by S. K. Ryder
Vampire Dominic leaned in. “One more thing you must understand. Cassidy is my beating heart and living soul. I entrust you with her safety. If anything happens to her—anything at all—I will never allow you to wake again.”
Human Dominic cursed under his breath. “How is this possible? How are you doing this?”
“If you let yourself remember—”
He held up a hand to stop her. “Do not misunderstand, ma petite. You are most appealing, and I have enjoyed your charms. But”—he leaned closer—“I want to go home.”
She touched his cheek. “I know you do, my love.” Give him all the latitude he wants, Dominic had said. Make him remember. “Would you . . . would you like to call your mother? Again?”
The look he gave her was one of pure incredulity. “You would allow this?”
She gestured at the phone attached to the wall beside the bed. “You’ll want to call her cell. Seems you invited her to come stay with us,” she added deadpan.
He looked suspicious until Francesca answered her phone. “Maman? Is it you? Where are you? Oh, yes, of course. No, nothing is—I don’t know—I am . . . fine. I’m on a plane. Vancouver?” He glanced at Cassidy who nodded. “On business. Yes. Yes. Right. Very important.” He dropped his forehead into one hand and slid long fingers through his hair. “Yes, we left in a great hurry. I will be back soon. Yes, you stay as long as you like. Enjoy the house. I know. I love you, too.”
Slowly, he replaced the handset on the hook. Cassidy let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Tell me, Cassidy. Just what sort of . . . business does my mother think I am in?”
“Security,” she said and leaned against him. He met her wide, innocent eyes out of the corners of his narrow, suspicious ones. “And you’re a stupendous success.”
He wanted to know more, she could tell. Or not. “Très bien,” he said, thoughtful. “Is there any food?”
Two hours and a hearty galley breakfast later, they landed in Vancouver. As cities went, this one had a lot going for it, Cassidy decided on the ride to the hotel. It was a busy glass-and-steel metropolis with green spaces exploding out of every crack and crevice. Late spring was in the cool, fresh air streaming through the open window. There was even a tang of cedar mixed with ocean. Despite her exhaustion, she smiled into the watery sunlight, new energy coursing through her body.
Beside her, Dominic hunched deeper into his jacket.
“Are you okay?”
“I am cold,” he grumbled.
“But the sun is out. You should be thrilled.”
She waited for an argument or a scoff. Instead, he gave her a strange look and turned back to his window.
The suite they had waiting for them at the Pan Pacific was the size of a small condo. Cassidy tried not to look as awkward as she still felt in situations like this. In her previous life she would have booked into the cheapest motel at the outskirts of town. Now she had two bellmen wheel her luggage into a one-bedroom suite complete with separate living and dining areas, and a stunning view of the harbor and mountains.
Dominic looked a little more comfortable. From a more affluent background, he was used to traveling in some style, but this was extravagant even by his former standards. After the bellmen concluded a tour of the amenities, filled the ice bucket, collected their tips, and departed, Dominic gestured at the expansive space and tidy furnishings. “I booked this?”
“You sure did.” In fact, it was the last thing he had done before the sun caught up with them. He even used a fake name. They were entering the territory of a hostile blood-drinker. The fewer people knew who and where they were, the better. Even during the day.
“And I can afford this?”
She walked up to him. “This and the plane that brought us here. You can afford to buy the whole hotel without missing the change.”
“Security,” he murmured. “Hmm.” He curled an arm around her waist, drawing her close. “But I—he—would give it all up for you, would he not?”
Cassidy sobered, her hands on his chest. “The money is a tool. Nothing more.”
“I remember some things,” he said. “Nothing clear. Just . . . shadows. Like nightmares in the morning. Does that make sense?”
“Yes.”
His eyes filled with uncertainty and a vulnerability she had rarely seen in them. “But you are part of that world?”
“Yes,” she said again, more softly.
“How is that possible?”
“I’m your path out of those nightmares, Dominic. I always have been.”
“My ‘beating heart and living soul,’” he quoted, searching her upturned face.
“As you are mine.”
Their lips came together in a tender kiss that zinged through Cassidy’s body like a live current. He must have sensed it, too, because a moment later he had her hard against himself and deepened the kiss until the current turned to a smolder.
There was no rushing him this time as he explored her body, getting to know it anew, taking pleasure in igniting all her senses. The white-hot climax that seized her took her off-guard. Never had she experienced anything like it. She fought to gather her wits enough to prepare for what was next.
As before, when Dominic peaked, his true self surfaced with a vengeance. He trembled, stared at her with the hyper-dilated eyes of the vampire in a timeless moment of understanding.
“Mon amour,” he whispered, full of wonder.
Then he was gone.
~ ~ ~
This far north and this time of year, the sun set at a stupidly late hour by Florida standards, which gave Cassidy plenty of time to catch up on her sleep, check in with the V-zette, answer email, get up to date with the latest news, and enjoy room service with an appetite that wouldn’t quit.
