The Calling - Desire Calls Part 5

Returning the embrace, she imagined it being more than friendly.

She was shocked when he turned, brushed a kiss across her cheek and whispered, "I'm here if you need me."

At first it had been just business between them, which slowly developed into friendship over the last six or so years. But beneath it all, even from the first, there had been awareness of him as a man-a very attractive man. She had kept her distance, however, knowing of his involvement with Esperanza. But Esperanza had been dead for over a year now.

Ramona reached up and cradled his cheek, brushed her thumb across his lips. Those fine, full lips she had captured forever on the canvas. Had he seen that in the paintings? she wondered. Had he seen that it was him being loved by the stroke of her brush?

"I know, Diego. I'm fine. Really," she replied, but eased out of his embrace. It would be unfair to both of them to head down a road that could bring nothing but pain.

His mouth tightened at her withdrawal, but then he promised to call her later that afternoon about the dates for her show. "The sooner the better, so I can see Mami," she reminded him.

Her mami was too ill to go out alone anymore, which was why Ramona was in a rush to hold the show. Together with the money she had made from creating some copies for millionaire recluse Frederick van Winter, a good exhibit would help her earn enough to hire care for her mother well after Ramona was gone.

She just had to hold on a little longer, she told herself as she walked Diego to the door and let him out of her loft.

She was feeling the weakness that came when she overextended herself. It was time to rest. Soon she would be even too frail to paint, and when that happened...

Without her beloved art, maybe she would be better off dead.

Diego flipped the pages of his calendar, trying to find a slot where he could have a showing of Ramona's paintings.

Fortunately for him, business had been good lately and he had few days available. Unfortunate for Ramona, however. He had gotten the sense that she desperately needed the showing. Maybe money was tight again, he thought, remembering that Ramona's mother had been ill and her care might be a financial drain on the struggling artist.

Although she'd taken advances from him in the past, she had always repaid them from her sales, not that he had asked for repayment.

Centuries of life had made it possible for him to ama.s.s quite a fortune. He really had no need of this gallery, but art had always fascinated him. Bored with an eternal existence of doing nothing, he had opened this shop nearly ten years ago after the suicide of a promising young artist he had known. The artist's death had awakened the art world, making him famous posthumously and convincing Diego that he wanted to become a patron of the arts and prevent similar fates for others. He loved the pa.s.sion and life of the artists. Loved discovering someone who might be the next Velazquez, Goya, Manet or Pica.s.so, all gentlemen he had been lucky enough to meet thanks to his vampire existence.

Then there were the many parties he was able to host when he did a showing. They reminded him of the days before his wife's betrayal, when he'd held such fetes at his estate, many times for an artist whom he had commissioned to do a work for him.

Not to mention that gathering with so many mortals let him make believe for a moment that he was like them. That he was still human.

Human like Ramona, he thought, recalling their embrace earlier that day and the sense of rightness he had felt. The desire that had arisen as he smelled her skin and felt her hair against his face.

All wrong sensations, Diego reminded himself. After his wife's betrayal he had vowed never to let another beautiful face fool him.

Not to mention that Ramona was mortal, and developing any feelings for her would only lead to pain. He couldn't deal with that right now. He had barely recovered from the grief of Esperanza's pa.s.sing, the woman to whom he had been faithful for five hundred years.

Searching through the schedule once more, he realized there were no openings for at least another two months.

Recalling Ramona's face that morning, he knew she couldn't wait.

He picked up the phone and dialed. As the man answered, he said, "Julio, I've got a favor to ask..."

Ramona couldn't believe her luck. A last-minute problem with another painter had allowed Diego to schedule her showing in a little over a week.

She slept well that night for the first time in months, which left her feeling so refreshed, she decided to give herself a treat. She would go to the auction house for a final viewing of the masterpieces Mr. van Winter was selling off.

She applauded his generosity in donating the funds raised from the sale to the charitable organization his family had founded so many centuries earlier. The van Winter Foundation aided many different causes. In fact, part of her college scholarship had come from a small donation the foundation had made to her art school.

It must have been a difficult decision to donate such amazing works of art. Despite that, Ramona had been slightly troubled by the reclusive millionaire's desire to have copies of the famous works.

She didn't know how he had gotten her name. She only knew that she had been recommended to him as someone with the skills to create worthy imitations of the masterpieces. Despite her misgivings, the money he had offered was more than she could turn down, given her current situation.

She had accepted the job and spent nearly six months painfully and painstakingly recreating the works of the masters.

It had been inspiring to be in the company of such genius. Maybe that was why her latest paintings were so amazing. So filled with pa.s.sion and yearning.

