"It's near dawn," he said, pressing a kiss to her brow. "I've got to go."
"No, stay."
"I can't."
"Then take me with you."
"No."
Insist on it. the voice inside her head demanded.Don't let him leave you behind .
"Please, Navarre. I want to stay with you all day."
"No, Annie. I don't want you to... I don't want to frighten you."
"You won't."
"Annie, don't ask this of me."
"I am asking." She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears. "Please don't leave me. I'm so afraid when you're gone." Her eyes went blank for a moment, and then she smiled. "Please, Navarre, this will give me a chance to see what it's like for you during the day. Please?"
Everything within warned him to say no, but he couldn't help thinking it might be a good idea for her to see, firsthand, how he spent the day, the deathlike sleep that held him in its power. And if she got scared, she could always leave.
Knowing he might be making a terrible mistake, he wrapped her in a blanket, lifted her into his arms, closed his eyes, and willed himself to the place where he rested during the day.
Adrianna blinked, and blinked again, bewildered by the sudden change of surroundings. "Where are we?"
"An ancient underground graveyard."
"Are we still in Moreno Bay?"
"No." Gently, he put her down. A blink of his eye brought a fat white candle sputtering to life.
Her eyes seemed huge in a face gone suddenly pale as she stared at the rotting timber above her head, wrinkled her nose at the smell of death and decay.
Shivering, she huddled deeper into the folds of the blanket. "Why did you bring me here?"
"I needed a new place to rest."
"Why?"
"Because too many people know about Cliff House."
"No one knows except me."
"And Shaylyn."
"But she's gone."
"Is she?" He took hold of her arm, his grip like steel. "Has she turned you against me?''
"No!" She winced as she tried to twist out of his grasp. "Please, Navarre, you're hurting me."
"I'm sorry." He released his hold on her immediately.
"Couldn't you have found a more pleasant place to rest?"
"I was in a hurry when I came here. A vampire is vulnerable during the hours of the day, Adrianna." His gaze pierced her heart and soul. "Never, in all my existence, have I let anyone, mortal or vampire, know where I took my rest. Until you."
"Navarre..."
Be silent!
"What's wrong?" He watched her carefully, wondering what she was hiding.
"Nothing." She glanced at the dirt beneath her feet with dismay. "Do you sleep on the ground?"
"No." He picked up the candle with one hand, held out his other hand in silent invitation.
She didn't hesitate as she put her hand in his and let him guide her deeper into the catacombs. Gradually, the passageway widened, and she saw a pile of quilts and blankets spread on the ground.
Navarre placed the candle on a flat rock, then drew Adrianna into his arms. "Are you sure you want to stay here?"
She nodded, her eyes wide, guileless.
"Will you make love to me before I sleep?"
At her nod, he drew her down onto the blankets. He wondered briefly if he was making the biggest, most fatal mistake of his existence, but then there was no more time for thought, there was only the woman in his arms, and the magic of her touch filling him with light and love where before there had been only darkness and loneliness...
Adrianna sat bolt upright, her whole body trembling as she glanced around the cavern, her heart pounding with dread.
"She's coming!" She grabbed at Navarre's arm, shaking him, willing him to wake up.
The panic in Adrianna's voice penetrated his daytime slumber.
"Navarre, wake up! She's coming!"
Adrianna needed him. The knowledge severed the darkness that held him fast.
"Navarre!"
He knew, an instant before it was too late, that they were no longer alone. Thrusting Annie behind him, Navarre struggled to his feet.
"You've done well, my foolish little mortal," Shaylyn said smugly. "And now you will finish what you have begun."
Adrianna stared up at the vampire woman. "What do you mean?"
"I mean to destroy him, and you shall be the instrument of his destruction."
"No!"
"Oh, yes."
"I won't. You can't make me."
"Can't I?" Eyes narrowed, Shaylyn stared at Adrianna. Her lips curled back in a hideous smile as Adrianna dropped to the ground and began to writhe in pain.
"Shaylyn," Navarre rasped. "Leave her alone." He swayed on his feet as the darkness sought to enfold him. "Why are you doing this?"