Kiss Me When the Sun Goes Down Read online

  “Felix has been bugging me to get a bigger house so I can entertain more. You know, sort of like Vetis.”

  “Here in the city? That’s a tall order.”

  “His guy Leo found a place. I don’t think it’s quite on the scale of the Vetis house, but it should work out for our purposes. I can check it out later though, if you don’t want to take a look.”

  “No, I don’t mind, lead the way.”

  The house – or I should say mansion, because that’s what a twenty thousand square foot place is, a mansion – was in the middle of the Presidio Heights neighborhood, with fourteen bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, and enough property to hold a garden party for every vamp in the territory. Three stories high, the 1904 gray stoned structure definitely put me in mind of the Vetis house, with marble sheathed columns and intricate details along every surface, including the high ceilings. It almost felt like a palace with its gilt ballroom and massive, carved fireplaces, and despite my indifference to temperature, it felt cold and hard to my tastes.

  Bishop followed me though the house, snapping on lights until the entire place blazed with light. “Wow, this place just goes on and on,” he murmured, as we crested the third floor and strolled out onto the terrace to look at the view of the city lights below.

  “It sure does.” I’d probably have to hire a full time staff to take care of it. “It’s kind of hard to imagine the place full of music and life, isn’t it? I mean, I can’t see myself living in a house like this, can you?”

  “Honestly?” He paused to lean against the low cement railing. “No, it doesn’t seem like your style. But I think you could make it work if you wanted to.”

  “What about you? Could you see yourself living here?”

  “It’s not my style either, but it all depends on who’s doing the asking,” he replied with a touch of a smile behind his eyes, and just like that, we’d ventured into dangerous territory.

  “I didn’t mean… I think it’s a bit soon for us to talk about living together, don’t you?”

  “Probably, but it is something I think about,” he said, looking down at his hands. “Don’t you, when you’re lying in bed waiting for the sun to go down?”

  I could tell it wasn’t a line. He’d made no secret of the fact that he’d wanted to get back together with me for months, and it was easy to picture him lying there alone, thinking about the two of us together. “Sometimes,” I admitted. “But I don’t see us waking up together in this house, do you?”

  “Where do you see us waking up together?” His voice was nonchalant, as he turned to look out at the skyline, but I could tell he really wanted to know.

  “I’m not sure. I guess when I’m fantasizing about our future, I tend to see us at your place because that’s where we were before, but that’s not very realistic.”

  “It could be.”

  Was he inviting me to come and live with him? He still hadn’t turned to look my way, his gaze trained on the trees below. Taking it slow or not, it was nice to talk about the future, or at least the possibility of one. “Or you could end up staying with me. My place is bigger. Unless you’d feel weird about that.”

  Now his head did swivel in my direction. “Why would I feel weird about it?”

  “Because I lived there with Rob.”

  “Oh, that.” It was easy to see that hadn’t occurred to him before, but from the furrow on his brow, I wondered if it bothered him now. “I guess we’ll have to see how it goes. You haven’t even invited me inside yet.”

  “True,” I nodded. “But I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We’re supposed to be talking about this place.” It was a stunningly beautiful house, but hardly one I’d ever consider moving into myself. In fact, the more I walked around, the more of a waste of money it seemed. “I don’t know, it seems like such an ostentatious thing to buy. What do you think?”

  “It’s not for you though, is it? You’re a world leader, Anja. You’re expected to have a certain lifestyle.”

  “Even if I don’t want it? How can I justify buying a place I’ll only use a few times a year?”

  “It’s not your money though, is it? The next Elder can always sell it off, you know.”

  “That’s true.” It wasn’t like I’d be stuck with it forever. “Then you think I should buy it?”

  “If it keeps you from inviting the riff raff into your home, then yes,” he grinned, and I shook my head.

  “I wouldn’t invite riff raff into my house anyway. Like you said, I haven’t even invited you in yet.”

  “Yeah, about that…”

  “I think that’s more of a third date kind of thing, don’t you?”

