Samson's Lovely Mortal

SEVENTEEN

“Delilah, wake up,” Amaury’s voice came through her dreams. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t stop. “Delilah.”

She opened her eyes and looked at Amaury holding a glass of the same horrible liquid he’d made her drink twice already. She had no idea what was in it and had no intention of ever finding out. For all she knew, it would be toadstool—or just the toad.

“Again?” She’d practically gagged the last time she drank it.

“Sorry, but you need it. He’s been taking a lot of blood from you.” She drank, trying to ignore the awful taste.

Then Delilah followed Amaury’s look, resting on Samson beside her. He looked better. His wounds had closed, and new skin was growing over them.

“How much longer?”

“Soon. In the meantime, you’re needed downstairs in his office. There’s somebody who wants to talk to you.”

She gave him a questioning look. “Who?”

“You’ll see.”

Her gaze drifted back to Samson, not wanting to leave him. “What if he wakes up while I’m gone?”

“I’ll be here. I’ll call you immediately.”

Reluctantly she got out of bed. She felt dizzy when she suddenly stood. Her body swayed, and Amaury instantly grabbed her. A low growl came from the bed.

Both she and Amaury turned their heads to look at Samson. He was seemingly still asleep, but his fangs were showing. Amaury instantly let go of Delilah’s arm. Samson’s fangs retreated, and his lips closed.

“He can sense you even in his sleep. He doesn’t like you being touched by another man.”

“But, you were just trying to help me,” Delilah protested.

“A vampire who’s found his mate is very possessive.”

Delilah smiled at Samson. Even in his sleep he was trying to protect her. “I’ll be back in a short while, my love.”

She saw a content smile form around Samson’s lips as if he could hear her.

Carl expected her in Samson’s office.

“Please take a seat here, in front of the computer, Miss Delilah.”

“Carl.”

He looked at her questioningly.

“I’m sorry. Did I get you in trouble with Samson? I’ll talk to him when he’s better. I don’t want you to be punished for letting me escape,” she said ruefully.

“It doesn’t matter what happens to me, as long as Mr. Woodford will be alright.”

“What will he do to you?”

“I was ordered to protect you, and I failed. All that’s important is that he got to you in time.”

“But it was my fault. I tricked you.”

He gave a faint smile. “No matter, Miss. I shouldn’t have let you trick me. If I may say so, for a human, you’re very smart.”

“And if I may say, for a vampire you’re very kind.”

He nodded. “Mr. Woodford has arranged a teleconference for you.”

Carl pointed to the computer screen. She sat in the chair he held out for her.

“A teleconference. What for?”

Carl switched on the monitor. A picture of what looked like a hospital room came into view. He adjusted the small camera on the top of the monitor and pointed it directly at Delilah.

“There’s somebody Mr. Woodford wants you to talk to.”

“Are we connected?” a voice came through the speaker, and a second later, a tall man stepped into view.

“Yes, we can hear and see you clearly, Gabriel,” Carl replied. “Miss Delilah, this is Gabriel Giles. He runs Scanguards’ headquarters in New York. Gabriel is one of us.”

“A …?” She perused the man on the monitor. His long hair was swept back in a ponytail and his otherwise handsome face showed an ugly scar from his ear to his chin. Yes, somehow she would guess he was one of them.

Gabriel nodded. “Yes, Miss Sheridan, I’m a vampire. It’s a pleasure making your acquaintance. I hope that I’ll have the opportunity to meet you in person at some later time. Samson speaks very highly of you.” Delilah recognized his voice as that of the man on the speakerphone.

“Thank you. Did you want to talk about the audit with me?”

“No. Everything has been settled regarding the audit. We’re aware what Milo and his sister Ilona were trying to do, and we’re working on reversing all their actions. No. This is of a much more personal matter.” He cleared his throat. “Samson has asked me to see your father.”

