Page 58 of Twilight Longings

Kadie stared at him, then shook her head. “I would never have been friends with a … a vampire. Or taken one to my bed.”

“But you were. And you did.” Not right away, but eventually, he thought, with an inward grin. True, it had taken some time and a lot of patience on his part, but in the end, he had won her affection and eventually, her heart.

“I want to go home,” Kadie said, only then recalling she had no home, at least none she remembered.

“Thisisyour home.” His gaze captured hers.

Unbidden, came his voice, whispering in the back of her mind, saying,We were lovers, Kadie. Lovers, lovers, lovers.Could it be true? She shook her head, refusing to believe it. Even if itwastrue, it didn’t matter. She didn’t want to stay here. And then she frowned as a new thought chilled her to the bone. How could he let her go, now that she knew what he was? If there were vampires, maybe there were vampire hunters who would come after him if they learned of his existence. “How long are you going to keep me here?” she asked, sullenly.

“You’re free to leave, if you wish. But I hope you’ll stay. I won’t bother you anymore. I give you my word.”

“The word of a vampire!” she scoffed. “What good is that?”

“There are few things I hold dear,” he said, his voice like velvet over steel. “My word is one of them. If you stay, I’m offering you the hospitality of my house. It’s bigger and more comfortable than where you’re living now. Besides, you’ve got no place better to go, and even if you did, you don’t have the means to pay for it.”

Kadie shook her head. She would sleep in the gutter if she had to. All she wanted to do was get away from this place. Get away fromhim. He was a vampire. He killed people. She knew now what he had been hiding from her. She would never forget how he had looked in the parking lot, his eyes as red as a fiery hell, his fangs stained with blood. All she wanted to do was leave this place and forget she had ever met him, known him, loved him … Had she really loved him once? It seemed impossible. She shook her head again.

Saintcrow held up a hand to stay the protest he saw rising in her eyes. “You lived in my house once before. Perhaps staying there again will jog your memory.”

What if he was right? Maybe familiar surroundingswouldremind her of all she’d forgotten. Was it worth the risk? How could she trust him when he’d been lying to her?

“Just stay a few days,” he urged. “I won’t force you to stay if you still want to leave. If it will make you feel better, I’ll leave town.”

Did she dare believe him?

“Please, Kadie.”

It was thepleasethat did it. “I’ll stay for a couple of days if you promise to stay away from me.” She shook her head. What kind of fool was she, to trust the word of a vampire?

“I promise on my undying love for you.”

His words, the sincerity in his voice, touched a chord deep within her.

“When you get back to the house, I’ll be gone.”

“How do you know I’m going to stay?” she asked.

He tapped his forehead. “Vampire, remember?”

As if she could forget something as scary as that, she thought, as he vanished from her sight.

Saintcrow was sitting on the bench in the park when Kincaid strolled toward him. “Why so glum? You look like you lost your best friend, but since that’s me, it must be something else.”

“Very funny,” Saintcrow muttered. “It’s Kadie. She knows what I am.”

“So you finally told her.”

“Not exactly. We were attacked last night and …” Saintcrow made a vague gesture with his hand. “You can guess the rest.”

“Well, damn, that can’t be good.”

“I thought once she found out it would remind her of all the rest. But now she’s scared to death of me. Again.”

Kincaid chuckled. “Let the games begin.”

Saintcrow glared at him. “Fat lot of help you are. I considered telling her everything but I was afraid the shock might be too much so soon after that damn curse and then learning in a rather graphic way what I am.”

“Now that Kadie knows about vampires, do we still need to keep a low profile?”

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