Page 12 (1/2)

The Return

Caleb thought that he heard voices as he stirred from his dreaue the mentally ill or addicts, but rather a series of ent fashions His eyes opened slowly, revealing not pitch blackness, but illuh the sheer curtains of the bedrooht e up in bed, he slipped from beneath the sheets and into his blue jeans He didn&039;t bother with a T-shirt and went to the open doorway Caleb no longer bothered shutting the bedroo clothes A friendship had forh a shared sense of survival and the battle for it

He stood listening in the hallway The voices ca room, across frolass doors leading in, though not the interior of the room itself more than a few feet, and he strained to understand the voices as his heart raced

Alton&039;s voice registered in his mind They&039;re back already!

Caleb tip-toed to the top of the stairs and stood statue-like, gripping the banister with his right hand for balance in the darkness

"watching hie noted

"seees to be expected" es? Don&039;t know the half of it" Paige countered

Caleb frowned, trying desperately to hear unman with a crow bar?" Katrina de Katrina&039;s voice, his pulse increased, and his heartbeat pounded in his chest The anticipation of actually taking Katrina in his arms built

All conversation downstairs abruptly stopped

Katrina appeared, staring up at hi roolove and a royal blue, loose-fitted, sleeveless blouse She stood with her bare feet slightly parted and set, and her arms were folded across her chest Her shock-red hair was pulled tightly over her head into a ponytail

Caleb gazed upon her face, wholly unprepared for what he saw Her pale features were hard, and her green eyes were glowing heatedly They were angry eyes She was still a vision of beauty, but her visage was tinged with both fierce and predatory qualities She stood resolutely, appearing fully as the ie of a classic vampire, both beautiful and terrible at the sa in terror, but he held his ground

His heart alazed fully upon her feral beauty He felt butterflies in his stos Despite her inti appearance, she was still the focus of his only desire

Katrina&039;s features softened slightly, but her eyes still glowed green Caleb soer to desire The differences were subtle, but somehow he just knew

He wanted to leap down the stairs to tackle her, but instead mustered his willpower He steeled his expression with a frown and crooked his finger at her in a slow, beckoningwith his left hand

"You left ry, but I missed you so much that I wanted to die Then I al uish crossed Katrina&039;s face as her sharp vaistered his comment The corner of her s were already extended,blared in his ry!

Katrina heard his heartbeat thundering in his chest from where she stood at the foot of the stairs In fact, she could smell him from where she stood: his body, his blood

Caleb sed hard once and whispered hoarsely, "Ahtly before she launched upstairs at him He had seen her move fast, but holly unprepared for the rapid velocity that she displayed, or for the i into his at the top of the stairs, causing the air to rush frorip on the handrail, and his body spun clockwise before abruptly stopping, only then able to inhale air sharply

It was a ht, but he quickly realized why She held him like a vice around the waist with her left arht hand Her lips pressed into his as she alrasped her shoulders, pulling her to hi the moment He was both relieved and ecstatic to have her safely in his arainfinally

Caleb felt his excite the toes of his bare feet into the carpeted floor and pressed against her with all of his strength, trying to push her towards the wall behind thehtly with an entirely surprised expression Her mouth upturned in an aainst the wall Her lips quickly found his again I can be gracious, she conceded

Time seemed to stop as the heat passed to his bare skin in waves froth in his lean fored her to move sideways until she was in the doorway to the bedrooed her backwards towards the bed They fell onto it with a bounce A feverish excitement rose in their bodies, but hers held an additional insistence of thirst

Their faces parted by mere inches as they lay side-by-side across the bed

Caleb frowned and asked in a slightly insulted voice, "Why didn&039;t you wake ot back?"

"I looked in, but you were fast asleep You looked exhausted, and I wanted to let you rest," she replied syh at the tily chastised her

"I&039;y accepted," he said before softly kissing her lips He pressed the right side of his face towards the bed linens, leaving his neck co, his intentions screamed, I&039;m yours

She bent to kiss hiain harder before realizing that her thirst was an intense, anis scrape ly across his skin

"You&039;re insane," she harshly whispered against the skin of his neck "I can&039;t"

"Why not?" he insisted with confusion "You&039;re hungry I can tell"

"It&039;s too ry I just want to tear your throat out right now," she rasped "I have to feed first, or you&039;re going to die"

A pang of shock ran through hi a ed

She stared at hi pointedly, "Oh, I will"

The bed lurched, and she was gone

Caleb lay there listening to his heartbeat racing in his ears He was filled with elation that Katrina was finally hohter conversation and soh prie&039;s voices He ht He washed his face, brushed his teeth, andoff the light and returning to the bed, he lay down in the hts drifted aimlessly when he heard Katrina&039;s voice downstairs followed by Paige&039;s giggling

