She’d said she loved him, but she’d been dying at the time and so he couldn’t take it as truth. People said many things when there were really no consequences.
“Roberto.” Nicola poked her head into the room. “Come, the wolves are getting restless and hungry,” she added. Her grandfather growled but left the room. Moments later, the door to the apartment shut with a bang, leaving them alone for the first time in days.
“I’m sorry about that,” she began. “My family can be overbearing at times, but they mean well.”
“They love you.” He loved her too, but they’d loved her longer. “You should rest.” Now that they were alone he wished her family were still here. As long as there was a buffer between them they didn’t need to decide their future.
Sonia sat, letting the covers fall to her waist. Her bare nipples pebbled in the cool air and Damek had to force his gaze away from them. Her eyes were warm and filled with mischief as she patted the bed beside her. “Come here and we’ll talk.”
Damek didn’t know what to make of her. Newly made vampires usually had little control over their bloodlust and took a much longer time to learn to handle their new preternatural senses. Maybe his blood had something to do with it. He was very old and his blood was very potent. Maybe it was because she’d already possessed some preternatural blood. Maybe it was the combination of the two. Or it might simply be Sonia herself. He’d always known she was unique. Whatever the reason, he was more than grateful.
She was pure temptation and he was no saint. Damek wanted to yank back all the covers, mount her and fuck her until neither one of them could think any longer. He’d never had sex with another vampire and wondered what it would be like to feel her body undulating beneath his as he drove into her hot sheath, to taste her blood on his tongue as they both came, to share his blood with her as her orgasm took her.
His temples pounded and his fangs extended to their full length even as she patted the mattress again. “That is not a good idea.”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea. The perfect one in fact.” Hesitation crossed her face. “Unless you don’t want me anymore.”
Not want her. Not want her. Was she out of her mind? He couldn’t think for wanting her.
Sonia turned her head away, pulling the covers around her and Damek broke. Lust roared through him more forceful than any bloodlust ever had. To hell with all of them. All that mattered was Sonia, and she wanted him. He ripped at his clothing, removing it in record time. He had to be naked, had to feel her flesh next to his. He yanked back the covers, exposing her totally to his heated gaze. Her eyes widened and then half-closed, giving her a sexy, slumberous appearance.
“Don’t ever think I don’t want you.” He climbed onto the bed and covered her with his body. The scar on her belly would haunt him forever even though the wound beneath it was healed. He’d come so close to losing her.
He settled between her legs, letting his erection settle against her mound, her breasts against his chest. He cupped her face between his hands. “I’ll always want you, Sonia.” He kissed her then, kissed her with all the fear and frustration he’d felt these past few days. She made him vulnerable, was a weakness. He who had lived without fear for centuries, still felt the remnants of sheer panic echoing in his blood. He’d almost lost her.
Until Sonia knew what her strengths were she would be vulnerable. Even after that she would be at risk. She was so young and would need many years to come into her own as a vampire. But he would protect her and keep her safe no matter what.
If she wanted to go back to New York then they would go there. He owned property in the city and would relocate, maybe even open another club. Byron could take care of Inhibitions for him.
But he was getting ahead of himself. Maybe she wouldn’t want him to go with her. He ignored the shaft of pain that jolted through him and his resolve hardened along with his cock. She needed him whether she knew it or not, and he would not abandon her even if it meant he had to watch out for her from afar.
Her fingers tangled in his hair and her tongue met his, stroking, touching, twining until they were both breathless. Her eyes were glowing when he pulled back. “I can’t wait. I need you.” He had to get inside her, had to feel her alive and moving beneath him.
“Then don’t.” Her softly spoken words pierced his lust. Sonia would give him whatever he wanted, whatever he needed, when it should be the other way around.
Damek shifted, rolling onto his back and pulling her on top of him. “Take what you need, what you want, my sweet. I am yours.” He cupped her breasts, letting them fill his palms as his thumbs circled her nipples.
She flung her head back and gasped, bringing her mound in closer contact with his erection. She rubbed her pussy over his cock, slowly, so slowly, until they were both near madness.
“Put me inside you,” he commanded. He needed to be inside her, to have her hot, warm heat bathe his shaft. Only then would he feel complete.
She circled him with her hands, stroking from base to tip several times. His balls drew up tight to his body, a warning that time was running out. “Sonia.”
She smiled a bewitching smile as she maneuvered herself over him and pressed the tip of his cock to her opening. Balancing herself with her hands on his chest, she slowly lowered herself. One slow inch at a time, she took him in and he savored the sensation even as it pushed him closer to madness.
His hands cupped her hips and he urged her downward until all of him was buried in her hot core. They stared at each other and Damek did something he’d never done in his more than one thousand years of living—he opened his mind to another.
He let Sonia feel what he was experiencing—the heat, the clawing need, the desperation. He held nothing back.
She gasped and her pussy spasmed around his cock, wringing a groan from him. He wanted to fuck her long and hard, to take her slow and easy, spending hours lingering on every inch of her body. But now was not the time for either. Sonia was still recovering and he wanted her too badly.
