He reached out to grasp her arms in a firm grip. “I’m going alone, Abby.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Her temper soared as she poked him in the chest. Hard.
“Dammit, Dante, it’s a little too late to try and keep me out of danger.”
“I will not have you taking unnecessary risks.”
“The only risk is leaving me alone. You’re supposed to be my guardian.”
His expression hardened at her stubborn determination.
“You will not be alone here. Viper will keep you safe.”
Abby was not impressed. Viper might be all kinds of delicious goodness, but the last time they had stayed at this hotel, they had nearly died.
“From zombies?” she demanded with a poke. “Dark wizards?” Poke, poke. “Creepy crawlies we don’t even know about yet?”
Grasping her fingers, Dante lifted them to his mouth to give them a lingering kiss.
“He’ll be on his guard this time, I swear. Nothing will get past him.”
“I don’t care.”
“Abby—”
She threw her arms about his narrow waist and pressed her face to his chest.
“Damn you, I can’t do this alone,” she muttered. “If something happens to you, I won’t be able to go on.”
He lightly stroked her hair. “You will have to.”
“No, I can’t.” She pulled back to regard him with a resolute frown. “We’re in this together, buster, and if you leave here, I’ll follow you. I swear I will.”
His jaw briefly tightened before he gave a rueful shake of his head. “You truly are a pain in the ass, lover.”
“But a most beautiful pain in the ass,” a hypnotic voice husked from directly behind her.
“Exquisite,” another deeply accented voice concurred.
With a jerk of surprise, Abby turned about to discover two male vampires standing far too close for comfort.
“Holy . . . freaking . . . cow,” she breathed, her jaw dropping.
Dante was a dark and beautiful pirate. Viper was an exotic aristocrat.
These two . . .
They were sex magnets.
Gods of lust.
There were simply no other words.
Identical twins, they were tall with the polished golden skin of ancient Egyptians. Their faces were chiseled perfection. High cheekbones with hawkish noses and a noble brow. Their almond-shaped black eyes were outlined in heavy kohl, and there was a hint of color on their full lips. Their long ebony hair was pulled into a braid that hung down their backs, brushing the tiny white loincloth that was all that covered the most bodacious bodies ever seen.
King Tut, take me now, a renegade voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Abby gave a shake of her head, attempting to rid herself of her breathless reaction. A task more difficult than it should have been. Then Dante’s arm curled about her shoulder, and the mystical tug of fascination was broken.
She sucked in a deep breath as Dante bristled at her side.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his voice cold.
“Master Viper requests your presence,” one of the twins murmured.
“Master Viper?” Abby grimaced. “I bet he gets off on that.”
Two sets of luscious black gazes moved in her direction, both spending an inordinate amount of time inspecting her half-clad form. Something that Abby might have taken as a compliment if she hadn’t suspected that they were speculating upon whether her blood was A positive or B negative rather than her dubious attractions.
“We will protect the human while you are gone,” Tut One claimed.
“It will be our pleasure,” Tut Two echoed.
Abby stepped closer to the vampire at her side. “Dante?”
He pressed a comforting kiss to the top of her head. “Why don’t you get dressed, and I’ll find out what Viper wants?”
She shot him a wary glance. “They won’t—”
“We have been commanded not to taste of you,” the first of the intruders interrupted, stepping close enough for her to be cloaked in his rich, spicy scent.
“Or bed you.” The second added with a hint of regret as he moved to take a deep sniff of her skin. “Unless it is what you desire.”
They both smiled to reveal snowy-white fangs. “We possess many skills.”
“Most will not harm a human.”
Dante pulled her abruptly backward, his face the stark mask of a predator.
“Touch her and you’ll wish you never rose from the dead.”
The nearest twin merely shrugged, still sniffing at her hair. “Surely it is for the human to decide?”
“She’s decided,” Abby retorted as she grasped Dante’s hand and pulled him toward the bedroom. Glancing over her shoulder, she pointed a finger at the carpet at the twins’ bare feet. “Just . . . stay there and don’t move.”
“A waste,” one of them murmured softly.
“Indeed,” the second agreed.
Closing the door behind them, Dante pulled Abby to face him. “I must speak with Viper. Will you be okay?”
She bit her lip, glancing toward the door. “Can I trust them?”
His smile was without humor. “No, but they fear Viper and are not foolish enough to risk his wrath. They won’t trouble you without invitation.”
“Invitation?” She blinked in disbelief. “You think I’ll invite them to . . . to . . . ?”
He gave a lift of his shoulder. “Few women can resist them. They have lured some of the most powerful and beautiful women to their bed. Cleopatra. The Queen of Sheba. It’s rumored they’ve even seduced more than a few presidents’ wives.”
“Oh my God.” Abby widened her gaze. “Which ones?”
“Does it matter?”
The edge in his voice warned Abby that now was not the time to press for juicy gossip.
“Only in a historical context.”
A reluctant smile curved Dante’s lips as he pulled her close. “Abby.”