  “Okay,” he agreed, pushing away from the railing to stalk closer to me. “How about we officially call this date over and start the next one? Then you can invite me in and we can…” I fixed him with a look, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Right. Third date it is.”

  “And now that we have those ground rules, I think it’s probably time I headed home. As much as I hate to say it, I have a ton of work to get to before the sun comes up.”

  “Same. I’m still sorting through the mess that Frost left behind. The guy’s lucky Volkov’s not in charge any more, he would’ve ended him for sure.”

  “I meant to ask you, who is running things in Rome now, by the way?” I asked as we headed back downstairs.

  “The lady who used to be Volkov’s second in command, Prudence.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever met her.”

  “You’ll like her. Pru’s got a good head on her shoulders and she’s not likely to make any waves, she’s aptly named.”

  Cool beans. “I’m always glad to see a woman in a position of power. Maybe we’ll have to invite her over for a visit after the holidays, let her see what a good job you’re doing restoring order to the West?”

  “Or better yet, maybe we can finally take that trip and I can show you my Italy?”

  “Oh, I like your plan better, it’s way shinier than mine,” I agreed with enthusiasm as we chatted about some of his favorite spots to visit. “We’ll come back to this,” I promised as I locked the place up.

  Chapter Nine

  On the way back to the car, Bishop got a call he had to take, so I took the opportunity to make a quick call to Maggie.

  “Don’t tell me the date ended badly and you need a ride,” she asked right off the bat.

  “No, nothing like that,” I laughed. “I’m calling to tell you to go ahead on the house.”

  “Really? I knew you’d love it,” she gushed with more enthusiasm than I’d thought. Maybe she was the one who loved it. “I’ll call Leo right away and get the paperwork going.”

  “Great, I’ll trust you with the details then. I’d like to go in at sixteen million then, cash.”

  “Do you think they’ll go for two million dollars under the asking price?” She sounded scandalized.

  “No, but I’m guessing the market’s not moving too fast for homes in that price range. Tell Leo I’ll go as high as seventeen, but for that I want the place in two weeks. It’s vacant, so that shouldn’t be too hard to manage.”

  “Seventeen, I’ll tell him,” she replied, fingers tapping on keys in the background, and I guessed she was already hard at work writing up the details to Leo as we spoke. “Oh, I did take a couple of interesting messages for you, but I didn’t want to interrupt you on your date.”

  “Messages from who?”

  “Macallister James sent an entire case of scotch with a note of apology that he can’t make the party.”

  “Oh, that was nice of him.” Now I had something extra to give Bishop for Christmas, he loved the stuff. “Who else?”

  “You got a telegram from Amunet.”

  “A telegram?” That seemed ominous somehow. “What does it say?”

  “It says that Bakareh is delighted to accept your invitation and will arrive two nights before the party.”

  “He’s coming himself?” I gaped, going st
ock still, and Bishop looked back at me with raised brows, still on the phone.

  “Apparently.”

  “Tell Leo I’ll go as high as eighteen, but we have to have that house in time for the party.”

  “Will do. Anything else?”

  “No, I’ll be home soon. I’ll see you then.”

  “Something up?” Bishop asked, when I hung up the phone, and I tapped it along my lips, not quite sure how to answer it at first.

  “On a scale of one to ten, how big of a deal is it that Bakareh’s coming to the New Year’s shindig?”

  His eyes stretched wide. “Bakareh’s coming to the party?”

  “I’m thinking that’s a ten.”

  “At least. Bakareh hasn’t left his lands since… well, long before I was turned.”

  “Why not? What’s the deal with him, anyway?”

  “Bakareh is a child-king.”

  I waited for more, but that was all he offered. “You say that like I should know what that means.”

  “It means he was turned as a child.”

  “Shut the front door… You mean somebody made a vampire out of a little kid? That’s barbaric!”

  “It was meant to preserve the purity of his divinity. Untainted by adult sins. It’s all bullshit, of course, but that was the prevailing thought back then.”

  “Back when? How old is he?”

