Deeper than the Night - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,43

his anger; her presence calmed the beast that had been clawing at his insides.

He took a deep breath before asking, "Did you call Barrett?"

"No."

He arched one black brow, his gaze intent upon her face. "Why not?"

Kara shook her head. "I thought about it, but I just couldn't."

"So, why are you here?"

Feeling suddenly nervous, Kara licked her lips. What should she say? Neither of them had ever mentioned love, or spoken of commitment. What if he'd been glad to be rid of her? What if he didn't want her back?

"I want you," Alex said quietly, and it took all his willpower to withstand the urge to drag her into his arms and never let her go. "Never doubt that."

For once, Kara was glad he could read her mind. It would be so much easier if he would just read her thoughts, her feelings, than to have to try to express them in words.

But he was in no mood to make things easy for her. "Why are you here?" he asked again. "What do you want?"

Kara looked deep into his eyes. I love you,she thought. I want you to love me. Hold me. Kiss me . . . She swallowed, trying to form the words, to push them past a throat gone suddenly dry.

"Alex, I'm . . . I'm so sorry for the way I acted before. Don't hate me for it, please. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's all right, Kara." There was forgiveness in his words, but his voice remained cold.

Hold me,she thought, I need you to hold me.

Alex folded his arms over his chest. "We need to talk."

She didn't like the sound of that, didn't like the tension that was evident in his voice, in every taut line of his body.

"Let's go outside." He stood aside so she could precede him out the door.

Her steps felt heavy as she walked outside, acutely aware of Alex's presence behind her. The silence between them seemed ominous, like the stillness before a storm.

Once outside, she sat down on a flat rock, feeling the damp chill of the stone penetrate the material of her slacks. She gestured toward the cavern. "What happened in there?"

"That's one of the things I want to talk to you about."

Hands clasped tightly in her lap, Kara looked up at him. The moon was full and bright and she could see him clearly. He was barefooted and shirtless, his body damp with perspiration, his hair tousled.

He closed his eyes for a moment, his face lifted to the moonlight, and she thought how beautiful he was, tall and dark, like a pagan prince worshipping the night. She let her gaze run over him, felt her admiration turn to revulsion when she saw the blood on his hands. She hadn't noticed it before; now, she couldn't seem to see anything else.

Aware of her scrutiny, Alex wiped his bloody hands on the jeans he had pulled on when he first entered the cavern. "You accused me of being a vampire before, and I denied it."

Kara nodded. She had a terrible feeling she knew where all this was headed.

Unable to help herself, she placed her hand over her throat, felt the wild throbbing of her pulse. She stared at the blood on his hands again. Was he going to attack her? Rip her throat out?

She stood abruptly, her courage deserting her. "I'm tired. Maybe we could discuss this tomorrow?"

"No."

Kara sat down again, her hands clenching and unclenching in her lap. "Go on."

"You accused me of being a vampire," Alex repeated quietly, "and in a manner of speaking, it's true. My ancestors were a wild, untamed race of people. The men were warriors, predators who drank the blood of their enemies in the belief that the life force of those they had killed would then be theirs. During times of intense stress, our men were occasionally subject to uncontrollable rages that bordered on madness. As my people became more civilized, the drinking of blood was forbidden. War among our own was outlawed. Such behavior was gradually bred out of our people and peace prevailed. Inevitably, there were throwbacks. When you left . . ."

He took a deep breath, ashamed to admit his weakness. "I was angry when you left me." He lifted one hand and slowly made a fist. "I felt the madness come on me, and I set out to destroy everything that reminded me of you."

Kara nodded, her heartbeat accelerating as she waited for him to go on. She couldn't take her