Night Walker (11 page)

“Am I?”

Night Walker
79

He smiled, raising their joined hands to place a tender kiss on her knuckle, and then tugged off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

“Is that better?”

Kate nodded, no longer able to speak. His masculine scent surrounded her, and before she could stop herself, she pulled his coat so tight, the cold lining spread gooseflesh across her skin.

He slid the backs of his cool fingers down her cheek, his lips hinting at a smile. “Good.”

Kate tilted her chin up. When he bent and brushed his lips against hers, her breath caught. Her pulse raced and electricity shot through her veins. Her skin warmed. Had she ever wanted anyone this badly?

She brought her hand to his chest. His chiseled muscles responded to her touch, and a moan escaped her as he clutched her tighter. Calisto’s fingers slid through her hair, and her lips parted, her tongue tasting him, tangling with his until her knees buckled.

Dear God, this man could kiss.

Gradually she drew back, softening the kiss until her forehead rested against his. She stared into his eyes, wishing she knew his thoughts. Wishing she understood what it was about this man that made passion ignite through her bloodstream like wildfire.

Her pulse throbbed in her ears, and she took a small step back.

She tried to remember the list of things she still needed to finish at her parents’ place, and her job back in Reno. Anything to regain control of herself.

Real life didn’t involve rich, exotic bachelors on private beaches.

She fought to think of the music she loved, to recall the pain she felt when she walked into Tom’s office three weeks ago. She needed to protect her wounded heart and fight the growing attraction to the man who made her body ache for his attention.

He reached for her hand, and her fingers entwined with his.

Traitors.

§

He watched her face as they walked down the beach together.

He had to concentrate to keep from dragging her back into his arms. Until he kissed her, he hadn’t understood the true depth of his 80 LISA KESSLER

loneliness, but now that he’d held her again, tasted her lips, he couldn’t let her go.

For the first time in centuries, he felt content and alive.

Until Kate pulled away from him.

He wanted to understand her, but he wouldn’t allow himself to look into her thoughts. Limiting himself to the speech of a mortal man proved difficult.

He was out of practice.

“You are quiet.”

“Sorry. We shouldn’t have done that. I... ” She shook her head and watched the waves. “I have no business jumping into a relationship right now, and I have no interest in being a one-night stand either. If I gave you the wrong impression, I’m sorry about that.”

“I did not mean to rush anything.”

“You didn’t. I kissed you back.” She sighed and finally looked up at him. “I’m probably going back to Reno soon anyway. The last thing I need right now is more drama.”

“Do you have anyone waiting for you there?” The question surprised him. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. It hadn’t occurred to him until this moment that Kate might be in love with someone else.

Jealousy curdled in his stomach while he waited for her to answer.

“Not anymore.”

Her answer didn’t relieve him as much as he hoped it would.

“We were going to get married until I caught him fooling around with one of his grad students. That’s why I came back to San Diego. I needed time away. A change of scenery, you know?” She shook her head with a sigh. “It’s been an awful month for me.”

“He was a fool to let you go.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“I wish I had more comfort to offer than words.” The suffering he saw reflected in her gaze tore at his heart. Cold fury churned inside him. He wanted to know who hurt her, and he wanted to cause him pain.

Slow, lingering pain.

“Why are you being kind to me?” she asked, jarring him from his
Night Walker
81

thoughts.

“What?”

She shook her head. “I just want to understand what’s going on here. I looked you up online. I know you’re one of San Diego’s most eligible bachelors. You could have anyone.” He scowled. “Who I
could
have is of no importance.”

“No, it’s very important to me. I was naïve once, and I got burned.

I’m not looking for another heartbreak.” Calisto stared into her beautiful eyes. He could never hurt her.

The ocean breeze drifted past them, tugging at her hair. Her eyes sparkled, and for a moment, the centuries that separated them vanished.

His lips brushed hers, and he whispered, “I have no intention of ever breaking your heart.”

Kate stepped back from him, breaking the spell. Calisto felt like the sand shifted beneath his feet when he saw the shock in her eyes.

