by Tina Folsom
To burden her with his own feelings was wrong. Yet it didn’t stop him from hauling her closer to him, from digging his fangs deeper and drinking more of her sweet essence. And it didn’t stop him from thrusting harder into her, filling her tight channel with his hard length that was ready to burst.
And it didn’t stop him from wishing to leave something of him behind, of wanting his seed to take root in her. To create another life. At the same time he knew it was impossible: only blood-bonded couples could conceive, and he would never force this bond on her. If he did so now in the heat of passion, she would never forgive him for binding her to him for eternity.
“More,” she whispered and lowered her head to his ear.
But he knew he couldn’t take any more. Already, her movements had slowed and her voice sounded lethargic. He dropped his hand between their bodies and rubbed his thumb against her clit, stroking first gently, then harder.
Zane removed his fangs from her breast, licking over the incisions his teeth had left. His saliva closed them instantly and mended the skin.
“Oh, God!”
He felt her orgasm rock through her body and let go of his control. His release went through his cells like an atom bomb, obliterating everything in its path.
Portia collapsed against him. He discarded the torn t-shirt and cradled her against his chest.
“Baby girl,” he murmured into her hair. There was so much more he wanted to say but couldn’t.
Her breath hummed against his neck. “Promise me to always feed from me.”
Zane’s muscles tensed. He could make no such promise as much as he desired what she was offering. “I can’t.”
She pulled herself away from him, and her face told him everything he needed to know. She was so easy to read, and in this moment, he wished it were different. But he saw what was written there: hurt that he was rejecting her. And like a stake, that same kind of hurt drove into his heart.
Portia shifted to get out of his lap, but he captured her arms and stopped her, moving his hips at the same time to drive himself back into her.
“You don’t understand, Portia.”
She lashed an angry glare at him. “Oh, I understand. You’ve had enough of me already.”
Zane bared his teeth. “You’re wrong!”
She struggled against his hold. Angry at her defiance, he flipped her onto her back, and braced himself over her. There was no escape now, even though she pushed against him.
“It’s not I who doesn’t want you.” Why was he even telling her that? He owed her no explanation. However, his stupid mouth didn’t get the message and kept on moving. “It’ll never work between us. You have your entire life ahead of you. Why would you want to chain yourself to somebody like me?”
She shook her head, her body suddenly going soft beneath his, molding itself to him. “But I want you.”
“You say that now. You say that because we have great sex. That’s all this is. You’re confusing love with lust.”
Her eyes focused on him, and something lit in them, a flicker of understanding. Maybe he’d finally gotten through to her.
“And you, are you confusing lust with love? Or do you know the difference?”
Her challenge was clear, and hell, he should be wiser than to accept it, but whatever it was—the aftermath of his orgasm or her blood pulsing in his veins—he couldn’t resist answering.
“Of course I know the difference!” he bit out between clenched teeth.
“Then tell me, smart ass! Tell me that it’s lust for you and I’ll leave you alone. In fact, I’ll pack up right now and go home. And you’ll never have to set eyes on me again.”
Never see her again? His heart clenched painfully at the vile thought. He searched her face to discover if she was bluffing, but nothing gave away what she was thinking. Was she giving him a way out, a way to make a clean break without losing face?
“Tell me you don’t love me.” At the last two words, her voice trembled.
He closed his eyes, trying to fight against the feelings that her demand conjured up. He should lie to her, lie and be done with it. But that final tremble in her voice had driven too deep into him, demanding he’d be honest with her.
Without opening his eyes, he admitted what he should have kept to himself. “I love you.”
As he made a motion to lift himself off her, she hooked one leg around his, holding him back. His eyes flew open, and he pinned her.
There was a warm smile on Portia’s face. “I think I should explain the rules to you again,” she said softly.
“What rules?”
“As long as you love me, you don’t get to leave.”
He raised an eyebrow, surprised at her easy tone. “Does that rule go both ways?”
Her finger swiped over his lips in a slow and lazy stroke. “Why don’t you ask what you really want to know?”
He suddenly felt lighthearted, her playful attitude helping him relax. Maybe he could give this a try. “Tell me you don’t love me and I’ll let you go now.”
“When I’m near you, I can feel you in here.” She pressed her hand against her heart. “And when you’re gone, there’s an emptiness there. And it hurts. And the pain only goes away when you’re close again. Tell me, Zane, tell me what that is.”
Her eyes were round like saucers and as beautiful as he’d ever seen her. Laced in those eyes was the knowledge that she knew the answer to her question, but that she wanted him to acknowledge it. She wanted him to accept it.
“Does it feel like your heart will tear into pieces at the thought that we’d never see each other again?” Because it was what he felt. And the pain was unbearable.
Portia nodded.
“Baby girl,” he murmured and brushed his lips against hers. “Are you sure?”
Instead of another nod, she pressed her lips against his for a slow kiss. Her breath bounced against him when she parted her lips to speak.