"I&039;, Kat," he teased

Katrina appeared at the doorith glowing green eyes, though lit with passion rather than hunger Her red hair spilled down, fra her face like a , aren&039;t we?" she co the door behind her

He started to rise fro and used the ball of her bare foot to press against hishim back onto the bed before her

"Lose your clothes," she quietly ordered

He s for the buttons on his jeans "The alpha vampire returns, I see"

"Oh, you have no idea," she muttered as she slid seductively froht

A shiver ran down his spine as he lay naked before her His eyes locked onto the beauty of her body as the excitement rose in his

Sheatop hi him hard

Then tiing

Later, she lay across his body lazily, her hand caressing his face "It&039;s nice to feel how much you missed me," she murmured with a smile and kissed his chest She was truly happy for what felt like the first tily through her long hair and across her scalp "I can&039;t believe you&039;re finally here," he murmured He was filled with so many eether in silence for a period of ti He started to sit up, and she htly with a curious expression Realization played on her face as she watched hi the other side of his neck exposed to her

"Safer for reen for a split second, and she kissed him on the base of his exposed neck She parted her lips, and he felt her razor-sharp fangs press lightly against his skin He shivered only once before relaxing the ht ar noise in her throat

"So him to lay back down on the bed, she sat up and straddled his body with hers She bent down to kiss hihtly on the neck, and he turned his face to kiss her She kissed him on the lips only once and used her left hand to rotate his face to the right again, facing away fro it in place

"Kisses later, my love," she whispered wickedly "Blood first"

Her lips touched the supple skin of his throat before parting slightly She pressed her tongue against his skin and held it there until the surface of his neck began to feel slightly numb Meanwhile, the sound of his own pulse raced in his ears

Seconds later, Katrina&039;s fangs pressed against his skin, and he felt a slight prickling pressure into his neck He remained coainst his throat Then he heard, and felt, tiny suckling sensations as sh her

I love hi his sweet blood into her mouth He tasted perfect to her

Caleb noticed that she was pressing into his neck with more pressure than she had used on prior occasions And while not particularly painful, it was unco against his neck Tihts drifted aiely satisfied as he lay co so casually drawn by her And yet he felt safe and loved

She pressed into his neck with a renewed pressure, and he felt an aching sensation where her fangs penetrated for a second tihtened with concern "Sorry, s and slowed the suctioning of his blood into her ainst his throat again, which she held there at length The nuh his neck onceFinally, she kissed hiainst his chest

He turned to stare at the ceiling and whispered with complete sincerity, "I love you so very much"

She smiled, kissed his chest, and replied in a wholly satisfied voice, "And I love you, coenuine content in their reunion But eventually, his physical and emotional exhaustion took over, and he fell peacefully asleep

However, while tired herself, Katrina re hiside hi more in life than to hold hi toto the rhyth

When Caleb finally stirred, groggily realizing he was alone, he opened his eyes but i was real The roo through the sheer curtains of the bedrooe of theup, hethe curtains to see outside for the first time in days The sun had only partially risen Since the room was on the front, western side of the house, he wasn&039;t able to receive any of the direct eastern sunlight Still, he sighed while appreciating the silow of dawn

For a fewsunshine spilled onto the far side of the front laell beyond the shadow of the large estate&039;s roofline He had al He stretched, recalling the reunion the night before between hiiddiness that

He wandered into the bathroo on so from before Katrina&039;s and Alton&039;s departure He went to the nearby nightstand, picked up an ink pen and notepad, and began scribbling down some information He tore off the sheet, folded it in half, and slipped it into his back pocket I need to re with shoes or socks, he ht in doorway," he announced

He waited, but heard nothing and carefully opened the door to slip from the room He pulled the door shut behind him out of both courtesy and concern for the vampires in the house One vampire in particular came to the forefront of his mind, and he smiled as his hand released the door handle

It took only a split second to realize the hallas pitch black, and he started to fuht he heard so arms envelop hinized those lips and was only too happy to return the affection in kind

Finally, he forced himself to draw in a breath, and the sweet scent of cherry blossoms filled his nose It smelled wonderful and instilled happiness because it was Katrina&039;s preferred fragrance

"Good , Kat," he replied with a s full well that she saw it in the darkness

Her fingertips lightly caressed the left side of his neck where she had bitten hi?"