  “Nearly as old as most Ellri. He’s one of the original draugen, and more powerful than most things walking this Earth.”

  “And he’s spent his entire life as a child?”

  Bishop’s head weighed back and forth. “Yes and no. His mind has developed, of course, but there’s always been something childish about him. I’ve only met him once myself, and I only exchanged greetings with him, but I saw some of his vices first hand. He’s… unpredictable.”

  “And he’s coming here.” Cool beans on toast. “I remember Jakob once told me that Bakareh was afraid that Jakob would kill him on sight. What’s up with that, are they enemies?”

  “I wouldn’t call them enemies, but it’s well known that Bakareh drained and killed his Sire.”

  “That doesn’t sound all that unusual to me. Didn’t Mason do the same, only with a sword?”

  “It’s forbidden to kill an Ellri.”

  “Don’t I know it,” I muttered. “And that’s why Amunet came to try and smooth things over first,” I nodded to myself. “So is this a good thing or a bad thing that Bakareh’s coming to visit while Jakob’s gone?”

  “It might make him less restrained without Jakob here to rein him in.”

  “Oh goody, ’cause that’s what we need, an unrestrained draugar on the loose. I’m thinking he’s oodles more powerful than I am, right?”

  Bishop nodded. “He pretty much makes Carys look like a noob, yeah.”

  “Okay, so all I have to do is smile, show him a good time, and count the hours until he leaves. What do you think a guy like that will want to do while he’s in town?”

  “With Bakareh there’s no telling, but he’s a creature of impulse.”

  Why did that make me feel like the cast of Stomp was playing soccer with my insides? “An unpredictable, impulsive vampire who hasn’t ventured into the world for centuries? Sounds like a party to me.”

  “Actually, it sounds like your biggest problem might be containment. In this day and age of video surveillance and camera phones, a public incident could be catastrophic.”

  “Ah, no, I was thinking my biggest problem might be a pile of dead feeders, or even worse, tourists if there’s a public incident like you said.”

  Bishop’s lips pressed together into a thin line as he chose his words carefully. “Anja, I know you don’t want to hear this, but you’re going to have to resign yourself to some casualties. Think of it this way – if Jakob wanted to drain the entire loft at St. Patrick’s church, there wouldn’t be much you could do about it, would there?”

  “Ah, yes there would. I’d give him an earful until he knocked it off.”

  “But only because he has a soft spot for you. Bakareh doesn’t know you from Adam. You’re one of Jakob’s line, and that’s in your favor. But if you challenge him directly, he might not think of that in the heat of the moment. Bakareh was worshiped as an immortal king for hundreds of years, it tends to make one believe he can do anything he likes. He’s not going to react well to being told what to do.”

  “Well, too bad.” Technically I was an immortal queen myself, if he wanted to throw titles around. “These are my lands, and he’s subject to my laws.”

  “Which you have absolutely no way of enforcing.” Bishop laid his hands on my shoulders, his eyes gazing intently into mine. “Anja, you can’t compel him, and you’re not strong enough to fight him.”

  “You want me to sit back and watch him kill innocent people?”

  “He’s not a madman, I don’t expect him to cut a bloody swath through the Bay Area. Just pick your battles and hope he doesn’t get too out of control while he’s here. Amunet will help you, she’s been running interference for him for centuries.”

  “You’ll be around to help me too, right? I don’t know anything about entertaining an immortal kid.”

  He gave my shoulders a squeeze. “You’ll be fine, but I’ve got your back for as long as you need me.”

  “What about work?”

  “The Order’s greatest duty is to keep people from finding out there are vampires in their midst. Babysitting Bakareh falls squarely under that duty.”

  That made me feel a lot better about things, though I definitely wasn’t looking forward to the party nearly as much anymore. Hopefully Carter would be back by then too. Not that he could hope to stand up to a vampire that old either, but the more people I had on my side, the better. “And Mason will be there with Hanna. I’m not so sure I like the idea of her coming to this thing, to be honest.”

