by Lily Luchesi
“Mandatory lockdown tonight. I’ve already had staff prepare a room for you and get you clothes,” she said by way of greeting. “She’s fired up her magic, and it’s not safe for us to be unprotected tonight.” She watched his face, noting the hollows under his eyes. “What happened?”
He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
Nothing my Goth ass, Angelica thought but didn’t say. If she knew Danny well enough, he’d tell her soon. Him and emotions didn’t stay well in a close environment like his head or heart. “Come on, I’ll show you your room.”
She led him down the halls to the sleeping area. The rooms were like hotel rooms at the Ritz-Carlton. They were beautiful, with art prints on the walls, sconces that cast a warm but dim glow over rooms that had king-sized beds, cushy sofas and a small dining area. “This place is bigger and much nicer than I expected,” he commented.
She shrugged. “I like comfortable places and nice things. So sue me.” She smiled and blushed a little. “I’ll leave you to get some sleep. It’s late,” she said.
As she turned to leave, he called her back. “What kind of magic has Fiona fired up?”
“I don’t know. It was fast, but the white witches don’t want to take chances tonight. You don’t mind staying here, do you? Because you really don’t have any other option if you want to live.” She smirked, leaning against the doorframe.
“Holding me hostage, Detective Cross?” Danny joked, the first friendly joke he’d made towards her in months.
“Don’t you wish,” she replied.
“Hey, can you come here a second? I really need to talk to you,” Danny said, his tone all of a sudden becoming quite serious.
Angelica closed the door and walked to sit next to him on the sofa. “Is everything okay?”
He nodded. “Except for the crazy immortal witch trying to kill you and marry me, I’m fine. I just…something happened after you left the room earlier.”
“I knew it! I saw Miranda walk by me, angry as a dog whose bone has been stolen. What happened?”
“We were talking about my powers, about how I sometimes wish I didn’t have them. I said I wished they’d go away, and she said she could take them away for me,” he began. “She wanted to turn me.”
Angelica felt as if she was going to vomit. “She offered to turn you? Does she know she has to get permission from me before she even makes that offer? Did you know?”
Danny shook his head. “I had no idea about that law. It doesn’t matter. I didn’t accept the offer.”
Angelica looked down at her feet, trying to process what that conversation must’ve been like to have had Miranda so furious.
“I don’t want to become a vampire,” Danny continued. “I like being human, despite the inconveniences. That’s not the only, or even the main reason, that I said no, though.”
“Danny, quit beating about the fucking bush already and spit out whatever it is you’re trying to say. I can see it must be either emotionally painful or you have gas.” She winked.
He laughed, but the laugh was strangled.
Sighing, he looked at her, his heartbeat pounding so loudly that she could hear it. “Whatever it is, don’t be afraid to tell me,” she said, her voice soothing.
“The reason I couldn’t let her turn me was because I don’t love her. I don’t think I ever really did,” he said.
That’s it? That’s his big secret? Angelica thought. Bullshit. “Well, I could see you didn’t love her anymore,” she said carefully. “I guess she didn’t take that well, huh?”
“No,” he said. “She didn’t hide her emotions as well as she thought. I didn’t mean to hurt her, but I couldn’t lie. She wanted me back, to be her mate or whatever it is that you vamps have. But I didn’t want her. I never could want her…not after…” He trailed off.
“After what?” Angelica asked, wondering what Miranda had done that she didn’t know about.
Danny looked up at her again. He ghosted his hand over hers, not holding it, but not moving away either. “After I had you. Talking to her made me realize just why I could never be with her, and it’s not because of what she is or the amount of time we were apart. It’s because I still love you.”
Seeming to ignore the shock she knew was showing in her eyes and the little gasp that had escaped her pouty lips, he plowed on. The word vomit seemed to have reached its apex and would not stop until he had purged his heart out to her.
“I tried telling myself I didn’t care, but I do, Angie. I do care. Yes, I was hurt when you lied to me. I think that your deception will always hurt a little, but I let it go too far.
“And now, what you just said…about Fiona powering up…everything could be over in just a few days. And if I’m going to die, or if you are, I can’t let it happen without telling you how I feel. When Miranda told me she still loved me, I knew that I’d never loved her because I understand now what true love really is. True love is what we had…what we could have if you’ll forgive me for being so damned pigheaded.” Danny grasped one of her hands in his and cupped her cheek with the other. “If I only have a few nights left on Earth, I want to spend them with you.”
Angelica was never short of a comment, but his words had rendered her speechless. She had spent the last year trying to come to grips with the fact that she and Danny were forever sundered. Now, every emotion she had hidden away came bubbling to the surface. First came the tears slipping down her porcelain cheeks.
As if not needing to think twice, he wiped them away, leaving her cheeks stained pink. “I can’t read women well. What do your tears mean? What can I do?” he asked, his hand caressing her face and his lips inches from hers.
“You can finally kiss me,” she replied breathlessly, hearing nothing but her own heartbeat.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand gripping his shoulder and the other buried in his dark hair. He pulled her closer so that there was no space between them and finally, desperately, kissed her soft lips. Her eyes were squeezed closed, her tears still falling. She smiled into the kiss, tasting all of him, and wishing she didn’t need to breathe, or else she’d stay there in his arms forever.
