скачать книгу бесплатно
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Damon told him. “You can’t be out. You’re a vampire. And it doesn’t matter how often you go to that damned house of yours. You’ll never be a man again. So why don’t you just let it go? Move on?”
“Stay out of this, Damon.” Anger simmered inside.
“Fine. Torture yourself some more. Just keep your eyes open. Seems my enemies are looking for you.”
When they hung up, Grayson tossed the phone onto the old table. Hell, maybe Damon was right. What was the point of coming back here year after year? Maybe his business manager had done the right thing in selling off the house. Maybe it was time he accepted who and what he was.
He threw a glance at the back of the bookcase as if he could see beyond that doorway into the house where Tessa was. She’d surprised him. Intrigued him. And he wanted her. Wanted the taste of her in his mouth and the feel of his body inside hers.
Everything in him itched to find her, toss her onto that damned cot and have her. Instincts he’d been at war with since his change rose to the surface and shook him to the bone. Tessa Franklin had thrown him. Hard.
Then he remembered what Damon had said. Other vampires knew about his habit of coming to this house at Christmas. If they followed him here, Tessa wasn’t safe. He’d brought the vampire war directly to her door.
His chest tightened. If another vampire showed up on her door, she wouldn’t suspect him. She’d probably think he was just another guest for her damned inn. Which meant she wouldn’t be able to protect herself.
Which meant he was going to have to do it for her.
Looked like he was involved in this vampire war whether he wanted to be or not.
“Definitely time to stop coming here,” he muttered and sank down onto the chair.
Tessa had a vampire stashed in a secret room, but that didn’t keep her from attacking Christmas week in a big way. She busied herself hanging more garland and setting out the cranberry- and pinescented candles. There was a dish of chocolates on the living room table that she dipped into a little too often, but since she had a vampire in her house, Tessa figured she was due a little extra chocolate.
Besides, staying busy kept her from thinking too much. Thinking about how her vampire had once owned this house. Heck, built this house. About the power in his eyes. About what it felt like when he’d touched her.
And he’s not your vampire, she told herself firmly. For God’s sake. A vampire. She couldn’t stop thinking of that word. Obsession. Good sign. But she couldn’t help the way her insides jangled when she thought about him.
She had to stop thinking of the word vampire.
Which was why it was a good thing that her only customer, Joe Baston, was checking out early. He was a nice man, but Tessa couldn’t help but be grateful that he was leaving. Hiding a vampire in your secret room was a lot easier when there wasn’t anyone else around.
Vampire.
Stop it! Her fingers shook as she filled in the credit card slip for the older man standing opposite her. Giving him a smile she hoped he wouldn’t notice was a little too forced to be really cheerful, she said, “I hope you come back, Mr. Baston.”
“Oh, that’d be real nice. It’s a great place you have here.” He glanced around at the high, beamed ceilings and the fresh cream-colored paint on the wood plank walls. “Homey. Welcoming. I think you’ve got yourself a winner with this inn.”
Not if all of her customers left as early as he did, Tessa thought but didn’t say.
But he seemed to understand, since he spoke up again quickly. “I’m sure sorry about leaving early.” He didn’t look sorry, though. His pleased grin was infectious. “But my daughter’s insisting I stay with her while I’m here, and it’s a chance to spend lots of extra time with the grandkids.”
“It’s not a problem, really,” Tessa said, watching him sign the slip. After all, she’d only been open a couple of weeks. She was sure to get more customers after the holidays. “I’m glad you’re enjoying your trip.”
“Well,” he said, tossing the pen onto her desk, “I’ll be sure to tell folks what a nice place you’ve got here.”
“I’d appreciate it, thanks.” Tessa smiled and waved as he headed out the door, and then she looked around the empty room.
She needed more Christmas in here. A tree, of course, but one glance at the snow currently pelting the front windows told her that she wouldn’t be taking care of that chore today.
But she did everything else she could think of—pausing every now and then for a glimpse at the bookcase hiding Grayson Stone from her.
Amazing how much the world could change in twenty-four hours. God, yesterday seemed like a lifetime ago. Yesterday, she hadn’t even known vampires existed. Now she had one stashed in her house.
Was she crazy?
Probably. Absolutely, who was she kidding? Vampires were fictional. Dreamed up by authors trying to scare gullible readers when everyone knew there were enough scary real things out there already!