“My father?” Delilah gasped. Were they intending to hurt him? She pushed the thought away instantly. After her conversation with Amaury she had no reason to believe that anybody would want to hurt her or her family. “What are you trying to do to him?”

“Don’t be alarmed, Miss Sheridan. You have my and Samson’s word that your father is safe. We understand that he’s in the later stages of Alzheimer’s and doesn’t recognize you anymore. But there’s something you need to talk to him about, something you’ve been carrying with you for over twenty years. You need closure, and only your father can give you that.”

Delilah shook her head. She understood what he alluded to, but it didn’t matter. “There’ll never be closure. You said it yourself. My father doesn’t recognize me anymore. He doesn’t have any memories of what happened.”

“That’s not entirely true. He still has memories, they are just locked away.”

“Mr. Giles, I’m sorry that you’re wasting your time, but I can’t talk to my father anymore.”

“Please, hear me out. I can unlock his memories long enough to allow you to talk to him as if he was healthy again. It’ll give you the opportunity to say what you need to say to him.”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s not. Some of us have special gifts. This is mine. I’m happy to use it for this purpose. But you’ll only have a few minutes, before his mind will cloud again, so use the time wisely. Just tell him.”

Delilah swallowed hard. The camera tilted away from Gabriel to a chair. She recognized her father instantly. His stare was blank, his shoulders slumped. Tears formed in her eyes, seeing him like this. Nothing would bring him back. She could never ask him for forgiveness.

Gabriel stepped behind her father and held his hands several inches above the old man’s head. Gabriel’s eyes closed. A few seconds later her father’s eyes suddenly took on life, and he looked straight at the camera.

“Delilah!” her father exclaimed. “Sweetheart, it’s so nice to see you.”

“Daddy?” Her voice broke. He’d recognized her. After so many years, he finally knew her again.

“What’s wrong sweetheart? Why are you crying? Did somebody hurt you?” His voice was full of concern.

“No, Daddy, I’m just happy to see you.”

“So am I, so am I.” He gave her a ravishing smile, reminding her of how he’d always looked at her when she was a young child. “It’s been a while. Your mother and I miss you. You’re working too much, you know that?”

Delilah blinked. He didn’t know that her mother was dead. He had no memory of it. It made sense. Her mother had died when he’d already been afflicted with Alzheimer’s. There was no need for her to bring it up now. She didn’t want to cause him any undue pain.

“I know, Daddy. I’ll come and visit you and Mom the next free weekend I get. How is that?” she lied, unable to bring herself to tell him the truth.

“That sounds like a plan.”

Delilah cleared her throat. She was at a loss of how to approach him. Too many years she’d carried her guilt with her, and now that she had the opportunity to talk to her father about it, she was at a loss for words. There was no right way to start this conversation.

“Do you sometimes still think of our time in France?”

He smiled. “Many times, sweetheart.”

“Me too. I think of it a lot.”

“You were such a young child then, I’m surprised you remember much.” His voice was soft, but also laced with pain.

“I remember all of it from back then.”

He raised his hand to stop her. “Many things are best forgotten.”

“But how can I forget?”

“Only think of the good things, don’t dwell on the bad.”

She shook her head, too choked up to speak.

“Have I ever told you what a joy you were to your mother and me? I can still hear your laughter when I would push you on the swing, and you would demand to go higher and higher. You were such an adventurous little girl. So brave. Always so brave.” He gave her a big smile.

“I’m not always that.”

“In my eyes, you are.”

“Oh, Daddy, I’m so sorry!” Tears started forming in her eyes.

He furrowed his brows. “Sorry for what? What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“Peter,” she pressed out. “I should have done something. I …” A single tear rolled down her cheek, leaving a hot trail on her skin.

“Peter?” His voice sounded surprised. “But, sweetheart, you couldn’t have prevented his death, neither could your mother or I. Peter died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Even if we’d been there that night, we couldn’t have done anything. We always blamed ourselves for leaving you in charge of him. I’ll never forget the horror on your face that night. I wish we could have spared you this. You should have never seen him die. We were so worried for you.”

