Bound By Blood

“You must feed often the first year,” her father had told her. “If you don’t, it could be fatal.”



“And after that?” she had asked.



“As often as you feel the need.”



He had frequently gone hunting with her during the first few months to make sure she didn’t have any problems.



“You’re very quiet,” Zack mused, wishing he could read her thoughts. “Is something wrong?”



“No.” She smiled wistfully. “I was just lost in the past.”



“Anything you want to share?”



“I was thinking about my father. You remind me of him.”



He grimaced. “I’m not sure I like that.”



“You should be pleased. He’s a wonderful man.”



“I’m sure he is. He’s got a wonderful daughter.”



“Flatterer.”



“Just callin’ it the way I see it.” He drew her closer, his gaze intent on her face. “Are you feeling what I’m feeling?”



She knew what he meant; she just wasn’t sure she was ready to admit it to herself. Or to him. Things were moving way too fast. She had only known him for a few hours. All she knew for certain was that he was drop-dead gorgeous, danced divinely, and owned a popular casino. Hardly enough on which to base a solid relationship. But somehow, with his arms around her and his devil dark eyes gazing into hers, nothing else seemed to matter.



One song blended into another, and then another, and they continued to dance, making Kaitlyn think he was as reluctant to release her as she was for him to let her go.



They shared several long, lingering glances, though few words were spoken between them.



The other patrons all left the room.



And Zack and Kaitlyn continued to dance, just the two of them, even after the musicians called it a night.



Usually, it made Kaitlyn uncomfortable when men stared at her for too long, but it pleased her that Zack couldn’t stop looking at her, because she couldn’t stop looking at him, either. His eyes were like dark, mysterious pools and she longed to dive in, to swim to the bottom and discover the hidden depths of his soul.



She smiled at her fanciful thoughts.



“What are you thinking about?”



“Nothing you need to know.”



“Is that right?” Zack twirled her around, dipped her once, and drew her into his arms again, his gaze lingering on her lips, sliding down to the pulse throbbing in the hollow of her throat, then back to her delectable lips.



Kaitlyn shivered with anticipation. He was going to kiss her. She could see it in his eyes.



And even then he was lowering his head, claiming her lips with his.



She had never been drunk, never been high on anything, but his kiss made her feel like she was invincible, like she was soaring through rainbow-colored clouds. Like she never wanted to come down.



And it was just one kiss.



She had been right about him, Kaitlyn thought dreamily, one hand pressed to her rapidly beating heart. He was dangerous, in more ways than one.



“Can I see you tomorrow night?” he asked, his voice husky. “Say, around eight?”



Every instinct she possessed warned her that she was treading on shaky ground. As much as she wanted to see him again, she knew she had to refuse. She meant to say no, but the word that emerged from her throat was a breathless “yes.”



Chapter 3



The watcher frowned as he observed Ravenscroft walking the heir to the Sherrad throne home. When had the casino owner and the woman met? Was this just a casual encounter, or something more serious? Did it matter? And how was he to find out?



He muttered a pithy oath. With Zack Ravenscroft in the picture, things had just gotten a lot more complicated.



And a hell of a lot more dangerous.



He shook his head, then flipped open his cell phone and called home.



Chapter 4



Kaitlyn woke feeling bleary-eyed. A glance at the clock showed she had slept later than usual, and it was all Zack Ravenscroft’s fault. Last night, every time she had closed her eyes, his countenance sprang to mind while her vivid imagination painted ever-more erotic scenes of the two of them making mad passionate love in her bed. On the floor. On the kitchen table. In the shower. How was a girl supposed to get any sleep with all those full-color scenarios running rampant in her head?



She would see him again tonight. The thought brought a quick smile to her face and unleashed butterflies of anticipation in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t remember ever being this excited about a date. She could hardly wait!



After showering, she pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt and went into the kitchen. It was too late for lunch, too early for dinner. She couldn’t help grinning when she poured herself a small glass of AB negative. What would Zack think if he knew she was a vampire? Would he be horrified? Shocked? Disbelieving? Intrigued? Or totally turned off. Not that it mattered, because he could never, ever, know the truth. It was forbidden to tell mortals about their kind; still, it was fun to imagine what his reaction would be to the word vampire.



