“And so,” he said, “where do we go from here?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you see yourself doing after we’ve found the Vampire who killed your father and you and your books are out of danger?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead.” She worried her lower lip with her teeth. “Do you have plans?”

“None that don’t include you. Do you feel the same?”

She glanced down at their bodies, still joined together, then looked at him, one brow raised. “What do you think?”

“I think I want to make love to you again.”

“So soon? Can you?”

“I’m not a mortal man, love, have you forgotten?”

“How could I?” She nibbled on his chin, then kissed the tip of his nose. “I’m yours to command.”

His gaze moved over her face. Though she didn’t know it, she was indeed his to command. He had tasted her blood, made her his as no other woman had ever been his. For better or worse, for the rest of her life, they were bound together. Should she choose to leave him sometime in the future, the blood bond between them would remain. No matter where she went, he would always be able to find her. Whether she wished it or not, she would always be his to command.

Cupping the back of her head in his hand, he claimed her lips with his, hunger and desire rising up like a wild-fire in his loins, yet even as he took her, a distant part of his mind hoped she wouldn’t be incinerated by the flames.

Savanah woke with a smile and a groan. Turning onto her side, she glanced at the clock. It was almost four in the afternoon. She supposed it wasn’t really so surprising that she had slept so long since Rane had made love to her all night long, each time more wonderful than the last. Sleep had claimed her sometime in the wee small hours of the morning.

Sitting up, she stretched her arms over her head. Where was he? Was he taking his rest somewhere in the house? If not, where would he go? Rising, she put on her robe, then went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She slipped her mother’s silver chain over her head, her fingers momentarily stroking the crucifix where it rested between her breasts.

After making her way downstairs, she put the coffee on, and then she wandered through the house, looking for Rane’s resting place. She paused a moment outside her father’s bedroom, her mind filling with unwanted images of the last time she had seen him, lying on the floor the night he died.

Expelling a deep breath, she opened the door. Rane wasn’t in the room. She hadn’t really expected to find him sleeping in her father’s bed, or in any of the other rooms in the house, since none of them was equipped to completely block the sun’s light. On the other hand, she didn’t think he would go off and leave her alone, either, so where could he be? One thing was for certain, if he was in the house, she couldn’t find him.

Returning to the kitchen, she poured herself a cup of coffee, then popped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. When the toast was ready, she buttered it, then sat at the table, reliving the night before. She had always heard that men needed a certain amount of time between bouts of lovemaking, but that wasn’t true of Rane. She had heard some of her friends complain that their husbands always turned over and fell asleep after making love. Savanah grinned, knowing that was one thing she would never have to worry about.

Sobering, she wondered if she would ever have a husband now.

What if Rane didn’t want to get married?

What if he did? It was a topic they had never discussed.

Did she want to marry a Vampire? His parents, his grandparents, his brother and his sister-in-law were all Vampires. What would it be like, to be the only mortal in a family of the Undead? Would they accept her as part of the family, or would they look at her and see only prey?

And why was she even worrying about something that might never happen when her life was still in danger?

Savanah retrieved her other suitcase from the living room and carried it upstairs. She left Rane’s on the sofa. She knew he wouldn’t mind sharing her bed, but she didn’t know if he’d want to share her bedroom, as well. Thus far, he had preferred to take his rest in privacy.

After pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweater, she lifted her mother’s Vampire kit from her suitcase and dropped it on the bed. It took only minutes to put her clothes away and when that was done, she sat in the middle of the bed, her fingertips tracing the runes on the top of the metal box before she opened it. She ran her hands over the various instruments of destruction, smiling faintly as she imagined her mother and father doing the same thing in days past. She couldn’t think of any two people who had looked less like Vampire hunters, she mused. But then, she had never seen a Vampire hunter, so what did she know?

Her fingertips lingered over one of the smooth wooden stakes. If she had learned anything up at Mara’s place, it was that she should always have a bottle of holy water and a stake or two close at hand. With that thought in mind, she wrapped one of the stout wooden stakes in an old scarf and tucked it into the waistband of her jeans, then slipped a bottle of holy water into one of the pockets. She felt a little silly, being armed in her own house, but silly or not, it was the smart thing to do. Her gun was in her handbag. Perhaps it was time to buy a holster and carry the gun on her person, as well. She would have to ask Rane about that later.

