Winter's Touch (Immortal Touch Series) (22 page)

“I think you prefer
my
heat.” His voice was like velvet against her ear.

“You said you’d behave
!”

“I lied.
Never trust a vampire.” Giving her a wicked little smile, one of his hands deftly began to push her nightgown up her thigh, sending a shock of electricity buzzing through her.

That was it - if she didn’t put a stop to this right now
...well, it just had to
stop
, that was all. Before it was too late. If she allowed him this one last part of her, there would be no turning back. He would own more than just her body. Summoning every ounce of willpower she possessed, she gently but firmly pushed his hand away.

“I can’t. I’m sorry.”

She fully expected him to protest, but instead he turned away from her with a libidinous laugh. “All right then, darling. Have it your way. We have all the time in the world to play this game.”

It was a game she simply had no way of winning.

And just what would the penalty be for losing?

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Butterfly Surrender
s

Exhausted by the previous night’s intoxicated escapades, Eva slept heavily. When she finally awoke around eleven, she was still in the same position in which she’d fallen asleep, sans the body she’d been snuggled against. He was already up and about, somewhere.

The wind outside
had resumed its furious howling, an eerily lonely sound. Icy snow pelted the windowpanes, and the trees hidden behind the billowing avalanche of white occasionally made worrisome cracking and popping sounds. It was amazing that she’d been able to sleep through all the noise. The wind almost seemed angry that it couldn’t reach her inside.

Julian was downstairs, watching the
dancing snow through the picture window in the living room. He seemed hypnotized by the sight. “No snowmen for you today.”

“How long is this supposed to last?” she asked him.

“It should pass by late afternoon. Did you sleep well?”

“Like the dead.”

He turned to face her with a cynical smile. “The dead don’t always sleep for long.”

C
oupled with the unnerving shrieking of the wind, his ominous words served to fill her with an unsettling sense of foreboding. Though it was midday, the light from outdoors provided only faint illumination in the form of a weird, preternatural glow. She pulled her black angora sweater tightly around her and shivered. “Just listening to that makes me cold.”

“Then let’s have something to warm us.
How about some pasta?”

“
Sounds wonderful.” Shaking off her apprehension, she followed him into the kitchen where something that smelled heavenly was simmering on the stove. “Oh, no way. Don’t tell me you actually made lunch!”

“I can cook. Don’t look so
surprised.”

“What is it?”

“Chicken Alfredo with asparagus and mushrooms.”

“
Impressive. You never cease to amaze me.”

“I have a number of talents you aren’t aware of. You might have learned that last night, if you’d given me the opportunity.” He winked facetiously
as he dished up two plates of pasta.

For crying out loud, d
id he
have
to bring up last night? There was no way she’d be able to eat anything now, what with all the fluttering in her stomach. Just speculating about his hidden “talents” made her weak in the knees.

Fortunately the power chose that moment to
flicker, drawing his attention away from teasing her. “I was wondering when that was going to happen,” he remarked, setting the plates on the table. The kitchen lights faded in and out a few more times, but surprisingly held up and they were able to get through their meal with no further interruptions. Thankfully, nothing else was said regarding the night’s misadventures and Julian soon excused himself, saying he needed to locate some financial records for his accountant.

Eva
chose to take advantage of the inclement weather by retiring to the library in search of a good book. Browsing the full shelves, she came upon an intriguing collection of classic ghost stories and curled herself cozily in a leather Chesterfield chair to lose herself in them. But even an engrossing adaptation of the Bell witch legend couldn’t distract her from the thoughts that kept straying to visions of
him
.

How was she ever going to get through another night with him? She knew better than to expect that he’d let her sleep in her own room and besides, it was like a deep freeze in there
- thanks to her own idiocy. It might be tolerable if he’d let her turn the heat up some, but for reasons he’d never made clear he opted to keep the house like a freaking meat locker. Okay, so maybe she was exaggerating just a little, but still it was chillier than she was used to.

If she hadn’t been so bone tired last night, she wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all.
Especially after what transpired between them. Tonight’s dilemma was how to make it through eight hours of inevitable insomnia lying beside the sexiest creature to ever grace the planet.

Grace
...or curse. One or the other, and most likely the latter.

He’s a
psychopath,
she reminded herself.
A murderer without a conscience. Keep telling yourself that. No matter how charming he is, you know the truth. Don’t forget what he is.

She was
taken unawares by him two hours later when he suddenly appeared at her elbow with a steaming mug. “I didn’t even hear you come in,” she said, accepting it from his hands. “Thank you.”

“It’s
ginger tea,” he informed her.

She sipped it. “Mm, it’s
wonderful! Keep this up and you’re going to completely spoil me.”

He wandered
closer to one of the bookcases, pausing to select a paperback for himself before returning to her side. “Lainie would be happy to hear you say that. Did I tell you I heard from her a few days ago?”

“No
, you didn’t. How is she?”

“
Same old Lainie. I think she was concerned about you.”

“
Well, I hope you reassured her that I was okay.”

“
I got the distinct impression that she didn’t quite believe me.”

