But the thought of walking away from this female refused to form. As if the image was so incomprehensible, his mind couldn’t accept it.
“I’m here now,” he told her, peering deep into her eyes. “No yesterday. No tomorrow. Just now.”
She hesitated, as if torn between common sense and lust.
Lust won.
Thank the goddess.
“Yes.” The word was so low, only a vampire could have heard it.
Chiron groaned, tilting his hips so his erection was pressed against the gentle curve of her stomach.
“So soft. And sweet,” he murmured. “Like a luscious berry.”
Her breath rasped between her lips as she continued to explore his rigid body, her fingers trailing up and down his torso.
“There’s nothing soft about you,” she told him. “You’re like steel. All hard muscles and cool skin.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am, a little,” she told him. “I’ve never touched a vampire before.”
“Never?”
“There have only been a few who chose to stay here, and they’ve all been mated.”
Chiron felt a surge of satisfaction. It pleased him to know she’d never been with another vampire. Why? He had no idea.
He was beginning to think the magic in this place had completely scrambled his brain.
Right now, however, he didn’t give a crap.
All that mattered was the faint flush of anticipation on her cheeks and the smoldering passion in her golden eyes.
“Does it bother you?”
“No.” She gave a small shake of her head. “It’s exciting.”
She trembled, and he could feel the hard tips of her breasts press against the thin material of her robe. She was as aroused as he was. A growl rumbled in his throat. The fingers he had cupped around her nape tightened. A claim of ownership?
Damn. He was in trouble.
He stroked his lips down the curve of her cheek, nibbling at the edge of her plush mouth.
“Exciting, yes,” he agreed. He stole a lingering kiss before moving to trace his tongue down the line of her jaw. “Exhilarating. Addictive.”
She moaned, arching her body against him. “Keep talking.”
He released a soft laugh. She was surprisingly demanding as a lover.
“Intoxicating. Glorious.” He readily obeyed her command, his fangs scraping against the tender skin of her neck. “Unique.”
She shivered, pulling back to send him a questioning gaze. “I’m not sure I like that one.”
He held her gaze, his fingers threading through her curls. They felt warm and silken and vibrant with life.
Just like Lilah.
“It’s easy to be like everyone else,” he told her. “You’re special.”
She released a sigh, her expression rueful. “You’re very good at this.”
He shook his head. “I’d like to take the credit, but sparks like this aren’t created by skill or experience,” he told her. And it was the truth. He’d been seduced by the most experienced courtesans in the world. None of them had been capable of creating the enchantment Lilah could induce with a mere touch.
“Magic,” she said.
“Fate.” The word slipped past his lips before he could halt it.
For a second, they gazed at each other with a shocked awareness. Somewhere deep in their souls, they knew he was right. This sort of driving, ruthless passion wasn’t just animal lust. It was destiny.
“Shh.” She lifted her hand to press the tips of her fingers against his lips. “No yesterday. No tomorrow.”
Either indifferent or unaware that there was no escaping the danger brewing between them, she once again allowed her hand to drift down his chest. Chiron muttered a rough curse, pressing restless kisses over her face.
“Only now,” he agreed.
Her nails scraped his skin, sending flames of pleasure searing through him. “Chiron.”
He nudged aside the neckline of her robe, exposing one full, rose-tipped breast.
His mouth watered. He could already imagine the sensual delight of allowing his fangs to sink into her pillowy flesh.
With an effort, he resisted temptation. The pang of denial was a small price to pay to avoid the potential for disaster if they shared blood. He’d feasted off thousands of hosts over the centuries, but not one of them had made him consider the possibility that they might be his true mate, bound together for all eternity.
Lilah was different. From the top of her glorious curls to the tips of her tiny toes.
He’d told her she was unique.
And that’s exactly what she was.
He forced himself to use his hand to explore the soft temptation of her breast, his lips gliding down the curve of her neck.
She trembled, suddenly grasping his shoulders. As if her knees had gone weak.
“More,” she commanded.
He absorbed the evocative scent of her arousal, using his thumb to tease the tip of her nipple. He didn’t need to feel between her legs to know she was wet and slick in anticipation of his possession.
He wrapped one arm around her waist, pressing her tightly against his aching body.
“You’re a perfect fit,” he murmured. “As if you were created for me.”
She went on her tiptoes, nipping his bottom lip. “More likely you were created for me.”
“Yes.” Chiron shuddered in bliss.
It felt as if the magical sun had somehow crept inside him and was scorching him from the inside out.
Continuing to caress her breast, Chiron returned his lips to her mouth. He was desperate to quench his thirst. Both for her blood and her body.
A damned shame he wasn’t going to be able to do either.
Not until Tarak was released and he could be honest with her.
As if determined to test his self-control, Lilah nibbled a path over his chest. A moan was ripped from his throat. Her touch was light, almost teasing, but it was sending bursts of fire through his veins.
He slid his tongue into her mouth, sweeping through the moist warmth. He could taste her sweetness, and the hunger that churned inside her.
