Forever Black (Nightwalkers 2) (2 page)

Caleb spoke for her, his friendly personality compensating
for her shy one. He thanked each one for coming and shook their hands. Not only
was Caleb handsome, but he was famous. He was the bad boy rocker from
Armageddon, one of the hottest bands on the charts. This status immediately
focused everyone's attention on him, the light conversation taking the edge off
the somber mood.

Natalie, Ashleigh's best friend, trekked up to them. She
shot Caleb a very angry glare before turning her eyes to Ashleigh. "You
ready to go, Ash?"

"No." Ashleigh avoided her friend's accusing
stare. She knew what Natalie was thinking, and she didn't blame her a bit for
feeling that way. She felt Caleb squeeze her shoulders. His touch was warm and
filled her brain with distracting thoughts. And a distraction was exactly what
she needed. "I’m staying with Caleb."

Ashleigh's voice was limp. Her hand slipped into Caleb's
jacket. Inside, it was welcomed by the soft kiss of his sweater. She took a
deep breath, soaking up his light scent.

"Are you sure?" Natalie gazed at Caleb then back
at Ashleigh. "I was
gonna
order pizza and watch
a movie. We could—"

"I'm fine, Natalie." Ashleigh tried to laugh, but
it quickly deflated. "Caleb can take care of me."

Caleb's expression brightened tenfold in response to
Ashleigh's answer. There was a cockiness in his striking blue eyes, eyeliner
framing them and making them sparkle. "Trust me for once Natalie. I can
take care of her." He glanced at Ashleigh then rubbed his chin against her
hair. He jokingly squeezed her in his arms a few times as a hearty chuckle
escaped his lips. “Right, babe?”

Natalie turned back to Ashleigh. "You sure?"

"Positive." Ashleigh forced a smile as she held
tighter to Caleb. Her heavy head rested in his chest, the zipper on his hoodie
sharp against her delicate skin.

"All right." Natalie glanced briefly at Caleb, and
he returned her icy glare with a cocky grin. It was clear by her expression,
Natalie wanted to start an argument, but she refrained. "I'll see you back
at the house."

They all began walking toward their cars. Ashleigh hung on
Caleb, and Natalie followed behind with Caleb's bodyguards, Robert and Nathan,
the blond man who had watched over Ashleigh.

"Caleb?" Ashleigh didn't turn to him as she spoke.

"Yeah?" He huddled close to her, sharing her
umbrella as they walked. His eyes were focused on the car a few feet from them.
Their shoes squished on the muddied grass, Caleb's long jeans soaking up the
rain. Though he was wearing a black suit coat, the rest of his clothing was
casual. It was as if he had thrown on the coat at the last minute.

"I need to go to Kingston.
Can I stay at your house while I'm there?" Ashleigh knew what his answer
would be, but she asked anyway.

"Of course." He sent her a giant smile, Caleb's
expression always light and friendly. He was trying not to sound excited,
although she could tell he was. "I'll have Robert make you a key."

"Thanks."

Ashleigh glanced toward Robert as he who opened the door for
her. He was a giant man and rarely smiled. Caleb would mess with him all the
time, but still, the sentinel never broke his serious, well-mannered
expression. It was strange to see such a calm man around a jokester like Caleb,
but Robert had been with Caleb since he was a child and was closer to him than
Caleb's own father. Wherever Caleb was, Robert wasn't far behind.

Caleb got into the car after Ashleigh, the chains on his
jeans scrapping against the smooth leather seats. For the first few minutes of
the ride, Ashleigh lay in Caleb's arms and didn't speak. In a slow, loving
gesture, Caleb's calloused fingers caressed Ashleigh's bare knee. His gaze got
lost in the surface of her skin, his thoughts wandering.

Though he was trying to comfort her, all he could think
about was making love to her. He wanted her, badly, his love for her only
deepening with her absence. Unfortunately for him, she had been doing a lot of
thinking these last few months. She was still angry at him for killing her
friend, Spencer, and making her into a vampire.

