She was trembling and she couldn’t stop. It had seemed so real. Afraid of what she might find, she lifted her hand and touched her neck and then, to make sure, she went into the bathroom and turned on the light. She turned her head from side to side, but she didn’t see any telltale bite marks.
She breathed a sigh of relief. A nightmare. Of course, it had only been a nightmare. It wasn’t surprising, she thought, considering the movie she had seen earlier that night and what she had recently discovered about her parents.
Cara was getting ready to go to work the next day when Vince called, “just to say hello.”
They had been chatting for a few minutes when he said, “All right, darlin’, tell me what’s wrong.”
“What makes you think there’s anything wrong?” she asked.
“I can hear it in your voice. Are you mad at me because I missed dinner last night?”
“Of course not. Don’t be silly.”
“Then what is it?”
She hesitated a moment, then said, “It’s nothing, really. Just a bad dream that I had.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“I don’t know. It was nothing, really, but, well, in my dream, I went to visit my parents. I was in their house and suddenly it didn’t look like their house anymore. The walls were red and all the doors and windows were gone. I was looking for a way out when my father suddenly appeared behind me and told me it was time, and when I asked time for what, he smiled a horrible smile and I saw his fangs. ‘Time to join us,’ he said, and he dragged me toward the sofa and then…this is so silly.”
“Go on. What happened next?”
A nervous laugh escaped her throat. “All of a sudden it wasn’t my father bending over me.”
Vince held his breath as he waited for her to go on. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when she said, “It was you.”
Chapter 28
Muttering an oath, Vince said, “Hey, darlin’, don’t let it worry you. It was only a bad dream.”
“I know, but it seemed so real.”
“You know how nightmares are,” he said. “Your dad told you I was a vampire and your subconscious remembered it, that’s all.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Sure. Maybe we can go look for Halloween costumes.”
“Costumes?” Vince exclaimed. “For who?”
“For us. We need to shop early, before the good ones are all gone.”
“Wait a minute. What do I need a costume for?”
“To hand out candy on Halloween, of course.”
“You wear a costume for that? I don’t believe it.”
“It’s tradition,” she said. “Mom and Dad always…I just thought…”
“Hey, if you want to dress up, we’ll dress up. What are you going to be?”
“I’ve always been a witch.”
“I’ll bet you make a pretty one, too. So, what do you want me to be?”
“Whatever you want.”
Vince grunted softly. One thing was for certain, he wouldn’t be dressing as a vampire!
He met Cara at her house when she got off work later that night. Together, they drove to a costume shop that stayed open late during the week. Di Giorgio followed them at a discreet distance.
Upon entering the shop, Vince realized he never should have come. There were full-length mirrors at intervals throughout the store. It took some fancy footwork on his part to avoid them. Fortunately, Cara was too engrossed in looking at costumes to notice.
Vince pulled a pale blue princess costume from one of the racks. “I like this one,” he said, holding it out to her.
“Oh, it is pretty,” Cara said.
“I know you’ve always been a witch for Halloween,” he said, “but if you were a princess, I could be a knight.”
Cara grinned, remembering how Sarah Beth had called Vince her knight in shining armor. “Okay, I’ll go try it on. Why don’t you look for a knight costume?”
“Will do.”
He kissed her on her way, then wandered through the shop until he found what he was looking for.
A short time later, Cara emerged from the dressing room. “What do you think?” she asked, twirling in front of him.
Vince whistled softly. “You look beautiful, darlin’.” The dress was the exact blue of her eyes. The low-cut, fitted bodice displayed a generous expanse of creamy flesh and showed off her delectable curves.
“Thank you. Did you find a costume?”
He nodded.
Cara looked at it and frowned. “A black knight?” She shook her head. “I should have known.”
“You ready to go?” he asked.
“Aren’t you going to try that on?”
“Not now. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Where to now?” she asked when they left the shop.
“I should probably take you home,” he said. “It’s late.”
“It’s not that late,” she said, pouting prettily.
“It won’t hurt you to get to bed at a decent hour,” he said. “I’ve been keeping you up pretty late the last few weeks.”
She smiled at him. “I’m not complaining, am I?”
He slipped his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. “See that you don’t.”
When they reached her house, he walked her to the door. “Sweet dreams, darlin’.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come in for a little while?”
“Not tonight.” As much as he wanted to be with her, he hadn’t yet fed and didn’t trust himself to make love to her when the hunger burned within him. Drawing her into his arms, he kissed her, savoring her sweetness, yearning to carry her to bed and satisfy all of his cravings.
Summoning all the willpower he possessed, Vince put her away from him. Another kiss like that and he wouldn’t be responsible for what happened next.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night,” he said and hurried down the stairs toward his car. He could feel Cara’s gaze on his back as he opened the door and slid behind the wheel. Rolling down the window, he waved to her as he pulled away from the curb.
What would she think if she knew where he was going and why? Silly question, he thought. She had made her views on vampires quite clear. He felt an unwanted twinge of guilt for leaving her, yet staying would have been a very bad idea.
Lashed by his hunger, he sped toward The Nocturne. It had become one of his favorite haunts, a place where he could sit and contemplate his future, order a drink, or find prey. Tonight, he didn’t want a glass of lukewarm blood and he didn’t want to think about the future. He wanted to hunt—to find a pretty woman, take her in his arms, and satisfy his hellish thirst.