"Rourke..."
He held up his hand, staying her words. "I will bid you good night."
"But..."
He was out the front door before she could ask him to stay, to let her explain. It was just as well, she thought glumly, since she had no idea what she would have said.
Rising, she went to the window and drew back the curtains. Where was he? She told herself he had gone for a walk or to take his rest, but deep inside, she was terribly afraid that he had gone looking for a woman who would accept him for what he was.
Chapter 19
With a sigh, Ana Luisa rested her head on Ramon's shoulder. Earlier, he had ordered her a pepperoni pizza for dinner. She had liked it very much. Now, they were sitting on the sofa watching something he called football on the television. It made no sense to her, but he seemed to like it, and she was happy just to be with him. Perhaps she was being foolish, trusting her safety and her life to a vampire she hardly knew, but Ramon made her feel safe in a way that no one else ever had. Running off to find him had been the most impulsive thing she had ever done, yet nothing had ever felt so right.
She curled up against him, wondering if Jason would ever forgive her, wondering if what she had told him was true--that her father wouldn't be able to find her here. Just thinking about her father sent a cold chill down her spine. For as far back as she could remember, she had been afraid of him. She vividly remembered the looks of pity that people had turned in her direction when they learned that Vilnius was her father. The townspeople had often come to him, seeking magical cures for their aches and pains, a charm to guarantee a good crop, an incantation to ensure the health of their sheep or cattle, yet he had been feared by everyone. She had known it, and so had he.
She pressed closer to Ramon. Vilnius was a cruel man, one who enjoyed knowing that the people who came to him for help were afraid of him. He had done nothing to make them less afraid. He had, in fact, seemed to draw power from their fear. She had seen him do awful things, unspeakable things. To this day, she was certain he had killed her mother, though she had never dared voice her suspicion aloud to a living soul, or consider it in his presence.
She recalled the look on his face when he had magicked her into that painting, his black eyes blazing, his thin lips pulled back in a feral snarl as he spoke the evil incantation. He had bound her to that painting without a hint of sorrow, had left her there without a word or a thought for three hundred years.
A single tear slipped down her cheek. But for Jason, she would still be imprisoned. Jason. She had thought she loved him, had thought he loved her in return, until she saw him with another woman.
The first time she had seen the way Jason looked at Karinna, she had been tempted to turn the other woman into a hop toad, or banish her to some faraway, ice-bound realm for all eternity. She might have done it, too, if she herself hadn't been the victim of an angry witch's curse.
And now she was here, with Ramon. When she had left Karinna's house earlier that day, she'd had no idea how to find Ramon again. She tried to remember the path she had taken the night she met him, and had ended up horribly lost in a strange part of town.
She had been frightened when a tall, gray-haired man wearing an official-looking uniform approached her. She must have looked as lost as she was, because he had asked her kindly if she needed help. She had told him that she was looking for the home of Ramon Vega and that he lived on Shadow Brook Lane. The gray-haired man had smiled and told her she was a long way from Shadow Brook Lane, and then he had offered to drive her there. She had been reluctant at first, until he explained that he was a police officer. When he had asked for the house number, she had confessed she didn't know what it was, so he had driven her to the street and dropped her off when she pointed out Ramon's house. She had thanked him profusely for his kindness. He had patted her shoulder and warned her to be more careful in the future. Sitting on Ramon's doorstep, Ana had waited for the sun to go down, and then knocked on the door, realizing only then that Ramon might not be as anxious to see her as she was to see him. He had been surprised to see her. Fortunately, he had also been pleased. He had welcomed her into his home and his arms, and she never wanted to leave.
She had known him only a short time, she thought with a sigh, yet it seemed as if she had always known him, as if she had been waiting her whole life to hear his voice, see his smile, feel his touch.
His house was like he was, warm and bright. The walls were painted in vivid hues, the furniture was casual and comfortable. He had told her all about his past, how he had been turned into a vampire five years ago by a man who had once been his friend.
The fact that he liked being a vampire surprised her. How could anyone like such a thing? He had turned three of his friends into vampires, including the man Maitland. Ramon had assured her that she had nothing to fear from Maitland, and she believed him.
How quickly her life had turned upside down! Ramon had promised to take her shopping tomorrow night. He had told her she could buy anything she wished. She smiled inwardly. If there was one thing she liked about this new world, it was shopping. She had never seen clothes so fine, or in so many styles and colors. And the undergarments that Karinna had bought her. Why, they were hardly more than a scrap of lace that barely covered the private parts of her anatomy. She had been shocked when Karinna had first shown them to her, but now...Her cheeks grew warm as she thought of undressing for Ramon. Would he be pleased, or shocked?
"Ana Luisa?"
She looked up, her gaze meeting his.
"Are you all right, kiddo?"
"Kiddo?"
"It's a term of affection," he explained with a grin.
"Oh." She sighed heavily. "I have so much to learn."
His hand cupped her breast. "And I'll be right here to teach you."
She had told Ramon all about her father, warned him that his life might be in danger if he helped her, but he had only laughed.
"I stopped being afraid of the future the night I became a vampire," Ramon had said, ruffling her hair. "Since then, I take each night as it comes. But you...ah, I never expected to find anything like you wandering in the dark."
With a sigh, she snuggled against him once again, praying that he would never have cause to regret taking her in.
A tingle of awareness threaded through her when she felt his lips move in her hair. Tilting her head back, she curled her hand around his neck and drew him closer, all thought of Jason Rourke, her father, and the future dissolving like morning mist when Ramon lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed.