Promise Me Read online

  Sure, I’d fallen right into the role of a storybook heroine. But I was different. I was smart, and I kept my eyes open while going into it. Maybe nothing would come of us except a few passionate months together. It was true, I already hoped for that—and more—but I wasn’t going to turn away if that was all he was willing to give. Chances like this didn’t happen—not to me—and I’d never been the kind of girl who’d returned a gift. I would hold onto this one tightly and enjoy it like hell for as long as it lasted.

  I got home from work Monday night, received a robust welcome from the dogs, and took them out for a walk. The farmer who’d sublet my land had mowed the seed corn. I didn’t farm the land myself, except for a small garden, and I was happy someone could use it, in exchange for a little sweet corn and help keeping the fields mowed. The shorn field brought it home how quickly winter was coming There was no snow in the forecast, and I wouldn’t be building any snowmen soon, but the flowers were closing up and turning brown. It always made me sad, the passing of summer and the dying of everything green. Soon, I’d be walking the dogs in the dark.

  I smiled, thinking maybe I could encourage Danial to join us. There was a plus side to winter after all.

  I brought the dogs in as the sun was setting, and made myself some soup and a bagel. I was just finishing up when I felt Danial’s hands on my shoulders, sliding down my arms, and heard that rich voice. “Hi, Sar.”

  He brushed his cheek against mine. I closed my eyes and reveled in his touch. Without letting go, he asked, “Want to watch something? I know you go to bed early, but I wanted to spend some time with you before you go to sleep.”

  “Sure,” I said, “but you should know that I’m off Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We could spend the whole night together.” As soon as I said that, I kicked myself. I thought about quickly adding on the words “watching movies”, but I decided the least said, the better.

  He seemed to have missed my Freudian slip. “I’d like to stay here with you, but I have to take care of some business this next week. I won’t be able to stay all night.”

  I bit my lip, irritable. Frankly, I felt like we had gone from strangers to some kind of romantic friends, and gotten stuck on a plateau, missing the good clothes-tearing part of the relationship, before other priorities overshadowed love and lust. Then I decided I wasn’t being fair. Hadn’t I wanted Danial to be more than eye candy? Hadn’t I wanted him to be more than a creature of the night? Maybe he just didn’t want me like I wanted him. Or maybe I was just trying to push things too fast because of that dream. With a little shame, I reminded myself that it had been a dream and the real Danial standing behind me hadn’t ever acted in any way but protective and friendly, much less admitted to caring for me. I felt downcast but held it in. “Okay.”

  “I can be back early Friday morning, sleep, and meet you when you get home from work. I’d like to take you out, if you’ll permit me to.”

  I clamped down on the excitement flooding me, telling myself to play it cool. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Why not some dancing and a movie? On the weekends, they have midnight showings. I used to go alone, but I’d like to take you out. If you want to go,” he whispered as he kissed my neck.

  “Sounds great,” I said, putting an emphasis on the word. He laughed, a deep rolling sound. I laughed too, giving him a smile.

  I gathered my plates and took them to the kitchen. “What’s this business you have to do? I mean, I understand what you do, but it seems most of it can be done by e-mail. Is it to collect payment?”

  He seemed to sense I wasn’t prying, just curious. “Sometimes I have to make a report in person. Occasionally, the problem is caused by an employee who’s more than just an employee.” His voice was low, and I gave him a curious look. “Sometimes the saboteur is a relative of the person who runs the company. It happens far too often, and it’s the only part of my job I hate. Most of the time, the employer doesn’t want to believe it, even when I have proof.” He seemed to look inside himself. I wasn’t sure if he reflected on some bad event in his past or the worst possible scenario with the client he could imagine.

  “Do you ever have problems with nonpayment? If they don’t want to hear that in the first place, they probably don’t want to pay to hear it.”

