Wicked Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 4) (33 page)

Caleb

Our Sunset Air charter flight touched down in London on a Thursday morning, my first day of fall break. I had slept relatively soundly on the flight over, though I felt tired once we landed.

Despite Kat’s reticence about surprises, I looked forward to her reaction when she finally saw me. Not only was I was anxious to see her, but maybe I’d discover why she’d acted so distant toward me recently.

Alton arranged for two vampires to meet us at the terminal, as well as a shiny limousine to pick us up. As we rode through the city, my cell phone rang.

It was uncle Alton.

“Welcome, my boy,” he said. “How was your flight?”

“Just great, thanks,” I said. “The limo’s awesome, too, thank you.”

“And Mr. Moneybags
finally
sprung for satellite radio, I see,” Paige said loudly. “Snarkety-snark.”

I gave her a wan look.

“What was that last bit about?” he asked.

“Oh, she’s all about snarking lately,” I said.

She stuck her tongue out at me.

“Snarking?” he asked.

“It’s like—oh, never mind,” I said.

“Ah, today’s faddish colloquialisms. I’ll simply ignore her, what say?” he asked. “I instructed the driver to take you to a pub where Katrina checks in frequently. With luck, you won’t have to wait long before she arrives.”

“Got it,” I said.

“Oh, we
love
pubs,” Paige said.

“Eavesdropper,” I said.

“Uh,
vampire hearing
,” she said, pointing her finger at her ear.

“Rude,” I said.

I heard Alton chuckle over the phone. “At any rate, I’ll have your luggage delivered to the hotel. I hope you have a nice time while you’re in London,” he said. “And I’ll attempt to keep Kat’s agenda clear while you’re visiting. You could both do with a break.”

“Thanks, Alton. I sincerely appreciate it,” I said.

Paige’s hand darted out and grabbed my phone from me.

“Oh, and I’ll be sure to have a nice time too, thank you,” she said.

She listened to his retort with a smirk. Then her jaw dropped. “
On call
? Hey, I need a break, too, you know.”

I watched with amusement as she rolled her eyes and shook her head back and forth in disgust.

“Oh, whatever, you old fuddy-duddy,” she said, clicking off the phone and tossing it back to me.

“Richie Rich gets what Richie Rich wants, I suppose,” she said.

“Well, snarkety-snark-snar---” I began.

“Oh, can it, twerp,” she said. “I’m all snarked out tonight.”

“Maximum snarkage exceeded?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

She swatted at my body with a flurry of slaps, so I slapped back at her until we both spontaneously agreed to a cease-slap.

Before long, our limousine pulled up before a pub called the Red Griffin. It had an Old World appearance about it, complete with its own hallmark banner suspended from a pole above the entrance; a gold painted griffin on a red background.

“Hey, what a cool-looking place,” I said.

“Yeah, well, if it’s Alton’s, I’m sure its way more Ye’ Olde than yee-haw,” she said.

As soon as we crossed the threshold, I could tell the place had character. The interior was decorated in rich wood paneling, old style lighting, polished oak tables, and a combination of open-styled seating in the main area and enclosed booths along one wall. The central fixture was a long span of polished wood bar lined with stools.

The walls were lined with old photos of people, places, cityscapes, and events. Old wooden casks and barrels sat atop periodic wall partitions, adding to the rustic setting.

The place appeared busy with patrons who barely looked up at us as we entered.

“Wow,” I said.

I’d been in pubs on my first visit to London, but I’d never seen any place quite the Red Griffin before.

Paige’s cell phone rang and she glanced down at it.

“Gotta’ take this,” she said. “I’ll be back.”

She quickly exited the pub to stand out on the sidewalk.

When I turned back around, a tall man with wavy red hair who appeared to be in his mid- to late-thirties stepped up to greet me.

“Hello, guv’nor,” he said. “Please do come in.”

“Thanks.”

He frowned. “Have we met somewhere before?”

“Nope, don’t think so,” I said. “Just got into town, in fact.”

He gestured grandly with his arm in a welcoming fashion. “Well, welcome to the Red Griffin.”

“Nice,” I said. “I love the place.”

“And so you should,” he said. “We’ve got the finest taps in London. I’m your host, Gavyn.”

I reached out to shake his hand. “Caleb.”

