Damek's Redemption

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.