“You don’t have to marry me because you’re grateful, or because you want a lifetime supply of my blood.”

“Savanah, if all I wanted was your blood, I could take it any time I wished.” Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed her palm. “I love you. I think I’ve loved you for years.”

“Oh, Rane…” She slid off the sofa into his lap, her arms twining around his neck. “I love you, too!”

“Then you’ll marry me?”

“Yes, oh, yes!”

“Do you think you’d like to be a magician’s assistant? It might be good for my act to have a pretty woman on stage.”

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be.”

Murmuring her name, he buried his face in the wealth of her hair, his arms holding her close, his throat tight with unshed tears. “I’ll do my best to make you happy.”

“You already make me happy.”

Looking up, he brushed a lock of hair from her face. “So, what do you say we go see my folks?”

“So soon?” she exclaimed.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Nothing? A lone mortal, who was supposed to be a hunter, in a den of Vampires?

“You’ve already met Rafe. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No, but…”

“Remember when you said my being a Vampire was just a quirk? Well, think of it as a hereditary quirk. My family all suffer from it, but they’re good people.”

Savanah settled in his lap. “So, tell me about them.”

“Well, my grandfather Roshan is somewhere around four hundred years old.”

“Just a baby when compared to Mara,” Savanah muttered.

“I guess you could say that. My grandmother Brenna is a witch.”

“I thought she was a Vampire?”

“She is.”

A witch and a Vampire. Now there was a combination to be reckoned with, Savanah mused.

“You’ll like her,” Rane said. “Grandfather went back in time and saved her from being burned at the stake.”

“You’re kidding? People can’t go back in time.”

Rane shrugged. “Maybe not, but my grandfather did. You’ll have to get one of them to tell you the whole story. My father is a mechanic, or at least he used to be. I don’t know if he’s still working or not. I haven’t seen any of them in years.” Mara had told him that they had all moved to some little town in Oregon about five years ago, and that Kathy’s friend, Susie, and her Were-tiger husband, Cagin, had followed a year later.

“What about your mother?” Savanah asked.

Rane shrugged. “She’s just Mom.”

“And they all like being Vampires?”

“So far.” He brushed a kiss across her lips. “No one will pressure you to accept the Dark Gift, love. That decision will be yours.”

“But you’d like me to?” Her joy at his proposal ebbed as reality again crept in.

“Very much.” He kissed the length of her neck, his mouth warm against her skin.

“Rane, be honest. Do you really think we can make a life together?”

“Don’t you?”

“Maybe for a while, but what happens when I’m old? I don’t mean forty or fifty, but what if, God willing, I live to be a hundred and ten? You’ll still look the way you do now. You’ll want a woman who can keep up with you, one who can make love all night long, and…”

Rane put his hand over her mouth, silencing her. “Stop that.”

She kissed his palm, then drew his hand away. “It’s something we need to think about, no matter how painful it might be.”

“Savanah…”

“Most couples grow old together. We won’t.”

Rane swore softly. “Have you changed your mind about us?”

“No, but…”

“I’m going to Oregon to see my folks. I want you to come with me.”

“We haven’t settled anything.”

“I love you,” Rane said. “You love me. Everything else can be worked out, in time.”

She looked into his eyes, his beautiful dark eyes, and wanted more than anything else in the world to believe him.

“Come home with me,” Rane coaxed softly, “meet my family. We won’t say anything about getting married.”

“All right.”

Drawing her close, he kissed her, long and hard and deep. “We’ll leave tomorrow.”

Chapter Forty

They left at sunset. Savanah stared out the window. The ocean was beautiful in the waning light of the setting sun. Once she thought she saw a whale break the surface. Gradually, the sky grew darker, until it was hard to tell where the sea ended and the horizon began.

With a sigh, she glanced at Rane. He drove with his left arm resting on the open window, his right hand lightly gripping the steering wheel. A breeze ruffled his hair. Just looking at him made her stomach curl with pleasure. They had made love last night. She smiled inwardly, remembering the wonder of it. She didn’t know if it was because they were now unofficially engaged, or because they had been apart for so long, but she had wanted him desperately and she hadn’t been afraid to show it. She didn’t remember ever being so uninhibited, or so vocal. Thinking of it now brought a rush of heat to her cheeks.