And something else.
An echo of power that seemed separate from her.
Strange. Lifting his head, he grimly struggled to leash his need. As much as he ached to lay her on the marble floor and lose himself in the pleasure of her body, he needed to understand what he was sensing.
“Lilah.”
He waited for her to tilt back her head and meet his searching gaze.
“What?”
“There is a—” His words were rudely interrupted by the sound of a female voice bellowing like a drunken troll.
Or, more accurately, an angry ogress.
“Lilah,” Inga called out.
The air seemed to shudder, as if a delicate spell had just been shattered. Giving a small gasp, Lilah grasped the neckline of her robe and hurriedly pulled it together.
“It’s Inga,” she warned, as if Chiron hadn’t recognized the sound of the female’s voice, or the stomp of her heavy footsteps.
“Send her away,” he urged.
She frowned, no doubt assuming he was frustrated because their privacy was being interrupted. And he was. Painfully frustrated.
But right now, he was equally anxious to learn more about the strange power. Was it a spell? Some parents wrapped their children in magic to protect them. But he shouldn’t be able to sense it.
“I can’t,” she said, her hands pressing against his chest. “She wouldn’t be looking for me if she didn’t need something.”
Chiron wasn’t so easily convinced. The ogress clearly hated him. And if she thought he was alone with Lilah in this secluded grotto, she would do whatever was necessary to interrupt them.
“I’m sure it can wait,” he said, too distracted to think through his words.
A mistake.
Instantly, Lilah was offended, and her hands gave a rough shove ag
ainst his chest.
“This hotel might not seem like much to you, but it’s important to me,” she snapped.
“I didn’t mean it wasn’t important, but there’s something I sensed inside you—”
Her outrage swelled to pure fury. “You promised you wouldn’t rummage around in my head.”
Chiron grimaced. He was going from bad to worse. Where was his usual charm? There was never a situation he couldn’t smooth over with a few diplomatic words and a dimpled grin.
Ulric would be laughing his ass off if he were here.
Or worse, Levet could have witnessed his awkward fumbling.
He shuddered at the mere thought.
“It wasn’t in your mind.”
She scowled. “What are you talking about?”
He gave a helpless lift of his hands. “I’m not sure, but I think it might be important.”
“Important for whom?” she demanded.
Well, hell. How could he explain his urgent curiosity? It was impossible without confessing the truth of why he was at the hotel.
She made a huffing sound at his hesitation, slipping around his body to head toward the stairs.
“Lilah,” he called out.
She never slowed as she left the grotto, her stiff spine warning she wasn’t in the mood to discuss the issue.
Chiron clenched his hands at his sides. He’d managed to blow that in spectacular fashion.
“Dammit.”
Chapter 9
Lilah was acutely aware of Chiron’s frustrated glare burning into her back as she hurried out of the grotto. She kept her pace swift and her spine stiff. She wanted him to know she was thoroughly annoyed.
Not because Chiron had kissed her. What woman in her right mind would be upset to be in the arms of that magnificent male? Not even the onslaught of hunger that had hit her like a tidal wave had managed to make her regret giving in to her passion. And if there was an opportunity to continue where they’d left off, she was 100 percent onboard.
But while she was willing to offer her body, she’d become increasingly convinced she couldn’t offer him her trust.
Why was he here? There was sincerity in his words when he spoke about his master. She believed he desperately wanted to find Tarak. But it made no sense that he would stay at the hotel. Why not make a sweep of the area, interview the local demons, and then move on if he couldn’t find him? He was doing nothing to actually search for the vampire that she could tell.
And then there had been the attempt on his life.
Who would want him dead? Certainly no one who worked for her. Which meant he’d brought the danger with him.
So was he hiding from his enemies? Or hunting them?
Or was it something completely different that had brought him to this hotel?
The fact she didn’t know pissed her off.
Her whole life was one of shadows and unanswered questions and elusive memories.
She didn’t want any more mysteries.
Smoothing her riotous curls away from her face, she pressed her way through the illusion that guarded the grotto and stepped into the garden. Instantly, she was shrouded in the velvet darkness of the night.
The scent of orchids filled the air with a sweet perfume and the mossy ground was soft beneath her feet. Above her head, the sky was dappled with sparkling stars.
She paused, pretending she needed a second for her eyes to adjust. The truth was, she had a sudden, almost overwhelming impulse to turn around and rush back to the grotto.
The raw scent of Chiron’s power clung to her robe, and her skin still tingled from his cool touch. Chiron was out of sight, but he most certainly wasn’t out of mind. In fact, she would swear she could sense him whispering to her, urging her to return to his arms.
It wasn’t a voice that spoke to her brain. But to her heart.
Destiny…
“Lilah.”
The sharp voice of her onetime nanny sliced through her dangerous thoughts, and Lilah swallowed a sigh. It was too late for regrets. And it wasn’t as if Chiron was going to disappear in a puff of smoke. Was he?
There was time to explore the passion that continued to heat her blood.
Lilah stepped forward as the large female barreled toward the hidden grotto.
