Page 65 of Twilight Destiny

“My blood. Whenever she wants it.”

“Holy hell! What does she do with it?”

“I never asked. She said if you can’t come up with something suitable, you can forget it.”

“Thanks. All I need now is a good excuse to go see him, and steal something he treasures. How hard can that be?”

Kincaid laughed at the despair in the hunter’s voice. “‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave,’” he muttered, and ended the call.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rosa had trouble concentrating at work Monday morning. She couldn’t help worrying while she waited for Micah to call with news of their father. And when she wasn’t worrying about her Dad, she worried about what Sofia’s reaction would be when Micah told her about Jake. And yet, how could Sofia say anything against it when she was married to a vampire? Still, she and Sofia had always been close and, right or wrong, Rosa wanted her sister’s approval.

At 4:30, Micah called to let her know that the doctors hadn’t found anything seriously wrong with their father. “Doc Macky said the old man’s got high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He said Dad had probably experienced a serious bout of indigestion, likely caused by too many rich desserts while we were on vacation. He put Dad on a strict diet to lower his salt intake and prescribed medication for his blood pressure and cholesterol,” Micah said. “And he wants Dad to see a heart doctor for some other tests.”

“A heart doctor!”

“It’s just a precaution,” Micah said. “Don’t get your pantyhose in a twist.”

“Nobody wears pantyhose anymore, big brother,” she said. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“Stop worrying. You know if it was anything serious, Sofia would be on her way home. Talk to you later.”

Rosa ended the call, then stared at her phone, remembering a few years back when her father had fallen off the roof. He had been unconscious for so long, Sofia had asked Ethan to give their father some of his blood. It had worked wonders. Thinking of that now helped put her mind at ease.

She was shutting down her computer when her cell phone rang again. She snatched it up when she saw Jake’s name. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself. What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to go home.”

“I’ll meet you there, okay?”

“Okay.” Smiling, she grabbed her handbag, said a quick goodbye to Bria, and hurried out the door.

Jake was waiting for her outside her apartment when she got there. Just looking at him made her whole body smile. She had it bad, she thought. She’d never really been in love before. She wasn’t even sure this was love, but whatever it was, she never wanted it to end.

He grinned at her as she unlocked the door and followed her inside.

She tossed her handbag on the sofa and walked into his arms.

He closed his eyes as he wrapped her in his embrace. Just holding her made his existence worthwhile. Her warm, womanly scent, the rapid beating of her heart, the fragrance of her hair and skin all combined to enflame his senses. He captured her lips with his, his tongue plundering the sweetness of her mouth. Heaven help him, but he wanted her in ways he had never wanted any other woman, needed her beyond words. Dammit. He had never needed anyone. Didn’t want to need her. But he couldn’t let her go. Would never willingly let her go.

She moaned softly as he rained feather-light kisses along the length of her neck.

“Let me.” It was a plea, a prayer, for relief.

She pushed her hair out of the way, tilted her head to the side, and closed her eyes. As always, there was no pain, only warm, sensual pleasure as he drank from her. Lost in the wonder of it, she clung to his shoulders, not caring if he took it all.

A sharp curse brought her back to reality. She stared up at him. His eyes were red and angry.

“Don’t ever let me do that again.”

“Do what?”

“You have to be strong for both of us, love. Sometimes, when I drink from you, I lose all sense of time. I want only to drink and drink and never stop.”

Suddenly alarmed, she asked, “Was I in danger?”