Or maybe it was something inside of her, calling her to lay her heart on the canvas so that when she pa.s.sed, someone might know that she had existed. That she had been filled with love, but hadn't found anyone to share it with.

Unless Diego- Before she let that thought go where it shouldn't, she showered, dressed and headed to the auction house for a last glimpse of the paintings. She didn't regret paying the money to enter the exhibit and see them, only...

Dios mio, this couldn't be right, she thought as she stared at the works on display for the world to see. Three supposed masterpieces, but the longer she stared at them, the more it became obvious that it was her brushstrokes on the canvases. As careful as she had been to recreate those of the masters, an artist always recognized her own work.

Maybe it was a mistake, she thought as she went from painting to painting and carefully examined them for any trace that would tell her they hadn't been done by Ramona Escobar, a mutt of dubious origins with no claim to fame in the art world.

But as she lingered before each painting, scrutinizing every line, loitering over each shadow and color, she realized this was her work being shown. These were her copies and not the originals. And each had been signed with the name of the original artist- something she had not done because of her niggling doubt. In her mind, and possibly that of others, signing them might seem as if she intended to pa.s.s them off as the originals.

She hadn't realized how long she had stood there until one of the guards from the auction house came up to her.

"Miss, are you okay? You look a little pale."

Ramona's stomach roiled with anxiety. She placed a hand there to quell its nervous motion.

"Thank you. I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed by their beauty," she said, and glanced at her watch, finally realizing that she had been there for several hours.

The old man smiled at her and nodded. "They are amazing, aren't they? Mr. van Winter was so kind to donate them to his foundation."

"Yes, very kind," she said, although in her heart she was beginning to question his generosity and intent. Or maybe she was wrong in being a doubting Thomas. Maybe the copies were on display to protect the originals. Gazing at the old man and at the other guard at the door, she realized that security measures seemed to be minimal in this area.

That must be the reason, she told herself, but the little voice in her head wouldn't be silenced.

And maybe pigs can fly.

She had no other choice but to attend tomorrow's sale and see for herself which paintings were placed on the auction block.

Diego wanted a last look at the masterpieces. It had been nearly a century since he had seen the Manet.

He had wanted to attend the public exhibition the day before, but Simon, his keeper, had been feeling unwell. Much like Diego, Simon had never really recovered from losing Esperanza, or from the events leading up to her death.

Simon had been caring for Diego and Esperanza, tending to their vampire needs, for nearly a century now, his human life prolonged by the special bite Diego could bestow.

But now the old man said he was tired, and refused to accept the bite that would prolong his life.

Diego understood. Simon wanted to let his life run its natural course. He was ready for what awaited him on the other side.

Diego would honor Simon's unspoken request and the vow he himself had made centuries earlier not to turn another human. After saving Esperanza by turning her, he had dealt with her grief as she witnessed the death of all their loved ones. He had seen her longing every time a mother pa.s.sed by with a baby in her arms, something Esperanza would never experience.

Her grief and despair had altered her. Although he'd still loved her, he had recognized how needy she had become of him, the one constant in her life. That neediness had made her jealous and petty at times, dependent to the point of almost smothering his love for her.

It had almost kept him from making Simon his keeper, only Simon had begged for life after they had found him in the ruins of his home following the San Francisco earthquake. The keeper's kiss Diego had bestowed had healed some of Simon's injuries and kept him alive to search for his family in the rubble. He had found them a day later-dead beneath the remains of their home.

As Diego had helped Simon bury them, he had seen grief like Esperanza's in the man's eyes. It had only made Diego regret making him a keeper, and had reinforced his decision never to use his vampire's kiss again.

He shook off the unpleasant thoughts, comforted by the fact that he had left Simon ensconced in his favorite chair, watching a History Channel special on the San Francisco earthquake, and muttering about his own survival.

Diego pushed through the door of the auction gallery, but stopped short as he collided with a woman in his haste to see the Manet. He reached out to keep her from falling.

"I'm sorry," he began, but smiled when he recognized Ramona. "I didn't expect you here, little one."

Ramona gazed up at Diego, thinking he looked as elegant and polished as ever. He had grabbed her arms to steady her, and she in turn had placed her hand on the sleeve of his overcoat. The expensive cashmere felt smooth against her fingers, in sharp contrast to the itchy wool of her own peacoat.

She pulled away from him, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket, both to keep from touching him again and because the chill of the late fall night had bitten into her body.

"I came to see the auction, too," she explained, walking toward a row with two empty chairs. But then she stopped short. "I'm sorry. I just a.s.sumed you were here alone, but if you're with-" "I'm with you," he said with a smile, and confirmed her choice of seating.

