Damek's Redemption

Legacy - 6

by

N. J. Walters

To my husband, my everything.

Prologue

Luther Kostas rested his elbows on the worn arms of his leather chair and steepled his fingers together as he contemplated his next move. His dark brown eyes roamed over the vast array of artifacts mounted on the wall. Crossbows, ancient swords and extremely sharp daggers all used for one purpose—to slay vampires. Wooden stakes, some darkened from years of handling, others stained with the blood. All lethal. All deadly.

His family had been ridding the world of the vile creatures since medieval times, and Luther took the responsibility very seriously. The vampire was a dangerous creature, mindless in its pursuit for blood. It killed indiscriminately, living only to hunt and claim the victim’s blood. Most vampires he’d come across were little more than animals and, like any wild beast, they needed to be put down before they hurt anyone.

He closed his eyes and pictured his last kill. He’d found the creature just as dawn was breaking over the horizon and, like all of his kind, the vampire had succumbed to the power of the sun and fallen into a stupor. It was then Luther had drawn his sword and beheaded the vampire. Then he’d dragged the head and body into the sun and burned it. There was no coming back this time.

Luther relished the hunt, but lately there was something missing. Vampires were few and far between, and those he’d killed the past few years had been weak, barely a few years old. He’d searched for their sire, but all indications were that the three-hundred-year-old vampire had fled back to Europe. Good riddance to him. But still. Luther sighed and tapped his fingers together. Think of the challenge it would be to hunt one of the old ones, a vampire who could think and reason. His blood hummed at the mere thought.

Then there were those vampire wannabes, the kind who sharpened their teeth, wore leather and makeup and hung out at Goth clubs. He’d slain one or two of them by mistake but, really, it was their own fault for idolizing such vile creatures to begin with. He didn’t lose any sleep over them.

The phone rang and he answered it on the first ring. He made it a policy always to be available to his men. They were a small group, but a dedicated one.

“Kostas.”

“Hey, Luther. It’s John. I’m in Chicago like you asked. Can you tell me why I’m tailing some university professor?”

John Barnes was one of his best. The man was strong, both physically and mentally, and relished the hunt just as much as Luther did. “Because she writes about myth and legend, including werewolves and vampires, and she’s traveled all across Europe in her research. She teaches in New York and has no family in Chicago. She’s not attending a conference or giving a lecture there. I want to know what’s so important that she’s headed for the city at this time for no apparent reason.”

He had a computer program that kept track of various academics and writers around the world, those that delved into the paranormal and bizarre. The program flagged them when something unusual popped up. This trip was certainly out of the norm.

“Her name is Sonia Agostino, and I want to know every move she makes. It’s probably nothing, but it doesn’t hurt to watch her. Just in case she stumbles on to something interesting.”

“I hear you. It’s been quiet lately.”

Luther knew John was getting as impatient as himself, waiting to find the next vampire. Slaying was in their blood. It was who they were.

“Stay sharp,” Luther warned. It was easy to get complacent during the downtimes. “In the meantime, I’ll keep scanning the papers and Internet for articles on any strange deaths or ritual killings.” That was the way the media and police almost always portrayed a vampire’s kills. No one believed such creatures existed and they always put the blame elsewhere. But Luther knew better.

“I’ll be in touch,” John promised and then hung up.

Luther tossed his phone onto the desk and swiveled his chair around to face his computer. It was time to get to work. There were vampires out there in need of killing.

Chapter One

It’s good to be King.

Damek stood in a dark corner of his club, Inhibitions, and watched the patrons gyrating on the dance floor to the heavy bass thumping out of the speakers. Bodies rubbed together, hands groped and clothing was being pushed away to find the warmer flesh beneath it.

Blood pumped through their veins, a siren’s call to him, and he licked his lips as hunger rushed through him. It would be so easy to wend his way through the crowd and cull one or two for his own use. His fangs punched downward and his vision started to turn red. He could practically taste the warm blood in his mouth, sliding down his throat. It would be delicious. Powerful.

And it would be wrong. Damek turned away from the dance floor, making certain to keep his mouth closed and his eyes downcast until he had control of himself once again.

Business was booming tonight, as it always was. Inhibitions was one of the favorite hot spots of the rich and famous and wannabes in Chicago, and Damek intended to keep it that way. At any given moment patrons might find politicians, musicians, actors and millionaires rubbing shoulders with one another. Its very exclusive nature kept the lineup outside the door long and never-ending.

He glanced toward the chrome-and-glass bar where people were standing two deep while all three of his bartenders worked as fast as they could to fill orders. Waitresses moved among the tables, watched carefully by the large contingent of security that Damek employed. People could do whatever they wanted as long as it was consensual. But his staff was off-limits, and anyone who harassed the waitresses or bartenders soon found themselves barred from the premises.

Alcohol, pulse-pounding music, dark shadows and the promise of sex—was there anything that could make a person lose all their inhibitions faster? If there was, he hadn’t found it yet. And he’d been alive for a very, very long time.

He was king of all he surveyed and much more. Quite a change from the small village where he’d grown up so long ago in an ancient kingdom no one remembered. But those days were centuries past, and he’d made peace with his existence.

Vampire.

The mere word made some laugh in jest, while others cringed in fear. The latter ones were the smarter. Many of his brethren were an undisciplined bunch, treating humans as though they were nothing but game to be hunted and devoured, which was why many of those vampires were dead. It never paid to underestimate the determination of the human race. Having been human once, Damek was always surprised when newly made vampires forgot such a basic lesson in survival.

Damek had lived more than a thousand years precisely because he never forgot what he’d been like as a human—ruthless, determined and dangerous. Those characteristics had only been deepened after his conversion.

“Boss, there’s a woman asking about you.” Byron, his head bouncer stood beside him, his gaze wandering over the crowd. “There, by the far end of the bar. She doesn’t belong here.”

Damek often wondered what the man’s parents had been thinking to name the man beside him George Gordon, after the infamous poet, Lord Byron. Damek had met the poet in England several hundred years ago and spent a glorious weekend in debauchery, lost in women and wine. No, this man was nothing like the poet.

This Byron, who much preferred that nickname to being called George, stood about eight inches over six feet, shaved his head and wore leather pants and a vest, which showcased his impressive physique. He was intimidating, to say the least. That was why Damek had hired him, but not why he’d risen to be Damek’s right hand here at the club. No, Byron was loyal to his core, and Damek valued that trait above all others.

Not that Byron or any other of Damek’s staff knew what he was. No, he wasn’t that trusting or stupid. They all believed him to be a powerful businessman, which he was, but he was simply much more.

He followed Byron’s gaze to the end of the bar. Alison, one of his best bartenders, had her head bent and she was talking to another woman. Byron’s assessment was right on target, as usual, the woman certainly didn’t look as though she belonged here.

His preternatural vision allowed him to see easily in the darkness, cutting through the flashing lights on the dance floor to the woman in question. She had her head turned away as she spoke, so his eyes drifted down her body and he examined her clothing. No high heels or short dress for her. No, she was wearing sensible shoes, pants and a tailored jacket.

Damek’s curiosity was aroused. “Did she say who she was?”

Byron shook his head. “Nope. Just that she was hoping to talk to you.”

He looked back and all his senses tingled. Her hair was caught at her nape in some kind of decorative clip. It was curly and wild and the color of the night. He wondered what it would look like released from captivity.

His body stirred for the first time in a long while. Months, years, he wasn’t sure. Time lost all meaning when one lived as long as he had.

But it was her face that captivated him. It was heart-shaped, with a pert nose and full, inviting lips. Without seeing them up close, he knew her eyes would be gray.

He’d watched that face from afar many, many years ago, seen it grow wrinkled with age as youth gave way to old age. But that woman had died four hundred years ago. He shook his head, certain he was seeing a ghost.

“You okay, boss?” Byron’s question brought him back to the present, but he was unsettled. And not much unsettled him these days.

“Tell her I’m not available and escort her out of here. You were right. She doesn’t belong.” And if another man made a move on her, Damek would be tempted to rip his head from his shoulders. Literally.

He felt Byron’s gaze on him, but the bouncer did as he was instructed. Not that Damek had any doubt that he would. Byron could be counted on to carry out his orders. He watched as Byron wound through the crowd and stood beside the mystery woman. He hadn’t even asked her name. Probably better that way.

Elizabetta. He still remembered her name from long ago. She’d been no more than a peasant, living with her family in the remote countryside of Transylvania but, to him, she’d been more beautiful than a queen with her bright laughter and quick smile. He’d tarried for years there, leaving but always returning to watch her.

It had almost killed him when she’d married and had children. She’d aged fast, as people had back in those days, and been dead by the time she was in her early forties. She’d left a husband, seven children and six grandchildren to mourn her passing.

Damek swallowed back the pain and rage threatening to undo his ironclad control. He’d wanted to kill her husband for not taking better care of her. Oddly enough, it had been the sight of that man dangling one of his grandchildren on his lap that had stopped Damek. The child had looked so much like her grandmother that Damek hadn’t been able to move. Frozen outside the window to the cottage where Elizabetta had lived and died, he’d watched and known a part of her still lived on.

That had been enough.

Was this woman a descendant of hers? Or was the resemblance nothing more than coincidence?

He wished he were close enough to hear her voice above the heavy music and drunken laughter. Was it softly accented or was it clipped and precise, more American than European. He leaned forward before he realized what he was doing.

Cursing himself, he cloaked his presence and glided along the shadows, moving ever closer to his goal. He stopped just beyond the bar, only feet away from the woman. She was fairly tall, about five-seven and slender. But it was hard to tell much else about her physical attributes without stripping her out of the unflattering suit she wore.

“When will he be in?” Her low, sultry voice sank into the very cells of his body and he closed his eyes and simply basked in it.

“Don’t know.” Byron’s answer was short and concise. “You should leave.”

He went to put his hand on her arm and Damek hissed with displeasure. A wave of pure menace shot out of him before he could control it. Bryon froze, his hand hovering in the air about four inches from her arm. The woman sucked in a breath and glanced around, her gaze falling briefly on Damek before sliding away and continuing around the rest of the room. All the patrons of the club froze on the dance floor, as though some unknown force had control of their motor functions.

Damek silently cursed himself and reined in his emotions. A woman laughed and a glass hit the bar, making the ice inside it tinkle. The music played on and the club gradually returned to normal, but there was an edge to the atmosphere that hadn’t existed before, and Damek knew the club would probably clear out early tonight unless he left the premises. His mood was permeating the place, making everyone here nervous and restless. The woman’s presence here had unsettled him, a dangerous proposition for a vampire.

The woman fumbled in her rather large purse, drew out a card and handed it to Byron. “Please ask him to call me.”

Byron slid the card into his vest pocket but promised nothing. The woman sighed and turned to leave with the bouncer right behind her. Byron kept his hands to himself, for which Damek was extremely grateful. He was on edge and would hate to do something he’d regret tomorrow. Damek followed at a discreet pace, confident no one could see him. He was one with the night, a mere shadow to those around him.

The iron gate that acted as the first door to the club closed with a metallic bang behind the woman, the finality of it sending a shiver of dread down his spine. He frowned and eased from the shadows to stand beside Byron. He didn’t speak, but simply held out his hand.

Byron slid the card out of his vest pocket and put it in Damek’s hand. It was made of heavy vellum and etched in black lettering. Sonia Agostino, PhD in folklore and anthropology. Now what did some academic want with him and his club? He noted she taught at NYU and wondered what she was doing in Chicago.

“I’m going out. You can call me if there’s trouble.” Damek was out the door before he even realized he was going. It was sheer instinct that had him following her. No, not her. Sonia. Her name rolled around in his brain and he smiled. It suited her somehow, a bit old-fashioned and old world.

He had her in his sights now. Her shoes were clicking against the sidewalk as she made her way quickly down the street, her oversized purse slapping against her hip with each long stride. Damek shoved his hands in his pants pocket and strolled after her.

Sonia muttered to herself as she walked. “Well, you knew it wouldn’t be easy.” Yet, she’d expected to walk into a nightclub and talk to the owner. Damek, no last name, at least not one she could find, and she’d done her research.

She sighed, wishing she’d taken the time to change into flats or sneakers. But no, she’d been in such a rush she’d dumped her suitcase at the hotel and hurried straight to the club. Now her feet hurt, she was disappointed and her stomach was growling in protest to the fact she hadn’t eaten since early this morning. She’d been too busy teaching all day before racing to the airport to catch an early evening flight. She’d had plenty of coffee, but not much else.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to slow down and pay attention to her surroundings. Chicago was a city, and like any city, it wasn’t smart to be unaware. The Fulton River District was bustling. Empty warehouses sat alongside new condominiums, which cost more than she could ever hope to afford. Not that she’d ever leave New York and her family. They all lived in a building her grandparents owned in Astoria and she loved it there, loved being a part of a loud, opinionated, boisterous Greek family.

And speaking of family, she needed to call hers before they started worrying about her. She plucked her cell phone out of her jacket pocket and dialed. It was answered on the first ring.

“How was your flight? Have you eaten yet?” All of them might be adults, but Celia Agostino treated them all as though they were still children.

“Hi, Mom.” Sonia smiled as her mother continued to pepper her with questions, interrupting her to answer some of them. “The flight was great and I’m going to get something to eat now.” All she’d told her parents was that she was coming to Chicago to do some research. If they’d known her real reason, they would have stopped her, or all come along with her. She wasn’t quite certain which.

“Are you being careful? Your father worries.”

Her smile grew. It was a family joke that her mother never admitted to being worried about any of her three children. It was always her father who worried. Of course, if his wife wasn’t happy then Vincenzo Agostino wasn’t happy either, so she supposed her mother was telling the truth. “I’m always careful.” She shifted her purse so she had a better hold on it.

“Why are you really there, Sonia? I know it is not simply for research. I sense something more. Something darker.”

That was the problem with having a mother who was part gypsy and part, well, something else altogether. She always knew when Sonia wasn’t telling her everything. “I’m fine.”

“Be careful, my darling. Promise me.”

Her stomach lurched and she slowed, finally coming to a halt outside a small, bustling Italian restaurant. “Do you know something I don’t?” Some people might laugh, but Sonia believed in her mother’s premonitions. They’d been right far too often for her to discount them.

“No. It is all dark. Hidden. Maybe you should come home. Or one of your brothers could fly out to be with you.”

That was exactly what she didn’t need. She loved both Stefano and Milo with all her heart, but they were overbearing know-it-alls, as only older brothers could be. “I’ll be careful, Mom. I promise. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Please be careful, Sonia,” her mother pleaded.

“I will. Love you.” She ended the call but was left feeling anxious and unsettled. “Great. I should have waited until I was back at the hotel to call her.” She started walking fast again, aware of the rush of humanity on the streets as people headed to clubs and restaurants to meet friends and lovers. Roving packs of females and males all looking for some action and some up to more nefarious deeds that she’d rather not know about.

“Get a grip,” she muttered and picked up her pace. She was fine. She was faster and stronger than she looked, and her father had made sure she knew how to handle herself in less-than-desirable situations.

No one knew why she was truly here in Chicago, not even her family. There was nothing in her computer that would point to her real reason either. She was smart and had been trained from birth not to talk about the others.

Most people didn’t believe in the paranormal. Sonia knew better. Her family was a member of The Keepers, a part of a worldwide network of people who helped protect those who weren’t human. Werewolves, witches and other shapeshifters filled the world, but the most elusive supernatural creature of all was the vampire.

She’d come here in search of one.

Some people would call her crazy, but that was fine by her. She’d been ridiculed for her choice of study within the academic world anyway. She’d studied anthropology and folklore, making her field of study the myths and legends of the worlds, specifically those that pertained to otherworldly creatures.

She knew a lot about werewolves, but not nearly as much about vampires. It was only by sheer luck she’d stumbled across a newspaper clipping about the killings in a Chicago park last year. It had all the trademarks of a battle between a group of werewolves and bounty hunters. The bounty hunters were a nasty lot, wanting to kill every supernatural creature, no matter if they were good or bad. That made the hunters evil in her books.

Whether there were werewolves living in the city or not, she didn’t know. They weren’t in The Keepers database. But it had started her looking at Chicago, and in her research she’d come across a mention of a very exclusive club—Inhibitions. For some instinctive reason she’d been compelled to keep digging for information about the club and its mysterious owner.

She might not have the sight like her mother did, but Sonia always listened to her intuition. It had never been wrong. Her curiosity, and a gut feeling that she needed to pursue this further, had led her here.

“Probably all for nothing.” She was grateful for the advent of technology. Now when she talked to herself, people assumed she was talking on her cell phone and didn’t stare quite as much as they had when she was a kid.

A frisson of fear snaked down her spine and Sonia glanced over her shoulder, studying the sidewalk. It was filled with people and there didn’t seem to be anyone watching her. But everyone in her family was big on intuition and she knew there was someone out there following her.

The hotel was still a few blocks away. She was from New York and used to walking, but what had seemed like nothing more than a brisk evening stroll now seemed far too long a distance. Sonia yanked her phone back out of her purse and held her finger above speed dial. If something happened, she wanted her family to know. They were the only ones she could count on to help her if this was something out of the ordinary.

Beneath her tailored jacket, she was sweating and her heart was racing. She walked as fast as she could without running. A breeze hit her as she passed by an open alleyway. It was dark, but something moved down at the far end.

To hell with it. Sonia began to run, weaving in and out around the other people, calling out “excuse me” when she hit someone. She didn’t stop until she was at her hotel. Slightly winded, she paused in the safety of the lobby and peered back behind her, but saw nothing.

“Nerves. Nothing but nerves and lack of food.” She slid her cell phone back into her pocket and made quick time across the lobby to the bank of elevators. She checked to make certain the elevator was empty before she stepped inside and breathed a sigh of relief when the door whooshed shut.

Her fingers had a death grip on her purse strap and she forced herself to release it. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, willing her heart rate back to normal. A bead of sweat rolled down her back and she couldn’t wait to get out of this godforsaken suit and into something more comfortable.

She dug into her oversized purse and found her keycard, having it ready before the elevator door opened on her floor. The hall was well lit, but Sonia still felt exposed and hurried to her room, her shoes making no sound on the carpet.

It took her two tries to get the card inserted into the slot, but the red light finally turned green and she shoved the handle down and pushed the door open. She shut it behind her and set the security lock. The lamp she’d left on earlier illuminated the room, her suitcase still sat on the bed and a low hum came from the heater.

Sighing with relief, she tossed her purse onto the bed and stepped out of her shoes. “See, nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.” She padded to the window, pulled back the sheer curtain and looked down six floors to the sidewalk below.

People walked in both directions and cars, trucks and buses flowed up and down the busy street. The “L”—the elevated, rapid transit system—rumbled in the distance, carrying people to work, home or wherever they were headed. There were lights as far as the eye could see. She let the white panel fall back into place.

She needed to eat but knew she couldn’t face going out again. The room service menu that sat alongside the phone looked very enticing. She picked it up and thumbed through her choices. When she’d made her selection, she picked up the phone and ordered her club sandwich and ice tea, along with a brownie for dessert. They told her it would be about forty-five minutes to an hour wait. Long enough to have a shower and change.

Sonia flipped open her suitcase, drew out a pair of comfy sleep pants and a T-shirt and headed to the bathroom.

Chapter Two

Damek followed Sonia from a safe distance, always keeping her in sight, but never getting close enough for her to detect him. It was harder to remain hidden outside in the bright lights of the city, but not impossible. Not for him.

He kept one eye on her and the other on his surroundings. Old habits died hard, and even though no one in the city knew about him, other than a pack of werewolves whom he trusted, he wasn’t taking any chances. Vampire hunters were everywhere. He cursed Bram Stoker for creating the character of Van Helsing, even as he gave thanks for the rise of the Goth culture, which helped his kind blend in much more easily.

She moved quickly and competently through the crowd, her long legs eating up the distance to her destination. He wondered what those legs would look like bare and, preferably, wrapped around his waist as he thrust into her.

He paused and shook his head. She really had unsettled him. His body responded to her nearness, his cock swelling and lengthening without his permission. His body was always under his command, until tonight.

She took out her phone and talked to someone, smiling at whatever the other person had to say. A flash of envy bolted through him. He wanted to be the one who brought a smile to her face.

He growled and swore under his breath. He should turn around and go back to his club. This woman was trouble. He felt it in his bones, in his very soul. She could undo everything he’d built here. Why he thought that, he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. He believed it and that was enough.

He was about to head back to Inhibitions when an icy cold finger stroked his spine. Damek faded into the empty alcove of a closed bookstore and studied his surroundings. He narrowed his eyes, peered past the darkness and opened his mind to the thoughts of those around him. He was immediately bombarded by hundreds of images, words and feelings, many of them unsettling and dark. He picked through them at lightning speed, effortlessly discarding those not important to him.

There was a hitch in Sonia’s step and then she began to run. Damek quickened his step to keep pace with her, sliding through the shadows, searching for whatever had spooked her. A movement from an alleyway caught his attention. He turned his attention toward the area and found…nothing, even as his preternatural sense of hearing picked up a faint footstep. That in itself was disturbing. Few could naturally shield their thoughts from a vampire, although it was a skill that could be taught over time.

His blood began to simmer. Vampire hunter.

The tall, well-built man stepped out from the shadows and peered around the corner, his gaze settling on Sonia. Why was a vampire hunter watching Damek’s professor of folklore? Was he following her specifically? Were they working together?

Damek pondered his options. He should watch the man and see what he did and whom he talked to. All fine in theory, but then the man took a step toward the alley opening and Sonia.

Protective instincts he believed long dead rose to the fore, shutting out all reason. Damek uncloaked his presence and sauntered toward the man. “She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

“Who?” The man squared his shoulders in a visible challenge. The human stood several inches above Damek’s six-feet and was obviously used to using his size to intimidate others.

The man looked at Damek’s smaller, leaner stature, the designer suit and shoes and dismissed him as unimportant. Really, all these hunter types seemed to think all vampires wore leather, had multiple piercings and hung out in Goth bars. It would be insulting if it weren’t so helpful to him. Plus, even he had to admit there were many of his kind who did just that, adding to the cliché.

Damek simply smiled and inclined his head toward Sonia as the crowd swallowed her up. “Ms. Agostino.”

The man’s eyes widened and his pupils dilated. Ah, so he did know who she was. “Listen, buddy.” The hunter’s voice was low, his posture threatening. “I don’t know who you are, but you want to stay out of business that doesn’t concern you.”

Damek let his power flare, filling the space between them and clouding the entrance to the alley so all those passing it would see nothing amiss. The man paled, shut his mind up even tighter and reached for the weapon hidden beneath his jacket. Damek smiled, letting his opponent see his fangs as he pushed past the rather impressive barrier and into his mind, taking control.

He was normally more circumspect in public, but his control was tenuous at best. Plus, the hunter was following Sonia. That pissed him off.

“Take your hand away from your weapon.” The man strained to keep his hand moving toward the knife, but his body would not obey him. “There’s a good boy,” Damek praised as he closed the distance between them.

The hunter was strong and Damek amped up his psychic attack, drawing on his reserves.

“Fuck you,” the man grated out.

“Tsk, tsk. Such an offer, but I’ll have to say no. I’m not into men.” Damek bored ruthlessly into the man’s memories. “Your name is John Barnes and you’re from Tennessee.” The man was sweating now and struggling against the hold of Damek’s mind.

“Why were you watching Ms. Agostino?” He could search for the information but it would take time. This man was adept at compartmentalizing his memories and Damek didn’t want to take the time to dig through them all. Sonia was out there alone and he had no idea if there were other hunters following her.

John gritted his teeth, the muscles in his jaw straining as he struggled not to speak. “We watch her because she studies werewolves, vampires and other paranormal abominations.”

“Spare me your tired political rhetoric.” Damek was sick of hearing how he had to be destroyed because he was different, a monster. Yes, many of his kind deserved to die, but not all of them, only those that were truly killers. A smart vampire kept a low profile—which he wasn’t doing at the moment—took only the blood necessary to survive and never, ever killed a blood host.

In this day and age it was even easier to go undetected. Blood banks were everywhere with their endless supply of nourishment. The last thing a vampire wanted was unnecessary attention shone his way. “Tell me more.”

“That’s it. I was told to watch her and report back on what she did and who she talked to.”

That wasn’t good. “Do you know where she went tonight?”

“Some fancy club. Inhibitions.” The man continued to struggle to move but Damek kept ruthless control of him while maintaining the shadows at the mouth of the alley. Years of practice allowed him to do it easily while he mulled over the implications.

He couldn’t allow the vampire hunters to know about him or his club. They would ruin everything he’d built in the past decade and he was nowhere near ready to give up his club and the life he had in Chicago. Not yet.

“Who do you report to? Are you alone in Chicago?”

John gritted his teeth. “Fuck you, bloodsucker.” He tried to resist, but Damek applied more pressure, drilling into the man’s mind without hesitation. This man was his enemy, and Damek treated him as such.

“I won’t ask twice.” The urge to kill the hunter was overwhelming. He was a threat to Sonia. But that wouldn’t be smart. A missing hunter would bring more of their kind to his city.

“I’m alone and I report to Luther Kostas.” Beads of sweat rolled down John’s face.

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Damek stepped so close he was nose to nose with the man. He pulled on more power, took total control of John’s mind and began to manipulate his memories. “You followed Ms. Agostino back to her hotel and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She stopped for dinner at an Italian restaurant.” Damek named one nowhere near his club. “She is no threat to you or your group. This is nothing more than a research trip. The good professor only studies myths and legends and knows nothing of reality.” He pushed hard, drilling this into John’s mind until his real memory was gone, replaced with this new reality.

“And, John,” Damek continued. “You are alone in this alley. You’re feeling as though you might be coming down with a stomach virus. You’re not well and need to return to your hotel.”

The urge to kill the man, to eliminate the threat was pushing Damek hard. He wanted to dig his fangs into the human’s jugular and drain him dry, but he overrode his primitive instincts and listened to his brain. The death of this man would only bring more trouble, and that was the last thing he wanted. “Now go.”

Damek released John’s mind and faded into the shadows, pulling his power around him. The sounds and sights from the street came back into view as the shadows faded from around them. The man swayed and stumbled, leaning against the wall.

“Fuck. I must have eaten something funny.” He swiped a hand over his damp forehead. “Or maybe I’m coming down with something. This is a shit assignment. Stupid bitch didn’t do anything but stop for dinner.”

John rolled his shoulders and made his way to the top of the alley. He turned and looked back, shook his head and headed down the sidewalk. Damek followed, watching until the threat disappeared from sight.

“Now to find Sonia.” He flowed down the sidewalk, moving with the mass of humanity. Unlike many paranormal creatures, including some of his brethren, Damek liked humans. He enjoyed their ingenuity, their passion and zest for life, their resilience. Plus, he couldn’t survive without them. It made sense to him to protect his food source and keep it close.

He didn’t think Sonia had gone much farther after she’d bolted. He’d tracked her racing heartbeat as best he could under the circumstances, but the strength of the hunter had made that more difficult.

Here. He slowed and stopped in front of a midrange hotel and sniffed. He could scent the slightest bit of her natural essence, along with a heavy dose of fear. He didn’t like that. She should never have to be afraid of anything.

Damek strode across the lobby, using his power to disrupt the security cameras. When he reached the reception desk, he smiled at the woman behind the counter. “I am looking for one of your guests, Sonia Agostino.”

The woman was older, her dark hair slightly silvered and she wore a professional smile. “I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t give out information on our guests. I can call up to her room for you if you’d like and let her know you’re here.”

He appreciated the good security here, but it existed to keep others out, not him. “That is fine.” He gave a gentle push to her mind as she looked down at the computer screen to find Sonia’s room number—604. As soon as he had it, he withdrew from her mind and offered her another smile. “On second thought, it’s late. I’ll check in with her tomorrow.”

“If you’re sure.” She was watching him now, her gaze worried.

“Absolutely.” Damek turned and walked out the front door. He ducked into the shadows and watched until another customer distracted the woman behind the reception desk. Then he cloaked his presence and flowed toward the elevators, stepping in the one that opened as he approached. He pressed the number for the right floor and watched as the numbers lit one by one until he reached the sixth floor.

He easily found Sonia’s room and used the power of his mind to silently unlock the door. He slid inside the room and shut the door behind him.

The light in the bathroom was on but the rest of the room was in darkness. Her suitcase sat on a small bench with her purse on top of it. He could hear a slow plink from the bathroom as water dripped from the showerhead.

Damek inhaled and caught the fresh scent of soap and woman. He eased over to the bed and looked down at Sonia. Her hair was loose and flowed over her pillow in a profusion of black curls. He leaned down and touched one inky lock. It was soft and silky and he barely resisted threading his fingers through the entire mass.

She frowned, her brow creasing as she muttered something unintelligible. Damek let the curl slide over his finger, sucked in a deep breath and took a step back to sit in a chair in the corner of the room where the shadows surrounded him.

Sonia had the covers shoved down to her waist, exposing long, toned arms. The thin white T-shirt she wore did little to disguise her womanly curves. To put it quite bluntly, Sonia was stacked. Her breasts were firm and full beneath the soft cotton. She gave a little snort and turned onto her side, tucking a hand beneath her head.

Her thick lashes rested on her high cheekbones and her brows were dark slashes, framing her eyes. Her creamy skin was flawless, her cheeks tinged with pink. Even asleep, she pulsed with life and energy.

Up this close, he could see the resemblance to the long-lost Elizabetta, but there were enough differences that there was no mistaking the two for each other. Sonia’s cheekbones were sharper, her skin finer. Her nose was longer and her lips fuller. He wanted to taste those sweet lips, feel them against his mouth and on other parts of his body.

Damek closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Her blood pumped through her veins, calling to him like a siren calls a sailor to his death. The whoosh echoed in his ears until it was all he could hear. He licked his lips, his fangs sharp in his mouth. He could almost taste her on his tongue. She would be so sweet.

He’d leaned forward without realizing it and swore under his breath. He was not a monster to take what was not freely given to him. His needs were met easily these days. Owning a blood bank gave him more than an ample supply of sustenance. But there was nothing quite like the taste of fresh blood, still hot, still pulsing from the vein.

He groaned and ignored the heavy throbbing of his cock. He’d thought the organ all but dead until a short time ago. Sonia had revived more than one hunger within him. He knew he should leave, but he didn’t. Couldn’t. Not yet. The night was long and he wanted to watch her sleep, watch over her and protect her.

Hunger beat at him, a result of using so much energy with the hunter when he already needed to feed. Damek was usually careful to ingest blood on a regular schedule, but he’d gotten busy today and had ignored the growing gnawing in his gut, assuming he’d have plenty of time to feed later.

It was always a drain when he was forced to enter the mind of another. Memories carried emotions, and the power of them often took their toll on him, which was why he didn’t do it often. But it was a skill he’d honed to a sharp edge over the years and wouldn’t hesitate to use it to defend himself or those under his protection.

Sonia rolled, ending up on her back once again. She kicked at the covers restlessly, shoving them down until they were at the foot of the bed. He smiled when he saw what she was wearing. No silk and satin nightgown for his Sonia. No, she wore a pair of cotton sleep pants in a pale shade of blue with wooly white sheep all over them.

She should have looked ridiculous in her getup, but Damek knew he’d never seen a sexier sight in his long life. He wanted to peel those amusing pajama bottoms down her long legs, revealing each luscious inch of her skin until she was totally exposed and open to him.

So many women today flaunted their bodies. While it was their right to do so and he freely admitted to admiring many of their delectable bodies, there was something about the temptation of discovering what was hidden beneath a woman’s clothing that excited him. In this way, he knew he was a throwback to a much earlier time.

Damek sensed an underlying sensuality to Sonia, one she kept hidden beneath boring business suits and sheep-covered pajamas. She moaned in her sleep and he pulled his gaze back to her face. Was she having a nightmare?

What he was about to do went against every code he lived by. Damek never intruded into a human’s mind unless he thought his safety or the well-being of those under his protection was in jeopardy. For the most part, he respected the rights of humans to keep their thoughts as their own. Her mind was not a playground for him to enjoy, but he couldn’t bear the thought of her being afraid, even if it was only in her dreams.

Damek pushed gently, surprised by the natural resistance he hit. Sonia was dreaming and she should have been an open book for him, easy for him to slide in and out of. Most people were when they were in this altered state of mind. What would she be like when she was awake? There was no doubt she was a strong woman, especially on the psychic plane.

He tried again, careful not to push so hard that he would wake her. It was a delicate task, but he was eventually rewarded when her dream opened up to him. His cock swelled, threatening to explode when he caught his first glimpse of the vision. No, it wasn’t a nightmare Sonia was experiencing. It was an erotic dream.

Fury whipped through him at the thought that some other man filled her dreams, some other man knew what she looked like naked and in the throes of her passion. He wanted to find the man and kill him for daring to touch such a treasure. His treasure.

Every muscle in his body tightened, ready for battle. His breathing became slower and deeper, his senses more acute. He knew his emotions were irrational, but he didn’t care.

He looked harder at the fantasy unfolding in her head and frowned when he realized the man’s face was in shadow, unsubstantial, not real.

Relief hit him hard and he knew he was in over his head with this woman, this stranger who’d invaded his life such a short time ago. No matter. He’d worry about the implications later. For now, he had access to her fantasies, her sensual desires, and he wasn’t about to waste such a precious gift.

Damek shifted to try to find a more comfortable position in the chair. It wasn’t happening. Not with his cock pushing against the zipper of his dress pants. He savored the sexual bite, reveled in the heavy weight of his balls. It had been so long since he’d felt much of anything but the never-ending craving for blood.

Maybe what he was about to do was questionable, but he couldn’t stop himself. No, that wasn’t quite right. He didn’t want to stop himself. Maybe he was closer to going over the edge into bloodlust than he realized, but not even that thought could deter him from his goal.

Slowly and very carefully, he inserted himself into her dream, letting her dream man take on his features, sliding into her sensual fantasies until he was fully there with her. His clothing was gone and so was hers.

He propped himself on one elbow, taking a good look at her naked body for the first time. She was breathtaking in her natural beauty. Her pupils were dilated with need, her cheeks flush, her lips parted on a breathy sigh. Her ample breasts swayed with every breath she took and her nipples peaked to hard buds beneath his perusal.

She moved her legs restlessly, pulling his gaze lower. Her slender ribcage gave way to flared hips and shapely thighs. Her mound was covered with dark curls and he longed to delve beyond them to her moist, hot pussy.

“Let me have you.” His voice was hoarse with sexual excitement. It was only a dream, but he could make it feel real to both of them if she was willing.

She licked her lips and liquid seeped from the tip of his cock, a sharp reminder of how long it had been for him. His reality was following him into her dream and he knew even here he would have no control against her natural sensuality.

He rubbed his thumb over her full bottom lip, loving the way her pink tongue darted out to taste it. He wanted to kiss her, to taste her full lips. “Sonia?” he prompted.

Her lashes fluttered as her gaze narrowed and she nodded. “Yes.”

Chapter Three

Sonia stared up into the eyes of the most compelling man she’d ever seen in her life. His black hair fell to his shoulders like a silken curtain and she itched to run her fingers through it to see if it was as soft as it looked. It was so unlike her hair. The curly mass had been the bane of her existence since she was a child. She’d always wanted hair like his.

His eyes were hypnotic and she struggled not to simply lose herself in them. His brows were dark and straight and his lips were thin, yet sensual. She could look at them all night, but what she really wanted to do was kiss them.

“Let me have you.” His low voice mesmerized her and she knew in that moment that she would deny him nothing.

She licked her lips and he ran his thumb over the bottom one. Her tongue darted out to touch it, to taste him. He was salty and warm and she wondered what the rest of his skin would taste like.

“Sonia?” he prompted.

She slowly nodded. “Yes.”

He smiled at her, a smile filled with an immense amount of male satisfaction. It softened the hard lines of his face, but didn’t dim the intensity of his gaze. If anything, he devoured her with his eyes, letting them flow down her body like a physical caress.

She stretched, elongating her neck, arching her back so her breasts were pushed upward. She, who normally hid her sexuality, wanted to revel in it. There was something about this man that made her want to explore every fantasy she’d ever had and even some she hadn’t.

He ran his fingers through her hair, letting it fall back against the pillows. There was something wrong, something she should remember. She frowned, trying to think. It wasn’t easy with his thumb tracing her lips and the curve of her jaw.

His name. She didn’t know his name. It jolted her to find herself in bed with a man she didn’t know, but she couldn’t say she was afraid, just perplexed. “Who are you?”

“I am your dream lover.” He leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead, her nose and finally her cheekbones. “I am every dark fantasy you’ve ever had,” he whispered against her lips before he claimed them.

Oh, he tasted good. Like fine wine and chocolate. She moaned and parted her lips to allow him better access. His tongue delved inward, exploring the inside of her mouth, touching her tongue and teeth. She clutched at his head, tangling her fingers in his hair.

This had to be a dream. She’d never had a kiss like this in her life. It went on and on, until she was breathless and feared she might pass out. He released her at the last second and smiled at her. She caught a brief glimpse of white teeth and then he was kissing his way down her jawline and neck. He nipped at her collarbone, sending shivers racing down her spine.

Her breasts ached for his touch and he didn’t disappoint her. He plumped one in his palm and rubbed his thumb over the puckered nipple. “You are truly extraordinary.”

His praise warmed her. She’d been a nerdy, bookish child and an early bloomer. Her breasts had developed in her early teens, prompting a lot of unwanted and nasty attention in school. She’d learned to downplay them and dressed to hide them until it had become habit. Now, she was glad she was well endowed.

He lowered his head and his hair fell across her skin, adding another layer to the sensual snare surrounding her. His tongue gently laved her nipple. The light caress sent a bolt of sexual arousal shooting from the peak to between her thighs. She moved her legs against the mattress, seeking to be closer to him.

Sonia realized she was just lying there, letting him do whatever he wanted. She had this prime male in front of her and she hadn’t touched him at all except for his hair. That was about to change.

She reached up and touched his broad shoulders. Muscle rippled beneath her hands as she ran them down his thick biceps to his wide wrists. She could sense the power flowing through them and it heightened her arousal to the boiling point. It wouldn’t take much to push her over the edge.

He opened his mouth and drew her straining nipple in, sucking softly. Sonia cried out, helpless beneath his touch. He growled low in the back of his throat and she felt the sharp rake of his teeth over her breast. Her spine arched and flames seemed to shoot through her.

He swore under his breath and kissed his way down her ribcage. She wanted to drag him back to her breasts, but she liked what he was doing to her too much to make him stop. His teeth grazed her hipbones, making her shiver. He nuzzled her pubic hair and she automatically parted her legs to make room for him between them.

Damek had made love to more women than he could ever remember. In the early years after his conversion, he’d wandered the world, taking his pleasures wherever he found them. There’d never been a shortage of women willing to sleep with him. He was a generous lover, in bed and out. But that pursuit had lost its luster after several centuries of watching others fall in love and have families. He’d gotten tired of being only a temporary lover and had started keeping to himself more and more. His last lover had been more than two decades ago.

No matter. If he still possessed a soul, and he wasn’t certain he did, there was no denying that he’d never been with a woman who made him feel as Sonia did. And this was just a dream, albeit a very realistic one.

She was warm and alive. She heated his chilled flesh and made him feel as though he belonged. His cock throbbed as blood pulsed through it, keeping it hard and ready.

He shook his head to clear away the sensual web. The reality of the situation hadn’t changed. She was human and he was a dream, a temporary lover at best.

