Fire and Ash (Immortal Touch) (38 page)

It couldn’t be.

She blinked again, staring at the specter wordlessly, mouth parted in a failed attempt to speak. It was him. It was actually him. Ash, alive and unharmed, his body healthy and unmarred and as magnificent as ever. He wasn’t dead, wasn’t broken to shattered pieces on the ground outside. Not even close.

Dropping to his knees beside her, he slipped an arm underneath her back and lifted her gently into an upright position.
He was wet, soaked from the rain that had washed away whatever carnage there might have been. Feeling his familiar touch, she collapsed into him and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a sob. This was too much. It was just far too much to handle. How could he do this to her? How could he make her believe that he’d jumped to his death right in front of her?

“What’s the matter
, baby?”

What’s the matter?
She turned her wide, dazed eyes to him to convey the bewilderment she couldn’t yet manage to express vocally.

“I told you there was no fear in my world. You’ve got to learn to trust me
.”

She
could only stare at him wordlessly, unable to pull her gaze away from the beautiful sight of him.

“You with me?” Cupping her chin in his hand, he looked intently into her eyes. “Earth to Sami. Hello…”

“How did you do it?” she was finally able to croak.

“Were you impressed?” He grinned jubilantly.

“I saw you fall…”

“Freefall. You wouldn’t believe the adrenaline rush
- it was incredible!”

She shook her head in vehement denial. “No. I saw you. On the ground.”

“Yeah…I admit that part was kind of a ripoff. I never felt a damn thing. My body was almost completely repaired by the time I came to.”

Repaired?
He spoke as if his body was nothing more than a car engine that needed tuning. Crazy concepts of bionic replicas and terminators from the future sprang into her muddled mind. An organic form that could not be destroyed - what the hell was she dealing with here? An anthropomorphic government experiment gone haywire? Some highly intelligent life form that escaped military surveillance to blend in undetected with the general population? An
alien?

Or maybe he really had come from the sea.

Her question - the ultimate, burning question - came in the form of a hushed whisper. “Ash. What
are
you?”

“You still
haven’t guessed.” His lips brushed against her cheek, feather-soft. “How strong is your desire to know, my angel? Would you pay whatever price I demanded? Tell me, Samara…what is the truth worth to you?”

“Whatever you ask, I’ll give.”

“And if I asked for your very life? Would you give that to me?”

“It already belongs to you.” And that was her own stark truth. If it
was his intent to destroy her will, then he had succeeded and she had allowed it. Let him have her life. Samara Porter was already dead.

Against her skin, she felt his lips curve into a satisfied smile. “Then let me enlighten you.” With a gentle hand, he brushed her hair away from her neck as his blue eyes gleamed with a manic light. She shivered
with anticipation and the grim realization that she had arrived at last, had found her way to the end of the treacherous path. And he was there waiting for her.

“Are you ready to go someplace dark?”

~*~*~*~

“I’m telling you…I just saw someone fall off a balcony!”

Groans came from all six occupants of the overcrowded bedroom, and one hurled a poorly-aimed pillow his way while the others voiced their complaints loudly.

“Would you let us get some damn sleep!”

“I’m gonna kick your ass, man!”

“Don’t make me get up outta this bed, Randy.”

“I’m not screwin’ around!” the wired college freshman insisted. “I swear, you guys - I’m not makin’ this shit up - you gotta come look! Seriously!” He waved his arms toward the door excitedly.

Curled up on a makeshift pallet on the floor, one of
the boys summoned the energy to drag himself up. “I gotta see this. You better not be dickin’ us around.”

“I’m not…there’s somebody splattered all over the ground out here!”

Following Randy out into the messy living area that was littered with empty beer cans and pizza boxes, his buddy paused by the open sliding glass door. “You crazy? It’s raining like a motherfucker out there.”

“Just come look!”

Shaking his head and muttering profanities, the young man stepped out onto the wet balcony and looked over the railing. “Where? Show me.”

Randy started to point, then hesitated
uncertainly.

“
Well?
”

“It was right there. Right there…I swear. Fell from
somewhere above us and landed right there.”

“Man…you couldn’t find a parking space in an empty lot.”

“It was right there!”

“We’re on the
fourteenth floor, dumbass.”

“I know that!”

“What then…they just get up and walk away?”

“I ain’t makin’ this up!”

“Uh-huh. How many beers did you have tonight?”

“
Not that many! Not enough to see shit that ain’t there!”

“You can’t see nothin’
in this weather anyway. Prob’ly was a bird.” The boy retreated back inside. “Thanks a lot for gettin’ me all wet, dickhead.”

Randy scanned the ground below
once more before joining him. “If it was, it had to be the biggest damn bird I ever saw.”

~*~*~*~

His teeth were the first thing she felt.

Piercing her skin like the
sharp fangs of a snake, then withdrawing to allow her blood to trickle freely from her neck. And when she felt the rhythmic movements of his throat, she realized with numb disbelief that he was swallowing.

He was drinking her blood.

And the reality, the truth, the unbelievable conclusion finally hit her and she knew then that her sanguinary lover was the last thing she’d ever expected to find on a sunny beach in Florida.

He was a vampire.

Mythical or not, this was the culmination of what he was. Something other than human. Something incomprehensible. And it explained why he couldn’t drown. Couldn’t scar.

