After Sundown: Redemption Read online

  The gargoyle let Christian pass with little more than a grunt and a wave of his hand. People often made the mistake of assuming gargoyles were stupid. In actuality, they were, on the whole, very well spoken, intelligent creatures. They just didn’t like to talk to any but their own species.

  Inside the club, Christian looked around. He had to fight the rush that flowed over him. A gathering of such beings was always filled with high energy. Patrons enjoyed the freedom to express their true selves, to the point that everyone grew more and more excited as the night progressed. Sometimes that energy stayed positive. Sometimes it didn’t. It was the latter that caused fights out back.

  Positive energy flowed over Christian tonight. A beautiful woman entered the club and strolled by him. Her dress clung to every curve and her hips swayed seductively as she walked. She was tall and thin, with firm breasts and a behind that had just the right amount of jiggle. He knew that most of the males in the room were watching her with appreciation and anticipation.

  He had seen her at the club many times before. She was a mortal human, a groupie who liked to be with magical creatures. He had seen her with various people over the last few months. She had never caught his interest. But tonight was different. Since she was here so often, she might know something about Bazhena. He needed to act quickly, before another decided to take her.

  He sent a mental message to her. It projected hunger and promised passion.

  She stopped walking. Swinging around, her gaze narrowed as she searched the room. She finally found him. Her face registered surprise, but then she smiled. When he returned her smile, she sauntered over.

  “Hi.” A seductive smile played across her full lips. An invitation was written all over it.

  Christian’s body responded immediately. Good. Maybe tonight he would be able to accomplish two goals. Find out more about Bazhena and get Alyssa out of his head.

  “Hello.” Christian gave her a heated look. Then he smiled in a way that brought her closer.

  It always brought them closer.

  Chapter Six

  “I’m Amelia, but you can call me Amy.” The woman held out her hand.

  “I’m Christian.”

  Christian took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he brushed his lips across the back. His stare never left her face. He could see her eyes widen in surprise. He purposely grazed her skin with his teeth. The minute he did so, the surprise in her stare flared into desire. He kept her hand clasped in his. Rubbing his thumb on the soft inside of her palm, he watched her eyes darken with passion.

  Her next word came out breathless.

  “You look familiar. Have you been to Twice Charmed before? I know I wouldn’t forget a man who looked like you.”

  “I’ve been coming here for a long time.” Christian didn’t want to give away too much information. He didn’t know if Bazhena had mentioned him to anyone else.

  The woman licked her lips as her gaze ran over him. He could hear her heart speed up and her body tightening. He gave her another mental push, just enough to help her close the distance between them. He didn’t want anyone listening to their conversation.

  Amy looked up into Christian’s face. Her hunger was blatant. She wanted him. She didn’t try to hide it. Couldn’t hide it. She was his until he chose to release her.

  Walking her to a secluded corner of the club, he held her close and whispered each question into her ear. They looked like they were being intimate as she rubbed herself against him, moaning with need, but she answered each and every question he asked. Amy held nothing back. He wouldn’t let her. Afterwards, he sent her home with the thought that she had not met anyone interesting at the club that night. If they met in the future, she wouldn’t remember him either.

  Christian sat down at an empty table and pondered what Amy had told him. But he couldn’t concentrate. He was perplexed. He had had this beautiful woman in his arms, begging for him to take her. But he couldn’t. He kept thinking about Alyssa. Every time Amy rubbed against him, he imagined Alyssa rubbing against him. Every time Amy kissed his neck, he imagined Alyssa kissing his neck. As he pulled Amy closer and felt her softness push against him, he thought of Alyssa’s voluptuous body pressed against his hardness.

  In the end, he knew he couldn’t take Amy. He wanted only one mortal woman. Alyssa. This disturbed him. He had never had this kind of problem before. Women were attracted to him. Even without using his powers, he never had a shortage of women willing to sleep in his bed. When he was interested. Which wasn’t often. He liked women, respected them and enjoyed their company, for a little while. But his solitary existence was a necessary part of his job, so he had never pursued any woman seriously.

