Everlasting Kiss (16 page)

Erik speared a slice of meat with his fork. “We should be there by late tomorrow night.”

Daisy stared at him. Was he really going to eat? Could he?

She glanced at Alex, who had also chosen roast beef, then back at Erik.

“Medium rare,” Alex said, taking a bite. “Just the way I like it.”

Erik nodded, though he hadn’t eaten a thing.

They made small talk for a few minutes, then Alex went back for seconds, leaving Daisy and Erik alone at the table.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Erik hadn’t eaten a thing, but Alex seemed totally oblivious to that fact.

“Just a little vampire magic,” Erik said. “I planted the suggestion in your brother’s mind that I’m eating.”

“You can do that?”

Erik nodded. Had it not been necessary to allay Alex’s growing suspicions, he would have waited for Daisy and her brother in the car. The sound of too many beating hearts, the scent of warm blood combined with the unpleasant odors of so much food, played havoc with his senses and his self-control.

“How did you get in the restaurant without getting burned?”

“I transported myself from the car to here.” He would have preferred to do the same thing when he had followed her to the mall. It would have been less painful, but he wouldn’t have been able to track her scent that way.

Daisy nodded. While growing up, she and her brothers had heard numerous stories of the remarkable powers that vampires possessed. But it was one thing to hear about them, or read about them, and quite another to know that they weren’t stories at all, but fact, and that the man sitting beside her was capable of things she had always regarded as myths.

Alex returned a short time later, the plates on his tray piled high. “Are you two finished already?”

“Not quite,” Daisy said. “I want to sample their chocolate cake. And maybe that apple pie. They both look really good.”

“You’re right,” Alex said. “Bring me a slice of that pie, will you?”

With a nod, Daisy left the table.

Alex looked at Erik. “I take it you’re not having dessert.”

“No.”

“No taste for sweets?”

Erik glanced at Daisy, who was standing at the dessert table. “It depends on the sweet,” he remarked.

Alex frowned as he followed Erik’s gaze. “What are your intentions toward my sister?”

“Intentions?”

“You know what I mean. She said you’ve only known each other a couple of weeks, but it doesn’t look that way to me. I see the way she looks at you,” Alex said, leaning forward. “The way you look at her.”

“We’re attracted to one another,” Erik said mildly. “It’s quite normal.”

“Is it? You’re hiding something from her, something…” Alex frowned. “I don’t know what it is, but you’re no good for her.”

“Perhaps not,” Erik said candidly. “But she’s very good for me.”

“What’s good for you?” Daisy asked, taking her seat beside Erik.

“You are,” he said, smiling.

Alex pushed his plate away. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Daisy gestured at the pie on her tray. “What about your dessert?”

“Forget it,” Alex said curtly. “I’m not hungry anymore.” Rising, he stalked out of the restaurant.

“He’s not going to make this easy, is he?” Erik remarked.

“He’s never made anything easy,” Daisy muttered. “Do you want to go?”

“No, finish your dessert.” He turned to look out the window. The sun was still visible above the horizon. “Take as long as you like.”

Daisy wasn’t sure she could endure another day and night on the road with Erik and her brother.

Last night, after they left the restaurant, the atmosphere in the car had been tense, to say the least. Daisy had managed to distract Alex while Erik transported himself from the restaurant into the backseat. Pleading a headache, he had pulled the blanket over his head. Daisy had taken a turn at the wheel, grateful to have something to occupy her mind. Alex had sulked in the passenger seat.

At dusk, Alex had climbed into the backseat and Daisy had relinquished the wheel to Erik.

And now it was night again, and Erik was driving.

“How much longer?” Daisy asked.

“We should be there a little after midnight,” Erik replied. They had made good time since leaving the motel three nights ago. He was reasonably certain they would be safe once they reached Boston. He and Rhys had never exchanged blood; there was no blood link between the two of them, no way for Rhys to find him.

It was different with Alex; Rhys had tasted Alex’s blood, which might allow the vampire to track him over a short distance, but even Rhys Costain couldn’t follow a scent that was twenty-six hundred miles away. Unless Alex had also tasted Costain’s blood.

Of course, that was a question Erik couldn’t ask Daisy’s brother, since he wasn’t supposed to know that a vampire was after the two of them. But it was something they needed to know. He would have to ask Daisy about it. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it sooner.

Blood was a strong bond. Erik had drunk from Daisy and she had tasted his blood, which had created a bond between them, one that Daisy remained unaware of due to the fact that Erik kept his mind closed to her. He would always be able to find her; if he so desired, he could read her thoughts. If he opened his mind to her, the link between them would work both ways, allowing her access to his thoughts as well. Such a bond grew stronger with each exchange of blood, forging a connection between vampire and mortal that could only be broken by death.

