"So, how about cookin' up those steaks while I take a shower?"

Daisy nodded.

"Don't forget, I like mine rare."

"Right." She hoped Alex was hungry enough to eat both steaks, because there was no way she was going to be able to keep anything down while watching her brother devour a filet mignon that was still blood-red inside.

Chapter 17

Erik wasn't in the best of moods when he arrived at Costain's house at nine o'clock that night.

"Another meeting?" he asked irritably, glancing at the other vampires gathered in the living room. "We haven't met this often in the last fifty years."

"And we wouldn't be meeting tonight if it wasn't necessary," Rhys said. "Sit down."

"I prefer to stand."

Rhys glared at him a moment, then shrugged. "Do whatever the hell you please. We're still waiting for Julius."

Erik grunted softly. "He's probably out preying on some helpless infant."

"Whether he is or isn't is none of your business," Rhys said. It was an unwritten law among vampires that you didn't judge or interfere with another's choice of prey.

"The man gives vampires a bad name," Erik said flatly. "Why don't you get rid of him?"

"What's the matter, Erik?" Mariah asked, a sneer in her voice. "Are you going all goody-goody on us?"

Erik glanced at Damon, who sat beside Mariah. "I'm not surprised you don't see anything wrong with Julius's choice of prey," he said, "considering you like little boys."

Mariah sprang to her feet, her eyes blazing red, her fangs extended.

"Enough!" Rhys's voice cut through the tension between them. "We have more important matters to settle here."

"I say let 'em fight it out," Julius said, materializing beside Rhys.

"Don't we have enough people out to get us without turning on each other?" Rhys asked.

Julius shrugged.

"Mariah, sit down!" Rhys said impatiently. "Erik, you, too."

Erik glared at Rhys and remained standing.

"So, why are we here?" Julius asked.

"I had a call from a friend of mine in San Diego. Two fledglings were destroyed earlier today. I was at the scene a little while ago."

"Any idea who the hunter is?" Damon asked.

"No. If it was the same bastard who destroyed Tina and killed Craig, he didn't leave any scent behind this time."

"We need to find out what he's using to mask his scent," Rupert said.

"Yeah," Julius agreed. "Then find the guy who's making it and put him out of business."

Damon pumped his fist in the air. "Sounds good to me!"

"You young ones," Nicholas remarked with a wry grin. "Always ready for a fight."

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Rhys said. "I want each of you to take a part of the state and see if you can find this guy before he finds us."

"I'll take the coast," Mariah said.

"I'll head up north," Rupert decided. "I always liked it up there."

Erik glanced around the room. "I'm staying here, if no one objects."

"I do," Damon said. "I want to stay in LA."

Erik let his eyes go red. "You want to fight me for it?" he asked, displaying a hint of fang.

Damon shook his head. "No, I guess not. I'll go down south."

Rhys met Erik's gaze and grinned. The kid didn't have the guts for a fight and they both knew it. They had a bet going as to how much longer Damon would survive. Rhys gave the kid another five years; Erik had doubts he would last another two.

While the other vampires picked their areas, Erik's thoughts turned to Daisy. He needed to see her, to assure himself that she was all right. Last night, she had as much as said there was no chance for them. He could live with that if he had to. What he couldn't live with was not seeing her again. Going to her house probably wasn't the wisest thing to do for two reasons--one, she might slam the door in his face. Two, her brother, the hunter, was there, but what the hell? A man had to take a risk now and then.

Daisy glanced at her watch when someone knocked at the door. It was a quarter to eleven. She frowned, wondering who would come calling at such an hour.

Alex glanced at Daisy over the magazine he was reading. "A little late for visitors, isn't it?"

"A little."

"Want me to get it?"

"I think I can handle it," she said, rising. "I've been answering the door by myself for years now."

Muttering, "Smart-ass," Alex turned the page.

Daisy's heart skipped a beat when she opened the door and saw Erik standing on the porch. What was he doing there? Hadn't they decided not to see each other again?

"Hi," he said. "I know it's late, well, for you, but...I just came by to say hello."

"Hello." She took a step back. "Come on in."

