"it isn't black magick," erik said. "just a little witchcraft."

she shook her head emphatically. "no way."

"megan, my love," rhys said, "don't be stubborn."

"why not?" she retorted. "you are."

rhys blew out an exasperated sigh. "it's different with me."

"all right, you two," erik said. "this isn't getting us anywhere. we can take the matter up again tomorrow. i'll go out and put the wards on the house, and then i need to find a place where daisy and i can spend the day."

"you can stay in my penthouse, if you like," rhys offered. "i'll be staying here."

megan looked at him, obviously surprised by this bit of news, but she didn't object.

erik nodded. "thanks."

rising, rhys pulled megan to her feet. "i'm going to go let them in, and then i'll be back."

"be careful."

"don't worry."

"right."

rhys drew her into his arms and kissed her soundly, then kissed her again, more tenderly. "i won't be gone long."

he followed erik and daisy outside, stood with daisy while erik cast a protective spell around the house. supernatural power electrified the air. rhys swore softly as it danced over his skin like thousands of tiny shocks, raising the short hairs along his arms and the back of his neck.

"that spell we talked about for megan," rhys said when erik finished casting the protective wards on megan's house. "can you work it on her without her knowing?"

"sure, that won't be a problem. the only thing is, i don't know if i can make it strong enough to repel villagrande."

"just do your best."

"but megan said..."

"never mind what she said. just do it."

"all right. i'll come back and take care of it later tonight."

"thanks. guess i owe you another one."

it took only minutes for the three of them to transport themselves to rhys's penthouse. rhys let erik and daisy in, invited them to make themselves at home, then quickly returned to megan's. she opened the door before he rang the bell.

"what the hell are you doing?" he demanded angrily. "why didn't you...?"

"blood bond," she reminded him with a saucy grin. "i knew it was you."

"think you're pretty smart, don't you?" he muttered as he closed and locked the door.

she stood on her tiptoes, pulled his head down, and kissed him. "it's going to be morning soon," she said, nipping at his lower lip. "do you want to stand here and argue until dawn?"

"what do you think?" swinging her into his arms, he carried her swiftly up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. "i think i can find a better way to pass the time."

chapter 35

"what about megan?" shirl asked as she slid under the covers beside tomas. "what's going to happen to her?"

he shrugged negligently. "i have no quarrel with her."

"but she's in love with rhys."

"that's unfortunate."

"i don't understand why you want to rule the west coast," shirl said, frowning. "i'd be perfectly happy to live in new york."

"you'll understand, in time." villagrande stroked her hair, a faraway look in his eyes. "when you live for hundreds of years, you can't help becoming bored now and then. i've grown weary of the east, so i've decided to stay here a while."

"but why does rhys have to leave?"

"master vampires don't share their territory."

she considered that a moment before asking, "what if he won't leave?"

the sudden narrowing of villagrande's eyes gave her all the answer she needed.

shirl rested her head on his shoulder. she was intrigued by tomas, awed by his power, addicted to his lovemaking. he had taught her much about being a vampire in the last few days, had regaled her with stories of his past. he had traveled the world many times, seen everything there was to see. it was almost impossible to comprehend just how old he was. he wasn't sure exactly when he was born, but he had known ancient kings and queens, fought in many battles in many countries, both on land and sea, visited america before the white man came.

living with him was exhilarating, fascinating. and a little frightening. he had been a vampire for so long, he seemed to have forgotten that he had once been human. after eons of being a vampire, he viewed mankind as nothing more than prey, to do with as he wished. he drank from the males. dallied with the females. sometimes he toyed with them before taking them. but he always killed them in the end.

she had disappointed him the other night. he had urged her to make her first kill, and even though she had wanted to please him, she hadn't been able to do it. the fact that he killed indiscriminately frightened her. would she one day be as cold and callous as he was? he had no friends that she knew of. he had lived alone on his fancy yacht for decades before she met him. thinking of friends brought megan to mind again. though she refused to admit it, she missed megan's friendship more than she would have thought possible.

thoughts of megan faded into the distance when tomas reached for her. shirl had been intimate with only two men in her lifetime, but they both paled beside him. she wondered how many other women he had loved.

she had asked him once, and he had laughed. it was the first time she had heard him laugh with such open amusement. when she had insisted on knowing what was so funny, he had patted her on the head as if she were a little girl who had asked a silly question.