Feeling the weight of her gaze, Rane looked over at her and smiled. “You okay?”

“Definitely okay,” she said, recalling how she had insisted on being the aggressor in their lovemaking. She had batted his hands away when he tried to undress her. Determined to have her own way, she had undressed him, slowly and deliberately, then pushed him down on the bed. He had laughed, amused by her provocative behavior, but the laughter had died in his throat when she began a slow striptease. Neither had been laughing when she slithered into bed beside him.

She lifted a hand to her neck, her fingertips exploring the place where he had bitten her. He had taken only a little, but it had enhanced their lovemaking, heightening the pleasure of every kiss, every stroke of his hand.

Rane pulled over about an hour later so Savanah could get a quick bite to eat. She ordered a cup of coffee and a doughnut to go and they were back on the road.

It was a little after ten when they drove over the cattle guard at the town’s entrance. A sign proclaimed that Porterville had been incorporated in 1911 and had a population of five hundred people.

Since neither of them had ever been there before, Rane decided to have a look around. As he drove slowly through the town, Savanah counted two museums, a library, a historical society building, a couple of nice-looking restaurants, a gas station, and an old-fashioned general store. Thick stands of timber grew along the roadside and lined the distant fields.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Savanah remarked.

Rane pulled up in front of a motel, then turned to look at her. “Do you want to spend the night here, or go find my folks’ place?”

“Let’s stay here tonight.”

“Still nervous about meeting them?”

“A little. What if they don’t like me?”

“Savanah…”

“What if they look at me and all they see is dinner, or dessert? Stop that, it’s not funny!”

He tried to say he was sorry, but he couldn’t stop laughing.

Savanah punched him in the arm, realizing, too late, that it was going to hurt her fist more than his arm. The man had muscles of steel.

Rane took a deep breath, glanced at Savanah, and burst out laughing again.

“Anytime you’re through, I’d like to check into the motel and take a bath.”

“Sor—sorry.” He switched off the engine and got out of the car.

She didn’t wait for him to open her door. Grabbing her handbag, she swept into the office.

With a shake of his head, Rane grabbed her overnight bag and followed her inside. She was really something, he thought, and wondered how he had ever survived without her.

Rane squeezed Savanah’s hand. “Just relax. They’re going to love you.”

“Right.” Savanah took a deep breath as they walked up the pathway to his parents’ house. It was a pretty place, white with dark green trim. Tall trees rose behind the house; a riot of colorful flowers surrounded a small fountain. It didn’t look the least bit the way she had expected a Vampire’s home to look. It was like expecting Dracula and finding Mary Poppins.

Savanah looked up at Rane as he knocked on the door. There was a faint tremor in the hand she was holding, and she realized he was just as nervous as she was.

The man who opened the door looked enough like Rane to be his brother. He had the same chiseled features, strong jaw, and thick black hair. The only difference she could see was in their eyes—Rane’s were black, his father’s were dark brown.

Vince Cordova took one look at his son and drew him into his arms. “Welcome home, son.”

All Savanah’s fears melted as she watched the two men embrace; the love and affection between them was almost palpable.

Clearing his throat, Vince held his son at arm’s length. “I can’t believe you’re here. Let me have a look at you. Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?” Vince glanced at Savanah. “This pretty lady must be Savanah.” Releasing his son, Vince held out his hand. “I’m Rane’s father.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Cordova.”

“Just Vince. Come on inside. I can’t wait to see Cara’s face when she sees the two of you.”

The inside of the house was lovely, all done in shades of green and mauve. A pretty woman with long blond hair sat in a chair beside the fireplace. She looked up from the book she was reading when they entered the room, her blue eyes widening when she saw her son.

“Rane!” The book fell to the floor as she jumped to her feet.

“Hi, Mom.”

She hugged him fiercely, her eyes filling with tears. Tears that Savanah noticed were tinged with red.