This Time Next Year (6 page)

In the room, he led her to the sofa on shaking legs, almost unable to get his breath, amazed that human reactions still overwhelmed him. Under Willem’s strict guidance, he’d turned one other person in his century of life. What if he killed her? What then?

“Kiernan?”

He jerked his attention out of the whirling thoughts and looked at her. “There’s a lot you need to know. A lot that I’m almost afraid to tell you.”

“I’ve done a lot of reading. Lore, mythology and academic research. I assure you, I know what to expect.” To her credit, she didn’t sound afraid. Just mystified.

His eyes shot to the box in her hands. “What is that?”

Chuckling, she said, “It’s a gift. For you. I didn’t want to come empty-handed.”

“The fact you’ve returned is more of a gift than I could ever repay.”

“Well then, think of this as a couple’s gift. For…after.”

After
. He loathed telling her, but she needed to know what to expect. He hadn’t been able to make a fully-informed decision; he’d be damned if she went through the same agony. If this didn’t deter her, nothing would. “Once the process starts, your body will shut down. Your organs will begin to fail, and in order to handle the pain, you’ll enter into a comatose state.” He paused. She hung on every word. “There is a possibility you won’t wake up.”

For a brief moment, she shut her eyes. Then she nodded.

Torturous as it was, he had to continue. “Once you wake, I’ll need you to show me your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Fledglings go one of two ways. Either they’ll be golden-eyed and normal….”

“Like you.”

“Yes. Or they’ll wake with eyes red as blood and the lust to go with it.”

She paled and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Now do you understand why I hesitate?”

The sheer horror on her face suggested she did, and surely the realization that he could turn her into a new Willem would discourage her.

“If that happens, I will be forced to put you down.”

Her eyes widened and her racing pulse teased him; her fear, sweet and salty all at once, wracked his nose. In response, his fangs extended for the first time for her to see. The tips grazed his lower lip. She gasped and he curled his lip back.

“May I?” she asked, raising a hand.

Kiernan held his breath as she stroked his fangs with feather-light touches. He couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran through him. No one had touched him
there
before. “You’re not scared.”

“No. I’m not.”

“This will be you. Do you understand that?” Almost clinically, she continued her perusal. The unexpected strokes caused his cock to quiver.
This can’t be right
.

“You talk like there’s nothing good about being a vampire. There has to be something.”

“There is. I won’t spoil it for you.” He removed her fingers from his fangs and took a shaky breath.

“I want this, Kiernan. I want
you
. One hundred percent.”

He leaned in to kiss her, feeling the warmth of her body one last time. She opened to him, allowed him to deepen the kiss as much as he dared. He broke from her lips and kissed her neck; his fangs secreted a numbing agent to keep the pain from his bite to a minimum. “Are you ready?” He purred against the column of her throat.

Her pulse jumped. Her body tightened with anticipation.

He wanted take her to the bedroom, make love to her over and over again. Erase the last year with kisses and touches. However, he’d made a promise; he did not renege on promises.

She sighed a distracted, “Yes.”

And like a viper, he struck.

***

Moira woke thirsty as hell and wondered if the transformation included the two heavy metal drummers going to town on her temples. She struggled to move to a sitting position, but dizziness overpowered her. Her eyes throbbed, her skin tingled, and she shivered.

The cold thing was new. She’d always run hot. The blankets covering her barely warmed her. She shut her eyes and cocooned herself head to toe.

“You’re awake.” The smile and the sadness in Kiernan’s voice almost lured her from her nest. “How do you feel?”

“Thirsty. And cold. And thirsty.” And
cold
. “What time is it?”

He chuckled. “I forgot to mention the chill. It’ll go away once you feed. Speaking of….” The blankets disappeared, replaced by the handsome face she’d spent the last year dreaming about. “Sit up and drink this. Also, it’s five a.m. You’ve slept the entire day and night away. Don’t worry. I did the same when Marguerite turned me.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and offered a lukewarm glass of red liquid—blood—before leaning in close to check her eyes. She waited for his response, and when he sighed with relief, she took a drink. Instead of the revulsion she expected, she had to control her urge to drain the glass. The blood tasted fruity, warm, soothing. Delicious.

Her body came to life like a bear coming out of hibernation. The chill eased, her headache dissipated, and her senses kicked into overdrive. Power coursed through her limbs. She looked to her lover, her
maker
, and smiled.

“This is the greatest gift I can give you. I’ll teach you everything I can, but in the end, it’s up to you.”

Moira nodded. The full reality of her new life hadn’t settled on her, but with him by her side, she’d be all right. “As long as you’re here, I’ll be okay.”

He drew her close. His blood sang for her, and hers answered in kind. This was true completion, the circle closing, the scars in her soul smoothing.

On the nightstand sat the case. After handing him the empty glass, she grabbed it and opened the lid to reveal a vial and syringe.

“What is that?”

She smiled. “I spent the last year working on a secret project. You were going to give me this wonderful gift, so I wanted to give you something just as wonderful in return.” She flicked on the light and hissed at the sudden brightness. “I’m okay, I’m okay,” she said when he reached for her. The vial’s liquid shone a light gold, almost iridescent, in the illuminated room. “I trust you, you trust me, okay?”

He swallowed and nodded.

Please, please, please work
…. Since he’d drunk so much from her, she had no trouble finding a vein. With the syringe half-filled, she administered the liquid she hoped would give him back what he missed most.

