A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) (5 page)

Caleb stood amidst the trees, feeling relatively confident that Katrina was going to run out of time. He quietly and deliberately moved through the woods to ensure he didn’t bunker down in one location as Alton had cautioned. Yet he tried to keep noise to a minimum, as well as to stay downwind from the estate to keep his scent from carrying on the breeze.

Glancing down at his watch while activating the glow button, he registered that Katrina had only two more minutes left to locate him. He quietly chuckled, pleased that the first occasion of his new game with her was going so well. He started to relocate to a new position when he heard a strange clicking noise, much like the sound of a clock ticking. He tilted his head to one side and tried to listen closer, but the sound stopped.

“Found you,” Katrina’s voice cooed in a lilting, teasing tone.

A shiver went up his spine, and he glanced over his shoulder to look behind him with a wide-eyed expression. She stood not thirty feet away with her hands on her hips, staring at him with a sly expression. She opened her mouth slightly and clicked her tongue against her teeth to generate the noise that sounded like a ticking clock.

He bolted away from her as fast as his legs could carry him, not daring to take the time to glance at his watch, and instead concentrated on navigating through the dense trees in as speedy a fashion as possible. If only he could expend just a little more time, maybe the timer would go off before she tagged him.

He hadn’t run more than fifty feet before he felt two arms wrap around him like a steel vice, pinning his arms down to his sides.

“Got you!” Katrina exclaimed.

A second later, Caleb’s watch emitted a beeping alarm indicating that time had expired.

She stood with him in her arms, effortlessly lifting him above the ground a few inches, and began walking away with him. His legs swayed back and forth slightly as if she were carrying away an over-sized ragdoll.

“What are you doing?” he demanded with exasperation.

“I’m taking my foot massage trophy home now,” she said with an uncustomary giggle.

“Oh, brother,” he moaned.

She kissed him on the cheek. “That was fun. I like playing Find Caleb.”

He sighed as she hauled him before her, muttering, “Just great.”

She giggled and kissed him on the cheek again for good measure.

* * * *

On Thursday afternoon, Caleb sat in his office chatting on the phone with Alton to fill him in on the results of his first Find Caleb experience. The vampire was particularly amused, occasionally chuckling as Caleb recounted the event. Alton conceded that Katrina had already spoken with him earlier in the day, but said that he appreciated hearing an alternate perspective of the experience.

“You were very successful, dear boy,” he said. “Katrina was quite complimentary regarding your performance, and it seemed to provide her with an enjoyable diversion. We appear to have found a viable outlet for her hunting need. Now simply vary the venue, as well as the prospective rewards.”

Caleb blushed. “Heard about the reward, eh? I hadn’t anticipated the need for one, actually.”

Alton chuckled again. “Well, it seems you have an alternate career option as a masseur.”

Caleb groaned.

Then the stately vampire’s tone turned serious. “But really, Caleb, please continue with that regimen, and I believe we can consider the matter successful.”

“Thanks for your help, Alton. Oh, and I intend to up the stakes a little by moving my next attempt to someplace more scenic, and hopefully more challenging, for her.”

“That sounds fine, young man. Somehow, I anticipated that you might take to this easier than you first expected.”

Caleb paused, thinking he heard operatic music in the background.

“Are you at a concert?”

“Actually, the opera,” Alton replied. “It’s Paisiello’s
Fedra
. The intermission’s just ending.”

Caleb promised to keep Alton informed of his success, and they exchanged hasty goodbyes. Flipping the lid of his cell phone shut, he momentarily marveled at how natural his communications with the English vampire had become. Barely a year ago he would have considered the very notion of the existence of vampires to be outlandish. However, he had come to embrace not only their existence, but their social importance in his life. He had a vampire mate, a vampire guardian and best friend, and a vampire cultural advisor.

A light knock sounded at his door, breaking his reverie, and he opened it to reveal a friendly acquaintance. Dr. Tanisha Browning was a Professor of Women’s History at the college and was just two offices down. She was a petite African American in her early thirties, renowned as one of the most dapperly dressed professors in the Social Sciences Department. Caleb had formed an immediate respect for the impressive lady. She was intelligent, insightful, and very successful in both her academic and personal endeavors. Dr. Browning was also a keen judge of character, helpfully steering Caleb away from a couple of potential troublemakers in the division.

