She drew her gaze from his. What was she thinking? There was no commitment between them. True, he had proposed, but she hadn't said yes. And as tempting as marriage was, what was the point? He was a vampire. Sooner or later, he would tire of her and move on. Who needed a marriage that wouldn't last? If they made love, no matter how casually she approached it, she knew it would break her heart when he left. Of course, she was afraid she was in for some serious heartache sooner or later whether they made love or not.

With a shake of her head, she put such thoughts out of her mind. Even if Rourke had been just an ordinary man, it was way too soon in their relationship to be thinking about making love, at least where she was concerned.

Rourke was dealing a new hand when he stopped middeal. He swore softly, his eyes narrowing.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Muttering another oath, he tossed the cards into the center of the table. "Vega has turned Ana Luisa."

Kari blinked at him, wondering if she had heard right. Vega lived on the other side of town. How could Rourke possibly know what was going on there?

When she put the question to him, he simply said, "I know."

He said it with such conviction, she had to believe it.

Kari shook her head. Poor Ana Luisa. First, she had spent three hundred years trapped in a painting, and now she was a vampire, doomed to prey on humanity and walk in the shadows for the rest of her existence. Given her druthers, Kari thought being trapped in a painting might be the lesser of two evils.

Rourke clenched his fist and brought it down on the table. "If he turned her against her wishes, I will destroy him."

"He must have," Kari said. "I mean, why would anyone ask to be a vampire?"

Rourke grunted softly. "Why, indeed."

Kari bit down on her lower lip. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"You did not offend me, sweeting." He rose, then drew her to her feet and kissed her. "I will be back as soon as I can."

"You wouldn't really kill him?"

"No. He is already dead."

"You know what I mean," Kari said. Kill him, destroy him, it amounted to the same thing.

Rourke didn't answer her question. Instead, he kissed the tip of her nose, and then he was gone.

Kari stared at the spot where he had stood, wondering if she would ever get used to his disappearing like that. Probably not, she decided. She would have to ask him how he accomplished it. Did he turn invisible, or just magically transport himself out of the room?

With a sigh, she went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

A thought took Rourke to Ramon Vega's house. He pounded on the door, his anger building with each passing moment.

Vega opened the door, a fleeting look of surprise flitting across his face. "What do you want?"

"Where is Ana Luisa?"

"Resting."

"I want to see her."

Vega propped his hand on the opposite door frame, blocking Rourke's entrance to the house. "Why?"

"You insolent pup, I know what you have done!"

Vega shrugged. "I did only what she asked."

"I do not believe you."

"Then ask her yourself." Vega glanced over his shoulder. "Ana, you have company."

She appeared behind him a moment later. "Jason," she murmured. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

Rourke's gaze moved over her. She appeared a little disoriented, but that was to be expected. Already, subtle changes were taking place in her appearance. There was a telltale hint of red in her eyes, a richer luster to her hair. When she rose tomorrow night, she would be a full-fledged vampire, gifted with the preternatural senses and other abilities peculiar to their kind.

"Is this what you wanted, Ana?" he asked.

She blinked at him. "How did you know?"

"I have taken your blood in the past. It formed a link between us." He took a deep breath. "You did not answer me, Ana. Was this your choice?"

She nodded. "The most amazing thing has happened. I am no longer bound to my father." Her smile was brilliant, her teeth blindingly white. "I am free."

Rourke grunted softly. He had not realized that the wizard and his daughter shared a bond. If Ana Luisa felt free, what was Vilnius feeling?

Rourke fixed his gaze on Vega. "Take good care of her. If you hurt her..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Vega said, draping his arm around Ana Luisa's shoulders. "You'll destroy me."

"Never doubt it," Rourke said coldly. "And it will be slow. And painful."

Ana Luisa glanced from Rourke to Vega. "Can we not all be friends?" she asked quietly. "After all, we are all the same now."

"It's okay by me, kiddo," Vega said. "Your friend's the one making all the threats."

"They are not threats," Rourke muttered.

"Please, Jason," Ana Luisa said. "For the first time in three hundred years, I am happy. I feel like I am where I was meant to be."

Rourke dragged a hand over his jaw. "If this is what you truly want, then so be it," he said, and offered Vega his hand.