“I… I can’t do this. It’s too much.” She yanked her hand free, tugged off his jacket, and thrust it against his chest. “Look, I’m sorry if I led you on, or gave you the wrong idea. I shouldn’t have come here with you.”

Calisto stared in shock at Kate’s retreating figure. He hadn’t meant to kiss her. Not yet. But the night enchanted him and dimmed the line between the past and present. Was it wrong that he wanted her? He needed to spend time with her, to win her heart, but she gave him no chance.

He gripped his jacket in a tight fist and jogged after her, careful not to let himself run too quickly. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her with his preternatural abilities.

The situation was maddening. She stood so close, yet still out of his reach.

Kate almost made it to her car, but she stopped abruptly. Turning to her right, she stared at a knoll covered with the flowers he left at Tala’s cross at the mission.

“They’re beautiful,” she whispered.

Calisto forced a smile. “Thank you.”

82 LISA KESSLER

She bent closer, smelling one of the blooms, and then finally turned toward him. “I saw some of these the other night at the mission. What are they called?”

“Romneya.”

She nodded, reaching out to touch the delicate petals. “I’ve never seen another flower like it.”

“They were native to Southern California, although now they are hard to find here,” he said, drinking in her every move.

“I love them.” Kate smiled. “They’re gorgeous, and they smell so good... ”

You have always loved them.
How he wished she remembered.

Calisto leaned forward and snapped a bloom from its stem, careful not to jostle the delicate plant. Without a word, he nestled the large, white flower behind her ear.

He wasn’t prepared for the emotion that slammed into him. She was exactly the way he remembered, drenched in moonlight with her favorite flower tucked behind her ear. The stark contrast of her black hair and the white petals took his breath away. His fingertips lingered against her cheek, caressing it while his gaze held hers, and in that brief moment, she was his again.

The fog surrounded them, and the rest of the world disappeared.

She gazed at him, her full lips parting until he could resist no longer.

Calisto bent to claim her lips one last time. Her hand slid up his chest, but instead of deepening the kiss, Kate pushed him back.

“We have to stop. This can’t work out,” she whispered. “I can’t. I can’t do this.”

She ran to her car without looking back, and within a minute her little VW disappeared into the fog.

Night Walker
83

Chapter Nine

The sun beat through the living room window. Kate sat up, still in her Dad’s favorite recliner. Glancing at the clock, she stretched her arms and groaned. Every muscle felt drained and achy.

She’d struggled with her mixed-up emotions the entire drive home. In the end, she didn’t fall asleep until almost five in the morning. Six hours wasn’t enough to recover from the tempest of emotions Calisto had brought on.

In spite of her exhaustion, she had a clear understanding of what she needed to do.

She would pack and head home. Running to San Diego was supposed to help her regain her emotional footing, but now her escape was on the verge of spiraling out of control, too. She’d run from her demons in Reno, and it was time she faced them. How could she gain control of her life when she let a cheating bastard chase her from her life? Besides, she couldn’t stay and let herself fall into another relationship when she’d promised herself she would take her time.

She wasn’t that masochistic. Not yet, anyway.

After packing up her clothes and a couple of boxes of mementos, she called the realtor to put the house back on the rental market, and 84 LISA KESSLER

then made one last call.

“Hi Betty, it’s Kate Bradley.”

“Hello Kate.” Did Betty sound less than happy to hear from her?

“What can I do for you?”

“I’m heading back to Reno this afternoon. I won’t be here when the movers come to pick up the piano. Can I give you the realtor’s number? She’ll come by and open the house up for you.”

“Sure, that’ll be fine,” Betty said, her voice suddenly warm and friendly.

Kate gave her the information and chuckled to herself as she hung up the phone. Of course Betty would be happy that she was leaving. Or maybe she was just reading into it because Betty was staying here with Calisto.

She let out an exasperated sigh. How did he make such an impression on her in just one night? She was usually pretty levelheaded, not swayed by a pretty face, but if she didn’t stop thinking about the dark, charming, handsome Spaniard, she was going to drive herself insane.