Her hand lifted to trace a light pattern upon his chest. “I’d be lying if I said they weren’t gorgeous, but I don’t want any vampire but you.”
“Good.” His lips nuzzled her temple. “It’s not really good etiquette to dust a fellow vampire before dinner. Besides, Viper tends to get a bit cranky when he loses his goons.”
She heaved a rueful sigh. “Speaking of Viper, I suppose you should go see what he wants.”
He ran his tongue along the line of her jaw. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
A delicious shiver raced down her spine, but Abby refused to be entirely distracted. Grasping the front of his shirt, she pulled back to regard him with a warning frown.
“You’re not going to try and sneak out behind my back?”
He arched a raven brow. “Would it do any good?”
“Absolutely not.”
He sighed. “Don’t worry, lover, as much as I hate to admit it, I can only search for what Selena might have left lying for anyone to find. To discover her secrets, I will need you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I will explain later.” He placed a branding kiss on her lips before moving toward the door. “Oh, you might want to wait until I return before you have your dinner.” He flashed a dry smile over his shoulder. “The last time you sampled the herbs, they had a rather . . . potent effect on you. I wouldn’t want your watchdogs to get the wrong idea.”
He was gone before Abby could find something suitably heavy to toss at his head.
Damn vampire speed.
As he drove through the dark streets of Chicago, Dante found himself as twitchy as if he were standing in the midst of a lightning storm. An unfamiliar sensation and one that he found impossible to dismiss.
Bloody hell, what was the matter with him?
As promised, Viper had gathered a large canvas bag filled with a variety of mystical weapons. He had even given Dante a cell phone that was programmed with the numbers of various
vampires and demons he could contact in case of an emergency.
Along with his supernatural powers, there were few things mortal or immortal that could hope to best him.
He was near invincible.
But near invincible was not good enough, he conceded, glancing to where Abby sat in the seat beside him.
There were too damn many creatures who wanted this woman dead.
One mistake, one miscalculation and . . .
His jaw tightened in grim determination.
No.
There would be no mistakes. No miscalculations.
Unaware of his brooding thoughts or just how easily she had managed to rattle his nerves, Abby poked at the heavy bag that Dante had placed in her lap.
“You haven’t told me what’s in the bag,” she broke the silence.
“Protection.”
With a curious lift of her brows, she pulled open the heavy zipper and gave a choked cough.
“Good God, are you sure Viper didn’t make a mistake?”
“It would be refreshing to think Viper could occasionally make a mistake, but unfortunately it never happens. Why?”
“There’s nothing in here but junk.”
Dante hid his amusement. “Rare and priceless junk, I assure you.”
Shaking her head at the amulets, talismans, and charms, she plucked out a delicate dagger with a serpentine blade that glowed with mystic symbols etched on the layered metal.
“What’s this?”
Dante instinctively shuddered. “A keris.”
“A what?”
“It’s a blessed dagger from Bali.”
“What does it do?”
He flashed a wry smile. “You use the pointy end to stab people.”
She rolled her eyes. “Ha-ha.”
“It possesses protection spells. Viper believes it will be effective against whatever evil the dark wizard might conjure.”
“Oh.” She held the weapon toward him. “Shouldn’t you be carrying it?”
Dante flinched from the power of the blade. “Careful, lover, it works against me as well as other nasties, so you might not want to wave it in my direction.”
“Oh, sorry.” With a hurried motion, she dropped it back into the bag. “Why would Viper have a weapon that kills vampires?”
Dante shrugged as he turned the car toward the exclusive neighborhood that had once been his home.
“Better in his hands than in the hands of his enemies.”
“Surely it would be better to have it destroyed completely?” she pointed out with indisputable logic.
“Viper is too fanatic a collector to ever destroy such a priceless artifact.” He flashed her a swift glance. “Besides, you never know when you might need such a weapon.”
Her eyes widened. “You mean . . .”
“Battles between vampires are rare but not unheard of.”
“Yikes.”
Dante returned his attention to the road. “Indeed.”
She fell silent as he pushed the remote keypad he held in his fingers and turned through the familiar iron gates. Slowly he drove up the long, tree-lined drive that eventually wound its way to Selena’s secluded mansion.
Dante didn’t need to see Abby’s suddenly clenched fists or the tightening of her expression to sense her swelling tension.
This was where her life had been forever altered.
She hadn’t forgotten.
Pulling the car to a halt and switching off the engine, he turned to study her fragile profile with a frown of concern.
“Abby?”
“It’s a lot worse than I realized,” she muttered, her gaze absorbing the broken windows and roof that had been half blown away.
Dante knew he would eventually have to deal with the estate, but he was in no hurry. The wards that Selena had placed about the house would keep out anyone not invited. Including the most desperate thieves.
He lightly touched her shoulder. “Do you want to remain in the car?”
She sucked in a deep breath, turning to meet his searching gaze. “No.”