Erik swore softly. If Alex and Rhys had exchanged blood, there was no point in running away. Rhys would be able to home in on Alex’s blood whether Alex was across the street or across the country.

Erik slid a glance at Daisy. Her eyes were closed; her lashes lay like dark fans against her rosy cheeks. In all his years, Erik had never created another vampire, never bonded with a mortal, mainly because he had never met anyone, male or female, he wanted to be bound to, until he met Daisy. And now, through some cosmic quirk of fate, he shared a blood link with the notorious Blood Thief.

Needing to clear his head, Erik lowered the car window. A blood-red moon smiled down on him; the cool night air caressed his skin like the hand of a familiar friend. He had learned to love being a vampire just as he had grown to love the night—the sounds, the silence, the sense of belonging. He was a creature of the night now, one with the darkness in ways no mortal could or would ever understand. With his enhanced night vision, nothing was hidden from him. He saw the brown and white dog skulking through the shadows, the barn owl perched in an oak tree alongside the highway, the mouse foolishly trying to cross the road.

To be a vampire was to see things, hear things, that were beyond the limited abilities of mortals. Many vampires, drunk on the power of what they were, began to regard mortals as little more than food. Rhys was one of them. He had been a vampire for so long, he had forgotten what it was like to be human.

To Erik’s dismay, there were times when he caught himself thinking along the same lines, viewing mortals as little more than sustenance. When that happened, he made himself stop and think about his wife and children, about the love they had shared, their hopes and dreams. Vampire though he might be, he had always tried to hang on to some vestige of his humanity, to remember what it had been like to be a mortal man, a husband and a father.

His gaze slid over the woman beside him. She was a young female in the prime of her life with her whole future ahead of her. One day, she would give up being a Blood Thief, settle down with a decent young man, and raise a couple of kids. Whether he liked it or not, a 325-year-old vampire had no place in Daisy O’Donnell’s life or her future.

Hearing a subtle change in Alex’s breathing, Erik glanced in the rearview mirror. Daisy’s brother sat up, stretching. He grimaced when he met Erik’s gaze.

Erik grinned wryly. Alex made no secret of the fact that he didn’t like Erik dating his sister. Good thing he didn’t know the truth, Erik mused, his grin widening.

“According to Daisy’s directions, we should almost be there,” Erik remarked.

“Yeah,” Alex said. “Take the next off ramp and turn right at the first stop sign.”

Erik glanced in the rearview mirror again. “You want to tell me why you dislike me so much?”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Any particular reason why you feel that way?”

“Nothing I can put my finger on, but in my gut, I know you’re not what you seem.”

Erik grunted softly, impressed with O’Donnell’s intuition. “Whatever you might think, your sister is safe with me. Believe that if you believe nothing else.”

“What do you want from her?”

“What does any man want from a beautiful woman?” Erik grinned inwardly as Alex’s face turned an angry shade of purple. “Calm down before you bust a blood vessel,” Erik said. “I’m kidding.”

“I doubt it,” Alex muttered.

Erik met Alex’s gaze in the mirror again. “I’m in love with her,” he said quietly. “I know you don’t approve and you’d rather I wasn’t here, but I really don’t give a damn what you think. She’s in danger, and until she’s safe again, I’ll be nearby whether you like it or not.”

“Turn left here,” Alex said gruffly. “We’re home.”

Daisy woke up when the car came to a stop. She glanced out the window, overcome with a sense of peace when she saw the light shining in the front window. Her mother always left a light burning in the window when one of her children was away from home, whether they were going to be gone for an evening or indefinitely.

She looked up when Erik opened the car door and offered her his hand. “Here we are.”

She nodded as she placed her hand in his and let him help her out of the car.

Erik tossed his keys to Alex. “Why don’t you get the bags?”

Daisy tugged on Erik’s hand. “You’re staying here, with us, aren’t you?”

“I don’t think so.”

What was she thinking? Of course he wouldn’t want to stay with her, not when her father and brothers were hunters. “Will I see you tomorrow night?”

“I’ll be here.”

“Where are you going to stay?”

“I’ll find a place. Don’t worry about me. And don’t let that brother of yours do anything stupid. If you’re smart, you’ll both stay indoors as soon as the sun starts to set. I doubt if Rhys knows where you are, but it’s not worth taking the chance. If he finds Alex, he’ll kill him. And you, too. Don’t doubt it for a minute.”

Daisy swallowed hard. If he was trying to scare her, he’d done a first-rate job.

“Do you know if Alex ingested any of Rhys’s blood?”

“Drank it, you mean?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“Let’s just say things will be less complicated if he didn’t.”

“Less complicated?” Daisy frowned at him. “In what way?”

“Rhys has your brother’s scent, but I’m pretty sure he can’t track that this far. If your brother and Rhys exchanged blood, Rhys will be able to find him no matter where he goes. If they didn’t, then Alex is probably safe here.” Erik ran his knuckles down her cheek. “And so are you.”