"ah, my sweet innocent," he had replied, still grinning. "do you really expect me to remember after so many years?"

now, as his hands moved masterfully over her body, she didn't care if he had made love to one woman or a million. it didn't matter. nothing mattered but the touch of his hands deftly arousing her, the painful pleasure of his fangs against her skin, the unequaled delight of his flesh melding with hers.

she clung to him, never more vitally alive than when tomas made love to her. with her enhanced senses, she was acutely aware of everything around her-the tangy scent of the salt air, the gentle rocking of the boat, the sound of waves lapping against the hull. but, most of all, she was aware of the man who brought her to fulfillment again and again before the rising sun chased the moon and stars from the sky.

chapter 36

when megan woke in the morning, she was alone in bed. she frowned, wondering when rhys had left, and where he had gone. after inviting daisy and erik to stay at his penthouse, rhys had indicated he would be spending the day at her place. had he changed his mind and decided to go home?

sitting up, she hugged rhys's pillow to her chest, then buried her face in its softness, inhaling his unique scent. he had never stayed over. why not, she wondered, then shook her head. how could she be so obtuse? he obviously didn't want her to see him while he was at rest. she wondered if there was some kind of vampire law that prohibited vampires from spending the daylight hours with mortals? she shook her head. that sounded preposterous, even to her. so, what reason could there be? was it because he looked dead when he slept?

the thought made her shudder. she hadn't given much thought to that part of being a vampire. she knew they took their rest during the day, but she had assumed they slept like everyone else. did he dream?

did he wear pajamas? somehow, she didn't think so, but if he did, she was certain it would be bottoms only. black silk.

did he sleep in a coffin? she had been to his penthouse, seen his bedroom. no sign of a coffin there, but that didn't mean he didn't have one stashed away somewhere else.

shaking off her morbid thoughts, she went into the bathroom to shower and get dressed.

megan had just finished breakfast when a delivery man arrived with a single, perfect red rose in a smoked crystal bud vase. she didn't have to read the card to know it was from rhys, but of course, she read it anyway. it said simply, "i love you. rc."

an hour later, another delivery man showed up on her doorstep bearing two red roses in a blown glass vase with a card that said, "i'm counting the hours until i can see you again. rc."

she received four red roses and a heart-shaped balloon an hour later. the note said, "i'm thinking of you. rc."

she was waiting at the door when the next delivery arrived. eight perfect red roses in an elegant silver vase, and a heart-shaped box of belgian dark chocolates. the note said, "i can't wait to kiss the chocolate off your lips. rc."

an hour later, she received sixteen long-stemmed blood red roses in a waterford crystal vase. the card read, "see you soon, my love. rc."

whether she was changing the sheets on her bed or mopping the kitchen floor, megan couldn't stop smiling. he loved her. she laughed softly as she stuffed a load of towels into the dryer. sure, he was a vampire, but no relationship was perfect. they still had a lot of issues to discuss and decide, but she was confident they could work things out. and if they couldn't...? she shook her doubts aside, determined to ignore the negative and focus on the positive.

megan had just finished clearing the dinner dishes when the doorbell rang. she glanced around the living room as she went to answer the door, thinking the room looked like a florist shop that specialized in exquisite red roses.

she smiled as she started to open the door and then, without knowing why, she hesitated, her hand on the latch. "who is it?"

"it's me, shirl. why won't my key work?"

"i changed the lock," megan said, and then, taking a deep breath, she added, "you're not welcome here."

"meggie, what are you saying?"

"i'm sorry, but you can't come in." megan closed her eyes against a sudden rush of tears. shirl had been her best friend for years. and then she frowned, certain that shirl wasn't alone. she could almost taste the preternatural power coming from the other side of the door, power far too strong to belong to a fledgling vampire.