Everlasting Kiss (Everlasting 1)

Rising, he pulled on a pair of well-worn jeans and a long-sleeved gray T-shirt. Late last night, he had brought some of his clothing down to his lair, partly for convenience's sake now that he had a houseguest, and partly to keep her from slicing his entire wardrobe to ribbons should Hurricane Daisy go on the rampage again.

Enthused at the thought of spending the evening with her, Erik unlocked the door to his lair and padded silently up the stairs.

Daisy was eating dinner in the living room when she felt a peculiar tingling along her nape. Startled, she glanced around the room. One minute she was alone, the next Erik was standing in the doorway.

"You!" She pressed a hand to her heart, startled by the realization that his presence had caused that odd tingling sensation. Frowning, she lifted a hand to her neck. She had tasted his blood; he had taken hers. Was that why she was suddenly so in tune to his presence?

He jerked his chin toward the plate in her lap. "Your dinner is getting cold."

"What? Oh." Trapped by his gaze, she had completely forgotten her meal.

She couldn't stop watching him as he moved into the room. Though he was dressed in ordinary jeans and a dark gray T-shirt, there was nothing ordinary about Erik Delacourt. Not the way he looked, not the way he moved. She was aware of him in ways she never had been before. She frowned. Was that another side effect of his drinking from her? Or her drinking from him? She didn't understand why she hadn't been repulsed by the taste of his blood. But one thing she knew for sure, it was never going to happen again.

She glanced at her dinner, but seemed to have lost her appetite.

Taking a seat at the other end of the sofa, he regarded her through narrowed eyes. "Something wrong?"

"How long are you going to keep me here?"

His gaze slid over her from head to heel. "As long as it pleases me."

"Well, it doesn't please me," she retorted. "I want to go home. Now!"

He nodded, then blew out a sigh. "Very well."

"Just like that?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.

"More or less."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you can stay here, or I can wipe my memory and this place from your mind and let you go."

She liked the idea of going home. Surprisingly, she didn't like the idea of forgetting him. "Are you afraid of me?"

Soft laughter filled the room. "Of you? No."

"Then why do you want to wipe your memory from my mind?"

"Because you're the Blood Thief. Because you probably know other hunters who take more than blood. Because I haven't lived this long by trusting mortals. Because..."

Daisy held up her hand. "Enough. I get your drift."

"So, what will it be?"

"Isn't there a third choice?"

He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. She saw the answer in the depths of his unblinking black eyes.

"You'd kill me? Just because I know where you live?"

Again, he didn't answer. He simply looked at her, waiting for her decision.

"But I...you..." She blew out a sigh of exasperation. How did one argue with a vampire, anyway?

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Go on."

Refusing to let him know she was afraid, determined not to back down, Daisy squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "I don't like any of those options."

"No?"

She glared at him, annoyed by the amusement evident in his tone. "No."

Erik stifled the urge to laugh. He knew she was scared. He could hear the rapid beat of her heart, smell the fear on her skin. It teased his hunger even as it raised his admiration for her courage. "What do you suggest?"

"That I promise not to tell anyone where you live, and you let me go home, and we get to know each other better before there's any bloodshed on either side."

"And you expect me to take your word that you won't come hunting me again, or worse, send someone to take my head?"

"Are you suggesting that I can't be trusted?" she exclaimed.

"I think that's been proved."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the Blood Thief. You took Tina's blood. You came here to steal mine. Now that you know where I live, what's to stop you from trying again?"

"How do you know about that?" she blurted, then bit down on her lower lip. Stupid move, Daisy, she thought angrily. Now he knows you're guilty.

"It's hard to keep a secret in my world."

"You know her?"

"Yes, but that's not the problem."

"No?"

"No. The problem is the vampire who sired her," Erik said quietly. "And he's looking for you."

Chapter 12

Daisy stared at Erik, her eyes wide. She didn't try to mask her fear this time. "I don't believe you."

Erik shrugged. "I may have exaggerated, but Rhys..."

"Rhys!" Daisy exclaimed in horror. "Rhys Costain?"

"You know him?"

"I know of him." Fear shot through Daisy. The hunters had an online network. They shared information such as the names and physical descriptions of vampires, their approximate age, their last known resting places. Rhys Costain was known throughout the vampire-hunting world.

And he was after her.

"Are you all right?" Erik asked. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine. You were saying?"

Erik studied her a moment, wondering if she was going to faint again. "Rhys isn't looking for you in particular, at least not yet. But he'll sniff you out, sooner or later."

Rhys Costain. The name alone was enough to strike terror in the heart of the strongest hunter. Though he wasn't the most ancient vampire in existence, Costain was believed to be the oldest, most dangerous vampire in North America. No one knew for sure just how old he was. It was said that very old vampires required less blood to survive, that they could even endure the sun's light for brief periods of time. Their strength was phenomenal; their preternatural senses without equal.

Daisy swallowed past the lump of fear in her throat. "Just how old is he?"

"Five hundred and twelve, give or take a decade or two."

Five hundred and twelve. Few vampires had the will or the stamina to survive that long. If she ever got home again, she would have to share what she had learned with the other hunters.

She wrapped her arms around her middle. What chance would she have against a vampire that old? "Are you going to hand me over to him? Is that why you're keeping me here?"

"No, but you do present a problem."