No, he must have been imagining things.
As he approached the site, he heard conversations and recognized some of the voices of the two dozen vampires in and around an old log cabin.
“I thought that might be you.”
Jake spun around at the voice to find Katie standing close, her eyes glistening and her wild auburn hair brassy in the moonlight. He smiled.
She slid her hands across his chest, cooing softly. “It’s been too long, Jake.” Leaning forward, she ran her tongue slowly up the side of his neck, tracing the line of his jugular.
Jake shuddered at the pleasure and grabbed her waist. “Oh, yeah,” he whispered. “Way too long.”
He wanted to fold her in his arms and drink from her until he’d had his fill of the bliss she would offer, but he knew Katie McMillan as few others ever could. Katie would never be dominated by a male of any species, now that she had a say in the matter. With Katie, it was better to wait, and he knew she’d make the wait worth his while.
She pressed the points of her fangs against the skin of his neck as she reached down to rub the front of his pants.
Jake’s knees shook. “Damn, woman, you’re making it hard—”
“Umm,” she purred.
“—for me to stand up.”
Katie straightened, knocked his hat off his head, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and kissed him. Her full, sweet lips met his squarely, and she worked his mouth open with her own as she gripped a handful of his hair.
Jake steadied himself by widening his stance as he kissed her back and drew her close. They fit together just as they always had, like two halves of a whole. Katie’s tongue circled his, then slid along the sides of his growing fangs. The sensations running through him were like electrical currents zapping his limbs, and his cock also grew in response. Katie slid her knee between his thighs, pushing just enough to make him groan again.
She tore her mouth from his and stared at him with her golden glowing eyes. “Spend the day with me, my love.”
“As you wish,” he said, grinning again. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”
Katie raked her fingers through his hair, then drew him to her for another kiss.
“Oh, please.” Skidmore leaned close to their faces. “Must you do this in public? It smacks of romanticism so unbecoming of our kind.”
Katie smiled against Jake’s lips, then glanced over at Skidmore. “Don’t worry, Thomas. I promise you’ll get the spanking you deserve.”
Skidmore grinned, his own eyes twinkling with a bit of gold. “Then I shall not complain. Come, the meeting’s about to start.”
He led the way into the cabin.
Jake snatched his hat from the ground. He held Katie’s hand until they reached the door, then he released her, stepped inside, and found a place against the back wall.
As members of the enforcement committee, Katie and Skidmore wound their way to the front, and André, the elected leader, moved forward.
Jake preferred to stay out of the politics of the group, although he’d often been called on to lend expertise from his human life in law enforcement over the past century or so. In spite of the group’s mission to protect its members, anarchy tended to reign when there was no outside threat. Several times, Jake had helped track down one of their own.
But tonight, excitement filled the room like the scent of frying bacon.
André silenced the group with a look. His age alone would have commanded respect—Jake estimated him to be about fifteen hundred years old—but the ancient vampire also possessed wisdom nearly everyone appreciated. He’d held the top position for over a hundred years.
“My brothers and sisters,” André said, his voice just above a whisper, “I’m happy to see so many here. We’ve suffered several recent losses, and I will sorely miss Shadow and William Sears.”
Jake glanced around the room, lit by a half dozen oil lamps. He hadn’t yet noticed the absence of the two mentioned, perhaps because he was having a difficult time taking his eyes off Katie. Her invitation had left him way beyond horny. His hands shook with anticipation, so he tucked them into the pockets of his pants.
André had his attention now.
“Society changes. The reason we are here, when so many before us have perished, is that we have learned to change with it. Many times, I’ve seen scourges that have threatened to wipe us out—periods in history where belief has made us visible to our mortal prey. One such scourge is upon us again.”
Whispers rose as vampires discussed this news.
André raised one hand, and the cabin fell silent again.
“This threat has come,” he continued, “in the form of vampire hunters, produced by the recent popularity of Van Helsing.”
Ah, the old moving pictures. Jake had realized they’d be a hit the first time he’d seen one, and he certainly hadn’t been wrong.
“When the myth of vampires—”
Chuckles filled the cabin.
“—was rekindled in recent times, we were endangered by those who wished to emulate us. They were able to see us for what we were. But this is much worse. The vampire hunters know our weaknesses. They are effectively armed and determined to wipe us from the face of the earth.”
A fair fight. Jake grinned. How long had it been since he’d stared a worthy opponent in the eye, when he’d stood an equal chance of living or dying? The thought caused his heart to quickly beat several times in a row.
One thing he’d missed since coming into the Night was standing on even ground, testing his nerve against that of another man, feeling the weight of his revolver on his hip. He’d nearly given up early on when he’d realized there was no challenge.
And then he’d spent several decades playing with fire, running the risk of exposure just to test his courage. Skidmore had actually saved him once when he’d decided to see how long he could face the sun. He’d purposely driven to a spot in the high New Mexico desert where he had no shelter, then waited. The sun had not just burned his skin as he’d expected, but had sucked out his strength so that he collapsed, unable to move. As he cried out in excruciating pain, he’d suddenly been whisked into darkness, and discovered caves he hadn’t known existed. Skidmore had laughed at his folly, then nursed him back to health.
That was when he’d met Katie.
“I think we should round them all up and drain them,” Katie said. “We’ll show them who they’re messing with.”
Cheers of support rose, but André raised both hands. “One moment, please.”
Katie folded her arms across her chest and frowned.
The ancient vampire spoke again. “We cannot simply have a portion of the population disappear without lending credence to their claims of dangerous monsters. I propose that we first study the group—find out exactly who they are.”
“Know your enemy,” Jake muttered.
“Once we understand them, we will find a way to discredit them.”
“I prefer Katie’s method,” Skidmore said. Several others in the room agreed with him.
“I understand the desire for action,”