“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Kay remarked.
Nodding, Gideon dropped their suitcases on the floor. “Are you tired?”
“No, why?”
“Well, we’ve got a few hours until dawn. I thought maybe we’d go for a walk.”
“I know just the place,” Kay said. “Just give me a minute to change my clothes and my shoes.”
Gideon sat on the end of the bed, his desire quickening while he watched Kay undress. Suddenly, the thought of going for a walk wasn’t as appealing as it had been. Scooting back against the headboard, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, afraid that if he took her in his arms here and now, he would never be able to let her go.
“Are you ready?”
He opened his eyes to see Kay—clad in jeans, sweater, and tennis shoes—standing beside the bed.
She lifted an inquisitive brow. “I thought you wanted to go for a walk.”
“Right.”
“The river isn’t far,” Kay said. “And it’s beautiful at night.”
Hand in hand, they left the house and made their way toward the river. He heard the hushed sound of slowly moving water before he saw the river. As Kay had said, it was beautiful. By moonlight, the river looked almost otherworldly as it meandered between low hills covered with pine trees and the brush-covered riverbank.
“Is it true vampires don’t change?” Kay asked after a time. “I mean, do they really stay the same as they were when they were turned?”
Gideon nodded. “Forever the same,” he murmured, and couldn’t hide the slight note of wistfulness in his voice.
“Hmm.” She couldn’t imagine what that would be like. Not growing old and sick would be nice, and yet change, whether good or bad, was a part of life. She studied him surreptitiously while they walked, admiring his broad shoulders, the way his jeans clung to his backside, the way the moon’s light bathed his long black hair with silver. Lucky for Gideon, that he had been turned while he was still young and virile, a man in the prime of his life, she mused. And lucky for her, too.
“Hmm, what?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I was just … nothing.”
He slid a glance at her, then stooped and picked up a rock. He skipped it across the water, then burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“You are.”
Kay sucked in a deep breath, knowing, even before he said anything else, that he had been walking around in her head again.
“So,” he drawled, “you think it’s lucky that I was turned in my prime?”
“Gideon!”
“Because my—let me put this as delicately as I can—because my backside is so fine?”
“I hate you,” she said, between clenched teeth. “I really hate you.”
He laughed as he pulled her into his arms. “Doesn’t sound like it to me, not when you think I’m the sexiest man you’ve ever met.”
“Please stay out of my head,” she implored. “It’s so unfair.”
“I know.” He cupped her face in his hands. “And I’d be happy to kiss you, right here, right now.” No longer laughing, he lowered his head to hers and kissed her deeply, almost desperately. She leaned into him, the lush curves of her body warming his, chasing away every thought but the need to possess her.
It took all of his willpower to let her go, to remind himself that he had brought her here to keep her safe.
“Gideon,” she murmured. “Maybe we should go …” Her head jerked up when a melancholy howl shattered the quiet of the night.
“You’re not afraid of a wolf, are you?” Gideon asked with a teasing grin.
“It’s not just any old wolf,” Kay said. “It’s my father.”
Gideon glanced up. A crescent moon hung low in the night sky. “I thought your people only changed when the moon was full?”
“Alphas can change anytime.”
“You neglected to mention that little fact,” he muttered.
“Did I? A few of the other wolves can also change at will.”
“I’m not worried about them,” Gideon said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Do you think your father knows we’re here?”
“I don’t know.” Her gaze swept the hills. “I don’t think so. He usually goes out every night about this time and runs the perimeter of our territory.”
Another howl rumbled through the night. “So,” Gideon said, his gaze sweeping the darkness, “tell me about your old man.”
Kay wrapped her arms around her waist and stared into the distance. “What do you want to know?”