He understood the i in both her action and question and replied, "Never better Very little soreness, actually"

"Good," she replied happily before kissing hi on you last night" She made a mental note to be more careful with him until she had firmer control of her recent violent emotions

"I enjoyed every minute," Caleb replied sincerely

She started to release hihtened his arainst his body He realized just how much he had missed her for those few days But then, at the tiain He sed hard at how vivid those thoughts were until e his ee "I h her as she relished his body against hers This is exactly what I&039;ve been fighting so hard to return home to

His embrace slackened, and they slowly unwound their arms from around each other She turned to lead him by the hand towards the stairs in the darkness, but he iainst her "Hey," he quipped nervously "I can&039;t see in the dark like you, re exercise," she replied slyly

She pulled on his ar one arhtly, and they plunged down the stairs, though to him it felt more like a plummet Before he could blink, his bare feet touched the cool tile at the botto

"Do we have trust issues?" Caleb asked carefully

Katrina&039;s lips oncewith you," she whispered She hadd been craving soed to share some of the tamer sensations fro on the stairs," scolded Paige from the kitchen down the hall to their left

"Um, adults here Babysitter not needed anye He chuckled as Katrina held onto his hand while leading hi froe muttered mock-forlornly as they approached the entrance to the well-lit rooreed solemnly

Katrina and Caleb appeared in the doorway and released hands

"Feelin&039; a quart lower this e inquired playfully as she perched on a stool at the breakfast bar wearing faded blue jeans and a black Rarinned back at her

Alton sat on a stool near Paige and chuckled He wore casual slacks and a cotton golf shirt and was sipping blood frooblet Caleb momentarily marveled how little it bothered hireeted with a smile He reached for Alton&039;s hand to shake it, and the varip with a perplexed expression

"Alton, I want to thank you properly for helping Katrina, for helping ratitude, and I don&039;t know to repay you But if I can ever do anything for you"

Katrina&039;s eyes narrowed suspiciously as she viewed the exchange with intense interest Alton smirked, and his eyes darted to Katrina before Caleb noticed

The stately vampire considered Caleb introspectively "I&039;ve known Katrina a long time, and I hope you realize just howwhile glancing up at Katrina "I think I do"

"Then I charge you with doing so for her each day toso, you can repay a little of your debt to me one day at a time"

Caleb smiled and promised, "I can do that"

Katrina flashed a relieved smile and winked at Alton She hadn&039;t been certain hoas going to respond to Caleb&039;s offer

"Hey, what about rinned, sed her "Thanks for taking such good care of ed hi with me sometime"

"But not by yourselves," Katrina interjected with a raised eyebrow at Paige, who ue out in response

As Caleb pulled away fro-fast kiss on the side of his cheek and grinned brightly

"So, Caleb, what are you going to do today?" Alton asked curiously

"Well, I -" he began before stopping in midsentence to stare curiously at Katrina "I suppose it&039;ll be up to Kat"

Katrina raised her eyebrow at hirin forot," he offered while reaching into his jeans pocket to retrieve the folded piece of note paper he&039;d scribbled on earlier "These are ons for both home and work and my cell phone and ho that Chimalma may have sent me"

He handed the paper to Katrina with a sincere expression on his face, and she looked back at hiree of satisfaction

"What have you done to Caleb while I ay?" she asked as her gaze shifted to Paige intently

"Oh, didn&039;t I e asked with a s sister now, too"

Caleb&039;s first request thatsunshine Though he enjoyed the estate, he was desperate to be outdoors again Katrina considered his request as she looked to Alton for his initial reaction The tall, dark-haired vareed in a cautious tone "But we&039;ll go out through the front side of the house, and I&039;ll stand in the shade to watch However, once the sunlight beco or directly prevents ive the word"

Caleb nodded "Done"

"I want to go too," Paige insisted

Katrina frowned and asked, "Really? When was the last tie considered her question and conceded, "Been a long tier varab socks, shoes, and a jacket and returned to the front entry area just as the to into leather winter coats that fell to well below their knees They buttoned their coats to their necks, wrapped black scarves around their hair, and put on dark sunglasses and leather gloves Together, the two va a funeral

Caleb shrugged into his black leather jacket, though he didn&039;t button it He looked to Katrina, who nodded for him to open the front door A fairly cool, crisp Dece breeze pressed inside upon the door&039;s opening, and Caleb stepped eagerly outside and took a deep breath The fresh air was cool to hi his jacket The sky was clear blue without a cloud to be seen, a very welcoht, to say the least

He stepped out onto the lawn and ht was already shining brightly onto the dored the wall, well in the shade, as they sloalked to within fifteen feet of the edge of the house where Caleb stood He closed his eyes as the sunlight shone upon his face, and he s of the heat on his skin

Meanwhile, Katrina whispered to Paige softly, "How does it feel?"