He wanted more, so much more. His fangs had lengthened as he kissed and suckled her breasts. He’d wanted to sink them into her silken flesh and let her blood flow over his tongue and into his veins.

But that would be crossing the line.

Not that he hadn’t already crossed it by invading her dreams, but he would not take that extra step. His control was precarious enough as it was. The quick thump of her heart beat through his brain like a drumbeat, calling him, enticing him to taste her blood. He shook his head to help clear it and inhaled her unique fragrance.

Her skin was soft and smell faintly of vanilla. Such a homey scent and one he knew he would forever identify with Sonia even if he never set eyes on her again after tonight. His chest ached at the thought of never seeing her again, but he was realistic. It would be better for them both if he made it impossible for her to find him.

But he was here now, and he intended to enjoy every moment he could with her. He buried his face in the notch between her thighs, breathing in the musky perfume of her arousal. When she parted her legs for him, he wanted to yell like a conqueror of old. She wanted him. Or at least she wanted him in her dreams. For now, it was enough.

He settled between her sleek thighs, letting his fingers play up and down her warm skin. A low moan fell from her lips and he gazed upward. She was sprawled across the bed, her lips moist from his kisses and parted on a sigh. Her nipples were hard nubs, inviting him to pluck them with his fingers. But the clock was ticking. He was conscious he was on borrowed time and wasn’t about to miss the feast spread before him.

Damek lowered his head and dragged his tongue over her slick folds. She was hot and wet and the taste of her arousal flooded through him. Honey and cream paired with a hint of musk. He lapped at her pussy, up one side and down the other.

Her knees came up and closed around his head, holding him to her. Satisfaction shot through him. His balls were about to explode they were so swollen and tight, but he ignored them, ignored the ache in his cock. Nothing was more important than making Sonia come.

He found the little nub at the apex of her sex and pressed his tongue against it. She rewarded him with a deep moan of pleasure. Her hips rocked upward, seeking his touch. Damek gave her what she wanted and more.

He captured her clit between his lips and sucked, tonguing the nub. He found the tender opening of her channel and pressed one thick finger into her wet warmth. She sucked him deep into her moist depths and he thought he might lose his mind. It was all too easy to imagine his cock sinking into her welcoming heat.

She caught his hair in her hands and pulled him closer. He loved that she wasn’t afraid to let him know what she wanted. He wanted her to demand everything from him so he could give it to her. He wanted to conquer the world and lay it at her feet.

She was dangerous to him, but totally irresistible.

She moaned and bucked her hips, urging him to hurry. He wanted to eat her pussy for hours, building her orgasm until she was mindless with pleasure. But there wasn’t enough time. She could wake at any time, ending this moment between them.

He growled as fury engulfed him. He wouldn’t have it. He would taste her passion before she woke.

Damek inserted a second finger into her silken channel, stretching her, making her accept him. Her inner muscles rippled around him, accommodating him. He pulled them to the edge of her opening and then thrust them inward.

Sonia cried out and lifted her hips to accept the invasion. Damek dragged one of his fangs over her swollen clit, careful not to pierce the skin. Her entire body snapped taut like a bowstring and she gave a broken cry. Her pussy clamped down on his fingers as she came. Her hips bucked against his hand and he gave her what she needed, let the orgasm play out as long as he could. He released her clit and buried his face against her thigh, his breathing ragged, his control almost shattered.

He could hear the whoosh of her blood rushing through her veins, smell the sweetness of her cream and taste it on his tongue. Her skin was flushed and damp. He wanted to stay like this forever.

Damek allowed himself one more taste of her before he moved away. He didn’t look at her for fear even in a dream his eyes would be tinged red, burning with his unquenched lust for her. The need for blood was riding him hard. If he wasn’t as old as he was, he might not be able to withstand the lure of her blood. It was close enough as it was.

She gave a contented murmur and he risked a quick glance. Her naked body gleamed in the dim light and he memorized every sensual dip, every lush contour. Her breathing was still ragged and his wasn’t much better. He ached in a way he hadn’t for decades, maybe centuries. He wanted so much more from her.

But those kinds of thoughts would only lead to madness.

She reached for him and he stared at her open palm. He wanted to reach out for her, to let her touch him.

He caught the disturbance in the hallway, gave a sharp hiss and withdrew from her dream. Damek surged from the chair, his entire body one large exposed nerve ending. He sank behind the curtain, letting the shadows surround him as the knock came on the door. He masked his presence and watched.

Sonia bolted up in bed, a cry of disappointment on her lips. Her lover had disappeared suddenly, leaving her bereft and alone. She looked down at herself, shocked to see she was totally dressed. Her T-shirt and pajama bottoms were still in place.

The knock came again and she surged off the bed, stumbling slightly. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep after her shower, had decided to rest for a few minutes while she was waiting for her room service. Obviously, she’d fallen asleep.

“What a dream.” She grabbed the robe she’d left at the end of the bed and dragged it on, hissing when her hands accidentally grazed her breasts. They were swollen and sensitive.

The knock came again and she called out. “I’m coming.” She checked the peephole before she unlocked the door. The hotel employee wheeled the meal into the room, unloading it on the table beside the window. Sonia waited by the door and signed for the meal when the waiter was on his way out, adding a generous tip to the bill.

Alone again, she locked the door and padded to the table. It wasn’t only her breasts that were tender, her entire body felt sensitive. She was damp between her thighs, her sex pulsing as though she’d had an orgasm.

“You did have one,” she muttered. “Even if it was only a dream.” But what a vivid dream. Sonia had never experienced anything like it in her life. Maybe it was being in a strange hotel in an unfamiliar city. Maybe it was because she was hungry. Or maybe it was because of why she was here, searching for a man who may or may not be a vampire.

“Stop it.” There was no point in speculating why she’d had the dream. She’d had it. End of story. “There’s nothing wrong with an erotic dream,” she assured herself.

Sonia took the lid off the tray and studied her dinner. The BLT looked delicious and the brownie was large and thick and very chocolaty. On impulse, she picked up the brownie and took a bite. She chewed the gooey treat, letting it roll over her taste buds before swallowing. “Ohmygod,” she moaned. “This is amazing.”

There was something to be said for eating dessert first, although, her orgasm could technically be classified as a dessert. Sonia giggled, suddenly ravenous. Her stomach growled and she sat at the table, pulling the tray closer. She set the rest of the brownie aside, not wanting to eat it all at once.

In the shadows, Damek watched her taste the sweet treat, all the while cursing whatever impulse had sent him after her. This was the worst torture he’d ever endured. Watching Sonia nibbled the chocolate brownie, to see her lick a crumb from her lip, to hear her moan—a moan very much like the one she’d given when she was having an orgasm—was almost unbearable.

Yet, it made him feel alive. He’d experienced more emotions in the past few hours than he had in the past few years. That wasn’t good for a vampire of his age. He survived by keeping his emotions level and having a daily routine. It was all too easy to give into ennui, and that was when a vampire slid down the slippery slope of debauchery and bloodlust. That only ended badly for whatever humans were around the vampire and ultimately for the vampire itself.

He licked his lips when she did, his tongue flicking over one of his sharp, lethal fangs. His fingernails had grown into claws and were in danger of shredding the curtains he was hiding behind.

He, Damek the immortal vampire, was hiding behind a pair of curtains like some stalker, because he simply couldn’t make himself leave. He wanted to watch her eat, to know she was fed and safe. It calmed some of the rage burning within him.

The minutes ticked by and Sonia finished her meal, her enjoyment evident in every bite. She set the tray outside her bedroom door, used the bathroom and settled back in bed. Within minutes, her breathing deepened and he knew she was asleep.

The urge to remain until she began to dream again was great, but he ignored it. Dawn was only hours away and he had a business empire to run. He flowed from the shadows and stopped by the side of the bed to stare down at her. He reached out to touch her but pulled his hand back. Better to leave while he still could.

Damek silently left the room and shut the door, careful not to make any noise. He used the power of his mind to move the lock back into position so she would be safe. The hallway was empty and so was the elevator. He kept to the shadows until he was outside.

The night was crisp, the city still very much alive. He pulled out his cell phone and checked to make certain there were no messages. Not that he expected any. Byron could and would handle anything that came up.

Damek headed home rather than return to the club. He had much to think about, not the least of which was the fact that there were vampire hunters in his city. Oh, he’d seen them before. They came and went without bothering him, occasionally killing a young vampire who went on a killing spree, but Damek stayed out of their business and they continued to be oblivious to his existence.

But this was different. They had their sights set of Sonia, and he didn’t trust them not to hurt her in order to ascertain if she had information they might need. They were a ruthless bunch, killing almost as many humans as they did vampires in their zealous search to wipe out an entire paranormal race.

He walked back to the Fulton River District and around to the back of a building that had been converted to condos a decade ago. The building was his and one of many he owned in the city. He unlocked a door that only he used and stepped inside. It shut with a metallic clang, like a prison door shutting.

Damek shook off his sense of unease and strode to the elevator that went only to his penthouse. He stepped inside and rode to the top, sighing with relief when it opened and he stepped out into the foyer of his home. Another lock, this one an electronic keypad, and he was inside.

He ignored the opulent surroundings that usually soothed him and headed straight to the refrigerator behind the bar. Bags of blood were chilling, ready for him to consume. He dragged out two and drained them into a crystal goblet. Usually, he warmed the blood in the microwave, but not tonight. He needed sustenance and he needed it now.

He tipped up the glass and let the thick blood flow down his throat. There was no pleasure to be found. He felt cheated, still hungry even though his physical needs were being met. He wanted warm blood, Sonia’s blood.

Damek flung the glass against the far wall and it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. Glass and flecks of blood littered the floor. “Fuck.” He dragged his hands through his hair and pulled. He had to gain control. He took a deep breath and then another and another until he felt as though he wasn’t going to fly into a million pieces like the crystal.

His bed waited down the hallway, the windows fitted with special metal shutters that came down at sunrise and went up at sunset, but he knew he wouldn’t rest. Not tonight. Young vampires couldn’t resist the weight of the sun and fell into a deep trance-like sleep as soon as the sun rose, but he’d passed beyond that many years ago. Now, he was aware of everything around him when at rest and was able to be up and around when the sun was up. Not that he’d run around outside in the sunshine, but he could be inside easily. He could even go outside on a dull or rainy day, which was something he’d come to relish.

There would be no rest tonight. Now that he’d taken the edge off his ravenous hunger and it was safe for him to be around people once again, it would be better for him to head back to Inhibitions. The club would be closing soon, but there was always work to be done. He could take the time to deal with other business matters as well. If he needed to sleep, he could lock his office door and use his chair. He’d waken if anyone dared to disturb him.

Damek inhaled and caught Sonia’s scent. He cursed even as he drew in another deep breath. She was a danger to him and all he’d built. He knew the sensible thing would be to walk away from her. As he headed to the door, he knew he would let fate decide. If she came back to the club again, he would see her. If she stayed away, he would leave her alone.

Fate would decide.

Luther Kostas frowned as John gave his report. “She went to dinner and back to her hotel. Nothing out of the ordinary.” It wasn’t so much what John said but how he said it, as though it was a recitation rather than an actual memory.

“Did she talk to anyone?”

John hesitated for a moment. “No.”

“Not even the waiter or waitress at the restaurant?” Luther prompted.

“Shit, I don’t know. I’ve got some kind of stomach virus and have a splitting headache too.”

Luther pushed up from his chair and strode to the window, looking out over the New York skyline, the reports on his desk forgotten. “None of this sounds right. I think you ran into a vampire.”

“No, that’s impossible,” John protested. “I’m too strong for one of those bloodsuckers to get into my mind.”

“Maybe not.” The possibilities were exciting. “What if we’re dealing with a very old vampire? Maybe the sire of the last one we executed didn’t go back to Europe. Maybe he’s still in Chicago. And maybe our Ms. Agostino knows more than we thought.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Luther turned away from the city lights and began pacing back and forth in his office. “I want her kept her under surveillance and I want you wearing a wire. I want to know what’s being said and where you are at all times. We can’t afford to take any chances.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Luther could hear the caution and the excitement in John’s voice. An older vampire was a challenge and the hunt was on.

“I’m going to call in Aaron from North Carolina and have him meet you. I’ll join you as soon as I can get away. In the meantime, stay sharp.”

“Always.”

Luther ended the call and stared at the clock. It was too late to do anything tonight. Tomorrow he’d tie up some business here in the city and then head to Chicago. He strode over to the wall covered in swords and pulled down a short, sharp one that came from the Roman era. It was well made and strong, but he put it back. He was in the mood for something more modern. He plucked a crossbow from the wall and added a machete and Bowie knife for good measure. He’d take his Glock as well. Good thing he was driving as he’d never make it past airport security.

The thrill of the hunt was upon him. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was nothing more than John being slightly ill, but Luther didn’t think so. Years of hunting the creatures of the night had honed his intuition and it was screaming that there was a vampire living in Chicago, and somehow Sonia Agostino was connected to him.

He drew the blade of the machete over his thumb and watched a bead of blood swell from the shallow cut. He brought his thumb to his mouth, sucked the warm blood and smiled.

Chapter Four

It was the sun shining through her window that woke her. Sonia yawned and stretched, amazed she’d slept at all. For most of the night, she’d tossed and turned, her body filled with a sexual ache that wasn’t going to be fulfilled. The sun was rising by the time she’d finally drifted off, total exhaustion pushing her over the edge into sleep.

She glanced at the clock and gasped at the time. It was eleven in the morning. She hadn’t slept that late since…well, ever. She was usually up at the crack of dawn and hard at work. She definitely wasn’t a night person, but considering her restless night, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that she’d slept the morning away.

She shoved the covers off and eased her legs over the side of the bed, taking a moment to just sit as her memory drifted back to the night before. That was some dream she’d had, especially since she’d only been asleep for such a short time.

Heat flushed her face and she knew she was blushing without having to look in the mirror. Even now, her breasts ached and she felt empty inside. What would have happened next in her dream if room service hadn’t arrived? As it was, she wasn’t sure if she should be grateful to them for being late, or not. She shook her head and smiled. It certainly would have been interesting.

She’d never had a dream so vivid, so very real. Her body was still humming with a low-grade arousal and that simply wouldn’t do. She had a lot on her to-do list today. First of which, was getting another shower, this one on the cool side to wash away the remnants of her fantasy lover.

Sonia stood and padded to the bathroom. The mirror reflected a woman she almost didn’t recognize. Her curly hair was tousled and looked more sexy than unkempt. Her lips appeared almost swollen and her eyes were still slumberous. She looked as though she’d just rolled out of bed after a night with a lover.

Not that such an event had happened often in her lifetime. She was circumspect and choosy when it came to letting a man into her bed. She was more intellectual than sexy, and she’d had only three lovers in her life, all of them long-term commitments that had fizzled out over time. They were all great guys, but as dedicated to their work as she was to hers, leaving little time for their relationship.

But she’d never climbed out of bed with any of those men looking quite like this. She patted her rosy cheeks and sighed. Her dream lover might have spoiled her for anyone else.

And where the heck had she conjured him from? He was male perfection, strong without being muscle-bound, tall, but not too tall, his eyes black and compelling. She sighed and turned away from the mirror, determined to put the dream behind her. After all, it wasn’t like she was ever going to meet him. He was a figment of her rather vivid imagination.

Sonia stepped up to the shower, turned on the water and adjusted it to slightly on the cool side. She needed to rid herself of the remnants of last night’s dream and get back down to business. Then she peeled off her pajamas and stepped beneath the spray, cringing as the water hit her bare skin. “Crap, that’s cold.” She quickly adjusted the water so it was slightly warmer, grabbed the bar of soap off the ledge and began to lather it between her hands. Usually she enjoyed her morning shower. This morning she didn’t linger.

She stepped out, grabbed one of the thick, fluffy towels the hotel provided and quickly dried off and wrapped the towel around her. She hadn’t washed her hair and it was only damp on the ends, so she dragged her brush through the thick mass and pulled it back, clipping it at her nape with a hammered silver barrette.

Moisturizer, a light brush of mascara and a swipe of lipstick and she was done with her morning routine. Sonia never bothered with much makeup, had never really gotten the knack for it, much to the chagrin of her mother, who was the most stylish person Sonia knew. Obviously, she’d been born without that particular gene, but it no longer bothered her. She’d long ago come to accept who she was, a regular-looking woman with a good brain and a healthy body.

According to her mother, her best features were her smoky-gray eyes and her rather ample chest, which Sonia did her best to downplay. But she did love beautiful lingerie and spent more money than she should on her one vice. She reached into her suitcase and pulled out a bra and panty set in a lovely shade of lavender. She dropped the towel and put them on, loving the sensual slide of the silky fabric and lace against her skin. The textures seemed more intense this morning and she shivered, her nipples pebbling against the cups of the bra.

Comfort was the key for today and she pulled on well-worn jeans and paired them with a charcoal-gray turtleneck. The color of the top brought out her eyes and she knew it looked good on her. She topped it with a black blazer, making her appear casual, but professional. She strapped on her watch and added small silver hoops to her ears, deciding that was good enough.

Her phone rang and she checked to see who it was before she answered it, not surprised in the least to discover it was her eldest brother. She thought about not answering, but he’d only call back. She thumbed the talk button. “Good morning, Stefano.” She wandered to the window and peered out over the city, wishing she had a cup of coffee.

“Mama is worried about you.” His voice was smooth, but there was no disguising his impatience.

“Mama has no need to worry,” she countered. Beneath her, traffic flowed up and down the street in an unending ribbon of vehicles. “I’m an adult and I’m here to do research. This is not my first time away from home.” The last was said with a wry tone. She’d been traveling her entire life and had been to the far corners of the earth with her family and by herself.

“Mama is worried,” he repeated. They all knew when their mother was worried they needed to pay attention. Her intuition for such things was unmatched.

“I’m being careful, Stefano.” She softened her tone, knowing her brother called because he was worried about her too. “I promise I’m fine. I’m staying at a reputable hotel and keeping to busy places. This is a city like any other, with its crime and problems. I understand that and will take every precaution.”

Stefano sighed and she could almost see him running his hand through his thick black hair, making it stand on end. “I can be there in a matter of hours.”

Her heart squeezed and she knew he would do just that, drop everything and come to her side if she needed him. That was what family did. “You’re busy with your law practice and, as much as I love you, I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Promise me you’ll be careful. And call Mama tonight. She won’t sleep until she knows you’re safe in your hotel.”

“I’ll call her when I get in for the night. I promise.” Sonia turned away from the window. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he gruffly replied. “You’re the only sister I have and it’s my job to take care of you.”

“Love you too,” she cooed.

“Brat,” he retorted. “Be safe.” He hung up and she ended the call, tucking her phone into her purse. She slung the large leather bag over her shoulder, snagged her keycard from the bedside table and shoved it into her back pocket.

The first order of business was to get a cup of coffee and grab a bite to eat. After that, she was heading to the library to do some more research before trying to corner Damek at his club. Since club owners worked late, he most likely wouldn’t be there until late afternoon, or after dark, if he really was a vampire.

She shivered again as she shut her room door and hurried down the hallway. Was Damek a vampire, or was her trip here nothing more than a wild-goose chase? She stepped inside the elevator when it opened and pressed the button for the lobby.

All members of The Keepers knew that vampires were the most dangerous of the paranormal creatures, especially when they were young. Most of them ended up dead, executed by modern-day vampire hunters, and Sonia found it hard to condemn the hunters for all their actions. Many young vampires killed indiscriminately, leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake, which also made them easier to track.

But not all vampires were killers. And that’s where The Keepers and the vampire hunters differed in their philosophies. The hunters tended to slaughter every vampire they found and even many humans who were pretending to be vampires. They even murdered humans who helped vampires in any way, making them an enemy of The Keepers. They were worse than the creatures they hunted, and Sonia knew if they ever discovered her helping a paranormal creature of any kind they would kill her without hesitation.

If there was an ancient vampire living in this city, one who’d survived without slaying humans for all these years, then he deserved whatever help they could give him.

Of course, it was presumptuous of her even to think he would need or welcome their help. Her father and especially her grandfather would not approve of what she was doing, which was why they didn’t know the real reason for her trip. They believed an ancient vampire would know of their secret society and approach it if help was required. Otherwise, they were to be left alone.

She’d read accounts of several unnamed vampires living across Europe and Asia, as well as one in Alaska. Their identities were carefully guarded, but Sonia had always longed to speak with one of them. They’d seen so much in their long years on this earth, done so much. The information they possessed about the world was enormous. Plus, she simply wanted to meet one, had been obsessed with the idea since she was a child.

The elevator door opened and she stepped out, walked briskly through the lobby and out the front door of the hotel. The air was crisp, but the sun was out, making it the perfect spring day. She turned left, her strides long and determined. Food, research and then it would be time to try to corner the elusive Damek. Her plan solidly in place, Sonia picked up her pace.

Damek stared at the computer screen in front of him, seeing nothing but a blur of numbers. He’d been working nonstop since early this morning and had managed only a meager three-hour nap in his desk chair earlier in the afternoon.

He might be an immortal, but even he needed to recharge, and working all through the day had drained him. He’d felt the sun reach its peak and start its descent hours ago. Without even looking at a clock, Damek knew it was half past five. The bar wouldn’t open for a while yet, but the staff was already in and working hard to get ready for what would be another busy night.

He was also hungry. Again. Usually he had no problem going for a day or more after he fed well, but he’d been on edge lately, needing sustenance more and more often to keep the hunger at bay.

He swiveled around and found a secret lever in the wall with his fingers. He pressed it and the wood panel swung open, revealing a small refrigerator. Damek plucked the last remaining bag of blood from the cooler and dug his teeth straight into the bag. It was cold and lifeless as it rolled down his throat and he wanted to spit it out and go in search of the real thing—thick, hot and pulsing with life. Instead, he forced himself to drain the bag and folded it carefully, sticking it in his jacket pocket for disposal later.

The blood coursed through his veins, reviving him enough to work through the night if need be. It would have to do.

He carefully closed the panel, disguising the refrigerator, even though he wanted to slam the door. Dangerous, volatile emotions were pushing at him. Not good. He needed to remain on an even keel to keep himself and those around him safe.

A knock came on the door. His staff knew better than to interrupt him when he informed them he wanted to be alone, and he knew Bryon had a good reason for disturbing him.

“Come.”

Byron opened the door and stuck his head inside the office. “She’s back, boss. The woman from last night. What do you want me to do?”

Fate. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath even though he didn’t need oxygen to survive. The blood he’d just consumed raced through his veins and anticipation thrummed through his body. She’d come.

“Boss?” He could hear the concern in Byron’s voice and took a moment to steady himself. It seems fate had made her choice.

He pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. “I’ll see her.” He glided out from behind his rather large, antique desk, already anticipating seeing Sonia again.

Byron rubbed a hand over his bald head. “Uh, boss, do you think that’s a good idea.”

Damek smiled at his friend. “Probably not, but I’m going to do it anyway.”

“You’re the boss.”

“Yes, I am,” he said softly as he walked down the short hallway and into the heart of the club.

Sonia surveyed her surroundings with interest, noting how different the place looked when it was almost empty. The music speakers were silent and only the muted sounds of the staff preparing for the night disturbed the quiet. Inhibitions was really quite a large, cavernous room without all the people filling it. Tables and booths were polished to a gleam and the floor was free of any debris. A female employee with a clipboard checked liquor bottles, all the while casting inquisitive glances in Sonia’s direction.

Smoke and mirrors. The club would seem so intimate, so captivating with the music pumping and the myriad lights shining on the patrons, spotlighting them on the dance floor and giving them privacy in the darker corners. The whole thing was an illusion. Right now, the club resembled the warehouse it was, later on it would be alive with people who wanted to party and dance and delve into the dark sides of their fantasies.

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, suddenly chilled. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what went on here, which was surprising considering some of the places she’d been in her lifetime. A cemetery at midnight didn’t bother her half as much as Inhibitions did. Of course, all the inhabitants of the cemetery she’d visited had been quite dead and she couldn’t say that about the inhabitants of the club.

She was actually quite surprised she’d been allowed inside Inhibitions, which didn’t open for another half hour yet. She checked her watch. Make that twenty-eight minutes. She’d learned that they opened promptly at six, but knew the place wouldn’t really be hopping until much later. This would be her best time to talk to Damek, if he was here.

The rather large, intimidating bouncer who’d escorted her from the premises last night had let her in his evening, telling her to wait while he checked to see if the boss was in. Either Damek was here or he wasn’t. Shouldn’t the bouncer know for sure?

He probably did. The question really was would Damek be in for her or would he send her away again?

She was determined to meet him one way or another. Sonia chewed on her bottom lip, knowing she was bordering on obsession with her need to meet this guy. She’d done a lot of research today, but could find nothing on the man himself, nothing but a very poor picture that really didn’t show much at all.

It was as if he were a ghost, living in the shadows. That piqued her interest and made her believe she was on the right track. No paranormal creature wanted the general public to be able to find out anything about him.

The research on the event last fall had intrigued her as well. Several men had been murdered and the police had decided it was gang related and the men killed had been mauled by pit bulls. Sonia wondered about that and knew she was going to check out Wicker Park and the surrounding area for any signs of werewolves actually living in the city. That would be rare. They tended to stick to rural, wooded areas where there was less human occupation and more open spaces in which to run.

A stirring in the air made the hair at her nape stand on end. Her gaze was drawn to the dark hallway beyond the bar, the one down which the giant, leather-clad bouncer had disappeared. She swallowed hard as a man appeared.

He was shorter than the bouncer, but he was still tall, about six feet, give or take an inch or so. He was wearing a suit that screamed money and his gait was smooth and fluid as he moved toward her.

The light from the bar shone on him and Sonia felt every bit of blood drain from her face. It couldn’t be. It was impossible.

The man she’d been trying to see, the man she thought might be a vampire was the man from her dream.

Chapter Five

Damek stared at her and she was unable to pull her gaze away. Her bottom lip quivered as she returned his stare. “You,” she whispered, her voice trembling.

He stopped a few feet from her and inclined his head. “You wished to see me, Ms. Agostino.”

She shook her head and he arched a dark brow at her. Sonia wanted to smack him, which shocked her to her core. She’d never been a violent person, never had the urge to hit anyone because of how they made her feel.

Sonia felt as though he’d stripped her naked and seen deep inside her to her darkest fantasies and deepest hopes. Then reality settled in. The sun hadn’t gone down yet. Damek couldn’t be a vampire.

And how had her instincts been so off? They’d started buzzing the first time she’d seen an article on Inhibitions and had eventually led her here to Chicago. She’d been so sure that Damek would end her lifelong search to find a vampire.

Disappointment ate at her, making her stomach ache. She hadn’t realized just how desperately she’d wanted him to be one.

“Sonia?” The way he said her name, with the hint of a European accent, made her heart clench.

He was beside her in a moment, his strong arm around her waist as he led her toward the hallway and whatever lay beyond. She went without protest, even though her research was a bust. There was something about Damek, something dark and compelling, something that made her want to be next to him.

She almost snorted aloud. Of course she wanted to be next to him, the guy had featured prominently in her erotic dream last night. And that was totally impossible. She’d never met him before. There’s no way she’d have forgotten him.

He was even more dynamic in person than in her dream. He was only a few inches taller than her but he seemed much larger. An aura of power surrounded him, making her second guess her earlier assessment. Maybe he wasn’t a vampire, but he was definitely something out of the ordinary, maybe a mage or a shapeshifter of some kind.

A sense of relief hit her. Her instincts weren’t defective. They were still working as well as they always had. She’d simply misread them and allowed her own wants and desires to cloud them. Desires. Not a good word to use after last night. Time to be rational and clinical about Damek. She took a good look, studying him now that her initial shock had faded.

The suit he wore hadn’t come off any rack but had been tailored to fit his lean form to perfection. She knew that because it looked too much like the suits her brother Stefano wore, and he was very particular about his clothes. Damek’s shirt was black silk and he wore a Rolex on his left wrist. Shoulder-length black hair was pulled away from his face and tied neatly at his nape with a leather thong. His features were strong, his skin pale. Masculine strength seemed to leak from his pores, permeating the air around him.

“Where are we going?” she finally thought to ask. Really, she had to get a grip on herself. Dream or no dream, she was here to get answers.

The corners of his mouth turned up in amusement. “My lair.” His low voice made her nipples tighten and an ache began to pulse low in her belly. She dug in her heels to stop herself from going any farther. What in the hell was she doing, going off with a man she didn’t even know? She should stay in the main part of the club where it was better lit and there were more people around.

Damek halted beside her, his arm still around her back and his hand pressed against her side, not pressuring her to continue. “I did not mean to frighten you.” His black eyes grew darker even as shadows seemed to creep across the floor toward them. “My office, Ms. Agostino. I thought you’d prefer to talk there. Alison will bring coffee.”

Now she just felt stupid, and she hated feeling that way. “Of course.” Damek was a businessman, not a killer. Heck, he wasn’t even a vampire. In all the reading and research she’d done, she’d never heard of one able to be up and around before the sun set, even if he was inside.

She swallowed her disappointment once again and pulled away from him, taking the final steps to his office on her own. Really, she was acting like a ninny. Her brothers would laugh their asses off if they could see the way she was acting around Damek, and all because of some stupid dream she’d had. Maybe she’d seen a picture of him somewhere in her research but just didn’t remember it.

That made sense, and she gave herself a mental pat on the back for finding a logical conclusion. She’d been looking for Damek, so he was already on her mind and had wormed his way into her subconscious. It was an aberration. Nothing more.

He reached around her, his bigger body trapping hers against a door. She sucked in her breath as his chest brushed her back. What was he doing?

“Please enter.” His breath tickled her ear and sent heat coursing down her neck all the way to her chest. He pushed the door open and stepped back.

He was simply opening the door for her. She needed to get a grip on her wayward hormones before they got her into trouble. “Thank you.” Her voice was level, but inside she was a bundle of nerves.

Like the rest of the place, his office was wreathed in shadows. A single brass lamp illuminated the top of his desk and the computer that sat there. And what a desk it was—European, probably Austrian and definitely from the eighteen hundreds.

Sonia hurried forward and touched the carving on the front. Her fingers traced a tangle of trees and animals. “It’s breathtaking.” She’d traveled the world with her parents and had only seen such pieces in either museums or castles. It was walnut but inlaid with various other woods. It was too dark to tell for certain what they were, but the result was nothing short of spectacular.

“Thank you.” He indicated a chair in front of the desk, another antique. She set her purse on the floor and sat, letting herself slowly sink back onto the cushion. He went around to the other side and sat in a rather large carved chair, which suited both the desk and the man who owned it.

The floor was hardwood and the walls were dark-oak panel, much like she would expect to find in an old English manor. Wooden file cabinets ranged along one wall and bookshelves on another, not what she’d expected to see in the owner’s office in an upscale nightclub. Metal file cabinets and a desk from some high-end department store, maybe, but nothing this high quality.

“You like antiques?” he prompted.

“Very much. I traveled a lot with my parents when I was growing up.”

“Ah. There is nothing like firsthand experience to make you appreciate good craftsmanship.”

Before she could think of what to say, a low knock came on the door. “Come,” Damek called. The woman from behind the bar walked in, balancing a tray with a coffee carafe and two mugs. She set it on the desk. “Thank you, Alison.” The woman nodded and left without speaking, closing the door behind her.

Damek deftly poured two mugs of coffee. There was a small jug with cream and a few packets of sugar beside it. “Help yourself.”

He sat back in his chair and set his mug by his computer. Resting his arms on his chair, he steepled his fingers and watched her as she added two packets of sugar to her coffee and stirred.

She took the time to order her thoughts. Fortunately, she’d come up with a reason to talk to him that had nothing to do with vampires. After all, even if he was one, she couldn’t come right out and ask him. Not at first. And anyway, since the sun wouldn’t be setting for quite some time yet, it was obvious the man wasn’t one.

“What can I do for you, Dr. Agostino? I admit I was surprised to find an academic with degrees in folklore and anthropology looking for me.”

She took a sip of the coffee. It was strong and full-bodied, exactly what she needed to steady herself so she didn’t make a complete idiot of herself. He’d slid back into her more formal title and, though it would be much safer for her to keep things on a businesslike basis, she wanted to hear him call her by her name again. “Please, call me Sonia.”

He inclined his head in acknowledgement but didn’t speak, waiting politely for her to continue. So he wasn’t a talker. That would make her job harder. Most people loved to talk about themselves when they found someone who was willing to listen. But Damek didn’t fall under that category. She’d found over the years that the people who kept their thoughts to themselves were usually the ones who had the most interesting stories to tell.

“I want to talk about your club, about Inhibitions. The name itself has obvious connotations, but from a purely psychological perspective, why is it you chose this name since the idea seems to be for people to lose their inhibitions when they walk through the door?”

Damek enjoyed watching Sonia gather her thoughts. He’d flustered her earlier, but she’d rallied, pulling herself together, drawing on her years as an academic. She moved her hands when she talked, graceful movements he didn’t think she was even aware of. He was mesmerized by her hands, by the way she’d run her fingers over the front panel of his desk, tracing the wood with the soft pads at the tips.

He wanted her fingers on him, learning every inch of his body. His cock hardened and he was thankful for the barrier of the desk. She’d probably run from him if she had any idea just how much he wanted her.

She was just as beautiful as he remembered. No, she was more beautiful. Her wild hair was caught at her nape with some fancy silver clip, her lips were rosy, but her cheeks were pale. The gray sweater she wore beneath her blazer brought out the color of her eyes, like fog across the mountains on a misty morning. Her jeans weren’t tight, but they emphasized her long legs and hinted at the shape beneath.

She paused and he realized he hadn’t really been paying attention. He replayed her last words in his head and found himself surprised, not something that usually happened. She wanted to talk about his club.

“I don’t understand why the name of my nightclub would be of interest to you?” From what he’d read on her business card and the information he’d found online, her areas of study seemed to be myth and legend and tales of folklore from around the world. Of course, it was plausible that she was doing research on nightclubs and their effect on people. These days, academics seemed to be curious about the strangest things.

But more puzzling was why the vampire hunters would have someone trailing her while she was in Chicago. Damek had to assume that the man was back on the job and probably lurking outside his club at this very moment, waiting for her to emerge.

He should have killed him last night. He’d known Sonia was going to be nothing but trouble. The last thing he needed was a vampire hunter taking an interest in either him or his club. The threat was now not only to her but to him and his employees as well. Vampire hunters weren’t always the most discerning of creatures, killing whoever got in their way regardless of whether they were a true vampire or not.

“The name of your club is really what it’s all about, isn’t it? Inhibitions, or rather the lessening of them in some situations. It’s really all about the unknown, isn’t it? About people being drawn to the dark side of life, be it myth or legend or reality. It’s like taking a step out of the normal, the everyday and into another world.” She smiled at him and reached for her coffee.

He tapped his fingers together, watching her intently as she brought her mug to her lips and took a sip. He wasn’t buying it. There was more to her interest than simply wanting to know about his club. He waited until she swallowed before calling her on her lie.

“You do not care about my club, Sonia.” Her pupils dilated slightly when he said her name. He barely suppressed a smile. So, she was not immune to him. Her body’s reactions to his closeness could not be faked. He inhaled deeply and caught the slightest tinge of arousal, coupled with fear. She wanted him, yet feared him. That wasn’t unusual for him, but he found he hated it, didn’t want her to fear him as others did.

“I don’t? Well, that’s news to me.” She set her mug down and crossed her legs, drawing his attention to them.

“Is it?” he countered. “I thought you’d come here for me.”

Sonia froze. “I thought you’d come here for me.” His words echoed in her brain, a reminder of her dream last night. She’d certainly come then. She cleared her throat and pressed onward, beginning to wish she’d never gotten past the front doors of Inhibitions. “I don’t even know you,” she pointed out.

“Which makes it all the more intriguing, don’t you agree?” He looked just like some medieval lord sitting behind his massive desk. This club was his fiefdom, and all the people who worked here his minions or serfs, depending on how you looked at the situation.

“I should go.” She reached down and picked up her purse before standing. As attracted as she was to Damek, she didn’t belong here. He really was just the owner of a rather notorious nightclub and not a vampire at all. Maybe he was a paranormal creature of some kind, but maybe not. She wasn’t sure she should trust her instincts where Damek was concerned any longer. Obviously hormones and sexual urges were messing with her normally infallible instincts.

Her brothers would kill her if they ever found out she’d come to a place like this by herself. Her father would try to ground her even though she’d been living on her own for years.

Damek was in front of her in the blink of an eye. She practically fell back into her chair she was so startled. How had he moved that fast?

“Have dinner with me. We will talk.”

She nibbled her bottom lip. “I don’t know.” Common sense dictated she go back to her hotel, but the wild woman inside her wanted to have dinner with this intriguing, totally unacceptable man. He ran a nightclub with a reputation for wildness, while she worked at a university.

“I promise, I don’t bite.” He paused and added, “Unless asked.” His bedroom voice promised all kinds of erotic pleasures and she caught the glint of his teeth when he smiled. “Please.”

She was going to regret this. “It has to be somewhere casual. I’m not going back to my hotel to change.”

Damek picked up the phone off his desk and hit a button. “Bring the car around back.”

Sonia swallowed hard. What the hell had she just done? It wasn’t too late to change her mind. One second she was determined to be sensible, the next she was agreeing to go to dinner with him. But there was something so darn sexy about Damek that made it impossible for her to be her normal logical self. The way he looked at her as though he found her utterly fascinating, the exotic cadence of his voice when he spoke, drew her like a moth to the proverbial flame.

Dangerous. That was the word that best described him.

She could still leave, go back to her hotel and forget she’d ever met Damek. And she was lying to herself if she thought she wasn’t going to have dinner with him.

Reading what little she could find out about him and his club online had fascinated her enough to travel here to meet him. In person, he was mesmerizing. No way was she going to miss out on an opportunity to actually talk to him. And they were going out to eat in a public place. Nothing untoward would happen to her.

And if she repeated that enough to herself, she might actually believe it. Not that she thought he’d physically hurt her, because for some unexplained reason she didn’t. But her intuition was screaming that her life would never be the same if she went with him.

“Are you ready?” There were so many layers to that question that Sonia wasn’t sure she wanted to answer it. She settled for simply nodding. Again, his lips quirked up at the corners in amusement, but he made no further comment as he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to the door.

The huge bouncer appeared from out of nowhere, his eyes raking over her before settling on Damek.

“Byron, I will be out with Ms. Agostino until later.”

The bouncer nodded. “I’ll take care of everything, boss. No worries.”

“I never worry with you in charge.” Damek put pressure on the small of her back and guided her away from the club and down another corridor.

“Where are we going?” It was dark and quiet, with only the faintest hint of noise from the club. She swallowed hard as they went deeper into the unknown depths of the building.

“Back door. It’s easier for Jerome to bring the car around.”

That made sense, but didn’t ease the butterflies swirling in her stomach. A door with a red neon sign that read EXIT came into view, and Sonia breathed a sigh of relief. Of course there was another entrance. There were probably several in a building this size, for fire regulations if nothing else. She had to get a grip on herself and her wild imagination.

Damek paused in front of the door, drew out a pair of dark sunglasses and slid them on his face, covering his eyes. That gave her pause and made her wonder why he was wearing sunshades when it was early evening. Maybe he had sensitive eyes or maybe he didn’t want to be recognized. Both were legitimate reasons.

The sun hadn’t gone down yet, she reminded herself. Vampires couldn’t be out in the sunlight, at least that was what everything she’d read indicated. Of course, there was a lot unknown about vampires. The young ones were usually wild at best and the older ones tended to keep to themselves.

