had known him in countless lives before.
The ringing of the doorbell interrupted her reverie. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she grabbed her robe and hurried downstairs.
She opened the door and exclaimed, "Oh, my!" at the sight that met her eyes. Her front porch was covered with red roses.In vases.In baskets.In boxes. And amid the flowers were stuffed animals and balloons, all bearing notes that said the same thing. "My heart beats only to see you again."
She picked a rose from one of the vases and inhaled the heady fragrance. "Oh, Dominic," she murmured. "This must have cost you a fortune."
It took several trips to carry it all into the house. When she was finished, her living room, bedroom, and kitchen looked like a florist shop. There were cute little stuffed bears and bunnies and puppies on every chair and on her bed. Vases and drinking glasses and pitchers were filled with roses that were beautiful and smelled divine.
She found herself smiling all through the day, whether she was painting a new seascape, watering the grass, or fixing dinner... she frowned as she tossed the salad. She had never seen Dominic eat, never seen him drink anything other than an occasional glass of wine. She never saw him during the day...
With a shake of her head, she pulled a bottle of bleu cheese dressing out of the fridge. Just because she hadn't seen him in the daytime and hadn't seen him eat didn't mean he was a vampire. Vampires were ugly, disgusting creatures with long fangs and hairy hands and foul breath who skulked in the shadows of the night preying on the innocent and unsuspecting, and...
"Stop it!"
Leaving the salad on the counter, untouched, she went upstairs to look at the painting she had done of him, noticing, for the first time, that it was no longer facing the wall, as she had left it. Who had turned it around? Why hadn't she noticed that before?
She stared at the painting, thinking again that it was the best, most lifelike portrait that she had ever done. His hair gleamed inky black in the light of the moon, his eyes seemed to follow her around the room; she could almost hear her name on his lips.
Turning the painting toward the wall, she left the room, and closed the door behind her.
He was at her door with the setting of the sun. He filled his eyes with the sight of her, his need to make her his almost overpowering. He had followed her through the centuries, never able to make her fully his, waiting impatiently for her soul to be born again, searching, always searching, until at last he found her again.
But this time she had found him. Had some deep inner need she was unaware of led her to this place, this house?To him? Had her soul been searching for him even as he had been searching for her?
Her smile looked strained when she opened the door."Hi, Dominic."
He frowned, aware of her nervousness. "Is something wrong?"
"No, why?"She stepped back, allowing him entrance to the house. Closing the door, she went into the living room, very much aware of the man behind her.
A faint smile curved his lips when they entered the living room. "I see you got the flowers."
She laughed softly. "Really, Dominic, you didn't have to send so many. They must love you at the flower shop."
"You should always be surrounded by roses," he said, moving toward her.
"Who are you?" The words slipped out, unbidden.
"You know who I am."
"Whatare you?"
"Search your mind, your heart. You know what I am."
"It's impossible. I don't believe it."
"The painting you did of me is most accurate."
She shook her head in denial. "No."
"I have followed you through the centuries. Always I have found you. But this time, you found me."
"What are you talking about?"
"This house.Why did you buy it?"
She frowned. "Why?Because I liked it, of course. It was just what I was looking for. What other reason could there be?"
"I live below this house."
"Below it?Like in the basement?"
"No. There is another house beneath this one."
"And you live there?"
He nodded.
"That doesn't mean you're a vampire."
"You know it is true."
"No." She didn't believe in vampires or ghosts or reincarnation. "If you're a vampire, prove it."
She had no sooner spoken the words than the air around her grew thick, charged with energy, like the buildup before a storm. Dominic's dark eyes blazed with an unholy light, his lips drew back to reveal his fangs. Preternatural power