Page 44 of Twilight Destiny

He started to turn away when Saintcrow came to the door. “Come on in,” he said.

Kincaid hesitated a moment, then followed the master vampire into the living room.

“Where is she?”

Saintcrow sat on the arm of the sofa beside Kadie. “I took her home this morning.”

Shoulders slumped, Kincaid dropped into the chair across from the master vampire. “Did she say anything about me?”

“She didn’t say much of anything.”

Kincaid stared at him, eyes narrowed. “What didyousay to her?”

“I told her that in any relationship between vampires and mortals, there were sacrifices to be made, and that the mortals usually had to make them. I told her to take some time to think about what she wants. You need to give her some space, time to clear her head. She came here looking for someone to turn her, but I think she’s pretty much changed her mind about that, at least for now.”

“What else did you tell her?”

“The truth. That you’re an old vampire, and even though you’ve been around a long time, you aren’t always in control.”

“Damn you! What right do you have to interfere in my life?”

“Rosa is part of my family now, and I don’t want to see her get hurt—or make a decision in a moment of weakness that she’ll regret later.”

“From the sound of it, her brother and sister don’t seem to have any regrets.”

“Do you?”

A muscle twitched in Kincaid’s jaw. “Not anymore.”

“But you did for a long time. I want the decision to be Rosa’s. And I don’t want her to make it the heat of passion. I think you need to give her some time to think about what she really wants.”

Kincaid stared at Saintcrow and Kadie and for a moment, he was so jealous of what they shared that he hated them both. He clenched his fists as rage unfurled within him. Damn Saintcrow for sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong!

Muttering an oath, he vanished from the room.

“That went well,” Kadie remarked dryly.

“Yeah.”

“What do you think he’ll do now?”

“I think he’s likely to kill the first person who crosses his path tonight.”

Kincaid willed himself out of Saintcrow’s house and out of Morgan Creek. Filled with impotent rage and regret, he stormed through the night. Fearing he might rip the heart out of any mortal he preyed on, he went to the nearest national park and confronted a young grizzly bear. Most animals avoided him, but the bear charged him. With a wild cry, Kincaid flung himself on the grizzly’s back and buried his fangs deep in the soft skin of its throat. The bear roared as it tried to shake him off, and failed.

Kincaid drank until his rage subsided, leaving the bear a little weak with blood loss but still alive.

Transporting himself to his lair, Kincaid stood under a cold shower for a full ten minutes.

After drying off, he stretched out on his bed and opened his senses. It took only moments to find the link between himself and Rosa. Closing his eyes, he murmured her name as he summoned her image to mind … the face of an angel framed by a curtain of ebony colored hair, dark brown eyes he had seen filled with desire, a curvy little body he longed to know better …

His fangs brushed his tongue as he recalled the sweet taste of her blood, even as his body responded to the memory of her kisses.

Saintcrow was right, he thought bitterly. She was better off without him.

Rosa sat up, her gaze darting right and left when she heard Kincaid’s voice whispering her name. She frowned, wondering where he was hiding and how he had found her. It took her a moment to realize he wasn’t really there, that she had only imagined his voice. Disappointment speared through her. His voice had been so clear, she would have sworn he was in the room beside her.

Murmuring, “I miss you,” she slid back under the covers. Hoping she would dream of him, she closed her eyes …