Harry was dead?
Howard jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair.
Harry was dead?
It was obvious who had killed him.
Howard leaned his head back and roared.
Chapter Nineteen
After the last glow of the sun disappeared over the horizon, Shanna Draganesti came back to life with a powerful jolt to her chest. She sucked in a breath and pressed a hand to her now wildly beating heart. Her vision adjusted to the dark basement bedroom at the Dragon Nest Academy.
Another night. She’d been given another night with her husband and children. A hundred years from now, would she still feel like she was living on borrowed time?
Roman stirred next to her. “Sweetness,” he mumbled as he wrapped an arm around her and snuggled close.
She shivered at the coolness of his long, naked body. She could hardly blame him. Her body was cool, too, after lying around dead all day long. They’d both fallen into their death-sleep a few minutes after making love.
She was always terribly hungry when she first awoke, but with her husband gently caressing her breasts, the last thing she wanted to think about was blood. She wanted to thank God for another night and enjoy Roman’s sweet and loving touch.
He was pressed against her back, nuzzling her neck and exploring her body. Over the centuries, he’d acquired the strength to delay his first meal for about ten minutes. And he was putting that time to good use. Already, they were growing much warmer. He nudged her bottom with his rapidly swelling groin, and she wiggled, rubbing against him.
With a groan, he squeezed her breast. “I can never get enough of you.” His hand slid down her belly.
Anticipation was so sweet. She would be wet before he reached her core. And hot with need.
“Aagh!” Her fangs popped out, and a hunger pain hit her hard in the gut. “Damn!”
Roman patted her on the rump. “Let’s feed you first.”
She scrambled out of bed and rushed toward the small kitchen area of their suite, where she removed two bottles of synthetic blood from the refrigerator. “I really know how to destroy the mood.” She winced. When her fangs were out, her voice sounded lisping and spitty, like Sylvester the cat.
She stuffed the bottles into the microwave and mumbled, “Shouldn’t I be able to control my fangs by now?” Sometimes she felt like she was failing Vampire 101.
Roman joined her in the kitchen and set two glasses on the counter. “I think you look adorable with your fangs.”
“I can’t control them. I get excited, and they pop out.”
“I have a similar problem.” With a wry smile, he motioned to his erection.
She gave him a clinically assessing look. “That’s a rather large problem, but fortunately, I know exactly how to solve it.”
“Do you?” He kissed her brow.
“Oh yeah.” She was just about to get a handle on the problem when another hunger pain struck. “Aagh.” She rubbed her stomach.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have kept you from your meal.” He pulled a warm bottle from the microwave and poured the contents into a glass. “Here.” He added a straw, then handed it to her.
It was embarrassing to need a straw, but she found it difficult to drink from a glass with extended fangs. At least she was getting used to the taste. Roman claimed that eventually she would enjoy it. She was still waiting for that to happen. After a few sips, the hunger pangs in her belly lessened and her fangs receded.
“Better?” Roman asked as he poured his own glass.
She nodded, still sipping on the straw.
A knock pounded on their door. “Mom! Dad!”
She whirled toward the door, her heart lurching. “Constantine?”
“What’s wrong?” Roman called out. He’d already dashed to the dresser, and he was pulling on some underwear at vampire speed.
“See, Grandma?” Constantine whispered, although Shanna could still hear. “I knew they’d be awake.”
“Yes,” Darlene responded on the other side of the door. “But you have to give them time to have their breakfast and get dressed.”
“I need them now!” Tino insisted.
“I want my mommy,” Sofia whimpered.
“We’ll be right there!” Shanna hurried to the restroom, then threw on an old T-shirt and pair of sweatpants. Roman had finished dressing and was shoving his feet into shoes while he downed his glass of blood.
He dashed to the door, unlocked it, and flung it open. “What’s wrong?” He knelt in front of Tino and Sofia, looking them over. “Are you hurt?”
“They’re fine,” Darlene assured them. “But they’re upset.”
“Why?” Shanna’s heart squeezed at the sight of Tino’s tear-stained cheeks and the forlorn look in her daughter’s eyes. “What happened?”
Tino’s chin wobbled. “He left. Again.”
“Who?” Roman asked.
“Howard.” Tino sniffed. “He was so mad. I’m afraid he’ll never come back.”
“What?” Shanna glanced at her mother for an explanation.
“I’m not sure what happened, but Howard literally roared a few hours ago. Everyone in the building heard it.” Darlene winced. “That is, everyone who was awake. We all went to see what was wrong, but he just growled at us. Then he grabbed his car keys and ran out the door.”
“It was scary,” Sofia whispered, edging close to her mom.
“Sweetie.” Shanna lifted her into her arms. “It’ll be all right.”
Roman picked up his son and headed toward the stairs. “Don’t worry, Tino. We’ll figure out what happened.”
“Phil might know,” Darlene said as they climbed the stairs. “He arrived about twenty minutes ago.”
“I thought he was at Romatech.”
“He was.” Darlene paused on the landing. “He said Howard called him from the airport in Albany and asked him to come here and take his place.”
“Does that mean Howard won’t come back?” Tino asked.
“We can’t be sure,” Shanna told him.
They reached the ground floor and spotted a small crowd hanging around the entrance to the security office, mostly werewolf and were-panther students, along with a few mortal teachers.
Toni greeted them. “I just got here. I was downstairs with Ian. He’ll be here as soon as he gets dressed.”
Shanna nodded. “Let’s continue with the usual schedule.”
While Toni and the teachers herded the students toward the cafeteria, Shanna and her family entered the security office.
Phil was pacing back and forth behind the desk, his face dark with rage.
Something had to be terribly wrong, and Shanna wasn’t sure the children should hear it. She passed Sofia to her mother. “I think the children should have their supper now.”
Sofia frowned. “We already ate.”
“I don’t want to leave.” Tino wriggled out of his father’s arms and climbed into the chair facing the desk.
Phil clenched his fists, clearly trying to control his anger. “I need to join Howard. I can’t stay here doing nothing.”
“What happened?” Roman asked. “Is there a security problem?”
Phil took a deep breath. “Everything’s under control here. And everything’s fine at Romatech, too. Austin just got back from Eastern Europe, and he’s taken over the security office there. It’ll be safe for you to go to work tonight.”
“That’s good,” Roman replied. “So what’s going on with Howard?”
Phil leaned over the keyboard to punch some buttons. “When I arrived, I found this window open on the monitor. Take a look.” He moved out of the way.
Shanna and Roman skirted the desk so they could read the monitor. As she scanned the online newspaper article, a chill ran down her back.
“Oh my God,” she breathed.
Roman muttered a curse.
Tino sat up. “What’s wrong?”
She swallowed hard. “Someone . . . passed away.” That was putting it as mildly as she could.
“I gather Howard knew this man?” Roman asked.
“Yeah.” Phil resumed his pacing, circling the room like an angry caged animal. “I met Harry when I was in Alaska. He was Howard’s best friend.”