“I thought I lost you,” she said. “I thought you’d never love me again.”
“I never stopped loving you. I tried to pretend I didn’t care, but I couldn’t even fool myself,” he said, his gaze so intense it made her shiver.
His lips came down over hers again, and he gripped her hair, tilting her head to get better access to her mouth. He pulled her into his lap, and she pushed him against the plush couch cushions. Her fingers lingered at the buttons on his white shirt, uncertain.
She looked down at him, silently asking for permission. He nodded, and she started to undo his shirt, kissing the skin as she went.
He stood up, surprisingly able to pick her up in his arms. She giggled as he carried her across the room, laying her on the goose down comforter. Her hair, released from its tight ponytail, spread out beneath her like a fan, and her blouse hung off her shoulders.
“You told Quentin vampires always feed during sex,” he said.
She nodded. “That’s right.”
“When we were together last year, I don’t think I counted how many times it happened between us just in that one day. You never bit me. Why?” he asked.
Her hand slowly caressed his skin, trying to find the right words to express her decision. “I did not want you to find out about me when I bit you in the heat of the moment,” she said. “So I fought my instincts so I wouldn’t lose control on you.”
His eyes widened. “I didn’t know a vampire could do that. That must’ve been painful, to push your natural instincts back like that.”
She nodded. “It was. I was very sick when I woke up, having denied myself the blood.”
“Then why did you do it? And why do it for me and not for Quentin?” he asked.
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Because I loved you more than I needed your blood. I never loved Quentin
. I would deny myself blood forever until I died for you, if that was what it took. And that scares me. What I feel for you now is stronger than what I felt for you a hundred years ago. Quentin didn’t deserve my restraint.”
His hand trembled on her skin. “I can’t believe you did that for me.”
“And I’ll do it again,” she said, kissing him.
He moved his lips over her cheek and to her ear, where he whispered something she had never expected to hear from him.
“You have to promise me you’ll never do that again, that you’ll never cause yourself pain for my sake.”
Angelica moved away from him, feeling the distance in her heart as well as between their bodies. “Then I think it is best if I go.”
She started to stand, but he gripped her arm to stay her.
“Danny, I can’t promise you I won’t hold back. Because I know how you feel about my kind, and I refuse to bite you when you don’t want to be bitten.”
He stood up so they would be face-to-face, his arms, snaking around her waist, his warm hands rough on her cool skin. “No, Angie, listen to me. I love you, not in spite of what you are but because of it. You’re a fantasy come to life. You taught me tolerance, you taught me how to love, and you showed me that not all vampires are evil. I don’t want you to hide your true nature from me anymore.”
“Danny, do you even understand what you’re saying?” she asked, holding his gaze.
“I understand perfectly. I want you to stay, I want to make love to you, and I want you to bite me.” He gripped her tighter. “I want to have all of you and let you have all of me. I know that, in this case, that’s offering more than I would in a normal relationship, but it’s something I am willing to give you.”
Angelica had never dreamed she’d hear Danny say those words, and now that she was hearing them, she wasn’t sure how to respond. She sure as Hell hadn’t expected to cry on his shoulder, but that is precisely what she did.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
She was scared as he laid her on the bed and finished undressing her. When they had last slept together, she had still had her walls up. She hadn’t been so vulnerable in a century.
“I love you.” Finally, she had said it and it was as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders.
“I love you, too, Angie.”
His every touch made her tremble, and his kisses were like fire against her skin. There in that room, in that moment, there was no bitchy ex, no cursed werewolves, or vindictive witches who may or may not be in cahoots with demons. There was only the two of them and an almost tangible love.
Angelica felt her fangs escape her gums. They weren’t as frightening as a full vamp’s, since just her canines elongated, but no other teeth. However, they were persistent. She tried to push them back through sheer willpower, but she could not do it. Her lust was too strong.
“Are you sure?” she asked him, barely able to get the words out.
He held her close, skin on skin, and said, “Yes.”
The moment that word left his mouth, Angelica sank her fangs deep into his throat, feeling his soft skin yield to her and tasting his hot blood bursting into her mouth. Her nails dug into his back, feeling her release in time with the pulses of his heart sending the blood down her throat. As she drank, she could hear his thoughts and feel his every emotion.
****
When the fangs pierced his skin, there was pain but not as he had expected from some of the horror movies he’d seen. Deeper than love or lust, bigger than the both of them, it was a feeling that went straight to the heart. He didn’t feel like he was losing blood. Instead, he felt as if he was joining his heart with hers, giving her a part of himself he’d never imagined parting with—his life and spirit.
It was magic. He had never had an experience like that, at least not in this life.
****
Angelica pulled her mouth away, licking over Danny’s wounds to get them to stop bleeding. They were both breathing hard, bodies exhausted and hearts alight.
Danny lay on his back and pulled Angelica to his chest. She came willingly, curling around him like a cat. This was a feeling she had missed. Blood she hadn’t tasted in so long, and an embrace she never wanted to leave again.
