HerVampireLover (4 page)

He wanted a
forever
with her? Her heart instantly warmed to the idea, but she snapped out of her momentary lapse of insanity and pursed her lips. Was she the one who was crazy? Had she just—for one split second—actually contemplated a
forever
with this man? She opened the door wider. “Please feed and come back so we can talk.”

“I won’t be far. If the slightest thing should happen, scream and I’ll be back in an instant.”

“I know. You move fast.”

He nodded and made his way out the door, glancing back at her with a weary, uncertain look on his face. Cat shut the door and went into the bathroom. She was hungry too, but she needed to check on something first.

There they were. His bite marks, she thought, staring at the mirror. Two pink points on her neck. Her jaw clenched in anger. If he had turned her into a vampire without her consent, she was going to drive her own stake through his heart.

Whom was she kidding? She scowled at her reflection—she could never do that. She was wildly attracted to him, a man who was one of the undead.

She marched into the kitchen and pulled out a half-eaten tuna sandwich from the fridge. From what she knew of vampires, from books and movies, they couldn’t eat real food. She took a healthy bite, chewed, and swallowed. Her hunger pains subsided and relief washed over her.

Maybe he hadn’t turned her into a vampire? Maybe he just tasted her?

Cat couldn’t believe the crazy thoughts she was having with herself and hurried back into the living room and sat on the couch. She had a hundred questions for him and the sooner he helped her understand why this was happening to her, the sooner her sanity would return. Ten minutes later, he walked through the front door.

His skin now had his otherworldly glow and his dark eyes were brilliant. “Thank you,” he said quietly as he took the seat next to her on the couch.

Cat took a deep breath. “Okay. Start talking,” she ordered, wishing he’d taken the seat across from her. His energy consumed her and her stomach jolted as she glanced at his strong thighs. She remembered the heat of his erection against her and a tremor ran through her limbs.

He clasped his hands on his knees and nodded slowly. “The explanation begins over three hundred years ago. There was a woman, Seraphina Granger—”

“You called that crazy man Granger.”

Tobias nodded. “Seraphina’s father was their ancestor. She looked like you. I met her and we fell in love. I turned her into a vampire and for ten years, we were very happy—until her family found her and drove a stake through her heart. I was too far away to do anything about it. Even with my vampire speed, I couldn’t reach her in time, but my unusual sight allowed me to see it all happen.” He paused as his throat worked with emotion. “I witnessed Seraphina die a horrible death. I watched her father, Clive Granger, drive the stake through her heart and then I suffered gut wrenching horror when he hacked her body to pieces with an axe.”

Cat gasped. “Her…her father killed her?”

“Yes. If the plague hadn’t consumed him a few months later, I would have killed him myself.”

His face was grim as he fell silent, and Cat wondered if he was going to continue. “What happened?” she prompted gently.

“She had been out picking roots and herbs for her garden—she was a healer—and they surrounded her with other members of their clan. I heard her pleading with them to leave her alone. My hearing is more pronounced than a human’s, and I heard her tell them she was happy with me, and I wasn’t the monster they thought I was. Seraphina believed all creatures deserved a chance to live.” He paused and swallowed hard. “I could tell she didn’t want to hurt them. She still loved her father and brother and when her father made a pretence of wanting to make amends with her and hug her, she ran willingly into his arms.” Tobias grimaced, as if in physical pain. “He drove the stake in her heart before she knew what happened.”

Cat gasped. “Oh, my God!”

Tobias nodded grimly. “And then I saw him pull an axe and…and finish the job. I have never felt more helpless in my life. By the time I was close enough, the Grangers had disappeared, and I was too stricken with grief to follow them.”

“Did you pursue them, later?”

“No. Seraphina wouldn’t have wanted that. She still loved her family, and I loved her enough to respect her wishes. Her father died of the plague a few months later and rumor was, her brother died in battle with vampires. He had amassed a large Granger following, infiltrated a vampire nest, and never made it out alive. Everyone assumed he died, because no one ever saw him again. I have been alone since—until I saw your picture on your book jacket.”

