His hand jerked toward his pistol.

"I wouldn't if I were you. A bullet might not kill her, but it sure as h.e.l.l would kill a human."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d," Roger said through gritted teeth.

"No. That's where you got it wrong. I'm just like you."

"You're nothing like me."

"I'm here to protect people. Isn't that what a cop does?"

"This is wrong. She can't help it she's a vampire. She's got just as much right to live as you do."

"They're parasites. How can it be wrong to rid the world of parasites? These creatures live off the blood of others. It's morally and biblically wrong. Don't you see? They have to die."

"All I see is a man murdering a woman."

"Come now, she didn't tell you she was a vampire at first did she?"

"That's none of your business." She hadn't and he'd been angry. None of that seemed to matter, now. "No one deserves to die like that."

"She didn't tell you, did she? And she bit you. Am I right?"

The tip of the pistol shifted from his temple to the spot on his neck that still ached from her bite. His anger at her betrayal paled in comparison to the desperation he was beginning to feel as the first rays of light bled over the horizon illuminating the morning clouds, blazing them mauve, magenta and orange. The bright orb of the sun had yet to make its appearance, but it was only a matter of minutes. Roger had to do something.

Julie stirred and tried to stretch. When her wrists met resistance, her eyes opened and she stared straight into his. "Roger? What's happening?" Her voice sounded groggy as if she'd drugged.

"Chloroform is very effective on vampires. Did you know that?" Marley's voice was almost gloating. "She didn't even have a chance to put up a fight. Did you, my dear?"

"I'm going to kick your a.s.s, Marley. I should have let Luke kill you. Instead I saved you and for what? So you could kill me? Fat chance." She struggled to free her hands, glancing over her shoulder at the horizon. "I'm going to kick your a.s.s, Marley."

"Let her go." Roger knew it was only a matter of time before Parker climbed the stairs to the rooftop. But would he in time to save Julie? Roger couldn't wait to find out. His hand jerked upward, knocking the pistol away from his neck, at the same time as he ducked and rolled away from Marley.

A shot rang out, hitting the roof beside Roger. "Don't move, or I'll kill you."

As the sun inched over the horizon, Julie still lay partially hidden from its killing rays in the shadows of an air conditioning unit. She didn't have much time and her hands weren't coming loose from the ropes Marley had used to bind her wrists. Still groggy from the chloroform, she couldn't seem to make her super-vampire strength work to free herself. "Let him go. It's me you want to kill, not him. Just let him go."

"No. I won't let him leave you here to die." Roger pushed to his feet and faced Marley. "Go ahead, shoot me, because I'm not going to let you kill her. I love her."

Julie's heart swelled as tears formed in her eyes. "No!" Julie fought her bonds. "Don't kill him. He's not a vampire. Roger, please, don't try to help me. Please don't die." Her tears tumbled down her cheeks.

He wasn't listening to her as he made his way across the rooftop.

Another shot rang out, hitting the tarpaper in front of Roger's feet. He kept walking, his gaze locked with hers.

"No, Roger. I don't want you to die," she cried, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.

He snorted. "And you think I want you to?"

"I mean it. I'll kill you." Bob Marley's voice wasn't nearly as convincing as he'd been before. "She has to die."

Julie's breath caught in her throat when another shot rang out.

Roger stopped only two feet from her and glanced over to Marley, a surprised look in his eyes.Had he been hit? Julie's gaze scanned his body for the telltale sign of blood, but she didn't see any. Then a thump made her look to where Marley had been standing a moment before. He lay at an odd angle on the rooftop, a bullet hole in his chest, his eyes open and staring at her. Behind him, at the door leading down into the apartment building, stood Chase Parker, Roger's partner.

Julie sagged against the clothesline, relief washing over her. At that moment the sun touched her leg, then her arm and the side of her face, her skin heating to a searing pain.

"Come on we have to get you out of here." Roger pulled a knife from his pocket and hacked away at the ropes, blocking as much of the killing rays of the sun from her skin as his he could while he worked over her bonds.

In a few moments, he lifted her from the roof and ran toward the door just as the top of the building was bathed in sunlight.

Once the door was closed behind her, Roger set her on her feet and stared into her face. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I am now." Where the sun had burned her skin, the marks had already begun to fade. She shrugged and gave him a wry smile. "One of the perks. I heal fast."

"Come on, let's get you home." Without another word, he led the way down the steps to the bottom floor.

"I have a blanket in the trunk of my car. Wait here." Parker left them standing in the entryway and ran for the car.

When he returned, Roger wrapped her in the old wool army blanket and hustled her out to the Mustang, settling her low in the backseat.

Parker handed Roger the keys to his car. "Here, take my car. I'll handle everything here."

"You sure?" Roger stared hard at his friend and then stuck out his hand. "Thanks."

From her position in the backseat of the car, Julie called out, "Thanks, Chase. I owe you."

"Just get inside. I'll see you later. Maybe you can fill me in on everything then." Chase saluted her and pulled his cell phone from the leather case on his utility belt. "Go on."

Roger climbed in and shut the door. A moment later, the car roared to life and whipped out onto the street.

All the way to her place, Julie tried to think of something to say to him, but the longer Roger remained quiet, the less Julie wanted to break the silence. What was he thinking? Was he still angry at her? Did he wish he'd never met her? Did he really mean it when he'd said he loved her?

Julie bet he'd thought she was still unconscious when he'd said those three words. Perhaps she had been and she'd dreamed them.

The car finally eased to a stop and Roger leaped out. Once he'd adjusted the seat forward, Julie climbed from the back seat, the blanket wrapped around as much of her body as she could manage. She hurried into the old house, met in the entryway by William and Kim.

"Thank G.o.d." Kim wrapped her arms around her and hugged her close. "I thought he'd killed you."

