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I could sense he’d issued a challenge. I reached for my purse, ready to make the call when I hesitated.
“You don’t trust me,” he said.
“I don’t know you.”
“That’s what I hope to change.”
“Why?”
“Why?” he repeated.
“Why go to all this trouble? You could get to know me over pizza and a glass of chianti.”
He laughed, thoroughly amused. “Yes, you’re right, but that doesn’t sound enjoyable to me. Call her.”
There was a change in him that continued to trouble me. It was as if after one taste, I’d become his possession. The sensations wrapped around the thought kept the butterflies of excitement in my stomach while my rational mind continued to try to process.
“Why is there such a strong connection between us?” I asked, which seemed to catch him off guard.
“Have you asked yourself that question?”
“Several times.”
“Did you come to a conclusion?”
I shook my head, although I wasn’t being truthful with either him or myself.
“Yes, I think you do know. It’s about the darkness,” he said gruffly.
As I dragged my tongue across my lips, my throat suddenly parched, he narrowed his eyes. “As in the time of day?”
Of course that’s not what he meant.
Gabriel cocked his head, the swirl of gold in his eyes mesmerizing. “As in the agonizing need that continues to build in the darkest catacombs of your mind, the creature hungering for nourishment that hasn’t been supplied.”
I pulled out my phone, dialing the number. As the phone rang, he glared at me. Why did I have the feeling he was disappointed? I started talking as soon as she answered the phone, the connection already sketchy.
“Carrie. Did Gabriel ask you to stay with the babies for a couple of days?”
“Yes. He said it was a surprise… and… so I…” As soon as the connection died, I took a deep breath, glaring at my phone. “I lost her.”
“And how did she answer?”
“Yes. She said yes.” The strange feeling in my stomach remained. “As I said, I also have a job.”
“You don’t need to return for a shift for almost three days.”
I snapped my head up, narrowing my eyes. “You planned this? You called my work?”
“That’s what men do when they’re preparing a surprise.”
I glanced at the window just as the plane jerked, a soft moan pushing past my lips. Was he some crazed killer planning on dumping my body at his cabin?
Don’t be dramatic. He wouldn’t take you there in a private plane.
True, but given the only ‘surprise’ my only real boyfriend had ever given me was a vivid picture of two of the women he had on the side, I was more than a little skeptical. It was funny how lonely I’d felt over the last few years, even with Goldie and Shadow being such amazing companions. I’d thought death was the worst thing that could happen in a person’s life. That’s one reason I worked so hard to save every life possible, hoping that it would balance the sense of dread for facing nights alone.
I’d been wrong. Feeling completely empty without sharing time with someone special was crushing, the weight increasing every week and month that passed by. Lately, I’d felt fatigued, but not from lack of sleep or food, but from the lack of human touch. It was crazy to think about that now, other than how alive I’d felt hours earlier.
