Night's Touch (19 page)

He bowed from the waist. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, madam."

His voice was deep and rich, his manner respectful yet wary. She liked him immediately. "I am Mara."

Though he tried to hide it, his surprise was evident in the widening of his eyes and the sharp intake of his breath. "Like all of our kind, I have heard of you."

"Oh?" She took a step closer, noting his finely chiseled features, the strength of his jaw, the spread of his shoulders. "And what have you heard?"

"That you are truly immortal, and that the sun no longer holds any power over you." His gaze moved over her in frank admiration. "And that you are the most beautiful of women."

She smiled, pleased by the compliment and his obvious sincerity. "I take it you are the master of the city." She had known it wasn't Vincent. He was too young in the life and too new to the area.

"I am."

"I am surprised you allow another into your domain."

"You speak of Cordova?"

She nodded.

"He is my daughter's friend."

Ah, she thought, the woman in the house. Cara. "How is it that you have a child?"

"We adopted her when she was an infant."

Mara digested that for a moment. "What was it like, raising a human child?"

"It was…" He searched for the right word. "Interesting."

She smiled, thinking that
interesting
was probably an understatement. "How did she feel, having vampires for parents?"

"Until recently, she didn't know. She was understandably upset when she found out."

"Yet she is in love with a vampire."

"She doesn't believe he's one of us."

"It should be… interesting… when she finds out the truth," Mara remarked with a faint smile. "Come, hunt with me."

"It would be my pleasure."

"And mine," she said, linking her arm with his. "I have not hunted with a companion in many years." She threw back her head and took a deep breath. "Do you smell it?" she asked, and he heard the underlying note of excitement in her voice, saw it in the predatory gleam in her extraordinary green eyes.

Roshan nodded. The scent of prey was in the air.

Mara was a skilled and ruthless hunter, but then, that was to be expected, Roshan thought with a wry grin, seeing as how she'd had thousands of years to perfect her skill.

She called her desired prey to her with a look, and because she was in the mood to hunt, she took only a taste from each of her chosen victims before offering them to Roshan.

There was nothing like it, he thought, the thrill of the hunt, the surge of power as you held your prey in your grasp, the thick, rich taste of their life's blood sliding over your tongue, the way it filled you with warmth and strength, the exhilarating sense of being invincible. In the last few years, he had hunted only when necessary and taken only what he needed to survive. But tonight, tonight they drank from dozens until even his prodigious thirst was quenched.

And then, to his surprise, Mara drew him into her arms. "Shh," she whispered, "don't be afraid. I want only a taste."

He would have refused, but he found himself powerless to resist. He stared into her eyes, eyes as deep and green as the Nile, sighed as her fangs pierced the skin of his neck just below his left ear. It had been a long time since anyone had drunk from him. He had forgotten what it was like, the heat of it, the sensual pleasure that bordered on ecstasy. And yet, even as he reveled in it, he felt the sharp prick of his conscience, certain that Brenna would not approve.

Mara licked the wound in his neck, then swept her hair aside, offering Roshan her throat. A thrill of anticipation ran down his spine. To drink from Mara was akin to drinking from the wellspring of eternal life.

With a shake of his head, he backed away from her. "No, I can't."

"Of course you can."

He shook his head again. It was bad enough that he had let her drink from him. To drink from her would be like betraying Brenna.

"Do not be so quick to refuse," Mara said. "I'm offering you more than you know."

"I don't understand."

"As you yourself said, the sun no longer has any power over me."

"You mean…?"

"Exactly. Once you have drunk from me, you will no longer be under its spell. You may even find that, after a year or so, you can walk in its light."

He pondered that a moment—to walk in the sun's light again, to feel its warmth on his face. Was it truly possible? "Why are you offering this to me?"

She lifted one slim shoulder and let it fall. "Consider it a gift in appreciation for your company this night."

"If my wife drinks from me, will she be affected the same way?"

"I should think so, though it may take longer."

It would be a miracle to walk in the light of day again, to no longer be rendered helpless each dawn. Surely Brenna would understand! He knew how much she missed the brisk days of autumn and the warm halcyon days of summer.

Mara was watching him, waiting for his decision. Taking a deep breath, he reached for her.

She closed her eyes as he lowered his head. Her skin was smooth, cool to the touch. Her blood was like liquid fire on his tongue. He felt the power of it sing through every fiber and cell of his being. More, he thought, he wanted more. He wanted it all.

Enough!

Her voice rang out in his mind and he drew back, unable to resist her command.

"Forgive me," he murmured, horrified by what he had so desperately longed to do.

"There is nothing to forgive," she said, and he saw the understanding in her eyes.

