Mary gasped in surprise and caught at his arms as she stumbled against him, then went still as his mouth suddenly covered hers. Nothing about those dreams she’d had last night had prepared her for this kiss. She’d thought they were hot and exciting in her dreams, but in reality those had been tepid in comparison to the sensations that exploded inside Mary as Dante took advantage of her startled gasp and slid his tongue in to invade her mouth.
Despite all her beliefs about the age difference and the lectures she’d given herself, Mary didn’t hesitate more than a moment under the onslaught of passion that tore through her before wrapping her arms around his big shoulders and kissing him back with all the vigor he was dishing out. When Dante responded by immediately catching her under the upper legs and lifting her against his body, to set her on the kitchen counter, she wrapped her legs around him and drew him even closer than he already was. Feeling the hard proof of his response to their kiss grind against her, she moaned into his mouth and tightened her legs around him even more, her hands now moving over his shoulders and then down his chest, to feel and squeeze his hard pectoral muscles.
Dante growled in response, the sound vibrating into her mouth and sending tingles running through her body. It encouraged her to drop her hands to tug at his T-shirt, eager to feel his hot, tight flesh under her fingers.
Dante immediately stopped kissing her to help with her efforts, tugging the shirt up and dragging it off over his head. His hair was caught briefly in the neckline and then dropped around his face like a curtain as he tossed the cloth away. Mary promptly dove her fingers into the silky mess and tugged him back to kiss her again. But she couldn’t seem to stop touching him. Her hands were aching with the need to run over his warm skin. He felt so good, his kisses were so hot, and he smelled like every man should. Mary was torn in every direction, wanting his kisses, but wanting to push him away and look at him and feel him up too. It was madness, utter madness, and she could have happily drowned in it.
She was vaguely aware of Dante’s hands at the waistband of her shorts, and felt the give as he undid them, and yet she still gasped in surprise when his hand slid between the cloth and her skin to touch her. Mary froze briefly, her hands and mouth stilling, then pulled back and cried out as he reached her core and his fingers slid over the nub of her excitement.
Dante immediately lowered his head to kiss her again, his tongue thrusting into her in concert with his caress and Mary gave up her own caresses to clutch at his shoulders. Her back automatically arched, forcing him to bend over her as she pushed on the front of the cupboards with her feet, urging her hips forward into his touch. The action loosened the cloth of her shorts, somehow, giving him more room, and Dante immediately slid one finger into her while continuing to caress her nub with his thumb.
Mary broke their kiss again and threw her head back on a cry of pleasure, her body beginning to vibrate and shake. She was approaching the orgasm she’d never got to experience in her dreams last night thanks to Bailey constantly waking her, and that’s when someone knocked at the door to the RV.
Both she and Dante froze at the sound, their eyes meeting and locking for a heartbeat before the knock sounded again and reality came crashing down on Mary. Who she was, who he was, where she was and what she was doing all suddenly poured over her like a bucket of cold water.
“Mary,” Dante hissed desperately, but it was too late, she was already pushing him away from her.
Sliding off the counter before he could stop her, Mary moved several steps away, doing up her shorts as she went. She then ran her fingers quickly through her hair and called out, “Come in.”
It was only as she said it that Mary realized how foolish that might have been. It was daytime; the campground gates would be open now and it could be the kidnappers at the door. If there really were kidnappers, she thought to herself as she watched the door open. She relaxed a little when Dave stepped up into view.
“I was starting to think you two weren’t here,” Dave said cheerfully, glancing from her to Dante.
“I was napping and Dante was in the bathroom when you knocked. I came out of the bedroom just as he came out of the bathroom,” Mary lied glibly, wondering if he’d believe her or he’d heard them as he’d approached. Even if he hadn’t they probably looked like they’d been doing exactly what they’d been doing. Certainly Dante’s lips were swollen from their kisses, his face still flush, and he was still topless and sporting a bulge in his jeans that would not be mistaken for a wallet.
Fortunately, he was standing glaring at her with his back to Dave, so it was only her state that might give them away. Hopefully her claim that she’d been napping would cover any rumpled state. If her lips were swollen and she was flush . . . well, they were all getting older and the light in the RV wasn’t that great at the moment. Perhaps Dave wouldn’t notice, she thought hopefully.
“Oh, sorry for disturbing you. You did mention you didn’t sleep well last night. I would have let you sleep had I known,” Dave assured her apologetically, then smiled wryly and added, “We should really get Do Not Disturb signs like the hotels have, but for the RVs. Then we’d know when not to bother guests.”
