The Vampire & the Reporter (4 page)

Naked! Kyra stared down at her bare flesh in stunned disbelief. She’d put on her favorite red T-shirt before going to bed, she was certain of that much. Riotous curls tumbled wildly about her face while she scanned the floor next to her bed; perhaps she’d tossed it away in the night. Nothing. Frantically, she searched the covers for evidence of the materi
al. Her tender muscles complained again from her
hysterical movements.

It’s got to be here somewhere
, she told herself, pushing at the thick coverlet.
Long moments later she gave up the search; o
ne thing was for sure besides the covers the only thing in the bed was her. Kyra scanned the area around the bed again
thankful for the little ray of light peeking its way through
. Her h
eart stop
ped
when she spotted white material in
front of the floor length mirror
across the room.
Time seemed to slow down around her.
Part
of her knew, without
examination, what the
small bundle was
.

“
It can’t be
,” she mu
ttered
. The floor was cool beneath her feet when she slid from the bed.

It was just a dream
, the thought reverberated
in her skull. She edged closer.
Kyra’s heart sa
nk when she recognized the pale silk
as the
chemise from her dream
.

* * *

His future
sotie’s
extreme distress awakened him from a much needed rest. Dumitri had lain awake for hours watching her sleep at his side, as if she realized her natural place
next to him
. It w
asn’t until well after dawn he
retreated to his own rooms for a deep slumber. Now he lay awake in complete darkness, regulating his breathing and making the necessary internal adjustments to his body that would allow him to walk in daylight. Soon he wouldn’t need to go through such measures
, but he couldn’t think on it
now. Kyra needed him.

Calm yourself, little one. I am coming
.

* * *

Up And Coming Reporter Cracks Up In Transylvanian Castle!

That’s what the headline would read if she stayed in the place a moment longer, Kyra thought as she shoved clothes back into suitcases she hadn’t remembered unpacking. Sheila could pitch as many fits as she wanted whe
n she heard about the
early return. She didn’t care. Not even her job was worth her sanity.

She’d dressed quickly after hearing Dumitri Dracul’s voice in her head
again
, this time unable to chalk it up as jetlag or a dream state. It was real, as if he’d stood
next to her and whispered in her
ear
.

Certain
she hadn’t gotten everything but not bothering to look around
for missed items
, Kyra zipped her bags and picked up the light cases, making for the door without so much as a backward glance.

“Are you going somewhere,
meu dulciuri
?” Dumitri greeted
as she barreled into his
chest.

Even at five-foot-eight, her neck craned back to look up at him. She took several retreating steps back into the room.

“I
-I
have to leave. I’ve fo
rgotten some very urgent
matters back home,” she lied lamely.

“Such
as?” He followed her inside, the door closing slowly behind him of its own volition.

“They are personal matters.” She tried to look una
ffected by the reality of being
in close
d
quarters with him. “Ma
tters that involve my boyfriend,
”
she forced firmness to her explanation.

He arched a dark brow.
“The football player, William Southerland, if memory serves me correctly.”

How did he know that
?

“Yes, William and I have become quite serious but we didn’t part on the best of terms. So I’m sure you’ll understand if I leave now.”

“No.”

“No?” She wasn’t surprised by his single
word
response.

“As I told you last night,
meu dulciuri
, I am a very jealous man. I will not allow you to run to the arms of another
man
.” The storm raging in his eyes belied the calmness of his tone.

“You can’t stop me from leaving.” Her voice sounded weak to her ears.

“Can’t I?”

She stared in stunned silence, digesting the truth of his words. Although he stood there in an unbuttoned ruffled shirt and form fitting pants, she could see there was nothing foppish about him. He could physically keep her
in the
room if he wanted, not to mention keeping her in the castle.

“What do you want from me?” she asked in exasperation.

“Everything,” he answered with a passion that sent a shiver down her spine. “The other guests are waiting. Why don’t you freshen up and join them for breakfast,” he suggested, as if
she hadn’t just announced her departure
. “Be sure to ring for Ivan. I wouldn’t want
you to get lost wandering around
.”

Dumitri stood for several seconds regarding her rigid stance. She was confused, frightened even. He could read her without telepathically touching her mind, so raw and pure were her emotions.

He felt a slight twinge of regret at what he would have to subject her t
o for her to truly become his mate
. Last night was only the first st
ep in their bonding. The others
would require his total domination of her. He still needed to complete two full blood exchanges for her body to go through the awakening. His cock hardened at the thought of his incisors sinking into her warm, dark flesh, her life’s blood flooding his senses like the most potent aphrodisiac.

“If you dally here too long, I will take it as an invitation,” he said roughly, allowing his incisors to lengthen just enough for her to glimpse them.

