Page 27 of Twilight Longings

A muscle throbbed in Saintcrow’s jaw. “I’ll do whatever you want,” he said, his voice tight. “Go with you wherever you want to go. But no sex, remember?”

She looked up at him from beneath long, dark lashes. “Won’t you even kiss me good night?”

Resigned, he pulled her closer and kissed her. Her lips were smooth and inviting, her breasts warm and soft against his chest, her hands eager as she reached under his shirt to caress his back. Unable to bear her touch a moment longer, he pushed her away. “You’re wasting your time,” he said flatly. “Go find someone who wants you.”

“You want me,” she hissed.

“I want a lot of things,” he said, “but you’re not one of them.”

“But I want you.” She glared at him, her voice icy as she jabbed her finger into his chest.

“What you want doesn’t matter at all. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Hoping he hadn’t pushed her too far, Saintcrow willed himself home. Sitting there in the dark, he wondered if hisrefusal to make love to Eleni had put Kadie’s life in further danger.

Dammit.What the devil was he going to do if his sire wouldn’t take no for an answer? He couldn’t betray Kadie’s trust. Nor could he let Eleni destroy the only woman he had ever loved. Would ever love. Hell and damnation, talk about a rock and a hard place. What was he going to do?

Eleni wanted to go to the movies the following night, dancing again the next. On the fourth night, she had a yearning to seeChicagoon Broadway, so they returned to New York City.

Eleni stared at the stage, but her thoughts were focused on the man beside her. She didn’t understand Rylan Saintcrow at all. For centuries, men had vied for her attention, whether it was their own idea, or hers. She was a beautiful woman. She knew it, and she flaunted it. And yet Saintcrow looked at her as if she had just crawled out of a garbage can.

Anger and jealousy and a need to hurt him as his disdain hurt her raged in her heart. And then she smiled a grim smile. If he hadn’t made love to her by the end of the week, she would destroy him. And the woman, too.

Chapter Nineteen

Izabela smiled as she transformed into her younger self before she opened the door for Romar. “Have you found anything?”

“Perhaps. There is some doubt that the artifact actually exists, but I know someone who has seen it. It is purported to have remarkable powers.”

“What ancient relic are you talking about?” Izabela frowned at the twinkle in his eye. “Not the so-called Methuselah Stone?”

“The very same. Unfortunately, the Stone’s whereabouts are currently unknown.”

Izabela shook her head. “I heard it had been destroyed.”

“Merely a rumor. If Saintcrow can find it, it may very well be the answer to what ails the vampires.” Romar made himself comfortable on the sofa, pulled her down beside him, and slid his arm around her shoulders. “I have spent the last week researching all there is to know about the Stone. Every ancient text extols its power to heal, to raise the dead, to restore that which has been lost. To destroy evil.”

Izabela’s eyes widened. “So, it’s possible the Stone could heal Saintcrow’s woman and put an end to Luca and the curse once and for all?”

“Possibly,” he remarked, “but no one has seen it for at least six hundred years.”

“And I suppose only the pure in heart can find it,” she said dryly. “Which surely disqualifies Saintcrow and Kincaid.”

Romar laughed. “Perhaps a pure heart is not necessary if one’s desire is righteous.”

“Humph. How do you suggest they find it?”

“I have no idea. But that is a problem for another day.” His fingertips caressed her cheek. “Right now, all I can think about is you.”

“I should call Kincaid …”

“Later.”

Izabela felt a rush of anticipation as he held her in his arms. Since no one knew where the Stone was, there was no real hurry to go looking for it, she decided, as Romar began caressing her. What was another hour? Or another day?

“Where have you been the last couple of days?” Kincaid asked when Saintcrow answered the door.

“No place I wanted to be,” Saintcrow muttered. “Come on in and I’ll tell you all about it.”

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