“Have you figured it out yet?” she mumbled against his mouth.
Zane drew back a few inches so he could look into her eyes. “You love me.”
How, he didn’t know, but in her eyes shone the love he hadn’t wanted to see at first.
“I love you, Zane.”
Would he ever be worthy of it? He tried not to think of it, not to worry that she would change her mind and walk away from him one day. He wouldn’t survive it, because losing her would rob him of the last piece of his heart and turn him into the monster that lurked in the shadows.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gabriel had expected the call, but not so quickly. But when he heard Lewis’ voice asking about his daughter Portia, there was no doubt that the shit would soon hit the fan.
As discussed with Samson earlier, he quickly patched him into the call. This situation needed to be handled with care.
“It’s Robert Lewis, Portia’s father.”
“Damn!” Samson cursed. “Have you told him anything yet?”
“No. But we won’t be able to stall him.”
“I know. Get him on the line.”
Gabriel pressed a button and heard the other man’s breathing on the other end. “Mr. Lewis, you’re on the line with Samson Woodford, the owner of Scanguards.”
“Where is my daughter? She’s not answering her cell, and nobody’s picking up the phone at home.” There was a good deal of impatience in his voice.
Samson cleared his voice. “Let me assure you, Mr. Lewis, that your daughter is well.”
Well? Gabriel felt the urge the scratch his head at Samson’s conversation starter. How could Portia be well with Zane? His fellow vampire and second in command was a raving lunatic! He’d kidnapped his charge. Didn’t that sum things up nicely?
“What are you saying? What happened to her?” The impatience in Lewis’ voice was instantly replaced with panic.
Gabriel immediately realized that he cared for his daughter. After the things Samson had relayed to him about Zane’s bizarre claim that her father want
ed to keep her a virgin for some perverted reason, Gabriel hadn’t expected him to show the kind of concern that was now evident in his voice. It only cemented his own belief that Zane had to be wrong.
“She’s still in our care.”
“What does that mean?” Lewis yelled into the phone, prompting Gabriel to move the handset away from his ear.
“What Mr. Woodford means is that no harm has come to her,” Gabriel interjected.
“Get her on the phone! NOW!”
“Uh, Mr. Lewis, there’s something I need to discuss with you before you can speak to your daughter.”
A snarl ripped through the line. This wasn’t going well, and why should it? The man had a right to speak to his daughter, and he knew it. No amount of stalling was going to get them out of this quagmire.
“Your daughter has made certain claims, and I’m afraid that we’re compelled to investigate these alleg—”
“What lies has she been telling you?”
“We’re not sure at this point whether they are lies. Your daughter has convinced at least one of our employees to take her allegations seriously, and considering the seriousness of her claim and the potential implications on your daughter’s future, we have decided to look into this.”
Look into this? Samson was twisting the truth just a little more than usual. The one who was looking into this, or more likely thrusting into this was Zane, Gabriel thought with a bitter laugh.
“You have no right to deny me access to my daughter! She’s a minor, and by law, she—”
“There is more than one law that governs vampires and hybrids,” Samson interrupted, a dangerous edge to his voice now. “And while I understand very well that the right of a father is a primary one, it does not override the laws of our society.”
“I don’t give a fuck about your laws. My daughter is mine! All I asked you to do was protect her. And what do you do? Listen to her stupid blabbering.”
Gabriel’s jaw clenched. So much for the care for his daughter. It wasn’t concern for her wellbeing that had shown through early in the conversation, it was something else entirely. He pushed the thought away, not wanting to follow it to its conclusion.
“Mr. Lewis,” Samson continued undeterred. “We can discuss this—”
“Oh, we’ll discuss this!” Lewis yelled. “As soon as the sun sets, I’m on the next plane to San Francisco, and my daughter had better be waiting for me, or some heads will roll!”
With his threat, the call disconnected.
Samson exhaled on the other line. “You still there, Gabriel?”
“Yep. This didn’t go well.”
“I didn’t expect it to go well. But at least we have a few more hours before we have to face him. Anything new on Zane’s location?”
Gabriel shook his head. “Our contacts have come up empty. Lauren hasn’t heard from Portia either, even though those two are thick as thieves. But Thomas is working on hacking into Zane’s accounts to see if he can find something.”
“Good. And Quinn? He must know something.”
Gabriel rubbed his neck. “I thought so too, but I can’t get anything out of him.”
“Has Zane used his credit card anywhere?”
“He’s too careful for that. Even if he needed gas for the car, I’m sure he paid cash. Let’s face it, if he doesn’t want to be found, we won’t find him.”
“Then we have to figure out a way to draw him out.”
“And how are we gonna do that?”
There was a pause of quiet contemplation before Samson replied, “Get me Quinn. He went to see Thomas last night. I want to know what it was about.”
“Why not ask Thomas?”
“Because Quinn knows something nobody else does. I just have that gut feeling about it.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“So do I.”
A click in the line told Gabriel that Samson had disconnected the call.
He sighed.
