HerVampireLover (8 page)

Tonight, he was going to kill them. After the last two men came back empty handed, he didn’t want any more blunders. Twice, he had sent men to kill them and
twice
, the mission failed. This time, he would do the job himself.

He’d sensed his sister’s change. That demon bastard had already turned her. Quinn was as powerful a vampire as Tobias, but he didn’t want to leave anything to chance. It would be easier to kill her when Tobias wasn’t around. He would just have to wait for the right moment. Then, after he killed his sister, he would wait for Tobias and kill him.

If his father were alive today, he would be so proud of him. The demon bastard, Tobias and his brother, Victor, had destroyed his mother and his sister.

Justice would be sweet.

Three hundred years was a long time to make the Knights pay for what they did to his family.

Chapter Nine

Tobias carried Cat’s luggage as he led her into the building. Cat looked around in awe. It was a twenty floor high rise in the heart of Manhattan with polished floors, mirrors, and plush seating in the massive lobby. The security guard greeted Tobias warmly.

“Welcome back, Mr. Knight.”

Tobias inclined his head. “Nice to be back, Jarvis.”

He led Cat to the chrome elevators and within moments, they were riding up to the twentieth floor. The elevators opened directly into his penthouse.

Cat gasped the second she walked in. “Wow. You live here?”

Tobias smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Like it? Who wouldn’t? It’s gorgeous.” She looked around at the huge décor of high ceilings, plants, and art. His furniture was set in earth tones and his hardwood floor gleamed with polish. She glanced at the grand piano in the corner of the living room and the violin set on the side. Numerous large doors and pathways led to more rooms, indicating his home’s immensity, but what gave Cat the biggest sense of space were the windows. On one side of his huge living room, the wall was made up entirely of floor to ceiling windows, showcasing the most extraordinary skyline of New York City.

“What a stunning view,” she said.

“Thank you. The windows tint automatically at sunlight.”

She walked into the huge room and stopped dead in her tracks. Hung high above his fireplace was a portrait of herself wearing the pale blue, lace-trimmed dress—the one Seraphina wore on their ten-year anniversary. The one she’d just dreamt about.

“Did…did you paint that?” she asked. She recalled him telling her he dabbled in art. Cat couldn’t take her eyes off the painting. She looked so happy.

“Yes, about two hundred years ago,” he replied quietly. “That was how you looked the last time I saw you.”

“That’s the dress I wore in my dream,” she whispered, staring at the magnificent painting. Any remaining doubt melted away and the truth could no longer be ignored. She
was
Seraphina. Oddly, the thought didn’t frighten her, but rather saddened her. She was Seraphina, but she was also Cat from this time, with new memories and a new life. Didn’t Tobias feel like he loved two women? It was enough to make her go crazy if she analyzed it too much.

“Cat, you’re both one and the same to me,” he said somberly. “I loved you three hundred years ago and I love you today. My heart doesn’t factor the time in between. You have Seraphina’s face and body, and soon, you will have all her memories along with the new ones you’ve acquired in this life. Think of it as being asleep for three hundred years.”

She knew he’d just read her mind and it didn’t bother her. She understood his need to make sure she was okay with this newfound knowledge. She did, however choose to ignore his comment. It was still too much for her to take in.

“It’s a beautiful painting. You have a remarkable hand.”

“As I mentioned, I’ve had a few hundred years to hone my artistic craft.”

She glanced at the piano and violin, wanting to change the subject. “You mentioned you played the guitar as well.”

“I’m having it restrung.” He put the bags down. “Come into the kitchen with me.”

She followed him to another huge room that contained a long center island, maple cabinetry, and granite countertops. His appliances were all stainless steel and the ceramic tile backsplash set in warm hues gave his kitchen a very pleasant tone. As his living room had, his kitchen décor surprised her. What had she expected? Had she thought he’d be living in a dark and sinister looking home straight out of a horror movie?

She watched him open his counter-depth refrigerator. Curious, she angled her body to see what it contained. No food. No left overs. No daily staples. Only rows of glass flasks filled with a red liquid. He pulled one out, set two glasses on the center island and filled them. “Here,” he said. “Drink this.”