The other vampire hesitated only a moment.

Ana Luisa smiled as the two men she loved most in the world shook hands. Rising on her tiptoes, she kissed Jason on the cheek, and then she kissed Ramon. "Thank you," she said. "Both of you."

Rourke took both of her hands in his. "If he ever hurts you, if you ever need me..."

"I know. Thank you, Jason, for everything."

He nodded. With a last warning glance at Vega, Rourke turned and headed for home. He grunted softly. He had no home, no place to call his own save the shed in Karinna's backyard, and that wasn't really his. He needed to find a more secure lair, perhaps some kind of employment, though he had no idea what kind of work he could do in this day and age. Still, he wasn't the kind of man to let a woman support him. He had allowed Karinna to provide him with clothing and shelter, partly because it was necessary, and partly because he wanted to be near her, but it was unfair to expect Karinna to continue to provide for his needs. He had every intention of repaying her for what she had spent on him, and on Ana Luisa, as well.

As a young man, he had been in charge of his family's estate. He had looked after the land and the livestock, managed the family finances, settled whatever disputes arose, but that had been 736 years ago.

Muttering an oath, he turned down a dark street in search of prey. It took only minutes to find what he sought. Bending over the woman's neck, he wished it was Karinna in his arms, Karinna's essence filling him, warming him.

Karinna...She wanted him, he thought, but not enough to accept him for what he was. The thought saddened him even though he could understand her apprehension, perhaps better than she understood it herself. For the first time in his life, he was in love, really in love. Ana had found someone to love. The fact that Vega was a vampire hadn't kept her from loving him. Ana had wanted to be with him and she had taken the steps necessary to join her life with his.

Rourke swore softly, annoyed with himself for envying Ramon and Ana Luisa, angry with Karinna because she couldn't love him as wholeheartedly as Ana loved Ramon Vega.

Releasing the woman in his thrall, he sent her on her way.

Heading for Karinna's house, he wondered how he could overcome her innate wariness of what he was and win her to his side.

He shook his head. Perhaps she needed some time to herself. Perhaps it was time for him to go to the house of Vilnius and retrieve his father's sword. It was all Rourke had left from his father, the only physical possession that he had owned that was important to him after he had been turned. It represented his father's love, his home and his family, and all that was forever lost to him.

Maybe it would be wiser to let Vilnius keep the sword, he mused as he turned down yet another dark street. Maybe he should just forget who he had been and where he had come from. That man was dead. And yet, it was because the sword reminded him of who and what he had once been that he refused to let it go. It would be all too easy to lose himself in what he had become, to let go of his tenuous hold on what was left of his humanity, to become what so many others of his kind became--merciless hunters who preyed on mankind as if men and women and even children were no more than so many sheep, put on the earth for no other reason than to provide nourishment for his kind.

Muttering an oath, he turned the corner and headed back toward Karinna's house. He needed a place of his own, he thought again, a lair where he could take his rest in more comfortable surroundings than the wooden shed in Karinna's backyard.

Chapter 24

Vilnius rented a car at the airport. It was amazing how much had changed in the fifty years since he had last been to America. He didn't remember the freeways being so crowded, the buildings so large or so numerous. Of course, there had been similar changes in the rest of the world, as well. Houses springing up where there had once been only acres of green fields. Highways snaking their way through towns and cities, over mountains and along the coasts.

He had always admired the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and endless optimism of the people of America, but he much preferred his own land, where life was slower and not so crowded.

He stopped at the first hotel he came to. The clerk informed him that there were no rooms available without a reservation, but five minutes and one quick spell later, Vilnius was relaxing in the bridal suite on the top floor, a bottle of expensive champagne and a basket of fruit awaiting his pleasure.

Americans, he thought, they certainly know how to live. He glanced out the window, surprised by the sense of lethargy that tugged at him. He had expected to be eager to confront Rourke; instead, he found himself thinking of Luisa, wondering how she had died, and if she had suffered. He was even more surprised to find himself grieving her loss. He had scarcely thought of her in three hundred years. Now that she was gone, he could think of little else. He had once had plans for his daughter. He had intended to free her from the painting at some future date and continue her instruction in the art of magic, perhaps even teach her the Dark Arts. What a pair they would have made.