Claimed by the Immortal

never have entered her head. And now that she knew how it could make her feel, she was going to want a lot more of it. A lot.

Too bad Damien and his clever little whip would be leaving. Especially since she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to give anyone that much trust again.

She certainly couldn’t imagine having done this with anyone in her past.

Damien had opened entire new worlds to her in a short space of time, and as she rested against him, she honestly wondered what had happened to the woman who had wanted nothing more than to become a detective.

That Caro seemed to have vanished. She hoped it was only temporary, because after Damien left she was going to have to pick up the pieces of her real life. She certainly wasn’t going to become one of those women who ran shops full of esoterica simply because she had discovered the powers her grandmother had always told her she had.

But maybe she could find ways to use her newfound skills to solve crimes. At least then it might be easier to handle.

Jude seemed to make a business of this kind of thing. Maybe she could help him as she had time.

Then she realized she was planning for Damien’s departure. Her throat ached and her chest grew tight. She didn’t want to think about that now, didn’t want to be planning it. There was time left, and if she were smart, she’d set her sights on enjoying every last bit of it.

“Schatz? What saddened you?”

“Nothing.”

“I can smell it,” he reminded her.

“Damn your nose. It was just a passing thought. Nothing important.”

Without even looking at him she could tell he didn’t really believe her. She could almost feel him deciding whether to question her further. Maybe her senses were growing.

“If you’re worried about another death,” he said slowly, “we can at least hunt for the bokor tonight, although I’m not at all certain we’ll find him in time to confront him. Sadly, I have a limitation at dawn. It’d be very bad to get into the middle of the fight and then have to quit, giving him another day to prepare after he knows what he’s up against.”

“I get it,” she admitted reluctantly. “No, I see the point.”

“Then?”

“Nothing. Truly nothing.” Because there was no way she was going to admit how much she wanted him to stay for a long, long time. How little she wanted to give him up.

He’d not only shown her new worlds, but he’d filled some emptiness in her that she hadn’t even known existed until him.

But what was that emptiness? Not having a lover? Not acknowledging her powers? Or a combination of both? She supposed she would get her answer only when he left.

“You know,” he said, distracting her from her morose line of thought, “I’d believed I lost my powers.”

“Really?” She tipped her face back to look at him. “Why?”

“Because I hadn’t been able to summon them for so long. I thought perhaps centuries of being a vampire had caused them to wane. Then when I’d been near you for a few days, I could feel them start to come back. I think it was being near your powers that reawakened mine.”

“Awesome. But I don’t have that much power.”

“You have a great deal more than you yet know. Since I met you I sensed it. Apart from your beauty, it was one of the first things to engage my attention. It was at a low level, to be sure, but it was there. You have no idea how long it’s been since I met someone with innate power.”

“There must be others. What about this bokor?”

“I don’t know if his power is innate, or something he’s built through spells and practice. There’s a difference. People like you just have it, whether you ever use it or not. I was like that once. Apparently I am again, thanks to you.”

“I’d feel a whole lot happier if I knew how to direct and use these powers. Right now it’s hit and miss. I’m never sure of what I’m doing or whether it’s right.”

“Close your eyes.”

She did so, wondering why.

“Now imagine this power of yours as a light at your very center. See it. Feel its heat.”

She tried, and gradually she could clearly envision a white flame at her center. And little by little she felt its warmth.

“Some need spells and incantations,” he said quietly. “Some use them for focus. Some use them to call upon powers they don’t have themselves but can summon. A mage like you needs no spells. In fact, you can make your very own if you concentrate. So now imagine that light flowing down your arm and out of your fingers. Feel it.”

It took a while.

“Don’t try too hard—you can stymie it. It’s part of you like your blood. Let it flow.”

As soon as he said “Let it flow,” something in her seemed to shift and click into place. She lifted her arm a bit and felt the warm light moving down it to her fingertips.

“You see?” he asked.

She opened her eyes and nearly gasped when she saw faint white light shooting from her fingertips. “Oh...” she breathed.

“Now think of it doing something, preferably innocuous.”

She saw one of the candles still burning on her dresser. Pointing her finger at it, she imagined the light snuffing the flame. At once the candle went out.

“I can do it!” Amazement filled her.

“Your grandmother was right. You’re a powerful mage, Caro. Try something else.”

So she pointed her finger at her dresser again, and thought of the top drawer opening. At first she feared she would fail, but then, jerkily, the drawer pulled out.

“Woohoo!” An excited cry escaped her.

Damien laughed and hugged her close. For a moment she luxuriated in the embrace, but questions remained. “What about the bokor?” she asked. “What do I do when we meet him?”

“It’s simple, Schatz. I’ll fight him because I have the experience. What I need you to do is see the darkness that’s gathered around him, and imagine your light extinguishing it.”

“That sounds easy enough.”

“It’s never easy when power meets power.” His voice had grown deadly serious. “Don’t go in there tomorrow night thinking any of it will be easy. Whether this bokor has powers of his own or has simply summoned them, there will be a fight and we could lose. He clearly has a lot of experience, too.”

The warning sobered her. “Should I be scared?”

“It’s never wise to go into this afraid. Fear weakens us. But yes, things could go wrong. Very wrong.”

She thought about that. “Well, that’s not so very different from being a cop. Every time I make a traffic stop or answer a call, things could go wrong. I’m used to that.”

He ran his hand down her back, a cool touch. She liked the cool silkiness of his skin and caresses. Not cold, not icy, just cool. She wiggled closer and he sighed.

“Your warmth is like heaven to me,” he said. “Like heaven.”

So she wrapped herself even more closely around him, as if she could surround him in her warmth. It seemed to her, really, that she had little enough to offer him. He had powers she could barely imagine, he had abilities beyond the human and he was sexy with every breath he took. The world must be his for the asking.

“So I’m just food,” she said finally, because some aching, worried part of her needed to know.

“You insult me.”

“I do?” She couldn’t hide a spurt of irritation.

“You do. I may be a predator, I may need human blood to survive, but there’s more to me than a jungle cat. I give thanks for every gift of blood. As for you...”

He suddenly rolled her over so that he lay on top of her. “As for you,” he said, dipping for a quick kiss,