“What are you?” She couldn’t mask the quiver in her voice.

“I am Count Vilhelm Dumitri Dracul, the one known as Count Dracula.”

She bit her lip at hi
s admission. It was insane
. This all had to be a part of the castle’s show, the “journey” tha
t Dumitri spoke about yesterday
.

Be quick, meu dulciuri
, came his mental parting.

Kyra’s eyes rounded at the telepathic communication.
Meu dulciuri
. He’d called her that last night in her dream
…
which really hadn’t been a dream.

What was going on? She remained rooted to the
spot for several moments after
he left while recent events played over in her mind. The beginnings of a headache threatened.

You are going to make yourself ill. Do not worry ove
r these things. You will become
accustomed to your new life
.

Fat chance
. She yelled the mental response.
And stay out of my head
.

* * *

When Kyra was finally escorted into the dining room, the hodge-podge
group
of attendees was
finishing up their breakfast. She breathed a sigh of relief at Dumitri’s absence, not wanting to confront him
again. The chair she dropped into offered a reprieve to her unsteady legs
.
Greetings were briefly directed at her in the form of curt nods or quick good mornings, but it barely halted the conversation she’d joined.

“At the risk of sounding
a little,” the French man began, “D
id anyone else experience anything strange last night?”

There was a pregnant pause while the guests glanced around the table as if to ga
u
ge the others’ reactions.

Kyra was
n’t
ready to share
her erotic
ally surreal encounter with the
strangers
nor any of the other oddness she’d experienced since stepping foot in the castle
.
But there was a spark of hope
at the possibility she wasn’t alone in the weirdness.

“What happened to you?”
she encouraged the French man trying to keep her tone neutral.

“I dreamt… well, at least I thought I dreamt, that someone was in my room last night.”

“Go on,” encouraged the Spanish woman.

“It was a woman who appeared as real to me as you all sitting here.”

“Did she
do or
say anything?” Kyra asked.

“She said she wanted to know I was
Worthy
, or something like that
.”

“Worthy of what?” the Greek asked.

The questioned man sat silently wistful for several seconds, absently rubbing at a spot on his neck. “She didn’t say.” His voice sounded faint.

“Well what did she look like?” the British man wanted to know. “We can’t just have some villager roaming about in our rooms. She could be a common thief.”

“She wasn’t,” the Frenchman answered with certainty.

“
This evening marauder must be reported
to Mr. Dracul immediately
,” the Brit
ish woman chimed in. “And I’ll
be certain to lock my door this evening until this woman is apprehended.”

“What about anyone else?” The Spanish woman looked around the table with urgency.

“I believe I heard voices in my room,” the Greek man volunteered quietly.

“Voices?” the Spanish woman queried.

He nodded slowly but added no additional information.
The questions stopped and for several uncomfortable moments everyone seemed to retreat within their own thoughts. Kyra wasn’t sure who introduced the next topic of conversation but it offered a diversion from the uncomfortable topic and they all pounced on the mundane subject.

***

After breakfast Ivan announced that the guests could have access to the castle’s garden and first floor level for photo opportunities or general exploration. Not daring to be alone for fear of encountering Dumitri again, Kyra partnered up with the Spanish woman who had introduced herself as Cecilia Fuentes.

“So what happen
ed to you last night?” Cecilia
began after they’d snapped several shots of the castle’s exterior in silence.

“I didn’t say anything happened,” Kyra responded quickly, feigning interest in the colorfully manicured flowers.

“You didn’t have to. It was written all over your face.”

“I’d rather not discuss it.” Kyra snapped several more shots, although she wasn’t certain at what she aimed.

“Do you think it was real or an illusion?”

The denial was poised on her lips but the possibility of having someone to confide in silenced it. There was no way she could tell her editor what transpired last night.
And William, well that was just out of the question. I
mages of the night before came back to her with a vengeance. She remembered everything in such vivid detail
and it all seemed so real
.

“I don’t know,” she
lied, looking out into the distance at nothing in particular.

Cecilia spoke after a long silence. “Something happened to me too.”

Kyra turned questioning eyes on her.

“A woman and man came to my room.”

“Did they say anything?”

“Not to me directly. They
knew I was there but didn’t bother to
acknowledge my presence. It was as if they wanted me to watch them. They looked like humans but… w
eren’t. Their eyes glowed
like a cat’s and they had
… they had
fangs.” Cecelia had a di
stant look in her eyes. “
Dios m
i
o
, they bit at each other, as if it were turning them on, like animals. I couldn’t stop watchi
ng. I felt compelled to do so
. Truth-be-told, the scene was very
…
erotic,” she finished with a
shameful
whisper, even though they were the only two in the garden.