Of course, her people weren’t the monsters of myth and legend. They didn’t go around ripping out people’s throats or draining their victims dry. Back home, there were mortals who willingly offered their blood in exchange for food and shelter and a peaceful way of life in an Old World stone castle known as the Carpa-thian Fortress. She was certain that most ordinary people would find it appalling that men and women lived there by choice, but that was the way it was now that her father was the Master of the Coven. Before her father came to power, people had been confined in the Fortress against their will. Not mistreated, of course, but kept as a ready food supply. Once, her uncle Andrei had told her, in strictest confidence, that the captives had been called sheep.



Kaitlyn was glad that way of life was gone. She rarely hunted humans. Her need for blood wasn’t allconsuming, in part, she supposed, because her mother was mortal.



Kaitlyn smiled inwardly as she sat at the table. Years ago, when her father met her mother, it had been forbidden for vampires and mortals to intermarry, and rare for their union to produce children. Rare, but not impossible, Kaitlyn mused, sipping her drink. She was proof of that.



Even though it was extremely uncommon for Romanian vampires to mingle in society with humans, her uncle Stefan had fallen in love with a mortal woman, too, and gotten her with child. Sadly, the woman and her baby had died in childbirth. Her father said Stefan had never gotten over the loss. Years later, her uncle had left the Fortress and gone to America.



Frowning, Kaitlyn sipped her drink. Maybe she could hire someone to search for him, she thought, then shook her head. She had no idea if her uncle was still in the United States, or what name he might be using now. Still, trying to locate him was something to think about.



Rising, she rinsed her glass in the sink and put it in the dishwasher. It was Monday. Laundry day. In the bedroom, she opened a suitcase stuffed with dirty sweatpants, T-shirts, and shorts. She had been in such a hurry to get here, she’d just stuffed her favorite workout clothes into a suitcase to wash later. Gathering up her dirty clothes, she headed for the service porch. She dropped everything in the washer, added detergent and fabric softener, and hit START.



She stood there a moment, marveling at all the modern conveniences in America. Back home, in Wolfram Castle, washers and dryers, refrigerators and indoor plumbing were relatively new arrivals. Before her father married her mother, the castle had been positively medieval, with no creature comforts to speak of.



Kaitlyn couldn’t help smiling when she thought of her parents. She had never seen a couple so much in love. Even now, after more than twenty years of marriage, her mother and father behaved like newlyweds, at least when they thought no one was looking. But Kaitlyn had caught them in the midst of some pretty heavy-duty hugging and kissing on more than one occasion.



“I just hope that you and your future husband will feel this way when you have been married as long as your mother and I,” her father had remarked when she caught them embracing in the kitchen one night. Kaitlyn couldn’t have agreed more.



Thinking about hugs and kisses brought Zack Ravenscroft to mind. “Mrs. Kaitlyn Ravenscroft,” she murmured, giggling like a schoolgirl. “Mr. and Mrs. Zack Ravenscroft. Mrs. Zack Ravenscroft.”



Arms outstretched, she twirled around and around, wishing she could speed up time or twitch her nose and make him appear. The thought made her laugh. She had several inherent powers; she could run faster than the eye could follow, she could veil her presence from mortals, she could read their minds—well, most of them, she amended—but making people appear at will wasn’t one of her talents. Sadly, since she wasn’t a fullblooded vampire, she lacked her father’s ability to dissolve into mist, or to transport herself wherever she wished to be. He had told her to be patient, that those abilities might come to her when she was older, but he hadn’t sounded very convinced when he said it. Still, if she had to choose between being able to transport herself across great distances or being able to eat anything she wanted and being able to endure the sun’s light, she thought she would take the latter two. After all, how often did she need to zap herself to another location when she had a Porsche in the driveway and her father’s credit card if she needed to hop a plane?



With a shake of her head, Kaitlyn left the laundry room. As her mother had always said, the best way to make time fly was to keep busy.



Kaitlyn glanced at the clock. It was almost four. Plenty of time to fold the laundry, make the bed, vacuum the rugs, and make herself beautiful before her date arrived.



Zack rose with the setting of the sun. For the first time since he had built the casino, his first waking thought wasn’t about going to work, but about a woman. Kaitlyn. She had been foremost in his thoughts since the minute she’d walked into the club. Not that he was complaining. He was more than happy to have a beautiful young woman running around in his head. In fact, he’d be happy as hell to have her take up permanent residence there.



He grinned, thinking the lovely Kaitlyn must have bewitched him. Sure, he was crazy about women. Always had been, but he had always loved them and left them, never looking back, rarely remembering their names once he told them good-bye. But Kaitlyn, she was different. And even though all they had shared so far was one mind-blowing kiss, he sensed he would never forget her.