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an hour he hadn't spent sitting around waiting to hear from
Sophia.
He used up a bit more time with a hot shower, but
showers just didn't take as long as they had before he'd spent
twelve years in the Navy. Unless he was showering with
someone.
Which brought him right back to Sophia. And damn if he
didn't still want her. It would have been easy if she'd
maintained that cool vampire persona she'd thrown at him
tonight. Or even if she'd become someone completely
different in the years since they'd spent time together. But
tonight, standing there in the dark with her hand on his arm,
the years had fallen away and he'd been back in that Central
American village, with the heat and humidity, the smells of
the jungle all around him, and the ebb and flow of Spanish
teasing his ears.
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Sophia
by D. B. Reynolds
Maybe he should just do her. A quick roll in the sack for
old time's sake to get her out of his system. But it wouldn't
be that easy with Sophie. It never had been. He'd loved her.
Hell, he'd been planning that white picket fence with her. And
now here she was back in his life.
He heard a car in the driveway and turned, his bare feet
slapping the wooden floor as he crossed to the front window.
He snorted softly. Yeah, here she was. Back in his life.
Colin pulled the door open as the lights clicked off on the
Lexus sedan she was driving. He was a little surprised Sophie
knew how to drive at all. She hadn't when he'd known her
before. Not that he knew of, anyway. He scowled, reminded
that he hadn't known as much about her as he'd thought.
The light from the doorway spotlighted her as she closed
the car door and started toward him. Her eyes caught the
light at a weird angle, making them shine a rich amber gold
for a moment. He blinked and it was gone.
He watched her face as she drew closer, searching for
some sign of bad news. He didn't see any, but . . .
"Leighton?" he asked quickly.
"No news. But in its own way, that's good. Duncan you
know him, right? The blond vampire who's Raphael's
lieutenant?" She waited until he nodded. "Well, Raphael is
Duncan's Sire, the one who made him Vampire. They've been
together for more than two centuries, and they work very
closely together. Duncan is also quite powerful in his own
right, which means he is far more sensitive to Raphael's state
of mind than anyone else, except perhaps Cynthia."
277
Sophia
by D. B. Reynolds
Colin nodded impatiently. He appreciated the vamp history
lesson, but what he really wanted to know was how Leighton
was doing.
As if she knew his thoughts, Sophia explained. "I tell you
this so you'll understand the reliability of Duncan's
assessment. He reports that Raphael has sunk into the depths
of his power." She held up a hand, forestalling his next
question. "It's a trance of sorts, a deep, almost meditative
state. It permits him to block out all distraction, to focus only
on the one thing he seeks, or in this case, the one thing he
cares about, which is his mate. He is concentrating all of his
considerable power on healing her, not just his blood, but the
. . . magic you'd call it that makes him a vampire lord."
"How does it work?"
She gave a grim smile. "It's impossible to explain, Colin.
I'm sorry, it just is."
Intrigued, he asked, "Do you have this magic?"
She looked surprised by his question. "Yes, of course."
"So, it's not just vampire lords, then."
"No, but it is directly proportionate to the individual
vampire's power. Tell me, do you have something else to
drive?"
Lost in contemplation of vampire magic, Colin frowned at
her question, then realized she was talking about his truck.
"Right," he said as his brain caught up with what he was
seeing. He jumped off the porch, strode over to the Tahoe,
and began slamming doors. "This baby is a total loss. I'll have
to have it towed tomorrow and then go down to the city and
rent something. Why?"
278
Sophia
by D. B. Reynolds
Sophia sniffed discreetly and winced. "It smells of her
blood. It would be best if you didn't drive it at all, not even to
move it."
Colin rubbed a hand over his hair. "Is the blood smell
really that bad? Maybe I should tow it tonight, after all."
"Not bad," she assured him. "It's only because the blood is
Leighton's that I mention it. Things are more unsettled than
usual right now."
"Unsettled how?"
"Even if Raphael succeeds in healing her, she'll be weak for
some time. It will make him more protective of her than
usual, and far more sensitive to the scent of her blood,
especially on another man or his possessions."
"Got it. That's kind of freaky, you know. The whole blood
scent thing." As soon as the words left his mouth, he
regretted them. "Oh, hey, I didn't mean to be offensive."
"I'm not offended, Colin. I haven't so thoroughly forgotten
my human origins that I can no longer remember what it was
like."
They stood in awkward silence for a very long moment
until Colin caved like the craven he was. "So. You want to
come inside?"
Her smile was big and full of gratitude. "I would, thank
you."
Sophia walked past Colin and into the center of his living
room. She could feel the tension in his powerful body and
knew that, for all their easy banter, his feelings toward her
were still ambivalent. Still, she considered it a victory that he
could have a casual conversation with her at all.
279
Sophia
by D. B. Reynolds
"I won't stay long," she assured him. "I just needed to get
away for a while. Everything is so tense over there, everyone
on tenterhooks waiting for word, and I'm a stranger to them.
All of the vampires traveling with Raphael are of his own
making, including his entire security detail and all of the
additional troops he brought in once the murders were
discovered. They're fanatically loyal and they've completely
closed ranks around him during this tragedy."
"Is that usual?" Colin asked. "I mean, for a vampire lord to
be surrounded by his own . . . you know, the vampires that
he made?"
Sophia shrugged. "Vampire lords are not trusting of
strangers, so, yes, the innermost circle is frequently
composed of the lord's own children. But it's unusual for a
vampire lord to have so many of his own children living so
closely to him, especially since many of Raphael's people are
quite powerful. I would guess that at least half of the
vampires living at my Sire Lucien's headquarters in
Vancouver were turned by someone else, although he does
have an inner circle of his own progeny."
"What about the others? The regular vampires, the ones
who aren't vampire lords. What about their " He stumbled
over the word. " children?"
She cocked her head, smiling in amusement. "It's not like
movies or television, Colin. Only a very few vampires are
strong enough to sire another, and the vampire lords reserve
that power to themselves, in any event." Her expression
turned serious as she continued. "Any vampire siring a child
without permission would be severely punished, perhaps
280
Sophia
by D. B. Reynolds
destroyed, depending on his master's wishes. It's a form of
population control, you understand. Vampires are virtually [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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