It was well past eight o’clock before the bedspread burrito she had made of Dominic unraveled and promptly emptied his guts into the ice bucket she held at the ready.
“Why did you not stop me eating today?” Dominic groaned when he was done turning inside out and dropped his head into her lap.
“You’re always hungry.” She finger-combed his tousled hair. It slipped like satin through her hands. “Until your daytime self remembers what he’s really hungry for, I won’t stand in his way.” Especially not for some of those appetites. The memory of their lovemaking still thrummed in her body.
Dominic untangled himself from the rest of the comforter and, noting his nakedness, slanted her a sultry look. “You wicked woman. Do you have him under your spell as completely as you do me?”
She gave him her most seductive leer as she leaned back on one hand, and allowed her bathrobe to fall open a little more.
“Femme méchante,” he told her on a husky whisper. “You drive me mad.”
“And you love that about me.”
“Beyond measure.” He lowered his gaze, rueful. “I paid a high price to be here when no one expects me to be.” He got up and placed a kiss on her forehead. “If I don’t get out into the city and recover my strength—” Her hand on his more sensitive anatomy made him break off on a sharp inhale.
“It’s been two weeks. You can recover some of your strength with me,” she said, tilting her head to expose her throat, all innocence. Her supposed safety be damned. She needed him to bite her, renew their bond, and then . . .
Dominic’s eyes darkened with desire, but he took her hand from his cock and held it, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.
Getting up, she untied her robe and pressed close to him, letting him feel her. Her lips found the pulse ticking in his neck. His hair brushed against her face, his male fragrance enveloping her senses. “Husband,” she murmured. “Do thy duty.”
“It is . . . not safe tonight.” He sounded distracted, drawing in her scent. “I am to
o weak to . . . to . . .” He groaned at the renewed efforts of her hand.
“I’m willing to risk it for one short night.”
“If anyone . . . gets into my thoughts and . . . learns about you—” Again he inhaled, deeper this time. Like he was feeding on air. Then he pushed back and held her at arm’s length to stare at her. His eyes had gone full vampire, fire glowing in their depths.
With some reluctance, Cassidy banked her lust. “What?”
“Your scent. Mon Dieu. You have never smelled like this.”
She lifted an arm and sniffed self-consciously. “I took a shower earlier. What are you talking about?”
Worry and awe filled his face together with the flash of a tentative smile as his gaze swept over her. “And your aura. It has . . . a new color.”
“A new what?” Damn, she hated not being in his head. Hated not being able to see what he saw, or knowing what he thought and understood through his supernatural senses. Even though she touched him, she couldn’t make sense of his thoughts anymore. They were ghosts and all over the place.
“There is a ribbon of emerald in your golden light.” He traced a winding pattern over her shoulder and across her chest with his fingers. “It comes from . . . here.” His hand flattened over her belly.
Cassidy became still with shock. Suddenly her increased appetites made sense. “No.”
“Oui.” A grin split his face.
Oh God, oh my God. “This can’t be right. I don’t . . . I mean . . . I mean, I can’t be . . . I . . . can’t be—”
“Enceinte? Oui, chérie, you are pregnant.” He held both her hands in his, squeezing them. “I can see it in your aura. I can smell it in your scent.”
“But, how is this possible?”
“We made love during the day today,” he said, no longer making any effort to hide his excitement. “And the last time, too, non?”
Cassidy’s head felt like an untethered balloon. She locked her knees. “Yes. Yes, we did. Could this really be?”
“My child. You are carrying my child.” On an almost giddy note, he added, “Unless there are other lovers you keep hidden from me?”
She shook her head, dazed. “As if I could even if I wanted to.” It was hard to breathe. Her vision swam with tears.
When he pulled her into his arms, she leaned against him and held on tight as her world came undone.
Chapter 13
The Glitter of Ashes
Despite the hunger gnawing at his entrails, it took more than an hour before he could bring himself to leave Cassidy. Kambyses once told him that before he was turned, Dominic’s aura had been an emerald shade of green—the same as the new life now rooting in Cassidy’s belly.
There was no doubt in Dominic’s mind; he would be a father.
The joy bubbling through him was tangible and lightened his step as he set out to hunt, camouflaged in jeans, sneakers and a windbreaker. A pair of sunglasses hid the happy preternatural light in his eyes. Nothing obscured his smile.
But reconnoitering for blood-drinker activity would be a challenge. Distractions were legion in this strange city that surrounded him like a colossal living machine. Scattered sirens and the rhythmic rush of traffic assailed his ears along with voices, heartbeats, and distant thrums. The pervasive smells of damp pavement and exhaust fumes filled his nose but couldn’t drown out the tantalizing scent of blood in the countless humans sharing the sidewalk with him. Lights glared and shifted and flashed everywhere, further fracturing his attention.
He made it as far as Hastings Street before realizing that he could never cover the ground he needed to on foot. Not at the human speeds to which he would have to confine himself in such a highly surveilled environment. Blending in with the other pedestrians, he loitered at the intersection until the flow of traffic brought him what he sought.
