The Vampire Jerome Read online

  Other Ann B. Morris Titles from ImaJinn Books

  The Whitcombe Legacy Series

  The Vampire Julian

  Book One

  The Vampire Jonah

  Book Three

  (Coming Soon)

  The Vampire Jerome

  Book two of The Whitcombe Legacy

  by

  Ann B. Morris

  ImaJinn Books

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locations is entirely coincidental.

  ImaJinn Books

  PO BOX 300921

  Memphis, TN 38130

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-933417-08-0

  Print ISBN: 978-1-933417-50-9

  ImaJinn Books is an Imprint of BelleBooks, Inc.

  Copyright © 2010 by Ann B. Morris

  Published in the United States of America.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  ImaJinn Books was founded by Linda Kichline.

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  Cover design: Deborah Smith

  Interior design: Hank Smith

  Photo/Art credits:

  Sexy topless rugby man portrait © Pixattitude | Dreamstime.com

  :Ejvb:01:

  Chapter One

  San Francisco Airport

  Sunday after Thanksgiving

  ONE VAMPIRE COULD sense another a mile away. Tonight, Jerome Whitcombe was the only one of his kind in the airport terminal.

  A few short months ago, he would have been able to sense his older brother Julian’s presence the instant he stepped off the plane. But not tonight. His brother was human now. As human as he himself would be in the not too distant future. He shook away the thought. This was not the time to dwell on that unsettling inevitability.

  As he made his way to the arrival board to check the New Orleans to San Francisco schedule, the babble of a thousand human voices enhanced the scent of blood in the air. The sweet smell of it teased him. Under his breath he cursed the reason that had brought him here.

  At the announcement that Julian’s flight had landed, Jerome breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was to spend more time than necessary in this throng of flesh and blood mortals. He hurried forward. The lightheadedness that had beleaguered him lately threatened to slow him down, but he ignored it and pressed forward.

  Passengers were already entering the main terminal when Jerome reached the area where he and Julian planned to meet. Craning his neck to see over the crowd, he spotted Julian and two women heading his way.

  Jerome’s hands clenched into fists. It was really going to happen! There would soon be a stranger in his home. A female thrust upon him because he’d asked a favor of Julian two weeks before. A favor he was now honor-bound to return.

  As the second born of vampire triplets he didn’t always see eye to eye with Julian or his younger brother, Jonah. But one thing was certain. Within the Whitcombe family, honor and duty to family came above all else.

  Julian waved and Jerome waved back. While he waited for the trio to reach him, Jerome recalled the telephone conversation with his brother the evening before.

  “She’s grateful to you for agreeing to help her,” Julian had told him, speaking of his fiancé’s stepsister.

  Jerome didn’t answer. What could he say? That he wished Julian had never put him on the spot by involving him in the woman’s medical care?

  “You’ve contacted your doctor?” Julian had asked.

  He’d assured his brother that an appointment had been made for the afternoon following their arrival.

  “And your housekeeper has agreed to watch over her during the day while you sleep?”

  “Relax,” he’d told Julian, biting back the temptation to scold his brother for doubting his competence. “Everything here is under control.”

  Everything except what was happening to his body. But that was a matter he had no intention of sharing with his brother. He would keep his problem to himself as long as the woman he had agreed to help was under his roof.

  Regardless of how difficult the next few weeks might be for him, they couldn’t be as bad as what his soon-to-be houseguest had experienced. He couldn’t help feeling compassion for her.

  She had been kidnapped in New Orleans by the vampire, Zurik. While held captive through Hurricane Katrina and beyond, she had suffered the vampire’s bite. As a result, she was left with a neurological condition that sent her into a deep sleep with little warning. A condition the ravaged medical community in New Orleans was ill-equipped to handle and which Jerome hoped the doctor he had chosen in the Bay area would be able to treat. And treat quickly so the woman could be on her way.

  Julian and his two female companions finally reached Jerome. The brothers touched each other’s shoulder in their usual familial greeting, and Julian made the introductions.

  “I’d like you to meet Simone LeClerc, my fiancé.” Simone shook Jerome’s hand with a firm grip. Julian turned to the other woman. “And this is Dottie Crawford, Simone’s stepsister. Dottie, my brother, Jerome.”

  When he’d given any thought at all to the woman soon to be in his home, it was with the hope that she’d at least be unattractive. He was not to be so lucky. Her long, sun-streaked blond hair framed a perfect oval face. Her eyes were a clear, bright blue. She was a true beauty. His stomach knotted. Her visit was going to be more difficult for him to bear than he’d expected. His only consolation was that she knew what he was, and after her experience in New Orleans, would no doubt keep her distance from him.

  The woman held out her hand to him and although her touch was light, a pulse of electricity shot through him. This was not a good sign. He was not prepared for a physical response to this woman.

