Enchant the Night - Amanda Ashley Page 0,9

that the birds who usually visited the feeder in the backyard stayed away. Her neighbor’s Siamese cat stopped using her flowerbed as his outhouse. Except for the mailman, everyone who passed by walked on the other side of the street. It was almost as if her house was invisible. Sometimes she felt like Sleeping Beauty, living in limbo while she waited for the prince to free her.

And late each night, her guest drank a little of her blood.

* * *

Thursday morning, Callie woke early. She dressed quickly, wolfed down her breakfast, and left the house, certain that if she didn’t get out and see other people, she would lose her mind. She drove to the mall, thinking there was no other place where she would be surrounded by so many people. After leaving her car in the parking garage, she took the escalator up to the food court, where she ordered a hazelnut latte, then found a vacant table and sat down. It felt good to be in the midst of so many normal people doing ordinary things when her life was anything but normal.

What would happen if she told Vivian that she’d been right, that the man who had bitten her really was a vampire? Would her friend laugh again and tell Callie she was crazy? Insist she call the police? Or demand to see him herself? None of those options sounded appealing.

What if he got better and refused to leave? Who did you call to evict a vampire?

After finishing her latte, Callie strolled through the mall. She paused at a bookstore, then went inside, searching the shelves for books on vampires. Other than what she had seen in movies, she had little knowledge of the creatures. She found a remarkable number of books in the Mythology and Folklore department. Taking one from the shelf, she carried it to a chair in the corner and began to read.

According to the book, vampires were sexually appealing. Callie frowned. She couldn’t argue with that. Scary as he might be, Quill was sexy as hell. They had very sharp fangs. They slept by day. Coffins seemed to be the preferred resting place. Some believed they had to sleep on their native soil.

Callie grunted softly as she remembered the vampire in Dracula shipping containers of his native earth to England when he left Transylvania.

It was believed the reason they couldn’t be seen in mirrors was because they had no soul. They were said to be repelled by holy objects and garlic. They were hard to kill, with a stake through the heart or beheading being the preferred methods of destruction. Fire was also effective. They were virtually immortal. The Undead were also a popular character in horror movies, although they were frequently cast as romantic figures and occasionally appeared in comedies.

Callie snorted as she returned the book to the shelf. She didn’t see anything remotely funny about being a vampire.

Or associating with one.

Leaving the bookstore, she returned to the food court for lunch. Later, she had her nails done, then went shopping at her favorite boutique, where she bought a blue sweater and a pair of overpriced jeans before finally, reluctantly, returning home.

“Please,” she prayed as she pulled into her driveway and killed the VW’s engine. “Please let him be gone.”

But when she peeked into the guest room, he was still there.

* * *

Quill sat up when Callie opened the door. He sensed her distress at seeing him. No doubt she had hoped that he’d died in her absence or at least left the house. But, at the moment, this was the safest place for him. He had warded her home against any and all intruders. His wards, plus the inherent power of the threshold, would repel any unwanted visitors. Although he wasn’t sure if it would repel the Knights of the Dark Wood.

She stared at him from the doorway, her expression wary.

The rapid beat of her heart, the scent of her blood, called to him. He didn’t want to hurt her or frighten her. She had saved his life and for that he would be forever in her debt. He was a little surprised she hadn’t called the police, although he was grateful for her restraint. It would not have ended well for the officers.

Lifting one hand, he beckoned her.

Powerless to resist, she walked slowly toward him, her whole body trembling.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Callie,” he said quietly. “Please don’t be afraid of me.”

She recoiled when he reached for her