“But, Mom was so sad all the time. I thought you blamed me.”

“Blamed you? Oh God, Delilah, no.” He sat forward in his chair, wringing his hands. “We blamed ourselves. If we hadn’t had you, your mother and I would have never made it through this dark time. You were the only light we had. You were our only sunshine, but we felt so guilty that you had those nightmares, seeing him dead in his crib over and over again. We didn’t know what to do, so we never spoke about it. We always thought time would heal all wounds, and children forget. In hindsight, we should have gotten you professional help, but we just didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry we failed you. Please forgive us.” Her father’s eyes filled with tears.

Delilah’s eyes finally released the tears she’d built up over all those years. “Oh, Daddy. There’s nothing to forgive. I love you.”

“I love you, too, my sweetheart, and so does your mother. Promise me something.”

“Anything,” she agreed without hesitation.

“Stop dwelling on the past, and think about the future. Your future.”

“I promise.”

“Goodbye, Delilah,” he said, and his eyes went blank again.

Delilah slumped in her chair and gave her sobs free reign. Her father loved her and didn’t blame her for Peter’s death. She was free, finally free of the guilt she’d carried for so long.

Strong arms lifted her up and carried her to the couch. She opened her tearstained eyes and looked at the man who carried her.

“Samson!”

“Don’t cry, sweetness,” he whispered and sat down on the couch, keeping her in his lap. He wore a long robe and looked as vibrant as ever.

“I’m so sorry, Samson; I put you in so much danger.” Her tears flowed freely.

“You saved my life.”

He brought her head close to his and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly.

“I thought I’d lost you,” she said.

Samson shook his head and chuckled. “I’m pretty hard to kill, even though this time it was close, too close. Without your blood—”

She put a finger on his lips. “Shh. I owed you.”

His face took on a stern look. “You felt obligated? That’s why you saved me?” His shoulders sagged, as if all energy had left his body.

“I couldn’t let you die. I put you in this situation. If I hadn’t run off, you would have never been injured.”

“I see.”

So she’d done it out of guilt? That was all she felt? Samson felt his heart contract painfully. She’d saved him, only to kill him by leaving him again. He felt her blood run through his veins, sensed the very essence of her, yet at the same time he listened to her words. Words he didn’t want to hear. She’d saved him because she owed him.

Abruptly he removed her from his lap and sat her on the couch while he rose.

“I’m sorry that you feel this way. You don’t owe me anything. I’ll ask Carl to make arrangements for you to return to New York.”

He’d barely pressed out the word when he stalked out of the room and ran up the stairs. Seconds later he slammed the door to his bedroom shut. Delilah didn’t love him. He’d completely misread her. She’d only given him her blood because she’d put him in danger in the first place, not because she couldn’t live without him.

How noble of her!

A bitter taste spread in his mouth. He had to get her out of his life now, before she ripped his heart out and fed it to the lions. Everything that reminded him of her would have to go. He yanked open his desk and pulled out his drawing pad.

The drawings he’d made of Delilah during their first night fluttered to the floor. Samson bent down and stroked his hands over them, as if touching her instead. He yearned for those moments again when he had her in his arms.

“They are beautiful,” Delilah’s soft voice whispered behind him.

How had she been able to sneak in without him hearing her? He had to attribute it to his recovering state.

“You drew these of me.” Not a question, just a simple statement.

He didn’t turn. “You were asleep. I wanted to capture your beauty.” It seemed so long ago now. “If you want to pack, I’ll leave you to it.” He took the pictures and rose to turn away, but felt her hand on his arm.

“Please look at me,” she begged, her voice soft and gentle.

Samson complied and turned.

