Holly rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She was in an ancient castle in Romania with three vampires. But right now, all she could think of was the one lying beside her. His skin felt cool beneath her cheek. She felt the tension in the arm around her, the length of his leg alongside hers.
Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea, after all.
She shivered as his hand stroked her hair, followed by the touch of his lips. She sucked in a breath as he rolled onto his side. His arm slipped around her waist, drawing her body close to his. Even in the dark, she could see the desire in his eyes. He wanted her. Of that there was no doubt.
And she wanted him. There was no doubt of that, either.
She waited, breathless, her heart pounding in her ears.
And still he watched her. Was he reading her thoughts? Did he know how confused she was?
“Micah . . .”
He gazed deep into her eyes, eyes filled with longing and confusion.
He kissed her once, roughly, then threw the covers aside and left the room.
Holly stared after him, torn by a sense of loss, yet relieved that the decision had been taken out of her hands.
* * *
Holly spent the day exploring the castle in an effort to keep her thoughts off of what had nearly happened the night before.
The second floor contained only bedrooms and storage closets and a small room that she eventually figured out was the medieval equivalent of a toilet. The rooms were all furnished much the same as the one where she had spent the night. There was no sign of Micah, or Kadie and Saintcrow. No doubt they had a secret lair somewhere on the premises.
The downstairs housed the main room, a dining hall, and a primitive kitchen. There were no appliances, of course.
She found bread, sandwich makings, fruit, and sodas in an ice chest.
Holly had just finished eating dinner when Saintcrow appeared. “We’re going out,” he said. “You’re welcome to come with us, or you can stay here.”
Holly bit down on the inside corner of her lip. “Going out” usually meant the vampires needed to feed. She didn’t really want to go along while they hunted some poor mortals. On the other hand, she really didn’t want to stay in this spooky old castle alone, either.
Nodding, she said, “I’d like to go.”
“I thought you would,” he said, smirking. “I’ll tell Micah to bring you a jacket.”
* * *
Holly had expected the vampires to teleport to wherever they were going, so she was relieved—and surprised—when Micah ushered her into the backseat of a late-model Cadillac convertible.
She leaned toward him, whispering, “Where did the car come from? Saintcrow said no one’s been here in a while.”
“I believe in being prepared,” Saintcrow said, meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror. “I ordered the car a couple of nights ago.”
“I didn’t mean to pry,” she muttered. Vampires had exceptional hearing. She had to remember that.
“Where are we going?” Kadie asked as Saintcrow put the car in gear.
“There’s a village a few miles from here. There’s a festival going on. Lots of strangers in town.”
Holly folded her arms over her chest, trying to keep her mind blank, but it was impossible. No doubt “lots of strangers”—when translated into vampire-speak—meant “lots of prey” who wouldn’t be missed by the locals.
“You catch on fast,” Micah drawled. “But we don’t intend to kill anyone.”
Holly looked out the window, wishing she could just disappear. It was disconcerting, having Micah read her mind. Vampire alliances must be awkward, she thought, glancing from Kadie to Saintcrow. How did their marriage even survive, when they could read each other’s every thought? Every couple had arguments. People—and probably vampires—had unkind thoughts about their partners from time to time. Thoughts that were usually fleeting and didn’t mean anything, but were nevertheless best kept private.
“Kadie can block her thoughts,” Micah said, “just as Saintcrow can block his.”
“You can learn to do it, too,” Saintcrow remarked. “It just takes concentration and lots of practice.”
“Is that how you do it?” Holly asked.
“No. It’s just part of being a vampire.”
Holly sat back. The more she learned about vampires, the more fascinated she became. True, there were drawbacks—needing blood to survive being the main one. But there were perks, too, like never growing old and the ability to just think yourself wherever you wanted to go. She glanced at the vampires in the car and grinned inwardly. Apparently a liquid diet wasn’t fattening, because they were all in great shape.
Really looking at them for the first time, she realized that their skin was different from hers, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on the difference. Their hair was thicker, more lustrous. The results of a great shampoo, or just another perk?
She smiled when Micah slipped his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. He loved her. She pondered the reality of that for several minutes, trying to decide how she felt about it. There was no denying that she was attracted to him, that she enjoyed his kisses, that she longed for more. But was that love, or just a bad case of lust for an incredibly handsome and sexy man?
“Incredibly handsome?” Micah murmured, grinning at her. “And sexy? Really?”
“Oh, shut up.”
He pulled her closer, his gaze caressing her, blocking everything from her vision save for beautiful dark eyes filled with desire. Heedless of the couple in the front seat, he covered her mouth with his, his tongue teasing, tasting, slipping inside, sliding seductively against her own. She felt his kisses in the deepest, most intimate part of her being, turning her blood to fire and her mind to mush. She had but one thought, one wish.
He growled low in his throat as he lifted his head. His eyes still burned, but now they blazed with a different kind of hunger.
When he expelled a deep, panting breath, she saw his fangs for the first time.