  Danial snapped out of it. He flashed his familiar rueful grin, his eyes laughing. “I’ve never had that problem, not with my reputation. But let’s not talk about this. You like action movies, I see. Shall we watch one? HBO likely has one on tonight.”

  “I don’t get that channel,” I said, a little apologetically. “Sorry.”

  He clicked on the channel anyway. His face registered surprise when it gave him the message, You are not subscribed to this channel, call your cable station for details. Typical; you could take the vampire out of the man, but never the man out of the vampire.

  “I can think of better ways to spend the evening,” I said, gently taking the remote from his hand and laying it aside. I could see I had his full attention. Once again, typical, but this was the type of typical I liked.

  “What did you have in mind?” he asked carefully, his eyes on mine.

  “This.” He’d been sitting at one end of the couch and I at the other, both of us with one foot up, sort of sprawled. I got up from the couch and turned to face him, standing in front of him. He straightened up so he was sitting upright, facing me, with his feet on the floor and his arms on the back of the couch. I slowly eased down onto his lap, straddling him. He seemed a little wary. I wondered if I had looked like that a few nights ago. Shit, what if he—

  “What’s the matter?” I asked, leaning back from him. “Was I reading the wrong signals?”

  “No.” He gave me a wry smile. “I’ve just never met anyone like you.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” I answered, trying hard not to be offensive. “You have to be older than I am, at least by a decade. In all those years, there weren’t any women who were confident enough to approach you? C’mon.”

  “Ah, but you aren’t thinking. The world wasn’t the place it is today. A woman's role was well defined by the men around her. A woman couldn’t go where she chose without an escort, couldn’t own property, and couldn’t express herself because she didn’t often have a good education. Men still ruled. There were strong women, but they operated in specific circles. Even a strong woman in those days could be toppled by a weak man.”

  He was talking about women at least fifty years ago, if not more, which made him definitely older than me. “In short, society at that time sucked.”

  “Yes” he said, looking amused. “You could say that.”

  “What about modern women?” I said, holding his eyes. “I can’t be the first to approach you like this.”

  “The first one to save my life,” he said softly, stroking my cheek. I went still under his hand. He smiled, and it was almost a smirk. “By the way,” he added, “I’m not that old. Only about seventy-six or so.”

  I tried not to do a double-take. This guy could be my grandfather. There was an ick factor involved, and I had to talk my way through it before I embarrassed us both. “You mean you were turned, and then you’re adding on the years you were a vampire?”

  “Yes. I was turned at thirty-five, and I’ve been vampire for forty years or so.”

  Ah, thirty-five...I felt my desire flooding back.

  “Women up until the sixties were so lackluster. You, on the other hand,” he said as he reached around me so our faces were only a few inches apart, “are vivid and vibrant. You say what’s on your mind and don’t keep it hidden.”

  “That’s true. I’m not one of those women who walks around when she's mad, saying over and over that nothing’s wrong. If you piss me off, you’ll hear about it loud and clear.”

  He grinned, baring his fangs, and then said in a sultry voice, “I think I’d like to hear other sounds from you, Sar.”

  His arms tightened. He grabbed my hair and yanked it back, bearing m
y throat. I wasn’t alarmed this time, though he was holding me with just enough force to make it uncomfortable. I froze motionless, knowing I couldn’t move without pulling my hair. He placed his lips over my neck and began to kiss me, feather-light kisses trailing up and down my neck. I felt the brush of his fangs, but he made no attempt to bite. Just those light kisses.

  God, it felt wonderful…I melted from the heat he stirred in me. All my reservations about moving too fast slipped away. Hey, I knew him pretty well. He said he wasn’t a killer. We were officially dating now. He was to-die-for on the seductive scale; a twenty-five on a scale of one to ten. We were two consenting adults. I was single, and I was pretty sure he was. The fact that I hadn’t asked and he hadn’t said anything seemed unimportant. Maybe we could make that dream I’d had come true.

  He ran the edge of one fang down from my chin to my throat. I let out a moan.

