My Wicked Vampire

by Nina Bangs

  Cinn controlled her need to scream and scream and scream. Asima’s presence was a good thing, actually. It would be tough on Teddy and Vince if the object of their adoration paid no attention to them.

  She looked up at a frowning Dacian. “Thank you. I couldn’t take much more.”

  He nodded stiffly. “I know you probably want to be alone, but after what happened in your bathroom, I have to stay here.”

  “And why would you think I want to be alone?” She had to tread carefully as she tiptoed around his hurt feelings.

  He grew still in that way she was starting to recognize as uniquely vampire.

  “It must be hard for you, being around supernatural entities you had no idea even existed a few days ago, accepting the presence of beings legends say are deadly and to be feared. I’d be surprised if you didn’t prefer your own company.” He sounded strangely stilted.

  Amazing. The big bad vampire was uncomfortable with her. But no emotion showed behind the mask he’d slipped into place.

  “Well, be surprised. I want to be around you.”

  He couldn’t quite hide his shock, or his pleasure. “Why did you deny everything Sparkle said?”

  She sighed and dropped onto the chair Edge had been using. “Because I was trying to deal with all the things you just named. Because I don’t know what to do next. Because…I think maybe some of what Airmid said was true. I should’ve experimented more carefully, put in some fail-safes. But most of all, because I find I’m really attracted to a man who happens to be a vampire.”

  His smile was the slow sexy one she’d been missing. “And I’m really attracted to a woman with goddess connections, if what I heard Asima say is true.”

  “You were standing there all that time?”

  “The conversation was entertaining.” He thought about delving a little deeper into her feelings, but now wasn’t the time or the place.

  “The demigoddess thing is interesting, but I don’t know how it’s supposed to help me.”

  He sat on the cot. “It tells you that what you did with these plants stemmed directly from the power you got from Airmid, not something you learned in a university.”

  She threw her hands in the air in frustration. “So how do I make everything all right?”

  “First you have to decide what all right is. Do you want to take Teddy’s emotions and his ability to act on those feelings away from him? Do you want to take away Vince’s ability to think and communicate?”

  “Honestly? No. But I do want to take away Eva’s power to do whatever she does. And I want to make sure I don’t create any more weed warriors.”

  “So you’re willing to agree to Airmid’s terms at least as they pertain to dangerous experimenting?”

  She nodded.

  “But you’re not willing to destroy what you’ve already created.”

  “Right.”

  “Then you negotiate.”

  “How?”

  “We’ll think of a way.”

  She leaned from her chair and slid her fingers along the side of his face. He clenched his jaw. The table was here and the temptation was, too. But not tonight.

  “Thank you for taking the time to really listen and not just brush off my concerns. And thank you for making this a ’we’ operation.”

  Something awoke in him, something new and unsettling, but also exciting, something…

  “So anything new to report?”

  His thoughts scattered, leaving the one thing he didn’t want to discuss. But he couldn’t keep it from her. “Holgarth said Taurin will be home tomorrow night.”

  “And you weren’t going to mention this?” Her voice had a dangerous edge to it.

  He shrugged. “If I told you, you’d want to talk about it. My brother is off limits right now.” Because if he thought about Taurin, he’d release the hordes of chittering fears and questions held back only by his will. So, no, he wouldn’t talk about his brother.

  She merely nodded. “Got it. What did Eric have to say?”

  “We think Stephan might be coming here to take Taurin and me once we’re both in the castle. Eric believes we should make our stand here instead of running. The bottom line is that Stephan will eventually get around to attacking the Mackenzies, along with any other nonhumans who get in his way. It would be better if we stop him before he gains any more power.”

  If his news shook her, she didn’t show it. She met his gaze. “And ‘we’ would be?”

  “Any nonhuman who wants to help stop Stephan. Eric is putting out a call to the Mackenzies. I’m guessing that Ganymede, Sparkle, Edge, Bain, and Holgarth will join in.”

  “Asima?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows?”

