Page 32 of Twilight Longings

Three long days and nights passed by, with Saintcrow getting more and more anxious with each passing day. He tried to get in touch with Eleni but to no avail. He thought it downright odd that she had been so anxious to get him into bed and now she couldn’t find time to talk to him.

He fretted over what Kadie’s response would be if she learned he had gone to bed with Eleni. Would she understand he had only done it to save her? Eleni was beautiful, desirable, there was no doubt about that. How could he convince Kadie he had been forced to bed his sire?

But that wasn’t his biggest worry. It was the curse itself. If breaking the curse cured Kadie, would it still affect other young vampires, like Rosa? And how was he to know? He couldn’t expect one of the young ones to willingly come to Wyoming and risk his life to see if the curse was still active. And what if, after they healed Kadie, she was struck by the curse a second time?Dammit! The only logical decision was to implement the cure out of the state.

Kadie, Kadie. He could think of nothing else. When he couldn’t stand to be away from her any longer, he brought her home from the cemetery. He bathed her and washed her hair, found a clean nightgown for her to wear and tucked her into bed. He read to her from her favorite book, left the radio on in the bedroom day and night, kept a light on so she was never in the dark.

It was all for nothing, he thought. She lay there, unmoving, her lashes like dark fans on her pale cheeks, her lips slightly parted. He was losing her, he thought. Where the hell was Eleni?

Eleni grinned as she sensed Saintcrow’s growing impatience. If she waited long enough, he would agree to anything sheasked of him if it would spare the woman. Why settle for a night when she could ask for a week, a month, a year?

Tomorrow, she decided. Tomorrow she would summon him, let him know she had the Methuselah Stone, and tell him to get in touch with the witch, Izabela. Eleni grunted softly. She hadn’t had any contact with a witch save for stealing the medallion from Luca and she was rather curious to see one in action.

Humming softly, she turned her attention to the handsome young man she had brought home with her. She was eager to take Saintcrow to her bed, but until then, this tasty morsel would have to do.

Saintcrow left Kadie’s side when he sensed Jake standing at the front door. He dropped a kiss on her cheek, then went upstairs to let Kincaid in.

“Haven’t seen much of you in the last few days,” Saintcrow remarked.

“I sensed you wanted to be alone,” Kincaid replied, as he followed Saintcrow into the living room. “And it gave me a chance to spend some time with Rosa. How are you holding up?”

“I’m not. Eleni promised to help me with the cure and now she won’t answer my calls and she’s blocked the link between us.”

Kincaid swore softly. “She gets her kicks out of torturing you, doesn’t she?”

“So it seems.”

“How’s Kadie?”

Saintcrow shook his head. “No change. What if we’ve waited too long? What if the cure, if it exists, no longer works?”

“We’ve got enough trouble,” Kincaid chided. “Don’t go looking for more. Rosa and her family are willing to do anything they can to help.”

“I appreciate it, but …” Saintcrow shrugged one shoulder. “Everything hangs on Eleni.Dammit! If she’s lying to me about having the cure, I’m gonna break her neck.”

“That won’t kill her,” Kincaid said.

“I know, but it’ll give me a lot of satisfaction. Or I could rip out her heart. That would do the trick. But she’d never let me get close enough. Damn, she’s here.”

He had no sooner spoken the words than Eleni materialized in the room. “Is that any way to talk about your sire? Especially when I’ve brought the Stone?” Moving provocatively, she removed the long, black velvet cape she wore.

Saintcrow stared at the gold medallion nestled between her breasts. “Is that it?”

“The Methuselah Stone? Yes. Lovely, is it not?”

“How does it work?”

“I have no idea.”

“What the hell! You said you could remove the curse.”

“A little white lie,” she admitted with a negligent wave of her hand. “You need a black witch to unleash its power. Good thing you know one, isn’t it?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Izabela looked out the front window, her brow furrowing when she saw Saintcrow and Kincaid standing on the porch, along with a tall, slender woman with flawless skin and long blonde hair. Another vampire, she mused. But not one she would invite into her house.

She moved to the front door when Kincaid knocked again and opened it a mere crack.

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