Read Online Kiss of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Realm Book 2) by Gayla Twist - Free Book Online
Authors: Gayla Twist
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then I added, “It will be nice to have a bit of company.”
I could feel the sun starting to rise. The castle was perfectly sealed. The staff would have drawn blackout curtains over any windows. No ray of light could enter. But still I could sense it. I was about to say something to Haley. I wanted to ask her if she could feel the change in the light. But the expression on her face caused me alarm. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or ill. “Are you alright?” I asked, wondering if I had somehow offended her.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. And then she fainted dead away in my arms.
“What’s going on?” Haley asked as I was carrying her up the stairs to the second floor. “What happened?” She frowned as she noted that I was transporting her. “You don’t have to carry me.”
“Of course I do. You fainted.”
“No I didn’t,” she protested. “Vampires can’t faint.”
“We can and you did,” I informed her. “This is my fault for allowing you to live so rough.” It was shameful that I had neglected my progeny to the point that she could collapse with the rise of the sun while she was standing in a darkened room.
Haley’s head began to loll again. “Not your fault,” she mumbled as she pressed her face against my chest and closed her eyes again.
I took her to the guest room closest to mine. But as I tried to lay her on the bed, she emitted a small whimper and clung to me a little like a child who was exhausted from a long day at the fair. I couldn’t just leave her. That would have been cruel. And what if she woke up in the middle of the day needing me?
I carefully settled upon the bed with Haley still cradled in my arms and then arranged it so that she could rest with her head supported by my chest. Lying there with my arms around her was the happiest I had been in recent memory. And I had to admit, it was nice to spend some time with her when she couldn’t argue with me.
Haley rustled around a little. “Don’t most vampires sleep in coffins?” she murmured in a drowsy voice.
“Some do and some don’t,” I told her, pushing a lock of her hair off of her face so it wouldn’t get into her eyes. “The older ones usually do, but many younger vampires just sleep in a light proof room.”
“What do you use?” she said, nestling against me like a kitten snuggles in a pile of blankets.
“A coffin usually,” I told her. “Unless I have an overnight guest.”
“Mmphfff,” was her reply.
It was a cruel truth that the longer a person was a vampire, the more they forgot how to sleep. When I was first turned, I could close my eyes and lose myself to the darkness. It wasn’t exactly like sleeping, more like the oblivion of anesthesia, but there was a simulation of sleep. As the years passed, that oblivion became increasingly more elusive until I was barely ever able to lose consciousness for more than a few minutes each day. Meeting Haley hadn’t helped. She’d stolen any tranquility I had previously been able to find. The days became an endless torment of me having way too much time to think.
But holding Miss Haley Scott in my arms was paradise. My brain, which had a tendency to brood, felt tranquil and light. I closed my eyes and felt my consciousness beginning to drift. It was so peaceful. It was almost like I was a mortal again.
Chapter 10
Haley
I was having the most wonderful dream. I was all safe and warm and happy. Tommy was holding me and telling me how much he loved me. But it couldn’t have been Tommy Sherman. He didn’t have blond hair. Things came in and out of focus like they do in dreams. The boy was handsome and strong. And I knew that he really cared about me. I knew it. There wasn’t just the hope of love like I’d had with Tommy. It wasn’t simply lust disguised with false words.
But part of me also understood
I could feel the sun starting to rise. The castle was perfectly sealed. The staff would have drawn blackout curtains over any windows. No ray of light could enter. But still I could sense it. I was about to say something to Haley. I wanted to ask her if she could feel the change in the light. But the expression on her face caused me alarm. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or ill. “Are you alright?” I asked, wondering if I had somehow offended her.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. And then she fainted dead away in my arms.
“What’s going on?” Haley asked as I was carrying her up the stairs to the second floor. “What happened?” She frowned as she noted that I was transporting her. “You don’t have to carry me.”
“Of course I do. You fainted.”
“No I didn’t,” she protested. “Vampires can’t faint.”
“We can and you did,” I informed her. “This is my fault for allowing you to live so rough.” It was shameful that I had neglected my progeny to the point that she could collapse with the rise of the sun while she was standing in a darkened room.
Haley’s head began to loll again. “Not your fault,” she mumbled as she pressed her face against my chest and closed her eyes again.
I took her to the guest room closest to mine. But as I tried to lay her on the bed, she emitted a small whimper and clung to me a little like a child who was exhausted from a long day at the fair. I couldn’t just leave her. That would have been cruel. And what if she woke up in the middle of the day needing me?
I carefully settled upon the bed with Haley still cradled in my arms and then arranged it so that she could rest with her head supported by my chest. Lying there with my arms around her was the happiest I had been in recent memory. And I had to admit, it was nice to spend some time with her when she couldn’t argue with me.
Haley rustled around a little. “Don’t most vampires sleep in coffins?” she murmured in a drowsy voice.
“Some do and some don’t,” I told her, pushing a lock of her hair off of her face so it wouldn’t get into her eyes. “The older ones usually do, but many younger vampires just sleep in a light proof room.”
“What do you use?” she said, nestling against me like a kitten snuggles in a pile of blankets.
“A coffin usually,” I told her. “Unless I have an overnight guest.”
“Mmphfff,” was her reply.
It was a cruel truth that the longer a person was a vampire, the more they forgot how to sleep. When I was first turned, I could close my eyes and lose myself to the darkness. It wasn’t exactly like sleeping, more like the oblivion of anesthesia, but there was a simulation of sleep. As the years passed, that oblivion became increasingly more elusive until I was barely ever able to lose consciousness for more than a few minutes each day. Meeting Haley hadn’t helped. She’d stolen any tranquility I had previously been able to find. The days became an endless torment of me having way too much time to think.
But holding Miss Haley Scott in my arms was paradise. My brain, which had a tendency to brood, felt tranquil and light. I closed my eyes and felt my consciousness beginning to drift. It was so peaceful. It was almost like I was a mortal again.
Chapter 10
Haley
I was having the most wonderful dream. I was all safe and warm and happy. Tommy was holding me and telling me how much he loved me. But it couldn’t have been Tommy Sherman. He didn’t have blond hair. Things came in and out of focus like they do in dreams. The boy was handsome and strong. And I knew that he really cared about me. I knew it. There wasn’t just the hope of love like I’d had with Tommy. It wasn’t simply lust disguised with false words.
But part of me also understood
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