House of Shadows Read online

  “You passed out.” He frowned down at her. “What happened?”

  “I can’t hold the radiance for very long. It takes a lot out of me.” Rowan suddenly grinned. “It makes me light-headed.”

  He gave her a disgusted look. “Bad pun.” He shook his head, then casually stood straight up with her in his arms.

  Rowan blinked as he set her on her feet. Wow, he’s incredibly strong. He lifted me like I was a doll. Abruptly, he released her. Rowan staggered, grabbing for the side of her car for balance.

  Suddenly, his mouth fell open. “Wait a minute, you mean that you would have eventually passed out?”

  She shrugged and bit her lip. “Looks that way.”

  “Damn it, I can’t believe I swore on my blood when all I had to do was wait...” He looked at her with a frown. “You know, you don’t even smell the same.”

  Her brows shot up. “I don’t?”

  He shook his head. “You no longer smell like food.”

  Rowan bit back a grin. The oath worked! Hot shit!

  He leaned back against the side of her car with his arms crossed. “I don’t believe this.” He looked over at her with annoyance. “Damn it, you actually put a spell on me!”

  Rowan couldn’t stop smiling and dug for her car keys. “Hey, for the record, you spilled your own blood, so you put that spell on yourself.” With shaking hands, she unlocked her car door. “I’m sure there are lots of other people you can bite.”

  “Right. Whatever,” he said in complete disgust. “Piss! I don’t believe I’m bound by a fucking blood oath.”

  She ducked to sit in her driver’s seat then leaned over to dig in her Arte bag. Clumsily, she got back out of the car to thrust a small rectangle of paper into his cool palm. “Here’s my card. You can email or call me.”

  “Great,” he said without enthusiasm, then eyed her with speculation.

  “What?”

  With inhuman speed, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed his lips to hers. Startled, her mouth opened and his tongue surged in. He turned his head, angling his mouth to cover hers, then thoroughly and expertly kissed her with long, slow swipes of his tongue.

  Without thought, she kissed him back, her tongue moving against his, exploring his mouth. He tasted of darkness and shadows, but it was surprisingly warm and wet. He doesn’t taste dead. Her body clenched in sudden and voracious carnal response. He’s a very good kisser. Rowan let out a small sound. Her hands fisted in his coat and her eyes fluttered closed. His arm closed around her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

  She felt a small, sharp prick. She’d jabbed herself on one of his teeth. The taste of sweet copper bloomed. Uh, oh. She felt herself lifted from her feet and he sucked at the small burning wound on her tongue. He seemed to be getting warmer.

  He broke the kiss and stared at her from barely an inch away. “Damn, I haven’t fed this well in years.” His eyes were pools of fire surrounded by thin rings of beaten copper. A tiny smear of blood escaped the corner of his mouth. He chased after it with his tongue.

  I don’t feel like part of my soul has been sucked out, or even dented. Rowan frowned. “It was only a scratch. You barely had any.”

  “Apparently your quintessence is super charged. I only needed a little.” He grinned, showing the sharp points of his teeth. “ I won’t need to feed again for a few days.”

  Rowan glared at him. “What the hell was that kiss for, anyway?”

  “I swore not to harm you.” He grinned. “I never said I wouldn’t seduce you.”

  “What?” Her mouth fell open.

  “I have a few hours before I have to go.” He let her slide down his body, then pressed her back against the car.

  She could feel the firm strength of his body and the rigid length of an impressive erection letting her know, in no uncertain terms, that he was more than interested in something other than food. His hips swiveled against hers with a slow, suggestive roll. Her panties became embarrassingly moist.

  “I’ll make it good, I promise.” He licked his reddened lips and smiled.

  “Oh, no, we will so not go there...” She shoved against his chest. It did as much good as shoving against a rooted tree trunk. “Not with you!”

  “Why not?” His smile drained away and his lip curled back, baring an over-long incisor. “I can practically taste how much you want me,” he said with complete conviction.