The young woman stopped at the red light on a Ducati SuperSport wasn’t much impressed with his first request.
“I don’t think so, buddy.” Her voice was muffled through the helmet.
Dominic raised the helmet’s protective shield and graced her with his best compulsive voice. “You will let me borrow your bike right now. And you are happy to do so.”
She was. More or less. “Okay.”
Dominic took possession of bike and helmet on the spot and compelled her into divulging her contact information, too. He had every intention of returning her ride when he was done with it.
The machine rumbled between his legs. Though nowhere as fast as his tricked-out BMW at home, it served its purpose and carried him along the bustling city streets in anonymity. Carried him right past the modern glass tower on Georgia Street he had seen in Natalia’s mind as Adilla’s base of operation in the human world. He combed the surrounding streets for several hours, seeking any sign of blood-drinkers, but no telltale cold, white auras were to be seen. If there were two hundred of them in this city, they were not on the streets tonight.
Nor did they loiter in the cafés, restaurants and bars he visited in search of easy blood. Of the latter there was an embarrassment of riches from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. Their flavors were as exotic as the myriad memories and experiences he witnessed in their minds. As he tapped vein after vein in intimate corners, the temptation to lose himself in the euphoria of it all was strong.
Dominic didn’t return to Adilla’s headquarters until three in the morning, which was only a little over two hours before sunrise. How did vampires this far north cope in the summer? More night disappeared by the day, and it was only May. Maybe the long winter nights made up for this inconvenience?
On Georgia Street, there still was no sign of blood-drinkers. Dominic wasn’t at a hundred percent, but felt far more confident in his abilities than earlier. At least confident enough to park the bike and try compelling himself past the guard stationed at the front door. If the human were already compelled to resist such a tactic, Dominic would retreat. But to his surprise, the man didn’t hesitate to let him into the marble and chrome-accented lobby.
Dominic found the stairwell and sped up to the thirty-first floor. There, only the hum of traffic in the streets below disturbed the silence. No movement anywhere. Not even a heartbeat. Yet he proceeded with care, tucking his sunglasses away in his jacket, letting his senses expand. The smell of new carpeting and electronics rode the recycled air.
On silent feet, he moved through the dim hallways and found his way to a large conference room. In Natalia’s mind he had seen this place filled with beautiful blood-drinkers watching Aubrey with hard eyes, keeping their silence and standing aside as he fought those who cornered him and—
His attention turned to a door to one side. It looked like a standard office door. He knew it was anything but. A core of steel lived under that benign wood facade. Anything trapped inside had no hope of getting out. The door swung open to his touch, revealing a small, dark room. One wall was made of a large glass window facing east. The inky bay was visible between several glittering high rises. Two empty shackles hung high on the opposite wall. In between was nothing but the dry stench of ash.
Revolted, he lifted the back of his hand to his mouth. Vampire ash glittered everywhere, smeared on the wall and the bare concrete floor in shades of black and gray. Dominic crouched beneath the shackles and traced a finger along the gritty seam where the floor met the wall. It was caked with ash. Aubrey hadn’t been the first to meet the sun here.
The anger and grief that gripped him was strong enough to reach Cassidy. He could feel her rising panic. She didn’t want him being there.
He tried to calm himself and her with a sense of solitude. No one else is here.
Still, he sensed her silent demand that he get out of there. He almost heard her voice. And her heartbeat.
No, not almost. He did hear a heartbeat, but it wasn’t her
s.
Dominic stood and spun around in a single supernaturally fast movement.
The other vampire stood in the doorway as if he had been there for minutes instead of one second. A rich, charcoal coat still swayed around him. His hands, covered in fine gloves, were clasped before him. The brim of a rakishly askew fedora shadowed his eyes.
Dominic tasted the air, looking for clues in this blood-drinker’s scent as to his approximate age and strength. It reminded him of Serge. Dark and mossy, but not as wet. Older than three centuries then, but far from a millennium.
Esteban. The name came to him from Natalia’s memories. Esteban de Santiago. Adilla’s enforcer. Silent, brilliant, cunning—and dangerous enough to have surprised Dominic. In his present state anyway, which was far from optimal.
An impulse to flee beat at Dominic from Cassidy. He squashed it.
The man was petite, all but invisible in his neutral clothing. But a predator gleamed in his small dark eyes when he looked up. “I don’t suppose I need to ask who you are?” He sounded bored.
Dominic said nothing, intend on letting this creature reveal himself on his own terms.
“Dominic Marchant, is it?”
Still, he didn’t react.
“I see. Well, I thought we might see you here before too long. But . . . you are not what I expected.”
Dominic almost sighed. Two years into his rule, and he still heard this on a regular basis. Although, in all fairness, in these casual street clothes and with his helmet hair plastered around his head, he wasn’t his idea of a dominant blood-drinker either. To be even more honest, right at this moment he was not the dominant blood-drinker. He had little more strength now than the average youngling.