Midnight Hunter Book One in the Midnight Hunter Trilogy

Hunter was wide awake when Donna arrived upstairs, and deeply engrossed in a Spanish channel daytime drama rerun.

  “Would you like me fetch you a gallon of ice cream to go with your soap opera?” Donna pointed to the TV.

  “The cable just got installed a few days ago and this is my first real chance to check out the new channels, and...”

  “Don't bother explaining,” she giggled. “You like soaps, I like 70s cartoons. We all have our vices.”

  He grinned crookedly. “I don't understand why, but I like these stupid shows, in every language imaginable. They're addictive.” He pointed to the TV. “For instance, that guy right there is in love with the woman in the background wearing the blue dress. And she's having an affair with the brother of the guy who's in love with her. And the brother is involved in an embezzling scheme that's threatening to get everybody on board the boat, but he doesn't know a damned thing about it. I can hardly wait to find out who does what to whom next.”

  “Hunter?”

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “Shut up and kiss me.”

  He clicked off the TV. They curled around each other and made love. Then Donna snuggled in his arms - dozing in that space between conscious and asleep. She stayed that way and lost track of time until the TV clicked back on.

  “What are you doing?” she yawned.

  “I can't sleep,” Hunter's tone was restless and his jaw clenched. Donna didn't need to be a vampire to know why.

  “You should go find out what happened to Stephen,” she said softly. “I'll be fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. Hunter was up and dressed within seconds.

  “I wish I could do that,” Donna exclaimed.

  “I wish you could too,” Hunter laughed. “If you find a way for a mortal to achieve it, please share it with Samee.” He leaned down and kissed Donna. “I love you so much I can hardly stand it. Did you know that?”

  She grinned. “I had no idea.”

  “I'll see you soon, sweetheart.” Hunter turned to leave.

  “Before you go,” Donna sat up and chewed on her thumb nail. “I want to ask you about something.”

  “Okay,” he turned to her.

  “Why didn't you tell me about the Prophecy?” She leaned against the headboard.

  “Who told you about it?”

  She didn't want to point fingers at Trent and get another fight going between those two, so she shrugged. “A couple of old vampire restaurant owners.”

  “The Giovannis are jabber-mouths.”

  “Be that as it may, why didn't you tell me our baby could be some kind of supernatural Prophecy fulfiller?”

  “Supernatural?” Hunter stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “There is nothing supernatural about the Prophecy. It simply is ordained by the gods. And anyway, I was just wondering how to tell you about the Prophecy’s words. But as it turns out, there's no need to worry. The child spoken of is clearly a boy.”

  Donna's eyebrow went up. “Well, there's about a fifty-fifty chance our child will fit that position.”

  Hunter shook his head. “Our child is female.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Dante told me,” he said simply.

  Donna gasped. “Why didn't you tell me?”

  “There's been no time. We just discussed it a few hours ago. I didn't even know if you'd want to know -”

  “Of course I want to know.” She also wanted to be furious at Hunter for trying to hide yet another truth, but she couldn't help herself. She smiled. “Our baby's a little girl.”

  He leaned down and kissed Donna's forehead. “A little girl who will grow up to be just as beautiful as her mother, and when I get home we can sit in bed and argue about her name.”

  “Why would we argue about it?”

  Hunter winked. “You haven't heard my choices yet.”

  “If you're going to choose something like Gertrude or Prudence, then I don't want to hear your choices.” She threw a pillow at him.

  He threw it back. “I'll be home before you wake up. And I'm partial to Ernesta.” Hunter laughed, blew Donna a kiss then left. She lay in bed in her new home, filled with new experiences and new people. Yet before long, she felt lonely. And hungry.

  She padded downstairs, making as little noise as possible on those creaky stairs in the moth ball stairwell. She flipped on the kitchen light and a voice behind her spoke her name. She jumped.

  “It's only I, love.” Dante was seated at the table, sipping tea.

  “You scared me.” Donna's hand went to her heart. “Why are you drinking tea when vampires don’t care about such things? And how come you’re sitting in the dark?”

  “I'm a vampire, love. Our species does tend to enjoy the dark.” Dante's eyes danced like poetry. “As for the tea, it’s more of a peaceful old habit than an exercise in refreshment. I assume you came downstairs for either a beverage or a snack, or perhaps both. Would you like me to retrieve the items of your fancy?”

  “I don't know what my fancy is,” she admitted. “I just know I'm hungry. Or the baby is, but neither of us knows what for.”

  Dante surveyed Donna from her head to her goddess toes. “Might I suggest a cup of hot chocolate?”

  “You might,” Donna nodded. “Because it sounds perfect.”

  “How about some chocolate chip cookies to go with it?” He surveyed her closer. “And would you like the cookies served crushed, in a bowl with sliced banana, drenched in milk and drizzled with honey?”

  Donna giggled. “For a healer, you sure have some interesting food suggestions.” But the truth was, Dad used to fix her hot chocolate and cookies after a nightmare. As for the rest of the combination, Donna never would have considered it. Since Dante had made it sound so scrumptious though, how could she resist? He whipped up the snack and set it before her eyes in double time.

  Donna shook her head in disbelief. “Do you think I'll ever get used to the quirks of living around vampires?”

  “You always have before, love.”

  Donna took a sip of hot chocolate. “It used to be impossible that Hunter and I could get pregnant, right?”

  “Indeed.”

  “So if our baby isn't the one mentioned in the Prophecy, why did we get pregnant against the odds?”

  Dante considered it. “I don't know. There's clearly something special about your child.”

  “What do you think it is?” she asked excitedly.

  Dante shifted in his seat and rubbed his chin. “Love, that may very well be up to her.”

  Donna liked that answer and she liked how Dante had a way of making things seem better, like Dad. Or at least like Dad used to. She took a sip of silky, hot chocolate. It felt divine against her tongue.

  “I think it needs something…” she contemplated.

  “Pepper,” Dante replied.

  “Yes, that’s exactly it.”

  Dante got the pepper, sprinkled some in Donna’s mug. Then they sipped in silence; Donna with her hot chocolate and Dante enjoying his Earl Grey. She quickly consumed the bowlful of cookies and bananas so Dante made her another. When he handed it to her, she spoke.

  “Is Stephen really dead?”

  Dante observed her thoughtfully. “I get no definitive feeling either way, love. It's quite unusual.”

  “How badly do you suppose Stephen's death will hurt Hunter?”

  “I don't know.” Dante put an arm around her. “They've been enemies for thousands of years, but they've been brothers even longer.” Donna slurped the last of her hot chocolate and Dante moved aside to look at the clock. “It's midnight. Happy twenty-first birthday, love.”

  She grinned sadly. “I've looked forward to this moment all year. Why does it feel like a letdown?”

  “You've lived a mortal lifetime's worth in the past week, love. In some ways, you're much older today than you were yesterday.”

  How did he have such a way with words?

  The h
ot chocolate started to work its magic. Donna yawned.

  “Sleep now, love. You and your baby are safe.”

  “Thank you,” she mumbled. Her eyelids became heavy so Dante scooped her up in his sea-breezy arms and carried her upstairs. Donna was sound asleep before her head hit the pillow.

  chapter twenty four