by Ann Lory
His face was buried in her hair, feeling the softness, the silky texture. How had she come to mean so much to him?
Da-mi-an….
Damian tensed as his sister sing-songed his name. He didn’t want to answer her, but he did for Alyssa’s sake. He needed to find out what D’Angel was up to.
What do you want, D’Angel?
Her laughter came. Tinkling, like chimes, but Damian could hear the malice. Do I need a reason to check on my brother? So loyal. So dependable. Always there when I need him.
Stop it, D’Angel. I’ve done nothing except protect an innocent.
How long do you think you can guard her, Damian? You can’t keep her in that house forever. She has to come out sometime, and when she does, when you least expect it, she’ll be mine. Abruptly, she was gone.
Damian looked at Alyssa. What could he do to keep her safe?
He was only able to find one reasonably acceptable answer. He didn’t dare believe Alyssa would accept his solution, but it was the only way she’d have a fighting chance if she were to ever face D’Angel without him.
He placed his hand on her hip and gently shook her. She moaned and turned onto her back. The sheet slid down, baring her breasts as she stretched lazily, sensuously.
She grabbed the sheet and pulled it back up, smiling at him. “Good morning.”
“Good evening.”
“Hmmm. I slept another day away.”
“That you did.” He kissed her, unable to help himself, hoping she wouldn’t hate him for what he was about to ask. “Alyssa, I need to talk to you.”
She frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s D’Angel.”
Alyssa jerked up, her hair falling into her face, but she brushed it back impatiently. “What about her?”
He took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “She won’t stop, Alyssa, until she has you or she’s dead. I can do something that will help you, but…” he looked down at their hands. “I could make you stronger.”
“Stronger how?” Her voice held a note of suspicion, and Damian couldn’t blame her.
“You’d have to take my blood; I could push my power into you as you drank. You wouldn’t have vampire powers per se, but you’d have greater strength. Besides my protection, it’s the only other thing I can offer you.”
Alyssa was speechless; she stared at him. His face was honest, sincere. There was no compulsion for her to fight. She reached out with her mind and touched his, reading his desire to help her, his need to keep her safe. His chief emotion was his fear for her. Her heart did a funny flip in her chest.
She pulled away, contemplating what she should do. Her stomach was in knots. “I don’t know, Damian. That’s a lot.”
He stared into her eyes. “Is it such a bad alternative to death?”
Her heart stuttered and she looked quickly away from him. Her mind raced, unsure of what the right course was. She thought about the vampires that had attacked her family. The creatures had been so strong, easily overpowering them all. With the last two she’d faced, Vincente and Roberto, she’d known instinctively that if D’Angel hadn’t intervened, she’d have lost her life to them.
He was right. He couldn’t protect her forever. She sucked in a deep breath. “I won’t be a vampire, right?”
“That’s right. You’ll have increased strength, endurance, and speed, but that’s about it.”
Alyssa jumped when she felt Damian’s hand slide over her bare abdomen beneath the sheet. She looked into his calm face, grasping at his confidence, his sincerity, like a lifeline.
She swallowed hard. Nodded. “Okay.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I’ll do it.”
His mouth claimed hers and she sighed, melting into him instantly. She wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands caressed her breasts. She was a moaning mess in no time, eager for his touch, needing his body thrusting deep inside her.
He must’ve had the same idea because he picked her up and knelt on the bed, holding her like she weighed nothing. She swung her legs around his waist, sighing as he slowly impaled her on his shaft. She threw her head back at the delicious feeling of him pushing into her, filling her. They stayed like that as she adjusted to this new position.
Looking down at him, she saw passion glowing in the dark depths of his eyes as his hips started to gently rock beneath her. She clung to him, her bottom fitting snugly against his thighs, sliding herself back and forth over him. She was delighted at his groans of approval.
When he lifted his hand and cut a line across his chest, she gaped and almost fell back, but he caught her firmly. His dark blood beaded and seeped in a thin line over his chest. “Drink,” he said. “Drink, and I’ll give you strength.”
“Does sex help the process?”
Damian grinned, and her heart twisted. His smiles were so few that she wasn’t surprised at how much she cherished this one. “No, but I thought it would make it more fun.”
Alyssa couldn’t help but laugh. Still, as she leaned forward, her stomach protested. She peered up at Damian. “Will you help me?”
The fact that she trusted him to bring her under his thrall nearly sent him careening. He growled low in his throat and claimed her mind instantly. Her head bent forward and her lips brushed against his chest, drinking him in.
He forced his strength into each drop of blood, filling her with his power even as he surged furiously into her below. Her tight sheath gripped him, hot, creamy, and velvety. She nipped his flesh, and he convulsed, spilling his seed inside her, holding her as her climax tore through her, her body trembling in his arms as she cried out her joy.
Her head rolled against his chest, and he possessed her lips once more, tasting his blood on her tongue as he plunged again into her quivering body and held her there. Then he took her down to the bed beside him, his body wrapped around hers.
He kissed her temple and let sleep claim them once more.
* * * * *
Damian woke to the sensation of falling. He glared up from the floor at a smiling Alyssa, who knelt on the bed, the sheets tucked around her. “What was that for?”