Because she wouldn't speak to him, Caleb had hired Nathan to
protect and feed her. This hurt Caleb tremendously. As her mate, it was his
role to provide for her, but she wouldn't let him.

Until today, she hadn't seen him in four months. He'd call
and text her, send her flowers and letters, but still she wouldn't forgive him.
Now that she had broken down a little, he hoped they could mend their
relationship.

She clung to him as they drove down the wet streets of her
hometown. The smell of sweet vanilla sugar filled Caleb's nostrils. It brought
back memories of long nights spent exploring her naked body and tasting every
inch of her salty skin. His mind wandered as he thought about taking in that
scent lingering on her breasts as he captured one in his hands. Those heavy,
amazing breasts.

The thought made Caleb uncomfortable, and he tried to quell
it. Thinking like this was inappropriate right now, but still, he couldn't
shake it.

He wanted to coo to her and kiss the tender skin of her
neck. Hit that spot that lay behind her ear and make her shiver. There was so
much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to do, but he didn't. Instead, he
spoke of something else. "What's in Kingston?"

Her voice came out soft and lined with a thick wetness from
her tears, "My mother."

He spoke softly, with a tenderness that matched the way he
held her, "She lives in Kingston?"

"I promised Gramps I'd talk to her." She studied
Robert's eyes in the rearview mirror as he glanced back at them. "I
haven't seen her since I was a kid."

"Do you want me to come with you?" His fingers
danced along her knee and crept up her skirt. He was pushing his limits little
by little, but she didn't push him away. "I've got a break from tour in
two—"

"I can go alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He watched her gaze out the window as if she was in a daze.
"I’ve never stopped loving you. Just like the last line of
Blood Kisses.
'All I want is to be with
you'.”

Her eyes widened as her stare intensified. The words slipped
off her lips softly as she recited from her book. "’She fell to the floor,
cold blood welcoming the warm skin of her knees. He was standing there, his
shadow snaking along the ground and casting her body in darkness.’"

Her eyes settled on the car that stopped next to them.
Inside was a man and his daughter. "’He looked at her, at her downward
gaze, at the tears that dripped from her eyes into the pool of thick blood, the
water not able to break the thickness that held her in place. Then, he
said—‘"

"’I am cursed to love you for a million
forevers
, but I will never own you.’" Caleb sighed as
he glared angrily out the window.

"Why did you do it, Caleb?"

“It isn't what you think." He changed his position and
sat up straighter. "I didn't do it ’cause I was jealous. I did it to save
you."

"I don't believe you."

"Okay." He laid his head against hers. "I
admit it. I did want to kill him, but that’s not why I did it.” Letting out a
deep exhale, Caleb paused for a few seconds. “When you were gone that morning,
he came to me and picked a fight. He accused me of a bunch of shit and said I
was going to humiliate you by revealing the identity of Victoria Allure to make
myself look better—"

He stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowing. "Which I have
no idea where that came from. I would never do that.” She could hear the angry
tone creep into Caleb’s voice as his hand tightened around her knee. “Why would
I do something like that to you? I wasn’t even going to tell Aiden or my
parents who you were because I knew you wanted to keep your secret. And
besides, I don’t need publicity, my band’s already famous.”

His voice grew louder, the words slipping off his tongue
quickly. “Then, what really pissed me off is that the fucker went and told my
dad that you were cheating on me with Aiden and said he shouldn’t let his son
marry a well-known whore like Victoria Allure. He called you a fucking whore,
babe. A whore. I couldn’t let him get by with that. The little fucker just
asked me to kill him.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me that when I asked?"

"I didn't want you to know he said stuff like that
about you."

"I'm…" She paused before she spoke her next words.
She needed release, something to distract her from the jabbing pain of her
broken heart. And her mind could only think of one thing—Caleb.
"Hungry."