Mary smiled politely at the suggestion, and simply waited for him to explain the reason he’d come. She normally would have been much more friendly, but what Dante had told her about this man was in her mind now and she was looking at him differently.
“I just stopped in to tell Dante there are a group of young people over at the pool,” Dave announced into the silence and then winked at Dante when he turned to face him and added, “A lot of pretty girls in the group too. You might like to join them. That way Mary can visit with Carol and I for a bit.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Mary said at once, eager to get some time alone to try to straighten herself out. She needed space to recover from what had happened and figure out how to make sure it didn’t happen again as well as how she was supposed to act around Dante now.
Mary was looking at Dave, so noticed when his expression suddenly went blank before he turned, and closed the RV door. He then turned back and simply stood there, eyes dull, face expressionless.
“Dave? Are you all right?” she asked uncertainly, moving up beside Dante to see Carol’s husband better when he just stood there unmoving. When Dave showed no reaction at all to her question, Mary stared at him with bewilderment, then glanced to Dante and noted the concentration on his expression as he eyed Dave. She glanced slowly back to Dave then, and for one moment believed Dante might really be controlling him. But believing that meant buying his nonsense about being a vampire, and she just couldn’t accept that. Mouth tightening, she arched an eyebrow at Dante.
“What is this?” Mary asked now with disgust. “A prank the two of you planned together at breakfast?”
Dante didn’t respond, but Dave suddenly dropped to his hands and knees on the floor and barked at them, then lowered his head to begin lapping up water out of Bailey’s dish. As he did, Bailey, who had jumped back up on the bench seat at some point, now lifted her head to watch him with interest. But then she just laid her head back down and closed her eyes.
“Dave!” Mary said with dismay and took a step toward him, then stopped and turned to Dante with horror.
“Stop it!” she demanded, moving in front of him and thumping him on the chest with one fisted hand. “Stop it now!”
Dante caught her arms before she could hit him again and peered past her to Dave.
Mary glanced over her shoulder to see Dave getting to his feet. His face was still expressionless and he didn’t speak at all, but simply moved in front of the steps leading down to the door, then stood there unmoving. She swiveled her head back to Dante and scowled at him furiously. “If you really are controlling him and this isn’t some kind of trick you two cooked up, then you’re being exceedingly cruel,” she muttered, trying to tug her arms free of his hold.
Dante merely held on and shrugged. “He is unharmed.”
“Except for his pride,” she snapped, tugging again. “You made him act like a dog.”
“His pride is fine. He will not recall this,” Dante said gently, and then his voice turning cold, he added, “Although it would serve him right if I left him the memory. He has been sniffing around you like a dog all morning.”
“What?” Mary squawked with disbelief. “He has not! He walked with us to the restaurant and joined us for breakfast with his wife,” she said pointedly. “Dave and Carol have been friends for years.”
“Dave has been lusting after you for years,” Dante countered dryly. “And this year planned to take advantage of your missing Joe, get you drunk, and take advantage of you when he so kindly offered to drive you back to the RV last night. The knowledge that I was with you and would return any moment with Bailey is the only reason he didn’t try it last night. But he came here this time with the intention of sending me off to “have fun with the young people at the pool” so that he could try it now. Those are the actions of a human dog.”
“He was going to take me back to visit with Carol,” she reminded him with exasperation. Dante was sounding like a jealous lover, which was just ridiculous. He wasn’t her lover and . . . well, hell, Joe had never shown a lick of jealousy in all the years they were married. Why would this young man, when they hardly knew each other?
“Carol is not at the offices,” Dante said firmly. “She has driven into town to get the mail. He had no intention of taking you anywhere but to your bed. He is a dog,” he growled, and then glared at Dave and added, “Although that seems to me to be an insult to Bailey and her kind. She would never behave in so unsavory a manner.”
Mary gaped at him, then turned to peer over her shoulder at Dave again before saying weakly, “I don’t believe it.”
“Nevertheless, it is true,” Dante said quietly. “He thinks you aged better than Carol, and, like me, thinks you have a lovely smile and nice figure. He has been lusting after you for decades and only Joe’s presence prevented him from acting on it before this. He was afraid your Joe would beat the hell out of him if he ever found out.”
Mary shook her head, finding this impossible to believe.