“Nice to meet you, Caleb,” he said, frowning slightly. “Won’t you come in and have a seat.”

I sat down at the nearest unoccupied table.

“You look thirsty, Caleb. What can I get you?” he asked.

“How about a pint of something local?” I asked.

“I’ve got just the thing,” he said.

He quickly returned with a frothy-topped mug of beer.

“Looks good, thanks,” I said.

A series of hoots and hollers sounded from a small room separated by a set of frosted glass doors to my left, and I looked up with interest.

“It sounds like there’s where the party’s at,” I said.

“Ah, do you like a bit of sport then, Caleb?” he asked.

“Me? Um, sure, from time to time,” I said.

He motioned for me to stand and led me into the room where a group of men and women were gathered around a game of dice. Stacks of currency were on a small table and everyone seemed to be holding varying sized wads of bills.

A man with a scraggly beard threw some dice, followed closely by a series of groans and moans.

“Sorry, Duffin, no Jimmie Hicks from the sticks for you tonight,” said a gentleman wearing an elaborate vest who appeared to be presiding over the game.

Laughter ensued.

“Oh, bollocks,” the man said before taking a swig of his beer.

“Craps?” I asked.

“Oh, do you like a game of hazard?” Gavyn asked. “Care to give it a try?”

The players gathered around the table looked at me with amused expressions.

“Here now, is he a Yank?” one woman asked.

“Leave him be. Let the lucky young man try his hand,” said one old guy with a gleam in his eye.

Paige appeared in the doorway and her eyes widened. “Caleb, can’t I turn my back for a minute on you?”

I watched Gavyn’s amused expression slowly dissipate as he looked at Paige. “Wait a minute. You, I know.”

She smirked. “You should. I beat your ass at cards the last time I was here.”

Gavyn’s gaze shifted from Paige back to me and he frowned. “What did you say you’re name was, young man?”

“Caleb,” I said. “Caleb Taylor.”

“Taylor…Caleb Taylor,” he repeated.

“As in Mr. Katrina,” Paige said with a sly expression.

Everyone in the room fell silent, and Gavyn ran his pale right palm across his face. “Oh, bloody hell.
That
Caleb Taylor.”

“Seriously, how hard would it be to post a photo of him around here?” she asked.

He quickly ushered me from the room. “C’mon Caleb, you don’t want to mess about in here. It’s a bit too dodgy, for you, my lad.”

“Dodgy?” I asked.

“So, did you get those issues all sorted out with Ye’ Olde Gambling Commission?” Paige asked.

“Now, now, no jesting about such things,” Gavyn said. “Let’s all go have a nice chat out in the main room.”

Moments later, we were all sitting at a cozy-looking private booth in the main area, just around the corner from the main bar.

“Like a little something to eat maybe?” Gavyn asked. “Perhaps a nice hot cottage pie?”

“Mm, sounds good,” I said.

“Think big, Gavyn,” she said. “He eats like a horse.”

He winked and caught the attention of a passing waitress and placed my order.

“So glad to finally meet you, Caleb. I’ve heard quite a bit about you,” Gavyn said. “Though I confess, I didn’t realize you were coming.”

“It’s kind of on the QT for Miss You-Know-Who,” Paige said with an arched brow.

“Ah, I see. No matter,” he said. “Your secret’s safe with me. I better pass the word about that, in fact.”

He disappeared and I turned to Paige. “Who is he?”

“Oh, he and Alton go back a ways,” she said in off-handed fashion. “Drink your beer and relax.”

Later, Gavyn returned to deliver a piping hot cottage pie, as well as a glass of beer for Paige.

It tasted amazing.

As I ate, the place filled up with people, including a sizable contingent of vampires.

“This must be the vamp hangout, of sorts,” I said.

“You could say that,” Paige said.

I supposed that even vampires needed a place to hang out with their own kind.

“Hey, who called you earlier?” I asked.

“Ethan,” she said in a forlorn tone.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was trying to get him to join us in London, but he had to assist on a last-minute surgery,” she said, leaning her cheek against the palm of her hand. “It seems that ever since you had your little brain surgery episode, suddenly every doctor wants him assisting on their surgeries.”

I felt bad for her. “Sorry.”

She sighed. “Aw, don’t be. You were worth it, I suppose.”

