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  Tempting the

  Darkness

  by Shiela Stewart

  Breathless Press

  Calgary, Alberta

  www.breathlesspress.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or

  persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Tempting the Darkness

  Copyright© 2009 Shiela Stewart

  ISBN: 978-0-9782744-8-1

  Cover Artist: Justyn Perry

  Editor: Shiela Stewart

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations

  embodied in reviews.

  Breathless Press

  www.breathlesspress.com

  For my mother.

  You are the most amazing woman I have ever known. You have dealt with so much in your life and you have always stood strong. When you said you were a pillar, you were so right.

  Your strength astounds me.

  You astound me

  Prologue

  Jacob’s Cove, 2006

  Spring. What a glorious season. It was a time of fresh beginnings, of birth, of progress. Trees broke free of their wintery slumber to produce buds of soon to be stark green leaves and brilliantly colored blossoms. Flowers pushed through the ground in search of warmer surroundings. The grass that had been hidden for months beneath a blanket of white was perking up and reaching for the sky. Though the sun would not be at its warmest for months, today it put on a good show.

  It was a time of beginnings, but today would be a prelude to the end.

  Gabriella Hawthorn sat on the veranda with rose bushes on every side, which soon would begin to bud, the roof overhead shielding her delicate porcelain skin from the damaging rays. The filmy sundress fit a little more loosely than it had the summer before when she had cut it from the pattern and stitched it herself.

  A vision of loveliness captured in a decaying body.

  His mind drifted to a time when he’d first laid eyes on his beauty.

  He’d entered the flower shop with one plan in mind. To find shade plants for Basil’s mansion so he and Basil could sit outside during the day and not have the suns ray’s fry them. He’d been at a loss and had no idea what he was doing when she’d stepped into his view.

  “May I help you, sir?”

  Her voice was like a song that lingered gently in his mind. Turning to greet the woman who had so kindly offered her help, he was awestruck by her beauty. She had a face that reminded him of a nineteen forties movie actress. Flawless porcelain skin, dark, dreamy eyes fanned by thick lashes. Her beauty took his breath away.

  “Sir?” She tilted her head to the side.

  Helpless, he couldn’t stop gazing upon her. When she smiled at him, his heart skipped a beat.

  “Are you all right, sir?”

  “Cooper,” he blurted out, then cleared his throat. “Sorry, yes, I’m fine. My name is Cooper. Cooper Hawthorn. Perfect, now I’m babbling.” He gave his head a shake, once again clearing his throat. “I’m in need of some sort of plant that will tolerate the sun as well as vine along a trellis to provide shade to a deck. I would prefer a flowering vine, not too pungent yet giving off a fragrant scent.”

  Her lips curved up in a glorious smile that nearly knocked him off his feet. “You certainly are specific in your needs. Well, let’s see what we can find for you. My name is Gabriella.”

  Gabriella. It suited her perfectly.

  He followed her as she made her way through the aisles of the garden shop, transfixed by the gentle sway of her body as she moved. She had a grace that very few women came by naturally. The long, white skirt she wore hid what he was most certain would be a killer set of legs.

  “Are you a gardener, Cooper?”

  She should bottle that voice. It could calm the most savage of beasts. “I dabble, but I’m finding a strong likeness for the act.”

  “Are you now?” She smiled back at him. “Well then, you came to the right place. I absolutely love trumpet vines.” His gaze shifted to the vibrant red horn-shaped flowers stabbing out from dark green leaves she pointed out. “They are hardy and will give you the shade you desire.”

  “They’re perfect. I would like to purchase enough to cover a fifteen foot radius.”

  Her mouth dropped open, then closed before she responded. “That’s quite the order. We may have to special order some in from our other stores to accommodate.”

  “How long would that take?”

  She shifted her stance, her eyes taking on a look that told him she was thinking. “I could put a rush on it and have them to you by the end of the week.”

  “That would be perfect!”

  “Wonderful. Is there anything else I can help you with or will this be all?”

  She was such a proper lady, a rare find these days. “I could use some lilies and daises as well.”

  “All right, let me show you what we have.”

  They had spent an hour together, picking out flowers, talking about planting them in just the right spot to keep them looking lush for years. He regretted leaving her, even more so after not having asked her for a date. But he made up for it the following week when she appeared at his door with the shipment of flowers he’d ordered.

  “I wasn’t expecting you to deliver them,” he said with a great deal of surprise in his voice.

  She smiled at him, the warmth it caused him like a gentle ray of sunshine on a dark soul. “I couldn’t resist. The instant you gave me the address I was curious. I’ve always been curious about this place. There aren’t many castles in Jacob’s Cove.”

  She was right about that. As a matter of fact, there was only one. “Would you care for a tour?”

  She waved a delicate hand. “Oh, I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “You could never be a bother,” he said sincerely. When she tilted her head at his comment, he cleared his throat. “I could show you around while the men unload the flowers.”