“Although, he nearly took a chance and tried to bed you that time the four of you were on vacation in a cottage up north and were all in the hot tub. You got out, wrapped a towel around yourself and went in to get more wine for everyone. He followed on the pretext that he needed to use the washroom. But the truth is you were drunk and he hoped to be able to talk you into a ‘quickie.’ However, Carol followed to see if she could help you and he was unable to make the attempt.”
Mary stiffened. The trip he was talking about had been ages ago. At least fifteen years ago, she thought. She hadn’t told him about it, and was quite sure no one else had mentioned it today either. How could he have known about that trip without reading minds? Still she shook her head in denial.
“What do I have to do to convince you that what I say is true?” Dante hissed with frustration.
Mary just lowered her head. She had no idea. Perhaps there was nothing he could say to convince her. The truth was, Mary had some serious trust issues and she knew it.
Sighing, Dante released her and moved past her to approach Dave. Mary turned slowly, frowning with concern as she watched Dante stop behind the other man. Trepidation rippled along her back in the silence that followed, and then Dante bent and lowered his head to Dave’s neck.
Mary blinked in bewilderment. Did Dante plan to make out with everyone? First her, then Dave. Who was next? Carol? One of the workers here? Did it even matter if it was a man or woman?
Hurt and suddenly angry, Mary hurried forward and caught his arm to jerk him away from Dave. Dante straightened and turned to her and she gasped and took a step back. It was Dante, but not Dante. This Dante looked exactly like the one she knew except that instead of the normal, white teeth she’d seen so many times when he smiled, his canines were now fangs, and they were presently coated with blood.
Dave’s blood, Mary realized as she glanced to the other man and saw the marks on his neck. They were carbon copies of the marks she’d noted on the necks of Dr. Jenson and a couple of the truck drivers as they’d come out of the RV, smiling and calm. She’d noted the same marks on one of the EMTs too, she recalled.
Dante shifted and Mary glanced to him sharply. Noting that he’d turned his attention to Dave again, she glanced to the other man and watched him walk down the three steps to the door. He opened it and walked out of the RV, a calm smile on his face just like the ones the truckers had worn.
Mary took a nervous step back when Dante turned to her, but his fangs were gone and every trace of blood with them.
“Now do you believe?” he asked, moving slowly forward.
Mary swallowed and continued to retreat, one step for every one he took forward.
“I am an Atlantean,” Dante said proudly. “Immortal. I need blood to survive. Normally we only feed from bagged blood. In fact, it is against our laws for us to feed directly from mortals, except in emergencies, when we are without bagged blood and in need. Then we may feed on mortals as I just did.”
“Dave,” she began weakly.
“Is fine and will not remember it so long as I don’t spend much time around him,” he said grimly.
“Oh,” she breathed and then felt her knees give way. Mary was sure she was going to hit the floor and even tried to prepare herself for the impact, but she’d backed all the way to the bedroom and instead of hitting the floor, her fall was brought up short when she dropped to sit on the bed.
Mary blinked in surprise as she bounced on the cushioned surface, and then blinked again when Dante immediately dropped to kneel before her and took her hands in his. He started to look up at her, but then paused and glanced back to her hands with a frown. “You are so cold.”
Mary made a sound in her throat that could have meant just about anything. Even she didn’t know what it signified other than her confusion at that moment.
Concern on his face, Dante began to chafe her hands. As he did, he said, “My brother and I were born in 1906. I am over a hundred years old. I cannot read or control you. Among my people that means you are a possible life mate for me.”
“What’s a life mate?” she asked with bewilderment.
“The one person we cannot read or control and whom we may be happy with for all our days. Our mate for our very long lives,” he said solemnly.
“And you think because you cannot read or control me I’m this life mate for you?” she asked
“It is one of the signs,” he said simply.
“What are the other signs?” Mary asked uncertainly.
Dante stopped chafing her hands and met her gaze. “Shared dreams . . . like the ones we experienced last night.”
“What?” Mary stared at him blankly. “You mean you know what I was—?”
“I know what we were dreaming. Yes,” he interrupted solemnly. “I was there with you every time. I held you in my arms and made love to you while we slept.” Pausing, he grimaced and added, “Well, I tried to, but every time we got close, Bailey would wake you and—” He stopped and eyed her warily when her hands jerked in his and she made a choked sound in her throat. Squeezing her hands gently, he said, “Shared dreams too are a sign of a possible life mate. Along with shared passion.”
