Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bryn sighed as she set her cell phone aside.
Three days had passed since Conor had taken her out.
She had expected him to call before now.
They’d had a good time together. He’d asked if he could call her.
Why hadn’t he? After all, he’d come all the way from Wyoming to be with her.
Maybe she was worrying for nothing. Maybe something had come up and he’d had to hurry back to Morgan Creek.
Still, he could have found a few minutes to make a phone call, or send a text.
She sighed again. Maybe she’d been mistaken.
Maybe the attraction she’d felt only went one way.
Too bad, because he was the nicest, handsomest man she had ever dated.
He seemed to come from a good family. He had a steady job.
Of course, their living in different states would have presented a problem if their relationship had lasted.
One of them would have had to move. It wasn’t practical for either of them to fly back and forth, and it certainly wasn’t cheap.
And she really didn’t want to get caught up in a long distance relationship.
They rarely lasted once the excitement and the newness wore off. At least that’s what she’d heard.
She looked up as her boss, Milford Cummings, stepped into her office. He was a distinguished-looking man, with a shock of gray hair and sharp brown eyes.
“I’ll be out of town for the next three days,” he said. “Are we up to date on Bradley and Bradley?”
Bryn nodded. “All the papers have been signed. They just have to be filed and I’ll do that first thing in the morning.”
“Excellent, Bryn. I’ll see you some time on Friday. If I can close this deal with Higgins, it will mean a lot of money for the firm,” he said, with a wink. “And a nice raise for you. Call me if anything comes up.”
“Yessir. Have a safe trip.”
With a nod, Milford left her office.
A raise, Bryn thought, and smiled. If the raise was high enough, she’d be able to move into a larger apartment.
~ * ~
The only thing Conor hated about being a vampire was the dark sleep.
One minute he was awake and aware, the next he was trapped in oblivion.
Dead to the world. At least it seemed that way.
Even though Saintcrow had assured him that if need be, his instinct for self-preservation would kick in and he would rouse fully in time to protect himself from danger.
Saintcrow had also assured him that he would be able to endure the sun’s light in a month or so.
He hoped like hell the old man was right.
As usual, his first waking thought was for Bryn.
He had purposefully stayed away from her, afraid he might lose control and drink from her.
Doing so would surely put an end to any relationship they might have.
True, he could mesmerize her and make her forget anything she was better off not knowing, but that seemed wrong.
And he didn’t want to start their relationship living a lie.
Muttering an oath, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up.
He had transported himself back to Morgan Creek after sending Doris on her way.
He didn’t feel safe staying in a hotel. Even knowing he could put wards around the room to keep interlopers out, he wasn’t yet that confident of his power.
Saintcrow had assured him that he was already more powerful than your ordinary fledgling and that he would continue to grow stronger with the passage of time.
Conor grunted softly. If he lived for a thousand years, he would never be as strong or as powerful as Saintcrow.
And then he smiled. In a way, Saintcrow was really his father now.
He showered and dressed, debating whether to go see Bryn again or sever the relationship now, before it grew more complicated. Unable to decide, he went to visit his mother.
Kadie smiled when Conor materialized in the living room.
Striding toward the sofa, he bent down and gave her a hug.
“Can you stay awhile?” Kadie asked.
“Sure.” Conor dropped down in the chair beside the couch.
“Something on your mind, son?”
“Yeah. I met this girl, Bryn. She was here with her sister a few weeks ago. We went out and then she had to leave. I went to see her a few nights ago.”
“And?”
“I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Sounds like you might be falling in love.”
Conor shook his head. “It’s too soon for that. But it wouldn’t be hard to do. She’s pretty and smart and...the thing is, how and when do I tell her the truth?”
“That’s a complicated issue.”
“Don’t I know it. If I tell her now, she’s liable to freak out and tell me to get lost. If I wait and we get serious, she might hate me for not telling her from the start.”
Kadie nodded. “If you decide to tell her, you have to make sure she understands that she can’t tell anyone. Doing so could put not only your life in danger, but hers, too.”
Conor nodded. “Saintcrow told me you hated him when you first met.”
“Oh? What else did he tell you?”
“Not much. Are all those stories about Morgan Creek being a haven for vampires true?”
Kadie hesitated to answer. It was a dark entry in Morgan Creek’s long history.
“Mom?”
“Back in the 1800’s, Morgan Creek was a ghost town.
Then Saintcrow came along and claimed it as his own.
Eventually, other vampires found out about it.
Ordinarily, vampires are solitary creatures, but with Saintcrow’s permission, several of them lived here.
” Kadie hesitated again, wondering how much to tell him.
She was still debating when Rylan materialized in the room.
“Sounds like an interesting conversation,” he said, settling on the sofa beside Kadie. “Go on.”
“Maybe you should tell him the rest,” Kadie said.
“Like your mother said, it was a long time ago. Morgan Creek had been a ghost town for decades. There were a lot more hunters back then than there are now. I found this place and gradually the word got out. I allowed vampires who agreed to abide by my rules to stay here. One night a couple drove across the bridge and it occurred to me that if we kept them here, there would be no need to hunt outside the town. I warded the bridge so that people could cross into town but once here, they couldn’t leave. ”
Conor stared at Saintcrow, thinking the tale would make an amazing horror movie.