  * * * * *

  After her aunt left, Alyssa lay in bed, tossing and turning. She tried to sleep, but was too restless. She called out to Jonathan, but he didn’t come. Usually he slept on her bed at night, his purring lulling her to sleep, unless he found a juicy bug or rodent to play with for a while. He must have gotten lucky tonight. Giving up, she kicked the sheets off and got up out of bed. She stood in front of her bedroom window and stared through the open curtains, out into the moonlit night. But she saw nothing. Instead, the image of Christian looking up at her with hungry, glowing red eyes appeared. Fear burned in the pit of her stomach. She thought she had it together. She thought she could deal with this. She was wrong. Way wrong.

  What had she been thinking? The guy was a vampire for crying out loud! He bit people’s necks, sucked blood from their bodies, slept in coffins! This was not just the dangerous bad boy-type that so many women liked to get entangled with. This guy wasn’t human. He wasn’t even alive. Was he?

  Alyssa remembered the empty, cold look in Christian’s eyes earlier. She had seen that look only one other time. She had never forgotten it. While in high school, her class had gone on a field trip to the Phoenix Zoo. She had moved ahead and approached the black jaguar exhibit. In awe of its beauty, she stood close to its cage. The cat turned its stare to her and a shiver of dread had run down her spine. His eyes were dead. There was no other word for them. The jaguar’s eyes told her that he would kill her and eat her if he could. There would be no sympathy or compassion. There would just be death. Hers. Looking into Christian’s eyes had been like reliving that experience.

  The memory cleared, replaced by another. Christian kneeling on the ground, bent over in pain. Struggling with an agony she couldn’t imagine. Didn’t want to imagine. She remembered the way his body had shaken with effort.

  She had wanted to go to him, to touch him. To wrap her arms around his kneeling form and help him. She didn’t know how, but she had wanted to try. Wanted to make all the pain go away. So that he could be free, free of it all.

  Alyssa shook her head. Tried to clear it. What was she thinking? She didn’t even know what he was going through. Had no idea how to help him. And what if she had gone to him? What if he had looked up into her eyes? Mesmerized her with his glowing red gaze. Then sank his teeth into her neck and sucked every last drop of blood from her body, until she was nothing but a dried up corpse.

  Alyssa shivered. She was starting to creep herself out. When had she begun thinking about dried up corpses? She went back to bed, pulling the covers over her head like she used to do when she was a child. Foolishly thinking that if she lay perfectly still it would keep the monsters at bay. She knew better now.

  Still, she kept the blanket over her head. She practiced using the breathing technique that had helped her calm down so many times before. Concentrated on inhaling—one, two, three, four, five and exhaling—one, two, thre—what was that? Alyssa held her breath and listened. When she heard nothing, she thought she had only imagined it. She started to relax. Then stiffened in fear as she heard it again. A scratching noise, not loud, but definitely there.

  She listened carefully. It was coming from the area by her bedroom window. What should she do? What if it was Christian? What if he had come back to…to what? Finish her off? Tear his
teeth into her neck? Suck all the blood from her body?

  Or make love to her? She got only a glimpse of what if would be like and she knew her body hungered for more. She wanted to press her soft curves against his hard angles. Needed to feel his strong hands exploring the contours of her body. Craved to have him inside of her, filling her in a way she knew only he could.

  Alyssa was hot, too hot. She threw the blankets off again. She couldn’t take it anymore! Storming to her bedroom window, she opened it wide. She never saw the shadow until it flew at her. It hit her squarely on the chest and she lost her breath. Falling backwards from the impact, she felt a sharp pain as something pricked her neck. It was too late. She should have listened. She should have stayed under the covers like the child inside her had told her to.

  Alyssa screamed. She landed on her back with a loud thud. The impact knocked the breath out of her.

  “Meeoow.”

  Her eyes shot open. She knew that meow! Her cat lay on her chest, his claws stuck into her as he held on for dear life.