She tried to ignore the heated look he gave her, and failed as her heart quickened. “You…you fell in love with a Granger, a mortal enemy.”

“Ironic, isn’t it? Yet, it couldn’t be helped. Soon after meeting her, I was helpless to her charms. Seraphina was not only a vision of beauty, she was kind and full of passion. She embraced all living things.”

“How did you meet?”

“At a village market. I saw an old woman steal an apple and the merchant was looking for the authorities when Seraphina showed up and helped the old woman by paying for the merchant’s entire bushel. The old woman sobbed her gratitude and Seraphina smiled and went on her way as though saving an old woman’s life was all in a day’s work. So I followed her.
All day
. She bought food and wares from the market and delivered them to homes of people who were in desperate need of help.

“I can’t believe she was a Granger.”

Tobias nodded solemnly. “I approached her and we talked. The next few days, I met with her and assisted her on her many treks in the fields looking for the right herbs to cure whatever maladies ailed the villagers. We grew closer and as a result, fell in love.”

“When did you tell her you were a vampire?”

“I didn’t have to. She heard her clan was going to kill a vampire, and she followed them. She wanted to see for herself if vampires were as evil and vile as her father had tried to drill in her head. She hid while she watched her brother drive a stake through a sleeping man’s heart. Her clan left and she tried to save the man’s life, but it was too late. I arrived just as she pulled the stake from his chest and tried to stop the flow of blood.” Tobias grimaced. “That man was a friend of mine. In my grief, my vampire rose to the surface and she saw my incisors. It was then she guessed what I was.” He clenched and unclenched his jaw. “Soon after, she decided she couldn’t live with her family anymore and wanted to be with me. So I turned her and we had ten beautiful years together—until her family found her.”

“How…how could they kill their own family member?”

“They felt she was no longer their own, that she was evil and she belonged in Hell. The Grangers are a very religious clan, and they believe vampires are the spawn of the devil.”

“Are
you
?” She braced herself for his response.

“No. We’re still human, but of a different race. We have an aversion to the sun—therefore, we only go out when it’s overcast. We prefer the night and sleep during the day. We have powers, unusual strength, need blood to survive, and live forever. Only a wooden stake through the heart—or not feeding for a day—can kill us. What you’ve read about vampires is mostly fiction. The sleeping in the coffins, the disintegrating into ashes at sunlight, the turning into bats—all the work of fiction. When a human turns into a vampire, there’s no writhing, fanfare, or fireworks. It’s instantaneous.” He gave her a moment to let everything sink in. “The Grangers have been killing vampires for three hundred years, and I’m afraid I’m the biggest target on their list because of Seraphina.” He paused, his face turning grim. “Now you’re in danger, because they believe you are the evil reincarnation of Seraphina.”

Cat had so many questions, so many things she needed to understand. “How…how did all this start?”

“With Seraphina’s mother,” he began. “Her husband always left her alone while he went out preaching to anyone who would listen. Clive Granger was what you would call a modern day evangelist. Only back then, he wouldn’t televise his sermons, but rather, stood on a crate in a field with hundreds of people in attendance. You have to realize, a few hundred years back, there were many threats, and the people needed someone to look up to…to believe there was hope. There was the plague, poverty, famine, and numerous unexplained deaths where the victims were drained of their blood.”

“Vampires,” she whispered.

He nodded. “The evil ones. They left no one unscathed. They killed newborns, children, and women. Clive preached it was the Devil at work. That he walked the earth and his followers, the vampires, were the living dead.” Tobias paused, his jaw clenching. “One day, while he was out with his son on another sermon, his wife was at home with their infant daughter, Seraphina. An evil vampire happened on her keep and tried to kill her and Seraphina, but another vampire arrived in time to save them. His name was Victor.” He paused, his mouth tensing. “Victor would go back to the keep when Clive and his son were out and spend time with her. They fell in love.”

