Damek's Redemption

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.”