“I never thought to ask him about that.”

“Well, if Rhys doesn’t show up in the next day or so, there’s probably nothing to worry about.”

“Should I talk to Alex about it?”

“Probably wouldn’t hurt.”

“All right.”

Needing to touch her, he ran his hands up and down her arms. “Until we know for sure, remember what I said about staying inside.”

“I will.”

“Hey, Daisy,” Alex called from the porch. “You comin’?”

“I’ll be right there.” She looked up at Erik. “Till tomorrow, then.”

“Sweet dreams, Daisy darlin’.”

She looked up at him through the veil of her lashes. “Aren’t you going to kiss me good night?”

“You bet.” Cupping her face in his hands, Erik kissed her long and hard, partly to annoy Alex, who was watching them from the porch, but all thought of aggravating Alex quickly faded from Erik’s mind when Daisy’s tongue slid across his lips. With a moan that was almost a growl, he crushed her body against his as he deepened the kiss. Maybe he couldn’t be a part of her future, but she was here now, and he was determined to make the most of whatever time they had together.

Erik grinned when, a moment later, he heard the sound of the front door slamming shut. “You’d better go,” he murmured, dropping a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Before your brother has a heart attack.”

“I’ll miss you,” Daisy said, her gaze searching his. “Come as early as you can.”

“Count on it.”

“Erik…” She stroked his cheek, reluctant to let him go, afraid she might never see him again.

“I won’t leave you, Daisy, not as long as he’s out there.”

“And when the danger’s past?” she asked, her voice so low only a vampire could hear it.

“Let’s not worry about that now, okay?”

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“Dammit, Daisy, what do you want from me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe you’ll tell me when you find out.” He kissed her again because she was looking up at him, her eyes filled with confusion, because she was so close and smelled so good. Because, oh, hell, when did a man need a reason to kiss a beautiful woman? One last kiss, and then he headed for his car before he took her there, in the damp grass with her brother watching from the window.

Daisy touched her fingertips to her lips as she watched Erik drive away. She could feel Alex’s accusing gaze boring into her back, knew that, sooner or later, she would have to go into the house and face him.

Putting it off wouldn’t make it any easier. With a sigh of resignation, she went in to face the music.

Alex was waiting for her when she walked in the door. “I guess you’re gonna tell me that was just a good-night kiss between friends?”

Daisy tossed her handbag on the sofa table. “Oh, for crying out loud. He just kissed me like that because he knew you were watching.”

“Yeah, right. Dammit, Daisy, Erik Delacourt is after something. Why can’t you see that?”

“None of this is any of your business,” Daisy retorted. “I’m over twenty-one. You’re not my father…”

“No, but I am,” a deep voice said.

Daisy spun around to see her father coming down the stairs, belting his favorite ratty bathrobe around him.

Noah O’Donnell was tall and lean, with shaggy brown hair and intelligent brown eyes. A narrow scar, souvenir from a fight with a vampire, bisected his left cheek. He glanced from Daisy to Alex and back again. “What’s going on?”

Daisy hurried toward her father and threw her arms around him. “Nothing. Alex is just being Alex. I don’t know how you stand him.”

Noah O’Donnell grinned at his daughter. “Who’s Erik Delacourt and what does Alex think he’s after?”

“He’s after Daisy,” Alex said, his tone sour. “If you’d seen the way they were kissing a minute ago…”

“Well, you can’t blame the man,” Noah said. “After all, Daisy is a lovely young woman, and there’s nothing wrong with kissing.”

“There’s something wrong with Delacourt,” Alex said sourly. “Something…”

“You just don’t like him,” Daisy said. “I don’t know why, and I don’t care. I like him.”

“Here, now, daughter, how serious are things between you and this man?”

“They’re not serious. I hardly know him.”

“I see.” Noah ran a hand through his hair, his expression suddenly serious. “What brings the two of you home at this hour of the night?”

“Well, uh…” Alex cleared his throat. “We had some trouble in LA.”

“What kind of trouble?” Noah asked.

“I went looking for Costain,” Alex said, “and I…” He glanced at Daisy. “We found him.”

Noah glanced between Daisy and Alex. “Go on.”

“It was a close call,” Daisy said. “Alex was badly hurt, at least I thought so at the time.” She couldn’t tell her brother or her father how close Alex had been to death, couldn’t explain how Erik had saved his life. “I took him to Erik’s—”

“Why didn’t you take him to the nearest hospital?” her father asked.

“I don’t know. I guess I panicked. Anyway, Erik gave him first aid and—”

“You didn’t tell him Alex had been attacked by a vampire, did you?”

“No, of course not,” Daisy said, thinking quickly. “I said he’d been beat up by a man who was stalking me. Anyway, I decided we should get out of town and Erik offered to bring us home.”