"I can help with that." His face filled with a
giant smirk, naughtiness in his voice. "Do you want to come back to my
hotel?"

Her eyes still gazed distantly out the window. "I
do."

"Robert," Caleb raised his voice. "Take us
back to the hotel."

"Yes, Master Mason."

Caleb's hotel was about a half an hour's drive away. Caleb had
covered his moneymaker face with a pair of sunglasses and pulled up the deep
hood on his sweatshirt. This let him slip inside without any fans noticing.

Ashleigh loved this slick entry. After traveling with his
band for a few months, she had grown to hate the admirers. Crowds of screaming
people trying claw their way through security to get even a glimpse at him. And
the photographers—it all drove her nuts.

The walk upstairs was quiet. Caleb's arm was slung around
her shoulders, his smug smile raising his irresistible dimples. He opened the
door for her and let her enter before him.

Ashleigh sat down on the bed, her bottom making the mattress
bounce a little under her weight. "Can you do it like Nathan does?"

"Huh?" Caleb was taking off his jacket. He regarded
her strangely, but his friendly voice didn't falter. "What do you
mean?"

"He bleeds them for me, so I don't have to see them. I
like that."

"Don't you—" Before he started an argument with
her, Caleb stopped himself. "Umm…sure…if that's what you want, babe. I can
do that." He laughed as he tried to cover up his annoyance. "Anything
for you."

She didn't look at him. Her hand reached up to wipe at her
nose as she sniffled back forming tears. Taking off her sunglasses, she let out
a deep, quivering breath. When she heard him go to the door, she spoke,
"Thanks, Caleb, you know, for coming, I mean. I really needed you
today."

"No prob." He smiled, but it danced on his lips as
he tried to keep it there. "I'll be right back."

"Okay."

While she waited for Caleb, she took the letter out of her
coat pocket. She traced her grandfather's writing with her finger lovingly.
This was his final wish, and she'd do anything to make it come true, even if it
meant seeing her mother again.

She tossed her coat to the chair near her. It missed and
landed on the floor. The black dress she wore under it was sleeveless. It's cut
was more conservative than sexy, and the neckline showed some skin, but not any
cleavage.

After adjusting the pillows, she moved to the center of the
mattress. Her heavy head lay back against the headboard as she closed her eyes.
She took a few slow, deep breaths and thought about her mother. Her fingers
tensed around the envelope in her hand.

Taking a deep breath, she slid her finger under the seal.
She had a feeling what was in here, but she still had to see it. She had to
read her father's words—the ones her grandfather would never let her read
before.

"Hey." Caleb slid in next to her. His quick
appearance made her jump, and she was torn from her negative thoughts. Caleb
was jumpy, twitching his nose and swiping at it a few times. He licked his lips
as he handed her a large thermos. "Does this work?"

"It's perfect." Ashleigh set the letter on the
table next to the bed.

She sent him a tender smile as she drank in his appearance.
He was so handsome, even more so than she remembered. His intense, sky blue
eyes were framed by his striking dark lashes, and he had a boyish charm to his
features that she found absolutely perfect. This was the man she loved, but she
couldn't forgive him yet. Her stubbornness was getting the best of her.

She ripped her gaze from him and twisted open the cap on the
thermos. She drank from it, gulping it down like she had been starving. The
blood inside was still warm, the smooth, thick taste calming her frazzled
nerves.

"I know it doesn't help much, but…" Caleb seemed
nervous as he licked his lips several times. He was watching her with great
intensity as he tried to sit still. His mind was moving at a faster rate than
hers because he was still riding the high of feeding. "I'm really sorry
about what happened to your grandpa. I know how close you were to him."

"Me, too." She glanced down. "But right now,
I don't want to talk about it." Her next words were soft and quick. It was
as if they were trying to make it out before the flood of tears came and washed
them away. "So, stop, okay?" She put the thermos to her lips again
and drank the remainder of its contents.