seen his fangs, and the hideous glow in his eyes. She remembered inviting him into her house, remembered reading somewhere that a vampire could not enter a house unless he had been invited. And she had invited Navarre. There would be no keeping him out now, she thought, even if she wanted to.
She stared outside, willing the sun to set, and then she laughed, a nervous, shaky laugh. Maybe she was insane, she thought. Who else but a lunatic would be sitting on the floor, wishing the sun would go down because she was eagerly awaiting the appearance of a vampire?
He came with the setting sun, his expression wary. He avoided meeting her eyes, almost as if he was afraid of her. Or ashamed.
Adrianna closed the door behind him, then stood there, uncertain what to do next. "Vampire."
He stiffened at her use of the word, all his senses suddenly alert. "What?"
"The V. In your name. It stands for vampire, doesn't it?"
He nodded, a wry smile curving his lips.
"So," she said, nervously toying with the folds of her skirt, "what do we do now?"
"I don't know." He paced the floor in front of the fireplace, back and forth, back and forth, like a caged tiger. "I've only loved one other mortal," he remarked quietly, "and it was a long, long time ago."
Adrianna stared at him. "You love me?''
He frowned at her as if she weren't very bright. "Of course."
"You never said so before."
"I know." He crossed the room and took her into his arms, holding her carefully, as though he was afraid of hurting her. Very gently, he kissed the top of her head. "I do love you, Annie," he murmured.
"And I love you!"
"I only hope you don't regret it."
"I won't," she whispered, lifting her face to his. "I won't..."
He would have let her go then, but she clung to him, molding her body to his in silent invitation.
"Annie..." He shook his head. "This isn't a good idea."
"Why not?"
How could he explain it to her? How could he tell her that it wasn't only passion she aroused in him, but a terrible hunger?
"I think I'll die if you don't kiss me," she said petulantly.
"You might die if I do."
She thought he was kidding her, but when she looked into his eyes, she saw that he was serious. Dead serious. A fit of hysterical laughter bubbled up inside her. Dead serious, she mused. No pun intended!
"I think I'd better go," Navarre said, easing out of her arms.
"Go where?"
He didn't answer. He didn't have to.
"It's true, then? You... you drink blood?"
He nodded curtly, his expression grim.
"Did you... ?"
"Did I what?"
"That woman in the alley... did you do that?"
"No." He ran a hand through his hair, his dark eyes pleading with her. "You've got to believe me, Annie."
"Have you ever done anything like that?"
He turned away, wondering how he could explain, how he could make her understand.
"Have you?"
"Yes." He whirled around to face her. "Yes! I've told you what I am." The condemnation in her eyes was like acid eating at his soul. "Annie, let me explain."
"Can you?" She loved him, but she couldn't condone murder.
"When first I was made, I couldn't control the hunger within me. You can't understand the pain, the need. It's worse than any drug addiction, any craving. In the beginning, drunk with power and driven by a force that was stronger than I was, I took what I needed without regard for what I was doing, for the lives I was taking. It was only later that I learned that I didn't have to kill to survive, that I could take what I needed without doing any harm. Still later, I learned I could drink from animals, that their blood would sustain me for long periods of time..."
His voice trailed off as he saw the look of horror and revulsion in her eyes. It cut deep, yet a part of him welcomed it. Perhaps now she would realize what sort of monster he was. Perhaps she would send him away. He wouldn't blame her if she did. In the long run, she would be better off without him.
"And now?"
He sighed, as if shrugging off a heavy burden. "There are plenty of sheep and cattle in the area."
She looked so relieved, he almost didn't tell her the rest. But she deserved to know it all.
"I can't survive off the blood of animals indefinitely," he said flatly. "From time to time I have to have human blood."