  “Me?”

  “No.” Even the thought of her putting herself in that kind of danger made him want to rip out someone’s throat.

  “If I’m a demigoddess, then I’m not technically human.”

  “Close enough. The answer is still no. In fact, we need to find someplace secure for you and your plants where Airmid can’t reach you. The battle would be the perfect time for her to attack.”

  Dacian watched her eyes darken and then narrow. She was mad. But he didn’t care how pissed off she got; he’d make sure she wasn’t anywhere near Stephan when the bad stuff went down. And if Stephan won?

  That would mean he was dead. Permanently. Because no way would he allow Stephan to use him as his personal weapon. Dacian didn’t want to think about that eventuality, but he’d have a plan in place to make sure Cinn was safe. Just in case.

  He frowned. He didn’t want to die. For the first time in centuries, he had a reason to not just exist, but to live. And that reason was Cinn Airmid. She made him want to throw on his red cape and go forth to slay rogue vampires and overbearing goddesses.

  “We’ll talk about this when I’m calmer.” With that pronouncement, she rose, turned her back on him, and started working with her plants. He listened to her murmuring to them. God, he wanted her to use that tone of voice with him.

  That led to other thoughts. No red cape to go with these musings. He wasn’t human anymore, and no matter how well he could mimic human responses, sometimes he had to let the vampire out. That part of him grew more restless by the hour.

  He was a sensual being, and Cinn triggered every sexual fantasy he’d ever had. And every one of them involved burying himself deep inside her at the same time he tasted the life force pulsing just beneath her smooth skin. He felt the slide of his fangs just imagining it.

  But would she ever accept that part of him? For the first time in six hundred years, he wanted a woman enough to deny his need to feed during sex. He raked his fingers through his hair. Damn, this was getting serious.

  After what seemed like hours, she finally finished with her plants and returned to him. “I’ve put Eva behind the weed warriors. No one will get past them to touch her.”

  She bit her lip in concentration and when she released it, the damp sheen almost made him groan. Then he realized she was still talking about her plants.

  “I’ll have to tell whoever’s guarding the greenhouse when I’m not here to make sure no one goes near the weed warriors. I don’t need the kind of publicity I’d get from someone claiming a pitcher plant chomped on them.”

  “What about tonight?”

  She looked uncertain. “I want to sleep here, but what about you? What will you do, just sit around, watching me sleep?”

  “I can think of worse ways to spend a night.” Spending the night on the cot with you would be even better. Not a good idea. Too open. People who slept in glass houses shouldn’t make love on a cot. Or on a table in the middle of the freaking greenhouse, dumbass. But at the time it’d seemed the right thing to do. He smiled.

  “Then I think I’ll lie down and get some sleep right now. When I wake up I’ll have someone go with me while I take a shower and change clothes.”

  Jealousy rocked him. He hadn’t seen it coming, and he didn’t know what to do with it
. Someone had to guard her, and he wouldn’t be available. Then he remembered. “It’ll probably be Sparkle. Didn’t she say she’d made an early hair appointment for you guys?”

  Cinn groaned and collapsed onto the cot. “No, no, no. I don’t want to spend the morning getting stuff done to me. I have to figure out how to reverse whatever Eva did.”

  Now that Dacian knew it wouldn’t be Bain or Edge guarding Cinn while she took her shower, he could joke about it. “Look on the bright side. At least Wade won’t follow you there with another fishy gift.”

  “Uh-huh.” Already her voice sounded groggy. And in a few minutes she’d fallen asleep.

  It was a long night. Cinn didn’t even stir to go to the bathroom. And as dawn neared, Sparkle appeared at the door. She wore leather pants, a hot black silk top, boots, and a long black leather coat. Dacian wondered how someone like Ganymede had ever ended up with her. Sparkle didn’t look like the kind of woman who would love a guy whose idea of a good time involved the TV remote and never-ending snacks. Maybe the cat had some secret charm Dacian had missed.