"For a while there I thought he would too," Julie muttered into her friend's shirt.

"What about Marley?"

"He's dead." Roger stepped in and grabbed Julie's elbow. "If you have a moment, I'd like to talk." Kim's eyes widened and she moved to stand next to William. "I'll be across the hall at William's, if you need me."

"I shouldn't, but thank you." Julie held her breath all the way up the stairs to her apartment, wondering what Roger could possibly have to say that he couldn't say in front of her friends. Or was this it and he was going to say he never wanted to see her again?

Her feet slowed and she almost tripped. Why hurry to listen to that? It was the last thing she wanted to hear from Roger's mouth.

Could she just turn around and walk back out into the sun? Death by burning to death almost seemed preferable to dying of a broken heart.

Her feet continued moving and eventually she made it to her apartment and inside.

She stood with her back to Roger, listening to the sounds of him softly closing the door. Time to face the music.

Before she could take a deep breath, Roger's hands descended on her arms and he turned her to face him.

The haggard look on his face made her heart ache.

"I'm sorry, Roger. I should have told you," she blurted out.

"Shhh." He pressed finger to her lips.

"But I was wrong to keep it from you." She ducked her head, afraid to see the disappointment in his eyes. "You must hate me."

"Shut up." His words were followed by his lips, pressing against hers. The heat generated burned sweetly all the way down to her core.

"But-"

"I said shut up. I'm trying to kiss you."

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. "Oh."

Roger took advantage of her surprise and claimed her lips in a soul-defining a.s.sault, his tongue pushing past her teeth to tangle with hers.

When she came up for air, Julie's thoughts were jumbled and she fought to make sense of them. "I don't understand. I thought you hated me for lying to you."

"I never hated you. I was mad, but I never hated you." He kissed her again, his fingers cupping her chin. "How could I?"

She leaned her head against his chest, afraid to believe what she was hearing from the only man she'd ever loved. "I'm a vampire."

"So?"

"I can't go to the beach and lay in the sun?"

"Ever heard of walking along the sh.o.r.e in the moonlight?" He blazed a trail of kisses down the side of her neck.

She gulped back the happiness his words gave her. "I can't have your children."

"Then I won't have to share you with anyone else." His fingers found the hem of her scrubs blouse and he lifted it up over her head. He unclasped her bra and slid the straps from her shoulders. He bent to take a nipple between his teeth, rolling it gently.

Julie's head dropped back, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pushing out. "I'll outlive you." He sucked the nipple into his mouth and let it go, making a loud popping sound. "I'll always love you."

"You're making it hard for me to let you go."

"Then don't." He tugged the elastic band of her scrubs bottoms downward.

When he reached the floor, she stepped free of her shoes and the pants, standing before him in her bikini panties, feeling incredibly s.e.xy and loved. "Before we go any farther, I have one thing to say."

With his fists planted on his uniformed hips, Roger gave her a hard stare, the twinkle in his eyes softening the affect. "You've already told me you're a vampire. Are you keeping any other secrets from me that I should know?"

Julie melted from head to toe. He was the most handsome man she'd ever met, and she felt lucky that he loved her-a vampire. "I love you, Roger Decker."

He stood for a moment, his gaze narrow, his mouth pressed into a thin line. Then his lips turned upward and he grabbed her hand.

"Good, now that we have that settled, come make love with me."

They ran for the bedroom laughing like a couple of teenagers in love, Roger stripping his uniform as he went.

When they lay beside each other on the bed, Roger asked, "Now, where were we?"

"About here, I think." She leaned up and kissed his lips.

"No, I think it was farther south."

She pressed him to his back and kissed his dark brown nipple. "How about here?"

"No. Lower."

Without wasting any more time, she got right down to business and took his c.o.c.k full into her mouth. When she resurfaced, her lips poised at the tip, she smiled and asked, "Am I getting warmer?"

"Babe, you're f.u.c.kin' on fire." He dug his hands into her hair and pushed her down until he filled her mouth.

As her lips traveled up and down his length, she reveled in how thick and hard he was. He was just the right size to satisfy her and then some. Her hands closed around his b.a.l.l.s, ma.s.saging them as she sucked his c.o.c.k.

The hands in her hair pulled her off him. Then he flipped her onto her back. Lifting each leg, one at a time, he pushed them wide.

He knelt between her thighs and pressed a finger to the mouth of her v.a.g.i.n.a. "So wet."

"You make me wet. Come inside me," she begged.

"Not yet." Dropping to his elbows, he settled between her legs and lifted her a.s.s from the mattress, his tongue delving into her p.u.s.s.y. "Um, baby, you taste good."

"f.u.c.k me, Roger. I'm on fire."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Licking a path upward, he parted her thick folds and flicked his tongue over her c.l.i.toris.

With her heels dug into the mattress, she lifted up, wanting more. "Did I say I was in a hurry?" Her words came out in a breathless rush as waves of sensation tightened her muscles.

"You mean you have time for this?" He laved her p.u.s.s.y and c.l.i.t, alternating between each. "Oh yes!" She arched off the bed, pressing her c.u.n.t closer to his mouth, her fingers tangling in his hair, tugging him closer.

He sucked her c.l.i.t into his mouth, flicking at the swollen nub until her entire body burst over the edge, shattering into million shards of gla.s.s, each a pinp.r.i.c.k of fire inside.

When she fell back to the bed, he climbed up and over her, settling his c.o.c.k against her p.u.s.s.y. There he paused, staring down into her face. "This morning, I almost lost you. I don't think I could bear to lose you."

"You seem to forget, I almost lost you too." She kissed the tip of his nose and reached up to cup his b.u.t.tocks. "It's over. Now all I want is you inside me."

"That can be arranged." He pressed into her, stretching the walls of her channel in deliciously sensuous glide.