Night's Master (Children of The Night 3)

Rafe's lips brushed my cheek. “This isn't the kind of conversation I expected to be having on my wedding night.”

“No?” Excitement fluttered in the pit of my stomach when his hand cupped my breast.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

“Am I?”

“More beautiful than any woman I've ever known.”

I didn't believe that, but it was nice to hear.

His hand moved in my hair, sending shivers of delight down my spine. “Kathy, do you know how much I love you?” His voice, low and husky, moved over me like rough velvet.

“As much as I love you?”

“More.” His clever hands moved over my willing flesh, teasing my desire back to life.

“That's impossible,” I said, grinning as I felt the evidence of his own desire stirring against my belly.

“Shall I show you?” His voice was lower now, almost a growl. Hunger glowed faintly in his eyes.

Even as I murmured, “Yes, please,” I couldn't help wondering how much blood I could afford to lose in one night.

“You needn't be afraid,” he said, “I took only a small taste.”

“You're reading my mind again,” I said with mock severity.

A slow smile lit his eyes. “How do you think I knew how to please you so well?”

“In that case, I give you leave to read my mind for the rest of the night,” I said.

And he did.

I woke feeling deliciously warm and achy in places where no man but Rafe had ever touched me. Smiling, I thought of the night past. We had made love all through the night, each time more thrilling, more satisfying, than the last.

Opening my eyes, I glanced at my watch, surprised to see that it was almost three o'clock in the afternoon. And then I blushed, thinking that maybe it wasn't so surprising at all. After all, we had made love until the early hours of the morning. Unlike human males, Rafe never tired, never needed to rest.

Taking a deep breath, I turned on my side to look at the man sleeping beside me. I wasn't sure what to expect. I had always heard that Vampires slept like the dead, but he didn't look dead. Far from it. Was he trapped in the daylight sleep? He had told me he could move around during the day, but maybe once he fell asleep, he couldn't wake until the sun went down. If I touched him, would he feel it? If I spoke his name, would he hear me?

My heart skipped a beat. The old adage said to let sleeping dogs lie. I wondered if the same was true for sleeping Vampires.

“I'm not asleep.”

I punched him in the arm. “Stop that.” His fingertips skated down my bare arm, sending a familiar shiver down my spine.

He regarded me through heavy-lidded eyes. “You said it was all right last night.”

“That was last night. This is today.”

“And what are your plans for today, Mrs. Cordova?”

Mrs. Cordova. The words filled me with warmth and a sense of belonging I'd never known before. How could I have forgotten that we had exchanged vows last night? Vows that were, in my mind, just as binding as if they had been spoken in front of a minister in church? As far as I was concerned, I was now Mrs. Raphael Cordova. And then I frowned. What would Rafe's parents think? I'd never even met them. Would we stay in Oak Hollow? Would Rafe expect me to sell the bookstore?

“The shop!” I exclaimed, sitting up. “I should have opened hours ago.” I wondered again if anyone had missed me, or even noticed that my store had been closed for a few days.

Rafe tugged me back down beside him, his arm slipping comfortably around my shoulders. “There's no need for you to work any longer.”

“No?”

“No. I make more than enough to support you.”

“Well, that's nice to know, but if I don't work, what will I do during the day?”

“Whatever you wish.” His hand slid up and down my spine, and then he brushed a kiss across my cheek. “I need to rest a while.”

“Okay. I think I'll go home and change my clothes and then go over to the store for a few hours.”

“No. It's not safe for you to leave here.”

He was right, of course. Why hadn't I thought of that? No doubt Travis, Edna, Pearl, and their henchmen were frantically searching Oak Hollow from one end to the other looking for their escaped guinea pigs. It wouldn't do for word of their nefarious activities to become public knowledge. I was pretty sure the townspeople would be up in arms if they discovered Edna and Pearl's plan to dump their formula into the water supply. It would be even more dangerous for Jackson and the women if the Supernatural community got wind of their scheme.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I knew that Edna and Pearl's days were numbered, one way or the other.

“I'll take you home tonight so you can get whatever you need and bring it here,” Rafe said. His voice sounded different, heavy somehow.

Last night, we hadn't talked about where we would live. I doubted Rafe would be happy at my place. It was too open to the sun, too easily breached. On the other hand, I didn't think I could be happy here, in his place, either. It was too dark, and while I understood the reason for it, I knew that, in time, it would leave me feeling depressed and claustrophobic.

I ran my fingertips over his chest. “How long will you sleep?”

“Until sundown.”

“What's it like, when you're sleeping? Is it really like death?”

“I wouldn't know,” he said with a wry grin. “Since I've never died. All I know is that it's different from mortal sleep.”

“Different how?”

“Sleeping Vampires, except for the old ones, are helpless during the day, and they don't dream.”

“So, what's it like for you?” I slid my hand over his biceps, admiring the latent strength beneath my palm. “If I touch you while you're sleeping, will you feel it?”

“Yes.”

“And if I call your name, will you hear me?”

“I will always hear you.”

I smiled at that. “Do you dream?”

His heavy-lidded gaze held mine. “Sometimes.”

“What do Vampires dream about?” I ran my hand down his arm and over his abs.

“If you don't stop that,” he said, his voice husky. “I'll show you what I dream about.”

Warmth spread through me. If he hadn't been on the brink of oblivion, I would have made those dreams come true. As it was, I kissed him lightly. “Will it disturb you if I take a shower?”

“No.” He smiled faintly. “Next time, perhaps I'll share it with you.”