  The smile lit her eyes. “Well then, that would work out perfectly.”

  It took him nearly half an hour to show her the upper and main floors. He decided it was best not to show her the dungeon, for obvious reasons. By the time they were through with the tour, the flowers had been unloaded from the truck, ready to be planted.

  “It is a perfect day for planting.”

  She stepped out into the sun, tipping her face up to it. Cooper was struck by the beauty of the sunlight dabbing her face with a radiant glow and spoke without thinking. “Will you have dinner with me?”

  She turned to him, her face solemn. “Why, Cooper, how bold of you.”

  “I…uh…” He should have known better.

  “I thought you would never ask.”

  He choked out his response. “Oh, dear. I have never done anything as bold as that before.”

  He knew at that very moment she touched a hand to his cheek that he was in love. “I’m honored to have been the first. Now, would you like help in planting these gorgeous blooms?”

  “I would love that.”

  He’d had to lie to her then about not being able to stand the sunlight, telling her he suffered a rare form of skin condition that worsened in direct sunlight. He hated lying to her at the time but k
new he had no other choice.

  So in his big, floppy straw hat, coveralls that covered every inch if his skin, the gloves that came to his elbows, they sat together in the afternoon on that day he’d first tested his boldness and planted flowers.

  ***

  “There’s plenty of shade here for the both of us. You need not worry. Care to join me, Cooper?”

  He came out of his thoughts to give her a bright smile. The ice in the glasses of chilled tea he held crackled as he shifted his stance to start towards her. “I was admiring the beauty before me. I thought you might like a cool glass of tea.”

  “It would go down smoothly right about now.” Lifting her left hand, she caressed his cheek as he set the glasses on the wicker folding table beside her chair.

  That simple touch did so much to him. “The tulips are beginning to show their heads.” He took the chair opposite the tiny table between them, raising his glass. “I predict a stellar year for them this summer.”

  “You say that every summer.” When she smiled at him he felt his heart skip a beat “When do you have to return to Basil?”

  He swirled the glass in his hand as he looked out over the stretch of land before him that he called home. “As usual, six tomorrow morning.” He wished the time until then would drag on for an eternity.

  She reached across the table to touch his hand. “It would be so much easier if you would tell him about me.”

  He set his glass down, shifting in his seat to take both her hands in his. “We’ve discussed this many times, Gabriella. You are safer if no one knows about you.”

  She sighed, as she always did, and nodded. “I just think it would be easier for you to not have to live two separate lives. I worry for you, my darling.”

  With a smile on his lips, he brought her hands to his mouth, brushing a whisper of a kiss to her joined knuckles. “You need not worry for me, sweetheart. I’ve the resilience of a dozen men.”

  “You need not remind me of your resilience.” Her eyes grew dreamy as she spoke. “You showed me quite well last night.”

  Hearing the hint of seduction in her voice stirred his most primal needs. She’d been so giving the night before, and he had been so utterly eager to have her. Thinking about the way her body had felt against his, the way she’d murmured her pleasure against his ear only increased his need for her now. He considered carrying her off to their bedroom just to feel her delicate skin and taste her luscious lips again…but now was not the time. “How are you feeling? You didn’t rest well.”

  She slipped her hands from his to lift her glass to her lips for a sip. “The nights seem to be the worst. If I lie for more than an hour, my body begins to ache something fierce.”

  He knew the reason why.

  How did you tell the woman you loved more than life itself that she was going to die? “Dr. Stanton called me this morning.”

  Her eyes perked up as she looked at him from beneath the brim of her hat. “Philip called you? What did he want?”

  Cooper stood, gazing out at the land before him. The sky bloomed a serene brilliant blue, yet his heart ached. “They call for rain later today. I was hoping to take you for a picnic later this evening but I might have to alter those plans.” He flinched when her hand touched his shoulder.

  “Cooper, I know you well enough to know when you are stalling. If it rains, then the tulips will be happy. Our picnic can always wait until next weekend.” She turned him to face her. “What did Philip want?”

  Oh, she was such a vision, his Gabriella. Her long, brown hair flowed like blankets of silk over her frail shoulders. Those big, brown eyes of hers would haunt him for years to come. “Your test results are in.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Oh. Well, don’t keep a girl waiting. What did they have to say?”

  Taking both of her hands in his, Cooper drew in a calming breath. “Your cancer has returned.”

  She looked down, taking in a deep breath. “As I suspected.”

  He touched her face, drawing her attention back to him. “I don’t want to lose you, my precious love.”

  “I’m not ready to leave you just yet either.”

  “It’s worse this time.”

  “I know.”

  “I would do anything to keep you here with me.”

  She took a step back. “Not that.”

  “No! Oh no, that wasn’t what I meant. I gave you my word that I would not turn you. There’s a way…” He took her hands in his once more. “An experimental procedure that would allow you to sleep in stasis until a cure can be found.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “How do you mean?”