  Thank God Sparkle had arrived, though. He needed a break from the path his thoughts had trudged all night. A circle with no beginning and no good ending.

  He recognized where his feelings for Cinn were headed. Not a smart place to go. But no matter how easily he’d controlled his emotions in the past, they were partying hard now.

  And what about Taurin? Dacian should have a great speech ready to help soften his brother’s heart. After all, he’d had a long time to practice it. But as he left quietly and headed for his room, his mind was a blank. No fancy words could excuse walking away from Taurin for two hundred years.

  Dacian rose an hour before sunset. It was a good thing vampires didn’t dream, because his would’ve been leaning toward the horror side. His brother chasing him with a stake. Cinn running off with Bain while she left him to babysit Teddy and Vince.

  Then he smiled. Or maybe he would have spent his resting hours dreaming about Cinn. Naked. And wanting. Him.

  He spent a little more time than necessary showering and dressing. What time would Taurin arrive? And how had Cinn’s trip to the hairdresser gone?

  Finally disgusted at himself, he yanked open his door and headed for the stairs. He didn’t have to hunt Cinn down in her greenhouse. She was watching as Holgarth humiliated another wizard wannabe. He walked over to stand beside her.

  When she first turned to look at him, there was something in her eyes that made the coming night a success no matter what happened. He couldn’t put a name to it, but it was definitely good.

  He wasn’t an observant person when it came to women’s clothes and hair, but whatever they’d done to Cinn at that shop had been witchcraft. Dacian had always thought she was beautiful, but now? She was…His male mind didn’t think in terms of breathtaking, but if he’d been able to breathe, she would’ve taken it away.

  “Holgarth is a sadist. I’ve watched him destroy the confidence of three men who came in here thinking they were pretty good wizards. He’s working on his fourth now.”

  Dacian dragged his gaze from Cinn to look at Holgarth’s last victim of the day. The man met his gaze, almost as though he’d been waiting for Dacian to notice him.

  This guy was different. Dacian had spent six hundred years observing people. All kinds. This one was dangerous. No evidence to back up his gut feeling, but he knew he was right.

  Dacian glanced at Holgarth. The wizard frowned. But Dacian couldn’t tell whether it was because he sensed the wrongness in his last applicant or because he was just being his usual obnoxious self.

  “Those who came before you were woefully inadequate. I hope you’ve learned from their failures. And if perchance you also are doomed to fail, please don’t waste any more of my time.” Holgarth’s gaze sharpened as he studied the man.

  Middle aged. Not a kid. But kept in shape. Good quality suit and shoes. Didn’t advertise that he was a wizard. Short neat haircut. Ordinary face. Asked to describe this man ten minutes after seeing him, most people wouldn’t remember what he looked like.

  “Perhaps you would care to demonstrate what you can do.” Holgarth held up his hand to signal he wasn’t finished. “A controlled demonstration, of course.”

  “Of course.” The man smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Cold eyes.

  He didn’t whip out a staff or a wand. He didn’t mutter incantations. He didn’t move; he didn’t speak. But suddenly the castle rose off its foundation and hovered in the air. Even if Dacian hadn’t felt the liftoff, he couldn’t miss the movement because Edge had just opened the door and stepped in from the courtyard. It wasn’t fully dark yet, so Dacian could easily see the courtyard falling away.

  Screams rent the air, and people scattered. Holgarth raised his staff and shouted in a language Dacian had never heard. Nothing happened.

  Then the stranger simply nodded, and the castle settled back onto its foundation. And more amazing than that, the humans who’d just been screaming and running went calmly back to what they’d been doing.

  “What the hell just happened?” Dacian knew he spoke for everyone. At least for the ones who still seemed to remember the castle lifting off. He glanced at Cinn. “You saw and felt it, didn’t you?”

  She nodded. Her eyes were wide in her pale face. “Holy hell, who is that guy?”

  Dacian turned to look at the man. Only the wizard wasn’t who he’d been a minute ago. In the ordinary, forgettable man’s place stood someone quite different.