“I never want to leave,” he said, echoing her thoughts.
She nodded, burying her head in between his shoulder and neck, careful to avoid the wound. She could have used her blood to get rid of it, but her possessive side had come out a little. She decided she wanted to leave it there, so everyone would know she had claimed him as hers.
“Not that I like talking about dying,” Danny began, “but if we both survive what’s coming…I’d like to stay like this.”
“In bed?” she murmured, smiling up at him. She could feel that her cheeks were rosy from the blood, and her skin was comfortably warm against his.
“Well, yes, that’s preferable. But I mean together. I don’t want to lose you again.”
“I wouldn’t let you go if you tried to leave anyway,” she joked, running her fingers in his curls. “I waited too long to ever let you go.”
He kissed her softly, sweetly. “I am yours, forever.”
Chapter Eleven
When Miranda went looking for Angelica, to ask her what she meant by lockdown, she couldn’t find the vamplet anywhere in the offices. She bumped into that bumbling idiot, Frederic, as he was leaving and asked him if he’d seen her.
“I was just talking to her. She was getting the staff to prepare a room for Detective Mancini last I saw,” he said.
“And you’re not on mandatory lockdown?” she questioned.
“No, and technically, you’re not on it, either. Fiona isn’t after you, you just got mixed into this by accident,” he reminded her.
She just nodded and went to the residential area of the building, following Danny’s aura as best she could until she reached what had to be his room. His scent was strong, and so was the vamplet’s. Miranda forced herself to calm down. Angelica had been the one to show him to his room, after all, so it stood to reason her scent would still be around.
Angelica had told Miranda that she had originally designed these rooms with the intention of them to be used by agents who needed quick kips after long days and nights of work, victims who needed safe houses, and agents in between missions who needed a safe place to stay in the city. She had not thought to make them soundproof.
Since she was a full vampire, she could hear the conversation going on as well as if she were inside the room with Danny and Angelica.
As she heard Danny’s proclamation of love and permission for Angelica to bite him during sex, Miranda felt tears come to her eyes and spill down her cheeks, leaving blood trails. She was utterly devastated and betrayed. Feeling sicker by the second, Miranda had to leave. She had to get away before she heard something she’d really regret. She was not thinking clearly. All she knew was that she could not stay anywhere near those traitors.
Chicago at night was not a pleasant place. The human crime rate was skyrocketing, and she knew even Angelica hesitated to go out alone, despite being armed and immortal. The city was beautiful, but its underbelly housed worse criminals than the ones the PID executed.
Miranda had always felt that the worst offenders were mortals, or even half-mortal…
She was not worried about being ambushed. It had been a long time since hunters had actively pursued the paranormal, not since Angelica had started her organization. She didn’t care about mortal criminals—she could easily take care of them.
Miranda’s mind was reeling and her heart was racing. She wondered who had started the myth that vampires’ hearts don’t beat. How else could we get the blood in our veins after we ingest it? Magic? In her limited worldview, she’d thought she could win Danny over and, if she couldn’t do that, she’d simply glamour him. She had never once thought he’d wind up back with Angelica, not after all she’d done.
Now, she had to come to terms with the fact that
Danny was lost to her. She plopped down on a bench in Millennium Park, pinching the bridge of her nose. Since a vampire’s blood still flowed, blood vessels still expanded, causing headaches. Right then she was having a Hell of a stress headache.
When she was stressed, she talked to herself. More often than not, it led to her getting some very good results in her personal dilemmas.
“I should have seen it,” she said, bloody tears streaming down her face. “That little halfling bitch was planning on worming her way between us all along. I should just glamour him, and we can run away together. Once I turn him, he’ll have no choice but to love me.” She paused. “The question is how can I get him away from the shrew?”
“You could kill her,” a smooth voice said from behind Miranda, making her jump. She hadn’t sensed anyone arriving, though she could feel a very strange aura. Turning, she saw the woman who could only be Fiona Guilfoyle.
Tall, slender, and blonde, she was gorgeous and very deadly. She didn’t need to be a vampire to sense that, but to Miranda, the malevolence surrounding the woman was as thick as pea soup.
Miranda stood up and backed away from the witch, reaching for a gun that she kept on the inside of her coat. She pulled it out and brandished it, but as soon as she did, Fiona snapped her fingers. The gun became so hot, the vampire was forced to drop it with a shriek of pain.
“Oh, don’t play all tough with me,” she said, sneering. “You know as well as I do that you’re not physically or mentally equipped to handle someone like me on your own, so quit pretending.”
“With one click, I can have a team of PID agents here in a second, so don’t try me,” Miranda said, letting her eyes flash.
“I am not here to hurt you, Ms. Valdez,” Fiona said, holding her hands up in the air.
“Then why are you here?”
“I was actually just taking a walk when I heard you talking to yourself. If you hadn’t mentioned the ‘halfling,’ as you call her, I would’ve assumed you were crazy and just killed you for sport.” She sounded bored, as if they were having book club instead of discussing murder. “Now, how about that suggestion I gave you?”