  “Cryogenics. What happens is you are put into a coma, then frozen in sleep while I, along with Philip, look for a cure.”

  “What if one isn’t found?”

  “I will never stop until there is.”

  “But I will be without you. You without me.”

  He caressed her face with his hand, her skin as soft as silk. “You will be asleep. You won’t know you’re without me. My time will be spent finding a cure. I won’t sleep until I do.”

  She leaned in to brush her lips over his. “Darling, you’re a vampire, not a robot. You need sleep as well as I do.”

  He closed his eyes to capture the moment. “You know what I meant.”

  “I do. I love you with all my heart, Cooper.I know you will do everything in your power to cure me of this retched disease.”

  Yes, he would. “Then I have your consent?”

  She smiled. It was a picture he would carry with him forever. “You have my consent.”

  Chapter One

  Jacob’s Cove, 2026

  Six months of darkness

  Cooper heard the commotion coming from the dungeon below the instant he stepped into the kitchen to start lunch. Though he didn’t know why he bothered when neither Basil or Trinity had much of an appetite lately. Still, the others in the group could pop in—and usually did—at any time.

  Although the dungeon was fairly soundproof, Cooper’s keen hearing picked up the screams. Racing down to the dungeon, Cooper threw the door open to find Basil standing over a young man, both of them bloody.

  “I have all sorts of ideas when it comes to torture. I can go on for hours. Can you?”

  The screams split through the air, sending a chill down Cooper’s spine. The young man’s hand that had been fastened to a cinder block was coated in sickly, gray blood.

  “Now, I ask you again. Where is Chaos?”

  “I…don’t…know,” the young man wheezed, kneeling on the floor, his head down, brown hair matted over his face.

  “Then you shall lose another.”

  Cooper turned away just as Basil sliced off one of the boy’s fingers. The cries from the young man sunk right to Cooper’s gut, drawing a vile sickness up to his throat. “Basil.”

  “Not now, Cooper. I’m busy.”

  Apparently he was enjoying what he was doing. The look on Basil’s face reminded Cooper far too much of Basil’s father. “The lad will keep. I must speak with you now.”

  Basil angled a steely look Cooper’s way. Then he stepped away from the bloody vampire boy, wiping his brow with his forearm as he walked to the cell doors. “What is so important that you needed to interrupt me while I’m interrogating a suspect, Cooper?”

  Cooper opened the cell door, saying nothing, held a hand out as an indication of wanting Basil to follow him. With a snarled response, Basil exited the cell. Cooper stepped up to the sink near the back of the room that was used—in its day of torture—to wash the blood from the assailant’s hands. Lifting the glass mirror from its place on the wall, he held it up in front of Basil. “Who do you see?”

  Basil growled, baring sharp, white fangs. “This is what you pulled me away from my task for?”r />
  “Who do you see?”

  Basil’s icy blue eyes narrowed. When he spoke it was through gritted teeth. “Myself. May I return now?”

  “Look closer.”

  “Damn it, Cooper—”

  “Look closer!” Cooper insisted sternly. This time, Basil’s eyes began to glow, but he looked back into the mirror.

  “I see myself.”

  “Then your eyes are as clouded as your judgment. Do you know who I see, Basil?”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass—”

  “Avadur,” Cooper cut him off, the name alone had Basil pausing. “There is pleasure in your eyes, the same pleasure I would see come into your father’s eyes when he was torturing you. I feel the coldness emanating from your heart that was so chilling in your father.”

  Basil stepped back as if he finally saw what Cooper did. He turned away from the mirror, looking down at his hands, coated in sickly, gray vampire blood.

  “We both know that boy has no information for you. We both know he is not an appropriate means for you to vent your frustrations and pain on.” Cooper placed his hands on Basil’s shoulders, turning him. “Your anger is not with that boy.”

  “I can’t take my anger out on the one who deserves it.”

  Cooper ran his hand over Basil’s long, dark hair, much like he had when Basil had been a boy, in dire need of affection. “Taking it out on the innocent only turns you into a monster. I won’t stand by and allow that. Go, be with Trinity. Console each other.”

  “I can’t make her come out of Felicity’s room.”

  The tears in Basil’s eyes made Cooper’s heart ache. “Then go there to be with her. You need each other.” Grabbing the towel hanging by the sink, Cooper laid it over Basil’s bloody hands. “I’ll take care of the boy.”

  Basil nodded. Walking to the dungeon’s exit, he paused. “What would I ever do without you, Cooper?”

  The instant Basil was gone, Cooper turned to the boy. He was curled up on the floor, clutching what remained of his hand. Cooper knelt down, taking the mangled hand in his. Basil had done a number on the boy. He’d severed all but two of the young man’s fingers. Though he wouldn’t die from blood loss, he would suffer the pain.