Night's Touch (Children of The Night 2)

Feeling like the worst kind of heel, Vince stroked her hair while his nostrils filled with the scent of her blood, not just the blood he had tasted, but the virginal blood that stained the sheets, proving she had been a maiden.

He swore softly.

How could he have done such a despicable thing? Sure, he was a vampire, but he had always prided himself on remaining a gentleman. He didn’t satisfy his thirst on the blood of innocents. He didn’t vent his lust on virgins.

Tonight he had done both.

What was he to do with her now?

And what would Roshan do when he found out Vince had defiled his little girl? Vince swore softly. Whatever DeLongpre did to him would be no more than he deserved.

He was tempted to sneak out of the hotel and never see her again, but he couldn’t bring himself to do such a cowardly thing. It was bad enough that he had defiled her.

Instead, he held her in his arms until he felt the approach of dawn, and then he kissed her cheek, pulled on his pants, and went home.

Cara woke with a smile on her face. For a moment, she lay there, her eyes closed, remembering the night past. Making love to Vince had been the most wonderful, incredible experience of her life. For a moment, she held the memory close, reliving every kiss, every caress, every word he had whispered in her ear, the way he had cried her name as his body melded with hers, the soul shattering ecstasy that had followed.

Vince. Feeling suddenly shy, she reached for him, only he wasn’t there.

Opening her eyes, she sat up and glanced around the room. Then she saw the note on his pillow. Sitting up, she read it out loud.

“Cara, I had an early appointment and I didn’t want to wake you. I’ll meet you at the library at 9. Love, V.”

She hugged the note to her breast and then, unbidden but inevitable, came the guilt. She had slept with a man she hardly knew. She told herself it didn’t matter, that these days lots of people slept together when they weren’t married or even engaged. No one even gave it a second thought. Couples lived together, slept together, and moved on. Movies and TV shows were all about sex. Advertisers used sex to sell everything from toothpaste to deodorant. And yet, deep inside, no matter how she tried to rationalize it, she knew what she had done was wrong.

With a sigh, she flopped down on her stomach. If her parents found out, they would be disappointed in her. She told herself she didn’t care what they thought. They were vampires, after all. But she did care, far more than she wanted to.

Lying there in bed, she remembered all the good times she had shared with her parents. They had always made a big fuss over her birthdays, showering her with presents. Christmases had always been special. She smiled as she remembered how her father had always searched for the tallest tree, and how the three of them had always stayed up late to decorate it. She remembered laughter and presents and love. Lots of love. Her parents had taken her ice skating in the moonlight and for carriage rides in the park. They had arranged for her to take horseback riding lessons and ballet lessons. She remembered Easter egg hunts and enormous chocolate Valentines. She had never wanted for anything. Even now, she had a savings account with a balance of several thousand dollars that was hers to do with as she pleased.

She punched her fist into the pillow as the word vampire slithered through her mind. She told herself it didn’t matter, but it did. She no longer knew how to relate to them. It was like suddenly finding out they were aliens or pod people. Their whole lifestyle was foreign to her.

Rising, she wandered into the living room. She didn’t like staying in a hotel; she wasn’t ready to go back home. But she could rent a house! Of course, it was the perfect solution.

Excited by the idea, she showered and dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll at the hotel coffee shop, and then drove to the nearest real estate office. A glance in her rearview mirror told her that her watchdog was still watching—not that she was surprised. She was certain her father had informed Di Giorgio of her whereabouts the minute he got home.

However, she was too excited at the prospect of having a house of her own to be upset.

Vince spent the day alternately working on putting a new engine in an ancient Chevy and worrying about his date with Cara. Making love to her last night had changed everything.

He had never intended to fall in love, especially with a mortal female. He wasn’t even sure when he had fallen in love with Cara DeLongpre. Sure, he had fallen in lust the moment he saw her in The Nocturne. What man wouldn’t? But love? How the hell had that happened? He tried to tell himself he hadn’t known her long enough to love her, but from that first night, he couldn’t imagine his life without her.

Of course, he had never intended to make love to her, either. As good as it had been, he couldn’t help feeling it had been a big mistake. Taking her blood had been an even bigger one, but, like taking her innocence, it couldn’t be undone.

He muttered an oath as he scraped his hand on the engine block. He stared at the blood oozing from his knuckles, remembering how sweet Cara’s had been, wondering if she remembered that, at the height of their lovemaking, he had tasted her.

When the phone rang, he figured it was the Chevy’s owner calling to see if his car was ready. Instead, he heard Cara’s voice, sweet and a little breathless.

“Hi,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind me calling you at work.”

“Not at all.” Lord, just hearing her voice made him hard. “You can call me anytime.”

“Guess what I did this afternoon?”

“I can’t imagine.”

“I rented a house! Wait until you see it. I’m on my way to the store to buy dishes and stuff before I go to work. So, what are you doing?”

“Putting a new engine in an old Chevy.”

“Oh.”

He sat on a corner of the desk. “Why?”

“I thought…never mind.”

“You thought what?”

“That maybe you’d go shopping with me. I could come by and pick you up.”

Vince glanced outside. It wouldn’t be dark for another couple of hours. “I’m afraid I can’t leave right now, but we’re still on for tonight, right? Nine o’clock?”

“Right.” Though she tried to hide it, he heard the disappointment in her voice.

“I’m sorry, darlin’.”

“It’s okay, I understand. See ya later.”

He swore softly as he hung up the receiver. Not that he particularly wanted to go shopping for dishes, but he hated to disappoint Cara. Still, it couldn’t be helped.