He punched the door open and hustled her outside. Thick gray clouds obscured the sun, giving the day a dark, dull appearance and making it seem later than it actually was. She glanced at Damek but his eyes were on the vehicle waiting for them.

And what a vehicle it was. It wasn’t quite a stretch limo, but it was close. It was certainly much larger than a regular car. The door was open and a uniformed man stood waiting for them. As Damek spoke softly to the driver, Sonia slid onto buttery soft seats and breathed in the rich scent of the black leather. A privacy screen separated the driver from the passenger area. The windows were tinted dark but a dim light allowed her to see the interior.

The door closed with a solid thunk, leaving her and Damek alone in the enclosed space. But to give him credit, he wasn’t crowding her. She caught a hint of sandalwood, most likely from his soap, and wanted to rub her nose against his neck. Probably not a good idea. Scratch that. Definitely not a good idea. Professional, she reminded herself. Be professional.

“Would you like something to drink?” Damek interrupted her thoughts with his offer and she shook her head. She needed her wits about her if she was going to keep their dinner on an even keel. It would be far too easy to fall under this man’s seductive spell.

“Are you sure?” He opened a mini fridge that was built into the area behind the driver’s seat. “There are both red and white wines or you could have some champagne.” He took out a bottle with Cristal written on the label. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but even she knew that name and it didn’t come cheap.

Classical music was quietly being piped into the space through unseen speakers. She didn’t recognize it, but she wasn’t all that familiar with classical music. Classic rock and pop were more her speed. Whatever it was, it was soothing and romantic. She would have preferred a rousing march or something faster and louder, anything to disturb the cocoon of intimacy he was building around them.

She might not have dated all that much, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew when a man was setting the stage for a seduction, and this had all the earmarks of one—a quiet dinner, a limo, soft music, champagne on the way to the restaurant.

The sound of a quiet pop brought her attention back to Damek. He’d opened the bottle and was already pouring some of the golden liquid into a crystal champagne flute, which he’d pulled out of a velvet-lined drawer next to the fridge.

“Try some. You don’t have to finish it if you don’t like it.” Like the most practiced sommelier, he handed her the glass.

It would be a shame not to at least try it. After all, he’d opened the bottle just for her, and on her salary she wouldn’t be buying a bottle of the stuff anytime soon. She had her fingers clutched tight around her purse so she disengaged them and set her bag on the seat beside her. She licked her lips and reached for the glass, trying not to notice how her hand trembled as she took it. She hoped he wouldn’t notice but had a feeling he was the kind of man who didn’t miss anything.

She brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. The bubbles tickled her tongue and the golden liquid flowed down her throat. “Oh, this is wonderful.” She’d never tasted anything quite like it and knew she would never forget it. On the sinful scale, it rated right up there with dark Belgian chocolate.

“I’m glad you like it.”

His low voice set off tiny explosions in the nerve endings in her body, making all of them come alive with anticipation. It was then she noticed he wasn’t drinking champagne. He’d poured himself a dark red wine instead. He swirled the liquid in the crystal glass, the blood-red color glinting off the interior lights.

“You’re not having champagne?”

Damek shook his head. “It’s not to my taste. I prefer a full-bodied drink.” He put the wineglass to his lips and drank. His throat rippled as he swallowed and her gazed followed the strong column of muscle until it disappeared into the neck of his shirt.

She’d seen men drink before, but never had she found it such an erotic activity. Sonia took another sip of champagne, touched that he would open the bottle of such an expensive vintage just for her.

Her eyes narrowed the more she thought about it. “I’m not sleeping with you,” she blurted out. Some men thought if they bought drinks and dinner it paid for their way into her bed. Better to rid him of that notion right now before their night went any further.

Damek seemed startled by her declaration, then he threw back his head and laughed. Heat crept up her cheeks as it occurred to her he might not even be all that attracted to her. Maybe the flirting came natural to him. And how depressing was that.

Obviously, he was a rich guy and used to things like fancy cars and champagne. Just because she dreamed about him and thought he looked like sex on a stick didn’t mean he felt the same way about her.

Sonia was mortified and bent her head to study her shoes. “Maybe you should drop me off at my hotel.” Better to leave now than to keep humiliating herself.

His laugher ceased and he caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, applying pressure until she looked at him. “I am not laughing at what you said, Sonia, but at your spontaneity. It is so refreshing.”

“I’ll bet,” she groused. He probably had beautiful, sophisticated women throwing themselves at him all the time. No wonder an ordinary academic amused him. She was different from what he was used to.

He ran his thumb over her cheek and shook his head. “Make no mistake, my sweet. I want you.” She gasped as his thumb traced her bottom lip, leaving it tingling in his wake. “But when you come to my bed it will be of your own free will and not because I expect it or bought you dinner or plied you with expensive champagne.”

Struck speechless once again, a feat that would no doubt shock her family to their core, Sonia said nothing. Her hands clung to the delicate stem of her champagne goblet as the smell of leather and Damek surrounded her. She was afraid to move, afraid she might actually throw herself at him and tell him to skip dinner.

He wanted her. He’d said when she came to his bed, not if.

Holy cow. That was something to wrap her head around. It was one thing to have an erotic dream about the man, quite another to hear him say he wanted her in such a low, seductive manner that made her cream her panties.

Damek leaned in closer and she wished he wasn’t wearing dark glasses, wished she could see his eyes. Their noses were almost touching and his breath was warm on her lips. “We’re here.” He sat back, drained his wineglass and set it aside.

Sonia turned her head away and sucked in a deep breath. She was in way over her head with this man, but she no longer cared. They would have dinner and she would ask her questions of him.

After that, well, only time would tell.

Chapter Six

Damek breathed a sigh of relief as the blood he’d drunk sank into his cells, feeding his relentless hunger. He was thankful for the sunglasses, knowing his eyes had probably been tinged with red, as he’d been so tempted to kiss her, to lick her soft skin. With his preternatural sense of sound, he could hear her blood rushing through her veins, a lure, an offering. Hear the catch of her breath and the flutter of her pulse.

And her scent was driving him to distraction. It wasn’t expensive perfume, but the honest smell of woman and soap, tinged with the delicate aroma of arousal. It mingled with the rich tang of grapes from the champagne and the leather from the seats. He inhaled deeply, pulling it into his lungs.

Sonia was both nervous and excited at the same time, and if she held on to the stem of her glass any tighter she was going to shatter the delicate crystal. He reached out, plucked the champagne flute from her hand and set it beside his empty wineglass.

The short drive from the club had been both a pleasure and sheer torture, but it had also insured that if John Barnes were still watching her, he would have no idea she’d left through a back entrance of Inhibitions with him. The vampire hunter would have to assume she was still in the club unless he went in looking for her. And even if he did, he wouldn’t know where she went. For now, she was safe.

His gaze was drawn once again to Sonia with her barely restrained black, curly hair and deep gray eyes that seemed to see far more than was comfortable for him. There was something about Sonia, her unrestrained thoughts and her obvious pleasure in the champagne that warmed him. And for a vampire, there was no bigger lure than a woman who could steal the chill from his soul and replace it with something else, something that made him believe his soul wasn’t quite as bankrupt as he believed.

It was dangerous to hope, but Damek found he couldn’t help himself. He’d long ago learned the trick of living in the minute, for the past was a graveyard littered with thousands of people he’d known, and the future was endless. That was what he planned to do with Sonia—live in the moment. They would have dinner and conversation and, if things went well, their evening would continue.

But it was entirely up to her. He would take nothing she did not give freely.

The car came to a stop and moments later the door opened and his driver stepped back. Damek climbed out and offered Sonia his hand. “Come.”

She grabbed her large purse and slung the strap over her shoulder before taking his hand. He closed his fingers over hers and helped her from the limo. The sun hadn’t quite sunk all the way but it was hidden behind the surrounding buildings and would soon disappear. He could feel the prickle of the rays on the exposed skin of his face but it was manageable as long as he didn’t stay outside for too long.

Sonia glanced around the street and then at the building in front of them. “Where are we?”

“I thought you might enjoy the casual atmosphere of this place. It’s a favorite of mine. The music is exceptional. The food is nothing more than simple pub fare, but I’ve been told it’s good.”

The sign hanging over the door read Haven, and it appeared to be a club of some kind. Soft, sultry music with jazzy undertones drifted out as the door opened and closed as people entered, and she could hear voices from within. It was obviously a popular spot and it was filled with people, which set her at ease. “Looks great.”

Damek let her walk in front of him and the door opened as they reached it. A tall man with short blond hair and pale blue eyes stared at Damek as they walked inside. “Wasn’t expecting to see you.” The bouncer glanced from Damek to her and back to Damek again as he pulled the door shut behind them.

“I thought my friend would enjoy the ambiance of your little establishment.” There was some kind of underlying current that Sonia couldn’t decipher. She wouldn’t quite say it was hostile, but it wasn’t exactly welcoming. More of a grudging respect.

The bouncer straightened and squared his rather large shoulders, but before he could say anything else, a gorgeous blue-eyed woman came to greet them, a huge smile on her face. “Damek. It’s a pleasure to see you.”

Sonia fought off a wave of jealousy as the tall, dark-haired beauty held out her hands to him. The woman was wearing a sparkly dress, which wrapped around every curve she had, and she had plenty of them. The dress fell past her knees but was slit all the way to her thigh on one side. Sonia envied the confidence and ease with which she wore the dress and the killer heels that went with it.

“Meredith. A pleasure as always.” Damek took her hands briefly but quickly released them. “And where is your brooding mate tonight.”

“He’s right here.”

Sonia jumped as a giant of a man seemed to appear out of nowhere, the crowd parting to let him through. He had to be at least six and half feet tall with shaggy brown hair that fell to his shoulders. With his rugged features and muscular build, he was an intimidating sight. There was also something about him that made her frown. Something about him was familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“Sonia, this is Meredith and Isaiah Striker. They own Haven.”

The large man slipped his arm around Meredith, loosening the knot in Sonia’s gut. Not that she had any claim on Damek or anything, but she didn’t want to picture him with this gorgeous woman either.

And she was being an idiot. She stuck out her hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Sonia Agostino.”

Isaiah raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, nor did he offer his hand. He inclined his head and let his wife speak. Meredith reached out and took her hand and gave it a brief squeeze. “It’s a pleasure to have you visit our club. But it’s early for you, Damek.”

Sonia felt more undercurrents flowing, like they were all privy to a conversation she wasn’t and it was getting annoying. “Should we get a table?” The minute the words passed her lips, Sonia felt like a first-class bitch. Obviously these people were friends of Damek and were only trying to be friendly and make conversation. She rubbed her hand over her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

Meredith simply smiled and motioned for them to follow her. “I have a nice table in the back that will offer you some privacy.”

Sonia was very aware of Damek walking right behind her as she followed Meredith to an intimate corner with a table for two. Meredith gave some sort of signal and two more rather large men appeared and removed the tables close to theirs, leaving a greater space between them and the rest of the patrons.

“Thank you.” Damek inclined his head at Meredith as he pulled out a chair for Sonia.

“No problem. I’ll send Neema over in a few minutes to take your order. If you need anything just let me know.” Meredith sauntered off toward the bar where her rather large husband waited for her. The moment she reached him, Isaiah wrapped one massive arm around her, bent his head and kissed her.

The action was primitive and arousing and very intimate, and Sonia looked away. “This place is…interesting. Have you known the owners long?” Time to get the conversation back on track. This really wasn’t a date, as much as a fact-finding mission. If Damek wasn’t a vampire, what was he? Because she knew he was something other than human.

There was something different about Damek. Power clung to him with unmistakable strength and he moved with grace and ease, almost seeming to flow at times rather than walk. No, he was definitely some sort of paranormal creature. She only needed time to find out exactly what kind he was.

The fact that he’d brought her here made her wonder about the people who ran it. Were they like The Keepers, friends to paranormal creatures, or were they paranormal themselves?

“I’ve known Meredith for a short while. I’ve known Isaiah and his brother much longer.” Damek’s attention went behind her and she knew they weren’t alone any longer.

A young woman with skin the color of café au lait and kind brown eyes bustled up to their table. “Good evening and welcome to Haven. I’m Neema.” She put a menu in front of Sonia. “Would you like something to drink?”

Damek turned to her. “What would you like? If you prefer the champagne I opened in the limo I can have Jerome bring the bottle in.”

The waitress didn’t bat an eyelash at the suggestion that whatever the club had might not be up to her standards.

“Ah, no. That’s okay. I’ll have a glass of white wine. Whatever you have.”

“I’ll have a glass of red. The best you have.”

Neema smiled. “No problem. I’ll be back in a minute.” The waitress maneuvered her way through the crowd with grace and practiced ease.

Sonia picked up her menu and frowned. “She didn’t give you a menu. You can share mine.” She shifted the single laminated sheet to the middle of the table. The offerings were normal pub food like burgers and fish and chips, but there were steaks and seafood chowder as well.

“I’m not hungry.” Damek pushed the menu back to her. “I’ve already eaten.”

Sonia sat back and glared at him, suspicions rising once again. “Then why are we here?”

He leaned back in his seat, all masculine grace and power, and one corner of his mouth quirked up. “Because you are hungry and because I wanted to spend time with you.”

What was a woman supposed to say to something like that? On one hand, it was sweet, while on the other, it bordered on creepy.

As if he could read her thoughts, the other corner of his mouth rose. She was getting tired of amusing him. Thankfully, the waitress returned with their drinks before Sonia ended up saying something she might regret. Sonia grabbed the menu and scanned it quickly. “I’d like the BLT please. No fries.”

Neema smiled and wrote down the order. “It won’t be long.”

This whole night was already too long. The crowd in the club was getting larger, but they were tucked away from the hubbub. Sonia rubbed her forehead again.

“Does it hurt?” Damek touched her skin. His fingers were cool against her heated flesh.

She wanted to pull away and at the same time she wanted to lean into his caress. The man was confusing the life out of her. She was always levelheaded and decisive, knowing what she wanted and not afraid to do whatever it took to get it. Around Damek, she felt out of step, as though she wasn’t quite herself, and she didn’t like it. “It’s nothing.”

“It is not nothing if it hurts you.” Damek rubbed his fingers over her forehead and Sonia could feel the heat growing there like a warm balm. It didn’t hurt, but felt good. Healing. When Damek withdrew his hand a moment later her headache was gone.

He was a healer of some sort. Perhaps he was a mage.

“What are you?” She asked the question she’d wanted to ask since she’d first met him. And she wasn’t going to go away until she got an answer.

Damek’s first instinct was to laugh off Sonia’s question. His second was to take control of her mind and manipulate her memories. He did neither. He couldn’t. Not if he wanted to live with himself. Sonia was different. Special. He would be truthful with her or he would walk away from her.

“What do you mean?” Better to see what she already knew. He’d already suspected there was more to her seeking him out than she’d revealed. He’d speculated that one of his competitors had sent her to see how much she could find out about his operation. The world of nightclub owners was cutthroat. But he’d quickly discarded that notion. She seemed interested in him in a more personal way. Maybe she was exactly what she said she was—a curious academic.

But that question spoke to more than idle curiosity. It spoke of knowledge, and that was not something he could overlook. Whoever she really was, she was dangerous to him and everything he’d built in this city.

She was also the most intriguing woman he’d met in hundreds of years. It was worth the risk to spend time with her. Besides, if she became a problem, he would take care of it. It would be easy enough to erase her memories of him, though he was reluctant to do such a thing.

Sonia ran her finger over the rim of her wineglass and Damek’s entire body clenched with desire. She affected him like no other woman had in centuries. His fingers curled into fists and he forced himself to release them slowly. Control. He had to maintain control, especially around so many others.

She shrugged and leaned forward slightly, and he wished she were wearing a low-cut top rather than a turtleneck sweater. Still, the color of the garment intensified the color of her eyes, luring him deeper into her sensual snare. “You healed my headache just now.”

It was his turn to shrug. “Nothing special there. All you needed to do was relax and let go of the tension you were carrying.”

She frowned at him and he could sense her disappointment. “So you’re denying you did anything out of the ordinary.”

“What is ordinary?” The light from a nearby sconce made her black curls shimmer and Damek wanted to fist his hands in the silky stuff, binding her physically to him while he made love to her.

He wanted far more than just sex from Sonia. He wanted her trust and, he realized, her love. There was something about her, something he couldn’t put his finger on, nor did he have a rational explanation for it, but he wanted her.

He tensed and felt as though he’d just taken a stake through his heart. Not that he was in love with her. Of course he wasn’t. He’d lost that capability hundreds of years ago. But he was coming to care for her. Deeply.

“Not you, that’s for sure,” she muttered. She tapped her toe against the floor and hunched her shoulders slightly.

Damek took a gamble and threw out a question, hoping for an honest response. He wanted her to tell him the truth freely, without him having to pry into her mind to get it. “Why do you have a vampire hunter trailing you?”

Her jaw fell open. “What? What do you mean?” She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes darting over the crowd. “Where?”

“Not here. You are safe here. But when you came to my club the first time.”

Her gaze narrowed. “How do you know?” Her voice got louder and slightly shriller with each word. “What is going on?”

Damek inwardly winced, wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. He could easily have removed the threat to Sonia without her ever knowing about it, but he freely admitted he was driven by a need to discover as much about her as he could. Plus, he had no way of knowing who else knew about Sonia besides John Barnes and the man who’d sent him to watch her.

“I followed you when you left my nightclub last night.” No need to lie. After all, if he wished, he could simply remove her memories before the night was over. He winced at how easily he thought about manipulating someone’s mind. He really had turned into a monster, always weighing his actions in terms of what would suit him best, never considering anyone else’s needs or wants.

“Why?” She was totally perplexed, her forehead wrinkled with vexation. He wanted to kiss her until she was smiling at him again and all the tension had vanished.

“Because I was worried about you walking alone on the city streets at night.”

Sonia snorted. “You sound worse than my mother.”

“Obviously a wise woman.”

That got a smile from her. “She is that. Both she and my father worry. But that’s another topic. How do you know I was followed by a vampire hunter?”

Damek countered her question with one of his own. Dark suspicions began to grow within him. “You didn’t even blink when I mentioned vampire hunters. Why is that?”

She chewed on her bottom lip and Damek barely swallowed back a groan of desire. He wanted to soothe the small insult with his tongue and taste the champagne she’d drunk on the way over. His cock swelled, pressing against the zipper of his pants. His body, which was always under his control, ignored him, focusing only on Sonia’s every breath, every move.

“I’ve traveled all around the world seeking information about myths and legends. I’ve seen things, heard things.”

She wasn’t telling him the truth, at least, not the entire truth. He could sense her unease, the way she weighed each word before she spoke. She was holding back from him and it made his chest ache even as it angered him. “What kinds of things?”

She picked up her glass, took a sip of wine and pointed an accusing finger at him. “Tell me about last night. What did you see when you were following me?”

“A man started after you from an alleyway. I detained him and…spoke with him.” Better to say that than to admit he’d brutally dug into the other man’s brain, picking and prodding until he’d found what he’d needed. She would fear him if she had any grasp of his true power.

“And he admitted he was a vampire hunter?” Sonia snorted and set her glass back down on the table. “I don’t think so. I know of the Vampire Hunter Society and those guys are rabid. You have to torture them in order to get them to admit anything. You must be mistaken.”

There was no mistaking her relief, and he wished he didn’t have to be the one to bring the worry back to her face, but there was no choice. “He was a vampire hunter. Of that there is no doubt.”

“You didn’t torture him, did you?”

Damek smiled in spite of himself. It was a small one, but a smile nonetheless. “What a suspicious mind you have.”

“I don’t think so.” She wagged a finger at him and he was enthralled in spite of the seriousness of the situation. No one ever questioned him. Everyone jumped to do his bidding whenever he asked. The power surrounding him was such that none wanted to anger him. That is, everyone except Sonia. She blithely plowed forward with her inquisition, giving no thought to her precarious position with him, especially since she’d already admitted she thought he was something more than he seemed.

She obviously needed a keeper, someone to protect her.

“Why does your family let you travel by yourself and ask such dangerous questions?” Anger began to flare as he imagined Sonia jetting around the world, seeking the unknown. It chilled him to the bone to imagine what could have happened to her if she’d come across a paranormal creature that did not take kindly to her questions.

“Now you sound like my father and older brothers. They’re constantly hounding me to stay home where they can keep an eye on me.”

“Intelligent men.” Someone needed to take care of her. He admired her lack of fear even as it unsettled him.

“Hah. If I’d listened to them I never would have come to Chicago.”

And that would have been a crime. He couldn’t imagine not having met Sonia, especially now that he was coming to know her better. Yes, she reminded him of a woman from his past, but it was a superficial resemblance at best. There was no confusing the two of them. Elizabetta was long dead, and he’d never spent time with her the way he had with Sonia. Sonia was…unique.

“Why did you seek me out?” he asked. “What did you truly want to know?” He had to know the real reason and he didn’t want to trespass into her mind to find the answers. He wanted her to give them to him freely and without coercion.

She rubbed her finger over a nick in the wood table. “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

He reached out and placed his hand over hers, trapping her fingers beneath his. “No, I won’t.”

She gave a rueful laugh. “I thought you might be a vampire. Which is totally ridiculous,” she hastened to add. “I mean, you were at the club working this afternoon and you went out this evening just before dark. So you obviously can’t be a vampire. Right?”

Damek was stunned. It had been hundreds of years since anyone had asked him that question. He’d been very careful to keep a low profile and to protect his identity. His fingers tightened around hers until she winced.

“Why would you even think such a thing?” He had to know who had sent her, how she had found him. He felt betrayed by her, which was ridiculous since they’d only just met. He had no claim on her loyalties.

“Here you go, one BLT with no fries.” Neema set a plate on the table in front of Sonia and paused when she sensed the tension surrounding them. “Is everything okay?” She took a step back as she asked.

“Leave us,” Damek ordered.

Neema turned and fled, leaving him and Sonia alone in the dark corner of the club.

Chapter Seven

Sonia didn’t dare move, barely dared to breathe. Damek hadn’t liked what she’d said. Not one little bit. Power pulsed from him like a heartbeat, expanding and filling the club slowly. She now knew what a deer felt like when it was cornered by a predator. No, scrap that. Make it a bunny. Yeah, a fuzzy little bunny facing the big bad wolf.

“If you’re not a vampire, are you a werewolf or some kind of other shifter, or maybe a mage?” If she was in trouble with him she might as well go all the way. The voice of common sense yelled at her to shut up and quit while she was ahead, while he still might let her walk away.

Her ace in the hole was the fact she was a member of The Keepers. If he was indeed a paranormal creature, as she suspected, there was a chance he might have heard of the group and know she meant him no harm.

“What do you know of such things?” Damek’s voice was low, seductive and compelling, winding its way into her mind, making her want to tell him everything. Only years of training allowed her to shove back at his attempt at mind control.

Damek pulled back as though she’d struck him physically instead of on the psychic level. “Well, well, the kitten has claws. Maybe the vampire hunters sent you in as bait to flush out a vampire. If so, they wasted their time and yours.”

Stark fear made all the blood drain from her face and she swallowed the lump in her throat. Even through the dark lenses of his glasses, Sonia could see a red glare emanating from his eyes. She hadn’t even questioned why he hadn’t removed his glasses when they’d stepped inside. She was beginning to think she was totally screwed.

“What seems to be the problem?” Isaiah Striker suddenly loomed over their table, large and intimidating, and Sonia had never been so glad to see another person in all her life. Maybe she could use the distraction to her advantage.

“Nothing. I need to go to the ladies’ room.” She pulled her hand away from Damek’s and jumped up from her chair. Now that she was standing, she realized she had no idea where to go. Isaiah pointed to a door in the corner and she grabbed her purse and ran.

She was practically hyperventilating by the time she pushed open the bathroom door and slammed it behind her. There was a lock and she turned it before glancing around to see if there was anyone else in the ladies’ room. She was alone and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. The lock was more for privacy than anything, and she didn’t think for one minute it would stop Damek if he decided he wanted to get inside.

Her phone. She had to talk to her mother. Sonia tossed her purse on the counter and dug through the contents, searching for her phone. Her hands were shaking when she found it and she was glad her family was on speed dial. She hit the button for her mother and wasn’t surprised when it was answered on the first ring. Her mother always knew when something wasn’t right with one of her children.

“What’s wrong?” Sonia almost cried with relief when she heard her mother’s familiar voice. “Sonia?”

“Mama.” Sonia wished her mother were here, wished she could let her mother take her in her arms and soothe away her worries like she’d done when Sonia was a child. But this mess couldn’t be smoothed away with only a hug. “I think I might be in big trouble.” She was so cold her teeth were practically chattering.

“I knew it. Where are you?”

“Right now I’m at a club called Haven. I’m with a man named Damek who owns a nightclub called Inhibitions.” She hated to admit she was in over her head, but it was too late to wish she’d handled things differently. She glanced at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and quickly looked away. She was so pale she resembled a ghost.

“Oh, baby, what have you done?”

“I’m not sure. He’s different. I thought he might be a vampire, but he was working in his club late this afternoon and went outside briefly before dark.”

“Hold on.”

Sonia glanced at the door while she waited for her mother to speak to whoever else was in the room. She heard her grandfather’s voice in the background. “Is Papou there with you?” She fell back into the traditional Greek name for grandfather, knowing how much it pleased him. She called her grandmother Yaiyai for the same reason.

“Your grandfather says that the very ancient are not so much at the mercy of the sun as the young ones are, but they are also the most dangerous creatures on earth.”

“Why am I only hearing this now? Why did no one ever tell me this?” Really, it was too much to take in.

Her mother sighed. “You know we did not want to encourage your unhealthy interest in vampires. But that does not matter. You need to leave where you are. Do not go back to your hotel. He probably already knows where you are staying.”

Sonia swallowed hard. “He did mention following me home last night. He also mentioned I was being followed by a vampire hunter.”

Her mother swore both in Romanian and Greek, a sign of just how dire Sonia’s situation was. “You do not want to ever have them interested in you, baby. Vampire hunters kill without discrimination. They are the worst of the worst.”

Sonia already knew that much herself. Her stomach roiled and she thought she might throw up. She was grateful she hadn’t eaten any of her meal or it would probably be on its way back up.

“Okay. I’m going to try to slip out and head to another hotel.”

“Your father and brothers are on their way. They will drive. It is quicker than waiting for a plane. Call when you get settled in so they know where to find you.”

“I will.” Sonia clicked off her phone, her only link to safety and she held on to it, reluctant to let go. She had to get out of here.

The door rattled as someone pulled on the handle and she knew time was of the essence. Hopefully, Isaiah was still at their table and would distract Damek enough for her to slip out of the club and grab a cab.

“You can do this.” She tucked her phone in the pocket of her blazer for easier access, slung her purse over her shoulder and then reached for the lock on the door.

The lock started turning on its own before she reached it. Sonia halted where she was and felt the bottom dropped out of her stomach. Crap. She was in big trouble. Her gaze darted frantically around the room. There was no window to climb out of and nowhere to hide but the bathroom stalls, and she wasn’t going to demean herself by even trying. There were plenty of people in the club. He wouldn’t do anything with all these witnesses. At least she prayed he wouldn’t.

The door pushed open.

Damek shoved the door inward, needing to see Sonia for himself, even though he knew she was still inside the bathroom and hadn’t fled the premises. Although from the look on her face she would have gone out the window if there’d been one in the room.

Her skin was as pale as newly fallen snow and he would wager it was just as cool to the touch. Fear had her heartbeat skittering at a fast pace and a bead of sweat rolled down her temple. She nibbled on her bottom lip and her eyes widened with fear.

Good, she should be afraid. It was not wise to accuse a man of being a vampire, especially if he was one. His earlier assessment had been right on target—the woman needed a keeper.

But first he had to find out exactly why she’d sought him out and how much she knew. He slowly removed his dark glasses and tucked them into the inside pocket of his Armani jacket. He smiled fully for the first time, offering her a glimpse of his lethal fangs.

She swallowed hard and took a step back.

“I’m curious.” He advanced a step and the door closed quietly behind him. “What did you expect to happen if you discovered I was a vampire?” Did she have orders to contact someone about him?

He hissed as a thought occurred to him. “Were you working with that vampire hunter who was following you? Did you already call them?” If she had, he would have quite a mess to clear up.

Her hand jerked toward her blazer pocket before she could stop herself. He stalked forward, his usually fluid movements replaced by tight, jerky motions as he struggled to contain his rage. If he released it, he could potentially destroy Haven and all the people inside it.

“Who have you called?” He reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. She captured his hand and fought him for the phone. She lost.

“Give me that. It’s not yours.”

Her audacity astounded him. “You’re in no position to object.”

“Yes, I am.” She glared at him and made a grab for the phone. He read the move before she made it and jerked the phone out of her reach. “If you’ve survived for any length of time, and I think you have, then you know you don’t want to draw attention to yourself.”

“And who have you told, sweet Sonia?”

Sonia’s blood froze in her veins. This was not happening. The entertaining flirt from earlier tonight, the man she had shared such a warm moment with in the limo, had disappeared and in his place was the most frightening creature she’d ever encountered. The power she sensed swirling around him made her realize how ill prepared she was for the reality of discovering a true ancient vampire.

She was almost lightheaded at the realization that she was in the presence of a vampire. A very pissed-off one, but a vampire nonetheless. All her life she’d been searching and hoping for this moment. Now that it had happened, a part of her wished she could go back in time and undo every action that had led her to Chicago.

She’d drawn his attention to her family.

“No one. I haven’t told anyone.” She could talk her way out of this. She had no choice. Her family had to be protected at any cost.

“Such a pretty liar you are.” Damek started scrolling through her calls. “Celia Agostino. Hmm, I assume she’s related to you. Maybe I should pay her a visit.”

Anger broke through the ice surrounding her and in its place was a fiery fury unlike anything she’d ever known. She flew at Damek, knocking the phone from his grasp. It fell to the floor with a crash and Sonia prayed it was broken so he couldn’t discover her friends’ names. It was bad enough she’d endangered her family.

He caught her about the waist as she pummeled him with her fists. “You leave my family alone. Do you hear me? I’ll stake you through the heart if you touch them.” Considering he held her captive as easily as she could a butterfly, she didn’t think he took her threats seriously. But he didn’t know her, didn’t know the lengths she would go to in order to protect her family.

Sonia reached deep inside herself and drew on the blood of her heritage. She was no purebred anything, but had a mixture of paranormal blood and human running through her. She focused on the paranormal and pulled hard on the energy like her mother had taught her. Strength filled her and she pushed Damek hard. Caught off-guard, he flew backward and hit the tiled wall with a heavy thud.

Both of them froze and the bathroom door banged open. “What the hell is going on in here?” Isaiah Striker strode through the door like he owned the place, which Sonia realized he did.

He glanced from one to the other and shook his head. “Let’s take this into the office. Half the patrons in the club have already left. Those are powerful vibes you’re giving off, my friend.” Isaiah turned from Damek and studied her. “And I don’t know who you truly are, but I would advise you not to anger our mutual friend any more than you already have.”

Sonia scooted closer to Isaiah and Damek bared his fangs. Isaiah held up his hands in mock surrender. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but you’ve brought your problems here and we need to settle this.”

“We will go elsewhere.” Damek was back under control, all urban sophistication once again. Sonia was panting hard and her sweater was stuck to her body with sweat. She felt as though she’d run a marathon and had come dead last. Dead. Definitely not a good word to use given the situation.

“No, you won’t.” Isaiah put his hands on his hips and glared at Damek. “You’ve worried Meredith, and I don’t think it’s safe for your guest to be alone with you right now.” Isaiah dragged his hand through his hair, making his biceps ripple. “Come on, man, you need to calm down. Let’s go into the office and talk.”

“She knows I’m a vampire.” Damek threw that little tidbit out and it landed between them like a live hand grenade that hadn’t exploded. Yet. “Don’t you, my sweet?”

The endearment he tacked on at the end sounded more like a curse, and Sonia swallowed hard. Why hadn’t she kept her questions to herself or played dumb? Because this was the quest of a lifetime for her, that’s why. Her curiosity might get her killed yet, but she was still alive and ready to fight if necessary. Although her chance of success was little to none unless Isaiah and his employees helped her.

Isaiah’s eyes narrowed on her and she realized whatever good will he’d had toward her had just vanished. She truly was in enemy territory. There was only one thing she could do.

“I’m a member of The Keepers,” she blurted.

When they both looked at her as though she was speaking in tongues, Sonia knew if she couldn’t talk her way out of this situation, she was as good as dead.

“I don’t know who in the hell The Keepers are but this discussion needs to move to a more private location.” Isaiah opened the door and pointed. “Now.”

Damek was beside her before she could so much as blink and wrapped his fingers around her wrist like a manacle. “Don’t make a scene or you’ll regret it.” He bent down, picked up her phone and tucked it into his jacket pocket.

Regret sliced through her like a knife. She’d been stupid to think there could ever be anything more than business between her and Damek. But how she’d secretly hoped for more. Damek had tapped into the sensual side of her nature without even really trying. Her erotic dream was evidence of that. She was drawn to him in a way she’d never been to any man. Of course, he wasn’t exactly human.

She’d liked the mysterious club owner, the charming companion and the man she sensed lurked beneath the persona he’d carefully built. He’d seemed…lonely. That was the word that came to mind over and over and she’d longed to be the woman who eased his loneliness.

Yeah, like that would happen. Once again she’d followed her heart instead of her head and it had gotten her into deep trouble.

She might be drawn to the man she thought he was, but she knew nothing about the vampire he truly was.

Damek tugged on her arm and she reluctantly followed him out of the bathroom. It was a shock to see that the rest of the world was still as normal as ever. Patrons danced and ate, but there were a lot less of them than there had been. Neema cast her a sympathetic glance as they passed but made no move to interfere. She glanced toward the door but the bouncer was looking at Isaiah and whatever signal he’d gotten from the other man had him turning his attention back to the club. She was so screwed.

She stumbled along behind Damek with the crowd parting easily for them. Of course, she’d get out of the way too if she saw Damek and Isaiah coming toward her. No, that wasn’t quite true. She’d be more likely to approach them and ask questions, which was why she was in such hot water.

“In here.” Isaiah stood back and let Damek pull her into an office. Meredith was already sitting on the edge of a large desk, which dominated the space. Meredith glanced at Damek’s hand where it was wrapped around Sonia’s arm, but offered no comment.

Damek shoved her into a chair and casually took the one next to her. Sonia wasn’t fooled in the least by his show of nonchalance. The tension in the room was palpable and the walls seemed to move in and out, undulating with each passing heartbeat. The air was alive with static electricity and the fine hairs at her nape stood on end. Beneath her sweater, goose bumps raced down her arms even though she was sweating.

Oh yeah, there was a lot of power, a lot of anger in this room. The curious thing was she didn’t think all of it was coming from Damek.

She turned her attention back to Isaiah as he assumed the chair behind the desk and stretched out his long legs beneath it. The muscular build, the animal grace, the way he assessed her and subtly sniffed the air all made sense. No wonder she’d recognized him. He reminded her somewhat of her beloved papou.

“You’re a werewolf, aren’t you? I’m not sure if you’re full-blooded or half, but I know you are one.”

Isaiah put his hands behind his head, showing off his massive biceps. “I’m trying to figure out if you’re really as naïve as you seem or if you’re the most conniving bitch I’ve ever met.”

Sonia winced. “I didn’t mean it to be disrespectful or to worry you. I’m no threat to you or your pack.” And many of them would be living and working here because wolves were pack animals. Not many lived in cities, but it wasn’t totally unheard of.

“Well, that’s where we might have a difference of opinion.”

Beside her, Damek stirred and pure menace rolled over them all in waves. “Don’t threaten her, wolf.”

“Why not? You brought her into my club, my home, without knowing what kind of threat she was.”

“Enough.” Meredith’s voice was low but filled with command. “How do you know such things?”

Sonia set her purse down on the floor beside her and rubbed her sweaty palms over her jean-clad thighs. Her sweater was clinging to her back and she knew they could all smell her fear, but there was nothing she could do about it.

“I’m a member of The Keepers,” she began.

“You said that before,” Damek pointed out. “What does that mean? Is it another faction of the paranormal bounty hunters?”

“God, no.” She shivered at the thought of being associated with those butchers.

Meredith suddenly picked the phone up off the desk and dialed a number. “Hi, it’s Meredith. Where are you?” She paused and nodded. “Good. I need you in the office as soon as you get here.” She ended the call. “Craig will be here in about two minutes. He was already on his way over. Apparently, Hank called and let him know you were here and with a woman, no less.”

There was obvious affection in Meredith’s voice for this Craig person. Sonia only hoped he knew more about The Keepers than the rest of them did.

“You never answered my earlier question,” Damek pointed out.

“Which one?” she countered.

“Why did you think I was a vampire?”

Sonia studied his familiar face with its classic features and dark eyes. “I didn’t know for certain. It was a hunch more than anything.” When he gave a small growl of displeasure, she held up her hand to silence him and was surprised when he actually subsided. “Honestly. I stumbled over some articles on Inhibitions when I was researching the death of several men in and around Wicker Park last fall. Something about the findings was off. They said some of the men were shot and others looked as though a large dog had mauled them. Since pit bulls are a favorite breed with drug dealers, the police called it a drug killing and left it at that.”

“But you didn’t.” As he studied her, Damek’s gaze seemed to penetrate her very soul.

She swallowed hard and shook her head. “No, I didn’t. It had all the classic signs of a paranormal bounty hunter/werewolf attack. Of course, it could have been a drug killing too. So I kept researching and stumbled on to Inhibitions quite by accident. There was a grainy picture of you in one of the articles. I know most people believe that vampires can’t be photographed or seen in mirrors—”

Damek cut her off before she could continue. “But you know better.” He swore under his breath. “Some idiot snuck a camera into the club and that damn picture was out before I knew it existed.”

Sonia shivered, not wanting to know what had happened to the photographer. “I became obsessed with finding out more about you. Everyone I spoke with about the club seemed to feel it had some kind of hold on them while they were there, making them lose all inhibitions.”

“You, better than anyone, know what mass hysteria can do to a crowd,” Damek pointed out. “As a folklorist, you know all about such things. Look at the Salem witch trials, where everyone condemned those poor people with no hard evidence. It’s the same principle at play at my club. One or two people push the boundaries and before long so does everyone else.”

She nodded. “I know, but I had to see it for myself. To see you for myself.” Sonia looked away from Damek’s penetrating eyes, not wanting him to see how badly she’d wanted to find him, not for research, but for herself.

“This is all a little too pat for my liking.” Isaiah sat forward and put his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers together. “I don’t like it. This is a problem that needs to be handled.”

Another shiver raced down her spine and Sonia ceased to breathe. She could almost feel the chill of the Grim Reaper brushing against her neck.

“It is not for you to decide.” Damek stepped behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He gave them a gentle squeeze and she looked up at him. As unbelievable as it seemed, he was protecting her from the werewolf.

And what was she to think about that? Did she even want to think about that?

A knock came on the door and a man entered. He was in his early twenties with a friendly face, sandy-brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses. His build was lean, not heavy and, whoever he was, he wasn’t a werewolf, at least not a full-blooded one or a half-breed.

“Hey, Damek.” The younger man greeted the vampire and then nodded at her before turning his attention to Isaiah and Meredith. “You needed me for something.”

“Yes.” It was Damek who answered. “Do you know who The Keepers are?”

