Page 93 of Twilight Longings

Kincaid huffed an exasperated sigh. “I can see there’s no changing your mind.” Setting his goblet aside, he stood. “I guess next time I see you, you’ll be human. I hope you don’t mind if I pray it doesn’t work.”

“I don’t mind at all.” Of course, if it didn’t work, Kadie was still going to want a baby, one way or the other.

“Well, if being human is more than you can stand, I can always solve the problem for you.”

“Yeah,” Saintcrow said, with a wry grin. “I’m counting on it.”

With a nod, Jake vanished from the room.

Rising, Saintcrow padded toward the front window and stared out into the darkness. A full yellow moon hung low in the night sky. For the first time, he wondered what would happen if the spell didn’t work.

Would he remain a vampire? Or would his life be forfeit?

Chapter Forty-Seven

Saintcrow woke earlier than usual, a sense of foreboding hanging over his head. Tonight was the night. As a vampire, he had rarely felt fear for his own life, but he had to admit he was apprehensive about putting his future in Izabela’s hands. She was a hell of a talented witch, but as Luca’s spell had proven, witchcraft didn’t always go as planned.

He stared up at the ceiling. He could hear Kadie moving around upstairs. She was fixing lunch, judging by the smell of tuna, mayonnaise, and onions. Mortal food. If all went well, that’s what he would be dining on all too soon.

Muttering an oath, he headed for the shower.

Kadie hummed softly as she dried the last of her dishes and put them away. She could have loaded them into the dishwasher, but she used so few dishes it just seemed easier to wash them by hand.

She smiled when she felt Rylan’s presence. He walked so quietly, she rarely heard his footsteps, but she always knew when he was near. Wiping her hands, she turned to face him.

“Tonight’s the day!” she said, a smile in her voice. “I just know it’s going to work.”

He couldn’t think of anything to say, so he took her in his arms and kissed her. An indrawn breath carried thetantalizing scent of her blood, even more tempting than usual since he hadn’t fed in a week. If Izabela’s enchantment worked, he thought glumly, he would never have the pleasure of tasting it again. Never again experience what Kadie felt as they made love, never be able to read her thoughts. He would miss always knowing where she was. He would miss his blood bond with Kincaid and the others.Kadie, he reminded himself. He was doing this for Kadie.

“What would you like to do today, sweetheart?” he asked.

“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

“Make love to you.”

“Now?”

“Right now.” He forced a smile. “We need to practice our baby-making, remember?”

“Of course! How could I have forgotten?”

Kadie let out a squeal of surprise as he swept her into his arms and transported them to his lair. She didn’t know what she had expected, but he was remarkably tender as he caressed her. He aroused her over and over again, taking her to the heights of ecstasy, then drawing back to start all over again. He caressed her slowly, his eyes moving over every inch of her, as if to memorize what he saw. And then, abruptly, his tenderness was gone, his kisses grew more intense. Her name was a groan on his lips when he rose over her, his eyes blazing.

Whispering, “I love you,” he buried himself deep within her.

Saintcrow brushed a wisp of silky-soft hair from Kadie’s cheek. She had dozed off after he made love to her the second time. It had taken all his self-control not to bite her, to taste her sweetness on his tongue one last time.

What if her feelings for him changed when he was human? She had never known him as a mortal man.

He told himself he was worrying for nothing. He didn’t love her less because she was no longer a vampire. But it wasn’t the same thing. Even as a vampire, Kadie had been Kadie. It hadn’t changed her. He had been a vampire for almost a thousand years. It was who and what he was. His whole identity was wrapped up in that single word.Vampire.How could he go back to being mortal? Weak? Vulnerable? He would miss the strength and the power, the invincibility, his sense of belonging to the night, his preternatural sight and hearing.

He stayed beside her, content to listen to her quiet breathing, the beating of her heart. Knowing it might be the last time, he crept into her mind. She was dreaming and in her dreams she held a pink-cheeked baby girl in her arms. He had never seen his Kadie looking so happy, so content. And in that moment, he knew he would give up everything to see that smile on her face.

Midnight came all too soon. Wrapping his arm snugly around Kadie’s waist, he transported the two of them to Izabela’s house in New Orleans. For the first time since he’d known the witch, she didn’t ask if he meant her any harm when she opened the door and invited them in.

“As agreed upon, payment must be made upfront,” the witch said, producing a pint-sized bottle from her skirt pocket. “I have no need for human blood.”

Saintcrow grunted softly as he bit into his wrist and watched his dark-red blood fill the bottle.

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