He turned away from the window to find Karinna watching him, her brows drawn together in a frown.
"Have you been in love very many times?"
Of all the questions she might have asked him, this was the least expected.
"I've never been in love." His gaze moved over her, blatantly hot and hungry. "Though I've been in lust from time to time."
His voice, the look in his eyes, sent a wave of heat rushing through her. She cleared her throat. "What about your wife? Didn't you love her?"
"No. It was an arranged marriage."
"Oh. I've heard about those."
"They were quite common in my time. Some turned out happily," he said with a careless shrug. "Many did not."
"Was yours happy?"
"It was tumultuous. Rissa was an only child, badly spoiled, with a quick mind and a quicker temper. I am afraid I had no patience for either her tantrums or her jealousy." Looking back, he knew the lion's share of his failed marriage rested squarely on his shoulders. Though he had been faithful until he met Melina, he had been too involved in looking after the estate to give Rissa the attention she needed. "And what of you?" he asked. "A woman as lovely as you are must have had legions of lovers."
Kari laughed as she imagined countless men lined up at her front door, all eager to sweep her off her feet. In truth, she'd had only a couple of serious relationships before Ben, and none since then. She'd had lots of offers, but they weren't the kind of offers that interested her. She didn't believe in casual sex, had no interest in sleeping with a man just because he had taken her out to dinner or a movie. And nowadays, with the threat of AIDS and numerous other sexually transmitted diseases, well, she wasn't interested in dying for love, either.
"That's very funny," she said. "Legions of lovers."
"I was quite serious."
She couldn't help being flattered that he thought she was fighting men off with a stick. "I've never had a lover."
"Never?" From what he had seen and heard on the television, the men and women of this day were largely immoral, jumping in and out of various beds with or without the sanction of the church, changing partners as often as they changed the sheets.
"I've had boyfriends," Kari said defensively, "and we've come close to going all the way, but..." She shrugged. "I always came to my senses before it was too late."
He lifted one inquisitive brow. "You are untouched?"
"I know, I know, it's practically a crime to be a virgin in this day and age, but, oh, well, that's the way it is."
His gaze moved over her, settling on the pulse beating in the hollow of her throat. A maiden. He should have known when he tasted her that first night. There was nothing sweeter or more satisfying in all the world than virgin blood. Unless it ran through a witch's veins, he amended. But Karinna, ah, her life's blood had been sweet indeed. At the thought, his thirst rose up within him, hot and quick. A thirst for her blood. A hunger for her flesh.
As though reading his mind, she stood abruptly. "It's getting late," she said, "and I have to work tomorrow."
Her insides went all shivery when he closed the distance between them, folded his hands over her shoulders, bent down, and kissed her cheek. "Good night, then."
Blast the man. His kisses went to her head like champagne. One kiss, and she was ready to grab him by the arm and drag him upstairs. Instead, she forced a smile. "Good night."
She followed him to the front door and locked it behind him, wondering how long she would be able to resist the temptation that was Jason Rourke.
He was waiting for her in the living room when she got home from work the following night.
"I suppose that's another by-product of being a vampire," Kari muttered as she swept past him. "Breaking and entering."
"I did not break anything," he replied, looking offended.
Grinning, she shook her head. "It's just an expression. How did you get in?"
"Through the front door."
"It was locked."
He lifted one brow in wry amusement.
"Oh, right."
"I need a favor," he said. "Actually, a couple of them."
"Like what?" she asked, a note of suspicion in her tone.
"I should like to bathe, and I need a place to rest during the day."
She had expected him to request something far more sinister. "There's a bathroom down the hall," she said. "As for a place to rest..." She thought a moment. "If you're not claustrophobic, there's a little place out back. Hardly more than a shed, really. You could put a bed or a...a coffin out there. The windows are boarded up, and the roof doesn't leak."
Rourke frowned thoughtfully, then nodded. It would do until he could find something more permanent, more secure. "Thank you."
"You'll find clean towels under the sink in the bathroom." She blew out a breath. "I'll just go make dinner while you, ah, clean up."
Without waiting for an answer, she went into the kitchen.