“Sure,” he answered. “What do you want to know?”

Chapter Eight

Damek could feel the tension in Sonia’s shoulders and wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine. At the same time, he was filled with a consuming need to understand exactly how she’d discovered his identity and why. Betrayal still ate at his gut even though he knew the emotion had no bearing on the situation. They weren’t lovers, not really, as an erotic dream didn’t count. They were barely acquaintances, yet the need to keep Sonia with him was overwhelming.

But that couldn’t happen until he found out if she was really a friend or a foe and fixed whatever problems she might have brought with her. No matter, he would protect her from Isaiah’s wrath. She was his problem to deal with.

Craig’s casual assurance that he’d heard of The Keepers startled Damek. “Tell me about them,” he demanded.

“Ah, sure.” Craig sat on the edge of the desk and swung one leg back and forth. “The Keepers have been around for several hundred years. They’re friends to paranormal creatures of all kinds, helping them survive unseen in the modern world.”

Damek frowned. “What exactly do you mean by that and how did you find out about them? And why do you, a human, know about this group when I don’t?” The last annoyed him greatly. He glanced at Isaiah and knew the wolf felt the same way. Information was power and, wherever he lived, Damek had always gathered as much of it as he could.

Craig grinned and shook his head. “I’ve done a lot of research on werewolves in the past year and a half, and the name kept popping up occasionally on the chat sites of the bounty hunters.”

Damek felt Sonia stiffen beneath his hands and gave her a squeeze of reassurance. Tension hummed through her and he wondered what she was thinking. It would be so easy for him to find out. As tempting as it was to burrow into her mind and read it, he resisted. She would fight him and he might accidentally hurt her. He was reluctant to do anything that might harm her unless it was a matter of safety for him and his friends.

“Continue,” he prompted.

“Well,” Craig continued, “you know me, so you know I had to check this group out. They’ve got quite the worldwide setup.”

“How do you know?” Sonia asked, her voice getting sharper with each word. Her skin was pale and cool beneath his touch.

Craig shrugged. “I hacked The Keepers’ various sites.”

“But they’re encoded and password protected,” Sonia insisted.

“Very well too,” Craig continued.

“Obviously not well enough,” she muttered. Damek noted that her growing anger pushed some of her pallor aside.

Isaiah ignored her and turned to Craig. “What do you mean they help paranormal creatures survive?”

Craig removed his glasses and polished a lens before popping them back on. “It’s harder to hide yourself in the modern world. There are taxes and databases, especially when dealing with large sums of money and property.”

Damek knew all about that. “That’s why I have several holding companies and a fleet of lawyers on the payroll. It’s easy enough to circumvent the system once you study it.”

“For you, maybe,” Craig pointed out. “But not everyone adapts as easily or has the money for such things.” He jumped off the desk and walked around to the computer. Isaiah got up so Craig could sit. His fingers flew over the keyboard and within seconds he had a website open on the screen.

Sonia gasped. “This can’t be happening.” Damek noted her face was white and she was chewing on her bottom lip, a sure sign of agitation.

“See.” Craig pointed at the screen. “They offer financial management, lawyers, and even have gardeners, housekeepers and people who will run errands.”

“For a price,” Damek added cynically.

Sonia shot out of her chair, hands on her hips, her entire body quivering with rage. “How dare you judge us, or me? We’ve put ourselves in danger time and again with the vampire, werewolf and witch hunters. What we do isn’t always easy and it costs money. We can’t exactly go public and raise money like a charity. We don’t turn anyone away because they don’t have money.”

“Sit down, Ms. Agostino.” Isaiah stood, arms crossed over his chest, glaring at her, and Sonia took a step back before holding her ground. Pride filled Damek at her show of courage, no matter how misplaced it was.

“I’d rather stand.”

“Agostino?” Craig asked, excitement in his voice. “You’re one of the Agostinos?”

Sonia nodded, lips drawn tight together.

“What’s so important about that?” Damek resented the fact that Craig knew about a part of her life that he didn’t.

Craig pushed back the chair and motioned to Sonia. “Her family founded The Keepers back in the seventeen hundreds and has been helping paranormals of all sorts ever since.”

“Why?” That was the question Damek really needed answered.

She shook her head. “It’s not just my secret to tell.”

“Right now, you don’t have any choice in the matter.” The threat was evident in Isaiah’s voice as he prowled closer. Damek slid in front of Sonia.

“Out of my way, vampire,” Isaiah snapped.

“No. It is enough for us to know she is not working with the hunters.”

“I need answers.” Isaiah’s voice was low and steady, but Damek could easily sense the wolf’s underlying anger and tension.

Sonia stepped up beside Damek and met Isaiah face-on, even though he rose to well above her in height. “I need time. Time to talk to some others before I tell you. We don’t disclose ourselves any easier than you do. It’s only to people we know we can trust. Most of the hunters will kill anyone associated with any paranormal creature.”

Damek could tell that didn’t sit well with Isaiah. It didn’t sit well with him either, but for different reasons. He’d never thought much about the humans who’d worked with him over the centuries, at least not where the hunters were concerned. He could sense her sincerity and knew she was telling the truth. There was more to Sonia than met the eye, and he was determined to discover all her secrets.

“We will leave now.” Damek held out his hand to Sonia and deep satisfaction filled him when she took it.

“Not until I get some answers,” Isaiah insisted.

Damek shook his head. “I helped you when you needed it. Now I’m asking you to let me handle this situation as I see fit.”

Isaiah dragged his hand over the back of his neck. Meredith moved in beside her agitated mate and ran her fingers over his arm to help calm him. Damek hoped she succeeded. He’d hate to start a war with the werewolves if it could be avoided. He’d actually come to like them quite a bit over the past few years, although he would never openly admit it to them.

“Okay,” Isaiah grudgingly agreed. “But I’m holding you personally responsible.” He pointed a long finger at Damek. “Anything happens to my pack because of her and I’ll come looking for you.”

Damek stiffened at the threat. “Fair enough.” But it wasn’t fair, not after everything he’d done for this pack. He inclined his head toward Meredith. “Thank you for your hospitality. If you ever need anything you have only to call.”

“Damek.” Meredith reached out to him as she shot her mate a glare. “You’re always welcome here.”

Damek said nothing, as there was nothing left to say. The wolf had made his position very clear. He inclined his head in thanks toward Craig while Sonia grabbed her purse and then they left the room and went back into the club. The number of patrons had drastically declined and there was only a handful left. Damek gave a regretful sigh. He’d had such good intentions when he’d brought Sonia here. When would he ever learn that he was truly alone in this world?

“Hey, wait.”

Damek stopped as they reached the front door and turned to face Craig. He had a soft spot for the human male and the entire Lawton family.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if you need anything, anything at all, you call me or Quinn. We owe you more than we can ever repay.”

“You owe me nothing.” Damek didn’t want anyone’s pity or handout.

“It’s what friends do.” Craig held out his hand and waited.

Damek stared at it and took a deep breath. He could sense Sonia’s curiosity, but she stayed quiet, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze of encouragement. He took Craig’s offered hand of friendship, easily reading the younger man’s sincerity. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Come.” He turned to Sonia. “We must go.”

Hank was still on the door, but he opened it and let them leave without a word. The limo was waiting out front and Damek opened the door and let Sonia slide in ahead of him. The door closed with a thunk, once again shutting them alone inside the luxury vehicle but for the driver up front. And with the privacy screen still in place, it was as if they were truly alone.

Sonia wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, she really did, but she wasn’t out of this mess yet. For a while there, it had been up in the air whether she was going to walk out of the club alive. Paranormal creatures were very protective, driven by instinct more than intellect in some cases, which was why The Keepers approached them very carefully. The last thing they wanted was to be seen as a threat, but that’s exactly what she’d done with her bumbling of the situation.

She could spend what was left of her life running and looking over her shoulder. The wolves saw her as a potential enemy and they would be relentless in their pursuit if they deemed her death necessary. That is, of course, if Damek didn’t take care of her for them.

She eyed the door handle and thought about trying to make a run for it. But that was cowardly. It was also a waste of energy. Not only was the door probably locked, but Damek was a vampire and could easily catch her with his preternatural speed. She caught their reflection in the glass and closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing pulse.

Holy crap. Damek really was a vampire. Now that the shock of the entire situation was wearing off, the truth was beginning to sink in. He’d showed her his fangs. He’d told Isaiah that she knew he was a vampire.

Her instincts had been right.

And they could write that on her headstone. Damek hadn’t survived by being lenient with those who threatened his existence. She wasn’t naïve about what he’d do, what the werewolves would do, if they felt she jeopardized their safety.

Sonia fluctuated between being excited she was right and wanting to throw up. God, she was sitting next to a real live vampire. She smothered a slightly hysterical laugh. Poor choice of words. Vampires were the living dead, not the living.

Her poor brain was awash with questions and thoughts. But she’d never get answers. She’d be lucky if she made it out of Chicago alive. She’d made a mess of everything. None of them trusted her, least of all Damek.

Her eyes flew open when something lightly brushed her face. Damek was seated beside her, his fingers touching her cheek. She swallowed hard as his fingers drifted over her jawline and down her neck, dipping beneath the high collar of her turtleneck sweater. She shifted away but he followed her. The leather seats creaked beneath them.

“Your pulse is racing.” He placed one finger over her pulse and she knew he could feel the heavy thud as blood rushed through her body. “So alive. So beautiful.”

She blinked, not quite able to process his words. He was angry with her, wasn’t he? He’d accused her of terrible things. Not that she could blame him. After all, she hadn’t given him all the facts, had barged into his world and potentially put him and his friends at risk.

“Damek,” she began.

“Shh, little one.” He rubbed his thumb over her jaw, back and forth, back and forth. His eyes were tinged red around the edges but the centers appeared even blacker than usual. He looked like sin on a stick and she was ripe for temptation.

Fear and arousal warred within her and she was very afraid that arousal would win and she would cast all common sense aside. Just being in his presence was enough to raise her blood pressure and make her skin tingle in the most exciting way.

The raucous sounds of the city traffic outside the limo faded until all she heard was her heavy breathing and the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

She licked her lips and his gaze followed her tongue. Her body grew heavier with each passing second and her clothing felt rough and confining against her skin.

This was crazy. She should be discussing the situation with him, doing everything in her power to talk him out of killing her. Although if the sensual heat simmering in his gaze was any indication, killing her was the last thing on his mind.

“Your eyes are lovely and soft, like the fog on the Scottish Highlands in autumn. Did you know that?” Before she could answer him, he leaned closer and touched his mouth to hers. His lips were cool as they skimmed her bottom one. He nibbled on the corners of her mouth, making her yearn for more, for a deeper touch.

His fingers caught in her hair and he tugged her head to one side, holding her steady as he covered her mouth with his and dipped his tongue inside. She made a low sound of passion as his tongue slid over hers, teasing and tempting her to play.

There were probably a hundred reasons why she shouldn’t do this, why it was wrong for both of them. Her very life and future well-being hung in the balance with Damek as judge, jury and potentially executioner. There was only one reason why she should—she wanted him. Sonia admitted she’d been obsessed with Damek since the first moment she’d seen the very grainy picture of him in the Chicago newspaper. He was her mystery man, her seductive lover. Vampire.

She shivered, but not with fear. Heat and passion flooded her body, dampening her sex with growing need. Sonia grabbed his shoulders, needing something solid to anchor her. The thickly carpeted floors beneath her feet and buttery leather seats on which she sat seemed insubstantial in the face of the sexual storm beginning to swirl around them. Only Damek was strong enough to keep her from flying into a million pieces.

“Yes,” he hissed. “Touch me.”

Her hands seemed to move of their own volition, sliding up the thick column of his neck to cup his face. The planes and angles were sharp, giving him a slightly cruel, yet aristocratic look. His hair was like silk as she let it slip through her fingers. This was better than a dream.

She frowned, knowing there was something about that thought that should bother her, something she needed to question, but it was lost beneath the onslaught of his kiss. He took her mouth, claimed it and demanded more.

Sonia lost all track of time as he kissed her as though they had all the time they needed. The world outside didn’t matter, not now, not with passion clenching both of them in its grasp. Every stroke of his hand was magnified a thousandfold. His masculine scent filled her nostrils, making her want to get closer to him. Every nerve ending in her skin was alive and electric, anticipating his next touch.

He slipped a hand inside her blazer and cupped her breast. The sweater and her bra might be between them, but that didn’t matter. He might as well have been touching bare flesh for the effect it had on her. Pleasure jolted from her breasts to her core and back again in an endless loop. Oh, this was wonderful, better than wonderful. It was perfect.

Damek broke the kiss and let his lips glide over her face toward her ear. “Tell me, Sonia. Who are you really? Why are you here?” He nibbled on her lobe, dragging one of his fangs over the sensitive skin.

It took a moment for his question to process, and when it did it was like getting a bucket of cold water dumped on her. The moment shattered and the warm, sensual haze that had enveloped her disintegrated in a heartbeat. She shoved him away with all her strength, which wasn’t much considering her entire body was trembling with unrequited lust. “You bastard.”

He blinked at her, his breathing steady while hers was anything but. She was totally aroused and he looked as though he were at a board meeting. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” she repeated. She swiped her hand over the back of her mouth and his gaze narrowed and lips tightened. “This seduction was just so you could get answers out of me.”

“It was for mutual pleasure. The questions I would ask no matter what.”

“I’ll bet.” She crossed her arms over her chest, doing her best to ignore the throbbing in her core and the painful way her nipples were pressing against her bra. “I’m not trading answers for sex, so you’re wasting your time.” Where moments before what was between them had felt right and perfect, now it felt tainted and tawdry.

He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I don’t need to seduce you to get answers. I can take whatever I want to know from your mind, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat, barely able to breathe as power swelled and pulsed around them. She was in big trouble. There really was no way for her to know the extent of his powers, but she knew in her heart Damek wasn’t lying. He could enter her mind and take her thoughts from her.

And if he did, something inside her would shrivel up and die.

“Please.” A tear trailed down her cheek and she dashed it away. This wasn’t the time for tears, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Her emotions were all over the place, racing from sexual arousal to fear to anger to disappointment.

Damek caught a fresh tear on his thumb and brought the salty drop to his lips. Sonia shuddered as he sucked it into his mouth. “It seems I was wrong.” He sat back, pressed a button and said something to the driver over the intercom. Not that Sonia could hear what it was over the pounding of her heart.

She sucked in a breath and got control of her wayward emotions. The adrenaline flooding her veins was making them bounce all over the place. All she wanted right now was to be alone and sort out everything that had happened. She needed to contact her family and talk to them. Damek and the werewolf pack at Haven deserved to have answers, but she couldn’t tell them anything unless she got the okay from her family. If the secret were hers alone, she’d tell Damek everything.

That thought frightened her as much as the passion he tapped into so easily did. He had an advantage over her. While she was lost in the sensuality of his kiss, his touch, he’d still been thinking and plotting. It hurt her to realize she was alone in this attraction between them.

The car came to a stop and she glanced out the window. He hadn’t brought her back to his club but to her hotel. It was probably better this way. She’d gather her things, check out and go to another hotel and contact her family. She needed to talk to her mother about Damek and everything he made her feel. Her mother would understand and know exactly what to say to her.

She could depend on her family.

She reached for the door handle, but Damek put his hand on her arm, stopping her. “Will you not tell me what I need to know?”

As much as it pained her to do so, she shook her head. “If it were only me…” She let her words trail off.

Damek released her. “Then go. Go back to your world and leave me be.”

The finality of his words almost had her blurting out all her secrets. She bit her bottom lip so hard she drew a tiny bead of blood. His gaze landed on the drop that welled up.

“You tempt me at your peril,” he growled. Before she could escape, he grabbed her, yanked her to him and slammed his mouth down on hers. His tongue stroked over her lips, drawing the bead of blood into his mouth.

Heat. Pleasure. Erotic promise. It all swarmed through her, engulfing her, eating her whole.

Then she was alone and cold as he thrust her away from him. “Go, now, while I can still let you.”

Sonia grabbed her purse and jumped out of the car. Just before the door slammed shut, she caught sight of Damek sitting on the plush leather seat. His eyes were tinged with red but they were also filled with loneliness.

The car sped away, leaving her standing alone on the sidewalk with nothing but regret and a heavy heart. She stood there until the vehicle was out of sight, half hoping he would stop and come back. When it was apparent he was truly gone, she dragged herself through the main door of the hotel. All she wanted to do was run after Damek and spill all her secrets to him.

She stiffened her spine and marched across the lobby, keeping her eyes straight ahead. She needed to focus on what she needed to do and forget about Damek for now. It wouldn’t take her long to pack and get out of here. Once she was settled in a new hotel she would call her family. Damek still had what was left of her cell phone, but she could use the hotel phone to contact them.

The elevator seemed to take forever to arrive and then carry her up to her floor. Her feet felt like lead as she made her way to her door and swiped her keycard in the lock. The room was dark, and when she flipped the switch on the overhead light nearest the door nothing happened.

“Great. The bulb is burned out.” There was enough light from the window for her to see the light on the desk. She headed straight toward it, letting the door close behind her with a thunk. She was halfway there when she sensed a disturbance in the air.

She whirled around, but it was too late. A heavy male arm came around her neck and a knife flashed in front of her eyes. “You’re a hard woman to follow, Dr. Agostino. It’s time for me and you to have a little talk.”

Chapter Nine

The more distance the limo put between him and Sonia, the larger the hole in Damek’s chest seemed to grow. Every instinct he possessed was screaming at him to go after Sonia and keep her with him. But he couldn’t do that. Fool that he was, he wanted her to tell him voluntarily whatever secret it was she was keeping from him. If he took it from her, he would irrevocably damage whatever was between them.

He snorted and stared out the window at the passing people and never-ending lights of the city. He should have taken her memories of him from her. It would be easy. A simple process of reaching into her mind with his own and psychically blanking out all the brain cells that contained his physical image or emotional imprint. But he didn’t want her to forget him. He wanted to haunt her days and nights as she would haunt his.

He was a fool.

Nothing could come of his attraction to her. She was human and he was a vampire and, contrary to what some people believed because of movies and certain novels, making a vampire was no small task, nor was it a sure thing. A person had to die to become a vampire, and only a very few who actually went through the process survived. The rest stayed dead. No way would he risk Sonia’s life on the slight possibility that she might be one of the ones that survived.

That’s assuming she’d even want to become a vampire.

Now he was being a complete idiot, something he detested. He was not fond of weakness or frailty of the mind, especially when it was his own. He should return to her hotel, take her memories from her and be done with it. That was the safest option for both of them.

The area in the region of his heart ached. Humans might believe otherwise, but his heart still beat in his chest, albeit at a much slower rate than a human one. And it was still capable of hurting.

What was it about Sonia that conflicted him so? Yes, she reminded him of Elizabetta, but that was neither here nor there. It was a mere passing resemblance that had attracted his attention. The two women were nothing alike in personality. Sonia was…Sonia. She was no copy of another woman. She was strong and vibrant and intelligent and simply beautiful to him.

And courage, the woman had more than enough courage for three men and then some. The way she’d stood up to him and to Isaiah was foolish, considering she knew what they were. But she’d done it anyway, and it only made him want her more.

Her gray eyes seemed to see right into him, past all his defenses. That alone made her a danger to him, and he’d always dealt with danger quickly and quietly. He let few people into his life, didn’t allow himself to get close to anyone. They’d all be gone in a matter of decades while he’d still be here…alone.

Sonia’s breath caught in her throat as her attacker grabbed her. She clutched at the thickly muscled arm that was cutting off her air supply. It tightened and she gasped for breath and tried to fight. The knife flashed in the darkness.

Vampire hunter. Why she was so certain, she didn’t know, but she didn’t question her instincts. The man holding her was larger than her. Muscular. But she was much stronger than she appeared and was fighting for her life. Sonia lifted her foot and managed to kick her attacker in the shin. He flinched and cursed, but held on to her.

Even though panic was closing in on her, she reached inside herself and tapped into the part of her that was different, drawing strength from the blood of her ancestors. Giving a hoarse cry, she shoved at his arm with all her strength.

Her attacker’s muscular arm snapped back and she whirled away. His reflexes were sharp and he was fast, a hunter through and through. The sharp blade slashed at her, cutting through her coat and sweater and into her arm.

A dark premonition pressed down on Damek and he hissed with growing fury. Sonia was in danger. He had no idea how he knew that, but he didn’t question it. He pressed down on the intercom. “Stop the car.” Jerome obeyed immediately and put on the brakes. “Go back to the hotel and wait for me.” Ignoring the blare of horns from the irate drivers behind them, Damek threw open the door, surged out of the vehicle and quickly slid into the shadows.

Using his preternatural speed, he raced back to Sonia’s hotel, cursing himself all the way. He should never have left her alone, should have brought her to his home for safety’s sake. He knew the vampire hunters were watching her. They might not have known where she was going tonight, but they knew she’d return to her hotel.

And he’d dropped her off and left her there. If anything happened to her—

Damek blocked such thoughts from his mind. Sonia would be okay. There was no other option.

Sonia cried out at the shock of the blade sinking into her flesh, but kept moving, knowing that to stop could mean her death. The hunter was almost as dangerous as the creatures he hunted, maybe even more so. He wouldn’t care that she wasn’t a vampire. If he was here it was because he’d determined she knew something about one of the paranormal creatures he was hunting, and she knew he’d do anything to gain that information.

Her heart skipped a beat. Was she responsible for bringing Damek to the attention of the vampire hunters? It made her stomach lurch and her chest ache to think so. She had to get away. Had to warn him.

To do that she had to get out of the room or at least attract the attention of someone outside. “What do you want?” Grabbing the chair from the table, she put it between them. The dim light from the window, along with her acute sense of sight, illuminated him enough for her to make out his shape. He was broad and tall with short blond hair. His thin lips were set in a sneer and he glared at her as he tossed the knife from hand to hand, doing his best to frighten her.

He was succeeding.

She forced herself to think, to watch his every movement. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark shirt, which made it harder to see which way he was leaning.

The man moved closer, his knife glinting in the light from the streetlamps. “I want to talk to you about the company you’re keeping.”

Oh, God. She was right. This was about Damek. “Who are you?”

This had to be the same vampire hunter Damek said was following her. With everything else that had happened tonight she’d completely forgotten about him, a mistake she was currently paying for. She’d let her guard down and that was simply not done, not when one was a member of The Keepers. Hunters of one sort or another were everywhere.

He moved closer and Sonia eyed the bed off to her right. She could jump on it and make a break for the door, but she knew she wouldn’t make it. The bathroom was an option. She could at least lock the door and yell for help.

“You don’t need to know who I am, but I know who you are.” He was so much larger than she was and he was brawny. He would also have skills he’d honed to slay vampires. She might be stronger than the average human, but Sonia knew she couldn’t beat him in a fight. “You study vampires and werewolves and other unnatural creatures.”

Sonia managed a derisive laugh. “I study folklore and legend and how it affected people in the past and in modern day. Hardly worth getting upset over.” She had to keep him talking.

He smiled slowly and it sent a shiver down her spine. The slight stubble on his jaw made him appear even more menacing. He was enjoying her fear, feeding off it. “My boss thinks you might have stumbled upon something real and wants to talk to you.”

Crap. Crap. Crap. She could get out of this. “You’re obviously off your meds if you think vampires and werewolves are real. They’re. A. Myth,” she said the last three words slowly, drawing them out as though he were too simple to understand. “Like Nessie or Big Foot.”

As long as she could keep him talking he wasn’t attacking her. She didn’t think the situation would last long, but she was going to do her best to keep it going. The longer this went on, the more of a chance she had to attract attention of some kind. Her gaze flew to the desk. Maybe she could grab the lamp and heave it through the window, or she could simply pick up the chair and use it to break the glass. Now that would attract attention. But he’d probably kill her before anyone could get to her.

His jaw tightened and he took a step closer, his nostrils flaring. “Oh, you’re gonna talk. You’re going to tell me everything I want to know.”

She knew exactly how far away she was from the bathroom door and prayed she could make it. Without any warning, she jumped on the bed, shoving the chair toward her assailant as she did so. Her feet fit the mattress and she bounded off the other side, sprinting the few feet to the bathroom door.

He swore behind her and she knew without glancing back that he was almost on her. Her hand hit the door as he grabbed her hair and yanked. Sonia fell back, hitting his broad chest with a thud. She lifted her feet, giving him her full weight. He tried to keep his hold on her, but couldn’t, and she fell to the floor with a solid thud.

Instead of rolling away as he would expect her to do in this situation, she rolled toward him, fingers clasped into a fist. She didn’t aim for his stomach but for a more vulnerable area just lower. He pulled back to keep from taking the full force of her blow, but she managed to punch him in the family jewels.

“You bitch. You’re going to pay for that.” He was doubled over slightly, but he was coming for her again. The man was a machine and she was very afraid she’d just signed her own death warrant. Her breath hitched on a sob and she scrambled toward the bathroom, her feet and fingers digging into the carpet.

Her attacker was on her in a split second, taking her down, flat on the floor. He sat on her back, fisted his hand in her hair and yanked hard. The blade caressed her neck and she froze. “That’s right, bitch. You’re going to tell me everything I want to know or I’m going to cut you again. I might even cut you just for fun.”

Sonia was afraid to swallow, afraid to breathe. A trickle of blood seeped down her neck just above the collar of her sweater. Her scalp burned where he held her hair tight in his fist and his weight was cutting off the air supply to her lungs. Black spots appeared before her eyes and she struggled to stay conscious. She couldn’t pass out. God only knew what he’d do to her.

All she had to do was watch and wait for an opportunity. She had more reserves of strength to call on when the time came, provided she stayed conscious. But first she had to stay alive. She stilled and her assailant moved the knife back a fraction, easing up enough for her to be able to take a shallow breath. The oxygen burned on the way to her starving lungs.

“You going to behave?”

“Yes.” She didn’t dare nod with the knife still so close.

“Thought you’d see things my way.” Instead of getting off her, he let more of his weight fall on her. She gasped as he drove the air from her body again. She clawed at the carpet, trying to get away. He let up seconds later and gave a cruel laugh. “I’ll keep doing that every time you don’t tell me what I want to know.”

His thick fingers tightened in her hair and he gave it a hard tug. Her eyes were watering and blood seeped from the cuts on her arm and neck, but Sonia wasn’t beaten, not by a long shot. She said nothing and waited for her attacker to get to his questions.

“Why are you in Chicago?”

She swallowed hard. “Studying why people seem to lose all inhibitions when they’re in a crowded nightclub. People do things they wouldn’t do in their everyday lives.”

“Bullshit.” The guy slammed her head down on the floor and, even though it was carpeted, her forehead hit hard.

Sonia cried out as pain shot through her skull and down her spine. She closed her eyes to ride out the agony ricocheting through her. “It’s the truth,” she managed to get out.

“I don’t think so.” He sat down hard on her again and this time she knew for sure she was going to pass out.

Suddenly, the air pressure in the room changed, becoming denser and thicker, like it was a living, breathing entity. Her attacker jumped off her back and dragged her to her feet, holding her in front of him like a shield.

Sonia gasped for breath and tried to steady herself to take the pressure off her scalp. What was happening? Even though his knife was still pressed against her neck, she had to be ready to fight if an opportunity presented itself.

The shadows coalesced at the far end of the room near the door and a man glided out of them. No, not a man, a vampire. A very angry, dangerous vampire.

Somehow, someway, Damek was here.

Her attacker tightened his hold on her, jerking her up onto her toes. “Come any closer and I’ll cut her.”

“I don’t think so, John.” Damek’s soft voice was more chilling than if he’d roared in anger. His eyes glowed a blood red, but other than that, he appeared calm and in control. “In fact, you’ll put her carefully on the bed. Do that, and I might not rip out your entrails and choke you with them.”

Sonia shuddered at the threat, wondering if Damek truly meant it. One glance at the expression on his face made her a believer.

John. Her attacker’s name was John. How did Damek know that?

Sonia could feel the tension in her enemy’s arms as the muscles quivered. She wanted to swallow but didn’t dare. The blade was still too close.

“Put her on the bed.” The command in his voice was inescapable. “Carefully.”

Sonia found herself trying to get to the bed just to obey him. The power surrounding him pulsed across the room, surrounding them like a thick blanket, and John moved, his arm releasing her. She hit the bed and gasped for breath even as she rolled to the far side away from John.

“That’s a good boy.” Damek mocked. He seemed to flow across the room to her side and traced his finger over the trail of blood on her neck.

“Leave her alone, bloodsucker.”

Damek whirled and fury pulsed in the room like a living, breathing entity. Sonia thought she saw the walls undulate under the pressure of Damek’s anger as she struggled to sit.

“You dare tell me to leave her alone when it is you who hurt her.”

John suddenly went flying, his back hitting the wall with enough force to break through the plaster. Instead of falling to the floor in a heap, John was held against the wall by an unseen force. His knife was still in his hand, but he couldn’t seem to use it.

“At least I’m human.” John flung the insult at Damek. Personally, Sonia thought he’d be better off keeping his mouth shut.

“That is debatable.” Damek walked into her bathroom, grabbed a towel and walked back to the bed. “Let’s get your coat off and see to your arm.”

“You came back.” There was so much she wanted to say, but her throat ached and her entire body hurt.

His touch was gentle as he helped remove her blazer and sweater, both of which were ruined, leaving her top half covered in only her lavender-colored bra. He paused for a brief moment, his gaze skimming over her breasts before he turned his attention to her arm. “Yes, I came back.” He wrapped the towel around it, putting pressure on the wound. “I don’t think this is too deep. Are you strong enough to pack? You need to get out of here.”

She nodded. “Give me five minutes.”

The sweet smell of her blood filled Damek’s nostrils along with the sharp tang of her fear. His fangs were down and they ached to bite into her soft skin and drink from her veins. Her pulse thrummed in her slender throat and sweat dewed her tender flesh.

His cock ached and throbbed and he wanted to strip Sonia naked and lick every inch of her, bringing her to orgasm before sliding into her heated depths and claiming her as a man and as a vampire. Biting her, feeling her blood slide down his throat as he fucked her would be the ultimate orgasm. His cock flexed in agreement.

And he was truly a monster for even thinking such a thing. She’d been attacked and hurt and needed comfort, not his lust. He could have stopped the bleeding on her arm simply by drawing his tongue over it. There were agents in his saliva that would heal her injured flesh. But he was afraid to. Afraid if he truly tasted her blood he would never let her go.

As it was, the one bead he’d tasted earlier on her lips still thrummed through him like a fiery memory. He’d never tasted anything quite so fine. No other blood had ever quenched his hunger so quickly, while at the same time leaving him craving more.

Sonia scooted off the bed and staggered to the bathroom, her balance shaky from her ordeal. He heard water running and knew she was cleaning the cut on her neck. Thankfully, that was only a scratch and had already stopped bleeding.

Alone in the room with the vampire hunter, Damek raised his head and skewered the man with his glare. “Why are you here?” He needed answers. “I told you she knew nothing.”

“That’s what I told Luther. Fucking vampire, you messed with my mind.” He struggled to break Damek’s mental hold on him, but couldn’t budge no matter how much he struggled. “Luther figured something wasn’t right and told me to keep watching. I lost her earlier at the club but knew she’d eventually have to come back to her hotel.”

Damek watched him fight, but felt no pity for his plight. He’d hurt Sonia so he had to die. It was that simple.

“Why are you here?” he repeated. This time he drove into the vampire hunter’s mind, sending out dark tendrils of compulsion, compelling him to answer. Refusal wasn’t an option.

“Luther wanted to know why she was here. Thought she might have a lead on a bloodsucker or a maybe a wolf.”

Sonia was in more danger than he’d imagined. It was one thing to be on the vampire hunter’s radar, quite another to be watched so closely. “What were your orders?”

Damek heard Sonia come back into the room and start getting her things together and knew she was listening to every word. He longed to draw her into his arms and comfort her, but didn’t know if she would accept it after the way they’d parted.

John struggled briefly but his will was no match for Damek’s. “Interrogate her and then bring her to Luther.”

Interesting. “And where is Luther Kostas?”

The hunter struggled to fling up flimsy barriers in his mind that Damek broke down as quickly as they were erected. He would pay for using so much power and would need blood. But he didn’t care. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. He drilled mercilessly into John’s brain, digging out memories even as he compelled the other man to speak.

“Here, in Chicago. But I don’t know exactly where.” Sweat poured down the man’s face as he struggled not to talk. “Fuck you, bloodsucker,” he yelled as Damek strode closer. Damek stared at the man, his puny attempts to release himself, his quivering limbs and dilated pupils. He stank of fear and of Sonia’s blood.

Damek parted his lips, letting the man see his razor-sharp fangs. Equal parts terror and defiance shot through him. John’s will was strong, as all vampire hunters had to be if they hoped to survive. The man was obviously used to killing young vampires who had little control or power. Those attributes developed over time and all vampires were different in their skills, just like all humans had different talents. But Damek wasn’t about to let the hunter know that little tidbit of information. The less they knew about his kind, the better.

He reached out and gently stroked John’s face when what he wanted to do was catch it between his hands and squeeze until he crushed the man’s skull and spilled his brains out onto the carpet. “What should I do with you?” The urge to kill him, to bathe in his blood for what he’d done to Sonia was great. Someone needed to pay for this. They’d made the battle personal.

“Damek.” Sonia rested her arm gently on his. “I’m ready to go.” Her voice was steady, but he heard the quaver beneath it, and knew he couldn’t kill the other man no matter how much he wanted to. Not with her watching.

She was making him weak. No, she was his weakness, the only person who could stop him from killing. “He hurt you.” That was reason enough for him to die.

“I know. But he’s not worth what it would do to you.”

Slowly, Damek turned his head to study her. She’d dressed in a loose brown sweater with her jeans. Her face was pale but determined, but it was her eyes that drew him. There was such compassion and understanding in those gray eyes. In truth, she should be running from both of them. They were both monsters in their own way.

He looked down at her hand where it rested on his arm. Such a simple touch, but more powerful than any he’d ever felt in his life.

Damek shook his head and turned his attention back to John. He might not kill him, but John would not walk away unscathed. He focused his power and drove into the vampire hunter’s mind like a predator bringing down prey. John’s eyes widened and his mouth opened on a silent scream. Muscles clenched as he tried to move, but was paralyzed, locked in the prison of his own body.

“Dr. Agostino had already checked out of her hotel when you arrived, so you rented her room to search for clues, but found nothing. You partied a little too hard and passed out in the bed.” Damek moved his arm and John flew from his position against the wall and crashed onto the bed. “You will pay for the damage in the room and you will contact Luther and tell him you know nothing. Do you understand me?”

As if a puppet on a string, John’s head bobbed up and down.

“Good.” Damek started to turn away but at the last minute looked over his shoulder. “And John, you will forget you ever met me. I am nothing more than a nightmare that comes to you in the darkest hours of the night.” He put extra effort into the compulsion, ensuring the man would indeed have nightmares about him for the rest of his life. If he couldn’t kill John, he was at least going to make the hunter’s life hell.

Sonia was waiting silently for him and he took her gently by the arm. “Come.” He took her bag from her, wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her toward the door. He shut it behind him, hearing the lock click into place before leading her to the elevator. They made the trip down to the lobby in silence.

Damek detoured to the front desk, pleased to see both night clerks there. It only took him a few minutes and some minor mental manipulation to have them change their records to have Sonia checked out earlier in the day and John Barnes checking in to her room this evening.

When that was done, he led Sonia out of the hotel. He was worried about her mental and physical state. She’d said nothing since they’d left her room.

It was still dark, but dawn was closing in quickly. Damek could sense the sun hovering not far below the horizon. Jerome had the limo waiting out front and Damek helped Sonia inside, storing her suitcase on the floor next to them. He pressed down on the intercom. “Take me home,” he ordered his driver.

“Right away, sir.” Jerome didn’t even glance back at Sonia.

Damek appreciated his discretion and knew he had to be curious, as tonight was the first time he’d had someone other than Byron in the car with him. He’d also never taken a woman to his home. But this wasn’t just any woman. Sonia was special.

As the limo pulled away, Sonia stared at him, her fingers wrapped tight around the straps on her purse. She swallowed hard as she studied him. “Does your power have any limits?”

Chapter Ten

Sonia couldn’t take her eyes off Damek. What he’d done back in her hotel room and at the desk was nothing short of amazing. He’d controlled her attacker, getting answers from him as though he were no more than a pesky fly. She’d instinctively known Damek could kill the man with no more than a thought, but seeing that kind of power was something else altogether.

It was truly frightening, and in the hands of a lesser man it could be catastrophic for all humankind. But Sonia knew Damek, knew the kind of man he truly was, and was confident he’d hurt only someone who threatened him. He wasn’t the type to kill indiscriminately.

“All power has limits and comes with a price.” His dark eyes were unfathomable and his answer really wasn’t one at all. He didn’t explain himself, but then again, Sonia guessed he never had to.

She’d taken a risk by asking him not to kill her assailant. She, better than most, understood what that had cost him. Paranormal creatures were more primal than most, their instincts honed deeper than that of a human’s. They protected themselves and those they considered to be under their care at all cost. Werewolves were especially like that, being pack animals. Sonia had never known of a vampire to look out for anyone other than himself, but then again, she’d never met an ancient one.

“Thank you for not killing him.” She’d known deep in her heart that killing that man wouldn’t be good for Damek. Sensed that he was teetering on the edge of a precipice and she didn’t want to be the one who pushed him over the edge. She had no idea what it cost him to wield such power, but guessed it would have to take a toll on him, be an energy drain at the very least.

Damek shrugged. “I will do it in a heartbeat if he makes trouble again. This was his second and final warning.”

Second? That’s right. Damek had met the hunter last night. Her arm ached and she hurt all over, making it difficult to think through the constant pain. And that didn’t even count the adrenaline still racing through her body. She was a mess and had to get a grip on herself. “He’s the man you told me about, isn’t he? The one who was following me?”

Damek shifted and the leather beneath him squeaked slightly. He looked so imposing sitting there and, knowing what she did about him, she should be scared out of her mind. Instead, she felt safe. She longed to crawl onto his lap and lay her head on his shoulder, wanted to feel his strong arms wrapped around her and hear him promise to keep her safe.

Damek inclined his head.

Damn, everything was getting more complicated by the moment. Sonia tried to order her thoughts, but it wasn’t easy. She was still jittery from the attack, not to mention her hormones raging out of control. Sitting next to Damek made all her nerve endings tingle and her body come alive. It was as though after facing the possibility of death, her body wanted to taste life.

She wanted to make love with Damek. Knowing what he was and what she was, knowing all the problems they faced and the secrets between them made no difference whatsoever. She wanted him.

Damek was very aware of Sonia sitting next to him, watching his every move. It took more control than he thought he possessed not to take her down onto the plush leather seat, strip her bare and taste every inch of her sweet skin. Even though she’d cleaned up and changed her sweater, he could still smell her blood. The wound on her arm was still seeping and the damaged clothing tucked in her bag was stained.

He cracked the window and took a deep breath and then another, inhaling the exhaust fumes and pollution from the city street. The safest thing he could do for Sonia was to check her in to a new hotel. From what he’d been able to dig out of the hunter’s mind, Sonia wasn’t being watched now. Luther Kostas was supposed to contact Barnes and tell him where to take her. No one would be able to find her if Damek paid cash for her hotel.

But he would not rest, not knowing she was out there unprotected. Barnes’s contact was somewhere in the city and Sonia wouldn’t be safe until Damek found out where he was and dealt with him.