“If you think I give my blood to anybody and then just walk away, you’re wrong. Do you really want to know why I didn’t let you die? Do you?” She paused. “Because for once, I wanted something that’s just for me, and I didn’t care about the consequences. When you were laying there dying, the only thing I could think of was myself. Call me selfish, but I couldn’t imagine living a life without you. That’s why I gave you my blood, because I wanted you. And I still do.”

Samson’s jaw dropped, his fingers released the drawings, scattering them on the floor once more.

“You want me? No matter what?”

Delilah nodded. “I love you, and if that means you’ll have to turn me into a vampire so I can be with you, so be it.”

“Turn you …? No!” He pulled her into his arms. “No. I love you too much to do this to you.”

He sank his lips onto hers, claiming her. This wasn’t the gentle kiss he’d bestowed on her in his office, but the possessive kiss of a vampire claiming his mate. Delilah was his.

“Blood-bond with me.” He looked deep into her eyes.

“Please explain it to me again. Last time I wasn’t in the right mind to listen.”

“It means you’ll be mine forever, and I’ll be yours.”

“Forever? But I’ll grow old and you won’t.”

Samson smiled. “No, you won’t. Once we’re blood-bonded, you’ll draw on my essence. You’ll remain human, but you won’t age as long as I’m alive. I’ll only drink from your blood, and you will drink from mine. You’ll be able to sense me because my blood will run in your veins. We’ll be connected. You’ll always know what I feel and I’ll know what you feel.”

“But I will still be human?”

“Yes; you’ll still go out in the sun. You’ll still eat real food. But you’ll be my wife, my mate for life, and I’ll never let you go. There’s no turning back once you’ve decided. We’ll become part of each other, one incomplete without the other, two halves of one whole.”

Her eyes locked with his. There was no hesitation in her response. She brushed her hair aside and exposed her neck to him. “Bite me, then.”

A second later, the bedroom filled with his laughter. It was like a release to him. In her own quirky way she had accepted. “Sweetness, there’s a little more to this ritual than just a bite. And believe me, you’re going to enjoy every second of it.”

The entrance door slammed loudly. Samson’s ears perked up. Several men had entered his house. All of them vampires. He could sense them clearly.

“We have visitors.”

He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped into a t-shirt, before he took Delilah’s hand in his, intertwining his fingers with hers.

The commotion in the living room grew louder. When Samson and Delilah reached the foyer, they already knew who was assembled: Ricky, Amaury, Carl, and Milo, the latter restrained by two strong vampire guards.

“So you found him.” Samson entered the room, nodding to his friends. He looked at Milo, who had a disgusted sneer on his face.

“Your sister said hi before she went to hell,” Samson greeted him.

Milo snarled at Delilah. “Bitch!”

“If you’re talking about your sister, I must agree. Otherwise, you’d better hold your tongue, or I’ll cut it out.”

“Go ahead. Since you’re going to kill me anyway, get it over with.” Milo’s voice was cold and impassive.

“I’m not going to kill you,” Samson said slowly, watching Milo as he exhaled sharply, letting him experience a brief moment of relief. “I’m going to have Thomas do it. He’d be annoyed with me if I deprived him of this.”

He reveled in the shock on Milo’s face. For a short moment he’d obviously thought he’d get away unscathed.

“It was all my sister’s doing. She was behind it. She forced me to do it,” Milo whined. “You’ve already killed her. So you’ve had your revenge.”

The front door opened, then closed again.

“I’ll make sure you’ll get all the money back. I have access to the accounts in the Caymans—I’ll wire it all back.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Thomas’ voice came from the hallway. He came into sight an instant later. “I’ve reversed all transactions. Samson, the money is safely back in your account.”

“Thank you, Thomas.”

“How?” Milo sounded confused.

Thomas approached him, stopping inches from him. “You might have fooled me about your feelings for me, but when it comes to IT, you can’t hold a candle to me. I reversed every one of your transactions.”

“Thomas,” Samson addressed him.

For the first time, Thomas looked straight at him. “Yes, Samson?”

“What do you want to do with him?”