  Alyssa caught her breath.

  “Jonathan? What were you doing outside?”

  At the sound of her voice, his nails retracted.

  She petted him, trying to calm both of them down. Alyssa was shaking and couldn’t seem to stop. When Jonathan began to purr, she knew she could move without risking more injuries from his sharp claws. She wrapped her arms around him and sat up. Her head swam then slowly cleared. Jonathan squirmed in her tight hold so she released him. Settling down on her lap, he repositioned himself until he was comfortable. She continued to pet him and talk in a soothing voice. Calming down with each passing minute, her heart beat eventually slowed.

  “Now why were you outside, Jonathan? You’re a full-time inside cat. You don’t do outside. And I don’t remember opening my window—”

  Then it hit her. The window. That was how Christian left her apartment earlier. And he must have left it open long enough for Jonathan to climb out onto the ledge. No wonder she couldn’t figure it out. She was on the second floor and nobody could jump from her window without getting seriously hurt. Nobody human, that is. A vampire, on the other hand, could probably do that. They had supernatural strength.

  Alyssa gently set Jonathan off of her lap and walked into her bathroom. Taking off her nightshirt, she surveyed the damage. She had four good size cuts on her neck and chest. Jonathan had really been holding on. He must have been frightened, being outside on the narrow ledge by himself.

  She cleaned her cuts with antibiotic spray and put Band-Aids on each one. After closing her bedroom window, she went to bed with the bathroom light on. She couldn’t fall asleep right away. She tried to imagine Christian jumping from her window. What powers did vampires actually have?

  She fell asleep picturing Christian flying through the sky.

  * * * * *

  Alyssa woke up late the next morning, around ten. Even then, she felt like going back to sleep. Usually a morning person, this surprised her. She blamed it on the events of the night before. Thoughts about the previous evening made her remember her decision to find out more about vampires. She had already been to the library. Today she planned to hit the video store.

  By the time she rented the videos it was early afternoon. Earlier in the day she had put the ingredients for beef stew in the slow cooker. The delicious smell filled her place as she cleaned her apartment. After a quick bowl of cereal, she had showered then gone to the video store. Luckily they had the movies she was looking for.

  Alyssa made some microwave popcorn, poured herself a large cup of diet soda and plopped down on her couch. Sometimes she loved being a couch potato. The first movie she watched was the most recent version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. After that she began watching Ann Rice’s The Vampire Lestat. One of the characters reminded her of Christian. His dark skin, shoulder-length, midnight-black hair and intense eyes were incredibly similar to her new bodyguard’s. It’s what made the actor so popular with women.

  Beside the fact that Christian was taller and a little more muscular, the two could have been brothers. Maybe not twins, but definitely related. They even had the same Spanish lilt to their voice that made her skin feel like it was being caressed with silk every time she heard it.

  Great. So not only did Christian have the power to make her want him, the guy also looked like one of the hottest stars around. That was so not fair. She didn’t need this in her life right now. Professionally, things were going so well. She was independent and in control of her life. She didn’t need a bossy vampire taking it over.

  Despite the fact that her thoughts kept drifting back to Christian, Alyssa somehow managed to finish watching The Vampire Lestat. She got up and stretched. Viewing two movies in a row, with little more than a few bathroom breaks, left her stiff. After wandering around her apartment and stretching her legs she headed into the kitchen. Jonathan joined her and they shared a big bowl of beef stew. Even though it was the middle of a hot Arizona summer, Alyssa still loved eating homemade soups and stews. They were her favorite meal.

  The sun had set by the time she finished the dishes. Alyssa tried to go over the speech she was giving tomorrow night, but she couldn’t focus. She felt restless and just couldn’t sit still. Finally giving up, she got up and paced her apartment.

  Maybe she would go out for a walk.

  The minute that thought hit her, she could think of nothing else. So what if it was dark, her mind kept telling her. She lived in a safe neighborhood. She would be fine. Just put on your shoes and go for a walk. It will be fine. Just pick up the keys and walk out the door. It will be fine.