“I see. And where is he now?”

“He went to find a hotel.”

“Why didn’t you invite him to stay here?” Noah asked. “After all, we owe him a favor.”

Daisy shot a withering glance at her brother. “He didn’t want to stay under the same roof as Alex.”

“Well, you’re both home, safe and sound, and that’s what matters most. Why don’t you both go get some sleep. We’ll talk more about this in the morning.”

Daisy nodded, glad for a chance to escape the room and any further interrogation by her brother or her father. “Good night, Dad.”

“Good night, daughter.”

With a last look at Alex, Daisy went upstairs. The house seemed empty without her mom bustling around, offering cookies and hot chocolate, acting as a buffer between Daisy and Alex. In spite of her affection for her brother, they had butted heads since they were kids.

Going home was like going back in time, Daisy thought as she stepped into her bedroom. It looked exactly the same as it had when she first moved out. Beneath assorted rock-star posters, the walls were pink with white woodwork. Pink polka-dot curtains hung at the windows; a bright pink quilt covered the bed. A dozen stuffed penguins of varying sizes fought for space on the shelf over her desk.

With a sigh, Daisy changed into her pajamas, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. After turning out the light, she climbed into bed and closed her eyes, asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Erik stood in the shadows outside Daisy’s house, watching as the lights inside went out, one by one. He listened as she snuggled into her bed, waited until the soft, even sound of her breathing told him she was asleep before he got into his car and drove away.

With no destination in mind, he drove through the city until he found what he was looking for. The Vampire Vault was a private club similar to La Morte Rouge, a hangout for vampires and those who served them. One had to be a vampire, or be invited by a vampire, to gain entrance. Like La Morte Rouge, the Vault wasn’t listed in the phone book or online.

Erik parked his car in the lot, then knocked on the back door. The vampire who opened it looked like he had just stepped off the set of an old Dracula movie. He wore a black suit, white tie, and a long black cloak.

The doorman murmured, “Good evening,” in a remarkable impression of a young Bela Lugosi as he gestured for Erik to enter.

A narrow hallway opened onto the club’s main floor. A quick glance revealed a long bar at the far end of the room. A trio of waiters served the fifteen or twenty people seated there. High-backed booths lined one wall. Small tables adorned with black cloths were located at intervals around the room. Each table was decorated with a black vase and a blood-red rose. The lighting was dim, the air filled with the scent of beating hearts and the smell of fresh blood.

A young female vampire sat at the grand piano located on a raised platform. Clad in a long white gown, her skin pale, she looked almost ghostlike. It seemed her fingers barely touched the keys as she played. Erik listened a moment, trying to place the song, then shrugged. Perhaps it was a composition of her own making.

He had barely stepped into the room when a leggy blonde clad in a low-cut, skintight emerald green gown and silver high heels slithered up to him. He couldn’t help noticing that her figure went in and out in all the right places.

“I’ve never seen you in here before,” she said, her voice a throaty purr.

“I haven’t been here in quite some time.”

“I hope you’ll come back often.”

“I might.” He couldn’t help staring at her. It was obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything under the gown. Her skin was smooth and unblemished save for a half-healed bite mark on the inside of her left elbow.

She smiled up at him. “I’m Jade.”

Erik nodded. “What are you offering?” Some mortals offered only blood. Some blood and sex.

“Anything you want.” She scraped her nails lightly down his cheek. “Are you interested?”

He nodded again. What male in his right mind would be able to refuse such an offer?

Her smile widened as she took his hand and led him up a narrow, winding staircase, then down a long, carpeted hallway. Most of the doors had
DO NOT DISTURB
signs on them.

Jade bypassed the first empty room, then entered the last room on the right.

Erik followed her inside. It was a large room. The walls were white. Red curtains hung at the window. A round bed covered with a red quilt took up most of the room. A half-open door revealed a bathroom.

Jade sat on the bed. A hidden slit in her skirt parted to expose one long, creamy white thigh. “What’s your pleasure?”

“Just a drink.”

“Nothing more?”

He shook his head. There was a time when he would have taken everything Jade was offering, he thought with some regret. But that was before a certain sexy Blood Thief entered his life.

Jade pouted prettily. “Are you sure?” She sounded disappointed.

“Yeah.” He sat on the bed beside her, his nostrils flaring at the scent of musk and perfume. And warm, fresh blood.

He heard the sudden increase in her heartbeat as she arched her neck, then turned her head to the side, giving him access to her throat. He ran his tongue over his fangs as the hunger rose up within him.

With a low growl, Erik cupped his hands over her shoulders and sank his fangs into the soft skin of her neck. He closed his eyes as her blood flowed over his tongue and down his throat.

It satisfied his hunger, but that was all.

Only Daisy could satisfy his need.