Paige looked up at Katrina and e of a volcano and watching it erupt"

Katrina s in the shade of the house was unco the world around thelow To their eyes, the ultraviolet radiation froht seemed to cast a colorful aura all over Caleb&039;s body, particularly where it shined on his exposed skin It looked to thelow

"I&039;d be a cinder by now," Paigeher experience in the sunlight that day when she first met Caleb as a child It wasn&039;t a pleasant el," she whispered in an ade looked up at her friend, then back at Caleb "Yeah, I guess I can see that"

He slipped out of his jacket and let the sunshine rain down upon his T-shirt clad torso He stretched his arms out from his sides as he slowly turned It felt exquisite because the house blocked ht to war, he mused appreciatively

He paused and turned to look with concern at the two bundled va in the shade of the house "Are you two okay?" he asked with a frown

"We&039;re fine," Katrina answered neutrally "For now"

Paige said nothing but see around somewhat anxiously as she stood in the relative safety of the shade "If somebody shows up with a mirror, we&039;re toast," she mumbled irritably

Katina felt the sin to prickle uncoed froe lance at her pensive-looking friend confirmed that She looked back at Caleb and could al fro discoan rising to a point where it was overtaking the for closer and closer to the west of the house, which only increased the anxiety that both va He continued to stand in the sunshine, taking his tie froht happily

A few minutes later, Katrina instructed in a firm voice, "Caleb, please return inside the house now"

His se away as Caleb picked up his jacket froround and walked towards theot closer to thee quickly led the way back through the front door with Caleb close behind Katrina remained at his back once he approached the steps and followed hi the front door behind them

"That was fantastic!" he exclaimed as he tossed his jacket onto a nearby chair "I alot what the sun looked like"

Katrina sed out of her coat and reloves

"You looked like a e ed just standing in the shade watching you"

"It was so nice to be outdoors again I bet you tere glad that I didn&039;t decide to go on a jog out there," he quipped with a e rolled her eyes and retorted, "And you&039;d be on your own, Mister Blowtorch"

But Katrina siht to tower before him, and replied ominously, "The sun would set before you knew it, and you&039;d be free game for me, my love"

His smile faded quickly, and he adopted a more humble expression as he folded his arms across his chest "Sorry, Kat," he muttered with a tone of respect evident in his voice "Thanks so "

"That&039;s what I thought," she replied smoothly with a sly smile "And you&039;re welcome"

Alton chuckled as he walked into another rooe wanted his help in the garage On his way there, he reflected on hisone of the assailants who had attacked thee wanted his help and momentarily considered the pile of dead bodies that she had stacked on the floor following the attack He shivered, anxiously hoping he wasn&039;t going to be handling corpses

As he slowly peered into to the garage fro soarage increased, and he saw Paige placing a broken china cabinet against the wall It was one of the larger pieces of furniture dah, happy it wasn&039;t soe looked up with a smirk and teased, "Hey there, kiddo Where&039;ve you been hiding? I need help clearing some space for all the junk we have to stack out here for disposal"

Caleb gave a nervous grin and asked, "Oh, that Where&039;s all of the, ue adopted a perplexed look and smiled at his intended reference "Oh, so that&039;s why you had that look on your face," she offered with a knowing tone "Alton and I disposed of those thugs last night after he and Katrina returned We found their panel truck and hauled them off in it"

He frowned "But how did you dispose -"

"We buried the weapons and ammunition in a rural location and burned the bodies inside the truck some distance from the weapons It&039;s not very tidy, but should be far enough away from Atlanta that our tracks are covered We returned just before dawn, not long before you ca"

Caleb&039;s eyes widened "Well, that&039;s i expression "Now, let&039;s clear soloves to Caleb, but he had to step back to get a good catch angle on them As he did, he abruptly backed into Katrina, which startled hihtly off-balance Katrina chuckled at his surprised reaction while her left arainst her She fluidly presented hiht hand

"Vaood," he ree of embarrasses from coworkers you&039;ll want to listen to Also, your work and hoain, you&039;ll want to read a nu his coainst her shoulder as he retrieved his cell phone frohtened his foruard by Katrina&039;s sudden appearance "Thanks," he offered appreciatively "And was there anything bad?"

She paused and draped her right are watched the two of them with a curious expression

"Yes, my love," she replied in a displeased tone "Three very bad voiceruesome attachments of some unfortunate victim"

He nodded "You know, it&039;sof curiosity Maybe you could just describe one or two things for me?"

She kissed hi his request He&039;s an adult after all, she ive Chimalma the satisfaction, even belatedly, of even a cursory level of awareness on Caleb&039;s part She sighed and offered, "A man was beheaded, and she wanted to share the experience visually There was screa from the victim before he succumbed to either death or unconsciousness"