Behind him, a sound alerted him to the presence of his wife. He turned and smiled at Maya as she floated right into his arms.
“You look worried, baby.”
Gabriel sank his face into her long dark hair and inhaled her intoxicating scent. “That’s because I am.”
“Do you really think Zane will hurt her?”
“If she lied to him, yes.” For Portia’s sake, he hoped she wasn’t hiding anything from Zane.
“But that’s not why you’re worried. There’s something about her father, isn’t there?”
There was little he could hide from Maya, and not just because of their blood-bond. Even without it, she would have known when something was wrong.
“He gave me a chill. There was something in his voice that I didn’t like.”
Maya tilted her head, giving him a questioning look. “More than just a father concerned for his daughter?”
“Oh, he’s concerned all right, but the way he said she was his, it wasn’t right. He considers her his property.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Which means he thinks he can do with her what he wants.” And Gabriel wasn’t sure Lewis’ intentions were in the best interest of his daughter, whatever they were.
“Then you think that Zane might be right after all, that her father wants her to remain a virgin?”
“And if Zane is right, the only question is: why?”
Maya stroked her hand over the pulsing scar on his face. “What if it doesn’t matter anymore?”
He raised a questioning eyebrow. “My sweet wife, I’m not sure I’m following.”
“Whatever the reason for it was, it won’t matter anymore. After spending over twenty-four hours alone with Zane, do you really think she’s still a virgin?”
Not a chance, Gabriel mused.
Exactly, Maya responded, sending her thoughts directly to his mind.
***
“Listen, Samson,” Quinn insisted, pacing in his boss’ study, “if I knew where he was, I’d tell you.”
“Portia’s father will be here in less than twelve hours. What do you want me to tell him?”
“Tell him the truth?”
“And what is the truth, Quinn?”
“The truth?” Quinn exhaled, collecting his thoughts. “I baited Zane to come back. I dangled in front of him what he wants most.”
“Explain.”
“I left him a voicemail and sent an email with information he’s been looking for for years.”
“You made something up? He might have smelled a rat.”
“He probably did smell a rat, but I didn’t make it up. I found what he was looking for.”
“Does this have anything to do with your visit to Thomas or was that a social call?”
Surprised, Quinn stood still. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t pry any further. I can’t tell you anything without breaking Zane’s confidence.”
Samson nodded his understanding. “And still he won’t come out of hiding? Why do you think that is?”
Quinn let himself fall onto the couch, more weary than tired all of a sudden. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
“Don’t make me guess. You know how I hate that.”
“He isn’t coming out of hiding because he’d rather be with Portia. Isn’t that telling you enough?”
“You can’t possible think that Zane … No, he’s not capable of …” Samson shook his head in slow motion.
“And why not? He’s a man just like any of us. Just because he’s never shown any feelings doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any. Maybe she triggered something in him. Maybe she’s exactly what he needs.”
Samson jaw dropped. “An innocent? You can’t be serious.”
“I bet she’s not that innocent anymore.”
“What do you think he’s planning to do with her?”
Fuck her, mate her, Quinn wanted to say, but held his tongue. Samson could figure that out for himself. “How long until her twenty-first birthday?�
�
Samson dropped his head to the file in front of him, his eyes scanning the paper. “Four and a half weeks.”
“You asked me what I think he’ll do. Here’s my best guess: he’ll keep her hidden until she’s of age.”
“To keep her away from her father?”
Quinn nodded even though he knew it wasn’t the complete answer. If Zane had really fallen for Portia, then he would want something more from her. He’d have to wait until her twenty-first birthday before she was old enough to give her consent to mate her. Her father would never give it; that much was clear already. If he didn’t want his daughter to lose her virginity, he didn’t want her to mate the meanest vampire out there.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Zane turned his back to the computer and smiled at Portia. He hadn’t smiled as much in over sixty years as he’d smiled in the last twenty-four hours.
“Your pizza is on its way. Just explain one thing to me: the fridge is chock-full with human food, and you want take-out food?”
“It’s not any different from you wanting one particular type of blood. Don’t you ever have cravings?” she teased.
Zane rose and went for her, but she ran toward the door and swung it open. Z instantly came running from his place in front of the fireplace, wagging his tail.
“Oh, I have cravings, baby girl.” And right now he had a very particular one. Ever since he’d tasted her blood and confessed his love to her, something had changed. A carefree atmosphere suddenly filled the cabin, and his heart. They both laughed and joked more freely. Yet whenever their gazes met, the heat was instantly there, the fire between them burning brighter than before.
Portia giggled and snatched her jacket off the hook next to the door. “Then you understand.” She cast a look over her shoulder and winked mischievously. “And if you want me to satisfy your particular craving later, I’d better get my pizza to get my strength back.”
A rumble from deep in his chest left his lips as a suppressed moan. “I ordered you an extra large one.”
Portia crouched down and stroked the excited pup’s fur. “Come, let’s go outside and play in the snow.”