"Thank you," he replied fervently, and then asked, "What of Vince? Is he able to walk in the sun's light?"

"Not yet, but soon. The sun does not render him powerless, though he must remain indoors, and at some point during the day he must rest. But as he grows older and stronger, the sun will have less power over him."

In a courtly gesture, Roshan took Mara's hand in his. He bowed over it, then kissed the back of her hand. "Again, my thanks."

"Take care of yourself, Roshan DeLongpre. There is evil in this city."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Can't you feel it?"

"Not as strongly as my wife. Do you know who or what it is?"

"No, only that it is nearby and growing stronger." She smiled at him, her green eyes glowing, and then she vanished from his sight.

He stood there for a long while, reliving all that had happened, all that Mara had told him, and then he went home, eager to tell Brenna of the night's events.

Brenna looked up from the book she was reading when Roshan entered the room. "What took you so long?"

"You won't believe this," he said, dropping down on the sofa beside her. "I ran into Mara."

"She's here, in the city?"

He nodded. "She asked me to go hunting with her."

"Oh?"

Roshan grinned. There was no mistaking the edge in his wife's voice or the jealousy in her eyes. "How could I refuse? But, Brenna, listen, she took my blood…"

"What?" Her eyes narrowed ominously.

"Hush, love, and listen…"

Brenna sprang to her feet. Hands fisted on her hips, she stared down at him. "How could you let her do that?"

"I didn't
let
her," he said curtly. "She wanted it and she took it." He took a deep breath. "Brenna, listen to me. She took my blood and she gave me hers." Even now, he couldn't believe it. "I can feel it inside me. Brenna, you can't imagine the power!"

"You drank from her?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper. Between vampires, the sharing of blood was akin to making love.

"Brenna." Rising, he drew her into his arms. "Listen to me. She said the sun will no longer have any power over me and that I won't be rendered helpless during the day. That in a year or two it won't have any power over me at all. Do you know what that means?"

She stood stiff and unmoving in his arms, her eyes swimming with tears. "You betrayed me."

"Brenna, I did it for you. She said if I give you my blood, the day will come when you, too, will be able to walk in the sunlight. Think of it, love. You won't be trapped in the darkness anymore."

Brenna blinked at him, her brow furrowed. "I don't believe you."

"It's true. Read my mind if you don't believe me. You'll see that it's true." He caressed her cheek. "Think of it, love, to be able to walk in the sun again." He drew her down on the sofa once more and turned his head to the side. "Drink, love."

She hesitated a moment before she licked his skin, and then her fangs pierced his flesh. His blood was warm as it flowed over her tongue. She had tasted him before, but it was different now. She felt a sudden rush of power flood her being, felt her senses expand as never before.

Lifting her head, she gazed into her husband's eyes. And even though she knew it was only her imagination, she saw the sun shining there.

Cara slept late the following morning. Rising, she made her bed, showered and dressed, and then went downstairs where she had a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice for breakfast.

And all the while, she thought about Vince. Last night, he had dried her tears, and while he comforted her, one thing had led to another and they had made love, and it had been even more wonderful than the first time.

Smiling with the memory, she did a load of wash, dusted and vacuumed, took the clothes out of the dryer, folded them, and put them away. She had a tuna salad sandwich and a soda for lunch and before she knew it, it was time to get ready for work.

Leaving the house, she drove to her parents' home, aware that Di Giorgio was right behind her. She wondered where he was staying now and when he slept, since he was always there, no matter what time she went out.

She pulled up to the curb across the street from her parents' residence and put the car in park. Sitting there, she stared at the house she had once called home. She had been happy there, she thought Although birthdays and holidays had been far from ordinary, her parents had done their best to make them happy occasions. She had never wanted for food or clothing or shelter. Or love.

She remembered when they told her she had been adopted. She had been eight at the time. She recalled listening carefully as Brenna explained that she couldn't have children and how badly she had longed for a child of her own, and how, out of all the children in the world, they had chosen Cara to be their daughter. Of course, she knew now that she hadn't been chosen out of all the children in the world. Her parents had taken her home because her birth mother hadn't wanted her. But that didn't change the fact that her parents had loved her unconditionally every day of her life.

Tears stung her eyes as she pulled away from the curb.

She tried to hold onto her anger and her sense of betrayal as she drove to the library, but it was no use. The truth was, she still loved her parents in spite of everything, and that just left her feeling more confused than ever.

She had a sudden urge to see Vince, but a glance at her watch showed her she couldn't swing by the garage and still make it to work on time.

With a sigh of regret, she drove to the library. Sarah Beth pulled in right behind her.