Gathering an amulet that Viper promised would counter the magic used to animate a zombie, Dante pushed it into the waistband of his pants. His daggers were already safely tucked into his boots, and with a motion of his hand, he indicated that Abby should place the keris in its sheath and belt it about her waist.
The sheath would protect him from the powerful blessing but would allow Abby easy access to the dagger should she have need.
Demon, witch, zombie, or wizard would get more than they bargained for on this occasion.
Together they left the car and headed up the sweeping terrace to the double doors. Entering the vast foyer, Dante instinctively headed for the main staircase when Abby abruptly stumbled over the broken bits of a vase upon the marble floor.
He placed an arm about her shoulders as she regarded the shattered porcelain with an odd fascination.
“Steady,” he murmured.
It took a moment before she gave a shake of her head and turned her attention to the nearby stairs that were now charred and covered in plaster and chunks of wood from the ceiling.
“It’s even worse than I remember. My God, how could this have happened?”
His jaw tightened as the image of Selena’s lifeless body flashed through his mind. Nothing should have been capable of destroying her. Certainly not something that he had been incapable of sensing.
“I don’t know, lover.”
“Do you think it was the work of the wizard?” she demanded.
Dante frowned. “It’s possible, I suppose.”
“You don’t sound very convinced.”
“If it was a servant of the Prince, then Selena should have sensed its presence, just as you did with the zombies,” he pointed out. “Besides, she had been the Chalice for a very long time and grown incredibly powerful. I cannot imagine even the elder wizard would dare to challenge her.”
She gave a slow nod. “I think you’re right, which means we’re still no closer to discovering what happened to Selena.”
“Do you sense anything?”
Abby closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Dante realized she was attempting to focus her newfound powers to search the empty house.
At last her eyes opened, and she gave a faint shiver.
“No, there is nothing.”
Dante stepped directly before her. He hadn’t missed her faint tremor.
“What is it?”
She shrugged as she forced a smile to her lips. “I just have the creepy crawlies.”
“The creepy crawlies?”
“The heebie-jeebies.”
Dante gave a shake of his head. “Are you speaking English?”
“You know, like someone just walked over my grave.”
Dante didn’t even think as he abruptly lashed his arms around her and yanked her against his chest.
“Don’t,” he hissed.
Her eyes widened in shock, and he belatedly realized his fangs were fully extended and his face no doubt stark with warning.
He didn’t care.
For the moment he was all vampire.
“Dante?” she husked uncertainly.
“Never tempt fate,” he growled.
“It’s just a saying.”
“It’s dangerous,” he warned, his predatory instincts on full alert at the mere mention of Abby in her grave. “We mustn’t do anything to call attention upon us.”
She blinked, startled by his words. “You’re superstitious?”
“I’ve lived for centuries. There are very few things I don’t believe in.”
“Oh.” She mulled over his words before giving a nod. “I suppose you have a point.”
His arms tightened as he pressed his forehead to her own. “I won’t let anything harm you.”
“I know,” she said softly, her hands cupping his face.
“But if something should happen to me—”
His fierce command was brought to a halt. A h
ighly unusual event, considering he rarely let anything or anyone interrupt a direct decree.
But then it was even more rare when Abby pressed her lips to his mouth. He found the entire world was brought to a halt.
Unfortunately her kiss was all too brief, and just as he was getting into the swing of things, she pulled back to regard him with a stern frown.
“No, Dante,” she retorted, as always ignoring the fact that no one told him no. “You said yourself, we shouldn’t tempt fate.”
He didn’t bother to argue. Why should he? It would be simpler to bash his head into the wall and be done with it.
Besides, Viper would know to come for her if something happened to him.
He would leave it at that.
“Enough.” With a smooth motion, he hoisted her into his arms. Once assured she was secure, he easily moved toward the stairs. “I don’t think it’s wise to linger here any longer than we need.”
Her arms instinctively looped around his neck. “What are we looking for?”
“Selena had a safe that she kept warded by powerful spells. I hope now that you carry the Phoenix, we can find a means to open it.”
“If it survived the blast.”
He smiled. Not even the end of the world would have affected the spell.
“It survived. Hold on.”
She gave a small shriek as he crouched and then in one fluid bound had them at the top of the steps.
“Holy crap, I didn’t know you could do that,” she breathed. “What other surprises do you have?”
He slowly smiled. “Lover, I possess enough surprises to keep you guessing an eternity.”
“And enough ego to last way beyond that.”
“Would you have it any other way?”
She rolled her eyes. “I thought we were in a hurry?”
With reluctance he bent to set her upon her feet. He didn’t sense any danger nearby, but he wasn’t going to be caught off guard again. He wanted to be ready to strike if necessary.
“Be careful where you step. The floorboards are not entirely stable.”
“Yeah, magical blasts tend to be hell on floorboards.”
Despite her flippant tone, she was wise enough to be cautious as she made her way down the darkened hall. Dante was close behind her. So close that he easily sensed when the sudden chill shuddered through her body.
“What is it?” he demanded.
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