Hunted_The Guardians' League Book One
Page 19
“It’s not my right to the land they’re challenging. It’s yours.”
* * *
Chapter Twelve
Diego frowned. “What are you talking about?”
James took a seat across the table from Sian and started cutting up his own steak. “You deeded the land to my family in 1688. It was all done perfectly legally, except for one little thing.” He gestured with his fork for emphasis. “Diego Leonides signed it, and the last Diego Leonides who has any records to prove his existence was born in 992. Therefore, unless we can show that there was another Leonides of the same name alive in the 1600s, the transaction will probably be declared invalid and the land will revert to the government.” He popped the bite of meat into his mouth. “And the government really wants this deal.”
Diego pulled out a chair and sat down hard. This was worse than he’d thought. Sian glanced over at him and took his hand. “Didn’t you will things to yourself or something?” she asked. “Move around and try to make it look like you were your own heir? Surely there’s some piece of paper somewhere that says you—or your ancestor—were alive in 1688.”
He shook his head, lacing his fingers through hers. “Where there are vampires, there are vampire hunters,” he said. “When you’re as old as I am, leaving any kind of paper trail isn’t a good idea. That kind of thing only works in movies and books. No, that’s why I took a Steward family. Technically, I have nothing and James is the one who owns everything.”
Sian’s mouth dropped open and James grinned at her. “Nice job, isn’t it? I keep threatening to evict him but he pays no attention.”
She couldn’t laugh. She wasn’t in the mood for humor, not when Diego looked so upset. “If there’s no record that you existed in 1688, how are you going to prove the transaction was legal?”
Diego sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Surely we can plant a paper somewhere,” he said. “Record-keeping wasn’t exactly a fine science back then. We should be able to forge—what?”
James was shaking his head. “These people have been digging for records ever since the first lawsuit was filed,” he said. “They’ve got sworn statements from every registry you can think of saying there’s no evidence of any Diego Leonides in their records—Church records, bills of sale, government papers, and on and on. You were a prince, you were well documented as being born and living back around 1000 AD, and not a trace of you or any heirs can be found after that time. The demise of your family was equally well documented. If they forgot to check somewhere, I can’t imagine where it’d be.”
Diego fought the urge to growl with frustration. “Who the hell are these people?”
“The lawyers hadn’t heard of them before. It’s some kind of medieval name,” James said with a shrug. “Apparently they set up these Renaissance things all over the place. The Templar Alliance or something like that.”
Diego sat straight up at the name. James raised an eyebrow at him. “That name means something to you, doesn’t it?”
“Damn right it means something.” He released Sian’s hand and jumped up to start pacing the kitchen, Eli’s vague comments about Sian being the least of his problems finally making sense. “I had no idea those bastards were still around.”
“Who are they?”
His face was thunderous. “The Knights Templar were vampire hunters, James. These people don’t want the land. They want to find me.”
“Wait, wait,” Sian said, holding up a hand. “I’ve got a minor in history, Diego, and the Knights Templar were disbanded in the 1300s by King Philip of France. They were Crusaders, not—”
“With all due respect,” James interrupted gently with a cautious glance at Diego, “I think Diego knows more about history than you possibly could, minor or not. He lived it.”
She blushed and bit her lip. “Oh, yeah, forgot that for a second,” she murmured, stabbing another bite of steak with her fork. She shot Diego a sheepish grin. “It’s hard to remember you’re a thousand years old when you look younger than me.”
He smiled at her despite his tension. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Unable to be still, he started pacing again. “The Templars might have started as Crusaders, but they became vampire hunters pretty quickly thereafter. What your history books don’t tell you is that King Philip was also a vampire and his actions against the Templars were retribution for an attempt on his life.”
“You’re kidding!” Sian gasped. “The king of France was a vampire?”
“We tend to show up in royal families,” he said with a shrug. “We’re difficult to kill, a definite advantage for any monarch.”
“You really are a prince? You weren’t joking?” He nodded and Sian stared at him for a long moment as if trying to decide if he was teasing her. “All right, then how did they find out about you?” she finally asked. “I mean, it’s not like this deed is news or anything. Why are they poking around back in three hundred-year old land transactions? You can’t convince me researching deeds and filing lawsuits is the best way to flush out a vampire.”
No, the best way to flush out a vampire was to find his mate. Could it possibly be coincidence that this had happened right after he’d taken a bondmate? Diego looked at Sian in sudden concern, wishing he hadn’t thought of that and trying to think of an answer he dared to share with her.
James beat him to it. “I told you the website wasn’t a good idea.”
Diego shook his head at his own paranoia. Of course it was the website. The Templars might be good, but there was no way they could know about Sian. “There are tons of sites on the ‘Net made by people claiming publicly to be vampires,” he said, stopping behind Sian’s chair and resting his hands on her shoulders. He needed to touch her right now. “I didn’t think my little family tree would cause anyone to blink. I don’t even mention the word vampire once anywhere on it.”
