Damek's Redemption

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?”