Dante gave a soft shake of the head. “And you shouldn’t feel guilty. Your boyfriend gets you in the flesh. Once he sees how lucky he is, things will get better. If you love each other, nothing else matters.”
It was so hard yet so easy to talk to Dante. She felt welcome and completely at ease. Yet she also had the unnerving feeling that she was perhaps too comfortable around him, and in this she had to be careful. Who else would she have let touch her so tenderly, so often? Only Matt. Massage her feet? No one, really. Matt had never even attempted, but she knew in her heart of hearts she would have probably been fidgety with his clumsy, poking and twisting efforts, as compared to Dante.
She also knew that the thought of straddling him and pulling him in to kiss her was wrong. The fact the fantasy didn’t make her feel guilty, made her feel guilty.
Alex let herself free of his grasp gently and placed her feet on the floor. No more drinking.
“I really better be getting home. Can you call me a cab please?”
“We’ll get to that. But there is one last thing I need to talk to you about.”
“Hmm?” Alex said, raising her head to look at him.
“What do you know about Ryan?”
Alex snorted. “Except for the fact that he is a douchebag? Nothing, why? Has this got something to do with the way you were yesterday? Coz I kinda wanted to talk to you about that.”
Dante’s answer to her question was nothing more than a tight, almost imperceptible nod. “You’ve seen his wealth. Has he ever told you what he does for a living?”
“No, he hasn’t said, and I haven’t asked.”
“This is very important. Have you ever been over to his apartment after dark?”
“After dark? No, I’ve never been there at all.”
“You’ve never been alone with him? At any time? You’re sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. Dante, you’re scaring me. What is going on?”
“Ryan is dangerous. Or rather he keeps dangerous company. You must keep your friend away from him. Though it may be too late.”
“What, you mean she may already like him too much to listen?”
“In a manner of speaking. I recognised something about him yesterday. Something I haven’t encountered in a long time. I was afraid you would think it was none of my business, but I had to try to warn you.”
“Warn me about what? I don’t understand. What exactly do you want me to do?”
“Whatever it takes to keep your friend safe.”
Alex was surprised at the slight strain in her voice as she said, “You really do care about her don’t you?” She hadn’t even realised it was there until she spoke out loud. Perhaps it got to her that Lauren was right after all, that underneath everything Dante was jealous of Ryan.
She felt his strong hands cup her face, raising it to look at him. Touching…again with the touching. She looked into the warm depths of his eyes, that almost hypnotic lightness again, like mini storms on his irises, feeling she could truly get lost in them.
“Did you want to know the truth?” he asked. Alex gripped his forearms and nodded slowly.
“I can’t tell you all of it, not just yet. But I can tell you that I don’t care about your friend or your boyfriend, in any way. The people you choose to associate with are of no consequence to me. But,” he said, caressing her cheek, “You love them, and what you love is important to me to protect.”
Alex noted the sudden change again in his voice, the softness returning. She had no idea if it was deliberate on his part, but it scared and excited her at once. What was this guy’s deal? Why was she so intrigued by him? How could he have this effect on her?
Her voice was only a whisper now. “But why? What are you protecting me from?”
Alex had been unconsciously inching closer to him the entire time he held her. Her body was pressed against his. Their lips were only centimetres apart. The tips of their noses brushed against each other, she could feel his cool breath on the front of her neck. Alex closed her eyes, not even daring to think about what was going to happen, or the fact she wanted it. She finally felt his lips, but on her forehead.
“Soon, I’ll tell you. For now, you must focus on your friend.”
And then he let go of her. Alex’s eyes opened as reality hit, and the room had started to spin on her. Dante caught her as she stumbled and headed to the floor.
“Time to go home, beautiful,” he said, carrying her out to the back door of his office in his arms. Even in her tipsy state, she noted how gently he held her. How strong was he?
“I’m sorry. I don’t usually get...like this.” She felt so sleepy, so safe, and she closed her eyes.
