Things in town could get a lot worse if he decided to stop providing them with food and drink. He didn’t have to heat their homes, buy them new clothes, or supply them with new books and movies to help pass the time.
He didn’t have to let them live.
All he had to do was withdraw his protection and they would be at the mercy of the other vampires.
She pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition, then sat there, her eyes closed, her hands gripping the wheel, as she waited for him to say something.
Minutes passed.
When she opened her eyes, he was gone.
With a sigh, she went into the house and locked the door. Then, feeling uneasy, she turned on all the lights in the living room. A quick glance showed he was nowhere in sight. Where had he gone? Why had he been so angry?
“Just like a man,” Kadie grumbled. “Can’t handle the truth.” Sitting on the sofa, she kicked off her shoes, then leaned back. Did he truly not understand how she and the others felt about being trapped in this place? Was she supposed to be grateful that he allowed her to live? Maybe he’d understand better if he’d ever been locked up.
A shimmer in the air, and he was beside her. “You think I don’t know what it’s like?” He stretched his legs out in front of him. “I’ve been locked up, Kadie, in a hole so deep and dark that no light penetrated. I was captured for a time during the Crusades. My only food was moldy bread and warm water, and I was glad to get it.”
“I’m sorry, but a prison is still a prison.”
He nodded. “Perhaps. But I would have given a year of my life for one day in a house like this, and another year for a hot bath and a decent meal. You think you and the others are being mistreated because I keep you here?” Standing, he removed his shirt, then turned his back to her.
Kadie gasped. From his shoulders to his waist, every inch of his skin was covered with a web of scars. Some were so faint as to be almost invisible. She had never noticed them before, but then, they always made love at night, often in the dark. The only one she’d been aware of was the long, ridged scar that ran from his shoulder to his waist.
He turned to look at her, his expression implacable. “I told you before. I need the women here. It isn’t safe for us to hunt outside right now.” He slid his arms into the sleeves of his shirt.
“You go outside.”
He shrugged. “I’m older, stronger. Smarter.”
“You care about the other vampires, don’t you?”
He lifted one brow.
“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t worry about them.”
He moved to the hearth, stood there, one arm braced on the mantel, staring at the coals. A fire sprang to life.
“You worry about them. I know you do. Why won’t you admit it?”
Keeping his back to her, he said, very quietly, “I’ve spent nine hundred years trying not to care. On the outside, vampires are very territorial. We rarely share space. What we have here is unusual for our kind, and it only works because they don’t have to hunt for prey. There’s no competition, no worry about where to hide the bodies. As for humans . . . They live such a short time. If you stay with them, eventually you have to bury them.” He shook his head. “Imagine how many women I could have watched wither and die if I’d allowed myself to fall in love.”
Kadie stared at his back. People always said they wanted to live forever but suddenly it didn’t seem like such a great idea.
She sat there for several moments, wanting to comfort him, but not knowing if her touch would be welcome.
Finally, she went to him. Hesitating a moment, she slid her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his back. “I’m sorry, Rylan.”
For a moment, his whole body went rigid. And then he turned and wrapped her in his embrace. He held her for a long time, one hand stroking up and down her back, his forehead pressed against hers.
“Kadie?”
It wasn’t a question, not really.
But she knew what he wanted. What she wanted.
Taking him by the hand, she led him up to her room and closed the door, shutting out the rest of the world.