Page 59 of Twilight Longings

“For the time being. I don’t want to freak her out any more than she already is.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Saintcrow snorted. “Would it stop you if I said no?”

“Probably not. Do you think it’s wise to keep Kadie here against her will?”

“I’m not. I told her she could leave, but I convinced her to stay at my place, at least for a couple of days.”

“How the hell did you get her to agree to that?”

“I told her she’d lived there before and that staying again might jog her memory.”

“You know, that just might work.”

“Believe me, I’m counting on it.”

“Well, since you don’t want us around, I’m taking Rosa to Milan for a week or so. Get in touch if you need me. Or if you hear anything about Luca.”

Saintcrow nodded. “Have a good time.” Watching Kincaid saunter off, Saintcrow couldn’t help wondering if he and Kadie would ever find their way back into each other’s arms.

Kadie drove back to the rental house and parked the car in the driveway. She sat there for several minutes, wondering if she’d made the right decision. Saintcrow had said she could leave. Had he meant it? Or would he stop her if she tried to cross the bridge again? What if she left and never recovered her memories? How would she survive in a strange city with no money, no job, no identification and no memory of who she was?

Looking out the car’s side window, she stared at the big gray house just barely visible on the hill. Had she really lived there before? she wondered, with a rueful shake of her head. It looked like the perfect place to find a vampire. What was it like inside? Dark and dreary, with dusty cobwebs and flickering candles? Black walls? A coffin in a musty cellar overrun with mice and rats? That’s where they always found the monsters in the horror movies. Was she going to let her fear of the unknown steal what might be her only chance to remember her past?

What if Saintcrow was right? Maybe staying here was her one chance to remember who she was.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered what little courage she had. Recovering her memories was surely worth whatever the cost. At least that’s what she told herself as she got out of the car.

Hurrying into the rental house before she could change her mind, she threw her things into her suitcase, hopped back into the car, and drove up the long, narrow road to the vampire’s lair.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Eleni sat by the pool in an expensive hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She had intended to return to her home in Italy. It was her favorite place in all the world. But something—she refused to admit it was Saintcrow—kept her in Wyoming. Easily bored, she had spent her life moving from state to state and country to country, exploring the sights, mesmerizing beautiful young men to tour the world with her and feed her appetites. All of them.

But at the moment, it was Saintcrow she wanted. His rejection still stung. She had devised and discarded a dozen different ways to win him to her side. None seemed possible as long as his woman lived. Killing her competition was the obvious answer. Sadly, it was also the best way to guarantee that he would hate her forever.

She toyed with the idea of forcing him to do her will, but there was no satisfaction in that. Might as well take a robot to bed as a man who didn’t appreciate what you had to offer.

She smiled as a handsome young man whistled at her as he walked by. So many men, she mused. So much time. Rising, she put Saintcrow out of her mind for the moment. Why fret over a man you couldn’t have when the world was filled with delightful men who wouldn’t say no?

Saintcrow could wait for another day or two.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Kadie parked the Corvette in the driveway and then sat there, staring at Saintcrow’s house. Large and square, it was built of weathered gray stone. There were turrets at each of the four corners which gave the place the look of an old English fortress. Or a medieval prison. Thick iron bars covered the front door and the windows. It looked like it had stood there since the world began and would still be there when the hourglass of time ran down. Forbidding was the first word that came to mind.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her handbag and suitcase and exited the car. Her hand shook as she opened the heavy iron door and then the equally heavy wooden one. It opened into a spacious living room that was furnished with a Jonathan Adler sofa, loveseat and armchair, and a pair of end tables. Several exquisite paintings adorned the walls. Fancy draperies covered the windows.

Kadie wasn’t sure what she had expected—tapestries and antique furniture, perhaps, but this wasn’t it. Only the suit of armor in a far corner of the room, and the fireplace—which was surely big enough to hold a horse and its rider—looked to be as old as the house.

Dropping her suitcase by the door, she wandered through the rooms. She was surprised to find appliances in the kitchen. Why would a vampire need a stove or a refrigerator?Or a microwave? Did he bring blood home and warm it up? Did he keep bottled blood in the fridge? Curiosity had her opening the door. It was empty, of course. She also found a set of expensive silverware and a set of Spode China. The man had great taste, she would give him that.

There were six bedrooms upstairs. They were all about the same—large and square, painted in pastel colors, with bedspreads, curtains, and carpets in matching or complementary colors. Only the largest room, which was done up in shades of blue and white, had an adjoining bathroom. None of the rooms looked lived in. The closets were all empty. So where did the master of the house sleep? Where were his clothes and shoes?

That question haunted her as she went downstairs to retrieve her suitcase.

Forty minutes later, with her clothes and toiletries put away, Kadie drove to the grocery store in town. She walked up and down the aisles, picking up anything that caught her fancy, and all the while snatches of conversation played in her mind.

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