Couldn’t die.

Her arms drew him in - never had she felt closer to him than now, with her very life offered up to him - and she willingly surrendered all. If her blood was what was needed to keep him strong, then he would have it. Her infatuation eclipsed all rationale, all sense of right or wrong…the only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted him with every fiber of her being.

He began to pull away, his warm tongue reaching out to catch one last stray drop.

“Don’t stop,” she pleaded breathlessly.

Pressing his fingers against the small puncture wounds on her neck, he
told her softly, “I don’t need your blood. I fed earlier tonight.”

Inhaling shakily, Sami gazed
questioningly into his eyes.

“I wanted to make sure I had sufficient strength to heal as quickly as possible,” he explained. “But I do appreciate the offer.”

“Ash. You…you’re…”

“
I am not just a prosaic vampire. Yes, I do require the occasional few pints for the sake of survival, but that in itself is a trivial matter. I am by definition an immortal, but
what
I am should not be as important to you as
who
I am.”

“So
…
who
…are you?”

“The one who holds your
destiny in his hands.” He smiled serenely. “And not just yours, but others. You see before you the elder - the monarch of all immortals. I am more than a god. I am the ruler of gods. You will find no one on this earth with more power within their reach than me. No one. I can do what I want…be what I want…have what I want. And I’ve decided that in the interim…I want you. Provided you can pass one last test of faithfulness.”

“Test?” Her head was swimming with all
that he’d thrown at her.

“I know you won’t disappoint me. I have the utmost confidence in you.”
He removed his fingers from her neck and kissed it reverently. “I believe I’ve found in you a kindred spirit. How would you like to be immortal, Samara? To have the world at your feet and dominion in your hands...”

She felt her heart pound wildly
against her chest. “You’re going to make me like you?”

“That
’s the plan.”

“Now?”

“Not just yet. Like I said, you have one more bridge to cross.”

“Tell me what to do. Whatever it is, I’ll do it right now
- just tell me!”

He laughed, clearly pleased by her
unwavering devotion. “Save your enthusiasm for the appropriate time. I have to go away for a while. There’s some urgent business in Oregon that needs my attention.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Only for a few days.”

“Take me with you.”

“No.” Characteristic of him, he offered no explanation for his refusal.

Sami swallowed her
dismay. “Well…when are you leaving?”

“I have a colleague flying in from
California. As soon as he arrives, I’ll be on my way.”

“You will come back, won’t you?” She wasn’t sure why the insecurity, other than a remote part of her
that crept up to warn that this “business” of his involved something other than real estate transactions and hotel conferences. A chilling premonition sent icy fingers down her spine. With all that had happened, the simple mention of a business trip would be the most
normal
thing he’d said to her all night. Still, something didn’t feel right about it.

“Hell itself couldn’t keep me away.”
Sliding one hand underneath her skirt, Ash leaned forward and pressed her back down against the thick white carpet. “Enough talk now. I’ll tell you all you need to know later.”

She sighed blissfully at the
rousing feel of his hands on her. Yes, he was right…the horde of questions swarming around in her mind would keep. They weren’t nearly as important as this…

“Ash…I love you so much…”

He gazed down at her contentedly, with the smug look of a cavalier hunter who has just succeeded in trapping his prey.

“I know you do.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Are you coming with us to church, sweetie?”

Dane pulled the covers up closer to his chin and yawned loudly. “Not today.”

Clicking
over to his bed in high heels, Paula tucked the covers in around her sleepy son. Beneath the flowery scent of the perfume she saved to wear on Sundays and date nights with his dad, he could smell the faint aroma of her blood and he found that just plain freaky. His mother wasn’t supposed to smell like prime rib to him. That was just gross.

“I’ll fix you some lunch when we get back,” she told him.

“Um-kay.”

“Can I get you anything before I go?”

“No.” He wished she’d just leave already. This doting behavior was almost worse than her strict dictatorship.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom…I just wanna sleep in.”

“Okay. Well…call us if you need us.”
She closed the door behind her as she left.

Good grief. Was this what he could expect from now on? Poor, pathetic Dane. Imogen goes and gets herself killed, and suddenly he’s the object of everyone’s pity.

Well…everyone but Eva. She hadn’t minced any words with him last night. He’d made such a fool of himself, and it was still a mystery to him how he’d let himself get so out of control. Staring up at the ceiling, he felt the ridges of his fangs with his tongue. “I’m a vampire,” he announced out loud. The words sounded strange in the empty room. He tried again.

“
I vant…to suck…your blood!
” The ridiculous parody of a Romanian accent cracked him up and he rolled to one side, laughing hysterically to himself. He was no Bela Lugosi, that was for sure. Actually he would prefer to see himself as a young Frank Langella. Someone dark and mysteriously handsome…someone who could seduce a woman effortlessly. Too bad he looked nothing like that. He was lanky and his hair was a dirty blond. Then again, Mr. Winter was slender and fair-haired…which only proved that Eva must prefer that kind of thing, right?

“I’d like to drive a stake right through your heart, Blondie,” he muttered.
It was a very intriguing idea. If he could think of some way of sneaking into their house without detection, it might be worth risking. The thought of Mr. Perfect crumbling into a pile of dust was terribly appealing. Was that what would happen? He’d turn into a moldy old corpse, like in the movies?