“What’s that?” she asked, not sure she wanted to know. This was all madness. She’d gone off her rocker, she was sure.
“When I kissed and touched you earlier . . .” Dante paused and then added dryly, “When we were actually awake before Dave interrupted . . . I was experiencing your pleasure as I gave it to you.”
“You were?” Mary asked shakily, and when he nodded, frowned and asked, “How?”
“I am not sure,” Dante admitted. “As much as we understand it, it seems that the pleasure between life mates is shared somehow. It bounces back and forth between them, growing with each pass back and forth until it is overwhelming, and when the couple finds their release it is usually so overwhelming they both briefly lose consciousness.”
“Oh,” Mary breathed, and then simply stared at him for a moment, unsure what to think. After a moment though, she said, “But you keep saying possible life mate. It’s not for sure?” she asked, trying to grasp what he was telling her. “It’s just possible?”
“Yes, well . . .” Dante hesitated and then sighed and said, “The truth is that for me, you are a life mate. But the decision is yours as to whether you agree to be that life mate I can share my long life with.”
Mary’s eyes widened. He said the word life mate as if it was something special, even sacred.
Raising her hands, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles, then met her gaze and said solemnly. “You are my life mate, Mary. And I would like to claim you. Will you accept me as such?”
Dante sounded like he was reciting some kind of marriage vow and Mary stared at him, her heart in her throat. She was tempted to just throw herself at him and say yes, then rip off his clothes, but . . . shaking her head, she whispered unhappily, “But I’m so old.”
Her words brought a tender smile to his face and he pointed out. “You are almost half my age.”
“Oh, right,” she muttered, doing the math in her head. Born in 1906, that made him almost fifty years older than her. It boggled the mind. He didn’t look a day over twenty-five and she said, “But you look young.”
“Oh, Mary,” Dante said with exasperation, then smiled slightly and said, “I have lived a long time and seen much. I have learned not to judge a person by the number of wrinkles they have or a few gray hairs.” Shifting her hands to one of his, he used his other hand to tilt her face up until she met his eyes and then said, “To me you are beautiful. Your laugh lines and crow’s-feet say that you know how to enjoy life, and the scars and marks left by time show that you have lived life.”
That was so sweet, Mary thought weakly, but . . . “I have stretch marks,” she admitted with embarrassment.
Dante shrugged. “They show that you love life and enjoy the pleasure it offers.”
“Yeah. Too much,” Mary muttered under her breath. She’d long ago given up her battle of the bulge, and had never regretted it so much as in that moment when faced with the possibility of Dante seeing her naked.
“There can never be too much pleasure,” he assured her solemnly, drawing her attention back to him.
Mary narrowed her eyes at the smooth line and said a little acerbically, “That sounds like an argument the snake would have used in the garden of Eden to tempt Eve.”
Releasing her hands, Dante placed his hands on either side of her legs and slid them up to clasp her by the hips, then asked huskily, “Are you tempted?”
God help her, she was, Mary realized. It was madness. He was telling her vampires existed, that he was old and just looked young. And there he knelt before her, a beautiful olive-skinned Adonis, claiming that he didn’t care that she wasn’t some sweet young thing with a perfect body and bouncy boobs. He wanted her.
“Please, Mary,” he said softly.
She shifted her gaze from his perfectly muscled chest to his face and gave the slightest nod. Truly, Mary wasn’t even sure her head lowered more than a quarter inch, but it was enough for him. He lunged upward like a wave, his mouth covering hers as he caught her in his arms, lifted her up and bore her back on the bed before lowering to lie half on her and half on the bed beside her.
Mary moaned at both the combination of his kiss and the feel of his suddenly roving hands. They were everywhere, one holding her head in place as he ravished her mouth, the other sliding from one breast to the other and then sliding down to press the cloth of her shorts against her core. Mary gasped and shuddered and moaned by turn, arching into his caresses even as her own hands reached eagerly for him, first grasping his shoulders in an effort to pull him down on her fully. When that proved impossible, she trailed her hands down his chest and stomach and then finally between his legs to find the spot in his jeans that was again bulging outward as if eager to get to her.
Dante groaned into her mouth and pressed more firmly between her legs as she touched him through his jeans. But just as she reached for the snap of his jeans, he suddenly broke their kiss to shimmy down her body, removing that option from her. Before she could protest, he’d jerked her top out of her shorts and tugged it up.
