A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) (45 page)

“I texted her,” he countered. “She’ll see my message and either call or text me back, and I can tell her I’m waiting at her condo.”

“I’m not comfortable with that idea, Caleb,” she insisted sternly.

There was no misunderstanding the tone of concern and displeasure in her voice, and he slumped dejectedly against the back of the bench. “Just give her an hour or so, and then I’ll leave another detailed message,” he negotiated. “How’s that?”

She made a growling sound at the other end.

She just growled at me,
he thought with wide eyes.

“One hour,” Katrina stipulated. “Then call her again, and call me.”

He paused for dramatic effect. “Okay, agreed.”

“Okay,” she concurred in a friendlier tone. “And please be careful.”

“Will do,” he promised and added: “Love you.”

She made a purring sound. “I love you too.”

The call ended, and he shook his head putting his phone away. He sighed and settled back to get comfortable.
It really seems like a peaceful neighborhood.

He watched an occasional car pass by and tried reading the vampire novel again. After twenty minutes, he sat it aside and closed his eyes to rest. As he relaxed, he failed to notice himself drifting off to sleep.

* * * *

Katrina heated up a glass of blood in her hotel room microwave as she considered her conversation with Caleb. It annoyed her that Paige was acting so strange, and it frustrated her that she was disregarding Caleb’s calls and text messages.
That’s no way for a guardian to act
,
much less a close friend
. The more she thought about it, the more it upset her. She expected Paige to act more responsibly towards her and especially towards Caleb.

“Dammit!” she cursed and picked up her cell phone to speed dial Paige’s number. The phone rang until going to voicemail, so she redialed again.

Failing that, Katrina sent a rapid text message to her:
CALL ME NOW! Red.

Less than thirty seconds later, the phone rang. It was Paige.

“’Bout time!” Katrina barked into the receiver.

She heard the sound of loud rock music and voices trying to talk over it in the background as Paige answered, “What? I’m busy.”

Out clubbing, I see
, Katrina considered irritably.

“Sorry to bother you, but
my mate
is trying to get hold of you,” she complained. “Maybe you could spare him the time of day?”

“Why? What’s he done now?” Paige asked flatly.

Katrina’s eyes flashed with anger, and she spat, “Wasting his time trying to see you, it seems. I should’ve told him no.”

There was a pause at the other end, and Katrina thought she heard a slight intake of breath mixed with the sound of the rock music.

“What do you mean by ’trying to see you’?” Paige demanded in a quieter voice.

Katrina adopted a smug expression and replied, “As in, he’s sitting on your front porch right now, and I’m half tempted to send a cab to get his butt to the airport. You’re obviously too wrapped up in yourself for him to bother you.”

“Crap,” was all Paige muttered in a withering tone of voice. “Why did you let him do that?” she asked weakly.

Katrina inhaled a deep breath, let it out slowly, and answered patiently, “Because he flew all the way to where I’m at just to ask my permission. He misses you and doesn’t understand why you’ve been avoiding him. As a matter of fact, neither do I.”

“He flew to see you?” Paige asked blankly. “I thought you two just got back from England together. Where are you, anyway?”

“Oh, now you’re curious?!” Katrina demanded.

“Okay, okay,” Paige retorted defensively, “Geez, I made a mistake, all right? He’s fine on my front porch; it’s a nice neighborhood.”

“
Not
all right and
not
the point,” Katrina objected coldly. Given all that had happened recently, she didn’t like the idea of Caleb’s being left alone in a strange place.

Paige emitted a heavy sigh, conceding, “Yes, I know, not the point. I’m on my way.”

“Thank you,” Katrina replied. “Bye, Paige.”

She ended the call and casually tossed the cell phone onto the nearby bed. She removed the warm blood from the microwave and took a sip with a degree of satisfaction. She sat on the edge of the bed, slipped her feet from her high-heeled shoes, and stretched her toes out before her.
Paige is acting like a spoiled teenager
.