Sian laughed. “Diego, come on,” she said. “You put the dates of birth and death on there. I’m no vampire hunter but even I noticed everyone was several hundred years old when they died. Didn’t you think it was a little conspicuous not to put a death date on there for yourself?”
“But I’m not dead,” he said, strangely offended by the idea.
“And I’d like to keep you that way,” James replied. He stood and took the plates to the sink. “Forget the land, Diego. I know all about your family and your pride, but don’t fight this one battle. Time is on your side. Let whoever these people are have it and buy it back when they’re dead and gone.”
Diego scowled. “James, these people have been around almost as long as I have. They’ve survived every attempt to eliminate them and stubbornly refuse to die out. If I let them have this now, I’ll never get it back.”
* * *
Sian tossed fitfully onto her side and sighed. Despite her exhaustion, sleep refused to come for her. Every time she closed her eyes images of fanged, cape-wearing kings warring with fanatical vampire hunters assaulted her mind. Her thoughts spun like a bad B movie and she forced herself to think of something else.
The vivid picture of Diego resplendent in shining armor astride a rearing stallion, his dark hair blowing in the wind and the moonlight kissing his features, arose to torment her next. Sian groaned out loud as the vision took hold. The stallion would be black as midnight, his mane matching his rider’s. She saw Diego control the stamping, untamed beast with hardly an effort as he drew his huge sword—
Sian cut the thought off with a muttered expletive. She absolutely did not need to think about Diego’s huge sword, not in any sense of the word. Her imagination was running away with her. She turned over again and tried yet again to go to sleep.
Twenty minutes later, she gave up. She was wound too tightly to sleep. She threw off the covers and dressed in the first things she touched when she opened the closet but action only made her more anxious. She sighed. She knew what this feeling meant.
Danger was coming again. She’d felt Santonyo’s nearness too many times not to recognize it now.
Something inside her cried out in protest as she slipped her shoes on and planned where she would run, but she pushed it ruthlessly aside. Okay, she could admit she’d felt safe here, had come to care for Diego and even James. She could even admit she would miss Diego desperately and wished she could stay here. That didn’t mean she dared to forget that Santonyo would never stop chasing her. This had been a strange and wonderful reprieve from her real life, but as with all good things it couldn’t last forever.
She would rather leave Diego with the memories of what they’d shared last night—memories she, too, would treasure—than see him hurt because of her. He might be an honest-to-God vampire and he might have taken out those three others in the alley, but she had no illusions what would happen to him if he got within range of one of Santonyo’s snipers. Diego had said it was difficult to kill a vampire, he hadn’t said it was impossible. Lightning reflexes and super strength only went so far. She didn’t think his immortality could withstand a bullet to the head.
She left the rest of the clothes James had bought her hanging in the closet and went downstairs, dreading this. Diego wouldn’t know it was goodbye unless she gave herself away and she had no intention of doing so. If he had any idea she was leaving, he would stop at nothing to prevent it, and he’d already proved how fast he could track her down if she didn’t move quickly enough. Hopefully leaving her things here would keep him from knowing she’d fled long enough for her to make a clean getaway.
Her mind was an open book to him, though, and she knew she had to be extra careful. No amount of subterfuge or acting ability would save her if he plucked her plan from her thoughts. She drew on every shred of control she had and forced herself to think of going shopping, not running away, even as her heart was weeping.
She paused on the stairs, shaking her head in confusion at her rioting emotions. This just wasn’t like her. She wasn’t the mushy, sentimental type. Why should she be on the verge of tears at the thought of leaving a man she’d only known four days? She never cried.
Diego had gotten to her with this talk of eternal bonding more than she’d realized. It had to be that. Surely she’d get over it in a day or two once she was out of here.
But she wouldn’t get out of here at all if he figured out her intentions, so she had to stop thinking about missing Diego. She pushed aside her sadness and pictured going to the huge twenty-four hour shopping club on the edge of the city instead. For good measure, she imagined picking out lingerie. Very, very sexy lingerie, something guaranteed to drive Diego wild, something even spicier than what James had brought home for her on his little shopping excursion.
Surely he wouldn’t complain if he thought she was going out to buy that. “Diego?” she called when she reached the bottom of the stairs.
His voice floated out from the game room. “In here, wildcat.”
Sian winced before she could help it. She wished he wouldn’t call her that. The memories of what they’d shared were a complication she didn’t want to think about yet. She couldn’t bear to think about it or she really would start to cry, and she hated to cry more than anything in the world.
Diego was bent over the pool table when she entered the game room, his back to he as he lined up a shot. Her eyes caressed his tight ass and if she’d been a cat, she would’ve purred with pleasure at the view. Good God, every inch of him was magnificent. She couldn’t quite stop the smile that spread over her face when her eyes traveled up over his muscular back and broad shoulders, loving that he wasn’t wearing a shirt again and knowing he’d done it so she could admire him. The faint scratches on his shoulders were already almost healed and the sight of them brought a purely feminine surge of pleasure through her that surprised her. It was hard to believe she’d scratched him. She’d never marked a man in passion in her entire life before Diego. Damn, but he’d made her crazy.
