Don’t look at them. I’ll take care of this.”
She wouldn’t have looked, but for the whimpering. A wail of pain that prompted her to advance toward the sound. The driver lay on the seat, blood running down his neck from distinctive punctures.
The kind of wound only seen in science-fiction blockbusters and television shows, seemingly inflicted by an undead citizen who had clawed his way out of his grave. A vampire’s bite.
“What did you do to him?” she asked.
Damn, didn’t she already know the answer to that? But it was too late to swallow back her spontaneous question.
“They were going to hurt you.”
Unlikely characters. Her father found the exact term to name what had to be a vampire. Should she feel surprised, frightened or simply upset? With everything going on, the sole emotion now pushing toward the surface was curiosity.
She touched the spot on her throat where the blade had pinched her skin before looking at her savior. “Who are you?”
“I’m no one.” He sounded so weary that she felt sorry for him.
Moved by compassion and gratefulness, she hugged him.
He returned her embrace fiercely, iron arms around her, their minds linked in a wordless understanding.
Her belly fluttered with an uncanny awareness while she enjoyed his arms around her. Shit had kept on happening since she set foot in this universe, but for a split second, she reveled in the peaceful feeling induced by the vampire’s grip. So much so that letting go of him sapped her strength. Really, who was this guy?
She didn’t trust herself to speak as they walked back to the mansion in silence, just tried to retain the relieving sensation of his presence. Lights glowed in the windows, the door still unlocked.
When she opened it, he stepped backward. “Goodbye. And thank you.”
“I should be thanking you,” she said. “After all, you saved me.”
His slow smile was heartbreaking. Although he appeared able to dissolve in the dark landscape, he retreated into the shadows. “You’re the very image of what’s good in this world and I won’t let anyone hurt you. Don’t worry, I’ll be around.”
But she couldn’t let him go. This man was important to her. Vampire he may be, yet something linked them since they first laid eyes on each other. What she didn’t know though, she intended to find out. “Wait! What’s your name?”
A gust of air, and he was gone before she had a chance to blink. She’d see him again for sure because the connection between them couldn’t be severed. Whatever linked them would stand the test of time and distance. If only she had the means to put a name on the feeling he elicited in her.
He vanished into the night as swiftly and soundlessly as he’d rescued her. But not before she heard his last murmur. “My name is Raphael.”
She never, ever hugged strangers. She didn’t even talk to them, let alone when they turned out to be creatures of the night. Stunned by this oh-so-weird encounter almost as much as by the intensity of her intimate reaction to Raphael, she let herself into the house with very slow motions.
Garrett and Weedon were just coming out of the parlor when she slipped back in and closed the door. No guests could be seen in the entrance hall and living room, only servants clearing up the remnants of the diner. In all likelihood, Jake and Jessica had gone upstairs to their rooms.
And there she stood, caught like a teenager going over the wall on her way back from a spring break party.
The three of them stared at each other, a funny twinkle lighting Weedon’s gaze and naked irritation icing Garrett’s face.
Garrett inhaled sharply, his rigid stance and frosty tone matching the harsh lines creasing his brow. “Where have you been?” he demanded. “Please, do not tell me you strayed outside alone. Have you no judgment at all?”
“Actually, I have, but thank you very much for asking. I just needed fresh air to sort things out.”
He regarded her with a total lack
She wouldn’t have looked, but for the whimpering. A wail of pain that prompted her to advance toward the sound. The driver lay on the seat, blood running down his neck from distinctive punctures.
The kind of wound only seen in science-fiction blockbusters and television shows, seemingly inflicted by an undead citizen who had clawed his way out of his grave. A vampire’s bite.
“What did you do to him?” she asked.
Damn, didn’t she already know the answer to that? But it was too late to swallow back her spontaneous question.
“They were going to hurt you.”
Unlikely characters. Her father found the exact term to name what had to be a vampire. Should she feel surprised, frightened or simply upset? With everything going on, the sole emotion now pushing toward the surface was curiosity.
She touched the spot on her throat where the blade had pinched her skin before looking at her savior. “Who are you?”
“I’m no one.” He sounded so weary that she felt sorry for him.
Moved by compassion and gratefulness, she hugged him.
He returned her embrace fiercely, iron arms around her, their minds linked in a wordless understanding.
Her belly fluttered with an uncanny awareness while she enjoyed his arms around her. Shit had kept on happening since she set foot in this universe, but for a split second, she reveled in the peaceful feeling induced by the vampire’s grip. So much so that letting go of him sapped her strength. Really, who was this guy?
She didn’t trust herself to speak as they walked back to the mansion in silence, just tried to retain the relieving sensation of his presence. Lights glowed in the windows, the door still unlocked.
When she opened it, he stepped backward. “Goodbye. And thank you.”
“I should be thanking you,” she said. “After all, you saved me.”
His slow smile was heartbreaking. Although he appeared able to dissolve in the dark landscape, he retreated into the shadows. “You’re the very image of what’s good in this world and I won’t let anyone hurt you. Don’t worry, I’ll be around.”
But she couldn’t let him go. This man was important to her. Vampire he may be, yet something linked them since they first laid eyes on each other. What she didn’t know though, she intended to find out. “Wait! What’s your name?”
A gust of air, and he was gone before she had a chance to blink. She’d see him again for sure because the connection between them couldn’t be severed. Whatever linked them would stand the test of time and distance. If only she had the means to put a name on the feeling he elicited in her.
He vanished into the night as swiftly and soundlessly as he’d rescued her. But not before she heard his last murmur. “My name is Raphael.”
She never, ever hugged strangers. She didn’t even talk to them, let alone when they turned out to be creatures of the night. Stunned by this oh-so-weird encounter almost as much as by the intensity of her intimate reaction to Raphael, she let herself into the house with very slow motions.
Garrett and Weedon were just coming out of the parlor when she slipped back in and closed the door. No guests could be seen in the entrance hall and living room, only servants clearing up the remnants of the diner. In all likelihood, Jake and Jessica had gone upstairs to their rooms.
And there she stood, caught like a teenager going over the wall on her way back from a spring break party.
The three of them stared at each other, a funny twinkle lighting Weedon’s gaze and naked irritation icing Garrett’s face.
Garrett inhaled sharply, his rigid stance and frosty tone matching the harsh lines creasing his brow. “Where have you been?” he demanded. “Please, do not tell me you strayed outside alone. Have you no judgment at all?”
“Actually, I have, but thank you very much for asking. I just needed fresh air to sort things out.”
He regarded her with a total lack
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