He drew his cell phone out of his coat pocket and dialed a number he was very familiar with. It was answered on the second ring with a sleepy, “Hello.”

“I did not think of the time. I’m sorry for that.”

Through the receiver, he heard blankets shifting in the background. “Damek. What’s wrong? What do you need?”

He closed his eyes and gave thanks for Craig Lawton. He might be human, but he was trustworthy, a rarity among his species. “I need you to check two names for me. I need everything you can find on them.”

He heard Craig rummaging around and imagined he had his laptop ready to go. “Shoot.”

“John Barnes and Luther Kostas.”

“Can you tell me anything about them? It would help narrow the search.”

“They are vampire hunters and they are both currently in the city.”

“Shit.” Damek could hear Craig’s fingers flying over the keyboard. “This might take me a while.”

“Call me back as soon as you know anything. I’m especially interested in Luther Kostas. He seems to be the one in charge.”

“Got it. I’ll talk to you soon.”

The line went dead and Damek was sure he’d know a lot more about his adversary within a few hours. From what he’d been able to glean from the hunter’s memory, John Barnes didn’t know much about his boss beyond his name and a phone number, and that number had been changed just hours ago with the hunter not having received the new one yet.

Such was the way of the paranormal hunters, a protection mechanism against their paranormal prey. They changed phones frequently and knew little about one another beyond their love of the hunt and their hatred of the paranormal creatures they pursued. But in this day of cyberspace no one could truly hide, and Craig Lawton was one of the best hackers in the world. If there was anything out there to find, Craig would find it. There was always a money trail, something that would lead him to his prey.

Sonia was watching him and she was shivering, her entire body shaking with the tremor. Damek swore, whipped off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me you were cold?”

“I didn’t know.” She sounded slightly bemused. “I mean, I guess I blocked it out.”

He rubbed his arms over hers, being careful of her wound, willing her to get warm. “It’s probably shock due to blood loss and everything else you’ve been through tonight.”

“Who did you call?” she asked.

Damek knew he should lie to her if only to protect Craig, but found he couldn’t, not with her enormous gray eyes watching him.

“Craig Lawton.”

She frowned. “The guy from the club earlier this evening. He’s some kind of computer whiz, isn’t he?”

Damek nodded. “Yes, he uses his skills to help us keep abreast of our enemies.”

The limo stopped and Damek could hear the thick metal door rolling up. “Where are we?” she asked.

“Home,” he replied. “We are at my home.” He still wasn’t completely sure why he’d brought her here other than the fact he knew he wouldn’t rest unless he knew she was safe, and he didn’t trust anyone else to guard her but him.

The limo glided forward into the underground garage and came to a halt in front of his private elevator. Damek opened the door and slid out before his driver could come around. He reached in and helped Sonia out of the car, dragging her bag out behind her. He closed the door with a thunk of finality.

“That’s all for tonight, Jerome. Call it a night.”

“Yes, sir. Have a good evening.” His driver slid back into the driver’s seat and the limo headed back to the gate. Damek placed his palm over the sensor on the elevator.

“Wow. That’s high-tech.”

Sonia stood beside him, shivering in spite of the fact she was wearing a sweater and had his coat draped over her shoulders. He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her into the elevator when the door soundlessly slid open.

“It responds only to me.” The elevator went up until it hit the top floor, the penthouse. The door slid open to a foyer. Damek ushered her across the marble-tile floor to his elaborately carved front door. Once again, he placed his hand on another sensor. Three locks clicked open.

Once they were inside, he turned his security system on. It didn’t go to an outside source, but would take evasive action against intruders and would alert him if anyone tried to get into the elevator or his apartment.

“Welcome to my home.”

Sonia could only stare in wonder at the large expanse of hardwood floor that spread out before her. A tasteful leather sectional sofa sat in front of a gas fireplace, an antique chest of drawers sat just beside the door and the windows on the far end had a glorious view of the city skyline. It reeked of money, and her entire apartment back in New York would fit in his living room.

Damek urged her inward and she paused. “Shouldn’t we take our shoes off?” It seemed a shame to walk on such pristine floors.

“This is my home, Sonia. You can do whatever you wish here.” The sincerity of his words hit her hard. This was where Damek lived when he wasn’t working. This truly was his home.

She toed off her shoes and padded inward, very aware of him hovering behind her. He was so close to her she could feel the brush of his chest against her back. She might not be at her best, but there was nothing wrong with her hormones, and they were all clamoring for her to get closer to Damek.

A long bar area was situated off to the right beyond the sitting area, a rather large dining table sat in solitary splendor on an antique Persian rug that probably cost more than a year’s salary for her, and off to the left were acres of granite countertops and a kitchen that boasted beautiful stainless-steel appliances.

“I need to check your arm.” Before she could protest, he guided her down a short hallway, past a bathroom and two closed doors to an open door at the end. She stumbled to a halt just inside the door. This was his bedroom.

The bed was a huge four-poster that sat high off the floor and came complete with a set of two steps, which were necessary to climb up onto it. The headboard was intricately carved and obviously very old. A huge armoire was opposite the bed and bedside tables flanked both sides of the bed. The light from what looked to be a genuine Tiffany lamp shone on the wall beside the bedside table and onto the bed beside it. The comforters were black and the sheets were crisp white.

She could smell him here, the light scent of the masculine soap he used. There was a book, the only thing of a personal nature, sitting on the nightstand and she wondered what it was. There was no clothing lying around, nothing out of place. She wanted to explore, wanted to know everything about him, to understand this complex man.

“Come.” Damek tossed her suitcase on top of an oriental-style chest that sat at the end of the giant bed, drew his coat away from her shoulders, pried her purse away from her fingers and set both alongside her luggage.

Given the opulence of what she’d seen so far, she should have been prepared for what came next, but nothing could have prepared her for his bathroom. He flicked the light on and she gasped. “This is incredible.”

Black marble tiles covered the floor and climbed up the walls all the way to the ceiling. A tub, big enough to fit four, sat in one corner of the room and a shower stall that could easily fit two was just beyond. A six-foot vanity counter held two sinks and had a gold-leafed mirror above it.

Damek put his hands on her waist, lifted her as though she weighed nothing at all and set her on the counter. The marble countertop was cool beneath her hands as she steadied herself.

“Let’s get this off you.” He eased her sweater off, making sure not to hit her injured arm. Now that she was paying attention to it, the wound started to throb. Sonia bit her lower lip to keep from moaning as Damek unwound the towel. It was stained with her blood and the realization made her feel woozy.

“How bad is it?” She shivered as the memory of the blade slicing through her skin came back full force. It was still hard to wrap her mind around the fact that someone wanted to kill her, and not because she’d done anything bad to him, but simply for what she might know.

“Not too bad. Your coat and sweater likely gave you some protection.”

But not enough. The four-inch gash was still seeping blood and that couldn’t be a good thing, not with Damek being a vampire.

As if he heard her thoughts, his head jerked up and he gave her a ferocious frown. “I can control myself. You have nothing to fear from me.”

She nodded, not knowing what else to say. The man had been angry with her and yet he’d come back and rescued her from her attacker and from possible death. She didn’t think the vampire hunters would have let her walk away from that encounter. They protected themselves at all costs.

Damek was busy pulling out antiseptic and bandages from a drawer in the vanity. He set them all on the counter and went to work cleaning her wound. He filled the sink with warm water, grabbed a sinfully thick white facecloth and wiped away the dried blood from around the knife slash.

Better for her to talk to take her mind off of what he was doing. “Why did you come back? I thought you were mad at me.” Truthfully, she hadn’t thought she’d ever see him again and had feared he’d do something drastic to keep his secrets safe. And that was before she’d known the extent of his powers.

No, scrap that. She didn’t think she had any inkling of the true scope of Damek’s power. He had layers that she didn’t think he’d every shown to anyone. He could potentially be the most dangerous creature on the face of the planet or at least in the country.

“I had a feeling.”

She waited for him to elaborate and realized a few seconds later that he wasn’t going to. That was all she was getting from him. The researcher in her wanted to know what sort of feeling it was and why he’d gotten it about her. They weren’t connected beyond the very powerful sexual vibes flowing between them.

“This will hurt,” he warned before he poured some liquid antiseptic over the wound. Sonia hissed as pain shot up her arm and through her body. It was acute at first but tapered off to a low throb that made her stomach slightly sick. She knew it had to be done, but that didn’t make it any easier.

“I’m sorry.” Damek frowned and began to pull the skin tight with butterfly bandages.

“Do you think it needs stitches?” From where she was sitting, it looked bad enough for that.

He paused and shook his head. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to go to a hospital. Knowing the vampire hunters are out there, it’s not a stretch to think they’d be watching local emergency rooms and clinics for vampires. Many young ones who don’t want to kill go there to steal blood.”

She hadn’t thought about that but it made perfect sense. There was always a ready supply of blood at a hospital and a smart vampire could easily access it with little problem.

He hesitated, then reached for another bandage. Sonia put her hand on his to stop him. “What is it?”

He raised his head, his eyes as black as the tile on the walls. Midnight seduction, mysteries and the knowledge of the ages stared back at her. “I could help you.”

“How?” Her curiosity was piqued now. He was offering her another glimpse at the extent of his powers.

“I have a healing agent in my saliva.”

Of course he did. She knew that much about vampires. They could heal their donors after drawing blood by licking the wound. It was one way in which they could help keep themselves safe from detection by humans. But it took a strong vampire not to take too much and kill the donor.

How did she feel about Damek tasting her blood? Her core began to pulse and her nipples tightened. Okay then. Her body was obviously on board with the idea, but how did she feel about it?

Surprisingly, the idea didn’t freak her out as much as it should have, especially not with blood still seeping out from around the bandages. She probably did need stitches, in spite of Damek’s assessment. But most of all, she trusted him to protect her, even from himself.

“Okay.”

He moved in front of her, capturing her face between his hands. “Are you sure?” She could easily read his uncertainty and wondered about it. Was he uncertain if he could control himself? She didn’t think so. He was the most self-contained paranormal creature she’d ever met.

“Yes. Are you?” she countered.

He sighed and dropped his head forward until his silky hair brushed over her shoulder. “I am afraid I will not stop with just a sip.” He raised his head and his eyes were glowing, a red tinge circling the darkness.

“I trust you.” And she did. If it were up to her, she’d tell Damek everything he wanted to know about her family and The Keepers, but it wasn’t her secret to tell. But with her life and her secrets, she trusted him implicitly. Call her crazy, but there it was. There was something about Damek that spoke to the dark depths of her soul and reassured her that she could trust him with her life.

Damek slowly peeled away the few bandages he’d already applied, wet the facecloth and carefully rubbed it over her arm. Blood seeped slowly from the wound and a bead trickled down her arm. He tossed the cloth aside and lifted her arm, slowly lowering his face to the injured area.

“Sonia?”

She understood the question and nodded. “It’s okay.” She cupped the back of his head with her free hand and drew him down to where blood dripped down her arm.

Damek inhaled the sweet, rich scent of Sonia’s blood and his fangs punched out of his gums, elongating and aching to sink into her silky flesh. But that wasn’t going to happen. This wasn’t about him feeding but about healing her, using the power in his body to ease her injury and make her well.

Her hand on the back of his head guided him closer. He closed his eyes and touched his tongue to the trail of blood dribbling down her arm. The injury was an abomination, one he was about to make disappear.

The first drop of her blood zinged through his body like a mind-altering drug. The next drop hit him with the force of a tsunami. He dragged his tongue slowly up to the gash and over it, drawing every drop of her precious blood into his mouth. Oh, it was sweet and spicy and tasted unlike any blood he’d ever sampled.

His cock shot to attention, hard as a spike and ready. He wanted to sweep her into his arms, carry her to his bed and take her again and again until his lust for her was sated. That, he feared, would take a very, very long time. Truthfully, he didn’t think his desire for her would ever be slaked.

He could hear her heart fluttering and her pulse pounding, both with fear and longing. He trailed his tongue back down the knife wound, making certain it was sealed and healing. Within a day, the scar would fade and there would be no physical memory of this night. Her skin would be flawless once again.

With that in mind, he glided his tongue over her shoulder up to her neck where the scratch from the knife-edge was puckered and red. His teeth grazed her skin and she moaned, her fingers clutching at his head, pulling him closer.

He knew the seduction of the vampire, the pheromones he was secreting that allowed all vampires to draw prey to them without resistance. Even without mind control, he could make her want him, make her want to follow the heat filling her until it took them down into a sea of passion. But he wouldn’t. He’d promised her he would do nothing but heal her, and he’d given his word.

This had to be hell, punishment for every wrong he’d ever committed in the long centuries of his life. To have Sonia so close but to be unable to take her was the punishment of the damned.

He forced himself to trace the scrape on her neck, ignoring the flutter of her pulse and the way the lavender silk and lace encased her truly exceptional breasts. No, he shouldn’t notice the way her nipples pebbled against the fragile fabric, but he did. He shouldn’t acknowledge the musky scent of arousal wafting up from her sex, but it was impossible not to.

He pulled away, bracing his hands on the edge of the cold marble counter, letting the flavor of her blood slide down his throat and into his body. He paused and licked his lips. There was something different about her blood, something not quite right.

He wanted more, wanted to discover what it was about it that bothered him.

“Damek.”

He swallowed hard and raised his head, unable to keep his desire for her secret. His cock pressed against the zipper of his pants, his biceps strained against the sleeves of his shirt. His eyes were tinged with lust and his fangs were prominently displayed.

“Thank you.” Sonia moved her arm, turning it one way and then another. “It’s stopped bleeding and barely hurts at all.”

“Even the scar will be gone within a day or so,” he told her. He didn’t want her to worry about having a permanent reminder of the attack.

“Really? That’s amazing.”

She reached for him but he pulled back. “Don’t.”

Sonia frowned at him, concern filling her gaze. “Why not?”

He pushed away from the counter and took a step back when all he wanted to do was yank her into his arms. The power he’d expended early this evening with the vampire hunter left him vulnerable to Sonia, weakening his resolve. It would be so easy to rip away her clothing, drive himself into her moist heat and sink his fangs into her slender neck, tasting her blood, taking all he needed to replenish himself.

But he wouldn’t. He had bags of blood out in the refrigerator and that cold, almost lifeless substitute would have to do. The beast inside him raged even as the man clamped down on him, chaining the animal roaring inside him.

“It’s not safe for you.”

“I don’t understand.” She frowned at him and he longed to rub his finger over the lines between her brows, to soothe away her concerns, even as lust goaded him to act, to take, to claim what was his.

His temper tipped over the edge. How could she be so obtuse? Couldn’t she see how much she was torturing him?

“What’s not to understand?” He grabbed her hand and pressed it against his rather large erection. “I want you and you want me. It’s a byproduct of my tasting your blood, nothing more.”

He was such a liar. It was so much more, at least to him. Secrets and all, he wanted Sonia until it was a madness within his body, his very soul. He should wipe her memories and send her away for both their sakes. Nothing could come of their being together but heartache and danger. He wanted neither for her.

He wanted Sonia safe and happy.

He’d wanted the same for Elizabetta all those years ago, but what he’d felt for her was nothing compared to the emotions slamming him now. Sonia could be his downfall if he allowed himself to get any closer. She was already a weakness that could be used against him.

It went against the centuries-old code he’d lived by to allow a weakness into his life. Whatever you valued could be taken from you and, given enough time, the hunters always found the weak spot.

“You should go.” It was the best thing for both of them even if it did feel as though he was cutting out his heart.

Sonia eased off the counter and put her hand on his chest over the place where his heart still rested. She probably wouldn’t feel it beat. It beat only when he was aroused or after he’d fed, as his system redistributed the blood he needed to survive. But even then, it was faint, the pulses spaced far apart. His heart could go hours or days without beating at all. It didn’t matter to his everyday existence if it beat or not. To her it would seem as though the organ was useless. Dead. Like him.

Sonia shook her head. “No, it’s not just because you tasted my blood. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I laid eyes on you in your club. No, that’s not quite true.” She gave him a smile that was tinged with sadness and deep understanding. “I wanted you from the moment I saw your grainy picture in that paper even though I couldn’t really make out much more than your body shape. I wanted you before I knew who and what you were.”

“And now? Now that you know exactly what I am?” Every muscle in his body tensed, waiting for her reply. She had no idea of the peril she was in. If he took her, he knew in his black soul he’d never let her go.

She slid her hand up to cup his cheek and took a step closer. Her silk-covered breasts brushed his chest in a teasing caress that made his erection flex to get closer to her heat.

“Now, I want you more.”

Chapter Eleven

Sonia knew she was playing with fire, but she didn’t care. She’d almost died tonight, would have if Damek hadn’t rescued her from her attacker. Maybe it was stupid of her even to contemplate having sex with a vampire. She had no idea what that meant to them, if they had sex all the time or if it was special. But she didn’t care. She’d told him the truth. She’d wanted him from the moment she’d seen the blurred picture of him and learned his name.

He was here, in front of her, and he obviously wanted her, if the erection pressing against her belly was any indication. Would he want to bite her during sex? Take her blood?

She had no idea, but found the idea more of a turn-on than a deterrent.

Damek stared down at her with red flames of desire flickering in his dark eyes. He seemed so alone, so separate from the world. She wanted to grab on to him and anchor him to her, assure him that she wouldn’t leave him.

Which was a lie. She was human and he was vampire. Even with the slight paranormal kick in her blood she’d live only a human lifetime, albeit a long, healthy one if history was any indication.

But none of that mattered. Not now. Not when she had her hand on his face and his chest against hers. He was fully clothed, but not for long if she had her way. She wanted to feel his flesh against hers, to taste the salt of his skin and hear the moans and cries of passion as they made love.

“Sonia.” His voice was a raspy whisper, filled with such longing that it almost brought her to her knees.

“Take me.” She leaned in and brushed her lips against his. “Love me.”

He groaned and covered her lips with his. One of his hands cupped the back of her head, holding her to him, while the other pressed against her butt, lifting her closer to his erection. Her breasts pressed against his rock-hard chest and his hard shaft prodded her belly.

She wound her arms around his neck and gave him everything, holding nothing back from a kiss that seemed to go on forever. His tongue twined with hers, rubbing and stroking. He angled his face and deepened the kiss, consuming her, stealing the breath from her body. He tasted faintly of the blood he’d licked from her wounds. She knew such a thing should appall her, but she liked the dark, salty taste. It added to the intimacy of the moment, a true sharing between them.

Sonia didn’t know what tomorrow would bring and she didn’t care. This was madness but it didn’t matter. Nothing did. Only touching Damek, feeling his body against hers, tasting his lips and swallowing his groan of pleasure.

Her feet left the ground as he lifted her easily and walked back to the bedroom. He broke the torrid kiss when her feet touched the floor once again. Her eyelids fluttered open and she smiled at him. He was large and dark and extremely aroused. Sheer unadulterated strength emanated from him, but she wasn’t the least bit frightened. It fired her lust to have such a man wanting her. It made her feel as though she had power of her own, the feminine kind that she’d never really experience before.

Damek groaned and went to his knees in front of her, wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face against her stomach. She stroked his hair, enraptured by the silky slide of the strands between her fingers.

The metallic rasp of her zipper was loud in the room as Damek lowered it. His hands were cool as they slid beneath the denim and shoved it down. “Step out.” She used his shoulders for balance as she stepped out of her jeans one leg at a time. He took her socks off at the same time, leaving her clad only in her lavender underwear set.

“Gorgeous.” He circled her ankles with his hands and slowly slid them upward over her calves and knees, onward to her thighs. Sonia sucked in a breath when he reached the leg bands of her panties. His thumbs played over the stretchy lace, masculine strength against blatant femininity. “So delicate.” He leaned inward and she felt his cool breath on her skin and then his lips touched her through the thin fabric.

It took everything she had to stay on her feet when all she wanted to do was melt into a puddle at his feet. His every touch, every breath was pure seduction, and she wanted more. She wanted everything he had to give her.

His fangs grazed her hipbone, not breaking the skin, but reminding just how dangerous this man was. Sonia shivered with excitement as he caught the band of her panties with his teeth and pulled them down her thighs. They fell to her ankles and she stepped out.

A low growl came from deep in his throat. “I can smell your heat, your arousal.” He buried his face in the curls at the apex of her thighs and inhaled. “Sweet and spicy.” He parted her folds and licked. “Warm and addictive.”

Oh God, she wasn’t going to make it to the bed. She was going to come right here. It wouldn’t take much to push her over the edge. She was teetering there already. “Damek.”

He surged to his feet and kissed her again, dragging a low moan of pleasure from deep within her. She felt drunk with it, floating on a wave of seduction she never wanted to end. Her breasts ached so she rubbed them against his chest, but that wasn’t enough, didn’t satisfy the endless need growing within her.

She grabbed the edges of his shirt and tugged. Hard. Buttons flew and fabric ripped. Damek broke their kiss and laughed. The sound seeped into her, settling into her very cells, and she hugged it to her. She had the feeling he didn’t laugh often. With his head thrown back and his lips parted, she caught the gleam of his sharp, white fangs. His hair flowed over his powerful shoulders.

Sonia shoved at his ruined shirt and he let her push it down his muscular arms and off. It was a shame to hide any of him under clothing. The tailoring disguised a well-developed frame, making him seem more slender than strong. But it was all whipcord lean muscle, and she ran her hands over his rock-solid biceps, up to the broad width of his shoulders and the thick cords of his neck.

She leaned in and licked his flesh before gently biting the sensitive curve where his shoulder met his neck. Damek groaned and yanked at the straps of her bra that she’d forgotten she was still wearing.

It didn’t take him long to undo the hooks and ease the last garment of clothing down her arms and off. Naked before him, she shivered.

“You are so beautiful, even more so than you were in your dream.”

Sonia froze at his words, a feeling of unease sliding through her. “What do you know about my dream?”

Damek shrugged as he picked her up, climbed the two steps by the side of the massive bed and tossed her lightly onto the mattress. “I know you were dreaming about a man.” He frowned as he stripped off his shoes, pants and socks and lowered himself onto the bed beside her. “And I wanted that man to be me.”

He leaned down to kiss her, but she stopped him. “Wait. What do you mean, you wanted him to be you?” Had he somehow manipulated her dream? There was no denying it was the most powerful erotic dream she’d ever had, but it made her uncomfortable to think of him influencing her while she was sleeping.

Once again, she was struck by the enormity of Damek’s power.

The only light in the room came from the Tiffany lamp and it pooled around them like jeweled candlelight, illuminating his eyes, dark with passion and wariness. “I slid into your dream and gave you what you wanted, what you needed.” He cupped one of her breasts and rubbed his thumb over the puckered nipple. “What I needed.”

He’d put himself in her dream, touching her, bringing her to orgasm. And he’d done it on purpose. Before she could think about the implications of that, he lowered his head and took the ripe nipple into his mouth. He trailed his tongue over it, flicking it several times before sucking.

Heat zinged from her breast to her core and back again, and she grabbed his head, sinking her fingers into his hair to hold him there. This was better than any dream. This was Damek.

His erection pressed heavily against her and she wanted to see what she’d only felt until now. Dreams didn’t count. No matter how real they might feel, they were still only a fantasy. This was the real deal.

She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed. He released her but was obviously reluctant to do so. “I want to touch you, to see you.”

He studied her for a moment, brushed a curly lock of hair away from her eyes and nodded. “Whatever you need.” He rolled onto his back, stacked his hands behind his head and lay there, totally comfortable with his nudity.

Sonia sucked in a breath as she came up onto her knees and looked down at him. Had she ever seen a more perfect male specimen? She didn’t think so, and she’d seen a lot of different men during her travels around the world. She’d been in museums and had seen ancient statues depicting the perfect male form. But none of those men, living or dead, compared to Damek.

His body was perfection. Not muscle-bound, but incredibly strong. His arms and thighs were ripped, his abs the perfect six-pack. Wide shoulders narrowed down to a trim waist and hips, but it was his erection reaching toward his bellybutton that arrested her attention.

She licked her lips, drawing a groan from deep within him. Her gaze flickered to his face and she wasn’t surprised to see that his eyes were alive and glowing with unsated lust and hunger.

“Touch me,” he commanded.

Sonia reached out and tentatively laid her fingers on his thick erection. The skin was warm and smooth, but what was underneath was hard and pulsing with life. She trailed her fingers from the base to the tip and back again, letting her nails lightly graze the sensitive organ. Her hand slid lower and she cupped his heavy sac in her palm, carefully rolling his testicles.

A loud growl broke from his lips, startling her. He was panting hard, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took. He was watching her like a hawk watches a rabbit before it swoops, and she knew he wouldn’t let her have her way much longer. She decided she might as well make good use of the time she did have.

She lay on her side, gripped his erection in her hand and lowered her head toward the dark-hued tip. He stilled and seemed to stop breathing when her tongue touched the broad head. He tasted salty, and she lapped at the slit in the top of his cock before taking the head into her mouth.

His muscles tensed and practically vibrated with barely suppressed passion. She knew that it was taking all his control to keep from pouncing on her. It was heady stuff to have this much power contained beneath her touch. She stroked her hand up and down his rigid shaft as she continued to tease him with her tongue and teeth.

Damek suddenly moved so fast he was nothing but a blur. In the blink of an eye, Sonia found herself flat on her back with him hovering above her. He knelt between her spread thighs, his gaze on her breasts. They’d always been a little on the large side and she hadn’t really liked that until now, but she certainly enjoyed the way Damek was looking at her.

She cupped her breasts in her hands, plumping the mounds up before she smiled up at him. “Like what you see?”

His fangs flashed as he lowered his head and took one tight nub into his mouth and sucked hard. Sonia cried out, her hips tilting upward, seeking his hardness. His teeth grazed her nipple and the surrounding flesh and, for a moment, she thought he might bite her right there and drink from her.

She was radiating heat from the inside out, her entire body gleaming with a light sheen of perspiration. She clutched at his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin, needing something to anchor her in this sensual storm. He released her breast and kissed and licked his way down her slender torso, skimming her curves and teasing her bellybutton with his tongue.

She was restless now, her sex pulsing and aching. Empty. “Damek. I want you.”

“Not yet.” He lightly scraped his fangs over one of her hipbones before settling between her spread thighs. There was no lead-up this time. He plunged his tongue inside her and she cried out at the intimate touch. She put her feet flat on the bed so she could push her hips upward and get more of his erotic touch.

He laughed again, low and wicked, as he licked at her slick folds. He nuzzled her clit before capturing it between his lips and sucking, his tongue teasing the sensitive nub of nerves. Her entire body sizzled and pulsed with an almost insatiable need that she feared only he could sate. He was relentless, driving her up and up. Pushing her to the limits until she had no choice but to go over the edge.

“Damek,” she cried out his name, her hands clutching the sheets beside her as her orgasm swamped her, taking her under. Her thighs quivered and her sex clutched at nothing but air. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. It was intense but it wasn’t enough. “Damek,” she cried again and reached for him.

Damek felt like a king, a god, when Sonia cried out his name. Her skin was flushed and damp beneath him, her musky sweet taste lingered on his lips and tongue. Her pulse raced and her heart pumped a seductive rhythm, urging him to take her, to taste her, to feed.

He braced his fisted hands on the bed, bearing down so hard he knew he was close to shattering the bones in his fingers. He sucked in several deep breaths, never taking his eyes off Sonia. Her black curls were spread across his snowy-white pillowcase, her lean torso quivered, making her rather impressive breasts sway with each breath she took. Her nipples were damp and rosy red from the attention he’d given them.

She said his name again, but there was an ache in her tone, an unfulfilled need. When two solitary tears slid from the corners of her eyes, Damek felt his world shatter.

“What is it, my sweet? What do you need?” He would give her anything if she would stop crying.

“You.” She tried to pull him on top of her. “I need you.”

Had he ever heard any words so sweet? If he had they were lost in the mists of time. He captured this moment in his mind, knowing he would cherish it for the rest of his days. This was one memory that would never fade, no matter how much time passed.

He caught her hips in his hands and angled his body so the head of his cock was pressed against her slick opening. “Are you sure?” There would be no going back for either of them if they took this next step, no pretending that their attraction to each other wasn’t something extremely special.

“Yes.” Her gray eyes were steady and filled with such longing he could not deny her. He slid into her silken core, not stopping until she’d taken all of him. He closed his eyes, savoring the clutch of her inner muscles as they gripped his cock, massaging it rhythmically until he thought it would explode. His balls were pressed tight to her body, swollen and heavy.

He felt truly alive for the first time in centuries. Power flowed through him and over him, creating an electrically charged breeze around them and making all the fine hair on his body stand on end.

He stared down at Sonia and knew he would never let her go. She stimulated him on every level—physically, intellectually and emotionally. She was his and he would slay anyone who tried to take her from him.

Holding her hips in his hands, he leaned back slightly, letting his erection slide almost all the way out before driving it home. Sonia whimpered, but it was a sound filled with pleasure, not pain, so he did it again.

She linked her legs around his waist, desperately trying to pull him closer. Even though he wasn’t trying to read her thoughts, some of them spilled outward and he captured them easily. He could feel what she was experiencing—the craving for him, the unsatisfied lust pounding within her. It matched the dark hunger pulsing within him that threatened to obliterate any semblance of restraint.

He unhooked her legs from his waist and spread her thighs wide, holding them apart with his hands. He was in total control.

Gritting his teeth against the growing pleasure, he started slowly, his strokes long and slow. Before long they got faster and shorter until he was powering into her, pounding hard and deep. Her hands clutched the sheets and he heard a rip. He continued to fuck her hard and fast and her hot sheath sucked him in each time, accepting him, wanting him.

He felt the hot clasp of her sex around his cock, heard her long wail of pleasure as she came. Hot warmth engulfed his shaft and his own orgasm took him. He called her name as he leaned down and buried his face in her neck. His teeth were on her skin before he realized what he was doing.

He started to pull back, but she clasped the back of his head, holding him to her with surprising strength. “Drink from me.” Her whisper might as well as been a shout. It echoed through his brain, vibrated through every cell of his body and the primal part of him took over.

Sonia was his and he would claim her. He eased his teeth into her soft flesh, making sure not to tear it or hurt her. She cried out, her fingers digging into his scalp. The hot spurt of blood filled his mouth and slid down his throat, better than the finest of wines. Her blood was exquisite and it filled his parched cells, nourishing them, strengthening him.

But it was more than that.

His cock was still pulsing inside her pussy, drawing out both their orgasms, when he felt her spasm again as a result of his feeding. It was a sensual pleasure for both of them, and when done during sex pushed it to a whole new level. It wasn’t something he’d done often in his lifetime, as it was too easy to get lost in the bloodlust.

His scalp stung slightly as she tugged harder on his hair. She arched her hips wildly into his and tilted her head back, giving him total access to her in whatever way he wanted. Even for a creature as powerful as him it was a heady moment.

This was Sonia, the woman he wanted more than he’d ever wanted another.

He drank his fill, all the while trying to sort out what was different about her blood, when it suddenly hit him with the force of a sledgehammer. Sonia wasn’t quite human. There was a touch of something in her blood. He took another swallow and knowledge slid into his brain.

Sonia’s mind and body were lost in a haze of pleasure, as though she were floating on a soft, fluffy cloud of endless sexual satisfaction. Damek filled her world, his cock powering in and out of her pussy, filling her in a way she’d never been before. He suckled at her neck, drinking her blood, and the sensual pull pushed her into another orgasm.

She would give him everything he needed. Whatever he wanted. She tilted her head back, wanting him to know she was freely giving herself to him. Her entire body quivered and shook as yet another orgasm slammed into her.

Sonia cried out and started to slip away into unconsciousness when she felt him remove his fangs and smooth his tongue over the tiny pinpricks, closing them. The loss was almost more than she could bear and she cried out, urging him back to her.

“Shh, my sweet,” he crooned. He eased over onto his back, keeping their bodies joined as he did so. She snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. His cock still pulsed within her, sending the occasional shiver of pleasure through her. She wanted to climb inside him and stay with him always.

Tiny alarm bells went off deep in her brain, telling her there was something wrong here, but she ignored them. She’d been sensible her entire life and would be again tomorrow, but not now. Now was the time for pleasure, for dark sensual fulfillment unlike anything she’d ever even imagined.

Damek stroked his hand over her rump and up the length of her spine and back down again. She moved sinuously, arching into his touch and rubbing her breasts over his strong, smooth chest. His erection flexed inside her.

He eased her up and down his cock in an unhurried rhythm, moving no more than an inch or two each time. It was slow and effortless and she lost herself in it. Her nipples were puckered and tender and she used his chest to stimulate them even more, rubbing herself against him as the heat grew in her sex.

She nipped at his collarbone and neck, wishing she could bite him. His hips surged upward, driving his cock deeper, drawing another moan from her overstimulated body. He grazed his fangs over her neck and she came again, her entire body shaking and quivering.

His fangs broke her skin and his cock jerked inside her. He swore under his breath as he removed his teeth and closed the small wounds without taking more than a sip.

Sonia let her head fall back to his shoulder and stared up at him. “Why did you stop?” Her words sounded slightly slurred, like she was drunk. And maybe she was, with passion.

“Because I’ve already taken too much.” He brushed his hand over her hair and kissed the top of her head.

She started to doze, content in the protective circle of his arms even when his erection slipped from within her.

“Sonia?”

“Hmm.” She didn’t want to talk, she wanted to snuggle and maybe sleep. It had to be close to dawn.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She frowned, trying to follow the conversation. All the men she’d ever known wanted to sleep after sex, but not her vampire. He wanted to talk. “Tell you what?” She yawned and cuddled closer.

“That you are part werewolf.”

Luther Kostas followed the vampire from a distance. It was easy considering the bastard was riding around in a fancy limo. When he saw where the driver dropped them off, he circled back around to the hotel to see what, if anything, was left of Barnes.

He took out his phone and dialed a number only he knew. “Aaron, I need you at this location.” Aaron Page was another vampire hunter, one with exceptional electronic skills and a passion for the hunt. Given enough time, there wasn’t a security system anywhere that he couldn’t bypass. He gave Aaron the address as he wound his way through the fairly light traffic. “Watch and information gathering only, for now. I have to check on Barnes and then we’ll make our plans.”

“I’m on it.” The line went dead and Luther was satisfied he had the situation under control.

He was right to have had his man wear a wire. He’d heard the struggle with Dr. Agostino and wished he were there with Barnes, interrogating her. Questioning a woman had an appeal all its own.

But years of hunting vampires had taught him patience, and it had paid off. The vampire had come to them, and from the sound of what had gone on inside that hotel room the bastard was a powerful one. Maybe the most ancient one Luther had ever gone up against.

And he knew Luther’s name. No matter. Luther had had many names in his lifetime, and as soon as this was over his Luther Kostas identity would cease to exist. He had no idea if vampires kept in contact with one another, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He’d clean up this mess, adopt a new identity and move on.

He parked his car and walked quickly down the sidewalk and into the hotel, keeping his head down and making eye contact with no one. The elevator moved swiftly and quietly to the right floor and, within seconds of stepping out into the empty hallway, he was standing outside Dr. Agostino’s hotel room.

Luther tried the door handle and wasn’t surprised to find it locked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of lock picks. Within seconds, he heard two clicks and turned the handle. He slipped into the room and shut the door behind him.

Barnes was sprawled out on the bed like some drunk after a bender. One area of the wall was damaged. Luther had heard the crash over the wire his man was wearing and knew it had to have hurt.

“Wake up.” He walked over to Barnes and nudged his foot.

Barnes’s eyes fluttered and he groaned. “What…what happened?” He licked his lips and struggled to sit up.

“You had a run in with a vampire.” Luther sat in the chair next to the bed, rested his elbows on the arms and contemplated his next move.

“No.” Barnes sat up and groaned, grabbing his rib cage. “I rented the room to check for clues because Dr. Agostino was already checked out.”

Luther took a small digital recorder out of his pocket and hit the play button. The entire event unfolded as they both sat there.

“Son of a fucking bitch.” Barnes was obviously not happy.

“I was right to have you wear a wire.” Luther watched Barnes through dispassionate eyes. “And you’re lucky he didn’t get that information from you or you’d be dead.”

Barnes rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Yeah.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “So what do we do now?”

Luther smiled. “I know where they are.”

He lowered his hands and a slow smile crossed Barnes’s face. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

“I thought you might be. We’ll hit at noon tomorrow when the bastard is asleep and won’t be able to use his power on us.” Every vampire he’d ever dealt with or read about was at the mercy of the sun’s power, dropping into a coma-like sleep during the height of the day. It certainly made their job much easier.

Barnes laughed and drew his knife. “He’ll pay for what he did to me. They both will.”

“You can kill the vampire, but I want to talk to Dr. Agostino before we put her out of her misery. She may have valuable information.” Luther stood and headed to the door. “Let’s get out of here.

Chapter Twelve

Sonia sat up in bed, all her sleepy satisfaction gone. Damek stared up at her, his black eyes unreadable. She grabbed at the covers and tried to pull some of them over her, but it was a lost cause with Damek lying on the bulk of them. She tried to roll away from him to find something to cover herself, but he wouldn’t let her. He caught her hand and pulled her back down beside him.

Propping himself up on one arm, he studied her. She tried to gauge his mood. He didn’t look angry, so much as curious and perplexed. She swallowed hard and licked her suddenly dry lips. “How? How did you know?”

“Blood does not lie. The taste of werewolf blood is very distinct and, while it is faint in your blood, it is there.”

“You can taste it?” Wow, that is some talent, she thought when he nodded. “Hey, how do you know what werewolf blood tastes like?” The thought of him drinking from some wolf chick’s neck sent a bolt of jealousy streaking through her.

He wrapped his fingers around one of her curls and tugged gently. “I have lived for centuries, my sweet. Over the years, I’ve tasted the blood of many different species.”

And that told her exactly nothing. She nibbled on her bottom lip but stopped when he groaned and rubbed his thumb over it, soothing where she’d worried it. “I think if we are going to talk you had better be covered up. You are too much of a temptation.”

He rose from the bed, his muscled body gleaming in the lamplight, and lifted her with one arm. He yanked down the covers and deposited her back on the mattress, climbed in beside her and pulled the sheet and thick down comforters over them.

She tried not to notice Damek was aroused even though they’d just had the most mind-blowing sex of her life. Her body was humming from the last orgasm, but she was more than ready to have sex again. When had she turned into a sex fiend? Damek certainly brought out the sensual side of her nature.

Damek settled back against a mound of pillows covered in crisp linen. He looked totally delectable and decadent lying there with his chest bare and tousled black hair flowing around his shoulders, like some ancient conqueror claiming the spoils of war. Which might not be too far off target. She didn’t know his history, but he didn’t strike her as a man who would have been a follower in his life. He was too sure, too arrogant by nature.

“What are you thinking, I wonder?” He reached for her, but she subtly pulled out of reach, knowing if he touched her talking would be the last thing on either of their minds. He frowned, his lips pressing together in a thin line. He wasn’t happy with her but let it go.

Sonia sat with her arms wrapped around her knees and was grateful to the comforter that was covering her from the chest down. “Could you find out for yourself?” The way he’d controlled the man in her hotel room had left her with more questions than answers.

“Yes, but that wouldn’t be polite.” His tone was clipped, his annoyance obvious. “Now back to my question. Why didn’t you tell me you were part werewolf?”

She shrugged. “It didn’t seem relevant.” She gazed around the room, peering into the shrouded shadows beyond the illumination of the bedside lamp. Anywhere but at Damek.

