Immortal Sins

Drawing him into the shadows, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him again only to draw back, her brows rushing together in a frown when he didn't return the kiss. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Rourke hesitated. There had been a time when he had looked forward to the one night each year that he spent with Melina. She had satisfied all his hungers, but now...Why did holding Melina suddenly seem wrong, as if he were betraying Karinna's trust?

"Jason?"

He looked into Melina's eyes, beautiful green eyes filled with desire, and thought of Karinna's eyes, as blue and clear as the sky he had not seen in 736 years.

Slowly, he removed Melina's arms from around his waist. "Yes, of course."

"Come then, let us go." She trailed her fingertips down his cheek. "Shall we hunt first or..."

He glanced down the street toward Karinna's house. "Not tonight."

"You are refusing me?" she asked in disbelief. "You dare to refuse me?" She followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing ominously. "Who is the woman? What has she done to you?"

Rourke shook his head. "She has done nothing but free me from that accursed painting."

"You care for her." It was not a question but a statement of fact.

"Of course I do. Did you not hear what I said? But for her, I would still be imprisoned."

"I see."

"I doubt it."

Melina glanced down the street again, her expression filled with disdain. "It sounds to me as though you have exchanged one prison for another."

"Maybe so," Rourke allowed, thinking that his sweet Karinna was a far more pleasant jailer than Vilnius had ever been.

"I could compel you to do my bidding," Melina warned. "I could bend your will to mine and make you fulfill my every wish."

"You could try."

"Impudent pup! Do you doubt my power?"

Rourke grinned at her. "Not for a minute."

"Maybe next year you'll be more willing."

"Perhaps."

It wasn't the answer she wanted. Eyes narrowed, she glared at him.

Rourke waited, wondering if it might have been wiser to humor her for one night. Her anger was a palpable thing. He was the first fledgling Melina had made; as such, he had always held a special place in her heart. Or so she had said. True or not, it was never wise to offend a woman, especially a jealous woman with unlimited supernatural powers.

"Melina..."

"If you've changed your mind, I don't want to know. And if you haven't, I don't want to know that, either," she said imperiously, and with a wave of one delicate hand, she vanished from his sight.

Rourke swore softly. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, but it was too late to do anything about it now.

Kari stood at the window, wishing she knew who Rourke was talking to outside, wishing she could hear what was being said.

Thanks to a nearby streetlight and a full moon, she could see that his companion was a woman clad in a long black cloak. Her skin was almost luminous in the moonlight; her hair fell to her waist in shimmering red waves.

Curiosity turned to jealousy when the woman drew Rourke into his arms and kissed her.

Kari shook her head. She couldn't be jealous. That was absurd. She hardly knew Jason Rourke. She had nothing to be jealous of. For all she knew, the woman could be his girlfriend.

Or his wife.

She was being ridiculous. He hadn't said anything about having married again. Anyway, he had been trapped inside a painting for three hundred years. Even if he'd had a girlfriend or a wife or a daughter, any or all of them would be long dead by now.

Unless the woman was a vampire.

Now there was a scary thought! One vampire was bad enough. Two would be...impossible. Still, vampires were made, not born, so it stood to reason that there had to be at least one other.

The jealousy she refused to acknowledge ratcheted up a notch as Kari watched Jason and the woman walk down the street, arm in arm.

After dropping the curtain back into place, Kari went into the living room and sank down onto the sofa. She didn't know why she was so surprised to see Jason with another woman. Vampire or not, he was gorgeous, though she couldn't help wondering how and when he'd had time to get to know another woman.

Hot tears stung her eyes and she blinked them away. She would not cry!

After what seemed like an eternity but was, in fact, only a few minutes later, she heard the front door open.

Kari stood and turned to face Rourke, her arms crossed under her br**sts. "Who was that?"

He lifted one brow at the barely concealed jealousy he detected in her voice. "Her name is Melina."

"Who is she?"

"She is the vampire who made me."

Kari blinked at him. Even though the thought had crossed her mind, it was the last thing she had expected him to say. "What is she doing here?" Kari's hand flew to her throat. "She's not going to make me one, is she?"

Rourke laughed softly. "No, I will not let that happen." His gaze moved to her throat. "If anyone brings you across, it will be me." He lifted one hand as her face drained of color. "I would not turn you against your will."

Mollified by his words, Kari dropped back down onto the sofa. "Why did she come here? What did she want?"

"She wanted me to spend the night with her. We have done so every year since she made me."

"Every year?" Once a year didn't sound like much until she realized he had been a vampire for 736 years. Of course, she supposed the last three centuries didn't count.

Rourke nodded.

"So, why didn't you go with her?" Kari asked, injecting what she hoped was a note of indifference into her voice.

His gaze moved over her from head to foot, his dark-eyed perusal like a physical caress. "Why, indeed." He had always enjoyed the time he spent with Melina, but that was before Karinna had entered his life. When he was with Karinna, he felt alive, truly alive, in a way he had not felt since Melina brought him across so long ago.

Kari stared at him. There was no mistaking the hungry look in his eyes. But did she really want to compete with a vampire for this man?

Who was she kidding? She had been fascinated with him from the moment she first saw the painting in the art gallery. Fascination had become obsession, and obsession had become...what? Was it possible she had fallen in love with Jason Rourke? With a vampire?

She frowned as a horrible thought occurred to her. "Are you in love with that...with Melina?"

"No."

"You've lived for hundreds of years. I can't believe you've never been in love. I mean...why haven't you?" she asked, and then bit down on her lower lip. Maybe vampires were incapable of love.