Page 30 of Incandescence

A cat hissed in the corner of the shadowy kitchen, its ginger fur raised into hackles and its green eyes almost luminous with dislike. Probably as much because Jasper was straining on his leash and vibrating with excitement than us human intruders.

Another cat, a big tabby, bounded off the kitchen table and slinked underneath one of the vinyl chairs. I strode toward the stove and lifted the lid on a saucepan of congealed soup.

I exhaled heavily and turned to Charley. “It looks like our doctor left in a hurry.”

“Do you think the brothers took him?”

I shook my head. “No. Their only goal is to find us. The vampire has planted that suggestion in their mind and nothing else matters now.”

“But Daryl wasn’t—”

“He knows we saw his lab. That’s more than enough motivation for him to come looking for us.”

“So where’s our friendly doctor then?”

I looked around, a little sick inside. “The brothers gave the vampire this address.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, curling her hand in mine. “I hope he’s okay.”

I glanced at the untouched saucepan of soup. “I’m sure he is. He hadn’t eaten dinner, which means he left before the vampire visited last night.”

The tabby crept toward us, meowing pitifully. Charley squatted and encouraged the cat closer. When he pushed against her legs, purring in ecstasy, she looked up at me and said, “These cats will starve if we leave them like this.”

I nodded, the cogs turning in my mind. “Then we stay here. At least until we can think of a better option.” The house had also supposedly been safeguarded against vampires.

“And if the doctor’s daughter turns up?”

I shook my head. “He lives the life of a hermit. I imagine even his own daughter visits on only on rare occasions.”

I wouldn’t think about the fact his other daughter would never come home again.

She nodded, then released her grip on my hand to look in the pantry. After retrieving a can of cat food, she released the tab and poured the meat into a dish. Two more cats, a white longhair of undetermined breed and another tabby, came out of hiding. All four of the felines circled Charley’s legs, squawking as though they hadn’t been fed for a week.

When Jasper whined and licked his chops, Charley grinned at him and said, “I’m sure I’ll find something here for you to eat, Jasper.”

I unclipped his chain and he trotted forward, ignoring the cats now, to focus on begging for food. The cats were of the same mind.

I laughed at the comical sight of Charley surrounded by adoring and hungry animals, and she looked up with a grin and asked. “What’s so funny?”

“You. Us. And our readymade family.”

“Not to mention our readymade house. Let’s hope Doctor Newry doesn’t get too upset with us—”

One of the cat dishes dropped to the floor, all four cats scattering as Charley pushed a hand to her belly and folded over, gasping for breath.

Shit.I raced toward her. It’d been so long since she’d had any cravings for vampire blood, I’d almost forgotten it would happen again. I’d yet to experience it myself since leaving the nest. In fact, for the first time in forty-six years, I felt almost normal. Human. Not the blood whore I’d become.

I turned her to me. “Try to relax, go to another place.”

She looked up, her face pale and her eyes glittering almost maniacally. “You need to help me forget again.”

My dick shouldn’t have instantly hardened in agreement, but the invitation was more than enough to remind me of the passion we’d shared. And if our lovemaking got rid of her pain, I was a selfish enough bastard not to want to take that away from her.

I nodded and took her hand. Jasper was busy licking the floor clean of some kind of seafood mix. He’d be fine for a little longer.

When Charley struggled to straighten, I bent and lifted her into my arms. Striding down the dingy hallway, I ignored the obviously rumpled bed of the main bedroom and stalked into the guest room, which looked quite a bit cleaner than the one the doctor used.

I laid her onto the bold red comforter and followed her down. Already her eyes glinted with need as much as pain, her breathing still heavy, but for a far different reason.

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