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He lifted his head and drank in the scent of the sea, and with it, the scent of prey. A young man, wandering alone by the shore, unaware of the danger he was in.
Tomas breathed in the lush scent of blood. No need to make a decision tonight. If there was one thing he had learned in his long years as a vampire, it was patience.
His fangs lengthened in response to the lure of hot, fresh, young blood. He had done a good deed today in allowing two hunters to live. Surely he deserved a reward.
"I like being me." Daisy stared at Erik, ashamed of the pleading note in her voice, hating the fear that made her heart pound like a trip hammer. But it was hard not to be afraid when he was looking at her like that, his dark eyes red and glowing, his lips curled back to reveal gleaming white fangs. "Don't," she whimpered. "Please, don't. You promised..."
"You won't be any different," he said, and she heard the lie in his voice. "You'll still be Daisy O'Donnell."
She shook her head. "No." She was crying now, tears scalding her eyes and burning her cheeks as he stalked toward her. A long black cape billowed behind him.
She glanced around the room frantically, searching for a weapon, but the room was completely empty save for the two of them. A distant part of her mind wondered where they were, and then he was a hairsbreadth away, looming above her like the angel of death. Frozen in terror, she could only stare at him as his arm snaked out to curl around her waist, drawing her body against his. His cloak enveloped them, a smothering cocoon.
"Nothing to be afraid of," he said as he bent his head to her neck. "Nothing at all..."
She woke with a startled cry. Erik lay beside her. Propped on one elbow, he looked at her, his expression faintly worried.
As though on its own, the bedside lamp came on.
"Are you all right?" Erik asked.
She stared at him, her heart pounding. Was she awake? She lifted a hand to her throat, relieved that there were no telltale bites.
"Daisy?"
As her gaze darted around the room, she was relieved to see she was in her own bedroom, in her own bed. "I...I had a bad dream."
"I'm here. There's no need to be afraid."
His words sent a shiver down her spine. Nothing to be afraid of.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked.
"No." She shuddered at the memory. "I just want to forget it."
He brushed a lock of damp hair from her cheek. "Go back to sleep. It's hours until dawn."
"I don't know if I can. Tell me more about you, about your life."
"What do you want to know?"
"What's it really like, being what you are?"
"It can be interesting. I've seen much of history in the making. The rise and fall of empires. New inventions. New diseases. Endless wars. I've traveled the world numerous times." He had hunted the famous and the infamous, known great men, courted beautiful women. "As I said, it can be interesting. It can also be incredibly tedious, watching the world change while you stay the same, moving every twenty years or so before people begin to realize that you don't age. It's exciting at first, moving from place to place, learning how to use all your remarkable powers, but after a while..."
"Go on."
"After the novelty wears off, you just want what everyone else wants. A place to settle down. Someone to love."
"I've never heard of any vampires staying together. I mean, how does that work, with the whole territorial thing?"
"Bonded vampires can coexist in the same territory."
Thinking of vampires brought Rhys to mind. "How many vampires are there on the West Coast?"
"I'm not sure. Three or four hundred, I imagine."
"That many?"
"It's only a guess."
"And they all answer to Rhys?"
Erik nodded. "To live in the area, one must swear allegiance to him."
She considered that a moment. "You've broken faith with him, haven't you? Because of me."
"Yes, although he doesn't know it, at least not yet." Thoughts of Tomas Villagrande rose in his mind. Had Villagrande contacted Rhys? "There's no law against leaving the city, although vampire etiquette dictates that I should have told him first."
"Do you think Rhys is still looking for us?"
"I don't know. I should probably go back to LA and find out what's going on."
Daisy started to protest, but yawned instead.
He slid his arm under her shoulders and drew her up against his side. "Go to sleep, my little flower."
"You won't leave Boston without telling me?"
"No." His gaze moved over her face. The thought of being away from her for even a day was almost unbearable. "Sleep, my love, there won't be any more bad dreams tonight."
She looked up at him, her beautiful green eyes filled with trust. A moment later, she was asleep.
Erik brushed a kiss across her cheek, marveling at the sweetness of her scent, the warm silk of her skin. He had lived for centuries. He possessed powers beyond compare. Yet this woman, this fragile human woman, had woven a spell around him he couldn't break.
He felt the coming of dawn and with it a sense of heaviness, as if an invisible hand was weighing him down, trying to bury him in the earth where he belonged. Though he hated to leave Daisy, he needed to be away from her house and safely out of the sun's reach.
He brushed a kiss across her brow. She smiled faintly, making him wonder if she was dreaming of him, dreaming of the two of them locked in each other's arms. The thought of holding her body against his, of running his tongue over her skin, tasting her lips, her blood, aroused him instantly.
Muttering an oath, he dissolved into mist and fled the house before he put thought to deed. Moments later, he materialized inside his hotel room. He had left strict instructions at the desk that he wasn't to be disturbed during the day. Still, he had not survived this long by trusting his fate to others. He quickly set wards around the door and the windows. His preternatural power, combined with his witchcraft, afforded all the protection he needed.
He took a quick shower and then, with his strength being leeched away by the rising sun, he fell facedown on the bed and surrendered to the darkness. And though he hadn't dreamed since the night he became a vampire, on this day, he dreamed of making love to Daisy.
And in his dream, he wasn't a vampire and she wasn't the Blood Thief.
Chapter 26
Daisy awoke slowly, reluctant to leave the beautiful dream she had been having. Sighing, she turned onto her side and closed her eyes, hoping to recapture the wonder of it. The magic of it. It had seemed so real...just her and Erik, sharing a candlelight dinner beneath a canopy of summer stars, dancing to music only they could hear, walking along a moonlit path, pausing now and then to kiss in the shadows. And then, in the way of dreams, the scene had changed and they were lying on a pile of furs in a room with a ceiling made of glass. The moon smiled down on them as Erik drew her into his arms. And in the way of dreams, she never thought to wonder where their clothing had gone. It was too wonderful to feel his bare skin against hers, to run her hands over his broad chest and shoulders, to bask in the touch and the taste of him. There was no time in this place of dreams, and they had explored each other at their leisure. She was ticklish. He was not. Her skin was soft and warm. His was firm and cool. Two halves, fashioned differently, yet they fit together to make a perfect whole...