  “It’s not that unusual for a vampire to bring his feeder to a party.” He held up his hand before I could protest. “Not that I’m calling her his feeder, I’m just saying she won’t be the only human there by any means. And it’s only natural that she’d want to share in this part of his life now that they’ve gotten so close.”

  “I know. I can’t help thinking it’s a dangerous world for her to step into though.”

  “It’s not your decision,” he shrugged. “If there’s one thing I know about your sister, it’s her independent spirit.”

  He wasn’t wrong, but I worried that might get her into trouble. She was far more outspoken than I was when she saw something she didn’t agree with. “Mason might have to muzzle her before the night’s through.”

  “I’m sure Mason will do everything in his power to protect her.”

  “I know, I’m sure you’re right. For now, why don’t you kiss me and tell me that everything will be okay.”

  “Now that, I can do.” Bishop gathered me into his embrace, and I felt the strength flow from him into me as an almost tangible thing. I could rely on Bishop, I felt it in every fiber of my being. Only… I’d been wrong before. That was the only thing that kept me from giving into my feelings completely. That, and Carter’s dry voice in the back of my mind reminding me not to rush into anything too fast.

  The drive back to my house was fairly quick with no traffic at that time of night, and before I knew it, we stood on my front porch like a couple of teenagers, reluctant to let the night end. At least I didn’t have to worry about my parents peeping at us through the curtains. I might’ve suspected Carter of such a thing, or maybe even Lee, but the shifter would be in bed by now, and last I’d heard, Carter was still in Canada. Maggie and Tucker, I knew, would respect my privacy. Still, I could hear someone moving around inside, the heavy step belonging to Gunnar by my calculations.

  “Thanks for a great night,” I began awkwardly, holding to his hand.

  “I’m just glad it went better than last time,” he said with a wry twist of the lips. “I don’t think you would’ve given me a third chance
.”

  “Then you thought wrong.” Tugging him closer, I showed him how wrong with a deep kiss, full of longing and heat. Okay, so that was the complete opposite of taking things slowly, like I’d been harping on since I first agreed to date Bishop. But I defy you to stand in the moonlight with a sexy vampire cop who seems hell-bent on devouring you, and not kiss him like there were no consequences.

  The kiss went on and on, lips, teeth, and tongues sliding with slick abandon. My hands didn’t seem to care about taking things slowly either, slipping up under his close fitting t-shirt to stroke that hard muscle I’d glimpsed in the comic book store. I found myself pushed up against the front door, the hard press against my hips telling me exactly how much he wanted this too.

  I could’ve invited him inside. I could’ve walked him down to my room and given in to what we both wanted. I could’ve spent the rest of the night making new memories with Bishop to chase away all the pain and sadness from the past. But that was just it – there was a lot more to making this work than the physical connection, and I didn’t want to make the same mistake I’d made with Rob, and let the sexy stuff whitewash the other stuff.

  With great difficulty, I pulled my mouth from his, and Bishop didn’t seem to mind, blazing a trail of kisses along the side of my jaw and down my neck. His teeth scraped against my throat, and it sent a wave of pure lust singing through my veins. Holy Hannah, I wanted him to taste me in the worst way!

  “Taking things slow, remember?” I squeaked, reminding myself as much as I reminded him. His lips stilled, his breath fanning out over my moist skin before he pressed a gentle kiss to my neck.

  “I know we agreed on that, but you’re kind of giving me mixed signals here, Anja.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I just don’t…”

  “Why are we fighting this?” He didn’t push or trap me against the door, but I felt the current of frustration thrumming through him. “I want you…” His lips dipped for another kiss. “You want me…”

  “Yes,” I agreed, there was no point in denying it. “I want you probably as much as you want me.”

  “Then why?”

  I set my palms against his chest, pushing him back to add a cushion of air between us. Bishop didn’t resist the motion, his gaze trained intently on my face. “We had a great night, and I do love you. I’ve always loved you, Bishop. Even when I wanted to stake you myself for how you treated me. But I need this space between us, just for now.”