“Is it what I think it is?”

“Yes.”

She eyed the glass distastefully and grimaced. She couldn’t forget one tiny fact. If she didn’t drink it, she would die. “Okay, bottoms up.” She lifted the glass to her lips. Again, as before, she enjoyed it. “As long as I keep my eyes closed and pretend it’s warm milk with honey, I could get used to it,” she remarked dryly.

Tobias set his glass down, grasped her shoulders, and gazed down into her face. His eyes were like black jewels, his skin glowing with an ethereal hue, his mouth sensual. His face looked so beautiful, Cat stifled a gasp.

“Cat, I’m sorry for what you have gone through. If I could have spared you any of this anguish, I would have.”

“I know.”

“Being a vampire isn’t all that bad. It’s not all doom and gloom. Yes, we have to be cautious with threats like the Grangers, the sun, lack of daily feedings, but there are wonders we can never see as a human.”

“Like what?” She laughed, but it sounded strained and hollow. “Do you know what I realized driving here? I’ll never lie on a beach again for the rest of my life. I’ll never get a tan.” A sense of hysteria bubbled over her. “I’ll never feel the heat of the sun on my face or…or have a glass of champagne like I always do after I finish a book.”

He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her face. “There’s beauty in the night. Come. Let me show you.” Slowly, he bent his head and kissed her on the mouth. It wasn’t an earth shattering kiss that left her breathless, but a warm kiss that comforted her, and she welcomed it.

He took her hand and led her to a small hallway. He opened a door and they climbed a narrow stairwell. At the top, he opened yet another door that led outside to the roof top terrace decked with lawn chairs, a table, flowers, and plants.

She gave him a questioning look.

He shrugged. “I try to keep my life as normal as possible. I like to come out here at night when the stars are out and think. I find the night peaceful.”

Still holding her hand, he led her to the edge of the rooftop. Cat jerked back. “What are you doing?”

“I want to show you the beauty of being a vampire, the beauty of the night.”

She looked down over the edge of the roof and her stomach somersaulted. This wasn’t beautiful. This was downright
dangerous
. They could fall. Vampires couldn’t survive a twenty-story plunge? Could they?

“Uhh…just so you know, I’m deathly afraid of heights.”

Tobias chuckled softly and held her firmly around her waist.

“Not anymore, my love.”

With one swift move, he vaulted over the edge of the roof and sailed through the sky with her in his arms. Cat screamed at the top of her lungs.

“You’re safe with me,” he said in her ear.

Her scream stuck in her throat as she stared at his handsome profile. Before she could say a word or scream again, they landed on the rooftop of another high rise. “You fly?” she croaked.

“Not exactly. I leap over tall buildings in a single bound.”

“So you’re faster than a speeding bullet?” Oh, my God, she was falling in love with
Superman
. Her thought stilled her. She was falling in love with him.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. And so can you.”

She gasped. “I can fly?”

“Not yet, but soon enough. It will take time to fully acquire all your gifts.” He held her tight around her waist. “I want to show you my favorite spot in New York City.” He sailed through the air with her, landing on every rooftop, until she could see it.

The Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor.

Cat squeezed her eyes shut as they flew over the Hudson River and landed in between the crook of the statue’s raised arm and neck. Tobias settled back comfortably and gathered her close on his lap, her back against his strong chest.

“Open your eyes,” he said quietly.

Slowly, Cat did and looked around her in awe. The city was beautiful at night with all the lights, the stars framing it, the sparkling water surrounding it. And it was quiet. She could hear the distant sounds of the city, but they were faint, like a whisper of a song filtering through the night.

“It’s…it’s beautiful,” she said breathily.

“I come here often when I feel lonely. Up here, I feel surrounded by every single person in the city. I can’t see them, but I know they’re there and I don’t feel so alone.”

“Mm,” she replied, leaning her head back. The cool air was soothing on her skin and his body was even nicer beneath hers. Comfort and security flowed through her veins, dissolving her earlier hysteria.

He kissed her neck. Cat sighed. She loved being this close to him. With his arms around her, his breath on her neck, his heart beating beneath her.