  He stood about six five with wide shoulders. Beneath the long black coat he wore, Dacian could see a black T-shirt tight against a hard abdomen. Worn jeans and biker boots completed the outfit. Dacian didn’t have a clue about the guy’s face because he’d pulled the hood of his coat far enough forward on his head to put his features in shadow. Pale blue eyes gleamed out of those shadows, though.

  “Who are you, and is this your real form?” For once Holgarth had shed his shitty attitude.

  The man shrugged. “Name me as you will. It means nothing to me. And this is my real form.” His soft laughter sent chills all the way to the bone. “For now. I’ll be in my room if you decide I’m worthy to take your place.” And then he calmly strode from the great hall.

  “It’ll be kind of tough to contact him in his room since he didn’t give a name.” Cinn looked more frustrated than afraid.

  “Real or an illusion?” Dacian wasn’t sure.

  “Real.” Holgarth joined them. “He’s more powerful than I am.” He sounded as though the admission was ripped from his soul.

  Dacian didn’t want to feel sorry for Holgarth, but the emotion crept past his defenses. “Yeah, but he had the element of surprise on his side. I bet if you’d had time to prepare, you could’ve done something just as spectacular.”

  “No, I couldn’t.” The three words were almost a whisper. “I tried to stop him, but my spell had no effect.”

  Dacian had no answer for that. Cinn remained quiet. Holgarth turned and walked away.

  She sighed. “I shouldn’t feel sorry for him, but I do.” She looked at where the other wizard had disappeared. “Whoever he is, he’s scary. I’ll take Holgarth over him any day.”

  Dacian took her hand and walked with her from the great hall. “Where do you want to go?”

  “I had a late lunch, so I’m not hungry yet. Let’s relieve Bain at the greenhouse. I needed a break, and Sparkle volunteered him.”

  He didn’t say anything until they’d walked through the kitchen and stood outside the closed greenhouse door. Dacian brushed at her softly curling hair, amazed at the texture and how it affected him. If he got this aroused just touching her hair, he’d better keep his hands off any other parts of her.

  “You look beautiful tonight.” Compliments didn’t come easily to him. It had been a long time since he’d felt like giving one.

  “I guess Sparkle’s little shop of hair horrors did a good job. Carl cut and styled. Then Gerty did my na
ils. And finally Linda did the makeup. I left a new woman.” She glanced down at the sexy black dress that hugged every curve. “I have to hand it to Sparkle. Her dresses highlight the sensual in a woman.”

  Even though she was making light of it, Dacian could see the pleasure his compliment had given her.

  Just then the door swung open. Bain beckoned them in. “Don’t just stand there; get in here so I can get out. I have demon things to do before the fantasies start.”

  Dacian was curious. “What do you do when you’re not working here?”

  He expected a wiseass answer from the demon. Instead, he got none at all. Bain speared him with a hard stare and then shrugged. “This and that. Many creatures come out at night. What we do is our own business.”

  Dacian couldn’t argue with that. He watched Bain leave and then turned back to Cinn.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know about Bain. Even saying the word demon gives me the chills, but sometimes I like him. But that’s because he can be funny in a sarcastic way. Then he says something like that, and I wonder if the personality he shows is a cover for something a lot darker.”

  “Don’t forget what Wade said about him. Take it from one dark creature that recognizes another like him. Never forget what he is.” He got serious. “And that goes for me, too.”

  Cinn’s good mood seemed to be evaporating with all the talk of dark creatures. He felt bad about that, so he attempted to cheer her up.

  “Hey, look around. No Wade stalking you with gifts from the sea. No Asima playing loud music. We’re alone.”

  “Not exactly.”

  The male voice spun him around. The man had slipped in through the door leading to the courtyard.

  “Dacian. It’s been a while.” The man didn’t smile.

  Dacian stared at him, memories piling on memories, so many that they faded into the distant centuries.

  “Hello, Taurin.”

  Chapter Fourteen