“Wakey wakey,” he whispered. “I can carry you everywhere, but I don’t know the code.”
Alex had no idea how long she had been asleep, but found she was still in Dante’s arms, only now he was standing before the security doors of her apartment building.
“Hello house,” she sang.
Alex let herself down but was wobbly, and Dante caught her again before she toppled against the wall. “God, now this is embarrassing. Thank you so much. I’m so sorry. Umm…six, six, eight, seven. No…one, seven. It’s apartment four.”
The door gave a short beep.
“And here we are,” Dante said.
“Huh? We were just outside?”
“You may have passed out again.”
“Oh god. I swear you spiked those beers. Let me find my keys.”
“Allow me.” Holding her with one hand, Dante reached and fished out her keys from his own pocket. Alex leaned her head on his shoulder, partly nuzzling him.
“How come you’ve got them?” Alex asked as Dante unlocked the door.
“We drove here in your car. I told you I would get you both home safe and sound. Now do I have your permission to go inside?”
“Why are you so amazing?” Alex asked, finishing the last word loudly, throwing her head back, only half-joking.
Dante smiled, but his tone was anything but happy. “I assure you, I’m not. So can I come in?”
Alex waved a dramatic hand towards the doorway. “You may enter.”
Dante stepped through into her apartment. “You better put me down in case anyone’s here.”
“We’re alone.”
“Well, let me put on the light.”
“No need.” He carried her towards the bedroom.
“How the hell do you know where my bedroom is, mister?” Alex said, pushing her finger into his cheek.
“It smells like you.”
Alex let out a half-hearted gasp. “Well I never. You saying I smell bad?”
“Not at all,” He said, stopping, suddenly drawing her cheek closer to his nose, so close that he actually leaned in the extra distance and lightly flicked her neck with it, inhaling just loud enough for her to hear. She locked her wrists around him a little more securely as he muttered, “Quite lovely.”
The room was pitch black, but Dante found the bed easily and lowered her onto it, removing her shoes. “Oi!” she muttered, realising how drunk she sounded. “I forgot. How are you getting home? If you need to call a cab, you can use my phone if you can find it in my bag.”
“I’ve put your phone on charge. It’s on your dresser.”
“Wow, great service! Anyway use my phone to call the cab.”
“I could walk home faster than a cab gets here.” Dante replied, laying her back down and getting up to leave.
“Hey…”
Alex was grasping at thin air, she couldn’t see anything, but she knew somehow Dante could see her. Sure enough, she felt his hand come into hers.
“Come here,” she said.
Dante lowered himself to one knee beside the bed, as Alex used her hand to blindly follow the shape of his body to the top of his chest. Finding some shirt, she grabbed it and held on, hoping she could judge correctly where his face was. “I just wanted to say thank you. You were so great, listening to all my crap.”
“You’re very welcome. Just remember what I said, for your sake as much as hers.”
“I will,” she said, pressing her hand harder to his chest, emphasising her vow.
They interlocked fingers and held on. Suddenly Alex felt Dante move closer to her, lowering himself. She felt a jolt shoot through her, causing her body to give a twitch, then it was over. With a quick movement, Dante had given her an open mouth kiss on the neck. She may have imagined it, but she could’ve sworn she felt the cool moisture of his tongue just before he kissed her. So soft, so delicate, yet it certainly hit the right spot.
Dante gave her hand a light squeeze.
“Goodnight, Alexandra.”
Chapter Seven
Honour Bound
Dante walked out of Alex’s apartment and stopped at the sound like a whip cracking and a brief gust of wind ruffling his hair. Out of the shadows to his left stepped a man holding his hands as if in prayer. The man was as tall as Dante but not nearly as broad, with a long, cruel nose and thin eyebrows and lips. His slicked-back dark hair enhanced his pointed chin.
“Ah, Dante…” the man cooed, pointing both hands forward. “It has been too long.”
“No, Julian. Not nearly long enough.”
Julian grinned at this; a grin that Dante recognised. One that came before a statement of victory. “I have a message from my father.”