He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her face until she was looking at him. “You didn’t think it was relevant?”

She inwardly winced. He had every right to be skeptical of her motives. “Okay, how about I didn’t think it was any of your business.”

His eyes darkened and then began to glow, but with anger this time, not lust. “I see. It is perfectly fine for you to delve into my life to try to discover my secrets, but not all right for me to know yours.”

Put like that it wasn’t exactly fair. His fingers tightened on her face but stopped short of hurting her. He was always aware of his strength around her, not hesitating to use it in her defense, but never using it against her.

“I’m sorry.” And she really was. “But it wasn’t just my secret to tell.”

He nodded slowly. “Your family.”

“Oh crap. I was supposed to call them. They’re on their way to Chicago.” How had that little detail slipped her mind? Maybe because she’d had mind-blowing sex after being assaulted in her hotel room. It was a wonder she still remembered her own name, considering everything that had happened this evening.

“To rescue you from the big, bad vampire.”

That didn’t sound good. Sonia reached out and touched his hand. “They worry about me.”

He sighed and dropped his hand from her face. “Tell me about them.” It wasn’t a suggestion.

“I need to call them,” she reminded him.

Damek shook his head and waited for her to continue.

She’d find a way to contact her family later. Right now she had a surly vampire to placate. Sonia tucked the covers more securely under her arms as he made himself comfortable against the pillows.

“I’m one-quarter werewolf. Enough for me to have better-than-average senses and allow me to tap into extra strength at times of stress, but other than that, I’m completely human. I can’t shift or anything like that.”

Damek said nothing. He simply continued to watch her, unblinking and intent. It occurred to her that he could easily get what he wanted from her. For a creature as powerful as he seemed to be, he could probably get her to tell him everything, spill all her secrets. It had never occurred to her that he would do such a thing. In spite of the fact he was an ancient, powerful vampire, capable of crushing her with barely more than a thought, she trusted him.

It was time to go all the way.

“My father is also a quarter breed, but so is my mother. She’s an artist and creates the most amazing paintings. He’s an archaeologist, but he’s also a treasure hunter.”

Damek stroked his hand over her hair. “They sound…interesting.”

Sonia laughed as she pictured her flamboyant gypsy mother and her larger-than-life father. “They are that. My mother wears the most colorful clothes and looks more like my sister than my mother. My gorgeous older sister.” She’d always wished she was more like her mother, but she took after her more studious father.

“And your father?”

“Imagine Indiana Jones as a large Greek and you have my papa.” She paused and a thought occurred to her. “You do watch movies, don’t you?” Maybe vampires weren’t interested in such a human pastime.

A faint smile crossed Damek’s face. “I enjoy the movies very much and have an extensive collection. You might like to see it later.”

Sonia imagined the two of them curled up on his sofa watching a movie or two. How weird would it be to watch a vampire movie with him? “I would.”

“Do you have siblings?” he continued.

She nodded and smiled as she thought of her domineering older brothers. “Two brothers, both older and bossy. Stefano is a lawyer and Milo is in finance. They’re constantly telling me what I should be doing, but I love them anyway.”

“Is that all your family?”

She hesitated, but only for a moment. If anyone knew how to keep a secret it was Damek. “My grandfather, Roberto Agostino, is a half-breed werewolf. He’s my father’s father. My grandmother, Nicola Agostino, is a gypsy.”

“You are close.”

It wasn’t a question, but she answered it anyway. “Yes, we are. We all live in the same building in New York and we own a bakery that’s housed on the lower level. We eat good food, we argue and they try to run my life.”

“But you wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.”

Damek did his best not to be jealous of her family, but the unfamiliar emotion ate at his gut until it burned. He heard the echo of love in her voice and could easily envision the picture she created with her words. He envied her the family bonds she had. He’d been alone his entire life, even when he was a human. Over the years, he’d had a few friends, but no one who ever put him first above their own interests.

Even the Haven werewolf pack was friendly because of what he could do for them. He was under no illusions they wouldn’t turn on him in a minute if it came down to a choice between the pack and him. That was simply the way of the world, and especially so when it came to paranormal creatures. It was survival of the fittest at its most basic.

His employees were paid to be loyal, and he paid very well. Even then, he scanned their minds once a week to make sure none of them were a threat to him. It was the way he lived. The way he’d always lived.

“Damek?” Sonia shifted closer to him and placed her hand on his chest. His erection, which had started to subside, sprang to life again. “Is there anything wrong?”

He studied her with a critical eye. What was it about Sonia that made him want more, that made the life he’d meticulously built over long centuries seem somehow dull and lacking?

She was beautiful, in an understated way, with her tousled hair and her misty gray eyes. She was a little above average height but not overly tall. Her body was lean with slight curves and, with the exception of her breasts, was more fit than provocative.

But all she had to do was look at him and he burned with lust.

She rubbed her fingers against his skin and he placed his hand over hers, holding it over his heart. The only part of him that was currently pulsing with need was his cock, so he slid her hand down until it was touching him through the comforter. Her eyes widened and then half-closed, giving her a sultry appearance. It would be easy to take her again, but he needed answers first.

Reluctantly, he pulled her hand back to his chest. His erection jerked in protest, but he ignored it. He, more than most, knew he would not die if he didn’t have sex.

He could easily sense her surprise, than her apprehension. “Why did you come here?”

“Here, here?” She patted the bed with her free hand. “Or here to Chicago?”

“Chicago.” He needed to understand, needed to know everything in order to be able to trust her.

She shrugged. “What I told you at Haven was true. I stumbled across that article on you when I was researching what had happened in the city last year. I really don’t know why that article caught my attention when I was looking for something totally different. Fate, maybe. Chance.

“Not that it matters. From the moment I saw that really obscured picture of you I was fascinated and needed to know more. Then when I started researching, I began to think there was more to you than just being a shadowy nightclub owner.”

He shook his head at her convoluted reasoning, but sensed she was telling the truth. “You wanted to meet a vampire?”

She started to nod, but stopped. “Yes and no. I wanted to meet you. I won’t deny that I’ve always been fascinated with vampires, and The Keepers know so little about the species. But it was you who drew me here even when I thought I was being silly, when I had no proof of you being a vampire, only suspicions.”

It bothered him more than he wanted to admit that her attraction to him might be based on the fact he was a vampire and nothing more. His primal instincts urged him to claim her again and again until there was no doubt in her mind that it was him she wanted and not just some vampire.

Which was stupid. When it came down to it, he was a vampire. That was his primary identity. His human one was long since lost in the sands of time.

“Tell me more about The Keepers.”

The covers slipped when she shrugged, briefly exposing the top curve of her rather spectacular breasts. She quickly pulled it back into place. Damek briefly considered dragging the comforter away and exposing the bounty but knew that would mean the end of their conversation.

“Not much more to tell than Craig already did. It’s an ancient organization, about three hundred years old, that assists paranormal creatures living in the modern world, helping them hide in plain sight. These days that takes legal and financial know-how.”

“Which your family provides…for a fee.”

Sonia frowned at him. “It’s not like that. We work strictly on donation only and never turn away a paranormal creature as long as it’s a legitimate claim.”

“Legitimate?”

“We don’t help those that kill indiscriminately, only those who want to live in peace. We have to protect ourselves as well.”

That made sense but Damek still didn’t understand. “If you’re not making money off the proposition, why do you do it?”

“Because they need help.”

Sonia wanted to cry at the complete lack of understanding on Damek’s face. She could tell the concept of helping others simply because it was the right thing to do was a completely foreign concept to him. What kind of life had he lived?

Wanting to comfort him, she shifted closer and leaned against his shoulder. His arm came around her, immediately engulfing her in his protection. She curled her body closer and he hooked his arm beneath her legs and shifted her so she was on his lap. She liked her new position more than she wanted to admit.

She sensed he needed her more than he’d ever admit. “Tell me about your life.”

“What do you want to know?” That he wasn’t clamming up and saying no to her was a step in the right direction in their relationship. That brought her up solid. They didn’t have a relationship, not a real one. He was an immortal vampire and she was a human with a little shot of werewolf in her veins. They made Romeo and Juliet look like a feel-good love story. Any relationship they had could only end in tragedy.

“Sonia?” He stroked her hair and leaned down to press his lips against her forehead. “Are you tired? You should rest after your ordeal and after—”

“Your taking blood from me,” she finished.

He gave a jerky nod.

“No, I’m okay. Really.” She was thirsty, but that could wait.

“Juice,” he continued as though she hadn’t even spoken. “You should have some orange juice.” He reached out his hand and a second later his phone appeared in the air and floated to his hand.

“Wow, that’s some trick. How did you do that?”

Damek laughed, exposing a flash of fang. “It’s a little talent.” He hit several buttons and moments later someone answered on the other end. “I need orange juice.” He paused and glanced at her. “And bread and whatever else you think might feed someone for a few days.” He ended the call and tossed the phone onto the bedside table. “It won’t take long.”

“You have someone on call in the middle of the night.” She wasn’t sure what time it was, but it was definitely late.

“For what I pay them, yes, they are on call twenty-four/seven.”

There was a new stiffness to his attitude and Sonia wanted it gone, wanted the easy conversation of only moments before. She wanted him to laugh again. Although she couldn’t know for sure, she sensed there had been far too little laughter in his life.

“So, tell me about your life when you were still human.” If anything, he stiffened even more, his muscles becoming like iron beneath her. “If you want to,” she added. Maybe they should forget talking. They did better when they concentrated solely on their physical attraction.

That depressed her. She’d had intellectual connection with her old boyfriends but never the fireworks in the bedroom. Now she had the fireworks with no connection. She wanted it all, and she wanted it with Damek.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Their time together was finite and she knew that. Better to take advantage of what was working between them. She’d be gone soon enough and she’d never have a man in her bed like Damek again, because he wasn’t a man. He was much more.

“I was born more than a thousand years ago in what is now the Middle East. It was a small town, not of much interest to anyone but those of us who lived there.”

Just the thought of the things he must have seen in his lifetime was enough to blow her mind. As an academic, it was like discovering a lost city or an unknown language. She could get information from the source. He was much older than even her grandfather, who was one of the oldest people she’d ever known. Roberto Agostino was a half-breed werewolf who’d lived for three and a half centuries, but Damek was truly ancient.

She rubbed her hand over his chest and the muscles beneath her palm jumped and flexed. “What was your daily life like?”

“I fished, did some farming.”

It was hard to imagine this man as a farmer or fisherman. He seemed to be right at home in the big city running a nightclub, not the outdoorsy type at all.

“Were you married?” She had to ask even though she knew she was better off not knowing. What if he still loved his wife? Not that it mattered. What they had was a modern relationship, purely physical. Yet her heart ached at the thought of Damek pining all those years for another woman.

“No, I wasn’t married.” He ran his fingers through her hair, comforting her without even knowing it. “I had three brothers who all had wives and children but, for some reason, I never found a woman I wanted to commit to.”

Seems even ancient men had commitment issues. Sonia was disappointed with Damek even though she was glad he hadn’t had to watch his wife and children die. Bad enough he had to watch his family age and pass away.

“What happened?” How had he become a vampire? The curiosity was eating at her.

“It is a long story,” he began, but a bell chimed from out in the apartment. “Ah, the delivery is here.” He eased out of bed, grabbed his pants and slid them on before padding out of the room.

Sonia blinked when she realized she was still staring at the space where his bare butt had been only moments ago. The man certainly looked spectacular naked. She wished he’d finished his story, but supposed it didn’t really matter. He was a vampire and nothing could change that fact.

She glanced away and her gaze landed on his cell phone where it sat on the bedside table. In his haste to get to the door, he’d forgotten it. She only hesitated a moment before she leaned over and grabbed it. He hadn’t exactly told her she couldn’t call anyone, and her family would worry.

It only took a few seconds to dial the number and she pushed aside her guilt. She wasn’t betraying him. She was simply putting her family’s mind at ease. “Come on,” she muttered as it rang for the second time. She wanted this call over with just in case Damek had some objections.

“Hello.” The gruff voice on the other end made her breathe a sigh of relief.

“Papa, where are you?”

“Where are you? It’s Sonia,” she heard him tell whoever was with him. “Are you all right?”

“Listen, there was an issue with a vampire hunter at my hotel room, but I’m fine,” she hurriedly reassured him. “Don’t go there.”

“Where are you?”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’m somewhere safe.”

“Sonia Maria Agostino.” She winced when he said all three of her names. That was never a good sign.

Her mother’s voice echoed in the background. She wasn’t surprised that her mother had come to Chicago with her father and brothers. “Give me the phone, Vincenzo.” There were a few heated words in Greek and then her mother was on the line. Not that there’d been any doubt in Sonia’s mind as to who would win that particular battle of wills. “You are with him, the vampire.”

Sonia wasn’t surprised her mother knew. Her mother always seemed to know things she shouldn’t. Her grandmother was the same, and Sonia wished she had their well-developed sense of intuition. Hers was more vague, a sense of knowing, rather than anything specific.

“Where are you? Sonia, we need to come to you, to protect you. If there are vampire hunters then your vampire is in danger.”

Of course her family would help her protect Damek. Not that he really needed it. Not now. But the sun would come up and leave him vulnerable. No vampire was at his full strength in the light of day, and most slept from sunrise to sunset. That Damek could be up and around late in the day spoke of his strength, but no vampire was immune to the power of the sun. The rays drained their power, leaving them open to the hunters.

She gave her mother the name of the street she’d caught from the window of the limousine. “I don’t know exactly which number it is, but it’s an older warehouse that’s been converted to condos.”

“We will find you,” her mother assured her. “We’ll be there in a matter of hours.”

“I’ll try to call you later. Love you.” She ended the call before her mother could ask her more questions. Really, it was weird talking to her family while she was naked in her lover’s bed.

She sensed Damek’s presence and looked up to find him standing just inside the doorway with a glass of orange juice in his hand. His expression was deadly and the walls of the room seemed to expand and contract with each passing second. For the first time since she met him, she was truly afraid.

“Damek?”

“What have you done?”

Chapter Thirteen

Damek felt as though he’d been staked out in the midday sun with a wooden post driven through his heart. Betrayal ate at him and it took all his discipline not to destroy everything in the room. Hell, the way he was feeling, he could easily raze the entire building.

She put the phone on the nightstand and pulled the covers around her, her face pale and frightened. “I called my family. I told you they would be worrying about me.”

“You told them where I lived. How to find me.”

“They won’t hurt you. Really. They’re on our side and will help to protect you from the vampire hunters in the area.”

He laughed, but the sound wasn’t pleasant and Sonia flinched. “I don’t need your help, little girl. I could easily kill every vampire hunter who dared to enter my domain.”

She shook her head and climbed out of bed, pausing long enough to wrap the comforter around her. It infuriated him that she felt the need to cover herself from him after he’d kissed and touched every inch of her traitorous body. “If you want to convince me of your sincerity you’d be better off doing it naked.”

She scowled at him. “Don’t be an idiot,” she snapped.

He raised an eyebrow at her temerity. “I promise, I won’t be any longer. Obviously I was one to have trusted you.”

Hurt flashed across her face and she jerked as though he’d hit her. He immediately wanted to soothe her, which in his mind did indeed make him an idiot. When would he learn that people always had their own agenda?

“We can watch out for you when you’re sleeping.”

Damek snorted. “That will never happen. I have guarded my own resting place for a thousand years and don’t need the help of a little girl.”

She turned from him as his phone rang. He stalked across the room, slammed the glass down onto the nightstand and grabbed his phone. This fiasco was his fault. If he’d remembered to take it with him she never would have been able to call anyone.

Now he was making excuses for her.

He recognized the number. “Craig, what do you have for me?” Sonia was rummaging around on the floor searching for her clothing. She winced when she bent over and he frowned. Was her arm hurting her? Had he hurt her when they’d made love?

And why should he care? She’d betrayed him before the sheets were barely cool.

He concentrated on what Craig was saying to him. “The vampire hunters are set up much like the werewolf bounty hunters, but there are a lot less of them. They’re a paranoid bunch and don’t give out any personal information even to one another. From what I can find out, this Luther Kostas guy seems to be running the show here in America. There isn’t much out there about him, but when he does talk it’s about his family heritage. The guy comes from a long line of vampire hunters that goes back to ancient times.”

That made sense to Damek. If a vampire could get inside a hunter’s mind he could find out many things. But if the hunter didn’t know anything there was nothing for a vampire to find. A simple, but effective protection device. “In other words, he’s a fanatic.”

“Oh, yeah,” Craig continued. “The only good vampire is a staked one. Guy thinks he’s Buffy.”

Damek’s lips twitched at the pop culture reference to a television vampire slayer but he kept from smiling. Off to his right, Sonia was busy pulling on her clothing. “Where is he now?”

“That’s where it gets a bit murky. I can’t pin down his location. He could be in Chicago for all I know. There’s no way of knowing. I don’t have a description of him, only a name. He’s not even in any of the DMV databases, and I’ve checked every state, so I’m betting he has a license under an alias. That’s what I would do.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“Hey, no problem. Whatever you need. I’ll keep looking.”

Damek almost trusted him. Almost. There was always a seed of doubt and it usually flourished over time, proving he was right in the first place. Everyone looked out for themselves. He supposed, in that way, he was no different than the rest of them. His survival and safety came first, but he’d never betrayed anyone to assure it. Never.

He turned off his phone and tossed it onto the nightstand before turning to Sonia. She had her jeans and bra on and was struggling with her top. “What are you doing?”

She glared at him and tugged the sweater over her head. Her curls flew all over the place and his fingers itched to tame them. “You’re not serious. I’m leaving since you obviously don’t want me here and I can’t be trusted.”

He shook his head and prowled toward her, his feet gliding over the floor. “You’re not leaving.”

She froze in place, one arm halfway through the sleeve. “You can’t stop me.” He heard the quaver of her voice beneath her bravado.

“Yes, I can.” He tugged her sweater off and wrapped his hands around her shoulders.

“Why? Why do you want me to stay?” she demanded.

Damek wasn’t sure. He should be wiping her memories and sending her on her way. But the vampire hunters were still out there and they knew who she was. The thought of her being out there alone and unprotected was more than he could stand. If anything happened to her—

The city would see carnage unlike anything in its history. Damek wasn’t sure what he’d do if anything happened to Sonia. She’d become his lifeline to sanity. He was so close to crossing a line, to no longer caring about humanity and what became of it. But he cared about her in spite of her betrayal of him to her family.

“Why?” He yanked her close and her breasts pressed against his bare chest. Her bra kept him from fully feeling her soft flesh against him, so he pulled back long enough to undo it and strip it away. Which wasn’t an easy task with her hands batting at him. He pulled her back against him, releasing a sigh of relief when her nipples rubbed against his skin. He stared down at her, a fierce longing building from somewhere deep within him. “Because I want you.”

Sonia didn’t know whether she should run, slap his face or laugh. This entire night was turning into a tragic comedy of errors. Nothing in her life made sense anymore, least of all her attraction to the infuriating, overbearing vampire standing before her.

How could he think she would betray him? She’d told him about The Keepers and how they existed to help paranormal creatures like him. She’d told him about her obsession with finding him. Heck, she’d slept with the guy. How much more could he want?

“Everything,” he whispered. “I want everything.” He kissed her then, his lips covering hers and his tongue sliding inward, claiming her mouth. He’d read her mind, her thoughts, and she hadn’t even realized it.

Panic threatened and she threw up some hasty barriers in her mind, hoping to block him from finding out more. She didn’t want anyone digging through her brain for her thoughts and memories. They belonged to her and her alone.

He growled and pulled back, glaring down at her. “I didn’t read your mind. You were broadcasting like a beacon.”

“How did you…” She let her unspoken question hang there, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

“It’s not hard to guess your thoughts, and I felt the barriers you moved into place. Rather impressive actually.” He stiffened and took a step away from her. “You should drink some juice.”

Damn, now she felt guilty, like she’d done something wrong. This entire situation was ludicrous. Sonia reached out and touched his arm. He was wearing only a pair of pants, so his arms and chest were bare. Her fingers touched cool flesh and she glided them up his biceps to his shoulders.

“What are you doing?” His voice was gruff with arousal and maybe a touch of anger. It was hard to be sure.

“I don’t know,” she told him. In all honesty, she had no idea where her life was going or what she was going to do. Everything had changed the moment she’d met Damek.

He was so alone in spite of working in a packed nightclub every evening. He wore his aloofness like a cloak, but she sensed the man beneath, the man who’d taken her to bed and touched her so gently before making love to her as though she was the most necessary thing in his world.

He could easily ignore words, but actions were different. Praying she wasn’t making a huge mistake, Sonia cupped his face between her palms, went up onto her toes and kissed him.

Damek stood as still as a statue while she licked his bottom lip and touched her lips to the corners of his mouth. Self-consciousness crept in. Who did she think she was, some femme fatale? She was an ordinary woman, a scholar, certainly no swimsuit model. Embarrassment swamped her and she started to pull away.

He banded his arm around her waist and tugged her forward and up, capturing her lips with his. His kiss was hot and possessive and Sonia lost herself in it. Her embarrassment disappeared in a blink of an eye, replaced by something more powerful—lust.

He cupped her ass and ground her pelvis against his erection, wringing a whimper from her. She wiggled to get closer and hooked her right leg over his hip. He swept his hands up her spine and tangled them in her hair as he continued to devour her. She couldn’t breathe but didn’t care. It wasn’t important. Nothing was. The only thing that mattered was them touching each other.

Sonia had no idea how long they kissed, but it was Damek who finally pulled away. She sucked much-needed air into her lungs and was satisfied to see he was in no better shape than she was.

“We need to stop.” He slowly unhooked her leg from his hip and lowered it until her foot touched the floor, taking the opportunity to run his hand down her thigh.

“What? Why?” He couldn’t be serious. They were both hot and bothered, they were adults, and they’d already had sex. So what was his problem?

“I don’t want either one of us to regret this. I’m not sure I trust your motives.”

Sonia frowned as heat swept up her cheeks. “You mean you think I want to sleep with you so you’ll forget all about my so-called betrayal.” She shoved him in the chest, but he didn’t budge. It was frustrating. “I’m no whore.”

Damek flinched. “I didn’t say you were.”

“You might as well have,” she muttered, reaching down to pick up her top once again.

He grabbed her clothing out of her hand and tossed it aside.

“Hey, give that back.” Her temper had a long fuse but it was reaching its limit.

“No. Nothing has changed. You’re not leaving.”

“Damn you.” She flew at him, fists pounding his chest. She’d prefer to think her reaction was to him keeping her here rather than the fact he’d hurt her with his words. He wrapped his arms around her, trapping them against her sides so she couldn’t hit him. She brought her knee up and he barely kept from taking one in the family jewels.

He twisted her in his embrace so she was facing away from him, but he kept his arms around her, chaining her to him. His erection pressed against the small of her back. The bastard was aroused.

“I hate you,” she growled.

Damek kissed the top of her head and sighed, ruffling her hair. “No, I don’t think you do.”

Sonia sniffed. “Fat lot you know.”

“Are you crying?” His entire body stiffened behind her.

“No.” She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She blinked hard and sniffed again.

His hold changed, becoming more embrace than imprisonment. He slowly rocked her from side to side. “What am I going to do with you?” His breath tickled her ear, sending a jolt of arousal through her.

“Nothing.” No way was she sleeping with him now.

He moved quickly, picking her up and carrying her toward the bathroom. “I know what you need. You need a nice hot bath to relax you.” He used his shoulder to hit the switch and the lights came on low, revealing the decadent bathroom she’d glimpsed earlier. It really was incredible with the gleaming black enamel tub, gold-toned faucets and thick black towels.

“Why are you doing this? You think I betrayed you. Why aren’t you locking me in your dungeon or at least wiping my memories? You can do that, can’t you?”

He set her on the marble countertop and she wrapped her arms around her bare breasts.

“I can. But for some unknown reason I don’t want to.” He started the bath water running and came back to her. Placing his hands on either side of her, he trapped her on the counter. “I don’t want you to forget me.” He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck. Idiot that she was, she tilted her neck to the side to give him better access.

The man was infuriating, dictatorial, arrogant, untrusting, and she loved him. Sonia froze as he dragged his tongue over the fluttering pulse in her neck. What had she done? She’d fallen in love with a vampire.

He pulled back and studied her, his gaze solemn. “I would never drink from you without your permission.”

She cupped the side of his face. “I know.”

He nodded and straightened. “Let’s get you into the tub. You’re probably stiff and sore after everything you’ve been through.”

Everything included being assaulted by a maniac with a knife and having hot vampire sex all in one evening. Her shoulder muscles were stiff and she felt sticky between her thighs. A bath was just the thing to make her feel better and allow her time to get her thoughts in order. Sonia hopped down off the counter, using it to steady herself. “I can take it from here.”

He inclined his head and left her alone, giving her what she’d asked for, but a part of her wished he would stay. “Girl, you need to get your head on straight,” she muttered. It didn’t take long for her to strip off her jeans, panties and socks and climb into the tub.

She groaned as she sat in the hot water, letting it surround her. “Now this is what I’m talking about.” She leaned against the side of the tub and let it keep filling. Closing her eyes, she tried to relax and let all her worries slide away. Easier said than done, but she gave it a try.

Her tense muscles were just starting to unknot when the water stopped running. Her eyes flew open and there was Damek, totally naked, climbing into the tub with her.

She jolted and water sloshed close to the rim as he maneuvered her forward and slid in behind her. “What are you doing?”

“Taking a bath.” His calm, even tone irritated her.

“You could have waited until I was finished.” She started to stand, but he pulled her back against his chest.

“But I want to bathe with you.” He settled her against him and she did her best to ignore his obvious arousal.

“Relax,” he ordered.

She snorted. “Yeah, right. Like that’s going to happen.”

He set his hands on her shoulders and began to rub, his firm strokes getting longer and deeper over time. She groaned and tilted her head forward. “If you keep that up we’ll never leave this tub.”

He laughed and let his hands slide around her sides to cup her breasts. She jolted upright and clunked his face with the back of her head. She moaned and slid away from him. “None of that. Not if you’re only going to tease me.” She looked over her shoulder and studied the mulish set of his mouth. “That’s what I thought.”

Since the tub was huge enough to accommodate four people, she slid over to the other side, grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap and started washing. She did her best to ignore Damek, which wasn’t easy. Not with his large, wet body close enough for her to touch.

Finally, he picked up a cloth and set to work. Water sluiced over his defined chest muscles and soap bubbles clung to his thick biceps. Sonia bit her bottom lip as she watched the water slip over his tight abs.

Not willing to linger any longer, Sonia stood, ignoring the sensual glide of the water over her sensitive skin. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body the moment she was out of the tub, not wanting to be naked and vulnerable in front of him. She scooped her clothing off the floor and fled to the bedroom as Damek was rising from the water like some pagan god.

The peek she caught of him had her heart racing. She wanted to lick the droplets of water off his broad chest and lap at the hard ridges of his stomach. Not to mention what she wanted to do with the hard shaft rising up from the nest of curls at his groin.

Oh, she was a mess. She dumped the garments on a chair and gathered the scattered remains of her clothing. Her suitcase, which was perched on the chest at the end of his bed, contained clean clothing. She was in the process of unzipping it when Damek strode into the room. No, not strode, glided. The man moved with the fluidity of a dancer, or a great cat, maybe a panther.

She shook her head, ignoring him as she pulled out clean clothing. He took them from her and tossed them back in her suitcase. “You don’t need that.”

She whirled and caught the ends of her towel, tucking them more securely around her. Damek wasn’t wearing a towel. Of course he wasn’t. The man was all sophistication and designer suits on the outside, but inside he was pure heathen and all male.

“And why not? I’m not putting dirty clothing back on.”

He scooped her up and headed to the bed, dumping her onto the sheets. “We need to sleep.”

“That’s fine,” she protested. “But I still need my nightgown.”

He climbed into bed beside her, wrapped his arm around her and yanked her down so her head was resting in the crook of his arm. He flung the covers over them, cocooning them in his massive bed. “No, you don’t.”

Sonia drummed her fingers on his chest. “Why do you get to choose what I wear?”

His hand caught hers, flattening her fingers against his stomach. “Because it’s my home.”

“I can leave.”

He sighed heavily, ruffling her curls. “No, you can’t. We’ve been through this before.”

“Yes, yes, I betrayed you. Big bad me.” She tried to pinch his stomach but there wasn’t enough excess skin to grab.

He rolled, taking her with him and stopping when she was flat on her back with him looming over her. She did her best to ignore the rather large erection resting against her belly, but it wasn’t easy.

She wasn’t touching him if he wasn’t going to put out. No way. She was sexually frustrated enough as it was, which should be impossible considering how many orgasms she’d already had tonight.

“Not just because of that. There could still be vampire hunters out there, and they know who you are.”

“I can protect myself. My family can protect me.” She knew she was baiting a wild beast but couldn’t help herself. Maybe it was because of the easy way he agreed that she betrayed him when she hadn’t, not at all. If anything, she wanted to protect him. Which was crazy considering what he was. He was deadlier then she and her family combined would ever be.

His hands tightened around her and he shook his head. “I don’t trust anyone but me.”

“That’s obvious.”

He shook his head and rolled away, leaving her cold and bereft. “Try to sleep. You can’t get out of the apartment without setting off an alarm.” His tone was distant and cool.

“What’s to stop me from staking your ass while you’re asleep?” Not that she’d ever do such a thing, but he couldn’t know that.

“Nothing.” She could hear the utter weariness in his voice. “There is nothing to stop you from trying.”

“Idiot male,” she muttered. Sonia punched her pillow a couple of times, pretending it was Damek. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. It had been a long night and had to be close to dawn, if not slightly past. It was difficult to tell with the blackout shades on the windows.

She huffed out a breath, closed her eyes and willed him to sleep. She was getting up the second he went under.

Damek could practically hear the wheels turning in Sonia’s head, but he didn’t try to read her thoughts. He didn’t have to, not with her muttering what she thought of him.

She was angry with him and sexually frustrated. That made two of them. He had no idea why he’d turned her down earlier. Instead of being hard and horny, he could have been sated and relaxed by now.

But some deep part of him he’d thought long gone, the part that believed in honor, didn’t want her to sleep with him because she was afraid of him. The thought of her giving herself to him out of fear haunted him. He couldn’t be sure if she was offering him her body because she truly wanted him or because she thought it might ease his anger with her betrayal of him.

He heard her mutter of “idiot male” again from beneath her breath and smiled in spite of his raging hard-on. Only Sonia spoke to him like he was a normal male. Everyone else feared him even if they had no idea why. Human instincts existed even though they’d been dulled by years of not being used. Everyone he interacted with on a daily basis, even other paranormals, all walked softly around him.

Everyone but Sonia.

He gave a sigh of relief when she finally settled down. He inhaled softly, taking her sweet scent, mingled with his soap, into his lungs. A tinge of arousal, musky and warm, made him groan. She was right. He really was an idiot.

He couldn’t fully trust her but he couldn’t let her go.

Oh, she might threaten to stake him while he was sleeping, but there was no way she could sneak up on him even when he was at rest. His instincts had been too well honed over the long centuries to allow that to happen. Plus, a stake to the heart would only piss him off. It would hurt like hell, but he would recover from such a wound. He’d evolved over the centuries to the point where only beheading would end his life. Direct sunlight might give him a hell of a burn and would weaken him immeasurably, but even that wouldn’t kill him.

Plus, he truly didn’t think she would try to murder him, no matter how angry she was with him. Maybe she hadn’t meant to betray him. Maybe she didn’t see the phone call in the same way he did. She was used to being in constant contact with her family and was only doing what came naturally to her.

Something to think about.

The sun was rising over the horizon. He couldn’t see it but he could feel it in his blood, in his bones. He sighed and gave in to the healing sleep of his kind. If Sonia woke and saw him, he would appear dead to her, but he didn’t think that would frighten her. She was tough, his Sonia.

His lips twitched into a tiny smile as sleep claimed him. When they both awoke, they would have a lot to discuss.

Luther glanced over at the man sitting beside him in the truck. Barnes was sipping coffee, looking a hell of a lot bit better than he had earlier. He sipped his own coffee and watched the building just down the road from them. It was filled with expensive condos, but he was only concerned with the penthouse suite. That was the only one with a private entrance, so it had to belong to the vampire.

His phone rang and Luther answered it quickly, hungry for news. “Talk to me, Aaron.”

“It’s a hell of a system.”

There was admiration in Aaron’s voice and it pissed Luther off. “But you can bypass it.” It wasn’t really a question, as there wasn’t a security system out there that Aaron Page couldn’t hack given enough time. The man was pure magic when it came to electronics.

“It will take me a while, but I should be in by noon.”

“Perfect. Keep me posted.” He ended the call and tucked his phone back into his pocket.

“We good to go?” Barnes asked.

“We’ll be ready when the time comes.”

Barnes grunted and went back to watching. Luther stretched his legs in front of him and contemplated what city he was going to move to when this was all over.

Two large SUV’s pulled up about a half-mile away and four men and two women climbed out. The Agostino family looked up and down the long street.

“Where do we start?” Celia asked her husband, desperate to find her daughter.

Vincenzo caught her face in his large hands. “We will find her. I promise you this.” He glanced at his sons. “We will go this way.” He pointed to his left. “Papa, you and Mama can head in the other direction. If anyone catches a scent they call the others. Agreed?”

His sons nodded and started down the road without waiting. They were desperate to find their sister. While Celia and his mama believed the vampire was no threat to Sonia, the men weren’t so sure.

He glanced at his father and Roberto nodded. Sonia’s safety came first, then the vampire. If he was as good as his daughter believed, then they would help him. No paranormal creature deserved to be hunted if all he was doing was trying to live his life. Everyone had that right.

He took his wife’s hand, dropped a kiss on his mama’s forehead and started after his sons. He couldn’t shake the feeling that time was running out.

Chapter Fourteen

Sonia knew it had to be daytime outside, but the privacy screens on the windows blocked out all light, leaving them only the dim glow of the bedside lamp. She’d slept for a few hours, but was wide awake now.

Beside her, Damek was completely still. There was no rise and fall of his chest, no slight breath or snore, nothing to indicate he was even alive. It was frightening and fascinating at the same time.

This was the time of day a vampire was most vulnerable, when the power of the sun pushed them into this death-like sleep. Everything she’d read in The Keepers’ library said he would not wake until sundown. But she knew better. She’d seen Damek up and about late in the afternoon. That spoke volumes about his power. But surely even he slept deep during the day.

She really should just get up, gather her things and leave. There was no point in her staying any longer. But she continued to lie there, her head propped up on one hand, simply watching him.

His features weren’t softened any by sleep. If anything, they seemed harsher, more finely drawn. She reached out and touched a dark strand of hair that rested on the pillowcase. It was soft and silky, such a contrast to the hard planes and angles of his face.

Sonia sighed when her stomach growled. She’d never gotten around to eating the meal she’d ordered at Haven last night and was really hungry. She also desperately needed to go to the bathroom, so she slid out of bed and climbed down the two steps, doing her best not to jostle Damek. He probably wouldn’t wake, but she didn’t want to take any chances.

She grabbed clean clothing out of her suitcase, thankful that the outfit she’d dug out last night was right on the top, and crept into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Once she’d taken care of her most pressing need, she washed her hands and face. She was pale, but other than that, she looked the same as she had yesterday.

She turned her head to one side, checking the spot on her neck where Damek had bitten her. Nothing, not a blemish or even a red patch. She ran her finger over her smooth skin. It was as though he’d never sunk his fangs into her and drunk her blood.

Even her arm felt great. She twisted it one way and then another, testing it for strength and dexterity. There was no lingering pain from where she’d been stabbed, only a faint white scar. It was truly amazing what Damek could do.

Her hair was as unruly as ever, but her brush was in her suitcase and she wasn’t about to dig around trying to find it. Usually she packed with more care, but yesterday at the hotel she’d simply thrown everything into her suitcase and had no idea where to find her brush. She finger-combed her hair until it was as good as she could get it and then pulled on her underwear, socks, jeans and a brown turtleneck sweater.

Sighing, she stared at her reflection. It wasn’t the best she’d ever looked, but she consoled herself with the fact that it wasn’t the worst either. And what did it matter what she looked like? She was alive and healthy and that was all that mattered. Carefully, she turned the handle of the door and opened it, giving a sigh of relief when Damek didn’t move.

Silently, she moved through the room and down the hallway to the kitchen. She needed coffee and maybe some toast or a bagel. A grocery bag sat on the granite countertop and Sonia dug right in. After all, the food was for her. Vampires didn’t eat. At least she didn’t think they did. They needed blood, but she was fuzzy on the whole food thing.

There was a loaf of wholegrain bread, a package of cinnamon and raisin bagels, two cans of soup, a couple of bananas, a half dozen oranges and a bunch of grapes. Not a bad start.

She opened the refrigerator and surveyed the shelves. “Jackpot.” A dozen eggs, some cheddar cheese, a container of milk and a tub of butter sat on one shelf. She could have used some onions, garlic, tomatoes and maybe some feta cheese, but she’d make due. “Toast and eggs it is.”

It didn’t take her long to assemble all the ingredients on the counter. She had a bad moment when she didn’t see any coffee, but since there was a coffeemaker on the countertop she kept looking. After some searching, she discovered some beans in the freezer and quickly started a pot brewing.

As the aroma of coffee filled the air, Sonia broke eggs into a bowl, whisking in a dollop of milk to make them fluffy. She heated a skillet and poured in her egg mixture and then popped several slices of bread into the toaster. She hummed under her breath, wishing she had a radio to turn on. Damek’s home was lovely, but it was large and rather cold. Impersonal, was more like it. There wasn’t much of him here, at least not in the kitchen.

When everything was ready, she plated her meal, grabbed her coffee and wandered into the living room. She wasn’t about to sit at the large dining table by herself. A large flat-screen television was mounted on the wall across from the sofa, but there was no remote lying around.

“Figures.” She plopped down on the sofa and set her mug on the coffee table. “Like most men, he probably has the thing glued to his body somewhere.” Although, she knew firsthand that Damek wasn’t hiding anything on him. He was in that big four-poster bed naked as the day he was born.

“Don’t think about it. Eat.” She shoveled a mound of fluffy eggs into her mouth and followed it with toast, thinking as she chewed. What would happen today? She had to contact her family, no matter what Damek thought about it.

That might not be easy because she hadn’t seen another phone except for the one sitting on the bedside table. Maybe she could take that one without him waking up, but she wouldn’t bet on it.

She shrugged off that worry. She could always leave and find a payphone somewhere. Surely such a thing still existed in the city. If not, she’d check into a hotel and use the phone in the room.

The silence in the apartment was oppressive. There wasn’t even the tick of a clock to break the quiet, only the light hum of the refrigerator in the distance. And this room was dark as well, with only dim recessed lighting. “This is ridiculous.” She set her almost empty plate down on the table and marched to the nearest window.

There was no curtain, only a thick metal shutter. She looked for a handle but couldn’t find one. Resting her hands on the metal, she tried to shove it up. That didn’t work, and she was at a loss as to how to raise it.

Maybe it didn’t open. Maybe it was permanently shuttered to protect him. That saddened Sonia and made her chest ache. This place was so big and lonely and dark. It was hard to imagine Damek here alone day after day, week after week.

A sound broke the quiet and she tilted her head to one side, trying to figure out what it was. It sounded metallic. She hurried down the hallway and peeked into the bedroom. Nope, wasn’t Damek. He was still asleep.

