had simply abandoned him and his mother. Then she had departed Caleb’s life until meeting him again as an adult the previous fall.
Regrettably, her hypnotic legacy had caused painful and disturbing flashbacks and other emotional repercussions for him as an adult. Fortunately, on their recent spring trip to London, a vampire psychiatrist had been able to remove her hypnotic block.
Thank goodness that instead of anger or fear he was grateful for my help. She was happy that the event actually seemed to bond them even more closely.
“Just thinking about you, Kat,” he gently replied. “Pondering at how remarkable you are, you and your kind.”
She rolled her eyes and mildly chastised, “I would’ve thought you’d have tired of such thoughts already. There are so many more interesting things to think about, rather than vampires. We should be old hat for you by now.”
His eyes widened, and he reached up to caress the side of her face with his fingertips. Her eyes curiously darted to his in return.
“You’ll never be ‘old hat’ for me,” he promised. “You’re amazing, and I’m still dumbfounded to be of any interest to you at all.”
She frowned over his self-deprecating train of thought. Her hand darted upwards to grasp his chin firmly between her fingertips, and she moved her face to within an inch of his. Her green eyes momentarily flashed brightly before returning to their previous hue.
“Listen closely to me, oh-human-mate-of-mine. You saved my life when you were only eight years old, at a time when I was ready to give up my existence completely. You, and you alone, gave me a reason to keep living. You gave my life meaning and purpose. If anything, vampires are nothing more than predators. However, you’re an angel, wholly and completely. So I don’t want to hear you say such things. Got it?”
He silently nodded, and she released her grip on his chin. He continued to stare at her in mild challenge, though he remained quiet at some length before speaking again.
“You talk about yourself like you’re a monster of some kind,” he whispered. “But all you’ve ever been to me is the object of my dreams.”
Her heart fluttered as the thick emotion in his voice washed over her. Then her lips found his, and she kissed him passionately. He gratefully responded and felt her hand cup the base of his head as she pressed against his lips. They traded kisses, each enjoying the warmth and passion of the other, each sharing in the love they held for one another.
Time seemed suspended as they reveled in their nighttime paradise. However, the continually dropping temperature eventually made its presence known to Caleb. While Katrina was blissfully immune to extreme temperatures, she felt her mate shiver slightly.
“Let’s return to the cabin, my love,” she urged as she grasped his hand in hers and half-lifted him to his feet.
Her arm instinctively wound around his waist in a semi-protective manner as they walked back up the dark incline towards the direction of their cabin.
By the time the small, nondescript cabin loomed before them, it was well past two in the morning. Caleb yawned and massaged his arms with his hands to generate some warmth as they walked through the front door. As soon as Katrina closed the door, she moved in a blur to stand before him. Her deft fingers unbuttoned his bloody shirt. A moment later, she cast it into the fireplace. The embers from the waning fire relit with the fresh fuel of his ruined shirt.
“Why don’t you go ahead and take a warm shower?” she suggested as she undid her ponytail, allowing her long, red hair to cascade across her shoulders. “I’ll join you momentarily.”
He nodded, stifled a yawn, and made his way into the cabin’s sole bathroom. She smirked at him as he departed, finding his innocent sleepiness endearing, and then added some cut firewood to the fireplace. The wood soon crackled anew as she heard the shower running in the bathroom.
Fire in the hearth, and soon, fire elsewhere, she thought as she slipped from her clothes and moved towards the bathroom to join him.
* * * *
Caleb had quickly fallen into a deep sleep after the lovemaking that followed their shower. Even in his exhaustion, the striking, red-headed vampire knew exactly which erotic buttons to push to elicit the amorous response she had needed from her young mate. He had performed well for her, due in no small part to the increased stamina his body had acquired from