Derek’s voice whispering, Sheree, my love, only say the word and hundreds of years can be yours, too.
“They’re gone!” Pearl exclaimed, staring up at the castle. “I can’t believe they would go without telling us.”
Edna stared at her friend. “Are you serious? I think we’re lucky to still be breathing! I don’t know about you, but I’ll be perfectly happy to get back to Texas and never see Mara or any of her family again!”
But Pearl wasn’t listening. “She needs us. We have the formula. I’ve half a mind not to make the damn stuff!”
“Oh, there’s a good idea,” Edna said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Just piss her off some more, why don’t you?”
“Let’s go pack,” Pearl muttered. “There’s no point in staying here any longer.”
Edna nodded as she grabbed her favorite bright yellow jacket and orange scarf. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
When Sheree woke, it was almost three in the afternoon. Stretching her arms over her head, she wondered if her internal clock would ever get back to rights. Trying to stay up late to be with Derek had been one thing, going to Transylvania quite another. The change in time had really messed her up, until she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to sleep when the sun was up or down.
Last night, Derek’s words—Sheree, my love, only say the word and hundreds of years can be yours, too—had followed her to sleep, and given rise to a nightmare. She had dreamed that Derek had forced her to become a vampire. He had chained her in the castle dungeon, drained her to the point of death, then forced her to drink his blood. Even now, the thought made her gag. How did he stand it? In her nightmare, she had turned into a ravening, red-eyed monster. Out of control, she had attacked everything and everyone—animals, birds, men, women, and children. Even her parents . . .
Shaking the horrific images from her mind, she went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.
She wasn’t in the mood for breakfast, so she drank a glass of orange juice and washed it down with a cup of coffee.
Needing to be busy, she spent the next three hours cleaning the house from top to bottom. She did two loads of laundry and while waiting for the clothes to dry, she threw everything out of the refrigerator and washed it inside and out.
When that was done, she went upstairs to shower, then changed into a pair of clean jeans and a T-shirt, put on a pair of sneakers, and went for a long walk. She smiled at the people she passed, thinking how good it was to be alive on such a beautiful evening. It would have been perfect, she thought, if only Derek was there beside her.
It was after seven when she returned home. Grabbing her handbag, she drove to the store.
She was trying to decide between chocolate fudge brownie ice cream or mint and chip when she felt a sudden warmth along the side of her neck, as if someone had kissed her.
She smiled with the realization that someone had. Murmuring his name, she glanced over her shoulder to find Derek standing behind her.
“Too bad you don’t eat,” she said, containing the urge to throw her arms around him. “You could help me decide which kind to buy.”
“I’d rather kiss you again.”
Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes in silent invitation, sighed when his lips claimed hers.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made Sheree take a step back. Opening her eyes, she saw a middle-aged woman glaring at them over a tub of vanilla ice cream, while the two young girls at her side giggled.
With a shake of her head, the woman pushed her cart past them, muttering, “Get a room, for goodness’ sake.”
“Good idea.” Derek gestured at the contents in Sheree’s basket. “Do you really need all that stuff?”
“I’m afraid so.”
He fell into step beside her as she made her way to the checkout line, then loaded her groceries into the trunk of her car. He held her door for her before sliding into the passenger seat.
When he was settled, Sheree started the car and drove home, acutely aware of the man sitting beside her. Just looking at him made her smile. His very presence filled her with a sense of warmth and light, which was odd, since vampires were creatures of darkness.
“It must be love,” she mused with a glance in his direction.
He looked at her, one brow raised.
“You know very well what I’m talking about, so don’t give me that innocent look.”
He didn’t deny it, only laughed softly. “You’ve got it backward, love. You’re the light to my darkness.”
It was, she thought, the nicest compliment she had ever received.
At home, he carried the groceries inside, then stood in the doorway, arms crossed, watching her stow them away.
“Do you ever miss eating?” Sheree asked as she put a loaf of bread in the cupboard.
“Sometimes.”
“What do you miss the most?”
“Cheeseburgers. And French fries. And apple pie.”
“Some of my favorites, too,” Sheree said, smiling. “What happens when you eat?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“You can eat steak,” she mused. “Have you tried eating any other kind of meat?”
“No. Well, just hamburger, but that’s really the same thing.”
“And the blood?” She put the last of the groceries away. “Isn’t it . . . ?”
“Gross? Disgusting? Revolting? No, it isn’t.”
Turning to face him, she leaned against the counter, her head tilted to the side. “Does it taste the same to you as it does to me when I lick the blood from a cut?”
“Not even close. You know what Dracula said, that the blood is the life? When I drink from someone, I absorb their memories, their thoughts. Their life. As for the taste, it’s indescribable. And irresistible.”
“I can’t even imagine that.”
“This is the strangest conversation I’ve ever had with a woman,” Derek remarked.
“Surely some of your other lady friends have been curious.”
“I never trusted any of them, few as there have been, to know what I was.” Heat flared in the depths of his eyes. “Come here.”
“Is that an order?”
“No, love. Merely a request.”
Sheree moved readily into his arms, lifted her face for his kiss, sighed when his mouth found hers. It must be love, she mused again. Because everything she learned about him—no matter how bizarre—only made her want him more. Want to help him more.