She shrugged. “Wanted to test my new abilities. Besides, I’m hungry, and I don’t want to eat alone.”
Rising, he watched as she picked up his shirt from the floor and put it on. He felt himself thicken at the sight of her breasts pushing against the material of his shirt as it fell past her knees. She looked sexy as hell, and he was tempted to throw her on the bed and make love to her again. The sound of her stomach growling stopped him.
She tried to roll the sleeves up, but was having a hard time of it. “Here, let me help you.” Once the sleeves were secure at her elbows, he slid on his pants and followed her up the stairs and into the kitchen.
“What are you hungry for?”
She walked over to a cabinet with him and looked at the items there. “How about tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich?”
He grabbed the can of soup and popped the lid on it while she took the bread out of the bread box and removed the cheese and butter from the fridge.
Damian smiled as he set a pan and small skillet on the stove, poured the soup into the pan, and turned the burner on. He watched as Alyssa sliced some bread in half, buttered one side and placed the pieces on the skillet. Then she cut bits of cheese, grabbed a spatula to flip the bread slices, added the cheese, and covered it all with other heating pieces of bread.
She handed Damian a spoon, and they waited for her late-night dinner. “Why are you grinning?”
Damian shrugged. He loved the sight of her in his kitchen, barefoot and wearing only his shirt. Cooking together seemed so domestic, like they were a normal couple…except he couldn’t eat any of this, detested the smell, and drank only blood. It didn’t matter; he felt at home with her.
“Nothing, really. I’m happy.”
She grinned and flipped the sandwich on the skillet. “Me, too.”
Her words sent a thrill through him, but the soup began to
simmer, so he cut the heat, grabbed a bowl, and spooned a portion for her.
They seated themselves at the table, Alyssa opposite him, one leg tucked beneath her. He watched her as she ate, sipping now and then from a bottle of water she’d taken from the fridge. As she swallowed a bite, she eyed him.
“What?” he asked, still grinning.
“I’m thinking.”
“About…” he prompted.
“I think you would’ve really liked my family. My mom was a sweetheart, and my dad was a goof who couldn’t fix anything.”
Damian didn’t say anything, listened to her talk.
“He always insisted on being the handyman, but by the time he was done with one of his projects, he’d only made it worse, and Mom would have to call a professional.” She smiled, obviously thinking of a special memory. “My brother was a jock. He played football in high school and had a scholarship to play for the University of Texas. We would go down and see him play whenever we could. He could’ve gone pro.”
She set down her sandwich. “I miss them, Damian. Sometimes my heart feels like it will break all over again, and I’ll never recover.”
He laid his hand over hers. “They are with you, Alyssa. They loved you and will never really have left you so long as you hold them in your heart.”
She smiled sadly, turning her hand and squeezing his. “You’re right. You’ve made it all these years without your parents, but you still love them, and you still carry on.”
“Some days are…difficult.”
“I’m sure they are.” She sighed and picked up her sandwich again with her free hand. She took a bite, but she was still eyeing him.
“Did you have something else you wanted to talk about?”
“How did your parents die?”
Damian sighed. “Mother went insane when she kept seeing D’Angel, despite the fact we all thought her dead, and died. Although my father refused to show affection in front of anyone save when we were children, he loved my mother, and soon followed her into death, weakened by grief and the games D’Angel played on both of them.”
“I’m sorry, Damian.”
He nodded, but changed the uncomfortable subject, “Alyssa, what did you want to do with your life before…everything?”
Alyssa laughed softly, “Become a movie star, originally, but more realistically, a teacher.”
You would have been a great teacher. He sent that thought to her and watched her lower her eyes, a blush stealing over her cheeks. She smiled down at her plate.
Finally, she finished her meal, and they cleaned the dishes. When the skillet was dried, Alyssa laid it on the stove and tossed the drying towel aside.
She faced him, then suddenly launched herself at him and shoved him toward the center island.
He stumbled backward under her onslaught and caught the edge of the counter.
Her grin was wicked as she…stalked toward him. There was no other way to phrase it. She was like a hungry cat who had found her prey. He returned her delicious grin with one of his own.
“What are you thinking, little one?”
She pushed her thoughts at him, and he was instantly fully erect. “I’ll be happy to oblige you.” He yanked her into his arms when she sauntered close, crushing her to his chest and kissing her till her body fell lax against his. He pulled the shirt from her body, his hands immediately reaching for her breasts.
Alyssa shoved slightly at his chest, and he slowly pulled away, feeling drugged as she wiggled from his embrace. He groaned when she slid her body down the length of his until she was her on knees before him. In seconds, she’d freed him from his pants, shoved the fabric to his knees, then took him into her mouth.
His hands gripped the counter on either side of his hips as her head bobbed along his cock, her mouth gliding swiftly, then licking up one end and down the other. He’d never seen anything more erotic in his life than Alyssa as she devoured him.
He flung his head back and moaned low in his throat at the feel of her hot, wet lips surrounding him, repeatedly drawing him in and out, over and over.