“Oh, Damek,” she sighed. “I need you too.”
He sat up, driving his cock even deeper. This was indeed heaven. Nothing had ever felt this good, this right, in his life. She wrapped her legs around his hips and began to rock. The motion rubbed her distended nipples against his chest and she cried out.
He caught her head in his hands. “You know what I want.” The image was as clear as day in his head. He wanted to drink from her as she drank from him and he wanted to do it as they both orgasmed.
“Yes.” She tilted her throat back, offering it to him. “God, yes.”
He growled and knew he would kill anyone who tried to stop him, tried to take her from him. They moved as one, their bodies rocking, pushing toward release. Her skin glowed and he could smell her arousal, sweet and potent. Her low cries of pleasure, the sensual slide of their skin, only served to push his lust to greater heights.
Damek caught a hank of her wild curls in his hand and eased her head to one side. Her pale skin called to him and he leaned down and raked his fangs over it, tasting the salty heat. “Yes!” she cried. “Harder.” She ground her pelvis against his and he could wait no longer.
Sharp fangs pierced her skin and blood filled his mouth. Sonia cried out, twisted her head slightly and then he felt the hard punch of her fangs against his neck. She sucked hard, taking his blood into her.
He drank from her as his orgasm shot straight from his balls out the tip of his cock, filling her. Sonia cried out, her inner muscles clutching at his shaft, milking it until there was nothing left. She shuddered and shook in his arms, but he held her tight, keeping her safe. He would always keep her safe.
There was so much he wanted to say to her but didn’t know where to begin. He felt vulnerable enough without pouring his heart out to her.
Sonia showed much more courage than him. She released him, closing the puncture wounds on his neck while he did the same with her. “I love you.” She captured his face in her
hands and stared deep into his eyes, into his soul. “I don’t want you to feel responsible for me. I know you never planned to make this relationship permanent, but were forced into it by circumstance. I only ask that you let me stay long enough to learn what I need to learn.”
He nodded slowly and gently closed his mind to her, needing to get his balance again. I love you. He said the words in his mind but made sure his thoughts were shielded so she could not hear them. Cowardly, perhaps, but he didn’t like feeling vulnerable.
“I fear,” he began, and felt her withdrawal from him. But he would not allow it and banded his arms around her waist, keeping her close. “I fear it will take centuries for you to learn all you need to know.”
Sonia stopped trying to pull away and a smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Centuries?”
He solemnly nodded. “At the very least. Probably longer.”
Sonia longed to hear Damek say the words aloud, longed to hear him say he loved her. She thought she remembered him saying it to her when she was dying, but she couldn’t be sure. Maybe she’d imagined the words in her head. Her memories of that time were disjointed and fuzzy. Probably just as well. She wasn’t sure she wanted to remember dying. Damek’s actions were those of a man in love even if he hadn’t given her the words. For now, that was enough.
Her body was still pulsing from the most explosive orgasm she’d ever had. Every time she and Damek came together it just got better and better. She could still taste his sweet, potent blood on her tongue and savored the flavor. His cock still pulsed inside her body, a reminder of his blatant masculinity.
There was no one like Damek. He was unique and he was hers. She wasn’t letting him go and considering what he’d just said, she didn’t think he wanted her to let him go. “Then I guess I should stay with you.”
He buried his face in the curve of her neck and held her so tight she feared her ribs would crack. He was so lonely, her vampire, yet too proud to ask for what he needed. It was a good thing she wasn’t afraid to take what she wanted.
When he finally eased up on his crushing embrace, she leaned back slightly so she could see his handsome, beloved face. “I want to go home for a visit.” She thought about the logistics. “I’ll need to quit my job and pack up my things. I can leave the furniture there so we’ll have a place when we visit. My apartment is right next to my parents, right next to my brothers too. I told you we all had apartments in the same building, didn’t I?”
“You want us to stay with your parents?”
He sounded so appalled by the idea she laughed. “Not with them. I’ll keep my apartment, but I’ll pack my personal belongings and bring them here.” She glanced around the room. “I may need to make some changes.”
Damek rolled suddenly, taking her under him. He loomed above her, large and powerful and hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled when she felt his erection growing again. My guy has a fast recovery time.
He threw back his head and laughed and she realized he’d heard her thoughts. “I thought that too loudly, didn’t I? I’ve got to work on that,” she muttered.
Damek leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips and nose. “I hope not. I find your thoughts endlessly fascinating. And you can change anything you want. In fact, I think we should move, find another apartment and have it renovated to your specifications.”
She gasped and shook her head. “That would cost too much. This place will be fine with a few modifications. We might be vampires, but I refuse to live with all this black. I am Greek. I need color and plants and life.”
He grinned and shook his head at her. “Money is no object. I have more than you could ever spend.”
Sonia laughed. “Good to know, but I am frugal. Blame my upbringing. We work hard and we do not waste.”