  He met her gaze and took the outstretched hand, but released it immediately. “Welcome to San Francisco,” he said, making a conscious effort to sound as though he meant it.

  Her gaze held his long enough to make him uncomfortable and he would have considered her whispered, “Thank you,” sensual under different circumstances. He cursed silently again. Nothing was going his way.

  “Follow me,” he said, turning away from the group and moving forward, his mind glimpsing dangerous times ahead.

  By all the Goddesses in the universe, why had he been put in this untenable position?

  More importantly, how long would he be forced to endure it?

  DOTTIE CLOSED her eyes and pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to be here. And from the way Julian’s brother had hastily ended their handshake, she figured he wasn’t thrilled with her being here either.

  Her heart began to pound at the prospect of what lay ahead. Despite Simone and Julian’s assurance that not all vampires were evil and that Jerome was one of the good ones, she wasn’t totally convinced. How could she be after all she had been through. Still, she was in no position to refuse the help that had been offered. Ironic as it was, Jerome Whitcombe was her only hope of finding someone to cure the illness caused by one of his own kind.

  She would do every
thing in her power to recover as quickly as possible so she could return to her former life. It wouldn’t be easy. There were too many memories. She shuddered as one of those memories sparked in her consciousness without warning as often happened these days.

  “Is something wrong?” Simone asked, tightening the grasp she had on Dottie’s arm.

  “Just a chill. And I’m very tired.”

  Her new host gestured to a nearby seating area. “You can rest over there while Julian and I go for the luggage.”

  Dottie wasn’t about to object. The heavy blanket of fatigue that routinely weighed her down had begun to settle over her. The sudden increased fatigue always preceded another attack of the strange sleeping sickness to which she had fallen prey.

  She had barely settled on the hard chair when her thought processes slowed. In a matter of seconds she’d be asleep. Her head lowered to her stepsister’s shoulder. Simone slipped an arm around her and drew her close.

  The ambient sounds in the terminal faded as she slipped deeper into a world of darkness. Eventually the void consumed her and she was only vaguely aware of being lifted by strong arms and carried away.

  WHEN DOTTIE awoke she was in a strange bed and Jerome was standing in the center of the room watching her. A chill traveled up her arms. Cautiously, she attempted to sit, but was instantly stopped by a wave of dizziness. She found it difficult to breathe and her heart began to race. “Where am I?”

  Jerome made a move toward her, but apparently changed his mind and stayed where he was. “Don’t be frightened,” he said, his voice softened to a whisper. “I heard you cry out and thought you might be in pain.”

  Dottie’s heart continued to race. She had barely exchanged a greeting with this man in the airport before she’d fallen asleep. She owed him a debt of gratitude for opening his home to her, but nevertheless, he was still a stranger. And a vampire. She began to tremble.

  Two months of her life had been taken away from her by one of his kind. Two months when she had not even spoken to her seven year-old daughter, Casey. Her chest tightened and tears sprang to her eyes. When would she see her child again?

  Dottie swallowed her tears, and after two failed attempts, she asked, “Where are Simone and Julian?”

  “They’re resting. I convinced them to let me watch over you for the remaining few hours of darkness.”

  Her head had cleared enough for her to grasp the full meaning behind his words. Darkness. The only time any of the true vampires could move about. Simone and Julian insisted Jerome was a good man. A good vampire. She needed to believe that. But still—

  This time when Dottie attempted to sit, she was successful. The look of relief on Jerome’s face almost made her smile. Almost. Her heart still raced. She still found it difficult to take a normal breath. She wet her lips. “How long have I been asleep?”

  Jerome checked his watch. “About four hours.”

  Four hours wasn’t too bad considering just a couple of weeks ago she would lose an entire day. She looked around for a bedside clock, but there was none. “What time is it?”

  “A little before three.”

  Slowly, she inched her way to the edge of the bed, lowered her feet to the floor and managed to stand. It usually took a minute or so after an attack to get steady enough to walk, so she waited patiently for the room to settle around her.

  What did she intend to do when she did get her equilibrium back? Where would she go? It was a fair assumption that this would be her bedroom for the duration of her visit, but she had no idea where it was in relation to the rest of the house. She had blacked out almost as soon as she and Jerome Whitcombe had shaken hands.

  Jerome stepped forward and extended his hand. “Can I help in any way?”

  Apprehensively, she slipped her hand in his. In the muted light the ring on his middle finger sparkled like embers in a fire. Something nudged the back of her mind, and as her senses sharpened, she made the mental connection.

  Although their introduction at the airport had been brief, she had noticed that the ring Jerome wore was similar to the earrings worn by his brother, Julian. Simone had told her the earrings had special powers. Something about the copper and jewels of which they were made being centuries old and magical. Was the ring also magical?