She went back to the living room and turned in a slow circle. There it was again. It was coming from the front door. Was someone trying to get in? Maybe it was one of Damek’s employees. Sonia had no idea what his usual routine was. For all she knew he had a housekeeper or butler or something.

The fine hair on the back of her neck tingled. Something wasn’t right. If whoever was out there was supposed to be here, they’d have a key. Her instincts were screaming that she was in danger. She didn’t question them and started looking for a weapon.

Sonia glanced around the room, searching for something she could use to defend herself. Other than the furniture, there was a smattering of books and artwork on the shelves. Nothing she could use.

She skirted behind the bar in the corner and looked beneath the counter. Nothing. The kitchen. She scurried off, keeping one eye on the front door. The only knife she could find was a small paring knife, which was basically useless. But there was a heavy cast-iron skillet in the cupboard by the stove. She grabbed it and was satisfied with the weight. She could crack a man’s skull with this.

The key to success was to be in the right position when whoever was trying to break in finally succeeded. On silent, stockinged feet, she hurried to the closet just inside the front door. She opened it and stepped in, pulling the door closed so it was open only a crack. Whoever broke in would have to pass by her. Damek was asleep and defenseless. It was up to her to save him.

Luther Kostas drew the large wooden stake from the holder at his back as Aaron finished setting up the last charge on the locks. They couldn’t pick these, as they’d run out of time, so they were going to blow them. They’d have to move fast, make the kill and clear out. No telling what kind of alarms the bastard had on his lair. He might even have a minion or two guarding his resting place. That happened sometimes, and those creatures that protected vampires had to die too.

“Almost ready.” Aaron worked on the last lock while he and Barnes looked on.

Luther knew Barnes was more than ready to kill the vampire for tampering with his mind. Poor bastard would never be the same again. He had seen it before. Once a vampire had messed with a hunter’s mind, the hunter never had the same confidence again. Killing the vampire would help.

“We’re a go.” Aaron moved back to where Luther and Barnes were standing. Barnes held a heavy wooden stake in his hand while Aaron drew a wickedly long knife. They’d behead the vampire after they shoved a stake through his heart. Then they’d burn the body. Luther had learned a long time ago to do a thorough job. Those fucking bastards were tough and could come back if you didn’t do the job right.

Luther nodded. “Go.”

There were several small bangs and they rushed the door, hitting it hard. It popped open into an opulent living room. Most vampires he’d hunted over the years didn’t live this well, which meant this one had to be old and dangerous.

Luther pointed to the kitchen. Better to be safe. Vampires didn’t always sleep where you expected to find them, usually hiding their resting place.

A brush of air behind him had him spinning. A woman yelled and swung at him with a weapon of some kind. He ducked at the very last second and struck out with the stake, driving it deep into her belly. She froze, her mouth wide open. The weapon, a cast-iron frying pan, fell to the floor with a heavy thunk. Her hands went to her stomach as Luther withdrew the stake and pushed her away. She fell to the floor, her eyes wide open and her lips parted on a silent moan.

“That’s the bitch you had me watching.” John moved alongside him, keeping his eyes moving around the room.

“If she’s still alive when we’re finished, we’ll have a little chat with her.” Luther turned away and focused on the task at hand. “First, we have to kill us a vampire.”

Sonia was losing blood at a fast rate. Her stomach burned and the pain was almost overwhelming. Somehow the man had known she was behind him and had attacked before she’d been able to use the frying pan to bash his head. She recognized one of the men as the one who’d assaulted her in her hotel room.

But none of that mattered. She knew she was probably going to die. The wound was too deep and had to have hit something vital. Damek was alone in the bedroom. Helpless. In her mind, she sent a cry out to him. Damek!

Damek’s eyes shot open and he flew out of bed, eyes burning and fangs flashing. Sonia was in trouble. Faster than the human eye could see, he sped down the hall into the living area of his home. Three men were there, all armed with stakes and knives. It was so medieval he almost laughed. The vampire hunters did like their traditions.

They would expect him to be helplessly lying in his resting place, waiting for them to stake him in the heart. It would never occur to them that while he might be relatively weak, he was far from helpless.

Then he saw Sonia lying on the floor in a pool of blood, her eyes wide and unfocused. Her heartbeat was faint and getting weaker.

With a roar, he threw out his hand and all three men went flying into the wall, stuck there like flies in a web. Plaster cracked. Glasses at the bar all shook and several toppled over, crashing to the floor, sending shards flying everywhere. He ignored the hunters’ struggles and slurs as he hurried to Sonia’s side.

“What have you done?” He eased her head into his lap while he examined the wound in her stomach.

“You can’t save her, bloodsucker.”

Damek raised his head and stared at the man pinned to his wall. He ruthlessly drove into his brain, searching for answers, but didn’t stay long. Holding them all captive at the height of the day was draining him and he needed all his remaining strength to save Sonia. “You had better pray she lives, Luther, or you’ll be begging for death before I’m through with you.”

“How can he be awake?” Barnes muttered as he struggled to move one of his arms. “This isn’t right. The fucker is supposed to be in a sleep coma.”

Damek ignored them and dragged another breath into his lungs. His hands were shaking as he ripped her sweater from her body and used it to try to staunch the wound in her belly. “You’re going to be all right. I’m going to call an ambulance.”

She shook her head. “Too late. Don’t risk yourself.”

“No.” He shook his head in denial. This couldn’t be happening. He’d brought her here to protect her, to keep her safe from the hunters. “You can’t die. I’m too close to the edge, too close to bloodlust. Only you can save me.” The scent of the blood was getting to him. His body craved it, needed it.

Sonia raised her hand to touch his face and he kissed her bloody palm. The taste of her went through him like a blast of power. “I can’t lose you.”

She coughed and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. “There’s nothing you can do.” Her breath was laboring and she was struggling to speak. Every time her heart beat, her blood was pumping from her body at an alarming rate.

“Don’t talk. Save your strength. Is there anything your family can do for you? They’re close. You said they were on their way to Chicago.”

She shook her head. “Lo—” She coughed and tried again. “Love you.”

Damek threw back his head and roared. The sound of glass shattering filled the apartment as every glass surface exploded. A dangerous thought flitted through his brain, but he could not ignore it.

“I can try to convert you, make you a vampire like me.” He stroked her hair and ignored the tears rolling down his cheeks. “It is extremely dangerous but there is a slight chance. Sonia?” He had to do something. He couldn’t just let her die.

She stared at him, her eyes unfocused, her body still, and for a brief second he thought he was too late and she was gone. But no, he could hear her faint heartbeat, laboring with each beat. Time was running out.

“Sonia,” he yelled her name, shaking her slightly.

She gave the briefest nod and her eyes slowly closed. Damek didn’t hesitate. He lowered his head and sank his fangs into her neck.

“Let her go, you fucking bastard.” Luther shouted while he continued to struggle against the invisible force holding him. “She’s human. She deserves to die and stay that way.”

Damek blocked out everything but Sonia. Nothing else mattered. The sun was high in the sky, weakening him, but he put every ounce of power he had into saving the woman he loved. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold the hunters for much longer. His strength was ebbing fast and he was conserving as much as possible for Sonia’s conversion. He prayed it would be enough.

As her blood flowed into his mouth and down his throat, he caught glimpses of her memories, working from the present and going back in time. He saw her leaping out of the closet to face three armed men with nothing more than a cast-iron skillet, her only thought to protect him.

Her thoughts and memories flew by so fast he could only grasp bits and pieces. Her love for her family came through loud and clear and he knew now that she hadn’t betrayed him, not intentionally. She’d only wanted to reassure her parents that she was safe.

Her breathing became labored until she was gasping for air. Her heart gave one final stutter and stopped. Damek withdrew his fangs and used them to tear open his wrist. He placed it against her lips. “Drink. Drink, Sonia. For me. For us.”

He threw every ounce of strength he had behind the compulsion to the exclusion of all else. Blood dripped onto her lips, but she didn’t drink. “Please. You must live.” He forced her mouth open and let his blood flow down her throat.

Damek caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He’d put so much of his waning strength into saving Sonia that the vampire hunters had been able to free themselves from his mental hold and were now hurrying toward them.

He gathered what remained of his power, knowing he was dangerously weak. It might kill him to use it, but nothing mattered more than saving Sonia’s life.

The hunters stalked closer, stakes and knives in hand. Luther smiled, more confident now. “Don’t worry, vampire. We’ll make sure she gets a decent burial.” He reached behind his back and drew a compact crossbow with a silver tipped bolt. Luther aimed the weapon and fired.

Damek reached out and snatched the arrow from midair, turning it and flinging it back at Luther. It hit home and the hunter fell back, clutching his chest, an expression of absolute surprise etched on his face.

The other two swore and hurried toward them, weapons held high and ready to strike. Damek was torn with indecision, something he’d never experienced before. If he didn’t kill them, they would kill Sonia. If he didn’t give her everything he had, she would die.

An eerie howl echoed through the room just as Sonia gasped, her eyes flying open. Damek ducked, throwing his larger body over hers as a large, black wolf launched itself over them and attacked the hunters, fangs and claws flashing. The wolf ripped at Luther’s throat, sending blood spraying everywhere.

The room was suddenly filled with people he didn’t know. A tall male with a bushy beard let out a primal yell and took down the other hunter, his huge arms wrapping around his opponent’s neck. Damek heard the snap and watched the hunter slump to the ground. Two younger men stood to one side, both armed with guns they looked like they knew how to use. One of them was wearing blue jeans, the other a suit. Both of them resembled the rather large male who’d snapped the hunter’s neck.

Within seconds, silence reigned and the hunters were dead. Blood was sprayed all over the room and permeated the air. Damek licked his lips as he eyed the newcomers, keeping what little remained of his power reserves ready to protect Sonia. These creatures seemed to be on their side but he wasn’t taking any chances.

A woman cried out and he heard the brush of feet against the floor. He turned to watch a woman with long black hair rush toward them. She fell to her knees beside him, her face pale, her eyes wide with horror.

Damek pulled Sonia closer, cradling her in his arms, while willing her to keep drinking. His eyes blazed as he growled. “Mine.”

“She was mine first, vampire,” the woman said, and it was then he took a good look at her. Her black hair was longer, but it was just like Sonia’s. And while the woman’s features were more delicate, there was no denying the similarities. She confirmed his suspicions. “I’m her mother.”

“They hurt her. She was trying to protect me and they hurt her.”

“You are strong, vampire.” An older woman with streaks of gray through her hair walked toward him. Now that he’d had some time to study the people around him, he recognized her from Sonia’s memories. This was her grandmother. “To be awake during the day, to have such power as I feel filling this room. You are very, very old.” Her black gaze drilled into him. “Save her.”

Damek nodded and turned all his attention back to Sonia. She was drinking, but he wasn’t certain it was enough. He’d never attempted to convert anyone before as it was dangerous and he’d never wanted to put someone he cared about through such a thing. Then there was the chance that the creature he created would be unstable, be filled with bloodlust and have to be destroyed. He couldn’t have borne having to kill someone he cared for. Because of that, he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. It was all instinct.

He pulled his wrist away and licked the gash with his tongue to close the wound. “Sonia.” He clasped her face between her hands and willed her to open her eyes. Damek could sense the rest of her family gathering around them—her father and grandfather, her brothers. His strength was waning and he felt as weak and puny as a human. He wasn’t sure he had enough in him to bring her back.

“Here.” A thick wrist was shoved in front of his face and Damek glanced up to find a large naked man kneeling beside him. This was the half-breed werewolf. Damek could smell him this close and sense his power. “You need to replenish yourself. I still don’t know how you are even awake, but you are and my Sonia’s life depends on your strength. Drink.”

Damek inclined his head and opened his mouth. His fangs pierced the man’s skin and blood filled his mouth, powerful blood, paranormal blood. Every cell in his body expanded as fresh energy flowed into them. It had been centuries since he’d had paranormal blood anywhere near this pure. He withdrew his fangs and closed the wound as the blood flooded his cells, replenishing them.

It felt as though his entire body was glowing brighter than the sun. He reached into her mind, into her very soul, searching for the spark that was Sonia. Come back to me, he commanded. I need you. I love you.

Long moments passed until he felt the lightest brush against his mind. Damek? I hurt all over.

I know, my sweet. But you must open your eyes and come back to me. You’re safe now and your family is here.

Damek brushed his hand over her hair, willing her to look at him. “I know you can hear me. Open your eyes.” He glanced down at the wound on her stomach and eased her wadded sweater away. The hole was closed and an ugly puckered red scar remained. Damek wasn’t sure if it would fade over time or not, and he didn’t care. Sonia was alive and that was all that mattered.

He was gambling with her life. With both their lives. For Damek knew if she did not survive he would no longer wish to live in this world. He would not let her face the afterlife alone.

He only hoped she’d meant it when she told him he could try to convert her. Neither of them knew what would come of this. He could only hope his blood was strong enough to bring her fully over without the accompanying out-of-control bloodlust that most new vampires usually experienced. Then there was the matter of her werewolf heritage. Who knew how werewolf and vampire blood would mix.

No matter. He would take care of her no matter how many years it took for her to learn to control her urges. They had all the time in the world.

“Sonia Maria Agostino.” Her mother spoke to her, lifting Sonia’s hand to her lips. “Wake up and look at me.”

Sonia stirred, drawing Damek’s attention back to her. Her eyes fluttered open. “How do you feel?” he asked.

She licked her lips, wincing slightly. “Like…like I was staked in the stomach.”

He flinched and guilt filled him. If he’d let her go or protected her better this would never have happened. Now she was stuck with him, at least until she learned to control the bloodlust and discovered her powers. That could take years. He would use that time to make her so happy and would love her so well she would never want to leave him.

“When did all of you get here?” Her voice was weak, but her gaze was filled with love as she looked from one family member to another. Her eyes fell on the remains of one of the hunters and she flinched.

A man about her age stepped in front of it, blocking her view. He looked enough like her that Damek assumed he was her brother. He rifled through the memories he’d seen in Sonia’s mind and came up with his identity. This was Stefano, her oldest brother.

She glanced back up at Damek and the corners of her mouth turned up. “Have you met my family?”

“Not formally,” he replied. “But they’ve certainly made themselves known to me.”

She laughed and groaned, clutching her belly. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Damek lifted her, rose to his feet and carried her to the bedroom. “Make yourselves at home,” he called over his shoulder.

“You might consider putting on some pants while you’re in there,” Sonia’s father called after him.

And Damek, powerful vampire who had lived a thousand years, felt heat creep up his cheeks as he blushed.

Sonia touched his face and smiled before paling. “You’d better hurry.”

Chapter Fifteen

Sonia lay in bed and waited to see if her stomach would rebel. She was grateful it stayed settled and she gave a sigh of relief. Damek had explained that she’d most likely be able to eat food again once her system settled down. They didn’t need food to survive, but could enjoy it on occasion, just not too often. She could live with that. As long as she didn’t have to give up cookie-dough ice cream and chocolate she was good.

“You’re awake.” Damek coalesced from the shadows and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah.” She’d slept a lot, but whenever she’d woken, Damek was with her and sometimes a member of her family was too. She’d seen them all the past few days and was glad to have them nearby. This was the first time she’d woken with some semblance of control over her new powers. Whenever she was lucid, Damek helped her learn to deal with her preternatural senses. At first, it had been extremely overwhelming. Every sound was magnified, every sight was sharper, her sense of smell was off the charts and her skin was sensitive to touch.

It had taken her some trial and error and lots of effort, but she mainly had them under control now. It would take practice for it not to require a conscious effort but, given enough time, she was confident she could do it. It had only been a few days since her conversion and Damek seemed pleased with her progress.

Maybe she’d been able to manage the changes in her body better than most because she already possessed some paranormal blood. Maybe it was simply because she’d already had heightened senses and this was only taking them up a notch. Okay, quite a few notches, but the idea was the same. She was used to dealing with her enhanced senses already, unlike someone who was fully human.

Her body temperature was something else she needed to regulate. Her skin was cool now and she often found herself shivering before she realized all she had to do was imagine herself warm and a shift in body temperature would miraculously happen.

She hadn’t looked in a mirror yet, but assumed she hadn’t changed, except maybe to be a bit paler like Damek. That was another myth that some believed—that vampires couldn’t see themselves in a mirror. Thankfully, it was untrue. She didn’t know what she’d do with her unruly hair if she couldn’t see to style it.

She was still trying to wrap her head around the idea that she was a vampire and everything that entailed. Damek had saved her life, but did he want to be a part of it? Eternity was a long, long time. And what about her parents and family? They would age and die and she would still look exactly as she did now. She shuddered and tried not to think about it.

“What happened to the hunters?” She’d spent what little time she’d been awake trying to get a handle on her extreme senses that she hadn’t asked.

Damek reached out and eased a lock of hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear. “They are no longer a problem.”

She shivered at the deadly tone in his voice but she had to know. Her memory of what happened at the end was fuzzy. She guessed that was normal considering she’d been dying at the time. “Tell me.”

Damek sighed, took her hand and brought it to his mouth for a brief kiss. “They are all dead. When you are well enough, I plan to take a visit to Luther’s home and check his records to make sure there is no trail leading to us.”

“The bodies…” How in the name of God would they have gotten rid of the bodies?

A half-smile crossed his face. “I could have disposed of them myself but I didn’t want to leave you. I called in a favor from the Haven pack. Those werewolves are very good at disposing of unwanted bodies. They helped clean up the place and put everything to rights while I was with you.” He paused and shook his head. “They seemed to get along very well with your family, especially your grandparents.”

Sonia licked her dry lips. She was thirsty and hungry at the same time. “Can I have some water?” Maybe that would help. Her stomach was growling. No, that wasn’t quite right either. There was a gnawing in her belly, an emptiness that went far beyond mere hunger.

He shook his head, his eyes filled with sadness. “You can have a few sips, but water won’t help.” He rubbed her hand over his face, placing a kiss in the center of her palm. “You are a vampire now, Sonia. That means you need blood to survive.”

Her stomach roiled and she swallowed hard, fighting down her natural aversion to such a thing. It was normal now, she told herself as sharp fangs punched down from her gums, making her mouth ache. It felt strange to have teeth that long and sharp and would make it awkward to talk. Something else she needed to learn to control.

“I’m sorry for that.” Damek hung his head, never releasing her hand.

“Hey.” She waited until he was looking at her again. “It’s better than being dead.” She spoke carefully with only a tiny lisp.

It amazed her to find her stomach wound healed with only a reddish, puckered scar remaining. The blow should have killed her, had killed her, but now she was lying awake in Damek’s big bed with him beside her. Maybe the idea of drinking blood to survive left her feeling queasy, but she’d get over it. She had to.

“I can help you.” Damek released her hand and brought his own to his mouth. His fangs flashed as he punctured the skin and blood rolled down his wrist. He brought it to her lips. “Drink.”

Sonia could feel the compulsion behind that one word, and for once it didn’t piss her off that he was using his powers to manipulate her. The sweet scent of his blood filled her nostrils and she took another deep breath. It was divine, better than the finest perfume.

Still, the idea of drinking blood still bothered her, so she closed her eyes and opened her mouth, her teeth scraping his skin. Something warm and sweet hit her tongue and she groaned. This was better than chocolate and cookie-dough ice cream put together. She gripped his wrist and began to suck harder.

“Yes,” he moaned, shifting closer to her. “Take what you need from me.”

She could feel Damek in her mind, monitoring her acceptance of what was happening. The extent of his power was truly amazing. She tasted his brutal strength, smelled his unique masculine scent. Her body responded, coming to life as lust poured through her. She wanted him.

He jerked and his breathing quickened and she knew he’d heard that thought. Gently, he brushed her hair from her face. “Enough, Sonia. If you take too much you’ll make yourself ill.”

She took another swallow, not wanting to give up such a delectable treat.

He brushed her hair again. “Sonia.” This time there was a minor compulsion in his voice.

As much as she hated to, she released his wrist. All she wanted to do was keep sucking and sucking, and that frightened her. It would be so easy to lose herself in bloodlust. She suddenly understood how easily it could happen to new vampires who didn’t know what was happening to them. She fully comprehended what it meant to be a vampire and it was still incredibly difficult for her. She wasn’t sure she would have stopped on her own and was grateful for Damek’s presence and care. Blood still seeped from the puncture wounds, so she lapped at his skin and watched as the holes closed and finally disappeared. Cool.

Damek stretched out on the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms. He was totally dressed, lying on top of the covers, while she was naked beneath them. She wanted them to be flesh to flesh, wanted her breasts rubbing against his smooth chest, his erection snuggled against her.

“Sonia,” he groaned, “you must not broadcast your thoughts to me so loudly. Your family is still here. Your parents are out in the living room and you’re not as strong as you think you are. Give yourself some time.

As if Damek had summoned them, a knock came on the door and her mother pushed it open and walked in. Her father, brothers and grandparents followed. Sonia struggled to sit and Damek stood and helped her, settling her against the pillows with the thick down-filled comforter tucked beneath her arms.

Tears flooded her eyes as they moved closer. Her family. She could always depend on them no matter what. Damek started to ease away, but she grabbed his hand, anchoring him to her. He didn’t understand family, but by the time her family was done with him he would. He was a part of it now, whether he wanted to be or not. He’d saved her life and that meant her family would always be in debt to him.

“Mama.” She held out her hand and her mother strode to the bed, climbed up the two steps and dropped down on the mattress beside her.

Celia Agostino’s gaze was filled with worry but she managed to smile. “How are you feeling, baby?”

“Better.” Damek’s blood was still zinging through her veins and it was better than a pot of coffee and twice as potent. She felt as though she could leap tall buildings in a single bound. She’d have to ask him about that. Maybe she could. Probably not, but it was fun to speculate. She was determined to focus on the positive aspects of this change in her life. She was alive and healthy and that was all that mattered.

Her father loomed behind her mother, his large hand on her shoulder. He looked impossibly sad. “Papa?”

He shook his head, his shaggy black hair swaying. He rubbed his beard, his eyes solemn. “Much has changed in your life. You have many decisions to make.”

Her stomach cramped and she nodded. She had no idea what would happen with her job. Obviously she’d have to leave it, at least for a while until she figured out exactly what being a vampire meant for her.

She, better than most, understood how fragile she was right now. Bloodlust affected all newly made vampires differently. Many gave into it, killing indiscriminately and gorging on blood. She didn’t want that. The mere thought sickened her.

She felt fine now, but she was in a contained environment, surrounded by people who understood what she was going through. What would it be like to be out among a large group of people? Already she could hear the heartbeats of everyone in the room. The sound pulsed through her veins, calling to her. It frightened her how the craving for blood washed over her.

She glanced up at Damek for reassurance and he offered her a tight smile. “You have time. You will make your decisions when you are ready.” He shot her father a dark look. “You do not need to decide anything right now.”

Vincenzo straightened and stared Damek down. “You are not exactly right, vampire. Sonia has to decide if she is staying here with you or coming home to New York with her family.”

Stefano and Milo both stood behind their parents, presenting a united force. Only her grandparents hung back near the doorway, letting the scene before them play out without interference.

“You should come home so we can take care of you.” Stefano crossed his arms over his chest after making his pronouncement.

“Stefano and Papa are right.” Milo took a step closer to the bed but stopped when Damek glared at him.

“I take it you’ve met my brothers Stefano and Milo.” Sonia’s tone was dry. “They do like to tell me what to do.”

“Not that you ever listen,” Stefano muttered under his breath.

Damek nodded but said nothing. She could sense him withdrawing emotionally from her. He was standing next to her but might as well have been miles away. The intimacy of moments before, the sharing of his blood, might never have happened. Sonia swallowed hard. Maybe he wanted her gone.

Her grandparents stepped forward, her large grandfather standing behind her much smaller grandmother. Nicola Agostino might have streaks of gray in her hair but her skin was unlined and there was a timelessness in her eyes that spoke of power and knowledge. “We will leave,” she said.

Sonia’s father started to speak but closed his mouth when Nicola shot him a dark look. “We will go out for dinner, yes? That will give Sonia and her vampire time to talk. I want pasta and baklava and you will take me.”

Sonia sent her a grateful look and her grandmother smiled, a knowing gleam in her eyes. Good lord, did she know what Sonia planned to do while they were gone? The smile edging up the corners of her grandmother’s mouth would suggest so.

“Come,” Nicola ordered.

Her mother leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t rush any decisions. No matter what your papa says, you have time.”

Her father leaned down and kissed her forehead before ruffling her hair. “I want you home with us, but it is your decision.” No guilt there, Sonia thought.

Her brother Stefano echoed her father’s sentiments when he kissed her, while Milo whispered for her to be happy.

Her grandmother smiled and followed her family, leaving them alone with her papou. Damek released her hand and faced the half-breed werewolf. Roberto Agostino put his hands on his hips and scowled. He was a formidable sight with his dark shaggy hair graying at the temples, black eyes, huge shoulders and massive biceps. He was larger than Damek, but Sonia knew he wasn’t nearly as powerful.

“Ignore them.” He jerked his head toward the door. “You saved my Sonia, and for that we will always be in debt.”

“There is no debt.” Damek’s voice was cold and unforgiving.

Roberto inclined his head in acknowledgement. “Be warned that our Sonia is precious to us. Make her unhappy and I will kill you myself.”

“Grandfather,” she gasped, using the more formal name for him instead of the beloved papou so he would know just how angry she was at him.

He shook his head. “This must be said. I am the head of this family and he must understand the consequences of his actions.”

Damek didn’t know whether he should curse or laugh. Sonia’s family had completely taken over his home and his life. Byron had taken over the running of the club but that couldn’t last much longer. Damek had to take command of his life once again.

But it wasn’t easy with all these Agostinos running around, giving him orders. There was no debt to him, and he found it insulting they would even think such a thing. And Roberto’s threat was laughable. There was no way for the half-breed werewolf to kill him. If anything, Damek could dispose of him with ease, but that would only upset Sonia. He’d seen firsthand how close the family was.

And there lay the seed of his discontent. Sonia was close to her family. Would she want to go back to New York with them? He didn’t want her to stay because she felt she owed him or because she was afraid of what she had become. He wanted her to stay because she loved him.

She’d said she loved him, but she’d been dying at the time and so he couldn’t take it as truth. People said many things when there were really no consequences.

“Roberto.” Nicola poked her head into the room. “Come, the wolves are getting restless and hungry,” she added. Her grandfather growled but left the room. Moments later, the door to the apartment shut with a bang, leaving them alone for the first time in days.

“I’m sorry about that,” she began. “My family can be overbearing at times, but they mean well.”

“They love you.” He loved her too, but they’d loved her longer. “You should rest.” Now that they were alone he wished her family were still here. As long as there was a buffer between them they didn’t need to decide their future.

Sonia sat, letting the covers fall to her waist. Her bare nipples pebbled in the cool air and Damek had to force his gaze away from them. Her eyes were warm and filled with mischief as she patted the bed beside her. “Come here and we’ll talk.”

Damek didn’t know what to make of her. Newly made vampires usually had little control over their bloodlust and took a much longer time to learn to handle their new preternatural senses. Maybe his blood had something to do with it. He was very old and his blood was very potent. Maybe it was because she’d already possessed some preternatural blood. Maybe it was the combination of the two. Or it might simply be Sonia herself. He’d always known she was unique. Whatever the reason, he was more than grateful.

She was pure temptation and he was no saint. Damek wanted to yank back all the covers, mount her and fuck her until neither one of them could think any longer. He’d never had sex with another vampire and wondered what it would be like to feel her body undulating beneath his as he drove into her hot sheath, to taste her blood on his tongue as they both came, to share his blood with her as her orgasm took her.

His temples pounded and his fangs extended to their full length even as she patted the mattress again. “That is not a good idea.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea. The perfect one in fact.” Hesitation crossed her face. “Unless you don’t want me anymore.”

Not want her. Not want her. Was she out of her mind? He couldn’t think for wanting her.

Sonia turned her head away, pulling the covers around her and Damek broke. Lust roared through him more forceful than any bloodlust ever had. To hell with all of them. All that mattered was Sonia, and she wanted him. He ripped at his clothing, removing it in record time. He had to be naked, had to feel her flesh next to his. He yanked back the covers, exposing her totally to his heated gaze. Her eyes widened and then half-closed, giving her a sexy, slumberous appearance.

“Don’t ever think I don’t want you.” He climbed onto the bed and covered her with his body. The scar on her belly would haunt him forever even though the wound beneath it was healed. He’d come so close to losing her.

He settled between her legs, letting his erection settle against her mound, her breasts against his chest. He cupped her face between his hands. “I’ll always want you, Sonia.” He kissed her then, kissed her with all the fear and frustration he’d felt these past few days. She made him vulnerable, was a weakness. He who had lived without fear for centuries, still felt the remnants of sheer panic echoing in his blood. He’d almost lost her.

Until Sonia knew what her strengths were she would be vulnerable. Even after that she would be at risk. She was so young and would need many years to come into her own as a vampire. But he would protect her and keep her safe no matter what.

If she wanted to go back to New York then they would go there. He owned property in the city and would relocate, maybe even open another club. Byron could take care of Inhibitions for him.

But he was getting ahead of himself. Maybe she wouldn’t want him to go with her. He ignored the shaft of pain that jolted through him and his resolve hardened along with his cock. She needed him whether she knew it or not, and he would not abandon her even if it meant he had to watch out for her from afar.

Her fingers tangled in his hair and her tongue met his, stroking, touching, twining until they were both breathless. Her eyes were glowing when he pulled back. “I can’t wait. I need you.” He had to get inside her, had to feel her alive and moving beneath him.

“Then don’t.” Her softly spoken words pierced his lust. Sonia would give him whatever he wanted, whatever he needed, when it should be the other way around.

Damek shifted, rolling onto his back and pulling her on top of him. “Take what you need, what you want, my sweet. I am yours.” He cupped her breasts, letting them fill his palms as his thumbs circled her nipples.

She flung her head back and gasped, bringing her mound in closer contact with his erection. She rubbed her pussy over his cock, slowly, so slowly, until they were both near madness.

“Put me inside you,” he commanded. He needed to be inside her, to have her hot, warm heat bathe his shaft. Only then would he feel complete.

She circled him with her hands, stroking from base to tip several times. His balls drew up tight to his body, a warning that time was running out. “Sonia.”

She smiled a bewitching smile as she maneuvered herself over him and pressed the tip of his cock to her opening. Balancing herself with her hands on his chest, she slowly lowered herself. One slow inch at a time, she took him in and he savored the sensation even as it pushed him closer to madness.

His hands cupped her hips and he urged her downward until all of him was buried in her hot core. They stared at each other and Damek did something he’d never done in his more than one thousand years of living—he opened his mind to another.

He let Sonia feel what he was experiencing—the heat, the clawing need, the desperation. He held nothing back.

She gasped and her pussy spasmed around his cock, wringing a groan from him. He wanted to fuck her long and hard, to take her slow and easy, spending hours lingering on every inch of her body. But now was not the time for either. Sonia was still recovering and he wanted her too badly.

“Oh, Damek,” she sighed. “I need you too.”

He sat up, driving his cock even deeper. This was indeed heaven. Nothing had ever felt this good, this right, in his life. She wrapped her legs around his hips and began to rock. The motion rubbed her distended nipples against his chest and she cried out.

He caught her head in his hands. “You know what I want.” The image was as clear as day in his head. He wanted to drink from her as she drank from him and he wanted to do it as they both orgasmed.

“Yes.” She tilted her throat back, offering it to him. “God, yes.”

He growled and knew he would kill anyone who tried to stop him, tried to take her from him. They moved as one, their bodies rocking, pushing toward release. Her skin glowed and he could smell her arousal, sweet and potent. Her low cries of pleasure, the sensual slide of their skin, only served to push his lust to greater heights.

Damek caught a hank of her wild curls in his hand and eased her head to one side. Her pale skin called to him and he leaned down and raked his fangs over it, tasting the salty heat. “Yes!” she cried. “Harder.” She ground her pelvis against his and he could wait no longer.

Sharp fangs pierced her skin and blood filled his mouth. Sonia cried out, twisted her head slightly and then he felt the hard punch of her fangs against his neck. She sucked hard, taking his blood into her.

He drank from her as his orgasm shot straight from his balls out the tip of his cock, filling her. Sonia cried out, her inner muscles clutching at his shaft, milking it until there was nothing left. She shuddered and shook in his arms, but he held her tight, keeping her safe. He would always keep her safe.

There was so much he wanted to say to her but didn’t know where to begin. He felt vulnerable enough without pouring his heart out to her.

Sonia showed much more courage than him. She released him, closing the puncture wounds on his neck while he did the same with her. “I love you.” She captured his face in her hands and stared deep into his eyes, into his soul. “I don’t want you to feel responsible for me. I know you never planned to make this relationship permanent, but were forced into it by circumstance. I only ask that you let me stay long enough to learn what I need to learn.”

He nodded slowly and gently closed his mind to her, needing to get his balance again. I love you. He said the words in his mind but made sure his thoughts were shielded so she could not hear them. Cowardly, perhaps, but he didn’t like feeling vulnerable.

“I fear,” he began, and felt her withdrawal from him. But he would not allow it and banded his arms around her waist, keeping her close. “I fear it will take centuries for you to learn all you need to know.”

Sonia stopped trying to pull away and a smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Centuries?”

He solemnly nodded. “At the very least. Probably longer.”

Sonia longed to hear Damek say the words aloud, longed to hear him say he loved her. She thought she remembered him saying it to her when she was dying, but she couldn’t be sure. Maybe she’d imagined the words in her head. Her memories of that time were disjointed and fuzzy. Probably just as well. She wasn’t sure she wanted to remember dying. Damek’s actions were those of a man in love even if he hadn’t given her the words. For now, that was enough.

Her body was still pulsing from the most explosive orgasm she’d ever had. Every time she and Damek came together it just got better and better. She could still taste his sweet, potent blood on her tongue and savored the flavor. His cock still pulsed inside her body, a reminder of his blatant masculinity.

There was no one like Damek. He was unique and he was hers. She wasn’t letting him go and considering what he’d just said, she didn’t think he wanted her to let him go. “Then I guess I should stay with you.”

He buried his face in the curve of her neck and held her so tight she feared her ribs would crack. He was so lonely, her vampire, yet too proud to ask for what he needed. It was a good thing she wasn’t afraid to take what she wanted.

When he finally eased up on his crushing embrace, she leaned back slightly so she could see his handsome, beloved face. “I want to go home for a visit.” She thought about the logistics. “I’ll need to quit my job and pack up my things. I can leave the furniture there so we’ll have a place when we visit. My apartment is right next to my parents, right next to my brothers too. I told you we all had apartments in the same building, didn’t I?”

“You want us to stay with your parents?”

He sounded so appalled by the idea she laughed. “Not with them. I’ll keep my apartment, but I’ll pack my personal belongings and bring them here.” She glanced around the room. “I may need to make some changes.”

Damek rolled suddenly, taking her under him. He loomed above her, large and powerful and hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled when she felt his erection growing again. My guy has a fast recovery time.

He threw back his head and laughed and she realized he’d heard her thoughts. “I thought that too loudly, didn’t I? I’ve got to work on that,” she muttered.

Damek leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips and nose. “I hope not. I find your thoughts endlessly fascinating. And you can change anything you want. In fact, I think we should move, find another apartment and have it renovated to your specifications.”

She gasped and shook her head. “That would cost too much. This place will be fine with a few modifications. We might be vampires, but I refuse to live with all this black. I am Greek. I need color and plants and life.”

He grinned and shook his head at her. “Money is no object. I have more than you could ever spend.”

Sonia laughed. “Good to know, but I am frugal. Blame my upbringing. We work hard and we do not waste.”

Damek began to move his hips, pressing his erection inward before easing it almost all the way out. “Glad to hear you don’t believe in waste, because it would be a sin to waste this.” He powered inward, his hard cock filling her, leaving no doubt as to what this was.

“Waste not, want not. That’s my motto.”

He nuzzled her face and chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that.” He stroked in and out again and whispered in her ear. “You are mine, Sonia. Now and always.”

How she wanted to hear him whisper that he loved her. But she was patient and could wait. There was plenty of time for their relationship to grow and flourish. Her vampire was used to being alone, was not used to being able to depend on another. Although he would deny it, she knew trust was an issue with him. With time, he would learn what it meant to be loved and to love in return. She would teach him if it took her an eternity.

She clutched at his shoulders and lifted her hips to meet him. “I love you, Damek. Forever.”

There was no more talking as they found bliss once again.

Chapter Sixteen

Damek held a glass of ouzo in his hand and wondered how in the hell his life had changed so quickly in such a short time. He was a thousand-year-old vampire and he had…in-laws. And a huge extended family. He shuddered to think about it.

Even his chauffeur, Jerome, had been taken into the Agostino family and was currently enjoying the feast the entire family had set out for their arrival.

Sonia was talking with one of about a million cousins that were jammed into her parents’ large apartment. Some were in the kitchen and dining room, while the rest of them ranged around the living room. Children raced around, being fed and petted by the adults. One tiny blonde girl tripped and fell and before she could start to cry was picked up, comforted and sent on her way again.

He’d never been in a room with so many related people before. They were loud and boisterous and he found them endlessly fascinating.

“Not what you’re used to, eh?” Roberto stood next to him, pride on his face as he surveyed the large room. “We are many and you are used to being alone.”

“It’s not that different from the crowds at my nightclub.” That wasn’t quite true. There was a purity to this group, an openness and honesty that he’d rarely seen in his long lifetime.

Rather than being offended, Roberto gave a hearty laugh and slapped him on the back. A lesser man would have taken a header, but Damek didn’t move an inch. He simply stared at the half-breed werewolf.

“Just as loud, at least. It is a good thing we own the entire building and only family lives here or we would have many complaints.”

Damek didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to complain about anything the Agostino family did. In spite of their open and jovial natures, there was no mistaking the deadliness of the males who watched over the females and children.

He turned to his host. “How old are you, Roberto?” He usually never asked people personal questions, but found he was curious.

The werewolf sighed and dragged a hand through his slightly graying hair. “I have seen three hundred and fifty years. I will live another hundred and fifty, give or take, but my Nicola will not last that long.”

“I’m sorry.” Now that he had Sonia, Damek couldn’t imagine living without her.

“That is the way of the world, is it not?” Roberto nodded toward his son, Vincenzo. Sonia had worked her way over to her father and was chatting to him. “My son will live to be a hundred or more, but he too will be gone in less than fifty years.” He turned to Damek. “You are luckier than most.”

Damek nodded. “I am, and I’ll take good care of her.” Sonia was smiling now as her father lifted her off her feet and swung her around. Her laughter reached his ears and lightened his heart.

“I would not let you have her if I did not think you would do so.”

“You could not have taken her from me,” Damek pointed out.

Roberto shook his head. “Maybe, maybe not. I have a lot of friends in low places, vampire. Do not forget that.”

Damek respected the werewolf and the family he’d built. He even admired the organization he’d built. The Keepers were indeed helping other paranormal creatures to adapt and thrive in the human world, living side-by-side without harm. But he was getting tired of being threatened by them.

A muscle beneath his eye ticked and he needed to get away from them all for a while before he did something he’d regret. Before he could make his escape, Sonia’s brothers stopped before him.

“How are you enjoying yourself?” Milo asked. He was a banker and the most even-tempered of the two brothers, but not by much.

Damek sipped his ouzo. “You throw quite a party.”

Stefano laughed and slapped him on the back. “You get used to us. Sonia is a package deal. Her family comes with her.”