The doorbell rang. She jolted out of her thoughts and hurried across the room. She peered through the glass in the upper half of the door and spotted a private delivery van in the driveway. Opening the door, she was slapped by an icy wind and wet splats of snow. Squinting, she half hid behind the door and asked, “Yes?”
“Delivery for Grayson Stone.” The short guy in a beige uniform and a fluorescent orange parka held out a clipboard with a sign-in sheet and a pen attached to it. “Sign at number sixteen.”
“Right.” Grayson had told her a package would arrive. She signed her name, handed the clipboard back and when he turned to leave, she saw the box on the porch. Plain brown wrapping and a name and address label. No clue to what was inside.
She fought the wind, grabbed the box and stepped back into the house, slamming the door with her hip. The fire crackled and hissed as she stared down at the box and wondered about what could be inside. Carrying the heavy parcel across the room, she pulled on the bookcase latch and let the doorway swing open.
Grayson grabbed her at the throat.
She yelped, dropped the box and he let her go instantly. Staggering back, Tessa gulped in some air and forced her heart out of her throat and back into her chest where it belonged. She flipped her hair back out of her eyes and glared at him. “What the heck was that for?”
“Announce yourself. I didn’t know who the hell might have discovered this room,” he muttered, moving to the table.
“So you had to strangle me?” She rubbed her throat and could still feel the strength of his grip imprinted on her flesh. “Besides, even I didn’t know this room existed. How’s a stranger going to wander in and discover it?” Fear dribbled into the pit of her stomach, despite the fact that he’d let her go as soon as he’d figured out that she wasn’t a threat.
“Sorry.” He paced to the far wall, spun around and looked at her.
He kept a safe distance from her now, as if to convince one or both of them that he wasn’t going to hurt her.
“I’m not used to being around—”
“Humans?” she finished for him.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, try harder.” She waved a hand at the toppled box. “The package you told me about was just delivered.”
“Good. Thanks.” He walked to it, picked it up and set it onto the table. Then he looked at her meaningfully.
She frowned. “What is it?”
“Mine.”
Tessa shook her head. “I want to know what’s in my house.”
He watched her for a long second or two, then gave her a sharp nod. Tearing the strapping tape free, he opened the box, lifted out a Styrofoam packer containing dry ice, then reached deeper. He pulled out a small, plastic bag filled with…blood.
The thick red liquid sloshed back and forth while he held it and Tessa’s stomach did a quick pitch and roll. Of course. Vampire. Blood.
“Okay…” She pulled in a breath and let it go again slowly. “I just…I guess I wasn’t expecting to see that.”
“Vampire, remember?” He dropped the blood back into the box and folded his arms over his chest. “I’ve got connections at a blood bank.”
“Wow. ‘Blood bank’ sort of takes on a whole new meaning for me now.”
He frowned at her. “It’s better this way, believe me. I haven’t drunk from a living human in nearly a hundred years.”
How insane was it that she actually found that information sort of comforting?
As if he sensed her relief, he added, “That doesn’t mean things can’t change.”
“You’re deliberately trying to keep me scared,” she pointed out. “And not that it’s working, but why?”
“Because you should be.” He came around the table, laid both hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. “Others of my kind know I come here every year. Some may come looking for me. That means you’re not safe.”
“More vampires? Here?” Looking up into his deep black eyes, she shivered. “Why are they looking for you?”
He let her go and shook his head. “There’s a war brewing in the vampire world. We’re expected to take sides.”
“A vampire war?” Tessa’s voice sounded strained even to herself, as if she’d had to squeeze those words out a too tight throat. “And it’s coming here?”
“Maybe.” He scraped a hand across his jaw. “I don’t know who’s coming—hell, even if anyone is coming. Can’t be sure.”
“And if they do come, then what?” The small dribble of fear she’d felt earlier became a running river, pushing through her veins, making her mouth dry and her head feel light.
He slanted a look at her. “If they come, then you should be gone.”
Go? When she’d finally found a home? When she finally had something to live for? A chance at a life that wasn’t revolving around hiding? No.
She’d run before to save her life.
Now she would stay to fight for it. “I’m not leaving.”
“Yeah. Thought you’d say that.” Walking back to the table, he reached into the box and picked up a packet of blood. “So. Looks like I won’t be leaving tonight after all.”
“Damn straight,” she snapped, fear giving way to resolve at the thought of hordes of vampires descending on her. “You can help me make stakes…and I wonder if the church in town is open. Holy water. A bucket or two full. And…” She stopped, looked at him and said, “I know why I want the help. But why are you volunteering to stay?”
