Everlasting Kiss (Everlasting 1)

She sat up straight as a new thought occurred to her. Why wasn't Erik's name listed on the vampire hunters' networking site? Of course, he could have changed his name. Vampires did that from time to time, but sooner or later, one hunter or another always ferreted out any new alias, as well as the location of a new lair, if the vampire moved when it changed its name. She thought about asking Erik why he wasn't listed, but she was pretty sure he wouldn't tell her. It was just as well, because she wasn't supposed to talk about her father's list or the networking site.

After finishing her coffee, Daisy returned to the kitchen. Since she wasn't really hungry, she settled on buttered toast and orange juice for breakfast and then, because she was curious, she made her way down to Erik's lair.

She paused at the door, suddenly reluctant to see him at rest.

"Suck it up, Daisy," she muttered. "You destroyed a vampire a couple of days ago. If you could do that, you can look at Erik while he's asleep, or resting, or dead, or whatever the heck he is."

And so saying, she reached for the knob, somewhat surprised that the door wasn't locked. Of course, why should he bother? He had nothing to fear from her since he had taken her weapons, her syringe, and her cell phone.

Taking a deep breath, Daisy stepped inside. She hadn't had time to look around the last time she had been in his lair. Now she saw that it wasn't a cellar at all, but a large, finished room. Most likely it had been a family room, she thought, or maybe a bonus room. An eight-branch candelabra on a thick black chain hung from the ceiling. Two floor-to-ceiling bookcases stood on either side of a brick fireplace. Other than the bookcases, there was no furniture in the room. There was no light in the room, either, save for the illumination that spilled down the stairway, making it hard to see details from the doorway.

But there was no mistaking the shape of a shiny black coffin, even in the dim light. Staring at it, Daisy felt her courage desert her. Erik was inside. He was a vampire. She had danced with him. She had let him kiss her. She had kissed him in return.

Giving her courage a swift kick, she tiptoed across the floor.

The lid was open. And Erik Delacourt lay inside. Clad in a faded gray T-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants, he looked like he was just taking a nap.

All the vampires she had seen looked indisputably dead. Why didn't he? His skin didn't look pale and waxy. If she touched him, would he feel it? Was his skin cold? Did his heart beat when he was asleep? She frowned. Did it beat when he was awake?

And even as those questions chased themselves across her mind, his nostrils flared and then his eyelids opened and she found herself gazing into his eyes. Dark eyes instantly filled with awareness and concern.

As if by magic, the candles overhead sprang to life, illuminating the room in a soft, golden glow.

"Daisy, is something wrong?"

She shook her head, too discomfited to speak. He sounded so...so normal.

He leaned up on one elbow, worry creasing his brow. "What are you doing down here?"

"I was..." She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. "Just curious, I guess."

"Curious?"

"I..." She worried her lower lip, then decided, what the hell, why not tell him the truth? "I was curious to see how you looked when you were..." She gestured at the coffin.

"Ah," he murmured. "You wanted to see me while I was at rest?"

She nodded.

And his frown deepened. "Why?"

"I'm not sure."

"Feminine curiosity, perhaps, like Alice, wandering in Wonderland."

"I guess so."

"Being a Blood Thief, I'd think you would have seen a number of vampires at rest."

She nodded absently. "How did you know I was here?"

"I smelled you."

"Do I stink?" Daisy asked, embarrassed by the thought.

"Not at all," he said with a wry grin. "You smell quite delectable."

She didn't think that was a good thing, not when he was a predator and she was prey.

"As entertaining as this is," he said, smothering a yawn, "I need my rest."

"Of course, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

He made a vague gesture of dismissal with his hand. The candles flickered out as he sank into the depths of the casket, his eyes closing as he succumbed to the Dark Sleep.

"...disturbed you," she murmured. She watched him for a few moments; then, with a sigh, she left the lair. She closed the heavy iron door as quietly as she could before making her way up the stairs.

Vampire or not, he was still the most intriguing man she had ever met.

Daisy passed several hours reading and watching TV. She fixed lunch, watched another movie, and when she grew bored with that, she found a crossword puzzle book. Vampires doing crossword puzzles. Who'd a thunk it? Opening the book, she noticed that several of the puzzles had been completed. In ink.

She fixed an early dinner, partly because she was hungry, and partly because cooking and cleaning up afterward gave her something to do. Time had never passed this slowly at home.

She had just started another crossword puzzle when Erik appeared. One minute she was alone in the living room, the next he was there.

The book fell to the floor as she pressed one hand to her heart. "How do you do that?"

He shrugged. "Mind over matter, I guess."

Daisy retrieved the book and laid it on the table beside the sofa.

Erik sat beside her. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Well, I think you startled me out of a year's growth," she muttered irritably. "Can all vampires materialize out of thin air like that?"

"As far as I know."

Daisy frowned. For a girl who came from a family of hunters, it occurred to her that she didn't really know a whole heck of a lot about vampires, and that some of the things she thought she knew were false. She supposed she should have paid more attention when her father had explained things to her, but she had been young and a little cocky at the time. Looking back over the last few years, she realized she was lucky to be alive. How much longer would her luck hold out, she wondered, now that she was being hunted by a 512-year-old vampire?

Curious, she canted her head to the side. "How old are you?"

Coming out of nowhere, she supposed she couldn't blame him for looking surprised. For a moment, she didn't think he was going to answer.

"I've been a vampire for a little over three hundred and twenty-five years."

Ah. That explained how he had been able to be awake when she arrived the other afternoon. Maybe it also explained why he didn't look dead when he was at rest. No doubt his blood would bring a high price, just as he had said.