Grabbing a clean syringe out of the case, she injected herself, not even wincing at the small sting. “Come on the roof with me.”

“Moira….”

“Please. You said you’d trust me. If we start to, um, burn…we’ll come back inside and sleep.”

Kiernan’s intense fear smelled like the sweetest honey, but Moira caught an undercurrent of hope, like spring clover. He followed her to the stairwell. She pushed open the roof access door just as the sun crested the Albany skyline.

“I’ve done nothing but think about you for the last year. And I thought about what you’d said, about missing sunlight the most. So I thought, what better way to thank you for everything you’ve done, for loving me so much and taking care of me, than by giving you back the sun?”

It couldn’t be true. But as Kiernan held his hand to the light, he felt nothing but the sun’s warm kiss. The coldest of winters couldn’t steal its heat from his skin now. With wide eyes, he turned to Moira and enveloped her in this new warmth.

“You are an angel,” he whispered into her ear. “My angel.”

She smiled, and he held her tighter, imploring her to feel every part of him. The heat warming him now wasn’t from the sunrise, but from her. She kissed his neck, setting his nerves ablaze. If she didn’t stop, he’d take her on the roof underneath a cloudless blue sky.

As though she read his mind, she drew back enough to kiss his lips. Her tongue teased him, her hands roaming over his body with need. His fangs dropped and his cock hardened. He didn’t want to overwhelm her new senses, but he had to have her.
Now
.

In a matter of seconds they were naked, the bite of the steel roof inconsequential. With the sun’s heat warming him to the core, he caressed her bare skin. Her body lacked its softness—now, like his, her muscles were perfectly defined and full of strength—but she tasted exactly as he remembered.

He wanted her to stay on top while he took in every inch of her perfection. Running his hands up her stomach, he cupped her breasts. She moaned and licked her lips. With one hand, she touched and teased his chest while she slipped the other between her thighs.

He watched, entranced, as she stroked her clit, her head tipped back, her long hair tickling his thighs.

“I can’t wait,” he growled, moving her hips to settle her on his cock. How could one woman feel so goddamn amazing?

It didn’t take long for either of them. Her body would be extra-sensitive for a while, and he intended to take full advantage of that. Spent, she rested her head on his chest as he stroked her hair.

“I love you, Kiernan,” she whispered.

“I love you, Moira. More than you’ll ever know.” He closed his eyes and smiled. She’d done the impossible. This beautiful, amazing woman had given him her forgiveness, her heart, her life. With the rays of the sun beating down on him for the first time in a century, he held her close and finally looked forward to eternity.

Catherine Peace has been telling stories for as long as she could remember. She often blames two things for her forays into speculative fiction—Syfy (when it was SciFi) channel Sundays with her dad and
The Island of Dr. Moreau
by HG Wells. She graduated in 2008 from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in English and is still chasing the dream of being super rich and famous, mostly so she can sit around in her PJs all day and write stories. When not being a slave to the people in her head, she’s a slave to two adorable dogs.

You can visit with Catherine at:

http://lexcade.blogspot.com

Melody’s Wolf by Mina Carter

Melody's love life is in a bit of a dry spell...for the last two years. Content tracking down archaeological evidence of werewolf packs, she spends her time wearing wellingtons and covered in mud rather than looking for a date. Knowing her worried brother isn’t above arranging a kidnapping to get her to go on a date, she agrees to a match with 1Night Stand, figuring Madame Eve has to be a better matchmaker than her beloved brother.

Money, fame, looks—rock star and werewolf Aaron Rixx has it all, except the one thing that truly matters...love. Yearning for a woman to see him for who he is, he lets Madame Eve make all the arrangements. No matter where he goes, as the lead singer of the world famous band, Lyric Hounds, he's always recognized...so all he expects is a night of hot sex and a quiet weekend with his music.

He never anticipates Madame Eve might find the one woman on the planet who doesn't recognise him on sight...or the one he and his wolf identify instantly as their mate. Will one night be enough for him to convince Melody she's his forever?

Sunset Heat by C.R. Moss

Can one night transform a woman's life?

Seana Tramonto feels doomed when it comes to relationships. When she’s set up through the 1Night Stand service, she’s apprehensive at best. Her concern turns to ire when her match turns out to be a man who broke her heart years ago. Old wounds are slow to heal no matter how sexy the man asking for forgiveness.

Zachary Russo, a Las Vegas policeman, is talked into doing a 1NS date. When he learns it’s with his high school tutor and friend, the girl he stood up before the Homecoming dance, he’s determined to make it up to her. But seeing her again opens his eyes to the sexy woman she’s become. Can he prove he’s grown up or will circumstance beyond his control kill their second chance?

Dom of the Dead

She couldn’t imagine living without him
.

After Carson Black’s longtime crush and best friend, Randall Stokes, dies in a motorcycle accident, she openly weeps at his funeral. In the ensuing days and weeks of inconsolable grief, she hears his voice, smells his scent, feels his desires. She must be going mad.

He was afraid to demand what he needed
.

Dominant Randall Stokes loves Carson but never expressed it while alive, never daring to dream the sweet girl next door could be the submissive he needed to find satisfaction. But after his death, a much clearer perspective of her needs, wants, and desires emerges.

A ghost of a chance
…

Is it too late to have what they’ve both longed for?