It would be dawn soon and the star-filled sky would glow with a rosy hue heralding the sun’s imminent appearance, signaling their departure. She didn’t want this moment to end.

He gathered her closer to him. “A long time ago, I was obsessed with finding a cure for what I’d become.”

“Is there a cure?”

“No, and I’m happy there isn’t. I would have never found you if there were.”

She nestled deeper on his chest. “I’m glad, too.”

“You are?”

“Yes.”

“Do you now believe you are the reincarnation of Seraphina?”

Cat stared at the dark, glistening water. “I’m not as opposed to the idea.” She was still afraid to admit it aloud.

“Does that mean you will stay with me?”

She sighed, struggling to make sense of her emotions. “I’m scared, Tobias. I’m a vampire now, and you’re the only person on earth who can help me get accustomed to my new life.”

“I see.”

She felt him tense beneath and she regretted her words. She knew she’d disappointed him, hurt him. He had expected her to tell him she wanted to stay with him because she loved him, but she couldn’t—not yet. She was petrified of opening her heart to him. She’d opened her heart before and it shattered.

“I will never hurt you, Cat.”

She tensed. “Did you just read my mind?”

“I wanted to, but I didn’t. I know you’re afraid of love. I know that other man hurt you, but you must realize I’m not that man. I’m a man who’s loved you for three hundred years.”

She felt the back of her eyes sting. “I know.” She wondered how he’d lived, how he’d survived for three hundred years, alone. She stared at the city lights and thought about all the lives going on around her, oblivious of the two vampires sitting atop the Stature of Liberty.

“Tobias, how did you survive all these centuries? I mean, what did you do?”

“For a living?”

She turned her head slightly and nodded, interested in his response.

He sighed heavily. “Well, in my case, it would be
livings
. Plural. At first it was tough. I had to find jobs where I could work evenings or make my own schedule and work during the day when it was overcast or raining. I stayed in London for a long time, and then I moved to the States and settled in places like Seattle where sunshine isn’t prone to long stretches. At the beginning, I worked as a carpenter and then a blacksmith. With the turn of the industrial revolution, I had more resources at my hands. I worked evening shifts as a foreman in numerous plants and eventually fell into managing them. By this time, I had accumulated enough wealth to go to school. I went to night school, so it took me quite a long time to complete my studies. I have four degrees. Engineering, a BA in Computer Science, a PhD in History, and an MBA—”

She snapped around and gaped at him. “You went to University
four
times?”

He shrugged casually. “When you realize you will live forever, you view life very differently. Those thirty years I spent in Universities is nothing compared to the four hundred years I’ve already lived.”

“I see your point.”

“After I completed my studies I went back to work. I invested in stocks and bonds, owned a nightclub at the turn of the century and later, in the fifties, I opened a drive-in. I took a break in the eighties and nineties, and a couple of years ago I opened a nightclub.”

She whistled in awe. “Tobias, you’re a fascinating man.”

“Thank you. You’re a fascinating woman.”

“Hardly. What have I done compared to your long list of accomplishments?”

The wind wrestled with her hair and he tucked a loose tendril behind her ear. “Well, let’s see. From what I know so far, you made your dream of becoming a writer come true. You’re a best selling novelist. That’s a big accomplishment, Cat. It’s brought you security, wealth, freedom.”

A memory dimmed any appreciation she would have felt at what he said. “I…I gave my grandmother a copy of my first book, thinking she would be proud of me, but she gave it back to me without even reading it.”

“You never made amends with her?”

“No. She always hated me because I looked a lot like my mother and I was a constant reminder to her that her son died senselessly. My mom and dad died in a car accident. Mom was driving and my grandmother always blamed her for their deaths.”

“I’m sorry, Cat.”

“Don’t be. It took me a long time to realize I couldn’t change how my grandmother felt. I couldn’t
make
her love me.”

There was a long silence and she wondered if he heard her. She turned her head to look up at him and noted his dark, brooding expression. “So all the people you’ve ever loved,” he began, “left you or rejected you in some way. Your parents, your grandmother, the man who broke your heart. It’s no wonder you’re afraid to love me.”