Gasping in alarm, Mary gave up on trying to get to him and instead turned her attention to trying to push her shirt back down. Kissing was one thing, but she was still not pleased at the thought of his seeing her old body.
However, Dante would not be denied. Catching both of her hands in one of his, he held them out of the way and jerked her shirt up again, then tugged her bra to the side, freeing one breast. He paused briefly then, drinking her in, then raised his eyes to hers and murmured, “Beautiful.”
Mary gaped at him, then sucked in a startled breath as he lowered his head and latched onto the revealed breast, drawing eagerly on the nipple with his mouth as his hand squeezed and kneaded the soft flesh around it. Mary bit her lip and twisted her head on the bed at the fire he was breathing over her tender flesh, then cried out, and arched on the bed as his knee suddenly slid between both of hers and began to press against her core.
“Dante, please, let me touch you,” Mary begged, struggling to get her hands free. She wanted desperately to hold him just then. Actually, she wanted to rip his pants off, grab him by the hair and drag his head up to kiss him again as he plunged into her, but he was having none of that. He continued to hold her hands over her head with one hand, but the other now left her breast to his mouth’s attention and lowered to undo her shorts. She felt the snap giving way and the zipper sliding down, and then he tugged her shorts down around her knees.
Mary cried out as his hand replaced the cloth.
“Si, cantare per me. Sing for me,” Dante muttered around her erect nipple as he began to caress her. But his words made Mary realize that they were in an RV with flimsy walls and that anyone passing might hear. Instead of “singing” for him, she turned her head to the side and bit into the flesh of her own upper arm to try to silence herself. And then she screamed into the flesh she’d just bit as his finger slid smoothly into her.
“God, Mary,” Dante growled. “Sei cosi stretto, you are so tight. I want to be inside you.”
“Yes,” Mary gasped, but instead of rearing up and doing that, he continued to thrust his finger into her and caress at the same time, building the tension until Mary thought she would die if he didn’t make love to her.
“Dante, please,” she almost sobbed, her hips dancing under his caress. “Please, I need you.”
“Si, Mary,” he muttered, lifting his head. He paused to kiss her again, then straightened to kneel over her and reached for the snap of his jeans, just as someone knocked at the door.
They both stilled then, eyes locking.
“No,” Dante breathed, but the knock came again and Mary bit her lip and glanced along her body toward the door as Bailey leapt off the dinette’s bench seat and moved to the door to rear up and paw at it with a bark. A sure sign that it was someone she knew at the door.
“If that is Dave again, I swear I will do more than make him bark and drink out of Bailey’s dish,” Dante growled, shifting off the bed. “I will make him lick his own balls.”
“You will not,” Mary gasped, scrambling to get off the bed and pull up her shorts.
“You are right. He probably could not reach them,” Dante said grimly, snapping up his jeans.
Shaking her head, Mary did up her shorts, and then ran her fingers quickly through her hair as she rushed ahead of him to get to the door first. If it was Dave, she was going to make sure he didn’t step foot in the RV . . . for his own good.
“There you are,” Carol said cheerfully as Mary opened the RV door. When Mary smiled and stepped back for her, Carol stepped up into the RV carrying a large box, then stopped abruptly as she got a good look at her. Her eyes immediately went wide and her mouth made a perfect O of surprise. “Oh, you’re—did I—you—”
“I was doing my calisthenics,” Mary blurted, not sure what the woman was seeing, but hoping that would explain away whatever it was.
“Si, she was working very hard,” Dante added, completely straight-faced. Then he stepped between them, placing his back to Carol as he quickly shifted Mary’s breast back into her bra and tugged her shirt down. And he was grinning, dammit.
Mary closed her eyes on a sigh and wondered when she had lost control of her life. Or was it her mind she’d lost?
“She will not remember what she saw,” Dante murmured softly by her ear, his voice affectionate. Then he stepped aside and she saw that Carol had the same blank look on her face now that Dave had worn earlier. Mary sagged with relief, then straightened when Carol suddenly took on expression and movement again as if someone had pushed a button on her back to activate her.
“I went into town to pick up mail, and two boxes were waiting for you there,” Carol announced cheerfully, nodding down at the heavy-looking box she carried before adding, “The other one is still in the golf cart.”
Dante immediately moved forward to take the box Carol carried. He set it on the dinette table for her, and then went out to fetch the second box from the golf cart as well.