  Rowan winced. Mother of us all, he’s right. I want him so bad I’m shaking with it. She took a deep breath, and it was a mistake. His scent was redolent of leather and sandalwood soap. He smelled warm and very masculine. Moisture pooled in low, hidden places. “Let me go. Please,” she said very softly.

  “Damn it…” He abruptly released her and turned away with both hands curled into fists up in the air.

  She was forced to put a hand against her car to stand. Her knees were rubber. I don’t believe he actually let me go… The night was suddenly a lot colder.

  He turned toward her and was suddenly standing only inches away. “Admit it, witch, you want me as much as I want you.”

  Startled, Rowan backed hard into her car door. Well, he is a vampire… She blushed fiercely. If the legends had any truth in them, there was probably no way she could hide her body’s physical reactions from his sharper senses. “Yeah, I feel the lust,” she grudgingly admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I am going to sleep with you.”

  “Why the Hell not?” He planted his fists on his hips and towered over her, glaring angrily.

  Rowan swallowed. “Because I will absolutely not have anything to do with something that preys on humans.”

  He frowned. “I’m not ‘a something’, I’m a man.”

  “Okay, you’re a man. You still prey on human beings,” she ground out.

  “So, I’m a predator, what of it?”

  Rowan looked at him in surprise. “You see nothing wrong with this?”

  “It’s not as if I kill them.” His brow furrowed. “Look, there’s a lot worse than me running around.”

  “Really?” Rowan cocked a brow up at him and tucked her chilled hands into her armpits. “You’re the only true vampire I’ve encountered so far, and you admit to preying on people.”

  “Aren’t you forgetting the sorcerer?” He tilted his head to the side sarcastically. “You know, the one that blew up the club? That was a lot nastier than I’ve ever thought of being.”

  “Really?” she said dryly.

  “Really.” He curled his lip. “Just so you know, that was the kind that didn’t just kill people, it ate people, preferably while still kicking and screaming. I’ve run into them before.”

  “Yeah, you’re right…” She nodded. “That was a nastier creature of darkness than you.”

  “Oh, gee, thanks… I think.” He turned to face the empty parking lot and leaned back heavily against the car next to her.

  She turned her head and frowned up at him. “I’ve still never run across anything like either of you before.”

  “Well, then count yourself lucky.” He looked over at the graveyard at the far end of the parking lot. “I run into shit like that pretty regular.”

  “In that case, you’re probably drawing them, so you definitely don’t need to be in my town. I am not a strong enough witch to deal with things like that on a regular basis.”

  “Drawing them?” He turned his head to look at her. “How do you figure that?”

  Rowan shrugged, “I don’t know. Like unto like, maybe?”

  You,” he jabbed a finger at her. “are a snide little bitch.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She nodded then raised a brow. “Does this mean you’ll leave me alone now?”

  He rolled onto his side and leaned an elbow on the roof of her car. “How’s about a good-bye kiss?” He smiled.

  Rowan’s heart lurched in her chest in reaction to his smile and her eyes focused on his lips. She swallowed hard and jerked her eyes from his mouth. “Don’t you ever give up?”
<
br />   “Only if I’m forced to.” He straightened up. “Are you absolutely sure that you don’t want to…uh, spend some quality time?”

  Rowan pressed the fingers of one hand to her temples and pointed toward the graveyard with the other. “You need to go.”

  “Oh, all right.” He sighed dramatically.

  Rowan looked at him in surprise. He’s actually leaving?

  He flashed her a tight smile. “See you later.” Between one moment and the next, he was gone.

  “I certainly hope not,” Rowan said softly and jerked open her car door. She hurriedly slid behind the wheel and locked the door with trembling fingers. That was a really close call… Rowan couldn’t tell if she was shaking in reaction to her encounter with a blood-sucking vampire, the magical drain from the radiance she had been forced to pour forth, or the vampire’s toe-curling kisses.

