Free Phantom Desires by Bianca D'Arc Page A

eleven at night—too late for a casual call, but still within the realms of possibility for good friends. Dmitri saw the caller ID and was jolted to full wakefulness. He listened unabashedly to the conversation as Carly spoke with a woman who could be no one other than an old friend. When she hung up a few minutes later, Dmitri thought of delving into her mind to take the information he sought, but he’d promised her he wouldn’t do that.
    “Do you care to tell me why you are receiving calls from another Master’s mate?”
    “Master? You mean Marc is…” He could see her quick mind puzzling through his words. “Holy shit! Marc is a vampire?”
    “As is his mate, I believe, though newly made. It was the talk of the Masters when he took a mortal as wife. I even sent them a gift.” Dmitri chuckled at her look of utter shock. She truly hadn’t known.
    “Kelly is a friend. We went to college together. A group of us formed a study group and we’ve been friends ever since.” Realization dawned on her expressive face. “So that’s why she never joins us for dinner anymore. She only shows up for drinks and only drinks wine. She used to love those fruity drinks with umbrellas, but we figured it was her new husband’s tastes rubbing off on her.”
    “In a manner of speaking.” Dmitri laughed as he drew her into his arms.
    “But then, why does Lissa do the same? Oh my God!” She turned wide eyes to him. “Don’t tell me Atticus Maxwell is a vampire too?”
    Dmitri nearly laughed out loud at her surprise, but he was taken aback at the same time. Why would two women—three now, counting Carly—
    be vampire mates and close friends? It seemed to defy the odds.
    “Atticus is one of Marc’s oldest friends. And I mean that in the truest sense. Marc is Master of his region, but Atticus is his right hand man.
    I’ve known them both for many years and have called them friends for almost as long. I’ve even met your friends, Lissa and Kelly, when I was staying at Atticus’s winery a few weeks back. They are lovely women.”
    “You’ve met them? And they’re both…”
    “Both have been turned by their mates, and they are true mates. They share minds as we can.”
    He felt how overwhelmed she was by the news that two of her best friends had become immortal. He soothed her as best he could, all the while planning to contact Marc and Atticus to compare notes. His old friends would no doubt have much to say about a third mate being found among such a tightly knit group of women.
    “So if they’re vampires, does that mean you’ll want me…” she trailed off and he felt her discomfort.
    “I would like it if someday you decided to share immortality with me, Carly, but I wouldn’t ask you to give up the sun lightly. We have time before decisions of that magnitude have to be made. Years, even. So don’t worry about it now. We can go on as we are for quite some time.”
    He knew his words didn’t make her feel that much better, but they did take the edge off her panic. The turmoil of her thoughts, however, wouldn’t be conquered so easily.

    They rolled along at status quo for a while, Dmitri sleeping the day away below ground while Carly inhabited the house above. She enjoyed a few hours of sunlight each day while she continued to put her house to rights. Dmitri would join her each evening after the sun went down and they’d do various things.
    Sometimes he’d help her with the restoration work. Sometimes they’d just sit and talk. They always made love. Usually several times a night and always at those times, the passageway between their minds opened wide for those heart-stopping moments of rapture.
    A few nights after the were wolf had shown up at her door, the moon went full. She heard howls in the distance even before the sun went down as she stood on the porch, rubbing her arms against a chilly wind, looking toward the far pasture. She couldn’t see anyone or anything out there, but she heard them. And it