Moonlight (14 page)

He shook his head, amused and amazed by the woman standing
before him. “Annie, my sweet Annie, don’t you know you’re not safe here, not
safe with me.”

“I don’t care.”

“I care.”

“You’ve never hurt me before.”

“I wouldn’t hurt you now, not intentionally.” He sighed,
resisting the urge to pull her into his arms. “Do you know the story of the
rattlesnake who offered to carry a rabbit across a river?”

She shook her head.

“The rabbit said no, because he was afraid the snake would
eat him, but the snake promised he wouldn’t, and the rabbit believed him. When
they reached the other side of the river, the snake bit the rabbit. ‘Why?’ the
rabbit asked. ‘You promised!’ ‘I couldn’t help it,’ the rattler explained with
a smile. ‘I’m a snake.’”

Navarre’s eyes begged for her understanding. “I’m a vampire,
Annie. And sometimes the hunger is stronger than I am.”

“Tell me to go, then.” She looked up at him through wide
blue eyes filled with love and trust. “Tell me go, and I will.”

He opened his mouth, but his tongue refused to obey his mind’s
command. “I can’t. Heaven help me, I can’t send you away.”

He glanced at the window, felt the sun’s heat beating
against the board that covered the glass, felt the heaviness begin to steal
over him.

“Go home, Annie. I’ll come to you tonight.”

He stood in the doorway long after she’d gone. Never before
had he taken his rest in a place known to another. Never, in the near two
thousand years of his existence, had he trusted anyone, male or female, mortal
or vampire, to know where he passed the daylight hours.

It grieved him to think she would betray him, but he knew it
was possible. Once she was away from him, once she’d had a chance to think
about what he had told her, there was always a chance she would decide he was a
danger to her, to the town, that she might come to the conclusion that he was
evil and should be destroyed. And though he wasn’t totally helpless during the
hours of daylight, he was weak and vulnerable.

With a sigh, he closed and bolted the door, then settled
back on his bed, knowing that if Annie betrayed him, he would just as soon be
dead.

Adrianna didn’t go to work that day. She didn’t really do
anything except sit and stare into the distance. It was as if her whole life
had been put on hold.

Vampire.

It was impossible.

Still, her grandmother had claimed to see an angel before
she died. And there was a lady in town who claimed to be a witch. Maybe there
really were stranger things in heaven and earth than she had been dreamed of.

But vampires?

She thought of all the grade B horror movies she had seen
growing up. The monsters had always been pictured as horrible ghouls clad in
flowing black capes, preying on the blood of innocent young women, turning
helpless mortals into mindless zombies. In the movies, vampires were evil
incarnate, the very essence of darkness and depravity, a sin against nature.
They were cruel, heartless, unfeeling, incapable of tender emotions.

But Navarre was nothing like that. Was he? Would she think
differently if he looked more like Lon Chaney and less like Daniel Day-Lewis?

If he was a vampire, how could he endure the sunlight? They
had spent a morning walking on the beach. She had seen him eat pepperoni pizza
and drink a glass of wine.

But he cast no reflection in a mirror. And she had seen his
fangs, and the hideous red glow in his eyes… She remembered inviting him into
her house, remembered reading somewhere that a vampire couldn’t enter a house
unless he had been invited. And she had invited Navarre. There would be no
keeping him out now, she thought, even if she wanted to.

She willed the sun to set, and then she laughed a nervous,
shaky laugh. Maybe she was insane, she thought. Who else but a lunatic would be
sitting on the floor, wishing the sun would go down because she was eagerly
awaiting the appearance of a vampire?

* * * * *

He came with the setting sun, his expression wary. He
avoided meeting her eyes, almost as if he was afraid of her. Or ashamed.

Adrianna closed the door behind him, then stood there,
uncertain as to what to do next. “Vampire.”

He stiffened at her use of the word, all his senses suddenly
alert. “What?”

“The V. In your name. It stands for vampire, doesn’t it?”

He nodded, a wry smile curving his lips.

“So,” she said, nervously toying with the folds of her
skirt, “what do we do now?”

“I don’t know.” He paced the floor in front of the
fireplace, back and forth, back and forth, like a caged tiger. “I’ve only loved
one other mortal,” he remarked quietly, “and it was a long, long time ago.”

Adrianna stared at him. “You love me?”

He frowned at her as if she weren’t very bright. “Of course.”

“You never said so before.”

“I know.” He crossed the room and took her into his arms,
holding her carefully, as though he was afraid of hurting her. Very gently, he
kissed the top of her head. “I do love you, Annie,” he murmured. “More than you’ll
ever know.”

“And I love you!”

“I only hope you won’t regret it.”