She was scrambling a couple of eggs when the shower went on in the bathroom. All thought of food was instantly forgotten as her mind quickly conjured an image of Jason Rourke shedding his clothes and stepping into the shower.
"Girl, get a grip," she muttered. "It doesn't matter how gorgeous and sexy he is. The operative word is vampire. Remember that. V-a-m-p-i-r-e. As in undead, bloodsucking creature of the night."
But she couldn't stop picturing him standing in her shower clad in nothing but soapsuds, with water trickling down his arms and chest and regions farther south....
"Vampire, Kari," she muttered. "Vampire!"
She made toast and tea to go with the eggs, then went into the living room and sat down in front of the TV. She ate automatically, a naughty part of her mind picturing Rourke standing naked in her shower. She was surprised when she glanced at her plate and realized that even though she had eaten every bite, she had no memory of doing so.
She went suddenly still as the water went off in the bathroom and a host of new images flooded her mind.
Kari shook her head. What was the matter with her? She had seen other good-looking guys, even dated a few, but none of them had ever played havoc with her libido the way this one did. And he wasn't even human!
She felt that peculiar stir of awareness in the air when he entered the room. Setting her plate on the coffee table, she glanced over her shoulder. He was wearing a pair of tan slacks and a navy blue sweater that made his blue eyes look even darker.
He grinned at her, obviously aware that she found him attractive. It irritated her that she couldn't hide her feelings from him.
"A wonderful invention, hot running water," he remarked, sitting beside her.
She nodded. Of course, it was something she had always taken for granted, like her computer, her digital camera, and her cell phone. It was amazing to think of all the things she used on a daily basis that had been unheard of only a few years ago, things like fax machines and satellite TV, GPS systems and CD players and iPods. Not so long ago, movies had been made in black and white, cars had running boards and ran on gas that cost only twenty-five cents a gallon, phones had rotary dials, and computers had taken up a whole room. People had listened to music on vinyl records. Televisions hadn't come with remotes or had more than a hundred channels. Her great grandmother had used a wringer washing machine, dried her clothes on a line in the backyard, and typed on a manual typewriter. Kari blew out a sigh. Such things were as foreign to her as airplanes and automobiles were to him.
"I must ask for one more favor," he said, a note of regret in his voice.
"What do you need?"
"I need to find a coven."
"A coven!" she exclaimed. "Good grief, don't tell me you're a witch, too!"
His laughter, deep and rich, filled the air. "No, but I need to find one."
Kari frowned. How on earth did you go about finding a witch? Witches R Us? "Maybe the Internet," she remarked, thinking out loud. "You can find practically anything there."
She went to her desk and sat down. After booting up her computer, she went to Google and typed in covens. As always, she was amazed by the number of hits. There were over three hundred thousand listings for covens, pagans, and witches, as well as related links to books and movies. One link listed covens by age groups. There was a link to a Wiccan directory, listings for Wiccan clergy, New England covens, a site that debated the pros and cons of being a solitary practitioner or joining a coven.
"That one," Rourke said, pointing at a link that listed covens in Europe. Kari clicked on the site. It opened to something called "The Wiccan Rede." It sounded like advice for witches. She read a few lines out loud.
"Cast the Circle thrice about, To keep all evil spirits out. To bind the spell every time, Let the spell be spake in rhyme. Soft of eye an' light of touch--Speak little, listen much. When the Moon rides at Her peak, then your heart's desire seek. Widdershins go when the Moon doth wane, an' the Werewolf howls by the dread Wolfs bane."
Reading over her shoulder, Rourke asked, "Does it say how to get in touch with a witch?"
Kari searched the site and came up with an e-mail address. She explained what e-mail was and then asked, "What do you want to say?"
"Ask if they know of a wizard named Josef Vilnius, and if he still lives."
"You're kidding, right? How could he still be alive after such a long time?"
"Wizards live longer than mere mortals."
"Must be nice," Kari muttered. She thought a moment, then typed her message: I'm trying to locate a wizard named Josef Vilnius. If you have any information about him or his whereabouts, please let me know. Kari.
She hit SEND, did a little more searching, sent out five more e-mails, and signed off. "All we can do now is wait."
Rourke raked a hand through his hair. He had already waited three hundred years.