Tanisha flashed a disarming smile at him and teased, “Hiding from the students again, Caleb?”

He grinned. “Me, hide? Well, now that you’re here, I guess it’s safe to open my door again.”

The hazel-eyed professor had a reputation among her students of being a fair, but challenging instructor. And it was well-known that she didn’t accept excuses for poor performance. However, she had earned a great deal of respect from both her students and her peers over the years. Caleb envied how her former students were among her biggest fans.

Dr. Browning adopted a suspicious expression as her eyes darted around her, and she mocked, “Hey, don’t say that too loudly, or they’ll come looking for me too.”

He chuckled.

“Actually, your arrival is perfect timing. I was planning to stop by your office this afternoon because I have a small favor to ask,” he said. “And it’s no problem if you say no, because I know it’s short notice.”

“Which is just as it should be,” she replied. “Ask away, Caleb.”

“I’m planning a surprise for Katrina tomorrow night at the Arabia Mountain Heritage Preserve, and I want to know if you’ll drop me off there?” he asked. “I know this sounds odd, but I was hoping for Katrina and me to make the journey back home together, which wouldn’t be possible if I also drove there.”

He had selected the Arabia Mountain Heritage Preserve because it was quite scenic and located within a twenty-minute drive of Atlanta near the town of Lithonia. The two thousand-acre site sported wetlands, pine and oak forests, two scenic mountain tops, streams, and a lake, all of which seemed an ideally challenging environment for Katrina.

“Is there a reason you’re not going together?” she asked.

“Uh, well, I wanted to scope out camping locations for us ahead of time,” he said.

Tanisha considered him for a moment. “Or if you prefer, I could drop Katrina off for you while you made your way there in your car. Then she wouldn’t have to drive.”

He smirked. “True. But I think Katrina’s going to want to drive herself.”

A knowing smile formed on her lips. “Ah, yes. Katrina certainly seems to enjoy the driver’s seat.”

He nodded, noting her innuendo. “Katrina’s more comfortable being in control.”

Her expression turned curious. “You seem pretty easy-going, Caleb, but does it ever bother you that Katrina’s the way she is?”

His eyebrows rose as he stared into her eyes. “To tell you the truth, Tanisha, I’m okay with it most of the time.”

She smirked. “William and I were talking about you two just the other night. You and Katrina seem to have a very caring dynamic, and I’d venture you’re both in love, but I get the impression you two have a somewhat unconventional relationship.”

Caleb considered it was a pretty good read on Tanisha’s part. He and Katrina had attended both a movie premiere and a jazz concert with Tanisha and her husband during the past two weeks and he was gratified to find that all four of them seemed to get along quite well.

“Conventional is an antiquated term, don’t you think?” he countered. “There’s usually more to a couple’s relationship than what’s presented to the outside world. There is always something that’s only known between just those two people. What’s important is that a couple arrives at mutually agreeable terms for the structure of their relationship.”

“So true,” she readily agreed, but frowned. “However, I’m usually pretty good at reading people, and I think Katrina has more than just a protective nature about you.”

Caleb tensed slightly as he considered the direction in which the conversation was going.

“It’s subtle, but I noticed a couple of times that her eyes follow you when you’re across the room from her. It’s like she always has you on her radar. Take the other night at the movie theater, for example. Katrina and I were chatting near the refreshments area waiting for you and William to return from the restroom, when three rough-looking young men walked into the lobby. You exited the restroom just as those guys walked past you. Well, one of them bumped your shoulder as he passed, and I noticed Katrina’s eyes narrow. The way the light caught them, I thought for just a second her eyes were almost glowing.”

Caleb’s expression turned serious, and he listened closely to what Tanisha was telling him. It was something Katrina hadn’t mentioned from that night.