I took another bite of tasty cottage pie.

“You owe me, though,” she said.

I frowned. “Whadda’ mean by that?”

“Don’t chew with your mouth full,” she said.

Suddenly, the formerly boisterous conversations in the room fell to a hush.

Paige cocked her head to one side and motioned to me with her forefinger to her lips.

“It’s her,” she mouthed silently.

I strained my ears to listen in.

“Well, General, welcome back,” Gavyn said. “Fine evening, isn’t it?”

“Gavyn,” Kat said in a formal tone. “Anything to report?”

“Indeed. I must say, you’re quite the popular topic around here this evening,” he said jovially. “Oh, and someone would like to schedule an impromptu meeting with you, as well.”

“Really?” she asked flatly. “Who?”

“Mysterious fellow, really,” he replied in a subdued tone, though I was still barely able to hear him. “I’d watch myself with that one.”

“Where?” she asked.

Damn, she sounds absolutely lethal.

I didn’t hear anything else but Paige adopted a wry expression.

Then I caught a blur of movement out of the corner of my eye.

My mouth dropped open and I froze in place as my eyes fell upon Kat, garbed in black and wearing a designer leather trench coat. Her long red hair was pulled back into a single tight ponytail and her eyes were hooded-looking, just like a predator waiting to strike.

As soon as she targeted her sharp eyes upon me, her face also shone complete surprise.

“Hey, Red,” Paige said.

“Shorty,” Kat said as she fluidly removed her trench coat, her gaze never leaving mine.

A vampire wearing an old style bartender’s outfit stepped forward to quietly retrieve Kat’s coat from her.

I took in the fitted black Lycra pants and knee-high leather boots she wore and arousal rushed through my body like adrenaline.

Oh. My. God.

She looked drop-dead-super-sexy dangerous.

“Ah, surprises abound tonight, I see,” she said with narrowed eyes as she undid the buttons of her leather vest to reveal a fitted knit shirt beneath.

“Well, I’m just gonna’ give you two kids some space,” Paige said, scooting out of the booth and taking her beer with her.

Kat wasted no time and launched herself toward me, bodily pushing me further into the booth with her momentum. As my back pressed to the wall, her lips crashed against mine in a hungry fashion.

I reached up, cupping the back of her head in my palm and pulling her into my kiss.

It felt amazing to once more feel her lips and body pressed against mine.

I missed her so much!

From the moan that sounded from deep in her throat, I suspected she felt the same.

Upon parting lips to catch my breath, her eyes bore into mine with a near-feral intensity.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you,” she breathed.

Her words made my heart soar even as another surge of carnal desire threatened to overcome me.

“You, too,” I said, staring into her eyes.

Her body pressed against me and she planted a hard kiss as I reached out to pull her to me. We shared a series of passionate kisses, heedless of our surroundings.

Suddenly, the many weeks of sleeping alone, of reaching over during the middle of the night to find a cold empty space in the bed beside me culminated in me all at once. Her protracted absence was over; she was finally in my arms again.

Her lips felt like a piece of heaven, heightening the arousal in my body to frustrating levels.

“Somebody’s glad to see me,” she murmured into our kiss.

“You have no idea,” I said.

“Oh yes, I do,” she said.

“Nice look,” I said when our lips parted again.

“I probably look like a really mean dominatrix right now,” she said.

“I’m good with that,” I said.

“I thought you didn’t want a dominatrix,” she said.

“I lied,” I said.

“Such a bad boy for lying,” she murmured. “I’ll have to see to that later.”

I was almost in a frenzy to have sex with her.

As I reached out to her and ran my hands down her sides to rest them upon her waist, I felt a number of hard objects pressed against her body.

I looked down and held open her leather vest to see that there were a series of knife hilts and throwing stars sheathed inside.

“Quite an arsenal you have there,” I said.

She took my hands in hers and forced a pleasant expression. “Nothing more than tools of the trade.”

“You look like one sexy superhero in that outfit,” I said.

“Super heroine,” she corrected, lightly tapping me on the tip of my nose with her fingertip. “Though I’m hardly headed for Marvel Comics stardom after what I’ve been up to.”

“Surely, not a villain,” I said.

“That’s a matter of perspective, I suppose,” she said.

I frowned as Gavyn abruptly stepped into the center of the pub.