“I’m very glad to know it. The feeling was entirely mutual,” he chuckled and she jumped, glad she’d thought to concentrate on the shopping trip. It was just a little too eerie when he answered her unspoken thoughts and she wondered why she didn’t dislike it more. He took his shot and the ripple of muscle down his back and across his shoulders was enough to make her mouth go dry. “I thought you were taking a nap, querida.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Another ache went through her at the endearment. He wasn’t making this easy.
He put his stick down on the table before she’d even finished speaking and turned to face her. “What am I not making easy?” he asked, those green eyes searching hers sharply.
Shopping, think of shopping… She bit her lip at the sight of him leaning there against the pool table, holding her mind carefully in check. When she looked at him, it was easy to redirect her train of thought. He truly was a beautiful man. She smiled and crossed the room to run a fingertip down the center of his chest. Heat spread through her and she glanced up at him through her lashes, picturing what she would like to buy to model for him if she truly were going shopping for lingerie.
His skin was dark compared to her blonde fairness, and she had a sudden urge to wear ivory for him. She imagined his olive-skinned hand caressing her breast, a delicious contrast to the pale lace, and when his eyes darkened she knew he was reading the thought in her mind. By God, she would love to wear something like that for him.
“I was going to borrow a car and go shopping,” she told him, trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing but unable to stop her finger taking a detour and circling his nipple, “but you are so very tempting I find I don’t want to leave you.”
And that was only the truth.
The tension left him and he grinned as he slid an arm around her waist. “Good,” he murmured, bending and nuzzling her ear. “Because I just had a very interesting idea involving you and this pool table. Wanna hear it?”
She could just guess what it was. A shiver raced down her spine as his hands slid down to cup her bottom. “You are wicked,” she whispered, leaning against him for a moment. Let me have this, her heart whispered. Let me have one more moment with him before I go.
“Mmm,” he agreed as his lips moved down to her throat. “You seem to bring it out in me, querida.” He ran his tongue along her jaw and claimed her mouth.
Sian threaded her fingers through his hair and gave herself up to his kiss. She’d never met a man who could so utterly seduce with only a kiss, but she’d never kissed anyone else who’d had a thousand years of practice either. His fangs were out again and the feel of them sent a thrill down her spine, their strangeness exciting rather than frightening when she remembered all his bite had made her feel last night. Diego chuckled and she knew he was in her mind again, and yet she didn’t resent the invasion of privacy. I wish I could do that, she thought as she stroked her tongue along his and felt him shiver. What are you thinking?
Suddenly a warm glow spread through her, a wave of sensations not her own. Sian’s eyes flew open at the unexpected flood of emotion. She’d never felt anything like it. The intensity of them was staggering and she broke away with a gasp. “Is that—”
“What I feel for you,” he murmured. His lips brushed hers and she felt the thrill that rushed through him at the soft touch. A wave of electric need seared her and she moaned. He chuckled. “To say you turn me on is an understatement, querida.”
“I can see that,” she breathed. She tightened her fingers in his hair and pulled him back for a much more satisfying kiss. Hot desire swamped her and she wasn’t sure whose it was, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was having more.
Diego growled deep in his throat and spun around until she was the one trapped against the pool table, the cool wood pressing against her hips and Diego’s heat blanketing
her from the front. Sian rubbed against him like a cat, loving the way his hard muscles felt against her and feeling the surge of desire that shot through him at the full-body caress.
Do that again and I swear I’ll have you on this table, wildcat. You’re far too tempting and I have no desire to control myself.
His deep voice murmuring in her mind made her gasp. Diego’s mouth slid down the side of her throat, licking and nibbling until he reached the pair of bite-marks he’d left earlier. His tongue teased a circle around them and the memory of the pleasure his bite had brought her blended with his own possessive memory of biting her. It was the most erotic thing she’d ever felt, this merging of their thoughts. “This is incredible,” she whispered. “Do you do this with all your girlfriends?”
She knew the question bothered him even before he growled again and nipped her skin hard enough to sting. You’re the first woman in my life for a century, he thought back as he soothed the sting away with soft flicks of his tongue. And I don’t want to think about anyone but you. Do you honestly think I would let anyone else into my mind this way?
A thrill shot through her at the confession and her heart ached at the thought of losing him. Sian forced her thoughts away from that, doing the one thing she knew would distract him from searching her mind for her plans. She kissed him with all the desire in her heart as she wrapped a leg around his waist and lay back on the table, pulling him with her. Have I ever told you I’ve always wanted to have sex on a pool table? she thought, trying to send the words to him as he had done to her.
Diego groaned and she sensed his intention to close the game room door an instant before she felt his power surge and heard the door slam. The use of his magic thrilled her. She was barely aware of the click of the lock as his hands found her breasts and cupped them through her shirt. Fulfilling your fantasies is a rough job, he murmured in her mind, but I suppose I’ll have to do it just this once.