  “Like that, did you?” The edge of his voice held a growl. I wasn’t the only one being turned on. I could feel the bulge in his jeans. I looked into his eyes, which had gone dark with lust, and I rubbed against him with my hips. It was his turn to let out a moan.

  He released my hair and reached up for my head, bringing my lips down to his. I’d wanted him to kiss me for days now, and this was everything I’d hoped it would be. His lips were cool against mine, and I felt the prick of his fangs. I wondered if he’d spent a good part of those forty years as a vampire learning how to kiss, because it felt like it. He moved his lips expertly over mine, tasting me gently. When he opened his mouth, I opened mine as well, so he could taste me with his tongue. He kissed me harder, his hand on the back of my neck going up and tangling in my hair, while the other hesitantly slid down, under my top. His fingers slid up underneath, caressing the skin of my back.

  He expected me to stop him, to say no, that I wasn’t ready for this, but I was more than ready for this. When he could tell I wasn’t going to stop him, he slid his hand around to cup my breast through the fabric of my bra. I let out a shuddering breath, and he slipped his fingers under my bra. I let out a gasp, and my nipple tightened under his hand. I expected him to ask me if I wanted to move to the bedroom, but he said nothing, just kept kissing and stroking me. The longer it went on, the more I wanted relief. But I wasn’t completely without decency; I wasn’t going to be the first to initiate taking it any farther, no matter how much my body asked me to.

  Just when I thought I was going to have to take the initiative because I couldn’t stand it anymore, he stood with me in his arms and laid me on the couch in one fluid motion. I looked up at him, breathing hard. “Done for the night?”

  “Not remotely.”

  He bared his teeth, growled a little, and lunged at me, settling his body atop mine. I shrieked in delight before he cut me off with another deep, lasting kiss, molding our bodies tightly so I could feel the length of him against me. It was so much like the dream that I gasped. He pulled back to give me a smoky look, lightly tracing my jaw with a finger before bringing my lips to his again. His hand traveled down to cup my buttocks, pulling one of my legs over him, holding me tight against his leg.

  I could feel him ready against me. I knew if I wanted, I could make the dream real. He wouldn’t turn me down. I ached with the need to feel him naked against me, moving in me. But, as good as it would feel, I didn’t want our first time together to end as the dream had, with me waking up and him gone. He’d said he had to leave before dawn.

  Danial suddenly stopped still, as if he sensed my reservations. “What’s wrong?” he asked warily.

  “I want you,” I said, gazing at him with heat in my eyes.

  “I don’t see any problem with that,” he smirked, running his hand along the outside of my breast.

  I closed my eyes, shivering deliciously, and tried to keep my mind on the words coming out of my mouth. “I need you to know something, Danial. I know you might not believe this, but I’ve never done this before.”

  He pulled back from me. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “I was married, before,” I said, raking my hand through my hair. “I’m not a virgin. But I’ve also never been so hot and heavy this soon with a man I only just met—”

  “Sar, don’t feel like I’m pressuring you, or anything—”

  “I don’t,” I said quickly.

  “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” he said seriously. “I can accept you saying no. I’m not going to be angry. It’s true you don’t know me well. I want you to know that I plan on getting to know you if you’re interested in spending more time with me.”

  I swallowed hard. “Yes, I want to get to know you. Will you think badly of me if I’m honest with you?” I added in a small voice.

  “If it’s the truth, no,” he replied, puzzled.

  “I don’t want to wait weeks or months,” I said carefully. “Do you understand? I’m not saying no. I’m saying yes.”

  The lust in his eyes deepened, and he moved to take off my shirt. I stopped him, and he gave me a questioning look. “Didn’t you just say—?”

  “You said you had to leave soon. I want more than a few hours with you if it’s going to be our first time. I don’t want to wake up and find you gone.”

  I thought he would be mad, maybe suggest a quickie and we’d do a longer version later, when we had time. But he surprised me.