"Why don't you come out?"

Daisy glanced over her shoulder to find Alex watching her intently. "I think that's a good idea. Alex," she called, raising her voice, "I'm going out."

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Don't wait up." She closed the door before he could object. "So, where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere you want. To the Crypt. For a walk. To my place."

"I think I've spent enough time at your place, thank you very much."

Erik laughed softly as he pulled her behind a tree and drew her into his arms. She could be charmingly prim, even naive, at times. It fascinated him almost as much as her innate sexiness. She seemed totally unaware that she was a beautiful, desirable woman.

"I've missed you," he murmured huskily, and claimed her lips with his.

Pleasure flowed through Daisy, warm and sweet, tantalizing her senses. She pressed her body against his, reveling in his touch, loving the way their bodies fit together, her softness to his strength.

He kissed her again, and yet again, his tongue dueling with hers in a primal dance of mating and seduction. His hands skimmed up and down the length of her back, moved to tease the curve of her breast, then slid down over her buttocks to pull her closer.

Daisy moaned softly. She savored his kiss for another moment, then pushed him away, afraid that if he kissed her again, she might drag him down on the grass and do it right there.

"I think we should go for a walk and cool off," she said, somewhat breathlessly. "What do you think?"

"I don't think you want to know what I'm thinking," he muttered dryly.

"Erik..."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, taking her by the hand. "Come on." They walked in silence for a few moments before he said, "So, how's your brother?"

"He's fine. He's looking for Rhys."

"Is he?" Erik grunted softly. "You'd better hope he doesn't find him."

"What do you mean?"

"Rhys will kill him," Erik said flatly. "Your brother won't be the first one to try to take Rhys out. And he'll fail, just like all the rest."

Daisy's heart went cold at his words. "Has he killed a lot of hunters?"

"Oh, yeah. Right around twenty that I know of, and that's just in the last three or four years. If you're smart, you'll tell your brother to pack up and go home."

"As if he'd listen." She hesitated a moment and then, shoving her guilt way down deep, she said, "Did you know someone has put out a hit on Rhys?"

"Yeah, we know about that."

"What am I going to do? Alex is determined to collect that reward. He's like a pit bull when he sets his mind to something. He sinks his teeth in and doesn't let go."

Erik squeezed her hand. "Sounds like your brother and Rhys have a lot in common."

"I can't let him kill my brother!" Alex had always been Daisy's favorite. He was the one she had run to for comfort when she was in kindergarten and Bobby Thomson called her names, the one who had showed her how to blow a bubble with bubblegum, the one who had taught her how to roller-skate. As a teenager, it had been Alex she confided in, Alex who had stood up for her.

"Honey, if your brother finds Rhys, Rhys will kill him, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Coming to a halt, Daisy looked up at Erik, her gaze searching his. "Can you?"

"I don't know," Erik said after a moment. He had wondered, from time to time, if he could whip Rhys in a fight. Realistically, he hoped he would never have to find out. "He means a lot to you?"

"Alex? Of course. He's my brother."

"Of course." Sometimes it was hard to remember how strongly woven familial ties could be. He had loved his wife and children, but that had been centuries ago. In the first few years after he had been turned, he had sometimes spied on other families, torturing himself with what he had lost. He had stood on the outside, watching mothers and fathers gather their children around the hearth at Christmastime, carving pumpkins for Halloween, coloring eggs at Easter. He had ached inside as he observed mothers rocking their babies to sleep, watching fathers tuck their sons into bed at night.

Daisy started walking again and he fell into step beside her, shortening his stride to match hers.

"Did you have brothers or sisters?" Daisy asked after a while.

"No. My mother used to tell me I was all she needed. I always thought she didn't want any more kids because I was such a horrible child."

"Were you? A horrible child?" It was hard to imagine Erik as young and vulnerable. He was so self-assured, so invincible. It was easier to picture him as a young Greek god than as a mortal child.

"Yes," he said, smiling. "I suppose I was. I burned down the stable while trying to master the art of conjuring fire. I killed a chicken when I tried to turn it into a duck..."