“I’m here, Inga,” she said. “What’s wrong?”
The ogress came to an abrupt halt, glancing over Lilah’s shoulder with a suspicious expression.
“I noticed the vampire was missing and I was worried he might be bothering you.”
Lilah frowned. Inga had always been insanely overprotective. And she’d never hidden her hatred for vampires. But she’d never been quite so…smothering. As if she had a special fear of Chiron.
“Why are you so worried he might hurt me?” she demanded.
Inga folded her arms over her massive chest, her vibrant muumuu blowing in the gentle breeze. Tonight, it was a painful shade of purple with yellow pineapples.
“All vampires are cold-blooded killers,” she said.
“Many demons are killers, including the Sylvermyst who visited last week with his pack of hellhounds and the Were we currently have staying here,” she pointed out. “You’ve never worried they were plotting some evil.”
Inga revealed her opinion of Lilah’s argument with a sniff. It was loud enough to scare the dew fairies playing among the ferns.
“What’s your interest in the leech?” the older woman asked, clearly deciding offense was the best defense.
Lilah abruptly turned to walk up the pathway. It was the only way to hide the hot flush that stained her cheeks. “Besides the obvious?”
Inga was quickly at her side, her strides twice as long. “What’s that mean?”
Lilah gave a lift of her shoulder. “He’s gorgeous. Any woman would be fascinated by him,” she admitted.
“He’s dangerous,” Inga chided. “You need to stay away.”
Just seconds ago, Lilah had rushed out of the grotto, unnerved by the fear that Chiron was hiding something from her. But the moment Inga tried to warn her away from him, she had a perverse need to charge to his defense.
“He’s interested in the history of the hotel,” she said, not bothering to argue his potential threat to her.
It was a waste of breath. He was a powerful vampire. There were few things more lethal.
Oddly, Inga’s suspicion only seemed to deepen. “Why would he be interested in the hotel?”
“Something to do with his master. He thinks he might have stayed here when my parents were still alive,” Lilah explained with a grimace. It sounded even more lame when she said it out loud.
Inga’s eyes widened before she was giving a fierce shake of her head. “Impossible. Your parents never catered to vampires.”
Lilah blinked in confusion. She’d expected her companion to question Chiron’s assumption he’d be able to locate his master after so many years. But she hadn’t expected her to claim her parents hadn’t allowed vampires into the hotel.
“How do you know?” she demanded.
The ogress faltered, as if caught off guard by the question. Then she jutted out her lower jaw. “They made their feelings clear.”
Lilah studied the older woman. Was that why Inga was prejudiced against vampires? Because of her parents? But if that was the case, why hadn’t she told Lilah when she first took control of the hotel?
Just as importantly, what else hadn’t Inga shared with her?
“You never talk about them,” she said in soft tones.
Inga abruptly turned her head to scan the garden, as if searching for some hidden danger. Or, more likely, to give herself time to consider her words.
The ogress was always reluctant to discuss the past, especially when Lilah asked about her parents.
As a rule, Lilah respected her aversion. She’d told herself it was because she loved this oversize female who’d taken care of her since she was a child. Certainly, Inga hadn’t had to stick around. She could easily have abando
ned Lilah and run as far as possible from the plague.
That’s what most demons would have done.
But suddenly, she realized her natural curiosity was as muffled as her memories. As if it was being deliberately dampened by some unseen force.
The knowledge made her stomach twist with a strange unease.
“Because I didn’t have the opportunity to get to know them,” Inga told her. “Not beyond their rules for the hotel and how they wanted me to take care of you. They were very particular about that.”
Lilah furrowed her brow, trying to force her way through the fog in her mind. “Were they?”
“Of course. They loved you.”
Familiar frustration bubbled through her. “I wish I could remember.”
They walked around one of the garden’s prized fountains. It was twelve feet across and had a sculpted replica of Poseidon in the center that sent water spraying from the tips of his trident. The tinkling sound wasn’t as soothing as her hidden pool in the grotto, but it pleased the guests, who liked to strip off their clothes and run through the sparkling droplets.
“There’s no point in living in the past,” Inga growled. “Trust me, it’s best to forget.”
It was Inga’s routine response. One Lilah was tired of hearing. “It’s different to deliberately shove away your memories. It’s another thing to have them stolen.”
“Stolen?” Inga came to a sharp halt, her eyes narrowed. “Why would you say that?”
Lilah nearly stumbled over the larger female. Jumping to the side, she turned to study her companion. Clearly, Inga was bothered by Lilah’s words. Why?
“They were stolen by whatever it is that makes my mind so fuzzy,” she explained, carefully watching the muscles of Inga’s face relax.
“It’s from the cleansing spell I used after the plague.” Inga shrugged, her tone offhand. “It lingered in the area for years.”
Lilah flattened her lips. The explanation no longer had the ability to ease her frustration. In fact, tonight it rubbed her nerves raw. Or maybe her nerves were already raw, and the worn excuse was like pouring salt on them.
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