Eva blew on her tea to cool it some. “You have a phone, then?”
she asked casually.

“Yes
, of course. But
you’ll
never find it.” He tweaked her nose gently, as if her need to locate the phone was based more on an objective of a scavenger hunt than her desire to hear a familiar voice.

She looked up at him. “
Do you suppose I could call my mother?”

“Still beating those wings, aren’t you?”

“I’m just concerned about her, that’s all. I’m all she has. You don’t have to worry, I won’t tell her where I am, I swear. You know you can trust me. Please, Jules?” As much as it galled her to beg, it would be worth it if she could persuade him to let her speak to her mother for even one brief minute.

Her
promises got her nowhere. “Cell phones are traceable. I’m sure you already know that.” He took a seat in another chair, dismissing the conversation by focusing his attention on a volume of poetry.

Well, i
t was worth a shot. She finished her tea in silence, then tried to pick up where she’d left off but wasn’t quite sure where that was exactly. She’d been staring at the printed words without really seeing them, her mind on something distinctly more intriguing than ghosts and witches. Might as well start the chapter over from the beginning.

But after just a few paragraphs she
found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. Her eyelids were heavy, and the monotonous sound of the slowly dying wind was lulling her to sleep. The last thing she remembered before the darkness closed in was two incandescent black orbs, watching her from across the room.

~
*~*~

She opened her eyes to find herself on the sofa in the living room, covered with one of Lainie’s
crocheted afghans. Yawning and pushing herself into an upright position, she scrunched her eyes from the bright glare radiating from the five o’clock news.

Five o’clock?
Good grief, she must have been out for hours.

“Guess I fell asleep,” she mumbled groggily to Julian, who was
seated on the floor directly in front of her, arms crossed over his knees while he watched the news.

“Not exactly.” He turned his head to
grant her a beguiling smile. “It was the sedative in the tea. I thought it would be easier that way.”

She
fought to clear the remaining fog from her head. “Easier...
what?
What’s easier? How did you...” Her voice trailed off, attention snagged by something out of place on the glass-topped coffee table. Just a small, simple item, but one that held an air of menace and chilled her straight to the bone.

A
hypodermic syringe.

No.
No, no, no...

“Julian. What have you done?”
Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

“
Just a little experiment. Not to worry, you haven’t been harmed.”

A feeling of
dread washed over her and even before she reached over his shoulder to retrieve the needle with a shaking hand, she already knew what toxic substance stained the clear plastic tube.

“
What did you do to me?
” Throwing the syringe across the room, she flew at him, taking him enough by surprise to knock him onto his back. And the monster
laughed
at her, even as she rained blows down upon him, he
laughed
as though she was nothing more than a toddler throwing a tantrum. “You
bastard!
”

He grabbed her wrists
, restraining her. “You know, I do believe you’re stronger already!” His eyes sparkled with exuberance. “Tell me Eva, have you lost those inhibitions? Are you ready to tear something apart now? Me, perhaps?” Still laughing, he held her in his iron grip while she continued to struggle furiously. “Let’s see what you’ve got then! Kill me! Kill me if you can, butterfly!”

“
I hate you!
”

“Of course you do! You still can!
Your precious emotions are still intact, aren’t they?” Quick as lightning, he rolled over on top of her, pinning her to the floor. “Still the weak little child. Stop your hysterics. If you had any sense, you’d realize that it didn’t work. You’re as human as you ever were. Take solace in that, if you like. I tried and I failed.”

“Let
go
of me!” Worn down and out of breath from the exertion of grappling with him, she went limp. “You...injected me...with some of your blood. Didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Dammit, how could you
do
that to me? You could have killed me! Or worse!”

“
Worse?
Your body is dying already, a little at a time. With every day that goes by, you’re one step closer to the grave. I tried to spare you this, Eva. To save you.”

“
Save
me?” Her laughter was mirthless, bitter.

“
How is it that you continue to deny what I want so much to offer you?”

“
Why, Julian? Can you even tell me why?”

“With my very blood running through your veins, how can it be possible that you still do not understand?” His voice had grown softer. For a long time he knelt over her, his gaze locked onto hers. The eyes that had always been an endless expanse of
midnight now burned with a flickering flame, one that was tiny but refused to die.

“It is possible
...” he abruptly released her and moved away. “...that I am not the solitary creature I thought myself to be.”

His frank admission took her by surprise and she sat up, looking at him questioningly.

“You could have been my prodigy. My equal, someone superior to all others. I was so sure it would work. But it’s...
useless.
I am the only one of my kind and it appears that I will remain so.” He sighed. “Forgive me, Eva. I only thought to help you.”

“It was yourself you were thinking of. Not me.”

“It doesn’t matter now.”

“
It matters! It matters very much.” To her, anyway. Not that
he
would ever be able to comprehend that. “I need you to promise me something. Right now.”

“I suppose I do owe you some precedence. What is it you want?”

“No more sedatives. No more injections. I told you once before, I don’t want to be your...your research lab rat.”

“Very well then. You have my word.” He strode across the room and plucked the syringe from the floor. “My Delilah. You’ll be
the death of me.”