A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) (46 page)

“This is entirely new territory for me,” she continued.

Another quiet moment passed.
Me too
, he thought.

“Well,” he began uncertainly, “maybe if you try to describe it, that’ll help. Just say the first things that pop into your mind when you think about your feelings. And me, I guess.”

She nodded and considered him for a moment with an introspective expression. This was a whole new situation to her, and it made her feel insecure: yet another completely new feeling for her. Usually, she felt uniquely in control at all times, even when unpredictable things happened around her.

“Okay, thinking about you,” she said. Her eyes narrowed slightly for a brief second, and she stared into his as she opened her mind completely to whatever entered it.

“Warmth, comfort, laughter, fun,” she began, but paused for a few contemplative seconds. “Anxiety, maybe, obsession?”

“Obsession?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

She smiled wanly. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking a lot about you, kiddo. I miss you when you’re not around, more than you might expect.”

He was quite flattered and admitted, “I think about you a lot too when you’re not around.”

“Teasing,” she continued with a subtle smirk, to which he smiled. “Friendship, sincerity, caring, happiness, and protection.”

“Protection?”

She nodded slowly. “I feel the need to protect you, keep you safe.”

He nodded.
What Kat wanted from you
.

“Love,” she finally said.

He smirked. “Well, I love you too.”

She turned her face towards him with a serious expression and explained, “Yeah, but this is so strong. I’ve never felt this before. I mean, I love Katrina, but this feels a lot stronger.”

He considered the revelation for a moment and admitted that he held very strong feelings for her. But it was nothing like what he felt for Katrina, and those feelings had only strengthened after the trip to England and the restoration of his childhood memories.

She watched the emotions playing across his face and arched one eyebrow.
What was he just thinking?
Instead of asking, she continued with the exercise. “You mean so much to me. I’ve even saved your life with my own blood, no less. You’re just so valuable to me. No, wait, that didn’t sound right.”

Something occurred to him that both she and Katrina had once said about vampire mates in the past. “So, do you feel possessive about me?” he asked with upraised eyebrows.

She stared into his eyes and considered that for a moment. “You know, no, not really. At least, not like Katrina seems to be towards you.” She frowned. “That’s interesting.”

Vampire mates are usually possessive, especially about their human partners. It hadn’t occurred to me to look at this from that angle before
, she considered silently.

Sensing her distraction, he reached out to take her free hand in his and encouraged, “It’s okay. Just keep talking it out.”

She sighed and nodded.
He’s being really great about this so far.

“Caleb, I’m over a hundred years old already, and I’ve never felt about another person like this. Well, not a human anyway,” she continued.

“Not a
human
?”

She smiled. “Yeah, well, there was this one vampire I met on a contract job in South America: Louis. He was something to behold, let me tell you. Well, it didn’t work out with us, but for a while I saw him as a potential mate for me.”

He nodded as he listened. But something she had just said about Louis struck him. “So, you’re attracted to me, too?” he asked carefully.

She considered him for a moment and frowned. “What do you mean by that? I mean, you’re an attractive man, after all.”

He smirked. “Yeah, but are you wanting to, you know,” he stammered. “I mean, sexually speaking...”

It dawned on her what he meant, and her eyes narrowed.
Do I want to have sex with you
? She wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea, but not at that moment. “Maybe sometimes,” she replied with surprise. “But that’s not at the top of my list right now.”

He tried not to feel insulted by her response, instead realizing that he might have just dodged a bullet. “So, maybe love without sexual attraction then?” he asked.

A sly smile crossed her face. “Not that I’m not curious, however.”

He smirked in response, silently conceding that he also found her attractive. “And blood?” he asked.

She grinned at him and nodded. “Oh yes. I definitely want your blood.”
I’ve tasted you before, and now that I have, it’s amazing.

Her response made him swallow hard, and he tensed.
That was stupid
.

“Wait,” she reassured him, “I’m just saying, the desire for your blood is always there. But then, I guess that’s a given. I’m a vampire, after all, first and foremost. But I would never just take it from you or anything. It’s different with you in that way.”