Ramona told herself he was just being kind, much as he always was, but it was tough not to imagine how it might be if it were different. If he saw her not as an eccentric, reclusive painter always living on the edge, but as an attractive woman.

Although how could he? she wondered, gazing down at the coat that was a bit too big on her, thanks to all the weight she had recently lost. Even before her illness, his actions had been nothing other than brotherly. She'd always admired his faithfulness to the woman in his life.

When she sat, he paused to remove his overcoat, and revealed yet another fine silk suit and shirt. The top two b.u.t.tons of the shirt were open, exposing the curly, light brown hairs on his chest. She wondered whether that hair would be crisp beneath her fingers.

"Ramona?" Diego said, and she realized that he had asked her a question.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"Do you want to take your coat off?"

Cold lingered in her body from the autumn night, so she shook her head. "Not just yet."

He sat beside her, his size and strength striking her again, but she had little time to think about him as the auctioneer came to the podium.

She leaned forward, eagerly watching as a covered painting was brought in and placed on the easel. A hush fell over the room, replaced by murmurs when the painting was unveiled and the auctioneer named the opening price. Fifteen million dollars.

She held her breath, examining the painting from afar. She told herself it must be the original, but once again her artist's eye could pick out the differences. Why hadn't anyone at the auction house seen that this wasn't the authentic masterpiece? Why didn't any of the prospective buyers realize it?

As the bidding for the painting climbed ever higher, she shifted closer and closer to the edge of the chair, her arms wrapped tight around her to ward off the frost filling her body. When the bidding ended at thirty million, she gasped, shocked by both the price and the fact that it seemed as if van Winter was going to get away with his deception.

Diego's hand lit on her back, and she glanced over her shoulder and met his concerned gaze.

"Estas bien?" he asked, rubbing his hand against her shoulder in a soothing gesture.

"I'm fine. I just can't imagine..." She wanted to say that she couldn't believe that no one had realized the fraud, not even Diego, who was usually so astute.

"It is a lot, but one day you may command similar prices."

"Sure. When I'm dead," she muttered, and Diego chuckled, not realizing the irony behind her statement.

"Do not worry, little one. Your day will come."

She forced a smile and fixed her attention back up at the front of the room. As had happened for the first painting, the next two were sold swiftly.

All three of her paintings fetched a grand total of nearly one hundred and twenty million dollars.

She wanted to stand up and shout to everyone that they had been deceived, but who would believe her?This was one of the city's better known auction houses, selling off paintings for one of the world's richest men, and she was no one.

Merely the struggling unknown who had unwittingly helped him carry out the deception.

A sick feeling twisted her gut, and the chill that hadn't left her all night made her numb inside, weak, she realized as she tried to stand, and found that her legs were a little wobbly. The anxiety and the late hour had taken their toll on her.

"Ramona?" Diego questioned, but she couldn't answer as spots began to dance before her eyes.

She had pushed herself way too much, she realized as Diego slipped his arm around her waist, providing stability.

"Let me get you home," he said, and she didn't argue, lacking the strength to make the trip on her own.

Besides, she needed to conserve her strength for what would be a tough road ahead-proving that van Winter had sold forgeries, and even more importantly, clearing her name of any involvement in the crime.

Chapter 2.

S o maybe he was wrong to be taking advantage of the fact that she was feeling unwell, Diego thought. But it was the first opportunity to be close to her since Esperanza's death. He had noticed Ramona well before that, but being an honorable man, unlike he had been in his human life, he had banked his attraction to her.

Even now a part of him said this wasn't right. She was human and he was undead. He could offer nothing, but he couldn't deny that he liked the weight of her in his arms as he held her on his lap the entire cab ride home.

She murmured a protest when they arrived at her loft and he insisted on carrying her upstairs. With his vampire powers, he barely registered her weight. Actually, even with just his human strength he could have easily managed. She was so pet.i.te. Thinner than she had been a few months ago, he belatedly realized.

It brought out protective feelings in him that should have sent up major warning bells. The last woman he had felt this way toward was Esperanza, and look how that had ended. With death both times.

But that didn't stop him from depositing Ramona on the sofa in the living area of the large loft, and getting her settled. Despite her continued rea.s.surances that she was fine, he insisted she rest while he prepared some tea, since he noticed yet again that her hands were ice cold.

Way too cold, combined with way too pale...

Diego opened up his vampire senses, but found Ramona's energy to be totally human and a little frail. The hunter in him recognized she was easy prey, but he tamped down such a thought.

He hadn't fed from an unwilling human for quite some time. He wasn't about to begin now.

Although the look that she gave him as he approached with the tea hinted that Ramona might not be so unwilling.