  “Gods, I need a cigarette…” She reached over and dug out one of her black cigarettes and lit it with unsteady hands. Let’s be honest here, that was the best damned kiss I ever had. She cringed at her pun. Even if I did nick my tongue… She froze where she sat. Oh, Goddess, he drank my blood. I hope that didn’t give him any kind of hold on me...

  It was over ten minutes before she was able to stop shaking enough to drive out of the parking lot.

  * * *

  Rowan awoke on the edge of dawn burning with fever and frustrated carnal hunger. She could feel moisture on her inner thighs. She brushed her hand across her breasts. Her nipples were swollen and tight. I should have expected this…

  Fortune-telling usually sharpened her sexual appetites, but the blatant use of magic to break the sorcerer’s hold on the vampire, then the radiance she had generated to protect herself, had only aggravated her need for sexual release. With the bar going up in flames and then dealing with the vampire, I didn’t have a chance to pick up a guy to take to bed and take care of this.

  Sex and magic, the story of her life...One was joined to the other in a never-ending circle-dance. The rush of sexual heat awakened her full magical power with her first mismanaged fumble in the backseat of a boy’s beat-up car. Power blazed forth with his premature ejaculation and the world opened. Color had burst forth in the pit of night; the colors of thought, emotion and life itself.

  In that instant, when her magic first uncurled, warm and alive within her, she discovered her would-be lover’s greed for status amongst his teenaged peers. She saw and tasted his self-interested thoughts of burying himself between the thighs of a pretty untouched girl, a known virgin, and his intent to brag of the event that very night. He did not care for her; he only cared to make his own reputation as stud.

  Indignant and humiliated, she called him to task for his intent. She also succeeded in terrifying him with her willingness to report to every girl in school of his inability to take her virginity because of his lack of control.

  He had driven her home, furious with indignation and fear.

  She had gone to school the next day, head held high and waited to hear what traveled on the high-school grapevine. She was pleased to hear nothing of the boy’s conquest of her virginity, however revenge remained his. For the first time, the word Witch was used in connection to her name. Virginity remained hers, into college. No one in school would go anywhere near a Witch.

  She squeezed her thighs together to relieve the sensual ache, knowing that it wasn’t going to help. She bit her lip and her fingers found the tender bud hidden in her feminine folds. Her fingers danced on her slippery flesh. Her body tightened and climax burned quickly. She sighed in repletion, but tension still shimmered through her body, signaling that she was far from satisfied. Damn, this is probably going to take a while.

  She had learned the hard way that true Magic demanded sex in return, or more precisely, orgasm, to replenish. But orgasm, encouraged by her own hands, was not enough to feed the hungry beast that was her power. This lesson was learned with her triumphant conquest of the dormitory ghost in her first year of college.

  The rush of ravenous sensual hunger caught her off-guard. Panting with need, she had stumbled back toward her lonely bed, only to encounter a professor walking the halls. She had stopped in a corner to dip her hands into her panties for a moment of relief when he saw her. The professor took swift advantage of the situation. And so her virginity was finally lost, with her skirt up around her waist, her panties around one ankle, against the dormitory wall with his hand muffling her moans. She wore the bite bruises on her breasts for a full week.

  Then the other problem became manifest.

  The professor, it seemed, was only able to gain an erection in her company. It took two whole weeks of careful avoidance for his pursuit to end. Her only consolation was that he had not been one of her instructors, so her grades had not suffered.

  She had tried controlling her sexual appetite by not doing true magic, but there was always another ghost to dispel, another spell to break, an accident to prevent, another person in need of her skills as a fortune-teller…She had no idea how these people even found her. She didn’t have a sign on her door, but the calls still came and usually in the middle of the night.

  “A friend of a friend said you could help me,” was how the calls began. “Help me,” was the whip that drove her. Her magic was fueled by sex but her abilities were triggered by need. She had tried refusing and discovered that her powers left her completely until she responded to their summons—their need.

