Immortal Sins

"But I did not know that you were a vampire!"

The tone of her voice, the revulsion in her eyes, flayed him like a lash. It shouldn't have bothered him. He knew what he was, he knew that what he had done to her was wrong. Her actions did not excuse his; still, her words burned like holy water.

"I am sorry for what happened between us," he said again.

A single tear dripped down her cheek. "I spent three hundred years trapped in a painting because of you. Everything I knew, everyone I loved, is gone," she said, her voice growing softer and more plaintive. "Everyone but you."

The last three words were barely audible, but Rourke heard them clearly.

With a sigh, he drew her into his arms, one hand lightly stroking her back. "I am sorry," he said again. "It was wrong of your father to punish you for what I did."

She sniffed, her arms slipping around his waist as her anger drained out of her. "I, too, am sorry," she said. "It was not all your fault."

"Karinna found a coven not far from here," Rourke said. "She wrote to ask if they would take you in."

Ana Luisa looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "You are sending me away?"

"Just for a little while. They can help you adjust to life in this place, teach you to use your magick. Protect you from your father."

"But I want to stay here, with you."

"I know, but it isn't possible, not now. I do not want you to be alone during the day."

"Karinna..."

"She has to go back to work soon. And I cannot protect you when the sun is up."

"What if they do not want me?" she asked tremulously.

"We will not worry about that now," Rourke said, and taking Ana Luisa by the hand, he started walking back toward Karinna's house.

The beauty of the night surrounded him. It was good to be free, he mused, to feel the breeze on his face and the ground beneath his feet, to be able to come and go as he pleased. There was much to see and learn in this new land, but he had to admit that life in his painted world had been far less complicated.

Chapter 18

Kari sat at the kitchen table, a cup of hot chocolate cradled in her hands as she wondered if her life would ever return to normal. It wasn't bad enough that she had a vampire sleeping in the shed out in the backyard, now she had a witch staying in the guest room. And she had to be back at work on Monday. Not that she minded having Rourke here, she admitted. She cared for him far more than she should, knew that, in spite of everything, she was falling in love with him.

Love...Could she really be in love with a vampire? Just thinking about it made her feel hot and achy all over. Heck, she thought with a grin, maybe she was just coming down with a bad case of the flu!

She sighed, thinking that her life had turned into some kind of bizarre fairy tale filled with witches and wizards and one unbelievably sexy Undead guy.

Rourke and Ana Luisa had come home late last night. It was obvious that Ana had been crying. The girl had gone straight to bed without a word to either one of them.

When Kari had asked Rourke what had happened, he had simply shrugged and said Ana Luisa was having a hard time adjusting to her new life. Kari would likely have asked him a few more questions if he hadn't taken her into his arms. One kiss and she had forgotten everything else. They had made out on the sofa until it was almost dawn, and then, with one last kiss that had left her breathless, he had gone to seek his rest out in the shed.

Kari shook her head as she recalled the hours she had spent in his arms. If she could bottle whatever it was that the man had in such abundance, she could make a fortune!

She was trying to decide if she was hungry enough to make breakfast when Ana Luisa entered the room. Even sleep tousled and clad in a pair of Kari's pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, the girl was gorgeous. With her pouty pink lips and rosy cheeks, she looked like a fairy-tale princess awaiting love's first kiss.

"Good morning," Kari said, pasting a smile on her face.

Ana Luisa nodded at her, then sat down at the table, her expression bleak.

"Are you hungry?" Kari asked. "I was just thinking about making some French toast."

"I do not know what that is."

"Well, it's bread dipped in eggs and fried, I guess you'd say. It's very good with butter and syrup or jelly. And I think I've got some bacon."

"Thank you," Ana Luisa said politely.

Kari glanced at Ana surreptitiously as she busied herself preparing breakfast. It was easy to see that the wizard's daughter was unhappy. There were dark shadows under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept much. Kari supposed she couldn't blame the girl. She was pretty sure she would be just as depressed if she suddenly found herself in a time and place that was completely foreign to her.

A short time later, Kari placed two plates on the table. "I'm having coffee," she said, "but I've also got orange juice or grapefruit juice, or I can make you a cup of tea, if you prefer."

Ana Luisa shrugged. "It does not matter."

Since it didn't matter, Kari poured the girl a cup of coffee and then sat down. Wanting to spare the girl's feelings, Kari concentrated on her breakfast.

The kitchen was silent until Ana Luisa asked, "Are you in love with Jason?"

"I don't know," Kari said honestly, "but you are, aren't you?"

Using her fork, Ana Luisa drew lazy eights in the leftover syrup on her plate. "I thought I was, until last night."

"What happened last night?"

"I found out that he is a vampire. Did you know that?"

Kari nodded. She refused to feel guilty for not telling the girl the truth. If Rourke had wanted her to know, he would have told her. "He should have told you before," Kari said. "It was wrong of him to keep that a secret from you. But it was his secret to keep."

"Yes." Ana frowned. "Although I knew there was something different about him. Now that I know the truth, I am not sure how I feel about him. Or about Ramon."

"Ramon?" Kari put her cup on the table and leaned forward. "Who the heck is Ramon?"

"Another vampire. I met him last night."

Kari stared at Ana Luisa, her mind whirling. Another vampire? Good grief, the city was crawling with them!

"When I found out that Ramon was like Rourke, I was upset and I sent Ramon away, but now..." She smiled a dreamy smile. "He is all I can think about."

Kari stared at the girl, speechless. One minute Ana Luisa was in love with Rourke, and the next she was mooning over a man--a vampire, no less--she had just met.