The sun was peeking over the mountains when they returned home. They showered together, a long slow shower as they took turns washing and then drying each other. Kadie was utterly content as she slid into bed beside him and fell asleep, wrapped in his arms.
~ * ~
Saintcrow muttered an oath when his cell phone rang. Disentangling himself from Kadie’s arms, he rolled over and picked up his phone. “What?”
“She contacted me again.”
Saintcrow jackknifed into a sitting position. “Elowynne?”
“None other.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked if I knew where you were. I said I wasn’t sure.”
“Dammit, Izabela, you should have told her.”
“Temper, temper, vampire.”
He muttered an apology. “On second thought, maybe you were right not to tell her. I don’t want her coming to Morgan Creek. Can we meet at your place?”
“Are you prepared to pay the price?”
He huffed a sigh. “Between you and Alara, I’m surprised I have any blood left.”
“I’ll let you know when,” Izabela said. Her amused laughter sounded in his ear as she ended the call.
Slipping out of bed, Saintcrow padded upstairs and contacted Oriana who agreed to meet him at the bridge in twenty minutes and give him a little more of her blood.
Kadie was awake when he returned to the bedroom. “What’s going on?”
“Izabela heard from Elowynne. She’s going to arrange a meeting at her house.”
“And?”
“And Oriana has agreed to share her blood with me again. I’m going to meet her at the bridge in twenty minutes.”
“The bridge?” she asked, sitting up.
Saintcrow shrugged. “It won’t take long.”
“Why didn’t you ask her to come here?”
“You seemed uncomfortable watching me drink from her the last time.”
“Maybe I was. But she’s helping you and I don’t have a problem with that.”
“I love you,” he said, brushing a kiss across her lips. “I have to get dressed.”
“Good idea,” Kadie remarked as she ran her gaze over him, admiring the sheer beauty of the man from his broad shoulders to his long muscular legs and everything in between.
With a shake of his head, Saintcrow pulled on his briefs, jeans, and a shirt, gave her a long, long kiss, before he left the house.
~ * ~
Saintcrow whistled softly when he saw the vampire waiting for him on the bridge. Oriana wore a long fur coat over a sparkling silver gown that fit like a second skin. The skirt was slit up the side to mid-thigh, revealing a slender leg and a pair of three-inch silver heels. A diamond necklace glittered in the moonlight.
“Thank you,” she said.