tightened in her hair, pulling it slightly, she initially only felt the pain. But as she tilted her head back, so that he could take her mouth more deeply, the pain turned into pleasure. She gasped from sensory overload.

Christian moved away. Without his touch, she felt cold. Slowly, the overwhelming feelings passed. She lifted her head and opened her eyes. The room came back into focus. She found Christian. He stared at her from across the room. The hot desire in his gaze was gone. Now she looked into a face made of granite and eyes as cold as ice.

“Alyssa—”

“No.” She didn’t want to hear whatever he was going to say. How embarrassing! She had been totally moved, no,
shaken
by their contact, while he obviously had felt very little.

“I need to go.” She gathered her things as quickly as possible and headed towards the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow as planned, right?”

Without giving him a chance to answer, she dashed out the door. He caught up with her just as she reached the parking lot and grabbed her arm.

“Alyssa, wait a minute.”

Dreading the confrontation, but seeing no way to avoid it, she raised her gaze to his.

Christian looked almost as miserable as she felt.

“What happened back there was my fault. I apologize. I shouldn’t have let that occur.”

“You shouldn’t have
let
that occur?” Alyssa repeated dumbfounded. “Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

“I shouldn’t have let myself lose control like that. I’m a professional and I usually have no problem acting like one.”

“Christian, it’s really no big deal. We kissed. There wasn’t much else to it. Let’s move on.”

“No big deal?” Christian’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “So you weren’t at all affected?”

“Not really,” she lied. “I mean there was a little spark, but nothing much.”

“Right.” He studied her intently.

“I’m sure you can be a professional when you want to be. So let’s just go on that premise. From now on, it’ll be just business between us. You’ll protect me and I’ll give my motivational speeches, okay?” she asked.

Alyssa saw Christian hesitate. Anger flashed in his eyes, then he shuttered his expression and slowly nodded in agreement.

“Works for me. I’ll come by your house tomorrow night and look over your home security. We’ll go from there to your speaking engagement.”

“Fine. See you then,” Alyssa said over her shoulder as she walked the remaining distance to her car, got in and drove away. She felt Christian’s shrewd gaze following her. Sure enough, when she looked in her rearview mirror he was still standing in the parking lot, watching her.

* * * * *

Walking into her apartment, Alyssa enjoyed the rush of cool air. Though the sun was already down, the current heat wave had made her car feel like an oven. She popped a low fat frozen dinner into the microwave and poured herself a diet soda. As soon as she sat down at the table, Jonathan hopped up and began pacing back and forth in front of her.

“No, Jonathan. Not this time. I know you’re always hungry, but you are
not
getting my dinner tonight. Go eat your cat food, buddy. You have a ton of it in your bowl.”

Jonathan’s only response was a low, pitiful meow. Alyssa petted him, but refused to budge.

“Don’t do this to me. I will not feel guilty. You need to eat healthier. Look at me. I’m eating a low fat meal. I know, I know. It’s filled with artificial everything and ingredients I can’t even say, but it’s
light
!”

The cat continued to stare at her. She ignored him and ate almost everything. Then guilt took over. She left one small piece of chicken on the plate and pushed it towards him.

“Here. That’s all I can give you. Take it or leave it.”

Jonathan began nibbling the morsel before Alyssa even finished her sentence and then licked the tray.

“Sheesh. If anyone came in and saw you right now, they’d think I don’t feed you. Aren’t cats supposed to
like
cat food?”

Jonathan licked up the last drop of gravy, swished his tail and jumped off the table.

“You’re welcome!” she called as the feline sauntered out of the kitchen.

Alyssa washed the few dishes in the sink and wiped the table. She spent the next couple of hours going over her speech for the following night. When she felt prepared enough, she put her papers away and picked up the romance novel she was currently trying to read in her spare time. But she just couldn’t concentrate on it. A problem arose every time she came to a love scene in the story. She kept imagining someone other than the character. Someone who had dark brown hair, mocha eyes that made her melt and a body that made her drool. The man screamed the word sexy, just by standing there. His name was Christian and he was a vampire.

The enormity of that finally hit her. Up to this point, she had been operating on autopilot. She put the book down and sat in stunned silence thinking about him. The man was a vampire! How was it possible? Why didn’t people know they existed? And what about that hunky elf that popped his head in the door of Christian’s office? Didn’t he have pointy ears or something that gave his identity away? How could such creatures exist without being exposed?