“I?”

“Yes, he betrayed you. You’ll be his judge. Amaury took care of Ilona. And thanks to Delilah’s insistence to feed me her blood, I survived Ilona’s attack, so I have no further need for revenge. But you may take yours.”

Thomas gave Delilah an admiring look. “I can’t imagine anybody more worthy to be Samson’s mate than you. He is truly lucky.”

Samson caught the shy smile curling around her lips and squeezed her hand in agreement. “I know I am, and even more so since Delilah has agreed to blood-bond with me.”

Suddenly everybody was talking over each other. The excitement in the air was palpable.

“See, I told you so.”

“Who would have thought?”

“You owe me a hundred bucks, Carl!”

“Congratulations!”

“I’m so happy for you two!”

“What hundred bucks?”

“We had a bet.”

“When’s the happy event?”

“Oh, damn, just kill me now, before I puke!” Milo shouted and shut everybody up.

“It looks like somebody doesn’t share our joy for your union, Samson,” Ricky said pointedly.

“Luckily I don’t give a rat’s ass about what Milo thinks.” He caught himself and looked at Delilah. “Sorry, sweetness, I shouldn’t curse in front of you.”

She gave a hearty laugh. “You’re funny, you know that? Do you really think a curse word or two can shock me after all I’ve been through in the last few days? If I can get married to a vampire, I think I can deal with a few cuss words.”

“Oh cute,” Milo said sarcastically.

“Shut up, you prick!” Delilah snapped at him.

The room broke out in laughter, all except for Milo. Samson wrapped her into his arms and pulled her face up to his. “I can see already, that we’re going to have lots of fun in our lives together.”

He restrained himself from devouring her right in front of his friends. What was between them was private. Soon he would be alone with her, and she would become his forever. The thought warmed his heart like never before.

“Have you made a decision, Thomas?”

Thomas nodded and addressed his lover.

“You gained my trust under false pretenses. You betrayed me, you stole from me, and you tricked me. You almost killed me, and you killed innocent humans. And your actions threatened those people who are dearest to me. You’re scum, vermin. I regret the day I set eyes on you. The world would be a better one without the likes of you. But I’m not a killer, and you’re not going to turn me into one. You’re not welcome here anymore. I’ll send word to every coven in the United States: if anybody shelters you, I’ll come after them and then after you. If you ever set foot in this country again, I will destroy you.”

Milo appeared shocked at Thomas’ verdict. “You won’t kill me?”

Thomas addressed the two guards. “Accompany him out of town, and make sure he leaves the country.”

The two guards looked at Samson for approval, and he nodded. A few seconds later they led Milo out of the house.

Samson placed his hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “It was a wise decision. I commend you for it.”

Thomas shook his head. “It was a coward’s decision.” He turned, and Samson saw the anguish in his face. “I couldn’t kill him because I still love him.”

Thomas left the house a minute later. Samson understood his need to grieve and come to terms with his decision on his own. Making him stay to celebrate Samson’s own happiness would have been cruel.

“He’ll be alright,” Amaury said once the door had shut behind Thomas. “Give him some time.”

“Carl, how about some drinks to celebrate Samson and Delilah’s impending union?” Ricky suggested.

“Champagne?” Carl asked.

“You know we don’t drink champagne, Carl.” Ricky laughed.

“Yes, but I don’t think it’s polite in mixed company to gulp down glasses of blood.” Carl threw a cautious look into Delilah’s direction.

“Carl, when you say mixed company, do you mean women and men, or do you mean humans and vampires?” Delilah asked and smiled.

“I meant humans and vampires.”

“Bring the blood, Carl, and a glass of champagne for me. I’m not a shrinking violet, and I don’t want you to treat me like one. I’m not going to faint at the sight of blood. Not anymore anyway.”

Carl straightened.

“You heard the mistress of the house.” Samson grinned. Delilah would fit perfectly into his life.

“Yes, sir.”