Amanda Ashley by Deeper Than the Night

another, until the drops became a river.
    I opened my eyes, and knew that I wouldnever see the world the same way again. That I would never be the same again. . . .
    Alexander leaned back in his chair, pleased with what he had written, thinking that, like Alesandro, he would never be the same again.

Chapter Six
    She was waiting for him, sitting in the swing as she had the night before. Alexander sensed her presence even before he vaulted over the fence, landing lightly on his feet. Through the darkness, he could see her, a slender form clad in green pants and a white, off-the-shoulder blouse.
    As he closed the distance between them, Kara stood up and began walking toward him. They met near a flowering peach tree. For a moment, their gazes met, and then she was in his arms and he was kissing her, holding her, as though he would never again let her go.
    â€œKara.” He held her close, wanting to draw her goodness into him. She smelled of sunlight and flowers. Her skin was soft and warm. Closing his eyes, he let himself bask in her nearness, her warmth. Two hundred years, he thought. It hadbeen two hundred years since he’d last held a woman he cared for; two hundred years since he’d let a woman care for him. He had forgotten how wonderful it was to hold and be held in return.
    â€œI missed you,” Kara said. She looked up at him, startled by the intensity of his gaze.
    â€œDid you?” His voice was deep and husky and unsteady.
    â€œYes. I thought about you all day.” She glanced away, then met his gaze again. “Did you think of me?”
    â€œEvery waking moment.” He slipped his arm around her waist and they walked over to the swing and sat down.
    â€œI had a phone call from the hospital today,” Kara said. “They want me to go to the hospital in Grenvale for some tests tomorrow.”
    â€œWhat kind of tests?”
    â€œI’m not sure. Blood tests of some sort.”
    â€œIs something wrong?”
    â€œI don’t know. When I was in the hospital, all the doctors could talk about was the remarkable recovery I had made, but now they want to do more tests. You don’t think the blood they gave me was tainted, do you?” She couldn’t bring herself to voice her worst fears, but the threat of AIDS loomed large in her mind.
    â€œI’m sure it wasn’t.” Alexander stared into the distance. He knew what they had found—a trace of his blood, alien blood.
    â€œWhy don’t you have a telephone?”
    â€œI find them an intrusion into my life, my privacy.”
    â€œBut how do you stay in touch with your editor?”
    â€œBy mail. I write during the day, and prefer to beundisturbed by phones ringing. I find it breaks my concentration.” He took her hand in his. “Did you try to call me?”
    Kara nodded. “A couple of weeks ago,” she admitted. “And then today, after I heard from the hospital, I wished I could call you.”
    â€œPerhaps I shall have to get a phone then.”
    She smiled up at him as if she’d just won the lottery. “I’ll probably spend the night in Grenvale. Nana’s going with me. She has an old friend who lives there. They’re going to spend the day together while I’m at the hospital.” She stared down at his hand covering hers. “Maybe you could call me tomorrow night?”
    â€œCertainly.”
    â€œHere, you can use my cell phone. I’ll be staying at the Grenvale Motel.”
    Alex stared at the compact instrument for a moment, then nodded. “I shall call you there,” he said, tucking the phone into his pocket. “And I will see you here Wednesday evening.”
    â€œI’ll be looking forward to it.” She chewed the inside of her lower lip a moment. “Do you think maybe you could come by earlier on Wednesday night so we could spend more time together?”
    â€œIf you wish.” He watched as her finger traced