  Alyssa listened to the voice in her head. How could she not? Yes, she needed a walk. It was just the thing. She would feel better after she went outside. It will be fine. That’s it. Unlock the door and walk out. Just do it. You want to do it. You need to do it.

  Yes, she had to get out. Needed the fresh air. Hurry. There wasn’t much time. She had to do it now. Alyssa unlocked the door and opened it. She stepped out and ran into something large and solid. Glancing up, she saw Christian staring down at her with amusement on his face.

  “Going out, palomita?”

  Christian knew from the dazed look on Alyssa’s face that Bazhena had gotten to her. She had whispered in Alyssa’s mind, like the legendary Wendigo, lulling, then luring Alyssa outside. If he hadn’t picked up on Bazhena’s thoughts, Alyssa would have become another of his creator’s victims. Carelessly used and discarded.

  The thought of Bazhena using Alyssa infuriated him. He clenched his fists tightly by his sides and then projected his thoughts outward.

  She is mine.

  He heard Bazhena’s soft laughter in his head. It should have sounded light and airy. It didn’t. It sounded evil and slightly crazed. And it mocked him. Of that he had no doubt.

  We will see, Cristobal. We will see.

  Then Bazhena’s presence was no more. He could no longer perceive her thoughts. She had either gone a great distance away or blocked her mind from him. Only that would affect his ability to read her. Though vampires and their creators had a mental bond, each could stop the other from reading their mind. As a fledgling he hadn’t known how to. But over time he had learned to completely close off his thoughts from Bazhena. She had been furious about it, but helpless to prevent it.

  Alyssa slumped against him and slid to the ground. She had fainted again. Bazhena had released her. Scooping Alyssa up in his arms, Christian carried her into her apartment and slammed her front door closed with his foot. He walked into her bedroom and carefully laid her on her bed.

  Sitting down beside her, he studied Alyssa. He had felt her mind fight Bazhena’s control. She had struggled against it longer than any human he had seen before her. Vlad had warned him about Bazhena, but Christian didn’t need the warning. He knew what she was capable of. Had seen firsthand the control Bazhena could exert over not only humans, but also other vampires. He was amazed by Alyssa’s strength of will. How c
ould someone who looked so fragile be so strong?

  She reminded him of a bird. That’s why he called her palomita, the Spanish word for little bird. Her long, silky black hair feathered around her, beautifully framing her heart-shaped face. Her creamy white skin looked soft as rose petals. His finger itched to stroke it. And her full, lush, berry-red lips. He groaned as his body responded. That mouth was made for him. He could imagine the feel of it against him, all over him.

  Christian shot to his feet. He began pacing the room. He knew Alyssa would wake up soon. She would open her eyes and look up at him. He could get lost in those eyes. Lose himself in their crystal blue depths. Forget about everything. Forget about what he was, forget about all the wrongs he had done in the past and forget his debt to humanity. His body tightened. Thickened to the point of pain. He felt his teeth elongate as the beast threatened to rise.

  No! Christian swung around and strode out of the room. He had to get himself together. When Alyssa woke up, he would be in control. She needed his protection. That was the plan. His body could wait.

  Focusing on his breathing, Christian slowly calmed down. He sat on Alyssa’s couch. He started to flip through one of the magazines on her coffee table when he spotted the video jackets. Curious, he picked one up. A grin spread across mouth. So, his palomita was interested in vampires? Interesting. Using the remote, he turned on the movie she had been watching. He had never read Ann Rice’s books on vampires. So many had tried to tell the vampire’s story. He wondered what her take on his kind would be.

  * * * * *

  Alyssa found Christian sitting on her couch an hour later. She woke up disoriented. Why was she lying on her bed with her clothes on? What time was it? She got up and walked out of her bedroom. She needed something cold to drink. Her mouth felt drier than a desert. Stumbling into the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of cold water from the fridge. She drank all of it, then poured another. She was so thirsty!