She stared at the cordless phone and rubbed her hands over her face. How would she explain her sudden departure to Lori and Edie?

She couldn’t leave without at least saying good-bye.

But her heart couldn’t handle another waltz around the floor with sadness. She also didn’t have the strength for questions.

“Hey Edie, it’s Kate.”

“Hey you! Everything okay?”

No, everything sucked.
She forced herself to sound cheerful.

“Everything’s fine. I’ve got to get back to Reno. The kids need me.” She sighed. She couldn’t lie to Edie, but if she told her the truth Lori would go on a trash-talking rampage against Calisto. “I met up with the man I met at the mission.”

Edie was quiet for a second. “What’s he got to do with your work in Reno?”

“Nothing. That’s the point.” Kate struggled to keep her voice from wobbling. “I really like him, Edie, but less than a month ago I was engaged. I’m not ready to jump into another relationship.”
Night Walker
85

She held her breath, ready for judgment.

Instead, the warmth in her friend’s voice reached through the phone like a hug. “You’re an amazing lady, Kate. I don’t know many women who would pass up a millionaire to go teach middle school, though.”

Kate laughed, and her eyes filled with tears. “When you say it like that I sound far from amazing.”

After assuring Edie she’d be back to visit soon, she hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and hoped she was making the right decision.

§

1775

“
Kuseyaay
!
Kuseyaay
! The trader is hurt. Come quickly!” Gregorio dropped the log onto the fire and followed the women into the night. They ran through the sagebrush and up the mountainside. He followed close behind, no longer winded by running. The torches weren’t necessary for him to see in the darkness either, but they helped him hide his preternatural abilities. As far as they knew he was their
Kuseyaay
, their healer, and he was careful to keep it that way.

The Night Walker blood that coursed through his veins only gave his body life after the sun died, but it also healed the wounds of the mortals around him. His position as the tribal healer gave his strange new existence purpose. He enjoyed relieving the pain of others, reminiscent of his priesthood when he served the spiritual needs of his flock. The simple act of healing someone made it easier to believe that he wasn’t cursed, but in fact blessed with a newfound gift.

Gift or curse, he kept the secrets of his new state of being well guarded, just as the Old One had taught him.

As they neared the fur trader, the man moaned in pain. The foreigner was a friend to the tribe. He had traveled far from his homeland in the north, trading skins and occasionally meat from the brown bears and mountain lions he hunted.

“Lukas?” Gregorio knelt at his side and took his trembling hand.

“Lukas, can you speak?”

86 LISA KESSLER

The man’s eyes rolled back, and he wheezed, his breath fast and shallow. Gregorio bowed his head, preparing to offer a silent prayer for the man’s soul, when he heard Lukas’ thoughts in his mind.

A snake. My right leg. Hurts. Can’t move.

Gregorio reached down and pulled at the trader’s pant leg. The women gasped, pointing at the oozing wound.

“Fetch water,” Gregorio said.

They vanished into the woods, and he turned his attention back to Lukas. The venom had already infected his body and organs. Gregorio could pierce his tongue and lick the wound. His blood would heal the bite, but the man would still die from the poison.

Unless.

When Gregorio heard the women’s footfalls fade, he bit his own wrist, wincing as his fangs pierced his flesh. He placed his open wound over Lukas’s lips, watching as his blood filled the dying man’s mouth.

The seizures quieted, and a final breath bubbled up from the man’s lungs. Gregorio’s heart sank. He had hoped the blood might heal more than superficial injuries and symptoms of greater illnesses.

He reached out to close Lukas’ eyes, and the man suddenly pulled Gregorio’s arm to his mouth and sucked hard at the wound. Gregorio felt the pull on his veins, but he hoped his blood would counteract the venom and heal the fur trader from the inside out.

When he yanked his hand away, Lukas coughed and sputtered.

He sat up and looked down at his hands. “I feel better... much better.” Then he looked down at his snakebite.