  As if the jeweled ring had held her in its spell for a moment and then suddenly released her, Dottie quickly slipped her hand from Jerome’s. Embarrassed, she looked away, but turned back to him when she realized she hadn’t answered his question. “I’d like something to drink. Something sweet, if you have it.” The narcolepsy episodes always left her incredibly thirsty. She’d also discovered that an infusion of sugar gave her a much needed boost.

  Jerome switched the bedside lamp to the next level of brightness, bathing the room in a stronger yet still muted glow. “I’m sure there’s something in the kitchen. Are you steady enough to make it on your own, or do you need my help?”

  He was close enough now for her to notice things about him that she hadn’t had time for in the airport terminal. He was tall, taller even than Julian, who was above normal height. Both had shoulder length hair, but while Julian’s hair was blond, Jerome’s hair was dark, almost black.

  She wondered briefly what the youngest brother looked like. She knew they were triplets, but obviously not identical since Julian and Jerome were so different in appearance. Except for their eyes. Eyes that now captivated her when she looked at Jerome.

  It wasn’t simply that the eyes were two different colors—one gray, the other blue—but rather that they seemed to look right through her. As if they could see into her soul. A chill shot through her and she shuddered.

  Jerome reached for her again. “Are you all right?”

  She pulled away. “Yes. No. I don’t know.” She felt confused, and his touch sent a light electric shock up her arm. She remembered their handshake at the airport had affected her the same way. His touch was different somehow than that of anyone else she had ever met. A strange realization, but real nonetheless.

  Jerome said nothing, but neither did he look puzzled by her reaction. Could it be that he too had felt something unusual pass between them? Was this a common reaction between a human and a vampire not out to do harm?

  Everything she had ever read about vampires before her abduction crowded her mind like thousands of tiny pieces to a giant puzzle. It was too much for her to sort out in any meaningful pattern so soon after everything she had endured. She would have to make sense of everything slowly, one piece at a time.

  At this moment, the only thing that mattered was getting her health back. Tomorrow she would see Jerome Whitcombe’s doctor. She prayed he could help her. And help her quickly. She had to get home to her daughter.

  She forced herself to concentrate on the here and now. On what this man, this vampire, was willing to do for her. Like it or not, for the time being she was at his mercy. She had to trust him.

  Simone would not have delivered her into the hands of a monster. But just how well did Simone know Jerome Whitcombe?

  JEROME ESCORTED Dottie into the kitchen. “Later today, Ella, my housekeeper, will give you a tour of the house.”

  Dottie took a seat at the table in the dining alcove by the window. “From the little I’ve seen so far, it’s a beautiful home.”

  “Thank you. I think so, too. I hope you find it as comfortable as I do.” He opened the refrigerator and moved bottles around. “I see Coke and apple juice. Which do you prefer?”

  “Apple juice.”

  He poured a glass of juice and handed it to her, making certain their hands didn’t touch. He remembered how sexually aroused he’d been when he carried her to bed last night. And how that arousal had raised dark thoughts within him as he sat with her while she slept.

  He remembered, too, the electric shock that had raced up his arm when he’
d touched her just minutes ago. The same kind of jolt he’d had in the airport terminal when they’d shaken hands. He didn’t like any of it. Or maybe he liked it way too much.

  “Is Dottie your given name?” An odd question, perhaps, but it allowed a welcome break in his thoughts. And he really did want to know the answer.

  “Actually, no, it’s Dorothea. I was named after my maternal grandmother.” Dottie took a sip of juice, then continued, “According to family legend, the best my two-year-old cousin could manage was something that sounded like Dottie, so that’s what stuck.”

  That made sense to him. He couldn’t remember anyone who had been named Dorothea in decades. It still fit her better than Dottie, he thought. But not as good as Thea. Thea. Now that was a name he could imagine himself calling her.

  Unable to think of something else to talk about, he sat in silence, watching her through shuttered eyes while she drank her juice.

  She was damn pretty. Definitely a Thea. In spite of himself, he let his gaze rest on her smooth jaw line. Before he realized it, his gaze had traveled to the side of her long, graceful neck. What would her skin feel like against his lips?

  “Can I trouble you for a little more?”

  Dottie’s voice startled him and he looked up quickly, guiltily. He focused his gaze on her empty glass as he poured more juice for her. When her glass was filled, he didn’t sit again, but stood with his hip against the kitchen counter where he could watch her from a safe distance.

  He couldn’t believe he’d allowed his thoughts to travel into such dangerous territory. He’d better get rid of them quickly. This woman could be under his roof for an extended period of time. As the stepsister of his brother’s fiancé, she was practically family. Definitely off-limits to him in the way she stirred his blood.

  He started toward the door that led into the hall. “I told Julian and Simone I’d stay with you until they awakened, but if you’re steady enough now to find your way to your bedroom alone, I’ll say good-night.”

  She looked up. “I’m fine now. Once I come out of a sleep I never go back down again for quite some time.”