“I won’t,” she whispered, lifting her face to his. “I won’t…”

He would have let her go then, but she clung to him, molding
her body to his in silent invitation.

“Annie…” He shook his head. “This isn’t a good idea.”

“Why not?”

How could he explain it to her? How could he tell her that
it wasn’t only passion she aroused in him, but a terrible hunger?

“I think I’ll die if you don’t kiss me,” she said
petulantly.

“You might die if I do.”

She thought he was kidding her, but when she looked into his
eyes, she saw that he was serious. Dead serious. A fit of hysterical laughter
bubbled up inside her. Dead serious, she mused. No pun intended!

“I think I’d better go,” Navarre said, easing out of her
arms.

“Go where?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

“It’s true, then? You…you drink blood?”

He nodded curtly, his expression grim.

“Did you…?”

“Did I what?”

“That woman in the alley…did you do that?”

“No.” He ran a hand through his hair, his dark eyes pleading
with her. “You’ve got to believe me, Annie.”

“Have you ever done anything like that?”

He turned away, wondering how he could explain, how he could
make her understand.

“Have you?”

“Yes.” He whirled around to face her. “Yes! I’ve told you
what I am.” The condemnation in her eyes was like a knife in his heart. “Annie,
let me explain.”

“Can you?” She loved him, but she couldn’t condone murder.

“When first I was made, I couldn’t control the hunger within
me. You can’t understand the pain, the need. It’s worse than any drug
addiction, any craving you can imagine. In the beginning, drunk with power and
driven by a force that was stronger than I was, I took what I needed without
regard for what I was doing, for the lives I was taking. It was only later that
I learned that I didn’t have to kill to survive, that I could take what I
needed without doing any harm. Still later, I learned I could drink from
animals, that their blood would sustain me for long periods of time…”

His voice trailed off when he saw the look of horror and
revulsion in her eyes. It cut deep, yet a part of him welcomed it. Perhaps now
she would realize what sort of monster he was. Perhaps she would send him away.
He wouldn’t blame her if she did. In the long run, she would be better off
without him.

“And now?”

He sighed, as if shrugging off a heavy burden. “There are
plenty of sheep and cattle in the area.”

She looked so relieved he almost didn’t tell her the rest.
But she deserved to know it all.

“I can’t survive off the blood of animals indefinitely,” he
said flatly. “From time to time I have to have human blood.”

“Like the lady in the alley.”

“Dammit, Adrianna, I never touched that woman!”

“Then who did?”

“I don’t know. Another vampire, I suspect.”

“Another one?” She shuddered, and then she laughed ruefully.
“Welcome to Moreno Bay, village of the damned.”

“It’s not funny.”

“I know.” Images of
The Lost Boys
rose in her mind
and she imagined herself running through the house, filling the tub with holy
water, sharpening wooden stakes, hanging strings of garlic around the windows
and doors.

His gaze met hers. “This isn’t going to work, Annie, you
know that, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what I know anymore. Except that I love you.”

Like two frightened children, they sought comfort in each
other’s arms. He never meant to kiss her, only to hold her, to find solace in
her nearness even as he sought to soothe her fears.

But his lips whispered over hers, and then it was too late
to turn back, too late to think, too late to do anything but feel.

The skin beneath his fingertips was as smooth and soft as he
had imagined. Her hair was like silk in his hands, her breasts were warm and
full, lush with promise.

Effortlessly, he swung her into his arms and carried her
down the hallway toward her bedroom, toward the bed that had once been his, the
bed he had so often imagined her lying in.

And now she was there, and he was beside her. Fear rose up
within him as their bodies came together. He tried one last time to pull away
before it was too late, but she refused to let him go, and then he was rising
over her, his body meshing with hers.

He felt the hunger rise within him, urging him to take her
blood, and he fought it back, refusing to let it destroy the woman he loved. He
heard Adrianna’s voice, whispering that she loved him, and the bloodlust
shriveled and died. And for that moment, he was free of the Dark Gift, free to
love her without fear. He had never known such ecstasy. Not with Katlaina. Not
with Shaylyn.

With a sigh, he buried his face in the lush valley between
her breasts and lost himself in the warmth and the wonder of the woman in his
arms.

* * * * *

“How did you become a vampire?” she asked later. She was
lying in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. “Is it done like they say
in the books? Did she drain you of blood, and then give it back to you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you want to be a vampire?”

“No.” He curled a lock of her hair around his hand,
delighting in its softness. He could discern the scent of her hair from the
other scents that clung to her; the flowery fragrance of shampoo, the clean
fresh smell of the sun, the faint odor of the hair spray she had used earlier
in the day. He released his hold on her hair, felt the thickness of each
individual strand as it slid through his fingers. He hadn’t wanted to be a
vampire, he thought, but he liked the supernatural powers that came with the
Dark Gift.