Chapter Nineteen
Holly twisted out of Micah’s embrace as reality came crashing down on her. What was she doing, making out with a vampire in the backseat of a car?
“Change your mind?” Micah asked dryly.
“I . . .” She lifted a hand to her throat.
His gaze followed the gesture. “What are you afraid of?” he asked, genuinely puzzled. “Even if I bit you, it wouldn’t be the first time.”
To her chagrin, Holly felt herself blushing, and how stupid was that? She hadn’t done anything to be embarrassed about, and she wasn’t about to apologize for being shocked by the sight of his fangs. Sure, she knew he had them. She had felt them at her throat. But knowing and seeing were two different things.
She glanced out the window when the car came to a stop.
“Kadie thinks you two need some time alone, so we’re gonna walk from here.” Saintcrow tossed the keys over the seat. After getting out of the car, he opened the passenger door. “We’ll meet you back at the house in an hour or two.” He offered Kadie his hand and they moved on down the street.
Bemused by their sudden departure, Holly stared after them.
Micah stroked her cheek with his knuckles. It sent a shaft of heat spiraling to the pit of her stomach.
“Alone at last,” he murmured.
“I thought you were hungry.”
“Oh, I am.”
“Or do you say thirsty?” she wondered aloud.
“Both.” He traced the outline of her lips with his forefinger, then let his fingertips slide slowly down her chin to rest in the hollow of her throat. “I’m hungry for your body.” His words were direct but softly spoken. “I’m thirsty for your blood.”
“Micah . . .”
“I’m here, darlin’.”
There was no doubt about that. His presence filled the car and her senses. When he touched her, every nerve ending came to vibrant life, thrumming at his touch like the strings of a
guitar when plucked by a master’s hand.
He leaned slowly toward her. “Tell me what you want, sunshine,” he whispered.
“Don’t you know?”
He nodded. “I want to hear you say it.”
“You,” she murmured. “Just you.”
She closed her eyes as he lowered his head to cover her mouth with his. As always, everything else fell away until there was only the two of them, their tongues tangling in an erotic dance of discovery. She clutched at his shirtfront as the world spun out of focus. What power did he have over her? One minute, she was appalled to be making out with him in the backseat, the next she was melting against him, yearning for more.
Wrapped in a cocoon of sensual pleasure, Holly didn’t immediately realize Micah was no longer beside her. The staccato bark of gunshots brought her swiftly back to reality. She let out a gasp when her door flew open, shrieked when someone grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her out of the backseat, scraping her arm against the door, before flinging her to the sidewalk.
Holly tried to scream for Micah, but all that emerged from her throat was a hoarse cry of dismay when she saw him sprawled facedown on the sidewalk. A dark stain leaked from beneath him and spread across the pavement. Was he dead? How was that even possible?
She glanced around, desperately searching for help, only to realize they were in a commercial district. All the buildings were dark, the parking lots empty, the streets devoid of traffic.
Terror gripped her when a second man rounded the front of the car and came to join the man towering over her. Holly swallowed hard as they dragged her into an alley a short distance from the car. She tried to scream for help, but fear clogged her throat. Icy sweat beaded her brow. Even if she hollered her head off, there was no one to hear her.
She was going to die.
But she wasn’t going down without a fight. Adrenaline surging, she scratched and kicked for all she was worth, let out a cry of satisfaction when her nails drew blood. A well-placed kick sent one of her attackers to his knees.
And then, miraculously, Micah was there.
Holly choked back the bitter bile that rose in her throat as he broke the neck of the first man, turned away when he sank his fangs into the throat of the second.
“What the bloody hell!”
At the sound of Saintcrow’s voice, Holly glanced over her shoulder to see the master vampire striding purposefully toward them.
“I leave the two of you alone for five minutes,” he exclaimed, his face as dark as a thundercloud, “and all hell breaks loose.”
“It’s under control,” Micah said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I can see that. What happened?”
Micah shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“What’s obvious is that they took you by surprise.”
“Yeah, well, I was distracted.”
Saintcrow looked at Holly, who blushed from the soles of her feet to her hairline.
“Where’s Kadie?” Micah asked.
“Waiting around the corner.” Saintcrow sent a fleeting glance at the bodies sprawled at Micah’s feet. “Since you’ve fed, we’ll take Holly home with us. You can take care of the bodies and meet us there.”
* * *
Holly huddled on the sofa in front of the hearth, arms tightly clasped around her middle. In spite of the roaring fire in the fireplace, she couldn’t stop shaking. Until she’d met Micah, she had been a stranger to violence. Sure, she had seen death and destruction in living color on the nightly news, but never like this, up close and personal. Try as she might, she couldn’t get the graphic images out of her mind, or forget the smell.
Nor could she help wondering what Micah was going to do with the bodies. Would he bury them? Or just dump them in the woods, where they would eventually be found and identified? Did their attackers have wives, children, friends who would miss them?
She shivered as the front door opened and Micah stepped inside, followed by a blast of cold air.
“Did you dispose of the bodies?” Saintcrow asked.