  She had refused once, and once had been enough. Utter magical blindness, the inability to feel the life coursing around her or sense what anyone’s intentions were at a glance was a terrifying experience. She learned her lesson and didn’t ever want to repeat it.

  Because of her magic, the need for a lover was unavoidable. However, tonight there was no one but herself.

  She rolled over onto her stomach, coming up on her knees. One hand fisted in the pillows, she strove to give her body what it wanted. Her fingers danced while the memory of the vampire’s kiss and his strong body holding hers, burned in her mind. She panted, groaned and shuddered hard with yet another climax and collapsed among her blankets.

  The hunger still raged.

  “Damn it,” she whimpered into her pillows. “I should have taken the vampire up on his offer.”

  - Four -

  Correspondence

  The email appeared on Rowan’s computer on Monday.

  I have a problem. A distant cousin has dropped in to say hi.

  Can you advise?

  V^^V

  Rowan sat at the kitchen table and frowned at her computer screen. “That signature has to be from the vampire...” She shook her head. Only two days had passed and he had a problem already? “Well, that was quick.” There was a cell phone number after the signature followed by the phrase; Call anytime. She turned around and checked her kitchen clock. It was two in the afternoon on a bright sunny day.

  “Moron.” Rowan picked up her cordless phone. Let’s see, what kind of message can I leave and then do to avoid his return message after sunset? She smiled and dialed the number.

  The phone rang twice. “Hello?” The voice was digitized.

  Rowan’s brows rose. “Hi, this is Rowan.” She bit her lip. Shit, he didn’t give me his name. I don’t know who to leave this message for!

  “Oh, hi. I didn’t think you’d answer my email that fast.”

  Rowan blinked. “Is it actually you?” She checked the window. Yep, it’s still daylight.

  “Yeah, this is my cell phone.”

  Rowan frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to sleep during the day?”

  She heard a sound that might have been an undignified snort. “Nope, I just have to stay out of direct sunlight. I can even go out in daylight as long as I wear a coat, sunglasses and a hat.”

  “And a hundred proof sun-block?”

  “Never leave home without it.” He chuckled softly. “The miracles of modern science.”

  “Okay. Um, I don’t know what to call you.” She
made a face at the wall. Other than amazingly cute, blood-sucking parasite? “Cute signature on your email, by the way.”

  “Glad you like the signature.” He laughed. “And I’m Rick.

  Vampire Rick? Rowan swallowed hard to keep from laughing out loud. “Well, Rick, what can I do for you?”

  “I have a guest.”

  She nodded then realized that he couldn’t see the gesture. “Your note said that he was a cousin?”

  “You could say that.”

  “A cousin. You mean he’s like you, he’s a… ”

  “You don’t need to say it.” There was a pause. “He’s very, very distantly related and from the old country.”

  “Old country?” She frowned.

  “Yeah, old country. As in from Europe. I think he’s Russian, Czarist Russian, not Soviet Russian.”

  “Okay.” Rowan blinked at the wall. “And?” she pressed.

  “And, I can’t get rid of him,” he said very softly.

  “I see…” Rowan bit her lip and frowned. “Um, Rick, I really don’t think any of the more traditional methods for getting rid of unwanted, um, cousins, are going to work for you.” She had a sudden vision of Rick attempting to chase off another vampire by holding out a cross with oven mitts on. She bent over in her chair to muffle her sudden fit of nervous giggles.

  “You don’t say.” His voice was very dry. “Are you laughing at me?”

  “Uh, no.” She coughed and wiped her eyes. “Of course not.” She cleared her throat. “Um, how did you get, uh...I mean, how did your cousin find you?”

  “Would you believe, I found him on my couch yesterday, when I got up?”

  Rowan’s brows rose. “Are you serious?”

  “Deadly.”

  “Can’t you just drive him off? You are supposed to be stronger, faster, etcetera, etcetera?”

  “He’s an older cousin. A lots older cousin.”

  The frustration traveled over the phone. She could just imagine his handsome face frowning while he spoke through gritted teeth.