He took a deep breath, and then he told her of his
childhood, of how he had spent his whole life locked up in a room. He told her
of Katlaina, and felt the pain of her loss burn through him again. He told her
of Shaylyn, of how he had hated her, of how he had spent time with her long
ago. He told her about traveling over the world, of the changes he had seen, of
the times when the burden of existence had been overwhelming, and he’d gone to
ground, sometimes for a few years, sometimes for a century or more. How,
sometimes, it was the only way he could hang onto his sanity.

She listened quietly, occasionally interrupting him to ask a
question.

It was near dawn when he finished his tale. Coming back to
himself, he gazed at Adrianna, surprised to see tears in her eyes.

“You’re crying,” he exclaimed softly. “Why?”

“Because you’ve been so alone. But you’re not alone now,”
she whispered, stroking the curve of his jaw. “I’ll never let you be alone
again.”

Her words cheered him even as he realized that, sooner or
later, he would lose her as he had lost Katlaina. But he would not dwell on
that now. Later, there would be time to lament her mortality, to wonder how he
would face an endless future without her. But for now, for this moment, he would
take the love she was offering without question, without hesitation. Take it as
a gift, freely offered, and hope she would never regret the giving.

* * * * *

“I wish you didn’t have to go.”

In lieu of words, he kissed her. They had spent the entire
night in each other’s arms, making love, dozing, making love again.

At dawn, they had showered together, taking turns washing
each other, making love again, with the water sluicing over them.

Later, wrapped in a towel and a smile, Adrianna had fixed
herself a pot of coffee while Navarre sipped a glass of warm red wine.

And now they were in bed again. Navarre stroked her hair,
remembering how, only a short time ago, he had wished he could fall asleep in
the arms of a woman. He had done just that last night. Fallen asleep in
Adrianna’s arms, then come awake with the first whisper of dawn to feel her
lips brushing his cheek.

But now the sun was climbing in the sky. Even though the
curtains were drawn, he could feel the subtle change in the air as night turned
to day, smell the sun-warmed earth and grass.

With a sigh, he cupped Adrianna’s face in his hands and
kissed her and then, ignoring his body’s immediate response to even that slight
bit of loving, he slid out of bed and began to dress.

Adrianna sat with her back against the headboard, the sheet
tucked under her arms. Never, in all her life, had she expected to find the
ecstasy, the peace of mind and spirit, she had found in Navarre’s arms.

Her gaze caressed him as he dressed, admiring the width of
his shoulders, the long line of his back, the sinuous way he moved. Already,
she was counting the hours and minutes until she could see him again. Be with
him again.

When he was ready to go, Navarre knelt beside the bed,
needing to hold her, to touch her, one more time.

“Tonight?” he asked, and it was both question and promise.

“Tonight.”

He ran his knuckles over her cheek in a last, quick caress,
and left the house.

The storm had passed, the sun was warm, and he had lingered
too long. With one arm flung over his face, he willed himself toward home, his
speed increasing until he was virtually invisible to the human eye.

He flew up the stairs to the porch, opened the door with a
wave of his hand, and raced up the stairs to the attic.

Inside, he slammed the door, then stood with his back braced
against the wood, his breath coming in hard, short gasps.

“I thought you were never coming.”

He whirled around at the sound of her voice, familiar even
after the passage of so many years.

“Shaylyn!”

She was reclining on his bed, her black hair falling over
her shoulders like a dark cloud, her black eyes glittering.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Waiting for you, of course.”

She was still beautiful. Still deadly. He knew then who had
attacked the woman in the alley.

“Why are you here?”

Shaylyn shrugged. “Do I need a reason?”

She uncurled from the bed in a smooth, sinuous movement,
reminding Navarre of a sleek black panther.

“I’ve missed you, Navarre.” She ran her hands over his
shoulders as she swayed seductively against him. “Tell me you’ve missed me,
too.”

“What do you want?”

“I should think that would be obvious.”

He caught her hands in his as his body grew heavy. “I can’t
talk to you now.” It was an effort to speak, to think. He glanced at the bed,
then at Shaylyn.

She nodded her understanding. “Until later, my sweet,” she
purred, and, with a wave of her hand, she transformed into an iridescent black
mist and disappeared from his sight.

Navarre fought the darkness sweeping over him. His feet felt
like lead as he made his way toward the bed. His last thought, as the blackness
dragged him down into oblivion, was that he would have to find another place to
pass the hours of daylight.