He gave Cat a dark look. “She left Clive and her children to be with him. Their love for one another was powerful and nothing could hold them apart. She asked Victor to turn her so they could live together forever. Soon after, Clive banded a group of followers, found her, and killed her. After he drove a stake through her heart, he beheaded her and presented her head at his next preaching. He declared the evil dead could be killed and he recruited a group of men—the first vampire killers—to keep the villagers safe.

At this point, Clive had such rage and hate for my kind at turning his wife that he went from preacher to murderer.”

“How do you know all this?”

He paused for a split second, grimacing. “Victor was my brother. He disappeared after that, and I never saw him again.”

Something didn’t add up. “After all these centuries,” Cat said, “only Seraphina’s ancestors are alive. How could they know what she looked like and believe I’m her?”

Tobias shook his head. “I’ve been wondering the same thing. There were no portraits of Seraphina. Anyone who was alive three hundred years ago has long since died.” His frown deepened. “I’m afraid that’s one question that’s been plaguing me since I discovered their plot to kill you.”

* * * *

The Elder sipped blood from his goblet as he watched his two men lying on the floor at his feet. Imbeciles! The mission had been so simple and they botched it up. He should have killed that bitch himself.

Turning away from their corpses, he went to the hidden panel by the bookshelf and pulled a lever. The wall opened, exposing his stash of refrigerated blood. Carefully, he placed his goblet on a shelf and pushed the lever, closing the wall.

For three hundred years, the Elder had been returning to the Granger clan, insinuating his place at the helm, leading his tribe toward the ultimate goal of annihilating the vampire race. Not an easy task, since he had to hide from his own people—his ancestors—that he was, in fact, a vampire. The enemy. A spawn of the devil.

For three hundred years, he had suffered and agonized over the blasphemy of his fate. He’d thought about killing himself many times, but never found the courage nor the strength to do so…until one day, he realized being a vampire could serve him well. He would live forever—long enough to see the vampire race die. Disappearing every few decades from the clan was not only an easy task, but an essential one as well. He could not have his family grow old while he remained young. They would ask too many questions.

Returning to the clan every few decades and reinstating himself as their leader was easier still. His father, Clive Granger, had taught him well.

The Elder carried the two dead bodies toward the stairwell that led to the basement furnace.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

He would tell his clan they died in battle, and he would send two others to finish the job.

That bitch and her vampire lover had to die. His sister, Seraphina, would finally go to Hell.

Quinn Granger swore roughly under his breath.

Chapter Five

Cat went over everything Tobias had told her. She was having a hard time believing any of it. These things only happened in movies and books.

There was one thing that disturbed her. “You really think I’m the reincarnation of Seraphina, don’t you?” she asked.

“Yes. I wasn’t sure at first, but when we made love and I felt your response to me, I knew you were Seraphina. My brother was the one who explained the vampire love to me. He said it consumed you, connected you to the other person in a way you could not explain. He said the lovemaking went beyond the physical, connecting two souls with mere thought.”

How could she tell him her passionate response to him had nothing to do with her being his dead, vampire wife? Simply put, she found him irresistibly sexy.

“Technically, we didn’t make love, Tobias.”

His lips curled sardonically. “
Technically
, we didn’t go all the way—in human terms—but we did make love. Your response when I tasted you confirms that.”

She touched her neck and drew in a shaky breath. “Did you turn me into a vampire?”

“No. I wanted to, but that decision will rest on you.”

“And you’ve been single for what—three hundred years?”

“Give or take a few decades, yes.”

“Unbelievable,” she whispered. She shook her head and tried to think straight. “Tobias, we have great physical chemistry. That’s all. I’m not Seraphina.”

“Do you not think there is such a thing as love lasting an eternity? You write romance novels. Are you not a romantic?’

“I write erotica. I write about sex, Tobias.”

“You write about passion, need, desire. You write about what it was like for us.”

She remained silent, mulling over everything he said. She couldn’t deny all he told her about himself was the truth. Hadn’t she seen for herself how he’d moved like lightening, how he’d bared his fangs, and how he had super human strength?