Night's Touch

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.



Arriving at The Nocturne, he parked in the lot, nodded to the man at the door, and went inside.



It was like coming home-the dim lights, the flickering candles, the scent of heated bodies and beating hearts.



He sought out a table in the back of the room, wishing that he could drown the voice of his conscience in a bottle of whiskey, but those days were gone. Unfortunately, there was no forgetfulness in a Bloody Mariah.



Perhaps it would be best for all concerned if he simply left town. No tearful good-byes. No explanations.



Just pack up and go. Sure, Cara was bound to be hurt. No doubt she would believe he had just pretended he cared for her so he could get her in the sack; still, in the long run, maybe that would be kinder than telling her he loved her but that they couldn't have a future together.



Or he could simply tell her that he was a vampire. One thing was certain. No matter what he told her, he was going to have to leave town. He couldn't stay here. He didn't have the willpower to be in the same city and not seek her out.



But did he have the willpower to leave?



Cara sat curled up in a corner of the sofa, the book in her lap forgotten. She had gone to bed two hours ago, only to lie awake, wondering why Vince had seemed so distant and why he had left so early. Rising, she had tried to read, but the words made no sense. All she could think about was Vince. Had he tired of



her? Was he seeing someone else? It was hard to believe he could be seeing another woman so late at night, but not impossible. The hours the two of them kept were proof of that.



Something was wrong. She knew it, but what? She couldn't put her finger on anything specific, and yet he seemed to be withdrawing from her in a way she didn't understand.



She told herself she was just imagining it, that everything was all right, but deep inside, she knew he was keeping something from her. She just hoped it wasn't anything as horrible as the secret her parents had kept for so long. She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. The only thing she could think of that would be as devastating as learning that her parents were vampires was discovering that Vince was seeing someone else.



Going into the kitchen, she fixed a cup of hot chocolate, hoping it would help her sleep.



It didn't.



Later, lying in bed, she stared up at the ceiling, silent tears dripping down her cheeks.



Sitting in the dark at The Nocturne, Vince was all too aware of Cara's pain, and equally aware that he was the cause of it. With every fiber of his being, he yearned to go to her, to draw her into his embrace and wipe away her tears.



Instead, he went home to pack.



Cara rose early after a restless night. She took a quick shower, dressed, drank a glass of grapefruit juice, and drove to Vince's garage, determined to find out what was wrong and make it right.



Getting out of her car, she stared in disbelief at the hand-printed sign on the door.



BUILDING FOR RENT



Cara went cold all over. Going around to the office, she peered through the window. There were no cars inside waiting to be repaired, and no sign of Vince's car, either.



Pulling her cell phone from her purse, she dialed the number of the garage, felt her heart somersault at the sound of his voice.



"Hi, this is Vince. I've closed the garage and left town. If this is Phil, you can pick your car up at the Shell station across the street If you're a customer with a car that needs repairs, try Don's Auto Shop on Fourth Street." There was a slight pause, then, in a softer tone, "If this is Cara, I'm sorry."



She stared at the phone, unable to believe he had left town, left her, without a word of explanation.



When Cara went to work, Sarah Beth took one look at her face and knew something terrible had happened.



"What is it?" She followed Cara into her office and closed the door. "For goodness' sake, girl, you're as pale as a ghost. What's wrong? Did someone die?"



Cara shook her head. "It's Vince."



"What happened? Did you two have a fight?"



"He's gone."



"Gone? Gone where?"



"I don't know. He left town."



"Just like that?"



Cara nodded, unable to speak past the lump rising in her throat.



"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"



With a shake of her head, Cara sniffed back the tears that were waiting to fall. She had to pull herself together, had to believe he would call and explain. She clung to that thought like a lifeline.



"Cara..."



She took a deep, calming breath. "I'm fine, Bethy. I'd just like to be alone."



"Sure, hon. I'm here if you need me."



"I know. Thanks."



Cara waited until Sarah Beth left, then, needing to be busy, she reached for the stack of mail on her desk.



He didn't call that day or the next. By the end of the week, she had resigned herself to the fact that he was never going to call. By the middle of the following week, she was convinced she had gotten exactly what she deserved. She had met a stranger in a bar and had impulsively and foolishly believed everything he told her. She had taken him into her house, into her heart, and into her bed. And what did she have to show for it? Nothing but an empty bed and a broken heart. She pressed a hand to her stomach as a new thought occurred to her. Good Lord, what if she was pregnant?



She fretted over the possibility for the next three days and then resolutely put it from her mind. It was almost Halloween, her favorite holiday, and she wasn't going to let him spoil it for her.