  “Yes, I want that, too,” he said, studying me. ”I don’t want to rush with you, or have to leave afterwards.” He stood and helped me stand. “Go to bed. I’ll see you on Friday. We’ll go out and have a good time. Saturday—” He pulled me to him. “—we’ll finish what we started here tonight.” He put his lips against mine hard enough to feel the pressure of his fangs. He broke away and kissed me on the forehead. “Dream of me,” he whispered, “and I’ll dream of you.”

  I smiled. “Have a safe trip. Watch your back.”

  “I have extra incentive,” he said, winking.

  I turned to go but hesitated “Danial?”

  “Yes?”

  “I need to know. Is there anyone...else? Anyone waiting at home for you while you’re here with me?” I felt a little strange asking now, when I’d pretty much already agreed to have a relationship with him. I tried to cover the awkwardness, looking down. “I should have asked before I even kissed you, but....”

  He stopped me with a finger on my lips. “Shhh, you don’t have to explain. I’m the one who suddenly feels awkward and cloddish.” He paused. “Sarelle, look at me.” I raised my head to meet his eyes. “There is no one but you. And I won’t be returning to anyone else should I return to home. There’s no one there, except security people.”

  A wave of relief hit me, and then joy.

  “I thought you knew that, but it was my mistake if you suspected otherwise. I should have told you the first night. I don’t have a wife or lover. I haven’t for a long time.”

  I basked in the knowledge that he was all mine. But I had to ask “Why not?”

  “My life isn’t something most women would embrace. Packing work and necessities into eight to ten hours doesn’t leave much time left to share with a friend or lover. The women I meet on the job are all career-oriented, with nine to five jobs. Trusting them with my life…I could never do it.”

  He had a point there. It was probably easier for him to meet a woman and seduce her than it was for him to walk, but to find someone to trust who cared for him was probably hard. There weren’t a lot of options. The only reason he trusted me was because I’d saved his life when I could just as easily have taken it.

  “I realize now that I should have asked you the same question. When I came into your life, did I interrupt anything? Did you have anyone?” He eyed me anxiously. “Do you have someone?”

  “No. I’ve been alone for a year now.”

  He heard the sad note in my voice but didn’t ask about it. “I’m glad. I dislike being the other man.”

  I gave him a quizzical look.

  He sighed. “I sh
ouldn’t have said that. But I have trouble with women seeing me as more than a fantasy. I was a man before I became vampire. I want to be wanted for that person, not for being vampire.” He gave me a reserved look. “Be honest with me, Sar, are you saying you’ll sleep with me because I’m vampire? Is that the real reason you want to know me?”

  I flushed. I tried to think of a good answer, but blurted out what I was thinking. “In part, yes, maybe. There’s something I find irresistible about you, and some of it might be what you are. But mostly, I like that you’re funny and intelligent. I find the real thing a little too real.” I flushed as I spoke, but since he was going to be blunt, so was I. “I don’t want you for your fangs. At least, not just your fangs.”

  I thought I might have offended him, but he smiled and hugged me. “Good, because I don’t want you just for your blood. At least, not for that alone.”

  Chapter Five

  After Danial left that night, I lay in bed and thought about whether it had been the right thing to admit so boldly that I wanted a sexual relationship with him so soon. I thought about it for a good hour and finally decided I’d done what I’d wanted. I had a vampire in my house as a part-time tenant, and down deep, I wanted him there. I wanted him in my life. I wanted him in my bed. I wanted to see where this was going, if we could make this work, and maybe, if I was still capable of loving someone, even someone who had fangs.

  * * * *

  The week passed. I had brunch with my mother, lunch with a friend, shopped for groceries, took the dogs to the vet, the usual things. But during one of those, it was harder to act as if everything was business as usual.

  “Something happened,” my mother said over dessert, grinning. “Or was it someone?”

  I tried to remain impassive, but I’d gotten my body language from her.

  “You met someone!” she crowed triumphantly.