“So I’ve come to understand.” His dry tone made both brothers laugh again. In the past few weeks he’d come to see how the family worked. Sonia talked to her mother every day and her grandmother at least twice a week. While he was glad they were close, he was happy they’d decided to keep living in Chicago. Too much of this togetherness would drive him mad.

Sonia laughed again and Damek smiled. Idiot that he was, he would visit her family as much as she wanted if it made her happy. She practically skipped to his side, shooting her brothers a nasty glare. “You’re not giving Damek a hard time, are you?”

“Who, us?”

Sonia laughed at Stefano’s look of innocence and shooed her brothers away. When they were alone, she wrapped an arm around his waist. “I know this isn’t easy for you. Thank you.”

She understood him so well and he loved her for it. He was also concerned for her. While she was getting stronger at resisting the bloodlust, it was difficult for her to be around large crowds for such an extended period of time, and it could come over her at any time. Unbeknownst to her, he was constantly monitoring her, ready to step in if needed. She was strong, but they both could use a respite from the large gathering.

“I was thinking it was time for us to take that side trip we talked about.” Craig had used the identification they’d found on the vampire hunters’ bodies and his computer skills and had found all three residences of the deceased hunters. Luther Kostas had lived right here in New York, and Damek wanted to search the Manhattan residence.

“Sure. They won’t miss us, and we’ll be back before they know it.”

Damek began guiding her through the room as he raised his hand and caught Jerome’s attention. The driver had been alerted earlier that they’d be going out later so he put down his plate of food and met them at the entrance. Unfortunately, so did Sonia’s mother.

“Where are you going?” Celia Agostino frowned at him and then at her daughter. “The night is still young.”

Sonia hugged her mother. “We’ve got to go out for a bit but we’ll be back. I promise.”

Celia searched her daughter’s face, finally sighed and patted her cheek. “Stay safe.”

“I’ll watch over her,” he assured her.

“I know you will.” She patted his cheek as well. He didn’t understand this family at all. They had no fear of him. It was totally disconcerting.

He opened the door and ushered Sonia outside and down the stairs. Jerome already had the car waiting out front. They’d elected to drive to New York, rather than fly, as it gave them more freedom to move about whenever they wanted.

Since Jerome already knew where they were going and the privacy screen was in place, Damek pulled Sonia onto his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. “I’m having the best time.” Her hand settled against his chest. “I know this isn’t your idea of fun, so thank you for agreeing to stay for a few days.”

“I don’t mind your family.” They understood the necessary precautions and had already outfitted Sonia’s apartment with a state-of-the-art alarm system and installed metal shutters on all the windows. They loved Sonia and accepted him. He couldn’t ask for any more than that.

She laughed and hugged him. “You’re so diplomatic.”

He snorted. He’d been called many things in his life but that certainly wasn’t one of them. “We’ll get your things packed up and loaded tomorrow and leave the day after. I need to get back to the club.” He’d spent more time away from his business than he had there for the past few weeks, his need to stay with Sonia until she was comfortable with her new lot in life being paramount above anything else. Byron was handling things, but there was no substitute for the owner being there.

“I could help you.” She ran her fingers over his chest and shoulders. “We haven’t talked about what I’m going to do now that I’m suddenly unemployed.”

He caught her face in his hand and brought it close until their noses were almost touching. “I know it wasn’t easy for you to quit your job, but you can do anything you want. I don’t want you to overdo it until you’re stronger.”

Sonia smiled and kissed him. “I’m as strong as an ox and ready to go out of my mind if I don’t find something to occupy my time.”

“Are you sorry to leave your job behind?” He worried she would grow to resent him.

“No.” She shook her head and played with a lock of his hair. “I enjoyed teaching and the research, but it’s time to start a new chapter in my life.”

The vehicle sped through the streets of the city, the lights and people never ending. They were silent, both of them lost in their own thoughts, until the car pulled in just down the street from the building they were going to.

Damek hit the intercom. “Stay here. We shouldn’t be long.”

“Yes, sir.” Jerome was human and had no idea his boss was anything but what he appeared to be—a nightclub owner with dubious connections. Most thought he had ties to the mafia and had no idea what he truly was.

He opened the door and drew Sonia out of the limo. “Stay close.” She nodded and kept pace as they walked up the sidewalk. Damek barely glanced at the doorman, who immediately opened the door for them. He’d already used his preternatural powers to mess with the cameras so there would be no record of them coming or going.

Sonia breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped into the elevator and the doors shut tight. “I’m amazed he didn’t try to stop us.”

“He did not because I planted the suggestion in his mind that we belonged here.”

“Handy skill.” She took his hand and held it as the elevator went up to the twentieth floor.

They ghosted down the corridor and Damek waved his hand and the locks tumbled open. He pushed the door open and ushered Sonia inside.

Sonia wished they were anywhere but Luther Kostas’s home, somewhere they could be alone together. She knew Damek was finding it difficult to be around her family and was only staying in New York for a few days to make her happy. She loved him for it even as she wished he were more at ease around them. It might never happen, but she hoped he might relax around them with time. Of course, if she’d known her family was going to descend en masse for a party she would have told her mother not to do it. She’d planned to keep this visit low-key, to give Damek time to acclimate.

He was so aloof, so alone even in a room of boisterous people, maybe even especially then. She planned to take him back to her apartment when they finished here and show him just how much she loved him.

Damek stiffened, turned and stared at her, his eyes glowing with lust.

“Oops.” She’d thought too loudly again. It was difficult for her to hide her feelings from Damek, especially her sexual ones.

“Later,” he growled.

Right. They had a job to do first. She looked around with interest, wondering what kind of place a vampire hunter would live. The living room had the requisite sofa, chair and big-screen television. There was a dining area beyond with a table that would seat four.

She walked through the room and peeked into the kitchen—stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and tile floor. Classy all the way and totally impersonal. It reminded her of Damek’s apartment, but she’d soon change that. She already had plenty of ideas of what she wanted to change in her new home.

His hand rested against the small of her back. “There is nothing here. Let’s check the bedrooms.”

“Okay.” They walked down the short hallway, past a bathroom that was small but luxurious. “This hunter had money.”

“Yes, he did.” Damek stood before a closed door. “I’ll have to find out where it came from.”

“You’ll get Craig to do that.” She’d come to realize that Damek liked the human male and enjoyed his clever mind.

“Most likely.” He paused. “Do you mind?”

“Why would I? I like Craig.”

Damek ran his hand over the door. “Can you feel it?”

Now that he mentioned it, she could sense a humming, almost a vibration in her bones. “What is it?”

“Power. There are powerful objects in this room. Let me go first.” He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

“Holy crap,” she whispered as she followed him, stopping just inside the door to look around. This was where the vampire hunter really lived. The room was covered with weapons and artifacts. She found herself drawn to a wall covered in swords. “Many of these go back hundreds of years. They’re not reproductions.” She’d seen many ancient weapons during her years of research, and the ones in this room were worth a small fortune.

“This is more valuable.” Damek stood beside Luther’s desk and thumbed through a book whose pages were old and brittle.

“What is it?” She hurried over to his side, wanting to see what he’d found.

“A personal history of vampire hunting dating back at least five hundred years.”

“Personal, as in his family.”

“Yes.” Damek shut the book and set it aside. “And there is more. Open your senses and look for an area where the energy is most concentrated.

Sonia focused all her power, wanting to learn how to use it. Every day was a learning experience for her, and while she didn’t have near the power Damek did, she was no slouch either.

“You know where it is, don’t you?” She scowled, drawing a slight smile from him.

“Of course.”

“Of course,” she mimicked. Shoving aside her frustration, she concentrated on the task at hand, letting her gaze flow over the desks, the walls and the bookcases. “There, behind that shelf.”

“Very good.” Damek walked to the bookshelf and felt behind it. She heard a click and then the entire thing swung outward.

“Wow, that’s cool.” It was like something out of a movie. A small steel door about two feet square was visible. “Can you open it?”

“Such insults.” Damek place his hand over the door and within seconds she could hear tumblers fall into place. He turned the handle and opened the door.

“I bow to your greatness,” she said, tongue firmly planted in her cheek.

“As you should,” came his quick reply. He reached in and drew out several leather-bound journals, a file and several boxes. He placed everything on the desk and began shuffling through it. The boxes were filled with old jewelry, a pocket watch and other memorabilia. They closed the boxes and Sonia carried them back to the safe.

Damek flipped through the journals. “We need to take these. This is information about the vampire hunters’ organization.” He opened the file and did a quick shuffle. “This is personal information, bills and such. This can go back.” He handed it to her and she took care of it.

Damek was right behind her and closed the safe with a thunk. He returned the bookshelf to its rightful place and took one last look around. “That’s all for this room.” He gathered the book and journals and ushered her out.

“What about his bedroom?” Sonia didn’t think they should leave any stone unturned. She didn’t want to have to come back. It was creepy enough being in a dead guy’s place, let alone going through his stuff. It would be more difficult if he hadn’t tried to kill her. Something like that tended to put things in perspective.

They went to the last door and opened it. Like most of the apartment, it was generic in nature. The bed and dresser were nothing special. Still, they looked through the closet and all the drawers, finding nothing.

“We need to leave. Now.”

She felt it too, a stirring in the air. Damek hustled her to the front door and out, pausing only to rest the locks. They started down the hallway toward the elevator, but he pulled her into the stairwell.

The elevator bell dinged and two men climbed out, walking to Luther Kostas’s front door. They banged on the door and waited. “Where in the hell is he?” one man asked the other. “It’s not like him to stay out of contact so long.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” the other said. The sound of locks being opened reached her ears and their voices faded as they entered the apartment. That was too close for comfort.

“Come.” Damek hurried her toward the elevator and she wasn’t surprised when the doors slid open the moment they stepped in front of them. They stepped inside and he pressed the button for the lobby. In no time they left the building and slid into the waiting limo.

Jerome pulled away, heading back toward her family home in Queens. She released a deep breath. “More hunters.”

“Yes.” He carefully set the books aside and reached for her. She went into his arms easily, loving how they felt around her. “We will watch and study them. As long as they are no threat to us we will leave them be.”

Sonia wasn’t certain that was the right thing to do but kept her own counsel for now. If any of the information they discovered might be helpful to The Keepers, she would convince Damek to pass it along to them.

When he kissed her, she forgot all about the hunters and her family waiting for them. There was only Damek. Their lips touched and tongues met and she lost herself in the heat between them.

His hand slid up her thigh to cup her butt as he deepened their kiss. Wanting to feel his hard flesh beneath his clothing, she flicked open the buttons on his shirt and found the sculpted muscles beneath it.

He settled her more securely in his lap so she was facing him and pulled her close until her pelvis was pressed against his erection. She broke their kiss, gasping for air. Her body still thought it was human and she didn’t mind. It was kind of freaky to think about not needing to actually breathe.

“I think we should see more of the city. Maybe drive around Central Park.” His hand slipped under her blouse and found her breast. He shoved her bra down and teased the pert nipple.

“Excellent idea.” No way could she wait until they got back to her apartment. With her luck, her family would catch them coming in and they’d have to spend more time at the party. And she needed Damek. Now.

He reached out and pressed the intercom button. “Drive around the city until I say otherwise.”

“Yes, sir.” Sonia could hear the slight laughter in Jerome’s voice and knew he was plenty aware of what was going on back here even though the privacy screen was firmly in place. Then Damek kissed her again and she didn’t care.

He teased her lips with kisses and then carefully raked his teeth over her jaw, raising goose bumps on her skin. “Now where was I?” He stripped her blouse off, tossed it aside and unhooked her bra, drawing it away from her body. It joined her blouse on the seat beside them. He cupped her bare breasts and smiled at her, flashing some sexy fang. “Ah, now I remember.”

Sonia’s laugh quickly turned to a gasp and it was a long, long time before they made their way back to her apartment.

Chapter Seventeen

Sonia smiled at Byron as she walked into Inhibitions. She couldn’t say she enjoyed it here, but she was getting used to it. The place was hopping, the music pounding, people dancing and liquor flowing. A hundred heartbeats echoed in her head and she could smell the faint tang of blood on the air.

“Evening, ma’am.” No matter how often she told him to call her Sonia, Byron insisted on being more formal with her. All the staff treated her as if she were made of gold and needed to be protected.

She glanced down at the huge diamond on her left hand and smiled. They’d gotten married in a small, intimate ceremony just two weeks ago, with only her immediate family in attendance. She still couldn’t believe they were married. Damek had stunned his staff when he’d informed them, and since then they’d all been extremely courteous and careful around her. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to it and hoped they’d lighten up over time.

She was still waiting to hear her new husband say those three little words, still waiting for him to tell her he loved her. But the ring on her finger was a solid commitment, a statement. A vampire as old as Damek didn’t convert and marry a woman if he didn’t care deeply for her, maybe even love her. She held tight to that thought every day.

Sonia had come to accept that he might never be able to make himself vulnerable enough to admit his feelings for her. He’d spent far too many years alone, her vampire, too many years of having no one to depend on, no one he could trust.

Things were different now. She had his back and always would. Maybe after a few hundred years or so he’d truly start to believe that and let down his guard.

She grinned. It was still startling to think in those terms. She was going to live for a long, long time. Her husband might think he was stubborn, but she was an Agostino and could out-stubborn a donkey. She would eventually wear Damek down and have him professing his love on bended knee. The image almost made her laugh. She couldn’t imagine her proud vampire down on his knees, but it was something to shoot for.

“Hi, Byron. The boss in his office?” She already knew the answer to that but tried to keep up the façade of being human as best she could. She tried not to come here when it was so busy. Although she’d gained great control over her new vampire abilities, being around all these beating hearts and hearing the blood rushing through their veins made her hungry. Bloodlust hammered at her, causing her fangs to elongate.

She kept her mouth closed, not wanting to frighten everyone. She damned her lack of control and wondered if she’d ever find it again. She hated being a prisoner to her hunger.

“He sure is. You go on back.” He stuck out his huge arm to keep a patron from bumping into her and for that she was grateful.

She swallowed hard and started toward the office, keeping her head down and her eyes on the floor. She felt him before she saw him. Damek. His strong, protective arm came around her and he quickly guided her through the thrumming masses and into his office. She breathed a sigh of relief when the door shut behind them.

“You should have told me you were coming earlier,” he gently scolded. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “You push yourself too hard. You have remarkable command of your base instincts for one so newly made. Most vampires as young as you would have lured a patron to a dark corner and probably drained him dry.”

“I just hate feeling like this.” And she hated whining. She was alive and was very grateful for that. The rest would come in time.

“I know.” He flicked open the top three buttons of his shirt and exposed the long, strong column of his neck. Hunger erupted and she surged forward, sinking her fangs into his flesh. His blood flowed into her mouth, hot and potent. She drank greedily for several long seconds before she realized what she’d done.

She made a small sound of distress in the back of her throat and started to withdraw, but Damek’s hand cupped the back of her head, holding her to him. “Drink, my love. Let me provide what you need.”

Two tears trailed down her cheeks as she continued to drink. He always seemed to know what she needed even before she did and readily provided it without hesitation. He showed her a hundred times a day, in a hundred little ways how much he loved her. It was wrong of her to want more when he already gave so much.

Her love for Damek filled her to overflowing, but she wished she weren’t so needy, so dependent on him. It wasn’t fair to him.

She eased her fangs out and ran her tongue over the pinpricks, closing them. Carefully, she fastened his buttons and straightened his collar.

“Sonia.” Damek cupped her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tipped her face up. “So precious.” He leaned down and caught one tear on his tongue. “Don’t be so sad, my love. You are too hard on yourself. You have come so far in such a short time.”

“I know. It’s just…” She didn’t quite know how to explain it, but with Damek she didn’t need to.

“I know.” He hugged her and she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. The world felt better, right, when she was with him. It was much harder when she was alone with her thoughts. “I heard from Craig.”

The caught her interest and she leaned back so she could see his face. “What did he say?” They’d searched all the apartments, gathering any information they could on the vampire-hunter organization.

Damek picked her up in his arms, walked back to his chair and sat with her in his lap. “Luther Kostas’s money came down in the family and they owned quite a bit of property. That gave him both the income and the time to allow him to hunt. His wealth is being left to a man named John Smith, which is obviously an alias. The other hunters had little money and worked odd jobs to finance their extra activities.”

“So what do we do now?” She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. Controlling the bloodlust was exhausting work. Better to focus on the mystery of the vampire hunters than the problems she was having adjusting to vampire life.

“I think you should go through all the diaries and journals we collected and write the comprehensive history of the vampire hunters, something that will allow the vampires to understand their enemies better.”

Sonia sat up straight. “Really?” All the apartments they’d searched had contained journals, personal memoirs of their lives as vampire hunters. This was something she could really sink her teeth into. She grinned at her unintentional pun.

Damek caught a hank of her hair in his hand and gave it a playful tug. “Why not? You’re the research expert. Who better to put all this together? We can keep a copy for ourselves and give one to The Keepers.”

“Are you sure?” Her fingers were already itching to get hold of the journals. It was important for her to work, to contribute.

Damek rested his forehead against hers. “Yes. As much as I find your family exhausting, they’re doing good things. If this can help them, then I’m all for it. Just leave your name off the damn book. I don’t want to attract any crazies or paranormal creatures to our door.”

Sonia laughed at his put-upon demeanor. “I promise.” She crossed her finger over her heart.

He caught her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. “I forgot to mention that Craig thinks he’s found several more hunters’ journals in antiquarian bookstores in both Boston and New York. I’ve set up a false identity and have bought them. They’ll be delivered to a post box in Detroit and we’ll go and pick them up in a few days.”

The researcher in her was dying to get her hands on all the books. It would be fascinating to look into the minds of those who got into vampire hunting. If they could learn what drove them, maybe they could figure out a way to change their minds about killing all vampires.

Damek’s hand rested on her hip and he gave it a playful squeeze. “Do you want to go home and start on the journals we already have or do you want to do something else?”

She was immediately diverted. “What do you have in mind?” Her sultry tone left no doubt that she was up for whatever he had in mind.

He lifted her until she was facing him, his hands on her hips. “This is a very sturdy chair.”

“Yes, it is,” she readily agreed. “And that is quite a large desk you have too.”

He growled and captured her mouth with his, thrusting his tongue inside. He stood and shifted until her back hit the desk, never breaking the torrid kiss. Papers scattered and crunched beneath her. Oh, how she loved this man.

He pulled away and stared down at her, eyes flashing with lust and need, fangs long, gleaming and sharp. She licked her lips in anticipation.

Damek slipped his hand beneath the modest, knee-length skirt she wore, stroking his fingers along her inner thigh all the way to her pussy. One of his eyebrows rose when he found her naked. “I’m not sure whether to be pleased or to spank you for walking around with nothing on beneath your skirt.”

Sonia batted her eyelashes at him. “What can I say? I’m a brazen hussy out to seduce her husband.”

“Is that so?” He circled her swollen clit and she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out. “Far be it from me to disappoint a lady.” Two thick fingers penetrated her slick core and this time there was no way for her to disguise her whimper of pleasure.

He withdrew his fingers and she cried out at the loss. “Shhh. I want to see all of you.” His gaze never left her face as he unbuttoned her blouse and spread the material wide to expose her sexy, red lace bra.

“Very nice.” He traced the edge of the cups and her nipples beaded, pressing against the stretchy fabric. She moaned and shifted slightly, trying to get him to touch her nipples, but he avoided them, circling them instead.

“Beast,” she taunted.

“You don’t like what I’m doing?” He lifted his hand and she reached out, grabbed his hand and brought it back to her breast. He laughed, his smile making him look young and carefree. Her breath caught in her throat and tears pricked her eyes. She blinked them back, not wanting to ruin the playful moment.

“I like it far too much. But I’d like this even better.” Holding his hand in hers, she guided it to one of her straining nipples that were outlined against the satiny fabric of her bra. Pressing his index finger over it, she rubbed back and forth. Her pussy spasmed with delight at the sensual caress. There was something wicked about directing his touch, pleasuring herself with his hand.

“Maybe you’d like this even better.” His rough tone raised goose bumps on her flesh and she waited, quivering with anticipation.

Damek leaned down and captured a hard, fabric-covered tip between his lips and sucked. She dragged her fingers through his hair, anchoring him to her breast. “Oh, yes,” she moaned.

She felt his lips turn up into a grin and forgave him for being smug. He was an excellent lover and he knew it. And since she was the one benefiting from his experience, she wasn’t about to complain.

He shifted his mouth, leaving a trail of hot kisses down the slope of her breast until his face was buried in her cleavage. She felt the slight scrape of one of his fangs against her skin and then the cups of her bra were parting. He’d bitten through the fabric.

Damek leaned back and shoved the bra out of his way, exposing her breasts. “This is the way you should always be, naked and ready for me to fuck you.”

Her arousal ratcheted up another notch and her pussy spasmed again. Oh, how she wanted him. “You’re rather overdressed.” She wanted to touch his rock-hard abs, to slide her lips and tongue over his salty skin. She sent him a mental picture of what she wanted to do to him and was rewarded with a deep gasp, quickly followed by a growl.

He stood up straight and removed his jacket. He always looked so put together, so handsome in his Italian suits and designer shirts. She’d have to buy him some jeans and T-shirts for nights when he wasn’t at work. The man needed to learn how to relax and have fun, and she was just the woman to teach him.

Her skirt was hiked up around her waist, giving him a perfect view of her wet, pink pussy. She made no attempt to cover herself. She was long past being shy around Damek. He was so earthy, so sensual, he made it impossible for her to retain any kind of reserve when it came to their sex life.

He took his time unbuttoning his black, linen shirt, slipping open one button at a time.

“Tease,” she accused him. She cupped her breasts and rubbed her thumbs over her nipples. “I’ll just play by myself while I’m waiting.”

As though some internal tether had been broken, Damek swooped and attacked. His mouth captured hers, stealing her breath, her very sanity as he laid claim to her. Like some ancient warlord of old, he gave no quarter as he touched and licked and caressed his way down her neck and torso, teasing her swollen nipples until she begged for mercy. He gave her none.

She gripped his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin, arching her back and offering herself to him. She was so ready, her body weeping in need. But he wasn’t ready to give her what she so desperately needed.

He dropped back into his chair so his face was at the same level as her pussy, leaned inward and stroked his clever tongue over her labia. She clutched at his hair, not sure whether she wanted to tug him closer or push him away. Not that it mattered. Damek would have his way, no matter what.

Damek wanted to roar with pleasure, but was afraid it would bring some of his staff running to see what the matter was. And no one got to see his Sonia naked but him. He’d kill anyone who saw her creamy white skin, her large, pink-tipped breasts or her juicy pussy.

He’d fantasized about having her here like this, spread across his desk, begging him to take her. She wasn’t quite naked, her clothing pushed aside or up to expose her delectable breasts and sweet pussy, but it was more than enough.

He needed to lay claim to her, fought the urge to do it at least ten times a day. There was something bothering Sonia, something she wasn’t telling him. It frustrated him. How could he fix the problem if he didn’t know what it was?

He’d asked her on several occasions when she seemed pensive, but she always smiled and said nothing was wrong. It was driving him mad.

He felt as though he was losing her, and that was unacceptable. His chest actually ached at the mere suggestion. He’d love her so long and hard she’d never consider leaving him.

Her sweet cream coated his tongue as he lapped over her slick folds. Her unique scent filled his nostrils and her breathy moans filled his ears. His cock was rock-hard, pushing against his zipper, begging for release. He ignored his aching erection and gave Sonia all his attention.

She never held anything back when they made love, was always open and giving, allowing him to do whatever he wanted. She responded to each and every touch as though she’d been made just for him.

He eased two fingers into her tight channel and was rewarded with a deep moan. “You like that?”

“Yes.” His scalp stung as she tugged on his hair to bring him closer.

He stopped talking, stopped thinking, and concentrated only on pleasuring his woman, his wife. The last word made his chest swell with pleasure and his balls tighten against his body. His wife. His. She belonged to him and he belonged to her.

Damek carefully raked one fang over her swollen clit, and her cry of pleasure echoed around the room. “Damek,” she gasped, arching into his touch. He loved the sound of his name coming from her sweet lips and let her feel the light stroke of his fang again.

It wouldn’t take much to push her over the edge. He wanted to taste her pleasure, to hear it, to feel it before he claimed her. All his senses were aroused and he was close to coming. His cock was pulsing like a heartbeat and it was tuned to the slow beat of Sonia’s heart. She was still young and hadn’t quite accepted the fact that her heart didn’t need to beat as it once had, and she expended unnecessary energy to keep it pulsing as normal. That would change over time.

He had to taste her, had to claim her in a way that no one else ever had or could. He gave the hard kernel of nerves one final lick and kissed his way to her sleekly muscled thigh.

Her breath caught in her throat but she didn’t stop him, didn’t protest. He sank his fangs into her salty skin and moaned in ecstasy when her blood filled his mouth. He sucked hard, taking her essence into him. His fingers continued to pump in and out of her snug sheath, pushing her to the edge and finally over.

Sonia arched her back, her fingers digging into his scalp. Internal explosions racked her body and cries of pleasure broke from her lips. Damek ignored the urgent request of his cock to get inside Sonia. Nothing was more important than her pleasure. He carefully withdrew his fangs, not wanting to take too much, and lapped at the small wound. He almost wished it wouldn’t heal so quickly, wanted her to wear his mark on her flesh as a reminder of who she belonged to.

“Damek.” She said his name and he lifted his head to smile at her. She might be the fledgling vampire, but he was her willing slave.

“Yes, my sweet.”

She opened her arms to him. “I need you.”

He stood and unzipped his pants, freeing his tortured cock. He braced one hand on the desk and used the other to rub the head of his shaft over her pussy, coating it with the lubrication from her orgasm.

She placed her hands on his chest. “Don’t tease me any longer. Come to me.”

There was nothing he would deny her. Damek placed the flared head of his cock against her opening and pushed. Sonia tipped her head back, exposing the long line of her neck. His fangs ached to bite her there, to taste her again.

The sweet tang of her blood and the musky scent of her cream still mingled on his lips when he leaned down and kissed her. She moaned and lapped at his lips, his fangs, tasting herself on him.

Damek thrust his cock deep, not stopping until he was buried balls-deep in her wet heat. He was home.

Chapter Eighteen

Sonia stroked Damek’s slick chest and broad shoulders. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man anywhere and she never got tired of touching him. Echoes of her orgasm were still zinging through her body, but there was no time for her to enjoy it, not with Damek kissing her. He explored the cavern of her mouth, tasting and arousing before withdrawing slightly to lick her bottom lip.

The sharp tang of her blood and the earthier flavor of her arousal lingered on his tongue. Their tastes blended to create something new, something special, something uniquely theirs. She lapped at his lips, wanting to take their combined essences into her body, indeed into her very soul.

Her channel was slick from her orgasm, but the muscles still had to stretch to accommodate Damek’s cock. He was thick and long and his cock head bumped against her womb.

No matter how many times they made love, it always felt new and exciting. Sonia gave herself up to him, to what happened when they came together, taking what she needed and giving Damek all that she was. It wasn’t in her to hold back, not when she loved him more than anyone else in the world.

Damek was lover, husband and maker. He’d plucked her out of the jaws of death and given her life. For that, she would always be grateful. But her love for him went deeper than simple gratitude.

She loved everything about him, even the things that frustrated her no end. He was bossy and demanding, but he was loyal and intelligent, sexy and compelling. Something about him spoke to her soul and she knew that would never change, no matter how long she lived.

Her channel rippled over his cock, trying to keep him locked inside her. Her entire body felt alive in a way it never had when she was human. It was strange to be considered undead but to feel so damned alive. Her skin tingled from head to foot. Heck, even her scalp was tingling. Her nipples were hard nubs, begging him to taste them. She felt sensual and wanton.

She felt closest to him when they were physically joined, their bodies united for one common goal. It gave her a tangible way to show him how much she loved him.

Damek slowly withdrew before forging his way back inside her again. He was being so gentle now, such a contrast from the exciting way he’d used his fangs to arouse her earlier. He was like that, one minute almost rough, the next so gentle it made her feel like the most cherished woman in the world.

But she didn’t need gentle now. Didn’t want it. “Harder,” she demanded, and he gave it to her.

He lifted her legs and draped them over his shoulders, leaving her wide open to his thrusts. Bracing both hands beside her head, he plunged in and out, hammering her pussy. And she loved it.

Papers crinkled as her body slid across the top of the desk and she grasped his forearms to keep from sliding off. Damek’s cock powered into her with short, hard strokes. His eyes were glowing red and she knew hers were too. She arched her neck, wanting him to bite her, needing to bite him in return. The exchange of blood was almost as profound an act as making love. When the two were combined, Sonia didn’t think there was a more intimate act two people could share.

Damek leaned down and nuzzled her neck, the sharp edge of his fang teasing her skin before piercing it. The sensual caress was like a punch to the heart. She loved it when he drank from her. Primal instincts had her grasping his neck and lifting so she could sink her teeth into him.

He groaned when her fangs punched through his flesh. Moaned when she began to suck, drawing his blood into her mouth and swallowing. The life-giving fluid flowed down her throat, sweet and oh so good. Her body absorbed it, sending it to every cell. Heat followed, comforting and exciting at the same time.

Needing blood to survive no longer felt foreign to her. It simply was what it was, normal for a vampire. She didn’t think she’d feel quite the same if she were drinking from anyone but Damek. She’d probably starve if she were forced to take blood from a stranger. No, if she couldn’t have Damek, it was bagged blood for her. It was nowhere near as potent as her husband’s blood, but it did the job and kept the bloodlust contained.

The sensual pull of his mouth at her neck, combined with the continuous plunge of his driving cock, sent her over the edge again. Sonia came hard and fast, crying out as a molten volcano of love and longing erupted within her, sending fire streaking to every part of her.

Blood leaked out the corner of her mouth and she quickly lapped at his neck to close the wound. “I love you,” she cried, needing to give him the words he couldn’t give her.

Damek continued to thrust and drink, sending her into another spasm of sexual delight. Her orgasm seemed endless. Or maybe she had several. It was hard to say. He played her body like it was a piano and he a master of the keys. He arched against her and flooded her with his essence, which sent her spinning off yet again.

“Mine,” he roared as he came, continuing to thrust until all sense of reality was gone. His blatant possession soothed the ache in her soul, making her orgasm even more satisfying.

Lost in an endless ocean of pleasure, she drifted aimlessly, content to simply be until Damek stirred and lifted her off the desk. Her blouse was wide open, her bra ruined beyond repair, and her skirt hiked around her waist. Damek was still hard inside her, his cock throbbing as he settled them both into his large desk chair. Her thighs hugged his flanks, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, loving just being close to him.

Sonia was sleepy and replete, but couldn’t shake the niggling sense of disappointment. She inwardly scolded herself. She’d promised herself she’d be happy with things the way they were and be patient with Damek.

“What’s wrong?” Damek eased her away until she was sitting up straight. She grumbled at being moved from his comfortable chest, but he wouldn’t be denied. He gently pushed an unruly lock of hair off her forehead, hooking it carefully around her ear. She could see the growing concern in his gaze.

She hated that she’d inadvertently destroyed the loving, sensual moment. Damek was always in tune with her moods and emotions, even when he couldn’t hear her thoughts. She shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong. That was amazing.” She kissed him, hoping to distract him.

She should have known better. Damek stood and lifted her off his lap, letting his semi-erect cock slip from her body. He ignored his open pants and his growing erection while he buttoned her blouse and pulled down her skirt. Her bra was still on under her top even though it was ripped beyond being useful.

Needing to pull herself together, she turned away from Damek’s probing gaze and opened her blouse enough so she could remove her bra. She didn’t have any pockets, so she dropped the damaged garment into the garbage can tucked behind the desk.

Liquid trickled down the inside of her bare thigh, and for a brief moment, she wished she’d worn underwear instead of giving into her need to seduce her husband. She needed to clean up, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Damek’s office didn’t have a private bathroom or shower. If they were going to be doing this kind of thing here on a regular basis, she’d have to do some renovations. A shower would be perfect right about now. Behind her, she could hear Damek pulling his clothing back on.

Pasting a smile on her face, she turned and, sure enough, he looked immaculate, not a hair out of place, while she was rumpled and sticky. If she didn’t love him so much, she could really resent him for that.

Papers were scattered all over the floor and she bent to pick some of them up. Damek’s hand came down on her shoulder. “Leave them.”

She slowly straightened and laid several papers on the desk. She’d never be able to look at his desk again without remembering tonight.

“What is wrong?” He rubbed her upper arms, his gaze growing more concerned by the moment.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Frustration bled from every pore of his body. Being this in tune with another person was disconcerting at times. Sonia knew he was upset, but she didn’t want to admit to what was bothering her.

It felt wrong to want more from him than he was willing to give. His every action showed her that he loved her. Why couldn’t she just be happy with that? She gave herself a pep talk every single night when she woke from her day sleep, determined to be patient, but it simply wasn’t working.

“Sonia. You must tell me. Do you want to leave me?” His tortured question almost broke her heart.

“No!” How could he even think such a thing? She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tight. “I love you. I’ll never leave you.”

His breath was warm against her temple as he sighed. “Then what is it? Something has been bothering you these past weeks. I’ve been patient long enough. Tell me so I can fix it.”

So autocratic. So demanding. That was her husband. How could she make him understand? She took a step back and ordered her scattered thoughts, which wasn’t easy with him watching her with those penetrating, sexy dark eyes. “It’s not something I can demand you fix. It’s something you have to figure out for yourself. If I demand it and you give it, then it’s worthless.”

Damek rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t understand.” For the first time since she’d known him, he looked tired and discouraged. Her heart felt as though it was breaking. She was making him feel this way, though it wasn’t her intention. She didn’t know what else to do.

“I know.” Sadness tinged her words, but they were the truth. She did understand. Damek had never been in love before and probably wouldn’t even recognize the fact if it hit him over the head. He wasn’t used to thinking in those terms because he’d been alone for so long.

Desperation ate at Damek. He had to know what was wrong. He could easily slip into her mind and discover the truth for himself, but he knew if he did such a thing, he would irrevocably break the special bond between them. He needed Sonia to tell him what was wrong, freely and of her own will.

Sadness enveloped her and it was breaking his heart, a heart he’d long thought dead and dormant until he met her. She’d changed him, and there was no going back to the man he’d been. He didn’t want to.

He enjoyed life now in a way he hadn’t for hundreds of years, maybe never. Everything was more special when he shared it with Sonia. He loved the way she insisted on behaving as though she were still human—having coffee in the evening when they woke, sharing the newspaper and going out to concerts and the movies.

But most of all, he simply loved being with her, holding her in his arms as the sun rose and sent them both to rest. He stayed awake each morning long after she was asleep simply watching her and marveling at the fact that she was his.

He knew she was happy most of the time, but in quiet moments there was something unsettled inside her. “Are you unhappy I turned you into a vampire?” He’d dreaded something like this happening. He’d changed her life, tied her to him without her consent.

“No. Of course not.” She offered him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and patted his chest as if to reassure him. “I’m going to go home and get started on my research.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek before turning to leave.

Damek knew if he let her walk out the door whatever was wrong would continue to fester, inevitably driving a wedge between them. He couldn’t let that happen. “Sonia.”

She shook her head, not turning around to face him. “Let it go, Damek. Everything is fine.”

Using his preternatural speed, he reached the door before she did. “I can’t let you go. Not like this.”

“Nothing is wrong,” she promised. “I love you.”

Damek knew she was telling the truth, but there was still something she was hiding from him. Fear and regret ate at him. He had to know what was wrong. If he couldn’t take it from her by force, there was only one other way to get it from her.

He slowly dropped to his knees before her.

“What are you doing?”

He felt her mounting concern, but he’d gone too far to stop now. “You must tell me what is wrong?” Emotion threatened to close his throat. He swallowed hard and forced out the words, holding nothing back. She was his reason for living now, his sanity, the balm that drove back the bloodlust and indifference that had colored his life for so many years. He could not go back to those centuries of bland sameness. He’d rather die.

“Damek.”

He shook his head and buried his face against her stomach, needing her warmth against his face. “I love you, Sonia. I cannot lose you. You must tell me what is wrong.” The last was more a demand then a request, but he did not take back the words. He held her hips in his hands to keep her close.

He felt her stiffen against him and looked up, ready to do whatever it took to put an end to this untenable situation. Her gray eyes were shining with the pure light of her soul. It was so beautiful it almost hurt him to look.

“You love me?”

He frowned at her question, wondering what his love for her had to do with whatever was bothering her. “Of course.”

“Of course,” she muttered. A lone tear slipped from her eye to roll down her cheek.

Damek surged to his feet. “Please don’t cry. You don’t need to tell me what is wrong.” Not if it made her cry. He caught her face in his hands and kissed her cheek, capturing the tear on his tongue. The salty drop was bitter in his mouth. He’d done this. He’d made her cry.

Then she started to laugh. He eased back, not quite sure what he should be doing. Was she sad or happy? He might be a thousand years old but he still didn’t understand women. He wasn’t sure any man truly could.

“That’s it. Don’t you understand?”

He shook his head. “Have pity on your poor husband.”

Sonia had earlier pictured Damek on his knees confessing his love to her, but never had she thought it would hurt her so much when he did so. Hearing him beg her to tell her what was wrong was a moment she wouldn’t soon forget. She never wanted to see her proud vampire begging her or anyone for anything. It simply wasn’t right.

He was watching her carefully, as though she was a ticking time bomb and he had no idea what would make her explode. “You told me you loved me.”

He shook his head. “I still don’t understand. Of course, I love you.”

He really didn’t get it. “You never told me you did. Not in words.” She sighed and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I was going to be patient and pretend I didn’t need the words. You always spoke in terms of possession, not love.”

“You are mine.” He caught her chin in his hand and tipped it upward until she could see his scowling face.

There he was, her arrogant, dictatorial man. And she wouldn’t have him any other way. “And you’re mine,” she reminded him. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t need the other words, the softer ones.”

A slow smile curved the corners of his mouth. “Ah, I think I understand now.” He kissed her then, the soft caress filled with love and gentleness and hope.

“I love you, Sonia. You saved me in more ways than you will ever know. You are my life.”

“As you are mine.”

She tugged his head down and kissed him, tasting true happiness for the very first time. Damek cupped the back of her head, tilting it to the side to give him better access. She felt the hard push of his erection against her belly and smiled.

Then they forgot the outside world and let all their troubles drop away. Whatever happened in the future, they would deal with it together.

About the Author

N.J. Walters has always been a voracious reader of romance novels and decided one day that she could write one as well. The contemporary story, Discovering Dani, was the very first novel she wrote while living in a little town much like the one Dani O’Rourke lives in, though all other similarities to Dani’s life pretty much end there. Then she wrote another one that followed up on Dani’s friends and neighbors. But she didn’t consider herself a “real” writer yet.

Just a few years later N. J. had a mid-life crisis at a fairly young age, gave notice after ten years at her job on a Friday and received a tentative acceptance for her first published novel (an erotic romance) from a publisher on the following Sunday.

Happily married to the love of her life, with his encouragement and support she gave up the job of selling books for the more pleasurable job of writing them. She now spends her days writing novels of her own. Werewolves, vampires, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to do it. And some days she actually feels like a “real” writer.

N.J. enjoys hearing from readers, and she can be reached at njwalters22@yahoo.ca. You can check out her web site at www.njwalters.com.

Content

Damek's Redemption
Legacy - 6
by
N. J. Walters

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

About the Author