She wondered how and where her parents had obtained holy water. Had they gone to the local Catholic church with a jar and asked the priest to fill it up for a good cause? And what about stakes? She seemed to recall that one of the books had mentioned that hawthorn worked the best. Luckily, there were several hawthorn trees growing in the backyard.

Coincidence? She thought not.

She closed the box, then picked up her cell phone, intending to call Mr. Van Black to let him know she was home but would need more time off, only to sit there staring at the screen. Being a reporter didn’t seem as important as it once had. It might take years to get the kind of break that would allow her to work in New York City or Los Angeles. In the meantime, she would be stuck here, a small-town reporter covering small-town stories, when she should be devoting all her time and energy to finding and destroying Vampires. Her parents had left her financially well-off. Her father had carried a large insurance policy; her mother had turned Vampire hunting into a lucrative business.

Savanah ran her hand over the top of the box again. To tell the truth, she didn’t know what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Of course, all things considered, the rest of her life could be days instead of years.

And with that in mind, she punched in Mr. Van Black’s number and told him she was quitting.

Rane stirred with the setting of the sun, his senses expanding, his nerves on edge until he detected Savanah’s presence inside the house. She was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Something with chicken. Food, he thought. Mortals spent a lot of time thinking about it, preparing it, eating it. He remembered sitting on the kitchen counter helping his mother make Christmas cookies when he was five or six and how he and Rafe had decorated the cookies, the kitchen, and themselves with colored icing. Rafe’s favorite dessert had been fudge brownies. He remembered how he and Rafe had argued over who got to lick the spoon and who got the bowl and how once, when their mother’s back was turned, Rafe had opened the oven door and the two of them had eaten spoonfuls of warm, uncooked brownie batter.

It seemed like an eternity since he had seen his mother and his brother. And his father. What were they all doing now? Did they think of him often? He had shut them out of his life, blocked the link between himself and Rafe, and yet he couldn’t help feeling hurt that they hadn’t found him. Had they even tried?

Berating himself for his melancholy thoughts, he burrowed up through the earth alongside the house, then stood there a moment, drinking in the sounds of the night, his senses searching for anything out of the ordinary. When he was convinced that there was no danger lurking in the shadows, he willed himself into the house.

Savanah opened the oven door to check on the chicken. Another few minutes and it would be baked to perfection. She stirred the rice, turned the fire down low under the corn, and let out a shriek when she turned around and saw Rane standing in the doorway.

He grinned at her. “Sorry.”

She pressed a hand to her heart. “A little warning would have been nice.”

“Next time I’ll say, ‘Boo.’”

“Very funny. Where have you been?”

“Resting.”

“Where? I…Well, I looked for you in the house.”

“I decided to sleep outside.”

“Oh?”

He closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. “Did you miss me?”

“Maybe.”

He grinned at her.

“Okay, maybe a little,” she admitted. “Mostly I was just curious about where you were.”

His grin widened. “You’re a terrible liar. Did anyone ever tell you that?”

“Just you.” She blew out a sigh. “I quit my job today.” Now that it was done, she was having second thoughts.

“If you’re worried about money, don’t,” Rane said. “I have more than I need.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now…” She shrugged. “Nothing in my life seems to be going the way I planned.”

“I suppose I’m partly to blame for that,” Rane remarked.

“Partly.” She jumped when the oven timer buzzed. “My dinner’s ready.”

Releasing her, Rane watched her take a pan out of the oven and set it on the counter. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of cooked meat permeated the room.

Savanah bustled about the kitchen, setting the table, filling a glass with milk, spooning rice and corn onto a plate, adding a chicken breast.

“Do you want to keep me company while I eat?” she asked, sitting at the table.

He shook his head. “My dinner awaits.” Bending, he kissed her cheek. “I won’t be gone long,” he said, and vanished from her sight.