Alyssa’s thoughts rambled as she got ready for bed. She lay under the covers with the lights off, trying to remember how Christian had looked with glowing red eyes and two sharp, pointed teeth. The image wouldn’t come. Instead she saw a gorgeous man with long dark hair that felt like silk, hands that made her body come alive and a mouth that knew just how to tempt her. She fell asleep, dreaming about him wearing a knight’s outfit, charging to her rescue on a white horse. He was trying to save her from an unseen monster that chased her. The oddest part was the end of the dream. When the monster finally appeared, he turned out to be Christian.

* * * * *

When Christian arrived at Alyssa’s condo the following night, he did a quick study of the outside perimeter, then rang the doorbell and waited. How was he going to handle this? He couldn’t go into her apartment unless she invited him in. That was one of the few vampire myths that was actually true. Vampires could enter any public building without a problem, but entering a person’s home was a different story. Humans had powers of their own when it came to their personal dwellings. No one seemed to understand how or why, but that power kept vampires from going into people’s homes until they were invited. He needed Alyssa to do that, but wasn’t sure how. When she opened the door, his worry instantly dissolved into male appreciation. He couldn’t keep the wide grin from spreading across his lips. His gaze lingered over her from head to toe.

She was dressed in some sort of business suit. But it was like no suit he had ever seen. A pair of pants and a buttoned jacket, that’s where the business part ended. The material looked soft, like silk and the color was a deep red rose. She wore no shirt beneath the jacket and the scooped neckline shifted his imagination into overdrive.

When his stare finally rose to her face, it looked flushed. She licked her lips nervously and he fixated on her pink tongue. She pointedly cleared her throat a second time and he finally realized she was talking.

“Please come in. I’m just about ready.”

Christian followed her inside. Satisfaction coursed through him, while the predator he was roared in triumph. She had invited him in. Now he could enter her home whenever he wished.

He hoped the rest of the evening went as well, for both their sakes. But if not, he would be ready. He had made sure that he fed well before coming to Alyssa’s house, for two reasons. The first was so that he would be at full strength in case of trouble and the second was so that Alyssa would not tempt him.

The three young men who had supplied him with sustenance would only remember drinking too much and passing out outside the bar they liked to frequent. Vlad had taught him long ago how to feed gently and replace a human’s memory with one he planted for them. Christian had come a long way from the creature who used to rip out the throats of his victims as he fed, with little thought for them or their lives.

“I need another minute or so,” Alyssa said. “Please sit down and I’ll be right out.”

Christian sat on the couch Alyssa motioned towards. He watched her walk away. The soft sway of her hips beneath the sensual material mesmerized him. His body’s reaction was immediate and demanding. So much for feeding well so she didn’t tempt him. It was obvious his body wanted more than just blood from her. Too bad it wasn’t going to get it. He was here to protect her. Period.

Alyssa shut the bedroom door behind her. She leaned against it for support. No man had the right to look that good! The image of Christian standing there when she opened the front door was branded on her mind. His black button-up shirt stretched across his chest. Charcoal gray pants were tailor-fit. Expensive-looking black shoes matched his belt. His hair was tied at the back of his neck. She had to curl her fingers into a fist to keep from reaching out and setting his silky mane free. Somehow he looked professional, dangerous and incredibly sexy at the same time.

She got the impression that he was completely in his element as he stood in the semi-darkness among the shadows, just out of reach of the hall lights. The night seemed to embrace him, reluctant to release him as he stepped into her well lit apartment. When he brushed by her, his scent assaulted her sanity—spicy and seductive. Her stomach clenched in an effort to control the irresistible magnetism she felt towards him.

Why did Christian affect her like this? She usually had no problem dealing with men, gorgeous or otherwise, because she was in no hurry to establish any kind of serious relationship with them. Most men she knew sensed that immediately about her, or she told them flat out and they got the message. She had too much going on in her life at the moment to deal with a serious relationship.

For some reason her common sense approach wasn’t working with Christian. The minute they were in the same room everything else faded in comparison. Her whole body focused on him.

It had to be the vampire thing. He must be using some sort of power over her. Didn’t vampires have that kind of power? The kind that was difficult, if not impossible to resist? Great, just what she needed—another control freak like her dad. Well, vampire or no, she would keep things focused on business only.

In the bathroom, she began brushing her hair. She had planned to wear it loose tonight, but now she knew that would never do. Professional. She must look professional. Sweeping her hair up, she quickly fastened it into a bun. After applying lipstick, she stood back to take one last look in the mirror. Light makeup, hair in a bun and a business suit, understated and business-like. Just the message she wanted Christian to get. Grabbing her purse, she headed out of her room.

Christian had just managed to get himself under control when Alyssa reappeared.

“I’m ready. Shall we go?”