She continued, “It was just an effect of the lobby lights, I’m sure. But her expression made me think, just for an instant, mind you, that she was ready to plow through a lobby full of people just to get to you. It was like she was a canon ready to fire, you know? Frankly, she looked dangerous.”

He nodded and tried to appear only casually interested in what she was telling him. But inside, his mind was racing as he easily imagined the event. Although it wasn’t as if he had never seen Katrina with a dangerous look about her, either. He reflected on how intimidating and feral she could appear when provoked or angry.
But then, that’s an alpha vampire for you.

Tanisha laughed. “Well, I was thinking I would hate to be the person who tried to hurt you. Katrina suddenly seemed to be wired as tightly as an attack dog.”

He grinned, “Well, it’s true that her martial arts knowledge would come in handy in a dark alley.”

Her expression turned more serious and introspective, and she asked, “Caleb, was Katrina ever in the military or law enforcement?”

“No, not that I know of. Why do you ask?”

She shrugged. “No reason. I have a younger brother, Richard, who’s an Army Ranger, and he gets that same look in his eyes sometimes. He’s seen some heavy combat duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, and once in a while he can almost appear scary to me. I thought that a couple of Katrina’s expressions reminded me of Richard’s.”

Caleb reassured her, “Nope, no combat zones for Katrina. She’s the most loving, gentle, and kindest woman I’ve ever known. But I suppose that, much like any of us, Kat probably has a dark side.”

His thoughts mulled over what Tanisha said, and he confessed that Katrina intimidated him on rare occasions as well. Yet, he loved her more than life itself. Moreover, he had to be on guard that his conversations with Tanisha stayed well away from any hint of his mate’s vampire nature. Rule number one of his oath to Katrina was to ensure he never revealed her true identity to anyone.

However, it wasn’t as if the other six rules were any less important to him. He was ready to reveal to Katrina any knowledge or suspicion of anyone who might have determined her true existence or nature. He would never willingly give or submit himself to another vampire. And he certainly would only partake in Katrina’s blood when she offered it to him.

That’s handy,
he thought, recalling how her blood had saved him from possibly dying of a horrible case of the ’flu. As for the fifth rule, he was not to accept blood from another vampire. The only problem he found with that rule was that Katrina had allowed Paige to give her blood to him to save his life after he had given too much of his own blood to heal Katrina’s injuries.

Obviously, exceptions exist.

The last two rules seemed ominous to him. Rule six: he must never ask to become a vampire. That effectively prevented him from joining Katrina for eternity. It was painful to think that he had to endure a vulnerable, finite lifespan that would ultimately set her free from their mate-bond. The very thought was nearly painful to contemplate. Finally, rule seven: he must never lie to Katrina in matters concerning any of the aforementioned rules.

And that was it in a nutshell: the seven rules he was bound to and had sworn an oath to Katrina to uphold. He sighed and realized Tanisha was staring at him intently.

“Caleb? Are you okay?”

He blinked. “What?” he asked. “Sorry, I was distracted by something you said about your brother. That must be tough being stuck in a warzone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week until you’re given permission to rotate out.”

Tanisha nodded with a curious expression. “Listen Caleb, I’ll be happy to drop you off at Arabia Mountain if you’ll just answer one question for me.”

He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Okay.”

She stared directly into his eyes and drew out each word carefully, “Are you in a happy and healthy relationship with Katrina?”

He was taken aback by the nature of her question, and he blinked once as her question fully registered in his mind.
What an odd question
. He wasn’t exactly sure what constituted healthy, but he was happier than he had ever been with someone his entire life.
Healthy? Katrina makes me feel loved, protected, and encouraged. She’s someone who’s willing to accept me just as I am without condition. And I feel desired and needed by her.

A sincere smile formed on his lips as he looked back at her with a determined expression. “Tanisha, I can answer you with a resounding yes to both qualifiers. My relationship with Katrina is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m completely in love with her.”

The sage-looking professor merely sighed. “Okay, Caleb. You’ve secured your ride for tomorrow. And I’m happy for you regarding Katrina. But if you come to work with two black eyes someday, I’m calling the cops on your behalf.”