“Oh, thank you, Carol,” Mary murmured as Dante quickly returned with the second box and set it on the table as well. She eyed the boxes curiously, wondering what they held, but she was also thinking that Dante had obviously been telling the truth. Carol hadn’t been in the office to visit. Dave had been lying.
“My pleasure,” Carol said easily, and then asked, “Have you seen Dave? He was heading out to handle an issue with one of the campers when I left, and still isn’t back.”
“Oh . . . er . . .” Mary glanced to Dante with alarm, worried that he’d done something to the man. Or made the man do something to himself under his influence.
“I believe he mentioned going down to the river,” Dante said mildly in response to her look. When Mary narrowed her eyes suspiciously, he added, “To feed the birds.”
Mary relaxed a little and turned to offer Carol a forced smile as the woman said, “Well then I guess I’d better go find him. He’ll forget to eat lunch otherwise.”
“Is it lunchtime already?” Mary asked with surprise. It seemed like they’d just had breakfast.
“Just about,” Carol said lightly as she turned to head out of the RV.
Mary waved her off and closed the door behind her, then turned to peer at Dante suspiciously. “Did you really send him to feed the birds?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s it?” Mary asked, eyes narrowed.
Dante scowled, but then grimaced and admitted reluctantly, “I may have put the suggestion in his mind that while he was down there he should perhaps fall in . . . a couple or three times,” he muttered and when she opened her mouth, added quickly, “He needed to cool off.”
“He did, did he?” Mary asked with sudden amusement. He looked so much like a little boy caught being bad in that moment.
“Yes, he did,” Dante assured her. “Besides, it is better than he deserved for his thoughts. You are mine.”
“Am I?” she asked softly.
“Oh, yes,” he assured her and drew her into his arms. His head was just lowering toward hers when Bailey whined and pawed at the door.
They both closed their eyes briefly, and then Mary reluctantly pulled gently out of his arms. “She has to go out.”
She turned to collect the leash from the hook, but Dante leaned past and took it from her, kissing her ear as he did and murmuring, “I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.” Mary smiled, and stepped out of the way so that he could put Bailey’s leash on. Once he’d finished and straightened to reach for the door, she said, “I’ll make lunch while you’re out.”
“No need,” he said lightly, allowing Bailey to trot down the steps ahead of him. “I already know what I want.”
“What’s that?” she asked with a frown, wondering if he was thinking of going back to the restaurant for lunch or wanted sausages or hamburgers on the barbecue.
“You,” Dante growled, and caught her hand to pull her forward for a very thorough kiss that left her shaky legged and breathing heavily. Releasing her hand then, he let his fingers snake up under the bottom of her shorts and glide up to brush across her through her panties. As he caressed her core through the flimsy cloth, he murmured, “I’m going to strip you naked, spread you on the table and pleasure you with my mouth until we both scream our passion and pass out.”
Panting slightly now, Mary grabbed for the counter to steady herself as he withdrew his hand. She stared after him wide-eyed as he turned to continue out the door, and was still staring when the door clanged shut behind him.
Mary remained still for a minute, then sucked in a long breath and sank to sit on the top step. Her whole body was vibrating, and her head spinning with the images he’d put in her mind. Dear God, he was going to kill her with passion.
Shaking her head, Mary got shakily to her legs and turned, only to pause as her gaze landed on the boxes on the table. She’d quite forgotten all about them. Turning to the counter, she opened the top drawer and grabbed a sharp knife, then moved to the table to examine the label on the bigger box. It was addressed to her from Argeneau Enterprises. She pursed her lips briefly, trying to think what Argeneau Enterprises was, what they sold, and why they’d be sending her anything, and then sliced through the packing tape holding the top of the box closed.
Setting the knife down, Mary then opened it and peered down in confusion as men’s clothes were revealed. Mary dug through it quickly, noting that there were black jeans, black T-shirts and a leather jacket. All looked to be large enough to fit Dante, she noted.
Mary set it aside and then turned to cut open the second box. This time a small cooler was revealed with A.B.B. stamped on it. Flipping it open, she stared blankly down at the bagged blood inside for a moment, and then carefully closed it. The boxes may have been addressed to her, but they were obviously for Dante.
She glanced in the big box again and noted an envelope inside. Reaching in, Mary took it out. She really hadn’t planned on reading it, but it wasn’t addressed to anyone, and the flap of the envelope wasn’t sealed, so in the end she slipped her fingers in to grasp the small piece of paper inside and tug it half out. Half was all she needed to be able to read the words on it.
We’re here.