Duncan entered the room a few minutes later.
Antonio slowly turned around, and they regarded each other warily for several moments, the vampire and the vampire hunter.
"Well," Duncan said briskly. "I guess I'll be going." He glanced around the room.
"Where's Vicki?"
"She has gone to bed."
Duncan grunted softly. "She's a hell of a woman."
"Yes."
"Thanks for putting up with me. I'll just go up and get my things. Tell Vicki I'll see her at the wedding."
Antonio nodded. He waited until Duncan was out of the room, and then he vanished into the night.
Chapter 37
Vicki stood at her bedroom window, listening to the thunder that rolled across the sky.
Now and then, lightning ripped through the clouds, illuminating the yard and the trees beyond. The sound of the rain was steady and soothing.
The nightmare was over. Dimitri Falco had been destroyed. Never again would he terrorize her or kill innocent women. A part of her was glad that she'd had a hand in defeating him. Another part was horrified by what had happened. She told herself he had been evil, beyond redemption, and yet she couldn't help feeling guilty that she had helped take a human life. Although, technically, he hadn't been a human man but a vampire. And he hadn't been alive, but Undead.
She pressed her hands to her throbbing temples. It was over and done. Dwelling on the ugliness of it wouldn't help.
She glanced at the door. She had expected Antonio to follow her to her room. Was he downstairs, waiting for her?
Going into the bathroom, she splashed cold water on her face, then took a couple of aspirin. She returned to her room, changed into her nightgown, and went to bed.
She left the light on, wondering if she would ever again feel comfortable sleeping in the dark now that she knew there were monsters prowling the night. But Falco was dead.
Surely a little backwater town like Pear Blossom Creek wouldn't attract another one for a longtime, if ever.
She was almost asleep when she realized she was no longer in bed alone. She would have run screaming out of the room if a strong arm hadn't circled her waist.
"Shh, my sweet one, it is only me."
"Antonio."
"Go to sleep, beloved. There is nothing for you to fear."
She snuggled against him, all her anxiety forgotten now that he was there, holding her in his arms.
"I love you," she murmured, and slid over the abyss into sleep.
There were no bad dreams that night.
Vicki woke with a smile on her face. Eyes still closed, she reached for Antonio, frowned when she realized she was alone in bed. Coming fully awake, she realized it was morning and he was gone.
Would he ever tell her where he rested during the day? After all they had been through together, did he honestly think she would betray his hiding place? Or was it that he didn't want her to see him when he was… what? Whatever it was, she preferred to think of it as sleeping.
Sitting up, she saw a note propped on the table beside the bed. She smiled when she recognized Antonio's handwriting.
Victoria — Duncan has gone back to Pear Blossom Creek. He said he would see you at the wedding. Gather your things and I will take you home tonight. Love, A.
Her smile faded as she reread his note. For all his talk about loving her, now that the danger was over, it seemed he couldn't wait to get rid of her.
Fighting tears, she made the bed, then packed her clothes. If he wanted her gone, then she would go.
Going downstairs, she went into the kitchen and fixed a cup of tea. She had no appetite for breakfast.
Lady Kathryn joined her at the breakfast table a few minutes later. "I do so miss a good cup of tea," she said wistfully, then frowned. "Are you crying?"
"No," Vicki said, sniffling, "of course not."
"What's wrong, dear?"
"I'm going home tonight."
Lady Kathryn smiled. "Ah, yes, I heard that that monstrous beast, Falco, had been destroyed. It was very brave, what you did."
"It didn't feel brave."
"Well, it was. I must say, I'm sorry to see you go. Perhaps you'll come back and visit again soon."
"I'd like to, but I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"What has that man done now?" Lady Kathryn asked indignantly.
"Nothing. He… He just doesn't want me."
"Why, of course he does! Any fool can see that. He's just afraid, don't you know, afraid of loving you, afraid of losing you."
"Losing me? Why should he lose me? I love him, too."
"Time has no meaning to a vampire," the ghost said. "But for a mortal… Well, think how hard it would be for him to watch you grow old while he stayed the same. And eventually… Well, he'd be alone again. Sometimes it's easier to do without something you love than to have it for a short time and then lose it, don't you see?"
"Yes, I guess so." Like must marry like, Vicki thought, remembering what the ghost had told her before. It might be true, but it didn't make the hurt go away.
Antonio appeared at sundown. He looked incredibly sexy in a pair of tight black jeans and a black sweatshirt. Just looking at him make her heart race and her insides tingle.
She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life making him happy.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
She nodded, too close to tears to speak.
She closed her eyes when he put his arm around her. Once again, she experienced that sense of flying swiftly through the air, a sudden queasiness, like being seasick, followed by a familiar feeling of weightlessness, as if her soul had left her body behind.
The next thing she knew, she was standing in the middle of her living room. "I guess you'll be going now," she said, blinking rapidly to keep from crying.
"The danger is past."
"I don't want you to go."
" Victoria … "
"I want you to stay." The word forever hovered unspoken in the air between them. "Will you stay, at least for a little while?"
He nodded. Dragging it out would not make it easier for either of them, but he couldn't bear the sadness in her eyes. Another week, perhaps two. What harm could it do? She was young. Perhaps she would come to realize that what she felt for him was no more than infatuation for a creature unlike anything she had ever known. Perhaps when she realized how little she had in common with a vampire, it would make leaving her easier.
If he was lucky, maybe she would ask him to leave.
She smiled when he agreed to stay. It warmed the cold places in his heart. He would do anything she wished just to see that smile.