“No one will ever find ’em.” Micah spoke to Saintcrow, but his attention was focused on Holly. “Are you all right?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be all right again.”
He closed the distance between them, then knelt in front of her. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
She nodded, her gaze riveted on the dried blood caked on his shirtfront. He had been shot at close range. Any other man would be dead. Only he wasn’t a man.
“Holly, look at me.”
“You saved my life.”
“Yeah, well, you wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place if you hadn’t been with me.”
Holly shook her head. “Let’s not go there.”
“I’m going to turn in,” Saintcrow said, glancing from Micah to Holly and back again. “See you tomorrow.”
When they were alone, Micah held out his arms, wondering if Holly would rebuff him or let him comfort her.
Without hesitation, she slid off the sofa and onto his lap, sighed as his arms wrapped around her. “I was so afraid,” she whispered. “I thought you were dead.”
“You put up a hell of a fight.”
“Were they hunters?”
“No, just a couple of thugs looking for a good time. They won’t be bothering anybody again.”
With a shudder, she buried her face in his shoulder.
“Listen, sunshine, I can make you forget it happened if you want me to.”
“No,” she said, her voice muffled. “You’ve messed with my mind too often as it is.”
He laughed softly. “Only for your own good.”
Lifting her head, she met his gaze. “Maybe you could think of another way to help me forget.”
“Yeah,” Micah said, his arms tightening around her. “Maybe I can.”
She sighed as he claimed her lips with his. As always, his kisses drove everything else from her mind.
Somehow, they were lying on the rug in front of the hearth, their bodies tightly pressed together. She welcomed his caresses even as her own hands explored the hard contours of his back and shoulders. She had seen death firsthand tonight. Being in Micah’s arms was a reminder that life went on.
He whispered in her ear, his words as arousing as the touch of his hands.
Holly clung to him. She wanted him desperately and yet she held back, knowing that if she surrendered her body, she would also be surrendering her heart and her future. Once they made love, there would be no going back.
She froze when she felt the brush of his fangs at her throat.
Micah cursed under his breath, damning his need for her blood. After what she’d been through tonight, what was he thinking? Lifting his head, he murmured, “I’m sorry, Holly. Forgive me.”
She nodded, her gaze sliding away from his. How could he be thirsty, she wondered, when he’d fed on that man less than an hour ago?
Sitting up, Micah ran a hand through his hair. “It isn’t the same,” he said quietly.
“What do you mean? Blood is blood.”
“Think of him as meat and potatoes,” Micah said with a faint smile. “Needed for survival. But you . . .” His knuckles caressed her cheek. “You’re like dessert, warm and sweet and extraordinary.”
Holly grinned in spite of herself. No one but Micah could make something as disgusting as drinking her blood sound like something rare and wonderful.
* * *
During the next two weeks, Holly’s life took on a fairytale quality. She slept like Sleeping Beauty during the day and went sightseeing with the vampires at night.
With Saintcrow as their guide, they toured the cities of Romania—cities with exotic names, like Alba and Sighisoara, Brasov and Bucharest. They shopped in quaint village stores, walked ancient streets, stood in awe of magnificent churches and citadels.
Of course, if you were touring Romania with vampires, a visit to Transylvania was a must. Located in the center o
f Romania and surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, it was known worldwide as the home of the world’s most famous vampire, Dracula himself. Many believed that the count, villain of so many books and movies, was loosely based on Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler, a warlord renowned for his cruelty and bloodletting.
With one night slipping into another, it came as a shock to Holly to realize that her vacation was over. And so, she feared, was her job.
Chapter Twenty
Hands fisted on her hips, Leticia Braga stood on the edge of the road that fronted Morgan Creek. Scowling, she glanced at her companion. “The wards are still in place, but it doesn’t matter. They’ve gone.”
Mahlon nodded.
Eyes narrowed, she paced back and forth for several minutes before wheeling around to face her companion. “Lambert and his friend mentioned another vampire. Micah Ravenwood. I want you to find out everything you can about him. From what I overheard, it sounded like Ravenwood and Saintcrow are friends. Perhaps Ravenwood will lead us to our quarry.”
“Yes, mistress.”
As every vampire quickly learned, threatening mortal family members was the fastest way to bring an enemy—mortal or Undead—to his knees. Saintcrow was ancient. He had no surviving family members. She had little hope of separating him from Kadie. But Ravenwood was still a young vampire. There was a good chance he had family still living, people he cared for—parents, siblings. Perhaps a wife. Thanks to the Internet, finding information about Ravenwood and his family shouldn’t take Mahlon more than a day or two.
She stared across the ravine, but it wasn’t the ruined bridge she saw, or the road beyond. It was the face of her beloved Gavin, his beautiful eyes filled with love, his mouth curved in a smile that had been hers and hers alone.
Grief pierced her heart and hardened her resolve. One way or another, she would find Rylan Saintcrow. She would not rest until he was dead by her hand.
Chapter Twenty-One
Micah read the text message on his phone a second time. And then a third. It was succinct and to the point.
We have your family.
If you ever want to see