Dante thrust his hands into his pockets. As much as he hated Julian Kent, Dante could not afford to not at least listen to a message from Vincent. He was, after all, the King of Sydney.
“What does His Majesty want with me?” Dante asked cautiously.
“You owe him. We saved your arse today. A human was discovered looking into your personal records. And picking up very noticeable irregularities. Father had Clive put a stop to it as a favour to you.”
“You say I owe him? For a favour I didn’t ask for? I don’t think so.”
Dante returned the arrogant grin Julian still wore with a hard glare.
“Come, brother. There is no need to be like that. Your debt is simple to repay.”
Dante furred his brows; nothing was ever simple with Vincent. “What does he want from me?”
“For you to return to the fold. You were always the favourite,” Julian said with a slight sneer. “He has done you a service. He didn’t have to. After all, you chose to leave the safety of his house and protection all those years ago. Even so, you are honour-bound to accept his request.”
“As it wasn’t a favour I requested, I am not honour-bound to do anything. Thank him for his gesture and assure him I will be more careful next time.” Dante walked on, but Julian materialised in front of him, again following the sound of another whip crack.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” Julian asked. “You must fight us all the way! You must mainstream with your pathetic humans, feeding off just one. How can you stand it?”
Julian looked up at the apartment building as if the mere sight proved what he was about to say. “Their very existence is a joke. They have such short lives and what do they do? Make them even shorter with drugs and alcohol. They corrupt, pollute and breed. They have no semblance of how precious their lives are, seeking thrills they are not conditioned to handle. They destroy their own world in the process and you wish us to not kill them? What is it about them that endears you so?”
Dante took a step forward. “If I valued your opinion in any way, I would debate it with you. Since I don’t, I have better things to do. If you’ll excuse me.” He walked on again. This time Julian did not teleport in front of him, but was content to stand still. But what he said made Dante do the same.
“I warn you, Dante. There will be consequences for your defiance.”
Dante looked straight ahead, speaking more to himself than to Julian. “I have been cursed for over two hundred years. There is nothing you can take from me.”
“Not since I now have Melina, you’re right. She is an exquisite fuck. Do you not agree? Or has absence made the heart grow…forgetful?”
Dante turned, trying to control himself, gritting his teeth—teeth that were beginning to grow.
“Her hair is still the same red as our sustenance, my friend. I find myself needing her like I need blood...and just as often.” The corner of Julian’s mouth turned up in a sadistically proud grin. “And how is my former pet, Michelle? Don’t forget, I tasted her first—every inch of her. Does she miss me? Does she miss my more…aggressive touch? The touch Melina adores…”
Dante roared and was suddenly inches away from Julian’s face, moving quicker than the human eye could’ve seen. Julian remained in place, his face impassive.
“Does Michelle weep for you too, Dante? Do you hurt her like I did?”
Dante’s fangs extended. He balled his hands into fists that cut into his flesh as his newly elongated nails dug into his palms. He gnashed like an animal, fury flowing through him. Dante’s eyes had changed to the vampire battle colour, ensuring he focussed on Julian, or rather what his eyes were telling him Julian was: prey.
“That’s it!” Julian shouted, squatting into a defensive stance. His features too had changed, his blue eyes had become a dark, cloudy charcoal. The vampires circled each other like two snarling cougars ready to pounce on the other and tear it to shreds. “Come on, get angry!” Julian shouted. “Lose that last ounce of fucking humanity you cling to. Fight me! Give in to it. Come on.”
Dante stood teetering, scowling, but he did not advance. Slowly, he straightened and his eyes reverted to their original green as his vision became normal and his nails and teeth receded.
“No. If I strike, you win. You aren’t allowed and you are a good boy who always does what daddy tells him. Whenever you decide to throw the first punch however, I will have your father watch as I feed you your own heart.”
“Fucking coward,” Julian said loud enough for Dante to hear him as he walked away. Dante finally used his vampire speed to leave.