* * * *

Paige whipped her red BMW sports coupe into the driveway and immediately noticed Caleb sitting on the bench on her front porch.
Is he asleep?
she wondered as she pulled her car into the garage and sped around the corner to where he sat.

Her frown turned into a smirk as she viewed him slumped against the back of the bench with his head cocked to one side and his mouth open as he slept.
He’s so damn cute
…
Stop! That’s exactly why you feel the way you do about him.

She cleared her throat audibly and perched her hands atop her hips as she waited for him to come around. After a moment, she stretched her leg out with the pointed heel of one of her stilettos, tapping him on the thigh as she cleared her throat again.

He stirred slightly and slowly opened his eyes as he yawned into a closed fist. His vision slowly focused on Paige as she stood before him. He took a moment to admire her in the tight-fitted black denim jeans and black leather halter top. He also took notice of the sexy, black high-heeled shoes. His eyes widened somewhat, and he adopted a playful grin as his pale blue eyes met her bright blue ones.

However, she merely glared at him. “I should bite you in the neck for showing up here like this,” she threatened.

That caught him off guard, and his smile immediately faded.
What’s wrong with her? And just what’ve I done to make her so cross with me?

“Well, you’re here, so get up off the bench and come inside,” she ordered with aggravation evident in her voice, leading the way back around the corner into the garage.

He blinked with confusion, picked up his luggage, and followed her into the dimly lit garage. He immediately noticed her sports car. “Wow! Your car’s amazing!” he gaped, carefully sliding past it via the narrow space next to the wall.

“Yeah, well, don’t scratch it, or I’ll take it out of your hide,” she challenged.

He frowned but didn’t say anything as she led him into the house, pressing the garage door button on the wall as she entered.
She’s not usually so mean to me
. The garage door shut behind them, and she stepped aside in the small kitchen to let him pass before shutting the door leading into the garage.

Caleb appraised his surroundings as he sat his luggage in the small hallway leading to the front door just outside the kitchen. A small dining room combined with the kitchen and opened into a large living room with a high ceiling. To the left of the living room was a carpeted staircase leading up to the second level. The living room was decorated in a surprisingly conservative manner with a white leather couch, glass coffee and end tables, and leather recliner. A plasma TV hung on the wall above a gas fireplace and white-painted wood mantle. He noticed that a small surround sound system had been installed in the ceiling, and a fully stocked media equipment rack was built into the wall next to the fireplace.

He turned to look at Paige with a hopeful smile. “Nice digs,” he complimented.

She returned a flat expression and shrugged. “Thanks.”

He bit his lower lip and sighed.
Damn, she’s cold. What the hell?

“Why are you here, Caleb?” she asked pointedly before he had a chance to consider the situation further.

He was taken aback by her query and noted she hadn’t used any of the typical nicknames to address him since he arrived. Instead of playing games with further pointless banter, he simply looked her straight in the eyes with a hurt expression. “I had to see you. What have I done wrong? Why are you so pissed at me?”

She closed her eyes and sighed.
I can’t be near you, that’s all. I don’t want to hurt you or Katrina.

When she didn’t answer, he reached out to grasp her hand in his own, and her eyes immediately snapped open. She jerked her hand from his and gestured towards the living room. “Don’t do that,” she snapped. “Just go sit in there or something. Do you want something to drink? I might have a soda in the fridge, I think.”

He felt like she had physically slapped him, and he nearly winced. He shrugged and moved into the living room to sit on one end of the couch. “No, thanks,” he replied glumly.

She immediately noticed how her actions and tone had bothered him, and a surge of both guilt and shame flowed through her all at once. She never meant to hurt him.
Dammit kiddo, why did you have to come out here looking for me?
She moved to stand on the other side of the coffee table, staring down at him with her arms crossed before her.

“You look really great,” he offered. “Nice strappy shoes. I like them even better than the red ones you bought at the mall last Christmas.”

She bit back a smirk as she fondly recalled the shopping trip he, Katrina, and she had gone on. He had helped her pick out some high-heeled shoes that evening, which were one of her favorite pairs to that day. But the memory only sent a fresh emotional pain through her. “Thanks,” she replied politely, yet distantly.

