And yet, her nearness calmed him even as it aroused another desire. Turning in her embrace, he wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth with his. Holding her, kissing her, left him thinking of nothing but the sweet taste of her lips, the way she leaned into him, her breasts crushed against his chest, the scent of her hair, her skin.
With regret, he let her go and took a step back. “Sara, you’d better go inside before I take you on the porch, right here, right now.”
She smiled up at him, her lips bruised from the force of his kisses. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, won’t I?”
“Try to keep me away.”
“Never.” She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him ever so gently. Then, with a murmured “Good night,” she went inside and closed the door.
Travis waited on the porch until he heard the turn of the lock before he returned to his lair. He spent the rest of the night practicing his vampire powers, doing them over and over again until turning to mist or willing himself from one place to another became second nature.
Most exciting of all was shape-shifting. The first time he succeeded in transforming into a wolf, he let out a victory howl that likely sent chills down the spines of everyone in Susandale still awake to hear it.
Chapter 21
Jason Bowman looked up from the woman he was feeding on, felt an icy ripple of fear when he found himself staring into Jarick’s cold gray eyes. Before he could release the woman from his thrall, the master vampire pulled her from Bowman’s grasp and sank his fangs deep into her throat. He drank until the woman was pale and on the verge of death, then broke her neck and tossed the body aside.
His steely gaze never left Bowman’s. “Let’s go. We need to talk.”
Feeling like a convict on his way to the gallows, Jason followed the master vampire into the shadows.
Chapter 22
Now that the vampires were gone and the women were able to come and go as they pleased, Sara decided to return to her original hours at the shop.
With the coming of summer, tourists arrived more often. The hotel hired three of the local women to work as maids. The Sheriff hired a couple of deputies so that someone was available at the station around the clock.
Business picked up in all the stores. An enterprising young couple from out of town opened a small department store that sold clothing, as well as some household items like towels and dishes, and a small assortment of toys.
The only bad thing about summer was that the days were longer, which meant she didn’t get to see Travis until later at night.
Thinking about him, she sighed as she closed the shop on Friday night. She could no longer deny she was in love with him. They had spent every evening together for the last month or so. During the week, they usually stayed in, often watching a movie, sometimes playing gin rummy, sometimes just listening to music while they cuddled together on the sofa.
Weekends they usually went out dancing or to a movie in Langston, or just went for a leisurely stroll through the town.
Sara paused outside the store and then, on the spur of the moment, decided to eat out. She had a date with Travis later, but she had two hours to kill until the sun went down.
She smiled and waved to several people as she walked down the street toward the café. Stepping inside, she came to an abrupt halt when she saw Carl Overstreet sitting in a booth with his arm around Winona.
She was debating whether to go over and say hello when Overstreet caught her eye and waved at her.
“Hey, Sara,” he said cheerfully. “I haven’t seen you for a while. You know Winona, of course.”
“Yes. Hi.”
Winona smiled at her. “Hello, Sara. It’s nice to see you.” She leaned over to plant a kiss on Carl’s cheek. “I need to get back to work. Sara, what can I get you?”
“Shrimp sounds good.”
With a nod and a wave, Winona went to turn in her order.
“Well,” Sara said, sliding into the booth, “how long has this been going on?”
“A couple of weeks,” he said, his cheeks flushing.
“I guess that’s why I haven’t seen much of you.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been eating in here a lot and just sort of hanging around when she’s not busy. She’s really nice once you get past that gruff exterior. And best of all, she actually seems to like me.”
“Well, I’m happy for you,” Sara said. “Both of you.”
“It probably won’t last. I mean, she’s young and pretty and … well, look at me.”
“I think you’re being too hard on yourself. I mean, if she didn’t like you, too, she wouldn’t be looking at you now, just hoping to catch your attention.”
He glanced at Winona, his cheeks growing redder when she winked at him.
“See?”
“Yeah. Guess I’ll stick around awhile.” He shook his head. “Life’s funny, isn’t it?
You just never know what the future holds.”
Sara thought about what Carl had said as she drove home from the cafe. She certainly never would have thought she would be in love with a vampire, that was for sure. As for the future? She couldn’t begin to guess where their relationship might lead, or how long it would last.
But she loved being with Travis.
She loved Travis.
But was there any future in pursuing a relationship that, realistically, couldn’t lead anywhere? Was it possible to be happy with someone so different? Someone who lived an entirely different kind of life?
Did she want to spend all