Her nails ran along his thighs, causing him to tremble, until finally she allowed him to pop free of her mouth. She kissed up his body, taking her time to lick each ridge of muscle, then his nipples, then bite at his chest.
Unable to stand the torture any longer, Damian lifted her, kicked off his pants, then turned her away from him so that her upper body lay over the top of the island. He spread her legs wide, then drove himself into her. She gasped, then whimpered, the sounds washing over him.
He clasped a breast as his hips pumped rapidly against hers. She was tight, so damn tight. His other hand slid beneath her to flick at her clit; then he felt her body quake as she climaxed, her feminine walls milking him. He gritted his teeth as he continued to plunge into her, keeping her there, making her come again and again until she was writhing against the counter, her nails clawing at the smooth surface. Until she was screaming in ecstasy.
He knew the smile that slashed across his face was pure male satisfaction as he allowed himself release, his hips pinning her against the counter, taking her, dominating her with his cock.
They remained like that for several minutes, both gasping audibly for air. Finally, Damian pulled away from the silken heat of her body. Lifting her into his arms he carried her downstairs to shower. There he let her stand as he adjusted the water temperature, set her under the spray, then filled his hands with liquid soap and began to wash her.
Alyssa sighed softly, her eyes closed, as he cleansed her body, then her hair. He was absurdly pleased when she returned the favor. Of course, he had to bend his knees and duck so she could reach his hair, but the feel of her hands on his skin, her fingers running over him, was a sensation he would carry with him always.
When they were done at last, Damian was beginning to feel lethargic. He knew the sun was rising. Had he really spent most of the night making love to Alyssa, sleeping in Alyssa’s arms, helping make her a meal, then making love again? He’d never felt like this, experienced companionship such as this.
He handed Alyssa a towel, wrapped her in another; then he picked her up once more and brought her to his bed. Laying her there, he came down beside her and pulled the covers over them both. Then he rolled her into his arms and let the world fall away.
Chapter Fourteen
He was awake instantly, gripped with a sense of urgency. Something was wrong. He sniffed, then immediately worked to rouse Alyssa. She opened her eyes with a start. He wasted no time explaining. “Wait here.”
With a burst of speed, he was out of his chamber and upstairs, careful of the first rays of morning light that seeped through the curtains. Smoke was quickly filling the upper level of the house, and fire licked greedily at one wall. An accelerant must have been used.
He cursed. D’Angel. You didn’t.
Her reply was smug. Of course I did.
Bitch.
Sticks and stones, brother, dear. Sticks and stones.
His mind raced as the flames spread. They were trapped. No, he was trapped. He raced back to Alyssa, who, thankfully, was dressed, but staring at him with wide eyes. As he yanked on his own clothes, he noticed that smoke was already filtering down the stairs toward them.
“Damian, what’s going on?”
He shook his head. “We don’t have much time.”
Alyssa gasped as he found her things in his closet and shoved them into her arms. “D’Angel sent someone. The house is burning and the sun is rising. Take my car and drive like mad toward Christian Mason’s home.” The directions to reach Christian’s house were almost quite literally shoved into her head. “You got it?” At her nod, he said, “Good. “I’ll meet you there.”
Alyssa had known they were in danger the moment Damian woke her up. Now her heart pounded with fear at the thought of leaving him, but he had other things on his mind. He jerked the comforter from the bed, soaked it in the bathroom, then wrapped her up in it. She choked down a s
hriek when he lifted her into his arms and ran with her up the stairs. She could feel the immense heat from the fire, heard the crackling of burning house, then Damian hissed in pain.
A door banged open, and there was the clinking of keys. The blanket was whipped off her and the keys thrust into her hand. Though he stood in the shadow of the door to the garage, she gasped when she saw the burns on his arms and chest, across the side of his face, where ash and burning debris had seared him.
“Oh, Damian…” Then she gasped as realization dawned on her. “My picture!” She tried to rush past him, her heart pounding, when Damian’s arm swept around her waist and pulled her back. He yanked the frame from under his shirt where it had been tucked at his waist and put the photo in her hands.
She couldn’t help the tears that pooled in her eyes, couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat. He’d remembered to grab the frame from the bedside table where she’d placed it the night before when there was so much danger surrounding them.
“Go, Alyssa, the fire won’t be contained for much longer.”
She shook her head. “Not without you.”
He roared and shoved her none too gently toward the car. “Get out of here, before I make you leave.”
She reached up and touched the unburned side of his face in a light caress. “Get in the trunk, I’ll throw the blanket over you. You’ll be safe there.” He flung her hand away and snarled at her, baring his fangs. She knew he was trying to scare her, to intimidate her into fleeing. “Damian, I can’t leave you here.”
His hands gripped her arms like iron bands. She winced and knew he’d bruised her.
“I’ll bury myself under the ground, but I’m losing precious time. Please, Alyssa, you must go.”
She grabbed his hand and led him toward the vehicle. Using the key, she popped the trunk. “Get in, or I stay with you.”
He looked as if he was going to ignore her, but Alyssa squeezed his hand, bringing it to her lips and kissed the back. “Damian, like you said, you’re losing precious time. Please don’t make me leave you here. You’ll be fine in the trunk. I promise.”