“You might want to consider getting rid of that bell pull and installing a real doorbell,” he said.
She nodded. “That’s a wonderful suggestion. Thank you.”
While the men were at work, she went upstairs and discovered where the rest of the furniture had gone. Apparently, while she slept, Drake, Andrei, and Stefan had carried the bedroom furniture upstairs. All the bedrooms had beds now, as well as chairs, nightstands, and throw rugs. And dressers, Elena noted. Dressers with mirrors. She would have to ask Drake about the whole reflectionin-the-mirror thing.
She spent an hour making all the beds, then went downstairs to see how the electrician was doing.
“Just about finished in this room,” he said. “You’ll need a cable hookup for the TV, but the stereo and DVD player will work just fine.”
“Thank you.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll begin wiring the kitchen.”
Elena nodded. Then, realizing it was late afternoon and she had skipped breakfast and lunch, she went downstairs to the kitchen for something to eat, thinking how wonderful it would be when the electricity was hooked up in all the rooms. She could hardly wait to fill the new refrigerator with meat and cheese and eggs and milk. And ice cream.
She was sitting at the table, finishing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, when the big gray cat hopped on the chair beside hers.
“Smoke!” she exclaimed. “Where have you been?”
The cat yawned, then curled up on the chair.
“You are a most peculiar creature,” Elena murmured. “Drake said you’re not his, yet when he’s not here, neither are you. . . .” She frowned, remembering the night she had asked Drake about the cat, and he had replied that he didn’t own one. Yet Drake had returned only last night. And this afternoon the cat was back. Was it possible? No, the very thought was absurd.
Still puzzling over the odd comings and goings of the remarkable cat, Elena went up the stairs to the main hall. After slipping a DVD into the player, she stretched out on one of the new sofas. Moments later, Smoke joined her there. He rubbed up against her arm, licked her cheek, then curled up beside her and closed his eyes. What a life he led, Elena thought. All the creature did was sleep.
It was near sundown when the cat jumped off the sofa and padded out of the room.
Sitting up, Elena rubbed her eyes, and then she smiled. Drake would soon be here. A thrill of excitement bubbled up inside her, and then he was there, striding toward her, tall and dark and handsome. Wordlessly, he pulled her up into his arms, one hand cupping her bu**ocks to draw her tight against him while he kissed her. And kissed her again, until she clung to him, breathless.
“So, wife of my heart,” he said, “did you miss me while we were apart?”
“You know I did.”
“What do you think of the new furniture?” he asked, glancing around. “Do you like it? If not, I will send it all back.”
“I love it. But why did you decide to furnish all the rooms upstairs when there’s just the two of us?”
“Andrei and Katiya will be staying with us for a while.” He stroked her hair, his gaze moving over her face. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not. What about Stefan? Will he be staying here, too?”
“No.” He settled on the sofa, drawing her down beside him. “He has gone back to the Fortress. But I thought he should have a room, should he return.”
“How did you persuade Rodin to let you leave?”
“Katiya and I convinced him that we had decided to make the best of things.”
“And he believed you?”
“Yes, but only after Katiya conceived.”
Elena stared at him, shock rolling through her like an icy wave. “She’s pregnant?”
He nodded. “It was the only way.”
She shook her head, unwilling to believe that Drake had slept with the vampire.
“Elena. Wife. The child is not mine.”
“No?”
“No. Andrei is the father.”
“Andrei? How did that happen?” she asked. But the answer was obvious. “You had this all planned out, didn’t you?”
Drake smiled smugly. “Katiya is quite a good actress. We spent the first month of our marriage pretending to dislike each other,” he said with a laugh. “Although it didn’t take much pretending, at least in the beginning. Gradually, we let people think we were growing fond of each other. Katiya told her mother that she was falling in love with me. Her mother naturally told mine. We were quite convincing.”
“And when you had convinced everyone, Andrei returned to the Fortress.”
“He had returned every night since the wedding. He slept in my bed. I slept in his. No one knew. I think she must have conceived the first night. A clever plan, do you not agree?”
“I guess so, but what will happen if Rodin finds out?”
“That, I cannot predict.”
“Nothing good, I bet,” Elena muttered.
“Of that you can be sure,” Drake agreed. “But let us not worry about that now. We are together. Let us make the most of it.”
“Your cat came back.”
“Have you forgotten what I told you?” he asked with a laugh. “I do not have a cat.”
“It’s you, isn’t it?” she asked, stabbing him in the chest with a forefinger. “You’re the cat.”
He grinned at her. “Finally figured that out, did you? It took you long enough.”
“How is that possible?”
“Those of us born to Liliana are able to shape-shift. It is a rare ability, but useful, when you have a stranger in the house.”
“You could have told me!”
“It was more fun this way. And it allowed me to watch over you during the day.”
She blew out a sigh, wondering if she would ever learn all there was to know about this extraordinary man. But there was no time to ask now, because he was kissing her again, leading her up the stairs, pressing her down on the bed, his body covering hers. And there was no more need for thought.
Later, lying in his arms, Elena ran her fingers down the crooked scar along his neck. “How did you get that?”
“Does it matter? It is an old wound.”
“I thought vampire wounds healed without a scar.”
“Most do, but not ones inflicted with silver.”
“Oh. I’d still like to know how you got it.”
He looked past her, as if traveling backward in time. “Many years ago a band of gypsies camped down by the lake. I heard their music one night, and because I was lonely, I went down to watch them dance. Luiza was one of the dancers. She was young, no more than fifteen or sixteen, and very beautiful, with clear olive skin and long red hair. I went back to their camp every night for several weeks, drawn by the music and the dancing. They were a happy people, filled with the kind of joy that was lacking in my own life, in my own kind.