Damek began to move his hips, pressing his erection inward before easing it almost all the way out. “Glad to hear you don’t believe in waste, because it would be a sin to waste this.” He powered inward, his hard cock filling her, leaving no doubt as to what this was.
“Waste not, want not. That’s my motto.”
He nuzzled her face and chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that.” He stroked in and out again and whispered in her ear. “You are mine, Sonia. Now and always.”
How she wanted to hear him whisper that he loved her. But she was patient and could wait. There was plenty of time for their relationship to grow and flourish. Her vampire was used to being alone, was not used to being able to depend on another. Although he would deny it, she knew trust was an issue with him. With time, he would learn what it meant to be loved and to love in return. She would teach him if it took her an eternity.
She clutched at his shoulders and lifted her hips to meet him. “I love you, Damek. Forever.”
There was no more talking as they found bliss once again.
Chapter Sixteen
Damek held a glass of ouzo in his hand and wondered how in the hell his life had changed so quickly in such a short time. He was a thousand-year-old vampire and he had…in-laws. And a huge extended family. He shuddered to think about it.
Even his chauffeur, Jerome, had been taken into the Agostino family and was currently enjoying the feast the entire family had set out for their arrival.
Sonia was talking with one of about a million cousins that were jammed into her parents’ large apartment. Some were in the kitchen and dining room, while the rest of them ranged around the living room. Children raced around, being fed and petted by the adults. One tiny blonde girl tripped and fell and before she could start to cry was picked up, comforted and sent on her way again.
He’d never been in a room with so many related people before. They were loud and boisterous and he found them endlessly fascinating.
“Not what you’re used to, eh?” Roberto stood next to him, pride on his face as he surveyed the large room. “We are many and you are used to being alone.”
“It’s not that different from the crowds at my nightclub.” That wasn’t quite true. There was a purity to this group, an openness and honesty that he’d rarely seen in his long lifetime.
Rather than being offended, Roberto gave a hearty laugh and slapped him on the back. A lesser man would have taken a header, but Damek didn’t move an inch. He simply stared at the half-breed werewolf.
“Just as loud, at least. It is a good thing we own the entire building and only family lives here or we would have many complaints.”
Damek didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to complain about anything the Agostino family did. In spite of their open and jovial natures, there was no mistaking the deadliness of the males who watched over the females and children.
He turned to his host. “How old are you, Roberto?” He usually never asked people personal questions, but found he was curious.
The werewolf sighed and dragged a hand through his slightly graying hair. “I have seen three hundred and fifty years. I will live another hundred and fifty, give or take, but my Nicola will not last that long.”
“I’m sorry.” Now that he had Sonia, Damek couldn’t imagine living without her.
“That is the way of the world, is it not?” Roberto nodded toward his son, Vincenzo. Sonia had worked her way over to her father and was chatting to him. “My son will live to be a hundred or more, but he too will be gone in less than fifty years.” He turned to Damek. “You are luckier than most.”
Damek nodded. “I am, and I’ll take good care of her.” Sonia was smiling now as her father lifted her off her feet and swung her around. Her laughter reached his ears and lightened his heart.
“I would not let you have her if I did not think you would do so.”
“You could not have taken her from me,” Damek pointed out.
Roberto shook his head. “Maybe, maybe not. I have a lot of friends in low places, vampire. Do not forget that.”
Damek respected the werewolf and the family he’d built. He even admired the organization he’d built. The Keepers were
indeed helping other paranormal creatures to adapt and thrive in the human world, living side-by-side without harm. But he was getting tired of being threatened by them.
A muscle beneath his eye ticked and he needed to get away from them all for a while before he did something he’d regret. Before he could make his escape, Sonia’s brothers stopped before him.
“How are you enjoying yourself?” Milo asked. He was a banker and the most even-tempered of the two brothers, but not by much.
Damek sipped his ouzo. “You throw quite a party.”
Stefano laughed and slapped him on the back. “You get used to us. Sonia is a package deal. Her family comes with her.”
“So I’ve come to understand.” His dry tone made both brothers laugh again. In the past few weeks he’d come to see how the family worked. Sonia talked to her mother every day and her grandmother at least twice a week. While he was glad they were close, he was happy they’d decided to keep living in Chicago. Too much of this togetherness would drive him mad.
Sonia laughed again and Damek smiled. Idiot that he was, he would visit her family as much as she wanted if it made her happy. She practically skipped to his side, shooting her brothers a nasty glare. “You’re not giving Damek a hard time, are you?”
“Who, us?”
Sonia laughed at Stefano’s look of innocence and shooed her brothers away. When they were alone, she wrapped an arm around his waist. “I know this isn’t easy for you. Thank you.”
She understood him so well and he loved her for it. He was also concerned for her. While she was getting stronger at resisting the bloodlust, it was difficult for her to be around large crowds for such an extended period of time, and it could come over her at any time. Unbeknownst to her, he was constantly monitoring her, ready to step in if needed. She was strong, but they both could use a respite from the large gathering.
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