He nodded and relaxed a bit.
Yep, that was a stupid question
, he chided himself again. It had to be his fatigue hampering his ability to think more clearly. After a pause, something else occurred to him, something so important that he groaned to himself.
Idiot!

“Crap! I was supposed to call Kat when you got here,” he recalled and reached for his phone.

But she caught his wrist before he could speed dial Katrina. “Not a word about this, kiddo. We have to talk about this first,” she instructed him carefully.

He nodded, and she released her grip on him. After pressing the button, he waited for Katrina to pick up. It took only one ring.

“Hey, Kat,” he offered. “Paige made it home. We’re sitting in her living room as I speak.”

There was a pause at the other end before Katrina spoke. “Good, I’m glad she made it home,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

“Okay?” he asked with as much innocence as he could muster. “Yeah, sure. We’re just getting caught up, that’s all.

“Hm,” Katrina replied guardedly. “Okay, well, maybe give me a call in the morning, all right?”

“Sure, Kat. Will do,” he assured her. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“Sleep well, my love,” she replied.

Paige quietly chewed the tip of one thumbnail as Caleb talked.

“Thanks. You too. And Kat,” he added, “I love you.”

Something in the way he said it made Paige suddenly look up into his eyes.
So much said in so few words.

There was another pause, and Katrina replied, “I love you too.”

He returned his phone to its holder. “Sorry about the interruption,” he apologized.

She smirked and shook her head. “No, you needed to do that. She would’ve worried too much if you hadn’t. Then again, she would’ve been angrier with me too.”

He frowned slightly at her odd statement, but was too tired to connect the pieces in his mind. Instead, he merely rubbed at his eyes and stifled a yawn.

She reached out, squeezed his hand, and offered, “Hey, you look kind of tired, kiddo.”

He shrugged, stifled another yawn, and admitted, “Well, yeah. I’m kind of beat, to tell you the truth.”

“You’re always supposed to tell me the truth,” she noted with a smirk. She regarded him for a moment and suggested, “Why don’t you go take a shower and turn in? I have a lot to consider and could use the quiet time to think. We can talk more in the morning.”

“Sure,” he conceded and considered it really was a good idea. In the morning he should be thinking more clearly and might avoid additional embarrassing questions. He leaned over to her and kissed her on the cheek lightly. “I missed you, Paige,” he offered sincerely. “We’re best friends, after all. And I’m not trying to make life more difficult for you.”

She nodded and reached up to run her fingers lightly across his cheek. “I missed you, too, tiger,” she replied with a grin.

He rose, and she darted from the couch in a blur. Before he could walk past the coffee table, his luggage disappeared from the floor, and a gust of wind whipped past him heading upstairs.

“You’re in the bedroom at the top of the stairs and to the left,” she called out. “And you have your own bathroom.”

“Thanks,” he replied, slowly making his way upstairs.

He took a shower, changed into a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt and was awake barely five minutes longer once his head hit the pillow.

An hour later, Paige quietly peered into the bedroom to gaze at him from the doorway. She fondly watched him soundly sleeping and quietly returned downstairs.

He’s going to be hungry when he wakes up
, she realized suddenly. As with most vampires, she never kept much food in the house. There wasn’t any need. Just some chocolate, which she had loved as a human, and some colas and alcohol. Her fridge was mostly filled with a variety of human blood packets.

She gathered her car keys, credit card, license, and some cash and went out to her car. Then she sighed, trying to recall any local all-night grocery stores in the area. Moments later, she pulled out of the garage on her way across town. At least she had a mission to distract her thoughts for a short time.

An hour or so later, and with the stealth that only a vampire could manage, she tip-toed into the bedroom where Caleb still slept. She opened the blinds so she could glance outside at the night sky from across the room and lay down carefully on top of the bed next to him. Once settled, she propped herself up on one elbow, staring down at his peaceful features.
He’s so adorable
, she thought. It took her sheer willpower not to reach out and stroke his hair with her fingertips.