*
Alone, Julian burst out laughing. True he had wanted to fight Dante and end him for over two centuries, and his frustration at being made to wait longer was eating away at him. Besides the fact that he hated looking at such a pathetic excuse for a vampire, he wanted to see if the belief that Dante was created by an Ancient; one of the first, was true. If he really had been, it would be one hell of a battle. Julian wasn’t convinced, though.
Thinking to tonight though, he found the whole exchange hilarious. He looked up at the apartment building again and smirked. He walked up to the main doors and felt himself begin to tremble the closer he got to the door. He did not have permission to enter, but he was not after that. The human bitch had mentioned number four, but looking at the call directory, he found no name.
Pulling out his phone, he dialled Clive. Julian did not give the raspy weasel a chance to even utter a greeting. “Twelve-stroke-four Macintosh Street in Mascot,” he uttered as soon as Clive picked up the phone. Send me the name of the person who lives there in one minute and you may still get to lose your virginity.”
Approximately forty-five seconds later he received a text message.
Alexandra Louise Hensley – School teacher, St Therese’s Public School Mascot. Signed a lease with Lauren Ashley Henson – Assistant Store Manager, MYER
Julian was almost impressed, but had a bigger test.
Find out the name of the boyfriend.
Less than fifteen seconds later he received his answer.
Matthew Phillip Carrington
Julian called Clive again. “You’d better be right.”
“I am. What do you want him for anyway?”
“Dante is protecting his whore. It’s a safe bet the boyfriend was the one behind the search earlier. How can you be sure this is him? Do they have joint accounts? Did you access personal data checks? Employment history? It was too fast for you patch into anything else, so how?”
There was a long pause on the other end. “…yeah not so much. I looked her up on Face
book. She’s in a relationship with this goof.”
Julian snorted in disbelief at how easily accessible personal information was these days. These humans had no idea who was watching them.
“Text me his address and number.”
“Will do.”
Another minute and Julian had his information, a house under Matt’s mother’s name. Julian stared at the address, then shut his eyes and concentrated. When he opened them again, he was outside Matt’s house. I love being me, he mused. He marched towards the wooden doors, slowing as he approached, trembling once again as the lack of invitation held him back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded note. One he had prepared for just this circumstance. Dante, it seemed, wanted to do things the hard way.
His father had been adamant there was only one way this could go. Julian knew Vincent would be displeased if he learned what he intended to do. Sir Vincent Kent wanted Dante to return of his own accord, thinking that Dante’s true place was by his side, alongside Julian. Julian could not accurately describe how much he hated this and had made it his personal mission to make good on his threat to punish Delavega. His ridiculous mainstreaming was causing too much attention. He would return to the family, or he would enter the eternal sleep. But Julian could not touch him, not yet. Not without Vincent’s say so. He would have to make his father see the only way to deal with the situation was the death of Delavega.
Julian would have to speed things along with the note, but he would get Dante. One way or the other.
If you wish to know more about Dante Delavega, wait by your phone at 6pm tomorrow.
Surely even a human could understand that.
Chapter Nine
Help Me
Lauren slammed the bathroom door just before Alex could reach it.
“Loz, please… Can we talk about this? I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
Alex had taken Dante’s request to heart and tried to warn her roommate to stay away from Ryan. It was evening and Lauren had just arrived home having not gone to work, according to the messages on their answering machine from her boss wondering where she was. Lauren had barely muttered a hello before getting changed to go out again, saying she was meeting Ryan at his place. But Alex was more than worried now. Something was really off. She’d expected resistance when she told Lauren to stop seeing Ryan, but had hoped to have a rational discussion about it. Despite everything, when it came down to it, Alex knew Lauren could be sensible, and they usually trusted each other’s “vibes” about guys. But this time, when Alex made the request, Lauren erupted in a volcano of shouts and curses and slamming things. The temper tantrum finally culminated in Alex dodging a coffee mug thrown at her, before Lauren stormed off into the bathroom. This was definitely not her best friend’s normal behaviour.
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