“The vampires were forbidden to kill the humans,” Saintcrow went on. “And then your mother crossed the bridge one rainy night and she changed Morgan Creek – and me – forever. Eventually, I let the humans go, and sent the vampires away. And that’s all you need to know.”
“How did you make Mom fall in love with you?”
“She was always in love with me,” Saintcrow said smugly. “She was just too stubborn to admit it.”
Conor looked at Kadie. “Is that true, Mom?”
“I hated what he was, what he did to the people he trapped here, but I don’t think I ever really hated him,” she admitted with a smile. “How could I? So, what are you going to do about Bryn?”
“I don’t know. I guess I won’t know until I see her again. And there’s no time like the present.” Rising, he kissed Kadie on the cheek, fist-bumped Saintcrow, and vanished from the room.
“Young love,” Saintcrow muttered.
“Do you remember what it was like?” Kadie asked, snuggling closer to him.
“I was never young,” he said dryly. “I just hope she doesn’t break his heart.”
~ * ~
Bryn groaned as the sound of someone knocking on her door roused her from a deep sleep.
A glance at the clock showed it was almost eleven.
Who would be calling at this time of the night?
Suddenly, she was wide awake. Maybe the building was on fire, though she didn’t smell smoke or hear any fire alarms. Scrambling out of bed, she hurried into the living room.
She was about to throw open the door when caution stepped in. Pausing, she called, “Who’s there?”
“It’s me. Conor.”
Conor! She quickly ran her fingers through her hair before she opened the door. “Do you know what time it is? Is something wrong?”
“I needed like hell to see you again, and...” He shrugged. “I didn’t think about the time.”
“Oh. Well, as long as you’re here, you might as well come in.”
“Thanks.”
He followed her into the living room, sat when she gestured at the sofa.
Smothering a yawn, Bryn pulled her robe closer around her, then sat at the other end of the couch. “So, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. The truth is, I haven’t been able to think about anything else but you. I guess I came here to find out how you feel about me.”
It pleased her to know he’d been thinking about her.
Heaven knew she’d spent hours and hours thinking about him.
Even now, she was drawn toward him. He looked remarkably handsome in a pair of black jeans, a black tee shirt, and boots.
Black was definitely his color, she thought.
His eyes, a midnight blue, looked darker than she remembered.
“Bryn?”
“I like you a lot, Conor, but...” She shook her head. “I don’t think I want to pursue a long-distance relationship.”
“It’s not a problem,” he said.
“No? I can’t afford to fly to Wyoming on the weekends. Even if I could, it would surely get old after a few months.”
“I don’t have a problem coming here,” he said. “I can, ah, fly as often as I like.”
“Oh? Do you have a plane?”
“No, but my old man does, so it doesn’t cost me anything to travel.”
“Must be nice.”
“So, what do you think? Pretend I live here. If things get really serious, I can take some time off work and rent a place here. Come on, Byrn, give us a chance.”
How could she resist the pleading look in his beautiful dark eyes, the hope in his voice? “All right. We’ll try it for six month and see how it goes.”
When he reached for her hand, she scooted closer to him, her whole body aching for his touch as he drew her into his embrace.
Her eyelids fluttered down as his mouth covered hers in a long, slow kiss.
Desire shot through her when his tongue tangled with hers.
As a teenager, she had come close to going all the way once or twice but always something had stopped her.
She wasn’t sure what. Perhaps the old adage, why buy the cow when the milk is free, had stopped her.
Or maybe her mother’s admonition that her virginity could only be given away once, so she shouldn’t do it lightly.
That hadn’t kept her from kissing and caressing, but none of the boys – or the men – she had dated came close to the way Conor made her feel.
“It’s late,” he said, cupping her face in his hands. “I should let you get back to bed.”
She nodded. She had to be up early for work.
“Okay if I come back tomorrow night, say around seven? Maybe we could take in a movie or just watch some TV.”
She nodded again, her eyelids fluttering down as he kissed her one more time. She slammed the door on the little voice that urged her to run her hands over his broad shoulders, to tug his body down on the sofa, to ask him to spend the night
“Until tomorrow,” he said, his voice husky.
“Tomorrow.” She watched him leave, thinking she was already missing him.
~ * ~
After leaving Bryn, Conor transported to Morgan Creek. Even though it was almost midnight, he found Saintcrow in his office at the hotel.
Saintcrow listened to what he had to say then remarked, “Sounds like you’re going to be spending a lot of time in Vermont.”
“I was thinking of moving there, but as long as she thinks I’m working here days, I don’t have to explain the real reason why I can only see her at night.”
“You really like this one, huh?”
“Yeah. I just wonder how she’ll handle knowing what I am when the time comes to tell her.”
“It’s a crap shoot,” Saintcrow remarked. “If she really loves you, it won’t matter. Then again, not every woman can put up with it. And sooner or later the aging thing comes into play.”
Conor stared at his father. He hadn’t even considered that. Bryn would age and he would not.
“The whole vampire thing is a sticking point for some,” Saintcrow said. “But not always. Rosa came here wanting me to turn her. Holly and Sofia didn’t seem to have much of a problem with it.”
“It doesn’t seem fair not to tell Bryn up front. I mean, what if she falls in love with me and then I tell her and she doesn’t want anything more to do with me? I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Maybe you should wait and see how it goes. If things start to get serious, you should probably tell her before you send out the wedding invitations.”