She lay on the bed just watching him for hours and considered her feelings, as well as the conversation they had earlier that evening. It was nearly dawn when she heard a car pull up outside. She briefly cocked her head to one side and carefully moved off of the bed. Moving as a silent blur out of the room, she went downstairs and to the front door.

She swept open the door with a smooth motion and looked up into Katrina’s eyes with a knowing smirk. “Hey, Red,” she greeted with a sigh. “I wondered when you would get here.”

“You know me so well, it seems,” Katrina replied with a serious expression. “Let’s talk, girlfriend.”

Paige’s eyebrows shot up, and she nodded with resignation, stepping aside for her to enter.

Later, Katrina sipped on a glass of warm blood as she listened to Paige recount most of what was discussed with Caleb. Having grown concerned following the brief chat on the phone with her mate earlier that night, she knew immediately that she needed to get to California as soon as possible. Somehow she guessed that both of them might need her; at least, she had hoped that was the case. She cocked her head slightly as Paige paused to reflect and heard the sound of Caleb’s steady breathing upstairs. It was a comforting sound.

“You’re not in love with him, you know,” Katrina observed calmly.
At least, not right now
.

“What makes you so certain?” Paige asked with narrowed eyes.
It’s not as if you know how strongly I’m feeling about him
.

The redheaded vampire responded smoothly, “You’re not exhibiting any of the signs that would concern me.”

“Such as?” Paige queried carefully
. Damn. I should have Googled for a checklist or something
.

“Well, you’re not trying to initiate overt sexual advances on him,” she began. “There’s no secret communications going on between the two of you. You’re not trying to exert any subversive emotional control over him. And you’re conducting yourself honorably in other ways as well.”

Paige raised both eyebrows curiously. “We’re okay, so far. Go on.”

Katrina shrugged. “You’re not trying to lie to me once confronted about your recent strange behavior. There’s no attempt to circumvent my relationship with Caleb. And you’re not endeavoring to break any of my rules for him, much less convince him to break them.”

“So, I get a pass then,” Paige surmised. “And you’re not worried about my feelings for him?”

One of Katrina’s eyebrows arched imperiously. “I didn’t say I wasn’t concerned. But we’ve been best friends for a long time, and I trust your integrity.”

Paige smiled supportively. “I appreciate that, Red.”

“He’s --” Katrina started to stipulate, but Paige cut her off quickly and held up her hand.

“…yours. Yes, I know, and I have complete respect for you as his mate,” Paige conceded earnestly. “That’s why I’ve tried to stay away until I could sort out my emotions.”

Katrina considered her friend with appreciation regarding her understanding of the situation.
But I’m not stupid, either
, she silently acknowledged. “You’re smitten with him, Paige. And I would say that you love him,” she continued. “That much is obvious. I’m okay with that, so long as it remains relatively harmless.”

Paige nodded and sighed.

“But stop trying to hurt him like you have been,” Katrina stipulated. “It’s not helping either of you. And Caleb’s been miserable over the development. It’s not fair to
him
, okay?”

Paige seriously considered her friend’s comments. She had no desire to hurt Caleb.

“Sorry about that,” she apologized. “I really didn’t know what else to do. Listen, I’m really not trying to cause trouble for you or him. But I do appreciate your advice and understanding. You’re a good friend, Red. The best, in fact.”

Katrina sighed with a wan smile. “Sure, Paige. It’s just what friends do.”

Both shared a quick embrace, and Katrina gently patted Paige on the back. Then she sat back and held up her empty glass. “A refill, perhaps?” she inquired with a hopeful grin. “I’m still thirsty after my flight, and I don’t want Caleb to awaken two quarts lower.”

Paige took her glass with a smirk and a slight shake of her head. She felt fortunate to have such a good friend in the tall, redheaded vampire, and she was relieved to have discussed everything so openly with Katrina. But while she cherished her friend’s advice and her understanding, she wondered if Katrina were truly as insightful as she had claimed to be.

* * * *