“Because I brought this here. And I’m not going to bring more death into this house.”
His gaze was dark, his features tight and every square inch of him looked poised for battle. That sense of power that clung to him filled the tiny room and practically hummed in the air.
“More death?”
“A hundred and fifty years ago,” he said quietly, “my wife and children died in this house. And I was the one who invited their killer inside.”
Chapter 5
Grayson ignored the stamp of curiosity on her features. He’d said more than he’d planned and now regretted it. But then he was used to a life filled with regrets. What was one more? Lifting his head, he reached out with the finely honed senses of his kind and smiled. “Near sundown.”
“Close. But it’s snowing, so there’s no sun anyway.”
“You have a microwave?” he asked, picking up a packet of blood and leaving the rest in the shipping box. He headed out of the secret room, not waiting to see if she followed. He’d had more than his share of small spaces crowded with too many ghosts for one day.
“Of course,” she said, coming up right behind him. “Why do you…oh.”
He stared at her, then deliberately lowered his gaze to her neck. “I prefer my blood hot.”
She swallowed hard, but she didn’t flinch this time—just stared right back at him and he had to give her points for it. All in all, Tessa Franklin was a woman who could adjust to the bizarre fairly quickly. A shame she wasn’t more careful.
If more of his kind showed up here looking for him, it was likely they wouldn’t show her the same sort of consideration he was. They’d look at her and see her only as something to drink.
Why that bothered him more than it should, he didn’t care to think about.
He walked back to the kitchen and waited while she got him a coffee mug. He smirked at the happy face stamped on it in bright yellow, but opened the packet of blood and poured it inside. Opening the microwave, he set the mug inside, closed the door and punched the timer.
While he waited, he turned to look at her in the overhead lights. Beyond the kitchen, the day was dying in a swirl of ice and snow. He saw trees bending with their heavy white burden and heard the moan of the wind as it curled around the house. He focused more sharply then, and heard the skittering footsteps of a small animal looking for shelter. There was a brush of something more, too. Not vampire. Not completely human. Something—it was gone as quickly as it had come. Had he imagined it? Was he so primed for a threat, he saw one where none existed?
He shook his head and heard the buzz of the light fixture, and the beat of Tessa’s heart. That quick, staccato rhythm told him she was more nervous than she pretended to be.
Courage or foolishness?
His mind still open to any possible threat, he reached into the microwave when the timer dinged, took out the mug and had a sip.
She frowned, but he ignored it. “We all need blood to survive, Tessa. Even humans.”
“Yeah.” She blew out a breath and looked him square in the eye, as if trying to tell him she wasn’t bothered by the sight of him drinking. “I guess you’re right. It’s just—”
“Easier to take with an IV tube?”
“Yes.”
“I am what I am. Have been for too long to apologize for it now.”
“I didn’t ask for an apology.”
Not with words. But he read her eyes. Those deep blue eyes that looked at him and saw a man— until he reminded her otherwise. He shrugged and moved to the bay window overlooking the yard and the stand of woods beyond. Changing the subject because he preferred talking of things that didn’t matter, he said, “It hasn’t really changed much over the years. You say you just bought it.”
“A few months ago.” She came up beside him with quiet steps. “The first time I saw the house, I knew I wanted it. It was as if it had been sitting here. Waiting for me.” She reached out and touched one hand to the mist on the cold window, leaving her fingerprints in the damp. “Sounds silly, but I felt like I’d found home.”
“It’s a good place,” he said, not commenting on her little confession. But he knew what she meant. He’d felt the same when he first saw this piece of land so long ago. It had all been wide open then. With the nearest neighbor almost twenty miles away. He and his family had settled into the seclusion and hadn’t minded being on their own.
Until that last night.
As if she knew his thoughts had turned to the past again, she spoke up.
“What happened? I mean…”
“I know what you mean.” He took another drink of the hot blood, savoring the thick, rich taste as it slid down his throat. Appropriate, he thought, that he should have blood in his mouth to tell this story.
“It was Christmas night.” His voice was cool, detached, as though he were talking about something that had happened to a stranger. And that was more right than not, after all. It had been so long now, the man he’d been had nothing to do with the person he’d become. “A man came to the door. Freezing. Hungry. So near death I thought he wouldn’t last the night. I brought him inside.”