He paused, uncertain how to proceed, completely taken aback by his reception.
Maybe coming was a mistake
, he thought sourly.
I wish Kat were here. She’d know what to say or do.

Paige studied him and almost saw the wheels turning in his mind. Actually, his sensitive pale blue eyes spoke volumes to her.

Silent moments passed before either spoke.

“I’m sorry I came,” Caleb finally said in a defeated tone of voice. “We’re supposed to be best friends. But I think coming here was a mistake. I apologize for bothering you.”

He wearily rose from the couch and moved towards his luggage as his mind raced with how to call for a cab.
Maybe I can call Katrina for a 1-800 number.

“Where are you going?” she asked suddenly, stepping in front of him.

He looked up with confusion and started to speak but words failed him. “What?” was all he managed to get out.

“Red would kill me if I sent you out at this time of night,” she explained.

“Well, I’m sure as hell not staying where I’m not wanted,” he grumbled. “I’m already feeling like crap as it is.” He turned to go around the other end of the coffee table, but she met him at the other end following a dart of movement. He had seen this before, of course, and realized that he wasn’t getting past her unless she allowed it.

“Come on, just let me go,” he said dejectedly as he looked over to his luggage across the room. “I won’t bother you anymore.” As soon as he said that, a wave of sadness washed over him so strongly that it nearly stopped him dead in his tracks. He swallowed hard and briefly looked into her eyes.
Why did it have to be this way?

She stared into his eyes, plainly seeing the pain she had generated in them. It hurt her worse than if he had punched her in the gut. Well, a lot worse, actually, because few humans could generate the kind of impact needed to cause that much pain to a vampire’s body. She would have smirked at the realization had it not been for the look on his face. Instead, she was left with only previously unfelt levels of self-loathing. Even killing Gil had caused less turbulent emotions than she was feeling at that moment.

Despite all of her attempts to shut him out, she merely felt the urge to reach out to him. She moved in a blur and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to her in a firm embrace. It surprised her that her body had reacted almost before her mind registered what she had done, and she felt his body’s muscles tighten in response.

“What?” he started to demand.

“Sh,” she interrupted. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I can’t do this to you anymore.”
I just can’t keep hurting him. And it’s sure as hell not helping me!

He stood dumbfounded in her arms, remaining silent as his mind raced to process all that was happening. He felt completely out of his element at the moment. “I don’t understand,” he murmured.

She sighed and swiftly drew him onto the couch while still holding him in her arms. The velocity of her movement caught him by surprise, and he lost his breath for a moment as he bounced on the cushions. She encircled him with one arm as she leaned back into the couch cushions next to him.

“Well, tiger, it looks like I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t,” she muttered with resignation.

“Paige, what the hell are you talking about?” he demanded in a confused voice.
What’s with the emotional rollercoaster? Do vampires get PMS?

She sighed. “I’ve been trying to avoid you and Katrina lately.”

“Um,
duh
!” he retorted irritably. “Like we haven’t noticed that.”

She sensed his frustration in addition to his exhaustion. She took a deep breath and released her tight embrace, but still kept her arm draped lazily across his shoulder. “Okay, here we go,” she began. “I’m a little scared by some recent feelings.”

He frowned. “You? Scared?”

“Yeah. You see, I’ve never felt like this about a human before, and it’s unsettling.”

“And by ’human’ you mean…” he asked dimly.

“You, goofy,” she chided.

“Me? But Gil --”

“No,” she interrupted. “It’s not like Gil at all. Gil was sex, and partying, and frustration.”

“I can be frustrating,” he observed.

She smirked. “On occasion, but not like Gil. He was unbearable.”

He took a few seconds to digest everything she was telling him a rush of exhaustion wash over him. The traveling, dreading, worrying, and length of time he spent over it had finally caught up with him. But he was determined to get through it and try to understand everything and maybe salvage a friendship in the process.